Attitude is an internal state that influences the choices of personal action made by the individual. Some researchers consider that attitudes come from differences between beliefs and ideas; others believe that attitudes come from emotional states. Here, we focus on the effects of attitudes upon behavior, that is, upon the choices of action made by the individual.
The kinds of actions taken by human beings are obviously influenced greatly by attitudes. Whether one listens to classical music or rock, whether one obeys the speed limit while driving, whether one encourages one’s husband or wife to express his or her own ideas—all are influenced by attitudes. These internal states are acquired throughout life from situations one is faced with in the home, in the streets, and in the school.
Of course, the course of action chosen by an individual in any situation will be largely determined by the particulars of that situation. An individual who has a strong attitude of obeying laws may drive too fast when he is in a hurry and no police cars in sight. A child who has a strong attitude of honesty may steal a penny when she thinks no one will notice. But the internal state which remains unchanged over a period of time, and which makes the individual behave regularly in a variety of situations, is what is meant by an attitude.
Attitudes are learned in a variety of ways. They can result from single incidents, as when an attitude toward snakes is acquired by an experience in childhood at the sudden movement of a snake. They can result from the individual’s experiences of success and pleasure, as when someone acquires a positive attitude toward doing crossword puzzles by being able to complete some of them. And frequently, they are learned by copying other people’s behavior, as when a child learns how to behave toward foreigners by observing the actions of his parents. Regardless of these differences, there is something in common in the learning and modification（修正）of attitudes.
1. According to the passage, attitudes _________.
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A．come from different situations in one’s life |
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B．are largely affected by one’s behavior |
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C．remain unchanged in one’s daily life |
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D．could be chosen according to one’s will |
2.The author uses the examples in Paragraph 3 to show _________.
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A．people often make mistakes when they are not noticed |
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B．people with good attitudes may sometimes do bad deeds |
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C．particulars of a situation may influence an individual’s action |
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D．an individual may change his or her attitude fairly easily |
3.Which of the following is TRUE about the learning of attitudes?
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A．Attitudes are only learned through one’s success. |
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B．Attitudes learned in danger will last longer. |
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C．Copying others behavior is not a good idea. |
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D．Attitudes can be learned from one’s parents. |
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
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A．Differences of Attitudes. |
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B．Nature of Attitude. |
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C．Choices of Attitudes. |
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D．Modification of Attitude. |
As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is.”
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings. Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”
1.The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.
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A．show the relationship between parents and children |
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B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table |
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C．report on the findings of a study |
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D．give information about family problems |
2.Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because _________.
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A．they are busy serving food to their children |
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B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table |
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C．they have to pay more attention to younger children |
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D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family |
3.By saying “Middle children are invisible” in paragraph 3, Lewis means that middle children _________.
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A．have to help their parents to serve dinner |
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B．get the least attention from the family |
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C．are often kept away from the dinner table |
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D．find it hard to keep up with other children |
4.Lewis’ research provides an answer to the question _________.
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A．why TV is important in family life |
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B．why parents should keep good order |
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C．why children in small families seem to be quieter |
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D．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life |
While income worry is a rather common problem of the aged, loneliness is another problem that aged parents may face. Of all the reasons that explain their loneliness, a large geographical distance between parents and their children is the major one. This phenomenon is commonly known as “Empty Nest Syndrome”（空巢综合症）.
In order to seek better chances outside their countries, many young people have gone abroad, leaving their parents behind with no clear idea of when they will return home. Their parents spend countless lonely days and nights, taking care of themselves, in the hope that someday their children will come back to stay with them. The fact that most of these young people have gone to Europeanized or Americanized societies makes it unlikely that they will hold as tightly to the value of duty as they would have if they had not left their countries. Whatever the case, it has been noted that the values they hold do not necessarily match what they actually do. This geographical and cultural distance also prevents the grown-up children from providing response in time for their aged parents living by themselves.
The situation in which grown-up children live far away from their aged parents has been described as “distant parent phenomenon”, which is common both in developed countries and in developing countries. Our society has not yet been well prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome”.
1.According to the passage, the loneliness of aged parents is mainly caused by _________.
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A．their earlier experience of feeling lonely |
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B．the unfavorable living conditions in their native countries |
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C．the common worry about their income |
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D．the geographical distance between parents and children |
2.Many young people have gone abroad, leaving their aged parents behind, to _________.
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A．live in the countries with more money |
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B．seek a better place for their aged parents |
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C．continue their studies abroad |
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D．realize their dreams in foreign countries |
3.If young people go abroad, _________.
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A．they do not hold to the value of duty at all |
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B．they can give some help to their parents back home |
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C．they cannot do what they should for their parents |
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D．they believe what they actually do is right |
4.From the last paragraph, we can infer that _________.
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A．the situations in the developed and developing countries are different |
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B．“Empty Nest Syndrome” has arrived unexpectedly in our society |
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C．children will become independent as soon as they go abroad |
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D．the aged parents are not fully prepared for “Empty Nest Syndrome” |
We may look at the world around us, but somehow we manage not to see it until whatever we’ve become used to suddenly disappears. 36 , for example, the neatly-dressed woman I 37 to see—or look at—on my way to work each morning.
For three years, no matter 38 the weather was like, she was always waiting at the bus stop around 8:00 am. On 39 days, she wore heavy clothes and a pair of woolen gloves. Summertime 40 out neat, belted cotton dresses and a hat pulled low over her sunglasses. 41 , she was an ordinary working woman. Of course, I 42 all this only after she was seen no more. It was then that I realized how 43 I expected to see her each morning. You might say I 44 her.
“Did she have an accident? Something 45 ?” I thought to myself about her 46 . Now that she was gone, I felt I had 47 her. I began to realize that part of our 48 life probably includes such chance meetings with familiar 49 : the milkman you see at dawn, the woman who 50 walks her dog along the street every morning, the twin brothers you see at the library. Such people are 51 markers in our lives. They add weight to our 52 of place and belonging.
Think about it. 53 , while walking to work, we mark where we are by 54 a certain building, why should we not mark where we are when we pass a familiar, though 55 , person?
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20.A unnamed B. unforgettable C. unbelievable D. unreal
—Your sister nearly _________ all her spare time to her study during the three years.
—That’s right, or she _________ the first place in her school in the College Entrance Examination.
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A．devoted; wouldn’t have taken |
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B．spent; wouldn’t have taken |
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C．hadn’t devoted; hadn’t taken |
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D．hadn’t spent; couldn’t take |
—I paid him 200 yuan for the sneakers.
—Oh, he charged you too much. You _________ them with half the money.
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A．could have bought |
B．needn’t have bought |
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C．must have bought |
D．wouldn’t have bought |
