Fornearlyacenturybeforetherewa-优题课

Blind imitation is self-destruction. To those who do not recognize their unique worth, imitation appears attractive; to those who know their strength, imitation is unacceptable．
In the early stages of skill or character development, imitation is helpful．When I first learned to cook, I used recipes （菜谱）and turned out some tasty dishes．But soon I grew bored．Why did you follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle; they help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without relying on them．
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we subconsciously（下意识地）hold poor role models．If, as a child, you observed people whose lives were bad, you may have accepted their fear and pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you will get the results of the weak choices of others．
In the field of entertainment, our culture glorifies celebrities．Those stars look great on screen．But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be disastrous. If you are going to follow someone, focus on their talent, not their bad character or unacceptable behaviors．
Bless is that the person is willing to act on their sudden desire to create something unique. Think of the movies, books, teachers, and friends that have affected you most deeply．They touched you because their creations were motivated by inspiration, not desperation．The world is changed not by those who do what has been done before them, but by those who do what has been done inside them．Creative people have an endless resource of ideas．The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; it is what to do with the material knocking at the door of imagination．
Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given, and leave behind what does not serve．Then you can say, “I stand on the shoulders of my ancestors’ tragedies and declare victory, and know that they are cheering me on．
What is the author’s purpose in writing this passage?

A．To highlight the importance of creatively．

B．To criticize the characters of role models．

C．To compare imitation with creation．

D．To explain the meaning of success．

“A very destructive seven-year old child kicked my legs and scratched at my hand,” said one teacher. “I broke up a fight and was kicked,” said another. Many people have heard stories like this. But the situation is more worrying still and it involves parents.
Every child, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born, has the right to achieve their potential, regardless of their parents' wealth and class. And we recognize that, as a nation, it is a long way to achieve this goal. But rights come with responsibilities and what worries people is that we are in danger of neglecting the latter.
Far too many children are behaving badly at school, even to the point of being violent to staff. This is terrible enough, but it is hard to be surprised since many children are just mirroring the behavior of their parents. Too many are starting school unable to hold a knife and fork, unused to eating at a table，and unable to use the lavatory properly.
We are in danger of becoming a nation of families living separate lives under one roof. The bedroom, once a place to sleep, has become the living space for the young. Spending hours in front of computer screens, on social networking sites or being immersed in computer games, children and young people spend little time with their parents. Parents are unable to monitor just what their children are watching.
Schools cannot right the wrongs of society and teachers cannot become substitute parents. Both parties need to work together. Parents must be helped and given confidence to take back control. They are responsible for setting boundaries for their children's behavior and sticking to those boundaries when the going gets tough. They are responsible for setting a good example to their children and for devoting that most precious of resources---time---so that children come to school ready and willing to learn.
What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Children’s behavior at school is worrying people

B．Parents expect schools to correct their children’s bad habits

C．There is no point in parents’ teaching children at home

D．Don’t blame teachers when it’s parents who are failing

Eating different colored foods can keep you healthy, as well as change your mood and behavior. Here is a list of colors, which can change your life.
Blue/Purple
Blue is considered to be peaceful and calming and it has the same effect on our health. The blue / purple color in food is due primarily to their anthocyanins which are antioxidants (抗氧化剂) that are particularly heart healthy and may help support healthy blood pressure. Out of all the blue and purple foods available, blueberries are considered to have the highest antioxidant level. An analysis of the latest data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study found that people who eat purple and blue fruits and vegetables are at a reduced risk for high blood pressure and are less likely to be overweight.
A food and health expert says that blue and purple color foods can prevent blood mass formation, and they also lower the risk of cancer.
Foods that contain blue and purple colors are: reddish eggplant (especially the skin), blueberries, blackberries, purple grapes, etc.
Green
We all know that we should eat green as green symbolizes nature. The green foods are rich in isothiocyanates, which help resist cancer.
Dr. Ashok Agarwal, a food and nutrition specialist, explains, "They are excellent sources of folic acid, vitamin K, as well as carotene （胡萝卜素）. Diets high in those above are associated with lowered blood pressure."
Foods that contain the green color are: broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, etc.
Red
Lycopene (番茄红素) in reddish fruits and vegetables is a powerful antioxidant that has been associated with a reduced risk of some cancers, and also provides protection against heart attacks.
Dr. Smiths says, "Cooked tomato sauces are associated with greater health benefits as compared with the uncooked version as the heating process allows lycopene to be more easily absorbed by the body. Obtaining the most benefit from food depends on proper selection, storage and cooking of the produce."
Foods that contain red color are: Tomatoes and tomato products, watermelon, guava, red onions, red chili, red apples, red grapes, cherries, etc.
Orange
The orange foods are also rich in carotene, which are particularly good antioxidants. These foods are commonly considered eyesight foods because they contain vitamin A.
"Orange fruits and vegetables also play a part in preventing cancer, particularly of the lungs and stomach. Foods that contain the color orange are: Carrots, mangoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, etc.
The passage tries to tell us that ______.
A. colors mean a lot to people and their health
B. foods of different colors will have different benefits
C. eating foods with a color must prevent diseases
D. what people should eat in their daily lives

At Denver there was an crowd of passengers into the coaches（车厢） on the eastbound B. & M. express. In one coach there sat a very pretty young woman dressed in elegant taste and surrounded by all the luxurious comforts of an experienced traveler. Among the newcomers were two young men, one of handsome presence with a bold, frank face expression and manner; the other a ruffled, glum-faced person, heavily built and roughly dressed. The two were handcuffed（拷上手铐） together.
As they passed down the aisle of the coach the only available seat offered was a reversed one facing the attractive young woman. Here the linked couple seated themselves. The young woman's glance fell upon them with a distant, swift disinterest; then with a lovely smile brightening her face and a tender pink tingeing（稍加染色，影响） her rounded cheeks, she held out a little gray-gloved hand. When she spoke her voice, full, sweet, and deliberate, proclaimed that its owner was accustomed to speak and be heard.
"Well, Mr. Easton, if you will make me speak first, I suppose I must. Don't you ever recognize old friends when you meet them in the West?"
The younger man aroused himself sharply at the sound of her voice, seemed to struggle with a slight embarrassment which he threw off instantly, and then clasped her fingers with his left hand.
"It's Miss Fairchild," he said, with a smile. "I'll ask you to excuse the other hand; "it's otherwise engaged just at present."
He slightly raised his right hand, bound at the wrist by the shining "bracelet" to the left one of his companion. The glad look in the girl's eyes slowly changed to a bewildered horror. The glow faded from her cheeks. Her lips parted in a vague（含糊，犹豫）, relaxing distress. Easton, with a little laugh, as if amused, was about to speak again when the other forestalled him. The glum-faced man had been watching the girl's face expression with veiled glances from his keen, shrewd eyes.
"You'll excuse me for speaking, miss, but, I see you're acquainted with（认识，熟悉） the officer here. If you'll ask him to speak a word for me when we get to the pen（围栏，监狱） he'll do it, and it'll make things easier for me there. He's taking me to Leavenworth prison. It's seven years for cheating."
"Oh!" said the girl, with a deep breath and returning color. "So that is what you are doing out here? An officer!"
"My dear Miss Fairchild," said Easton, calmly, "I had to do something. Money has a way of taking wings with itself, and you know it takes money to keep step with our crowd in Washington. I saw this opening（通道） in the West, and___ well, an officer isn't quite as high a position as that of ambassador, but--"
"The ambassador," said the girl, warmly, "doesn't call any more. I needn't ever have done so. You ought to know that. And so now you are one of these brave Western heroes, and you ride and shoot and go into all kinds of dangers. That's different from the Washington life. You have been missed from the old crowd."
The girl's eyes, fascinated, went back, widening a little, to rest upon the glittering handcuffs.
"Don't you worry about them, miss," said the other man. "All officers handcuff themselves to their prisoners to keep them from getting away. Mr. Easton knows his business."
"Will we see you again soon in Washington?" asked the girl.
"Not soon, I think," said Easton. "My butterfly days are over, I fear."
"I love the West," said the girl irrelevantly. Her eyes were shining softly. She looked away out the car window. She began to speak truly and simply without the gloss of style and manner: "Mamma and I spent the summer in Denver. She went home a week ago because father was slightly ill. I could live and be happy in the West. I think the air here agrees with me. Money isn't everything. But people always misunderstand things and remain stupid--"
"Say, officer," shouted the glum-faced man. "This isn't quite fair. I'm needing a drink, and haven't had a smoke all day. Haven't you talked long enough? Take me in the smoker now, won't you? I'm half dead for a pipe."
The bound travelers rose to their feet, Easton with the same slow smile on his face.
"I can't deny a require for tobacco," he said, lightly. "It's the one friend of the unfortunate. Good-bye, Miss Fairchild. Duty calls, you know." He held out his hand for a farewell.
"It's too bad you are not going East," she said, reclothing herself with manner and style. "But you must go on to Leavenworth, I suppose?"
"Yes," said Easton, "I must go on to Leavenworth."
The two men sidled down the aisle into the smoker.
The two passengers in a seat near by had heard most of the conversation. Said one of them: "That officer is a good sort of man. Some of these Western fellows are all right."
"Pretty young to hold an office like that, isn't he?" asked the other.
"Young!" exclaimed the first speaker, "why--Oh! Didn't you catch on? Say--did you ever know an officer to handcuff a prisoner to his right hand?"
What was the best title of the passage?
A. Miss Fairchild’s Trip B. Hearts and Hands
C. The Story of a Handcuff D. The Meeting of Two Friends

People in several American states may be surprised to see cars on city streets without a driver. Experimental driverless vehicles now are legal in Florida, Nevada and California. They are pointing the way to a future that is not far down the road. The high-tech company Google has a number of self-driving cars, which had covered 480,000 kilometers by August. Volvo is among the companies doing road tests and says it plans to sell driverless cars by 2020.
In September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed an act to allow autonomous vehicles on the roads of his state. “Today we’re looking at science fiction becoming tomorrow’s reality—the driverless car.” The technology for these cars includes cameras, radar and motion sensors. The systems have been improved through competitions sponsored by the US government agency DARPA. Engineer Richard Mason of the Rand Corporation helped design driverless vehicles for DARPA challenge races.
“Cars have become much more fuel-efficient, and new electronic features are making Hondas safer,” said Angie Nucci of Honda America. “A camera on the passenger-side mirror actually engaged on your guiding screen so you can safely change lanes.” Other safety features include warning systems on the front and the sides of the cars. These systems help drivers, but don’t replace them. Curator Leslie Kendall of the Petersen Automotive Museum said autonomous cars will make the high ways safer．
“By taking out drivers, you also remove most risks of an accident,” Kendall said. He said consumers, however, may be unwilling to lose control. “It may take them time to come to realize that the technology is indeed reliable, but it will have to prove itself first.”
Mason said the technology already works and the biggest challenge now is getting down the cost for driverless vehicles from hundreds of thousands of dollars to something more affordable. He said this will happen as the technology is improved.
Which is the best title for the passage?
A. The Benefits of the Self-driving Cars
B. The Biggest Challenge of the Self-driving Cars
C. Safer or More Dangerous Self-driving Cars
D. Self-driving Cars—Science Fiction Future Is Near

A．the surprising exactness of space artists	B．the popular success of Lucien Rudaux
C．the imaginations of great artists	D．the likeness between the Moon and Mars

A．exploring the planets	B．studying paintings
C．painting the planets	D．producing spaceships

A．astronomy and mathematics	B．astronomy and painting
C．photograph and art	D．fact and imagination