From the health point of view we are living in an amazing age. We are free from many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once deadly illnesses can now be cured by modern medicine. It is almost certain that one day medicines will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased greatly. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the unbelievable killing of men, women and children on the roads. Man vs the motor-car! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing.
Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel(方向盘), his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motor-car often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They say, they are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-year-olds and completely selfish. A.. their hidden angers and disappointments seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles so gently on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy traffic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is ruined by road networks; and the deaths become nothing more than a number every year, to be easily forgotten.
It is high time a world rule was created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are unbelievable lenient(宽容的) and even the strictest are not strict enough. A rule which was universally accepted could only have an obviously beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so; the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict tests for safety each year. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can damage a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and driving laws(where they exist) should be made much stricter. Speed limits should be required on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for car factories, as has been done in the USA. All advertising stress power and performance should be banned. These measures may not sound good enough. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the number of deaths. After all, the world is for human beings, not motor-cars. .What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists. |
| B．Thousands of people the world over are killed each year. |
| C．The laws of some countries about driving are to lenient. |
| D．Only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents. |
. What does the author think of society toward motorists?
| A．Society laughs at the motorists. | B．Huge car parks are build in the cities and towns. |
| C．Victims of accidents are nothing. | D．Society forgives their rude driving |
.What does the author mean by saying “his car becomes the extension of his personality” in Paragraph 2?
| A．Driving can show his hidden qualities | B．Driving can show the other part of his personality |
| C．Driving can bring out his character | D．Driving can represent his manners |
. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way against traffic accidents?
| A．Perfect the road network | B．Stricter driving tests |
| C．Test drivers every three years | D．Raise age limit and lay down safety specifications |
. The author’s attitude towards the traffic situation is ______.
| A．confused | B．discontented | C．appealing | D．doubtful |
Hi, everybody!
Welcome to our newly-opened Richards Cinema Bookstore!
Now let me introduce to you some of the new film books in our store.
Are you Chinese film fans? OK, here comes the latest 25 New Takes about Chinese films. It is a collection of 25 fresh readings of different Chinese films from the 1930s to the present. In recent years, Chinese films are very popular in the States, such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Flowers of Shanghai.
Do you like French films? Well, here is The French Cinema Book. It covers French films from the 1890s to the beginning of the 21st century. It is written for all lovers of French cinema: students and teachers, specialists and fans, and so on.
Maybe you are Indian film fans and star-chasers. Then here is Encyclopedia(百科全书) of Indian Cinema. The book is complete introduction to all the best Indian films. It also offers a full list of names of the famous and successful film stars in the past ten years. You know, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world after our Hollywood.
If you like British films, we have The British Cinema Book. It is a good review of British cinema. This book contains a good many nice pictures.
In our bookstore, you can also find books about Mexican, Japanese, Australian, German and Italian films.
Well, please help yourselves to some coffee or tea, and have a good time here! The speaker of the passage is most probably ______.
| A．the author of 25 New Takes |
| B．a tourist in the cinema bookstore |
| C．the manager of the cinema bookstore |
| D．a reader of Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema |
The purpose of the speaker is ______.
| A．to satisfy the customers’ various tastes |
| B．to keep the authors in the cinema bookstore |
| C．to offer the tourists chances to meet the film stars |
| D．to turn the readers into film producers |
As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping(录像)the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children. “In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says. “And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is.”
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event.”The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______.
| A．show the relationship between parents and children |
| B．report on the findings of a study |
| C．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table |
| D．give information about family problems |
Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ______.
| A．they are busy serving food to their children |
| B．they have to pay more attention to younger children |
| C．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table |
| D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family |
Lewis’ research provides an answer to the question ______.
| A．why middle children seem to have more difficulties in life |
| B．why TV is important in family life |
| C．why parents should keep good order |
| D．why children in small families seem to be quieter |
Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?
| A．It is important to have the right food for children. |
| B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner. |
| C．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner |
| D．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently. |
He’s an old cobbler(修鞋匠) with a shop in the Marais, a historic area in Paris. When I took him my shoes, he at first told me: “I haven’t time. Take them to the other fellow on the main street; he’ll fix them for you right away.”
But I’d had my eye on his shop for a long time. Just looking at his bench loaded with tools and pieces of leather, I knew he was a skilled craftsman(手艺人). “No,” I replied, “the other fellow can't do it well.”
“The other fellow” was one of those shopkeepers who fix shoes and make keys “while-U-wait” — without knowing much about mending shoes or making keys. They work carelessly, and when they have finished sewing back a sandal strap(鞋带), you might as well just throw away the pair.
My man saw I wouldn’t give in, and he smiled. He looked at my shoes, had me write my name on one shoe with a piece of chalk and said, “Come back in a week.”
I was about to leave when he took a pair of soft leather boots off a shelf.
“See what I can do?” he said with pride. “Only three of us in Paris can do this kind of work.”
When I got back out into the street, the world seemed brand-new to me. He was something out of an ancient legend, this old craftsman with his way of speaking familiarly, his very strange, dusty felt hat, his funny accent from who-knows-where and, above all, his pride in his craft.
These are times when nothing is important but the bottom line, when you can do things any old way as long as it “pays”, when, in short, people look on work as a path to ever-increasing consumption(消费) rather than a way to realize their own abilities. In such a period it is a rare comfort to find a cobbler who gets his greatest satisfaction from pride in a job well done.Which of the following is true about the old cobbler?
| A．He was equipped with the best repairing tools. |
| B．He was proud of his skills. |
| C．He was the only cobbler in the Marais. |
| D．He was a native Parisian. |
The underlined sentence “He was something out of an ancient legend.” shows that ______.
| A．it was difficult to communicate with this man |
| B．the man was very strange |
| C．nowadays you can hardly find anyone like him |
| D．the man was too old |
According to the author, many people work just to ______.
| A．make money | B．realize their abilities |
| C．gain happiness | D．gain respect |
This story wants to tell us that ______.
| A．craftsmen make a lot of money |
| B．craftsmen need self-respect |
| C．whatever you do, do it well |
| D．people are born equal |
Life-long learning is the concept that “It’s never too soon or too late for learning.” — a philosophy that has taken root in a larger number of different organizations. Life-long learning is an attitude — learners believe that one can and should be open to new ideas, decisions, skills or behaviors. Life-long learning throws the well-known rule “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” out of the door. Life-long learning provides the general public with learning opportunities at all ages and in different ways: at work, at home and through leisure activities, not just through formal channels such as school and higher education.
Life-long education is often achieved through distance learning or e-learning, continuing education, home schooling, etc. It also includes training programs for those who want to improve their qualifications, bring their skills up to date or retrain for a new line of work. In later life, especially in retirement, continued learning takes various forms, crossing traditional academic limits.
One of the reasons why life-long education has become so important is the rapid progress of modern science and technology. Although the period of primary, secondary and university education is increased, the knowledge and skills gained there are usually not sufficient for a professional career spanning(跨越) three or four decades.The philosophy of life-long learning goes against the concept that “ ______”.
| A．It’s never too late to learn. |
| B．Whoever cares to learn will always find a teacher. |
| C．A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. |
| D．You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
What is the main idea behind life-long education?
| A．To force people to keep in learning new skills throughout their working life. |
| B．To provide teachers with extra income. |
| C．To allow people to have chances to receive education throughout their life. |
| D．To prevent students from learning at school. |
The underlined word “sufficient” in the last paragraph can be replaced by “______”.
| A．popular | B．well-educated |
| C．well-informed | D．enough |
It can be inferred that ______.
| A．life-long education is the requirement of fast development of education |
| B．the increased period of school education is a supplement（补充） to life-long learning |
| C．the education system is failing to keep pace with rapid technology development |
| D．life-long education is intended for retired workers at home |
“I would almost rather see you dead,” Robert S. Cassatt, a leading banker of Philadelphia, shouted when his twenty-year-old eldest daughter announced that she wanted to become an artist. In the 19th century, playing at drawing or painting on dishes was all right for a young lady, but serious work in art was not. And when the young lady’s family ranked(位列) among the best of Philadelphia’s social families, such an idea could not even be considered.
That was how Mary Cassatt, born in 1844, began her struggle as an artist. She did not tremble before her father’s anger. Instead, she opposed(抗拒)him with courage and at last made him change his mind. Mary Cassatt gave up her social position and all thought of a husband and a family, which in those times was unthinkable for a young lady. In the end, after long years of hard work and perseverance(坚持), she became America’s most important woman artist and the internationally recognized leading woman painter of the time.How did Mr Cassatt react when his daughter made her announcement?
| A．He feared for her life. | B．He warned her. |
| C．He nearly killed her. | D．He was very angry. |
What in fact was Mr Cassatt’s main reason in opposing his daughter’s wish?
| A．Drawing and painting was simply unthinkable among ladies in those days. |
| B．He did not believe his daughter wanted to work seriously in art. |
| C．Ladies of good families simply did not become artists in those times. |
| D．He believed an artist’s life would be too hard for his daughter. |
What made Mary Cassatt’s “struggle” to become a recognized artist especially hard?
| A．Her father opposed her. |
| B．She was a woman. |
| C．She had no social position. |
| D．She did not come from an artist’s family. |
What do we know about Mary Cassatt’s marriage?
| A．She never married because she did not want to be just a wife and mother. |
| B．Her marriage failed because she never gave a thought to her husband and family. |
| C．After marriage she decided to give up her husband rather than her career. |
| D．She didn’t marry because for a lady of her social position to marry below her was unthinkable. |