Ok, I admit it: Emoticons(表情符号) are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.
Some, however, such as editor and Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, blast the use of emotions as “ infantile(幼稚的) just like the people who use them”. He believes that words themselves should be enough. “If you’re being funny, happy or sad, that should be apparent from the comment that goes before the emoticons,” he argues.
In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender issue. “Men don’t use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all.,” he said. “Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there’s an emoticons gene.”
It’s an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed “to seek out representations of humanity”. He believes that they appeal not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they tap into（输入）something beyond language. They reach to our need to be with and communicate with people.
All of these arguments may be somehow valid（正确的）. Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I do not have much time for emoticons. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing into a primary school class that I had no place being in. I’d rather let my words do the talking.
Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this, I don’t regard any of my friends as lazy or immature. It’s just a question of individuality.
1.According to the article, emoticons are popular because_________.
A. most of them look funny
B. they are easy for lazy people to use
C. they add feeling and character to a communication
D. a reader cannot understand a message without them
2. Which of the following views would John Blumenthal agree with ?
A. Instant Message chatters are childish.
B. It’s enough to use language in digital communication.
C. Men never use emoticons.
D. There is an emoticon gene in everybody.
3.From the text, we can conclude that the author________.
A. feels he has no difficulty using emoticons
B. thinks emoticons don’t suit him
C. encourage his friends to use emoticons
D. believes that emoticons are suitable for everyone
4.What is the main point of the article ?
A. Advice on language used over the Internet.
B. The history of emoticons.
C. Arguments over the use of emoticons.
D. Reasons for the popularity of emoticons.
It was so cold that I couldn’t feel my legs. There was going to be a racing contest that night so I was 36 my horse, Skippy, up. I was simply running laps(跑道的圈) around the ring. The 37 cold air had been blowing past me, freezing my limbs, but every second I 38 it. You could hear the faint 39 of the people up at the clubhouse eating their dinner. My parents were also there, not knowing that my little sister had slowly wandered her way down to the ring. It was 40 because there was no moon or stars. Nobody else was in the ring at the time. I was really enjoying the 41 and I was able to 42 what Skippy was doing. As I took my last lap it 43 . Everything rapidly slowed down as I saw my little sister step 44 the ring. I saw true fear on her face because she knew she wouldn’t be 45 to move out of the way fast enough. She knew that she was going to get hit. She tried to 46 but nothing came out of her fear-dried throat. When my horse got to her, he was still in a full out run. 47 , miraculously(奇迹般地), he slid so hard on his back feet that he 48 . It really made the 49 seem absolutely unreal. I thought that maybe I was 50 . I had 51 in my mind that I wasn’t seeing what was happening. I knew I had hit my sister. There was no way I could have 52 her. My horse was rising straight up and while he was in the air I couldn’t breathe. It’s like I forgot 53 . As all of this happened I watched my sister’s face transform (变形) through many different 54 : terror, confusion, curiosity, and then a sort of relief. Then she was laughing.
As I held my sister into my arms, Skippy stood right behind me knowing that I actually owed him my life 55 he saved my sister’s.
1.A. picking B. warming C. catching D. setting
2.A. bitterly B. hardly C. gently D. perfectly
3.A. challenged B. witnessed C. enjoyed D. hated
4.A. ceremony B. tradition C. victory D. laughter
5.A. windy B. bright C. dark D. cloudy
6.A. quiet B. quality C. impression D. significance
7.A. rely on B. focus on C. insist on D. put on
8.A. let out B. held onC. participated in D. took place
9.A. close to B. out of C. into D. towards
10.A. able B. frightened C. content D. proud
11.A. evaluate B. worry C. scream D. escape
12.A. Accidentally B. NormallyC. Generally D. Somehow
13.A. sped up B. rose up C. broke down D. wore out
14.A. moment B. contest C. comment D. technique
15.A. advancing B. breathing C. concluding D. dreaming
16.A. that B. none C. neither D. it
17.A. hit B. recognized C. missed D. acknowledged
18.A. how B. what C. when D. why
19.A. actions B. emotions C. attitudes D. thoughts
20.A. if B. because C. as if D. so that
--- Did you go for the Shanghai Expo?
---- I _____ to, but I decided to stay with my sick mother at the last minute.
A. would intend B. have intended C. had intended D. intended
With so much noise of the traffic, I couldn’t ____ and do my research work.
A. put down B. settle down C. break down D. take down
Zhang Yinying has trained continuously for six hours. ______ that she is tired out.
A. There is no wonder B. There is no chance C. It is no wonder D. It’s no doubt
I wonder ______ that my children have picked up such words.
A. that it is B. where is it C. where it is D. it is where
