Urbanization
Until relatively recently, the vast majority of human beings lived and died without ever seeing a city. The first city was probably founded no more than 5,500 years ago. 1. .In fact, nearly everyone lived on farms or in tiny rural (乡村的) villages. It was not until the 20th century that Great Britain became the first urban society in history--- a society in which the majority of people live in cities and do not farm for a living.
Britain was only the beginning. 2._ .The process of urbanization--- the migration (迁移) of people from the countryside to the city--- was the result of modernization, which has rapidly transformed how people live and where they live.
In 1990, fewer than 40% of Americans lived in urban areas. Today, over 82% of Americans live in cities. Only about 2% live on farms. 3. .
Large cities were impossible until agriculture became industrialized. Even in advanced agricultural societies. It took about ninety-five people on farms to feed five people in cities. 4. .Until modern times, those living in cities were mainly the ruling elite(精英) and the servants, laborers and professionals who served them. Cities survived by taxing farmers and were limited in size by the amount of surplus food that the rural population produced and by the ability to move this surplus from farm to city.
Over the past two centuries, the Industrial Revolution has broken this balance between the city and the country. 5._ . Today, instead of needing ninety-five farmers to feed five city people, one American farmer is able to feed more than a hundred non-farmers.
A. That kept cities very small.
B. The rest live in small towns.
C. The effects of urban living on people should be considered.
D. Soon many other industrial nations become urban societies.
E. But even 200 years ago, only a few people could live in cities.
F. Modernization drew people to the cities and made farmers more productive.
G. Modern cities have destroyed social relations and the health of human beings.
It is widely known that any English conversation begins with The Weather. Such a fixation with the weather finds expression in Dr.Johnson’s famous comment that “When two English meet, their first talk is of weather.” Though Johnson’s observation is as accurate now as it was over two hundred years ago, most commentators fail to come up with a convincing explanation for this English weather-speak.
Bill Bryson, for example, concludes that, as the English weather is not at all exciting, the obsession with it can hardly be understood. He argues that “To an outsider, the most striking thing about the English weather is that there is not very much of it.” Simply, the reason is that the unusual and unpredictable weather is almost unknown in the British Isles.
Jeremy Paxman, however, disagrees with Bryson, arguing that the English weather is by nature attractive. Bryson is wrong, he says, because the English preference for the weather has nothing to do with the natural phenomena.”The interest is less in the phenomena themselves, but in uncertainty.” According to him, the weather in England is very changeable and uncertain and it attracts the English as well as the outsider.
Bryson and Paxman stand for common misconceptions about the weather-speak among the English. Both commentators, somehow, are missing the point. The English weather conversation is not really about the weather at all. English weather-speak is a system of signs ,which is developed to help the speakers overcome the natural reserve and actually talk to each other. Everyone knows conversations starting with weather-speak are not requests for weather data. Rather, they are routine greetings, conversation starters or the blank “fillers”, In other words, English weather-speak is a means of social bonding.
1.The author mentions Dr.Johnson’s comment to show that________.
A. most commentators agree with Dr.Johnson
B. Dr.Johnson is famous for his weather observation
C. the comment was accurate two hundred years ago
D. English conversations usually start with the weather
2.What does the underlined word “obsession” most probably refer to?
A. A social trend.
B. An emotional state.
C. A historical concept.
D. An unknown phenomenon.
3.According to the passage, Jeremy Paxman believes that________.
A. Bill Bryson has little knowledge of the weather
B. there is nothing special about the English weather]
C. the English weather attracts people to the British Isles
D. English people talk about the weather for its uncertainty
4.What is the author’s main purpose of writing the passage?
A. To explain what English weather-speak is about.
B. To analyze misconceptions about the English weather.
C. To find fault with both Bill Bryson and Jeremy Paxman.
D. To convince people that the English weather is changeable.
In 1978, I was 18 and was working as a nurse in a small town about 270 km away from Sydney, Australia. I was looking forward to having five days off from duty. Unfortunately, the only one train a day back to my home in Sydney had already left. So I thought I’d hitch a ride (搭便车).
I waited by the side of the highway for three hours but no one stopped for me. Finally, a man walked over and introduced himself as Gordon. He said that although he couldn’t give me a lift, I should come back to his house for lunch. He noticed me standing for hours in the November heat and thought I must be hungry. I was doubtful as a young girl but he assured （使…放心）me I was safe, and he also offered to help me find a lift home afterwards. When we arrived at his house, he made us sandwiches. After lunch, he helped me find a lift home.
Twenty-five years later, in 2003, while I was driving to a nearby town one day, I saw an elderly man standing in the glaring heat, trying to hitch a ride. I thought it was another chance to repay someone for the favour I’d been given decades earlier. I pulled over and picked him up. I made him comfortable on the back seat and offered him some water.
After a few moments of small talk, the man said to me, “You haven’t changed a bit, even your red hair is still the same.” I couldn’t remember where I’d met him. He then told me he was the man who had given me lunch and helped me find a lift all those years ago. It was Gordon.
1.The author had to hitch a ride one day in 1978 because .
A. her work delayed her trip to Sydney
B. she was going home for her holidays
C. the town was far away from Sydney
D. she missed the only train back home
2. Which of the following did Gordon do according to Paragraph 2?
A. He helped the girl find a ride.
B. He gave the girl a ride back home.
C. He bought sandwiches for the girl.
D. He watched the girl for three hours.
3.The reason why the author offered a lift to the elderly man was that .
A. she realized he was Gordon
B. she had known him for decades
C. she was going to the nearby town
D. she wanted to repay the favour she once got
4.What does the author want to tell the readers through the story?
A. Giving sometimes produces nice results.
B. Those who give rides will be rapid.
C. Good manners bring about happiness.
D. People should offer free rides to others.
Your glasses may someday replace your smartphone, and some New Yorkers are ready for the switch. Some in the city can't wait to try them on and use the maps and GPS that the futuristic eyewear is likely to include.
“ I'd use it if I were hanging out with friends at 3 a. m. and going to the [bar and wanted to see what was open,” said Walter Choo, 40, of Fort Greene.
The smartphone-like glasses will likely come out this year and cost between $250 and $600, the Times said, possibly including a variation of augmented(增强的) reality, a technology already available on smartphones and tablets (平板电脑) that overlays information onto the screen about one's surroundings. So, for example, if you were walking down a street, indicators would pop up showing you the nearest coffee shop or directions could be plotted out and come into view right on the sidewalk in front of you.
“ As far as a mainstream consumer product, this just isn't something anybody needs,” said Sam Biddle, who writes for Gizmodo.com. “ We're accustomed to having one thing in our pocket to do all these things,” he added, “and the average consumer isn't gonna be able to afford another device (装置) that's hundreds and hundreds of dollars.”
9to5Google publisher Seth Weintraub, who has been reporting on the smartphone-like glasses since late last year, said he is confident that this type of wearable device will eventually be as common as smartphones.
“It's just like smartphones 10 years ago,” Weintraub said. “A few people started getting emails on their phones, and people thought that was crazy. Same kind of thing. We see people bending their heads to look at their smartphones, and it's unnatural,” he said. “ There's gonna be improvements to that, and this a step there.”
1. One of the possible functions of the smartphone-like glasses is to ____.
A. program the opening hours of a bar
B. supply you with a picture of the future
C. provide information about your surroundings
D. update the maps and GPS in your smartphones
2.The underlined phrase "pop up" in the third paragraph probably means " ____".
A. develop rapidly
B. get round quickly
C. appear immediately
D. go over automatically
3.According to Sam Biddle, the smartphone-like glasses are ____.
A. necessary for teenagers
B. attractive to New Yorkers
C. available to people worldwide
D. expensive for average consumers
4.We can learn from the last two paragraphs that the smartphone-like glasses ____.
A. may have a potential market
B. are as common as smartphones
C. are popular among young adults
D. will be improved by a new technology
In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music, dance and theatre in Edinburgh. The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.
At the same time, the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival. Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947, in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform, and they did so in a public house disused for years.
Soon, groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University, and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little-known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.
Today the “Fringe”, once less recognized, has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre, music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts. And yetas early as 1959, with only 19 theatre groups performing, some said it was getting too big.
A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971, and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself. In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries. More than 1,25 million tickets were sold.
1.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?
A. To bring Europe together again.
B. To honor heroes of World War 11.
C. To introduce young theatre groups.
D. To attract great artists from Europe.
2.Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?
A. They owned a public house there.
B. They came to take up a challenge.
C. They thought they were also famous.
D. They wanted to take part in the festival.
3.Who joined the "Fringe" after it appeared?
A. they owned a public house there
B. University students.
C. Artists from around the world.
D. Performers of music and dance.
4.We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival______.
A. has become a non-official event
B. has gone beyond an art festival
C. gives shows all year round
D. keeps growing rapidly
Some people will do just about anything to save money. And I am one of them. Take my family’s last vacation. It was my six-year-old son’s winter break form school, and we were heading home from Fort Lauderdale after a weeklong trip. The flight was overbooked, and Delta, the airline, offered us $400 per person in credits to give up our seats and leave the next day. I had meetings in New York，So I had to get back. But that didn't mean my husband and my son couldn't stay. I took my nine-month-old and took off for home.
The next day, my husband and son were offered more credits to take an even later flight. Yes, I encouraged—okay, ordered—them to wait it out at the airport, to "earn" more Delta Dollars. Our total take: $1,600. Not bad, huh?
Now some people may think I'm a bad mother and not such a great wife either. But as a big-time bargain hunter, I know the value of a dollar. And these days, a good deal is something few of us can afford to pass up.
I've made living looking for the best deals and exposing （揭露） the worst tricks. I have been the consumer reporter of NBC's Today show for over a decade. I have written a couple of books including one titled Tricks of the Trade: A Consumer Survival Guide. And I really do what I believe in.
I tell you this because there is no shame in getting your money’s worth. I’m also tightfisted when it comes to shoes, clothes for my children, and expensive restaurants. But I wouldn't hesitate to spend on a good haircut. It keeps its shape longer, and it's the first thing people notice. And I will also spend on a classic piece of furniture. Quality lasts.
1.Why did Delta give the author's family credits?
A. They took a later flight.
B. They had early bookings.
C. Their flight had been delayed.
D. Their flight had been cancelled.
2.What can we learn about the author?
A. She rarely misses a good deal.
B. She seldom makes a compromise.
C. She is very strict with her children.
D. She is interested in cheap products.
3.What does the author do?
A. She's a teacher.
B. She's a housewife.
C. She's a media person.
D. She's a businesswoman.
4.What does the author want to tell us?
A. How to expose bad tricks.
B. How to reserve airline seats.
C. How to spend money wisely.
D. How to make a business deal.
