As recently as 15 years ago, if you wanted to catch up on the news, you could look at a handful of publications or a few nightly programs. And if you wanted to listen to music, you could turn on MTV or fiddle with your radio. People in major cities had more options, because a large population can support specialty shops. 1..
Today, as we all know, access to information has exploded. One consequence, according to Toure, a cultural critic writing in Salon, is that the ability of pop culture to unify us-- he refers to the massive interest in Michael Jackson’s Thriller, or Nirvana’s Nevermind--has been eroded, probably forever. Steven Hyden, also writing in Salon, counters that whatever the advantages and disadvantages of a centralized pop-culture authority, the monoculture never actually existed.
2. Even when it supposedly existed, its content largely depended on other characteristics of your little corner of the world. In the 1992-1993 school year, I was a student at a multiracial and relatively urban junior high school in California’s central valley. We listened to Salt-n-Pepa, Snoop Doggy Dogg, and Kris Kross, with the latter having inspired a trend in which kids wore their clothes backwards. The next year I was enrolled in a mostly white junior high school in leafy Chiago suburb. One of the houses was famous for having appeared in the 1990 film “Home Alone”; the popular bands were Nirvana, Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins; and the biggest pop-cultural event of the school year was Kurt Cobain’s suicide.
But Toure’s point is about the virtues of common cultural experience. It seems he is recalling centralized media only in so far as it’s a distribution system that fostered ( 促进) that outcome.
3. It doesn’t matter whether a record is released by an important label or an indie ( 独立制片人); if it’s online, people can usually find, forward, share and promote it. But what’s interesting and perhaps surprising, given that both Toure and Mr Hyden seem to agree that the old distribution favored big media, is that we still have widely shared cultural experiences. Just think of Barack Obama doing the little hand gesture from Beyonce’s “Single Ladies ” video.
4.. It’s safe to say that the monoculture never really existed, and that some artists still reach a wide audience, whether we like it or not.
A.That suggests that we like pop culture partly because it’s a shared experience, regardless of quality.
B.However, in vast areas of the world you had to work to get outside the mainstream.
C.Whether you like it or not, “monoculture” is here with us.
D.I think Mr Hyden is correct that the concept of a “monoculture” is a bit of a myth.
E.They see globalization as being the spread of a monoculture, based on western values, which is killing the cultural diversity of the world.
F.And it’s true that the ways we now consume pop culture to some extent level the playing field.
The case for college has been accepted without question for more than a generation. A school graduates ought to go, says conventional wisdom and statistical evidence, because college will help them earn more money, become “better” people, and learn to be more responsible citizens than those who don't go.
But college has never been able to work its magic for everyone. And now that close to half our high school graduates are attending, those who don't fit the pattern are becoming more numerous, and more obvious. College graduates are selling shoes and driving taxis; college students interfere with each other's experiments and write false letters of recommendation in the intense competition for admission to graduate school. Other find no stimulation in their studies, and drop out-often encouraged by college administrators.
Some observers say the fault is with the young people themselves-they are spoiled and they are expecting too much. But that is a condemnation of the students as a whole, and doesn't explain all campus unhappiness. Others blame the state of the world, and they are partly right. We have been told that young people have to go to college because our economy can't absorb an army of untrained eighteen-year-olds. But disappointed graduates are learning that it can no longer absorb an army of trained twenty-two-year-olds, either.
Some adventuresome educators and watchers have openly begun to suggest that college may not be the best, the proper, the only place for every young person after the completion of high school. We may have been looking at all those surveys and statistics upside down, it seems, and through the rosy glow of our own remembered college experiences. Perhaps college doesn't make people intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, or quick to learn things-may it is just the other way around, and intelligent, ambitious, happy, liberal, quick-learning people are merely the ones who have been attracted to college in the first place. And perhaps all those successful college graduates would have been successful whether they had gone to college or not. This is heresy (离经叛道的想法 ) to those of us who have been brought up to believe that if a little schooling is good, more has to be much better.
But contrary evidence is beginning to mount up.
1.According to the author, ________.
A.people used to question the value of college education
B.people used to have full confidence in higher education
C.all high school graduates went to college
D.very few high school graduates chose to go to college
2.In the 2nd paragraph, "those who don't fit the pattern" refer to ________.
A.high school graduates who aren't suitable for college education.
B.college graduates who are selling shoes and driving taxis.
C.college students who aren't any better for their higher education
D.high school graduates who failed to be admitted to college.
3.According to the passage, the problems of college education partly originate in the fact that ________.
A.society cannot provide enough jobs for properly trained graduates.
B.high school graduates do not fit the pattern of college education.
C.too many students have to earn their own living.
D.college administrators encourage students to drop out.
4.In this passage the author argues that ________.
A.more and more evidence shows college education may not be the best thing for high school graduates
B.college education is not enough if one wants to be successful
C.college education benefits only the intelligent, ambitious, and quick-learning people
D.intelligent people may learn quicker if they don't go to college
Non-Native Species
The introduction of non-native “exotic” species is now seen as a major threat to biodiversity. In 1825, a particularly vigorous female clone of itadori (called Japanese knotweed) was introduced into Holland and later _______ throughout Europe by the plant collector and nurseryman (园丁), Von Seybold. British gardeners loved it and by 1886 it was even found growing on cinder tips in South Wales. By the turn of the century, the plant had _______ many other sites, and gardeners were advised against planting it in shrubberies. By 1994, it was almost everywhere-railways, riversides, hedgerows, cemeteries - swamping a wide range of habitats and displacing _______ species. Botanists’ fears that the plant is still spreading and may yet colonize other new habitats have generated recent attempts to eradicate it by mechanical and chemical methods, all _______ as yet.
The evidence stacked against Japanese knotweed is damning (足以定罪的). But there is a deep
_______ that behind the desire to correct human ecological cook-ups (策划)- often manifested as a passion to save endangered species and vulnerable ecosystems - is a thinly disguised xenophobia (仇外心理); that we are simply seeing yet another form of ecological imperialism (帝国主义) which defines what is “natural” based on human _______
But whatever our reaction to “problem” or alien species is, it must _______ moral decisions. And who should make such decisions and to what _______ they are accountable must also be up for review. The conclusions of scientists and other sections of society may differ _______ about what to do about the introduced animals and plants. ________ the scheme to control rabbits in Australia by deliberately spreading the disease myxomatosis was a success in that huge numbers of rabbits were wiped out for the greater good - the “health” of Australian ecosystems. But would inflicting (使遭受) such a ________ slow painful death on sentient (有感知能力的) creatures win popular support if it were proposed today?
Scientists of ________ are by their very nature concerned with the organization of species into systems and not necessarily with the interests and well-being of ________, particularly those that are seen as a threat to the maintenance of those systems. Yet there is a growing feeling for the democratization of decisions concerning nonhuman life. The ________ towards environmental values must surely involve a movement away from imperialism and a search for a relationship with nature as it truly is, rather than as we would design it. Then, when our ________ has/have long disappeared, we may yet come to honor the humble itadori.
1.A.distributed B.seen C.found D.appreciated
2.A.attached B.attracted C.colonized D.settled
3.A.rare B.abnormal C.normal D.extinct
4.A.in turn B.in vain C.in need D.in all
5.A.delight B.astonishment C.dissatisfaction D.anxiety
6.A.protection B.system C.preferences D.invasion
7.A.exclude B.involve C.object D.eliminate
8.A.scope B.intention C.extent D.respect
9.A.similarly B.intensively C.slightly D.vastly
10.A.In fact B.In other words C.For instance D.In conclusion
11.A.interestingly B.instructively C.thrillingly D.horrifically
12.A.biodiversity B.naturalism C.botany D.species
13.A.naturalists B.regions C.environments D.individuals
14.A.demonstration B.parade C.celebration D.campaign
15.A.planet B.lawns C.universe D.habitats
翻译句子
1.我第一次见到他时他就给我留下了深刻印象。 (the first time)
2.他决定采用一种新的语言教学方法。 (approach)
3.毫无疑问，懒惰是我国年轻人中的一个严重的问题。 (doubt)
4.无论要花多长时间，我们都得把这项工作做完。 (however)
5.我花了一下午坐在书房，完成作业。 (非谓语作状语)
单词拼写
1.The ______(最精彩部分) of our prom was seeing the famous dancer.
2.We must __________(委派) a new teacher to the mountain school.
3.It was __________(考虑周到) of Michael to inform us of the his delay in case we got worried.
4.The____________(最后期限) is drawing near; we can’t beg for a longer time.
5.Henry Ford was one of the ____________(先驱) in the audio industry.
6.Their relation is too ___________(复杂) to explain.
7.As is known to all, our bodies need _________(足够的) nutrition as a basis.
8.They___________(抗议) that the taxes were too high.
9.The refreshing film is very_________(幽默的) and moving.
10.He has ________(犯) a crime and should be condemned.
11.You have to be highly _________(好竞争的) to do well in photograph nowadays.
12.As far as we know, Tom has made e_______(巨大的) progress in physics in the past few months.
13.The non-profit organization will d_________ (分配) food to the quake victims.
14.Be careful not to damage other people’s __________(财产).
15.There is no very easy _________(途径) to maths.
16.Living in the city will put you in touch with people from d_________(不同的) cultures.
17.The project was completed ahead of __________(时刻表).
18.You've already f__________(装修) your apartment?
19.Internet connections through c___________(传统的) phone lines are fairly slow.
20.It seemed that one problem was solved and a new one e____________(出现)
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
A recent study shows that most adults did household chores 1.(active) when they were young. Most kids today do not do as many household chores as before, 2. same study shows.
An expert said, “Parents today want their kids to spend more time 3. things that can bring them money and honour. They have stopped 4.(do) the one thing that has proven to bring success. That is doing household chores.”
Another study finds that compared with the kids 5. didn't do household chores, young adults beginning chores at ages 3 and 4 were more likely 6.(succeed). They had better family relationships, did better in school, performed better at work and were more independent.
Personal happiness 7.(say) to come from strong relationships. It begins by learning to be kind and 8.(help) to their parents at home.
If your kids say they have to skip chores because it's time they 9.(deal) with their homework, you’d better not let them off the hook. If you do, your child may think grades are more important than caring about others. “What may seem like small 10.(message) at the moment add up to big ones over time，” says an expert.
