The black robin is one of the world’s rarest birds. It is a small, wild bird, and it lives only on the island of Little Mangere, off the coast of New Zealand. In 1967 there were about fifty black robins; in 1977 there were fewer than ten. These are the only black robins left in the world. The island has many other birds, of different kinds, large and small; these seem to multiply very happily.
Energetic steps are being taken to preserve the black robin. Detailed studies are going on, and a public appeal for money has bee made. The idea is to buy another island nearby as a special home, a “reserve”, for threatened wild life, including black robins. The organizers say that Little Mangere should then be supplied with the robin’s food—it eats only one kind of seed. Thousands of the required plants are at present being cultivated in new Zealand. The public appeal is aimed at the conscience of mankind, so that the wild black robin will not die out and disappear form the earth in our time at least.
Is all this concern a waste of human effort? Is it any business of ours whether the black robin survives or dies out? Are we losing our sense of what is reasonable and what is unreasonable?
In the earth’s long, long past, hundreds, of kinds of creatures have evolved, risen to a degree of success—and died out. In the long, long future, there will be many new and different forms of life. Those creatures that adapt themselves successfully to what the earth offers will survive for a long time. Those that fail to meet the challenges will disappear early. This is nature’s proven method of operation.
The rule of selection—“the survival of the fittest”—is the one by which human beings have themselves arrived on the scene. We, being one of the most adaptable creatures the earth has yet produced, may last longer than most. You may take it as another rule that when, at last, human beings show signs of dying out, no other creature will extend a paw to put off our departure. On the contrary, we will be hurried out. For nature, tough fair, is a hard-hearted mistress. She has no favorites.
Life seems to have grown too tough for black robins. I leave you to judge whether we should try to do something about it.
57．The black robin is dying out mainly because .
A．people have been very careless about its survival
B．its only food supply is far from enough on Little Mangere
C．the other birds on the island have destroyed it
D．the appeal for money has come at the wrong time
58．In Paragraph 3, the writer puts forward three questions to .
A．make a comparison B．make an argument
C．introduce a topic D．present his own idea
59．As for selection and survival, the decisive factor seems to be .
A．the ability to adapt to changed or changing conditions
B．the number of wild life reserves that are available
C．the concern and generosity of the public
D．the size of the home, or the amount of space one has to live in
60．The writer’s attitude towards the protection of the black robins is .
A．active B．passive C．unconcerned D．optimistic
Facial expressions carry meaning that is determined by situations and relationships. For example, in American culture the smile is in general an expression of pleasure. Yet it also has other uses. A woman’s smile at a police officer does not carry the same meaning as the smile she gives to a young child. A smile may show love or politeness. It can also hide true feelings. It often causes confusion (困惑) across cultures. For example, many people in Russia consider smiling at strangers in public to be unusual and even improper. Yet many Americans smile freely at strangers in public places (although this is less common in big cities). Some Russians believe that Americans smile in the wrong places; some Americans believe that Russians don’t smile enough. In Southeast Asian cultures, a smile is frequently used to cover painful feelings. Vietnamese people may tell a sad story but end the story with a smile.
Our faces show emotions (情感), but we should not attempt to “read” people from another culture as we would “read” someone from our own culture. The fact that members of one culture do not express their emotions as openly as do members of another does not mean that they do not experience emotions. Rather, there are cultural differences in the amount of facial expressiveness permitted. For example, in public and in formal situations many Japanese do not show their emotions as freely as Americans do. When with friends, Japanese and Americans seem to show their emotions similarly.
It is difficult to generalize about Americans and facial expressiveness because of personal and cultural backgrounds in the United States. People from certain cultural backgrounds in the United States seem to be more facially expressive than others. The key is to try not to judge people whose ways of showing emotion are different. If we judge according to our own cultural habits, we may make the mistake of “reading” the other person incorrectly.What does the smile usually mean in the U.S.?
| A．Love | B．Politeness | C．Joy | D．Thankfulness |
The author mentions the smile of the Vietnamese to prove that a smile can ________.
| A．show friendliness to strangers |
| B．be used to hide true feelings |
| C．be used in the wrong places |
| D．show personal habits |
What should we do before attempting to “read” people?
| A．Learn about their relations with others |
| B．Understand their cultural backgrounds |
| C．Find out about their past experience |
| D．Figure out what they will do next |
What would be the best title for the test?
| A．Cultural Differences |
| B．Smiles and Relationships |
| C．Facial Expressiveness |
| D．Habits and Emotions |
Have you heard of the saying, “If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well”? The proverb is a piece of advice to make effects towards perfection in whichever job one does. It could be a small task like folding up your clothes, or a major one like organizing a business meeting in your later life.
Perfection just needs paying attention to details. If it is your job to dust the furniture at home, dust it so that not a single spot of dirt shows from any direction. If your task is to make the beds, make them so that not a single crease（皱纹）shows on the bed-covers.
There are only two ways to do a job: either sloppily, or well. If you choose the latter, you need to realize that any job that qualifies as (取得…的资格)“your” work deserves your best. Perfection is an attitude that can be developed with just a little effect. It is a habit that is helpful to a person in later life. Let us prove with an example: you may be asked to turn in an essay on, for example, wildlife, for a school project. Instead of writing carelessly a few facts that you already know, you could make the project more effective by looking up a reference books, encyclopedias（百科全书）or websites for additional information. You could then go over the finished essay for slips（疏漏）and errors, and provide pictures where necessary. If you make it a habit to put in extra effort in your school homework, will it not help you to handle more difficult projects at the college or university level?
As Michelangelo, the famous 16th century sculptor and painter, once put it: Trifles（琐事）go to make perfection, and perfection is no trifle.According to the passage, to achieve perfection is _______.
| A．to realize the quality of the work |
| B．to pay attention to details of one’s work |
| C．to do as many jobs as possible |
| D．to form the habit of doing things ahead of time |
The underlined word “sloppily” in paragraph 3 may mean _______
| A．badly | B．patiently | C．carefully | D．slowly |
What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
| A．It is necessary to provide pictures for your essay. |
| B．Websites are the sources of information you want. |
| C．Perfection is a habit that promises a good future. |
| D．You should make much effort to develop perfection. |
The purpose of writing this passage is to _______.
| A．introduce the famous painter Michelangelo |
| B．advise us to do the things that are worth doing |
| C．explain to us the meaning of the perfection |
| D．expect us to give our best to our work |
The united States has about 475,000 school buses — all painted yellow. Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country. But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel (柴油) fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers. When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally. The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.
Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council. He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay. As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs. Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled. Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels. Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams. And some school districts may end any bus service not required by law.
Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school. The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment. It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students. Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.
But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school. And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School. More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement. The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution. The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October eighth this year. But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.What does this passage mainly tell us?
| A．High fuel prices’ influences on school buses. |
| B．New measures to transport school students. |
| C．The safest form of student transportation. |
| D．The origin of Walk to School Day. |
In order to cut down transportation cost, many schools take the following measures EXCEPT_____.
| A．changing some bus routes |
| B．stopping some bus routes |
| C．asking parents to drive children to and from school |
| D．using other types of fuels |
The National Center for Safe Routes to School encourages more children to walk or bike to school in order to ____.
| A．save more fuels and diesel for the country |
| B．keep the children safe on their way to school |
| C．make the children live a simple life |
| D．keep the children healthy and the environment clean |
Hank Viscardi was born without legs．He had not legs but stumps（残肢）that could be fitted with a kind of special boots, People stared at him with cruel interest．Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ （猿人）because his arms practically dragged on the ground．
Hank went to school like other boys．His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve．After graduating from school, he worked his way through college．He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices．During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps．But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer．He would soon have to use a wheel chair．
Hank felt himself got cold all over．However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs（假腿）．Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror, for the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be a full five feet eight inches tall．By this time he was already 26 years old．
Hank had to learn to use his new legs．Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again．There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching．He went out on the street．He climbed stairs and learned to dance．He built a boat and learned to sail it．
When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job．He took the regular training．He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers．Few knew that he was legless．This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs．Children laughed at Hank and called him ‘Ape Man’ because．
| A．he didn’t talk to then |
| B．he kept away from them |
| C．his arms touched the ground when he moved |
| D．he couldn’t use his arms |
The sentence “he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job” implies that the Red Cross．
| A．was only glad to give him a job |
| B．gave him a job because he was a good soldier |
| C．gave him a job after he talked to someone whom he knew in the organization |
| D．was not willing to give him to job at first |
When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he------
| A．did everything the other soldier did |
| B．did most of the things the other soldiers did |
| C．did most of the things the other soldiers did |
| D．took some special training |
The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi．
| A．had no friends |
| B．never saw himself as different from others |
| C．was very shy |
| D．was too proud to accept help from others |
Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York, in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank did not want to be a farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends（小商品）for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said “FIVE CENTS EACH’. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store, selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly from the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always ran his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was : ‘THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”Frank took a short business course in order to __________.
| A．earn more money for his family |
| B．learn something from a salesman |
| C．get away from the farm |
| D．get enough to eat |
Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because ________.
| A．he knew how to get people to buy his goods |
| B．he cut down the price by half |
| C．he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way |
| D．the sign he put on the table was well designed |
The price of the knives was cut down by half because _________.
| A．the factory workers worked 24 hours a day |
| B．knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory |
| C．the knives were made in German, where labour was cheap |
| D．the knives were produced in one factory |
__________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.
| A．His business skills and his wealth |
| B．The low price of the goods he sold |
| C．His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives |
| D．His natural skill for showing things |
The belief that “The customer is always right” suggests that __________.
| A．whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right. |
| B．If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way |
| C．stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money |
| D．stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful |