Technology today has stolen away our voices and robbed our children of memories. I’ve been keeping count of how often people sing around the house these days. The fact is, they don’t.
My earliest memories are of my mother crooning lullabies(催眠曲) in a gentle low voice as she rocked each infant in turn. She said she “didn’t have a singing voice,” but her low, wavering alto will always mean comfort to me. Every time I have sat through the night with a feverish body or held a pre – schooler through a nightmare, the melodies returned, words appearing and disappearing like fragments of a dream but held together by the hum (低声吟唱)of love.
Today, young mothers are routinely presented with lullaby tapes at the baby shower. When baby cries, the idea goes, they will be able to switch on the high-tech audio system and the little one will drift off with the voices of strangers in his ears, perfectly on pitch. If I had my way, new parents would learn the songs themselves, throw out their stereos, and give their child the gift of their own sleepy voices through the midnight hours.
These days, when we go on a trip, my daughters take along tiny personal stereos and headphones. They are lost in their private worlds, and I can’t help wishing that at least here, in the car my girls would be forced to listen to their mother’s voice raised in lost – the – words again, sure I’m out－of－tune songs that they might then pass down to another generation. Those sophisticated earphones have robbed them of something I think every kid should carry from childhood car trips into adulthood.
I drove away from that party humming, and all the way home the good old songs kept tumbling out. Dammit (该死), I thought, why did I ever stop singing in the car and start turning on the radio instead? Why don’t I sign anymore while I’m doing the dishes? I’m going to yank those stereo wires right out of the wall when I get home. We’re going to sing grace before meals, sing coals around the piano, sing in the shower instead of switching on that waterproof radio that stol away our voices and our souls.
63．The author hates today’s technology because________
A．driving a car requires high concentration
B．children are learning pop songs from tapes
C．children have lost touch with good old songs
D．high – tech systems do not record the voices of aged people
64．The underlined sentence “the little one will drift off” in Paragraph 3 means that “________ ”.
A．the play of the high – tech system is of little use
B．the high – tech system will play on and on
C．the low voice will delight the baby
D．the baby will slowly go to sleep
65．To the author, the voices of strangers ________ .
A．are not familiar to the baby
B．lack the motherly love the baby needs
C．work better to stop the baby’s cry
D．surely sound more pleasant
66．What the author wishes to make her girls do is to________ .
A．help memorize the words while she is singing
B．take off their well – designed earphones
C．listen and learn the old songs from her
D．remember their childhood car trips
I am beginning to wonder whether my grandmother isn’t right when she complains, as she frequently does, that children nowadays aren’t as well-behaved as they used to be. Whenever she gets the opportunity, she recounts in detail how she used to be told to respect the elders and betters. She was taught to speak only when she was spoken to, and when she went out on her own, she was reminded to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children in her day, she continues, were expected to be seen and not heard, but these days you are lucky if you ever hear parents telling their children to mind their p’s and q’s.
If you give her the chance, she then takes out of her drawer the old photograph album which she keeps there, and which she never tires of displaying. Of course when you look at pictures of her parents, you feel sure that, with a father as stern-looking as that, you too would have been "seen and not heard". He had a lot of neatly cut hair, long side-whiskers and a big moustache. In the photographs, he is always clutching (抓住) his coat with one hand, while in the other he holds a thin walking stick. Beside him sits his wife, with their children around her: Granny and her elder brothers. It always occurs to me that perhaps those long, stiff, black clothes were so clumsy to a little girl, that she hadn’t enough breath left to be talkative, let alone mischievous (淘气的). It must have been a dull and lonely life too, for she stayed mainly at home during her childhood, while her brothers were sent away to school from an early age. Despite their long black shorts and their serious expressions in the photographs, I always suspect that their lives were considerably more enjoyable than hers. One can imagine them telling each other to shut up or mind their own business, as soon as their parents were out of sight.
Going to see Granny on Sundays used to be a terrible experience. We would always be warned in advance to be on our best behavior, since my mother made a great effort to show how well brought up we were, in spite of our old, comfortable clothes, our incomprehensible (to Granny) slang, and our noisy games in the garden. We had to change into what Granny described as our "Sundays best" for lunch, when we would sit uncomfortably, kicking each other under the table. We were continually being ordered to sit up straight, to take our elbows off the table, to wait till everybody had been served, not to wolf down our food, nor to talk with our mouths full. At length we would be told to ask to be excused from the table and ordered to find quiet occupations for the rest of the day. We were always very bad-tempered by the evening, and would complain angrily all the way home.
Yet though we hated the Sunday visit, we never questioned the rules of good manners themselves. I remember being greatly shocked as a child to hear one of my friends telling her father to shut up. I knew I could never have spoken like that to my father and it would never have occurred to me to do so.
However, my childhood was much freer than Granny’s. I went to school with my brother and I played football with him and his friends. We all spoke a common language, and we got up to the same mischief. I would have died if I had had to stay indoors, wear a tight dress, and sew.
But I do sometimes look wistfully (惆怅地) at an old sampler which hangs in the hall, which was embroidered (刺绣) by an even more distant relative—my great-great-aunt, of whom, regrettably, no photograph remains. It was done as an example of her progress in learning. The alphabet is carefully sewn in large colored childish letters from A to Z, and below it a small verse reads:
Mary Saunders is my name,
And with my needle I worked the same,
That by it you may plainly see
What care my parents have for me.
It must have taken that little five-year-old months and months of laborious sewing, but, in a circle in a bottom corner of the sampler, there is a line: "Be Ever Happy".The writer’s grandmother will complain that ______.
| A．children used to be mischievous |
| B．children behave worse than they did in the past |
| C．children are often reminded of what to do |
| D．children are very badly behaved |
Visiting Granny on Sundays was a terrible experience because ______.
| A．the writer was not so well raised as she was required to pretend |
| B．Granny continually warned the writer to be on her best behavior |
| C．Granny was always describing the writer’s "Sunday best" |
| D．the writer was always blamed for not behaving well |
From Paragraph 4, we can infer that the writer ______.
| A．seldom spoke to her father in the way her friend did |
| B．was never questioned about the rules of good manners |
| C．never doubted the value of the strict rules at that time |
| D．was worried that her friend’s father would be shocked |
The writer looked wistfully at the sampler, because______.
| A．it was embroidered by a relative. |
| B．she wished she could sew herself. |
| C．it called to mind the values of good old days. |
| D．she had no photographs of Mary Saunders. |
By sewing "Be Ever Happy" in the sampler, Mary Saunders ______.
| A．suggested she was unhappy then |
| B．indicated happiness was hard to gain |
| C．expected we would find happiness in sewing |
| D．hoped happiness would be everlasting |
Students from Florida International University in. Miami walked on water Thursday for a class assignment. To do it, they wore aquatic (水上的)shoes they designed and created.
Alex Quinones was the first to make it to the other side of a 175-foot lake on campus in record time - just over a minute. Quinones, who wore oversized boat-like shoes, also won last year and will receive $ 500. Students had to wear the aquatic shoes and make it across the lake in order to earn an '6A" on the assignment for Architecture Professor Jaime Canaves, Materials and Methods Construction Class. "It's traditional in a school of architecture to do boats out of cardboard for a boat race. I thought our students were a little bit more special than that, " Canaves said. "We decided to do the walk on water event to take it to the next level. "
A total of 79 students competed in the race this year in 41 teams. Only 10 teams failed to cross the lake. Others who fell got back up and made it to the end. The race is open to all students and anyone in the community. The youngest person to ever participate was a 9-year-old girl who competed in place of her mother, while the oldest was a 67-year-old female.
A large crowd on campus joined Canaves as he cheered on the racers. He shouted encouraging words, but also laughed as some unsteadily made their way to the end.
"A part of this is for them to have more understanding of designing and make it work better, " he said. It is also a lesson in life for the students.
"Anything, including walking on water, is possible, if you do the research,test it and go through the design process seriously.Which statement about Alex 'Quinones is ture ?
| A．He finished the race in less than a minute. |
| B．He won the race with the help of 2 boats. |
| C．He failed the race last year. |
| D．He set a new record this year. |
For what purpose did the students take part in the race?
| A．To go across the lake to school. |
| B．To test their balance on the water. |
| C．To pass Professor Canaves’ class. |
| D．To win the prize money of $ 500. |
Which of the following is true about the race?
| A．The students who fell into the water had to quit. |
| B．More than 20 teams failed to cross the lake. |
| C．The students kept silent when the other racers competed. |
| D．The youngest competitor competed instead of her mother. |
According to Canaves, this race can help the students
| A．understand designing better |
| B．achieve almost everything |
| C．work together and unite as one |
| D．walk on the surface of water |
What is the purpose of this passage?
| A．To advertise a student' s program. |
| B．To report an interesting assignment. |
| C．To introduce a creative professor. |
| D．To encourage special events on campus. |
The iPhone, the iPad, each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (一时的风尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” – and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer – which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet –adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear – popular in the US and UK – that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes (前缀) have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most “i” products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it’s no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i”. Why not use “a”, “b”, or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便) .”adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “blog”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, people grow tired of fads. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably disappeared.People use iPlayer to __________.
| A．listen to music | B．make a call |
| C．watch TV programs online | D．read newspapers |
We can infer that the Independent’s “i” is aimed at __________.
| A．young readers | B．old readers |
| C．fashionable women | D．engineers |
The underlined word “ambiguous” means “__________”.
| A．popular | B．uncertain |
| C．definite | D．unique |
Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products which are __________.
| A．portable | B．environmentally friendly |
| C．advanced | D．recyclable |
The writer suggests that __________.
| A．“i” products are often of high quality |
| B．iTeddy is alive bear |
| C．the letter “b” replaces letter “i” to name the products |
| D．the popularity of “i” products may not last long |
It was an autumn morning shortly after my husband and I moved into our first house. Our children were upstairs unpacking, and I was looking out of the window at my father moving around mysteriously on the front lawn. My parents lived nearby, and Dad had visited us several times already. “What are you doing out there?” I called to him.
He looked up, smiling. “I’m making you a surprise.” Knowing my father, I thought it could be just about anything. A self-employed jobber, he was always building things out of odds and ends. When we were kids, he always created something surprising for us.
Today, however, Dad would say no more, and caught ups in the busyness of our new life, I eventually forgot about his surprise.
Until one gloomy day the following March when I glanced out of the window. Any yet… I saw a dot of blue across the yard. I headed outside for a closer look. They were crocuses (番红花), throughout the front lawn. Lavender, blue, yellow and my favorite pink --- little faces moved up and down in the cold wind.
Dad! I smiled, remembering the things he had secretly planted last autumn. He knew how the darkness and dullness of winter always got me down. What could have been more perfectly timely to my needs?
My father’s crocuses bloomed each spring for the next four or five seasons, bringing the same assurance every time they arrived: hard times was almost over. Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon.
Then a spring came with only half the usual blooms. The next spring there were none. I missed the crocuses. I would ask Dad to come over and plant new bulbs. But I never did.
He died suddenly one October day. My family was in deep sorrow, leaning on our faith. I missed him terribly.
Four years passed, and on a dismal spring afternoon I was driving back when I found myself feeling depressed. “You’ve got the winter depression again and you get them every year.” I told myself.
It was Dad’s birthday, and I found myself thinking about him. This was not unusual --- my family often talked about him, remembering how he lived his faith. Once I saw him give his coat to a homeless man.
Suddenly I slowed as I turned into our driveway. I stopped and stared at the lawn. And there on the muddy grass and small gray piles of melting snow, bravely waving in the wind, was one pink crocus.
How could a flower bloom from a bulb more than 18 years old, one that had not blossomed in over a decade? But there was the crocus. Tears filled my eyes as I realized its significance.
Hold on, keep going, light is coming soon. The pink crocus bloomed for only a day. But it built my faith for a lifetime. According to the first three paragraphs, we learn that _________.
| A．the writer was unpacking when her father was making the surprise |
| B．the writer knew what the surprise was because she knew her father |
| C．it was not the first time that the writer’s father had made a surprise |
| D．it kept bothering the writer not knowing what the surprise was |
Which of the following would most probably be the worst time of the year as seen by the writer?
| A．Spring. | B．Summer. |
| C．Autumn. | D．Winter. |
The writer’s father should be best described as_________.
| A．a full-time gardener with skillful hands |
| B．a part-time jobber who loved flowers |
| C．a kind-hearted man who lived with faith |
| D．an ordinary man with doubts in his life |
At the end of the passage, crocus was viewed as the symbol of _________ by the writer.
| A．belief | B．family | C．love | D．friendship |
WHAT’S ON
| STAGE Russian dances: The famous “Little White Birth” Dance Troupe will travel from Russia to present performances in Beijing. The troupe, founded in 1948, is famous for their combination of Russian folk dances and classical dancing art. It has been invited by the Beijing Foreign Culture Exchange Co. in order to give four performances in Beijing. Tickets are available through ticket hotlines and website such as www. paio. com. cn, www. Chinaticket. com and www. ticket. elong. com. * Time: 7: 30 pm, January 18 - 21 * Place: Beizhan Theatre, 135, Xiwai Dajie, Xicheng District * Tel: 6606-4258 EXHIBITIONS Kite show: All together 81 kites collected by the China National Art Museum is on show in the Yanhuang Art Museum. Kong Xiangze, an expert on Chinese kites, published a book on kites, explaining the origins of the kite-making process. The exhibited kites are made in a traditional Chinese style. * Time: 9 am-5 pm until February 11 * Place: 9 Huizhong Lu * Tel: 6491-2902 |
CONCERTS Folk music: A concert of classics of Chinese folk music will greet audiences on the first day of the Year of Snake at the Beijing Concert Hall. The China Song and Dance Ensemble will perform dozens of traditional instrumental pieces, such as “Full of Joy”, “Colourful Cloud Chasing the Moon” and “Spring Festival Suite”. * Time: 7: 30 pm, January 24 * Place: 1, Beixinhuajie, Xicheng District * Tel: 6559-8285 EVENTS Flower festival: The Beijing Botanical Garden is bringing people a blooming festival with the beautiful flowers in its tropical plants greenhouse. The garden has introduced nearly 80 kinds of flowers abroad for the exhibition. There is also an exhibition of potted narcissus (水仙) landscapes (盆景). More than 300 mini landscapes involving imported narcissus will be displayed, people can get a preview of the show by visiting www.beijingbd.com, the garden’s website. * Time: 8:30 am-5 pm until January 28 * Place: Wofosi Lu near the Fragant Hills * Tel: 8259-5547 |
Suppose you are too far away from Beijing or you can’t spare time to go there in person, which of the following shows can you enjoy all the same?
| A．Russian dances. | B．Kite show |
| C．Folk music | D．Flower festival |
The phrase “get a preview of” used in the passage means ______.
| A．watch in advance | B．see more clearly |
| C．get good position of | D．get a general idea of |
If you and your classmates have a free evening to spend on the 19th of January, which is a useful number to call?
| A．6606-4258 | B．6491-2902 |
| C．6559-8285 | D．8259-5547 |