No Mobile Means You’re Not in Touch
My household now has four mobile phones: one for me; one each for my eldest children, the twin boys; and one for my 15-year-old daughter. Only my 12-year-old son does not (yet) have his own mobile. In other words, we’re now in line with national figures, which show that Australia has 19 million mobile phones for a population of just over 20 million people. Among 15-to 17-year-olds, nearly nine out of 10.
The reality is that a mobile phone is the coolest thing of all for a teenager to own. It’s even more important than a television, a DVD player or access to the internet. If you don’t have a mobile you are, quite literally, out of touch.
Of course, there are good and bad sides to mobiles. In my global media world, I’ve lived with a mobile switched on 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for the past ten years. At the same time, here in Perth, I started a movement on talkback radio called CAMPIR (Campaign Against Mobile Phones in Restaurants). Nothing annoys me more than people who feel that an incoming mobile call is more important than the company they are with at a restaurant or even at their dining table at home, but I believe that in the long term, we will have a revolt against the intrusion of mobiles into our personal lives.
There was a study in New Zealand last year among young teenagers that showed a quarter have used text messaging to end a relationship. Here in Australia, I’ve read of people being fired by text. That’s cold. On the other hand, lots of parents---myself included---feel their children are safer if they have their mobile with them when they are away from home.
I’ve even read that the use of mobiles among kids may mean that they smoke less. Phones are a stronger status symbol than cigarettes among children and also give them something to do with their hands.
Psychologists, though, argue that mobiles are actually a way for kids to bypass their parents. They can communicate constantly with their friends without their parents knowing anything of the conversations. No matter what the future brings, I don’t expect ever to have fewer mobiles in the house. On the contrary, the next challenge is to see if I can get through the rest of this year without having to buy a mobile phone for my youngest child.
1.According to the passage, a mobile phone is the coolest thing for a teenager to possess because _________.
A.In their opinion, the mobile phone is the most fashionable possession
B.A mobile phone is the most useful tool in the life.
C.The teenager keeps in contact with others exactly by using a mobile phone.
D.The Internet is less important than the mobile phone.
2.,Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A.In New Zealand most young teenagers have used text messaging to end a relationship.
B.The writer doesn’t think his children can avoid danger if they have their mobile with them .
C.The use of mobiles among kids may contribute to their less smoking.
D.Cigarettes are the strongest status symbol among children.
3.The underlined word “bypass” in the fifth paragraph probably means __________.
A. contact B. avoid C. inform D. oppose
4. It can be inferred from the passage that __________.
A. The children in the family each have a mobile phone.
B. About 60% of the children aged 15-17 have phones in Australia.
C. The writer is likely to buy a mobile phone for his youngest child this year.
D. The writer doesn’t agree that children should own a mobile phone.
It is common to consider learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, even from birth and people continue to learn throughout their lives.
Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to use toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments. They learn how to communicate with their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. They also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for communicating with other children. After they finish school, people must learn to deal with the many major changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.
Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other human-service workers need to understand how certain experiences change people's behaviors. Employers, politicians, and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to affect the behavior of workers, voters, and consumers.
Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain. Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place, and how the brain later outputs knowledge when we need it. In contrast, psychologists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person's experiences. The author thinks "Learning" in the passage most refers to __________.
| A．life-long learning |
| B．family learning |
| C．learning after graduation |
| D．behavior learning |
The underlined "siblings" in the second paragraph probably means __________.
| A．teachers | B．classmates |
| C．doctors | D．brothers or sisters |
Which period of children's life do they begin to learn how to behave well according to the passage?
| A．After they go into society. |
| B．Before they enter school. |
| C．When they are at school. |
| D．Before they are born. |
Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
| A．As a matter of fact, learning begins with formal school education. |
| B．Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate their students. |
| C．People need to understand how certain experiences change their behaviors. |
| D．Employers should study the principles of learning to manage their workers well. |
Chinese people take their food and eat it extremely seriously. Eating is a communal (公共的), social, human experience in China. Sharing a meal is a sign of friendship and trust. Eating plays a central role in friendship, business, medicine, family and love. In short, food is life.
When eating, the rice is separated into your own personal bowl, but the dishes are placed in communal bowls in the center of the table and everybody helps themselves with chopsticks. It's considered polite, and sign of respect and friendship, to encourage other people to eat plenty of the good bits, even to pick up food with your chopsticks and drop it into their rice bowls for them.
Food is an important component of weddings, funerals and almost all Chinese festivals. New Year is the time for dumplings, the Dragon Boat Festival is the time for sticky rice Zongzi wrapped in leaves, and Mid-Autumn Day is the time for Moon Cakes. The dinner table is the best forum (公共讨论场所) to close business deals, and it's the number one thing to do with friends.
Chinese women express their admiration for the opposite sex by cooking delicious meals of many courses, and these days it's the other way round.
In short, if you want to get to know Chinese people, understand Chinese culture and thinking and get into Chinese life, you have to eat and appreciate Chinese food. What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Eating Food in China |
| B．How Do Chinese People Eat Food |
| C．The Importance of Chinese Food |
| D．Different Foods for Different Chinese Food |
In the first paragraph, what does the author mean by saying "food is life"?
| A．Without food, there will be no life |
| B．food is as important as life |
| C．we must take food seriously |
| D．we must eat food every day |
What is the representative food for the Dragon Boat Festival in China?
| A．Dumplings | B．Moon Cakes |
| C．Jiaozi | D．Zongzi |
If you want to learn Chinese culture well, one main thing is __________.
| A．Making friends with Chinese |
| B．Eating Chinese food |
| C．Studying Chinese history |
| D．Adapting to Chinese customs |
John Blanchard was studying the crowd making their way through the station. He was looking for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.
When reading a book in a Florida library a year before, John became interested not in the contents of the book, but in the notes penciled in the margin (空白处). The handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and beautiful mind. He discovered the former owner's name in the front of the book: Miss Hollis Maynell.
He located her address and wrote a letter introducing himself. The next day he was shipped overseas to serve in the army. During the next year, they grew to know each other through the mail and their friendship developed. John requested a photograph, but she refused, saying if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return home, their first meeting was suggested—7:00 p. m. at the Grand Central Station in New York.
She wrote, "You'll recognize me by the red rose I wear on my coat." So now John was in the station to meet the girl with a rose.
As a pretty and slim girl in green came over, John noticed her blue eyes like flowers in spring. He walked directly towards her, entirely forgetting she was not wearing a rose. As John came closer to her, he saw another woman with a red rose stood nearby. Well past 40, this woman had graying hair done under a worn hat. Seeing the girl in green walk quickly away, John felt as if he were split (劈开) in two. He desired to follow that girl, but longed for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and supported him.
The woman looked gentle and sensible. John went to her, saying, "I'm Captain John Blanchard. You must be Miss Maynell. I am glad to meet you here. May I take you to dinner?"
She replied with a smile, "I don't know what this is about. But the lady in green who just went by, begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if you asked me out to dinner, I'd tell you she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!" John was eager to know the former owner of the book because __________.
| A．he was very interested in the contents of the book |
| B．he was impressed by the notes written by the owner |
| C．the book offered him practical and valuable advice |
| D．there was address of the former owner in the book |
What happened to John after getting in touch with Miss Hollis Maynell?
| A．He began to serve the army abroad. |
| B．He was seriously wounded in the war. |
| C．He went on a business tour in Europe. |
| D．He asked Miss Maynell for a photo. |
What do we know about he woman with a rose?
| A．She was Miss Maynell's close companion. |
| B．She was a conductor working in the station. |
| C．She knew nothing about John's appointment. |
| D．She was paid to carry out a love test on John. |
Which would be the best title of the text?
| A．The Meeting in the Station |
| B．The Girl with a Rose |
| C．A Soldier and a Girl |
| D．A Meeting of the Heart |
A high school teacher once told us, "If you make one close friend in school, you will be most fortunate. A true friend is someone who stays with you for life." Experience teaches that he was right. Good friendships are just not easily formed. Why?
One reason may relate to the mobility in our society. Mr. Darrell Sifford, a news columnist, has been studying friendship for many years. He reports the thoughts of one woman on this aspect of friendships:
"She was nine, and her family had just moved to New Jersey, and she didn't know anybody. Her mother said to her," "Amelia, I know you're feeling bad because you don't have any friends. But you can fix that. Just walk across the street—I know there's a girl about your age over there—and knock on the door and ask her to be your friend."
"She added that the direct approach always worked when she was a child. But as she left childhood, she found that the simple direct approach was more and more difficult for her to follow. As an adult, Amelia longed to have friends but her hands were tied. The problem, according to her, is that society teaches us in a number of ways that direct action is not acceptable behavior. We need to be less direct to cushion ourselves against possible rejection and the fright of exposing our own helplessness."
What are some of the obstacles to friendships? According to Mr. Sifford, the greatest is the temptation (诱惑) to expect too much too soon. Deep relationships take time. Another big difficulty is the selfish tendency to think one "possesses" the other, with an almost exclusive right to his time and attention. Similarly, friendships require two-sided actions. In brief, you must give as much as you take. Finally, unless you spend reasonable time together, talking on the phone, writing letters, doing things together, friendships will not last.
Why is it so difficult to form friendships? Perhaps the answer has something to do with the impatient temperament (急躁) of some American people. It is possible, as Mr. Sifford states, that we simply do not stay in one place long enough for a true friendship to develop. However, there can be no disagreement on the need for each of us to think carefully about the kind of friendships we want. As in all interpersonal relationships, success depends on clarity of purpose, openness to others, and a willingness to experiment. What does the underlined word "obstacles" mean?
| A．Something that makes it difficult for you to do or achieve something. |
| B．Something that makes it easy for you to do or achieve something. |
| C．Something that makes it difficult for you to understand something. |
| D．Something that makes it easy for you to do or understand something. |
It can be implied that adults don't make friends in a direct approach because __________.
| A．they are afraid to be rejected by others |
| B．they are afraid to expose their rudeness |
| C．they think it is impolite behavior |
| D．their hands are tied tightly together |
In which of the following cases is it possible for you to develop true friendships?
| A．You stay in one place for long enough with your friend. |
| B．You spend all your time together with your friend. |
| C．You completely possess your friend's time and attention. |
| D．You give your friend as much as you take from him. |
The author quoted many times what Mr. Darrell Sifford said in order to __________.
| A．show respect for him |
| B．share the same opinion with him |
| C．strengthen the authority of his opinion |
| D．make some comments about friendships |
FU Yuan has been left at home with his grandparents since he was one month old. His mom and dad left to work in Fujian Province. For the past eight years, Fu has only seen his parents three times although they send home 500 yuan every two or three months.
Fu Xiaoyu, 16, has had to live alone since her grandmother passed away three years ago. Her parents do not want to renounce their jobs at a clothing factory in Guangdong Province. Nor can they afford the cost of sending her to a school in the city where they work.
These are just two of the 29 kids that 16-year-olds Huang Ruo-qing and Zhang Linna at Beijing No 4 High School talked with this summer in Guixiang Village in Sichuan Province.
What Huang and Zhang learned from their three-day visit shocked them. They wrote down all the kids' stories in a moving 40-page essay filled with statistical charts.
In the poor village with a population of 2, 118 people, 582 adults have left to find work, leaving 156 children without parents. Among these so-called left-behind kids, 88 percent of them live with their grandparents, five percent live with uncles or aunts and seven percent have to live on their own.
To Huang and Zhang's surprise, 80 percent of the children said they love going to school. Even though, some children have to walk along the hilly roads for two hours to get there.
However, for this village's students studying is not their first task. Housework, such as helping feed pigs or buffalos (水牛) and taking care of old grandparents, younger sisters or brothers, takes up a considerable amount of their time.
Despite having to work hard at home, over 65 percent of the young interviewees would prefer their parents' stay away working rather than returning to live with them.
"These kids are understanding and considerate and know how important money is for their families. Their little wishes like having dinner with their parents inspire us never to take what we have had for granted," Zhang said. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Fu Xiaoyu's parents can't earn enough money to send her to school. |
| B．Huang Ruoqing and Zhang Linna talked with 29 children this summer during their research. |
| C．Some left-behind kids live with uncles, aunts, or grandparents and others live by themselves. |
| D．More than half of the left-behind kids prefer their parents' staying away working. |
It is implied but not directly stated that __________.
| A．Fu Yuan's parents send him 500yuan every 2 or 3 months |
| B．Huang Ruoqing and Zhang Linna wrote an essay according to the left-behind kids' stories |
| C．Many left-behind kids love studying and going to school in spite of many hardships |
| D．The time that the left-behind kids spend on housework is more than that on study |
What's the exact meaning of the underlined word "renounce" in the second paragraph?
| A．keep | B．continue | C．give up | D．get |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Kids Are Left Alone |
| B．The True Story of Home Alone |
| C．Kids Miss Parents |
| D．Parents and Kids |