Take a look at teenagers around, dressed in baggy-pants (宽松裤), drinking soft drinks such as coke, reading Japanese cartoons. Whether you are in Beijing, Wuhan or Hong Kong, you will get the same impression. But should we copy others or should we maintain (保留) our differences?
It sounds convenient that people around the world speak the same language, dress in the same style, eat the same food and play the same games. If the world was like this, you won’t feel strange in any corner of world. But just imagine living in such a strange world. How dull and colorless it would be!
Different kinds of food that people can taste, the colorful and fashionable clothes that we dress in and different languages we speak are all part of the different cultures that our ancestors left us. These differences represent their creativity (创造力) and talent. And we all enjoy different cultures in our daily lives. When you travel to other places, you want to see different things. When you talk to foreigners, you expect to listen to interesting stories. These differences in culture are what make life colorful.
But the whole world isshrinkinginto a small village as globalization (全球化) takes effect and many different cultures are disappearing. In most big cities around the world people wear the same clothes. Fast food stores are everywhere. Hollywood movies are kicking traditional performing arts out of our lives. The colors of our life are disappearing.
There is joke that even the panda and zebra want to live a colorful life. So let’s take action to protect our colorful culture before it becomes as simple as black and white.
It’s not difficult. Learning some folk songs, trying on a traditional clothing and even eating local food instead of going to KFC can help. And we’re sure you will enjoy it.
1.The passage is written to _______.
A.explain cultural differences B.convince readers to maintain cultural differences
C.predict the future of globalization D.show some cultural phenomena(现象)
2.The author thinks that cultural differences _______.
A.make the world colorful B.make communication difficult
C.only exist in food and clothing D.will never fade away
3.The author starts the argument by ________.
A.mentioning certain cultural phenomena
B.mentioning his view at the very beginning
C.mentioning the opposite view at the very beginning
D.giving examples of cultural differences
4.The underlined word “shrink” probably means “_______”.
A.expand B.disappear C.become smaller D.grow in number
5.The author talks of all the following cultural phenomena except _______.
A.food B.clothing C.language D.architecture
Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older. Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of 50. In fact, they say by the age of 85, people are happier with their life than they were when they were 18 years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than 340,000 adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in 2008. At that time, the people were between the ages of 18 and 85. The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of 24 and 25. The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar feeling patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their feelings. They so spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
1.According to the survey of the Gallup Organization people are most likely to become happier .
A.when they are between the ages of 18 and 85 B.when they come to their old age
C.when they are in their twenties D.when they are 18 years old
2.You may have the highest level of stress when you are at the age of .
A.20 B.25 C.35 D.40
3.According to Arthur Stone, old people may .
A.have a positive attitude towards their life B.know how to spend money wisely
C.dream about good things every day D.control their behaviors better
4.Who would probably show the greatest interest in the passage?
A.Those who are worried about getting old B.Those who are single and unemployed
C.Those who feel unhappy all the time D.Those who suffer from mental stress
5.What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Getting Older Means Getting Happier B.The Young Are Happier Than the Old
C.Women Are Easier to Be Happy in Life D.The Younger, the Happier
It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better paying jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don’t. It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn’t accepted by all people.
Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life to get education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living, people don’t need to spend so much time in school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and mathematics need not be taught in detail(详细地), either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.
Education is well-rounded and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak, read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities. After that, it is to make him a wise man and thankfully enjoy the achievements of human. Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to listen to good music, read good books, watch plays and most of all take an interest in the world.
I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.
1.People with little education usually ________.
A.spend a long time in school B.have a good chance to get a job
C.spend the best years to choose jobs D.have fewer chances to get a good job
2.The earliest education was probably to________.
A.make a man lead a better life B.teach a man to write and think
C.make people get a way of living D.teach people to read good books
3.The underlined word “well-rounded” in the passage means “________” in Chinese.
A.圆满的 B.崭新的 C.公平的 D.全面的
4.It is expected that educated people will be able to ________.
A.accept education as a way of living B.take an interest in the whole world
C.develop their abilities to make plays D.learn subjects like language and math
5.The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A.education should make a man improve B.people can get education in a short time
C.people should be able to get better paying jobs D.all subjects are so important for a way of living
Mobile phone has become a problem for middle schools. Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones during school hours.
Mobile phone use among children has become a problem for the school this year. Several children have got mobile phones as Christmas gifts, and more students will want them.
Mary Bluett, an official said mobile phone’s use is a distraction (分心的事) to students during school hours and it also gives teachers so much trouble in their classrooms. Teachers were also saying that sometimes students might use phone messages to cheat during exams. She said some schools had tried to ban mobile phones. Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t get in touch with their children.
Many teachers said students should not have mobile phones at school, but if there was a good reason, they could leave their phones at school office. They also said there were many reasons why the students should not have mobile phones at school: they were easy to lose and were a distraction from studies.
Many people say that they understand why parents would want their children to have phones, but they think schools should let the students know when they can use their mobile phones.
1.Some middle schools in Australia have banned students from carrying mobile phones ________.
A.because they are students B.when they are free
C.when they are at school D.because they are children
2.We know from the passage that some children get mobile phones from ________.
A.the makers and sellers B.the passer-by and strangers
C.their parents and friends D.some mobile phone users
3.What does the underlined word “cheat” mean in the passage?
A.聊天 B.作弊 C.查询 D.核对
4.Some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t ________ during school hours.
A.use their mobile phones B.leave their mobile phones at school office
C.help the teachers with their work D.get in touch with their children
5.The passage tells us that________.
A.students shouldn’t have mobile phones at school except for some special reasons
B.it is impossible to ban students from using mobile phone at school
C.some parents felt unhappy because they couldn’t use their phones at school
D.parents should teach their children how to use mobile phones during school hours
In real life, robots are mainly used in factories. They do many different jobs. Usually these jobs are too__________ , difficult or boring for humans.
Robots also help disabled people and people who cannot look after __________. For example, scientists are making a robot to help__________ people. Now many of them have a dog to help them. The dog is called a guide dog. In the future, guide dogs might be robot dogs.
One robot dog is called Meldog. It has wheels. It usually “walks”__________ its owner. It is very clever. It knows the speed of its owner's walk. Meldog talks to its owner by _________. The owner wears a special belt. This belt __________ instructions to the owner from Meldog such as “Stop here”, “Turn left” and “Turn right”.
In the United States, another _________ of robot helps disabled workers. This robot, called Kilroy, helps disabled computer operators. The robot _________ the sound of its owner's voice. It follows instructions such as “Turn the page” and “Make a cup of coffee”.
Robots are also used in American __________. They can do simple jobs. For example, they shave (刮脸) patients and brush their teeth and take meals from the kitchen to patients' rooms. It never gets lost__________ this robot has a map of the hospital in its computer memory.
1.A.interesting B.strange C.dangerous
2.A.others B.them C.themselves
3.A.deaf B.blind C.old
4.A.in front of B.behind C.under
5.A.television B.radio C.loudspeaker
6.A.writes B.reads C.sends
7.A.type B.size C.set
8.A.guesses B.thinks C.hears
9.A.cinema B.hospital C.museum
10.A.until B.because C.whether
—Sorry, I can’t follow you. I beg your pardon?
—________.
A.You are welcome B.That’s all right C.No problem
