Shenzhen’s transport police recently declared a policeman a “star” member of staff, after he continued to serve in his post even after losing his newborn son. After a netizen made that known, internet users were merciless in their criticism, claiming Sun had sacrificed his son for his career and was unqualified to be a father or even a human being. Though Sun’s wife said via her micro blog he was the best husband and father in the world, it didn’t stop the tide of condemnation.
I feel deeply sorry for this man. It’s not that he should have received the award. It’s traditional in China for individuals to make sacrifices for a group or the country, which remains to be questioned. What annoys me is the netizens pouring anger on the father instead of showing sympathy. Why are they so quick to claim the moral high ground and set themselves up as judges? Whether the father accompanied his son until the last moment or not is a personal affair. The treatment of Sun is a case in point—of the “tyranny(专制)of the majority”. And the majority is not always correct or fair.
Micro blogs have been a growing trend in China in the last few years, becoming a channel for ordinary people to express their opinions, which was previously the preserve of elites(精英) and the media. The positive side of this has been praised enough. But we also need to examine the downside: Self-proclaimed（自诩的）online arbiters of what is right and wrong form another type of unfair rule running cruelly over opinions that don’t match their own. Without knowing enough details and without any serious thought, they pronounce their judgment as opinion of the “majority”.
We should question this expression of personal opinion and the commonness of group attacks. What we need is real, independent critical thinking instead of an Internet mob（暴徒）.
I have no idea how to change the situation but I do hope it happens.
1.What do we know about the policeman referred to ?
A．He was a model policeman but a failure as a father.
B．He cared little about the loss of his newborn son.
C．He was severely under verbal（言语上的） attack of the netizens.
D．He did not even have his wife’s understanding.
2.The writer of the passage probably will agree that .
A．the policeman quite deserved the honor of the award.
B．individuals’ sacrifice for a group is undoubtedly a good act.
C．micro blogs are a preserved channel for elites and the media only.
D．some netizens claim their unsound judgments as opinion of the majority.
3.The underlined word “arbiters” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to .
A．bloggers B．referees
C．criminals D．programmers
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A．Tyranny of the majority online goes wild
B．Policeman who lose baby son got awarded
C．Micro blogs need tough control
D．How to stay away from Internet mobs
Today’s museums include plenty of high culture, but you can still find shrines（圣地）to the extraordinary. Here’s a look at five curious museum stops across Canada.
Vancouver Police Museum
The setting, terrible enough, is the old Coroner’s（验尸官）Court and forensics lab, including the morgue(room where dead bodies are kept). Artifacts, from the 1870s on, include badges, uniforms, police equipment, items from criminals, and even preserved organs—all in all an arresting experience.
Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station
Designed to resemble a spacecraft, the Treck Station celebrates Vulcan’s coincidental relationship to Mr. Spock’s planet, Go to a building that features an 800-piece collection of Star Trek memorabilia — including Spock’s ears and floor-to-ceiling space paintings. If you want to know more about it, click here: http//www. Vulcantourism. com
Accordion（手风琴）Museum
Through instruments, photos and recordings, the museum traces the history of the accordion and its influence on Quebec culture. They’ve even acquired Asian instruments that show the use of the free reed— call them ancient ancestors of the accordion—that date back 4000 years.
Chocolate Museum
It’s chocoholic heaven — whole museum featuring displays on how chocolate is made, hands-on exhibits, collections of historic chocolate boxes, and antique candy- making equipment and, of course, lots of chocolate treats ,located in an old candy factory building. Click below to learn all about their hours and admission rates. http:// www. Chocolate museum .ca
Potato museum
A 14--foot high potato greets you at what’s billed as the world’s largest exhibit of potato artifacts. Explore the humble potato’s role in the economy, a collection of farm tools related to growing and harvesting potatoes, Hall of Fame.
1.If you are very interested in thrilling movies, you will probably be attracted by .
A．potato Museum
B．Chocolate Museum
C．Vancouver Police Museum
D．Accordion Museum
2.We can infer from the passage that the ancestors of accordion originated in .
A．Canada B．America
C．Africa D．Asia
3.People having a sweet tooth may prefer visiting .
A．Accordion Museum
B．Potato Museum
C．Chocolate Museum
D．Vulcan Tourism & Trek Station
4.The passage is most likely to be taken from .
A．a magazine B．a website
C．a newspaper D．a brochure
We have an amazing 99 friends at the age of 21--more than at any other time in our life, according to a new study. The typical 21-year-old’s social circle nearly hits 100, with 13 “best” friends, 17 “close” friends and 70 acquaintances.
The research undertaken by skin care brand Nivea found our social circle peaks at 21 as we meet people at work while keeping in touch with friends from school and university. But as our working lives take over，we lose contact with some old friends causing the number to drop to around 68 by the time we are 29 years old. Although this decline continues into old age，it slows down slightly for people in their 30s when many of them become first-time parents. It is believed that this is because people form new friendships while on the maternity ward(产科病房)，at post-natal(产后) groups and when taking their toddlers(学步时期的小孩) to nursery.
The Nivea Closeness Report found the balance between our numbers of “best friends”，“close friends” and “acquaintances”，remains fairly constant throughout our lifetime. The average Briton has 18 close friends and a friendship circle，when all Facebook and other social networking “friends” are included，of 208 people. The report found that men have more than twice the number of close friends，with around 27 compared to women who have just 12. Londoners are also the most sociable，with 39 “close friends”，while the Welsh have just 11.
The age of 21 is such a critical junction in life and that’s why we have so many friends then. As we get older we become more selective and have fewer close friends with whom we talk about the things that are really important to us. Perhaps when we are younger，instead of having one trusted confidante(知己) we share different things with a variety of different people.
1.According to the Nivea Closeness Report，who have the largest number of close friends?
A．Canadians. B．The Welsh.
C． Londoners. D．Americans.
2.Older people have fewer friends than the 21-year-olds because .
A．they think friends are no longer important
B．they are more selective and cautious
C．they are less interested in making friends
D．they have little time to make friends
3.The research suggests that the number of friends in one’s late twenties reduces by or so, compared to that in one’s early twenties.
A．70 B．20 C．30 D．200
4.Why does the number of one’s friends decrease slowly when he is about 30 years old?
A．Because they achieve success in business and get acquainted with more colleagues.
B．Because many parents make friends with people who have similar experiences in bringing up children .
C．Because they make more friends through Facebook or the Internet.
D．Because as they grow older, they have more confidantes instead of acquaintances.
A
A group of 1309 passengers boarded the MS Balmoral on Sunday, in Southampton, England, on a voyage to retrace(重走) the path of the Titanic. The Titanic was the biggest ship in the world when it sailed on its ill-fated first voyage on April 10, 1912. Of the 2227 passengers and crew aboard, more than1500 died. The ship, which was headed for New York City, carried the rich and famous on its first voyage. It also carried immigrants who were seeking a better life in America.
Relatives of people who sailed on the Titanic, historians, authors and people fascinated by the story of the unsinkable ship were on the Balmoral. They wanted to remember the Titanic and those who died on her first and last voyage.
The Balmoral is following Titanic's original route from Southampton. First, the modern-day cruise liner docked（进港） in the port of Cherbourg, France, where the Titanic had picked up more passengers. On Monday afternoon, the Balmoral stops in Cobh, Ireland, the Titanic's last port of call before sailing to New York.
The Balmoral then sailed the North Atlantic Ocean to the location where Titanic hit an iceberg . On Sunday, April 15, at 2：20 a. m. --- the time the Titanic went down---passengers and crew held a memorial service. The next two days were spent in Halifax, Canada, where many victims of the sinking are buried. Then, the Balmoral will reach its final destination in New York City, where Titanic was supposed to dock—but never did.
So far, several teams of divers have explored the site. They have recovered some items such as dishes and silverware and put them on public display. And more trips are planned to the wreckage in the future. The Titanic and its passengers and crew have been remembered in books, movies and TV programs. But there's a much more important contribution that Titanic gave us. After she sank, lawmakers and shipbuilders made ships safer. It took a terrible tragedy to make ship travel safer for all.
1.We learn from the first paragraph that .
A．about 700 passengers of the Titanic survived.
B．the Titanic sank on its second voyage.
C．less than 2000 passengers boarded the Titanic.
D．all the passengers’ hopes of the Titanic lay in America.
2.Which of the following shows the correct route of the Balmoral?
a. Halifax b. New York City c. Cobh d. Southampton e. Cherbourg
A．e-d-a-b-c B．d-e-c-a-b
C．e-c-a-b-d D．d-c-e-a-b
3.What might be the most important contribution of the Titanic?
A．Its site attracts more exploring teams.
B．It makes the later ships more secure.
C．Some of its items are on public display.
D．More trips are planned to its wreckage.
The Winners Club is a bank account specially designed for teenagers. It has been made to help you better manage your money. The Winners Club is a transaction account (交易账户) where you receive a key – card so you can get to your money 24/7 – that's 24 hours a day, 7 days aweek!
It's a club with impressive features for teenagers:
●No account keeping fees!
You're no millionaire so we don't expect you to pay large fees. In fact, there are no account keeping or transaction fees!
●Excellent interest rates!
You want your money to grow. The Winners Club has a good rate of interest which gets even better if you make at least two deposits (储蓄) without taking them out in a month.
●Convenient
Teenagers are busy – we get that. You may never need to come to a bank at all. With the Winners Club you can choose to use handy tellers and to bank from home using the phone and the Internet. You can have money directly deposited into your Winners Club account. This could be your pocket money or your pay from your part – time job!
●Mega magazine included
Along with your regular report, you will receive a FREE magazine full of good ideas to make even more of your money. There are also fantastic offers and competitions only for Winners Club members.
The Winners Club is a great choice for teenagers. And it is so easy to join. Simply fill in an application form. You will have to get permission from your parent or guardian (so we can organize that cool key-card) but it is easy. We can't want to hear from you. It's the best way to choose to be a winner!
1.The Winners Club is a bank account intended for _________.
A. parents B. teenagers
C. winners D. adults
2.Which of the following is TRUE about the Winners Club?
A. Special gifts are ready for parents.
B. The bank opens only on work days.
C. Services are convenient for its members.
D. Fees are necessary for the account keeping.
3.The Winners Club provides magazines which _________.
A. encourage spending
B. are free to all teenagers
C. are full of adventure stories.
D. help to make more of your money
4.If you want to be a member of the Club, you must _________.
A. be an Internet user
B. be permitted by your parent
C. have a big sum of money
D. be in your twenties
5.What is the purpose of this text?
A. To set up a club.
B. To provided part – time jobs.
C. To organize key – cards.
D. To introduce a new banking service.
In the fall of 1985, I was a bright-eyed girl heading off to Howard University, aiming at a legal career and dreaming of sitting on a Supreme Court bench somewhere. Twenty-one years later I am still a bright-eyed dreamer and one with quite a different tale to tell.
My grandma, an amazing woman, graduated from college at the age of 65. She was the first in our family to reach that goal. But one year after I started college, she developed cancer. I made the choice to withdraw from college to care for her. It meant that school and my personal dream would have to wait.
Then I got married with another dream: building my family with a combination of adopted and biological children. In 1999, we adopted our first son. To lay eyes on him was fantastic---and very emotional. A year later came our second adopted boy. Then followed son No. 3. In 2003, I gave birth to another boy.
You can imagine how fully occupied I became, raising four boys under the age of 8. Our home was a complete zoo---a joyous zoo. Not surprising, I never did make it back to college full-time. But I never gave up on the dream either. I had only one choice: to find a way. That meant taking as few as one class each semester.
The hardest part was feeling guilty about the time I spent away from the boys. They often wanted me to stay home with them. There certainly were times I wanted to quit, but I knew I should set an example for them to follow through the rest of their lives.
In 2007, I graduated from the University of North Carolina. It took me over 21 years to get my college degree！
I am not special, just single-minded. It always struck me that when you’re looking at a big challenge from the outside it looks huge, but when you’re in the midst of it, it just seems normal. Everything you want won’t arrive in your life on one day. It’s a process. Remember: little steps add up to big dreams.
1.When the author went to Howard University, her dream was to be __________.
A. a writer B. a teacher
C. a judge D. a doctor
2.Why did the author quit school in her second year of college?
A. She wanted to study by herself.
B. She fell in love and got married.
C. She suffered from a serious illness.
D. She decided to look after her grandma.
3.What can we learn about the author from Paragraphs 4 and 5?
A. She was busy yet happy with her family life.
B. She ignored her guilty feeling for her sons.
C. She wanted to remain a full-time housewife.
D. She was too confused to make a correct choice.
4.What does the author mostly want to tell us in the last paragraph?
A. Failure is the mother of success.
B. Little by little, one goes far.
C. Every coin has two sides.
D. Well begun, half done.
5.Which of the following can best describe the author?
A. Caring and determined.
B. Honest and responsible.
C. Ambitious and sensitive.
D. Innocent and single-minded.
