The Internet will open up new vistas (前景), create the global village——you can make new friends all around the world. That, at least, is what it promised us. The difficulty is that it did not take the human mind into account. The reality is that we cannot keep relationsh
ips with more than a limited number of people. No matter how hard the Internet tries to put you in communication, its best efforts will be defeated by your mind.
The problem is twofold（双重的）. First, there is a limit on the number of people we can hold in mind and have a meaningful relationship with. That number is about 150 and is set by the size of our brain. Second, the quality of your relationships depends on the amount of time you invest in then. We invest a lot in a small number of people and then distribute what’s left among as many others as we can. The problem is that if we invest little time in a person, our engagement with that person will decline until eventually it dies into “someone I once knew”.
This is not, of course, to say that the Internet doesn’t serve a socially valuable function. Of course it does. But the question is not that it allows you to increase the size of your social circle to include the rest of the world, but that you can keep your relationships with your existing friends going even though you have to move to the other side of the world.
In one sense, that’s a good thing. But it also has a disadvantage. If you continue to invest in your old friends even though you can no longer see them, then certainly you aren’t using your time to make new friends where you now live. And I suspect that probably isn’t the best use of your time. Meaningful relationships are about being able to communicate with each other, face to face. The Internet will slow down the rate with which relationships end, but it won’t stop that happening eventually.The number of friends we can keep relationships with is decided by__________.
| A．the Internet | B．the time we have | C．the place we live | D．the mind |
The underlined word “engagement” in the seco
nd paragraph probably means “__________”.
| A．appointment | B．connection | C．interview | D．agreement |
The author holds the view that___________.
| A．the Internet helps to keep in touch with friends far away |
| B．the Internet determines the quality of social relationships |
C．the Internet greatly increases the size of social circles |
| D．the Internet is of no value in social communication |
What will the author encourage us to do?
| A．To keep in touch with old friends when we have moved away. |
| B．To chat with friends often on the Internet. |
| C．To make more new friends face to face. |
| D．To stop using the Internet to make new friends. |
What is the author’s attitude towards the use of the Internet to strengthen relationships?
| A．He thinks it useless | B．He is hopeful of it. |
| C．He approves of it. | D．He doubts it. |
The A-level question Have 22 continuous years of rises in A-level pass rate made the exam worthless? David Miliband, the minister for School Standards, insists the answer is a firm " no". And he said it was wrong that " more will mean worse and more education for more people will mean lower standards". Figures show that — despite the rise in A-grades to 21. 6 per cent — only 22,000 out of 600,000 18-year-olds gain three A-grade passes. Put another way, that means — in a primary class of 30 pupils — only one will get three A-grades. The center right Bow Group, in a pamphlet published today, however, says nine out of ten scholars believe A-grades have been devalued over the past ten years.
Two inquiries (调查) — both set up by the Government’s exams watchdogs — one of which included independent teaching experts, refused to accept that there had been any " dumping down" of A-level standards. But while they conclude that the exam questions have not become easier, changes in examining methods have almost certainly made it easier to gain top-grade passes.
As a result of the exams shake-up introduced in 2000, students sit six different types of exams to make up an A-level during the course of their two years of study. Only 20 per cent of the marks are set for the end-of-term exam. This makes it easier for teachers to help their pupils with the right answers.
Mr Miliband said yesterday, " My argument is not that today ‘s generation of pupils are cleverer than their parents; it is that schools and teachers are getting better at getting the best out of them. "
5. From the writer’s point of view, the rise in A-grades to 21. 6 per cent shows ______.
A. it is generally thought more education means lower standards
B. the rise in the A-level pass rate has made the exam worthless
C. the quality of the 18-year-olds has become lower
D. it is still hard for the general pupils to get three A-grade passes
6. The underlined word " they" in the second paragraph refers to ______.
A. the exams watchdogs B. the independent teaching experts
C. the A-level standards D. the two inquiries
7. As a result of the exams shake-up introduced in 2000 ______.
A. the pass rate for A-levels was set to rise continuously
B. the exam became easier than it had been before 2000
C. pupils could have many more choices of test after 2000
D. it soon became popular with teachers and pupils
8. What does this passage mainly discuss?
A. How reliable and effective the A-level grading system is.
B. How the A-level system helps universities select pupils.
C. How the pass rate has been increased in recent years.
D. How the A-level grading system has changed over the years.
Toyota Motor Corp, Japan’s biggest carmaker, said on Friday it will recall 1,489 Lexus sedans (高级轿车) sold in China. "It will take us some time to ship the fuel tanks and vent pipes to China to change those in these Lexus sedans for customers free of charge, if problems are found," said Yang Hongjian, a spokes- woman of Toyota’s China representative office.
The expected recall will affect Lexus LS430 sedans made in Japan from July 29, 2003 to January 14, 2004, the representative office said in a statement. Toyota has not received complaints from Chinese customers, according to the statement. The move will be part of Toyota’s global recall of 18,200 Lexus LS430s. It will be the third car recall in China in two weeks. Although automobile recall is a common practice in developed markets, it remains new to Chinese customers. The Chinese government published long-awaited automobile recall rules on March 15, which will be officially carried out at the beginning of October.
China’s auto market is forecast to reach 10 million units by 2010. Automakers, especially Chinese producers, will face greater pressure from automobile recalls, which could be very costly sometimes, and should be in full preparations, according to the expert. The Japanese carmaker sold 1, 549 Lexus vehicles on the Chinese mainland during the first five months of this year, according to Yang. Lexus sales on the mainland reached 4,000 units last year, up from 1,600 units in 2002. (China Daily July 3, 2004)
1. What can we learn from the text?
A. Chinese customers are not satisfied with Toyota Lexus LS430 sedans.
B. Chinese car market has seen car recalls three times so far.
C. Toyota will have a worldwide recall of Lexus LS430 sedans.
D. Toyota Motor start to recall Lexus Sedans due to the problems with fuel tanks.
2. The carmakers were unwilling to recall their cars in the past mainly because ______.
A. they were not fully prepared
B. they couldn’t afford the cost for their car recalls
C. their products could not meet the required standard
D. there were no related rules and little pressure
3. It is implied in the passage that ______.
A. sales of homemade automobiles will grow even faster
B. automobile recalls will take place in China more frequently
C. China’s car market is forecast to be the biggest by 2010 in the world
D. Toyota is likely to sell the most Lexus Sedans in China in the future
4. Which of the following is the best tide of this passage?
A. Toyota to Recall Its Lexus Sedans Sold in China
B. China Prepares to Recall Cars
C. The Problems in China’s Car Market
D. Costly Japanese Car Recalls
Our daughter Kerrin, a student at Boston University, had been home for a week-end visit, and I dropped her off at the bus station just in time for her back to college. After Kerrin’s bus had gone and I was driving away, I noticed that she had left her purse on the passenger seat. Worried that she would arrive in Boston without money or keys to her room, I called my wife, Bette Jean, on the car phone, explaining why I would be late. As I was following the bus, Bette Jean phoned me back to say she had phoned the bus dispatcher（调度员）on the other line and he, in return, had phoned the bus driver on yet another phone. The driver asked me to wave out of my window to show where I was. Then he pulled over at a rest stop, and I did the same. Kerrin jumped off the bus, and I handed her the purse and went on my way.
11. The writer saw his daughter’s purse right after .
A. seeing her off at the bus station
B. starting his car again
C. she got off the car
D. she got on the bus
12. Kerrin didn’t find her purse missing until .
A. the bus started off
B. her mother told her
C. the bus stopped again
D. she returned to the university
13. In which order did the following persons know about the loss of the purse?
A. driver—writer—Better Jean—Kerrin
B. Kerrin—writer—Better Jean—driver
C. writer—driver—Kerrin—Better Jean
D. writer—Bette—Jean—driver—Kerrin
14. Which of the following is not true?
A. The bus was too fast for the car to catch up with in no time.
B. The writer had tried to phone the dispatcher but failed.
C. The writer couldn’t get in touch with the driver by the phone.
D. Both the writer and the bus driver could use the car phone.
15. Which of the following seems the most necessary in helping the writer?
a. his car b. phone
c. the bus driver d. the dispatcher
e. his wife f. his daughter
A. a, b, d and e B. c, d, e and fC. a, b, c and d D. b, c, d and e
Customs are social habits. They have been handed down through generations (代) among groups, social classes, etc. Customs can be described as ways of doing things. They are particularly (特别) strong in social practices on the occasions (场合) of births, marriages and deaths.
In China, these days, some people in cities are learning from Western customs. For example, some brides dress in the long white dress that is usual bridal wear in many Western countries.
Every people (民族) has special customs for New Year. The Han people have many interesting Spring Festival customs. And now, quite a number of people living in the cities have followed the Western customs of sending New Year greeting cards for January 1st.
One interesting custom in China is that mothers wrap (包) up their babies tightly (紧紧的).This is not the custom in Western countries, where babies are usually dressed in loose garments.
6. It is true that customs .
A. have been formed during a short time
B. have been formed little by little
C. have been quickly formed and changed
D. have never been changed
7. In this passage, the word “garment” is .
A. a kind of food B. a bed
C. a sort of clothesD. a room
8. How do the Chinese young people learn from Western countries at their marriages?
A. The brides（新娘）have on the white clothes.
B. Men wear the white coats.
C. Their parents all have attended their marriages.
D. Their marriages are only held in the men’s homes.
9. From this passage we know .
A. the people all over China spend New Year in the same way
B. people in the villages and cities send New Year greeting cards to each other
C. each people has his special custom for New Year
D. most of Chinese people take Spring Festival seriously
10. The difference about clothing between Chinese and Western babies is that .
A. Chinese babies are usually dressed in new clothes
B. Chinese mothers are used to dressing their babies in colourful clothes
C. Western babies are dressed in bigger clothes while Chinese babies are usually wrapped
D. Western babies have more clothes than Chinese babies
Thanksgiving Day is special holiday in the United States and Canada. Families and friends gather to eat and give thanks for their blessing.
Thanksgiving Day is really a harvest festival. This is why it is celebrated in late fall, after the crops are in. But one of the first thanksgivings in America had nothing to do with a good harvest. On December 4, 1619, the Pilgrims from England landed near what is now Charles City, Virginia. They knelt down and thanked God for their safe journey across the Atlantic.
The first New England Thanksgiving did celebrate a rich harvest. The Pilgrims landed at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1620. They had a difficult time and the first winter was cruel. Many of the Pilgrims died. But the next year, they had a good harvest. So Governor Bradford declared a three-day feast（盛宴）. The Pilgrims invited Indian friends to join them for their special feast. Everyone brought food.In time, other colonies（殖民地）began to celebrate a day of thanksgiving. But it took years before there was a national Thanksgiving Day. During the Civil War, Sarah Josepha Hale persuaded Abraham Lincoln to do something about it. He proclaimed（宣布）the last Thursday of November 1863 as a day of thanksgiving. Today, Americans celebrate this happy harvest festival on the fourth Thursday in November. Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving Day in much the same way as their American neighbours. But the Canadian thanks-giving Day falls on the second Monday in October.
1. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated .
A. in spring B. summerC. in autumn D. in winter
2. The first to celebrate thanksgiving were .
A. some people from England B. the American Indians
C. Sarah Josepha Hale D. Governor Bradford
3. We can infer from the passage that New England must be .
A. in the U. S. A. B. in Great Britain
C. in Canada D. on some island off the Atlantic
4. Which of the following is NOT true?
A. Thanksgiving Day used to be a holiday to celebrate a good harvest.
B. Abraham Lincoln was not the first to decide on thanksgiving celebrations.
C. Thanksgiving Day is celebrated to express the American and Indian people’s thanks to God.
D. There’s little difference between the American way and the Canadian way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day.
5. The passage mainly tells us .
A. how Thanksgiving Day is celebrated in the U. S. A.
B. how Thanksgiving Day came into being and the different ways it is celebrated
C. that Thanksgiving Day is in fact a harvest holiday
D. how the way to celebrate Thanksgiving Day changed with the time and places