E
I find it pleasant to be alone the greater part of the time; to be in company, even with the best, is soon tiresome and wasteful, and I never found a companion so companionable as solitude (独处).
We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad than when we stay in the meeting-rooms, for solitude is not measured by the miles of space between a man and his fellows.
The farmer, who can work alone all day without feeling lonesome, but must do something with others to get pleasure at night, wonders how the student can sit alone at night; he does not realize that the student, though in the house, is actually at work in his field and cutting his wood as the farmer was in his.
Society is commonly too cheap:We meet at very short intervals (间隔) ,not having had time to get any new value for each other; we meet at meals three times a day and give each other a new taste of that unpleasant old cheese; we live thick and are in each other’s way, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another.
We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable (可忍受的); certainly less frequency would be enough for all important and hearty communications between men.
It would be better if there were but one to live within a square mile, as where I live ,for as the value of a man is not in his skin, we need not touch him.
72.The writer uses the example of the farmer and the student to show that _____.
A.men need to do something for pleasure after their work.
B.men are not lonely when they are working.
C.solitude is necessary for a student.
D.people have different ideas of solitude.
73.When the writer says:“Society is commonly too cheap” he means that ______.
A.we meet not frequently enough so we don’t understand each other well.
B.we eat cheap food and live a simple life so we don’t feel very happy.
C.our lives are too regular for us to find any happiness in them.
D.people don’t have enough hearty communication to realize the value in others
74.The writer’s opinion on the value of a man is that _____.
A.it is made too low by the rules of etiquette and politeness.
B.it can be discovered through frequent physical touch.
C.it can be found in a man’s appearance.
D.it doesn’t lie in physical touch.
75.The writer almost believes that ______.
A.a student and a farmer have no idea of solitude.
B.the same life we live every day is the cause of man’s loneliness.
C.etiquette and politeness are rules that make frequent meetings tolerable.
D.less frequent meetings can make us more clear about the value of men.
Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.
Let's state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?
In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It's said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club-women, or people of a different color or belief-they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.
A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are "really, really smart." Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are "really, really smart." Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn't take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.
Here's the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we're all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with "intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world."
12. What does the author think of victors' standards for joining the genius club?
A. |
They're unfair. |
B. |
They're conservative. |
C. |
They're objective. |
D. |
They're strict. |
13. What can we infer about girls from the study in Science?
A. |
They think themselves smart. |
B. |
They look up to great thinkers. |
C. |
They see gender differences earlier than boys. |
D. |
They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs |
14. Why are more geniuses known to the public?
A. |
Improved global communication. |
B. |
Less discrimination against women. |
C. |
Acceptance of victors' concepts. |
D. |
Changes in people's social positions. |
15. What is the best title for the text?
A. |
Geniuses Think Alike |
B. |
Genius Takes Many Forms |
C. |
Genius and Intelligence |
D. |
Genius and Luck |
When I was 9, we packed up our home in Los Angeles and arrived at Heathrow, London on a gray January morning. Everyone in the family settled quickly into the city except me. Without my beloved beaches and endless blue-sky days, I felt at a loss and out of place. Until I made a discovery.
Southbank, at an eastern bend in the Thames, is the center of British skateboarding, where the continuous crashing of skateboards left your head ringing .I loved it. I soon made friends with the local skaters. We spoke our own language. And my favorite: Safe. Safe meant cool. It meant hello. It meant don't worry about it. Once, when trying a certain trick on the beam(横杆), I fell onto the stones, damaging a nerve in my hand, and Toby came over, helping me up: Safe, man. Safe. A few minutes later, when I landed the trick, my friends beat their boards loud, shouting: " Safe! Safe! Safe!" And that's what mattered-landing tricks, being a good skater.
When I was 15, my family moved to Washington. I tried skateboarding there, but the locals were far less welcoming. Within a couple of years, I'd given it up.
When I returned to London in 2004, I found myself wandering down to Southbank, spending hours there. I've traveled back several times since, most recently this past spring. The day was cold but clear: tourists and Londoners stopped to watch the skaters. Weaving(穿梭)among the kids who rushed by on their boards, I found my way to the beam. Then a rail-thin teenager, in a baggy white T-shirt, skidded(滑)up to the beam. He sat next to me. He seemed not to notice the man next to him. But soon I caught a few of his glances. "I was a local here 20 years ago," I told him. Then, slowly, he began to nod his head. "Safe, man. Safe."
"Yeah," I said. "Safe."
8. What can we learn about the author soon after he moved to London?
A. |
He felt disappointed. |
B. |
He gave up his hobby. |
C. |
He liked the weather there. |
D. |
He had disagreements with his family. |
9. What do the underlined words "Safe! Safe! Safe!" probably mean?
A. |
Be careful! |
B. |
Well done! |
C. |
No way! |
D. |
Don't worry! |
10. Why did the author like to spend time in Southbank when he returned to London?
A. |
To join the skateboarding. |
B. |
To make new friends. |
C. |
To learn more tricks. |
D. |
To relive his childhood days |
11. What message does the author seem to convey in the text?
A. |
Children should learn a second language. |
B. |
Sport is necessary for children's health. |
C. |
Children need a sense of belonging |
D. |
Seeing the world is a must for children. |
Port Lympne Reserve, which runs a breeding(繁育)programme, has welcomed the arrival of a rare black rhino calf(犀牛幼息).When the tiny creature arrived on January 31. she became the 40th black rhino to be born at the reserve. And officials at Port Lympne were delighted with the new arrival, especially as black rhinos are known for being difficult to breed in captivity(圈养).
Paul Beer, head of rhino section at Port Lympne, said: "Obviously we're all absolutely delighted to welcome another calf to our black rhino family. She's healthy, strong and already eager to play and explore. Her mother, Solio, is a first-time mum and she is doing a fantastic job. It's still a little too cold for them to go out into the open, but as soon as the weather warms up. I have no doubt that the little one will be out and about exploring and playing every day."
The adorable female calf is the second black rhino born this year at the reserve, but it is too early to tell if the calves will make good candidates to be returned to protected areas of the wild. The first rhino to be born at Port Lympne arrived on January 5 to first-time mother Kisima and weighed about 32 kg. His mother, grandmother and great grandmother were all born at the reserve and still live there.
According to the World Wildlife Fund, the global black rhino population has dropped as low as 5500, giving the rhinos a "critically endangered" status.
4. Which of the following best describes the breeding programme?
A. |
Costly. |
B. |
Controversial. |
C. |
Ambitious. |
D. |
Successful. |
5. What does Paul Beer say about the new-born rhino?
A. |
She loves staying with her mother. |
B. |
She dislikes outdoor activities. |
C. |
She is in good condition |
D. |
She is sensitive to heat. |
6. What similar experience do Solio and Kisima have?
A. |
They had their first born in January. B .They enjoyed exploring new places |
B. | |
C. |
They lived with their grandmothers. |
D. |
They were brought to the reserve young |
7. What can be inferred about Porn-Lympne Reserve?
A. |
The rhino section will be open to the public. |
B. |
It aims to control the number of the animals. |
C. |
It will continue to work with the World Wildlife Fund. |
D. |
Some of its rhinos may be sent to the protected wild areas. |
A Take a view, the Landscape(风景)Photographer of the Year Award, was the idea of Charlie Waite, one of today's most respected landscape photographers.Each year, the high standard of entries has shown that the Awards are the perfect platform to showcase the very best photography of the British landscape.Take a view is a desirable annual competition for photographers from all comers of the UK and beyond.
Mike Shepherd (2011) Skiddaw in Winter Cumbria, England |
It was an extremely cold winter's evening and freezing fog hung in the air. I climbed to the top of a small rise and realised that the mist was little more than a few feet deep, and though it was only a short climb, I found myself completely above it and looking at a wonderfully clear view of Skiddaw with the sum setting in the west. I used classical techniques, translated from my college days spent in the darkroom into Photoshop, to achieve the black-and-white image(图像). |
Timothy Smith (2014) Macclesfield Forest Cheshire, England |
I was back in my home town of Macclesfield to take some winter images. Walking up a path through the forest towards Shutlingsloe. a local high point, I came across a small clearing and immediately noticed the dead yellow grasses set against the fresh snow. The small pine added to the interest and I placed it centrally to take the view from the foreground right through into the forest. |
1. Who would most probably enter for Take a view?
A. |
Writers. |
B. |
Photographers. |
C. |
Painters. |
D. |
Tourists. |
2. What do the works by Shepherd and Smith have in common?
A. |
They are winter images. |
B. |
They are in black and white. |
C. |
They show mountainous scenes. |
D. |
They focus on snow-covered forests. |
3. Where can the text be found?
A. |
In a history book. |
B. |
In a novel. |
C. |
In an art magazine. |
D. |
In a biography. |
Challenging work that requires lots of analytical thinking,planning and other managerial skills might help your brain stay sharp as you age,a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology suggests.
Researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany gathered more than 1,000 retired workers who were over age 75 and assessed the volunteers' memory and thinking skills through a battery of tests.Then,for eight years,the scientists asked the same group to come back to the lab every 18 months to take the same sorts of tests.
Those who had held mentally stimulating(刺激),demanding jobs before retirement tended to do the best on the tests.And they tended to lose cognitive(认知)function at a much slower rate than those with the least mentally challenging jobs.The results held true even after the scientists accounted for the participants' overall health status.
"This works just like physical exercise," says Francisca Then,who led the study."After a long run,you may feel like you're in pain,you may feel tired.But it makes you fit.After a long day at work﹣sure,you will feel tired,but it can help your brain stay healthy."
It's not just corporate jobs,or even paid work that can help keep your brain fit.Then points out.A waiter's job,for example,that requires multitasking,teamwork and decision﹣making could be just as stimulating as any high﹣level office work.And "running a family household requires high﹣level planning and coordinating(协调)," she says."You have to organize the activities of the children and take care of the bills and groceries."
Of course,our brains can decline as we grow older for lots of reasons﹣including other environmental influences or genetic factors.Still,continuing to challenge yourself mentally and keeping your mind busy can only help.
(1)Why did the scientists ask the volunteers to take the tests?
A. |
To assess their health status. |
B. |
To evaluate their work habits. |
C. |
To analyze their personality. |
D. |
To measure their mental ability. |
(2)How does Francisca Then explain her findings in paragraph 4?
A. |
By using an expert's words. |
B. |
By making a comparison. |
C. |
By referring to another study. |
D. |
By introducing a concept. |
(3)Which of the following is the best title for the text?
A. |
Retired Workers Can Pick Up New Skills |
B. |
Old People Should Take Challenging Jobs |
C. |
Your Tough Job Might Help Keep You Sharp |
D. |
Cognitive Function May Decline As You Age |