In Japan, “what’s your type?” is much more than small talk; it can be a more important question in everything from matchmaking to getting a job. By type, the Japanese mean blood type, and no amount of scientific debunking (揭穿) can kill a widely held belief that blood tells all.
In the year that just ended, four of Japan’s top 10 best-sellers were about how blood type determines personality, according to Japan’s largest book distributor, Tohan Co. Taku Kabeya, chief editor at Bungeisha, thinks the appeal comes from having one’s self-image confirmed; readers discover the definition of their blood type and “It’s like ‘Yes, that’s me!’“
As defined by the books, type As are sensitive perfectionists but overanxious; type Bs am cheerful but weird and selfish; Os are curious, generous but stubborn; and Abs are arty but mysterious and unpredictable. All that may sound like a horoscope(占星), but the public doesn’t seem to care. Nowadays matchmaking agencies provide blood-type compatibility (兼容性) tests, and some companies make decisions about assignments based on employees’ blood types. Children at some kindergartens are divided up by blood type, and the women’s softball team that won gold at the Beijing Olympics used the theory to customize each player’s training.
Blood types, determined by the proteins in the blood, have nothing to do with personality, said Satoru Kikuchi, associate professor of psychology at Shinshu University. “It’s simply false science, “he said, “The idea encourages people to judge others by the blood types, without trying to understand them as human beings. It’s like racism.” This use of blood-typing has disreputable (名声不好的) roots. The theory was imported from Nazi race ideologues (空谈家) and adopted by Japan’s militarist government in the 1930s to breed better soldiers. The idea was abandoned years later and the craze faded. It resurfaced in the 1970s, however, as Masahiko Nomi, a supporter with no medical background, gave the theory mass appeal. His son, Toshitaka now promotes it through a private group, the Human Science ABO Center, saying it’s not intended to rank or judge people but to smooth relationships and help make the best of one’s talents.
1. That many Japan’s best-sellers were about blood type implies ____________.
A. this topic is used by many people in small talks
B. Japanese attach great importance to blood type
C. people don’t want to have confirmed self-image
D. the definition of blood type leads to arguments
2. According to the passage, ________ may face more pressure while performing a task.
A. type As B. type Bs C. type Os D. type ABs
3. Kikuchi compared blood type determinism to racism because ______________.
A. both blood type and race are determined by the proteins in the blood
B. neither blood type nor race is related to our character and personality
C. both of them judge people without considering their individualities
D. blood type determinism believes human abilities are decided by race
4. Who introduced the blood type theory to Japan?
A. Nazis from Germany. B. Japan’s militarist government.
C. A supporter called Masahiko Nomi. D. Human Science ABO Center.
Priscilla Ouchida’s “energy-efficient” house turned out to be a horrible dream. When she and her engineer husband married a few years ago, they built a $100,000 three-bedroom home in California. Tightly sealed to prevent air leaks, the house was equipped with small double-paned (双层玻璃的) windows and several other energy-saving features. Problems began as soon as the couple moved in, however. Priscilla’s eyes burned. Her throat was constantly dry. She suffered from headaches and could hardly sleep. It was as though she had suddenly developed a strange illness.
Experts finally traced the cause of her illness. The level of formaldehyde (甲醛) gas in her kitchen was twice the maximum allowed by federal standards for chemical workers. The source of the gas? Her new kitchen cabinets and wall-to-wall carpeting.
The Ouchidas are victims of indoor air pollution, which is net given sufficient attention partly because of the nation’s drive to save energy. The problem itself isn’t new. “The indoor environment was dirty long before energy conservation came along,” says Moschandreas a pollution scientist at Geomet Technologies in Maryland. “Energy conservation has tended to accentuate the situation in some cases.”
The problem appears to be more troublesome in newly constructed homes rather than old ones. Back in the days when energy was cheap, home builders didn’t worry much about unsealed cracks. Because of such leaks, the air in an average home was replaced by fresh outdoor air about once an hour. As a result, the pollutants produced in most households seldom build up to dangerous levels.
1. It can be learned from the passage that the Ouchidas’ house __________
A. is well worth the money spent on its construction
B. is almost faultless from the point of energy conservation
C. failed to meet energy conservation standards
D. was designed and constructed in a scientific way
2. What made the Ouchidas’ new house a horrible dream?
A. Lack of fresh air. B. Poor quality of building materials.
C. Gas leak in the kitchen. D. The newly painted walls.
3. The underlined word “accentuate” in the third paragraph most probably means ___________.
A. control B. worsen C. relieve D. improve
4. This passage is most probably taken from an article entitled “_________”.
A. Energy Conservation B. Houses Building Crisis
C. Air Pollution Indoors D. Traps in Building Construction
第三部分阅读理解 (共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分)
请认真阅读下列短文，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。
Picking a Christmas tree takes most people a few minutes, a couple of hours if they head to the woods. Dave Murbach needs 11 months.
Almost every day of every year, Murbach’s thoughts turn to vision of a perfectly shaped evergreen tree that will take everyone’s breath away.
“The tree,” he says wearily. “Always the tree.”
Murbach is the man responsible for finding the towering tree that graces Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center each Christmas season.
“I’m always looking for a tree,” the center’s chief gardener says. “I look for it even when I go to the beach in the summer. It’s like a homework assignment hanging over your head.”
And if he gets it wrong, there’s nothing hiding it.
“Every day it’s up, 400,000 people go by, and 2.5 million people watch the lighting celebration on television,” he says.
This year’s tree, a 74-foot Norway spruce (云杉) from Richfield, Ohio, flown to New York on the world’s largest cargo plane, was lighted on December 2.
The arrival of the tree leads in the Christmas season in New York - a tradition dating to 1931, when the workers building Rockefeller Centre put up a small tree with decorations.
The search for the next year’s tree starts soon after the old tree is chopped up for wood chips and horse-jumping logs.
That’s not as simple as it sounds. Though forests are full of evergreens, few get enough sunlight or space to fill out. And branches in snowy regions often break under the weight, making flees uneven.
Back at the office, he sorts through hundreds of letters from people offering their trees, many addressed simply to “Mr. Christmas Tree Man.”
Despite the occasional anxiety attack and sleepless night, Murbach knows the together people you love. That’s what I hope it sets off.”
But Murbach says he’s always too worn out to celebrate Christmas.
“No card, no lights, nothing,” he says.
“No tree?”
“No tree.”
1. Murbach takes his job seriously because he most likely wants _____________.
A. everyone to be happy with his work
B. to make everyone surprised at his choice
C. everyone to know his care for their happiness
D. to attract people’s attention to his special ability
2. Which is the correct order of the events in the passage?
a. Murbach’s thoughts turn to a perfectly shaped tree.
b. 2.5 million people watch the Christmas tree.
c. The tree is flown to New York.
d. it was lighted on December 2.
e. The tree is chopped up.
f. Murbach searches for the tree.
A. a, b, c, d, e, f B. a, f, c, d, b, e C. c, d, e, b, a, f D. c, d, b, f, e, a
3. According to Murbach’s standard of trees, the best tree must _________.
A. be evergreen B. have no space between branches
C. be thick enough D. be equally balanced in shape
4. Which is tree about Murbach?
A. He is most devoted to his work. B. He is now quite tired of his work.
C. He has no loved family members. D. He never wants to celebrate Christmas.
第二节完形填空 (共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分)
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从36至55各个题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The moment I knew my mother had incurable lung cancer, I realized for the first time that time will one day run out for us all.
I have determined to be with my mother as much as I possibly can. This is not out of a sense of
36 , but because I really want to be near her. But making the time to 37 with my mother has been my greatest 38 . I have a husband, a four-year-old son and a home to nm. I also hold down a(n) 39 job as a radio announcer at the BBC.
I arrived at work one day to be told we would be doing a radio series exploring “time poverty”. I’ve 40 been taken with the idea that we are time-poor. How can I - who have so many labor-saving machines and an only child – have 41 time than my mother who had six children and no 42 ?
I put this 43 a professor. He pointed out that it is because I try to keep my home much cleaner than my mother did. I admit I like to 44 to my friends. My husband says 45 that I remove all traces (痕迹) of human life 46 anyone arrives.
The professor said 47 has become the new religion. We expect work to provide us with a sense of identity and a means to secure our future. And because we 48 so much time in our working lives, we like to reward ourselves with material things. Frequently, we spend our money before it’s earned. 49 is an annoying worry, keeping us 50 to the work treadmill (跑步机).
The same professor suggested we 51 a Buddhist concept -- to enjoy each moment and activity for its own sake, 52 try to do lots of things at once. Since then I have been 53 the art of “living in the moment” whenever I get the chance. I have cleared my schedule of nonessential tasks, 54 house and garden plans, and turned down some extra work.
It is my mother’s illness, a once-in-a-lifetime event, that sets me 55 on the fact that we forget that time is a limited resource.
36. A. duty B. guilt C. sorrow D. sympathy
37. A. live B. be C. chat D. go
38. A. concern B. challenge C. chance D. trouble
39. A. demanding B. critical C. boring D. amazing
40. A. almost B. seldom C. never D. often
41. A. better B. worse C. less D. more
42. A. tape-recorder B. washing machine C. air-conditioner D. television
43. A. with B. for C. in D. to
44. A. show off B. draw attention C. look forward D. get close
45. A. angrily B. surprisingly C. jokingly D. seriously
46. A. after B. when C. as D. before
47. A. time B. entertainment C. work D. family
48. A. invest B. contribute C. give D. devote
49. A. Pressure B. Expense C. Life D. Debt
50. A. led B. chained C. relied D. focused
51. A. adopt B. advocate C. adapt D. acquire
52. A. more than B. instead of C. rather than D. other than
53. A. exercising B. practicing C. believing D. holding
54. A. fixed B. conducted C. postponed D. made
55. A. reflecting B. thinking C. considering D. wondering
---I’m fed up with studying.
---What nonsense! You’ve only got one year more to do. Then you’ll have your qualification and after that _____________
|
A．content is better than riches |
B．it is not your cup of tea |
|
C．the world is your oyster |
D．well begun is half done |
To fully understand Shakespeare’s works, we must read not only between the lines of his drama, but sometimes __________ the lines.
|
A．within |
B．beside |
C．beyond |
D．among |
