Differences in time zones complicate international phone calls. But even more important are different concepts of time and approaches to time in different cultures.
People from the USA as well as other North Americans believe “Time is money”. This value of time is rooted in their ancestors. Early in the 17th century, their ancestors arrived on the Atlantic coast, a new, undeveloped land. To survive in the tough environment, they had to struggle day and night. Time meant so much to them that they had not even one second to waste. After decades of struggle, they developed the value of efficient use of time and passed it down. Thus far, the Americans are still eager to finish things quickly and are impatient with too reflective(深思熟虑的) people.
In some countries, the American work style of speeding everything up will have no significance. In the Arab East, the more important you are, the faster service you get. Close relatives take absolute priority; non-relatives are kept waiting. In the Middle East, a deadline, which is often established to show the degree of urgency or importance of work, will do nothing but stop the Middle Easterners from working, because they consider it rude and overly demanding.
Another aspect reflecting different concepts of time is the classification of monochronic-time and polychronic-time by Edward T Hall. People from monchronic(共时性的) cultures, such as the Germans, the Austrians, the Swiss and the Americans, do only one important thing at a time. In polychromic(多元时间模式的) cultures, people such as Arab, Asians and Latin Americans take an entirely opposite approach. They do several things at once. Time commitments, e.g. deadlines, schedules, are taken rather casually and changed often and easily. Miscommuication will arise when people from two cultures contact. Charlies Hawkins, a U.S. teacher, told me that many a time his appointments with Indians were interrupted constantly, not only by private phone calls, but also by long conversations with other people and even the neighbor’s children, which displeased and even annoyed him.
1.Why did the ancestors of the North Americans believe “Time is money”?
A. They had to work efficiently to survive. B. They got the idea from their past generations.
C. They didn’t like to deal with reflective people. D. They formed the habit of finishing work ahead of time.
2.What can be concluded from Paragraph 3?
A. Deadlines will make American people angry.
B. In the Arab East, you’d better speed everything up.
C. Middle Easterners can’t deal with demanding work.
D. People from the Arab East attach importance to relationship.
3.What can we learn about people from monochronic cultures?
A. They tend to interrupt others constantly.
B. They can’t tolerate lateness or interruptions.
C. They are more likely to change their schedules.
D. They like to schedule several activities at the same time.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. The importance of the diversity of culture
B. The relationship between efficiency and culture
C. Different time values in different cultures
D. Monochronic culture and polychronic culture
Disease spread in many ways. An infected person can cough or sneeze on someone nearby, or they can spread germs through a handshake. But sometimes we pick up germs indirectly. A sick person might leave behind bacteria or viruses when they touch a door handle, for example. But what if those surfaces could clean themselves?
Two teenagers from Hong Kong asked themselves the same question. Now they’ve developed a door handle that can kill germs on contact.
The idea is simple. Every time the door is opened, the movement creates power that starts a germ-killing reaction on the handle. In lab tests, their system killed about 99.8 percent of the germs that they spread onto lab dishes covered with their material.
Research by others has shown that door handles in public areas are often home to lots of bacteria and viruses, notes 17-year-old Sum Ming(“Simon”）Wong. He and schoolmate Kin Pong ( Michael ) Li, 18, wanted to design a covering for door handles that would kill germs.
After doing some research, they learned that a mineral called titanium dioxide(二氧化钛）is known to kill bacteria. It’s already used in many products, from paints to desserts. To make their covering, the teenagers made the mineral into a very fine powder.
Titanium dioxide kills bacteria best when lit by ultraviolet(紫外线的）light, says Simon. UV light is found in sunlight. But UV light does not naturally shine on indoor handles or any used at night, so the teenagers light their door handle from within.
To make sure the light reaches the coated surface, the teenagers made their door handle out of clear glass, Each end fits into a bracket (托架).Inside one of the brackets is a strong light-emitting diode(LED). From it comes UV light.
And here’s the interesting part: The power that makes the UV light shine comes from opening and closing the door. The power from the door is then carried by wire to the LED inside the door handle.
The door handle system, Michael and Simon say, might cost no more than about $13 (about 81 yuan) to build.
1.The ways diseases spread are mentioned at the beginning of the text to .
A.demonstrate how most diseases are spread indirectly
B.remind readers of the importance of cleaning their hands
C.explain how to kill bacteria or viruses effectively
D.help to describe a new invention that prevents diseases from spreading
2.Michael and Simon’s door handle .
A.is too expensive for ordinary families
B.is powered by the movement of its users
C.works better at night than in the daytime
D.is made of a metal that can take in UV light
3.The LED is placed inside the brackets to .
A.supply enough power to the handle system
B.produce titanium dioxide to kill bacteria
C.provide UV light to help titanium dioxide work better
D.direct the UV light in sunlight to the coated surface
4.What is the author's attitude toward Michael and Simon s door handle system?
A.Cautious B.Critical
C.Enthusiastic D.Disappointed
Pamela Simpson is 53,“not sporty” and has suffered from asthma(哮喘) all her life. Two years ago her son Jay-Teale, now 10, took up BMX(自行车越野赛).“I enjoyed watching him and thought I'd like to try it,” Simpson recalls. “But I didn't want to embarrass myself. I hadn't ridden for over 40 years.”
Then she noticed a session for women and girls at Burgess Park BMX Track in Peckham, south-east London, where Jay-Teale trained. This season Simpson raced at the London BMX series and finished third in her category.
“It was the most worrying experience of my life. But it was also exhilarating,” she says cheerfully. “My son is proud of me. We now share a real love for the sport. It has brought us closer together.”
Since becoming part of the Olympic Games in 2008, the popularity of BMX has risen. A program introduced in London in 2011 by the sports development charity Access Sport has seen tracks built in several London regions, backed up with investment in coaching, and the program is being rolled out to Bristol.
Mavolwane Wright's children Skye,11 and Xander,10 are sponsored riders who have represented Great Britain in every world championship since 2014. Mavolwane Wright says she was motivated to start BMX herself out of an interest aroused by watching so much of it. “It's an eye-opener to share your children's interests,” she explains. “You comprehend what they go through in a much more direct way. It adds another dimension to your relationship.”
It is also a high-impact sport and the risks are fairly obvious. “I totally get the fear,” says Emma Budgens, 51, a BMX exercise coach and cycling instructor. “It's the fear of doing something new, of getting hurt. But I say, ‘Come and give it a try.’ The chance of having an accident is slim, and you can spend time on the flat to improve your confidence.”
1.What can we learn about Pamela Simpson from the first two paragraphs?
A.She tended to be inactive. B.She performed poorly in the race.
C.She used to feel awkward in public. D.She trained at Burgess Park BMX Track.
2.What does the underlined word “exhilarating” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.Annoying. B.Inspiring.
C.Thrilling. D.Challenging.
3.What benefit did Simpson and Wright get from BMX?
A.More life skills. B.Stronger will.
C.More confidence in themselves. D.Better parent-child relationships.
4.What does Emma Budgens think of BMX?
A.Risky but actually secure. B.Demanding but open to all.
C.Competitive but instructive. D.Pleasant but time-consuming.
The most famous war movies reflect the American public's continuous fascination with World War II and the Vietnam War. Many movies of this kind have been well-received when they were first shown, but few of them have enjoyed lasting fame and popularity. The films on the list of the five most famous war movies still remain fresh and are popular among many people.
The Longest Day An all-star cast recreates D-Day and the Normandy attack, the greatest landing and aerial(空中的) invasion in history. This is probably the most famous war movie because of the large number of big stars who have roles in the film. |
Apocalypse Now This is a famous war movie because of its description of the Vietnam War and excellent performance from Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall. The film, full of memorable scenes and quotes, is widely viewed as a masterpiece of movie making. |
The Dirty Dozen Lee Marvin, playing an officer who thinks and acts independently, is appointed to train twelve prisoners, most of whom have been sentenced to death, to go on a suicide mission to kill several Nazi generals. If any of the men makes it back, they may get a pardon. This is one of the most popular war movies ever made. |
Platoon This famous war movie is the fictional account of a platoon(排) in Vietnam that is divided into two competing groups. The plot is partly based on the director Oliver Stone's real life experience. |
Midway This is probably the most famous war movie ever made about navy. It's based on the battle between Japanese and American aircraft carrier groups near Hawaii in World War II that resulted in a decisive American victory. |
1.What are the most important themes of the movies mentioned above?
A. World War II and the Vietnam War.
B. Competitions in the Vietnam War.
C. Fights between Nazi generals and soldiers.
D. D-Day landing and the Normandy attack.
2.The text is meant to ________.
A. describe five most famous movie posters
B. choose the best war movie among the five
C. introduce five masterpieces of American films
D. celebrate the success of the five American films
3.What can we infer from the underlined sentence?
A. The prisoners will be punished if they fail.
B. The prisoners might be willing to have a try.
C. The prisoners might be scared and run away.
D. The prisoners have to take Nazi generals back.
In our modern world, when something wears out, we throw it away and buy a new one. The _________ is that countries around the world have growing mountains of _________ because people are throwing out more rubbish than ever before.
How did we _________ a throwaway society? First of all, it is now easier to _________ an object than to spend time and money to repair it. _________ modern manufacturing and technology, companies are able to produce products quickly and inexpensively. Products are plentiful and _________.
Another cause is our _________ of disposable（一次性的）products. As _________ people, we are always looking for _________ to save time and make our lives easier. Companies __________ thousands of different kinds of disposable products: paper plates, plastic cups, and tissues, to name a few.
Our appetite（胃口）for new products also __________ to the problem. We are __________ buying new things. Advertisements persuade us that __________ is better and that we will be happier with the latest products. The result is that we __________ useful possessions to make room for new ones.
All around the world, we can see the __________ of this throwaway lifestyle. Mountains of rubbish just keep getting bigger. To __________ the amount of rubbish and to protect the __________, more governments are requiring people to recycle materials. __________, this is not enough to solve our problem.
Maybe there is another way out. We need to repair our possessions __________ throwing them away. We also need to rethink cur attitudes about __________. Repairing our possessions and changing our spending habits may be the best ways to reduce the amount of rubbish and take care of our environment.
1.A.key B.problem C.project D.reason
2.A.debt B.gifts C.products D.rubbish
3.A.become B.change C.face D.observe
4.A.control B.hide C.replace D.withdraw
5.A.As to B.Except C.Regardless of D.Thanks to
6.A.cheap B.funny C.powerful D.safe
7.A.division B.lack C.love D.prevention
8.A.brave B.busy C.kind D.sensitive
9.A.friends B.jobs C.places D.ways
10.A.donate B.preserve C.produce D.receive
11.A.adapts B.contributes C.responds D.returns
12.A.ashamed for B.addicted to C.tired of D.worried about
13.A.higher B.larger C.newer D.stronger
14.A.hold onto B.pay for C.pick up D.throw away
15.A.advantages B.consequences C.functions D.purposes
16.A.decrease B.measure C.record D.show
17.A.brands B.consumers C.environment D.technology
18.A.However B.Meanwhile C.Otherwise D.Therefore
19.A.in favor of B.instead of C.or rather D.other than
20.A.advertising B.collecting C.repairing D.spending
假定你是李华，从互联网上得知一个国际中学生组织将在绵阳举办夏令营， 很多外国学生都会来参加。请写一封电子邮件申请参加。内容要点如下:
1.自我介绍(包括英语能力)；
2.参加意图(介绍家乡、了解其他国家)；
3.希望获准。
注意: 1.词数100左右；
2.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯；
3.邮件开头和结尾已为你写好。
Dear Sir or Madam,
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your reply!
Regards,
Li Hua
