In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some sociologists suggest that one little-noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner.
Before the appearance of television sets, the American dinner was a big event for the family. In many homes, dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three stages. In the preparation stage, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating stage, family members shared the day's experiences and more than food was eaten. In this stage families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family unit was strengthened. In the cleaning-up stage, children or Father again gave their hands, so that their importance to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been removed by a product---the television set.
By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long. The speed-up of the once-leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners --- meals designed to be eaten from the beginning to the end of a half-hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.
64. The underlined word in the second paragraph can be replaced by ____.
A. big B. important C. combined D. separate
65. In the past, Americans tended to ____.
A. spend more time eating their food at dinner table
B. eat more food than they have today
C. spend more time talking about their day's experiences at dinner table
D. talk so much that they forgot to eat
66. The shortening of the dinner time in America is related to ____.
A. the TV programs B. the pace of modern life
C. the wide use of electrical equipment D. the popularity of fast food
67. The best title for this passage might be ____.
A. Talk at Dinner Table B. TV Dinner
C. Pace of Modern Life D. Problems Caused by TV
F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary, “My own happiness in the past often approached such joy that I could not share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.”
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel The Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Tales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quickly brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial security. Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda affected his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The Love of the Last Tycoon in 1940. While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.(酗酒)
How many novels written by Fitzgerald are mentioned in the passage?
| A．5. | B．6. | C．7. | D．8. |
We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald .
| A．had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama |
| B．was well educated and well off before he served in the army |
| C．would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down |
| D．helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital |
The passage is probably followed by a concluding paragraph about .
| A．Zelda’s personal life |
| B．Zelda’s illness and treatment |
| C．Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham |
| D．Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world |
I was in a strange city and I didn't know the city at all, and what is more, I could not speak a word of the language. After having spent my first day in the town-centre, I decided to lose my way on my second day, since I believed that this was the simplest way of getting to know the strange city, I got on the first bus that passed, rode on it for several stops, then got off it and walked on. The first two hours passed pleasantly enough. Then I decided to turn back to my hotel for lunch. After walking about for some time, I decided I had better ask the way. The trouble was that the only word I knew of the language was the name of the street in which I lived and even then I pronounced it badly. I stopped to ask a friendly-looking newspaper-seller. He smiled and handed me a paper. I shook my head and repeated the name of the street and he put the paper into my hands. I had to give him some money and went on my way. The next person I asked was a policeman. The policeman listened to me carefully, smiled and gently took me by the arm. There was a strange look in his eyes as he pointed left and right and left again. I thanked him politely and began walking in the direction he pointed. About an hour passed and I noticed that the houses were getting fewer and fewer and green fields were appearing on either side of me. I had come all the way into the countryside. The only thing left for me to do was to find the nearest railway station.The writer believed that if you wanted to get to know a strange city, ________.
| A．you should go everywhere on foot |
| B．you should have a map |
| C．you should ask people the way |
| D．you should get lost |
The newspaper-seller ________.
| A．could understand what he said |
| B．didn't know what he said |
| C．laughed at him |
| D．didn't want to take the money |
The writer's real trouble was that ________.
| A．he couldn't speak the language |
| B．he followed the policeman's direction |
| C．he took the wrong bus |
| D．he left the town-centre |
The policeman ________.
| A．didn't help him |
| B．pointed at him |
| C．didn't understand what he really meant |
| D．didn't know the way |
Krakatau volcano (克拉克托火山) is in a small island in Indonesia. It had been peaceful for about 200 years before it erupted(爆发) in 1883.
The first signs of the activity of the volcano appeared in May 1883, when fire and smoke could be seen at the top of the mountain. Great noise could be heard even in Jakarta a hundred miles away. Later the activity grew much greater. The peak(山顶) was covered with smoke and fire; the smoke at one time was seventeen miles high in the air. The lava—soft and hot rock—shot up into the air and rolled down the sides of the mountain.
The mouth of the volcano was not at the peak of the mountain but on its side, close to the sea. As it grew bigger and bigger with the eruption, the sea water got into it. When the sea water reached the lava inside the volcano, it made the upper part of the lava colder and harder. And this sealed off (封住) the rest of the lava below. As the inside of the lava could not break through the seal, the pressure (压力) built up until the mountain blew up.
The eruption of the volcano was followed by several earthquakes which brought about bad result. About 36000 people were killed and many towns and villages near the sea were completely destroyed by the great waves which the earthquake caused.Give the correct order of the course of volcano eruption.
①The peak was covered with smoke and fire.
②Fire and smoke could be seen at the top of the mountain.
③Great noise could be heard a hundred miles away.
④The lava shot into the air and rolled down the sides of the mountain.
| A．①②③④ | B．①③②④ |
| C．②③①④ | D．④①③② |
What makes volcanoes erupt?
| A．The sea water which goes into the volcano |
| B．The lava. |
| C．The pressure which is bigger and bigger. |
| D．All the above. |
Where is the mouth of a volcano?
| A．At the peak of the mountain. |
| B．On the side of the mountain near the sea. |
| C．At the foot of the mountain. |
| D．In side the mountain. |
Butterflies are some of the most fascinating and beautiful insects in the world. Adult butterflies will live about 2 to 4 weeks. They use their senses of sight, touch, hearing, smell, and taste to survive in the world, find food and mates, lay eggs in an appropriate place, migrate, and avoid hungry enemies.
Butterflies have large compound eyes(复眼), which allow them to see in all directions without turning their heads. Like most insects, butterflies are very nearsighted, so they are more attracted to a sea of flowers than individual plants. Butterflies do not “see” colors such as red, green, and yellow, but they can sense sunlight, which indicates the direction the sun is shining, as well as ultraviolet light（紫外线）, which is present on many flowers and guides butterflies to honey sources.
Butterflies have a very well-developed sense of smell, but it is not in their nose, since they don't have one. Sense receptors are located in their antennae（触角）, feet, and many other parts of the body. They can help butterflies find their favorite flower honey food, and mates.
Butterflies' feet have sense organs that can taste the sugar in flower honey, letting the butterflies know if something is good to eat or not. Some females also carefully choose host plants by tasting to find appropriate places to lay their eggs. Adult butterflies feed their babies using a long tube. Butterflies force blood into the tube to straighten it out, allowing them to feed. Butterflies get all their food from this tube.
Butterflies don't have ears. Instead they “hear” sounds through their wings by sensing changes in sound vibrations（振动）.
Butterflies may possess senses we don't even know about yet, because their body structure is very different from ours, and therefore difficult to understand, when observed through our own human senses.What can we learn from the 2nd paragraph?
| A．Butterflies have good eyesight. |
| B．Butterflies can see in all directions and don't need to turn heads. |
| C．Butterflies are sensitive to bright colors including red and yellow. |
| D．Butterflies cannot sense the ultraviolet light. |
How do butterflies hear sounds?
| A．Using their feet to sense the vibration of things |
| B．Using their ears to listen directly |
| C．Using their wings to sense the sound vibrations |
| D．Using their antennae to judge the sound |
Why do female adult butterflies carefully choose the host plants?
| A．To find highqualified honey. |
| B．To have a good place for living. |
| C．To make it easier for them to hide from the enemies. |
| D．To find a proper place for their eggs. |
What does the last paragraph imply?
| A．There’s a long way to understand butterflies well |
| B．Butterflies give great help to human beings |
| C．Butterflies are the most beautiful insects in the world |
| D．Butterflies possess more senses than humans |
The text mainly focuses on ________.
| A．butterflies' living habits | B．butterflies' beauty |
| C．butterflies' daily activities | D．butterflies' senses |
Have you ever wondered what a Degree in your job or career? It means a lot of Americans with an Associate Degree average nearly $10,000 more in yearly earnings than those with just a High School Diploma(毕业证).
Harcourt Learning Direct offers you a way to get a Specialized Associate Degree in 11 of today’s growing fields—without having to go to college full-time. With Harcourt, you study at home, in your spare time, so you don’t have to give up your present job while you train for a better one. Choose from exciting majors like Business Management, Accounting, Dressmaking&Design, Bookkeeping, Photography, Computer Science, Engineering, and more!
Your training includes everything you need!
Books, lessons, learning aids-even professional-quality tools and equipment—everything you need to master your training and more ahead to a new career is included in the low tuition(学费) price you pay.
Your education is nationally recognized!
Nearly 2, 000 American companies-including General Electric, IBM, Mobile, General Motors, Ford, and many others—have used our training for their employees. If companies like these recognize the value of our training, you can be sure that employees in your area will, too!
Earn your degree in as little as two years! Get a career diploma in just six months!
The career of your dreams is closer than you think! Even if you have no experience before, you can get valuable job skills in today’s hottest fields! Step-by-step lessons make learning easy. Prepare for promotions(提升), pay raises, even start a business of your own!
Send today for FREE information about Harcourt at home training!
Simply fill in your name and address on the coupon(登记表) above. Then write in the name and number of the one program you’re most interested in, and mail it today. We’ll rush your free information about how you can take advantage of the opportunities. In the field you’ve chosen. Act today!
Mail coupon today! Or call the number below
1-800-372-1589.
Call any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
www. Harcourt-learning.com
E-mail: Harcourt@learning.com.This advertisement aims at calling on people to ________.
| A．attend full-time universities |
| B．work part time to further their education |
| C．improve their education at home to get better jobs |
| D．earn their degrees in different ways that suit them |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in this advertisement?
| A．The way how you will get your degree. |
| B．The exact amount of tuition you should pay. |
| C．The hot fields you will be preparing yourself for. |
| D．The length of time it will take you to get a degree. |
Which of the following majors doesn’t the Harcourt Learning Direct offer?
| A．photography | B．physiology |
| C．Accounting | D．bookkeeping |
People can get a Specialized Associate Degree by________.
| A．doing fulltime learning at school |
| B．working in some big famous companies |
| C．studying in their spare time |
| D．studying abroad for two years |
How can you get in touch with the Harcourt Learning Direct?
| A．By sending a letter not later than today. |
| B．By visiting the office on weekdays. |
| C．By making a call on weekdays only. |
| D．By sending an e-mail. |