B
Ever since I was a small girl in school, I’ve been aware of what the school textbooks say about Indians. I am an Indian and, naturally, am interested in what the schools teach about natives of this land.
One day, I read that a delicacy(美味) of American Indian people was dried fish, which , according to the textbook, tasted “like an old shoe, or was like chewing on dried leather.” To this day I can remember my surprise, my anger and my sadness at reading these words. We called this wind-dried fish “sleet-shus”, and to us, it was our favorite delicacy and, indeed, did not taste like shoe leather, and didn’t rot our teeth and bring about the various dietary problem that trouble Indian people in modern times. It took many hours of long and hard work to cure the fish in just this particular fashion. Early fur traders and other non-Indians must have agreed, for they often had this food as they traveled around isolated areas.
I brought the textbook home to show it to my father, leader of my tribe at that time. On this particular day, he told me in his wise and modest manner that the outside world did not understand Indian people, and that I should not let it prevent me from learning the good parts of education.
At a later time in my life, I had brought a group of Indian people to the country fairgrounds to sell Indian-made arts and crafts. My group was excited to make some money by selling Indian handicrafts. We thanked the man who showed us to our booth and told him it was nice of him to remember the people of the Indian community. The man expanded a little and remarked that he liked Indian people. “In fact,” he went on to state, “we are bringing some professional Indians to do the show!”
As we stood there in shock, listening to this uninformed outsider, I looked at my dear Indian companion, an eighty-year-old woman who could well remember the great chiefs of the tribe who once owned all the land of this country before the white man came bringing “civilization”, which included diseases and pollution. My friend said not a word, but took the hurt as Indian people have done for many years.
Of course, we all knew that the “professional Indian” were not Indians at all, but dressed in leather and dancing their own dances. And, anyway, how does one become a “professional Indian”?
45.Which of the following statements about “sleet-shus” is true?
A.It tasted like an old shoe.
B.Eating it was like chewing on dried leather.
C.It was delicious but bad for our teeth.
D.It must have brought pleasure to Indians as well as early business men.
46.What does the writer mean by saying “how does one become ‘a professional Indian’”?
A.Only the Indians know how to become professional Indians.
B.The outside civilization can help and Indian become a professional Indian.
C.An Indian is a born professional Indian.
D.The outside civilization can help white people become professional Indians.
47.After reading the passage, you don’t know __________.
A.what the writer’s profession is
B.what upset the writer and her friend at the county fair
C.why the writer went to the county fair
D.the writer’s attitude to the so-called civilization
48.This story is primarily about ___________.
A.customs of native Americans
B.how textbooks describe native Americans.
C.misunderstanding between people from different cultures
D.how an Indian becomes a “professional Indian”
Lisa: My best teacher is my geography teacher in 10th grade. Why? Because we did school projects! Back then I wrote about India and never forgot what I had learned. He brought the culture to life by letting me become part of it. He also listened to us and was always ready with a kind word.
David: My best teacher is my high school social studies and history teacher, Thomas Ladenburg. He respected us, though we were just teenagers. His class was never boring because he often asked us to discuss in class. He used his own materials which made the class very interesting.
Henry: My best ever teacher is my biology teacher in high school. I really liked her class. She explained everything very clearly. She also checked our notebooks to make sure we had written down what she said. Now, many years later, I can still remember a large part of the things she taught!
Susan: The best teacher I have ever had is my 10th grade social studies teacher. She was always in a good mood and kept us laughing. She was really young, so she acted like us teenagers, which made learning fun. If we needed to talk to an adult about a problem, we would always come to her because we knew she could help us.
Tom: My favourite teacher is Mr. Yelle. He taught us math, science and music. He spoke to us “at eye level”, and was very patient and kind. We did great projects for the science fairs. Forty years later, I still remember his lessons very well. By the way, though he was called Mr Yelle, he didn’t yell(喊叫).We learn that when she was in 10th grade, Lisa ________.
A.was always ready with a kind word |
B.often forgot what she had learned very easily |
C.liked doing school projects in the geography class |
D.was interested in India the most in the geography class |
How did David most probably find Thomas Ladenburg’s class?
A.Difficult. | B.Lively. | C.Useless. | D.Long. |
We can learn that Susan’s 10th grade social studies teacher _______.
A.was good at listening to her students’ problems |
B.liked laughing at her students’ problems |
C.was not happy when she had a problem |
D.didn’t like taking her students as friends |
A farmer grew some vegetables in his garden. One day his wife was ill and he had no money. He had to sell some cabbages and carrots in the market. The next morning he took two baskets of vegetables to town, but it was raining hard that afternoon and there were few people in the street. When his vegetables were sold out, it was dark. He bought some medicine and hurried to his village.
On his way home he saw a person lying on the ground. He placed his baskets on the ground and was going to help the person to get up. At that time he found it was a dead man and there was much blood on his body. He was so afraid that he ran away quickly, without taking his baskets.
The next afternoon the farmer was sent to the police station. Having shown the baskets, an officer asked, “Are these yours? ” “Yes, sir. ” The farmer answered timidly(胆怯地). “Have you killed the man?” “No, no, sir.” The farmer said in a hurry. “When did you see the dead man?” “About seven last evening. ” “Did you see who killed the man?” “No, sir. ” The officer brought out a knife and asked, “Have you seen it yet?” “No, sir. ” The officer became angry and told the policemen to beat him up and sent him into prison(监狱)。
That evening the officer went on trying. Pointing to the knife, he asked again, “Have you seen it yet?” “ yes, sir.” The officer was happy and asked, “When and where?” “I saw it here this afternoon, sir.”Why did the farmer decide to sell the vegetables?
A.To go to the market. |
B.To go to see the doctor. |
C.To buy some food for his family. |
D.To buy some medicine for his wife. |
The farmer didn’t sell out his vegetables until the evening because ________.
A.they were too bad |
B.they were very expensive |
C.it rained hard that morning |
D.people wouldn’t go out on such a bad day |
Why did the farmer run quickly?
A.He was afraid to see a dead man. |
B.His wife was waiting for him at home. |
C.The policemen were coming towards him. |
D.It was so late and he had to buy some medicine. |
The officer tried(审讯)the farmer to _______.
A.ask if he had seen the knife |
B.know who had killed the man |
C.ask when he saw the dead man |
D.know if he had seen the dead man |
Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere wall away from your college.
King’s Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the masters’ or get more creative with paint – free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species; it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid’ is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron’s Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron’s time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I’m not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron’s Pool. A couple of miles past Grant Chester in the south Cambridge shire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don’t trust me, then perhaps you’ll take it from Virginia Woolf – over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for ____.
A.attending the masters’ class |
B.working with local artists |
C.learning life drawing |
D.seeing an exhibition |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ____.
A.common insects |
B.impressive plants |
C.rarely-seen snakes |
D.wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ____.
A.to fear pet bears |
B.to like walking |
C.to be a heavy drinker |
D.to finish university in 1805 |
In the passage Byron’s Pool is described as a lake ____.
A.surrounded by fields |
B.owned by Lord Byron |
C.located in Grant Chester |
D.discovered by Virginia Woolf |
Like many new graduates, I left university full of hope for the future but with no real idea of what I wanted to do. My degree, with honors, in English literature had not really prepared me for anything practical. I knew I wanted to make a difference in the world somehow, but I had no idea how to do that. That’s when I learned about the Lighthouse Project.
I started my journey as a Lighthouse Project volunteer by reading as much as I could about the experiences of previous volunteers. I knew it would be a lot of hard work, and that I would be away from my family and friends for a very long time. In short, I did not take my decision to apply for the Lighthouse Project lightly. Neither did my family.
Eventually, however, I won the support of my family, and I sent in all the paperwork needed for the application. After countless interviews and presentations, I managed to stand out among the candidates and survive the test alone. Several months later, I finally received a call asking me to report for the duty. I would be going to a small village near Abuja, Nigeria. Where? What? Nigeria? I had no idea. But I was about to find out.
After completing my training, I was sent to the village that was small and desperately in need of proper accommodation. Though the local villagers were poor, they offered their homes, hearts, and food as if I were their own family. I was asked to lead a small team of local people in building a new schoolhouse. For the next year or so, I taught in that same schoolhouse. But I sometimes think I learned more from my students than they did from me.
Sometime during that period, I realized that all those things that had seemed so strange or unusual to me no longer did, though I did not get anywhere with the local language, and I returned to the United States a different man. The Lighthouse Project had changed my life forever.According to the Paragraph 2, it is most likely that the author
A.discussed his decision with his family. |
B.asked previous volunteers about voluntary work |
C.attended special training to perform difficult tasks |
D.felt sad about having to leave his family and friends |
In his application for the volunteer job, the author
A.participated in many discussions |
B.went through some interviews and presentations |
C.wrote quite a few papers on voluntary work |
D.faced strong competition from other candidates |
On arrival at the village, the author was
A.asked to lead a farming team |
B.sent to teach in a schoolhouse |
C.received warmly by local villagers |
D.arranged to live in a separate house. |
I fell in love with England because it was quaint (古雅)—all those little houses, looking terribly old-fashioned but nice, like dolls’ houses. I loved the countryside and the pubs, and I loved London. I’ve slightly changed my mind after seventeen years because I think it’s an ugly town now.
Things have changed. For everybody, England meant gentlemen, fair play, and good manners. The fair play is going, unfortunately, and so are the gentlemanly attitudes and good manners—people shut doors heavily in your face and politeness is disappearing.
I regret that there are so few comfortable meeting places. You’re forced to live indoors. In Paris I go out much more, to restaurants and nightclubs. To meet friends here it usually has to be in a pub, and it can be difficult to go there alone as a woman. The cafes are not terribly nice.
As a woman, I feel unsafe here. I spend a bomb on taxis because I will not take public transport after 10 p. m. I used to use it , but now I’m afraid.
The idea of family seems to be more or less non-existent in England. My family is well united and that’s typically French. In Middlesex I had a neighbor who is 82 now. His family only lived two miles away, but I took him to France for Christmas once because he was always alone.The writer doesn’t like London because she ______.
A.is not used to the life there now |
B.has lived there for seventeen years |
C.prefers to live in an old-fashioned house |
D.has to be polite to everyone she meets there |
Where do people usually meet their friends in England?
A.In a cafe. | B.In a restaurant. |
C.In a nightclub. | D.In a pub. |
The underlined part “it” (in Para. 4) refers to______.
A.a taxi | B.the money |
C.a bomb | D.public transport |
The writer took her neighbors to France for Christmas because he ______.
A.felt lonely in England |
B.had never been to France |
C.was from a typical French family |
D.didn't like the British idea of family |