Why People Get Tattoos
Jack lay, quiet and unmoving for thirty minutes while a stranger repeatedly stabbed (刺) him with sharp needles, causing blood to pour steadily out of his leg. Jack was getting a tattoo. His friend Tony had recently gotten a tattoo, and Jack was so impressed by it that he decided to get one too. Peer pressure, media influence, and personal expression are some of the common reasons for wearing tattoos today.
The desire to be accepted by one’s friends or peers can have a great influence on what a person does. Sometimes, wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group. Gangs often use special clothes and tattoos to identify their particular group. Some of these groups wear only brand – name clothes. Others wear tattoos. When a person’s friends are all doing something, that person is more likely to do the same thing.
The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in North America. A wide variety of media images(人物，图像) show tattoos－people appearing in commercials selling expensive cars, famous sports heroes with tattoos in magazines, fashion models wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and colourful patterns. These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status. As a result, many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value.
Many people decide to wear tattoos in order to express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feelings－in other words, to show their individuality(个性). A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo of a guitar on the arm. Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a person's life.
As you can see, there are many reasons why young North Americans get tattoos. A tattoo can be part of a group's uniform, a sign of fashion or an expression of individuality. The decision to get a tattoo is most often a result of the influence of friends or media or the desire to express oneself. For Jack, it was a mixture of all three.
72. Jack has got tattoos in order to .
| A．show his great bravery | B．gain a special experience |
| C．make himself more healthy | D．be different from others |
73. According to the passage, media images are linked to .
| A．traditional lifestyle | B．social position |
| C．cultural background | D．public interest |
74. We can infer from the passage that .
| A．some people get tattoos out of pressure |
| B．tattoo is related to religious belief |
| C．getting tattoos costs a lot of money |
| D．most people with tattoos are artists |
75. Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
CP: Central Point P: Point Sp: Sub – point (次要点) C: Conclusion
As a school teacher, Inderjit Khurana used to take the train to work. And one day, at the station, she saw dozens of children who spent their days begging from train passengers rather than going to school. She learned that it was not a rare problem and that millions of children in India lived on the streets.
Realizing that these children would never be able to escape poor life and homelessness without education, and that it would be impossible to send these children to school, Inderjit decided to create a model program---taking the school to the most out- of-school children.
Khurana’s train platform schools aim to provide a creative school form and give children the basic levels of education. Her last goals reach far beyond the 20 platform schools she and her colleagues have created in India’s Bhubaneswar region. She is determined that her program will become a model for changing the lives of the poorest children throughout India and the world.
Khurana founded the Ruchika Social Service Organization(RSSO) in 1985. The teachers gather the children together between the stops of the train for reading, writing, maths and history taught through songs and other teaching tools.
Khurana recently comes to realize that the education of these children is impossible when the most basic needs of their families are not being met. So she also provides food and medicine for their families.
Khurana insists that every child have the right to an education and that if a child cannot come to the school, then the school must come to him or her.Khurana’s final aim is to .
| A．make the poorest children’s lives better |
| B．put an end to the problem of children’s dropout(辍学) |
| C．attract more students to her platform schools |
| D．set up 20 platform schools throughout India |
What can we learn about the RSSO?
| A．It has a history of more than 30 years. |
| B．It provides jobs for the poorest children. |
| C．It gives money to the out-of-school children. |
| D．Its work doesn’t only include free education for the street children. |
Khurana also provides free food and medicine for the children because_____.
| A．the fundamental family needs are included in her model program |
| B．she wants to draw more people’s attention to the RSSO |
| C．they are the necessities for the out-of-school children |
| D．she wishes to improve local people’s living standard |
Tang Zhou and his wife are planning to have their second child, a test-tube baby. His wife had a natural delivery when she was 34 and their first child, a boy, is now 7. The couple are now hoping to have a daughter through a surrogate mother in the US. “My wife couldn’t bear another delivery because of her heart condition and her age. Surrogacy helps avoid the risks to older mothers,” Tang said, “Moreover, our second child will be born in the US and become a citizen there. That is not a bad choice.”
The couple spent weeks researching their move, looking for a reliable agency that provides surrogacy services overseas. Surrogacy is still illegal in many countries, including China. “We will be taking much higher risks by relying on a surrogate mother in China because we are not protected by any regulation or law. You pay a lot of money but may meet with many problems,” Tang said. “You might not even get your baby back.”
Tang and his wife are part of an increasing number of Chinese couples who are turning to surrogacy services. Tang also considered surrogacy in Thailand but dropped the idea after recent reports about a baby with Down Syndrome(唐氏综合症) who was delivered through surrogacy and said to have been deserted in Thailand by the biological parents from Australia. Instead, Tang chose the California Surrogacy Center agency as his first option after reading the detailed introduction on its website. Compared with many other agencies that he could contact only via e-mail, the center has a consulting office in Beijing, Tang said.
The center is in San Diego, California, and has satellite offices in Los Angeles and Beijing. According to Liu, the center has been operating for more than eight years, and about 100 surrogate mothers live in California.“A surrogate mother” refers to a mother who _______.
| A．acts as a baby-sitter |
| B．nurses another woman’s baby |
| C．offers service to a new mother |
| D．gives birth to a baby for another woman |
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．Chinese couples prefer to have a test-tube baby. |
| B．Couples face no risks in surrogacy services. |
| C．A sick test-tube baby was deserted in Thailand. |
| D．Unhealthy test-tube babies can be legally abandoned. |
Tang and his wife turned to overseas surrogacy services because _______.
| A．surrogacy remains illegal in China |
| B．they call for less money |
| C．it is more convenient to contact them |
| D．most of them are experienced |
The passage mainly tells us that ________.
| A．an old woman can take a risk of delivering a baby |
| B．more Chinese couples are turning to surrogacy |
| C．it’s not a bad choice to have a baby born overseas |
| D．biological couples may fail to get their babies back |
ACS Middle School is delighted to announce the 10-day Morocco Challenge 2015. We are planning another exciting adventure to Morocco with the support of World Challenge, a global leader in service and adventure based trips. What sets this programme apart from other middle school trips is that the students will have the opportunity to help plan and lead their own expedition(考察探险).
This experience gives ACS Middle School students an opportunity to do something really unique that will make them stand out from the crowd. The experience will provide students with a wealth of new skills which they will find invaluable in school, college, university and the world beyond.
We invite you to join us for an informative parents’ presentation, given by World Challenge, where you will have the opportunity to hear all about the amazing challenges that your son or your daughter will have the chance to experience.
Initial Information Evening for interested students and parents:
Date: MONDAY, September 22nd, 2014
Time: 4:00 pm
Location: ACS Middle School
The presentation will be an informative and interactive presentation with plenty of opportunities for questions, along with videos and images of the expeditions and what it will be like to take part. There will be lots of information on how the students will fundraise to take part in this expedition, what they will do while overseas, the safety and back-up on the expedition and the benefits they will obtain from taking part.
We hope you and your son(daughter) are able to attend the Parents’ Presentation. We are sure you will find it interesting and see why ACS values the outcomes of this programme so highly. If you are unable to attend then your son or your daughter can attend on your behalf and collect the information needed.
Email enquiries to: cobmsclubz@acs-schools.com Subject: Morocco Challenge 2015
According to the passage, the Morocco Challenge 2015 _______.
| A．is the first adventure by World Challenge |
| B．was announced about 10 days ago |
| C．will start on 22nd September 2014 |
| D．differs from other middle school trips |
The passage is most probably found in_______in a newspaper.
| A．tour | B．sport |
| C．economy | D．education |
According to the passage, which of the following is True?
| A．The informative Presentation will be given by World Challenge. |
| B．For more information, you can send email to World Challenge. |
| C．Students cannot be allowed to attend the Parents’ Presentation. |
| D．Parents are not allowed to go on the expedition along with their children. |
The passage is written to _______.
| A．advertise World Challenge and appeal to more volunteers. |
| B．inform students how to fundraise to join in this expedition. |
| C．invite parents to attend an interactive Parents’ Presentation. |
| D．guide students to organize their own expedition. |
Here is some information for you if you want to make a visit to Xi’an.
| Admission Fee: |
CNY150 (March 1 - end of November) CNY120 (December 1 - end of February) The fare is for the Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s Mausoleum Site Park Through Ticket including the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses, Lishan Garden and shuttle buses inside the scenic area. |
| Guide Services: |
The exhibits are so well explained in both Chinese and English. However, visitors can also enjoy the guide services. It costs around CNY 100 to hire a guide. |
| Ticket Selling Hours: |
Sell tickets from 08:30 to 17:00 (March 16-Nov.15), stop check-in at 18:35; Sell tickets from 08:30 to 16:30 (Nov.16-March 15), stop check-in at 18:05 |
| Transportation: |
From Xi’an Xianyang International Airport: Visitors can take Airport Shuttle Line 2 to Xi’an Railway Station. The bus departs every hour from 10:15 to 19:15 at 1F of T2 and the ticket costs CNY 25. Visitors can also hire a taxi from the airport and the fare is about CNY 200. From downtown Xi’an: Take tourism bus No.306 from the east square of Xi’an Railway Station or 307 from the south gate of Tang Paradise. The whole journey takes about one hour. The bus fare is CNY7 per person. |
| Getting Around: |
Battery-powered motor vehicles and ancient-style carriages are available for visitors to tour around the mausoleum. 30 free shuttle buses are traveling between the Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Museum of Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses for tourists’ convenience. One can take them by showing the entrance ticket. |
| Recommended Time for a Visit: |
The museum is crowded in the morning because there are too many group visitors. Therefore, independent visitors may visit the museum in the early afternoon to avoid the crowds. However, they should not miss the last bus that returns from the museum to Xi’an at 19:00. |
A couple who want to visit the Museum in January should pay at least _______.
| A．CNY 120 | B．CNY 150 | C．CNY 240 | D．CNY 300 |
It can be learned from the passage that _______.
| A．guide services are free of charge |
| B．there are more visitors in the morning |
| C．most guides speak in more than two languages |
| D．visitors can get around by free motor cars |
Which of the following is false according to the passage?
| A．Visitors with through tickets cannot take free shuttle buses. |
| B．The last bus returns from the Museum at 19:00. |
| C．Visitors had better enter the Museum with a ticket in the early afternoon. |
| D．Bus No. 307 starts from the south of Xi’an Railway Station. |
The passage is written to_______.
| A．introduce the history of Xi’an |
| B．give some detailed information to visitors to Xi’an |
| C．recommend transportation to tour around Xi’an |
| D．offer the guide services in Xi’an |
My 16-year-old son, Anton, had gone to the local swimming hole. Most of the kids who swim there are fit and strong teens, and there are plenty of rocks for them to use as safe harbors, so I had no fears for his well-being. Still, the firefighter’s first words, “You need to come up here to the Stillwater River,” made me catch my breath.
When I got to the river, I saw Anton sitting quietly on a low platform of the fire engine, with a towel wrapped about his shoulders.
I hurried over to him. “You OK?” I asked.
“Yeah,” was all he said. But my eyes begged for an explanation. I didn’t get it from my son.
The story was this: A couple in their 20s, unfamiliar with the Stillwater, had gotten caught in the current and began screaming for help. Without hesitation Anton and his friend dived into the water, swam out to the drowning(溺水的) woman, and brought her safely to shore.
In an age in which the world “hero” is broadcast with abandon(随意）and seemingly applied to anyone, I realized the real thing in my son and his friend—the disregarding of personal safety for the sake of another human being. I know that teens are headstrong and self-centered, but this didn’t lower the gravity of the event and the desire to do good.
Along the way home I tried to get some more information from him, but the only words were, “What’s for supper?”
I thought twice about the tragedy(悲剧) that might have been. Questions flew across my mind like a flight of swallows: Would I have risked my life to save a drowning person? Or would I have chosen to dial 911? Would I have told the story over and over to anyone who’d listen?
The next morning, when Anton got up, I half expected him to tell me the story from his point of view, now that he had some distance from the event. But all he did was to toast a pie, pull himself together, and head for the door to begin the new day.The writer caught her breath when she heard the fire fighters’ first words because_______.
| A．her son saved a woman |
| B．she was scolded by fire fighters |
| C．she was anxious about her son’s safety |
| D．her son was to blame for a fire |
We can infer from the passage that _______.
| A．firefighters always turn up in case of emergency |
| B．parents are always worried about their children |
| C．it’s dangerous to swim in an unfamiliar river |
| D．teens are more responsible than expected |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．My Mother, My Love | B．My Son, My Hero |
| C．A Narrow Escape | D．A Silent Boy |