If women are exploited year after year,they have only themselves to blame.Because they tremble at the thought of being seen in public in clothes that are out of fashion(过时),they are always made use of by the designers and the big stores.Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion.When you come to think of it,only a woman is able to stand in front of a wardrobe(衣柜) packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional(故意的) waste.Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn.Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way waste hours of their time changing the dresses they have.Skirts are lengthened; necklines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can say that the fashion industry makes anything really important to society.Fashion designers are seldom concerned with important things like warmth and that woman will put up with any amount of discomfort,as long as they look right.There can hardly be a man who hasnt at some time in his life smiled at the sight of woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day,or picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.What do you think of the writer’s idea about “fashion” ?
| A．It is neither a waste of money nor a waste of time. |
| B．It makes something really important to the society. |
| C．It makes its followers suffer a lot. |
| D．It is practical opinion to women. |
Who are to blame, according to the passage, for the quickly changing fashion industry in the following?
(a)Women themselves (b)Men themselves (c)Fashion designers
(d)Attractive clothes (e)Big stores (f)High-heeled shoes
| A．(a); (c); (e) | B．(a); (b); (d) |
| C．(c); (e); (f) | D．(a); (e); (f) |
We can learn from the passage that _______.
| A．most men share different opinions with women on dressing,as well as fashion designers |
| B．a woman doesn’t feel cold while she’s in a thin dress on a winter day |
| C．whenever women find their clothes out of date, they’ll get rid of them |
| D．you didn’t feel strange when seeing a young girl walking in deep snow in high-heeled shoes |
Fashion designers care little for _______.
| A．outward appearance | B．woman’s interests |
| C．the comfort of the clothes | D．the cost of the materials |
Some people think that success is only for those with talent or those who grow up in the right family，and others believe that success mostly comes down to luck.I'm not going to say luck，talent，and circumstances don't come into play because they do.Some people are born into the right family while others are born with great intelligence，and that's just the reality of how life is.
However，to succeed in life，one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And，in addition to that，in order to get really good at something，one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things，it'll require even more time，time that most people won't put in.
However，to succeed in life，one first needs to set a goal and then gradually make it more practical.And，in addition to that，in order to get really good at something，one needs to spend at least 10,000 hours studying and practising.To become great at certain things，it'll require even more time，time that most people won't put in.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do，it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
This is a big reason why many successful people advise you to do something you love. If you don't enjoy what you do，it is going to feel like unbearable pain and will likely make you quit well before you ever become good at it.
When you see people exhibiting some great skills or having achieved great success，you know that they have put in a huge part of their life to get there at a huge cost.It's sometimes easy to think they got lucky or they were born with some rare talent，but thinking that way does you no good，and there's a huge chance that you're wrong anyway.
Whatever you do，if you want to become great at it, you need to work day in and day out，almost to the point of addiction，and over a long period of time.If you're not willing to put in the time and work，don't expect to receive any rewards.Consistent, hard work won't guarantee you the level of success you may want, but it will guarantee that you will become really good at whatever it is you put all that work into.Paragraph 1 mainly talks about ________.
| A．the reasons for success |
| B．the meaning of success |
| C．the standards of success |
| D．the importance of success |
Successful people suggest doing what one loves because ________.
| A．work makes one feel pain |
| B．one tends to enjoy his work |
| C．one gives up his work easily |
| D．it takes a lot of time to succeed |
What can we infer from Paragraph 4?
| A．Successful people like to show their great skills. |
| B．People sometimes succeed without luck or talent. |
| C．People need to achieve success at the cost of life. |
| D．It helps to think that luck or talent leads to success. |
What is the main theme of the passage?
| A．Having a goal is vital to success. |
| B．Being good is different from being great. |
| C．One cannot succeed without time and practice. |
| D．Luck，talent and family help to achieve success. |
Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today's stars, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine.They are at the center of much of the world's attention.Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready.Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives.Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature!
According to pyschologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly about their public appearance.Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names.“Over time，” Villarreal says, “they feel separated and alone.”
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages.In the 4th century B．C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers.When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold－out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain (抱怨) about his lack of privacy.Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film－stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be.Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras.When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren't all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it.Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities.They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice.Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are.They are tired of being famous already.It can be learned from the passage that stars today________.
| A．are often misunderstood by the public |
| B．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| C．spend too much on their public appearance |
| D．care little about how they have come into fame |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired. |
| B．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| C．Well－known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Availability of modern media. |
| B．Inadequate social recognition. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author's attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere. | B．Sceptical. |
| C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
Many people think of the brain as a mystery.They don't know much about intelligence and how it works.When they do think about what intelligence is，many people believe that a person is born smart，average，or dumb—and stays that way in the whole life.But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it.And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
Everyone knows that when you lift weights，your muscles get bigger and you get stronger.A person who can't lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time.That's because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise.And when you stop exercising，the muscles shrink and you get weaker.That's why people say “Use it or lose it！”
But most people don't know that when they practice and learn new things，parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise. Inside the cortex(皮层)of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells，called neurons. The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network. Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems. When you learn new things，these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger.The more you challenge your mind to learn，the more your brain cells grow.Then，things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do—like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra(代数)—seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time.The result is a stronger，smarter brain.
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals'brains.They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more perspicacious—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.According to the first paragraph，________.
| A．the function of our brain is like that of the muscle |
| B．until now it's impossible to explain the brain's mystery |
| C．many people believe one's intelligence is naturally determined |
| D．one's brain grows stronger as the age increases |
Training muscles is compared to ________.
| A．using the brain |
| B．connecting things in your brain |
| C．lifting weights |
| D．doing research about the brain |
What does the underlined word“perspicacious”in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Strong. | B．Smart. |
| C．Popular. | D．Active. |
The following paragraph will most probably talk about ________.
| A．the differences between animals'brains and humans'brains |
| B．the relation between human brains and muscles |
| C．scientists' findings about animals' brains |
| D．how to make your brain smarter through selfdevelopment |
One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City，Calif.，to New Orleans.In the middle of the desert, I came upon a young man standing by the roadside. He had his thumb out and held a gas can in his other hand. I drove right by him.There was a time in the country when you'd be considered a jerk if you passed by somebody in need. Now you are a fool for helping. With gangs, drug addicts, murderers, rapists, thieves lurking everywhere, “I don't want to get involved” has become a national motto.
Several states later I was still thinking about the hitchhiker.Leaving him stranded in the desert did not bother me so much.What bothered me was how easily I had reached the decision.I never even lifted my foot off the accelerator.
Does anyone stop any more? I wondered.I recalled Blanche DuBois's famous line：“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”. Could anyone rely on the kindness of strangers these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey from coast to coast without any money, relying solely on the goodwill of his fellow Americans.What kind of Americans would he find? Who would feed him, shelter him，carry him down the road?
The idea intrigued me.
The week I turned 37，I realized that I had never taken a gamble in my life.So I decided to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic without a penny.It would be a cashless journey through the land of the almighty dollar.I would only accept offers of rides, food and a place to rest my head.My final destination would be Cape Fear in North Carolina，a symbol of all the fears I'd have to conquer during the trip.
I rose early on September 6, 1994, and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge with a 50pound pack on my back and a sign displaying my destination to passing vehicles：“America”．
For six weeks I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states.As I traveled, folks were always warning me about someplace else.In Montana they told me to watch out for the cowboys in Wyoming; in Nebraska they said people would not be as nice in Iowa. Yet I was treated with kindness everywhere I went.I was amazed by people's readiness to help a stranger, even when it seemed to run contrary to their own best interests.Why did the author drive past the young man in the desert without stopping?
| A．Because he failed to notice this man. |
| B．Because he was driving too fast. |
| C．Because he thought the young man didn't need help. |
| D．Because he was afraid of being tricked. |
What was it that made the author upset?
| A．Leaving the young man alone in the desert. |
| B．Being considered a fool. |
| C．Making the decision of not offering help so easily. |
| D．Keeping thinking about the young man. |
The author decided to travel without a penny in order to ________.
| A．find out how long he could survive without help |
| B．go through the great difficulty in surviving unexpected environment |
| C．find out whether strangers would offer help to him |
| D．figure out how strangers thought of his plan |
In the passage，the author described his journey as a gamble because ________.
| A．he was not so sure of the outlook of the journey |
| B．he had no money to give to strangers |
| C．he was sure of the coming sufferings |
| D．he wasn't sure whether to make the journey |
The following part might probably ________.
| A．describe how he fooled strangers |
| B．describe how strangers went out of their way to help him |
| C．explain why people refused to help strangers |
| D．explain how he overcame his difficulties on the way |
Did you know that the first documented use of OMG(oh my god)was in 1917, or that LOL was once a common term meaning little old ladies in 1960? That's what the world learned when OMG, LOL, and FYI (for your information) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last week. This dictionary is considered by many to be the reference book that defines the English language.
Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary are truly considered new members of the language. People invent new words all the time, but only a few become popular enough to get defined in dictionaries.
Typed online or in text messages, LOL, FYI, and OMG are initialisms,_which can be said aloud letter by letter, like LOL, which now stands for Laugh Out Loud.Faster to type than the full phrases, initialisms like these have been used online since the 1990s. But these three online terms are now spoken outside the Internet too, making them different from other online lingo( 行话). Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.
Another important addition to the dictionary this year was ♥， as in “I♥ NY.” This is the first graphic (图形的 ) symbol ever defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.The editors added ♥ as a verb under the definition of “heart”， meaning “to love”．
Some slang words — informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing — were also added, like wassup, a shortened way to say “What's up”. Even words that have been in use for many years like biker and happy camper were finally added to the dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary now defines more than 600,000 words.That adds up to more than 21,730 pages! Guinness World Records calls it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language's long history.The text is mainly about that ________.
| A．expressions like LOL and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary |
| B．English words change their meaning as time goes by |
| C．English language is becoming more and more difficult to learn |
| D．the Oxford English Dictionary breaks the Guinness World Record |
Which of the following is NOT included in the facts that the Oxford English Dictionary has been updated?
| A．Some online terms are added to it. |
| B．A graphic symbol is first introduced into it. |
| C．Some slang words are collected in it. |
| D．Some old words are left out. |
What does the underlined word “initialisms” refer to?
| A．Words having foreign origins. |
| B．Words made from the first letters of several words in a phrase. |
| C．Uncommon words frequently appearing on the Internet. |
| D．Official words used in formal documents with capital letters. |
Before any new word is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, it must be ________.
| A．spread widely across the Internet |
| B．used commonly by the dictionary editors |
| C．used commonly in either spoken or written language |
| D．a short word |