Everyone looks forward to progress, whether in one’s personal life or in the general society. Progress indicates a person’s ability to change the way he is living at the moment. Progress must lead a better way of doing things. All these, however, remain true only in so far as people want to accept technology and move forward by finding new and more efficient ways of doing things.
However, at the back of the minds of many people, especially those who missed the “good old days”, efficiency comes with a price. When communication becomes efficient, people are able to contact one another no matter where they are and at whatever time they wish to. The click of a button allows people miles apart to talk or to see each other without even leaving their homes. With the communication gadgets, such as mobile phones and ipads, people often do not take the effect to visit one another personally. A personal visit carries with it the additional feature of having to be in the person’s presence for as long as the visit lasts. We cannot unnecessarily excuse ourselves or turn the other person off.
With efficiency also comes mass production. Such is the nature of factories and the success of industrialization today. Factories have improved efficiency. Unskillful tasks are left to machines and products are better made and produced with greater accuracy than any human hand could ever have done. However, with the improvements in efficiency also comes the loss of the personal touch when making these products. For example, many handcrafts are now produced in a factory. Although this means that supply is better able to increase demand, now that the supply is quick and efficient, the demand might fall because mass production lowers the quality of the handicraft and it is difficult to find unique designs on each item.
Nevertheless, we must not commit the mistake of analyzing progress only from one point of view. In fact, progress has allowed tradition to keep up. It is only with progress and the invention of new technology that many old products can be brought back to their old state. New technology is required for old products to stay old.
It is people’s attitude towards progress that causes the type of influence that technology has on society. Technology is flexible. There is no fixed way of making use of it. Everything depends on people’s attitude. The worst effects of progress will fall on those who are unable to think again about their attitudes and views of society. When we accept progress and adapt it to suit our needs, a new “past” is created.
1.According to Paragraph 1, progress can benefit people when they are willing to _______.
A. live a better life B. look for better methods
C. accept technology and advance steadily D. change ways of living
2.The underlined word “gadgets” is closest in meaning to _______.
A. tools B. messages C. barriers D. skills
3.The author explains “efficiency comes with a price” by _______.
A. describing a process B. making classification
C. following time order D. using examples
4.Compared with home-made handicrafts, machine made products _______.
A. lack great accuracy B. lack the personal touch
C. are of high value D. are quite welcome
5.What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A. Progress can suit the needs of daily life.
B. People review the past with great regret.
C. People’s attitude decides the use of technology.
D. Technology should be introduced in a fixed way.
Cultural rules determine every aspect of food consumption. Who eats together defines social units. For example, in some societies, the nuclear family is the unit that regularly eats together. The anthropologist Mary Douglas has pointed out that, for the English, the kind of meal and the kind of food that is served relate to the kinds of social links between people who are eating together. She distinguishes between regular meals, Sunday meals when relatives may come, and cocktail parties for relatives and friends. The food served symbolizes the occasion and reflects who is present. For example, only snacks are served at a cocktail party. It would be inappropriate to serve a steak or hamburgers. The distinctions among cocktails, regular meals, and special dinners mark the social boundaries between those guests who are invited for drinks, those who are invited to dinner, and those who come to a family meal. In this example, the type of food symbolizes the category of guest and with whom it is eaten.
In some New Guinea societies, the nuclear family is not the unit that eats together. The men take their meals in a men’s house, separately from their wives and children. Women prepare and eat their food in their own houses and take the husband’s portion to the men’s house. The women eat with their children in their own houses. This pattern is also widespread among Near Eastern societies.
Eating is a metaphor that is sometimes used to signify marriage. In many New Guinea societies, like that of the Lesu on the island of New Ireland in the Pacific and that of the Trobriand Islanders, marriage is symbolized by the couple’s eating together for the first time. Eating symbolizes their new status as a married couple. In U.S. society, it is just the reverse. A couple may go out to dinner on a first date.
Other cultural rules have to do with taboos against eating certain things. In some societies, members of a family group, are not allowed to eat the animal or bird that is their totemic ancestor. Since they believe themselves to be descended from that ancestor, it would be like eating that ancestor or eating themselves.
There is also an association between food prohibitions and rank, which is found in its most extreme form in the caste system of India. A caste system consists of ranked groups, each with a different economic specialization. In India, there is an association between caste and the idea of pollution. Members of highly ranked groups can be polluted by coming into contact with the bodily secretions, particularly saliva(唾液),of individuals of lower-ranked castes. Because of the fear of pollution, Brahmans and other high-ranked individuals will not share food with, not eat from the same plate as, not even accept food from an individual or from a low-ranking class.
1.According to the passage, who will NOT eat together?
A. Men and women in Near Eastern societies.
B. The English during regular meals.
C. Americans on their first date.
D. Newly-married people on the island of New Ireland.
2.In Paragraph 4, the underlined word "taboos" means _____________.
A. favors B. gossips C. hatred D. prohibitions
3.According to the passage, eating together indicates all the following EXCEPT _______ .
A. social relations B. marital status C. the type of food D. family ties.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Different kinds of food in western countries.
B. Relations between food and social units.
C. Symbolic meanings of different kinds of food.
D. Food consumption in different cultures.
I've written this article and you're reading it. So we are members of the same club. We're both literate一we can read and write. And we both probably feel that literacy is essential to our lives. But millions of people all over the world are illiterate. Even in industrialized Western countries, such as the UK and the USA, approximately 20% of the population have "low literacy levels". But what exactly does that mean?
My parents both left school at 14. They could read and write, but except for a quick look at the daily newspaper, reading and writing didn’t play a big part in their lives. There were very few books in the house. My mother was amazed because the woman who lived next door always wrote a list of what she needed before she went to the supermarket. Why couldn’t she remember? We laughed about that for weeks. Our family didn’t write lists! And when I was only 14 years old my father gave me an important letter that he'd written to the bank and asked me to check it for grammar and spelling mistakes. And there were quite a lot. He never usually wrote letters or postcards or even Christmas cards. So when he had to write he wasn't comfortable or confident. Does that mean that my father had a "low level of literacy"? I don't think so.
There are lots of different definitions of literacy. Some experts define it as having the reading and writing skills that you need to be independent in your everyday life. So, for example, if you can read instructions, write a cheque, fill in a form, 一anything that you need to do in everyday life一then you are "functionally literate".
Other people say that you are illiterate if you think that you are illiterate. In other words, if you feel that you can’t read or write as well as you would like to.
If you live in a society where most people are literate then you will feel ashamed or embarrassed and avoid situations in which you have to read or write. The father of a friend of mine finally admitted to his family that he couldn't read when he was 45 years old. He bought the newspaper every day and pretended to read it一and believe it or not, his family had no idea.
We often forget that writing is a recent invention. Many years ago, the word "literate" meant being able to communicate well in speaking, in other words what we now call "articulate". Story telling was an important activity in the past and still is today in some societies. Reading was often a cooperative activity一someone would read aloud to a group, often from a religious text such as the Koran or the Bible.
Only a hundred years ago, in the United States, you were considered to be literate if you could sign your name to a piece of paper. It was an important skill. You were not allowed to vote if you couldn’t sign the voting register, so literacy was connected with political rights, and many people were excluded from the democratic process.
Nowadays we see reading and writing as being connected, but that wasn’t so in the past. Many people could read, but not write. Writing was a skilled profession. If you needed something written then you paid an expert to write it for you.
And of course, rich and important people have always employed people to write things for them. Important company bosses dictated letters to their secretaries or personal assistants. And now with new computer software you can dictate directly to your computer.
Being illiterate can have a big effect on people’s lives. For example, a study in the UK showed that people who write and spell badly are seen as careless, immature and unreliable, and often unintelligent. So it is more difficult for them to find jobs, even when reading and writing are not necessary for the work.
World-wide statistics show that literacy problems are associated with poverty and a lack of political power. More women than men are illiterate. Illiterate people have worse health, bigger families and are more likely to go to prison. So literacy campaigns must be a good thing. But don’t forget that an illiterate person, or someone with a low level of literacy, isn't necessarily stupid or ignorant — and may not be unhappy at all. Knowledge and wisdom isn't only found in writing.
1.Why does the author give two examples in Para 2?
A. To show that Father was more literate than Mother.
B. To show that literacy is interpreted in different ways.
C. To indicate how important reading and writing are.
D. To compare the level of literacy between neighbours.
2.According to the author, the following are some of the defining features of literacy EXCETT_____.
A. independent B. psychological C. functional D. social
3.Which of the following statements about reading and writing is CORRECT?
A. Reading and writing have always been regarded as equally difficult.
B. People had to read and write well in order to be allowed to vote.
C. Reading and writing have always been viewed as being connected.
D. Reading often requires more immediate interaction than writing.
4.What do the last two paragraphs mainly focus on?
A. Effects of illiteracy and employment problems.
B. Effects of illiteracy on one’s personality development.
C. Effects of illiteracy and associated problems.
D. Effects of illiteracy on women’s career development.
In agreement with the Agenda of the First Global Employment of Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic, the applicants from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas who have passed the first qualification review will take a written examination. Below lists the relevant information:
1. Date & Time
April 15th, 2017 (Saturday), 9:00 – 12:30.
The applicants are required to enter the examination room before 8:30 am.
2. Location
No. 23 Baiduizijia, Haidian district, Beijing (Capital Normal University Dongyi Zone)
Exam Site No.6; Exam Room: C206
3. Notice
(1) All applicants who have passed the first qualification review please log on Personal application center of the recruitment page (http://recruit.beijing2022.cn) to download and print the admission ticket from April 7th -15th 2017.
(2) All candidates shall bring the admission tickets and valid(有效的) IDs (Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, Mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents, Foreign passport and etc.)
(3) Please prepare one’s own writing materials including 2B pencil, eraser and black/blue pen.
(4) The candidates will not be allowed to enter the examination room if late for 30mins, and will be also prohibited to leave within 60mins since the entering into the room or 15mins earlier than the deadline.
Kind reminder: Due to the heavy traffic near the exam location, parking space will be so limited that all candidates should take public transport.
4. Transport Route
(1) Subway: No.9 subway to Baiduizi station exit A, 50 meters to North.
(2) Bus: No. 61 / 92 bus to Shouti South Road South Gate station, and 3 minutes’ walk to the destination.
Kind reminder: Capital Normal University Dongyi Zone is not located in the main campus of Capital Normal University, please plan your route properly.
Beijing Organizing Committee
for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
April 7, 2017
In agreement with the Agenda of the First Global Employment of Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic, the applicants from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas who have passed the first qualification review will take a written examination. Below lists the relevant information:
1. Date & Time
April 15th, 2017 (Saturday), 9:00 – 12:30.
The applicants are required to enter the examination room before 8:30 am.
2. Location
No. 23 Baiduizijia, Haidian district, Beijing (Capital Normal University Dongyi Zone)
Exam Site No.6; Exam Room: C206
3. Notice
(1) All applicants who have passed the first qualification review please log on Personal application center of the recruitment page (http://recruit.beijing2022.cn) to download and print the admission ticket from April 7th -15th 2017.
(2) All candidates shall bring the admission tickets and valid(有效的) IDs (Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents, Mainland travel permit for Taiwan residents, Foreign passport and etc.)
(3) Please prepare one’s own writing materials including 2B pencil, eraser and black/blue pen.
(4) The candidates will not be allowed to enter the examination room if late for 30mins, and will be also prohibited to leave within 60mins since the entering into the room or 15mins earlier than the deadline.
Kind reminder: Due to the heavy traffic near the exam location, parking space will be so limited that all candidates should take public transport.
4. Transport Route
(1) Subway: No.9 subway to Baiduizi station exit A, 50 meters to North.
(2) Bus: No. 61 / 92 bus to Shouti South Road South Gate station, and 3 minutes’ walk to the destination.
Kind reminder: Capital Normal University Dongyi Zone is not located in the main campus of Capital Normal University, please plan your route properly.
Beijing Organizing Committee
for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games
April 7, 2017
1.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Applicants who arrive after 8:30 cannot enter the examination room.
B. The Exam Site lies in the main campus of Capital Normal University.
C. The admission tickets and valid IDs are required for the examination.
D. There is nothing to worry about for applicants who drive to the location.
2.The purpose of this passage is to ______.
A. give candidates information about the written exam
B. employ organizers for the Committee
C. promote Beijing Organizing Committee
D. encourage more applicants to take the written exam
Please excuse me if I’m a little sad today. Mark is leaving, and I’m feeling kind of sad. He’s been the heart and soul of the office for a couple of years, ______professional skills with a sweet nature.
And now he’s moving on to an exciting new ______ opportunity. It sounds like it could be the chance of a lifetime, and we’re sincerely______for him. But that doesn’t make it any ______ to say goodbye to a dear friend and trusted colleague.
Our ability to cope with ______ determines happiness in life. But how do we do that? Philosophers’ responses have been ______ . According to the author of the Biblical book of Ecclesiastes, comfort can be found in ______ that “to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.” Kahlil Gibran urged his listeners to “let today embrace the ______ with remembrance, and the future with longing.”
A friend of mine reminds his fellow that “survivability depends upon ______.” And a surfer summed up ______ problems in four words: “Go with the flow.”
I think life is a series of ________—both good and bad . No matter how excellent your organizational skills, there will always be life-influencing factors over which you have no_______. The truly successful person is _______ to make adjustments should the need arise.
That means when things_____ that aren't exactly in your plan，you work around them—and then you move on. Of course, some ______ along the road of life are easier to take than others. A rained-out picnic, for example, is easier to _______ than the sudden death of a loved one. But the _______ is the same.
Change, indeed, is painful, yet ever _______ . And if memory has its force and worth, so has______. We’re going to miss Mark, but rather than be lost in the sadness of our parting, we'll focus on our hopes for a brighter future－for him, and for us. And then we’ll go out and do everything we can to make that future happen.______our plans change--again.
1.A. toying B. combining C. supplying D. refreshing
2.A. educational B. commercial C. medical D. professional
3.A. pleased B. pity C. anxious D. numb
4.A. odder B. easier C. ruder D. fairer
5.A. change B. challenge C. choice D. chance
6.A. varied B. evaluated C. discussed D. spread
7.A. explaining B. recommending C. remembering D. anticipating
8.A. tomorrow B. then C. now D. past
9.A. competence B. confidence C. blessings D. adaptability
10.A. attitude B. health C. life D. security
11.A. stories B. events C. questions D. memories
12.A. right B. control C. advantage D. priority
13.A. forced B. prepared C. allowed D. encouraged
14.A. come up B. put out C. pull up D. take out
15.A. stops B. crossings C. bumps D. alternatives
16.A. prevent B. predict C. handle D. imagine
17.A. principle B. conclusion C. consequence D. problem
18.A. obvious B. needful C. wonderful D. ambiguous
19.A. future B. parting C. attempt D. hope
20.A. Until B. Before C. If D. After
—James has something to do and can’t come tonight.
—Well, ________, for he is a wet blanket.
A. It’s very kind of you to say so B. that’s a relief
C. That’s a problem D. it’s none of your business
