Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words
The automobile may not be closely associated with modem American culture, but it has occupied a central role in America's economic and social history.
No one can deny the status of Henry Ford in car history. When the first Ford Model T rolled off the assembly line in 1908, businessman Henry Ford transformed the car from a luxury attachment for the rich to an automobile product for the middle classes. The rush of cars into the community forced all levels of government to build new and better roads. Better roads fed the demand for larger, faster, more stylish vehicles, and a host of companies rushed to meet that demand.
If there was a first Golden Age of automobile, it may well have been the 1950s. It was an age of prosperity. Large, regular paychecks encouraged the public display of wealth through costly items such as new cars. Americans, moreover, needed those cars as they moved away from the cities into the suburbs, where such things as stores, jobs, and schools were seldom within walking distance. Cars became essential if people were to get to work or to the grocery store.
As Ac 1950s slipped into 1960s, it became apparent that these fashionable wheels were gas-consuming road cruisers, dangerous in an accident, and often full of faults. Under pressure from a variety of groins, the federal government required that newer models provide greater fuel efficiency and cleaner emissions. Seatbelts became standard equipment as well Rising fad prices in the 1970s, coupled with concern for the environment, made the smaller cars produced by foreign companies for European and Asian markets very popular.
The 1980s and 1990s saw an upswing in the popularity of big cars. New models including minivans and sport utility vehicles have become main products in auto dealers' showrooms. Traffic jams on the roads have become part of the American way of life. In 1911 a horse could travel through rush-hour traffic in Los Angeles at 11 miles per hour. In 2000 a car covering the same territory at the same time of day moved at about 4 miles per hour. But perhaps that is not important. When a car is equipped with a telephone and television set, a computer, and global positioning satellite connections, it can feel just like home.
(Note: Answer the questions or complete the statements in NO MORE THAN TEN WORDS.)
1.made Henry Ford well-known in car history.
2.That the car industry prospered in the 1950s in America resulted from ________.
3. Why were smaller cars once popular in the 1970s?
4. In today's society, how can a car make people ignore traffic jams?
Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from the list A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
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A. The description of using amateur records to encourage the public. B. The description of old records kept by amateur naturalists. C. Concerns over amateur data for lacking objectivity and precision. D. The necessity of encouraging amateur collection. E. How people react to their involvement in data collection. F. The application of amateur records to phonology. |
1.______________
Tim Sparks slides a small leather-bound notebook out of an envelope. The book's yellowing pages contain beekeeping notes made between 1941 and 1969 by the late Walter Coates of Kilworth, Leicestershire. He adds it to his growing pile of local journals, birdwatchers' lists and gardening diaries. "We're uncovering about one major new record each month," he says, "I still get surprised." Around two centuries before Coates, Robert Marsham, a landowner from Norfolk in east of England, began recording the life cycles of plants and animals on his estate. Successive Marshams continued recording these notes for 211 years.
2._______________
Today, such records are being put to uses that their authors couldn't possibly have expected. These data sets, and others like them, are proving valuable to ecologists interested in the timing of biological events, or phonology. By combining the records with climate data, researchers can reveal how, for example, changes in temperature affect the arrival of spring, allowing ecologists to make improved predictions about the impact of climate change.
3._______________
But not all professionals are happy to use amateur data. "A lot of scientists won't touch them, they say they're too full of problems," says Root. Because different observers can have different ideas of what forms, for example, an open snowdrop. "The biggest concern with ad hoc (临时的) observations is how carefully and systematically they were taken,” says Mark Schwarts of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, who studies the interactions between plants and climate. "We need to know pretty precisely what a person's been observing—if they just say ‘I noted when the leaves came out’, it might not be that useful.” Measuring the onset of autumn can be particularly problematic because deciding when leaves change color is a more subjective process than noting when they appear.
4._______________
Overall, most phrenologists arc positive about the contribution that amateurs can make. "They get the raw power of science: careful observation of the natural world," says Sagarin. Others suggest that the right statistics can iron out some of the problems with amateur data. Together with colleagues at Wageoingen University in the Netherlands, environmental scientist Arnold van Vliet is developing statistical techniques to account for the uncertainty in amateur phonological data. Besides, the data are cheap to collect, and can provide breadth in space, time and range of species," It’s very difficult to collect data on a large geographical scale without enlisting an army of observers, says Root.
5._______________
Phonology also helps to drive home messages about climate change. “Because the public understand these records, they accept them,” says Sparks. It can also illustrate potentially unpleasant consequences, he adds, such as the finding that more rat infestations are reported to local councils in warmer years. And getting people involved is great for public relations. "People are excited to think that the data they have been collecting as a hobby can be used for something scientific—it empowers them” says Root.
Cultural rules determine every aspect of food consumption. Who eats together defines social units. For example, in some societies, the nuclear family is the unit that regularly eats together. The anthropologist Mary Douglas has pointed out that, for the English, the kind of meal and the kind of food that is served relate to the kinds of social links between people who are eating together. She distinguishes between regular meals, Sunday meals when relatives may come, and cocktail parties for relatives and friends. The food served symbolizes the occasion and reflects who is present. For example, only snacks are served at a cocktail party. It would be inappropriate to serve a steak or hamburgers. The distinctions among cocktails, regular meals, and special dinners mark the social boundaries between those guests who are invited for drinks, those who are invited to dinner, and those who come to a family meal. In this example, the type of food symbolizes the category of guest and with whom it is eaten.
In some New Guinea societies, the nuclear family is not the unit that eats together. The men take their meals in a men's house, separately from their wives and children. Women prepare and eat their food in their own houses and take the husband's portion to the men's house. The women eat with their children in their own houses. This pattern is also widespread among Near Eastern societies.
Eating is a metaphor that is sometimes used to signify marriage. In many New Guinea societies, like that of the Lese on the island of New Ireland in the Pacific and that of the Trobriand Islanders, marriage is symbolized by the couple's eating together for the first time. Eating symbolizes their new status as a married couple. In U.S. society, it is just the reverse. A couple may go out to dinner on a first date.
Other cultural rules have to do with taboos against eating certain things. In some societies, members of a family group, arc not allowed to eat the animal or bird that is their ancestor. Since they believe themselves to be children of that ancestor, it would be like eating that ancestor or eating themselves.
There is also an association between food prohibitions and rank, which is found in its most extreme form in the caste (social class) system of India. A caste system consists of ranked groups, each with a different economic specialization. In India, there is an association between caste and the idea of pollution. Members of highly ranked groups can be polluted by coming into contact with the bodily secretions, particularly saliva（唾液）,of individuals of lower-ranked castes. Because of the fear of pollution, Brahmans and other high-ranked individuals will not share food with, not eat from the same plate as, not even accept food from an individual or from a low-ranking class.
1.According to the passage, who will NOT eat together?
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A．The English during regular meals. |
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B．Americans on their first date. |
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C．Men and women in Near Eastern societies. |
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D．Newly-married people on the island of New Ireland. |
2.In Paragraph 4, the underlined word "taboos" means _____________.
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A．favors |
B．prohibitions |
C．hatred |
D．gossips |
3. According to the passage, eating together indicates all the following EXCEPT .
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A．the type of food |
B．social relations. |
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C．marital status |
D．family ties. |
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
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A．Different kinds of food in western countries. |
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B． Relations between food and social units. |
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C． Symbolic meanings of different kinds of food. |
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D．Food consumption in different cultures. |
Every summer, no matter how urgent work schedule is, I take off one day exclusively for my
son. We call it dad-son day. This year our third stop was the amusement panic, where we discovered
that he was tall enough to ride one of the fastest roller coasters (过山车)in the world. We experienced through face-stretching turns and circles for ninety seconds. Then, as we stepped off the ride, in a calm voice, he remarked that it was not as exciting as other rides he’d been on. As I listened, I began to sense something seriously out of balance.
Throughout the season, I noticed similar events all around me. Parents found it hard to find new stimulations for cold kids. Surrounded by ever-greater stimulation, their young feces were looking disappointed and bored
Facing their children's complaints of "nothing to do", parents were spending large numbers of dollars for various forms of entertainment In many cases the money seemed to do little more than buy relief from the terrible complaint of their bored children. This set me thinking the obvious question: "How can it be so hard for kids to find something to do when there's been such a range of stimulating entertainment available to them?"
What really worries me is the strength of the stimulation. I watch my little daughter's &ce as she absorbs bloody special effects in movies.
Why do children facing such excitement seem starved for more? Thai was, I realized, the point I discovered during my own adolescence that what creates excitement is not going fast, but going faster. Excitement has less to do with speed than changes in speed.
I am concerned about the increasing effect of years at these levels of feverish activity. It is no mystery to me why many teenagers appear uninterested and burned out, with a "been there, done that" air of indifference toward much of life. As increasing numbers of friends’ children are advised to take medicine to deal with inattentiveness at school or anti-depressants (抗抑郁药)to help with the loss of interest and joy in their lives—I question the role of kids’ boredom in some of the diagnoses (处方).
My own work is focused on the chemical imbalances and biological factors related to behavioral and emotional disorders. These are complex problems. Yet I’ve been reflecting more and more on how lie pace of life and the strength of stimulation may be contributing to the rising rates of psychological problems among children and adolescents in our society.
1.The reason why the author felt surprised in the amusement park was that ________.
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A．his son was not as excited by the roller coasters ride as expected |
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B．his songs enjoyed turns and circles with his face stretched |
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C．his son appeared upset but calm while riding the roller coasters |
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D．his son could keep his balance so well on the fast moving roller coasters |
2.According to the author, children will probably feel excited ________.
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A．if their parents allow them to ride roller coasters very often |
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B．since parents spend money on the same form of entertainment |
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C．after they take anti-depressants according to the diagnoses |
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D．if they are often exposed to more stimulating entertainment |
3.From his own experience, the author came to the conclusion that children seem to expect _______.
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A．a much wider variety of sports facilities |
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B．activities that require complicated skills |
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C．the change of the forms of recreation |
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D．more challenging physical exercise |
4.. In order to relieve children's boredom, the author would probably suggest ________.
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A．adjusting the pace of life and strength of stimulation |
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B．promoting the practice of dad-son days |
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C．consulting a specialist in child psychology |
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D．balancing school work with after school activities |
I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.
My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.
In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.
With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It’s hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.
At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.
1.Why does the author feel disappointed at his students?
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A．Because there is one group presenting a catering service. |
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B．Because the six groups made projects for restaurant chains. |
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C．Because all the students copied a case for the difficult topic. |
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D．Because the students’ ideas were lacking in creativeness. |
2.We can infer from the passage that ________.
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A．China can make and sell any product all over the world |
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B．high pay may not solve the problem of China’s research environment |
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C．cooperation with institutions has been set up to make a Chinese brand |
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D．the new government program are aimed at encouraging imagination |
3.Which is the best title of the passage?
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A．Look for a New Way of Learning. |
B．Reward Creative Thinking. |
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C．How to Become a Creator. |
D．Establish a technical Environment. |
For each blank in the following passage there are four words or phrases marked A, B, C and D. Fill in each blank with the word or phrase that best fits the context.
In 1867 the United States faced the task of rebuilding after the destruction of the Civil War, so it looked westward for the raw materials needed to fuel industrial growth. Geological surveys and mapping journeys were set forth to explore this 1 territory. These groups, in turn, hired mapmakers, scientists, cooks, drivers, and doctors. They also hired painters and photographers as part of the teams. Painters needed few supplies, making it relatively easy for them to travel in the wilderness, ____2____ photographers were not so lucky; they had to transport a fully stocked darkroom on the __3____.
Until the late 1870s, most photographers used the __4___ wet-collodion process. The first step was to wash a clean sheet of glass with a sticky mixture of collodion and chemicals, (collodion or "gun-cotton" was a recent medical discovery used to cover wounds because the viscous (粘性的) solution turned into a protective film when dry.) After it was washed, the plate went into another bath that the picture was __5___ getting darker; Finally, the glass negative (底片) was washed clean with fresh water. __6__ a photograph from the negative had to wait until the photographer went back to the studio. The ___7___ of the negative depended on the size of the camera. Some negatives could be as large as 20 by 24 inches.
Imagine the __8____ of taking photographs in the 1860s and 1870s in the remote western wilderness! Photographers went over Rocky Mountains and through rushing rivers. They were __9____ in the terrible desert heat, with cameras, sheets of glass, and vats of chemicals. Bad weather, equipment failures, and accidents were frequent problems. They persevered, but success in creating a negative did not ___10___ the production of a photograph; plates still had to be ___11___ transported back to the studio before the image could be printed on paper. A photographer could carry 120 pounds of many miles to ____12____ a magnificent view only to have the easily broken plate ___13___ in transportation.
__14___, once photographers were successful, the results were superb and much admired. Photographs were put on exhibition, and people bought albums filled with pictures by Timothy O'Sullivan, Carleton Watkins, and William Henry Jackson. Jackson's photographs of Yellowstone's
natural wonders, along with the paintings of fellow Thomas Moran, even helped ___15___ Congress to preserve thousands of acres of this land in 1872 as the nation's first national park.
