Our quarrel with efficiency is not that it gets things done, but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves, and that it strains our nerves when we try to get things done perfectly. In building bridges, American engineers calculate so finely and exactly as to make the two ends come together within one-tenth of an inch. But when two Chinese begin to dig a tunnel from both sides of a mountain both come out on the other side. --The Chinese’s firm belief is that it doesn’t matter so long as a tunnel is dug through, and if we have two instead of one, why, we have a double track to boot.
The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. But, worse than that, it imposes upon us a different conception of time as measured by the clock and eventually turns the human being into a clock himself. (This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand worker. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)Nevertheless, such efficiency is what makes life so hard and full of excitement. A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o’clock has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already. Every American adult is arranging his time on the pattern of the schoolboy - three o’clock for this, five o’clock for that, six-thirty for change of dress, six-fifty for entering the taxi, and seven o’clock for arriving at the destination. It just makes life not worth living.
1.The writer objects to efficiency mainly on the grounds that it ____.
A. entitles us to too much leisure time
B. deprives us of leisure time
C. urges us to get things done punctually
D. imposes on us a perfect concept of time
2. In the eyes of the author, the introduction of industrial life gives rise to ____.
A. more emphasis on efficiency
B. magnificent idling of time
C. the excitement of life
D. terrifying schoolboy
3.The passage tells us ____.
A. Chinese workers come to work when it is convenient
B. Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency
C. Chinese engineers are on better terms with the management
D. all Americans are forced to be efficient against their will
4.What is implied but NOT stated by the author is that ____.
A. every American is arranging his time in the pattern of a schoolboy
B. every American is reluctant to be efficient
C. every one should have some time to spend as he pleases
D. being punctual is an undesirable habit which should not be formed
Back in the old days, when I was a child, we sat around the family roundtable at dinnertime and exchanged our daily experiences. It wasn't very organized, but everyone was recognized and all the news that had to be told was told by each family member.
We listened to each other and the interest was not put-on; it was real. Our family was a unit and we supported each other, and nurtured each other, and liked each other, and—we were even willing to admit—we loved each other.
Today, the family roundtable has moved to the local fast-food restaurant and talk is not easy, much less encouraged.
Grandma, who used to live upstairs, is now. the voice on long distance, and the working parent is far too beaten down each day to spend evening relaxation time listening to the sandbox experience of an eager four-year-old.
So family conversation is as extinct as my old toys and parental questions such as “What have you been doing, Bobby?” have been replaced by “I'm busy, go watch television. ”
And watch TV they do; count them by the millions.
But it's usually not children's television that children watch. Saturday morning, the children's hour, amounts to only about 8 percent of their weekly viewing.
Where are they to be found? Watching adult television, of course, from the Match Game in the morning, to the afternoon at General Hospital, from the muggings and battles on the evening news right through the family hour and past into Starsky and Hutch. That's where you find our kids, over five million of them, at 10 p. m. , not fewer than a million until after midnight! All of this is done with parental permission.
Television, used well, can provide enriching experiences for our young people, but we must use it with some sense. When the carpet is clean, we turn off the vacuum cleaner. When the dishes are clean, the dishwasher turns itself off.
Not so the television, which is on from the sun in the morning to the moon at night and beyond!
Parents must exercise some control and show some concern about the cultural influence on the child when a program not intended for that child is viewed. Parents need to intervene (干涉). Nonintervention may be a wise policy in international affairs, but the results of parental nonintervention will not be wise at all.
1. From the first two paragraphs one may infer that the writer's a attitude towards “the old days” is______.
A. being tired of B. hating
C. preferring D. disappointing
2.The working parent is not willing to listen to her (his) four-year-old child talking about his sandbox games because ______.
A. she (he) is boring B. she (he) is busy
C. she (he) is very tired D. she (he) is angry
3.If we use television with some ______ television can provide our young people with much knowledge.
A. instruction of experts
B. indication of teachers
C. direction of engineers
D. judgment of our own
4. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A. Parents must exercise some control and show some concern about the cultural influence on the children.
B. Nonintervention may be a good policy in international affairs.
C. Parental nonintervention will not be praised.
D. Parents need to intervene.
“Our aim is to take our art to the world and make people understand what it is to move,” said David Belle, the founder of parkour ( also called free running－a kind of extreme sport).
Do you love running? It is a good exercise, yet many people find it boring. But what if making your morning jog a creative one? Like jumping from walls and over gaps, and ground rolls? Just like the James Bond in the movie Casino Royale? Bond jumps down from a roof to a windowsill and then runs several blocks over obstacles on the way. It is just because of Bond’s wonderful performances that the sport has become popular worldwide.
Yes, that’s parkour, an extreme street sport aimed at moving from one point to another as quickly as possible, getting over all the obstacles in the path using only the abilities of the human body. Parkour is considered an extreme sport. As its participants dash around a city, they may jump over fences, run up walls and even move from rooftop to rooftop.
Parkour can be just as exciting and charming as it sounds, but its participants see parkour much more than that.
Overcoming all the obstacles on the course and in life is part of the philosophy(理念) behind parkour. This is the same as life. You must determine your destination, go straight, jump over all the barriers as if in parkour and never fall back from them in your life, to reach the destination successfully. A parkour lover said, “I love parkour because its philosophy has become my life, my way to do everything.”
Another philosophy we’ve learnt from parkour is freedom. It can be done by anyone, at any time, anywhere in the world. It is a kind of expression of trust in yourself that you earn energy and confidence.
1.Parkour has become popular throughout the world because of .
A. the film, Casino Royale
B. its founder, David Belle
C. its risks and tricks
D. the varieties of participants
2.The underlined word “obstacles” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to“ ”.
A. streets B. objects C. roofs D. barriers
3.Which of the following is true of parkour?
A. It challenges human abilities.
B. It is a good but boring sport.
C. It needs special training.
D. It is a team sport.
4.Which of the following is the philosophy of parkour?
A. Sports and extremes.
B. Excitement and popularity.
C. Dreams and success.
D. Determination and freedom.
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. Accordion Museum B. Vancouver Police Museum
C. Potato Museum D. Chocolate Museum
2.We can infer from the passage that the ancestors of accordion originated in .
A．Canada B．America C．Asia D．Africa
3.The passage is most likely to be taken from .
A．a magazine B．a newspaper
C．a website D．a brochure
书面表达
假设你是光明中学的学生李华，得知国外某大学历史悠久，课程灵活，有意申请到该校英语系学习。请根据表格信息，用英语写一封自荐信。
个人信息 | 男，17岁，高三年级学生 |
性格与潜质 | 开朗，喜欢与人交往；有良好的团队精神；适应能力强 |
学习与获奖情况 | 学习刻苦，成绩名列前茅 曾获学校英语演讲比赛一等奖 |
注意： 1．词数100左右。 2．信的开头和结尾已经给出。
提示词：英语演讲比赛—English Speech Contest
Dear Sir，
My name is Li Hua from Guang Ming High School in Beijing, China.
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your early reply.
Yours，
Li Hua
短文改错假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(/)划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2．只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
Good morning, everyone，
It's great honor for me to speak here. My name's Li Xiaojun, born of a harmonious family. My father and mother are all high school teachers. Influenced by them, I read widely during my early age, but I've developed a great interest in arts and sports. I'm easygoing, get along well with my classmates.
It is this personality which helps me win over all my classmates' friendships, and also help me overcome many difficulties both in academic and personal life. Being admitted in your university has always been a beautiful dream for me. I dream constantly that I, along with mine classmates, will study happy with the help of the respectable professors; I dream that I will swim freely in the sea, enjoying the waves of knowledge.
I hope all my dream will come true in the near future.
Thank you.
