CharlesBlackman：AliceinWonderl-优题课

Uncertainty spreads through our lives so thoroughly that it dominates our language. Our everyday speech is made up in large part of words like probably, many, soon, great, little. What do these words mean?Such verbal expression is not necessarily to be criticized. Indeed, it has a value just because it allows us to express judgments when a precise quantitative statement is out of the question.
We have been trying to pin down by experiments what people mean by these expressions in specific contexts, and how the meanings change with age. For instance, a subject is told “There are many trees in the park” and is asked to say what number the word many mean to him. Or a child is invited to take “some” sweets from a bowl and we then count how many he has taken. We compare the number he takes when he is alone with the number when one or more other children are present and are to take some sweets after him, or with the number he takes when told to give “some” sweets to another child.
First, we find that the number depends, of course, on the items involved. To most people some friends means about five, while some trees means about twenty. However, unrelated areas sometimes show parallel values. For instance, the language of probability seems to mean about the same thing in predictions about the weather and about politics: the expression “is certain to” (rain, or be elected) signifies to the average person about a 70 percent chance; “is likely to”, about a 60 percent chance; “probably will” about 55 percent.
Secondly, the size of the population of items influences the value assigned to an expression. Thus, if we tell a subject to take “a few” or “ a lot of” glass balls from a box, he will take more if the box contains a large number of glass balls than if it has a small number. But not proportionately more: if we increase the number of glass balls eight times, the subject takes only half as large a percentage of the total.
Thirdly, there is a marked change with age. Among children between six and fourteen years old, the older the child, the fewer glass balls he will take. But the difference between a lot and a few widens with age. This age effect is so consistent that it might be used as a test of intelligence.
What’s the right attitude towards the words like probably, many, soon?

A．They are inaccurate and we should avoid them.

B．They are necessary since we cannot be always precise.

C．They should be criticized because there are too many of them.

D．Their value is not yet clear since we don’t know their meaning.

Why do we do experiments with the words “many” and “some”?

A．To prove people are insensitive to these words.

B．To prove the words dominate our everyday speech.

C．To find out how the meanings vary with age and contexts.

D．To find out whether the words can mean a precise quantity.

Which of the expressions means a larger chance in weather broadcast?

A．Possible

B．Probable

C．Be likely to

D．Be certain to

Which of the following will least definitely influence the number of items a kid takes out of a box when he is invited to take “some”?

A．Whether the quantity of items is large or small.

B．Whether the items are candies or toys.

C．Whether the kid is a toddler or a youngster.

D．Whether the kid is alone or accompanied by other children.

What will tell us about the intelligence of a child?

A．The consistency of picking up a certain glass ball.

B．How many glass balls he will take when he’s asked to.

C．The difference between a lot and a few when he takes glass balls.

D．Whether there are marked changes in his first pick and second one.

I am a mother of three children and have recently completed my college degree. The last class I had to take was social study. The last project of the term was called “Smile”. The last class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.
Soon after we were given the project, my husband, my youngest son, and I went out to McDonald’s one cold March morning. It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.
We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back way. I turned around and found there standing behind me were two poor homeless men with a horrible “dirty body” smell. The short gentleman, close to me, was “smiling”. His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of light as he searched for acceptance. The second man played with his hands uneasily as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation (救赎). The short man just asked for a coffee because that was all they could afford.
I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray. I then walked around the corner to the men’s table. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman’s cold hand. He looked up at me with tears in his eyes and said “Thank you”.
I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, “That’s why God gave you to me, Honey. To give me hope.”
On the last evening of class, I turned in “my project” and the instructor read it. Then she looked up at me and said, “Can I share this?” I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class. She began to read and we all knew that we need to heal people and to be healed.
I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn: UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE. “LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS---NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE PEOPLE.”
Why did the people around the author back away?

A．Because both men were poorly dressed and mentally ill.

B．Because the short gentleman was smiling to everyone around.

C．Because two homeless men were also waiting in line, with a bad smell.

D．Because the second man stood playing with his hands.

After the author handed the meals to the homeless men, she _________.

A．talked with them for a while.	B．went back to her husband and son
C．turned in her project	D．regretted and cried

What kind of woman do you think the author is?

A．Over-curious

B．Caring

C．Mature

D．Lovely

What does the author try to tell us with the last sentence?

A．Giving is a gesture of love, which people will understand and appreciate.

B．If you need help from others, you’d better present them with gifts.

C．If you want to get something from somebody, you should please him with gifts.

D．Don’t be greedy with money or ask people to do things for you.

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A．The author’s husband was very proud of her.

B．What the author did to the men touched many people.

C．Poor as the homeless men were, they had their dignity.

D．The author felt we should know how to heal people.

The Beginning of the Civil Rights Movement
In 1955，bus seats for African Americans and whites were separated in parts of the U．S.. On December 1,1955，in the city of Montgomery，Alabama，a conflict，or disagreement，started when an African American woman named Rosa Parks refused to give her bus seat to a white man and go to the back of the bus. The police took 42yearold Parks to jail.
The African American community was extremely angry. They had a meeting and decided to work together to protest discrimination. They agreed to boycott(抵制) the buses on the day that Parks went to court. The day was a success. Empty buses drove through the streets. The city lost money. The community decided to continue the boycott. They elected a man named Martin Luther King，Jr. to be the leader.
The boycott continued. It was difficult for African Americans to get to work without buses，but they didn’t stop the boycott. The city continued to lose money. Finally，the U．S. Supreme Court decided that Montgomery’s bus laws were unfair and gave the African American community equal right. On December 21,1956，the bus boycott ended.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement. The movement eventually led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964，a set of laws that made discrimination a crime. During the Montgomery Bus Boycott，people worked together to change the government. Today，people in the U．S. continue to work together for a change. Now hundreds of organizations and community groups work to protect the rights of U．S. citizens and residents.
How is the situation for the black in the U．S. in 1955?

A．They were treated equally.

B．They were treated unfairly.

C．They had no rights to take a bus.

D．They were not allowed to take the same bus with the white.

What is the cause of the Civil Rights Movement?

A．Bus seats for African Americans and white were separated in parts of the U．S.

B．Rosa Parks was sent to jail for she refused to give her bus seat to a white man.

C．The African American community had a meeting to protest discrimination.

D．A man named Martin Luther King，Jr. was elected to be the leader.

How long did the boycott continue?

A．Less than a year.	B．Less than a month.
C．More than a year.	D．More than a month.

How did the black people fight for the civil rights?

A．By refusing to take buses.

B．By refusing to talk to the white.

C．Through fights with the white people.

D．By doing nothing.

What is the final result of the Civil Rights Movement?

A．The U．S. Supreme Court decided that Montgomery’s bus laws were unfair and gave the African American community equal right.

B．They elected a man named Martin Luther King，Jr. to be the leader.

C．Black people and white people can take the same bus.

D．The movement eventually led to the Civil Rights Act in 1964，a set of laws that made discrimination a crime.

School uniforms（制服）are becoming more and more popular across the U.S.A. That’s no surprise，because they offer many benefits. They immediately end the powerful social sorting and labeling （标记）that come from clothing. If all students are dressed in the same way，they will not pay too much attention to their clothing，and some of them will not be laughed at for wearing the “wrong” clothes.
Some people are against the strict rule of school uniforms，but they do not realize that students already accept a kind of rule — wanting to look just like their friends. The difference is that the clothing students choose for themselves creates social barriers（障碍）; school uniforms tear those barriers down.
As in other places，uniforms remind the wearers of their purposes and duties. For example，when a man or woman puts on a police uniform，he or she becomes，for a time，the symbol（象征）of law and order. The uniform means to the wearer his or her special duties and sends the same message to everyone the wearer meets. People with different jobs wear uniforms of one kind or another. For students，the school uniform reminds them that their task for the six or seven hours they are in school is to get an education.
Some parents are unhappy about uniforms，saying that school uniforms will affect their children’s “creativity”. First，as noted above，the clothes students choose to wear do not necessarily express their individuality （个性）. They just copy their classmates. Second，students have the rest of the day to be as creative as they like. While they’re in school，their job is to master reading，writing，and maths; this should take up all the creativity they have. Mastery of those skills will be good for the students to build up their creativity in every way.
In Paragraph 1，the word “benefits” probably means .

A．tasks

B．messages

C．differences

D．advantages

From the passage we learn that uniforms in general .

A．prevent the wearers from being laughed at

B．help the wearers keep their duties in mind

C．are seen as a symbol of power

D．help to create social barriers

Some people are against school uniforms because .

A．they fail to realize that students have accepted the uniforms

B．they believe that uniforms will make students less creative

C．they don’t agree that uniforms can remove social barriers

D．they think that school uniforms are too popular

The author would probably agree that .

A．it makes no difference whether to wear school uniforms or not

B．students’ individuality may not come from school education

C．students’ creativity is related to the clothes they choose

D．school uniforms help to create equality among students

School uniforms are becoming more and more popular and important because _____

A．they can stop the powerful social sorting and labeling.

B．if all students are dressed in the same way，they will not pay too much attention to their clothing.

C．uniforms can remind the wearers of their purposes and duties

D．school uniforms will affect their children’s creativity.

Frank Woolworth was born in Rodman, New York., in 1852. His family were very poor farmers, and there was never enough to eat. Frank decided he did not want to be farmer. He took a short business course, and went to work as a salesman in a large city.
Woolworth realized he had a natural skill for showing goods to attract people’s interest, but he soon learned something more important. One day his boss told him to sell some odds and ends (小商品 ) for as much as he could get. Frank put all these things on one table with a sign which said FIVE CENTS EACH. People fought and pushed to buy the things and the table was soon cleared.
Soon afterwards, Woolworth opened his own store., selling goods at five and ten cents. But he had another lesson to learn before he became successful. That is, if you want to make money by selling low-price goods, you have to buy them in large quantities directly form the factories. Once, for example, Woolworth went to Germany and placed an order for knives. The order was so large that the factory had to keep running 24 hours a day for a whole year. In this way, the price of the knives was cut down by half.
By 1919, Woolworth had over 1000 stores in the US and Canada, and opened his first store in London. He made many millions and his name became famous throughout the world. He always run his business according to strict rules, of which the most important was: “ THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”
Frank took a short business course in order to ____________.

A．earn more money for his family	B．learn something from a salesman
C．get away from the farm	D．get enough to eat.

Frank sold the odds and ends quickly because _____________.

A．he knew how to get people to buy his goods.

B．he cut down the price by half

C．he had put the goods on a table in a very nice way.

D．the sign he put on the table was well designed.

The price of the knives was cut down by half because ______________.

A．the factory workers worked 24 hours a day.

B．knives were ordered in large quantities directly from the factory.

C．the knives were made in Germany, where labour (劳动力) was cheap.

D．the knives were produced in one factory.

_____________ make Woolworth a world-famous man.

A．His business skills and his wealth.

B．The low price of the goods he sold.

C．His trip to Germany and his huge order of knives.

D．His natural skill for showing things.

The belief that : “ The customer is always right” suggests that _______________.

A．whenever there is a quarrel between the customer and shop assistant, the customers are always right.

B．If you want to succeed, the rule is the only way.

C．stores must always follow the customer’s orders if they want to make more money.

D．stores should do their best to meet the customer’s needs if they want to be successful.