Apparently，we are safe neither at home nor in the business office．We use water in both places，but the research shows that chemicals added to our local water supply to kill harmful bacteria can have unwanted side effects．These chemicals can cause potential harm through drinking and in seemingly harmless activities as cleaning one’s house．They are released(set free)from water by daily actions like water running out of tap，spraying from garden pipes，or splashing in dishwashers and washing machines．As the water is moving．these chemicals are released into the air and then breathed in. Once inside our bodies, they start to affect our health.
Does this mean we should stop bathing? No, say the scientists, but we should put all pollution into perspective. Activities at home such as the burning of coal, cooking oil, or even candles release carbon monoxide and particulates such as cigarette ashes which have been proven as harmful to health as working or living near heavy traffic. New tugs, bedding, and even clothing give off that“new smell, ”which is a sure sign of chemicals. In the office, newly applied paint, newly purchased telephones and other telecommunications equipment, and computers release polluting chemicals, too. As offices and homes often have inadequate ventilation (通风), these chemicals can build up to become health problems. Their poisonous effects are only now being slowly recognized.
These facts suggest that, at a minimum, proper airing of newly purchased goods with an obvious chemical smell is a wise warning. Home and office windows should be opened during good weather. Even one’s car needs to be ventilated as well while in the garage.
We need further research to understand better other potential health dangers, too. For example, the effects of overcrowding of schools (carbon dioxide build-up ), the factory work environment ( an endless list of potentially dangerous substances ), and even home heating and cooling (the air conditioner may be our enemies, not our friends) have only recently started to come to light. Until we understand the effects of our new technological environment better, we can only hope that“there is no place like home.”
64．What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A．The air we breathe in is harmful.
B．The water in everyday use is unsafe.
C．Chemicals are added to the drinking water.
D．Chemicals are released in the running water.
65．In Paragraph 2, the underlined sentence means that .
A．bathing should be done with caution
B．homes and offices should be aired often
C．any pollution should be taken into consideration
D．we should prevent any pollution from doing harm to us
66．What is the purpose of the passage?
A．To call on us to guard our water.
B．To show us that no place is like home.
C．To make us aware of the pollution around us.
D．To argue that neither homes nor offices are safe.
If you are invited to a party by the Austrians and the suggested dress is "informal(非正式的)" (usually marked in the lower left-hand coner of the invitation) , it may mean dark suit and a white shirt for men and cocktail dress( 短短服) for women. Or again, may mean something considerably less formal. "Formal" means a black tie and evening dress for men and a floor-length dress for women. If a man is in doubt(拿不准) about what to wear, he may come slightly overdressed and then take his coat and tie off when he sees that others are wearing sports shirts. National dress is always acceptable.If a lady receives an invitation marked with "formal", she should wear
| A．a long dress | B．a cocktail dress | C．a short dress | D．a dark suit |
Suppose you are a man invited to an informal party by an Austrian, you'd better .
| A．wear dark clothes and dark suit |
| B．dress yourself in a dark suit and a white shirt |
| C．wear a coat and so on |
| D．wear sports shirts |
The general idea of this passage is .
| A．men and women should be dressed differently |
| B．national dress is always useful |
| C．what to wear if a person is invited to an Austrian party |
| D．men and women should dress themselves beautifully |
The meaning of "overdressed" is .
| A．dressing oneself a little too formally | B．dressing oneself a floor-length dress |
| C．wearing one's tie | D．dressing a sports shirt |
Mrs Smith's husband went off on a business trip to Australia. He wanted to catch the 3:30 plane to Darwin. She was very surprised when he telephoned her at 5 o'clock and said that he was still at the airport.
"What happened?" asked Mrs Smith.
"Well," said Mr Smith, "everything was going fine. I got my ticket, checked my luggage and waited in line at the gate. I walked across the runway to the airplane and I saw my friend Jack Scott. Jack was an airplane engineer. I shouted to him and a policeman caught me."
"Why did he catch you?"
"I don't know," said Mr Smith," All I said was ‘Hi, Jack! '"
The word "hijack" means "to take control of a plane by force".Why did Mr Smith want to fly to Australia? Because____________.
| A．he was an Australian businessman |
| B．he was leaving for Australia on business |
| C．his wife wanted him to |
| D．he wanted" to see his wife |
Mrs Smith was very surprised because
| A．Mr Smith didn't arrive in Darwin | B．Mr Smith telephoned her later |
| C．Mr Smith didn't leave the airport | D．Mr Smith was in Darwin |
Mr Smith couldn't get on the plane because
| A．he met with his friend Jack |
| B．he didn't get the ticket |
| C．there was something wrong with the airplane engine |
| D．he was stopped by a policeman |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．The police didn't know Mr Smith was Jack Scott's friend. |
| B．Jack Scott worked as an airplane engineer. |
| C．The policeman misunderstood Mr Smith. |
| D．Mr Smith knew why the policeman caught him. |
Why was Mr Smith caught by the policeman?
| A．Because he didn't keep silence at the airport. |
| B．Because he greeted an airport engineer named Jack. |
| C．Because the pronunciation of "Hi, Jack" has another frightful meaning. |
| D．Because the policeman didn't know English. |
Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets. But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.
That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”－events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to get the past “Where are you from?”
Mr. Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.
The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities(优先考虑的事) changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”
As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain. Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another. “We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says. “But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”
The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer. The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom they would be ‘intimate’ with for hours. But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.
“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up. “What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”
Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.”What can the “conversations” be best described as?
| A．Deep and one-on-one. | B．Sensitive and mad. |
| C．Instant and inspiring. | D．Ordinary and encouraging. |
In a “feast of conversations”, participants ______.
| A．pair freely with anyone they like |
| B．have a guided talk for a set of period of time |
| C．ask questions they themselves would not answer |
| D．wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features. |
In paragraph 6, “they would be ‘intimate’” is closest in meaning to “______”.
| A．they would have physical contact | B．they would have in-depth talk |
| C．they would be close friends | D．they would exchange basic information |
From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is ______.
| A．an attempt to promote thinking interaction |
| B．one of the maddest activities ever conducted |
| C．a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas |
| D．an effort to give people a chance of talking freely |
Almost two-thirds of children want their parents to spend more time reading to them before bed, and most prefer Mum’s storytelling to Dad’s, researchers said.
They carried out a study that showed younger children aged 3-4 were most hungry for more stories, with over three-quarters saying they wished their parents read to them more often.
More than half of all children aged 3-8 said story time was their favourite pastime with their parents.
"The results of our research confirm the traditional activity of storytelling continues to be a powerful learning and emotional resource in children's lives," said child psychologist Richard Woolfson.
Storytelling ranked higher than television or video games among pastimes for kids, and 82 percent said reading a story with their parents helped them sleep better, according the survey of 500 children aged 3-8 in Britain.
The best storytellers were mothers who used funny voices to illustrate different characters or made their own special sound effects to keep the story moving, researchers said.
When mum and dad are not at hand, celebrities(名人) will do: over 30 percent of children said they would like to hear a bedtime story from Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, with teen idols(偶像) Zac Efron, Miley Cyrus and Emma Watson.
"It can be very difficult for parents to find the time to read with their children, but these moments can help build strong relations and play a vital part in their child's development," said Woolfson.The underlined word “pastime” in the passage most probably means .
| A．old time | B．entertainment | C．emotion | D．character |
The author develops the passage mainly by .
| A．pointing out similarities and differences | B．following the natural time order |
| C．comparing opinions from different fields | D．providing examples and statistics |
Reading a story with their parents helped most kids aged 3-8 .
| A．grow stronger | B．become more emotional | C．sleep better | D．become more powerful |
Japanese couples, too busy for a normal social life, are increasingly turning to actors to play their friends on the most important days of their lives.
Several agencies have sprung up(涌现)offering actors to attend weddings or even funerals.The first guest-for-hire company was established about nine years ago and around 10 agencies now send out dozens of pretend friends to family events.
Agencies such as Hagemashi Tai, which means “I want to cheer you up”, charge around ￡100 for each “guest”. Other services such as giving a speech in praise of a bride or the groom cost extra.
The appearance of the small fake friends industry has been linked to social and economic changes in Japan.With lifetime employment (终身雇佣制)a thing of the past, couples feel uncomfortable about inviting work colleagues to their wedding.Increasingly busy and put upon, many Japanese surround themselves with only a very small circle of friends.
When they marry, however, they are under pressure to match the number of their new partner’s wedding guests.
Office Agents, the largest provider of pretend friends, makes sure that its employees have done their homework and know all about the bride or groom before the wedding.
Hiroshi Mizutani, the company’s founder, said the fake friends he provides must look happy, be well dressed and look like people with good jobs.Why did fake friends industry come into being in Japan?
| A．Because of social and economic changes | B．Because of lifetime employment |
| C．Because of normal social life | D．Because of work pressure |
Pretend friends will be present at the following occasions except ________.
| A．weddings | B．funerals | C．work | D．family gathering |
The agents make sure that ________.
| A．fake friends have done their housework | B．fake friends have good jobs |
| C．fake friends must look happy and be well dressed | D．fake friends feel uncomfortable |
What is the best title of this passage?
| A．Japanese Couples are Under Pressure to Get Married | B．Japanese Couples’ Social Life |
| C．The First Guest-for-hire Company in Japan | D．Japanese Couples Rely on Fake Friends |