One’s style of the dress reveals the human obsession with both novelty and tradition. People use clothing to declare their membership in a particular social group; however, the rules for what is acceptable dress for that group may change. In affluent societies, this changing of the rules is the driving force behind fashions. By keeping up with fashions, that is, by changing their clothing style frequently but meanwhile, members of a group both satisfy their desire for novelty and obey the rules, thus demonstrating their membership in the group.
There are some interesting variations (变种) regarding individual status. Some people, particularly in the West, consider themselves of such high status that they do not need to display it with their clothing. For example, many wealthy people in the entertainment industry appear in very casual clothes, such as the worn jeans and work boots of a manual laborer. However, it is likely that a subtle but important signal, such as an expensive wristwatch, will prevail over the message of the casual dress. Such an inverted (颠倒的)status display is most likely to occur where the person’s high status is conveyed in ways other than with clothing, such as having a famous face.
1.According to the author, fashions serve all the following purposes EXCEPT
A. satisfying an interest in novelty
B. signaling a change in personal beliefs
C. displaying membership in a social group
D. following traditional rules
2.Why does the author discuss individual status in paragraph 2?
A. To state that individual’s status is not important in the West
B. To argue that individuals need not obey every fashion rule
C. To contrast the status of entertainers with that of manual laborers
D. To explain how high status may involve an inverted status display
3.What’s the meaning of the underlined word?
A. newness B. convention C. nobleness D. benzene
Butterflies are some of the most fascinating and beautiful insects in the world. Adult butterflies will live about 2 to 4 weeks. They use their senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste to survive in the world, find food and mates, lay eggs in an appropriate place, migrate, and avoid hungry enemies.
Butterflies have large compound eyes, which allow them to see in all directions without turning their heads. Like most insects, butterflies are very nearsighted, so they are more attracted to a sea of flowers than individual plants. Butterflies do not “see” colors such as red, green, and yellow, but they can sense sunlight, which indicates the direction the sun is shining, as well as ultraviolet light, which is present on many flowers and guides butterflies to honey sources.
Butterflies have a very well-developed sense of smell, but it is not in their nose, since they don't have one. Sense receptors are located in their antennae, feet, and many other parts of the body. They can help butterflies find their favorite flower honey food, and mates.
Butterflies' feet have sense organs that can taste the sugar in flower honey, letting the butterflies know if something is good to eat or not. Some females also carefully choose host plants by tasting to find appropriate places to lay their eggs. Adult butterflies feed their babies using a long tube. Butterflies force blood into the tube to straighten it out, allowing them to feed. Butterflies get all their food from this tube.
Butterflies don't have ears. Instead they “hear” sounds through their wings by sensing changes in sound vibrations.
Butterflies may possess senses we don't even know about yet, because their body structure is very different from ours, and therefore difficult to understand, when observed through our own human senses.
1.The text mainly focuses on ________.
A．butterflies' living habits B．butterflies' beauty
C．butterflies' senses D．butterflies' daily activities
2.What can we learn from the 2nd paragraph?
A．Butterflies can see in all directions and don't need to turn heads.
B．Butterflies have good eyesight.
C．Butterflies are sensitive to bright colors including red and yellow.
D．Butterflies cannot sense the ultraviolet light.
3.Why do female adult butterflies carefully choose the host plants?
A．To find highqualified honey.
B．To have a good place for living.
C．To make it easier for them to hide from the enemies.
D．To find a proper place for their eggs.
Former Irish President Mary Robinson was just making a polite conversation with an Ethiopian (埃塞俄比亚的) teenager about her wedding day. The 16yearold had already been married for a year. “She looked at me with the saddest eyes and said, ‘I had to drop out of school’，” Robinson said in a telephone interview. “That conveyed to me the reality，” said Robinson, the first woman to serve as Ireland's president and former U．N. high commissioner for human fights. “Her life, as far as she is concerned, had more or less ended.”
Robinson said keeping girls in school was one of the most important things policymakers could do to address the coming challenges of an ever-increasing population, predicted by the United Nations to reach 7 billion soon. “European countries are concerned about aging populations as is Japan, but this is much less of an issue than the huge number of people which we are going to see over the next 40 years when the population goes from 7 billion to 9 billion，” she said. “Almost all of that increase will be in poor developing countries, so that we have a very big challenge.”
Family planning experts worry in particular about the future population explosion in subSaharan Africa. In May, the United Nations projected the world population would reach 9.3billion in 2050 and 10.1 billion by 2100. Much of that growth will come from Africa, where the population is growing at 2.3 percent a year—more than double Asia's 1 percent growth rate. If that rate stays consistent, which is not certain, Africa's population will reach 3.6 billion by 2100 from the present 1 billion.
Joel Cohen, a professor of population studies at Rockefeller University and Columbia University in New York, said universal secondary education offered a way to reduce population in high birthrate regions. In addition to providing information about birth control, a secondary education teaches women to reduce their own fertility (生育力), improve the health of their children and allows them to move from a mindset of having many children, in the hopes that some will survive to improving the quality of each child's life, Cohen wrote in the journal Nature.
1.In the first paragraph, the author introduces his topic by ________.
A．explaining the author's opinions
B．giving an example
C．describing the poor education system
D．coming straight to the topic
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A．Robinson is happy after talking to the Ethiopian girl.
B．Robinson is a successful expert in population studies.
C．Robinson is worried about population growth.
D．Robinson encourages female education.
3.What is Joel Cohen's view about secondary education?
A．It provides basic knowledge of health.
B．It improves the health of children.
C．It makes people pay more attention to education.
D．It can change people's parenting ideas.
4.According to Robinson, what is one of the most important things policymakers can do to prevent the population from increasing rapidly?
A．Keeping girls in school.
B．Letting girls go away from Africa.
C．Letting young girls remain single.
D．Keeping girls in families.
A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because a disease made his leg lame. He ____ played with his classmates. When the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always ____ his head without a word.
One ____ the boy's father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He wanted the ____ to plant a sapling each person in front of the house. The father said, “Whose sapling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite ____.” Seeing his brothers and sisters watering the trees, however, the boy had an idea. He hoped that the tree he planted would ____ soon. So, after watering it once or twice，he never ____ it.
A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was ____ to find that it didn't wilt (枯萎) but grew some fresh leaves. ____ the trees of his brothers and sisters, his tree was even greener. His father kept his ____， bought the little boy his favorite gift and said that from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding ____ when he grew up.
Since then, the little boy slowly became ____. One night, he lay on the bed but could not sleep. Then he got up and came to the ____. To his surprise, his ____ was splashing something onto his tree.____， he understood—his father had been ____ fertilizing his small tree!
He returned to his room，____ running down.
____ passed. The little boy didn't become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.
Love is the ____ nourishment (营养) of life. ____ it is just a drop of clear water, it can still help the tree of life thrive (茁壮成长)．
1.A. bravely B．seldom C．freely D．always
2.A. raised B．nodded C．lowered D．knocked
3.A. spring B．moment C．winter D．week
4.A. neighbors B．friends C．children D．boys
5.A. sapling B．tree C．gift D．toy
6.A. die B．grow C．break D．survive
7.A. led to B．attended to C．belonged to D．objected to
8.A. pleased B．upset C．worried D．surprised
9.A. Compared with B．Similar to C．Connected to D．Popular with
10.A. request B．schedule C．promise D．secret
11.A. president B．botanist C．artist D．researcher
12.A. smart B．desperate C．optimistic D．practical
13.A. field B．courtyard C．park D．farm
14.A. brother B．sister C．father D．neighbor
15.A. All of a sudden B．For a moment C．In time D．From then on
16.A. busily B．quietly C．cautiously D．secretly
17.A. water B．tears C．sweat D．rain
18.A. Hours B．Months C．Decades D．Centuries
19.A. last B．only C．least D．best
20.A. Even if B．Now that C．If only D．What if
--- It’s reported that the doctor who sold children have been caught.
--- _____________.
A. Justice has long arms
B. Lies has short legs
C One false move my lose the game
D. Kings go mad and the people suffer for it
There is still a lot for Chinese Women’s volleyball team to improve _____ they have obtained a string of wins.
A. now that B. as if C. even though D. given that
