The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying about their own business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.
There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help an elderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike being stolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an experiment. He chained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in a number of obvious ways, such as using a hacksaw (钢锯). He filmed everything to see whether other New Yorkers would try to stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People just walked on by.
Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. According to another recent study, the way city people mind their own business is about other factors besides morality (道德).
This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people do not react because of the urban enviromnent they live in.
Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involve themselves in Neistat's bike theft experiment with the Bystander Effect.
First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that they stop noticing what is going on around them. Second, they are less easy to surprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.
"The third is that people notice it, but they don't know what to do," he continued. "And the fourth is fear — they know they should do something, but they're afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw."
A lack of concern is only a small reason why people don't take action, concludes Dr. Harold.
Despite the results of Neistat's experiment, there is also evidence of a sense of team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke or a shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a bus stop. When city folk are in trouble, they come together for support — famously in New York on September 11, 2001.
City society is different, but that doesn't mean it's cold or mean — it just means it's busy!
1.Casey Neistat fihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of .
A. proving that he was not the thief
B. telling people that bike theft was immoral
C. finding out who had a sense of right and wrong
D. making his experiment well-known to the public
2.We can infer from the third paragraph that morality .
A. can partly explain a selfish urban society
B. is what our society should pay special attention to
C. is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society
D. is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage
3.The underlined part September 11, 2001 in Paragraph 9 serves as .
A. a reminder of the sad memories
B. a way to prove Dr Harold's Bystander effect
C. evidence that city life can be really dangerous
D. an example to show team spirit connecting city people
4.As can be inferred from the passage, the writer probably .
A. criticizes the loss of morality in urban society
B. feels sad about the result of Neistat's experiment
C. thinks city people are too busy to care about others
D. disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean
Seth DeBolt is a plant scientist at the University of Kentucky US. He and other scientists wanted to find a source of fuel that poor people in rural areas of developing countries could use to make electricity.
The United Nations Development Program says a billion and a half people have no electricity. A billion others have an undependable supply.
Professor DeBolt went on a study trip to rural Indonesia. He saw that there was very little waste in the use of agricultural products. Everything that farmers grew was used for something. Even the remains of fruit that people did not eat were fed to chickens.
Little waste meant there was little that could be used for fuel. Growing a separate fuel crop would take land away from food crops. That was something Professor DeBolt did not want to do.
DeBOLT said, "The people at most risk with respect to energy poverty, typically they're the same people who have food insecurity issues as it is. And then any change in availability would be most damaging to that group of people."
But he found one item that was in plentiful supply and would not create competition between food and fuel. Coconut shells are generally thrown out. Yet Professor DeBolt says it has an "excellent" heating value. All someone needs is a way to release that energy.
DeBolt says he and his team see possibilities for coconut power. "Coconuts are growing here and these are the areas where there is possibility for energy poverty to be eased at least in part by these small-scale production systems."
The researchers say these systems could provide as much as thirteen percent of the energy needs of a country like Indonesia. Other tropical countries with large crops of coconuts and similar fruit could benefit, as well.
But DeBolt says this is not a perfect solution. There are technical questions, like how to safely deal with the dangerous waste produced in the process. And there needs to be money to get these projects started.
1.Professor DeBolt went on a study trip to rural areas of developing countries to .
A. help farmers make full use of waste
B. seek certain materials to make electricity
C. persuade farmers to grow more coconuts
D. find a suitable place to carry out the experiment
2.DeBolt thought it was not a good idea to grow fuel crops because .
A. there are plenty of coconuts
B. local farmers have no interest in it
C. it would make food problems worse
D. fuel crop has little use for local farmers
3.The last two paragraphs mainly tell us that coconut power .
A. needs further experiments and efforts
B. can help solve energy problem perfectly
C. will cause technique and money problems
D. has drawn Indonesia's government attention
4.What might be the best title for the passage?
A. Make Full Use Of Coconuts B. Make Power From Coconuts
C. A Perfect Solution D. Food And Energy Problems
Some expressions in English can be really puzzling. Have a look at the following to see how it challenges your brainpower.
Homeric laughter
The "Homer" in this expression is the Greek poet. People laugh differently. Some laugh silently, while others tend to laugh loudly. "Homeric laughter" refers to laughter of the latter kind. It is at times uncontrollable, and the entire body shakes during the process. This kind of laughter is called Homeric laughter because this is how the gods laughed in Homer's classics.
A three-ring circus
When you refer to a situation as being a three-ring circus, you are saying that it is a situation of complete confusion. There are so many activities taking place all together that they leave you confused or annoyed. The expression comes from the world of entertainment — the circus. The area where the artists perform their acts is called the "ring". In the past, some of the circuses were so grand that they had three acts taking place simultaneously in three different "rings". The audience had to decide which "ring" they wanted to focus on.
In the swim (of things)
When someone is in the swim of things, the individual is actively participating in the things happening around him, as in "I've been ill, but soon I’ll be back in the swim of thing." In the world of fishing, fishermen use the word "swim" to refer to the section of the lake/river where fish can be found in plenty. So, if you are a fisherman and wish to catch a lot offish, where would you be? You would be "in the swim".
Chickens have come home to roost
The word "roost" refers to the place where birds rest. It could be anything — the branch of a tree, a henhouse, etc. The expression is normally used to mean that the bad things that someone did in the past have come back to bite or upset the individual. In other words, one has to face the consequences of the deeds done in the past. The original form of this 700-year-old expression was "curses are like chickens; they always come home to roost".
1.Which of the following can best describe the picture?
A. Homeric laughter B. A three-ring circus
C. In the swim (of things) D. Chickens have come home to roost
2.What does the underlined word "simultaneously'(Paragraph 3) mean?
A. At the same time. B. Step by step.
C. All of a sudden. D. One after another.
3.lf you want to know more about such expressions, which website will you probably visit?
A. www.chinadaily.com.cn/sports/China.html
B. www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/university.html
C. www.chinadaily.com.cn/culuture/language.html
D. www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/fashion.html
4.The passage is written to .
A. tell readers some old and interesting stories
B. indicate the development of English phrases
C. correct some misunderstandings about words
D. explain the meanings and origins of some phrases
Ever since Jerusha started her college, she began to write letters. Through a series of letters, from freshman to senior in college, she shared her life and study with an unknown gentleman, who never wrote back. Here is the very first letter.
|
Dear Mr. Kind, Here I am! I traveled yesterday for four hours in a train. It's a funny experience. I never rode in one before. College is the biggest, most confusing place — I get lost whenever I leave my room. I will tell you more later when I'm feeling less puzzled. Now I want to write a letter first just to get me familiar to you. It seems strange to be writing letters to somebody you don't know. It seems strange for me to be writing letters at all — I've never written more than three or four in my life, so please overlook it if they are not a model kind. Before leaving yesterday morning, Mrs. Lippett and I had a very serious talk. She told me how to behave, especially towards the kind gentleman who is doing so much for me. I must take care to be very respectful. I have been thinking of you a great deal this summer; having somebody take an interest in me after all these years makes me feel as though I had found a sort of family. It seems as though I belonged to somebody now, and it's a very comfortable feeling. I must say, however, that when I think about you, my imaqination has very little to work upon. There are just three things that I know: I .You are tall. II .You are rich. III. You hate girl. I suppose I might call you Dear Mr. Girl-Hater. Only that's rather unpleasant to me. Or Dear Mr. Rich-Man, but that's unpleasant to you, as though money were the only important thing about you. Maybe you won't stay rich all your life; But at least you will stay tall all your life! So I decide to call you Dear Daddy-long-legs. I hope you won't mind. It's just a private pet name — we won't tell Mrs. Lippett. The ten o'clock bell is going to ring in two minutes. Our day is divided by bells. We eat and sleep and study by bells. There it goes! Lights out. Good night. You can see how strictly I obey rules due to my training in the John Grier Home. Yours most respectfully, Jerusha Abbott |
1.Which of the following is NOT the reason for Jerusha to write the letter to Mr.Kind?
A. To get her familiar to him. B. To present her thankfulness to him.
C. To share her brand-new college life with him.
D. To apologize to him for not writing letters too often.
2.If Mrs. Lippett learned that the writer calls the man she writes to Daddy-long-legs, she would probably .
A. burst into laughter B. think it acceptable
C. criticize the writer D. inform the man
3.By "when I think about you, my imagination has very little to work upon.", the writer intends to tell us that .
A. the man she writes to is dull and boring
B. she is not familiar with the one she writes to
C. it is not interesting at all to write to a stranger
D. she lacks imagination when it comes to writing a letter
4.Jerusha was probably while she worked on the letter.
A. curious B. light-hearted C. serious D. skeptical
One cold rainy evening last October, as a medical student, I was in a hospital, gathering data
for my graduation paper.
Holding a patient questionnaire 34 some simple yes-or-no questions, I walked towards a 43-year-old patient who lay in bed alone. I was worried whether she would approve of my demands at such a late hour. 35 , she treated it with consideration. Soon I finished and prepared to leave. 36 I could stand up, she spoke up in a weak voice asking where I was from and why I was working so late in the evening.
Then she started talking about herself as well as her 37 , "My husband died about a year ago, 38 me the only breadwinner of my family. My pay as a cleaner is 39 enough for me and my three kids. I don't know what my children would be if something bad happened to me."
I didn't know what to say. I desperately tried to remember the lessons from a communication skills class I had taken years earlier, but my mind was 40.
Without realizing it, I had begun 41 her hand. Now that I didn't have anything to say, I just sat quietly while she talked. That's when it occurred to me that she was not expecting any 42 from me. She 43 wanted me to listen. All 1 did was nod my head as a way of showing my 44.
The conversation went on for about 20 minutes. Finally, she stopped talking. "I'm very sorry for keeping you here to listen to my problems, but I feel 45 now. I had no one to 46 out my problems to. Thank you so much, doctor."
Sometimes patients do not need expensive medicine or advanced technology. 47 , they just need someone with the 48 to lend an ear and spare a little of their time. For me, that is one of the best things a doctor can do for a patient, doesn't it?
1.A. made up of B. fed up with C. put up with D. come up with
2.A. Calmly B. Excitedly C. Gladly D. Eagerly
3.A. When B. Before C. As D. After
4.A. job B. illness C. family D. children
5.A. causing B. getting C. forcing D. leaving
6.A. extremely B. exactly C. especially D. absolutely
7.A. casual B. clear C. steady D. blank
8.A. holding B. shaking C. carrying D. treating
9.A. thanks B. praise C. warmth D. reply
10.A. even B. ever C. just D. still
11.A. sympathy B. support C. sorrow D. respect
12.A. relaxed B. awkward C. fragile D. satisfied
13.A. leave B. pour C. try D. find
14.A. However B. Otherwise C. Instead D. Besides
15.A. emotion B. patience C. experience D. preference
— Oh! Must you? Stay a bit longer, please.
— , but I've got an early start tomorrow.
A. No problem B. All right C. Thanks anyway D. Never mind
