D
There is probably no field of human activity in which our values and lifestyles are shown more clearly and strongly than they are in the clothes that we choose to wear. The dress of an individual is a kind of "sign language" that communicates a set of information and is usually the basis on which immediate impressions are formed. Traditionally, a concern for clothes was considered to be an affair of females, while men took pride in the fact they were completely lacking in clothes consciousness(意识).
This type of American culture is by degrees changing as man dress takes on greater variety and color. Even as early as 1995, a researcher in Michigan said that men attached rather high importance to the value of clothing in daily life. White-collar workers in particular viewed dress as a symbol of ability, which could be used to impress or influence others, especially in the work situation. The white-collar worker was described as extremely concerned about the impression his clothes made on his superiors(上司). Although blue-collar workers were less aware that they might be judged on the basis of their clothing, they recognized that any difference from the accepted pattern of dress would be made fun of by fellow workers.
Since that time, of course, the patterns have changed; the typical office worker may now be wearing the blue shirt, and the laborer a white shirt, but the importance of dress has not become less. Other researchers in recent years have helped to prove its importance in the lives of individuals at various levels and in different social and economic status groups(阶层).
68.From the passage we know that______.
A.the Americans' values and lifestyles can't be shown clearly in their activity
B.the Americans' values and lifestyles are from the sign language
C.the clothes the Americans choose to wear have something to do with their values and lifestyles
D.the clothes the Americans choose to wear depend on a set of information
69.Traditionally, the Americans usually thought that______.
A.men should care much for clothes
B.women should concern greatly about what they wore but men shouldn't
C.both men and women must pay great attention to their clothes
D.neither men nor women didn't have to show interest in clothes
70.Blue-collar workers pay attention to their clothes because______.
A.they extremely concern about the impression their clothes make on their superiors
B.they know clearly that people will judge them on the basis of their clothing
C.they want to impress and influence others
D.they don't want to be laughed at
71.The passage mainly suggests that______.
A.the Americans pay great attention to the importance of clothes
B.now men in America have made more progress in clothes consciousness
C.now men in America care about clothes more than women do
D.the American culture is greatly changing
My sisters and I have dreamt of a home in the city, but when the Alcott family found itself in a small house at the South End without a tree in sight, only a back yard to play in, and no money to buy any of the beautiful things before us, we children all opposed it and longed for the country again.
Anna soon found little pupils, and walked away each morning to her daily task, pausing at the corner to wave her hand to me in answer to my greet with the duster(抹布). My father went to his office downtown, mother to her helping the poor, the little girls to school, and I, Lousia, was left to keep house, feeling like an aged sea-gull as I washed dishes and cooked in the basement kitchen where the only thing I could hope for was someone talking with me.
Good drill, but very hard, and my only comfort was the evening reunion where all met with such various reports of the day’s adventures, we could not fail to find both amusement and instruction.
Father brought interesting and attractive news from the upper world; mother, usually in low spirits because she would give away her clothes with sad tales of suffering from the darker side of life; gentle Anna gave a modest account of her success as a teacher, for even at seventeen her sweet nature won all who knew her, and her patience gained her the support of the most naughty pupil.
My reports were usually a mixture of sadness and happiness, and the children poured their small joys and troubles into the family where comfort and mercy were always to be found.We know from this passage that the Alcott family was __________.
| A.a happy and united family |
| B.an extremely poor family |
| C.a family with lots of serious problems |
| D.a family that remained in the country |
Anna was a successful teacher because_________.
| A.she had a strong sense of duty | B.she was obviously intelligent |
| C.she knew her subjects well | D.she had wonderful character |
Lousia’s daily responsibility was_____.
| A.to help the poor | B.to run the house |
| C.to go downtown | D.to feed the seagulls |
According to the passage, what Lousia enjoyed most is _________.
| A.the evening reunion | B.moving to the city |
| C.joining Anna at her school | D.telling others her stories |

London, Dec.17 (Xinhua) “Drivers on London Underground trains have started reading out sayings from great thinkers like Mahatma Gandhi , Frindrich Engels, and Albert Einstein in a bid to cheer up passengers ,” officials said. As well as the usual announcements urging passengers to “mind the steps” and warning of delays, the sayings such as “ an ounce ( 盎司) of action is worth a ton of theory” have taken the place of commercial ad in the underground carriages .
New York, Oct.8 (Xinhua) Once as a famous actor, now the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to abandon textbooks in favor of digital ones. He plans to launch this program in August next year when California’s high-school pupils will have access to online math and science text. But some teachers wonder whether his idea of getting rid of textbooks might end up costing more not less, with digital textbook going for $300.
Amsterdam, Nov.30 (Xinhua) A few cups of coffee a day may not only help to put off the disease—dementia(痴呆) but also can treat it, according to Dr. Arendash, who led the research. After giving mice with memory damage water containing caffeine, he found the mice developed better memories and quick thinking. The reason is that caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain and directly affects the disease process. He suggested people should drink five eight–ounce cups of ordinary coffee, two cups of strong ‘coffee shop’ coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks to get the same amount of 500 milligrams of caffeine.What’s the purpose of putting up sayings on the underground carriages in London?
| A.to help passengers to kill time. |
| B.to encourage passengers to learn. |
| C.to lift the spirits of passengers. |
| D.to make money as a commercial ad. |
What can we conclude from the second news?
| A.digital textbooks will replace traditional textbooks. |
| B.online math is already available to high-school pupils . |
| C.digital textbooks are convenient to carry anywhere. |
| D.Not all the teachers support their governor’s idea. |
Which of the following statements is true from the third news?
| A.The more coffee you drink, the less chance there will be for dementia. |
| B.Caffeine can make mice become more and more intelligent and energetic. |
| C.Caffeine can affect the process of the disease—dementia and treat it. |
| D.Caffeine is a safe drug for all the people for everyday use so enjoy it. |
When I worked as a waitress in Chicago, US, my coworkers and I would sigh whenever we heard someone with a foreign accent coming into our restaurant. We knew what it meant to serve a non-American: no tip. We would work just as hard as we always did, but we might not get paid.
Americans have an unspoken rule about tipping: they give tips to almost everyone who offers them a service of some kind. Americans tip their waiters, barbers and taxi drivers. An appropriate tip is between 15 and 20 percent of the amount charged for the service (But the charge for the tip doesn’t appear on the bill. The customer is expected to add it himself/herself.) Tipping less than this sends a message to your waiters that you think they’ve done a bad job serving you. And to leave no tip at all is simply unacceptable.
It’s not that American waiters are greedy. In many countries, waiters are paid a salary for their work. They’ll earn money even if no one comes into the restaurant. This system offers much more safety for waiters than the American version. In the US, waiters know that a night without customers means a night without pay.
Some countries include a tip for waiters – a “service charge” – on the bill itself. Since the tip is included with the other charges, waiters don’t need to worry about people forgetting to tip. But in the US, waiters do not receive a salary, and service charges only appear on bills when there are six or more customers at the table.
Since almost all American customers are familiar with the system, they know to add a tip without being told. But visitors to the US may expect waiters to be paid a salary, or think that the tip is included on the bill.
So much as we waiters loved hearing stories about other places from our foreign customers, we were always nervous when they got ready to leave the restaurant. We were never sure what to expect.If you order $200 worth of food, which of the following is a proper total payment?
| A.$200 | B.$215 | C.$220 | D.$230 |
Why don’t some foreigners tip a waiter according to the writer?.
| A.because they are unfamiliar with the American tip system . |
| B.because they are too mean to give tips to any waiter. |
| C.because they have difficulty communicating with waiters. |
| D.because they are not really easy to become satisfied. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A. The service charge never appear on the bill in the USA.
B. Customers are usually expected to tip waiters in the USA.
C. Dining out in other countries is much more expensive than in the USA.
D. Waiters in other countries earn much more money than those in the USA.What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A.To complain about the difficult life of American waiters. |
| B.To warn other waiters not to serve any foreign customer. |
| C.To call on foreign customers to leave tips for American waiters. |
| D.To tell us something about American waiters’ salary system. |
When people talk of a virus these days, chances are that they are talking about computer virus that have the power wipe out all the valuable work people may have stored in their computers. Imagine, the virus has the power to make military systems, giant banks, airports, hospitals and traffic system come to stop!
What does a computer virus do? It targets electronic objects that are programmed. The virus spreads through connections between these electronic objects. For virus spreading experts, e-mail is a favorite method of sending their destructive (破坏性的) weapon.
But scientists warn that this is not the worst that can happen. There is more. People are also connected through phones. The next virus may actually target mobile phones, especially those that are programmed to do many tasks apart from just communicating. It would then be easy for a virus to infect those programs and create major disorder.
For example, these virus may have the power to record your phone conversations and make others hear them. They create problems with your electronic money accounts, or they could create a mountain of telephone bills for calls you never made. And that would be a disaster. A report on this was published in the New Scientist recently.
One way out would be to have simpler phones with not so many different functions. This would mean there would mean there would be fewer programs for the virus to attack. But mobile phone producers are in a fix. People on longer want an electronic item to perform just one task. They want more and more functions added. That would mean more software programs to make the mobile phone perform all those functions. And that means the possibility of more viruses.It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A.computer viruses are not so as destructive as mobile phone viruses |
| B.people should be careful when receiving e-mails |
| C.people find it difficult to use electronic equipment correctly |
| D.having electronic money accounts brings people a lot of convenience |
Which of the following shows that your mobile phone is infected with a virus?
| A.You can’t hear the person who answers the phone clearly |
| B.You can’t send e-mails with your mobile phone |
| C.your phone bill increases for unknown reasons |
| D.You can hear other people’s phone conversations |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A.Mobile phone producers have made no progress. |
| B.Mobile phone producers are proud of their products. |
| C.Mobile phone producers are faced with a difficult situation. |
| D.Mobile phone producers refused to fight against virus. |
For whom is the passage written?
| A.Government officials | B.Virus spreading experts |
| C.Electronic scientists | D.Mobile phone users |
South Asia heatwave kills nearly 100.
DHAKA - A heat wave sweeping India, Bangladesh(孟加拉国) and Nepal has killed nearly 100 people over the past two weeks, officials said on June 3, 2005.
A third of the people died in northern Bangladesh, mostly women and children from dehydration(脱水), heat stroke and diarrhoea(腹泻).
"We are getting reports of several deaths due to heat wave and related diseases almost every day," an official said, as temperatures touched 43degC .
The weather office in Dhaka said the hot weather will persist for another week until the monsoon(季风) rains which are normally due by the middle of June.
Severe heat conditions in the southern Indian have killed at least 55 people, officials in the two states said.
While temperatures have fallen from a high of 45degC in Andhra Pradesh to around 40degC, giving a respite to people, they are still on the rise in Orissa with Talcher town registering 48.5deg C, a weather official said.
At least five people have died in Nepal from extreme heat, the government said. We can infer that the heatwave can cause ______.
| A.heat stoke | B.dehydration | C.diarrhoea | D.all above |
When the monsoon rains come, the temperature will _______.
| A.remain the same |
| B.go on to rise sharply |
| C.begin to drop obviously |
| D.rise a little |
Which place is the hottest in the early June, 2005?
| A.Dhaka | B.Talcher | C.Andhra Pradesh | D.Nepal |