The 1980s was called the “Me Decade” because for many this time was marked by a fascination with the self. The idea that each person has a self may seem natuaral to us, but this concept is actually quite new. The idea that each human life is unique developed between the 11th and 15th centuries in Europe. Before that time, individuals were considered in relation to a group, and even today, many eastern cultures place more emphasis on the importance of a collective self than on a unique and independent self.
Both eastern and western cultures see the self as divided into an inner, private self and an outer, public self. But where they differ is in terms of which part is seen as the“real you.” Western culture tends to promote the idea of individuality—a self that is separated from other selves. In contrast, many eastern cultures focus on an inter-independent self that gets its diversity in large part from inter-relationship with others.
For example, a Confucian(孔子) idea stresses the importance of “face”—other people’s views of the self and maintaining one’s desired status in their eyes. In the past, some Asian cultures developed clear rules about the specific clothes and even colors that people in certain social classes and occupations were allowed to display, and these live on today in Japanese style manuals. This style of dress is at odds with such western practices as “casual Fridays,” which encourage employees to dress informally and express their unique selves.
1. Which is true about the self according to the text?
A. Many eastern cultures see the self connected with others.
B. Those born in the 1980s are generally most self-centered than others.
C. The concept that eac person has a self may seem strange to eastern cultures
D. Western cultures regard the self as an outer, public self while eastern cultures don’t.
2. What does the 2nd paragraph mainly talk about?
A. How eastern and western cultures see the self.
B. Eastern cultures contrast sharply with western cultures
C. Both eastern and western cultures appreciate the importance of self
D. Eastern cultures are as important as western cultures
3. A Japanese dress code is mentioned in the last paragraph to _________.
A. explain the importance of “face”
B. say how traditional the Japanese are
C. emphasize the importance of eastern cultures
D. show how eastern cultures see the self in relation to others
4. The underlined phrase “at odds with” most probably means_______.
A. in agreement with B. in disagreement with
C. in comparison with D. in need of
Do you now who Stefani Germanotta is? Perhaps not, but you’ll almost certainly know the star called Lady Gaga, a 24-year-old American famous for her cutting edge pop videos and strange fashion sense. She was the biggest winner at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Madrid on November 7, 2010. Her awards included the best female artist and the best song.
Her popularity doesn’t end there. The BBC reports that the University of South Carolina has a sociology course about the life, work and rise to fame of Lady Gaga. The course is due to start in spring 2011. “We’re going to look at Lady Gaga as a social event,” said professor Mathieu, who will teach Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame.
Germanotta, in fact, is a college student. She learned to play the piano by age 4. At age 17, she was one of the only 20 young people to get early admission to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, the famous music school. Yet after her second semester, she took a big risk—she decided to quit and concentrate on a music career. But hwo did she manage to go from nowhere to supar star in just two years?
She may well have had a plan for the top. She created “The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Show” with another artist. It was the first of many strange images. The pair gained enough attention to get a spot at a famous music festival in Chicago. Later, a record company signed Germanotta.
While Lady Gaga enjoys popularity, there are critics accusing her of regularly using rude language in her lyrics(歌词) and wearing overly sexy clothing.
1. According to the article, Lady Gaga is famous for _______.
A. her fashion shows B. her strange images
C. her talents in university D. her winning awards
2. Which of the following is the correct order for the stages of Gaga’s career?
|
a. She appeared in a music festival in Chicago b. She won the award—the best female c. She decided to quit school d. She created a show with another artist e. She was signed by a record company f. Her success has become a university course |
A. b—f—c—a—d—e B. b—f—c—d—a—e
C. c—d—a—e—b—f D. c—d—a—e—f—b
3.The main reason why Lady Gaga could become famous is that ______.
A. she knew her dream of life B. she knew what she would do next
C. she learned music at a young age D. she ws brave enough to quit university
4. From this passage, we can infer that ________.
A. a good performance in university may lead to one’s success.
B. cooperation with other artists is important in becoming successful
C. Lady Gaga will become less famous because of her lyrics and clothing
D. Professor Mathieu believes that Lady Gaga’s success is worth studying
I sometimes wonder if old Finchley has the right personality to be a research scientist. He keeps asking when he’ll be coming back. After all, it was his own fault. Nobody tries out what has just been invented on themselves any more but Finchley. Well, he must have pumped about a thousand c. c. s into himself before I noticed he was clearly becoming smaller.
It was funny watching him, because his clothes remained the same in size. They simply piled up around him so that he looked like a small boy in his father’s clothes. But he kept getting smaller and smaller. As my colleague Dawson and I watched him, he disappeared! All we could see was Finchley’s clothes on the floor. They looked so strange, because the lab coat was on top, shirt and trousers inside and, I suppose, underclothes inside again. It gave me a strange feeling, and I think Dawson was a bit shaken, too.
Dawson was sitting on his chair in front of a microscope he’d been using to examine a family of mites(螨虫). He looked through the scope kind of absently again, and was nearly scared to lose awareness when he found old Finchley waving back from the other end.
It seems as if Finchley had taken a free ride on a dust mite and landed on the land of the mite family. Of course, we didn’t know till Finchley told us later. But anyhow, as I said, Dawson nearly passed out. He jumped off his chair and pointed at the microscope, to shocked to speak.
1.Finchley disappeared because ________.
A. he took something poisonous
B. he was changed into a dust mite
C. his father’s clothes totally covered him up
D. what he and his colleagues invented resulted in his disappearace
2. It frightened Dawson to see Finchley _______.
A. got into his scope by accident B. was waving through his telescope
C. suddenly got lost in his clothes D. gradually disappeared in the lab
3. It can be inferred that Finchley, Dawson and the writer have possibly invented _____.
A. some kind of medicine B. a new powerful microscope
C. a machine to make people small D. a new way to make a culture of mite
4. It can probably be concluded that Finchley ________.
A. passed out there and then B. is not fit to be a scientist
C. is a devoted scientist D. will remain tiny all the time
One of the most fascinating things about television is the size of the audience. A novel can be on the “best seller” lists with a sale of up to 100,000 copies, but a popular TV show might have 70
million TV viewers. TV can make anything or anyone well-known overnight.
This is the principle behind “quiz” or “game” shows, which put ordinary people on TV to play a game for prizes and money. A quiz show can make anyone a star, and it can give away thousands of dollars. Charles Van Doren, an English instructor, became rich and famous after winning money on several shows. He even had a career as a television personality. But one of the losers proved that Charles Van Doren was cheating. It turned out that the show’s producers, who were pulling the strings, gave the answers to the most popular contestants beforehand. Why? Because if the audience didn’t like the person who won the game, they turned the show off. The result of this cheating was a huge scandal(丑闻). Based on the show off, a movie titled “Quiz Show” is on 40 years later.
Charles Van Doren is no longer involved with TV. But game shows are still here, though they aren’t taken seriously. In fact, some of them try to be as ridiculous as possible. There are shows that send strangers on vacation trips together, or that try to cause newly-married couples to fight on TV, or that punish losers by humiliating(羞辱) them. The entertainment now is to see what people will do just to be on TV. People still win money, but the real prize is to be in front of an audience of millions.
1.What is the most important thing as to television?
A. How many viewers they can attract B. Becoming the best seller on the list
C. How much money can be given away D. The number of people attending shows
2.What does the underlined part “pulling the strings” probably mean?
A. Planning the shows with effort B. Drawing the curtain on the stage
C. Controlling the result secretly D. Playing “quiz” or “game” openly
3.Charles Van Doren stopped his career as a television personality because ________.
A. he had earned enough wealth and fame.
B. one of the participants had told the truth
C. the film “Quiz Show” was being shown
D. his frequent appearance had bored the audience
4. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. TV Game Shows are more popular than before.
B. the scandal was not made known until 40 years later
C. getting money is the only purpose of people taking part in shows
D. people can make themselves famous by taking part in shows
He met her at a party. She was so outstanding that many guys were chasing after her, while he was so ordinary. At the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee with him. She was surprised but due to being being polite, she promised.
They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, and she felt uncomfortable, too. Suddenly he asked the waiter, “Would you please give me some salt? I’d like to put it in my coffee.” Everybody stared at him. It was so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, “Why do you have this hobby?” He replied, “When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, my hometown, and my parents who are still living there.” While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. Then she also started to speak, speaking about her faraway hometown, her childhood, and her family.
That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their love. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who met all her demands. He had tolerance, kind-hearted, warm and careful. Thanks to his salty coffee! They married. And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that was the way he liked it. After 40 years, he passed away and left her a letter which said, “My dearest, please forgive my whole life’s lie. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead. I didn’t like the salty coffee then, what a strange bad taste! But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life, for it was prepared by you.”
1. The man was nervous at the coffee shop, because _______.
A. everybody stared at him at that time
B. many guys chased after the woman
C. he didn’t feel himself a match for the woman
D. he had the strange habit of drinking salty coffee
2. From this passage, we can infer that ________.
A. the man’s lie won the woman’s love
B. the man’s parents onced lived near the sea
C. the woman talked with the man, for they had the same experience
D. the woman realised what salty coffee had to do with a good man
3. What can be concluded about the man?
A. He had intended to give his wife a surprise at his death
B. He unwillingly developed a taste for salty coffee after marriage
C. He was so stubborn as to drink for a life what he didn’t like
D. He enjoyed his lifelong bitter salty coffee out of love
4. Which of the following could be the best title for this passage?
A. A Foolish Lie B. Salty Coffee
C. A Sad Love Story D. Love in a Coffee Shop
完型填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分, 满分30分)
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出可以填入空白处
的最佳选项，并在机读卡上将该选项涂黑。
There is a small shop about 200 meters from where I live that sells groceries, meat and other basic necessities. About 10 yearsa ago, there was a beggar who would go into the shop every day and ask the owner for a 21 . The owner, 22 he would love to help, simply didn’t have any jobs availabe, so he kept 23 the man’s office.
This situation continued 24 for a few months, until the owner 25 to give the homeless man a job which 26 sweeping outside the shop. Every single day form 5 a.m, the homeless man was there doing the very 27 he could for the 28 , making it the community’s favourite, even though it did earn him pennies. 29 , the owner saw how good a job the man was doing and gave him a job working 30 a cashier(收银员). He was watched closely to make sure that he didn’t 31 any of the money received from the sales. He was still homeless, after all. The homeless man did a/an 32 job as a cashier for over 2 years, and did such a good job that he was promoted to 33 the finances for the whole shop.
To my 34 , this was the arrangements up until 2 years ago, when the owner 35 . In his will, he only had one 36 , to give the whole shop to the now stable, “homeless” man. Now, I could walk into that shop and see him working as hard as 37 , with his own business that is still 38 and active 10 years after getting his job as a sweeper.
From this story, we can probably get the inspiration: work hard and give everything your best effort, even if it isn’t your 39 situation, it very well may turn out to 40 some day in the future.
1. A.coin B. home C.job D.meal
2. A.although B.unless C.because D.if
3.A.expecting B.considering C.accepting D.refusing
4.A.again B.often C.weekly D.daily
5.A.offered B.agreed C.planned D.failed
6. A.meant B.involved C.included D.trained
7.A.best B.least C.better D.less
8. A.family B.owner C.interest D.moment
9. A.Suddenly B.Fortunately C.Quietly D. Eventually
10.A.for B.with C.as D.like
11. A.lose B.pocket C.spend D.save
12.A.honest B.loyal C.fantastic D.kind
13.A.guard B.raise C.provide D.manage
14. A.knowledge B.mind C.scare D.joy
15. A.got tired B.became old C.passed away D.gave up
16.A.thought B.purpose C.request D.suggestion
17. A.ever B.necessary C.expected D.required
18. A.big B.new C. shabby D. popular
19.A.ideal B.current C.own D.financial
20. A.become B.be C.happen D.do
