British potato farmers were taking to the streets to call for the expression "couch potato" to be taken away from the dictionary on the grounds that it harms the vegetable's image.
The British Potato Council wants the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) to replace the expression with the term "couch slouch", with protests planned outside parliament in London and the offices of Oxford University Press. Kathryn Race, head of marketing at the Council, which represents some 4,000 growers and processors, said the group had complained in writing to the OED but had yet to receive a response.
"We are trying to get rid of the image that potatoes are bad to you," she said Monday.
"The potato has had its knocks in the past. Of course it is not the Oxford English Dictionary's fault but we want to use another term than couch potato because potatoes are naturally healthy."
The OED says "couch potato" originated as American slang, meaning "a person who spends leisure time passively or idly sitting around, especially watching television or video tapes."
John Simpson, chief editor of the Oxford English Dictionary, said the dictionary first included the term “couch potato” in 1993 and said "dictionaries just reflect the words that society uses."
Simpson said words were never taken out of the full-length dictionary, which includes some 650,000 words contained in 20 volumes. But little-used words can be removed from the smaller dictionaries to make way for newer ones.
“If society stops using words, then they are taken out of the smaller dictionaries”, he added. “The first known recorded use of the expression ‘couch potato’ was in a 1979 Log Angeles Times article,” Simpson said.
Nigel Evans, a member of parliament for the Ribble Valley in Lancashire, has made a motion in support of the campaign, highlighting the nutritional value of the British potato.
1．British potato farmers were taking to the streets _____.
A．to advertise their production
B．to call for a higher price for t heir potatoes
C．to remove the expression “couch potato” from the dictionary
D．to let people know how important the potato is in people’s lives
2．The farmers think that_________.
A．potatoes have had a bad imagine
B．potatoes are good for people by nature
C．potatoes sometimes do harm to people
D．it's the dictionary's fault to use the expression "couch potato"
3．John Simpson thinks that _________.
A．the expression can be taken out of every kind of dictionary
B．dictionaries do not necessarily reflect the words the society uses
C．little used words can remain in the smaller dictionaries
D．it is impossible to take the word out of the dictionary
4．What is wrong with the expression "couch potato"?
A．It is connected with unfavorable meaning．
B．Potato should be used in the expression．
C．It is borrowed from American English．
D．It refers to a kind of person．
Humankind has tried to improve its standard of living since the very beginning of civilization. Back then, as well as today, providing food and security was the basic task for a person. However, nowadays the range of required goods has expanded significantly. People feel the need for not only some primary things, such as a piece of bread and a roof over their heads, but also for various facilities and luxuries. Providing humanity with these things is connected to the use of natural resources, which requires energy. In turn, the common sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost inevitably associated with environmental damage.
Economic growth is the increase in numbers of goods and services produced over time by an economy, and it's calculated in terms of real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Before growth is calculated, inflation(通货膨胀) is adjusted in order to take into account its misleading effect on the price of goods and services. Economic growth can also be explained as the increase in expected output, which results from an increase in actual output, or total demand.
There are certain aspects of economic growth which affect the environment. The first of these is the fact that in order to produce more goods and products, at a faster rate, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These plants produce a lot of waste, leading to the pollution of water and the atmosphere, which may cause negative long- term health effects to nearby populations of animals, or people. They also lead to global warming.
Industrial manufacturing leads to the constantly increasing energy consumption. The traditional energy sources, which are commonly used nowadays, are considered to be the greatest polluters to the environment. There also exist so-called eco-friendly sources of energy. They are sometimes preferred but replacing the traditional sources with them also requires time, during which people have to make some sacrifices to support these undertakings.
In order to produce economically practical energy, a sometimes significant transformation of the natural site is often inevitable. This is expensive and, has harmful effects on the environment. Application of wind energy would Block airflows' natural speed, which is the reason for their decrease in strength, after crossing the windmill. Consequently, the pressure balance that is brought about by this current will be affected, and it is important to remember that the environment and weather conditions are directly affected by atmospheric pressure.
For these reasons, bringing about economic growth without resulting in any environmental damage is impossible.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Pollution caused by plant construction |
| B．Effects of windmills on the environment |
| C．Economic growth and human civilization |
| D．Economic growth and environmental damage |
According to the passage, the author holds the opinion that ____.
| A．economic growth should be calculated in terms of GDP |
| B．use of natural resources causes no damage to the environment |
| C．industrial manufacturing may cause damage to the environment |
| D．a windmill is a perfect way to produce economically practical energy |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
CP (Central Point) P (Point) Sp (Sub-point次要点) C (Conclusion)
Froli Cat Dart While cats require less attention compared to dogs, that doesn’t mean you can just leave them at home all day long. No sir, they too, need some level of attention and will have to keep themselves occupied mentally and physically too. Well, FroliCat Dart makes it possible. Just what is the FroliCat Dart all about? Well, for starters, this device delivers 360° rotation (旋转) that will project laser patterns on the floor, letting your feline (猫科动物) friend chase after it. |
Portable USB Power Supply With modern gadgets, running out of juice happens to some of us more often, simply because today’s devices seem to suck up more juice than before. That’s why the Portable USB Power Supply comes in handy, being a best emergency charger for cell phones and other devices. Capable of holding a charge for up to three months when in standby, it will ship with adapter tips that cater for a certain variety of cell phone brands. |
Battery Powered Gloves For those living in the northern hemisphere(半球)，we are pretty sure that you have already stocked up on your winter supplies to make sure you remain nice and warm throughout the upcoming freezing months. Well, wearing a pair of the Battery Powered Hand Warming Gloves is necessary so as to keep your palms and fingers warm. These gloves come with battery-powered integral (不可缺的) heating elements which is capable of keeping your hands nice and warm for up to eight hours. It requires a quartet of AA batteries in each glove, and since both gloves are fully lined with a waterproof, breathable material, they might just come in handy during your next snowball fight. Too bad it comes only in one color—black. |
How does FroliCat Dart work?
| A．It can make cats run around your house. |
| B．It can project laser patterns to make cats chase. |
| C．It can make cats much sleepier than before. |
| D．It can provide food and drink for cats. |
From the second paragraph, we know that________
| A．Lack of power happens to some of us less often than before. |
| B．The adapter tips cater for all kinds of cell phone brands. |
| C．The Portable USB Power Supply can charge for some phones. |
| D．The Portable USB Power Supply can only last for three months. |
Where do the Battery Powered Gloves sell well?
A. Iceland B. IndiaC. Australia D Singapore
Bertie knew there was something in the wind. His mother had been sad in recent days, not sick, just strangely sad. The lion had just lain down beside him, his head warm on Bertie's feet when Father cleared his throat and began," You'll soon be eight, Bertie. A boy needs a proper education. We've found the right place for you, a school near Salisbury in England."
His heart filled with a terrible fear, all Bertie could think of was his white lion. "But the lion," he cried, "What about the lion?"
"I'm afraid there's something else I have to tell you," his father said. Looking across at Bertie's mother, he took a deep breath. Then he told Bertie he had met a circus(马戏团) owner from France, who was over in Africa looking for lions to buy. He would come to their farm in a few days.
"No! You can't send him to a circus!" said Bertie. "People will come to see him. He'll be shut up behind bars. I promised him he never would be. And they will laugh at him. He'd rather die. Any animal would! " But as he looked across the table at them, he knew their minds were quite made up.
Bertie felt completely betrayed. He waited until he heard his father's deep breathing next door. With his white lion at his heels, he crept downstairs in his pyjamas, took down his father's rifle from the rack and stepped out into the night. He ran and ran till his legs could run no more. As the sun came up over the grassland, he climbed to the top of a hill and sat down, his arms round the lion's neck. The time had come.
"Be wild now," he whispered. "You've got to be wild. Don't ever come home. All my life I'll think of you. I promise I will." He buried his head in the lion's neck. Then, Bertie clambered down the hill and walked away.
When he looked back, the lion was still sitting there watching him; but then he stood up, yawned, stretched, and sprang down after him. Bertie shouted at him, but he kept coming. He threw sticks. He threw stones. Nothing worked.
There was only one thing left to do. With tears filling his eyes and his mouth, he lifted the rifle to his shoulder and fired over the lion's head.Bertie's mother was sad probably because she ______.
| A．had been seriously ill recently |
| B．had decided to send Bertie to school |
| C．knew selling the lion would upset Bertie |
| D．knew Bertie would hate to go to England |
The underlined word "they" in Para.4 probably refers to ______.
| A．some audience | B．other animals | C．Bertie's parents | D．circus owners |
In the last paragraph, the boy lifted the rifle to ______．
| A．kill the lion out of fear |
| B．threaten the lion back to the wild |
| C．protect himself from the lion |
| D．show his anger towards his father |
The passage intends to show that ______.
| A．animal-hunting is popular in Africa |
| B．parents are sometimes cruel to their children |
| C．animals usually lead a miserable life in circuses |
| D．people and animals can be faithful to each other |
As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school.And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their homework and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It's faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that's why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
"When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it."
"I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper."
Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and quick to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said "Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only have their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer's emotion(情绪). Through one's handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
| A．The Importance of Handwriting and Typing. |
| B．To Type or To Hand Write |
| C．Writing By Computer Will Replace Writing By Hand |
| D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters. |
The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because______.
| A．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and Essays |
| B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
| C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
| D．computers have become popular in China. |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE of the advantages of handwriting?
| A．Handwriting contains the writer's emotion. |
| B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting, |
| C．Handwriting can impress people well and build up one’s self-confidence |
| D．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
The underlined expression “taking stock in”(Paragraph 4) probably means_____.
| A．getting bored with | B．getting dependent on |
| C．becoming crazy about | D．getting curious about |
We can draw the conclusion from the passage that_______.
| A．more and more students will give up writing on a computer |
| B．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day |
| C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting |
| D．the typing article better expresses one’s emotion and quality |
Have you ever wondered why birds sing? Maybe you thought that they were just happy. After all, you probably sing when you are happy.
Some scientists believe that birds do sing some of the time just because they are happy. However, they sing most of the time for a very different reason. Their singing is actually a warning to other birds to stay out of their territory.
Do you know what a “territory” is? A territory is an area that an animal, usually the male, claims (声称) as its own. Only he and his family are welcome there. No other families of the same species are welcome. Your house is your territory where only your family and friends are welcome. If a stranger should enter your territory and threaten you, you might shout. Probably this would be enough to frighten him away.
If so, you have actually frightened the stranger away without having to fight him. A bird does the same thing. But he expects an outsider almost any time, especially at nesting (筑巢) season. So he is screaming all the time, whether he can see an outsider or not. This screaming is what we call a bird’s song, and it is usually enough to keep an outsider away.Some scientists believe that most of the time bird’s singing is actually ________.
| A．an expression of happiness | B． a way of warning |
| C．an expression of anger | D． a way of greeting |
What is a bird’s “territory”?
| A．A place where families of other species are not accepted. |
| B．A place where a bird may shout at the top of its voice. |
| C．An area for which birds fight against each other. |
| D．An area which a bird considers to be its own. |
Why do birds keep on singing at nesting season?
| A．Because they want to invite more friends. |
| B．Because their singing helps frighten outsiders away. |
| C．Because they want to find outsiders around. |
| D．Because their singing helps get rid of their fears. |
How does the writer explain birds’ singing?
| A．By comparing birds with human beings. |
| B．By reporting experiment results. |
| C．By describing birds’ daily life. |
| D．By telling a bird’s story. |
What does the underline word “screaming” in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．哭喊声 | B．令人惊愕的 | C．尖叫声 | D．尖叫的 |