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 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 colorful 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．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 |
According to the passage, media images are linked to ．
| A．traditional lifestyle | B．social position |
| C．cultural background | D．public interest |
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 |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
CP: Central Point P: Point SP: Sub-Point C: Conclusion
The first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman Laurent Clerc. He and Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet founded America’s first school for the deaf.
When Laurent Clerc was one year old, he fell into a fire. As a result, he lost both his hearing and his sense of smell. At the age of 12, Laurent entered the Royal Institution for the Deaf in Paris. After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher.
Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister when he met a young deaf girl, Alice Cogswell. He was upset to learn that there were no schools for the deaf in America. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. However, he was unable to get help. He met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to Paris to learn at the Royal Institution for the Deaf.
Gallaudet went to the Royal Institution for the Deaf, where Clerc became his Sign Language teacher. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return to America, he asked Clerc to come with him.
The two men set sail on June 18, 1816. The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.
America’s first school for the deaf was founded __________.
| A．in 1816 | B．in 1817 | C．by a Fenchman | D．by an American |
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sailed to London because __________.
| A．he wanted to study the system of deaf education |
| B．he needed to finish his studies to become a minister |
| C．he wanted to get help from Clerc |
| D．he wanted to find schools for the deaf |
." After he graduated, the school asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher." From this
sentence we can infer that __________.
| A．the school wanted to help Clerc to get a job |
| B．the school wanted Clerc to be prepared to teach Americans |
| C．the school was impressed with Clerc, and thought he would do a good job |
| D．the school wanted other deaf students to model after Clerc |
The main idea of this passage could best be stated as __________.
| A．Clerc was an intelligent man |
| B．Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was grateful to Clerc for all that he taught him |
| C．Clerc would teach the deaf in America rather than in Paris |
| D．Clerc, an educated Frenchman, made a difference to American Deaf Education |
A new study shows that fat people in the United States suffer direct economic and social effects because of their size. The findings are from an 8-year study of about 100,000 people. The people who were studied were between the age of 18 and 24 when the research began.
The researchers who carried out the study say they consider the people fat if they are in the top of 5% of the measurement in which weight is linked to height. For example, fat women in the study were about 160 centimeters tall and weighed about 90 kilograms. Fat men in the study were about 175 centimeters tall and weighed 100 kilograms. The researchers say that more than 1,000,000 Americans are that big. The researchers found that fat young women were from wealthy families. The fat women also were 20% less likely to get married and they earned an average of about $6,700 a year less than other women. The study showed less severe effects on fat men. They earned an average of about $3,000 a year less than other men. Fat men also were 11% less likely to get married.
The passage mainly tells us __________.
| A．the standards of fat people | B．the number of fat Americans |
| C．fat people have fewer advantages | D．how long is the study |
From this study we know fat people in America __________.
| A．were respected | B．earned less |
| C．were more likely to get married | D．earned more |
. The underlined word "severe" here means __________.
| A．economic | B．social | C．good | D．serious |
The researchers consider the people fat if __________.
| A．they eat lots of food and do less exercise |
| B．they are fatter than others |
| C．they are in the top of 5% of the measurement of weight |
| D．they are in the top of the measurement in which weight is linked to height. |
A journey to China
14 days from just ￡2,090pp
Fully inclusive from the UK
Price cover international airfares, departure taxes, fuel charges, local transportation, accommodation, all meals, entrance fees, guides, daily tours and visas for UK citizens.
◆Days 1-3 UK-Shanghai
Fly to the great city of shanghai and in the evening sample traditional shanghai food. Visit the beautiful YU Gardens, Old Town. Shanghai Museum, cross the Great Nanpu Bridge and tour the Pudong area. Also explore Xintiandi with its 1920’s style Shikomen buildings and end your stay in shanghai with an amazing Huangpu river evening tour.
◆Days 4-7:Shanghai-Yangtze River Tour
Fly to Yichang and change （approx: one hour）to board your Yangtze River ship for the next four nights. Enjoy a tour of the three Gorges Dam（三峡大坝）before sailing on the grand Yangtze River, passing through the impressive Three Gorges. We take a side trip to the lesser Three Gorges or travel up the Shennong Stream in a peapod boat and enjoy various shore trips along the way.
◆Day8 :Chongqing—Chengdu
Get off in Chongqing and drive to Chengdu for an overnight stay.
◆Day9-10;Chengdu-Xi’an
Visit the famous Panda Reserve to see the lovely animals We then fly to the historic city of Xi’an for two nights stay and enjoy traditional Shuijiao. Next day, explore one of the most important discoveries of the 20th century—the Terracotta Warriors（兵马俑），followed by the ancient City wall and a performance of Tang Dynasty dancing.
◆Day11-13: Xi’an-Beijing
Visit little wild Goose pagoda and see the ancient objects at the well-known Shangxi Provincial museum before walking through the lively militia Quarter to see the Great Mosque. Later fly to Beijing for three nights’ stay and try Peking Duck. During our stay in Beijing, we stroll through Tiananmen Square to the Forbidden city, the largest and best preserved collection of ancient buildings in china, and visit the summer palace. Next day we take a walk on the Great wall, tour the unique Temple of Heaven and enjoy an attractive Chinese Acrzobatio show.
◆Day14:Beijing-UK
Fly back to the UK, arriving home later the same day filled with happy memories.
The underlined word “sample” in the passage probably means “ ” .
| A．buy | B．reserve | C．taste | D．make |
The first and last scenic spots to he visited in Xi’an are .
| A．the Terracotta Warriors and the Great Mosque |
| B．the Terracotta Warriors and shanghai provincial Museum |
| C．Little wild goose Pagoda and Great Mosque |
| D．Little wild goose Pagoda and the Muslim Quarter |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the ad?
| A．The tourists will have to pay extra for fuel and meals. |
| B．The tourists will visit the 1920’s Shikumen buildings in Beijing. |
| C．The tourists will take a side trip to the Three Gorges Dam during the tour. |
| D．The tourists will stay in Beijing for three nights before leaving for the UK. |
The ad is mainly intended to .
| A．encourage the British to travel in China |
| B．attract the British to traditional Chinese food |
| C．offer service of booking air tickets to tourists |
| D．provide the British with a better understanding of China. |
Good readers know that reading isn’t just about knowing words—it’s a way of thinking. Some readers think before, during and after reading. Here are some suggestions that may be of some help.
Think before you read. Before you read the text, ask yourself the questions that why you are reading it and what you want to get from it. Answering the questions will help you choose what words you need to know and what words you can skip or scan.
Think while you are reading. Can you get the meaning of the text without looking up new words in a dictionary? Are there any clues (线索)in the text? A text will often give examples that may help you understand what some of the words mean, let’s take the following sentence for example.
Many large Russian cities such as Chelayabinsk and Irkutsk, have taken steps to protect their culture.
The words “Chelyabinsk”and”Irkutsk” may be new to us, but the sentence tells us that they are examples of_____________
Think after you read. Do you understand the text? What is the main idea of the text? Can you guess the meaning of the new words? Which words do you need to look up? Is the text too easy or too hard for you?
If you practice reading and thinking in this way, you will become a smarter reader and you will learn more, faster and better.
This passage is probably taken from
| A．a newspaper for general readers | B．a magazine for language teachers |
| C．a book for language learners | D．an advertisement for a new book |
Which of the following can best be put in the blank in the passage?
| A．countries | B．mountains | C．rivers | D．cities |
The author of the passage mainly advises that .
| A．we should think before, while and after reading a passage |
| B．we’d better look up every new word in a dictionary |
| C．we should learn to guess the meanings of new words |
| D．the clues in a passage should be made use of |
For some kids, old photos and baby pictures are embarrassing. For others, they are cherished keepsakes (纪念品). But for thousands of children living in orphanages (孤儿院) worldwide, these records of the past simply don't exist. Either the kids' parents weren't around to snap photos, or the pictures have been lost. Whatever the reason is, the Memory Project is giving orphans a lasting document of their youth.
Over the last two years, the Memory Project has provided hand-painted portraits to more than 4,000 children living in orphanages in poor countries. Ben Schumaker, 24, got the idea when he was visiting an orphanage in Guatemala in Central America. But he's not creating the portraits(肖像) alone. Students in hundreds of high school art classes across the U.S. paint them using photos sent from the orphanages.
Schumaker believes that the artists benefit from the project as much as the orphans do. “There are two purposes of the Memory Project,” he said. “One is to offer a special gift to the child abroad. The other is to help open the eyes of the student who is painting.” Staring into the eyes of another person, Schumaker believes, it creates a real connection. This connection raises awareness in U.S. schools about the needs of the world's poor children. “It's about planting a seed,” he said.
Schumaker is also working on Books of Hope, a project in which students of all ages put together homemade books for children in Uganda and India. He hopes that one day children in Uganda and India will send books to the U.S. “It's important to me to have it be a two-way exchange,” Schmnaker says.
Old photos and baby pictures are clearly unavailable to .
| A．the kids in rich families | B．the kids in common families |
| C．the kids in expanded families | D．the kids without parents |
How can the orphans in Guatemala get a continuing record of their youth?
| A．By hand-painted portraits that Ben Schumaker painted. |
| B．By the photos the orphanage taken for them. |
| C．By the photos taken by the U.S. students in high schools. |
| D．By the Memory Project started by Ben Schumaker. |
What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．The special gifts that the world's poor children received. |
| B．The benefits that the Memory Project brings. |
| C．The need of the US schools. |
| D．How to help the orphans. |
According to the passage, Schumaker helps the kids in poor countries.
| A．two | B．three | C．four | D．five |