We're all connected. You can send an e-mail message to a friend, and your friend can pass it on to one of his or her friends, and that friend can do the same, continuing the chain. Eventually, your message could reach just about anyone in the world, and it might take only five to seven e-mails for the message to get there.
Scientists recently tested that idea in a study involving 24,000 people. Participants had to try to get a message forwarded to one of 18 randomly chosen people. Each participant started by sending one e-mail to someone they knew. Recipients could then forward the e-mail once to someone they knew, and so on.
Targets, who were randomly assigned by researchers from Columbia University in New York, lived in 13 countries. They included an Australian police officer, a Norwegian veterinarian, and a college professor.
Out of 24,000 chains, only 384 reached their goal. The rest petered out, usually because one of the recipients was either too busy to forward the message or thought it was junk mail.
The links that reached their goal made it in an average of 4.05 e-mails. Based on the lengths of the failed chains, the researchers estimated that two strangers could generally make contact in five to seven e-mails.
The most successful chains relied on casual acquaintances rather than close friends. That's because your close friends know each other whereas your acquaintances tend to know people you don't know. The phenomenon, known as the strength of weak ties, explains why people tend to get jobs through people they know casually but aren't that close to.
So, start networking and instant messaging now. As they say in show business: It's all about who you know.
1. If you want to get into touch with a stranger in the world, how many e-mails might it take for the message to reach him/her?
A. 5 to 7B. 18C. 13D. 384
2. Which of the following is Not true about the test?
A. 24,000 people took part in the study and sent e-mails to people they knew.
B. The 18 targets were chosen by chance.
C. About 98.4% of the mails didn’t reach their goal because some people were too busy or they mistook the message for junk mail.
D. The targets come from 13 countries, such as Australia, Norway and New York.
3. What does the word “estimate” mean in the passage?
A. make sureB. supposeC. think overD. imagine
4. Why do people tend to get jobs more easily through casual acquaintances than close friends?
A. Because close friends don’t talk with each other so much.
B. Because casual acquaintances can help you know more people and make more friends.
C. Because close friends don’t spend so much time gathering together.
D. Because casual acquaintances are kinder and more willing to help others.
5. In which part of a newspaper will readers read this passage?
A. CultureB. EntertainmentC. Information and TechnologyD. Health
Blind imitation (模仿)is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth. Imitation appears attractive: to those who know their strength. Imitation is unacceptable.
In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes (菜谱) and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.
Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.
Syudy your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not server. Then you can say,” I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors” tragedies and tory, and know that they are cheering on.
1. Imitation proves useful when you .
A. know you are unique
B. lose the balance of life
C. begin to learn something new
D. get tired of routine practice
2. To avoid the bad result of imitation, we should________.
A. forget daily fear and pain
B. choose the right example
C. ask others for decisions
D. stay away from stars
3. Acording to the author. The world moves on because of those who are .
A. desperate to intruence others with their knowledge
B. ready to turn their original ideas into reality
C. eager to discover what their ancestors did
D. willing to accept others’ ideas
4. The trouble a creator faces is .
A. the lack of strong motivation
B. the absence of practical ideas
C. how to search for more materials
D. how to use imagination creatively
5. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A. To highlight the importance of creatively.
B. To criticize the characters of role models.
C. To compare imitation with creation.
D. To explain the meaning of success.
A couple of years ago, before a trip to China, Nicole Davis and her US women’s volleyball teammates were warned about the prominence (显著、突出) of coach “Jenny” Lang Ping in her native country.
“I was pushed over by Chinese journalists while I was just trying to put my luggage on the bus,” said Davis.
Known as the “Iron Hammer” for her punishing spikes(扣球),Lang made it possible for China to dominate in the sport in the early 1980s. She was a key player on China’s 1984 Olympic gold medal winning team.
When the US team arrived for the Olympics, Lang, 48, who is from Beijing, had to take a different route to avoid a crowd of reporters and fans.
Then came the greatest moment to Lang：While the US team was playing in a packed gym, at least 8,000 Chinese fans unfurled an American flag.
“That really says it all,” Davis said. “They look at her as an icon(偶像)．I’m sure it’s hard for them to see her coaching another country, but they love her so 七彩教育网ly that her success is their success.”
The loyalty of the Chinese fans was tested on Friday, when China lost a match to the US.
“It’s a pity that China lost the match, but I’m still glad that Lang Ping’s team won, since she is the pride of China’s volleyball,” said Liu Chengli, a spectator. “We also cheered for
Lang’s victory.”
Lang said she just tried to stay professional when the two teams meet. “It doesn’t matter if we play China or any other team. It’s the same.” Lang said.
Davis said she and her teammates could not have imagined the passion for volleyball among Chinese because the sport was lack of popularity in the US. The reception from Chinese fans has touched the US players, said US volleyball player Lindsey Berg.
“It’s such an honor to be here and play for our coach here in China,” she said. “The amount of support that the Chinese give to her and us has been tremendous. The whole event has been unbelievable.”
1. What’s the passage mainly about?
A．Staying professional.B．Cheering for the Iron Hammer.
C．A match between China and the US.D．Lang Ping’s career as a coach.
2. Lang Ping avoided meeting the reporters and fans probably because she ________.
A．was afraid to be questioned about her strategy
B．didn’t want to be paid much attention to
C．disliked to be with her fans
D．didn’t want to disturb public order
3. What does the underlined word “unfurled” exactly mean?
A．destroyed completelyB．tore into pieces
C．spread out to the windD．rolled up
4. What does Lang Ping mean by saying “It doesn’t matter if we play China or any other team.”？
A．American Volleyball Team will beat any team.
B．Chinese Volleyball Team is the same as other teams.
C．She just tried to stay professional.
D．The results of each match will be the same.
5. What impressed the US team players most?
A．The tolerance of Chinese people.
B．The popularity of volleyball in China.
C．Lang Ping’s coaching skills.
D．The loyalty for volleyball of the Chinese.
Blind imitation (模仿)is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth. Imitation appears attractive: to those who know their strength. Imitation is unacceptable.
In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful. When I first learned to cook, I used recipes (菜谱) and turned out some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously (下意识地) hold poor role models. If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors.
Blessed is the person willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply. They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation. The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them. Creative people have an endless resource of ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination.
Syudy your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not server. Then you can say,” I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors” tragedies and tory, and know that they are cheering on.
1. Imitation proves useful when you .
A. know you are unique
B. lose the balance of life
C. begin to learn something new
D. get tired of routine practice
2. To avoid the bad result of imitation, we should________.
A. forget daily fear and pain
B. choose the right example
C. ask others for decisions
D. stay away from stars
3..Acording to the author. The world moves on because of those who are .
A. desperate to intruence others with their knowledge
B. ready to turn their original ideas into reality
C. eager to discover what their ancestors did
D. willing to accept others’ ideas
4. The trouble a creator faces is .
A. the lack of strong motivation
B. the absence of practical ideas
C. how to search for more materials
D. how to use imagination creatively
5. What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?
A. To highlight the importance of creatively.
B. To criticize the characters of role models.
C. To compare imitation with creation.
D. To explain the meaning of success.
Even plant can run a fever, especially when they’re under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3, 000 feet away straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared （红外线）scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely target pesticide （杀虫剂）spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which invariably includes plants that don’t have pest （害虫）problems.
Even better, Paley’s Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Mounted on a plane flown at 3, 000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat emitted by crops. The data were transformed into a color-coded map showing where plants were running“fevers”. Farmers could then spot-spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide than they otherwise would.
The bad news is that Paley’s company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long - term backers were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce, and refinements in infrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt the technology works. “This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States, ” says George Oerther of Texas A & M. Ray Jackson , who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only ff Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago.
1. Plants will emit an increased amount of heat when they are______________.
A. sprayed with pesticides
B. facing an infrared scanner
C. in poor physical condition
D. exposed to excessive sun rays
2.．In order to apply pesticide spraying precisely, we can use infrared scanning to____________.
A. estimate the damage to the crops
B. measure the size of the affected area
C. draw a color-coded map
D. locate the problem area
3. Farmers can save a considerable amount of pesticide by______________.
A. resorting to spot-spraying
B. consulting infrared scanning experts
C. transforming poisoned rain
D. detecting crop problems at an early stage
4. The application of infrared scanning technology to agriculture met with some difficulties
_______________.
A. the lack of official support
B. its high cost
C. the lack of financial support
D. its failure to help increase production
5. Infrared scanning technology may be brought back into operation because of_____________.
A. the desire of farmers to improve the quality of their produce
B. growing concern about the excessive use of pesticides on crops
C. the forceful promotion by the Department of Agriculture
D. full support from agricultural experts
An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same tome.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起）the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong Kong.
In Chicago, the mayor(市长）appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York, where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致）can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point ,putting all their energy
And passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Ultinatel was Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process. or have enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.
1. What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
A. To invite authors to guide readers.
B. To encourage people to read and share.
C. To involve people in community service.
D. To promote the friendship between cities.
2. Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?
A. They had little interest in reading.
B. They were too busy to read a book.
C. They came from many different backgrounds
D. They lacked support from the local government
3. According to the passage, where would the project be more easily carried out?
A. In large communities with little sense of unity
B. In large cities where libraries are far from home
C. In medium-sized cities with a diverse population
D. In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached
4. The underlined words “shared a word” in Paragraph 5 probably mean
A. exchanged ideas with each other
B. discussed the meaning of a word
C. gamed life experience
D. used the same language
5. According to Nacy, the degree of students of the project is judged by
the careful selection of a proper book
the growing popularity of the writers
C. the number of people who benefit from reading.
D. the number of books that each person reads.
