The word tolerance is widely used in liberal democracies （自由民主）． It indicates a positive meaning． Politicians urge us to be tolerant towards minorities． Educators teach us to be tolerant towards the other． The press is full of references to the need to display tolerance when faced with individuals or groups espousing a different view or holding a different religious belief． A tolerant society is an objective sought after by anyone who believes in the values of democracy． A tolerant individual is connected with virtuous qualities．
The question we must ask is whether we have been using the word tolerance fully aware of its meaning and whether we have applied it correctly to reflect what we really wish to convey．
The word tolerance means to bear， or to bear with． If I tolerate something or someone， I basically say that I am ready to bear it or him． I can tolerate a bad smell or a noisy neighbour． The act of toleration forces me to desist from conveying my objection to the existence of a phenomenon， which I find difficult to bear． A bad smell or a noisy neighbour is considered by me to be an objectionable phenomenon． By tolerating either of them， I am not transforming the bad smell or the noisy neighbour into positive phenomena． Let's be honest： I don't have a different taste when it comes to bad smells． I simply dislike it and hope that it disappears． I don't respect the noisy neighbour． I would rather have him stop at once the noise he is making so I can live in peace．
The subject tolerating is by nature not equal to the object being tolerated． If I tolerate you， I essentially say that I am above you and am prepared， although unwillingly， to bear with your presence or with your practices or opinions． That may be true in the case of an individual who is ready to tolerate the other． However， this attitude by such an individual， though empirically true， is hardly a virtue． Certainly， the fact that an individual， in reality， may merely tolerate the other or his opinion does not justify a government or any official authority promoting tolerance as a virtue． One cannot tolerate an equal being． True equality involves respect， not toleration． To respect the other as a distinctive person is hardly to tolerate him． This is the true meaning of equality： diversity existing in a mutually-respectful socio-legal setting．
A tolerant attitude involves the grant of a favour， not a right． The question we should ask ourselves is whether we would ever wish a parliament to make laws considering us， as individuals and as part of a collective entity or a permission to pursue certain actions interpreted as a favour rather than a right？ Indeed， would we ever wish anyone to listen to our views and accept us the way we are simply because he is kind enough to tolerate us？
1.The first two paragraphs are mainly intended to show that ______ ．
A. tolerance is a symbol of liberal democracies
B. democratic society always advocates tolerance
C. people's understanding of tolerance is one-sided
D. tolerance can be applied to many situations
2.The example of a bad smell and a noisy neighbour is raised to indicate that ______ ．
A. the writer are fed up with them
B. most people find them hard to tolerate
C. the writer isn't prejudiced against them
D. tolerating them isn't a virtuous act
3.The main idea of Paragraph 4is that ______ ．
A. tolerance shows an unequal relationship
B. most people promote tolerance as a virtue
C. people should show respect for each other
D. tolerance has nothing to do with respect
4.Which can be the best title for this passage？ ______
A. Tolerance and Respect B. What Is to Be Tolerated？
C. Is Tolerance a Virtue？ D. Should People Be Tolerant？
"Tiny tubes and filaments （丝状物） in some Canadian rock appear to be the oldest known fossils， giving new support for some ideas about how life began，" a new study says．
"The features are mineralized remains of what appear to be bacteria that lived some 3.77billion to 4.28billion years ago，" the scientist said． That would be older than some other rock features found in Greenland， which were considered to be the fossils last August．
The new results come from examining rock found along the eastern shore of Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec． The filaments and tubes， made up of iron oxide called hematite （赤铁矿），appeared within a rock type called jasper （碧玉）．
Matthew Dodd of University College London， an author of the study published Wednesday by Nature， said the living things lived in the seafloor where water was heated by a volcano． "Since the fossils are nearly as old as Earth， which formed some 4.5 billion years ago， the findings support previous indications that life may have begun in such an environment，" he said．
He and his colleagues presented several lines of evidence to support the idea that tiny tubes and filaments are signatures of past life． But two experts who've previously reported similar findings said they are not convinced．
"I would say they are not fossils，" Martin J． Van Kranendonk of the University of New South Wales in Australia， who reported the Greenland findings last year， wrote in an email． "The paper's evidence for a biological origin falls short，" he said．
Abigail Allwood， a NASA geologist， said the authors have produced one of the most detailed cases yet made for evidence of life in rocks older than 3.5 billion years． But "It's an extraordinary claim to make and you do need extraordinary evidence，" she said．
1.What do Matthew， Martin and Abigail have in common？ ______
A. They have been studying rock features．
B. They are working in the same university．
C. They all made a contribution to the Greenland findings．
D. They have discovered the oldest known fossils in the same place．
2.How does Martin feel about the new study？ ______
A. It confirms the biological origin．
B. It ignores the Greenland findings．
C. It needs more to convince people．
D. Its authors take ideas and words from his．
3.What's Abigail Allwood's attitude toward Matthew's findings？ ______
A. Supporting． B. Disapproving．
C. Indifferent． D. Neutral．
4.The new findings can make people know something about ______ ．
A. the process of fossil formation
B. how life started on the earth
C. how to examine rock and find fossils
D. how the earth formed about 4.5 billion years ago
Earlier this month， the University of Glasgow in Scotland launched a course entitled： D'oh! The Simpsons Introduce Philosophy． The course's aim is to ease students into the typically heavy topic by relating it to the popular cartoon family．
"The Simpsons is one of the modern world's greatest cultural artifacts， partly because it is so full of philosophy，" John Donaldson， creator of the course， told the BBC． "Aristotle， Kant， Marx， Camus and many other great thinkers' ideas are represented in what is arguably the purest of philosophical forms - the comic cartoon．"
While this may seem like an unusual way to attract pupils to a traditionally dull topic， this class isn't the first of its kind． In 2009， Liverpool Hope University in the UK began offering a master's degree on the music of internationally known 60's group The Beatles， which still runs today． The following year， the UK's Durham University gave students the chance to enroll on a Harry Potter-themed module， covering contents such as "Gryffindor and Slytherin： prejudice and intolerance in the classroom" and "muggles and magic"．
To some， these courses may seem like a waste of a valuable education， but Donaldson believes that packaging certain topics into something easier to relate to will enhance the learning experience， without distraction from the main subject． "Firstly， scholars want to be taken seriously by other scholars and ideas like this can be seen as not serious，" he tells iNews． "There are definitely ways to incorporate popular culture into academic subjects that still remains substantial and doesn't take away from the quality of the ideas．"
Already booked full， Donaldson's Simpsons class isn't meant to be taken as seriously， however． The lecturer says that his one-day course， which will pose philosophical questions around morality， free will， and religion by relating them to scenarios from The Simpsons， aims to introduce students to his area of expertise greatly while they have a bit of fun．
1.From Paragraph 2， we can learn that ______ ．
A. many great thinkers appear in The Simpsons
B. The Simpsons contains many philosophical ideas
C. John Donaldson creates the cartoon The Simpsons
D. the main reason for The Simpsons' success is its philosophy
2.The third paragraph is developed mainly ______ ．
A. by making a comparison
B. by following the order of time
C. by analyzing the process
D. by giving examples
3.What does the underlined word " scenarios" in the last paragraph mean？ ______
A. Characters． B. Settings．
C. Plots． D. Images．
4.The passage mainly talks about ______ ．
A. a creative philosophy course
B. a popular comic cartoon
C. a reform of traditional subjects
D. an enterprising lecturer
If you are heading for Paris this year， be sure to include at least one of these shopping malls in your schedule．
Au Printemps
Tel： 01133014282
Located near the Paris Opera， this huge store is well-known for household goods as well as its fashion． The tore also offers many services to overseas visitors， including shipping， translation and a personal shopping service． Au Printemps， whose name means springtime， hosts several free fashion shows each week． The store's beauty department has one of the world's largest selections of perfumes．
Galeries Lafayatte
Tel： 01133014283
The Galeries Lafayette was built in 1906． It is as much fun to look at as it is to shop in this 10-storey shopping palace． In fact， the flagship store is the second most visited attraction in Paris． After the Louvre Museum． This shopping palace specializes in women's clothing． Make sure to take in the view from the tea shop on the top floor； it's well worth the visit．
Le Bon Marche
Tel： 01133014439
This stylish Left Bank department store was Paris' first such store． Designed by Gustave Eiffel， Le Bon Marche is particularly known for its food hall， its wedding shops and its selection of modern clothes．
La Forum des Halles
Tel： 01133014476
This modern， underground shopping center was built in 1979． La Forum des Halles， the three-storey-tall shopping center offers everything from souvenirs to haute couture（高级女子时装）to entertainment， such as first-run movies and street performers． The shopping center is attached to the busy La Halle-Chatelet metro station and can be easily reached from all over Paris．
1.Which of the following places attracts the most visitors according to the passage？ ______
A. The Louvre Museum． B. The Paris Opera．
C. La Forum des Halles． D. Au Printemps．
2.Which of the stores pays its special attention to women's dressing？ ______
A. Le Bon Marche． B. Galeries Lafayette．
C. La Forum des Halles． D. Au Printemps．
3.We can learn from the passage that ______ ．
A. Au Printemps is famous for its food hall．
B. La Forum des Halles is next to the metro station．
C. the clothes in Le Bin Marche are usually very cheap．
D. the tea shop that is worth visiting is on the ninth floor of Galeries Lafayette．
假如你们学校英语爱好者俱乐部对“良好饮食习惯”这一话题进行讨论，请根据下列提示，用英语写一篇发言稿。内容要点应包括：
部分同学的饮食习惯 | 良好的饮食习惯 | 个人看法 |
不吃早餐 爱吃零食 偏食 饮食过度 | 饮食多样化 饮食定时定量 | 重要性：有助于身体健康 …… |
注意：
1). 发言稿必须包括所有内容要点，可适当发挥；
2). 发言稿开头和结尾已为你写好，不计入总词数；
3). 词数100左右；
4). 参考词汇：偏食：be particular about food；零食：snack。
Dear friends,
As we all know, we are what we eat. Therefore, it's very important for us to form healthy eating habits.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
That's all. Thank you!
句型转换：在横线上填上适当的单词，使前后两句话的含义一致（每空一词）。
1.If we want to lose weight, we must go on a diet.
→We must have a______ ______to keep healthy.
2.Eating more vegetables will benefit you a lot.
→Eating more vegetables will______ ______ ______ you.
3.Having watched TV for too long, I felt it boring.
→Having watched TV for too long, I ______ ______ ______ it.
4.According to my research, neither your restaurant nor mine offers a balanced diet.
→According to my research, ______ your restaurant ______ mine doesn’t offer a balanced diet.
5.She was fond of her hat decorated with lace and glitter.
→She was fond of her hat ______ ______ ______ ______ lace and glitter.
6.For me, this math problem is the most difficult.
→For me, ______ ______ ______ difficult than this math problem.
7.Obviously, some of our listeners may have different opinions.
→______ ______ ______ that some of our listeners may have different opinions.
