根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项，选项中有两项为多余选项。Lost in the PostHow would you feel if the letter you penned carefully and posted to your favorite star ended up in the recycling bin? That's where unopened fan mail sent to singer Taylor Swift was found in Nashville.1.Swift’s management said it was an accident, but dealing with piles of letters is a burden for most public figures. According to the BBC reporter Jon Kelly, at the height of his fame, Johnny Depp was said to receive up to 10,000 letters a week.2.The dawn of the digital age in which public figures with a Twitter account can be messaged directly has made the process easier. The White House says it deals with 20,000 messages addressed to President Barack Obama each day.Some celebrities don’t want letters. In 2008, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr said that he would throw them out because he was too busy.3.Robert Pattinson, star of theTwilightfilms, claims that he reads tonnes and tonnes of letters from fans, which takes up almost all his free time.Many artists, however, outsource(外包) the task of opening, reading and replying. Sylvia “Spanky” Taylor, 58, has run a service in California that does just that since 1987.4.Most letters are simply declarations of affection and admiration, she says. A few ask for money. A small number contain threats which require her to contact the celebrity’s security team and law enforcement.The biggest problem for Taylor is working out how to deal with the correspondence(通信). Presents such as soft toys are sent to local hospitals, and most of the letters just get shredded and recycled.5.For some, this is enough, according to Lynn Zubernis, an expert at West Chester University. She says that the relationship between fan and celebrity may exist only in the mind of the former but it comes from a deeply-rooted human need for community.
A. This incident has caused a wide public concern about how the public figures deal with the letters or mails from the fans. |
B. She and her staff deal with up to 20,000 items of mail a month on behalf of 26 celebrities |
C. Accordingly, the correspondence problem has been difficult for the computer to automate. |
D. Typically, correspondence is acknowledged by a photo with a printed “signature”. |
E. How could he have enough time to skim through these letters one by one? |
F. In fact, there is no alternative to deal with the problem. |
G. Others do attempt to get through it themselves. |
Hey, You Looking at Me?
The renowned Spanish magician and magic theorist Juan Tamariz wrote in his classic book that to make an audience feel seen, a performer must extend “imaginary threads from the performer’s eyes to the spectators,” taking care to not break them during the performance.
A new study, published earlier this month, suggests that for spectators to feel that they have eye-to-eye contact with the person onstage, the latter needs not extend imaginary threads from his or her eyes to the eyes of the audience. In fact, we perceive direct eye contact from other people not only when they look us in the eye, but also when they look at any other part of our face.
Shane Rogers, Oliver Guidetti, and their collaborators at Edith Cowan University in Perth, set out to determine whether people experience an ‘eye contact illusion’ during natural conversation, and if so, how strong the misperception might be. They conducted two eye-tracking studies:
In the first experiment, Guidetti engaged in one on one ‘getting acquainted’ conversations with 46 students, with both Guidetti and the student wearing eye-tracking glasses. In one half of the 4-minute conversations, Guidetti looked at the student’s eyes most of the time, and in the other half of the conversations, he looked at the student’s mouth most of the time. The data showed that, whereas mutual face gazing was comparable in the two participant groups, mutual eye contact was much lower. Once the conversation was over, students rated how much eye contact they believed Guidetti had made, and how much they had enjoyed the conversation. Both subject groups produced equivalently high ratings in each measure, indicating that our perception of eye contact during conversation has more to do with mutual face gazing than with actual eye contact.
In the second experiment, 36 pairs of students (all wearing eye-tracking goggles) participated in an ‘eye gaze guessing game,’ where participants alternated the roles of gazer and guesser for 30 experimental trials. In each trial, the gazer looked for about 2 seconds at one of five locations on the guesser’s face: eyes, mouth, nose, forehead, or either ear. Then, the guesser tried to guess the location the gazer had just looked at. The guessers’ accuracy was above chance level, suggesting that people do possess some ability to figure out the location of another person’s gaze when actively watching out for it. However, participants were slanted to guessing ‘eyes’ when unsure.
Based on the combined findings from both experiments, the researchers concluded that, unless people are specifically attending to gaze location, they are not very sensitive to the exact focus of their partner’s gaze upon their face during the course of natural conversation.
The bad news is, your perception of soul-to-soul eye contact with your romantic partner may be all in your head (your soulmate could be looking at your mouth, or even your ear, as they declare their everlasting love). But the good news is, if the act of looking at other people’s eyes makes you anxious, or if you dread speaking in front of an audience, you don’t need to sweat the small stuff. Just look in the general direction of people’s faces and it’ll feel to them like meaningful eye contact. (Feb 22th, 2019, Scientific American)
1.What does the underlined word slanted probably mean?
A.certain B.likely
C.doubtful D.frustrated
2.In the first experiment, the participants ________.
A.are trying to get to know each other
B.look at the eyes in half of the conversation
C.misjudge the actual amount of eye contact
D.make more face gazing to reduce embarrassment
3.We can learn from the experiments that ________.
A.The gazer takes at least ten seconds to finish each trail
B.Eye contact makes participants enjoy conversations more
C.They are conducted to prove the significance of imaginary threads
D.People can be accurate about the exact focus of others5 gaze if focused
4.Guidetti probably agrees that ________.
A.Soulful declaration of love doesn’t exist
B.Direct eye contact may cause anxiety
C.Mutual face gazing improves conversation quality
D.Eye contact illusion can be applied to real life
Freedom and Responsibility
Freedom’s challenge in the Digital Age is a serious topic. We are facing today a strange new world and we are all wondering what we are going to do with it.
Some 2,500 years ago Greece discovered freedom. Before that there was no freedom. There were great civilizations, splendid empires, but no freedom anywhere. Egypt and Babylon were both tyrannies, one very powerful man ruling over helpless masses.
In Greece, in Athens, a little city in a little country, there were no helpless masses. And Athenians willingly obeyed the written laws which they themselves passed, and the unwritten, which must be obeyed if free men live together. They must show each other kindness and pity and the many qualities without which life would be very painful unless one chose to live alone in the desert. The Athenians never thought that a man was free if he could do what he wanted. A man was free if he was self-controlled. To make yourself obey what you approved was freedom. They were saved from looking at their lives as their own private affair. Each one felt responsible for the welfare of Athens, not because it was forced on him from the outside, but because the city was his pride and his safety. The essential belief of the first free government in the world was liberty for all men who could control themselves and would take responsibility for the state.
But discovering freedom is not like discovering computers. It cannot be discovered once for all. If people do not prize it, and work for it, it will go. Constant watch is its price. Athens changed. It was a change that took place without being noticed though it was of the extreme importance, a spiritual change which affected the whole state. It had been the Athenian’s pride and joy to give to their city. That they could get material benefits from her never entered their minds. There had to be a complete change of attitude before they could look at the city as an employer who paid her citizens for doing her work. Now instead of men giving to the state, the state was to give to them. What the people wanted was a government which would provide a comfortable life for them; and with this as the primary object, ideas of freedom and self-reliance and responsibility were neglected to the point of disappearing. Athens was more and more looked on as a cooperative business possessed of great wealth in which all citizens had a right to share.
Athens reached the point when the freedom she really wanted was freedom from responsibility. There could be only one result. If men insisted on being free from the burden of self-dependence and responsibility for the common good, they would cease to be free. Responsibility is the price every man must pay for freedom. It is to be had on no other terms. Athens, the Athens of Ancient Greece, refused responsibility; she reached the end of freedom and was never to have it again.
But, “the excellent becomes the permanent,” Aristotle said. Athens lost freedom forever, but freedom was not lost forever for the world. A great American, James Madison, referred to: “The capacity (能力) of mankind for self-government.” No doubt he had not an idea that he was speaking Greek. Athens was not in the farthest background of his mind, but once man has a great and good idea, it is never completely lost. The Digital Age cannot destroy it. Somehow in this or that man’s thought such an idea lives though unconsidered by the world of action. One can never be sure that it is not on the point of breaking out into action only sure that it will do so sometime.
1.People believing in freedom are those who ________.
A.regard their life as their own business
B.seek gains as their primary object
C.behave within the laws and value systems
D.treat others with kindness and pity
2.What change in attitude took place in Athens?
A.The Athenians refused to take their responsibility.
B.The Athenians no longer took pride in the city.
C.The Athenians benefited spiritually from the government.
D.The Athenians looked on the government as a business.
3.What does the sentence “There could be only one result.” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.Athens would continue to be free.
B.Athens would cease to have freedom.
C.Freedom would come from responsibility.
D.Freedom would stop Athens from self-dependence.
4.What is the author’s understanding of freedom?
A.Freedom can be more popular in the digital age.
B.Freedom may come to an end in the digital age.
C.Freedom should have priority over responsibility.
D.Freedom needs to be guaranteed by responsibility.
Welcome To International Summer School
An enjoyable English language learning experience——together with organized sports, activities and excursion (外出游学) program.
International Summer School runs 3 different summer school centers for boys and girls aged from 8-21 years in the South of England. Our schools are chosen for their location, accommodation and excellent sporting and art facilities.
International Summer School has grown increasingly popular and attracts high student numbers each summer. We have many students and staff who return each year. Our courses are personal and of high quality. Students can surely have an exciting and enjoyable experience while improving their English at the same time.
Bethany Centre is situated in the heart of Kent in the beautiful countryside, very close to the village of Goudhurst, with its old fashioned shops and cafes, and Marden with its direct train route to central London. The historic large town of Tunbridge Wells is only 15 minutes away. Gatwick and Heathrow airports are easily accessible, as are Eurostar International Stations at Ashford and Ebbsfleet.
Moira House is based in Eastbourne on the south coast of England in the much favored Meads area of the town, within walking distance of the seafront and town centre. Gatwick Airport is about half an hour’s drive away and Heathrow around 40 minutes.
Eastbourne Centre is situated directly on the seafront and only a few minutes walk away from the main town centre, with its theatres, museums, art galleries, nightclubs, cafes, restaurants and good selection of indoor and outdoor shopping. Gatwick Airport is about half an hour’s drive away and Heathrow around 20 minutes.
The aim of International Summer School is to create a lively and happy atmosphere that makes learning and international communication enjoyable. Young people can have fun, but also gain considerable skills in English. A full day in London is always included, as well as other places of cultural interest.
Students of all cultures are welcomed as our aim is to create a summer school which can truly be described as International.
When we return your child to you at the end of their stay, we hope they will feel enriched by their experience with us and will look forward to returning to meet friends made at International Summer School the following year, as so many do.
Learning English should be fun——at International Summer School it is fun!
1.If you want to experience traditional English culture, you’d better go to ________.
A.Marden B.Moira House
C.Goudhurst D.Eastbourne Center
2.It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.all the three centers have easy access to Gatwick and Heathrow airports
B.the three centers are not very far from each other
C.students will spend most of the time taking part in organized activities
D.learning English in International Summer School should be fun
3.The target readers of the passage are probably ________.
A.teachers B.children
C.parents D.schools
Jerry wanted to continue his studies through college after his graduation from high school; so every morning he never failed to read the classified ads in the newspaper. He scanned even the smallest ad, hoping to find one company needing the services of a high school graduate.
His patience paid off for early one morning he read an ad which said: “An executive wants boy to assist him in his office. He should at least be a high school graduate.”
Jerry cut the ad and quickly took a bath. He put on a clean suit, brushed his short hair neatly, and after asking permission from mother, he proceeded to the office which advertised the ad. When he reached the place, he saw that it was filled with young people. His heart beat faster for he felt he had a very slim chance to be selected.
Very soon the office became empty and Jerry found himself being briefed by the executive. He was asked to report at eight o’clock the following morning. After Jerry left the office, the manager asked the executive, “What made you select that boy who did not have a single recommendation?” “That is where you are mistaken,” explained the executive. “Before entering this office, he wiped his feet and closed the door quietly. It shows he is careful. I noticed that he stood instantly and offered his seat to an old man who entered the office. His act shows that he is kind and considerate boy. He took off his cap when he entered the room and answered my questions promptly indicating that he is polite and gentlemanly.”
“Do you know that I purposely laid a book on the floor to find out what these applicants will do?” the executive continued. “This boy picked it up and placed it on the table while the rest stepped on it. Does this not show that this boy is orderly? While the others pushed and jostled each other in their desire to be interviewed first, this boy waited quietly instead of pushing and crowding as the rest did. I noticed, when I talked to him, that his clothes were clean. Of course, he had no letter of recommendation, but the things that he did counted more than a dozen letters of recommendation. Furthermore, I really do not believe in written recommendations. I judge a person’s character by the way he behaves spontaneously, because I believe that the training of a person will always show in whatever he does and in whatever place he is.”
“Now, I hope you are convinced why I selected that boy among the other applicants even if he does not have a single written recommendation.”
1.What did Jerry feel when he arrived at the office?
A.He was completely disappointed.
B.He was quite astonished by what he saw.
C.He was afraid he wouldn’t be admitted.
D.He felt empty because he didn’t have a recommendation.
2.How can the character of a person be shown according to the executive?
A.By one’s recommendation. B.By his actions.
C.By others’ comments on him D.By his determination.
3.What words can best describe Jerry?
A.Responsible and well-mannered B.Polite and strong-willed
C.Ambitious and gentlemanly D.Thoughtful and spontaneous
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A.Never Judge a Book by Its Cover B.Observation Is the Best Teacher
C.Seeing Is Believing D.The Best Recommendation
As a young man, Al was a skilled artist, a potter. He had a wife and two fine sons. One night, his oldest son developed a severe stomachache. Thinking it was only some ________ intestinal (肠内的) disorder, neither Al nor his wife took the condition very seriously. But it was actually acute appendicitis (急性阑尾炎), and the boy ________ suddenly that night.
Knowing the death could have been ________ if he had only realized the seriousness of the situation, Al’s emotional health deteriorated under the huge burden of his ________. To make matters worse, his wife ________ him a short time later, leaving him alone with his six-year-old younger son. The hurt and pain of the two ________ were more than Al could handle, and he ________ to alcohol to help him cope, thus in time Al became an alcoholic.
________ the alcoholism progressed, Al began to lose everything he ________—his home, his land and his art objects. Al ________ died alone in a San Francisco motel room.
When I heard of Al’s death, I reacted with the same disdain the world shows for one who ends his life with nothing to show for it. “What a complete ________ he is!” I thought. “What a totally wasted life!”
As time went by, I began to re-evaluate my earlier judgment. I knew Al’s now ________ son, Ernie. He is one of the kindest, most caring, most loving men I have ever known. I watched Ernie with his children and saw the free ________ of love between them. I knew that kindness and caring had to come from somewhere.
I hadn’t heard Ernie talk much about his ________. One day I worked ________ my courage to ask him. “I’m really ________ by something,” I said. “I know your father was ________ the only one to raise you. What on earth did he do to make you become such a special person?”
Ernie sat quietly and ________ for a few moments. Then he said, “From my earliest ________ as a child until I left home at 18, Al came into my room every night, gave me a kiss and said, ‘I love you, son’.”
Tears came to my eyes as I realized what a fool I had been to judge Al as a failure. He had not left any ________ possessions behind. But he had been a kind loving father, and he left behind one of the finest, most giving men I have ever known. (423words)
1.A.certain B.average C.rare D.common
2.A.worsened B.choked C.starved D.died
3.A.cured B.forbidden C.prevented D.saved
4.A.disease B.guilt C.pressure D.duty
5.A.left B.scolded C.quarreled D.forgave
6.A.accidents B.situations C.conflicts D.adventures
7.A.got B.drank C.turned D.sank
8.A.As B.Though C.Because D.If
9.A.needed B.possessed C.benefited D.shared
10.A.accidentally B.gradually C.eventually D.immediately
11.A.trouble B.failure C.disaster D.rubbish
12.A.teen B.adolescent C.aged D.adult
13.A.will B.fall C.flow D.space
14.A.mother B.brother C.father D.child
15.A.with B.up C.on D.through
16.A.puzzled B.worried C.interested D.attracted
17.A.especially B.basically C.merely D.specially
18.A.argued B.searched C.analyzed D.reflected
19.A.thoughts B.ideas C.minds D.memories
20.A.spiritual B.material C.memorable D.emotional
