Until late in the 20th century most Americans spent time with people of different generations. Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.
That's because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sport activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior citizen homes. Why?
We live far away from the old for many reasons. Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of becoming old and dying. It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s got hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most.
Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family into a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter made banana bread for the neighbors and had her children send it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. "My children have never been lonely, "the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home (an organization where old people are cared for) when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded. People who hadn't gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give their grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it "My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end." Grandchildren speak of attention they don't get from worried parents. "My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down," one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting.
59.Now in an American family, people can find that___________.
A.children never live with their parents
B.not all working people live with their parents
C.old people are supported by their grandchildren
D.grandchildren are supported by their grandparents
60.Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _______.
A.they had never seen a baby before
B.the baby was clever and beautiful
C.the baby brought them the image of life
D.the baby's mother would take care of them
61.Why are some children quieter, calmer and more trusting ?
A.Because they have relationships with their grandparents.
B.Because their worried parents ask them to act like that.
C . Because they have nothing to worry about.
D.Because their teachers ask them to act like that.
62.Which of the following can show the fact that the old often save the young?
A.The old can become friends of the children and the children may not feel lonely.
B.The old get excited when they see a baby.
C.The old can cure the young when they are sick.
D.Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Chinese girl looking for language exchanger
Posted Feb 10, 2010 16:25 by Sophia
Tag: Seeking Language partners Guangzhou Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Chinese
I am a Chinese girl in my 20’s, can speak and write in English, but I’d like to make some improvement. People always look for making it better, right?
Meanwhile, I also like to meet more friends if we really have some topics to share.
And if you are in Guangzhou or visit here, I am more than willing to show you around in my spare time.
Reply to happycora@hotmail.com or call 15015704625
Tianhe nice apartment for share
Posted Feb 24, 2010 16:47 by Vivian
Tag: Seeking roommates Guangzhou Tianhe District Up to 2000 RMB
I have a room available for rent in a shared apartment in Central Tianhe district.
The room has a big window with a nice view. The apartment itself is on the 22th floor of a n
ew secure building on Tianhe Bei Lu, about 10 minutes walk from metro stations on lines 1 and 3, as well as buses and other transportation methods very close.
If you are interested, please feel free to phone me (Vivian) on 13145751201 (message preferred), or email me on vivian_liu2003@hotmail.com.
Business Interpreter/Guide
Posted Feb 26, 2010 08:46 by Sony
Tag: Business Services Guangzhou Baiyun District
Dear Foreign Friends, I am a professional interpreter, now looking for a Freelance interpreter job urgently. Please read my CV at below:
Name: Sony Song
Gender: Male
Age: 22 years old
Education: Studied English in Da Shan Foreign Language College
Birth: 9th Oct 1987, Luohe city, Henan province, China.
Ability: Speak fluent English, know Guangzhou city very well, can also guide you to Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Shunde, Macao, Hongkong, etc.
Contact Detail: E-mail/MSN: sonysong4@hotmail.com; cell phone: 15112015812
Looking for flat
Posted Mar 11, 2010 14:03 by Lucy
Tag: Apartments wanted Guangzhou
Hello,
This is Lucy coming from Peru and looking for a short term flat, from 15th April until 4th May 2010. If somebody can give some information, send me pictures, price and address.
Email: lucitamaron@hotmail.com; cell phone: 13800013900
Thanks a lot in advance! If foreigner wants to learn some Chinese and make friends; he / she can call _________.
A.15015704625 | B.13800013900 |
C.13145751201 | D.15112015812 |
To share a department where the traffic is quite convenient, you may send text message to ________.
A.Sophia | B.Lucy | C.Vivian | D.Sony |
What do the four advisers have in common?
A.All of them speak both Chinese and English. |
B.All of them are in their twenties. |
C.All of them are Guangzhou citizens. |
D.All of them are hotmail users. |
The information above can be probably found_________.
A.in a magazine | B.in a newspaper |
C.at a website | D.in a guidebook |
Brave Frenchman Found Half-way Around the World (NEW YORK)
A French tourist highly praised for rescuing a two-year-old girl in Manhattan said he didn’t think twice before diving into the freezing East River.
Tuesday’s Daily News said 29-year-old Julien Duret from France is the man who left the spot quickly after the rescue last Saturday.
He lifted the little girl out of the water after she fell off the bank at the South Street Seaport museum. He handed the girl to her father, David Anderson, who had dived in after him.
“I didn’t think at all,” Duret told the Daily News. “It happened very fast. I reacted very fast.”
Duret, an engineer on vacation, was walking with his girlfriend along the pier (码头) when he saw something falling into the water. He thought it was a doll, but realized it was a child when he approached the river. In an instant, he took off his coat and jumped into the water.
When he reached the girl, she appeared lifeless, he said. Fortunately, when she was out of the water, she opened her eyes.
Anderson said his daughter slipped off the bank when he was adjusting his camera. An ambulance came later for her, said Duret, who was handed dry clothes from onlookers. Duret caught a taxi with his girlfriend shortly after.
The rescue happened on the day before he left for France. Duret said he didn’t realize his tale of heroism had greatly moved New York until he was leaving the city the next morning.
“I don’t really think I’m a hero,” said Duret. “Anyone would do the same thing.”Why was Duret in New York?
A.To meet his girlfriend. | B.To work as an engineer. |
C.To spend his holiday. | D.To visit the Andersons. |
What did Duret do shortly after the ambulance came?
A.He was interviewed by a newspaper. |
B.He asked his girlfriend for his dry clothes. |
C.He went to the hospital in the ambulance. |
D.He disappeared from the spot quickly. |
Who dived after Duret into the river to save the little girl?
A.David Anderson. | B.A passer-by. |
C.His girlfriend. | D.A taxi driver. |
When was Duret most probably found to be the very hero?
A.The day when he was leaving for home. |
B.A couple of days after the girl was rescued. |
C.The first day when he was in New York. |
D.The same day when he was interviewed. |
It was the first snow of winter – an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today I would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through first snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one.
I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled with my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-me-down from my brother, and it made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes. At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots (靴子).
In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence (信心).
I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get the first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too.
I announced, “They’re on the wrong feet.”
She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again.
“They’re my brother’s boots, you know,” I said. “I hate them!”
Somehow, from long years of practice, she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying (烦人的) little girl, She pushed and pushed, less gently this time. With a greater sigh, seeing the end of her struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens (连指手套)?”
I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots.” The little girl was more satisfied with her_________.
A.trousers | B.jacket | C.boots | D.hat |
Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl’s boots mainly because________.
A.the girl got them from her brothe![]() |
B.the girl put something in them |
C.they were on the wrong feet | D.they did not fit the girl well |
Why does the author say Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?
A.Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes. |
B.Because it was the most exciting day of the winter. |
C.Because the little girl played a trick on her. |
D.Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf. |
We can learn from the text that Miss Finlayson_________.
A.was losing confidence in the little girl |
B.gradually lost patience with the little girl |
C.became disappointed with the little girl |
D.was getting bored with the little girl |
Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s.Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聪明的) than women.Right? Wrong.Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size.Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain.The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”.While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women.This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time.When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes.As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things.“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher.That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one.A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others.These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills.It may all go back to our ancestors(祖先), among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t.“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.The passage mainly tells us ________.
A.the difference between men’s and![]() |
B.the changes in brain throughout our lives |
C.that men are better at spatial tasks |
D.that brain differences are related to our ancestors |
Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
A.Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s |
B.Grey matter plays the same role as white matter. |
C.Grey matter controls thinking in the brain. |
D.Both sexes have the same amount of white matter. |
What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
A.Women prefer doing many things at a time. |
B.Men do better dealing with one job at a time. |
C.Women do not need to tell directions. |
D.Men have weaker spatial abilities. |
Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?
A.Young boys may be stronger than young girls. |
B.More women take up jobs requiring speech skills |
C.Women may have stronger feelings than men. |
D.Our ancestors needed more spatial skills. |
What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
A.Defensive. | B.Persuasive. | C.Supportive. | D.Objective. |
Years ago, when I started looking for my first job, wise advisers urged, “Barbara, be enthusiastic! Enthusiasm will take you further than any amount of experience.” How right they were! Enthusiastic people can turn a boring drive into an adventure, extra work into opportunity and strangers into friends.
“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is the paste that helps you hang in there when the going gets tough. It is the inner voice that whispers, “I can do it!” when others shout, “No, you can’t!” It took years and years for the early work of Barbara McClintock, a geneticist (遗传学家) who won the 1983 Nobel Prize in medicine, to be generally accepted. Yet she didn’t let up on her experiments. Work was such a deep pleasure for her that she never thought of stopping.
We are all born with wide – eyed, enthusiastic wonder and it is this childlike wonder that gives enthusiastic people such a youthful air, whatever their age. At 90,cellist Pablo Casals would start his day by playing Bach (巴赫). As the music flowed through his fingers, his bent shoulders would straighten and joy would reappear in his eyes. As author and poet Samuel once wrote, “Years wrinkle(使生皱纹) the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrin
kles the soul.”
Enthusiastic people also love what they do, regardless of money, title or power. Patricia Mcllrath, retired director of the Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City, was once asked where she got her enthusiasm. She replied, “My father, a lawyer, long ago told me, I never made a penny until I stopped working for money.”
If we cannot do what we love as a full-time career, we can do it as a hobby. Elizabeth Layton of Wellsville, Kan, was 68 before she began to draw. This activity ended her depression that had troubled her for at least 30 years, and the quality of her work led one critic to say, “I am persuaded to call Layton a genius.”
We can’t afford to waste tears on “might-have-beens”. We need to turn the tears into sweat as we go after “what-can-be.” We need to live each moment whole-heartedly, with all our senses-finding pleasure in the sweet smell of a backyard garden, the simple picture of a six-year-old, and the beauty of a rainbow. The author mentions cellist Pablo Casals in the third paragraph to show that .
A.music can arouse people’s enthusiasm |
B.enthusiasm can give people inspiration needed to succeed |
C.enthusiasm can make people feel young |
D.enthusiasm can keep people healthy |
How many examples are given in the passage to show the importance of enthusiasm?
A.Two. | B.Three. | C.Four. | D.Five. |
The author holds the view that .
A.enthusiastic people will never get old |
B.enthusiasm can make you succeed and enjoy life |
C.enthusiasm is more important than experience |
D.enthusiasm can give people more success and fame |