It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers （生产商） follow certain uniform standards for various features （特征） of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men's clothes tend to button from the right, and women's from the left. Considering most of the world's population—men and women—are right-handed, the men's standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women's clothes button from the left?
History really seems to matter here. Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women's shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men's shirt button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.
Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women's shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women's shirts that buttoned from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since any one who noticed that would believe they were wearing men's shirts.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?
| A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years. |
| B．It is different for men's clothing and women's. |
| C．It works better with men than with women. |
| D．It fails to consider right-handed people. |
Women's clothes still button from the left today because.
| A．adopting men's style is improper for women |
| B．manufacturers should follow standards |
| C．modern women dress themselves |
| D．customs are hard to change |
The passage is mainly developed by_______.
| A．analyzing causes |
| B．making comparisons |
| C．examining differences |
| D．following the time order |
Late that afternoon I took the train back to Sydney . There I found another surprise waiting for me . My room at the hotel had been given to somebody else and they had no room for me. Harkin had known my travel plans and had planned everything . How could he have booked the room only for three days ? There was nothing to be done but to find another hotel. The waiters were happy to find me a new hotel , and when I said that I was happy to stay at the airport , thinking it might be cheaper than staying in the city , they suggested the Holiday Inn at the airport . There was one small matter : the room rate was $ 300 per night . The best hotel in Katoomba had wanted only $ 145 . I asked if there was anything cheaper they might suggest but they warned that most hotels would already be full by this time.
The hotel was far from the train station , so I had to take a taxi , at $ 25 . On the way to the Holiday Inn , we passed a hotel just two blocks from the Holiday Inn that advertised a room rate of $ 104 . At the desk I asked if their room rate could go down a lot . “ No , this is a 4-star hotel,” the waiter told me . “ In that case ,” I replied , “ I’ll just walk the two blocks to the cheap hotel.” But she warned me that they were probably full and that if I didn’t take the room , it might not be available when I came back . Finally , I decided to take the room.
The room itself was big , but the air conditioning couldn’t keep up with the Australian heat . I couldn’t sleep until about 1:00 am. Why did the writer have to look for another hotel ?
| A．He didn’t book early. | B．Harkin made a mistake. |
| C．He was short of money. | D．He wasn’t well received. |
How did the writer feel when hearing the room rate at the Holiday Inn ?
| A．Nervous. | B．Happy. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Relaxed. |
Why did the writer take the room finally ?
| A．It’s a 4-star hotel . | B．It’s around the station. |
| C．It was mid-night then. | D．The room was in great demand. |
What does the text mainly talk about ?
| A．A hotel hunting experience. | B．An unforgettable day. |
| C．A warm-hearted waiter. | D．An introduction to hotels. |
Look, this is the first plane in the world to be created using the new technology of “3D printing”. The airplane was built using only a computer-but it can fly at a speed of 100mph and has a two-meter wingspan.
It was produced using a special nylon laser printer that builds up something layer-by-layer. The parts were made separately and attached using a “snap fit”（搭扣） technique so the aircraft could be put together without tools in minutes.
No fasteners(扣件) at all were used in the manufacture of the plane. Unmanned and electrically powered, the plane can travel in near silence and is also equipped with a small autopilot system. The special production process used is known as “laser sintering(激光烧结) “and allows the designers to create shapes and structures that would normally include costly manufacturing techniques. This technology allows a highly-tailored aircraft to be developed from your own design to first flight in days, while using traditional materials and techniques would take months. And because no tooling is required for manufacture, major changes to the shape and scale of the aircraft can be made with no extra cost.
Professor Jim Scanlon, who led the team, said, “The process allows the design team to revisit historical techniques and ideas that would have been too expensive using traditional manufacturing.” He added, “This form of structure is very firm and lightweight, but very complex. If it was manufactured traditionally it would require a large number of individually tailored parts that would have to be connected or fastened at great expense.”
The new printed plane is known as the Southampton University Laser Sintered Aircraft-or SULSA for short-and is part of a wider project using cutting-edge manufacturing techniques. The University of Southampton has been at the leading position of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development since the early 1990s. What does the passage maily talk about?
A. New Designed Airplane with New Techniques.
B. Scientists Create Aircraft with High Speed.
C. Revolut ionary Breakthrough of 3D Printer.
D. The World’s first 3-D printed Airplane, SULSA. How does the 3-D printed plane fly?
| A．A pilot controls it using a remote control. |
| B．It should be controlled by “laser sintering”. |
| C．It should be controlled by an autopilot system. |
| D．A pilot with high techniques controlled it. |
Which of the following is NOT advantage of the plane?
| A．It only requires simple and cheap tools. |
| B．It is manufactured in quite a short time. |
| C．It produces little noise while flying. |
| D．It needn’t extra cost if changes are made. |
Accoding to Professor Jim Scanlon, plane manufacturers can
with their techniques.
| A．copy earlier planes to study their techniques |
| B．connect and fasten tailor parts for real planes |
| C．produce firmer and lighter real planes |
| D．find differences by studying the traditional ones |
Does a 600-year-old Chinese map prove that Christopher Columbus was not the first international explorer to navigate(航行) the New World?
In his book “Who Discovered America?”, published on Tuesday, author Gavin Menzies says the settling of North America by nonnative peoples is more complex than previously thought.
“The traditional story of Columbus discovering the New World is absolute fantasy. It’s fairy tales,” Menzies, 76, said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
However, not everyone is sold on the theory. It has been described as “Unreal” by critics, who say Menzies’ claims are impractical and not based in historical fact.
Menzies has primarily focused his studies on when and how North America was first explored. He also has enthusiastic supporters—his previous books have been best-sellers, and supporters of his theories have donated millions to his efforts, allowing him to hire a number of experts to join in his investigatons.
Menzies says that the Chinese map, found in a bookstore, was drew by Chinese navigator Zheng He and shows a detailed map of America dating back to 1418. That would place Zheng He’s efforts some 70 years ahead of Columbus. In fact, Menzies says Columbus used a copy of Zheng He’s map to plot his own voyage.
The map itself has been authenticated(鉴定), but there is currently no way of proving the map was based on images drafted in the 1400s. However, Menzies says that certain observations on the map, including descriptions of communities and other cultural landmarks in Peru, coincide with known data from that period. In addition, Menzies makes an even broader claim in his book, saying that Chinese sailors were the first to cross the Pacific Ocean 40,000 years ago. Menzies says there is DNA evidence to support his claim.
So how does Menzies believe the Chinese pulled off such a giant historical accomplishment thousands of years before anyone else?
“If you just go out in a plastic bathtub, the currents will just carry you there,” Menzies told the Mail. “They just came with the current; it’s as simple as that.”
Critics of Menzies point out that he holds no degrees or professional training as a historian. But the Daily Mail says he “can no longer be called an amateur” after his most recent efforts.
The first paragraph serves as a(n) .
| A．comment | B．introduction |
| C．summary | D．example |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A．All people are not enthusiastic about the theory. |
| B．Not all people are surprised at the theory. |
| C．Not everyone wants to sell the theory. |
| D．Everybody believes the theory. |
Critics of Menzies hold that Menzies .
| A．is just playing a joke | B．creates the map himself |
| C．is no longer an amateur | D．has no academic background |
According to Menzies,.
| A．Zheng He once reached South America |
| B．Columbus discovered America in about 1490 |
| C．Zheng He helped Columbus discover the New World |
| D．it was quite hard for Chinese to cross the Pacific Ocean |
| 1. Sourcing Assistant Needed Time: 28 March—27 September, 2013 Indian company’s Shanghai office is looking for a local Chinese girl, who can speak fluent English, and has at least one year experience in trading business. Main responsibilities are: sourcing for new suppliers, factory visiting, negotiating and orders following up… Interested candidates can email me your expected salary, resume(简历)and current photo to :sarah@gate.com, Miss Wang for more details. |
2. Senior Interior Designer Time: 10 January—9 June, 2013 Reply to: Linette, killbourn@ rhkdesign. com.cn RHK Design is seeking a Senior Interior Designer for our corporate projects. Your primary role is to work closely with our American and European clients to deliver the international design solution they require. You must have an ability to work with 8 individual managers to negotiate space needs and requirements, and communicate your designs to your design support team. Deep knowledge of interesting and creative materials is required. Travel throughout China may be required. |
| 3. Customer Service Assistant Time: 1 February—31 August, 2013 Reply to: chinasemester@gmail.com Type of job: Full-time Requirements: —BA, or BS degree; foreigners only; —One year’s working experience desired, preferably in customer service or hospitality industry; — Responsible, pleasant personality and selfmotivated; —Good communication and interpersonal skills; —Good command of both spoken and written English; Putonghua is an advantage but not a must. Work Load: 5-day-work Monthly Salary: Around RMB 8,000—10，000 |
4. Female English Tutor Needed Time:5 January—1 October, 2013 Reply to: zsj123@163.com A 10-year-old girl is looking for an oral English tutor. Time: twice a week, in the evening and on weekend, 1.5 hrs at a time Wage(报酬): RMB 200/h Requirements: From America; female; experienced |
We can know from the first two ads that .
| A．RHK Design deals with business from European countries |
| B．to be a sourcing assistant, you need to be very persuasive |
| C．to work for RHK Design, you need to be very experienced in trading |
| D．a girl from Beijing is very likely to be employed by the Indian Company |
If you are an American woman looking for a part-time job, you can contact .
| A．sarah@gate.com | B．killbourn@rhkdesign.com.cn |
| C．zsj123@163.com | D．chinasemeser@gmail.com |
For one who doesn’t mind traveling a lot, which of the positions can be considered?
| A．Senior Interior Designer. |
| B．Female English Tutor. |
| C．Sourcing Assistant. |
| D．Customer Service Assistant. |
Which of the following statements about the third position is TRUE?
| A．Nationalities are not required for the position. |
| B．There’s a requirement of maximum service period. |
| C．The deadline for application is July the 31st. |
| D．Communication skills are requested a must. |
A Tale of Two Cities was written by the famous English writer Charles Dickens. The tale is mainly about the French Revolution in 1789, where the poor rose up against the king and the nobles. Dickens showed deep sympathy for the poor and deep hatred for the cruelty of the upper class, though he wrote quite a lot about the love triangle between Lucie, Charles and Sydney.
In this novel, Dickens wrote some lively characters like Sydney and those crazy revolutionaries. In this tale, we can’t see any absolute roles. Charles, though he’s a brave and good man, obviously he hasn’t as much ability as Sydney. Sydney, a typical tragic(悲剧的) man, a man like him, usually has great ability. But he has some weak points on characters and the worst is that he always loves a woman he shouldn’t love and 99.99% die for her at last in an extremely heroic or tragic way. The revolutionaries are not as full of justice as usual. They get mad when they can get revenge(报复) for their unfair treatment. The fire of hatred burns everything. When they’re at the bottom of the society, they’re calling for justice, for fair treatment, for freedom, but when they’re in charge of the society, their world is up-side-down. They hate everything that is connected to the very people against them, even including Charles’ wife, Dr. Manette’s daughter. So these men have no difference from those former governors at heart.
Though Dickens told us how the authority is recycling over and over again in some way, the novel is about something good. Love from Sydney to Lucie is one of the only few bright points in the novel and it’s really great. A man can sacrifice his life to save his lover’s husband. He doesn’t have any personal purpose and just for his lover’s happiness. So Dickens may imply us, only love can solve the problems between people, between the poor and the rich, love is everything.. A Tale of Two Cities is mainly about .
| A．Charles Dickens | B．the French Revolution |
| C．deep sympathy | D．the upper class |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Charles is as brave and able as Sydney. |
| B．Sydney loves a woman he shouldn’t love. |
| C．The revolutionaries show justice as usual. |
| D．Charles hates his wife, Dr. Manette’s daughter. |
The underlined phrase “these men” in Paragraph 2 most probably refers to “ ”.
| A．Charles and Sydney | B．the nobles |
| C．the revolutionaries | D．former governors |
What may Dickens really want to imply us readers?
| A．The authority is changing over and over again. |
| B．The novel is about something good only. |
| C．A great man can sacrifice his life for his lover. |
| D．Only love can settle the problems between people. |