HumanCapitalHowwhatyouknowshap-优题课

“Mum, what does it mean when someone tells you that they have a skeleton (骨骼) in the closet (衣橱)？”Jessica asked. “A skeleton in the closet?” her mother paused thoughtfully, “Well, it’s something that you would rather not have anyone else know about. For example, if in the past, someone in Dad’s family had been arrested for stealing a horse, it would be ‘a skeleton in his family’s closet’. He really wouldn’t want any neighbor to know about it.”
“Why pick on my family?” Jessica’s father said with anger. “Your family history isn’t so good, you know. Wasn’t you great – great grandfather a prisoner who was transported to Australia for his crimes?”“Yes, but people these days say that you are not a real Australian unless your ancestors arrived as prisoners.”“Gosh, sorry I asked. I think I understand now,” Jessica cut in before things grew worse.
After dinner, the house was very quiet. Jessica’s parents were still quite angry with each other. Her mother was ironing clothes and every now and then she glared at her husband, who hid behind his newspaper pretending to read. When she finished, she gathered the freshly pressed clothes in her arms and walked to Jessica’s closet. Just as she opened the door and reached in to hang a skirt, a bony arm stuck out from the dark depths and a bundle of white bones fell to the floor. Jessica’s mother sank into a faint (晕倒), waking only when Jessica put a cold, wet cloth on her forehead. She looked up to see the worried faces of her husband and daughter.
“What happened? Where am I?” she asked. “You just destroyed the school’s skeleton, Mum,” explained Jessica. “I brought it home to help me with my health project. I meant to tell you, but it seemed that as soon as I mentioned skeletons and closets, it caused a problem between you and Dad.” Jessica looked in amazement as her parents began to laugh madly. “They’re both crazy,” she thought.
According to Jessica’s mother, “a skeleton in the closet” means .

A．a family honor	B．a family secret
C．a family story	D．a family treasure

What can we learn about some Australian’s ancestors from Paragraph 2?______.

A．They were brought to Australia as prisoners.

B．They were the earliest people living in Australia.

C．They were involved in some crimes in Australia.

D．They were not regarded as criminals in their days.

Jessica’s mother fell down into a faint because she was .

A．knocked

B．frightened

C．injured

D．surprised

Why did Jessica bring a skeleton home? _________.

A．She was curious about it.	B．She planned to keep it for fun.
C．She needed it for her school task.	D．She intended to scare her parents.

Jessica’s parents laughed madly at the end of the story probably because .

A．they were crazy

B．they were overexcited

C．they realized their misunderstanding

D．they both thought they had won the quarrel

The iPhone, the iPad, the iPod : each of Apple’s products sounds cool and has become a fad (时尚). Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter “i” — and many other brands are following suit. The BBC’s iPlayer — which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet — adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear — popular in the US and UK — that plays music and video is called “iTeddy”. A slimmed-down version of London’s Independent newspaper came out last week under the name “i”.
In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use.
Most “i” products are aimed at young people and considering the major readers of Independent’s “i”, it is no surprise that they’ve selected this fashionable name.
But it’s hard to see what’s so special about the letter “i” . Why not use “a”, “b” or “c” instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King’s College, London, “i” works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses “i”, no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. “Even when Apple created the iPad, it seems it didn’t have one clear definition ,” he says.
“However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability (轻便).” adds Thorne.
Clearly the letter “i” also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason.
Along with “Google” and “Twitter”, readers of BBC Magazines voted “i” as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade.
But as history shows, fads come and go. From the 1900s to 1990s, products with “2000” in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend inevitably（不可避免地）disappeared.
People use iPlayer to ____________.

A．listen to music

B．make a call

C．watch TV programs online

D．read newspapers

We can infer that the Independent’s “ i ” is aimed at _____________.

A．young readers

B．old readers

C．fashionable women

D．engineers

Nowadays, the “i” term often reminds people of the products that are ______________.

A．advanced

B．portable

C．recyclable

D．environmentally friendly

The author of the passage would probably agree that _______________.

A．“i” products are often of high quality	B．all “i” products have something to do with Internet
C．the popularity of “i” products may not last long	D．iTeddy is a live bear

Trees are useful to man in three important ways: They provide him with wood and other products; they provide him shade;. and they help to prevent droughts（早灾）and floods.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, man has not realized that the third of these services is the most important．In his eagerness to make money from trees, he has cut them down in large numbers, only to find that without them he has lost the best friends he had. And besides, he is usually too careless to plant and look after new trees. So the forests slowly disappear.
This does not only mean that man will have fewer trees. The results are even more serious: for where there are trees, their roots break up soil allowing the rain to sink in and also bind（固定）the soil, thus preventing it from being washed away easily；but where there are no trees, the rain falls on hard ground and flows away, causing floods and carrying away the rich top-soil. When the top-soil is gone, nothing remains but worthless desert.
Two thousand years ago，a rich and powerful country cut down its trees to build warships, with which to gain itself an empire(帝国）．It set up the empire, but, without its trees, its soil became poor and grew weak. When the empire fell to pieces, the home country found itself faced by floods and starvation（饥荒）．
The most important service of trees to man is that___________．

A．they give them wood and other products	B．they give them shade
C．they help him prevent droughts and floods	D．they help him made money

In many parts of the world, forests slowly disappear because___________．

A．many trees have been cut down by man	B．man has not paid enough attention to planting trees
C．new trees are not looked after properly	D．all the above

Land becomes desert after all trees are cut down because____________．

A．roots of trees break up the soil	B．there are too many rainfalls
C．there are no larger trees to keep rain and protect the top-soil	D．strong winds bring a lot of sand

The country mentioned in the passage suffered from floods and starvation because________.

A．it set up an empire	B．the empire fell to pieces
C．it built too many warships	D．it lost its trees

Which title best fits the passage?

A．Trees and Man	B．How Trees Prevent Droughts and Floods
C．How an Empire Fell	D．A Story about Trees.

If you are looking for the place that has everything, there’s only one place to visit, and that’s New York. It’s a whole world in a city.
The World of Theatre: All of New York is a stage. And it begins with Broadway. Where else can you find so many hit(成功) shows in one place? Only in New York.
The World of Music: Spend an evening with Beethoven at Lincoln Centre. Swing to the great jazz of Greenwich Village. Or rock yourself silly at the hottest dance spots found anywhere.
The World of Art: From Rembrandt to Picasso. From Egyptian tombs to Indian teepees. Whatever kind of art you like, you’ll find in New York.
The World of Fine Dining: Whether it’s roast Beijing duck in Chinatown, or the finest French coq au vin found anywhere, there’s a world of great taste waiting for you in New York.
The World of Sights: What other city has a statue of Liberty(自由女神像), a Rocketfeller Centre or a Bronx Zoo? Where else can you take a horse-drawn carriage through Central Park, only in New York.
Which of the following programme can a visitor have only in New York?

A．To enjoy Beijing duck.	B．To taste the finest French coq au vin.
C．To spend an evening with Beethoven.	D．To see the statue of Liberty.

From the text we know that ‘Rembrandt’ is most likely the name of a famous _______.

A．singer

B．painting

C．play

D．painter

What the writer really wanted to do is to _______.

A．try to persuade readers to pay a visit to New York

B．give readers some information about New York

C．supply readers some wonderful programmes in New York

D．help readers to get a better understanding of New York

There are two types of people in the world. Although they have equal degree of health and wealth and other comforts of life, one becomes happy and the other becomes unhappy. This arises from the different ways in which they consider things, persons, events and the resulting effects upon their minds.
People who are to be happy fix their attention on the convenience of things: the pleasant parts of conversation, the well prepared dishes, the goodness of the wine and the fine weather. They enjoy all the cheerful things．Those who are to be unhappy think and speak only of the opposite things. Therefore, they are continually dissatisfied. By their remarks, they sour the pleasure of society, offend（hurt） many people, and make themselves disagreeable everywhere. If this term of mind was founded in nature, such unhappy persons would be the more to be pitied. The intention of criticizing（批评）and being disliked is perhaps taken up by imitation（模仿）.It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors. The habit may be strong, but it may be cured when those who have it realize its bad effects on their interests and tastes. I hope this little warning may be of service to them, and help them change this habit.
Although in fact it is chiefly an act of the imagination, it has serious results in life since it brings on deep sorrow and bad luck. Those people offend many others; nobody loves them, and no one treats them with more than the most common politeness and respect. This frequently puts them in bad temper and draws them into arguments. If they aim at getting some advantages in social position or fortune, nobody wishes them success. Nor will anyone start a step or speak a word to favor their hopes. If they bring on themselves public objections, no one will defend or excuse them, and many will join to criticize their wrongdoings. These should change this bad habit and be pleased with what is pleasing, without worrying needlessly about themselves and others. If they do not, it will be good for others to avoid any contact（接触）with them. Otherwise, it can be disagreeable and sometimes very inconvenient, especially when one becomes mixed up in their quarrels.
People who are unhappy _______．

A．always consider things differently from others

B．usually are affected by the results of certain things

C．usually misunderstand what others think or say

D．always discover the unpleasant side of certain things

We can conclude from the passage that _______．

A．we should pity all such unhappy people

B．such unhappy people are dangerous to social life

C．people can get rid of the habit of unhappiness

D．unhappy people can not understand happy persons

If such unhappy persons insist on keeping the habit, the author suggests that people should ____．

A．prevent any communication with them	B．show no respect and politeness to them
C．persuade them to recognize the bad effects	D．quarrel with them until they realize the mistakes

In this passage, the writer mainly _______．

A．describes two types of people

B．laughs at the unhappy people

C．suggests the unhappy people should get rid of the habits of unhappiness

D．tells people how to be happy in life