We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning.
We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers.
Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor.
Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. Typically, the original message has changed.
That’s what happens in daily life. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then , too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping(打上标记) it with their own personal style, Yet those who hear it think they know.
This process is also found among scholars and authors: A statement of opinion by one writer may be re-stated as a fact by another, who
may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.According to the passage, passive learning may occur in _____.
| A．doing a medical experiment | B．solving a math problem |
| C．visiting an exhibition | D．doing scientific reasoning |
The underlined word “it” in Paragragh 2 refers to ______.
| A．active learning | B．knowledge |
| C．communication | D．passive learning |
The author mentions the game Rumor to show that ______.
| A．a message may be changed when being passed on |
| B．a message should be delivered in different ways |
| C．people may have problems with their sense of hearing |
| D．people tend not to believe in what they know as rumor |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Active learning is less important. |
| B．Passive learning may not be reliable. |
| C．Active learning occurs more frequently. |
| D．Passive learning is not found among scholars. |
Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.
In the early 17th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice（威尼斯）in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education-but only for the rich.
In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to “take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel between towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.
Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to faraway countries.
The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
Thus tourism grew, in 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything-plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food-and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born and began to take off.When tourism first started in Roman times, people ______.
| A．just visited the countryside. |
| B．visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time. |
| C．stayed in friends’ town for weeks or even months. |
| D．just visited friends and families within the Roman Empire. |
. In the early times, the travelers ______.
| A．all came from Roman. | B．were very young and strong. |
| C．had lots of money. | D．traveled by boat. |
______ played the most important role in the tourism development.
| A．Education. | B．Money. | C．Transportation. | D．People’s ideas. |
Package tour was born ______.
| A．in the 20th century. | B．in Roman times. |
| C．in the early 17th century. | D．in the 19th century. |
The underlined phrase “take off” means ______.
| A．a plane rising into the air. | B．develop very fast. |
| C．remove hats and clothes. | D．bring down the prices. |
Separate lives, similar dreams
As we know, some children live in the countryside, and some live in the city. Their lives are a little different, but they also have many of the same dreams.
| In the countryside |
In the city |
|
| Travel to school |
On foot |
By bus or car |
| Classroom facilities（设施） |
Recorders and radios. |
Multimedia classrooms, VCD, DVD, TVs, recorders, radios, loud-speakers. |
| Ways of learning |
Classes only, without many reference books. |
Many extra classes, tutor, lots of reference books. |
| Eyesight |
Less than 45% are near-sighted. |
About 75% are near-sighted. |
| After-class activities |
Playing with balls. |
English corners and other school clubs. |
| Homework |
Homework can usually be finished at school. |
Homework never ends. |
| Chores to do |
Washing, cleaning, farming, looking after younger sisters or brothers, cooking. |
Usually no chores. |
| Family members |
Big families with three generations. |
Small families with three members. |
| Ideal jobs |
Teachers, drivers, scientists, nurses, secretaries. |
Scientists, professors, doctors, computer programmers, managers, university presidents, the UN chief. |
The survey was done among the ______ between in the countryside and the city.
| A．teachers. | B．students. | C．parents. | D．adults. |
. About ______ of children in the countryside have good eyesight, but only ______ of children in the city have good eyesight.
| A．45%,75%. | B．55%,75%. | C．55%,25%. | D．45%,25%. |
Which of the following is not included in the survey?
| A．Ideal jobs. | B．After-class activities. |
| C．Ways of learning. | D．Results of tests. |
. A classroom in the countryside often has ______ according to the survey.
A. records. B. DVD. C. TVs. D. loud-speakers. Which of the following is WRONG according to the survey?
| A．Children in the countryside often go to school on foot. |
| B．Children in the city often have too much homework to do. |
| C．Children in the countryside often have lots of chores to do. |
| D．Children in the city are difficult to find ideal jobs. |
Let children learn to judge their own work. A child who learns to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time. If corrected too much., he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the differences between the language he uses and the language those around him. Little by little, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, children learn to do all the other things without being taught-to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle-compare their performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes.
But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them himself. We do it all for his act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to. Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says , what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.
If it is a matter of right answers, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine(daily) work? Our job should be to help the children when they tell us that they can’t find the way to get to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know. According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by ______.
| A．listening to the advice of grown-ups. |
| B．asking adults many questions. |
| C．making mistakes and having them corrected. |
| D．doing as other people do by themselves. |
Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?
| A．Give children correct answers. |
| B．Allow children to make mistakes. |
| C．Tell the children what is wrong with their work as often as possible. |
| D．Let children judge their own work. |
According to the writer, teachers in school should ______.
| A．encourage children to learn from each other. |
| B．point out children’s mistakes whenever they are found. |
| C．correct children’s mistakes as much as possible. |
| D．teach children more knowledge from book. |
The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ______.
| A．different from learning other skills. | B．the same as learning other skills. |
| C．more important than other skills. | D．unnecessary skills. |
. Which of the following may serve as the best title of this passage?
| A．Let Us Teachers Stop Working. | B．Let Children Alone. |
| C．Let Children Correct Their Exercises. | D．Let Children Learn by Themselves. |
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer an opportunity to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child-care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one symbolizes a living mother. A while one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit the cemetery. On these days families get together at home, as well as in restaurants. They often have outdoor barbecues for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are more valuable than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting cards stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephone companies, and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays. Which is not a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
| A．Parents bring up the children. |
| B．Parents give love and care to children. |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons. |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up. |
. What do you know from the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past. |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents. |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home. |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
| A．It only has two kinds of colors. |
| B．It refers to the special clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. |
| C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May. |
On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, ________.
| A．people usually have family parties. | B．everyone goes to visit the cemetery. |
| C．children always go to parent’s home. | D．hand-made cards are the most valuable gifts. |
What do you think florists do?
| A．They sell flowers. |
| B．They make bread or pastry. |
| C．They offer enough room for having family parties. |
| D．They sell special clothes for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. |
This morning, a Virgin Atantin 747 Jumbo Jet became the first commercial airplane to fly on biofuel. The short flight from London to Amsterdam used a blend of 20% babassu(棕榈) oil mixed with 80% conventional jet fuel.
What was really exciting about the flight was the fact that the engine did not have to be altered in any way for the biofuel to work While this is a great initial step in trying to reduce CO2(carbon-dioxide)emissions(排放)from airplanes. there are a lot of hurdles (障碍)that still need to be overcome.
First and foremost, unlike the normal fuel used to run airplanes (known as Jet A),biofuel freezes at high altitudes. Also, Jet‘A’fuel burns consistently (at the same pace),which means it provides a safe and reliable fuel for long flights--engineers are not sure if biofuel will be able to do the same.
The biggest hurdle to a full biofuel switch is our ability to be able to grow enough crops that can be converted to biofuel. There are two concerns that scientists have in this matter – the first is that the land to grow the extra crops will come from clearing more of our forests and the second is that since it competes with what we eat, the price of food will go up.
However, Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines, envisions that if biofuel starts to replace oil on a greater basis, it will be manufactured from algae（藻类）produced in sewage treatment plants, not from food sources.
Birgin Airlines is not the only one trying to look for alternative fuel sources. Earlier this year, an Airbus A380 used another alternative fuel－a man-made mix of gas-to-liquid, in one of its four engines. The flight was tested by Rolls Royce (manufacturer of jet engines), in partnership with Shell (an oil company). Rolls Royce is also working with Air New Zealand on a similar project.
While a complete switch to alternative fuel may take years, it is very encouraging to see airlines, oil companies and airplane manufacturers all coming together to try to make it happen!．Why does Virgin Airlines try to replace normal fuel with biofuel?
| A．To cut down the flight cost of the company. |
| B．To remove some hurdles for the biofuel to work. |
| C．To reduce CO2 emissions from airplanes. |
| D．To test plane engines on biofuel. |
．Which is NOT true for a full biofuel switch of airplanes?
A Biofuel cannot run for long flights.
B．Biofuel cannot work at high altitudes.
C．Man has not enough land to grow extra crops for biofuel.
D．It’s not easy for sewage treatment plants to manufacture biofuel.．One of the hurdles to be overcome for a full biofuel switch is to.
| A．alter the engine for airplanes |
| B．make biofuel burn consistently |
| C．open more land to grow more crops |
| D．develop sewage treatment plants |
．We can infer from the last paragraph that.
| A．there is a long way to go for a complete switch to alternative fuel |
| B．it won’t be long before alternative fuel comes into use |
| C．airlines, oil companies and airplane manufacturers are reliable |
| D．alternative fuel has a bright future |
．Which of the following can best serves as the title of this passage?
| A．Biofuel-Alternative Fuel Sources. |
| B．The First Commercial Flight Powered by Biofuel. |
| C．How to Reduce CO2 Emissions from Airplanes. |
| D．Vigin Airlines Trying to Alter Fuel Sources. |