For a writer, there is hardly any greater honor than winning the Nobel Prize for literature.
And for a woman writer, claiming the prize is even harder, for only eight women once won it. Austria’s Elfriede Jelinek is the ninth and the first since 1996.
The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy announced last Thursday that Jelinek won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature. She is recognized for her socially critical(批判的) novels and plays.
Jelinek, 57, made her literary debut (初次露面) in 1967. She has written plays, novels and poetry. She is best known for her autobiographical 1983 novel “The Piano Teacher”, made into a movie in 2001.
The basic theme of her work is the inability of women to live as people beyond the roles and personalities traditionally expected of them. Her characters struggle to lead lives not normally acceptable in society. “The nature of Jelinek’s texts is often hard to define. They shift between prose(散文) and poetry and songs, they contain theatrical scenes and film script,” said the academy.
The Nobel Prize was founded by Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. Nobel died in 1896 and left his fortune of about US $920 million to a fund to honor people who have helped other human beings. This year each prize is worth US $13 million. The underlined word “them” in the last second paragraph refers to _______.
| A．roles | B．people | C．texts | D．women |
Elfrede Jelinek won the Nobel Prize just because _______.
| A．she was an Austrian woman writer |
| B．she wrote socially critical novels and plays |
| C．her novel “The Piano Teacher” was made into a movie |
| D．the nature of her texts is hard to define. |
Which of the following about the Nobel Prize is TRUE?
| A．It is harder for a woman writer to win than a man writer. |
| B．The total prize every year was $920 million. |
| C．Women writers were not awarded until 1996. |
| D．Only eight women writers won the prize since 1996. |
This passage is most likely taken from _______.
| A．a travel magazine | B．a history book | C．a newspaper | D．an advertisement |
Decision-making can be extremely difficult. Decision-making styles are significantly different in different cultures.
In any approach to a problem and in any negotiations, the Western world turns to the“I to you” approach while Japan，the “you to you” approach. The former means both sides present their arguments openly from their own point of view. Naturally, often comes a confrontation(冲突) situation, which Westerners are very skillful in dealing with.The latter is based on each side trying to understand the other person’s point of view. Thus, the direction of the meeting is a mutual(相互的) attempt to reduce confrontation and achieve harmony.
Besides, Western decision-making goes mostly from top management(管理人员) and often does not consult middle management or the worker. However, in Japan great consideration is given to the thoughts and opinions of everyone at all levels. Based on “bottom-up direction”, ideas can be created at the lowest levels, travel upward through an organization and have an effect on the final decision.
Difference in decision-making also comes from different communication styles. The Japanese business person works to achieve harmony, even if the deal fallsthrough, and will spend whatever time is necessary to determine a “you to you” approach, communicating personal views only indirectly. They put a thorough job above the Western deadline approach. So the Japanese are thorough in their meetings. Thus Americans are often annoyed by the many meetings in many Japanese businesses. But where the American is pressingfor a specific decision, the Japanese is trying to think up a rather broad direction.
On the other hand, once a given agreement is made, it is the Japanese who sometimes wonderat the slow pace in which Westerners carry out the decision. The Japanese are eager to move forward and Westerners, perhaps, lag(落后)behind as they take the time for in-depth planning. The text mainly tells us that Japan and the Western world .
| A．face great difficulty in making decisions |
| B．are different in decision-making styles |
| C．have all members contribute to a decision |
| D．have two approaches: “I to you” and “you to I” |
Which of the following is TRUE of the Westerners?
| A．They carry out the decision once it is made. |
| B．There are many meetings in their businesses. |
| C．They work to achieve harmony in doing business. |
| D．They are good at handling confrontation situation. |
The author’s attitude towards Japanese decision-making is .
| A．positive | B．critical | C．negative | D．casual(无所谓的） |
The Ministry of Health has called for more awareness from the public on the mental health of the young, as part of efforts to mark World Mental Health Day.
More than 15 percent of the Chinese youth have been found with mental problems, and about 30 million young people under 17 are suffering from depression, the Shanghai-based Wenhui Daily reported.
The World Health Organization predicted that before 2020, the rate of children with mental problems will increase to 50 percent, and mental problems will become a major factor behind death and illness in the young worldwide.
Deng Xiaohong, the spokesperson for the Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, said rapid social change is one of the reasons behind the rising number of youngsters with psychological problems. If these mental diseases are not addressed on time, occurrence (发生) of crime, drugtaking and other dangerous behavior is expected to rise.
Experts said mental disease could be caused by many factors, such as the inability to handle interpersonal relations well, unstable (不稳定的) emotions and pressure from the overload of study. A number of experts have also said the one-child policy is another reason leading to poor mental health in the young.
Children were said to be too “spoiled” and “selfish” in one-child families. Schools in many cities were reported rolling out measures to help students maintain their mental wellbeing. Yin Jingmiao, a teacher of the Beijing No. 105 Middle School, told China Daily that the school invites psychologists to provide counseling (咨询) to students three times a month. “Students can be arranged to have 40minute counseling lessons,” Yin said. The school also gives lectures on mental health to senior grade students before they take the national college entrance exams, to help ease any anxiety arising from the tests. What is the purpose of the passage?
| A．To urge awareness on mental health of the young. |
| B．To give details of the problems the Chinese youth are facing today. |
| C．To recommend that schools should invite more psychologists to help students. |
| D．To show us causes of the mental problems among students. |
The underlined word “addressed” in the fourth paragraph most probably means ________.
| A．talked about | B．dealt with | C．decided | D．introduced |
From the passage we can know that the causes of mental problems are mainly the following EXCEPT ________.
| A．one-child policy |
| B．lack of ability to handle interpersonal relations well |
| C．lack of special training in mental health |
| D．heavy burden from study |
We can learn that to bring down the occurrence of mental problems among the youth, ________.
| A．special attention should be paid to the mental health of the young |
| B．psychologists must be a necessary part of schools |
| C．the government should cancel tests to ease the pressure on the students |
| D．parents must try their best to meet all the needs of their children |
What should you think about when you try to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others, and these may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to know the subjects you do well in at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value.
Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at mental work or cookery and look for a job where you can improve these skills.
If you have had a part-time job on Saturdays or in summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside in a part-time job.
Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is bitter to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school records, for instance, may not be very good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not feel sorry about it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.In the writer’s opinion, for a student to have a part-time job is probably ________.
| A．a good way to find out his weak points |
| B．one of the best ways of earning extra money |
| C．of great use for his work in the future |
| D．a waste of time he could have spent on study |
If a student’s school record is not good, according to the passage, he ________.
| A．may do well in his future work |
| B．won’t be able to find a suitable job |
| C．may be a complete failure in the future |
| D．will regret not having worked harder at school |
The whole passage centers around ________.
| A．looking for a part-time job |
| B．developing one’s abilities at school |
| C．gaining much knowledge by working hard at school |
| D．knowing yourself before trying to choose a career |
The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉), even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“How funny it seems,” he used to say, “even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.” The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ________.
| A．his father told him to | B．he wanted to learn a skill |
| C．Jones encouraged him to | D．he just wanted to pass his time |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks. |
| B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill. |
| C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get. |
| D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young. |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Practice makes perfect. | B．Skill makes life easy. |
| C．A good beginning makes a good ending. | D．Every man has his gift. |
In Britain, in a population of 60 million, there are 13 million grandparents, many of whom live alone a long way from their grandchildren.The loneliness of these older people has become an issue that schools are trying to teach children about .
On a popular teacher’s website, there is a classroom activity to help make children aware of the implications of the different generations of the same family living far from each other. It’s a story about Mrs. Eiderdown, an elderly lady whose grandchildren have moved to Australia with their parents. She lives alone and rarely sees her fami
ly .
First of all, the children speculate about Mrs. Eiderdown’s life. What does she have for breakfast ? what does she do all day ?how does she feel about her life ?
One day, Mrs. Eiderdown decides that she wants a pet to keep her company and puts an advertisement in a local shop window. Then she waits at home to see if anyone will answer her advertisement .
A tall thin man rings her doorbell. he is holding a cardboard box. Mrs. Eiderdown chats with the man for ten minutes before she realizes that she hasn’t looked in-side the box to see what the pet is. She can hear a his-sing sound. The children guess what is in the box(a snake). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the man but says she doesn’t think the snake is a good idea .
The next time the doorbell rings, there’s a lady on the doorstep, also carrying a cardboard box.In the bottom of the box, Mrs. Eiderdown sees something black and hairy with eight legs. Again ,the children say what they think it is (a spider). Mrs. Eiderdown thanks the lady for her kindness but says that a spider is not the sort of pet she has in mind.
At last, the littl
e girl next door brings her a dog .Mrs. Eiderdown’s life improves a lot because of the dog. more importantly, of course, the little girl, whose own granny lives a long way away, starts to visit Mrs.Eiderdown more often. This interactive classroom idea has led to a greater awareness among children about the possible loneliness of older people who live quite near them .what’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．children get to know about the trouble of the elderly |
| B．neighbors help select pets for Mrs. Eiderdown |
| C．society helps the lonely people in the UK |
| D．school send pets to the lonely elderly |
what does the underlined sentence in the third paragraph mean ?
| A．they talk about how she feels about being old |
| B．they try to experience her loneliness |
| C．they try to imagine how she lives |
| D．they write about her life story |
what can we infer from the passage ?
| A．the little girl often visits her own granny |
| B．the people who offer pets are lady’s neighbors |
| C．the farther the elderly live ,the lonelier they feel |
| D．the little girl begins to care more about Mrs. Eiderdown |