What is it that makes people laugh? More than two thousand years ago the ancient Greek philosopher (哲学家) Aristotle defined (定义) jokes as the pleasure that results from a feeling of triumph by showing we’re better than someone else in a certain way. According to Aristotle and many other philosophers，all jokes depend mainly on showing inferiority in another person or group of persons — that is，putting it clearly，on showing that they are worse off than ourselves. Jokes raise our good opinion of ourselves at someone else’s expense.
Showing how much better than other people we are is only one reason we like jokes. Someone may also use a joke to express their anger or their cruelty （残酷）or any other kind of action that is not acceptable to us. We feel free to laugh when we hear about someone sliding on a banana skin. The joke lets us express those attitudes which are usually unacceptable to society. This is probably the reason why some of the jokes，especially those involving cruelty，are so popular with certain people.
Besides，all jokes depend on our enjoyment of laughing at something that is strange and out of place because it’s different from things which are happening around it. The same situation can be either sad or pleasant，depending entirely on how strange and out of place it is. If a girl in a bathing suit falls into a swimming pool，we don’t laugh because nothing unusual has happened. But if a man in a smart suit falls in，the situation is at once unusual in a pleasant way and we laugh. A good joke-teller will always try to build up a situation in which one thing is expected until something unexpected suddenly happens，and so we laugh.The underlined word “inferiority” (in Paragraph 1) means ______.
| A．someone that is better than someone else |
| B．something that is better than something else |
| C．someone that is as good as someone else |
| D．something that is not as good as something else |
According to Ari
stotle, all jokes depend mainly on ______.
| A．resulting in a sense of success |
| B．showing inferiority in another person or group |
| C．having a good opinion of other people |
| D．making people laugh unexpectedly |
What’s the main idea of Paragraph 2?
| A．To express those attitudes usually unacceptable to society is one of the reasons we like jokes. |
| B．When people are angry, they would like to hear jokes. |
| C．People who like jokes are usually cruel. |
| D．Showing we are better than other people is the only one reason we like jokes. |
What will a good joke-teller always try to do?
| A．Make an unexpected thing happen in an expected situation |
| B．Make different things happen at the same time. |
| C．Make a sad situation into a pleasant one. |
| D．Make people laugh at something unusual and out of place. |
All plant cells are able to take up water. Even dead ones do to a certain degree. Absorption of water by dead cell walls makes wood swell(肿胀). In common land plants, the living cells of roots take up most of the water. Land plants without roots do exist, however. Those greenish-yellow lichens(苔藓)you see on tree trunks and on rocks in the high mountains have no roots. Half a billion years ago, when water plant started to invade the land, the first primitive land plants did not have roots; they were marsh (沼泽) plants.
Even among the flowering plants, one finds rootless forms. These flowering plants are the so-called higher plants because they evolved more recently and are thus considered higher on the evolutionary scale. In the Peruvian desert, there grows one of these rootless higher plants, a bromeliad. It is a relative of the pineapple. Even if this plant had roots, they would be of no use, because where the plant grows, it never rains. The plant gets its water exclusively from the dew it collects at night, when its leaves cool off. Such rootless plants, of course, can be moved with ease, but they will only grow when they are placed out in the open. If they are placed too near a house, the radiation from the heat of the house prevents the leaves from cooling and so prevents dew from forming, and the plant dies. In the southern United States and in Puerto Rico, one sees bromeliads growing high above the streets on the insulation of electric wires. These plants get their water from rain, and the only soil they ever come in contact with is the dust that may blow on their leaves.Wood swells because of _______.
| A．the dead cell walls | B．tiny drops of water entering the dead cell |
| C．the growth of the cell | D．the death of the cell |
From the passage we know that the evolutionary scale is arranged according to ______.
| A．evolutionary cycles | B．heights and depths |
| C．time | D．kinds |
The bromeliad is a plant that _______.
| A．has useless roots | B．is a pineapple |
| C．can grow anywhere | D．takes up water through its leaves |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Water plants existed before land plants. |
| B．Only living plant cells take up water. |
| C．The greenish-yellow lichens are uncommon land plants. |
| D．The living cells of roots absorb more water than the rest of the plant. |
The most suitable title for this passage is ______.
| A．water intake by cells | B．rootless plants | C．plant in the desert | D．higher plants |
When you buy a T-shirt, or a fur coat in a store , it often carries a label(标签) telling who made it or from what store it was bought. Indeed, some labels show the dress is famous and it is very expensive, so buyers who deal with the cheapest products would be pleased to do away with labels entirely.
However, there is another label more important than the one showing from which store the dress was bought. When a person buys a fur coat, or a jacket , from a store , a label telling what the product is made of should be carried to it.
This label is required by law. Besides telling what the product on show is made of , the label should be in clear English and be where one can find it easily. The information on the label must be the truth.
The reason for this label is that most buyers today aren’t expert enough to know exactly what kind of fur or material they are buying. The buyer must believe in the store that sells the products or in what the labels say.The author doesn’t agree that_______.
| A．some clothes may carry more than one label |
| B．some clothing stores sell cheap dresses |
| C．shops can sell products with or without labels |
| D．buyers will believe what the label says |
This article mainly refers to__________.
| A．making furs and clothes | B．protecting buyers with law |
| C．keeping the buyers informed | D．businessmen and sellers |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Not all buyers know the materials they are buying. |
| B．A fur coat with a high price often carries a false label. |
| C．A label only says what material the product is made of . |
| D．A T-shirt seldom carries a label. |
| We were disappointed to learn about Chrysler Dodge’s new car, the Viper. It must be the most ungreen car of recent years. It can carry only two people but it is extremely powerful, with a top speed of 165 mph. It will go from 0-60 mph in just four seconds. From our point of view, the worst feature is the petrol consumption: just 15miles per gallon. This is a car from the past, a gas-guzzler for people who want to show off and who don’t care about polluting the air. |
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| ASTON MARTIN DB2/4(1975) This car is a fine example of the power and elegance of the Aston Martin sports cars of the 1950s. It was developed from the earlier DB2, but this model was intended to give more room: if you look in the back window, you will see two small seats. But the main attraction of Aston Martins was their power: almost 200kph. 765 of these cars were manufactured between 1953 and 1959. This model was donated to the museum in 1986. |
| In the future, lorry drivers could be free to doze or read a newspaper as their vehicles travel along the motorways of the world, according to Mercedes-Benz. They say that lorries could travel on special lorry-only lanes, and that electronic safety systems would ‘read’ the road ahead, keep a safe distance between vehicles and set the speed. The driver would only take over when the lorry left the motorway and returned to normal roads. This vision of the future was explained at he Hanover Commercial Vehicle Show recently, at which Mercedes showed their EXT-92 experimental lorry of the future. Among the many features, the lorry would include a luxurious living area for the driver, complete with bunk bed, microwave cooker, television, telephone and fax machine. |
The writer of passage 1 criticizes (批评) the Viper because______.
| A．he/she dislikes the colour | B．it is too small for most families |
| C．it uses too much petrol and pollutes the air. | |
| D．it is very fast and will break the speed limit |
The main purpose of Passage 2 is to______.
| A．try to sell a second-hand car | B．explain why this car has four seats |
| C． give interesting information | D．describe a new car planned for the future |
In Passage 3, the writer’s main purpose is to ______.
| A．warn readers about a dangerous development | |
| B．try to sell a new commercial vehicle | |
| C．inform readers about future transport ideas | D．tell a silly story |
Which of the following would be the best title for Passage 3?
| A．The Dangers of Tired Drivers | B．Lorries which won’t need Drivers |
| C．Lorries which can Fly | D．The Lorry of the Future |
Queen Victoria was monarch of Great Britain from 1837 until her death in 1901. This period is often called the Victorian Age.
Queen Victoria was a stern and serious woman. One reason she was so serious was that she had suffered a great loss. When she was twenty years old, she married a German prince named Albert. Victoria and Albert were deeply in love, and their marriage was extremely happy. In 1861, after they had been married for twenty-one years, Albert died, leaving Queen Victoria heartbroken. For the rest of her life, the lonely Victoria mourned his loss. It was customary in those days for a widow to dress in black for a short time after the death of her husband. But Queen Victoria dressed in black for forty years. And for forty years, as another sigh of her grief, she wrote her letters white paper edged in black.
Even before Prince Albert died, Queen Victoria was known as a very serious woman. She had a strong sense of duty and worked very hard at all her tasks. In her diary she wrote, “I love to be employed; I hate to be idle.” She never forgot that she was Britain’s queen and always acted with great dignity. Victoria had high ideals and moral standards that sometimes made her seem stuffy. She was also very sure of herself. She always thought that she was right, and she expected everyone to agree with her.Which of the following statements about Queen Victoria is NOT true?
| A．She had great confidence in herself. |
| B．She ruled Great Britain for sixty-four years. |
| C．She enjoyed her marriage to a German prince. |
| D．She became a serious woman after her beloved husband died. |
Queen Victoria wrote her letters on white paper edged in black because______
| A．she was a very serious woman. |
| B．black was her favorite color. |
| C．that was one way to show her feeling of sadness. |
| D．it was a custom among monarchs of Great Britain. |
All of the following characteristics except ______ can be used to properly describe Queen Victoria.
| A．moral | B．lonely | C．workaholic( 工作狂) | D．compromising (妥协) |
One important attraction of walking is its long-lasting appeal. Whereas jogging and aerobic dancing can pall quickly, walking provides a popular activity that seems to endure. Fitness foundations estimate that 35 million adult Americans walk for exercise every day, with at least 15 million walking two or three times a week. Among the most regular walkers are those 65 years and older—evidence that walking is an exercise that lasts.
In addition to its many physical benefits, walking, like other physical activities, has a comforting effect on the psyche. Walking can help you to think more clearly and feel more relaxed. It also can be a sociable activity. An early morning walk around the neighborhood provides an opportunity to chat with friends or simply admire the flowers. Or because it does not require a team or even a partner, walking is something you can do on your own time, by yourself, whenever the mood strikes.
Easily affordable, all you need to start walking is enthusiasm and a pair of comfortable and sturdy low-heeled shoes. Dr.ChristineL. Wells recommends an Oxford-style shoe with ties for better foot support; she does not recommend sneakers or other “cheapies”. If you plan to walk regularly, you might want to invest in a pair of so-called walking shoes. If so, expect to spend at least $35.
For walking during the hotter months, early morning or evening hours are best. Clothes should fit loosely and be lightweight and light-colored. Elderly walkers should consider wearing long sleeves, and all Arizonans need to be particularly concerned about skin cancer. Dr. Wells suggests wearing sunscreen as well as a side-brimmed hat to protect your eyes, ears, nose and back of the neck.
Walkers also should drink an adequate amount of water. Wells advises drinking an 8-ounce glass of water before you start out, and more when you return. “If you walk four miles or more a day in Arizona, I also recommend that you carry a water bottle,” she says. “ And water is just fine; you don’t need those fluid-replacement or electrolyte drinks.”The underlined word “pall” most probably means________.
| A．interest people | B．be easily learnt | C．become boring | D．become popular |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a benefit of walking?
| A．It improves one’s appetite. | B．It’s an inexpensive exercise |
| C．It helps to comfort the mind. | D．it can be an individual or social activity |
For regular walking, what you need most is _______.
| A．endurance | B．enthusiasm | C．strength | D．relaxation |
We may infer from the passage that _______.
| A．people in Arizona are easily exposed to strong sunlight. |
| B．walking is most suitable for those 65 years and older |
| C．water is better than any other drinks for walkers |
| D．jogging and dancing don’t have any positive effect on the mind. |
Which word best describes the author’s attitude toward walking?
| A．positive | B．playful | C．doubtful | D．cautious(谨慎) |