Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald
We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:
James Anthony, Drummoyne
James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.
As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”
Joe Bollen, Turranmurra
Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)
Maria Ieraci, Sydney
Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.
Ron Bennett, Sydney
Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?
| A．Joe’s | B．Maria’s | C．Ron’s | D．Jame’s |
The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.
| A．the spirit of the nation | B．the position of the country |
| C．the tradition of Britain | D．the expectations of the people |
What does the Union Jack refer to?
| A．the British flag | B．A former British ruler |
| C．group of stars | D．A former symbol of Australia |
Which of the following shows the correct matches of the designs and their designers?
A．by Maria by Ron by Joe by James  |
B．by Joeby Mariaby James by Ron |
C． by Ron by James by Maria by Joe   |
| D．by Jamesby Joe by Ron by Maria |
It is not often realized that women held a high place in southern European societies in the 10th and 11th centuries. As a wife, the woman was protected by the setting up of a dowry (嫁妆). Admittedly, the purpose of this was to protect her against the risk of desertion, but in reality its function in the social and family life of the time was much more important. The dowry was the wife’s right to receive a tenth of all her husband’s property. The wife had the right to with hold consent, in all transactions the husband would make, and more than just a right; the documents show that she enjoyed a real power of decision, equal to that of her husband. In no case do the documents indicate any degree of difference in the legal status of husband and wife.
The wife shared in the management of her husband’s personal property, but the opposite was not always true. Women seemed perfectly prepared to defend their own inheritance against husbands who tried to exceed their rights, and on occasion they showed a fine fighting spirit. A case in point is that of Maria Vivas. Having agreed with her husband Miro to sell a field she had inherited, for the needs of the household, she insisted on compensation. None being offered, she succeeded in dragging her husband to the scribe to have a contract duly drawn up assigning her a piece of land from Miro’s personal inheritance. The unfortunate husband was obliged to agree, as the contract says, “for the sake of peace.” Either through the dowry or through being hot-tempered, the wife knew how to win herself, with the context of the family, a powerful economic position. Originally, the purpose of a dowry is to_________.
A give a woman the right to receive all her husband’s property
B help a woman to enjoy a higher position in the family
C protect a woman against the risk of desertion
D both A and C According to the passage, the legal status of the wife in marriage was__________.
A higher than that of a single woman
B higher than that of her husband
C lower than that of her husband
D the same as that of her husband Why does the author give us the example of Maria Vivas?
A To show that the wife shared in the management of her husbands personal property.
B To show that the wife can defend her own inheritance.
C To prove that women have powerful position.
D To illustrate how women win her property. The compensation Maria Vivas got for the field is____________.
A some of the land Miro had inherited
B a tenth of Miro’s land
C money for household expenses
D money form Miro’s inheritanceThe author’s attitude towards Maria Vivas is_____________.
A sympathetic B disapproval C indifferent D objective
It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers(生产商) follow certain uniform standards for various features(特征) of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men's clothes tend to button from the right, and women's from the left. Considering most of the world's population----men and women----are right-handed, the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women's clothes button from the left? History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women's shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men's shirts button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt. Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men's shirts. What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?
| A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years. |
| B．It is different for men's clothing and women's. |
| C．It woks better with men than with women. |
| D．It fails to consider right-handed people. |
What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?
| A．They tended to wear clothes without buttons. |
| B．They were interested in the historical matters. |
| C．They were mostly dressed by servants. |
| D．They drew their swords from the left. |
Women's clothes still button from the left today because.
| A．adopting men's style is improper for women |
| B．manufacturers should follow standards |
| C．modern women dress themselves |
| D．customs are hard to change |
The passage is mainly developed by.
| A．analyzing causes |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．examining differences |
| D．following the time order |
When Frida Kahlo’s paintings were on show in London，a poet described her paintings as “a ribbon(丝带) around a bomb”．Such comments seem to suggest Kahlo had a big influence on the art world of her time.Sadly，she is actually a_much_bigger_name today than she was during her time.
Born in 1907 in a village near Mexico City，Kahlo suffered from polio(小儿麻痹症) at the age of seven.Her spine(脊柱) became bent as she grew older.Then，in 1925，her back was broken in several places in a schoolbus accident.Throughout the rest of her life，the artist had many operations，but nothing was able to cure the terrible pain in her back.However，the accident had an unexpected side effect.While lying in her bed recovering，Kahlo taught herself to paint.
In 1929，she got married to Diego Rivera，another famous Mexican artist.Rivera’s strong influence on Kahlo’s style can be seen in her early works，but her later works from the 1940s，known today as her best works，show less influence from her husband.
Unfortunately，her works did not attract much attention in the 1930s and 1940s，even in her home country.Her first onewoman show in Mexico was not held until 1953.For more than a decade after her death in 1954，Kahlo’s works remained largely unnoticed by the world，but in the 1970s her works began to gain international fame at last. (2012·安徽，C)What does the phrase “a much bigger name” in Paragraph 1 most nearly mean?
| A．a far better artist |
| B．a far more gifted artist |
| C．a much stronger person |
| D．a much more famous person |
The terrible pain Kahlo suffered was caused by________.
| A．polio | B．her bent spine |
| C．back injuries | D．the operations she had |
Kahlo’s style had become increasingly independent since the________.
| A．1930s | B．1940s |
| C．1950s | D．1970s |
What is the author’s attitude toward Kahlo?
| A．Devotion. | B．Sympathy. |
| C．Worry. | D．Encouragement. |
It was a village in India.The people were poor.However，they were not unhappy.After all，their forefathers had lived in the same way for centuries.
Then one day，some visitors from the city arrived.They told the villagers there were some people elsewhere who liked to eat frog’s legs.However，they did not have enough frogs of their own，and so they wanted to buy frogs from other places.
This seemed like money for nothing.There were millions of frogs in the fields around，and they were no use to the villagers.All they had to do was catch them.Agreement was reached，and the children were sent into the fields to catch frogs.Every week a truck arrived to collect the catch and hand over the money.For the first time，the people were able to dream of a better future.But the dream didn’t last long.
The change was hardly noticed at first，but it seemed as if the crops were not doing so well.More worrying was that the children fell ill more often，and，there seemed to be more insects around lately.
The villagers decided that they couldn’t just wait to see the crops failing and the children getting weak.They would have to use the money earned to buy pesticides(杀虫剂) and medicines.Soon there was no money left.
Then the people realized what was happening.It was the frog.They hadn’t been useless.They had been doing an important job—eating insects.Now with so many frogs killed，the insects were increasing more rapidly.They were damaging the crops and spreading diseases.
Now，the people are still poor.But in the evenings they sit in the village square and listen to sounds of insects and frogs.These sounds of the night now have a much deeper meaning.
(2010·辽宁，A)From Paragraph 1 we learn that the villagers ________.
| A．worked very hard for centuries |
| B．dreamed of having a better life |
| C．were poor but somewhat content |
| D．lived a different life from their forefathers |
Why did the villagers agree to sell frogs?
| A．The frogs were easy money. |
| B．They needed money to buy medicine. |
| C．They wanted to please the visitors. |
| D．The frogs made too much noise. |
What might be the cause of the children’s sickness?
| A．The crops didn’t do well. |
| B．There were too many insects. |
| C．The visitors brought in diseases. |
| D．The pesticides were overused. |
What can we infer from the last sentence of the text?
| A．Happiness comes from peaceful life in the country. |
| B．Health is more important than money. |
| C．The harmony between man and nature is important. |
| D．Good old days will never be forgotten. |
Robots that can chat，find misplaced glasses，draw aeroplanes and play with your children are drawing thousands of visitors’ attention during an expo in Tokyo as Japan adapts to changes in society.
Robots，such as the soundsensitive Chapit，answer simple questions and even joke with people to help the lonely fight loneliness and stay active in old age.
“Many older people in Japan live alone and have no one to talk to，” said Kazuya Kitamura，a representative of the expo organizer.“Communication robots accompany people and don’t mind listening to the same stories over and over again.”
While Chapit，a relatively simple robot，managed to allure a corporate partner，many researchers，such as Kiyoshi Matsumoto，a professor at the University of Tokyo，struggle to interest sponsors for more expensive projects.
Matsumoto’s “Personal Mobility Robot”，equipped with four cameras and a sensor to recognize the user’s centre of gravity，is designed to help the elderly move around without pressing buttons，using joysticks(操纵杆) or rotating(转动) wheels as in traditional wheelchairs.
The robot can also help find misplaced glasses by identifying them with a sensor.
“We have developed a robot that can assist many people，but because of the high cost，we still haven’t found a sponsor，”said Matsumoto，who added that the cost of the machine，if massproduced，would be comparable to that of a car.
“In the current economic environment there are few companies willing to invest in such a costly project，” he said.
Other robots，such as the awardwinning “DiGRO” can support busy parents who have little time to play with their children.
The robot can use the Internet to find a simple image and then draw pictures，keeping children company while their parents work.
Japan has one of the world’s fastestageing societies and the government predicts that by 2050 the proportion of people over 65 will reach 40 percent.The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 4 can be replaced by ________.
| A．strike | B．exclude |
| C．connect | D．attract |
Personal Mobility Robot can help people ________.
| A．find misplaced glasses |
| B．move around with pressing buttons |
| C．use joysticks |
| D．rotate wheels |
It is difficult to find sponsors for the robots because ________.
| A．Japan is suffering economy depression |
| B．the robots are of poor design |
| C．the production of robots costs a lot |
| D．the future market is worrying |
It can be inferred from the text that ________.
| A．many children lack love from parents |
| B．robots helpful to the old will be in great demand |
| C．robots are the most useful to children |
| D．robots do better than people in healthcare |