阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
Time, a faithful company of our life, is a universal topic. People are always curious about what it is, how it travels and who it meets.
Stephen Hawking, one of the world’s smartest physicists, once said. “I’m fascinated by time.”
Many of us are, and the popularity of time travel novels, movies and TV series has proved that. After Palace and Startling by Each Step achieved astonishing ratings last year, Palace 2 aired on January 20, attracting time travel fans back to TV.
Woody Allen’s movie Midnight in Paris achieved great success. It was nominated for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Art Direction for the 2012 Academy Awards.
Dream of heroism
Time travel TV series and movies connect both today and the past, thus offering room for imagination. Imagination creates a chance for the young to fulfill a dream that is hard to achieve in reality.
Chinese writer Xi Juan is a pioneer of time-travel stories in China. In 1993 she published a love story about a young woman time traveling to ancient times. The leading role’s modern personality and perception of love help her win the heart of a cool, handsome martial art master. Such a plot satisfies female fans’ love fantasy.
Starting from the late 1990s, novels about men traveling back to the past prevailed (盛行), with a Step into the Past as the most popular example. In these stories, the male leading roles accomplish great things with their modern skills and wisdom.
It is usually “a dream of heroism come true”, along with enviable romances.
Eye candy
“I’m hooked by the shows because they are characterized by dramatic and poetic love and have eye-pleasing actors,” Xia Xiaoyan, who works for a foreign-owned enterprise in Shanghai, explained her love for time travel TV series.
Her comment echoes a 2011 survey by Creat Marketing Research Co Ltd in China. When asked about what is so appealing about time travel TV series, 21 percent of respondents answered, “These attractive characters.”
A bigger reason behind the popularity of time travel stories, however, is the relaxation they offer, according to the survey.
Cai Yinong agrees. “Many people are facing tremendous pressure in their fast-paced lives, so this genre is more relaxing than other shows as it provides people with a terrific outlet to escape reality,” Cai told China Daily.
Cultural homesickness
“Which dynasty would you like to live in if you could travel to the past?” asked a survey launched by Shanghai University and Shanghai Social Sciences Association last December.
About 60 percent of the 2,543 respondents chose Tang Dynasty, while Qing Dynasty, and the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the other top two destinations.
The survey results reflects people’s definition of the good days: prosperous economy and culture, steady society, fair and uncorrupted politics, and opening up to the outside world.
As for the movie Midnight in Paris, it features modernity versus cultural homesickness. The New York Times commented, “The past seems so much more vivid, more substantial, than the present. The good old days are so attractive because we were not around, however much we wish we were.”
| Time travel wins fans |
|
| Phenomenon |
l Stephen Hawking shows great interest in l People prefer l Woody Allen was |
| Reasons for its |
Supporting details |
| Dream of heroism |
l Chances are offered for the young to fulfill l achieve in reality. l Xi Juan’s 1993 love story l ancient times, which satisfies females fans. l From the late 1990s, novels about l the past became increasingly popular. l The male leading role in A Step Into the Past travels back to the past l to fulfill great things by using his |
| Eye candy |
Attractive actors and travel stories make viewers under pressure |
| Cultural homesickness |
Most respondents chose to live in a certain dynasty for: l Prosperous economy and l Steady society; l Fair and uncorrupted politics; l Opening up to the outside world. |
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Holidays are often associated with no work and all play. People seek to enjoy their holidays in different ways. Vacation packages (一揽子交易) have been in existence for a long time. ----- So now people can choose from the different packages according to their own tastes.
Sky diving, hiking and many other extreme sports are packaged with hotel tours to attract the younger generation. Tour service providers enjoy the benefits of the increase in bookings from hotel tours. Holiday-makers enjoy the exciting experiences without making efforts to look for hotels. -----
----- These holiday-makers enjoy student discount and packages while learning about history and culture of different places.
Summer vacation packages have never fallen down the rankings. ----- Having a warm sunny day at the beach is one of the fast selling vacation packages in the leisure industry.
Safari (游猎) adventures have always attracted some of the modern adventurers. The animals of Africa continue to amaze crowds that have only seen these creatures on educational channels. Many activities like outdoor camping, safari day tours and hiking in protected parks are always welcomed by holiday-makers.
----- Alaways try something new or fun to do and your days of relaxation will be always exciting.
| A．Picking out a vacation package can keep yourself from boring vacations. |
| B．Everyone is in a winning situation. |
| C．You can’t miss vacation packages if you want to have a good vacation. |
| D．Educational vacation packages are quite suitable for students. |
E.They are one of the favorite choices for most holiday-makers who like sunny beaches.
F.They are continually being improved to meet people’s demands.
G. Vacation needs your plan.
Learning to play a musical instrument can change your brain, with a US review finding musical training can lead to improved speech and foreign language skills.
Although it was suggested in the past that listening to Mozart’s music or other classical music could make you smarter, there has been little evidence to show that music can boost(使增长) brain power.
But a data-driven review by Northwestern University has pulled reaserch together that links musical training to learning that spills over into (波及) skills including language, speech, memory, attention and even vocal emotion.
Researcher Nina Kraus said the data strongly suggested that the nervous connections made during musical training also prepared the brain for other aspects of human communication.
“ The effect of musical training suggests that, like physical exercise and its effect on body fitness, music is a resource that tones the brain for auditory fitness and thus requires society to re-examine the role of music in shaping individual development, ” the researchers said in their study.
Kraus said learning musical sounds could improve the brain’s ability to adapt and change and also enable the nervous system to provide constructing patterns that are important to learning.
The study, published in Nature Review Neuroscience , looked at the explosion of research in recent years focusing on the effect of musical training on the nervous system which could have impacts for education.
The study found that playing an instrument prepares the brain to choose what is related in a complex process that may involve reading or remembering a score, timing issues and coordination with other musicians.What is the text mainly about ?
| A．The effect of physical exercise. | B．The researcher named Kraus. |
| C．The benefit of musical training. | D．Musicians’ improved skills. |
The underlined word “ auditory ” in Paragraph 5 probably means “ __________”.
| A．of the body | B．connected with seeing |
| C．of the mind | D．connected with hearing |
It was believed but not proved that listening to classical music could __________.
| A．add to your intelligence | B．improve your speech |
| C．boost your memory | D．make you think faster |
According to Kraus, musical training contributes to the following EXCEPT __________.
| A．body fitness | B．the way to speak |
| C．langugage learning | D．mental concentration |
The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks(火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr.Smith, a rich neighbour, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“ Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉) , even if it is only to pass the time ? ” said the blacksmith. “ Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you .”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“ How funny it seems, ” he used to say, “ even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ___________.
| A．his father told him to | B．he wanted to learn a skill |
| C．Jones encouraged him to | D．he just wanted to pass his time |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage ?
| A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks. |
| B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill. |
| C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get. |
| D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young. |
What can we learn from the story ?
| A．Practice makes perfect. |
| B．Skill makes life easy. |
| C．A good beginning makes good ending. |
| D．Every man has his gift. |
Our grand China tour will show you a different China !
But you are required to present a U.S. Passport as an American when entering China. For some important information on how to apply for a passport, see the following forms.
What is most probably talked about before this passage?
| A．International travel information. |
| B．An introduction to a journey to China. |
| C．The great changes happening in China. |
| D．Matters needed to be dealt with before going to China. |
You can apply for a U.S. passport by mail if you ____.
| A．have never had a U.S. passport before |
| B．got your most recent U.S. passport 17 years ago |
| C．were 17 when you received your previous passport |
| D．changed your name after getting your passport last time |
Before submitting Form DS-11, you should____.
| A．fill in all information on the form |
| B．print the form on both sides of the paper |
| C．fill the form in either black or blue ink |
| D．make an appointment with a Passport Agency |
If you don’t fill Form DS-11 clearly, ____.
| A．you must get another form from your local Passport Agency and refill it |
| B．you should ask for advice from Tips for Americans Traveling Abroad |
| C．you may get a late reply from a Passport Agency |
| D．you must hand it in and explain it personally |
Children, especially boys, tend to idealise their fathers when they are young.Every little boy wants to grow up to be just like his father, and every little girl thinks her father is the smartest man on the earth. It’s not very easy to be a good father, but it’s not that difficult either. Children will truly enjoy spending time with their fathers, not just when they are kids, but even when they are adults.
Not all children communicate well with their fathers. Communication is often left to mothers, while fathers dispense advice as and when necessary. Don’t expect all conversations to centre around the dinner table. Go to your children’s bedrooms and talk to them about school, their teachers or their friends. Remember that the conversation cannot be one-sided. When your children open up to you, you also need to open up to them.
If your children come home from school feeling upset, go up to them and ask them what is the matter. And if it is something which seems to you to be a silly reason to be upset, don’t voice your opinion. It may be silly to you, but to your children it is important enough. So don’t wave the topic away by telling them not to bother about such stupid things. Simply discussing their problems with them will help them feel better.
Don’t shy away from having discussions about your teenage children’s love lives. Generally speaking, your children are definitely not going to discuss intimate details with you. Try to let them know that you are relaxed about topics on love. Tell your children how you met your wife. It is perfectly normal for children to go through feelings for the opposite sex as they grow up, and by keeping the topic closed for discussion, you are only shutting them off from discussing their feelings with you. All they will do is turn to their friends.To children their fathers are usually very ______.
| A．important | B．great | C．serious | D．strong |
From the second paragraph we can know that ______.
| A．some children don’t like their fathers at all |
| B．talking with children around the dinner table is bad |
| C．it is better for mothers to communicate with their children |
| D．mothers usually communicate better with their children. |
Suppose your children are worried about something you should _____.
| A．have a talk with them | B．express your option |
| C．keep silent | D．let them alone |
Your children would not like to discuss their love lives with you probably
because they think__________.
| A．you are relaxed about topics on love |
| B．they should ask for help from their friends |
| C．they have already grown up |
| D．it is not normal to experience feelings of love |