Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets. But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.
That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”－events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to get the past “Where are you from?”
Mr.Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.
The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”
As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain. Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another. “We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says. “But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”
The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer. The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom with for hours. But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.
“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up. “What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”
Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.”
1. What can the “conversations” be best described as?
A. Deep and one-on-one. B. Sensitive and mad.
C. Instant and inspiring. D. Ordinary and encouraging.
2. In a “feast of conversations”, participants ______.
A. pair freely with anyone they like
B. have a guided talk for a set of period of time
C. ask questions they themselves would not answer
D. wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features.
3. From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is ______.
A. an attempt to promote thinking interaction
B. one of the maddest activities ever conducted
C. a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas
D. an effort to give people a chance of talking freely
American beekeeping operations have been hit hard by what scientists call Colony Collapse Disorder. Almost half of their worker bees have disappeared during the past season. C.C.D. has also been reported in Israel, Europe and South America. Bees fly away from the hive and never return. Sometimes they are found dead; other times they are never found. Many crops and trees depend on pollination （授粉） by bees to help them grow.
A new report says virus may be at least partly responsible for the disorder in honey bee colonies in the United States. This virus is called Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus. It was first identified in Israel in 2004. Ian Lipkin at Columbia University in New York and a team reported the new findings in Science magazine. Doctor Lipkin says the virus may not be the only cause. He says it may work with other causes to produce the collapse disorder.
The team found the virus in colonies with the help of a map of honey bee genes that was published last year. They examined thirty colonies affected by the disorder. They found evidence of the virus in twenty – five of them, and in one healthy colony. The next step is further testing of healthy hives.
The researchers suggested that the United States may have imported the disorder in bees from Australia. They say the bees may carry the virus but not be affected.
The idea is that unlike many American bees, the ability of Australian bees to fight disease has not been hurt by the varroa mite. This insect attacks honey bees, which could make the disorder more likely to affect a hive. Australian bee producers reject these suspicions.
And some researchers suspect that bee production in the United States is down mainly because of the weather. Honey bees gather nectar（花蜜） from flowers and trees. The sweet liquid gives them food and material to make honey. But cold weather this spring in the Midwest reduced the flow of nectar in many flowers. Many bees may have starved. Dry weather in areas of the country could also be playing a part.
Wayne Esaias is a NASA space agency scientist who keeps bees in his free time. He lives in central Maryland, where he has found that flowers are blooming a month earlier than they did in 1970, which may be partly responsible for the disorder. Wayne Esaias is organizing a group of beekeepers to document nectar flow around the country.
1. What is the author’s attitude to the causes of the bee disorder?
A. critical B. neutral
C. supportive D. negative
2. What is the passage mainly about?
A. American beekeeping industry has been strongly influenced by the bee disorder.
B. Studies are being carried out on the causes of the bee disorder, but questions remain.
C. How the causes of the bee disorder in U.S have been found.
D. The bee production in U.S is down.
3. How many possibilities may be involved in the bee disorder according to the passage?
A. Three B. Four C. Five D. Six
4.We can infer that from the passage.
A. Israeli acute paralysis virus should be responsible for the disorder.
B. The solution to the disorder will be found eventually.
C. American bees are more likely to defend themselves against hurt from other insects than Australian ones.
D. Many crop and plant production in U.S may be influenced by the bee disorder.
If you don’t have a college degree, you’re at greater risk of developing memory problems or even Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆). Education plays a key role in lifelong memory performance and risk for mental disorder, and it's well documented that those with a college degree possess a cognitive（认知的） advantage over those less educated in middle and old age.
Now, a large national study from Brandeis University published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry shows that those with less schooling can significantly make up for poorer education by frequently engaging in mental exercises such as word games, puzzles, reading, and lectures.
“The lifelong benefits of higher education for memory in later life are quite impressive, but we do not clearly understand how and why these effects last so long,” said lead author Margie Lachman, a psychologist. She suggested that higher education may encourage lifelong interest in cognitive efforts, while those with less education may not engage as frequently in mental exercises that help keep the memory agile (敏捷地).
But education early in adulthood does not appear to be the only route to maintain your memory. The study found that intellectual activities undertaken regularly made a difference. “Among individuals with low education, those who are engaged in reading, writing, attending lectures, doing word games or puzzles once a week or more had memory scores similar to people with more education,” said Lachman.
The study, called Midlife in the United States, assessed 3,343 men and women between the ages of 32 and 84 with an average age of 56 years. Almost 40 percent of the participants had at least a 4-year college degree. The researchers evaluated how the participants performed in two cognitive areas, verbal (言语的)memory and executive function --- brain processes involved in planning, abstract thinking and cognitive flexibility. Participants were given a series of tests, including tests of verbal fluency, word recall, and backward counting.
As expected, those with higher education said they engaged in cognitive activities more often and also did better on the memory tests, but some with lower education also did well, explained Lachman.
“The findings are promising because they suggest there may be ways to level the playing field for those with lower educational achievement, and protect those at greatest risk for memory declines,” said Lachman. “Although we can not rule out the possibility that those who have better memories are the ones who take on more activities, the evidence is consistent with cognitive plasticity (可塑性), and suggests some degree of personal control over cognitive functioning in adulthood by adopting an intellectually active lifestyle.”
1. What is the text mainly about?
A. Higher education has a better cognitive advantage.
B. Better memories result from college degree.
C. Cognitive activity does good to one’s mind.
D. Poor education has more risk of memory declines.
2.According to the result of Margie Lachman’s study, we can conclude that ________.
A. education is responsible for the lifelong memory performance and risk for mental disorder
B. education early in adulthood can be the only route to maintain your memory
C. those with higher education did better on the memory tests than those with lower education
D. an intellectually active lifestyle does help to maintain your memory
3. What do we know about the study called Midlife?
A. Participants each were given a battery to test their memory.
B. The average age of the participants are 56 years old.
C. Participants had to perform in one of the two cognitive areas.
D. One in four of the participants had a 4-year college degree.
4.Why are the findings of the Lachman’s study promising?
A. The lower educated may have the same opportunities to keep up memory.
B. We may have ways to cure the people who have memory declines.
C. Adopting a different lifestyle can control cognitive functioning.
D. We can find out the possibility to have better memories.
I was walking along the main street of a small seaside town in the north of England looking for somewhere to make a phone call. My car had broken down outside the town and I wanted to contact the AA Company. Low grey clouds were gathering across the sky and there was a cold damp wind blowing off the sea which nearly threw me off my feet every time I crossed one of the side streets. It had rained in the night and water was dripping from the bare trees that lined the street. I was glad that I was wearing a thick coat.
There was no sign of a call box, nor was there anyone at that early hour whom I could ask. I had thought I might find a shop open selling the Sunday papers or a milkman doing his rounds, but the town was completely dead. The only living thing I saw was a thin frightened cat outside a small restaurant.
Then suddenly I found what I was looking for. There was a small post office, and almost hidden from sight in a dark narrow street. Next to it was the town’s only public call box, which badly needed a coat of paint. I hurried forward, but stopped in astonishment when I saw through the dirty glass that there was a man inside. He was fat, and was wearing a cheap blue plastic raincoat. I could not see his face and he didn’t raise his head at the sound of my footsteps.
Carefully, I remained standing a few feet away and lit a cigarette to wait for my turn. It was when I threw the dead match on the ground that I noticed something bright red trickling from under the box call door
1. At what time was the story set?
A. An early winter morning B. A cold winter afternoon
C. An early summer morning D.A windy summer afternoon
2. Which of the following words best describe the writer’s impression of the town?
A. cold and frightening B. dirty and crowded
C. empty and dead D. unusual and unpleasant
3. The underlined word “ trickling” in the last paragraph means_______________
A. rushing out suddenly B. shining brightly
C. flowing slowly in drops D. appearing slowly
4. Why didn’t the man raise his head when the writer came near?
A. He was annoyed at being seen by the writer.
B. He was angry at being disturbed by the writer.
C. He was probably fast asleep.
D. He was probably murdered.
完形填空 (共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分)
请认真阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Certainly dustmen prefer to be known as "Reuse Collection and Disposal Officers". You may think that this is rather 36 , and it is better to call a spade a spade. But dustmen can be as 37 as people of any other occupation, though we must 38 that their job is not a 39 one in the world. We often take dustmen for granted. Perhaps because they usually come very early in the morning, before most people are 40 .We are likely to forget their 41 .Our dustbins are 42 regularly, but we 43 stop to think about the men who do this. However, it is one of the most important jobs in the world, and when there are no dustmen to 44 the rubbish, the general 45 soon becomes aware that something is wrong. Recently, the dustmen of England went on strike for higher wages.
During the first few days it was regarded as a 46 .But when the first two weeks had passed, and the dustbins were overflowing in nearly every backyard in the country, the joke did not seem so 47 any more. 48 the strike continued, people could not 49 the hills of rubbish around their dustbins, and they looked for other places in which to 50 it. Even Leicester Square, in the heart of West End of London, was 51 high with plastic bags full of smelly rubbish. This was a（n） 52 attraction that the people of London were not at all 53 to see. Even when the strike was over, it took several weeks for the country to get cleaned up completely. Perhaps now the English people appreciate the work of 54 dustmen rather more 55 and won't take them for granted any more.
1.A.clever B.silly C.interesting D.reasonable
2.A.sensitive B.careless C.hopeful D.shy
3. A.realize B.believe C.know D.admit
4. A.necessary B.difficult C.romantic D.heavy
5. A.away B.up C.down D.in
6.. A.existence B.presence C.absence D.performance
7. A.cleaned B.filled C.emptied D.burned
8. A.generally B.frequently C.sometimes D.seldom
9. A.take away B.take off C.take up D.take on
10. A.society B.citizen C.public D.community
11. A.trick B.joke C.trouble D.show
12. A.pleasing B.excited C.stupid D.funny
13. A.When B.While C.As D.Because
14. A.bear B.contain C.manage D.control
15.A.keep off B.give up C.take care of D.get rid of
16. A.crowded B.piled C.fixed D.put
17. A.business B.industrial C.tourist D.agricultural
18.. A.disappointed B.serious C.nervous D.happy
19. A.its B.her C.his D.their
20. A.highly B.eagerly C.lowly D.entirely
—Since you can't find a better job, why don't you stick to the present one?
—Well,_____.
A.I believe not B.I don't care C. Never mind D. I might as well
