Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own. We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies beyond our everyday lives.
This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists have made to find out whether life of some kind exists on Mars, and the popularity of fantasy literature or movies like The Lord of the Rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other, to the world around us, and to the world of make-believe. But have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?
Human beings, as biologists have suggested, possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms. However, people, especially in big cities, often lead rather isolated lives. In a study of British schoolchildren, it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than with common wildlife. Without modem technology, a small pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants, insects, birds, and animals. When we lack meaningful interaction(交互) with the world around us, and sometimes even with our families and friends, we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen。
The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad. But when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet(出路) for our sense of wonder, then we are really missing something. We are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful worlds exist all around us. But even more interesting is that if we look closely enough, we can see that these worlds, in a broad sense, are really part of our own.The popularity of The Lord of the Rings proves
A.the close connection between man and the fantasy world |
B.the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature |
C.the fine taste of moviegoers around the world |
D.the general existence of the sense of curiosity |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?
A.People are far less familiar with the world of fantasy. |
B.The world around us could serve as a source of wonder. |
C.The world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond. |
D.Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder. |
If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe, we will
A.fail to appreciate the joy in our lives |
B.be confused by the world of make-believe |
C.miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world |
D.be trapped by other worlds existing all around us |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
A.To show us the hidden beauty in our world. |
B.To warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world. |
C.To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder. |
D.To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe. |
In 1957 a doctor in Singapore noticed that hospitals were treating an unusual number of influenzalike cases. Influenza is sometimes called “flu”or a “bad cold”. He took samples from the throats of patients in his hospital and was able to find the virus(病毒)of this influenza.
There are three main types of influenza virus. The most important of these are types A and B, each of them having several sub-groups(亚群). At the hospital the doctor recognized that the outbreak was because of a virus group A, but he did not know the sub-group. He reported the outbreak to the World Health Organization in Geneva. W. H. O. published the important news together with reports of the same kind of outbreak in Hong Kong, where about 15%~20% of the population had become ill.
As soon as the London doctors received the package of throat samples, they began to test them. They found that they could reproduce themselves at a very high speed. Continuing their careful tests, the doctor checked the effect of medicine used against all the known sub-groups of type A virus. On this virus, none of them was of any use.
Having separated the virus, the two doctors now made tests on some selected seleceted animals. In a short time the usual signs of the disease appeared. These experiments showed that the new virus spread easily, but that it was not a killer. Scientists, like the general public, called it simply “Asian flu”. The Asian flu mentioned in the passage ____. [ ]
A.had something to do with a virus group B |
B.was reported to W. H. O in Geneva by a doctor in Hong Kong |
C.broke out not only in Singapore but also in Hong Kong |
D.was taken from the throats of the patients in a hospital in Singapore |
London doctors considered ____. [ ]
A.Asian flu as a bad cold |
B.there were three main types of influenza |
C.it was necessary to test the other groups of virus besides group A |
D.the influenza called “Asian flu”a new one |
The Singapore doctor helped the world by ____. [ ]
A.making those with Asian flu well again |
B.killing the virus that caused Asian flu |
C.finding the sub-group of the virus |
D.reporting the outbreak of Geneva |
The Asian flu virus ____. [ ]
A.was a killer |
B.was very weak |
C.could reproduce very quickly |
D.died very fast |
Mr Reese was born in a big city. His father had several companies and got a lot of money. He could give his son all the young man wanted. He was busy with his business and never asked him how he got along with his studies. So the boy spent most time in the restaurants or cinemas. Of course he was weak at his lessons and learned nothing at school. He made many friends but none of them was good and when they knew he came from a rich family, they began to teach him to gamble(赌博). Of course he lost much money.
Now Mr Reese was twenty and finished middle school. He could not do anything. But his father didn't mind it until one day he found the young man had sold one of his companies. He became so angry that he made him leave his house. The young man couldn't gamble any longer. His friends made him pay his debt. He had to ask his mother to help him and the woman often gave him some money. But one evening his father happened to find it. The old man stopped his wife from doing so. They began to fight in the room. The young man brought out a knife and killed his father. His mother helped him to run away, but soon after that he was caught and sentenced(判刑)to death.
It was a cold and wet day. Suddenly it began to rain hard when Mr Reese was being sent to the execution ground(刑场). Soon both he and the soldiers were wet through. He said angrily, “Bad luck! I shall be shot in such bad weather!”
“Don't complain(抱怨), brother, ”said one of the soldiers. ‘You're luckier than us all. We'll have to go back to the city after that!”Old Reese never wanted to know about his son's studies because ____. [ ]
A.he was sure his son was good at his lessons |
B.he spent all his energies on his business |
C.he knew nothing about the education |
D.his wife looked after their children |
The bad young men taught Young Reese to gamble in order ____. [ ]
A.to play with him |
B.to spend spare time |
C.that the could get much money from him |
D.that they could find jobs in his father's companies |
Old Reese became angry because ____. [ ]
A.his son had learned nothing at school. |
B.his son was weak at all his lessons |
C.his son couldn't do anything in the companies |
D.his son had lost one of his companies |
Mr Reese complained ____. [ ]
A.he was sentenced to death |
B.he would be shot |
C.he went to the execution ground on foot |
D.he would be shot in bad weather |
Paul was a good athlete when he was a middle school student. He liked running and jumping and won some medals at the sports meetings. So he was tall and strong. Suddenly war broke out and the young man joined the army. He was sent to the front and killed several enemy soldiers. Two years later he raturned to his home town and found a job at the police station. People had known about his bravery by then and they all liked the polite young man.
One day a few young men had drunk too much before they came in a cinema. They danced and sang there and the film couldn't be shown. Paul was ill that day and went to the hospital. When he was passing there, the young men were beating an old man. He went to stop them and they began to fight. He caught them all and sent them to the police station. Since then all the bad men in the town were afraid of the brave policeman.
It was a summer evening. The weather was hot and few people could stay indoors. Paul was on duty and sat by the telephone. Suddenly in rushed a beautiful girl with a book in her hand. She stood there, shaking in her shoes.
“What's the matter, madam? ”asked Paul.
“I wish you could protect me sir, ”answered the girl.
“Protect? ”Paul said in surprise. “For what? ”
The girl showed the book to Paul. The young man understood at once: it was a book about Ghosts(鬼)!Paul won some medals because ____. [ ]
A.he was a middle school student |
B.he was tall and strong |
C.he kept doing morning exercises |
D.he was good at running and jumping. |
Paul was ____ after he joined the army. [ ]
A.a good athlete |
B.a brave soldier |
C.a polite policeman |
D.a brave policeman |
Paul sent the young men to the police station because ____. [ ]
A.they made some trouble(闹事)at the cinema |
B.they drank much in the restaurant |
C.they wouldn't see the filin |
D.they wanted to fight with him |
Paul sat by the telephone that evening because ____. [ ]
A.he was waiting for an important call |
B.he was going to call somebody |
C.he was on duty |
D.he wasn't afraid of hotness |
Ruben lived in a small village. There was no school there and he had to study in a school in the town. It was nearly five kilometres away from his village. His father couldn't buy a bike for him and he had to go to school on foot. He got up early in the morning. Usually he had to run there in order not to miss the first class. He kept running every day and it was helpful to him. He's strong and tall now and he ran faster than any other man in his village. He took part in several sports meetings and won some medals. The young man is proud of(以……自豪)it and always wants to have a race with others.
One day his mother was ill and his father told him to buy some medicine for headache in the town. The young man got there soon. There were many people in the chemist's shop while he was waiting there. And when his turn came, he could't find his money. An old woman hinted(暗示)a young man had stolen it. He saw the thief had already left the shop. He ran towards him quickly. The thief found it and began to run. He was happy and tried to catch up with him.
“Let's have a race and see who will run faster, ”Ruben called out behind.
Soon after that he caught up with the thief. But he didn't stop and went on running. At a crossing one of his friends asked, “What are you running for, Ruben? ”
“I'm running after(追)a thief. ”
“Where's the thief, then? ”
“He wants to show that he'll run faster than me, but he's fallen behind!” Ruben had to run to school because ____. [ ]
A.he had no bike |
B.he hoped to win some medals |
C.his village was a little far from the school |
D.he was afraid to be late for class |
____ , so he won some medals. [ ]
A.Ruben is good at running |
B.Ruben went to school on time |
C.Ruben often took part in the sports meetings. |
D.Ruben likes to have a race with others |
The phrase “a chemist's shop”in the story means ____. [ ]
A.化工商店 | B.药店 | C.化工厂 | D.制药厂 |
Ruben's money was stolen ____. [ ]
A.on his way to the town |
B.before he went in the shop |
C.when he was waiting in the shop |
D.after he had left the shop |
Ruben was happy because ____. [ ]
A.he could easily catch the thief |
B.he had a chance(机会)to have a race |
C.he knew who had stolen his money |
D.he would win another medal that day |
Robert was born in a small town in England. His father has a farm and can supply him enough money to finish university where he's studying law. The young man studies hard and hopes to be a famous lawyer.
Last Monday their term was over. Robert said to his father on the telephone that he was going to travel in a small country during his summer holiday. His father agreed to his plan and posted some money to him. So he started four days ago. Their plane landed at the only airport of the country safely. He took a taxi and got to a hotel in the centre of the capital. He felt hungry and tired. So he had a dinner and then a good sleep. This morning he was all right and was going to visit some places of interest. He met an English visitor while he was having breakfast and the man told him to be careful of thieves.
Robert thanked the man and left. But he thought he was smart(机灵的)and strong and he decided to have a try. He brought out a piece of paper and wrote on it, “A pig has stolen my wallet(钱包)!”Then he put the note into his empty wallet. After that he put the wallet into a pocket and set off. He did all carefully and hoped to find out who would steal it.
“Everything went well, ”Robert thought to himself after he had returned to the hotel. He brought out his wallet and put his money into it again. He had a look at the note. To his surprise, it was rewritten. It said, “Your uncle has touched your wallet!” Robert can study in the university because ____. [ ]
A.he wants to be a lawyer |
B.his father is a rich farmer |
C.he's smart and strong |
D.he keeps his wallet well |
Robert went to the small country to ____. [ ]
A.make fun of the thieves |
B.catch some thieves |
C.visit the places of interest |
D.have a nice meal and a good sleep there |
The English visitor thought ____. [ ]
A.there were a lot of thieves in the city |
B.Robert could deal with the thieves |
C.it was dangerous to travel in the city |
D.Robert had to take good care of himself |