About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
| A．a sure sign of a mental problem in a child |
| B．a mental state present in all humans, including children |
| C．something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development |
| D．something hardly to be expected in a young child |
Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.
| A．through connection with society |
| B．gradually and under guidance |
| C．naturally without being taught |
| D．through watching television |
According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ______.
| A．the widespread influence of television |
| B．the poor arrangement of teaching content |
| C．the fast pace of human scientific development |
| D．the rising standard of living |
What does the author think of communication through print for children?
| A．It enables children to gain more social information. |
| B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing. |
| C．It helps children to read and write well. |
| D．It can control what children are to learn. |
When I grew up, all the schools in the village demanded that girls cut their hair. The teachers would measure our hair and make sure it was not too long. I remember crying and begging as the scissors cut my hair.
My dad told me that a girl who was in school needed to concentrate on books and that hair was a distraction (分心). I cut my hair all the way through primary school and middle school. Then I went to a high school that allowed long hair but no styles or braids (编辫子) during class hours. Even then, still adhering to (遵守) my dad’s words, I never wore my hair long.
When I graduated from high school, I started growing my hair. I spent hours looking in the mirror and shaping my hair. My sister complained, wondering why I had to have two styles in a day.
In college I heard the word perm (烫发). Girls had some strong chemicals (化学药品) put on their heads and made the hair look beautiful. I quickly sat in a salon (美发厅) and changed my hair. I returned to the salon once every month. Even during the days when I had no money for food, I had to find money for my hair.
After college, I was jobless and broke. I had to have my hair cut. At that time I saw a bald (光头的) black model. Her style shocked me and I admired her so much that I began to follow her. Therefore, there I was. I wore some large earrings and walked around like a model. And many people admired my style.
At this point the journey with my hair stopped completely. I decided to have natural hair. I soon found out natural hair is the cheapest, easiest and healthiest way to wear African hair.What did the author think of having her hair cut in primary school?
| A．She thought that was cool. |
| B．She didn’t care about hair at all. |
| C．She hated the rule. |
| D．She thought that must be helpful. |
The author didn’t wear long hair in high school because ____________.
| A．her school didn’t allow that |
| B．she wanted to follow her father’s words |
| C．she was not good at shaping long hair |
| D．her sister didn’t like long hair |
When did the author wear long hair?
| A．In middle school. |
| B．In college. |
| C．After she graduated from college. |
| D．After she found a job. |
The author thought the bald black model looked ____________.
| A．beautiful | B．terrifying | C．poor | D．ugly |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Make your hairstyle fashionable |
| B．Appearance is not the most important thing |
| C．A journey to natural hair |
| D．Black girls should be confident |
Cheaters called “pirates” often use camcorders(便携式摄像机) and cell phones to make illegal copies of blockbusters in the local theater. These pirates then sell those recordings on the street or over the Internet for very low prices. Some share them for free.
“It’s unfair for people to pirate movies,” says 15-year-old Hadaia Azad Ezzulddin. Movie piracy “takes money out of the pockets of thousands of people in the movie industry,” she notes. Victims include famous actors and directors as well as local theater owners and their employees.
Hadaia came up with an idea that could help stop movie piracy. Hadaia’s idea uses infrared(红外线的) light. This range of light is invisible to the human eye. It is visible, however, to many types of cameras. Theater owners could place small infrared lights on their movie screens. The lights would not disturb people watching the movie. It would, however, distort the recordings made by many types of cameras.
To test her idea, Hadaia built a box with a movie screen inside. Then, she projected images on that screen through a hole in the box. She took recordings of those images, using nine different types of cameras. These included the types found in cell phones as well as camcorders. During some tests, she also turned on light emitting diodes(发光二极管), or LEDs. The LEDs were embedded（植入的）in a certain place behind the movie screen. They gave out infrared light.
Sure enough, she showed, a pirated movie included odd stripes or spots if it had been recorded while the LEDs were on. It might be possible to use the LEDs to flash the date and time on the movie screen. The information would then appear in the illegal recordings. Theater owners or police might use the information to track down the pirates.
Cutting down on piracy might get more people into theaters to watch the real movie instead of an illegal copy. Six out of every ten films now produced aren’t profitable. They don’t make enough money to recover how much was spent to make and market them. Such a poor payback can discourage filmmakers from producing anything but the types expected to become blockbuster hits. It might also keep smaller theaters from showing a wider variety of movie types. From what Hadaia says in Paragraph 2, we can infer that _______.
| A．most people spend less money on pirates moves |
| B．the pirates don’t have to pay for the movie tickets |
| C．theater owners will increase the price of movie tickets |
| D．she strongly criticizes those who video movies in the theater |
Infrared lights are put on the movie screens to _______.
| A．adjust the brightness of the movie screens |
| B．make sure the images of movies are dark |
| C．make illegal copies of movies unpleasant to see |
| D．protect the eyesight of viewers in the darkness |
What is the correct order of the steps in Hadaia’s test?
a. She projected pictures on the screen.
b. She used cameras to record the pictures.
c. She turned on the LEDs placed behind the screen.
d. She made a special box with a movie screen inside.
| A．d c a b | B．d b a c |
| C．b a c d | D．b c a d |
According to the last paragraph, we can know that _______.
| A．forty percent of movies now are profitable |
| B．small theaters often choose to show low-cost movies |
| C．more and more people go to theaters to fight movie piracy |
| D．filmmakers prefer to produce ordinary movies than blockbusters |
There is a popular belief among parents that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill There are, however, vastly different ideas about how to teach it, or how much priority it must be given over in general language development and writing ability. The problem is, how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling?
If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher's interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to "play safe". He will tend to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That's why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability.
I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: "This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible." It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil's technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which contained some beautiful expressions of the child's deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centered on the child's ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation to seek improvement.Teachers differ in their opinions about ________.
| A．the difficulties in teaching spelling |
| B．the necessity of teaching spelling |
| C．the complexities of the basic writing skills |
| D．the role of spelling in general language development |
The expression "play safe" probably means “_______”.
| A．to write carefully |
| B．to avoid using words one is not sure of |
| C．to do as teachers say |
| D．to use dictionaries frequently |
Teachers encourage the use of dictionaries so that ______.
| A．teachers will have less trouble in correcting mistakes |
| B．students will have more confidence in writing |
| C．students will be able to express their ideas more freely |
| D．students will learn to be independent of teachers |
The major point discussed in the passage is ________.
| A．the relationship between spelling and content of a composition |
| B．the importance of developing writhing skills |
| C．the correct way of marking compositions |
| D．the complexities of spelling |
The extraordinary Eastgate Building in Harare, Zimbabwe’s capital city, is said to be the only one in the world to use the same cooling and heating principles as the termite mound(白蚁堆).
Architect Mick Pearce used precisely the same strategy when designing the Eastgate Building, which has no air-conditioning and almost no heating. The building—the country’s largest commercial and shopping complex—uses less than 10% of the energy of a conventional building of its size. The Eastgate’s owners saved $3.5 million on a $36 million building because an air-conditioning equipment didn’t have to be imported.
The complex is actually two buildings linked by bridges across a shady, glass-roofed atrium(天井) open to the air. Fans suck fresh air in from the atrium, blow it upstairs through hollow spaces under the floors and from there into each office through baseboard vents(通风口). As it rises and warms, it is drawn out via ceiling vents and finally exists through forty-eight brick chimneys.
During summer’s cool nights, big fans blow air through the building seven times an hour to cool the empty floors. By day, smaller fans blow two changes of air an hour through the building, to circulate the air which has been in contact with the cool floors. For winter days, there are small heaters in the vents.
This is all possible only because Harare is 1600 feet above sea level, has cloudless skies, little dampness and rapid temperature changes—days as warm as 31℃commonly drop to 14℃at night. “You couldn’t do this in New York, with its hot summers and cold winters,” Pearce said.
The engineering firm of Ove Arup & Partners monitors daily temperatures. It is found that the temperature of the building has generally stayed between 23℃and 25℃, with the exception of the annual hot period just before the summer rains in October and three days in November, when a doorkeeper accidentally switched off the fans at night. And the air is fresh—far more so than in air-conditioned buildings, where up to 30% of the air is recycled.Why was Eastgate cheaper to be built than a conventional building?
| A．It was designed in a smaller size. |
| B．No air conditioners were fixed in. |
| C．Its heating system was less advanced. |
| D．It used rather different building materials. |
What does “it” refer to in Paragraph 3?
| A．Hollow space. |
| B．Baseboard vent. |
| C．Fresh air from outside. |
| D．Heat in the building. |
Why would a building like Eastgate Not work efficiently in New York?
| A．New York has less clear skies as Harare. |
| B．Its dampness affects the circulation of air. |
| C．New York covers a larger area than Harare. |
| D．Its temperature changes seasonally rather than daily. |
The data in the last paragraph suggests Eastgate’s temperature control system_____.
| A．works better in hot seasons |
| B．can recycle up to 30% of the air |
| C．functions well for most of the year |
| D．allows a wide range of temperatures |
My father had always been an alert observer of human character. Within seconds of meeting someone, he could sum up their strengths and weaknesses. It was always a challenge to see if any of my boyfriends could pass Dad’s test. None did. Dad was always right---they didn’t pass my test either. After Dad died, I wondered how I’d figure it out on my own.
That’s when Jack arrived on the scene. He was different from any other guy I’d dated. He could sit for hours on the piano bench with my mother, discussing some composers. My brother Rick loudly announced that Jack wasn’t a turkey like the other guys I’d brought home. Jack passed my family’s test. But what about Dad’s?
Then came my mother’s birthday. The day he was supposed to drive, I got a call. “Don’t worry,” he said, “but I’ve been in an accident. I’m fine, but I need you to pick me up.”
When I got there, we rushed to a flower shop for something for Mom. “How about gardenias?” Jack said, pointing at a beautiful white corsage(胸花). The florist put the corsage in a box.
The entire ride, Jack was unusually quiet. “Are you all right?” I asked. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” he said. “I might be moving.” Moving? Then he added, “Moving in with you.” I nearly put the car on the sidewalk. “What?” I asked. “I think we should get married,” he said. He told me he’d planned his proposal in a fancy restaurant, but after the accident, he decided to do it right away. “Yes,” I whispered. We both sat dumbfounded, tears running down our cheeks. I’d never known such a tender moment. If only Dad were here to give his final approval.
“Oh, let’s just go inside.” Jack laughed. My mother opened the door. “Happy Birthday!” we shouted. Jack handed the box to her. She opened it up. Suddenly, her eyes were filled with tears. “Mom, what’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes. “This is only the second gardenia corsage I’ve ever received. I was given some years ago, long before you kids were born.” “From who?” I asked. “Your father,” Mom said. “He gave me one right before we were engaged.” My eyes locked on Jack’s as I blinked away(眨掉) tears. Dad’s test? I knew Jack had passed.According to the text, we know the writer’s father was __________.
| A．interested in observing things around |
| B．good at judging one’s character |
| C．strict with her boyfriend |
| D．fond of challenges |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．Jack knew a lot about piano. |
| B．Jack was different from any other boy. |
| C．Jack was getting on well with Mother. |
| D．Jack got the family’s approval except Dad’s. |
The underlined word “proposal” in Paragraph 5 means __________.
| A．offer of marriage | B．wedding ceremony |
| C．celebration of birthday | D．piece of advice |