“Cleverness is a gift while kindness is a choice. Gifts are easy – they’re given after all. Choices can be hard.” –– Jeff Bezos.
I got the idea to start Amazon 16 years ago. I came across the fact that the Internet usage was growing at 2,300 percent per year. I’d never seen or heard of anything that grew that fast, and the idea of building an online bookstore with millions of titles was very exciting to me. I had just turned 30 years old, and I’d been married for a year. I told my wife MacKenzie that I wanted to quit my job and go to do this crazy thing that probably wouldn’t work since most start-ups don’t, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. MacKenzie told me I should go for it. As a young boy, I’d been a garage inventor. I’d always wanted to be an inventor, and she wanted me to follow my passion.
I was working at a financial firm in New York City with a bunch of very smart people, and I had a brilliant boss that I much admired. I went to my boss and told him I wanted to start a company selling books on the Internet. He took me on a long walk in Central Park, listened carefully to me, and finally said, “That sounds like a really good idea, but it would be an even better idea for someone who didn’t already have a good job.” That logic made some sense to me, and he convinced me to think about it for 48 hours before making a final decision. Seen in that light, it really was a difficult choice, but ultimately (最后), I decided I had to give it a shot. I didn’t think I’d regret trying and failing. And I suspected I would always be haunted by a decision to not try at all.
After much consideration, I took the less safe path to follow my passion, and I’m proud of that choice. For all of us, in the end, we are our choices.
1.What inspired the author with the idea of building an online bookstore?
A. His dream of being an inventor.
B. The support of his wife.
C. The greatly increasing usage of the Internet.
D. Millions of exciting titles.
2.Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined sentence?
A. The idea of not trying would keep coming to his mind and disturb him.
B. He would be very excited if he tried it out.
C. He would be always having a doubt if he didn’t try.
D. The decision to not try the online bookstore would terrify him.
3.We can know from the passage that _______.
A. the boss thought the idea was suitable for the author
B. the author wanted someone else to try the idea
C. the author might not regret if he failed the idea
D. the author might go back to his boss if he failed
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A. Cleverness and KindnessB. The Starting of Amazon
C. Following My PassionD. We Are What We Choose
There is probably no field of human activity in which our values and lifestyles are shown more clearly and strongly than they are in the clothes that we choose to wear.The dress of an individual is a kind of “sign language” that communicates a set of information and is usually the basis on which immediate impressions are formed.Traditionally,a concern for clothes was considered to be an affair of females,while men took pride in the fact that they were completely lacking in clothes consciousness(意识).
This type of American culture is by degrees changing as man dress takes on greater variety and color.Even as early as 1955,a researcher in Michigan said that men attached rather high importance to the value of clothing in daily life. White collar workers in particular viewed dress as a symbol(象征)of ability,which could be used to impress or influence others,especially in the work situation.The white collar worker was described as extremely concerned about the impression his clothing made on his superiors(上司).Although blue collar workers were less aware(察觉到的)that they might be judged on the basis of their clothing,they recognized that any difference from the accepted pattern of dress would be made fun of by fellow workers.
Since that time,of course,the patterns have changed:the typical office worker may now be wearing the blue shirt,and the laborer a white shirt;but the importance of dress has not become less.Other researchers in recent years have helped to prove its importance in the lives of individuals at various age levels and in different social and economic status groups(阶层).
1.The passage tells us that _______.
A.our values and lifestyles are in no field of human activity
B.the clothes that we choose to wear have something to do with our values and lifestyles
C.our values and lifestyles are from the sign language
D.the clothes we choose to wear depend on a set of information and immediate impression
2.Traditionally,people usually thought that _______.
A.men cared very much for clothes
B.women were concerned greatly about what they wore while men didn’t
C.both men and women paid great attention to their clothes
D.neither men nor women showed interest in clothes
3.Blue collar workers pay attention to their clothes because _______.
A.they are concerned about the impression their clothes make on their superiors
B.they know very clearly that people will judge them on the basis of their clothing
C.they want to impress and influence others
D.they don’t want to be laughed at
4.Which of the following can best explain the underlined sentence in the second paragraph?
A.Men thought the value of clothing in daily life was very important.
B.Men didn’t pay attention to the importance of the value of clothing in daily life.
C.Men thought little of the importance of the value of clothing in daily life.
D.Men were concerned little about the value of clothing in daily life.
5.The passage mainly suggests that _______.
A.now men pay more attention to their clothes than women do
B.women always like beautiful dresses
C.people have paid more and more attention to the importance of dress
D.American culture is changing greatly
When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak contemptuously of the poor old Romans because they relished the orgies of slaughter that went on in their arenas. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them condescendingly because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the spectators who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remains as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungey lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of sophisticated arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long age; sports which are quite as barbarous as, say, public hangings or bearbaiting.
It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men batter each other to pulp in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Let us not deceive ourselves. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is sheer hypocrisy. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Spectators are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they have been deprived of the exquisite pleasure of witnessing prolonged torture and violence.
Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally – admittedly with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen cooped up in cages, or public floggings of any of the countless other barbaric practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the grim forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly and unaccountably improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is degrading and unworthy of human beings.
1.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is
A. not very high. B. high.
C. contemptuous. D. critical.
2.The main idea of this passage is
A. vicious and dangerous sports should be banned by law.
B. people are willing to pay vast sums money to see violence.
C. to compare two different attitudes towards dangerous sports.
D. people are bloodthirsty in sports.
3.That the author mentions the old Romans is
A. To compare the old Romans with today’s people.
B. to give an example.
C. to show human beings in the past know nothing better.
D. to indicate human beings are used to bloodthirsty.
4..How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?
A. Three. B. Five.
C. Six. D. Seven.
5.The purpose of the author in writing this passage is
A. that, by banning the violent sports, we human beings can improve our selves.
B. that, by banning the dangerous sports, we can improve the law.
C. that we must take positive steps to improve social welfare system.
D. to show law is the main instrument of social change.
Vocabulary
relish 从……获得乐处，享受
orgy 狂欢，放纵
arena 竞技场，活动或斗争的场所
blood-thirsty 残忍的，嗜血的
bear-baiting 逗熊游戏
bull-fight 斗牛
batter 猛击，连续地猛打/捶，乱打
pulp 成纸浆，成软块
burst into flames 突然燃烧起来/着火
grim 令人窒息的，简陋的
coop up 把……关起来
难句译注
bear-baiting 逗熊游戏。这是一种十六、十七世纪流行于英国的游戏――驱狗去咬绑着的熊，很残忍，后被禁止。
…two men batter each other to pulp in the boxing ring.
【结构简析】batter one to pulp = beat one to a pulp 狠揍某人，打瘫某人
【参考译文】两个人在拳击场内彼此狠揍，知道一个人被打倒在地，爬不起来。
…unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames.
【参考译文】眼见一辆或多辆赛车相互撞击，突然烧起来而无动于衷。
A world heavy weight championship match is front page news.
【参考译文】世界重量级冠军赛总是头版头条新闻。
写作方法与文章大意
作者采取先对比、后分析的写作手法。先是今人和古罗马人对暴虐体育上对此两者都欣赏。后者坦率成人“欣赏暴力体育”，前者施以各种接口、实际都是嗜血成性者。第二段进一步剖析今人欣赏暴虐体育的种种实例，最后指出改善“暴虐”的根本嗜为改善法律采取积极的步骤，法律才能施以巨大的文明影响，否则人类很难改变。
Disposing(处理)of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it.As more and more people choose to live close together in cities,the waste-disposal problem becomes Increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century,it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site.Residents or trash haulers(垃圾拖运者)would transport household rubbish,rotted wood,and old possessions to the site.Periodically(定期的)some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried.The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by.
Factories,mills,and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of.Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water.Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society.The first problem is space Dumps,which are now called landfills,are most needed in heavily populated areas.Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose.Property is either too expensive or too close to residential(住宅区的) neighborhoods.Long-distance trash hauling has been a common practice but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere,cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is almost nonexistent.
Awareness(意识) of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers,ground water,land and air is a price people can no longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste,however,continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become commonplace,and many towns require their people to take part.Even he most efficient recycling programs,however,can hope to deal with only about 50 Percent of a city’s reusable waste.
1.The most suitable title for this passage would be _______.
A.Places for Disposing Waste B.Waste Pollution Dangers
C.Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D.Waste Disposal Problem
2.During the 18th century,people disposed their waste in many ways EXCEPT for _______.
A.burying it B.recycling it
C.burning it D.throwing it into rivers
3.What can be inferred from the fourth paragraph?
A.Farm areas accept waste from the city in modern society.
B.There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.
C.It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.
D.Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.
4.The main purpose of writing this article is to _______.
A.draw people’s attention to waste management
B.warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C.call on people to take part in recycling programs
D.tell people a better way to get rid of the waste
It is reported that conservation groups in North America have been arguing about the benefits and dangers of wolves. Some groups believe wolves should be killed. Other people believe wolves must be protected so that they will not disappear from the wilderness (荒野)
For Killing Wolves
In Alaska，the wolf almost disappeared a few years ago，because hunters were killing hundreds of them for sport. However．1aws were established to protect the wolves from sportsmen and people who catch the animals for their fur．So the wolf population has greatly increased. Now there are so many wolves that they are destroying their own food supply．
A wolf naturally eats animals in the deer family. People in the wilderness also hunt deer for food．Many of the animals have been destroyed by the very cold winters recently and by changes in the wilderness plant life．When the deer can’t find enough food，they die．
If the wolves continue to kill large numbers of deer，their prey(猎物)will disappear some day．And the wolves will．too．So we must change the cycle of life in the wilderness to balance the ecology．If we killed more wolves，we would save them and their prey from dying out．We’d also save some farm animals．
In another northern state，wolves attack cows and chickens for food．Farmers want the government to send biologists to study the problem．They believe it necessary to kill wolves in some areas and to protect them in places where there is a small wolf population．
Against Killing Wolves
If you had lived long ago，you would have heard many different stories about the dangerous wolf．According to most stories，hungry wolves often kill people for food．Even today，the stories of the “big bad wolf'＂will not disappear．
But the fact is wolves are afraid of people．and they seldom travel in areas where there is a human smell．When wolves eat other animals，they usually kill the very young．or the sick and injured .The strongest survive .No kind of animal would have survived through the centuries if the weak members had lived．And has always been a law of nature.
Although some people say it is good sense to kill wolves，we say it is nonsense! Researchers have found wolves and their prey living in balance．The wolves keep the deer population from becoming too large, and that keeps a balance in the wilderness plant life．
The real problem is that the areas where wolves can live are being used by people．Even if wilderness land is not used directly for human needs．the wolves can’t always find enough food .So they travel to the nearest source, which is often a farm．Then there is danger．The “big bad wolf” has arrived! And everyone knows what happens next．
1. According to the passage，some people in North America favor killing wolves for all the following reasons EXCET that ．
A. there are too many wolves
B. they kill large numbers deer
C. they attack cows and chickens for food
D. they destroy the wilderness plant life
2. Some people are against killing wolves because ．
A. wolves help to keep the ecological balance in the wideness
B. there is too small a wolf population in the wilderness
C. there are too many deer in the wilderness
D. wolves are afraid of people and never attack people
3. According to those against killing wolves，when wolves eat other animals， ．
A. they never eat strong and healthy ones
B. they always go against the law of nature
C. they might help this kind of animals survive in nature
D. they disturb the ecological balance in the wilderness
4. The last sentence “And everyone knows what happens next” implies that in such cases .
A. farm animals will be in danger and have to be shipped away
B. wolves will kill people and people will in turn kill them
C. wolves will find enough food sources on farms
D. people will leave the areas where wolves can live
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists. Descriptions like ‘ Palaeolithic Man’, ‘Neolithic Man’, etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label ‘Legless Man’. Histories of the time will go something like this: ‘in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car parks. ’
The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world – or even less if the wing ofthe aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. Is it the lure of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: ‘I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.’ The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says ‘I’ve been there. ’ You mention the remotest, most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say ‘I’ve been there’ – meaning, ‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. ’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.
1.Anthorpologists label nowaday’s men ‘Legless’ because
A people forget how to use his legs.
B people prefer cars, buses and trains.
C lifts and escalators prevent people from walking.
D there are a lot of transportation devices.
2.Travelling at high speed means
A people’s focus on the future.
B a pleasure.
C satisfying drivers’ great thrill.
D a necessity of life.
3.Why does the author say ‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’ ?
A People won’t use their eyes.
B In traveling at high speed, eyes become useless.
C People can’t see anything on his way of travel.
D People want to sleep during travelling.
4.What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A Legs become weaker.
B Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
C There is no need to use eyes.
D The best way to travel is on foot.
5.What does ‘a bird’s-eye view’ mean?
A See view with bird’s eyes.
B A bird looks at a beautiful view.
C It is a general view from a high position looking down.
D A scenic place.
VOCABULARY
Palaeolithic 旧石器时代的
Neolithic 新石器时代的
escalator 自动电梯，自动扶梯
ski-lift 载送滑雪者上坡的装置
mar 损坏，毁坏
blur 模糊不清，朦胧
smear 涂，弄脏，弄模糊（尤指画面、轮廓等）
evocative 引起回忆的，唤起感情的
El Dorado (由当时西班牙征服者想象中的南美洲)黄金国，宝山，富庶之乡
Kabul 喀布尔（阿富汗首都）
Irkutsk 伊尔库茨克（原苏联亚洲城市）
难句译注与答案详解
The only way to travel is on foot 旅游的唯一方法是走路
难句译注
Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world – or even if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way.
【参考译文】飞机旅行，你只可俯视世界――如果机翼碰巧挡住了你的视线，就看得更少了。
When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the country-side constantly smears the windows.
【参考译文】如果乘车或火车旅行，郊外模糊朦胧的景象不断地掠过窗口。
写作方法与文章大意
文章以因果写作方法，写出了由于种种现代化交通设施、人们不需用脚走路，甚至也不需要用眼看景，出门就坐汽车、公交车、地铁、飞机……，车、机速度飞快，外边的景物难以看清，最终导致人们忘记用脚、用眼成为“无脚之人”。一切都经历不到。作者建议最佳的旅游方法是徒步――经历现实。
