阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Silence is unnatural to man. He does all he can 1.(make) a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else. Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence. If he2.(introduce) to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as3.failure, and is full of envy of the emptiest-headed chatterbox (喋喋不休的人).He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation 4.(mean) no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure (蜡塑人像).
The aim of conversation is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as5.(annoy) as the continuous noise made by a mosquito (蚊子). But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito 6.a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear. and some of it is pleasant even to the mind.
Those7. hate to pick up the weather as a8.(conversation) opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of9.(learn) anything new. Some of them are content if they are 10.(mere) allowed to go on making a noise into other people's ears.
When I first entered university my aunt, who is an English professor, gave me a new English dictionary. I was ________to see that it was an English- English dictionary, also known as a monolingual (只用一种语言的) dictionary. __________it was a dictionary intended for non-native learners, none of my classmates had one, ________to be honest, I found it extremely _________to use at first. I would look up words in the dictionary and ________not fully understand the meanings. I was used to the _________bilingual dictionaries, in which the words are __________both in English and Chinese. I really wondered why my aunt gave me such__________to make things so difficult for me. Now, after studying English at university for three years, I _________that monolingual dictionaries are __________in learning a foreign language.
As I found out, there is, ________, often no perfect equivalence (对应) between two ________in two languages. My aunt even goes so far as to ________ that a Chinese “equivalent” can never give you the__________meaning of a word in English! _________, she insisted that I read the definition (释义) of a word in a monolingual dictionary when I wanted to get a better_________ of its meaning._________, I have come to see what she meant.
Using a monolingual dictionary for learners has helped me in another important way. This dictionary uses a(n)___________number of words, around 2,000. in its definitions. When I read these definitions, I am__________exposed to the basic words and learn how they are used to explain objects and ideas. ________ this, I can express myself more easily in English.
1.A. worried B. sad C. surprised D. nervous
2.A. Because B. Although C. Unless D. If
3.A. but B. so C. or D. and
4.A. difficult B. interesting C. important D. practical
5.A. thus B. even C. still D. again
6.A. new B. familiar C. earlier D. ordinary
7.A. explained B. expressed C. described D. created
8.A. appreciation B. courage C. advice D. promise
9.A. imagine B. recommend C. predict D. grasp
10.A. natural B. better C. easier D. convenient
11.A. at best B. in fact C. at times D. in case
12.A. words B. names C. ideas D. characters
13.A. hope B. declare C. doubt D. tell
14.A. exact B. basic C. translated D. expected
15.A. Rather B. However C. Therefore D. Instead
16.A. understanding B. practice C. expression D. consideration
17.A. Largely B. Generally C. Gradually D. Probably
18.A. extra B. average C. total D. limited
19.A. repeatedly B. nearly C. immediately D. anxiously
20.A. According to B. In relation to C. In addition to D. Because of
Right now you are reading English. That means that you are using your brain in a very active way. Reading is a very active process. 1.. When you read a text, you have to do some or all of these:
• Imagine a scene in your head
• Understand clearly what the writer is trying to say
• Agree or disagree with the writer
There are also many advantages associated with reading, including:
2.
You will usually meet with new words when you read. If there are too many new words for you, then the level is too high and you should read something simpler. But if there are, say, a maximum of five new words per page, you will learn this vocabulary easily. You may not even need to use a pocket dictionary because you can guess the meaning from the rest of the text. 3..
A model for writing
When you read, it gives you a good example for writing. Texts that you read show you structures and expressions that you can use when you write.
Seeing “correctly structured” English
When people write, they usually use “correct” English with a proper grammatical structure. 4.. So, by reading you see and learn grammatical English naturally.
5.
You can read as fast or as slowly as you like. You can read ten pages in 30 minutes, or take one hour to explore just one page. It doesn’t matter. The choice is yours. You can not easily do this when speaking or listening. This is one of the big advantages of reading because different people work at different speeds.
A. Working at your own speed
B. Learning vocabulary in context (语境)
C. This is not always true when people speak
D. Focusing on exactly what you want to learn
E. you should write down unknown vocabulary in whole sentences
F. Not only do you learn new words, but you see them being used naturally
G. It is true that the writer does a lot of work, but the reader also has to work hard
We have to admit that many cities around the world today are heavily polluted. Careless methods of production and lack of consumer demand for environment friendly products have actually contributed to the pollution problem. One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic, and metal containers are produced and these are difficult to get rid of.
However, today, more and more consumers are choosing “green” and demanding that the products they buy should be safe for the environment. Before they take action to buy a product, they ask questions like these “Will this shampoo add damage to the environment?” “Can this metal container be reused or can it only be used once?”
A recent study showed that two out of five adults now take the environmental safety of a product into account before they buy it. This means that companies must now adjust the way they make and sell their products to make sure that they are “green” that is, friendly to the environment
Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds of them advocating green. In addition, some supermarket products carry labels (标签) to show that the product is green. Some companies have adopted the manufacturing (生产) of clean and safe products as their main selling point and emphasize it in their advertising.
The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business. No longer will the public accept the old attitude of “Buy it, use it, throw it away, and forget it.” The public pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act.
1.It becomes clear from the text that the driving force (动力) behind green products is
A. public caring for the environment B. companies' desire for bigger sales
C. new ways of doing business D. rapid growth of supermarkets
2.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Business and People B. Business Goes Green
C. Shopping Habits Are Changing D. Supermarkets and Green products
3.The underlined word "it” in the fourth paragraph refers to
A. a selling point B. the company name
C. a great demand for health foods D. the manufacturing of green products
Sitting is an art that isn't getting passed along. People these days feel as though they have to be doing something. If they are not working, they are jogging, or playing tennis or golf to guard against illnesses, or taking courses to improve their minds or bodies -- or they are parked in front of the TV. Sitting in front of the TV isn't sitting -- it's watching.
People used to sit a whole lot. You would walk down the street or drive down the road, and there they would be, out on the doorsteps, sitting. You could go to the grocery to buy some garlic or some fruits and vegetables and sit on the bench out front m the summer or around the fire in the winter. You could go down to the store to buy an outer garment, an electric grill or anything else. There were sitting benches out in the town square. At the garage, there were straight-backed chairs. There among the oilcans and tires and spare parts, you could kick back and sit.
Houses used to have sitting rooms, where the grown-ups would go after Sunday dinner. Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Aunt Ruby would gather round, sit and digest (消化) the fried chicken and talk about Aunt Ethel’s illness, and how well the minister did today. They may just talk a load of garbage and even gesture with their hands when they become excited. Outside, the younger generation, the children would play on the ground, and the afternoon would pass by in a comfortable haze（ 悠闲的氛围).
That sort of thing looks like doing nothing. A recharging battery (正充电的电池) doesn't look as if it's doing anything either. Sitting restores your soul. If you want to enjoy a truly full life, don't just do something--sit there.
1.What message does the author try to get through to us?
A. People should make better use of their sitting room.
B. People should spend less time watching TV.
C. People should pass down their good habits.
D. People should take things easy for their own good.
2.We can learn from the second paragraph that__________.
A. people lived a more restful life in the past
B. towns were built to make living convenient
C. small town garages had a lot to offer
D. people enjoyed going out for a drive
3.The sitting room mentioned in the text used to be a place for___________.
A. eating food B. watching TV
C. gathering together D. playing with children
4.From the text we know the writer believes____________.
A. sitting has a good spiritual effect
B. sitting helps people remember the past
C. a sitting room may have different purposes
D. a sitting room is important for the old
The Cost of Higher Education
Individuals (个人) should pay for their higher education.
In general, a university education is of huge and direct benefit to the individual. Whether they are majoring in geography, geometry or any other subject, graduates earn more than non-graduates. Meanwhile, social mobility is ever more dependent on having a degree. However, only some people have it. So the individual, not the taxpayers should pay for it. There are pressing calls on the resources (资源) of the government. Using taxpayers' money to help small number of people to earn high incomes in the future is not one of them.
Full government funding (资助) is not very good for universities. Adam Smith worked in a Scottish university whose teachers lived off student fees. He knew and looked down upon 18th-century Oxford, the grand university having much glory, where the academics lived comfortably off the income received from the government. Guaranteed salaries, Smith argued, were the enemy of hard work and when the academics were lazy and incompetent, the students grew similarly lazy in a gradual way.
If students have to pay for their education, I guess they not only work harder, but also demand more from their teachers and have a better grasp of the subjects. And their teachers have to keep them satisfied. If that means taking teaching seriously, and giving less time to their own research interests, that is surely something to celebrate.
Many people believe that higher education should be free because it is good for the economy (经济). Many graduates clearly do contribute to national wealth, but so do all the businesses that invest (投资) and create jobs. If you believe that the government should be generous enough to pay for higher education because graduates are economically productive, you should also believe that the government should pay part of business costs. Anyone promising to create jobs should receive a gift of capital（资金） from the government to invest.
Therefore, it is the individual, not the government who should pay for their university education.
1.The underlined word “them” in Paragraph 2 refers to .
A. taxpayers B. pressing calls
C. college graduates D. government resources
2.The author thinks that with full government funding ___________.
A. teachers are less satisfied
B. students are more demanding
C. students will become more competent
D. teachers will spend less time on teaching
3.The author mentions businesses in Paragraph 5 in order to_____________.
A. argue against free university education
B. call on them to finance students' studies
C. encourage graduates to go into business
D. show their contribution to higher education
