Yesterday's paper had a short article about the Coming-of-Age ceremony in a large city in Japan. According to the article, the mayor of the city formally apologized to an enraged professor who delivered a speech at the ceremony that was all but ignored by 20-year-olds in the city.
The officials prepared 7,000 seats in a gymnasium where the ceremony was held for the 17,000 twenty-year-olds residing in the city. But most of the seats were empty during the speech. And many of the 20-year-olds who did show up ignored the professor and spoke among themselves or talked on their mobile phones. Some even made a ruckus (骚动) outside the gymnasium.
One 20-year-old who attended the ceremony said youngsters came to the ceremony not to
listen to speeches but to see their classmates. The mayor criticized the young generation at a news conference on Tuesday, saying such behavior "is symbolic of the postwar era which failed to
nurture healthy character and social intelligece."
Personally I feel people should not generalize the whole generation or the whole era when he criticizes something. But it is also true generation gap is getting bigger and bigger regarding the ceremony of Coming-of-Age Day. So far this ceremony has been held with citizens' tax money. Many older generations understand this festival as an entrance ceremony of adults' world which requires maturity including responsibility, patience, and cooperativeness. Older people tend to be "educational" to younger ones, while younger people tend to feel they finally obtain a right to behave freely because they are now adults. Though, ironically, young people have to ask their parents to buy them new clothes for the ceremony.
It is about time to change the way we celebrate this festival, I think. The idea of blessing new 20-year-olds is not so bad. But there seems to be some other ways to celebrate more properly. The present way seems to me a little superficial and materialistic. It can provide solutionless arguments between different generations, instead of friendships and respects. Instead of eternally complaining about the young's behaviors at the ceremonies, people should consider how they can make their ceremonies worthier, I feel.
1.We can infer from the passage that
A.in Japan, girls and boys, when they are 20 years old, come to their adulthood
B.there are 7,000 twenty-year-olds residents in the city
C.the mayor criticized the young generation at a news conference
D.it’s about time to change the way we celebrate the Coming-of-Age
2.When the professor was giving a speech the 20-years-olds are NOT________.
A.talking with each other B.chatting on their mobile phones
C.talking with the professor D.making ruckus outside
3.According to the author _________
A.the festival is an entrance ceremony of adults’ world which requires maturity including responsibility, patience, and cooperativeness
B.the young people tend to obtain a right to behave freely because they are now adults
C.young people have to ask their parents to buy them new clothes for the ceremony
D.it’s time to end complaining about the young’s behaviors at the ceremonies, and people should consider how to make their ceremonies worthier
4.What’s the best title for the passage
A.There are solutionless arguments between different generations.
B.Coming-of-Age ceremony should be much worthier.
C.Old people should be educational to young people
D.The younger ones’ behaviors stand for an era which failed to nurture healthy character and social intelligence
Ⅲ。阅读(共两节,满分50分)
第一届:阅读理解(共20小题;每小题2分,满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Thirteen vehicles lined up last March to race across the Mojave Desert,seeking a million in prize money.To win,they had to finish the 142-mile race in less than 10 hours.Teams and watchers knew there might be no winner at a11,because these vehicles were missing a key Part—drivers.
DARPA,the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency,organized the race as part of a push to deve10p robotic vehicles for future battlefields. But the Grand Challenge, as it was called,just proved how difficult it is to get a car to speed across an unfamiliar desert without human guidance One had its brake 10ck up in the starting area.Another began by throwing itself onto a wall.Another got tied up by bushes near the road after 1.9 miles.
One turned upside down. One took off in entirely the wrong direction and had to be disabled by remote control. One went a little more than a mile and rushed into a fence;another managed to go for six miles but stuck on a rock.The "winner",if there was any,reached 7.8 miles before it ran into a long,narrow hole,and the front wheals caught on fire.
"You get a lot of respect for natural abilities of the living things,"says Reinhold Behringer,
who helped design two of the car—size vehicles for a company called Sci—Autonics."Even ants
(蚂蚁) can do a1l these tasks effortlessly.It's very hard for US to put these abilities into our machine".
The robotic vehicles,though with necessary modern equipment such as advanced computers
and GPS guidance, had trouble figuring out fast enough the blocks ahead that a two-year-old human recognizes immediately. Sure, that very young child, who has just only learned to walk, may not think to wipe apple juice off her face, but she already knows that when there's a cookie in the kitchen she has to climb up the table, and that when she gets to the cookie it will taste good. She is more advanced, even months old, than any machine humans have designed.
41. Watchers doubted if any of the vehicles could finish the race because ______.
A. they did not have any human guidance
B. the road was not familiar to the drivers
C. the distance was too long for the vehicles
D. the prize money was unattractive to the drivers
42. DARPA organized the race in order to ______.
A. raise money for producing more robotic vehicles
B. push the development of vehicle industry
C. train more people to drive in the desert
D. improve the vehicles for future wars
43. From the passage we know "robotic vehicles" are a kind of machines that ______.
A. can do effortlessly whatever tasks living things can
B. can take part in a race across 142 miles with a time limit
C. can show off their ability to turn themselves upside down
D. can move from place to place without being driven by human beings
44. In the race, the greatest distance one robotic vehicle covered was ______.
A. about eight miles B. six miles C. almost two miles D. about one mile
45. In the last paragraph, the writer implies that there is a long way to go ______.
A. for a robotic vehicle to finish a 142-mile race without any difficulties
B. for a little child who has just learned to walk to reach the cookie on the table
C. for a robotic vehicle to deal with a simple problem that a little child can solve
D. for a little child to understand the importance of wiping apple juice off its face
Handwriting reveals a great deal about how an individual thinks, since the brain dictate (发号施令) hand movements when a person writes. People who think quickly will write quickly, while people whose thinking is slow will write in the same way. Sometimes we see very elaborate (精致的) handwriting, particularly among public figures, such as actors or politicians, who want to draw attention to themselves. For them, handwriting is like a dress that enables them to stand out from the crowd.
The handwriting of someone who is suited to a routine job will appear well organized, clear, and regular, without any special features drawing attention to it. If the job requires proven accuracy, like that of an accountant(会计), the handwriting, especially the numbers, should be precise. On the other hand, someone in sales or public relations must be self-assured, know how to make a good impression, and be able to befriend people even when meeting them for the first time. The handwriting of such individuals will appear rather large, with elaborate capitals and on oversized signature. It will be quick, fluent, and not necessarily reasonable.
Handwriting analysis can be used to find potential behavioral or personality problems. People who are impulsive, aggressive, or dishonest write differently than those who are socially well adapted. Warning signs include broken and strongly or sporadically (零散的) pressured handwriting; disorderly handwriting in which the words run over the lines on the paper, or extremely sharp handwriting. Generally, handwriting that is extreme in any aspect-too small, too weak or too pressured-is suspect.
Evidence of medical problems also shows up in a person’s handwriting. Individuals in pain often stop in the middle of writing. Pauses will be visible in the handwriting of people who experience difficulty breathing, because they stop writing to take a breath.
Handwriting expresses the mental and physical state of the individual, as well. Depressed people write slowly, with lines sloping (倾斜) down and heavy pressure exerted(施加) on the page. People who are excessively excited will write quickly, and their handwriting will be extremely disorganized and practically unreadable. People who are tired tend to write lines that descend down the page, and their handwriting will appear weak and slow. Healthy and vigorous individual will write energetically, and their handwriting will be quick, rhythmic and fluent.
71. The passage is mainly about _____________.
A. what handwriting indicates
B. handwriting and personalities
C. the relationship between handwriting and the individual
D. handwriting analysis and the problems it shows
72. Suppose you are a famous pop star, your handwriting will be in the style of being_______.
A. well-organized B. oversized C. elaborate D. sharp
73. If a person writes with a rather large, elaborate capitals and an oversized signature, we can conclude that he is probably a (an) __________.
A. famous person B. salesman C. doctor D. accountant
74. If you see disorderly handwriting, you will think that the person who writes it is ________.
A. depressed B. vigorous C. slow in thinking D. dishonest
75. According to the passage, a person’s handwriting has something to do with(与……有关) all of the following EXCEPT his______.
A. mind B. education C. health D. profession (职业)
It was the summer of 1965. DeLuca, then 17, visited Peter Buck, a family friend. Buck asked DeLuca about his plans for his future. “ I’m going to college, but I need a way to pay for it,” DeLuca recalled saying, “ Buck said, ‘You should open a sandwich shop’.”
That afternoon, they agreed to be partners. And they set a goal: to open 32 stores in ten years. After doing some research, Buck wrote a check for $ 1,000. DeLuca rented a storefront (店面) in Connecticut, and when they couldn’t cover their start-up costs, Buck kicked in another $1,000.
But business didn’t go smoothly as they expected. DeLuca says, “After six months, we were doing poorly, but we didn’t know how badly, because we didn’t have any financial control.” All he and Buck knew was that their sales were lower than their costs.
DeLuca was managing the store and going to the University of Bridgeport at the same time. Buck was
working at his day job as a nuclear physicist in New York. They’d meet on Monday evenings and brainstorm ideas for keeping the business running. “We convinced(使…相信) ourselves to open a second store. We figured we could tell the public, ‘We are so successful, we are opening a second store.’”And they did---in the spring of 1966. Still, it was a lot of learning by trial and error.
But the partners’ learn-as-you-go approach turned out to be their greatest strength. Every Friday, DeLuca would drive around and hand-deliver the checks to pay their suppliers. “It probably took me two and a half hours and it wasn’t necessary, but as a result, the suppliers got to know me very well, and the personal relationships established really helped out,” DeLuca said.
And having a goal was also important. “ There are so many problems that can get you down. You just have to keep working toward your goal,” DeLuca adds.
DeLuca ended up founding Subway sandwich, the multimillion-dollar restaurant chain.
66. DeLuca opened the first sandwich shop in order to ________________.
A. support his family
B. pay for his college education
C. help his partner expand business
D. do some search
67. Which of the following is true of Buck?
A. He put money into the sandwich business.
B. He was a professor of business administration.
C. He was studying at the University of Bridgeport.
D. He rented a storefront for DeLuca.
68. What can we learn about their first shop?
A. It stood at an unfavorable place.
B. It lowered the prices to promote sales.
C. It made no profits due to poor management.
D. It lacked control over the quality of sandwiches.
69. They decided to open a second store because they____________.
A. had enough money to do it.
B. had succeeded in their business.
C. wished to meet the increasing demand of customers.
D. wanted to make people believe that they were successful.
70. What contributes most to their success according to the author?
A. Learning by trial and error.
B. Making friends with suppliers.
C. Finding a good partner.
D. Opening chain stores.
Ⅲ阅读 (共15小题,每小题2分,满分30分)
第一节:阅读理解:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
The relations between man and wife are changing. A majority of working women remain in full charge of their home; they come back at night to the cleaning, washing, and cooking that constitute their second career. But more and more husbands are sharing the burden and willingly taking on chores that their fathers would rejected as unmanly, and as too mysteriously difficult anyway. In such cases, man and wife become equal partners, both working outside, both pushing the vacuum cleaner. Actually, the number of husbands who do help that way is much smaller than the number of those who accept the idea in theory. And when the equal partnership is a fact, it doesn’t always work well. The marriage can be destroyed when the wife is more successful in her profession than her husband in his, particularly when she earns more than he does. Sociologists see in this situation one of the main reasons for the increase in the divorce rate—another reason being the husband’s refusal to help with the housework or the care of the children. A third reason could be the growing awareness of the professional woman that she doesn’t have to remain married if she is too unhappy.
61. What is the housework like in the traditional husband’s eyes?
A. It’s a mysterious job.
B. It’s a little difficult
C. It’s women’s job.
D. It’s only men’s job.
62. The underlined sentence means________________.
A. When man and wife share the housework, man can’t do it well.
B. When man and wife share the housework, women can’t do it well.
C. when man and wife become equal at home, it doesn’t mean a good marriage.
D. when man and wife are equal partners, marriage doesn’t necessarily go well.
63. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT______________.
A. more husbands act in helping housework than those agreeing it without action.
B. more and more husbands are helping their wives to do housework.
C. most of the working women take charge of their house.
D. it is possible for the marriage to fail if women earn more money than husbands.
64. What may be the reason for the divorce according to the sociologist?
A. The wife refuses to look after the child.
B. The wife is more successful than her husband.
C. The wife is aware of her unhappiness in marriage.
D. Both A and B.
65. The best title of the passage is most likely to be___________.
A. Equal Partnership Means Nothing in Modern Family.
B. The Changing Relations between Man and Wife.
C. Reasons for Increasing Divorce.
D. The Relations between Husband and Wife.
Language is a major problem for the European Union (EU). The agreement or treaty(条约) which created the organization that eventually became the EU, the Treaty of Rome, stated that each country's language must be treated equally. The original(原来的) six countries had only three languages between them: French, German and Dutch/Flemish. However, there are now 15 countries in the EU, with a total of 12 languages. EU documents must be translated into all these languages, and at official meetings the speeches must be translated into all the languages by interpreters.
All this translating is very expensive and time-consuming (费时的). It is said that nearly half of all employees of the EU are engaged in translating documents and speeches, and nearly half of the EU's administrative(管理方面的) costs are spent on this task. In the near future it is probable that several more
countries, most of them having their own languages, will join the EU, thus making the situation even worse.
The problem is not just cost; there are practical difficulties as well. With 12 languages, there are 132 possible "translation situations" that might be needed. It is often difficult to find people in the right place at the right time who can translate from (for example) Danish into Greek, or Dutch into Portuguese, at a high professional standard.
In practice the problem has been made less severe by the use of English in many contacts between EU officials, since almost all of them speak some English. However, any move to reduce the number of official languages (perhaps to four or five) would be a blow to the pride of the smaller Countries. Another commonly suggested solution is to make English the official language for all EU business. However, this is strongly resisted by powerful member countries like France and Germany.The organization that eventually became the EU.
A.was started by France and Germany | B.started with three countries |
C.was set up by the Treaty of Rome | D.included 132 languages |
What's the main purpose of this passage?
A.To give a solution to a problem. |
B.To find out a problem and show how severe it is. |
C.To criticize the European Union for inefficiency. |
D.To show that the problem cannot be solved. |
According to the writer, the use of English in contacts among EU officials has.
A.angered the officials who don't speak English |
B.reduced the number of official languages |
C.reduced the effect of the problem |
D.been opposed by powerful member countries |
The writer mentions "Danish into Greek" as an example of.
A.a situation that might be difficult to deal with |
B.a situation that occurs often |
C.one of the 12 situations that requires an interpreter |
D.languages easily being interpreted |
The writer suggests that if the number of official languages was reduced.
A.the EU would not know which official languages to choose |
B.countries whose languages were not used officially would be unhappy |
C.only languages which are easy to translate would be used officially |
D.the smaller member countries would be pleased |