Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for(对…负责) the opening of that first mine.
Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport (carry) them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein(岩脉), in the province of Quebec in Canada.
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibres(纤维).
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads(线), but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.
40. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A. Asbestos mined in Canada B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral D. A new roofing material
41. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.
A. going into roofing business B. carrying asbestos from Italy
C. sending a trained scientist D. showing the use of asbestos gloves
42. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
A. It is like thread. B. It feels soapy. C. It burns easily. D. It is unusually heavy.
43. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.
A. show the need for more scientists B. compare asbestos with other minerals
C. increase the sales of asbestos D. present facts about asbestos
Larry was on another of his underwater expeditions(探险)but this time, it was different. He decided to take his daughter along with him. She was only ten years old. This would be her first trip with her father on what he had always been famous for.
Larry first began diving when he was his daughter’s age. Similarly, his father had taken him along on one of his expeditions. Since then, he had never looked back. Larry started out by renting diving suits from the small diving shop just along the shore. He had hated them. They were either too big or too small. Then, there was the instructor. He gave him a short lesson before allowing him into the water with his father. He had made an exception. Larry would never have been able to go down without at least five hours of theory and another similar number of hours on practical lessons with a guide. Children his age were not even allowed to dive.
After the first expedition, Larry’s later diving adventures only got better and better. There was never a dull moment. In his black and blue suit and with an oxygen tank fastened on his back, Larry dived from boats into the middle of the ocean. Dangerous areas did not prevent him from continuing his search. Sometimes, he was limited to a cage underwater but that did not bother him. At least, he was still able to take photographs of the underwater creatures.
Larry’s first expedition without his father was in the Cayman Islands. There were numerous diving spots in the area and Larry was determined to visit all of them. Fortunately for him, a man offered to take him around the different Spots for free. Larry didn’t even know what the time was, how many spots he dived into or how many photographs he had taken. The diving spots afforded such a wide array of fish and sea creatures that Larry saw more than thirty varieties of creatures.
Larry looked at his daughter. She looked as excited as he had been when he was her age. He hoped she would be able to continue the family tradition. Already, she looked like she was much braver than had been then. This was the key to a successful underwater expedition.In what way was this expedition different for Larry?
| A．His daughter had grown up. |
| B．He had become a famous diver. |
| C．His father would dive with him. |
| D．His daughter would dive with him. |
What can be inferred from Paragraph2?
| A．Larry had some privileges. |
| B．Larry liked the rented diving suits. |
| C．Divers had to buy diving equipment. |
| D．Ten-year-old children were permitted to dive. |
Why did Larry have to stay in a cage underwater sometimes?
| A．To protect himself from danger. |
| B．To dive into the deep water. |
| C．To admire the underwater view. |
| D．To take photo more conveniently. |
What can be learned from the underlined sentence?
| A．Larry didn’t wear a watch. |
| B．Larry was not good at math. |
| C．Larry had a poor memory. |
| D．Larry enjoyed the adventure. |
What did Larry expect his daughter to do?
| A．Become a successful diver. |
| B．Make a good diving guide. |
| C．Take a lot of photo underwater. |
| D．Have longer hours of training. |
Why is June 6, 1990 a special day for Mommy?
| A．Her dream of being a mother came true. |
| B．She found her origin from her Chinese mother. |
| C．She wrote the letter to her daughter. |
| D．Her female line was well linked. |
How does Mommy feel about her being given away?
| A．It is bitter and disappointing. |
| B．It is painful but understandable. |
| C．She feels sorry but sympathetic. |
| D．She feels hurt and angry. |
What does “I stood out like a sore thumb” in Paragraph 5 mean?
| A．I walked clumsily out of pains. |
| B．I was not easy to love due to jealousy. |
| C．I was impatient out of fear. |
| D．I looked different from others. |
What can be inferred from Mommy’s Anglo family life?
| A．She used to experience an identity crisis. |
| B．She fought against her American identity. |
| C．She forgot the pains of her early years. |
| D．She kept her love for Asia from childhood. |
Why did Mommy name her daughter “Shao-ming?”
| A．To match her own birth-name. |
| B．To brighten the lives of the family. |
| C．To identify her with Chinese origin. |
| D．To justify her pride in Chinese culture. |
By “Your past is more complete than mine,” Mommy means ________.
| A．her past was completed earlier than Shao-ming’s |
| B．Shao-ming has got motherly care and a sense of roots |
| C．her mother didn’t comfort her the way she did Shao-ming |
| D．her past was spent brokenly, first in Asia, then in the US |
Most damagingly, anger weakens a person's ability to think clearly and keep control over his behaviour. The angry person loses objectivity in evaluating the emotional significance of the person or situation that arouses his anger.
Not everyone experiences anger in the same way; what angers one person may amuse another. The specific expression of anger also differs from person to person based on biological and cultural forces. In contemporary culture, physical expressions of anger are generally considered too socially harmful to be tolerated. We no longer regard duels (决斗) as an appropriate expression of anger resulting from one person's awareness of insulting behaviour on the part of another.
Anger can be identified in the brain, where the electrical activity changes. Under most conditions EEG (脑电图) measures of electrical activity show balanced activity between the right and left prefrontal (额叶前部) areas. Behaviourally this corresponds to the general even-handed disposition (意向) that most of us possess most of the time. But when we are angry the EEG of the right and left prefrontal areas aren't balanced and, as a result of this, we're likely to react. And our behavioural response to anger is different from our response to other emotions, whether positive or negative.
Most positive emotions are associated with approach behaviour: we move closer to people we like. Most negative emotions, in contrast, are associated with avoidance behaviour: we move away from people and things that we dislike or that make us anxious. But anger is an exception to this pattern. The angrier we are, the more likely we are to move towards the object of our anger. This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as of ensive anger: the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger. This approach-and-confront behaviour is accompanied by a leftward prefrontal asymmetry (不对称) of EEG activity. Interestingly, this asymmetry lessens if the angry person can experience empathy (同感) towards the individual who is bringing forth the angry response. In defensive anger, in contrast, the EEG asymmetry is directed to the right and the angry person feels helpless in the face of the anger-inspiring situation.
| 1． |
The "duels" example in Paragraph 2 proves that the expression of anger.
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| 2． |
What changes can be found in an angry brain?
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| 3． |
Which of the following is typical of offensive anger?
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| 4． |
What is the key message of the last paragraph?
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However wealthy we may be, we can never find enough hours in the day to do everything we want. Economics deals with this problem through the concept of opportunity cost, which simply refers to whether someone's time or money could be better spent on something else.
Every hour of our time has a value. For every hour we work at one job we could quite easily be doing another, or be sleeping or watching a film. Each of these options has a different opportunity cost-namely, what they cost us in missed opportunities.
Say you intend to watch a football match but the tickets are expensive and it will take you a couple of hours to get to and from the stadium. Why not, you might reason, watch the game from home and use the leftover money and time to have dinner with friends? This-the alternative use of your cash and time-is the opportunity cost.
For economists, every decision is made by knowledge of what one must forgo-in terms of money and enjoyment-in order to take it up. By knowing precisely what you are receiving and what you are missing out on, you ought to be able to make better-informed, more reasonable decisions. Consider that most famous economic rule of all: there's no such thing as a free lunch. Even if someone offers to take you out to lunch for free, the time you will spend in the restaurant still costs you something in terms of forgone opportunities.
Some people find the idea of opportunity cost extremely discouraging: imagine spending your entire life calculating whether your time would be better spent elsewhere doing something more profitable or enjoyable. Yet, in a sense it's human nature to do precisely that-we assess the advantages and disadvantages of decisions all the time.
In the business world, a popular phrase is "value for money." People want their cash to go as far as possible. However, another is fast obtaining an advantage: "value for time." The biggest restriction on our resources is the number of hours we can devote to something, so we look to maximize the return we get on our investment of time. By reading this passage you are giving over a bit of your time which could be spent doing other activities, such as sleeping and eating. In return, however, this passage will help you to think like an economist, closely considering the opportunity cost of each of your decisions.
| 1． |
According to the passage, the concept of "opportunity cost" is applied to.
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| 2． |
The "leftover ... time" in Paragraph 3 probably refers to the time.
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| 3． |
What are forgone opportunities?
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Why did the BeauxArts style attract American entrepreneurs?
| A．It helped display their money status. |
| B．It was created by famous architects. |
| C．It was named after a famous institute. |
| D．It represented the 19th century urban culture. |
What is unique of SieMatic BeauxArts?
| A．Its designs are anti-conventional. |
| B．Its designs come from famous structures. |
| C．Its customers can enjoy their own composition. |
| D．Its customers can choose from various new styles. |