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阅读理解
The year 2009 is the Year of Ox. The ox is a representative of the fanning culture of China. In the farming economy (经济), oxen are the major animals pulling plows (犁).
Of course, the good of oxen is not limited to plowing. In fact, they are seen as “boats on land” for their ability to carry loads. Besides, the whole body of an ox is full of treasures. Their meat and milk are food full of nutrition, and their skin can be used to make clothes and shoes. With all these qualities, oxen are regarded as generous creatures.
In the past, oxen played an important role in the spiritual life of the Chinese. Even today, oxen still play a special part in some folk activities. For example, some people who1ive in southwest China will cook cattle bone soup and share it among family members when holding the ceremony for children who reach 13. They believe that the cattle bone soup represents the blood relationship among family members. In order to express their love for oxen, people in some other areas will run to shake off diseases on the 16th day of the first month by the lunar calendar (农历), and during their run they will take their oxen along, which indicates they regard the creature as human.
Because of the contribution of oxen in their lives, the Chinese people are very grateful to the animal. In addition, the use of oxen in ceremonies and the thanks people owe to oxen help to develop various traditional customs, which becomes an important part of the folk culture of the Chinese nation.
（1）The words “boats an land” underlined in Paragraph 2 refer to ____
A. animals for taking goods B. creatures for pulling plows
C. treasures of the folk culture D. tools in the farming economy
（2）From the third paragraph, we know that ____
A. oxen are no more important today than in the past
B. ceremonies are held when people cook cattle bone soup
C. oxen are treated as human in some areas of China
D. people run with oxen to shake off diseases every month
（3）Which of the following helps to develop traditional customs? ____
A. The special role of oxen in farming.
B. People’s respect and love for oxen.
C. The practical value of an ox’s body.
D. The contribution of oxen to the economy.
（4）Why does the author write the text? ____
A. To stress the importance of oxen in farming.
B. To introduce the Chinese folk culture.
C. To describe how to celebrate the Year of Ox.
D. To explain how to develop agriculture with oxen.
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked,“So, how have you been?”And the boy who could not have been more than seven or eight years old replied,“Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it strengthened my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were“depressed”until we were in high school.
The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike any more. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is based not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new situation. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation machine has been fixed in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information, indiscriminately, to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practised. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________ .
| A．through touch with society |
| B．gradually and under guidance |
| C．naturally and by biological instinct |
| D．through exposure to social information |
In the author’s opinion, the phenomenon that today’s children seem adultlike is caused by _____.
| A．the widespread influence of television |
| B．the poor arrangement of teaching content |
| C．the fast step of human intellectual development |
| D．the constantly rising standard of living |
Why is the author in favor of communication through print for children?
| A．It enables children to gain more social information. |
| B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing. |
| C．It helps children to memorize and practise more. |
| D．It can control what children are to learn. |
What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
| A．He feels amused by the children’s adultlike behavior. |
| B．He thinks it is a phenomenon worthy of note. |
| C．He considers it a positive development. |
| D．He seems to be upset about it. |
Sometimes, the simplest ideas are the best. For example, to absorb heat from the sun to heat water,you need large, flat, black surfaces. One way to do that is to build those surfaces specially, on the roofs of buildings. But why go to all that trouble when cities are full of black surfaces already, in the form of asphalt (柏油) roads?
Ten years ago, this thought came into the mind of Arian de Bondt, a Dutch engineer. He finally persuaded his boss to follow it up. The result is that their building is now heated in winter and cooled in summer by a system that relies on the surface of the road outside.
The heat-collector is a system of connected water pipes. Most of them run from one side of the street to the other, just under the asphalt road. Some, however, dive deep into the groun.
When the street surface gets hot in summer, water pumped through the pipes picks up this heat and takes itunderground through one of the diving pipes. At a depth of 100 metres lies a natural aquifer(蓄水层) into which heat several heat exchangers (交换器) have been built. The hot water from the street runs through these exchangers, warming the ground-water, before returning to the surface through another pipe. The aquifer is thus used as a heat store.
In winter, the working system is changed slightly. Water is pumped through the heat exchangers to pick up the heat stored during summer. This water goes into the building and is used to warm the place up. After performing that task, it is pumped under the asphalt and its remaining heat keeps the road free of snow and ice.Which of the following is true according to the first two paragraphs?
| A．Arian de Bondt got his idea from his boss. |
| B．Large, flat, black surfaces need to be built in cities. |
| C．The Dutch engineer's system has been widely used. |
| D．Heat can also be collected from asphalt roads. |
For what purpose are the diving pipes used?
| A．To absorb heat from the sun. |
| B．To store heat for future use. |
| C．To turn solar energy into heat energy. |
| D．To carry heat down below the surface. |
From the last paragraph we can learn that __
| A．some pipes have to be re-arranged in winter |
| B．the system can do more than warming up the building |
| C．the exchangers will pick up heat from the street surface |
| D．less heat may be collected in winter than in summer |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．What we shall do if the system goes wrong . |
| B．What shall we do if there are no asphalt roads |
| C．How the system cools the building in summer . |
| D．How the system collects heat in spring and autumn. |
High-tech machines have made life easier for millions around the world．However, some people still prefer low-tech ways of doing things．Here’s an example of why this is happening．You can microwave a frozen hamburger in 60 seconds．However, it won’t taste as good as one you cook on the stove．And if you’re in that much of a hurry, you probably won’t take time to toast the bun．High-tech cooking saves time, but it doesn’t make for better-tasting meals．
Most people get their news from high-tech sources like television or the Internet．This has many advantages．For example, electronic news is more up to date than newspapers or magazines．It’s also more exciting to see live and videotaped news events than photographs．However, newspapers and magazines have some important advantages．They give more background and details．They also let you read the parts that are important to you and skip the rest．
Other high-tech timesavers have similar disadvantages．For example, most people use the phone or e-mail to stay in touch with friends and family members who live in other places．But when you use the Internet or the phone, you won’t always think carefully about what you are saying, and sometimes you forget the important things you want to communicate．Similarly, when you word-process a homework assignment instead of handwriting it, you can check your spelling electronically and put in fancy headings．However, some students are so busy with the computer that they don’t pay enough attention to the actual words they are writing．Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．The writer likes high-tech cooking |
| B．Low-tech cooking produces better-tasting meals． |
| C．High-tech news programs always keeps you reading what is important to you． |
| D．Handwritten homework is better than word-processed homework． |
How does the writer feel about high-tech tools?
| A．Better late than never． | B．Easy come, easy go． |
| C．Every coin has two sides． | D．Learn to walk before you run． |
What is the main subject discussed in the text?
| A．High-tech vs low-tech． |
| B．Advantages vs disadvantages． |
| C．Newspapers and magazines vs television and the Internet． |
| D．Word-processing vs handwriting． |
How is the text organized?
| A．Main idea-Argument-Explanation |
| B．Opinion-Discussion-Description |
| C．Topic-Comparison-Supporting examples． |
| D．Introduction-Supporting examples-Discussion． |
After ten years, the world' s largest music festival, Rock in Rio, returned to its hometown Rio de Janeiro for seven days of concerts from Friday, September 23rd, attracting 700,000 people over the whole week．
It is the 10th edition of the Rock in Rio festival, but only the 4th to be held in Rio as the organizers exported the festival to Lisbon and Madrid ten years ago．The first edition of the festival was in 1985 and the most recent edition in Rio was held in January, 2001．A total of 700,000 tickets were sold out for this year' s festival．
The festival consists of four stages with the participation of International stars including Elton John, Katy Perry, and bands Metallica, Evanescence and System of a Down．Several stars which performed in previous editions are also on the list this year．．In addition, a number of local singers and bands will also join this year．
The performance site, named as Rock City, is a 150,000-square-meter area．Besides the concert area, the site also has a giant Ferns wheel, a roller coaster, and a small shopping mall．After the festival, the Rock City area will be converted into a leisure area to athletes in the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro
According to Rio' s tourism company Riotur, out of the 700,000 people expected in the festival, some 315,000 will be tourists, who raised the hotels' occupation rate to 98 percent．Riotur estimated that the Rock in Rio festival will bring 419 million U．S．dollars for the city and create 10,000 jobs．
The creator of the festival, Brazilian businessmen Roberto Medina, insisted on opening the Rock City gates himself, in the early afternoon, and greeted the first fans to enter the site．"We come to the gate because the Brazilian audience is even more important than the bands．We applaud them．They make the greatest show," he said．The first edition of the festival may be held in ____．
| A．Rio de Janeiro | B．Lisbon |
| C．Madrid | D．a place not mentioned |
Up to now, the festival has been held in Rio for at least _____．
| A．ten times | B．four times |
| C．three times | D．twice |
The number of native people to attend the festival is probably ____．
| A．700,000 | B．315,000 |
| C．10,000 | D．385,000 |
From the passage, we can know ____．
| A．Rock City is a great theatre |
| B．Only rock bands are invited to the festival? |
| C．the festival will improve the employment of Rio |
| D．The gate of Rock City was opened by the Brazilian audience |
Meeting people from another culture can be difficult. From the beginning, people may send the wrong signal (信号). Or they may pay no attention to signals from another person who is trying to develop a relationship.
Different cultures emphasize (强调) the importance of relationship building to a greater or lesser degree. For example, business in some countries is not possible until there is a relationship of trust. Even with people at work, it is necessary to spend a lot of time in "small talk", usually over a glass of tea, before they do any job. In many European countries -- like the UK or France -- people find it easier to build up a lasting working relationship at restaurants or café’s rather than at the office.
Talk and silence may also be different in some cultures. I once made a speech in Thailand. I had expected my speech to be a success and start a lively discussion; instead there was an uncomfortable silence. The people present just stared at me and smiled. After getting to know their ways better, I realized that they thought I was talking too much. In my own culture, we express meaning mainly through words, but people there sometimes feel too many words are unnecessary.
Even within Northern Europe, cultural differences can cause serious problems. Certainly, English and German cultures share similar values; however, Germans prefer to get down to business more quickly. We think that they are rude. In fact, this is just because one culture starts discussions and makes decisions more quickly.
People from different parts of the world have different values, and sometimes these values are quite against each other. However, if we can understand them better, a multicultural environment (多元文化环境) will offer a wonderful chance for us to learn from each other.In some countries, eating together at restaurants may make it easier for people to _______.
| A．develop closer relations | B．share the same culture |
| C．get to know each other | D．keep each other company |
The author mentions his experience in Thailand to show that _________.
| A．the English prefer to make long speeches |
| B．too many words are of no use |
| C．people from Thailand are quiet and shy by nature |
| D．even talk and silence can be culturally different |
According to the text, how can people from different cultures understand each other better?
| A．By sharing different ways of life. |
| B．By accepting different habits. |
| C．By recognizing different values. |
| D．By speaking each other' s languages. |
What would be the best title for the text?
| A．Multicultural Environment. | B．Cross-Cultural Differences. |
| C．How to Understand Each Other. | D．How to Build Up a Relationship. |