Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 45–48.
root1 /ru:t/ n [C]
1 ►PLANT◄ the part of a plant or tree that grows under the ground and gets water form the soil: Be careful not to damage the roots when repotting.| tree roots —see picture at germinate
2 ►CAUSE OF A PROBLEM◄ the main cause of a problem: Money is the root of all evil.| be/lie at the root of (="be" the cause of a problem) Often allergies are at the root of a lot of the problems.| get to the root of (="find" out the cause of a problem) | root cause (="the" main reason for a problem)
3 ►OF A CUSTOM/TRADITION◄ roots the origins of a custom or tradition that has continued for a long time: has its roots in Jazz has its roots in the folk songs of the southern states of the US.
4 ►OF AN IDEA/BELIEF◄ the main part of an idea or belief which all the other parts come from: be/lie at the root of Foucault is challenging the very root of 20th century liberalism.
5 ►FAMILY CONNECTION◄ sb’s roots your con- nection with a place because you were born there, or your family used to live there: Naita has come to Ghana in search of her roots.
6 put down roots if you put down roots somewhere, you start to feel that this place is your home and to have relationships with the people there
7 ►TOOTH/HAIR ETC◄ the part of a tooth, hair etc that fixes it to the rest of your body
8 take root a) if an idea takes root, people begin to accept or believe it: The concepts of democracy and free trade are finally beginning to take root.b) if a plant takes root, it starts to grow where you have planted it
9 have a (good) root round informal especially BrE to search for something by moving other things around
10 root and branch if you destroy something root and branch, you get rid of it completely and permanently because it is bad
11 ►LANGUAGE◄ technical the basic part of a word which shows its main meaning, to which other parts can be added: The suffix ‘ness’ can be added to the root ‘cold’ to form the word ‘coldness’.—compare stem1 (4)
12 ►MATHEMATICS◄ technical a number that when multiplied by itself a certain number of times, equals the number that you have: 2 is the fourth root of 16.
—see also cube root, square root, grass roots
root2 v
1 ►SEARCH◄ [I always + adv/prep] to search for something by moving things around: [+ through/in/ around] “Hang on a second,” said Leila, rooting through her handbag for a pen.| [+ for] pigs rooting for food
2 ►PLANT◄ a) [I] to grow roots: New shrubs will root easily in summer.b) [T usually passive] to fix a plant firmly by its roots: The bush was too firmly rooted in the hard earth to dig up easily.| root itself Clumps of thyme had rooted themselves between the rocks.—see also deeply rooted (deeply (5))
3 be rooted in to have developed from something and be strongly influenced by it: policies that are rooted in Marxist economic theory
4 be rooted to the spot to be so shocked, surprised, or frightened that you cannot move
root for sb phr v [T] informal 1 to give support and encouragement to someone in a competition, test or difficult situation, because you want them to succeed: Good luck – we’ll all be rooting for you! 2 especially AmE to support a sports team or player by shouting and cheering: We’ll all be rooting for the Dallas Cowboys in the Superbowl.
root sth ↔ out phr v [T] 1 to find out where a particular kind of problem exists and get rid of it: Racism cannot be rooted out without strong government action.2 informal to find something by searching for it: I’ll try and root out something suitable for you to wear.
root sth ↔ up phr v [T] to dig or pull a plant up with its roots
1.What’s meaning of the word “roots” in the sentence “Many Americans have roots in Europe.”?
A.The underground part of a plant. B.One’s connection with a place.
C.The origins of a custom or tradition. D.The main cause of a problem.
2.What’s the fourth root of 81?
A.27. B.9. C.6. D.3.
3.Which phrase can complete the sentence “Do you think it is possible to ____ crime?”
A.root for B.root out C.root up D.root through
4.In which of the following situations can we use the phrase “be rooted to the spot”?
A.A bush is so firmly rooted in the ground that it is difficult to pull it up.
B.A football fan got excited when his favorite football team scored a goal.
C.A girl became too scared to walk when she caught sight of a long snake.
D.A man is unable to walk because he was caught in a car accident years ago.
Turns out we aren’t good at walking and talking at the same time, according to a study of pedestrians (行人) on their cell phones.
Nearly one-third of pedestrians (29.8% ) were distracted (分散注意力) by their mobile devices while crossing the street, say researchers of a study published online in the journal Injury Prevention.
Just as drivers who text, talk on cell phones, or adjust MP3 players increase their risk of losing control of their vehicles, pedestrians distracted by their conversations or their devices also put themselves at higher risk of getting into an accident.
During the summer of 2012, scientists in Seattle, Wash. , studied 1,102 pedestrians at 20 crossroads seeing the city * s highest number of pedestrian injuries over the past few years.
They watched how pedestrians crossed the street @ whether they looked both ways or obeyed the crossroad signal @ and also recorded how long it took pedestrians to do so.Distractions included listening to music with headphones, using a cell phone or earpiece to talk on a cell phone, text messaging, and talking with another person.
Overall, researchers found the most common distraction among pedestrians was listening to music (11.2%), followed by text messaging (7.3%), and using a handheld phone(6.2%). But the most absorbing distraction was texting. Compared to pedestrians who were not distracted, those who were texting took 1.87 seconds longer to cross and were four times more likely to not look where they were going, disobey traffic lights, or cross outside of the crosswalk. While the study did not track injuries related to these trends, previous studies have linked such activities to a higher risk of being injured while crossing the street.
Combined with the rise in the use of mobile devices, especially smart phones, the results raise concerns that multi-tasking while walking may be a rising concern for pedestrians. And that danger may only climb, as the number of wireless devices has already exceeded the population of the United States. Last year, roughly 1,152 people wound up in the emergency room to treat injuries caused by using a cell phone or electronic device, the Consumer Product Safety Commission told the Associated Press in July. Those numbers may be underestimated, however, because patients may not always admit that they were using their phones along with other activities such as walking or driving when they were hurt.The scientists did their study at the 20 crossroads in order to _____.
A.attract more attention | B.see more injuries |
C.record more samples | D.find more pedestrians |
According to the research, while crossing the street the most dangerous activity for apedestrian is _____.
A.talking on a phone | B.texting messages |
C.listening to music | D.disobeying traffic lights |
The underlined word "exceeded" is closest in meaning to "____".
A.gone beyond | B.greatly influenced |
C.accelerated the increase of | D.drawn the attention of |
Which might be the best title of the passage?
A.Walk and don't Talk |
B.Prevention of Distraction |
C.Look both ways while crossing the street |
D.Cell phones lead to injuries |
When Scotsman Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876, it was a revolution in communication. For the first time, people could talk to each other over great distances almost as clearly as if they were in the same room. Nowadays, though, we increasingly use Bell' s invention for taking photographs, accessing the internet, or watching video clips, rather than talking. Over the last two decades a new means of spoken communication has appeared: the mobile phone.
The first real mobile telephone call was made in 1973 by Dr Martin Cooper, the scientist who invented the modem mobile handset. Within a decade, mobile phones became available to the public. The streets of modem cities began to feature sharp-suited characters shouting into giant plastic bricks. In Britain the mobile phone quickly became the same with the "yuppie" , the new type of young urban professionals who carried the expensive handsets as status symbols. Around this time many of us said that we would never own a mobile phone.
But in the mid-90s, something happened. Cheaper handsets and cheaper calling rates meant that, almost overnight, it seemed that everyone had a mobile phone. And the giant plastic bricks of the 80s had changed into smooth little objects that fitted nicely into pockets and bags.
Moreover, people' s timekeeping changed. Younger readers will be amazed to know that, not long ago, people made spoken arrangements to meet at a certain place at a certain time. But later Meeting times became approximate under the new order of communication: the Short Message Service (SMS) or text message. Going to be late? Send a text message! It takes much less effort than arriving on time, and it' s much less awkward than explaining your lateness face to face and the text message has changed the way we write in English. Traditional rules of grammar and spelling are much less important when you' re sitting on the bus, hurriedly typing "Will B 15mm late - C U @ the bar. Sorry! - )".
Alexander Graham Bell would be amazed if he could see how far the science of telephony has progressed in less than 150 years.If he were around today, he might say "That' s gr8! But I' m v busy rite now.Will call U 2nite."What does the underlined part in Para. 2 refer to?
A.Houses of modern cities. | B.Sharp-suited characters. |
C.New type of professionals. | D.Mobile phones. |
According to Paragraph 4, why did Meeting times become approximate?
A.People were more likely to be late for their meeting. |
B.SMS made it easier to inform each other. |
C.Young people don' t like unchanging things. |
D.Traditional customs were dying out. |
If you want to meet your friend at the school gate this evening, which of the following message can you send him?
A.Call U@ SKUg8 2nite. | B.IM2BZ2CU 2nite. |
C.CU@ the bar g8 2nite. | D.W84U@ SKUg8 2nite. |
What does the passage mainly tell us about?
A.Alexander Graham' s invention. |
B.SMS @ a new way of communication. |
C.New functions of the mobile telephone. |
D.The development of the mobile phone. |
Edward Snowden—the fugitive (逃亡者) former U.S.intelligence employee —appears to be stuck in Moscow, unable to leave without a valid American passport, according to interviews Sunday with two men who had sought to aid him: WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa.
Snowden, 30, arrived at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport last weekend, after previously taking refuge in Hong Kong. Moscow was only supposed to be a stopover.WikiLeaks, the anti-secrecy organization, had said Snowden was headed on to Ecuador—whose president has been critical of the United States — and that he would seek asylum there.
Now, however, both men said Snowden is unable to leave.
"The United States, by canceling his passport, has left him for the moment trapped in Russia," said Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, on ABC ' s " This Week With George Stephanopoulos". The United States canceled Snowden' s passport last weekend. Assange criticized the United States, saying: " To take a passport from a young man in a difficult situation like that is a disgusting action."
President Correa spoke to the Associated Press in Puerto Viejo, Ecuador. For now, he told the AP, Snowden was "under the care of the Russian authorities. "
"This is the decision of Russian authorities. He doesn't have a passport. I don't know the Russian laws, I don' t know if he can leave the airport, but I understand that he can' t," Correa said. He said that the case was now out of Ecuador' s hands. "If Snowden arrives at an Ecuadoran Embassy, we' 11 analyze his request for asylum."
Snowden traveled from Hong Kong to Moscow on his U.S.passport. Although the U.S.had already revoked it, Hong Kong authorities said they hadn’t received the official request to cancel the passport before Snowden left.
An official at the Ecuadoran Embassy in London had also issued a letter of safe passage for Snowden. But Snowden apparently did not use it for his trip to Moscow.
And it doesn’t appear that the Ecuadoran government would make a similar gesture again.
On Sunday, Correa told the AP that an Ecuadoran official at that embassy had committed "a serious error" by issuing the first letter without consulting officials back home. Correa said the consul would be punished, although he didn’t specify how.
Correa' s tone seemed to have shifted after a conversation with Vice President Biden on Friday.Where Correa had earlier been aggressive and determined, he now voiced respect for U.S.legal procedures.Edward Snowden is a person who once worked in a federal department ______.
A.to assist the governor of one state |
B.to collect information secretly for the US |
C.to organize overseas promotion campaign |
D.to educate intelligence employees |
Which of the following word can take the place of the underlined word in Para.2 ?
A.shelter. | B.praise. | C.position. | D.forgiveness. |
By what means did Edward Snowden leave Hong Kong for Moscow' s Sheremetyevo International Airport?
A.A letter of safe passage from the Ecuadoran Embassy. |
B.Permission from Chinese government |
C.Invitation of the Russian authorities. |
D.An American passport. |
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
A.Edward Snowden will live in Moscow forever. |
B.Ecuadoran government will provide Edward Snowden protection. |
C.Through U.S.legal procedures Edward Snowden has been caught. |
D.Correa hesitated to assist Edward Snowden. |
Being able to experience a different environment and custom will give us a new perspective on everything we thought we knew and understood. Maybe, going abroad is an opportunity to look again at not only the country and the people who live there but also ourselves.
I had never expected to visit Paris. The French culture didn' t interest me that much, and Paris seemed too big, too touristy, too much. But when I found myself standing next to the Opera National de Paris, completely alone and totally lost, I knew I was in for an interesting ride. I had decided to take a summer history class abroad, and Paris just happened to be where it was set. My teacher eventually found me and other jet-lagged students and walked us down to where we would be staying. Even then, tired, hungry, and feeling displaced, I was unable to keep myself from marveling at the beauty of the city.
The next day in the grocery store, trying to decide if the box I was holding contained butter or cream cheese, I suddenly realized I was a foreigner that didn’t speak the language.The cashier and I had a conversation completely with gestures. For the most part, it didn't seem to bother the French that I was utterly incompetent in speaking their language. In fact, from my first unclear "bonjour" , many of them would directly switch over to English.
Time Hew by. In the mornings we had class, and in the afternoons we were given a lot of freedom to do what we pleased. We explored everywhere in the city, becoming experts at using the Metro, and walking so much that our legs were sore every night.
Living in Paris was a huge change in my lifestyle. Everything I did was more relaxed. I stopped worrying about the future and instead focused on living in the present. I stopped wearing a watch because time didn’t matter.We ate when we were hungry, went to bed when we were tired and explored in between.I no longer mind that Paris is so big; it' s an old, beautiful metropolis full of culture and history.On one of my last days there, standing on top of the Arc du Triumph with a 360 degree view of Paris, I finally admitted something to myself.The city that I had never wanted to visit had turned into the city that I never wanted to leave.The writer came to Paris because ______.
A.he wanted to have an interesting ride |
B.he attended a course in summer |
C.he admired its beautiful scenery |
D.he was alone and lost his way |
On the first day in Paris, the writer felt _____.
A.lonely in the big city | B.bored with his visit |
C.surprised at its beauty | D.interested in its culture |
The example of the grocery store is used to illustrate _____.
A.the little influence of language barrier |
B.the big difficulty of living abroad |
C.the great importance of gestures |
D.the intelligence of French people |
By mentioning the uselessness of the watch, the author probably wants to prove ______
A.time in Paris is not worth counting |
B.he enjoys the time in Paris very much |
C.life seems meaningful without time |
D.he has to spend a long time to visit the big city |
January l: It has happened. I got a call today saying a little girl in Russia is now my little girl. There are a lot of papers to prepare, and we have to travel to Russia to bring her home,
but now it is certain. I think I'll tell some close friends. Jason is so excited. I haven't told Steven yet. How can I tell a seven-year-old that he has a sister who is already five years old?
January 10: Today I received a picture of Katerina. The picture is small and not very clear, but I look at it over and over again. I don't know anything else about her. She has lived in a home for children without parents for most of her life. I wonder how I will talk to her. I don't speak Russian, and she doesn't speak English.
February l: Today I showed Katerina’s picture to Steven* He is very happy and wants to tell all his friends about his new sister. I want to buy some new clothes for Katerina, but I don't know her size. I haven' t received any information from the adoption organization, and I'm feeling a little worried.
February 16: Finally! Today we received good news! All the papers are ready and tomorrow we will go to Russia to bring Katerina home with us.
February 18: Today I met my daughter for the first time.She is very small, very thin, and very shy. On the way home in the airplane, she slept most of the time.When she woke up, she cried. I am very worried and hope that I can be a good mother to Katerina.
February 19: Steven met his sister this morning. Although Katerina was quiet at first, soon she and Steven began to talk in a mix of Russian, English, and hand movements. Steven and his sister get along well together. In fact, he is able to help her talk with Jason and me. I am worried about how Katerina will be in school. Next week she will start school. How will she understand her teacher?
March 21: Katerina looks much better now. She is heavier, her hair looks good, and her skin is clear. She loves to watch television with her brother, and she has learned to roller-skate. She is doing well in school, and her English gets better every day. Although she sometimes looks sad, and sometimes cries, most of the time she is happy. I think she is slowly my life without her.Who is Katerina?
A.Steven's elder sister. | B.An adopted girl. |
C.Jason's close friend. | D.The writer's niece. |
When back at home, what is the writer most worried about?
A.How Steven can get along well with Katerina. |
B.How Katerina can communicate with Jason and her. |
C.Whether Katerina will adapt herself to the school life. |
D.Whether she can be a good mother to Katerina. |
From the passage we know that in her new family Katerina ______.
A.gets very fat | B.becomes depressed |
C.remains frightened | D.is well treated |
Where is the passage most probably from?
A.A diary. | B.An advertisement |
C.An essay. | D.A speech |