Cyberspace, the connections between computers in different places, considered as a real place where information, messages and pictures exist, mirrors the real world in many ways. People ask for information, play games, and share hobbies. Others buy and sell products. Still others look for friendship, or even love.
Unlike the real world, however, your knowledge about a person is limited to words on a computer screen. Identity and appearance mean very little in cyberspace. Rather, a person’s thoughts—or at least the thoughts they type—are what really count. So even the shyest person can become a chat room star.
Usually, this “faceless” communication doesn’t create problems. Identity doesn’t really matter when you’re in a chat room discussing politics or hobbies. In fact, this emphasis(强调,重视) on the ideas themselves makes the Internet a great place for exciting conversation. Where else can so many people come together to chat? But some Internet users want more than just someone to chat with. They’re looking for serious love relationships. Is cyberspace a good place to find love? That answer depends on whom you ask. Some of these relationships actually succeed. Others fail miserably.
Supporters of online relationships state that the Internet allows couples to get to know each other intellectually first. Personal appearance doesn’t get in the way. But critics of online relationships argue that no one can truly know another person in cyberspace. Why? Because the Internet gives users a lot of control over how others view them. Internet users can carefully craft their words to fit whatever image they want to give. And they don’t have to worry about what their “nonverbal” (非言语交际的)communication is doing for their image. In a sense, they’re not really themselves.
All of this may be fine if the relationship stays in cyberspace. But not knowing a person is a big problem in a love relationship. With so many unknowns, it’s easy to let one’s imagination “fill in the blanks.” This inevitably(不可避免地) leads to disappointment when couples meet in person. How someone imagines an online friend is often quite more different than the real person. So, before looking for love in cyberspace, remember the advice of Internet pioneer Clifford Stoll: “Life in the real world is far richer than anything you’ll find on a computer screen.”According to the passage, chatting in the cyberspace ________.
| A．puts emphasis on people’s thoughts |
| B．needs people to be rich in knowledge |
| C．stresses more about people’s identity |
| D．allows people to discuss politics secretly |
People who are against online love think ________.
| A．what is said online is under control of the Internet |
| B．it is hard to protect the other’s identity |
| C．the faceless communication is exciting |
| D．one may not show the real self in cyberspace |
By saying “With so many unknowns, it’s easy to let one’s imagination ‘fill in the blanks’”, the writer means that ________.
| A．the Internet allows people to get more information about their loved ones |
| B．the Internet makes it easy for people to imagine how others view them |
| C．people usually get to know each other by chance through the Internet |
| D．people may be disappointed when they meet in person |
We can infer from the last paragraph that Clifford________.
| A．supports to look for love in the real life |
| B．demands to develop the computer system |
| C．encourages people to enjoy modern life |
| D．believes it hopeless to find love online |
What’s the attitude of the author?
A. Subjective B.Objective C Positive D.Negative
During the last fifteen years of my mother's life she suffered with Alzheimer's disease (老年痴呆). Until then she had been a bright, cheerful woman deeply interested and involved in the world around her. I would go home to visit her in Virginia and she would look at me in a puzzled way and ask, “Who are you?” I would answer, “I'm your son.” “Where do you live?” She would ask. “In California”, I would tell her. “Isn't that interesting,” she would say, “I have a son in California.”
She seemed simply forgetful and confused at the beginning of the disease, but later on she would go through periods of intense anxiety. She would pace through the house she had lived in most of her life crying uneasily that she wanted to go home. Or she would leave home and wander away if she were unattended for a short time.
Hoping to please her and put her mind at ease I would take her for a drive, visiting sites where she had lived as a child. In the yard of the hillside house in Shipman I sat in the car and admired the view of the old oaks and long green lawn. I pictured my mother there was a little girl playing with the pet lamb she had been so fond of. I looked to her for some response. She shook her head and said, “I want to go home.”
Over the years I have decided that what my mother was calling home was not a place, but a time. I suspect it was a time when she was much younger, when her children were still underfoot, when her husband was still vigorous and attentive.
Watching my mother's suffering set me wondering where I would have gone in mind if someday I couldn’t find home and wanted to go there. In this family we tend to be long-lived and we grow fuzzy (糊涂的) minded as the years go by. At eighty I have already noticed some alarming symptoms. My doctor says the forgetfulness is only natural and that it comes with age. Still the fear of Alzheimer's is haunting there. Someday if and when I become even more cloudy minded than I am now, unable to drive and unable to tell you where "home" is, my dear son, I expect I will ask you to take me home, I know you will do your best to find the place I need to be. I leave these notes for your guidance.What's the main idea of the first two paragraphs?
| A．The author’s mother suffered with serious Alzheimer's disease. |
| B．The author’s mother forgot who’s his son. |
| C．The author didn’t know how to cure his mother. |
| D．The author’s mother couldn’t find her home. |
What is not the symptom of the author’s mother ?
| A．cheerful | B．confused | C．forgetful | D．uneasy |
What’s the meaning of the underlined word “pictured”?
| A．photographed | B．appeared | C．described | D．painted |
What can you infer from the third paragraph?
| A．The author care much about his mother. |
| B．The author’s mother was fond of pet lambs. |
| C．The author saw a little girl playing with a pet lamb. |
| D．The author’s mother didn’t like her usual home. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Take Mother Home. |
| B．Everyone will suffer with Alzheimer's disease. |
| C．A story about a son and a mother. |
| D．Where Is Home? |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us flower more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending (延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality (好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
| A．an American | B．a Chinese | C．a professor | D．a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
| B．Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
| C．Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
| D．Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
| A．warmly welcomed at the airport |
| B．offered a ride to his home |
| C．treated hospitably at his home |
| D．treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
| A．strict with time |
| B．serious with time |
| C．careful with time |
| D．willing to spend time |
A suitable title for this passage would probably be “______”.
| A．Friendships between Chinese |
| B．Friendships between Americans |
| C．Americans’ hospitality |
| D．Americans’ and Chinese’s views of friendships |
A shop worker nicknamed(绰号) Little Fatty told of his shock at becoming a Susan Boyle-like Internet star after a perfect Whitney Houston performance on a TV talent(才能)show. Lin Yuqun, 24, won over the judges and the audience of the Million Star show with perfect performances of Whitney Houston’s I will Always Love You , and has got 480,000 hits on video sharing website You Tube.
“I am shocked that I can draw so much attention. I'm really moved and happy that people like my performance of Whitney's song,” said Lin, who works part-time at a musical instrument shop. “I've loved singing since I was a little boy and I feel like I am living my dream now. I hope I can pursue(追求) a career in singing,” he told reporters.
Reporters called him “China’s Susan Boyle”, describing him as “plain-looking and short”, but Lin, who has the nickname “Little Fatty”, told reporters the comparison made him proud. “I am honoured to be compared to Susan Boyle. I am inspired and encouraged by her because she proved that even a person who's seen as an underdog(弱者) and who has ordinary looks can shine on the stage,” Lin said.
Since his performance was posted on Youtube late last week, he has been the subject of heated conversation in on-line chat rooms on American Yahoo! and other foreign websites. “Lin really is amazing. Whitney couldn’t do it any better today, ” a viewer wrote on YouTube.
Scottish single Susan Boyle got recognized around the world after she was discovered last year on the British’s Got Talent television show with her performance of I Dreamed a Dream from Les Miserables, which was the best-selling debut(首演)in British chart history and also topped the US charts.What do we know about Lin Yuqun?
| A．He has a great talent for singing. |
| B．He works quite hard as a shop owner. |
| C．He sings better than Susan Boyle. |
| D．He likes watching TV best. |
It seemed that Lin Yuqun _________.
| A．was not surprised that he could be famous. |
| B．felt lost after the talent show. |
| C．learnt to sing at a musical instrument shop. |
| D．wants to become a singer. |
Why does Lin Yuqun speak highly of Susan Boyle?
| A．Because she is as ordinary as him. |
| B．Because she is a famous singer now. |
| C．Because he gets confidence from her. |
| D．Because she brings good luck to him |
By saying “Whitney couldn’t do it any better today”, the viewer means __________.
| A．Whiteny doesn't sing well any longer. |
| B．Lin Yuqun sings as well as Whitney |
| C．Lin Yuqun has gone beyond Whitney |
| D．Lin Yuqun can develop his singing better |
On a website, you may read the article in the column of _________.
| A．education. | B．fashion | C．science | D．Art |
Christian Eijkman, a Dutch doctor, left the Netherlands for the island of Java. Many people on the island had a disease called beri-beri. He was going there to try and find a cure.
At first, Eijkman thought some kind of germ (细菌) caused beri-beri. He raised some chickens. He didn’t eat them, but made experiments on them. The local people were quite surprised at that. One day he noticed that his chickens became sick when they were fed the food most Javanese ate — refined white rice (精炼米). When he fed them with unrefined rice, also known as brown rice, they recovered. Eijkman realized that he had made an important discovery — that some things in food could prevent disease. These things were named vitamins (维生素). The Javanese were not getting enough vitamins because they had actually removed the part that contains vitamins. Later, other diseases were also found to be caused by the lack of vitamins in a person’s food.
Today many people know the importance of vitamins and they make sure they have enough vitamins from the food they eat. If they don’t, they can also take vitamin pills.The underlined word “cure” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.
| A．a medical treatment | B．a kind of vitamin | C．a kind of germ | D．a kind of rice |
Christian Eijkman went to the island of Java to ______.
| A．spend his holiday |
| B．find ways to grow better crops |
| C．do some research about the island |
| D．help the Javanese with their illness |
Why did Christian Eijkman raise some chickens?
| A．To eat them. |
| B．To carry out his experiments. |
| C．To give the Javanese a surprise. |
| D．To make money by selling them. |
If a person doesn’t get enough vitamins in his diet, he’d better ______.
| A．eat more rice | B．eat more meat | C．eat some chicken | D．eat vitamin pills |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．beri-beri was caused by chickens |
| B．the Javanese didn’t like vitamins |
| C．Christian Eijkman’s experiment was successful |
| D．the Javanese’s disease was caused by a kind of germ |
Last week my youngest son and I visited my father at his new home in Tucson, Arizona. He moved there a few years ago, and I was eager to see his new place and meet his friends.
My earliest memories of my father are a tall, handsome, successful man devoted to his work and his family, but uncomfortable with his children. As a child I loved him. He seemed unhappy with me if I didn’t got straight A’s and unhappy with my boyfriends if their fathers were not as “successful” as he was. Whenever I went out with him on weekends, I used to try hard to think out things to say, feeling on guard.
On the first day of my visit, we went out with one of my father’s friends for lunch at an outdoor cafe. We walked along that afternoon, did some shopping, ate on the street table, and laughed over my son’s funny facial expressions. Gone was my father’s critical (挑剔的) air and strict rules. Who was this person I knew as my father, who seemed so friendly and interesting to be around? What had held him back before?
The next day dad pulled out his childhood pictures and told me quite a few stories about his own childhood. Although our times together became easier over the years, I never felt closer to him at that moment. After so many years, I’m at last seeing another side of my father. And in so doing, I’m delighted with my new friend. My dad, in his new home in Arizona, is back to me from where he was.Why did the author feel bitter(痛苦) about her father as a young adult?
| A．He was silent most of the time. | B．He was too proud of himself. |
| C．He didn’t love his children. | D．He expected too much of her. |
When the author went out with her father on weekends, she would feel ________.
| A．nervous | B．sorry | C．tired | D．safe |
What does the author think of her father after her visit to Tucson?
| A．More critical. | B．More humorous. |
| C．Easy-going and friendly. | D．Strict and hard-working. |
The underlined words in the last paragraph refer to ________.
| A．the author’s son | B．the author’s father |
| C．the friend of the author’s father | D．the cafe owner |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．the writer's father used to be strict with her when he was a child |
| B．the writer's father worked hard but cared less for his family |
| C．it was possibly the first time that the writer had visited her father's new home |
| D．as a child, the writer loved her father |