In today’s world, almost everyone knows that air pollution and water pollution are harmful to people’s health. However, not all know that noise is also a kind of pollution, and that is harmful to human, too.
People who work and live under noisy conditions usually become deaf(耳聋的). Today, however, scientists believe that 10% of workers in Britain are deafened by the noise where they work. Many of the workers who print newspapers and books, and who weave cloth become deaf. Quite a few people living near airports also become deaf. Recently it was discovered that many teenagers in America could hear no better than 65-year-old people, for these young people like to listen to “pop” music and most of “pop” music is a kind of noise. Besides, noise produced by jet plane or machines will make people’s life difficult and unpleasant, or even make people ill or even drive them mad. It is said that a continuous noise of over 85 decibels(分贝) can cause deafness.
Nowadays the governments in many countries have made laws to reduce or control noise and make it less than 85 decibels. In China, the people’s government is trying to solve not only air and water pollution problems but also the noise pollution problems.In the world today, not every person knows .
A.water pollution | B.air pollution | C.harmful pollution | D.noise pollution |
Today scientists believe that .
A.90% of all the workers in Britain are not suffering from noise |
B.10% of all the workers in Britain are working in noisy places |
C.10% of all the workers in Britain are deafened by the noise where they work. |
D.90% of all the workers are free from any noise |
Those who usually have poorer hearing.
A.weave cloth | B.sell newspapers |
C.like listening to music | D.often travel by plane |
According to the passage, a continuous noise can make you deaf.
A.in working places | B.of less then 85 decibels |
C.of over 85 decibels | D.of only 85 decibels |
Secondhand smoke isn't just a health threat to people. It can also hurt dogs and cats, veterinarians say.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 126 million Americans who don't smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes,vehicles, workplaces,and public places. This exposure causes thousands of lung cancer and heart disease deaths among nonsmokers every year, according to the California Environmental Protection Agency.
“Making the leap from the effects of secondhand smoke on humans to their effects on pets isn't a big one,” said veterinarian Carolynn MacAliister of Oklahoma State University.
“There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets,” MacAllister said. “Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats, lung and nasal cancer in dogs, as well as lung cancer in birds. ”
Studies have also shown that dogs living in a smoking household are susceptible to cancers of the nose and sinus area ,particularly if they are a long-nosed breed, because their noses have a greater surface area that is exposed to carcinogens(致癌物质)and a greater area for them to accumulate. Dogs affected with nasal cancer normally don't survive for more than one year.
“Short and medium-nosed dogs are more susceptible to lung cancer, because their shorter nasal passage aren't as effective at ac-cumulating the inhaled secondhand smoke carcinogens,” MacAllister said. “This results in more carcinogens reaching the lungs. ”
Birds are also at risk for lung cancer, as well as pneumonia, because their respiratory systems are hypersensitive to any type of air pollutant.
“To help prevent animals from being adversely affected by smoking, pet owners who smoke should have a designated smoking area that is separated from the home or stop smoking altogether,” said MacAllister. From the passage, we can see secondhand smoke maybe not harmful to __________.
A.smokers |
B.non-smokers |
C.pets |
D.trees |
What can be suggested according to the passage?
A.Smokers can smoke anywhere. |
B.Smokers can smoke at any time. |
C.Smokers should smoke in the designated place. |
D.Smokers must give up smoking at once. |
What kind of dogs are likely to suffer from nasal cancer?
A.Long-nosed dogs |
B.Short-nosed dogs |
C.Medium-nosed dogs |
D.Dogs without noses |
The best title of the passage is __________.
A.Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in People |
B.Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Birds |
C.Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Pets |
D.Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Cats |
What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “are susceptible to”?
A.are likely to be harmed by |
B.are hard to be influenced by |
C.are less to be effected by |
D.are lucky to be caught by |
A few years ago I had an “ aha ! ” moment regarding handwriting.
I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting, and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year, maybe two, and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.
It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal, friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters, and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.
As a child visiting my father's office, I was pleased to recognize , in little notes on the desks of his staff, the same handwriting I would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed" dad" instead of "RFW".
All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting, a book by Florey. She shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well, but many others argue that people in a digital age can't be expected to learn to hold a pen.
I don't buy it.
I don't want to see anyone cut off from the expressive,personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer, part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.
What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However, they have worked in many school systems. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague's handwriting?
A.He had worked with his colleague long enough. |
B.His colleague's handwriting was so beautiful. |
C.His colleague's handwriting was so terrible. |
D.He still had a lot of work to do. |
People working together in an office used to __________.
A.talk more about handwriting |
B.take more notes on workdays |
C.know better one another's handwriting |
D.communicate better with one another |
The author's father wrote notes in pen __________.
A.to both his family and his staff |
B.to his family in small letters |
C.to his family on the fridge |
D.to his staff on the desk |
According to the author, handwritten notes __________.
A.are harder to teach in schools |
B.attract more attention |
C.are used only between friends |
D.carry more message |
We can learn from the passage that the author __________.
A.thinks it impossible to teach handwriting |
B.does not want to lose handwriting |
C.puts the blame on the computer |
D.does not agree with Florey |
Isabella Stewart was born in New York City in 1840. Her father made a great deal of money in trade. During school,her parents took her to Italy to explore the country's many cultural treasures.
One of the private art collections Isabella visited in Milan had a deep influence on her. She wrote to her friends about her dream of owning a house one day with an art collection like the one she had seen in Italy.
In Paris, Isabella became a close friend of one of her classmates, Julia Gardner, whose family was from Boston. Julia would later introduce Isabella to her brother, Jack. In 1860, Isabella Stewart married Jack Gardner.
The couple had too much art to fit inside their home. So they decided to start planning a museum. Mrs. Gardner didn't like the cold and empty spaces of many museums during her time. She wanted a warm museum filled with light. She once said that she decided years ago that the greatest need in her country was art. America was a young country developing quickly in other areas. But the country needed more chances for people to see beautiful examples of art.
After her husband's death in 1898, Isabella knew she had no time to lose in building her museum. She bought land, hired a building designer, and supervised (监督)every detail of her museum's construction.
Mrs. Gardner opened her museum on January 1,1903. The museum was then called Fenway Court. She invited her friends that night for a special musical performance. The next month, she opened the museum to the public. At first, visits were limited to twenty days out of the year. Visitors paid one dollar to enter.
Isabella Stewart Gardner died in 1924 in Boston. In her will, she left the museum a million dollars and a series of requirements about how it should be managed. One requirement is that the permanent collection cannot be changed. The text is mainly about __________.
A.how Isabella Gardner realized her dream of being an artist |
B.how Mr. and Mrs. Gardner added to their collection of art |
C.how Isabella's museum was opened |
D.Isabella Stewart Gardner and her museum |
By saying“the greatest need in her country was art” in Paragraph 4 Mrs. Gardner meant that __________.
A.America was still a young developing country |
B.there were no museums in America at that time |
C.art fell far behind other fields of the American society |
D.Americans had no chance to enjoy beautiful art |
In order to achieve her dream of owning an art museum, Mrs. Gardner __________.
A.raised money from her friends and relatives |
B.sold out all her land and houses |
C.held special musical performances for money |
D.watched over the process of building the museum |
Which statement is NOT true according to the text?
A.Isabella and Jack were classmates when studying in Paris. |
B.The museums at that time were not comfortable. |
C.Isabella opened the museum about five years after Jack's death. |
D.Great as the museum was,visitors had to wait and pay to enter. |
From the passage, we can learn that the museum __________.
A.helps earn much money for its collections of art |
B.is called Fenway Court by the visitors |
C.was opened to the public on January 1st, 1903 |
D.is still affected by Isabella Gardner in management now |
Sports account for a growing amount of income made on the sales of commercial time by television companies. Many television companies have used sports to attract viewers from particular sections of the general public,and then they have sold audiences to advertisers.
An attraction of sport programs for the major U. S. media companies is that events are often held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons—the slowest time periods of the week for general television viewing. Sport events are the most popular weekend programs, especially among male viewers who may not watch much television at other times during the week. This means the television networks are able to sell advertising time at relatively high prices during what normally would be dead time for programming.
Media corporations also use sports to attract commercial sponsors that might take their advertising dollars elsewhere if television stations did not report certain sports. The people in the advertising departments of major corporations realize that sports attract male viewers. They also realize that most business travelers are men and that many men make family decisions on the purchases of computers, cars and life insurance.
Golf and tennis are special cases for television programming. These sports attract few viewers, and the ratings (收视率)are unusually low. However, the audience for these sports is attractive to certain advertisers. It is made up of people from the highest income groups in the United States, including many lawyers and business managers. This is why television reporting of golf and tennis is sponsored by companies selling high-priced cars,business and personal computers,and holiday trips. This is also why the networks continue to carry these programs regardless of low ratings. Advertisers are willing to pay high fees to reach high-income consumers and those managers who make decisions to buy thousands of “ company cars” and computers. With such viewers,these programs don't need high ratings to stay on the air. Television sport programs on weekend afternoons __________.
A.result in more sport events |
B.get more viewers to play sports |
C.make more people interested in television |
D.bring more money to the television networks |
Why would weekend afternoons become dead time without sport programs?
A.Because there would be few viewers. |
B.Because the advertisers would be off work. |
C.Because television programs would go slowly. |
D.Because viewers would pay less for watching television. |
In many families, men make decisions on __________.
A.holiday trips |
B.sports viewing |
C.television shopping |
D.expensive purchases |
The ratings are not important for golf and tennis programs because __________.
A.their advertisers are carmakers |
B.their viewers are attracted by sports |
C.their advertisers target at rich people |
D.their viewers can afford expensive cars |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.Television ratings are determined by male viewers. |
B.Rich viewers contribute most to television companies. |
C.Sports are gaining importance in advertising on television. |
D.Commercial advertisers are the major sponsors of sport events. |
Many young people want to become pop stars. It is their great ambition(雄心)in life. They think : pop stars make a lot of money ; they lead interesting and exciting lives ; thousands of fans adore them ; they become famous.
Yes, but first they must become stars. Most performers start life with a group. This is the pattern nowadays. But there are many groups and the competition is hard. Groups appear and disappear almost overnight. Only a small number stay. Almost without exception (例外)they have to work very hard before they reach the top.
And very few reach the top and stay there. In England there are perhaps thirty or so groups at the top. Most of these do not earn so much money ; perhaps $ 400 each time they perform. What is more,they have quite a lot of expenses. They have to pay a manager, for example. He is the key person in their lives and he takes about 20% of their earnings—perhaps more. Then there are their clothes,their instruments and their van(车)•
And don't forget they have to travel a great deal, sometimes 2,000 miles in one week. At times they even sleep in their van instead of a hotel, just to save money.
So now, what do you think? Are pop stars so rich? And do they have such exciting lives?Which of the following is the reason why many young people want to become pop stars?
A.Living an exciting life. |
B.Being loved by thousands of fans. |
C.Becoming rich. |
D.All of the above. |
The right statement in the following about pop stars is that __________.
A.most of them fail to reach the top |
B.they lead relaxed lives. |
C.they can travel all over the world |
D.they spend a lot of money on their clothes |
Why is the group's manager well paid?
A.Because he runs this group. |
B.Because he looks after them. |
C.Because he is important to them. |
D.Because he buys them clothes and instruments. |
How do pop groups spend the money they earn?
A.They pay the manager 20% of their earnings or more. |
B.They have to pay for clothes, instruments and their van. |
C.They often make trips. |
D.All of the above. |
The writer makes us believe __________.
A.it is pleasant to become a pop star |
B.that if you work very hard in pop groups, you will reach the top |
C.pop stars are neither too rich nor too happy |
D.general persons had better not dream of pop stars |