Today it is common to see people who walk about with colored wires hanging from their ears wherever they go. They move about in their personal bubbles, sometimes unaware of what’s happening around them. Are you one of “them”?
For me, walking around in my own personal bubble is perfect. 1.What’s even better, wearing earphones seems to give a signal to people which says: “I’m not available for chatting at the moment!”
Suppose you’re at work, you don’t want anyone to break your concentration. 2. Those wires hanging from your ears would be sure to give the “Go away!” signal.
3. It’s probably part of the growing up stage when they just want to ignore their whole family. While their mothers give them lectures about why they should do their homework, they can just turn up the volume (声音) on their MP3 player, smile, and say “Yes, Mum.” Problem solved.
Pretty soon, not only will we have pretty colored wires hanging from our ears — but also our brains will be directly plugged into some new high-tech instrument. We’ll be in a virtual (虚拟) world, communicating with everyone else, or choosing not to, as we like. 4. And they are changing our social habits along the way.
In the end, there is a thin line between using technology as a tool for making life better and being a slave to it! It’s so strange — suddenly, 5.
A. Our instruments are changing quickly.
B. I also have wires hanging from my ears.
C. In the home situation, teenagers love these wires.
D. I don’t feel like wearing my earphones any more!
E. I don’t have to deal with the noise from the environment.
F. After all, I am listening to my favorite music and would rather not be disturbed.
G. Listening to music through earphones is the perfect way to ignore such interruptions.
You signed up for soccer, and played every game of the season. Sure, you're not the best player on the team, but most days you gave it your all. Do you deserve a trophy (奖杯)?
If the decision is up to Carol Dweck, the answer would likely be no. She's a psychology professor at Stanford University, California. She says a player doesn't have to be the best to get a trophy. But those who receive an award should have to work for it. She suggests trophies go to the most improved player, or the one who contributed most to the team spirit, as well as to those who play the best.
“The trophy has to stand for something,” Dweck told TFK. “If we give a trophy to everyone, then the award has no value.” Dweck argues that giving kids trophies for particular reasons, such as improving in a sport, teaches kids that adults value hard work and trying our best.
Others say that there's no harm in giving awards to all kids who play a sport, regardless of how they played or whether or not they improved.
“I think we should encourage kids' participation in sports,” says Kenneth Barish, a psychology professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, in New York City. “A trophy is one way to encourage kids' efforts.”
Barish argues that when we single out only the best or even the most improved players with a trophy, we are teaching kids the wrong lesson. We are sending the message that winning is everything. “Winning is only part of the equation (等式),” Barish told TFK. “Playing sports also teaches kids about teamwork and the importance of exercise.”
There will be plenty of opportunities for kids to learn about competition as they get older, says Barish. They'll soon realize that only one soccer team wins the World Cup and only one football team wins the Super Bowl. For now, he thinks there's nothing wrong with letting all kids who play a sport feel like winners. That means trophies for everyone.
1.According to Carol Dweck, which player should receive a trophy?
A.Tony, the most attractive player of the soccer team.
B.David, a soccer player who is both clever and funny.
C.Peter, who is ready to help his partners to score goals.
D.Jim, a soccer player who tries his best to win the game
2.Which of the following statements would Kenneth Barish agree with?
A.There is no sense in giving a trophy to everyone.
B.Kids fond of playing sports should be rewarded.
C.Kids should be given trophies for trying their best.
D.It is necessary to encourage kids' participation in sports.
3.The underlined phrase “single out” in Paragraph 6 probably means “________”．
A.honor B.choose
C.value D.stress
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Who deserves a trophy? B.All kids deserve a trophy
C.What does a trophy deserve? D.Best player deserves a trophy
Rock and roll music developed in the United States in the early nineteen-fifties. It was based on the music called rhythm and blues that was performed by African American musicians.
Early rock and roll singers developed their own kinds of music. Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, the Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan were the most popular rock and roll musicians in the early 1960s. All were American. Then, in 1964, a new rock and roll group from England invaded America: the Beatles.
Some people say the Beatles’ music shook America like an earthquake. The Beatles changed rock and roll forever. Their early songs were influenced by American rock and roll musicians, including Chuck Berry. But the Beatles looked different and sounded different from any musical group before them.
The Beatles released their first album in the United States in 1964, when all of the top five records in America were by the Beatles. In 1967, they released an album called “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” It was one of the first “concept” albums. That is, all the songs were linked by a common story or idea.
The popularity of the Beatles led the way for more rock and roll bands from England to become popular in America. The Rolling Stones was the most important of these bands. The Rolling Stones is one of the few groups from the 1960s that is still performing and recording today. In 1965, the group recorded one of its most famous songs, “Satisfaction”.
By the 1970s, rock and roll music became known as rock music. Experts say rock music regained some of the energy of early rock and roll. Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band became popular with their album “Born to Run”. Springsteen’s music was like the lively rock and roll music of the early nineteen-sixties. Many of his songs were about social issues. He sang about the effects of unemployment and the war in Vietnam.
1.The main topic of this passage is _______.
A.the history of American music
B.the development of rock and roll music
C.the famous rock and roll groups
D.the new forms of rock and roll music
2.What does “the Beatles’ music shook America like an earthquake” mean?
A.The Beatle’s music was as violent as an earthquake in America.
B.the Beatles looked differently because an earthquake hit America.
C.The Beatle’s music had great effect on the rock and roll music in America.
D.The Beatle’s music were greatly influenced by American rock and roll music.
3.Whose songs were mainly about social problems like unemployment and war?
A.Elvis Presley’s. B.Bob Dylan’s.
C.Chuck Berry’s. D.Springsteen’s.
4.From the passage, we can know that _______.
A.one of the Rolling Stones’ albums was called “concept”
B.all of the top five records in America were by the Beatles in 1964
C.the Rolling Stones was the only band that became popular in America
D.all the most popular rock and roll musicians in the 1960s were American
One morning a deer rushed into a courtyard where a little boy was playing. The deer hooked the boy’s clothing with its antlers (角). This scared the little boy so much that he let out a loud cry which brought his mother running out to see what was happening. She came out just in time and saw the deer running off towards the mountains with her little boy.
The mother was so afraid! She ran after the deer as fast as she could and not too far away she found her son sitting on the grass safely. Seeing his mother, the little boy laughed and reached out his arms to her. His mother held him tight. She was so happy that she cried. She hurried back with her dear son. When she got home, she was amazed at what she saw. The huge tree behind her house had fallen down while she was out running after the deer. The whole house was destroyed under the tree’s great weight.
Then the mother remembered the day about a year before when a deer fleeing from a hurt had run into her house. She felt sorry for the frightened deer, so she covered it with some cloth and let it return to the forest.
The deer seemed to understand that she had saved its life. When leaving, it kept bowing its head to her as if it were thanking her for her kindness.
She never imagined that the deer could remember her help. It somehow knew the tree was going to fall and kill her and her son, so it came back to save them.
When the mother remembered all this, she said, “Saving the life of another is the same as saving the life of your own.”
1.The mother run out of the house because _________?
A.The boy was crying. B.The boy was running.
C.The deer was coming. D.The deer was escaping.
2.What happened while the mother was running after the deer?
A.The deer hurt her son. B.The house disappeared.
C.The house was destroyed. D.The huge tree was cut down.
3.Why did the deer save their lives?
A.They were close friends.
B.The mother once saved its life.
C.The deer once visited their house.
D.The mother drove away the hunter.
4.What is the purpose of the passage?
A.To protect animals. B.To blame the hunter.
C.To praise the mother’s bravery. D.To encourage people to do good deeds.
Lost cities that have been found
The White City
In 2015, a team of explorers to Honduras in search of “the Lost City of the Monke God” led to the discovery of the White City. It is believed that local people hid here when the Spanish conquerors (征服者) occupied their homeland in the16th century.
Canopus and Heracleion
The Egyptian cities Canopus and Heracleion, where Queen Cleopatra often visited, weren’t found until 1992. Artifacts (史前器物) showed that the cities once highly developed as a trade network, which helped researchers piece together more about the last queen of Egypt.
Machu Picchu
A Yale professor discovered “the Lost City in the Clouds” in 1911. Machu Picchu displays the Inca Empire at the height of its rule. Abandoned in the 16th century for unknown reasons, the city was hidden by the local people from the Spanish conquerors for centuries keeping it so well preserved.
Troy
The ancient city of Troy in Homer’s The Iliad was considered a fictional setting for his characters to run wild. But in 1871, explorations in northwestern Turkey exposed nine ancient cities layered (层叠) on top of each other, the earliest dating back to about 5,000 years before. It was later determined that the sixth or seventh layer contained the lost city of Troy and that it was actually destroyed by an earthquake, not a wooden horse.
1.Why did people hide in the White City in the 16th century?
A.To survive the war. B.To save the land.
C.To protect their country. D.To search for a lost city.
2.Which of the following was related to a royal family member?
A.The White City B.Canopus and Heracleion
C.Machu Picchu D.Troy
3.What can we learn about Troy?
A.It was built by Homer. B.It consisted of nine cities
C.It had a history of 5,000 years D.It was ruined by a natural disaster.
When I was 13 my only purpose was to become the star on our football team. That meant _______ Miller King, who was the best _______ at our school.
Football season started in September and all summer long I worked out. I carried my football everywhere for_______. Just before September, Miller was struck by a car and lost his right arm. I went to see him after he came back from _______. He looked very _______, but he didn`t cry.
That season, I _______ all of Miller`s records while he watched the home games from the bench. We went 10-1 and I was named most valuable player, _______ I often had crazy dreams in which I was to blame for Miller’s _______.
One afternoon, I was crossing the field to go home and saw Miller _______ going over a fence — which wasn’t ________ to climb if you had both arms. I’m sure I was the ________ person in the world he wanted to accept ________ from. But even that challenge he accepted. I ________ him move slowly over the fence. When we were finally ________ on the other side, he said to me, “You know, I didn’t tell you this during the season, but you did fine. Thank you for filling in for ________.”
His words freed me from my bad ________. I thought to myself, how even without an arm he was more of a leader. ________ but not defeated, he was ________ ahead of me. I was right to have ________ him. From that day on, I grew ________ and a little more real.
1.A.cheering for B.beating out C.relying on D.staying with
2.A.coach B.student C.teacher D.player
3.A.practice B.show C.comfort D.pleasure
4.A.school B.vacation C.hospital D.training
5.A.pale B.calm C.relaxed D.ashamed
6.A.held B.broke C.set D.tried
7.A.and B.then C.but D.thus
8.A.decision B.mistake C.accident D.problem
9.A.stuck B.hurt C.tried D.lost
10.A.steady B.hard C.fun D.fit
11.A.last B.best C.first D.latest
12.A.praise B.advice C.assistance D.apology
13.A.let B.helped C.had D.noticed
14.A.dropped B.ready C.trapped D.safe
15.A.us B.them C.me D.it
16.A.memories B.ideas C.attitudes D.dreams
17.A.Lost B.Attacked C.Destroyed D.Damaged
18.A.still B.also C.yet D.just
19.A.challenged B.cured C.invited D.admired
20.A.healthier B.bigger C.cleverer D.cooler
