Here is one of the world’s largest indoor ski-slopes. It covers an area of 22,500m2, about the same size as three football fields, and the temperature is a constant -1℃ to -2℃. However, the strangest thing about this place is that it’s in the middle of the desert! It’s called Ski Dubai and the outside temperatures can rise to more than 40℃!
It sounds crazy, but it just shows how serious people are about having fun. We spend huge sums on sports facilities. We pay our sports stars ridiculous amounts of money. And we spend hour after hour playing games! I wonder if all the sports-lovers and game-players in the world aren’t a little crazy. I know I am. I was once driving past a football field where some kids were playing. I turned to watch and crashed my car. I know it’s stupid but I can do nothing about it. As someone said, “Football isn’t a matter of life and death. It’s much more important than that!”
Of course, it isn’t that important really. No game is. But the problem is that games are addictive (使人上瘾的). From the tennis court to the golf course, you’ll find participants and spectators who can’t live without the drug of their choice. It could be a good thing. After all, despite being addictive, it’s true that sports and games help us to relax. Maybe if it wasn’t for sport, our societies would be more violent. Perhaps sport is a substitute for war? It’s hard to think of a quieter, more peaceful game than chess, and what’s the objective? Capturing your opponent’s king. And surely, it’s better to have wars in athletics stadiums rather than on battlefields.
What’s more, playing is natural. Kittens chase balls of wool and puppies pretend to fight. Games help us perfect our skills and prepare us for the serious contest of survival.
But do all games help us relax and stay away from violence? What about computer games? A recent article in New Scientist suggests that playing violent video games (and most of them are extremely violent) makes people more aggressive and more likely to commit violent crimes.
Are these games a rehearsal (彩排) for life or a substitute for life? Do we play instead of facing up to our real problems? I don’t know. But what I do know is that I need a break. Something to help me relax. Skiing would be nice. I wonder how much it costs to get to Dubai?
1.According to the author, the most surprising thing about Ski Dubai is its ________.
A.slopes B.size
C.location D.facilities
2.The expression “the drug of their choice” in the 3rd paragraph refers to ________.
A.the game they are keen on B.the medicine they take
C.the activity good for health D.the sport in place of war
3.Which of the following statements does the author most probably agree with?
A.Sports stars should be paid more to play well.
B.Sports are more important than life and death.
C.Chess is too peaceful to be considered a sport.
D.Games can make one relaxed as well as violent.
4.What does the author mainly talk about in the passage?
A.The relationship between games and crimes.
B.Human natural craze for having fun with games.
C.Serious concerns about time that is spent on games.
D.Real problems facing game players in everyday life.
In 2008, a study was conducted in Hong Kong to find out why some people appeared to be better at public speaking. Three hundred people who were employed in jobs that require an advanced level of public speaking skills were interviewed. The participants included politicians, professors and motivational speakers. The results of the study showed that 77% of the participants reported having parents that encouraged them to ask questions and state their opinions from a young age. Eighty-five percent answered that their parents had repeatedly exposed them to a variety of positive “public speaking” experiences at home. These experiences included practicing speeches, performing dramas and reciting poems.
In another study to determine the causes of fear of public speaking, 70% of the participants said they had not had any public speaking opportunities at home. Eighteen percent of the participants had been given such opportunities, but these had resulted in a loss of confidence.
One of the participants recalled a painful experience from when he was eight years old. His parents had arranged for him to present his school project about earthquakes to his cousins. As an outgoing boy, he was eager to show off all his hard work, until he forgot a sentence and started to stutter (结巴). His cousins began to laugh at him, and instead of his family encouraging him to continue with his presentation, his father told him to call it a day. The stress of this incident and the feeling of being rejected carried over to school, where he started struggling with his words and went red like a sunset every time he had to speak in front of an audience.
From these studies, we can see that the way parents handle their child’s communication efforts and a child’s future attitude towards public speaking can be linked. Not all people are born afraid of public speaking, but rather they grow to be afraid of it due to awful experiences or outside influences. Yet this does not mean they have no control over their fear — because they do.
1.According to the study of 2008, ________ were important in making successful public speakers.
A.caring professors B.high motivations
C.encouraging parents D.original opinions
2.In the 3rd paragraph, the expression “call it a day” most probably means ________.
A.stop B.respond
C.try D.relax
3.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A.How much exposure to public speaking is proper?
B.What kinds of jobs require public speaking skills?
C.Is public speaking important for children?
D.Are people born afraid of public speaking?
4.The paragraph following the last might be about ________.
A.more experiences of unsuccessful public speaking
B.ways to gain self-confidence in public speaking
C.other reasons for failure in public speaking
D.features of successful public speaking
Hetty Robinson learnt all about money when very young. As a child, she read the financial pages of the newspaper to her rich father. Her father died when Hetty was 30, and she inherited $1 million. When she herself died in 1916, she left almost $100 million to her two children.
Hetty made her money on the New York stock exchange. She was a financial genius. She made money so easily that people called her the Witch of Wall Street. But although she was one of the richest women in the world, she counted every cent and spent as little as possible. She didn’t own a house, because she didn’t want to pay property taxes. So she and her children lived in cheap hotels.
She spent almost nothing on clothes, and always wore the same long black dress. She washed it herself, but to save soap she only washed the bottom of the dress, where it touched the ground. Other people had their own offices, but Hetty used a desk in the bank where she kept her money, because it didn’t cost anything. She sat in the bank and ate her sandwiches while she bought and sold stocks and shares. If the bank complained, she just moved all her money to another bank.
Hetty’s family paid the price for her meanness. When she was 33 she married a millionaire, Edward Green, and they had two children. But Green lost all his money, so she left him. When her son, Ned, injured his knee, Hetty didn’t want to pay for a doctor, so she took him to a free hospital for poor people. Unfortunately the doctor knew Hetty was rich and he asked for money. Hetty refused and took the boy away. His leg got worse and two years later doctors removed it.
But eventually Ned got his revenge. At the age of 81 Hetty had an argument with a shop assistant about the price of a bottle of milk. She became so angry that she had a heart attack and died. So Hetty’s meanness finally killed her. Ned inherited half his mother’s fortune, and he spent it all on parties, holidays and expensive jewellery.
1.What fact can be learned about Hetty Robinson from the passage?
A.She came from a poor family. B.She worked for a bank.
C.She was nice to her son. D.She died from extreme anger.
2.Hetty Robinson was called the Witch of Wall Street mainly because ________.
A.she was fond of reading financial pages of the newspaper
B.she made a huge fortune easily through stocks and shares
C.she liked wearing the same long black dress every day
D.she turned out to be the richest woman in New York
3.Which of the following best describes Hetty Robinson?
A.Talented but not generous. B.Wealthy and kind.
C.Aggressive but not diligent. D.Curious and lucky.
You get an e-mail from your friend. It says Bill Gates will send you cash if you just click on a certain Web page. Your friend swears this is official, and that his friend says it _______. Will you believe it?
Stories like that are known as urban legends (传说). They are called this _______ they are like old country folk tales, but told in a modern city context.
Why do people tell urban legends? Why do listeners believe them? _______ is true of many legends, there is usually a grain of truth in an urban legend that seems to confirm it. That small seed of truth helps keep the story alive. _______, many urban legends are meant to serve as warnings to children and teens. This fact could explain why a lot of urban legends are _______: Do not take candy from strangers, because it might have poison in it.
Some urban legends, however, reflect what people want to believe. After the disastrous Asian tsunami (海啸) of 2004, for example, one heart-warming tale spread around the world.
_______ the story, elephants near a Thai resort sensed that the huge waves were coming. They led people to high ground and went back into the floodwaters _______ other people. The Denver Post was one of many newspapers to _______ this story: “Elephants became superheroes, raising people with their trunks and pulling them from harm’s way.” There were elephants near the resort, and they did move to higher ground as the waves came ashore — but that is all that _______ be confirmed. The rest is wishful thinking.
With quick access to the Internet today, it is easy to spread urban legends, but it is also easy to fight them. Remember your friend’s e-mail mentioned earlier? __________ to Snopes.com, the Internet headquarters for sorting out truth from fiction, and you will find it is false. Next time you hear what sounds like an urban legend, take some time to stop and think and maybe even do some research. The story may be true, but it might just be an urban legend.
1.A.rises B.works C.survives D.improves
2.A.because B.once C.until D.unless
3.A.What B.That C.It D.As
4.A.Personally B.Suddenly C.Previously D.Actually
5.A.interesting B.boring C.frightening D.confusing
6.A.According to B.In spite of C.Due to D.In case of
7.A.rescued B.to rescue C.having rescued D.to be rescuing
8.A.hold up B.pick up C.give up D.look up
9.A.can B.must C.shall D.need
10.A.Heading B.To head C.Head D.Headed
Directions: Read the text below. Use the word given in the brackets to form a word that fits in the space.
It was a rainy morning two years ago. Shirley Huxham was cycling 1.(gentle) downhill. As she waved to a friend, her bike slid uncontrollably on the wet road, throwing her to the ground. “I’d never even thought of buying a helmet,” she says. For months she was partly paralysed (瘫痪) down her left side and still has 2.(healthy) problems today.
Some might think that Shirley was just unlucky. How 3.(danger) can it be to fall from a bicycle? In fact, each year on Britain’s roads more than 200 people are killed and at least 4,000 seriously injured on bicycles. But these numbers don’t tell the whole story: the majority of the 4.(die) and injured were not wearing helmets.
A study of bicycle accidents in the US found that helmets could 5.(reduction) the risk of serious head injury by 85 percent. Yet it is estimated that in Britain, no more than five percent of bicycle 6.(ride) wear helmets. Why don’t more cyclists wear 7. (they)?
People think that helmets look foolish, that they’re 8.(convenient), and that accidents only happen to other people.
One of the wrong ideas bicyclists have is that lower speeds can put them at 9.(little) risk than motorcyclists, who are legally obliged to wear helmets. In fact, according to a British report, a higher percentage of bicyclists than motorcyclists suffer head injuries. And their injuries can be just as severe.
Helmets, however, can make a big 10.(different). Shirley wasn’t just unlucky. If she had worn a helmet, she wouldn’t have spent months in hospital. Why take the risk?
I think it is always the people who have the same culture _____ can share their feelings.
A.which B.what C.as D.that
