AndyTomasisproofofthetypicalca-优题课

Passage two (Vicious and Dangerous Sports Should be Banned by Law)
When you think of the tremendous technological progress we have made, it’s amazing how little we have developed in other respects. We may speak contemptuously of the poor old Romans because they relished the orgies of slaughter that went on in their arenas. We may despise them because they mistook these goings on for entertainment. We may forgive them condescendingly because they lived 2000 years ago and obviously knew no better. But are our feelings of superiority really justified? Are we any less blood-thirsty? Why do boxing matches, for instance, attract such universal interest? Don’t the spectators who attend them hope they will see some violence? Human beings remains as bloodthirsty as ever they were. The only difference between ourselves and the Romans is that while they were honest enough to admit that they enjoyed watching hungey lions tearing people apart and eating them alive, we find all sorts of sophisticated arguments to defend sports which should have been banned long age; sports which are quite as barbarous as, say, public hangings or bearbaiting.
It really is incredible that in this day and age we should still allow hunting or bull-fighting, that we should be prepared to sit back and watch two men batter each other to pulp in a boxing ring, that we should be relatively unmoved by the sight of one or a number of racing cars crashing and bursting into flames. Let us not deceive ourselves. Any talk of ‘the sporting spirit’ is sheer hypocrisy. People take part in violent sports because of the high rewards they bring. Spectators are willing to pay vast sums of money to see violence. A world heavyweight championship match, for instance, is front page news. Millions of people are disappointed if a big fight is over in two rounds instead of fifteen. They feel disappointment because they have been deprived of the exquisite pleasure of witnessing prolonged torture and violence.
Why should we ban violent sports if people enjoy them so much? You may well ask. The answer is simple: they are uncivilized. For centuries man has been trying to improve himself spiritually and emotionally – admittedly with little success. But at least we no longer tolerate the sight madmen cooped up in cages, or public floggings of any of the countless other barbaric practices which were common in the past. Prisons are no longer the grim forbidding places they used to be. Social welfare systems are in operation in many parts of the world. Big efforts are being made to distribute wealth fairly. These changes have come about not because human beings have suddenly and unaccountably improved, but because positive steps were taken to change the law. The law is the biggest instrument of social change that we have and it may exert great civilizing influence. If we banned dangerous and violent sports, we would be moving one step further to improving mankind. We would recognize that violence is degrading and unworthy of human beings.
1.It can be inferred from the passage that the author’s opinion of nowadays’ human beings is
A. not very high. B. high. C. contemptuous. D. critical.
2.The main idea of this passage is
A. vicious and dangerous sports should be banned by law.
B. people are willing to pay vast sums money to see violence.
C. to compare two different attitudes towards dangerous sports.
D. people are bloodthirsty in sports.
3.That the author mentions the old Romans is
A. To compare the old Romans with today’s people.
B. to give an example.
C. to show human beings in the past know nothing better.
D. to indicate human beings are used to bloodthirsty.
4.How many dangerous sports does the author mention in this passage?
A. Three. B. Five. C. Six. D. Seven.
5.The purpose of the author in writing this passage is
A. that, by banning the violent sports, we human beings can improve our selves.
B. that, by banning the dangerous sports, we can improve the law.
C. that we must take positive steps to improve social welfare system.
D. to show law is the main instrument of social change.

Passage one（The only way to travel is on foot）
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists. Descriptions like ‘ Palaeolithic Man’, ‘Neolithic Man’, etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label ‘Legless Man’. Histories of the time will go something like this: ‘in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car parks. ’
The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world – or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. Is it the lure of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: ‘I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.’ The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says ‘I’ve been there. ’ You mention the remotest, most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say ‘I’ve been there’ – meaning, ‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. ’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.
1、Anthorpologists label nowaday’s men ‘Legless’ because
A people forget how to use his legs.
B people prefer cars, buses and trains.
C lifts and escalators prevent people from walking.
D there are a lot of transportation devices.
2、Travelling at high speed means
A people’s focus on the future.
B a pleasure.
C satisfying drivers’ great thrill.
D a necessity of life.
3、Why does the author say ‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’ ?
A People won’t use their eyes.
B In traveling at high speed, eyes become useless.
C People can’t see anything on his way of travel.
D People want to sleep during travelling.
4、What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A Legs become weaker.
B Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
C There is no need to use eyes.
D The best way to travel is on foot.
5. What does ‘a bird’s-eye view’ mean?
A See view with bird’s eyes.
B A bird looks at a beautiful view.
C It is a general view from a high position looking down.
D A scenic place.

D
Theatre
City Varieties：
The Headrow, Leeds.
Tel. 430808 Oct 10-11 only A Night at the Varieties.
All the fun of an old music hall with Barry Cryer, Duggle Brown, 6 dancers, Mystina, Jon Barker, Anne Duval and the Tony Harrison Trio. Laugh again at the old jokes and listen to your favourite songs.
Performances: 8 pm nightly.
Admission: ￡5; under 16 or over 60: ￡4.
York Theatre Royal
Tel. 223568 St Leonard’s Place, York.
Sept 23-Oct 17 Groping for Words-a comedy by Sue Townsend. Best known for her Adrian Mole Diaries, Townsend now writes about an evening class which two men and a woman attend. A gentle comedy.
Admission: First night, Mon: ￡2; Tues-Fri:￡3.25-5.50; Sat:￡3.50-5.75.
Halifax Playhouse
Tel. 365998 King’s Cross Street, Halifax.
Oct 10-17 on Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson. This is a magical comedy bout real people. A beautiful produced, well-acted play for everyone. Don’t miss it.
Performances: 7:30pm.
Admission: ￡2. Mon: 2 seats for the price of one.
Grand Theatre
Tel. 5022116 Restaurant and Cafe. Oxford Street, Leeds.
Oct 1-17 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13. Sue Townsend’s musical play, based on her best-selling book.
Performances: Evening 7:45. Oct 1-17, at 2:30 pm. No Monday performances.
Admission: Tues-Thurs: ￡2-5; Fri & Sat: ￡2-6.
48. Which theatre offers the cheapest seat?
A. Halifax Playhouse.B. City Varieties. C. Grand Theatre.D. York Theatre Royal.
49. If you want to see a play with old jokes and songs, which phone number will you ring to book a seat?
A. 502116 B. 223568 C. 365998 D. 430808
50. We may learn from the text that Sue Townsend is _______.
A. a writerB. an actressC. a musicianD. a director

C
Hank Viscardi was born without legs. He had no legs but stumps(残肢) that could be fitted with a kind of special boots. People stared at him with cruel interest. Children laughed at him and called him ‘Ape Man’ because his arms practically dragged on the ground.
Hank went to school like other boys. His grades were good and he needed only eight years to finish his schooling instead of the usual twelve. After graduating from school, he worked his way through college. He swept floors, waited on table, or worked in one of the college offices. During all this busy life, he had been moving around on his stumps. But one day the doctor told him even the stumps were not going to last much longer. He would soon have to use a wheel chair.
Hank felt himself got cold all over. However, the doctor said there was a chance that he could be fitted with artificial legs(假腿). Finally a leg maker was found and the day came when Hank stood up before the mirror. For the first time he saw himself as he has always wanted to be--- a full five feet eight inches tall. By this time he was already 26 years old.
Hank had to learn to use his new legs. Again and again he marched the length of the room, and marched back again. There were times when he fell down on the floor, but he pulled himself up and went back to the endless marching. He went out on the street. He climbed stairs and learned to dance. He built a boat and learned to sail it.
When World War II came, he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job. He took the regular training. He marched and drilled along with the other soldiers. Few knew that he was legless. This was the true story of Hank Viscardi, a man without legs.
44. It can be inferred from the story that five feet eight inches tall is _______.
A. an average height for a fully grown person
B.too tall for an average person
C. too short for an average person
D. none of the above
45. The sentence “he talked the Red Cross into giving him a job” implies that the Red Cross _______.
A. was only glad to give him a job
B. gave him a job because he was a good soldier
C.gave him a job after he talked to someone whom he knew in the organization
D. was not willing to give him a job at first
46. When Hank marched and drilled along with the other soldiers, he _______.
A. did everything the other soldiers did
B. did most of the things the other soldiers did
C. did some of the things the other soldiers did
D. took some special training
47. The writer suggests that Hank Viscardi _______.
A. had no friends B. never saw himself as different from others
C. was very shy D. was too proud to accept help from others

B
The fiddler crab (蟹) is a living clock. It indicates the time of day by the colour of its skin, which is dark by day and pale by night. The crab’s changing colour follows a regular twenty-four hour plan that exactly matches the daily rhythm of the sun.
Does the crab actually keep time, or does its skin simply answer to the sun’s rays, changing colour according to the amount of light which strikes it? To find out, biologists kept crabs in a dark room for two months. Even without daylight, the crab’s skin colour continued to change exactly on time.
This characteristic probably developed gradually in answer to the daily rising and setting of the sun, to help protect the crab from sunlight and enemies. After millions of years it has become completely controlled inside the living body of the crab.
The biologists noticed that once each day the colour of the fiddler crab is especially dark, and that each day this happens fifty minutes later than on the day before. From this they discovered that each crab follows not only the rhythm of the sun but also that of the tides (潮水). The crab’s period of greatest darkening is exactly the time of low tide on the beach where it was caught!
40. The crab’s changing colour _______.
A. tells the crab what time it is
B. protects the crab from the sunlight and enemies
C. keeps the crab warm
D. is of no real use
41. When the fiddler crabs were kept in the dark, they _______.
A. did not change colour B. changed colour more quickly
C. changed colour more slowly D. changed colour on the same timetable
42. The crab’s colour—changing ability was probably developed _______.
A. in the process of evolution (进化) B. over millions of years
C. by the work of biologists D. both A and B
43. The best title for this selection would be _______.
A. The Sun and the Tides B. Discoveries in Biology
C. A scientific Study D. A Living Clock