More than seven hundred years ago, the Prince of Wales had a very big and brave dog called Gelert. One day the Prince wanted to go hunt-ing with his men. He told his dog to stay at home and look after his baby son. The baby was in a wooden cradle, which was like a small bed. When the Prince came back from hunt-ing, Gelert ran out to meet his master. He wagged his tail and jumped up to put his paws on the Prince's chest. Then the Prince saw the blood on Gelert's jaws and head.
"What have you done?" the Prince said. He rushed into his house and looked for his baby son. The cradle was lying on its side on the floor. The clothes were torn and there was blood on them.
"So you have killed my son?" the Prince said angrily. "You unfaithful dog!" He took out his sword and killed the dog. Just as Gelert was dying, he managed to bark. Then the Prince heard a baby call to the dog.
The Prince ran out of the house and saw his son lying on the ground unhurt. Near him was a dead wolf. Then the Prince knew that Gelert had defended the baby and killed the wolf.
The Prince ran back into the house but he was too late. Gelert was dead. The Prince was very sad indeed. Tears ran down his face when he realized 'he had killed his faith-ful friend. The Prince carried the body of his brave dog to the top of a mountain and buried him there. After this, the Prince never smiled again. Every morning at dawn, he walked up the mountain and stood by the dog's grave for a few minutes.
If you go to Mount Snowdon in Wales, people will show you where Gelert is buried. There is a sign by his grave. It reminds peo-ple of a brave and faithful dog.
Gelert was the dog of the Prince of ___.
A.Scotland | B.England | C.Ireland | D.Wales |
The Prince told the dog to _____ when he was leaving.
A.watch the door | B.take care of his baby at home |
C.welcome his friends | D.stop the strangers |
The dog was very ____ when his master came back from hunting.
A.glad | B.fearful | C.afraid | D.tired |
The Prince never smiled again because __
A.the wolf was killed by Gelert | B.he had buried the dog on the top of mountain |
C.he had killed his faithful friend Gelert | D.Gelert had killed his baby son |
Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quick as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep. Australia is __________.
A.the largest country in the world | B.as large as Shanghai |
C.not as large as China | D.the largest island in the north of the earth |
The government had made _________.
A.not enough laws to fight pollution |
B.so many laws that it can fight pollution |
C.enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution |
D.enough laws because the pollution is very serious |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers |
B.Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia |
C.Perth lies in the west of Australia |
D.No other city is larger than Perth in Australia |
One of the best-known American writers of children’s books is Alfred Strong, or Doctor Strong, as he is better known to readers everywhere. Now, an art show called “Doctor Strong from then to now” is traveling around the United States. The pictures and drawings show the history of Doctor Strong.
Doctor Strong first became famous almost fifty years ago when his first children’s book was published. Since then, he has written forty-five books that have sold more than hundred million copies around the world.
Doctor Strong’s books are known for their easy use of words and colorful, hand-drawn pictures. These drawings bring life to his imaginary creatures. The Cat in the Hat, Horton the elephant, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, and hundreds of others.
The San Diego Museum, in California, organized the art show. It included about three hundred Doctor Strong’s original(最早的) drawings and some of his writings.
Most of Doctor Strong’s books, although written in a funny way, have serious messages. For example, in Mc Elligot’s Pool, he describes the danger of pollution. He discusses the arms race in The Butter Battle Book, written in 1984.
Doctor Strong is almost eighty-four years old now. He says he never planned to write stories just for children. He says he uses easy words so that everyone, even a child, can understand.Alfred Strong is a famous __________ in the United States.
A.doctor | B.artist | C.writer | D.reader |
Doctor Strong first became famous in __________.
A.his eighties when an art show was traveling around the United States |
B.his fifties when his drawings and writings were published |
C.1984 when his book McElligot’s Pool was published |
D.his thirties when his first book was published |
Doctor Strong’s books are very popular in America because _________.
A.they are stories about animals such as cats, elephants and so on |
B.they are written in easy words with colorful pictures |
C.he organized the art show in California |
D.they are written in a funny way |
His purpose in writing many such books is _________.
A.to show his original pictures and drawings |
B.to organize a special art show of his own |
C.to make his readers laugh or smile when they read his books |
D.not only to interest people but to expose(揭露) some serious social problems |
Television, which made its first serious appearance in 1939, did not become common until the early 1950s. Since then, millions of children have grown up in front of the set, and many people now worry about the effect that TV has on the young, and on society in general. Educators, psychologists, and crime experts wonder if television should be abolished(取消). Many ordinary parents wish it had never been invented. Why are they so afraid? Is television as harmful as they think it is?
Like almost anything else, television has its good and its bad sides. One should surely thank its inventors for the joy and interest that they have brought into the lives of the old, the sick, and the lonely -- all those who, without it, would have no pleasure and no window on the world.
In truth, television has opened windows in everybody's life. No newspaper has ever reached so many people and shown so clearly what was happening right now in their own country and everywhere else. TV not only gives the news instantly, it also shows it in pictures more powerful than words. It can be said that TV has brought reality to the public. Millions of people now have seen the effects of a battle, a flood, a fire, a crime, disasters of every sort on the screen.
Unfortunately, television's influence has been extremely harmful to the young. Children do not have enough experience to realize that TV shows present an unreal world. They want to imitate what they see. They do believe that the violence they see is normal and acceptable. By the time they are out of high school, most young people have watched about 15,000 hours of television, and have seen about 18,000 killings or other acts of violence. All educators and psychologists agree that the "television generations" are more violent than their parents and grandparents,
According to the same experts, the young are also less patient. Used to TV shows, where everything is quick and entertaining, they do not have the patience to read an article without pictures; to read a book that requires thinking; to listen to a teacher who doesn't do funny things like the people on children's programs. And they expect all problems to be solved happily in ten, fifteen or thirty minutes. That's the time it takes on the screen.
It is certain that television has deeply changed our lives and our society. It is certain that, along with its benefits, it has brought many serious problems. To these problems we must soon find a solution because, whether we like it or not, television is here to stay.First TV set was made ______.
A.in 1939 | B.in the 1950s |
C.in the 1940s | D.in 1919 |
Which of the following people have a view on TV different from the others?
A.Educators. | B.TV producers. |
C.Crime experts. | D.Psychologists. |
According to the author, who need TV most?
A.Educators. |
B.Crime experts. |
C.The old and the lonely. |
D.The children and their parents. |
We can conclude that ‘television generations’ are_______.
A.lonely | B.more patient |
C.more violent | D.more gentle |
People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.
About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet.
The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was buried. Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.
By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area around the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.
These days, we can write down a story, or record information, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ______.
A.the hunters wanted to see the pictures |
B.the painters were animal lovers |
C.the painters wanted to show imagination |
D.the pictures were thought to be helpful |
The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that _______.
A.the former was easy to write |
B.there were fewer signs in the former |
C.the former was easy to pronounce |
D.each sign stood for only one sound |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet. |
B.The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories. |
C.The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one. |
D.The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyptians. |
In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures ___________.
A.should be made comprehensible |
B.should be made interesting |
C.are of much use in our life |
D.have disappeared from our life |
To understand the marketing concept, it is only necessary to understand the difference between marketing and selling. Not too many years ago, most industries concentrated primarily on the efficient production of goods, and then relied on "persuasive salesmanship" to move as much of these goods as possible. Such production and selling focuses on the needs of the seller to produce goods and then convert them into money.
Marketing, on the other hand, focuses on the wants of consumers. It begins with first analyzing the preferences and demands of consumers and then producing goods that will satisfy them. This eye - on - the - consumer approach is known as the marketing concept, which simply means that instead of trying to sell whatever is easiest to produce or buy for resale, the makers and dealers first endeavor to find out what the consumer wants to buy and then go about making it available for purchase.
This concept does not imply that business is benevolent(慈善的) or that consumer satisfaction is given priority over profit in a company. There are always two sides to every business transaction -- the firm and the customer -- and each must be satisfied before trade occurs. Successful merchants and producers, however, recognize that the surest route to profit is through understanding and meeting to customers. A striking example of the importance of meeting to the consumer presented itself in mid - 1985, when Coca Cola changed the flavor of its drink. The non - acceptance of the new flavor by a significant part of the public brought about a prompt(果断的) restoration(恢复) of the Classic Coke, which was then marketed alongside new. King Customer ruled! The marketing concept discussed in the passage is, in fact, __________.
A.the practice of turning goods into money |
B.making goods available for purchase |
C.the customer- centered approach |
D.a form of persuasive salesmanship |
What was the main concern of industrialists before the marketing concept was widely accepted?
A.The needs of the market. |
B.The efficiency of production. |
C.The satisfaction of the user. |
D.The preferences of the dealer. |
According to the passage, the underlined part "to move as much of these goods as possible" ( Para. 1 ) means _________.
A.to sell the largest possible amount of goods |
B.to transport goods as efficiently as possible |
C.to dispose of these goods in large quantities |
D.to redesign these goods for large - scale production |
What does the restoration of the Classic Coke best illustrate?
A.Traditional goods have a stronger appeal to the majority of people. |
B.It takes time for a new product to be accepted by the public. |
C.Consumers with conservative tastes are often difficult to please. |
D.Products must be designed to suit the taste of the consumer. |