Why study history?
People live in the present. They plan for the ______. History, however, is the study of the past. Given all the ______ and pressures that come from living in the present and ______ what is yet to come, why bother with what has been? Given all the available branches of knowledge, why insist - as most ______ systems do - on history? And why urge many students to study even more history than they are ______ to?
Any subject of study needs ______: supporters must explain why it is worth ______. Like most widely accepted ______, history attracts people who simply ______ the information and modes of thought involved. But for people who are less interested in the subject and more ______ about why they should bother with it, a clearer explanation of its purpose is required.
____ do not perform heart transplants, improve highway design, or arrest criminals. In a society that quite correctly expects education to serve ______ purposes, history’s functions can seem more difficult to ______ than those of engineering or medicine. History is in fact very useful, actually ______, but the products of historical study are often less ______ and immediate than those of other subjects.
History helps us understand people, societies and how they ______. For example, how can we ______ past wars (and future threats) without using historical materials? Unfortunately, major aspects of a society’s operation cannot be set up as precise experiments. ______, history must serve, however imperfectly, as our ______, helping us understand who we are and why we do what we do. This, fundamentally, is why we cannot ______ history.
1.A. process B. result C. future D. environment
2.A. causes B. demands C. choices D. orders
3.A. avoiding B. fearing C. celebrating D. anticipating
4.A. financial B. social C. educational D. political
5.A. required B. invited C. forced D. permitted
6.A. direction B. exploration C. justification D. revolution
7.A. assessment B. attention C. expectation D. mention
8.A. subjects B. concepts C. topics D. concerns
9.A. provide B. receive C. share D. like
10.A. doubtful B. worried C. thoughtful D. certain
11.A. Supporters B. Historians C. Audiences D. Teachers
12.A. public B. multiple C. different D. useful
13.A. define B. expect C. satisfy D. ignore
14.A. optional B. attractive C. accessible D. essential
15.A. valuable B. interesting C. obvious D. instructive
16.A. imagine B. behave C. fight D. fade
17.A. prevent B. remember C. evaluate D. declare
18.A. Consequently B. Alternatively C. Fortunately D. Admittedly
19.A. library B. laboratory C. clinic D. museum
20.A. make up for B. give in to C. get close to D. stay away from
It was the 2015 “super storm” in New South Wales that restored my faith in people.
During a break in the weather, I stupidly decided to drive into town to buy some groceries. However, as I left the supermarket and drove back, the weather took a turn for the worse. 1. Having nowhere to go, I spotted a young man in his front yard assessing the situation. He quickly waved to me to come and park in his driveway.2..
The man, who introduced himself as Trent, then invited me to wait inside his house with his wife, Kayti and their two daughters. I told him I was concerned about the damage to my car, as the continuing rain was starting to turn into hail (冰雹).Trent then grabbed a blanket from his garage and covered my car. 3. Fortunately, his efforts saved my car from being damaged by the hail.
By 11:00 a.m., the electricity and phone services had both gone. 4. Trent made me a cup of tea and Kayti gave me a towel to dry myself off. The three of us chatted while waiting for the weather to get better. I learned that Trent had lost his job and was struggling to feed the family.
When the hail stopped, I shook Trent’s hand and kissed Kayti goodbye. 5. I was very moved by their kindness and it renewed my faith in people.
As I went out the door, I asked Trent for two of his business cards. My father has since called to offer him a job as a clerk at his company.
A. It began pouring so heavily that I was forced to stop.
B. The couple were so modest as I thanked them for their help.
C. I was surprised that he didn’t ask for anything in return for his assistance.
D. I was grateful to escape the running water that was about to drown my car.
E. I tried driving faster to escape the heavy downpour that was sure to come.
F. As a result, I couldn’t contact my parents, despite knowing they’d be worried.
G. He was wet but he didn’t seem to mind being out in the wild weather on my behalf.
Inside a secured room in a beautiful castle near Paris, a small metal cylinder (圆柱体) rests on a shelf beneath a double set of bell jars. It has lain there for more than a century, its rest only occasionally disturbed when the room’s three key holders perform a coordinated opening ceremony to let technicians enter and clean this precious piece of metal.
First, the cylinder is rubbed with a piece of soft, alcohol-soaked cloth. Then it is steamed with pure water. Finally, the 1kg cylinder is returned, carefully, to its resting place.
Such attention to a lump of metal is unusual, but has a purpose. The castle houses the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and that piece of shining, circular metal is its holiest relic. It is the defining mass (质量)against which all other kilograms are measured. This is the international prototype, or standard, of the kilogram. The IPK, in short.
Dozens of carefully weighted copies of the original have been made. They are stored around the world and used to standardise individual nations’ weights and measures systems.
But the days of the IPK, in its current form, are numbered. The International Bureau of Weights and Measures has decided to replace this single physical specimen with a more fundamental measurement – based on electric current – in order to define the mass of an object. The king of kilograms is about to be dethroned.
“One key reason for doing this work is to provide international security,” says Bureau spokesman Paul Robinson. “If the castle burned down tomorrow and the kilogram was destroyed, we would have no reference left for the world’s metric weights system. There would be chaos. The current definition of the kilogram is the weight of that cylinder in Paris, after all.”
Another major motivation for the replacement of the IPK is the growing need to be able to carry out more and more precise measurements. “Drug companies will soon be wanting to use ingredients that will have to be measured in terms of a few millionths or even billionths of a gram,” says Robinson. “We need to be prepared to weigh substances with that kind of accuracy.”
1.What do we know about the IPK from the first two paragraphs?
A. It’s cared for with great devotion.
B. It’s used in religious ceremonies.
C. It’s beautifully designed and decorated.
D. It’s the most valuable metal in the world.
2.Which of the following best explains “dethroned” underlined in paragraph 5?
A. rebuilt B. removed
C. destroyed D. upgraded
3.What is a reason for replacing the current IPK?
A. To protect the metal cylinder from damage.
B. To make taking measurements more economical.
C. To provide all countries with the same standard.
D. To satisfy the increasing demand for exactness.
4.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. No more kilos
B. A heavy technology
C. The future of the kilo
D. The history of measures
“Anything you want, anytime you need it.”
The message appeared on computer screens across the country at the same time, on the same day: December 12th, at 12 p.m.. Simultaneously, important looking envelopes containing cards with the same message were hand-delivered to the offices of all the major news companies.
One found its way to the desk of Chris Lin, a business reporter at The Post. The card was beautifully designed – a black background with the words printed out in crisp white letters. There was no explanation on the back, just a website address.Chris went to the website. Its style was identical to the card’s and said: “Anytime: Starting Tomorrow.”
The next day websites and blogs were filled with articles theorising about Anytime. Was it a shopping website like Tao Bao or Amazon? A joke? Something illegal? Anytime’s marketing had worked – it was a household name before it’d even made a single sale.
When the opening came, that day at noon, the Anytime website suddenly had a single field that read, “What do you want?” All you had to do was type the words into that box, and then specify how quickly you wanted your item delivered: within one, ten, or twenty-four hours.
Bloggers were the first to test the service. And their reviews were glowing. Within weeks, Anytime had become a part of daily life. Nobody used other delivery sites or the post anymore as Anytime was much cheaper and faster.
Chris still wondered what exactly Anytime was. He tried to find out who owned the company, but it was registered in a small country that did not require such information to be made public. He did find some interesting facts, though. Anyone who challenged the company, it seemed, met with serious trouble. A government official critical of Anytime for avoiding tax was forced to leave his position after news stories suddenly appeared claiming he was dishonest. The head of another company taking Anytime to court died in a car accident just days before the case was to begin.
Chris began making a list of all the people who had something terrible happen to them after opposing or criticising Anytime. By lunch, he had more than one hundred examples. Something was definitely wrong. Chris worked on his list the rest of the day, emailing people who could provide more information and looking through newspaper records. After working through the night, an exhausted Chris finally fell asleep at his desk at 4 a.m..
When he woke a few hours later, there was a message flashing on his computer screen: “Stop making trouble.” Chris smiled. He had no intention of stopping now that he knew he was on the right track.
1.What was on the front of the card sent to Chris Lin?
A. An invitation to a company opening.
B. The website address of a new company.
C. The words “Anytime: Starting tomorrow”.
D. The words “Anything you want, anytime you need it”.
2.Why did the company choose to send the cards to many news reporters?
A. Because it didn’t have enough money for traditional advertising.
B. Because it wanted to attract the reporters as customers.
C. So the reporters would write stories about the new company.
D. So people would find the new company interesting.
3.What did Chris’ s research suggest about Anytime?
A. Itmay be very dangerous.
B. Its popularity would soon decrease.
C. It was doing business all over the world.
D. It was being widely criticised by journalists.
4.How did Chris feel at the end of the story?
A. Scared that he would get into trouble.
B. Confident that he would find the truth.
C. Nervous about what the company would do.
D. Satisfied that he had discovered the company’s secret.
Across the world, studies have consistently found that girls perform significantly better than boys in reading. These studies show that girls typically read more frequently than boys, and have a more positive attitude toward reading.
There are several reasons that help explain these gender-based differences. Parents read more with their daughters. This sends a strong and early message that books are for girls, as well as equipping girls with a significant advantage. Recent research has found even though boys read less frequently than girls, girls still receive more encouragement to read from their parents.
So how can parents and educators help bridge this socially-engineered gap for boys’ reading?
To improve boys’ reading performance, parents and educators may look for ways to connect boys with reading. This has led to discussion about the importance of promoting so-called “boy-friendly” books that boys supposedly “prefer” These are typically assumed to be non-fiction works, as many people believed that boys prefer to read non-fiction.
But this belief is not supported by recent research, which in fact suggests boys are more likely to choose to read fiction than non-fiction. Encouraging all boys to read non-fiction under the mistaken belief that it is their preference may actually be harmful. Fiction readers read more frequently and demonstrate faster language learning and higher language ability.
Besides encouraging more fiction reading, there are a number of ways that we can help connect boys with books. Firstly, don’t assume that boys of the same age have the same interests or that their interests stay the same over time. To match boys with suitable reading material, have regular discussions about reading for pleasure in order to keep up with their interests.
Schools should also provide access to libraries during lessons throughout the years of schooling. Girls visit the library in their free time more than boys, and as students move to higher grades they often have less access to libraries during class. Access to books for boys is essential to promote reading.
In addition, we should keep paper books available because research shows that boys are less likely to choose to read on screens than girls. Finally we should promote reading as an enjoyable pastime by being a role model. Let your children or students see you read for pleasure.
1.According to the author, what is the main cause of the difference in boys’ and girls’ reading ability?
A. Social factors.
B. Teaching methods.
C. Personal preferences.
D. Psychological differences.
2.Why does the author recommend that adults regularly talk to boys about reading?
A. To persuade boys to read more often.
B. To learn what boys are most interested in.
C. To help boys improve their language ability.
D. To show that adults are good reading role models.
3.When should schools give students additional library access according to the author?
A. Before and after class.
B. At any time of the school day.
C. At regular times during class.
D. When they are in the lower grades.
4.What is the main purpose of the text?
A. To show students ways to improve their reading.
B. To explain why boys are not as good at reading as girls.
C. To urge governments to provide more reading resources.
D. To provide strategies that can help improve boys’ reading ability.
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