Argument for awards
It’s always exciting every year in October when the Nobel Prizes are announced. We get to witness the acknowledgement (表彰) of some of humankind’s greatest minds in six fields – literature (文学), medicine, physics, chemistry, economics and activism for peace.
This year, however, part of the excitement will be taken away, since there won’t be a Nobel Prize in literature due to the fact that the Swedish Academy – the institution (机构) that awards the prize – was involved in a sexual harassment scandal.
People worry that a scandal like this will affect the reputation of the Nobel Prizes. But at the same time, we have to ask ourselves whether we really need these awards after all.
According to Jana Gallus, an economist from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, one of the reasons that people give out awards is to establish a legacy (遗产). In the case of the Nobel Prizes, they encourage people to achieve more by acknowledging the hard work of top figures in different fields.
Awards may also help establish standards of what’s considered high quality. For example, if you’re having a hard time deciding which movie to watch, one of them having an Oscar under its belt will probably help you to make your mind up. And by reading the books that have won The Man Booker Prize or listening to songs that have been awarded a Grammy, you get an idea about what “great” literature and music look and sound like – at least in the eyes of judging panels (评审团).
Sure, awards can backfire. There was the OscarsSoWhite movement in 2015 and 2016, when it turned out that all 20 actors nominated (提名) for two years in a row were white. There was also the GrammysSoMale movement in January, when Alessia Cara was the only woman to win a solo Grammy this year. But still, it was these incidents that brought the problems of racism (种族歧视) and gender (性别) inequality into the public eye once more. And with influential voices – like that of black actor Will Smith, who refused to attend the Oscars ceremony – the problems became more likely to be noticed and dealt with instead of being buried silently, again.
Maybe these awards do matter, and we do need them – just not while they are under the shadow of a sexual harassment scandal.
So when it comes to this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature, I’m going to have to say: “No, thanks.”
BY CHEN XUE, 21ST CENTURY TEENS STAFF
1.What does Jana Gallus think is one purpose of giving out awards?
A. To honor important figures in history.
B. To pass down a long-established tradition.
C. To draw attention to social problems.
D. To encourage people to make achievements.
2.Some famous awards are mentioned in Paragraph 5 to ______.
A. give advice on how to choose movies, books and songs
B. show how something with an award can be a sign of quality
C. show how awards are related to people’s daily life
D. point out that judging panels are sometimes wrong
3.The underlined word “backfire” in Paragraph 6 probably means ______.
A. go to the wrong person B. fail to be given out
C. have an unwanted result D. receive wide recognition
4.What’s the author’s attitude toward the canceling of this year’s Nobel Prize in Literature?
A. Supportive. B. Doubtful.
C. Disappointed. D. Unconcerned.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
I went up to the roof for a break after studying for an hour and watched the 50 or so people swimming in the natural rock pool below our house. It was a sunny day-a blue, cloudless sky over a calm sea. But then, as I looked in the distance, I discovered a series of three or four big waves heading towards the shore. I'd seen these mini- tsunamis(海啸) many times before. They were heading at speed in the direction of the pool. Most people knew how to look out for them, but from the screams that started coming from the beach, I could tell someone was in trouble.
Without thinking, I ran down into the street, holding my body board(俯伏冲浪板) on the way and shouted at a stranger to go inside my house and call the coastguard. My neighbor Moises had heard the screaming as well and was also outside with his body board, so together we rushed to the steps that led down to the sea.
Once we got closer, we discovered the waves had pulled a boy and a girl from the pool and into the open sea. I knew that the nearest boat would take at least 30 minutes to reach us. Waiting for help wasn't a choice. I wasn't used to this sort of emergency- I’d never been trained as a lifeguard-but I didn't think twice about trying to save them. I supposed in a way I wanted to impress everyone: at 19, a deal like that can seem like a good opportunity to show off.
Moises and I dived into the water and it took us 10 minutes to get to them. When we finally reached them, they were almost lifeless with only their heads coming in and out of the water. We could tell they were still alive from their small breaths but it was clear they wouldn't have been able to stay there much longer. I hold the boy and pulled him over my board. Moises moved the girl on to his board. We discussed pushing them back to the shore, but we were too far out.
We had to wait,
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That night, word came from the hospital that the two people were in good condition.
注意：
1.所续写的短文词数应为150左右；
2.至少使用5个短文中标有下划线的关键词语；
3.续写部分分为两段，每段的开头语已为你写好；
4.续写完成后，请用下划线标出你所使用的关键词语。
假如你是校学生会主席李华。高中生面临着很大的升学压力，你看到周围很多同学课间十分钟也在教室学习，但是效率和成绩并不理想。因此你想在周一晨会时做个简短的演讲，告诉全校同学们适当休息很有必要。请你以“A Ten-minute Break”为题写一篇演讲发言稿。
注意：
1.词数80左右。
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
A Ten-minute Break
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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。
Have you ever wondered1.children always seem to have bags of energy and never run out of steam? Researchers have discovered that children have the levels of recovery of endurance athletes. In fact, scientists say children's muscles recover from "high-intensity exercise" a lot2.(quick) than athletes. A study looked at the performance levels of children when they were cycling, and compared their fitness to 3.of athletes. Researcher Dr Sebastien Ratel suggested they 4. (find) the children used more of their aerobic metabolism and were therefore less tired during the high-intensity physical activities. The children also recovered very quickly-even faster than the well-trained adult endurance athletes.
The researchers hope that5.(they) findings will help scientists have a better6.(understand) how the human body changes with age. It could lead to advances in the fight 7. diabetes and other diseases. Dr Ratel said the research was8.(particular) important as more children were become less active. He warned: "With the diseases related to physical inactivity9.(rise), know the changes with growth that might contribute to the risk of disease. "10.is helpful for children to maintain their fitness as they grow up and play as much as they could so they remain healthy as adults.
I was appointed to tend to this patient several weeks ago and began to grow closer to her. Communicating with her was____because everything she wanted to say to me had to be written on a notepad. As a nursing graduate, I was able to____her mind by observing even a slight ____ in a patient's facial expression.
One day, when I was checking the patient, she____me on the shoulder to show me a note, "Do you think I could be let go____the hospital in a month to see my niece get married?" Taking her hand in mine, I told her that I could not____her, because I did not want to leave her a____sense of hope. _____, I made her believe that I would be there with her every step of the way on her journey toward_____ Hearing that, the patient gave me a ___and a hug.
Day by day, 1 built her____by walking around the floor with her. As I did this, I could see before my own eyes that her health was____improving and able to walk more steadily. On her last day in hospital, just before her niece's ___, she wrote me one last note, "I couldn't have done this____you; I love you." After kissing goodbye, I had a strong sense of achievement. I realized that moments like this were
___I woke up early for_____ in the hospital and spent long hours with her. I truly felt, and her____confirmed, that I was an___ part of this woman's recovery. My experience with this patient shows me that this career allows me to touch the____of people in ways that people in other____will never get to experience.
1.A. difficult B. funny C. simple D. interesting
2.A. see B. know C. read D. feel
3.A. worry B. change C. pain D. excitement
4.A. tapped B. hit C. knocked D. struck
5.A. of B. to C. in D. from
6.A. disappoint B. promise C. comfort D. trust
7.A. false B. strong C. right D. good
8.A. Therefore B. Besides C. However D. Furthermore
9.A. death B. success C. destination D. recovery
10.A. surprise B. stare C. smile D. whistle
11.A. future B. strength C. habit D. awareness
12.A. slowly B. completely C. rapidly D. finally
13.A. presence B. visit C. wedding D. presentation
14.A. without B. behind C. except D. beside
15.A. what B. why C. when D. how
16.A. work B. school C. office D. exercise
17.A. expression B. note C. feeling D. treatment
18.A. irrelevant B. insignificant C. instructive D. important
19.A. fortunes B. shoulders C. lives D. tears
20.A. hospitals B. areas C. lands D. fields
Parents often say that they don't mind what their children do in life just as long as they are happy. Happiness and pleasure are almost universally seen as among the most precious human goods.1.
Philosopher Jeremy Bentham believed that all sources of pleasure are of equal quality, but John Stuart Mill disagreed. Mill argued for a difference between higher and lower pleasure.2.Lower pleasure, in contrast, requires mere (仅仅的；纯粹的) senses.
The entire debate assumes a clear divide between the physical and the mental.3.What will it mean for our ideas about pleasure?
4.Food is usually considered to be the lower pleasure. All animals eat, using the senses of smell and taste. It doesn't require any complex cognition (认知) to conclude that something is delicious. However, these people failed to appreciate something that the French food writer Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin captured. That is, "Animals feed; man eats; only the man of intellect(才智) knows how to eat."
Eating shows that the difference between higher pleasure and lower pleasure is not what you enjoy but how you enjoy it.5.Preparing it using the powers of reflection and attention turns it into a higher pleasure.
A. The dining table is a good place to start.
B. Wolfing down your food is a lower kind of pleasure.
C. What's the real difference between high and low pleasure?
D. What happens if the physical and the mental cannot be separated?
E. All philosophers believed that cookery could never be a form of art.
F. Higher pleasure depends on human abilities such as self-awareness or language use.
G. However, disagreements will be caused about whether some forms of pleasure are better than others.
