WhatimagedoesthewordBritaincon-优题课

William James, the great psychologist (心理学家), said that most men are “old fogies (守旧者) at twenty-five”. He was right. Most men at twenty-five are satisfied with their jobs. They have closed their minds to all new ideas; they have stopped to grow.
The minute a man stops to grow –no matter what his years –that minute he begins to be old. On the other hand, the really great man never grows old. Goethe passed away at eighty-three, and finished his Faust only a few years earlier; Gladstone took up a new language when he was seventy. Laplace, the astronomer, was still at work when death caught up with him at seventy-eight. He died crying, “What we know is nothing; what we do not know is immense (extremely large).”
And there you have the real answer to the question, “When is a man old?”
Laplace at seventy-eight died young. He was still unsatisfied, still sure that he had a lot to learn.
As long as a man can keep himself in that attitude of mind, as long as he can look back on every year and say, “I grew”, he is still young.
The minute he ceases (stops) to grow, the minute he says to himself, “I know all that I need to know,” –that day youth stops. He may be twenty-five or seventy-five; it makes no difference. On that day he begins to be old.
According to William James, _______.

A．most people are not open to new ideas before 25.

B．few people continue to improve themselves after 25.

C．some people still try to make progress after 25.

D．all the people stop to make progress after 25.

The author mentions Goethe, Gladstone and Laplace to show that _____.

A．the great man stops to grow that minute he begins to be old.

B．the really great man never grows old.

C．the great man usually dies young.

D．the really great man never dies.

What do we know about Laplace?

A．He was a great writer.

B．He was not pleased with what he had learned.

C．He thought he was one of the greatest man.

D．He thought he was old when he was 25.

The author probably agrees with _______.

A．people should be pleased with what they have.

B．people should try to make a great difference.

C．people should cease to grow when they are 25.

D．people should not be satisfied with what they know.

A man living absolutely alone in a desert or forest is free from other people; but he is not absolutely free. His freedom is limited in several ways. Firstly, by the things around him, such as wild animals or cliffs too steep (陡峭的) to climb. Secondly, by his own needs: he must have sleep, water, food and shelter from extreme heat or cold. Lastly, by his own nature as a man: disease may attack him, and death will certainly come to him sooner or later.
When men live together, on the other hand, protection against wild animals is easier and they can work together to get food and build shelters; but each man has to give up some of his freedom so that he can live happily with the others.
When men become organized into very large groups, and civilization (文明) develops, it is possible to get freedom from hunger, thirst, cold, heat and many diseases, so that each person can live a happier life than he could if he were living alone; but such a society can not work successfully unless the freedom of each human being is to some extent limited so that he is kept from hurting others. I am not free to kill others, nor to steal someone else's property, nor to behave in a way that offends (触犯) against the moral sense of the society in which I live. I have to limit my own freedom myself so that others will not limit it too much: I agree to respect the rights of others, and in return they agree to respect mine.
The advantages of such an agreement are great: one man can become a doctor, knowing that others will grow food, make clothes and build a house for him, in return for the work he does to keep them healthy. If each man had to grow his own food, make his own clothes, build his own house and learn to be his own doctor, he would find it impossible to do any one of these jobs really well. By working together, we make it possible for society to provide us all with food, clothes, shelter and medical care, while leaving each of us with as much freedom as it can.
A man living alone in a desert or forest ______.

A．is completely free	B．feels rather lonely
C．has limited freedom	D．enjoys no freedom

The author suggests that when men live together ______.

A．they will have no freedom and have to help others.

B．they can help each other protect against wild animals.

C．they have to work for their own food and shelters

D．everyone’s happiness is at the expense of other people’s freedom.

According to the passage, to do all his own jobs one would ______.

A．enjoy a complete freedom.

B．find it a happy thing to do everything at his own will

C．find it a very hard job to deal with everything by himself

D．feel quite fantastic and encouraged.

We may infer from the passage that the author ____.

A．is against separation from a civilized society.

B．is in favor of a well-organized society.

C．is against freedom gained at others.

D．denies the existence of many-sided people

China news, Beijing, July. 29 – Housing price in China has always aroused heated discussions among property (房产) developers and ordinary Chinese. To many property developers and local government officials, housing price in China is still low compared with many developed countries. However, the average housing price in the United States is only 8,000 yuan per square meter, while in China, it is even higher than in the United States. This shows that there are some bubbles(泡沫) in Chinese real estate(房地产) market, the International Finance News reported.
Although the average price of residential houses in the United States, after converted to Renminbi, is about 8,000 yuan per square meter, the houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses. If US property developers sell their houses according to the building area, then the housing price will be even lower than 8,000 yuan per square meter. In most big Chinese cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, houses are sold at a price even higher than those in the US.
The high housing sales price in large cities in China proves that Chinese real estate market does have some bubbles. Moreover, Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities. Furthermore, it should be noted that American people’s average income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people. How can the Chinese afford to buy a house which is even more expensive than that sold in US?
At the beginning of 2007, Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public. Now in order to reduce the high housing prices, the government can regulate(control) the real estate market by raising tax on property industry and controlling the release of loans (贷款) and lands to property developers. At the same time, the government should allow people to build more houses through various fund-raising channels, such as funds collected from buyers or raised by working units. By applying these multiple means, it is expected that the high housing prices can be lowered.
What is the average housing price per square meter in China?

A．8000 yuan.	B．10000 yuan.
C．7000 yuan.	D．It’s not mentioned here.

Which of the following does NOT support the idea that the average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States?

A．Chinese houses can not be compared with houses in US in terms of building quality, environment and supporting facilities.

B．American people’s a

verage income is several dozen times higher than that of Chinese people.

C．The houses in US are not sold in terms of building area, as most Chinese property developers do when they sell their houses.

D．The population who need houses in China is larger than in the United States.

How many measures are mentioned in the last paragraph in order to reduce the high housing prices?

A．Four.

B．Three.

C．Two.

D．One.

What is the main idea of this passage?

A．The housing price in China is so high that the gover

nment should do something useful to prevent it.

B．There are some bubbles in Chinese real estate market.

C．The average housing price in China is even higher than in the United States.

D．Chinese government issued a set of policies that aimed to benefit the public.

Dior was born in Normandy in 1905, and his family’s original plans for him included a career in the diplomatic (外交的) service, but by the time he was twenty—three, with his parents’ money，he opened a small art gallery in Paris．By 1931，the money had been used up. Dior’s friends in the art gallery asked him to draw and he took his first step at designing and drawing．His first job was with Lucien Lelong from whom Dior learned his craft（手艺）．

In February,1947, Dior started the New Look in his first major Paris collection．He was backed by a famous textile (纺织品) producer, Boussac，who looked after the dollars, while Dior looked after the fashions．Dior knew nothing about cutting and sewing，but he was good at fashion design．
The New Look started an entirely different look to costume, with a tiny waist, a rounded shoulder and a shapely bust（胸围），usually with a low-cut neckline and a long, full skirt．To women who had lived through the war years, the femaleness of the New look was a great success, for people were tired of tile extremely plain, wartime restrictive fashions．
It is said that dresses by Dior were “constructed like buildings.” But young people were attracted to his design，and all over the western world, manufacturers plunged（投入）into the production of his new style．Dior’s revolutionary designs lighted up a whole cycle of fashion，rounded，gentle，feminine, a delight in elegance．A New Look House of Dior opened in 1948，followed by one in London．Considered as King of Couture（women’s clothing）for years, the Dior empire grew until it covered every country in the western world，and included furs, hosiery, jewelry, perfumes, men’s wear and on and on．More than 1,000 people worked at the Paris headquarters then．
His sudden death in 1957 when he was 53 years old did not stop the growth of the House of Dior. Even now, so many years after his death，his name is closely connected with fashion throughout the world，and indeed is one of the most recognized names in the world. His first，great New Look，with its long skirts was an expression of freedom in the late 1940s．
Which of the following designs is close to Dior’s?

According to the passage, in Dior’s life，he did NOT．

A．make creative fashion designs	B．work in a diplomatic service
C．1earn craft as his first job	D．open a New Look House

We can infer from the passage that．

A．Dior and his supporter had different interests in business

B．Dior’s New Look had little influence on people then

C．Dior is only a brand of women’s fashion

D．Dior’s fashion was not accepted at first

What is probably the best title for the passage?．

A．The History of the New Look	B．The Growth of the Dior Empire
C．An Expression of Freedom—Dior	D．The Founder of the New Look—Dior

My friend took his colleague to see an art exhibition in north London.
The show was basically piles of breeze blocks (煤渣砖) forming armchair and sofa shapes, painted in primary colors.
Seeing these, the colleague said, “You brought me all the way out here to see this pile of junk when we could have been having a nice lunch?” He continued his rant about the work all the way back to the office.
When they got there my friend said, “You said you don’t like the work, but you haven’t stopped talking about it since you first saw it.”
Whether he liked it or not, he could not forget it.
If the artwork is fresh and new, you can’t expect to like it straightaway, because you have nothing to compare it with.
The effort of coming to terms with things you do not understand makes them all the more valuable to you when you do grasp them.
Good art speaks for itself. That doesn’t mean you have to like it.
So the next time you go to an art show, or look at anything for that matter, observe what effect it has on you and try to form your own opinion.
That way, you become the critic and not a mouthpiece for someone else’s opinions.
What does the colleague think about the art exhibition?