Be Brave With New Things
The old advertising slogan, “so simple a child can do it ,” has taken on new meaning to me. A few weeks ago I got a computer, but I an mechanically illiterate. I knew that children had no fear of the future, so that seemed a good place to seek help. I asked my nephew, twelve years old, at an elementary school, to help me.
My nephew took the machine for granted and has simply accepted the fact that computers are now a way of life. He plays with them and does his homework on them and even creates programs for them. I , on the other hand, are terrified by what this equipment can do. It can interchange paragraphs, switch words around and even correct my spelling. It informs me of Its limitations, takes commands and asks questions. It even seems to have a sense of communication. Rather than accusing me of making an error, it prints “One of us has made a mistake!” It never gets tired and is always patient and ready to go when I am.
I think it was somewhat normal for me to be suspicious of computers. They represent a break with some very familiar habits and traditions. It is only human to instinctively avoid anything that shifts thoroughly from the acceptable, comfortable past. But the world is governed by ceaseless change and we must therefore establish links with the present and future as well as the past. Computer technology is an excellent case in point, as the newest systems grow out of date in only a few years, or even months.
This ability to see, experience and accept the new is one of our saving characteristics. To be fearful of tomorrow, to close ourselves to possibilities, to resist the inevitable, to advocate standing still when all else is moving forward, is to lose touch. If we accept the new with joy and wonder, we can move gracefully into each tomorrow. More often than not, the children shall lead us.
19．What is the new meaning of “So simple a child can do it” for the author?
A．computers are so easy to operate that even a child can play them well
B．A child can always do more complex things than an adult.
C．It is easier for a child to accept new things than for an adult.
D．A child has greater ability than an adult in operating computers.
20．According to the second paragraph, which of the following statements is true?
A．The nephew thought it is natural to accept the fact that computers are now a way of life.
B．The nephew believed that machines were made for people to do whatever they wanted.
C．computers are not only used to communicate, but also to remove their limitations.
D．It is a fact that both adults and children have accepted computers as a way of life.
21．Which of the following doesn’t the author’s computer do ?
A．It asks the author if she has made a mistake.
B．It accuses the author of making mistakes.
C．It corrects the author’s spelling mistakes.
D．It informs the author of her mistakes.
22．According to the third paragraph, it is human nature that we resist those things which
A．only represent the comfortable and acceptable past
B．change thoroughly into the comfortable and acceptable past
C．make people stand still when all else is moving forward
D．change completely from the acceptable and comfortable past
Parents have to do much less for their children today than they used to do, and home has become much less of a workshop. Clothes can be bought ready made; washing can go to the laundry; food can be bought-cooked, canned or preserved; bread is baked and delivered by the baker; milk arrives on the doorstep; meats can be had at the restaurant, the work's canteen, and the school dining-room.
It is unusual now for a father to pursue his trade or other employment at home, and his children rarely, if ever, see him at his place of work. Boys are therefore seldom trained to follow their father's occupation, and in many towns they have a fairly wide choice of employment and so do girls. The young wage-earner often earns good money, and soon acquires a feeling of economic independence. In textile areas it has long been customary for mothers to go out to work, but this practice has become so widespread that the working mother is now a not unusual factor in a child's home life, the number of married women in employment having more than doubled in the last twenty-five years. With mother earning and his older children drawing substantial wages father is seldom the dominant figure that he still was at the beginning of the century. When mother works, economic advantages accrue, but children lose some-thing of great value if mother's employment prevents her from being home to greet them when they return from school.The writer mentions home as workshop because __________.
| A．fathers often pursue employment at home |
| B．parents had to make food and necessity themselves for their daily-life |
| C．many families produce goods at home for sale |
| D．both fathers and mothers and mothers in most families are workers |
The writer says that home has become much less of a workshop. He means __________.
| A．in the past, home was more like a workshop |
| B．home is much more of a workshop now |
| C．home-workshops are becoming fewer and fewer |
| D．home was less like a workshop in the past |
The chief reason that boys are seldom trained to follow their father's occupation is __________.
| A．that children nowadays rarely see their fathers at their place of work |
| B．that fathers do not like to pursue employment at home any more |
| C．that there is a wide choice of employment for children |
| D．that children also like to have jobs outside |
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days： Mother's Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father's Day, on the third Sunday in June.
Mother's Day was proclaimed a day for national observance by President Woodrow Wilson in 1915. Ann Jarvis from Grafton, West Virginia, had started the idea to have a day to honor mothers. She was the one who chose the second Sunday in May and also began the custom of wearing a carnation.
In 1909，Mrs. Dodd from Spokane, Washington, thought of the idea of a day to honor fathers. She wanted to honor her own father, William Smart. After her mother died, he had the responsibility of raising a family of five sons and a daughter. In 1910，the first Father's Day was observed in Spokane. Senator Margaret Chase Smith helped to established Father's Day as a national commemorative day, in 1972.
These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother's Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father's Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.According to the passage, which of the following about the second Sunday in May is not true?
| A．It is a day to show love to mothers. |
| B．It is a day to wear carnations. |
| C．It is a day for people to visit the cemetery. |
| D．It is a day for many people to attend religious services. |
Choose the right time order of the following events.
a. The first Father's Day was observed.
b. Mother's Day was proclaimed a day for national observance.
c. Father's Day became a day for national observance.
d. The idea of honoring fathers was brought up.
| A．a b c d | B．d a b c |
| C．b a c d | D．d a c b |
Who plays the most important role in Father's Day becoming a national commemorative day?
| A．Mrs. Dodd. | B．Margaret Chase Smith. |
| C．Ann Jarvis. | D．Woodrow Wilson. |
The author's purpose of writing this passage is to __________.
| A．call on people to love and respect their parents |
| B．introduce Mother's Day and Father's Day |
| C．tell the difference between Mother's Day and Father's Day |
| D．show how important fathers and mothers are |
Are you carrying too much on your back at school? You're not alone. Back experts in the USA were worried that young students are having back and neck problems because they are carrying too much in their backpacks （schoolbags）.
"It hurts my back when I run，" said Beeline Reyes, a student in Virginia. "It's hard to get up the stairs with my backpack because it's too heavy. "
Students have to carry heavy backpacks on their backs for a whole week's study. Beeline is one of them. They have regular back-packs with two straps （带子）to carry them, but a number of students with heavy loads have switched to rolling backpacks. The backpacks have wheels and can roll on the ground.
Shirley Park's backpack weighs 10 kilos, and she said，"I'll change to a rolling backpack because I am starting to have back pain. "
How much is too much? Experts say that students should carry no more than 10 to 15 percent of their own body weight. A few students have had a good idea to lighten the load ： Less homework.
Doctor's suggestions ：
•Lighten the load. Take home only the books the students need that night.
•Wide straps are better. They can send out weight over your shoulders and be sure to wear backpacks with two straps.
•The heaviest things should be packed closest to the back.
•Bend （弯曲）both knees when you pick up the pack, don't just bend the waist（腰）.The main idea of the text is __________.
| A．the problems made by rolling backpacks |
| B．the goodness of backpacks |
| C．the best backpacks for students |
| D．how to make students' backpacks light |
From what Eglin Reyes and Shirley Park said, we know __________.
| A．students have to carry heavy backpacks |
| B．students have to do homework |
| C．backpacks with wheels are bad for students |
| D．students have no time to play because of homework |
By the words of the experts, it's better for a student of 40 kilos to carry a backpack of at most __________.
| A．10 kilos | B．8 kilos |
| C．6 kilos | D．7 kilos |
If students follow the doctor's suggestions, they __________.
| A．may do less homework |
| B．may feel their backpacks are lighter |
| C．can learn how to enjoy them |
| D．will know how to use backpacks |
"Let's go down one more, push your enter key..." says a volunteer helping senior citizens work a web（网）session on the Inter-net.
David Lansdale has found a way to light up the lives of the elderly. He gets them wired to the Internet. " If you hit your enter key, it will bring up this particular e-mail..."
Pauline Allen is one of those who has started using the Internet，" I thought I was through with life, I was ready for a rocking chair, because I was 86 years old. And I haven't found the rocking chair yet. " " You found the keyboard?" asks the reporter. " That's right, I found the keyboard. "
The average age of Lansdale's students is around 68. All are in nursing or assisted care homes. He used family relationships to introduce them to the World Wide Web.
David Lansdale says，" Here they are in California, the family was back in New York, the opportunity to connect, to cross the time and space, was incredibly precious （valuable） to them. "
"I hear you are so beautiful. " Lillian Sherly writes an e-mail to a newborn great granddaughter. Working with one another, the senior learn as a group. They learn to master the Internet and to overcome what Lansdale calls the maladies of the institutionalized ：loneliness, helplessness, boredom, and loss of memory.
Mary Harvey says，" Bingo just doesn't interest me. But this does, believe me, this does. "
Ninety-four-year-old Ruth Hyman is a star pupil and instructor. She says，" When I send a letter to my grandchildren, and great grandchildren, they hang it up in their offices, just like I used to hang their drawings on my refrigerator. Ha, ha. "
David Lansdale says，" There's a collective benefit. There is an element （因素）of treatment. Remember we started as a support group. "
Dixon Moorehouse says，"I just wish I was 15 years old and getting to learn all this. " The senior calls their weekly meetings Monday Night Live. And many say the meetings have given them new life. Ruth Hyman says，" Three years ago, they told me I wasn't going to live. But I showed them, and got work, and I've worked ever since.The purpose of David Lansdale's work is to __________.
| A．keep the health of the mind of the senior |
| B．popularize the use of computers among the old |
| C．organize the senior as a group to work |
| D．help the senior connect with their families |
The words "the maladies of the institutionalized" used in the text refer to __________.
| A．the difficulties in learning |
| B．the problems caused by getting old |
| C．some kinds of treatments |
| D．the worries about the Internet |
How many examples does the writer give to prove that the senior enjoy the Internet?
| A．Four. | B．Five. |
| C．Six. | D．Seven. |
It can be inferred that Ruth Hyman's younger generations hang her mails up __________.
| A．in order not to lose the letters |
| B．in order not to forget something important |
| C．to make the offices more beautiful |
| D．to show pride in their grandmother's work |
In the second half of each year, many powerful storms are born in the tropical （热带的）Atlantic and Caribbean seas. Of these, only about half a dozen becomes the strong, circling winds of 75 miles per hour or more that are called hurricanes, and several usually make their way to the coast. There they cause millions of dollars of damage, and bring death to large numbers of people.
The great storms that hit the coast start as soft circling wind hundreds-even thousands-of miles out to sea. As they travel aimlessly over water warmed by the summer sun, they are carried west-ward by the southeast winds. When conditions are just right, warm, moist（潮湿）air flows in at the bottom of such a wind, moves up-ward through it and comes out at the top. In the process（过程），the moisture in this warm air produces rain, and with it the heat is changed to energy in the form of strong winds. As the heat increases, the young hurricane begins to move in a counter-clockwise motion（逆时针运动）.
The life of a hurricane is only about nine days, but it contains almost more power than we can imagine. The energy in the heat re-leased （释放）by a hurricane's rainfall in a single day would satisfy the entire electrical needs of the United States for more than six months. Water, not wind, is the main source of death and destruction（毁灭）in a hurricane. A typical hurricane brings 6 to 12 inch downpours, causing sudden floods. Worst of all is the powerful movement of the sea-the mountains of water moving toward the hurricane center. The water level rises as much as 15 feet above normal as it moves toward shore.When is an ordinary tropical storm called a hurricane?
| A．When it begins in the Atlantic and Caribbean seas. |
| B．When it hits the coastline. |
| C．When it is more than 75 miles wide. |
| D．When its winds reach 75 miles per hour. |
What is the worst thing about hurricanes?
| A．The terrible effects of water. |
| B．The heat they give off. |
| C．That they last about nine days. |
| D．Their strong winds. |
Here the word "downpour" means __________.
| A．heavy rainfall |
| B．dangerous waves |
| C．the progress of water to the hurricane center |
| D．the increasing heat |
Which statement about a hurricane is wrong?
| A．It travels more than 75 miles per hour. |
| B．It usually stays about 9 days. |
| C．It usually causes 6 to 12 inch downpours. |
| D．It sometimes brings the sea water level to the height of 15feet. |