Everyone should learn something about first aid,for every second will ________ in an emergency.
A.play B.count
C.happen D.show
—Now,where is my package?
—________ We’ll be late for the train.
A.Come on! B.Forget it!
C.Don’t worry. D.Who knows?
Art is everywhere in our lives.Every manmade object is linked with art—a house,a motor car,a bridge,a chair,a teapot,or a piece of cloth.Throughout history,humans have made articles for a wide variety of purposes;generally for everyday practical requirements.The style of practical objects reflects the outlook and the spirit of the times in which they are made and in consequence style is constantly changing.
It seems that humans possess a natural urge to improve constructed objects with decoration:sometimes for beautification,sometimes for religious reasons,sometimes to show off their wealth and power,and sometimes to tell a story.Decoration is not art in itself.Unnecessary decoration can ruin the form and perhaps the function of an object,but when decoration is used with care,it can beautify,produce variety,and add interest.
The first essential(要点) in every creation is that it should properly fulfil its purpose;for instance,a teapot should pour perfectly,an easy chair should provide comfortable relaxation,a block of flats should be a pleasant place in which to live,and a factory or commercial building should be a suitable building in which to work.
The second essential is that an object should please the eye with its form,line,proportion(比例),colour and texture(质地),and it should be capable of inspiring the emotions.For example,contemporary furniture designers must think of form,function and structure,and have taken their lead from the outstanding Scandinavian designs of Denmark,Finland and Sweden,whose preference was for simple functional furniture to suit the architectural environment of the day.Heavy furniture is no longer desirable,and by contrast,modern furniture is often characterised by its good proportion,pleasing lines,simple fittings and attractive structures.
Motor vehicles are a perfect example of how design has changed to suit function.Early car design was greatly influenced by the horsedrawn carriage,but today we find functional design satisfying every requirement of practical use and good appearance.Designs in the 1980s and 1990s included streamlining(流线型) to reduce wind resistance in fastmoving vehicles,and,at the same time,satisfy an important art principle—rhythm.But the cars of today,often half size of their predecessors(前身),have taken the concept of industrial design way beyond simple strength,comfort and beauty.They now include safety and ecological characteristics,reflecting the need to be environmentally friendly through,for example,reduced fuel consumption,while at the same time satisfying the need to be stylish,and appealing to the eye.For many people,the 21stcentury car represents the greatest work of art.
1.What point does the writer make about decorating objects?
A.It is something people have always done.
B.It can show the object has a range of functions.
C.It always improves the appearance of an object.
D.It is usually done to make the object more noticeable.
2.The underlined word “fulfil” in Paragraph 3 means “________”.
A.keep B.find
C.change D.realize
3.What is the best title for the text?
A.Form Follows Function
B.Life Is Art,Art Is Life
C.Art in Everyday Life
D.The Best Work of Art
A job is more than just a job,especially to the older generation.“It’s not the money that matters,but the sense of selfworth,” 56yearold Cheng Wonlan said.So,every day Ms Cheng carries a bag of parcels,letters and documents of all shapes and sizes and does her rounds in North Point.She’s a courier(快递人员).
Five years ago,Ms Cheng was a nurse at a private clinic.She had worked there for almost 30 years but was made jobless when the doctor migrated(移居).It was extremely difficult for her to find another job.“People do not trust my ability when they learn how old I am,” she said.After two years of searching,the mother of two eventually found another nursing job.But then after two years,she quit.Why?
“My colleagues were young and they didn’t understand me because of my age.They often asked me,‘You are so old;what are you working for?’ I was very unhappy.” she said.So while the rest of her family left for work,she was left to lonely boredom at home.The urge to work drove her to suffering.Then,one of Ms Cheng’s neighbours told her about Employee’s Retraining Board (ERB) offering retraining courses for older people on specific occupations,such as convenience store assistants,junior clerks and so on.
“I was interested in courier work.I didn’t think my age was a barrier because I was fit and healthy.So I thought why not give it a try.” she said.Upon graduation from the ERB,Ms Cheng was offered a job by the Speeding Shuttle Courier Service Company Limited.But then Ms Cheng was faced with a conflict:she was caught between honour and employment.It took Ms Cheng 24 hours to make up her mind and eventually came to the conclusion that there was nothing wrong or embarrassing about doing the job.So she took heart and went off to work as a courier.
Ms Cheng’s employer is delighted with her,“Ms Cheng has been working with us for two months and has shown a good responsible attitude to work.”Anthony Chong,who runs the company,said.Currently,Mr Chong has 60 couriers working for his company:five of them are over fifty,four of whom have been through the ERB plan.Mr Chong said he hired older people because they were able and reliable.“Age is not an important factor but attitude is.Many old people are more capable than the youngsters.They will not run from difficulties but the young ones will,” he said.“It is not easy to recruit (招募) young people since they shy away from hardship and challenges.”
1.Why was it difficult for Ms Cheng to find another nursing job?
A.Nursing clinics were hard to find.
B.People thought that old people couldn’t be trusted.
C.People thought she was too old to take on a new job.
D.People didn’t think she had enough working experience.
2.Ms Cheng left her second nursing job because ________.
A.she was bored
B.it was too difficult
C.she was too old to do the job
D.the other staff made her feel uncomfortable
3.Employee’s Retraining Board is a plan for ________.
A.finding jobs for older people
B.teaching new skills to older people
C.training older people to be couriers
D.giving older people something to do in their spare time
4.When Ms Cheng was offered the courier job she ________.
A.took it straight away
B.thought it over and then accepted it
C.thought about it and then refused it
D.refused it straight away but then changed her mind
The Allendale Cultural Center has expanded its arts program to include classes for young adults.Director Leah Martin announced Monday that beginning in September,three new classes will be offered to the Allendale community.The course titles will be Yoga(瑜伽) for Teenagers;Hip Hop Dance:Learning the Latest Moves;and Creative_Journaling_for_Teens:Discovering_the_Writer_Within.The latter course will not be held at the Allendale Cultural Center but instead will meet at the Allendale Public Library.
Staff member Tricia Cousins will teach the yoga and hip hop classes.Ms.Cousins is a skilled choreographer (舞蹈指导) as well as an experienced dance educator.She is a Master of Arts in dance education from Teachers College,Columbia University.The journaling class will be taught by Betsy Milford.Ms.Milford is the head librarian at the Allendale Public Library as well as a columnist(专栏作家) for the professional journal Library Focus.
The courses are part of the Allendale Cultural Center’s Project Teen,which was organized by Leah Martin,Director of the Cultural Center.According to Martin,this project is a direct result of her efforts to make the center a more necessary part of the Allendale community.Over the last several years,the number of people who have visited the cultural center for classes or events has steadily declined.Project Teen is primarily funded by the McGee Arts Foundation,an organization devoted to bringing arts programs to young adults.The other members of Project Teen are two students at Allendale’s Brookdale High School and three adults with backgrounds in education and the arts.
The creative journaling class will be cosponsored by Brookdale High School,and students who complete the class will be given the opportunity to publish one of their journal works in Pulse,Brookdale’s student literary magazine.Students who complete the hip hop class will be qualified to participate in the Allendale Review,an annual concert sponsored by the cultural center that features local actors,musicians,and dancers.
All classes are scheduled to begin immediately after school,and transportation will be available from Brookdale High School to the Allendale Cultural Center and the Allendale Public Library.For more information about Project Teen,contact the cultural center’s programming office at 9880099 or drop by the office after June 1 to pick up a fall course catalog.The office is located on the third floor of the Allendale Town Hall.
1.The underlined title of the course in Paragraph 1 implies that ________.
A.teenagers do not have enough hobbies
B.all young people should write in a journal daily
C.teenagers are in need of guidance and direction
D.writing in a journal can help teenagers become creative writers
2.What is the cause of setting up Project Teen?
A.More and more people are coming to the center.
B.Tricia Cousins is available to teach courses in the fall.
C.Community organizations were ignoring local teenagers.
D.Leah Martin wants to make the center more important for the community.
3.What does the text mainly tell us?
A.The needs of young adults in Allendale.
B.Leah Martin’s personal ideas about Project Teen.
C.The center adds three new classes for young adults.
D.The center is granted by the McGee Arts Foundation.
4.Which of the following ways is the text organized?
A.In order of space,from the near to the far.
B.In order of time,from the past to the future.
C.The most important information first,followed by background and details.
D.The background first,followed by the most important information and details.
It had been a long,hard,wonderful day.The two of us had walked from the sea’s edge through the length of a beautiful valley,climbed a superb mountain,travelled its narrow,rocky ridge(山脊),and now stood on its final peak,tired,happy and looking for the perfect campsite.
The experienced backpacker has a natural feeling for such things,and our eyes were drawn to a small blue circle on the map,like an eye winking at us.We could not see it from where we were,but we followed our judgement and went down steeply until it came into view.
We were right.It was a calm pool,with flat grass beside it.Gently taking our packs off,we made the first of many cups of tea before pulling up our tent.Later that evening,over another cup of tea and after a good meal,we sat outside the tent watching the sunset over a sea dotted with islands,towards one of which a ferry was slowly moving.It is not always so perfect,of course.On another trip,with a different companion,a thoroughly wet day had ended at a lonely farm.Depressed at the thought of camping,we had knocked and asked if we could use a barn(谷仓) as a shelter.
Backpacking could be defined as the art of comfortable,selfsufficient(自给自足的) travel on foot.Everything you need is in the pack on your back,and you become emotionally_as_well_as_physically_attached_to_it.I once left my pack hidden in some rocks while I made a long trip to a peak I particularly wanted to climb.I was away for nearly three hours and ended up running the last stretch in fear that my precious pack would not be there.It was,of course.
The speed at which the backpacker travels makes this the perfect way to see any country.You experience the landscape as a slow unfolding scene,almost in the way it was made;and you find time to stop and talk to people you meet.I’ve learned much local history from simply chatting to people I met while walking through an area.At the end of a trip,whether three days or three weeks,there’s a feeling of achievement,of having got somewhere under your own power.
After years of going out walking just for the day,many people start backpacking simply through wanting to stay out rather than cut short a trip.
1.The writer and his companion knew there was a pool because ________.
A.they had been told about it
B.they could see it on the map
C.they had seen it earlier in the day
D.they could see it from the top of the mountain
2.What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The map. B.The pool.
C.The mountain. D.The campsite.
3.How did the writer and his companion feel at the end of the day?
A.They were too tired to put up their tent.
B.They wished they could have found a farm.
C.They were anxious about the coming weather.
D.They were delighted with the spot they’d found.
4.What does the writer mean by being “emotionally as well as physically attached to it ” in Paragraph 4?
A.It is more than just a practical aid.
B.He walks better when he is wearing it.
C.It is not a good idea to leave it anywhere.
D.He might die on the mountains without it.