Below is a discussion on http://www.TalkingPoints.com/.
Stuck on a desert island?
Started on 23rd April by Steve Posts 1 – 7 of 42
Post 1
Steve
USA Hi, everyone. What would you miss most and least if you were stuck on a desert island? For me, it would be the changing seasons in New England. I guess this will sound stupid but I’d probably miss the rain, too. I would not miss getting up at six every day to go to work, though! What about you?
Post 2
Tomas
Germany Good question. Steve, I think I’d miss different types of bread, and shopping at the supermarket. I’d miss the food most. What would I miss least? My mobile phone---I’d like to be completely quiet --- at least for a little while
Post 3
Paola
Italy I would miss the company of people because I know I’d like to have someone to share experiences with. I’d go mad on my own. And I sure would not miss junk (垃圾)mail--- I hate coming home every evening and a pile of junk mail in my post box.
Post 4
Miko
Japan Hi, I would miss Manga cartoon, the internet and Japanese food, like sushi. I’d also miss TV shows and shopping for clothes… In fact, I’d miss everything.
Post 5
Roger
UK I would miss my daily newspaper and listening to the news on TV and radio. I’d feel very cut off if I didn't know what was happening in the world. What I’d miss least would be traffic jams in the city, particularly my journey to work.
Past 6
Jayne Why hasn't anyone mentioned their family? I’d be lost without my husband and two kids. They’re the most important for me. And I can’t get started in the morning without a cup of black coffee. I wouldn't miss doing the housework!
Post 7
Jaime
Mexico It would have to be music. I couldn't live without my music. I wouldn't miss going to school at all or doing homework!Who would miss his or her family most?
| A．Jaime | B．Jayne | C．Miko | D．Paola. |
Which of the following people would feel most uncomfortable without the news media?
| A．Steve. | B．Jaime | C．Roger. | D．Tomas |
How many of them mentioned that they would miss food or drink?
| A．One | B．Two | C．Three | D．Four |
Where is the passage probably taken from?
| A．Newspaper | B．Internet | C．Textbook | D．Magazine |
There is no better way to enjoy Scottish traditions than going fishing and tasting a little bit of whisky(威士忌)at a quiet place like the Inverlochy Castle. When Queen Victoria visited the castle in 1873, she wrote in her diary, “I never saw a lovelier spot ,” And she didn’t even go fishing.
Scotland is not easily defined. In certain moments, this quiet land of lakes and grasses and mountains changes before your very eyes. When evening gently sweeps the hillside into orange light, the rivers, teeming with fish, can turn into streams of gold . As you settle down with just a fishing pole and a basket on the bank of River Orchy, near the Inverlochy Castle , any frustration(烦恼) will float away as gently as the circling water. It’s just you and purple, pink, white flowers, seeking a perfect harmony. If you are a new comer to fishing, learning the basics from a fishing guide may leave you with a lifetime’s fun. For many, fishing is more than a sport; it is an art.
Scotland offers interesting place where you can rest after a long day’s fishing. Set against a wild mountain and hidden behind woodland, the beautiful Inverlochy Castle Hotel below the Nevis is a perfect place to see the beauty of Scotland’s mountains. Ben Nevis is the highest of all British mountains, and reaching its 1343-metre top is a challenge. But it’s not just what goes up matters; what comes down is unique. More than 900 metres high, on the mountain’s north face, lies an all-important source of pure water. Its name comes from the Gaelic language “usquebaugh” or “water of life”; and it is the single most important ingredient(原料) in Scotland’s best known drink: whisky.
| A．the queen is rich in tour experience |
| B．the Castle is a good place to go in Scotland |
| C．tasting whisky is better than going fishing |
| D．1873 is a special year for the queen |
| A．By giving descriptions. |
| B．By following time order. |
| C．By analyzing causes. |
| D．By making comparisons. |
| A．The Inverlochy Castle Hotel . |
| B．The beauty of its surroundings. |
| C．The water from the mountain. |
| D．The challenge up to its top. |
| A．To introduce Scottish traditions to tourists. |
| B．To show the attractions of Scotland to readers. |
| C．To explore geographical characteristics of Scotland. |
| D．To describe the pleasures of life in Scotland. |
Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.
Liu Wei, a Junior 2 student from Hefei, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife. Another student, 14-year-old Yan Fang from Guangzhou, was afraid of exams. She got very worried in the test, and when she looked at the exam papers, she couldn’t think of anything to write.
A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental (精神上的，心理上的)problems. Their troubles include being worried and very unhappy, and having problems in learning and getting on well with people. Many students who have problems won’t go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid if they go to see a doctor. Others don’t want to talk about their secret.
Liang Yuezhu, an expert on teenagers from Beijing Aiding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers.
1). Talk to your parents or teachers often.
2). Take part in group activities and play sports.
3). Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.
| A．mental problems | B．a headache |
| C．knives with them | D．no parents |
| A．he was afraid of his teacher |
| B．he wanted to frighten his parents |
| C．he was so worried about his study |
| D．his finger was badly hurt |
| A．she studied very hard |
| B．she had exams |
| C．she talked with her parents |
| D．she thought of something |
It was late in the afternoon, and I was putting the final touch on a piece of writing that I was feeling pretty good about. I wanted to save it, but my cursor(光标) had frozen. I tried to shut the computer down, and it seized up altogether. Unsure of what else to do, I yanked (用力猛拉) the battery out.
Unfortunately, Windows had been in the midst of a crucial（紧要关头） undertaking. The next morning, when I turned my computer back on, it informed me that a file had been corrupted and Windows would not load. Then, it offered to repair itself by using the Windows Setup CD.
I opened the special drawer where I keep CDs. But no Windows CD in there. I was forced to call the computer company's Global Support Centre. My call was answered by a woman in some unnamed, far-off land. I find it annoying to make small talk with someone when I don't know what continent they're standing on. Suppose I were to comment on the beautiful weather we've been having when there was a monsoon(季风) at the other end of the phone? So I got right to the point.
"My computer is telling me a file is corrupted and it wants to fix itself, but I don't have the Windows Setup CD."
"So you're having a problem with your Windows Setup CD." She has apparently been dozing and, having come to just as the sentence ended, was attempting to cover for her inattention.
It quickly became clear that the woman was not a computer technician. Her job was to serve as a gatekeeper. Her only duty, as far as I could tell, was to raise global stress levels.
To make me disappear, the woman gave me the phone number for Windows' creator, Microsoft. This is like giving someone the phone number for, I don't know, North America. Besides, the CD worked; I just didn't have it. No matter how many times I repeated my story, we came back to the same place. She was calm and polite.
When myvoicehit a certain decibel (分贝), I was passed along, like a hot, irritable potato, to a technician.
"You don't have the Windows Setup CD, ma'am, because you don't need it," he explained cheerfully.
"Windows came preinstalled on your computer!"
"But I do need it."
"Yes, but you don't have it." We went on like this for a while. Finally, he offered to walk me through the use of a different CD, one that would erase my entire system. "Of course, you'd lose all your e-mail, your documents, your photos." It was like offering to drop a safe on my head to cure my headache. "You might be able to recover them, but it would be expensive." He sounded delighted. "And it's not covered by the warranty (产品保证书)!" The safe began to seem like a good idea, provided it was full.
I hung up the phone and drove my computer to a small, friendly repair place I'd heard about. A smart, helpful man dug out a Windows CD and told me it wouldn't be a problem. An hour later, he called to let me know it was ready. I thanked him, and we chatted about the weather, which was the same outside my window as it was outside his.Why did the author shut down her computer abruptly?
| A．She had saved what she had written. |
| B．She couldn't move the cursor. |
| C．The computer refused to work. |
| D．The computer offered to repair itself. |
Which of the following is the author's opinion about the woman at the Global Support Centre?
| A．She sounded helpful and knowledgeable. |
| B．She was there to make callers frustrated. |
| C．She was able to solve her computer problem. |
| D．She was quick to pass her along to a technician. |
According to the passage, the solution offered by the technician was_________________.
| A．effective | B．economical | C．unpractical | D．unsatisfied |
"It was like offering to drop a safe on my head to cure my headache" in the last but one paragraph means that_____________________.
| A．the technician's proposal would make things even worse |
| B．the technician's proposal could eventually solve the problem |
| C．files stored on her computer were like a safe |
| D．erasing the entire system was like curing a headache |
It can be inferred from the passage that the differences between the Global Support Centre and the local repair shop lie in all the followings except ________________.
| A．efficiency | B．location | C．setup CDs | D．attitude |
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The soles of the boots for men are made of ____________________.
| A．leather | B．elastane | C．cotton | D．plastic |
The stretch jeans come in __________ colours and ______________ sizes.
| A．2; 3 | B．3;3 | C．3;4 | D．4;4 |
From the above chart we can see clearly that _______________________________________.
| A．the shirts listed in the chart are genuine leisure shirts |
| B．all the clothes listed in the chart can be washed both by hand and machine |
| C．you can insure your three-quarter length jacket against being stolen and accidental damage |
| D．the magic jeans may be in 100% cotton |
It will cost you ______________ to buy two epaulette shirts.
| A．99.99 pounds | B．29.98 pounds | C．49.98 pounds | D．38.98 pounds |
The order number for the England rugby shirts is________________.
| A．KQ9963 | B．DQ9967 | C．KQ 9978 | D．KQ 8149 |
Nowadays, a cellphone service is available to everyone, everywhere. Probably thousands of people have already been using it, but I just discovered it, so I'm going to claim it and also name it: Fake Foning.
The technology has been working well for me at the office, but there are infinite(无限的） applications. Virtually in any public space.
Say you work at a big university with lots of talky faculty members buzzing about. Now, say you need to use the restroom. The trip down the hall will take approximately one hour, because a person can't walk into those talky people without getting pulled aside for a question, a bit of gossip, a new read on a certain line of Paradise Lost.
So, a cellphone. Any cellphone. Just pick it up. Don't dial. Just hold that phone to your face and start talking. Walk confidently down the hall engaged in fake conversation, making sure to tailor both the topic and content to the person standing before you whom you are trying to avoid.
For standard colleague avoidance, I suggest fake chatting about fake business:
"Yes, I'm glad you called, because we really need to hammer out the details. What's that? Yes, I read Page 12, but if you look at the bottom of 4, I think you can see the problem begins right there."
Be engaged in your fake fone conversation. Make eye contact with the people passing, nod to them, gesture keen interest in talking to them at a later time, point to your phone, shrug and move on.
Shoppers should consider fake foning anytime they spot a talky neighbor in the produce department pinching (用手捏) unripe peaches. Without your phone at your face, you'd be in for a 20-minute speech on how terrible the world is.
One important caution about fake foning. The other day I was fake foning my way past a colleague, and he was actually following me to get my attention. I knew he wanted to ask about a project I had not yet finished. I was trying to buy myself some time, so I continued fake foning with my doctor. "So I don't need the operation? Oh, doctor, that is the best news."
And then: Brrrrrrng! Brrrrrmg! Brrrrrmg! My phone started ringing, right there while it was planted on my face. My colleague looked at me, and I at him, and naturally I gasped. "What is the matter with this thing?" I said, pulling the phone away to look at it, and then putting it back to my ear.
"Hello? Are you still there?" Oops.According to the passage Fake Foning is _______________________.
| A．a strategy to avoid people | B．a device newly produced |
| C．a service provided everywhere | D．a skill of communication |
In the author's opinion, in order to make fake foning look real one has to__________________.
| A．talk about interesting matters | B．behave politely to people passing by |
| C．hold the phone while walking | D．appear absorbed in conversation |
What does the last example show?
| A．One effective way is to fake fone one's doctor. |
| B．One has to be careful while fake foning. |
| C．Fake foning may not cheat people. |
| D．Fake foning is always quite successful. |
After his phone suddenly began ringing, the author___________________.
| A．immediately started talking to the caller |
| B．immediately started talking to his colleague |
| C．put the phone away and stopped talking |
| D．continued with his fake conversation |
What is the tone of the passage?
| A．Critical. | B．Humorous. | C．Serious. | D．Unclear. |