“NOW I just don’t believe that.” Surely all of us, at some point, have watched a movie and thought: It’s simply badly researched, or, the makers must think we’re idiots (白痴). Recently, the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph ran a humorous piece on unconvincing tech moments from some top movies. Let’s see what all the fuss is about.
Telegraph writer Tom Chiver’s first example is from the end-of-the-world movie Independence Day, in which a character comes up with a virus capable of destroying Windows, the computer system the alien spacecraft uses. “It’s a good thing they didn’t have Norton Antivirus (诺顿防火墙)”, jokes Chivers.
It’s just one case of a movie that takes a lot of license with its science. Another one Chivers mentions is from Star Wars, where glowing beams of light traveling through space look very impressive. The problem is that in space there are no air particles for the light to reflect off. In reality, they’d be invisible, which wouldn’t look so cool on the big screen.
Chiver’s second piece of Star Wars nonsense is the sound the fighters make in the movies: “the bellow (咆哮) of an elephant mixed with a car driving on a wet road”. But sound needs a medium to travel through, like air. In space, there wouldn’t actually be any sound at all.
Few people would deny that the mind-bending Matrix films make for great viewing, but for Chivers, the science in the movies is a little silly. He comments “…the film is based on the idea that humans are kept alive as electricity generator. This is not just unlikely – it’s fundamentally impossible. They would need more energy to stay alive than they would produce. It’s like saying you’ll power your car with batteries, and keep the batteries charged by running a dynamo (发电机) from the wheels.”
And finally, as Chivers points out, DNA is not replaceable. But this bit of elementary genetics passed the makers of the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day by. In the film the bad guy has “gene therapy” to change his appearance and his DNA, which is completely impossible.
1.What does the underlined sentence mean?
A. The virus created by the character is capable of destroying spacecrafts.
B. Aliens’ using Windows system is totally unconvincing plot.
C. The spacecraft should have Norton Antivirus.
D. Norton Antivirus can stop a virus.
2. We can learn from the example of the Star Wars that .
A. in space, you can not hear anything
B. light beams travel via air particle in space
C. Chiver thinks the sound of the fighters is vivid
D. the invisible light beams are impressive in the movies
3. Chiver uses the example of car batteries in Matrix to imply that .
A. the basic idea of the film is rather ridiculous
B. the science in the movies is very convincing
C. the idea that humans can be kept alive as electricity generator is right
D. humans would stay alive as long as they would produce enough energy
4. We can learn from the movie Die Another Day that .
A. the idea of gene therapy is creative
B. the element of DNA should not be used
C. the makers of the 2002 Bond use the genetic technology
D. DNA can be replaced but in the real world it is impossible
5.Why did Chiver write this passage?
A. To prove all these films are making mistakes.
B. To show his great concern for the movie industry.
C. To joke about some movies in the movie industry.
D. To call for the audience to find out mistakes from the movies.
I have a painfully vivid memory of my first homecoming from college, in December 1983. After three whole months away, I was back home with my brand new opinions, attitudes and tastes. How could they watch such terrible television programs? I, the English Literature major with Shakespeare and Milton and James Joyce, could hardly bear to sleep under the roof of a house whose few bookshelves held thrillers and bound editions of the Reader’s Digest. I’m sure my family was glad to see the back of me when, at the end of the holiday, I packed up my books and headed back up to university in the north of England.
But the next year must have been even more painful to my parents: I didn’t show up at all. Now, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with young people spending a little time away from their families and with their friends. It’s part of growing up, something you need to do if you are to become properly independent. However, if you’re not going to be home for the festival, you should at least have the decency to telephone and say you’re not coming.
In English we have an expression, “wet behind the ears.” A person who is wet behind the ears is so immature, that they don’t know how to dry the back of their head after a bath. Just before the following year’s holiday I fell ill, quite seriously so. I’m sure my own behavior contributed to my getting sick: staying out too late, not eating properly—perhaps you know someone like the person I was then. I lay in bed with a fever, feeling very sorry for myself.
I’m sure you can guess who came to my rescue. My long-suffering parents got in their car and sped up the motorway to rescue their son from the consequences of his own irresponsibility.
I hope I’m a better son now; if not, it’s getting a little late in the day if I want to change. I’ve worked in China for nearly 10 years and so I don’t get to see them as often as I like, but my parents are online all the time so we talk many times each week. And this Spring Festival I will be flying back to England for a visit.
I’m really looking forward to it.
1.What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A. The author liked reading thrillers and the Reading Digest.
B. The author couldn’t fall asleep in a house with few books.
C. The author thought his parents were happy to see him back.
D. The author didn’t seem to share the same tastes with his parents.
2.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A. The next year the author’s parents were very happy to see him.
B. The author went to see his parents during the second year in college.
C. If you aren’t going to spent an important day with your family, inform them in advance.
D. To leave away from family is not a proper way if you want to gain some independency.
3. If you are a person who is wet behind the ears, you are .
A. old and experienced B. young and inexperienced
C. young and experienced D. mature and experienced
4.We can infer from the last two paragraphs that .
A. the author thinks he has become a good son
B. the author will be with his family the next Spring Festival
C. the author will not change himself to a better one because it is too late
D. the author keeps in touch with his parents through the Internet regularly
5.What would be the best title for the text?
A. Pleasant memories about Christmas
B. Horrible things happened in the past
C. Interesting memories about Christmas
D. Share with you some of my Ghosts of Christmas Past
Teaching and research are supported by the University’s extensive collections—the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Center for British Art, the Peabody Museum of Natural History, and the Collection of Musical Instruments. All the collections are open to the public.
Yale University Art Gallery
The Yale University Art Gallery, founded in 1832, today houses a collection that has grown to rank with those of the major public art museums in the United States. Its two connected buildings house ancient, medieval, and Renaissance art, Near and Far Eastern art, archaeological material from the University’s excavations (古迹), Pre-Columbian and African art, works of European and American masters from actually every period, and a rich collection of modern art. Across the street, the Yale Center for British Art, which was opened in 1977, holds the largest collection of British art and illustrated books anywhere outside the United Kingdom.
Peabody Museum of Natural History
Yale’s Peabody Museum of Natural History, founded in 1866, contains one of the great scientific collections in North America. Among its holdings are the University’s comprehensive mineralogical and ornithological collections, the second-largest repository of dinosaur artifacts in the United States, and the largest undamaged Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus 雷龙) in the world. The Peabody is truly a working museum, where public exhibition, research, conservation, teaching, and learning intersect (贯穿).
Yale Center for British Art
Institutions like the Art Gallery, the Center for British Art, and the Peabody Museum hold only a portion of the treasures in the University’s collections. From paintings by Picasso, to pterodactyl (翼龙) remains, to a 1689 tenor viol in the Collection of Musical Instruments, Yale’s possessions are meant to be accessible to the communities they enrich.
Collection of Musical Instruments
Exhibitions are also frequently mounted (裱贴) at the following venues on campus: Art + Architecture Gallery (School of Architecture), Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Green Hall Gallery (School of Art), and Sterling Memorial Library, including the Arts of the Book Collection.
1. Which of the following cannot be found in the Yale University Art Gallery?
A. Near and Far Eastern art.
B. Pre-Columbian and African art
C. British art and illustrated books.
D. Works of European and American masters.
2.Where will you go if you want to enjoy dinosaur artifacts?
A. Peabody Museum of Natural History.
B. Collection of Musical Instruments.
C. Yale University Art Gallery.
D. Yale Center for British Art.
3. Which of the following has the longest history according to the passage?
A. Yale Center for British Art.
B. Yale University Art Gallery.
C. Peabody Museum of Natural History.
D. A musical instrument named tenor viol.
4.We can learn from the passage that in Yale, ______.
A. collections are partly open to the public
B. there are many venues just for exhibitions
C. collections are from art museums in the US
D. exhibitions are frequently mounted on campus
5.What is the text mainly about?
A. Introduction to Yale University. B. Introduction to collections in Yale.
C. Introduction to venues in Yale. D. Introduction to art works in Yale.
Directions: Complete the following passage by using ONE word that fits the context.
What is happiness? 1. people have different ideas. Some people are rich; they think they are happy. 2. people have many friends, so they feel 3. . Still others are happy because their lives are meaningful. Happiness attracts everyone. For children, happiness often suggests eating something good or 4. with toys. 5. a stamp collector, stamps bring more delight than meals. And for a scientist, a discovery or an invention rather than 6. else gives him greatest satisfaction. As everything exists only because of its opposite, happiness exists only when 7. exists. Just as a person who does not know failure never knows success, a person, who has not experienced suffering or sadness never knows 8. happiness means. Cheer up and be happy. Happiness is not far from you. It’s just around you. Try to grasp it and enjoy it.
He never believed that true love existed.
His parents divorced when he was young and he didn’t think that true love was able to survive in today’s world.
He was 36 wrong.
His grandparents were always supportive to the kids and tried to help them when their parents 37 . He knew they loved each other, he just wasn’t sure it was true love. He had 38 heard them say, “I love you” or they hadn’t shown any affection 39 hugging. They had been married for over fifty years and he thought that their true love was gone.
But again he was wrong. His grandfather, Ralph, was struck ill in his junior year of college and he didn’t know how serious it was until he fell and hurt his hip (臀). While in the hospital, the doctors 40 a tumor (瘤) in his lungs. They told him that he had lung cancer and due to previous illnesses, they could not operate and he was too 41 for chemotherapy (化疗).
It was around Thanksgiving and by Christmas his condition worsened. The cancer spread and in late January his sister away at college too, called him crying and said she was on her way home because the doctors told their family that their 42 had only a week to live, that by the weekend he would 43 be with them. Their family came in from around the country and stayed next to his side.
It was not until then that he 44 that true love did exist and would survive beyond death. Every night as his grandfather grew more fragile, he would 45 sweet words to grandmother, Madge. The night before he died grandmother was walking out of his room and he said to her “I love you Madgie baby”.
The next morning he received a phone call at work that grandfather had passed during the night. Throughout his short battle 46 cancer, he realized how much two people can love each other and he realized how much it means to be loved and give love. It is the greatest 47 on earth and it lasts beyond life because you never forget your one true love.
1.A. believed B. proved C. asked D. realized
2.A. died B. married C. divorced D. fought
3. A. ever B. never C. even D. often
4.A. other than B. less than C. rather than D. better than
5. A. took out B. found out C. set out D. put out
6.A. strong B. fat C. short D. weak
7.A. grandfather B. grandmother C. father D. mother
8.A. no better B. no worse C. no less D. no longer
9.A. realized B. said C. saw D. mentioned
10.A. speak B. shout C. whisper D. talk
11.A. by B. in C. on D. with
12.A. smile B. battle C. gift D. surprise
Many gases in the atmosphere actually heat energy that escapes from the Earth’s surface back to the earth.
A. finding; reflecting B. found; reflected
C. found; to reflect D. found; reflect
