Inamomentofpersonalcrisis(危机),-优题课

Reading Comprehension
Section B
Directions：Read the following passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage you have just read.
　　Are organically grown foods the best food choices？The advantages claimed for such foods over conventionally (传统地) grown and marketed food products are now being debated. Supporters of organic foods—a term whose meaning varies greatly—frequently announce that such products are safer and more nutritious than others.
　　The growing interest of consumers in the safety and nutritional quality of the typical North American diet is a welcome development. However, much of this interest has been sparked by sweeping claims that the food supply is unsafe or inadequate in meeting nutritional needs. Although most of these claims are not supported by scientific evidence, the flood of written material advancing such claims makes it difficult for the general public to separate fact from fiction. As a result, claims that eating a diet consisting entirely of organically grown foods prevents or cures disease or provides other benefits to health have become widely publicized.
　　Almost daily the public is besieged by claims for “no-aging” diets, new vitamins and other wonder foods. There are numerous unproved reports that natural vitamins are superior to synthetic ones, that fertilized eggs are nutritionally superior to unfertilized eggs, that untreated grains are better than fumigated grains and the like.
　　One thing that most organically grown food products seem to have in common is that they cost more than conventionally grown foods. But in many cases consumers are misled if they believe organic foods can maintain health and provide better nutritional quality than conventionally grown foods. So there is real cause for concern if consumers，particularly those with limited incomes, distrust the regular food supply and buy only expensive organic foods instead.
1.The “welcome development” mentioned in paragraph 2 is an increase in ______.
　　A. attention to food safety and nutrition among north Americans
　　B. the nutritional quality of the typical North American diet
　　C. the amount of healthy food grown in North America
　　D. the number of consumers in North America
2. The author implies that there is cause for concern if consumers buy organic foods instead of conventionally grown foods because ______.
　　A. organic foods can be more expensive but are often not better than conventionally grown foods
　　B. many organic foods are actually less nutritious than similar conventionally grown foods
　　C. conventionally grown foods are more readily available than organic foods
　　D. too many farmers will stop using conventional methods to grow food crops
3.What is the author’s attitude toward the claims made by advocates of health foods？
　　A. Enthusiastic. B. Favorable. C. Neutral. D. Distrustful.

In our life, we face situations where we are either asked to choose between trust and disbelief. Many of us would say we have to choose trust over disbelief. Actually we are given intellectual(智力的) power to choose what we want, and what we choose certainly need not be the one that sounds pleasing. That is, we can choose both trust and disbelief, but we have to know when to choose between these two.
We should all realize that we are living in a world which is unfortunately mixed with people of various types. We have been given the power of judging who we are working with and who we are partnering with. We cannot give an excuse for believing a scheming(诡计多端的)person, just because he looked or sounded nice, unless we consider ourselves mentally unskillful.
This world was there before us and it does not owe us a single thing. We are asked to take care of ourselves and our belongings. Trust, too, has to be saved for the deserving(值得的) people. When we give trust universally to all, we end up troubled by the undeserving common cheat. People say trust is life. True! But only wisely exercised trust is life.
When we start a conversation with someone, the first things that we usually notice would be their dress, behavior, style and their language. What sometimes we all forget to look at is the person’s intention. Now how to look at a person’s intention is a lesson everybody has to learn for themselves in their own way -- there is no single standard for it. But it is certainly possible to discover the purpose if we seek a little bit more.
Certainly a false offer of friendship or guidance cannot stand undiscovered for long; we are therefore called to exercise disbelief over trust at least momentarily till we find out that we certainly are in agreement with a mutual(相互的)good-willed person.
The world teaches you lots of lessons and if we are willing, we can learn all that we want.
1. In the first paragraph, the author ________.
A. concentrates on the reason why we make different choices
B. focuses on how to choose between trust and disbelief
C. suggests that trust should be wisely exercised
D. implies that people are forced to make the choice
2. The underlined sentence means __________.
A. trust and disbelief go hand in hand with each other.
B. disbelief is necessary if you aren’t wise
C. trust is established if two people know each other
D. doubt may serve as the precondition for trust
3. We can infer from the passage that _________.
A. people who we are working with are in fact those who we are partnering with
B. the first thing we notice tends to mislead our judgment
C. the mentally healthy people will not judge a person by his looks
D. the standards of looking at a person’s intention are various
4. Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
A. Trust or Disbelief? B. Trust Is Life.
C. Trust over Disbelief? D. When to Choose between Trust and Disbelief?

All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers. These never change. What one experiences in a barber’s shop the first time he enters one is what he always experiences in barbers’ shops afterward till the end of his days.
I got shaved this morning as usual. A man approached the door from Jones Street as I approached it from Main--a thing that always happens. I hurried up, but it was of no use; he entered the door one little step ahead of me, and I followed in and saw him take the only empty chair, the one headed by the best barber. It always happens so. I sat down, hoping that I might sit in the chair belonging to the better of the remaining two barbers, for he was a bit ahead. I watched the probabilities with strong interest. When I saw that No. 2 was gaining on No. 1, my interest grew to solicitude (孤单). When No. 1 was gradually losing the race, my solicitude rose to anxiety. When No. 1 caught up again, and both were about to finish and say “Next!” first, my very breath stood still with the suspense. But when I saw that he had lost the race by a single instant, I rose angrily and quitted the shop, to keep from falling into the hands of No. 2; for I have none of that firmness that enables a man to look calmly into the eyes of a waiting barber and tell him he will wait for his fellow-barber’s chair.
I stayed out fifteen minutes, and then went back, hoping for better luck. Unfortunately, all the chairs were occupied now, and four men sat waiting, silent, and looking bored, as men always do who are waiting their turn in a barber’s shop. I sat down and waited.
At last my turn came. A voice said “Next!” and I give in to No. 2, of course. It always happens so. I smiled and said that I was in a hurry, and it affected him as strongly as if he had never heard it.
He explored my hair with his claws and suggested that it needed trimming(修剪). I said I did not want it trimmed. He explored again and said it was pretty long for the present style. I said I had had it cut only a week before. He stopped for a moment, and then asked “who cut it?” I stared at him from the mirror and replied “You did!” Then a dog-fight attracted his attention, and he ran to the window and stayed and watched it…
1. The author left the barber’s shop mainly because_________.
A. he would like to wait for “No. 1” outside
B. he would rather be served by the best barber
C. he lacked the courage to tell “No. 2” his intention
D. he was angry at the slow speed of “No. 1”
2. What is the change of the author’s attitude from the moment he went into the barber’s to the moment he left it?
A. Disappointed---Anxious---Hopeful---Angry.
B. Disappointed --Hopeful---Anxious---Angry.
C. Hopeful--- Sad --- Anxious ---Angry.
D. Hopeful--- Anxious --- Angry --- Sad.
3. The author chose “No. 2” in the end, because________.
A. he had no choice B. he was in a hurry
C. “No. 1” avoided him on purpose D. he is always one step behind others
4. The underlined word “suspense” in the 2nd paragraph probably means ________.
A. loneliness B. possibility
C. anxiety D. hope
5. What is likely to happen next?
A. The author lost his temper. B. “No. 2” ran out of his patience.
C. The author was well-served by “No. 2”. D. The author was treated the same way as usual.

It’s three devices in one.
iPhone is more than just a phone.
It combines three devices in one:
arevolutionary mobile phone, awidescreen iPod,
and abreakthrough Internet device.
All that and more makes it the best phone you’ll ever use.
Revolutionary Phone
With the Multi-Touch interface on iPhone, you can make a call simply by tapping a name or number in yourcontacts or favorites list, your call log, or just about anywhere. Visual(视觉的) Voicemail lets you select and listen to messages in whatever order you want — just like email.
Widescreen iPod
iPhone shows off your content — music, movies, TV shows, and more — on a beautiful 3.5-inch display. Add to your collection by downloading music and video wirelessly from the iTunes Store. Moves through songs and playlists with the touch of a finger. Even browse(浏览)your album artwork using Cover Flow.
Breakthrough Internet Device
iPhone uses fast 3G and Wi-Fi wireless connections to deliver rich HTML email, Maps with GPS, and Safari — the most advanced web browser on a mobile device. It has Google and Yahoo! search built in. And since iPhone multitasks, you can make a phone call while emailing a photo or surfing the web over a Wi-Fi or 3G connection.
It opens a whole newworld of applications.
iPhone comes with some amazing applications. And you can choose from thousands more on the Application Store and download them with a tap. Your iPhone gets even better with every new application. Play games. Be more productive. Keep yourself entertained. No matter what you want to do on iPhone, there’s an application for that.
It works like no other phone.
With iPhone, Apple combined innovative(创新的)hardware features with the world’s most advanced mobile operating system to redefine what a mobile phone can do. Applications work together perfectly and they are at the same pace with your computer—whether you’re on a Mac or a PC. From its revolutionary Multi-Touch display to its intelligent keyboard to its smart sensors, iPhone is years ahead of any other mobilephone.
1. How can you add your music, movies, TV shows to your collection on the phone?
A. By using Voicemail to select what you want to add.
B. By downloading them from the iTunes Store.
C. By adding a new application from thousands more on the Application Store.
D. By using Google and Yahoo! search to search and then add them.
2. Which of the following is true?
A. You can’t deliver HTML email, Maps with GPS, and call at the same time.
B. Multi-Touch interface makes it easy to make a phone call.
C. You can only listen to the messages in the fixed order.
D. Wi-Fi is the most advanced web browser on a mobile device.
3. What makes iphone different from other mobile phones is that______.
A. it has aworld of new applications
B. it is a Widescreen iPod
C. it contains Breakthrough Internet Device
D. it redefines what a mobile phone can do

Findings from a new study were presented at a recent meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society. Researchers in the United States studied one hundred thousand women during an eight-year period, beginning in nineteen ninety-four. All of the women were fifty years of age or older. The study was part of the Women’s Health Initiative organized by the National Institutes of Health.
The women were asked questions that measured their beliefs or ideas about the future. The researchers identified each woman’s personality eight years after gathering the information.
The study found that hopeful individuals were fourteen percent less likely than other women to have died from any cause. The hopeful women were also thirty percent less likely to have died from heart disease after the eight years.
Hilary Tindle from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pennsylvania was the lead author of the report. She said the study confirmed earlier research that linked optimistic feelings to longer life.
The researchers also gathered information about people’s education, financial earnings, physical activity and use of alcohol or cigarettes. Independent of those things, the findings still showed that optimists had less of a chance of dying during the eight-year period.
Some women who answered the questions were found to be cynically hostile, or highly untrusting of others. These women were sixteen percent more likely to die than the others. They also were twenty-three percent more likely to die of cancer.
The study also found that women who were not optimistic were more likely to smoke and have high blood pressure or diabetes. They were also more likely not to exercise.
Professor Tindle says the study did not confirm whether optimism leads to healthier choices, or if it actually affects a person’s physical health. She also says the study does not prove that negative emotions or distrust lead to bad health effects and shorter life. Yet there does appear to be a link that calls for more research.
1. What’s the purpose of carrying out the study?
A. To gather information for the National Institutes of Health.
B. To find out the relationship between women’s personality and their health.
C. To decide who is more likely to enjoy happier life.
D. To identify each woman’s personality 8 years after gathering the information.
2. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. It’s uncertain whether optimism affects a person’s physical health.
B. Negative emotions do cause shorter life.
C. The connection between personality and health has been established.
D. The more optimistic you are, the longer life you may enjoy.
3. According to the passage, who is more likely to die of cancer?
A. A woman who has high blood pressure or diabetes.
B. A woman who doesn’t exercise.
C. A woman who has poor physical health.
D. A woman who always doubts what others say.
4. Which of the following is true?
A. American Psychosomatic Society organized the new study.
B. Women who were optimistic were less likely to smoke.
C. More questions were given than those measuring women’s beliefs or ideas.
D. Hopeful women were 16% less likely to die from heart disease.