Imageiseverything.Anentireindu-优题课

B
The trend in everyday conversation is to use grandiose（夸大的）words. “Outstanding” is new “good,” “amazing” is the new “OK”, and “huge” is the new “big.”
I was in a restaurant in Washington D.C. last weekend and every question I asked was answered with exaggeration.
Me: How is the salmon?
Sever: Fantastic!
Me: Does it come with rice?
Sever: Absolutely!
Would a “good” and a “yes” have been enough? Of course!
My father is an average-sized man. He hasn’t gained weight or height for the past 30 years. Therefore, his size remains the same. However, in the same amount of time, his T-shirt size has gone from small to medium to large to extra large.
The reason for the exaggerated word is clear: we are bored with our lives. We want the next –next thing now. Immediately!
And we also want others to think that we still care, that we can still be delighted, that we know that everything is just great. Even when deep inside we know it can’t be. Everything can’t be great.
I’m not a scientist, so many methods of proof leave little to be desired, or a lot to be desired, or an immensity（无限）.
Listen to the voices around you. Listen to your own voices. There is nothing on the radio that is good or bad , weather is either beautiful or horrible.
Listen, the next time when someone asks you something and you agree, because when you could simply say “yes”, instead you will say “absolutely ” or “without doubt” or “Oh, yeah, unquestionably—absolutely without doubt.”
Have people forgotten what it is like to be OK? Simply OK with what they have and who they are? If everything is outstanding, if everything is the most amazing thing ever, is anything ever amazing at all?
45．By telling his experience in the restaurant, the author intends to_______.
A．show his interest in exaggerated words
B．prove that exaggerated words are widely used
C．blame the restaurant for using exaggerated words
D．tell us the food in the restaurant is extremely good
46．What do we know about the author’s father?
A．He has gained height and is now a tall man.
B．He likes following the fashin in clothing.
C．His weight is getting greater and greater.
D．The size of his T-shirt is described in exaggerated words.
47．So many people like using exaggerated words because________.
A．they are not satisfied with being normal
B．they don’t want to be looked down upon by others
C．they want to be different from others
D．they are brave in telling their true feelings
48．According to the passage, if you approve of something, you’d better say “ ______ ”.
A．fantastic B．perfect C．OK D．Absolutely

第二部分：阅读理解（共25小题；第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题后的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
A
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance(pocket money). The purpose is to let children learn from experiences at an age when finacial mistakes are not very costly.
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family. Timing is another consideration. Some children get a weekly allowance. Others get a monthly allowance.
In any case, parents should make clear what, if anything, the child is expected to pay for with the money. At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it. If they do this, they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget. Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance.
The object is to show young people that a budget demands choices between spending and saving. Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs, like clothing or electronics. Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home. These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house, however, can be useful. It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money. They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause. They can spend it by buying things they want. Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice: you have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiring children to save part of their allowance can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance.
A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest.
Compounding works by paying interest on interest. So, for example, one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year. The second year, the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents, and so on. That may not seem like a lot. But over time it adds up.
41．Giving an allowance, parents should consider all the following EXCEPT_______
A．how much the child should get each time
B．whether the child has made a budget
C．where the money really goes.
D．how often a child can get it
42．The author of the passage holds the opinion that__________
A．what children learn by handling allowances may be beneficial in the future
B．children can learn to set up their own business with their allowances
C．keeping allowances in the bank is the best choice for children
D．it is not a good idea to pay children for housework at home
43．The underlined words “compound interest” in the passage probably mean_______.
A．increasing curiosity to learn how to make more money
B．stronger power to hold one’s attention to saving money
C．money paid by the bank on your original money and the gain from it
D．the sum of money that you earn from keeping your money in the bank
44．What is the best title for the passage?
A．Be Generous to Pay Your Children.
B．Be Wise to Avoid Financial Mistakes.
C．Saving Allowances Does Good to Children.
D．Allowances Help Children Learn about Money.

Scientists have devised（发明） a way to determine roughly where a person has lived using a strand of hair, a technique that could help track the movements of criminal suspects or unidentified murder victims.
The method relies on measuring how chemical variations in drinking water show up in people’s hair.
“You’re what you eat and drink, and that’s recorded in your hair,” said Thure Cerling, a geologist at the University of Utah.
While U.S. diet is relatively identical（同一的）, water supplies vary. The differences result from weather patterns. The chemical composition of rainfall changes slightly as rain clouds move.
Most hydrogen and oxygen atoms in water are stable, but traces of both elements are also
present as heavier isotopes. The heaviest rain falls first. As a result, storms that form over
the Pacific deliver heavier water to California than to Utah.
Similar patterns exist throughout the U.S. By measuring the proportion of heavier hydrogen and oxygen isotopes（同位素） along a strand of hair, scientists can construct a geographic timeline. Each inch of hair corresponds（相当） to about two months.
Cerling’s team collected tap water samples from 600 cities and constructed a map of the regional differences. They checked the accuracy of the map by testing 200 hair samples collected from 65 barber shops.
They were able to accurately place the hair samples in broad regions roughly corresponding to the movement of rain systems.
“It’s not good for pinpointing（精确）,” Cerling said. “It’s good for eliminating many possibilities.”
Told Park, a local detective, said the method has helped him learn more about an unidentified woman whose skeleton was found near Great Salt Lake.
The woman was 5 feet tall. Police recovered 26 bones, a T-shirt and several strands of hair.
When Park heard about the research, he gave the hair samples to the researchers. Chemical testing showed that over the two years before her death, she moved about every two months.
She stayed in the Northwest, although the test could not be more specific than somewhere between eastern Oregon and western Wyoming.
“It’s still a substantial area,” Park said, “But it narrows it way down for me”.
72. What is the scientists’ new discovery?
A. One’s hair growth has to do with the amount of water they drink.
B. A person’s hair may reveal where they have lived.
C. Hair analysis accurately identifies criminal suspects.
D. The chemical composition of hair varies from person to person.
73. What does the author mean by “You’re what you eat and drink” (Line 1, Para.3)?
A. Food and drink affect one’s personality development.
B. Food and drink preferences vary with individuals.
C. Food and drink leave traces in one’s body tissues（组织）.
D. Food and drink are similar to one’s existence.
74. What did Cerling’s team produce in their research?
A. A map showing the regional differences of tap water.
B. A collection of hair samples from various barber shops.
C. A method to measure the amount of water in human hair.
D. A chart illustrating the movement of the rain system.
75. What is the practical value of Cerling’s research?
A. It helps analyze the quality of water in different regions.
B. It helps the police determine where a crime is committed.
C. It helps the police narrow down possibilities in detective work.
D. It helps identify the drinking habits of the person under investigation.

I am a writer．I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language—the way it can evoke (唤起) an emotion，a visual image，a complex idea，or a simple truth．Language is the tool of my trade．And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with．
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California，I've been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks．Like others．I have described it to people as "broken" English．But feel embarrassed to say that．It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than "broken"，as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed，as if it lacked a certain wholeness．I've heard other terms used，"limited English，"for example．But they seem just as bad，as if everything is limited，including people's perceptions(认识)of the limited
English speaker．
I know this for a fact，because when l was growing up，my mother's "limited" English limited my perception of her．I was ashamed of her English．I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say．That is，because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect．And I had plenty of evidence to support her：the fact that people in department stores，at banks，and at restaurants did not take her seriously，did not give her good service，pretended not to understand her，or even acted as if they did not hear her．
I started writing fiction in l985．And for reasons l won't get into today，I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with：the English she used with me，which for lack of a better term might be described as "broken"．and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese，her internal(内在的)language and for that I sought to preserve the essence，but neither an English nor a Chinese structure：I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show；her intention，her feelings，the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts．
68. By saying "Language is the tool of my trade"，the author means that ________.
A．she uses English in foreign trade B．she is fascinated by languages
C．she works as a translator D．she is a writer by profession
69. Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3 ?
A．Americans do not understand broken English．
B．The author's mother was not respected sometimes．
C．The author's mother had positive influence on her．
D．Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts．
70. The author gradually realizes her mother's English is________.
A．well structuredB．in the old style
C．easy to translate D．rich in meaning
71. What is the passage mainly about?
A．The changes of the author's attitude to her mother's English．
B．The limitation of the author's perception of her mother．
C．The author's misunderstanding of“limited”English．
D．The author's experiences of using broken English．

Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes---khaki pants and sports shirt---to the office. He hardly ever wears necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday (but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday.” “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing,” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale. Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productive. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
72. David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict” because_______.
A. he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt
B. he couldn’t stand a clean appearance
C. he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time
D. he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes
73. David Smith wears casual clothes now, because________.
A. they make him feel at ease when working
B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes
C. he looks handsome in casual clothes
D. he no longer works for any company
74. According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code..
B. Comfortable clothes make employees more productive.
C. A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees.
D. All the employers in the U.S are for casual office wear.
75. In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned except ______.
A. saving employees’ money B. making employees more attractive
C. improving employees’ motivation D. making employees happier