We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles (肌肉) of your neck, or because an unexpected twist(扭曲)has made your neck ache. The slightest move makes you jump with pain. Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck.
That is why we use the phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling. We have all met such people.
One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands—often at the wrong time—during a performance in the theater. He keeps you from hearing the actors.
Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and the play begins. They come hurrying down to your row of seats. You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap. You must stand up to let them pass. You are proud of yourself-control after they have settled into their seats…Well, what now…God, one of them is up again. He forgot to go to the men’s room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass. Now, that is “a pain in the neck”.
Another, well—known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies. His mouth is full of popcorn (爆米花); he is chewing(嚼)loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him. None of them remain still. Up and down, back and forth, they go—for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink.
Then, there is the man sitting next to you at lunch, smoking. He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth.
We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway and sits down next to you, just as close as you will let him. You are reading the newspaper and he gets closer so that he can read the paper with you. He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it.
We also call such a person a “rubber neck”, always getting close to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors. They enjoy learning about your personal business. People have a strong dislike for “rubber necks”. They hate being watched secretly.Where can you find this passage?
A.In a medicine dictionary. | B.in a kids’ story book. |
C.In a social science book. | D.In a science textbook. |
According to the passage, how do you feel when late comers walk back and forth in front of you in a cinema?
A.disturbed. | B.bored. | C.ignored. | D.relaxed. |
A “rubber neck” often __________________ .
A.says bad words behind people. | B.quarrels face to face with neighbors. |
C.bargains with salespeople over the price | D.asks about other people’s business |
Which of the following persons CANNOT be described as a “pain in the neck”?
A.Someone who often claps at the wrong time during a performance. |
B.Someone who feels ache in his neck due to a cold in the muscles. |
C.Someone who sits next to you smoking, which you never enjoy. |
D.Someone who keeps eating or talking all through the movies. |
What is the main purpose of the author?
A.To tell people what might be bad manners in public. |
B.To criticize (批评) the people who might be a “pain in the neck” |
C.To show anger to those who are described as a “pain in the neck”. |
D.To tell people how to stop the pain in the neck. |
EVENTS
Long March exhibition
The Shanghai History Museum is putting on an exhibition to mark the 60th anniversary of the Long March.On show are more than 220 photos and 40 items that explain with pictures how the communist Red Army drew back from its besieged(被围困的) bases in Jiangxi Province and fought its way to northern Shanxi Province in the mid-1930s.Explanations are all in Chinese.The show will end on November 20.
Time: 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Address: 1286 Hongqiao Road
Admission: 8 yuan for Chinese /15 yuan for foreigners
Thai elephants
Eight elephants from Thailand are entertaining visitors at Changfeng Park by riding bikes, playing basketball, balancing on a pole, dancing and blowing a mouthorgan(口琴).People are encouraged to have a tug-of-war(拔河比赛)with the animals or lie on the ground and have the elephants walk over them.The elephants give three shows a day at 9:30 am, 3:30 pm and 8:00 pm and there is an additional show at l:30 pm at weekends.The show will end on November 15.
Address: 189 Daduhe Road
Admission: 30-40 yuan
Dancing dolphins
Dolphins jumping from the water to touch a ball, swaying their bodies to music, kissing people and doing math by tapping their tails have made the dolphinarium(海豚馆) in Peace Park an attraction for children.Seals and sea lions also perform.
Hours: 10:30 am, 4:00 pm, and 7:30 pm
Admission: 20 yuan for adults and 10 yuan for children.(252 words)If you go to visit the Long March exhibition with an Australian, how much will you pay altogether for the admission?
A.16 yuan. | B.30 yuan. | C.23 yuan. | D.20 yuan. |
Which of the following is NOT done by the Thai elephants?
A.Riding bicycles. |
B.Blowing a mouth-organ. |
C.Having a tug-of-war with people. |
D.Doing math. |
The dolphinarium in Peace Park is a hall where you can see ______.
A.only seals and sea lions perform |
B.only dolphins perform |
C.not only dolphins but also seals and sea lions perform |
D.only seals perform |
Eyesight problems are common among all ages and if they are left untreated, they can cause serious headaches or other problems. The good news is that most eyesight problems can easily be sorted out by wearing glasses.
Regular eye tests are important for everyone. Children and teenagers, under the age of 16 and up to the age of 19 for those full-time education, have the right to have eye tests for free in Britain. As the eye test is free, there’s no excuse for not having a regular eye test. Doctors suggest that it’s better to have an eye test about once a year.
Wearing glasses isnt always regarded as all that cool and teens who suddenly need to wear glasses may find it difficult to accept. If theyve grown up wearing glasses, then they may be more used to it. However, if your eyes are in poor health, not wearing glasses can put even more pressure on your eyes and could make them even worse.
Thankfully, the days of little choice of glasses frames (框架) for teenagers are gone and there’s now a wide selection of frames. If a teen does need to wear glasses, then it’s good to let him or her choose the type, as he or she will be able to choose something he or she feels comfortable. Dont forget to be guided by the experts on glasses too.According to the text, teens in the UK ______.
A.have few eyesight problems |
B.can design their own glasses |
C.change their glasses very often |
D.can check their eyes without paying |
How often do doctors suggest teens to have an eye test?
A.Once a month. |
B.Once every six months. |
C.Once a year. |
D.Twice a year. |
It can be learned from the text that teens ______.
A.find it difficult to buy comfortable glasses |
B.prefer to wear cool glasses at an early age |
C.are advised to wear glasses if their eyesight is poor |
D.think they are much cooler when wearing glasses |
In the past, teens who wanted to buy glasses ______.
A.were unable to find the right glasses |
B.only had a few styles to choose from |
C.could not find an expert to ask for advice |
D.were worried about the quality of glasses |
When Xia Min started drinking alcohol(酒精,乙醇) with her classmates at a friend’s birthday, she didn’t realize what would happen to her. She drank a lot and fell into a coma (昏迷). The 15year-old girl from Chongqing never recovered.
Xia’s death is warning to other students. A new rule went into effect on January 1, 2006. Teens are not allowed to buy or drink alcohol. Shops are not allowed to sell it to them.
A 1999 Chinese law forbade (禁止) shops to sell alcohol to youths under 18. But it is not taken seriously by shopkeepers because it doesn’t have specific rules. People hope the new rule will work.
“I tasted alcohol when having the dinner of the last New Year’s Eve,” said Lian Yuqi, a 16-year-old girl in Xiamen. She believes that the new rule will stop teens from drinking and help them grow in a healthy way.
“Although it may be a little disappointing not to have beer at parties, I think we can have soft drinks instead,” she said.Xia Min died from alcohol at the age of ______.
A.15 | B.16 | C.17 | D.18 |
The underlined word it means ________.
A.a warning sing | B.a shopkeeper |
C.the new rule | D.a 1999 Chinese law |
We can know that ________.
A.it is against the new rule for youths under 18 to drink alcohol |
B.shops can sell alcohol to a 16 years old youth. |
C.without an ID card, young people cant buy alcohol |
D.it seems that the young girl, Liang Yuqi, likes to drink alcohol |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.The new rule has worked very well. |
B.Shopkeepers can sell alcohol to teens above 18. |
C.Chinas legal drinking age is clearly under18. |
D.Many teens drink alcohol to show theyve grown up. |
If your mother wants to tell you something , she uses words . Birds can not talk as we do . But some birds can make sounds to warn their young of danger . They have their own ways to make the young birds do certain thing .
The jackdaw is a kind of blackbirds that lives in Europe . Jackdaws live together in flocks. (群) Yong jackdaws do not know their enemies . When an older jackdaw sees a dog , it makes a loud tattling (格格响的)sound. The young birds know this sound means an enemy is nearby. The sounds warns them to know their enemy .
If a young jackdaw is in a dangerous place, a jackdaw parent flies over him from behind .The parent bird flies low over the young birds back, the parents’ tail feathers move quickly from side to side, It is trying to say , “ Follow me .”
At the same time , the parent calls out , “ Key-aw ,Key-aw .” The parent means , “ Fly home with me .” The young bird then follows the older one home .
Young jackdaws do not have to learn what certain sounds mean. They know the meaning of these sounds from the time they hatch (孵化,小鸡等出壳).The jackdaw lives in _____ .
A.Europe | B.Australia |
C.America | D.Africa |
When an old jackdaw sees a dog , it _____ .
A.calls out “Follow me .” |
B.makes a loud sound |
C.flies away |
D.fights the dog . |
Parent jackdaw can use their tail feathers to ______ .
A.ask their young to follow them |
B.play a game with the young |
C.tell the meal time |
D.give a warning of a fire |
Which of the following does this story lead you to believe ?
A.All animal parents can talk to their young. |
B.Dogs are the most dangerous enemies for jackdaws. |
C.Young jackdaws know the meaning of their parents sound when they grow older. |
D.Some birds can give certain information to one another. |
New research shows that the healthy brain may hold memories which we don’t even remember. In The Journal of Neuroscience, experts report that the brain might hold more memories than people realize, but that restoring those memories can be tricky.
Memory Check
First, participants saw a list of 120 real words mixed with 80 nonsense words. Next, they saw another word list and tried to remember which words had been on the first list. Meanwhile, their brains were scanned with functional magnetic resonance(核磁共振) imaging.
While participants reviewed the second word list, their brain scans showed more activity in a certain brain area -- the posterior(后部的) median temporal lobe(脑叶) -- when they saw words that had been on the first word list.
But participants didn’t always remember that they’d seen those words before. Sometimes, they goofed and said they hadn’t seen those words before. In other words, the posterior median temporal lobe was more sensitive to memory than participants’ consciousness, the researchers note.
“Album”of Memories
Another part of the median temporal lobe also attracted the scientists’ attention. The anterior(前面的)median temporal lobe showed more activity when participants thought they were seeing a new word, the study shows.
So, why did participants sometimes mess up their memory recall? It might be that two parts of their brain -- the posterior and anterior median temporal lobes -- might be dueling(决斗) for the upper hand in deciding what actually happened in the past, the study notes.
In other words, memories might have a photo album in the brain, but sometimes we forget what’s on all of the photo album’s pages.A person sometimes has difficulty recalling because.
A.he is unconscious when he gets his memories |
B.he forgets what is on the pages of the photo album |
C.there are two parts in his brain dueling for the upper advantage |
D.the anterior median temporal lobe is more active than the posterior |
According to the passage the researchers are.
A.studying how a person remembers things |
B.studying a magazine The Journal of Neuroscience |
C.examining posterior and anterior median temporal lobes |
D.doing experiments to find out what disturbs a person’s memory |
What did the experts discover when the participants saw the words on the first word list appear on the second word list?
A.The instrument worked faster. |
B.The participants were more conscious. |
C.The posterior median temporal lobe was more active. |
D.The anterior median temporal lobe was more active. |
The underlined wordgoofedin the fourth paragraph means.
A.made a mess of | B.made an answer for |
C.made out of | D.made the best of |