Kalle Lasn was in a supermarket parking lot one afternoon when he had an experience that changed his life.In order to shop at the store, he needed to put money into the shopping cart to use it.Annoyed that he had to "pay to shop," Lasn jammed the coin into the cart so that it wouldn't work.It was an act of rebellion—the first of many—for Lasn.
Born in Estonia, Kalle Lasn moved to Australia as a young man and then later to Japan, where he founded a marketing research firm in Tokyo.Eventually, Lasn moved to Canada and for several years produced documentaries (纪录片) for public television.In the late 1980s, Lasn made an advertisement that spoke out against the logging industry and the deforestation going on in the Pacific Northwest.When he tried to show his ad on TV, though, no station in this area would give him airtime.In response, Lasn and a colleague founded Adbusters Media Foundation, a company for the "Human right to communicate.
Adbusters produces magazine, newspaper, and TV ads with a social message.Many use humor and irony to make their points: In one, for example, a man chain smokes a brand of cigarettes called "Hope".In another, a child is dressed in an outfit used in fast-food ads.Next to the child is a note from its mother telling the restaurant to leave her child alone.
Adbusters also has a magazine and a web site, the Culture Jammers Network, whose members include students, artists, and activists as well as educators and businesspeople interested in social change.Many of these "culture jammers" are working to raise awareness about different social issues by hosting events like "Buy Nothing Day" , " No Car Day" and "TV Turnoff Week" .Lasn and his partners hope these events will encourage people to think about questions such as;
·What kinds of things are we being encouraged to buy by the media?
·Should cars be our primary means of transportation?
·How are television and radio being used now? How could we be using them?
Some culture jammers are using other methods to challenge how people think.Some pretend to be shoppers.They move items in stores from one shelf to another making it difficult for people to find things easily.Other culture jammers break into large company well sites and jam them so that they become unusable.The goal in both cases ia to prevent "Business as usual" and to gel people to ask themselves questions such as "Why am I shopping here?" or "Why should I buy this product?"
Lasn and members of the Culture Jammers Network want to make people aware of social issues, but they also believe it's important to think of solutions, too."A lot of people tell you everything that's wrong but they never say much about how to fix these problems," says Lasn."But there is plenty we can do.If you start despairing, you have lost everything."
Though many TV stations still won't show Adbusters' " uncommercials" , some cable TV stations have started to.People all over the world have joined the Culture Jammers Network and are doing their part to promote social change.
1.What does the underlined word "rebellion" in Paragraph 1 most probably mean?
A.argument |
B.violence |
C.opposition |
D.protection |
2.What's the main point of the ad for "Hope" cigarettes?
A.Smoking can help to remove your worries and make you hopeful. |
B.Hopefully, the bad taste of the cigarette can help you to quit smoking. |
C.You are hopeless at abandoning the habit of smoking. |
D.Smoking can ruin you if you are hopelessly addicted to it. |
3.Some culture jammers break into websites in order to ________.
A.ask people to be thoughtful consumers. |
B.help make the companies better known. |
C.encourage people to think less and buy less |
D.challenge how people react to sudden changes |
4.It can be inferred from the passage ________.
A.Adbusters Media Foundation was founded to fight against deforestation |
B.More and more people will know about and even become culture jammers |
C.The Culture Jammers Network is made up of annoying trouble makers |
D.People can see some of Adbusters ads on TV stations |
5.Which of the following best describes what Lasn has done?
A.One step at a time. |
B.We can and must change the world. |
C.Accept what you can't change. |
D.Everyone deserves a second chance. |
A few months ago as I wandered through my parents’ house, the same house I grew up in, I had a sudden, scary realization. When my parents bought the house, in 1982, they were only two years older than I am now. I tried to imagine myself in two years, ready to settle down and buy the house I’d still be living in almost 30 years later.
It seemed ridiculous. On a practical level, there’s no way I could afford to buy a house anytime soon. More importantly, I wouldn’t want to. I’m not sure where I’ll be living in two years, or what kind of job I’ll have. And I don’t think I’ll be ready to settle down and stay in one place.
So this is probably the generation gap that divides my friends and me from our parents. When our parents were our age, they’d gotten their education, chosen a career, and were starting to settle into responsible adult lives.
My friends and I – “Generation Y” – still aren’t sure what we want to do with our lives. Whatever we end up doing, we want to make sure we’re happy doing it. We’d rather take risks first, try out different jobs, and move from one city to another until we find our favorite place. We’d rather spend our money on travel than put it in a savings account.
This casual attitude toward responsibility has caused some critics to call my generation “arrogant”, “impatient”, and “overprotected”. Some of these complaints have a point. As children we were encouraged to succeed in school, but also to have fun. We grew up in a world full of technological innovation: cellphones, the Internet, instant messaging, and video games.
Our parents looked to rise vertically(垂直的)--starting at the bottom of the ladder and slowly making their way to the top, on the same track, often for the same company. That doesn’t apply to my generation.
Because of that, it may take us longer than our parents to arrive at responsible, stable adulthood. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In our desire to find satisfaction, we will work harder, strive for ways to keep life interesting, and gain a broader set of experiences and knowledge than our parents’ generation did.
1.When the author walked through her parents’ house, she _______.
A.was frightened that she had no idea what she wanted from life |
B.started to think about her own life |
C.realized I should buy a house. |
D.wondered why her parents had settled down early |
2.What is the main “generation gap” between the author and her friends and their parents according to the article?
A.Their attitude toward high technology. |
B.Their ways of making their way to the top. |
C.Their attitude towards responsibility. |
D.Their ways of gaining experience. |
3.Which of the following might the author agree with?
A.It’s all right to try more before settling down. |
B.It’s better to take adult responsibility earlier. |
C.It involves too much effort to rise vertically. |
D.It’s ridiculous to call her generation “arrogant”. |
4.What can we conclude from the article?
A.The author is envious of her parents enjoying a big house at her age. |
B.Growing up in a hi-tech world makes “Generation Y” feel insecure about relationships. |
C.“Generation Y” people don’t want to grow up and love to be taken care of by their parents. |
D.The author wrote this article so that others would be able to understand her generation better. |
5.What is the main theme of the article?
A.The sudden realization of growing up. |
B.A comparison between lifestyles of generations. |
C.Criticisms of the young generation. |
D.The factors that have changed the young generation. |
When I was growing up, I always gave my mom an apron (围裙)on her birthday.I wanted my own mom — 21 that apron I'd just given her, of course —to 22 me at the end of each afternoon bearing a plate of home-baked 23 as she waited breathlessly to hear about my 24 day at school.
Mom loved her family without question, but as an elementary-school teacher she had her own exciting days to 25 .She had hardly any extra time and 26 , and home-baked treats were rare in our house except 27 very special occasions.Since Mom didn't make cookies very often, the 28 of her baking were not always the same.Sometimes the cookies were browned a little more than planned or 29 together and other times the cookies weren't smooth. 30 , none of that bothered anyone in the family.All we 31 was swallowing whatever we were having for dinner that night so we could get to the cookies 32 us on the kitchen counter.
Now that I'm a mom myself, I can 33 all too well why my mother didn't always have the time to wear the apron.As was true with my mother, the list of things I need to do is often 34 than the day itself.But I also understand the desire to 35 the same yellow mixing bowl my mother used and make something special for my family every so often.Whatever I bake is met with approval, appreciation and good 36 by my husband and children.At some level, I believe they're 37 that I was thinking about them as I 38 the brown sugar into the butter or frosted the cake with their favorite kind of icing.They always know I love them.I 39 they know it a little better when I'm in a baking mood.
I'm sure my mother felt 40 the same way whenever she made cookies for us.Those cookies will always, in my mind, be the best treat.
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____ the consequences of the chemical leaks, the specialists haven’t given final conclusion before they obtain accurate statistics.
A.In addition to |
B.As a result of |
C.In spite of |
D.With regard to |
It was not until I came here ____ I realized this place was famous for not only its beauty but also its weather.
A.who |
B.that |
C.where |
D.before |
--- I am shocked at the news that many pupils were killed in the terrible traffic accident.
--- So am I. Little ____ the safety of the poor children.
A.cared the local government about |
B.the local government cared about |
C.did the local government care about |
D.was the local government cared about |