It was once common to regard Britain as a society with class distinction. Each class had unique characteristics.
In recent years, many writers have begun to speak the 'decline of class' and 'classless society' in Britain. And in modern day consumer society everyone is considered to be middle class.
But pronouncing the death of class is too early. A recent wide-ranging society of public opinion found 90 percent of people still placing themselves in particular class; 73 percent agreed that class was still a vital part of British society; and 52 percent thought there were still sharp class differences. Thus, class may not be culturally and politically obvious, yet it remains an important part of British society. Britain seems to have a love of stratification.
One unchanging aspect of a British person's class position is accent. The words a person speaks tell her or his class. A study of British accents during 1970s found that a voice sounding like a BBC newsreader was viewed as the most attractive voice, Most people said this accent sounded 'educated' and 'soft'. The accents placed at the bottom in this study, on the other hand, were regional（地区的）city accents. These accents were seen as 'common' and 'ugly'. However, a similar study of British accents in the US turned these results upside down and placed some regional accents as the most attractive and BBC English as the least. This suggests that British attitudes towards accent have deep roots and are based on class prejudice.
In recent years, however, young upper middle-class people in London, have begun to adopt some regional accents, in order to hide their class origins. This is an indication of class becoming unnoticed. However, the 1995 pop song 'Common People' puts forward the view that though a middle-class person may 'want to live like common people' they can never appreciate the reality of a working-class life.
1.A recent study of public opinion shows that in modern Britain ________.
A. it is time to end class distinction
B. most people belong to middle class
C. it is easy to recognize a person’s class
D. people regard themselves socially different
2.The word stratification in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ________.
A. variety
B. most people belong to middle class
C. authority
D. qualification
3.The study in the US showed that BBC English was regarded as _________.
A. regional
B. educated
C. prejudiced
D. unattractive
4. British attitudes towards accent _________.
A. have a long tradition
B. are based on regional status
C. are shared by the Americans
D. have changed in recent years
5.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The middle class is expanding
B. A person’s accent reflects his class
C. Class is a key part of British society
D. Each class has unique characteristics.
Daniel Anderson, a famous psychologist, believes it’s important to distinguish television’s influences on children from those of the family. We tend to blame TV, he says, for problems it doesn’t really cause, overlooking our own roles in shaping children’s minds.
One traditional belief about television is that it reduces a child’s ability to think and to understand the world. While watching TV, children do not merely absorb words and images (影像). Instead, they learn both explicit and hidden meanings from what they see. Actually, children learn early the psychology of characters in TV shows. Furthermore, as many teachers agree, children understand far more when parents watch TV with them, explaining new words and ideas. Yet, most parents use an educational program as a chance to park their kids in front of the set and do something in another room.
Another argument against television is that it replaces reading as a form of entertainment. But according to Anderson, the amount of time spent watching television is not related to reading ability. TV doesn’t take the place of reading for most children; it takes the place of similar sorts of recreation, such as listening to the radio and playing sports. Things like parents’ educational background have a stronger influence on a child’s reading. “A child’s reading ability is best predicted by how much a parent reads.” Anderson says.
Traditional wisdom also has it that heavy television-watching lowers IQ (智商) scores and affects school performance. But here, too, Anderson notes that no studies have proved it. In fact, research suggests that it’s the other way around. “If you’re smart young, you’ll watch less TV when you’re older,” Anderson says. Yet, people of lower IQ tend to be lifelong television viewers.
For years researchers have attempted to show that television is dangerous to children. However, by showing that television promotes none of the dangerous effects as conventionally believed, Anderson suggests that television cannot be condemned without considering other influences.
1.By watching TV, children learn _________.
A. images through words
B. more than explicit meanings
C. more about images than words
D. little about people’s psychology
2. An educational program is best watched by a child _________.
A. on his own
B. with other kids
C. with his parents
D. with his teachers
3.Which of the following is most related to children’s reading ability?
A. Radio-listening
B. Television-watching
C. Parents’ reading list
D. Parents’ educational background
4. Anderson believed that _________.
A. the more a child watches TV, the smarter he is
B. the younger a child is, the more he watches TV
C. the smarter a child is, the less likely he gets addicted to TV
D. the less a child watches TV, the better he performs at school
5. What is the main purpose of the passage?
A. To advise on the educational use of TV.
B. To describe TV’s harmful effects on children.
C. To explain traditional views on TV influences.
D. To present Anderson’s unconventional ideas.
When I was nine years old, I loved to go fishing with my dad. But the only thing that wasn’t very fun about it was that he could catch many fish while I couldn’t catch anything. I usually got pretty upset and kept asking him why. He always answered, “Son, if you want to catch a fish, you have to think like a fish”, I remember being even more upset then because, “I’m not a fish!” I didn’t know how to think like a fish. Besides, I reasoned, how could what I think influence what a fish does?
As I got a little older I began to understand what my dad really meant. So, I read some books on fish. And I even joined the local fishing club and started attending the monthly meetings. I learned that a fish is a cold-blooded animal and therefore is very sensitive to water temperature. That is why fish prefer shallow water to deep water because the former is warmer. Besides, water is usually warmer in direct sunlight than in the shade. Yet, fish don’t have any eyelids(眼皮) and the sun huts their eyes… The more I understood fish, the more I became effective at finding and catching them..
When I grew up and entered the business world, I remember hearing my first boss say, “We all need to think like sales people.” But it didn’t completely make sense. My dad never once said, “If you want to catch a fish you need to think like a fisherman.” What he said was, “You need to think like a fish.” Years later, with great efforts to promote long-term services to people much older and richer than me, I gradually learned what we all need is to think more like customers. It is not an easy job. I will show you how in the following chapters.
1. Why was the author upset in fishing trips when he was nine?
A. He could not catch a fish.
B. His father was not patient with him.
C. His father did not teach him fishing.
D. He could not influence a fish as his father did.
2.What did the author’s father really mean?
A. To read about fish.
B. To learn fishing by oneself.
C. To understand what fish think.
D. To study fishing in many ways.
3.According to the author, fish are most likely to be found _________.
A. in deep water on sunny days
B. in deep water on cloudy days
C. in shallow water under sunlight
D. in shallow water under waterside trees.
4. After entering the business world, the author found _________.
A. it easy to think like a customer
B. his father’s fishing advice inspiring
C. his first boss’s sales ideas reasonable
D. it difficult to sell services to poor people
5. This passage most likely comes from _________.
A. a fishing guide
B. a popular sales book
C. a novel on childhood
D. a millionaire’s biography
Peter loved to shop used articles. Almost a month ago, he bought popular word game that used little pieces of wood with different letters on them. As he was purchasing it, the salesgirl said, “Uh, look, the game box haven’t even been opened yet. That might be worth some money. ”
Peter examined the box, and, sure enough, it was completely covered in factory-sealed plastic. And he saw a date of 1973 on the back of the box.
“You should put that up for auction (拍卖) on the Internet, and see what happens.”the salesgirl said.
“Yes, you’re right. People like something rare.” Peter agreed, “I can’t imagine there being very many unopened boxes of this game still around 40 years later.”
“Don’t forget to tell me if you sell it.” the salesgirl smiled.
“No problem.” Peter said.
After he got home, Peter went online to several auction websites looking for his game. But he couldn’t find it. Then he typed in the name of the word game and hit Search. The search result was 543 websites containing information about the changes of the game. Over the years, the game had been produced using letters in different sizes and game boards in different colors. He also found some lists of game fans looking for various versions of the game. Peter emailed some of them, telling them what he had.
Two weeks later, Peter went back to the shop.
“Hello. Do you still remember the unopened word game?”
The salesgirl looked at him for a second, then recognized him and said, “Oh, hi!”
“I’ve got something for you,” Peter said. “I sold the game and made $1,000. Thank you for your suggestion.” He handed her three $ 100 bills.
“Wow!” the salesgirl cried out. “Thank you, I never expected it.”
1.Which of the following best describes Peter’s word game?
A. It was made around 40 years ago.
B. It had game boards in different sizes.
C. It was kept in a plastic bag with a seal.
D. It had little pieces of wood in different colors.
2. What did the salesgirl probably think of Peter’s word game?
A. Old and handy.
B. Rare and valuable.
C. Classic and attractive.
D. Colorful and interesting
3. Peter got the names of the game fans from _________.
A. an auction
B. the Internet
C. a game shop
D. the second-hand shop
4.What happened at the end of the story?
A. Peter gave the girl $300 as a reward.
B. The salesgirl became Peter’s friend.
C. Peter returned the word game for $ 1,000.
D. The salesgirl felt confused to see Peter again.
5. What is the main theme of the story?
A. It’s important to keep a promise.
B. It’s great to share in other people’s happiness.
C. We should be grateful for the help from others.
D. Something rare is worth a large amount of money.
Mr. Johnson lived in the woods with his wife and children. He owned ___1.__ farm, which looked almost abandoned. ___2.___ (lucky), he also had a cow which produced milk every day. He sold or exchanged some of the milk in the towns nearly ___3.__ other food and made cheese and butter for the family with what ___4.__ (leave). The cow was their only means of support, in fact. One day, the cow was eating grass __5.__ it began to rain heavily. While making great efforts to run away, she __6.___ (fall) over the hill and died. Then the Johnson tried to make a living _7._ the cow. In order to support his family, Mr. Johnson began to plant herbs and vegetables. Since the plants took a while to grow, he started cutting down trees __8.__ (sell) the wood. Thinking about his children’s clothes, he started growing cotton too. When harvest came around, he was already selling herbs, vegetables and cotton in the market ___9.__ people from the town met regularly. Now it occurred to ___10.___ that his farm had much potential and that the death of the cow was a bit of luck.
How long can human beings live? Most scientists who study old age think that the human body is ______ to live no longer than 120 years. However, 110 years is probably the longest that anyone could hope to live —— if he or she is ______ healthy and lucky. Some scientists even say we can live as long as 130 years! Yet, our cells simply cannot continue to reproduce ______. They wear out, and as a result, we get old and ______ die.
Even though we can’t live forever, we are living a ______ life than ever before. In 1900, the average American life span (寿命) was only 47 years, but today it is 75 years!
When does old age begin then? Sixty-five may be out-of-date as the ______ line between middle age and old age. After all, many older people don’t begin to experience physical and mental ______ until after age 75.
People are living longer because more people ______ childhood. Before modern medicine changed the laws of nature, many children died of common childhood ______. Now that the chances of dying ______ are much lower, the chances of living long are much higher due to better diets and health care.
On the whole, our population is getting older. The ______ in our population will have lasting effects on our social development and our way of life. Some people fear such changes will be for the worse, while some see ______, not disaster, many men and women in their “golden years” are healthy, still active, and young in ______ if not in age.
As the society grows old, we need the ______ of our older citizens. With long lives ahead of them, they need to ______ active and devoted.
1.A. designed B. selected C. improved D. discovered
2.A. completelyB. generallyC. apparently D. extremely
3.A. rapidlyB. harmlessly C. endlessly D. separately
4.A. eventually B. hopelessly C. automatically D. desperately
5.A. busier B. longer C. richer D. happier
6.A. finishingB. guiding C. waiting D. dividing
7.A. stressB. damage C. decline D. failure
8.A. survive B. enjoy C. remember D. value
9.A. problems B. fears C. worries D. diseases
10.A. poorB. young C. sick D. quiet
11.A. changes B. recovery C. safety D. increases
12.A. dreams B. chances C. strengths D. choices
13.A. mind B. appearance C. voice D. movement
14.A. protection B. suggestions C. contributions D. permission
15.A. sound B. appear C. turn D. stay
