D
At the railway stations all across Britain next week, groups of students will gather with their backpacks to wait for the trains that will carry them home for Christmas. This is a large movement of human beings as before, but with more contradictory traffic flows, so that trains filled with the young pass each other travelling in every direction.
At first, I went home every weekend with my washing, but then those visits became less regular. How did I let my parents know I was coming? They had no phone. Perhaps I wrote to them (“Expect me with dirty shirts this Friday afternoon”), but more likely I didn’t let them know, and just turned up or didn’t turn up, not understanding that my parents’ hopes of seeing me were a greater disappointment of my carelessness than a spoiled tea.
And in all this I suspect I was typical (有代表性的), at least of young men. As for our fathers and mothers, none of them talked of “empty-nest syndrome (综合症)”, even though its possible effect that the main human duty is to protect and feed the young would have suited their generation better than ours. Then, the feeling of loss went without a name. Today, it’s a condition with remedies, which will make parents feel more enjoyable in their life, The Mayo Clinic, for example, suggests you try to maintain regular contact with your children through “visits, phone calls, emails, texts or video chats”. If you feel unhappy, lean on (depend on … for support) loved ones or your mental health providers. Above all, stay positive: “Thinking about the extra time and energy that you might have to devote to your marriage or personal interests after your last child leaves home, it might help you adapt to this major life change.”
What can’t be denied, however, is that children often leave home. In modern societies, this is what they do. Christmas is the very time they can be depended on to return. For the non-religious, that may be this season’s true comfort and significance.The main reason for the busy traffic across Britain next week is that _______.
| A．young students will travel home for Christmas. |
| B．young people will travel in every direction. |
| C．it is a large movement of human beings |
| D．the traffic flows will be more contradictory |
From the second paragraph we can learn that the writer _______.
| A．went home every week to wash dirty clothes |
| B．understood his parents’ desire of seeing him |
| C．didn’t understand his parents’ feelings |
| D．went home to see his parents regularly |
The underlined word “remedies” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _______.
| A．reasons | B．excuses | C．habits | D．solutions |
From the last paragraph we know that _______.
| A．in modern society, children should leave home |
| B．Christmas is likely a time for family reunion |
| C．the significance of Christmas is celebration |
| D．Christmas is not a comfort for the non-religious |
From the passage we can infer that by writing the article the writer is to _______.
| A．persuade the young to show concern for their parents |
| B．ask the young to go home regularly |
| C．make the young understand their parents’ interest |
| D．enable the young to be more independent |
For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets，and even bicycles. Dr. Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue，the elevator’s role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk? the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally (水平地)，and elevators pushing them toward life in close groups of towering vertical (垂直的)columns.
If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience^one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we’re hanging from a cable in a long passage.
In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it”， Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learned to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.
Today，as the world’s urban population explodes，and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America’s total number of elevators—900,000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine’s “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”一are a force that’s becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．The general view of elevators. |
| B．The particular interests of experts. |
| C．The desire for a remarkable machine. |
| D．The enthusiasm for transport vehicles. |
The author’s purpose in mentioning cars is.
| A．to contrast their functions with elevators, |
| B．to emphasize the importance of elevators |
| C．to reveal their secret war against elevators |
| D．to explain people’s preference for elevators |
According to Prof. Bernard, what has made the elevator ride different from other life experiences?
| A．Vertical direction. |
| B．Lack of excitement. |
| C．Little physical space. |
| D．Uncomfortable conditions. |
The author urges readers to consider.
| A．the exact number of elevator lovers |
| B．the serious future situation of elevators |
| C．the role of elevators in city development |
| D．the relationship between cars and elevators |
You've flown halfway around the world; you've sniffed out this place that nobody in Falongland or Thailand seems to have ever heard of; so what on earth is there to do here? You consider this question as you sink into an old wooden beach chair that holds you above the sand.
It was a long journey from Bangkok to Huaplee. By the time you found the bus station and got yourself sorted out, it took almost as long as the flight from Falongland.
Huaplee is located just south of Hua Hin, about two hundred kilometres from Bangkok, down the west side of the Gulf of Thailand. Not many tourists find this place，and the ones that do wonder if finding it has been their purpose all along.
There's an apparent laziness that surrounds you here. It's what this place offers, and it，s free of charge. The small waves that tap the shoreline seem to slow everything down. You settle into your beach chair in preparation for a long rest. You sit there and watch the sea.
It's early afternoon, so the cook comes out and asks what you'd like to eat this evening. Before long he's rushed off to the market to buy the ingredients for whatever it was that you ordered---every meal fresh and to order. No menu here.
There is no poolside noise here but just that wonderfully warm, clear blue sea. There's no street noise. The only sounds are the murmurs of nature.For now you just count your blessings (福祉)，listing them in the sand with your toe (脚趾).You don't have to worry about being late for work. You don't have to do anything.
The beach to your right stretches off to the horizon (地平线)，slowly narrowing to nothingness only to re-emerge again on your left, now steadily widening until it covers the chair beneath you. Sand to your left and sand to your right; it's unbroken, endless. No start, no end, just sand, sun,and peace. Step off it, and you re-enter the world of traffic, stress, work，and hurry.
Normally you，re the type who can，t sit still for more than ten minutes, but you're on Huaplee Lazy Beach now and, in the right frame of mind, it stretches all the way around theworld.
"How could it take me so long to find it?" you wonder.
| 1． |
When the author first went to Huaplee Beach,
|
| 2． |
What is special about the food service at Huaplee Beach?
|
| 3． |
In the author's opinion, a tourist can enjoy Huaplee Beach most when he.
|
| 4． |
What does the author imply by his question at the end of the passage?
|
Working with a group of baboons (狒狒）in the Namibian desert, Dr. Alecia Carter of the Department of Zoology，Cambridge University set baboons learning tasks involving a novel food and a familiar food hidden in a box. Some baboons were given the chance to watch another baboon who already knew how to solve the task, while others had to learn for themselves. To work out how brave or anxious the baboons were, Dr. Carter presented them either with a novel food or a threat in the form of a model of a poisonous snake.
She found that personality had a major impact on learning. The braver baboons learnt, but the shy ones did not learn the task although they watched the baboon perform the task of finding the novel food just as long as the brave ones did. In effect, despite being made aware of what to do, they were still too shy to do what the experienced baboon did.
The same held true for anxious baboons compared with calm ones. The anxious individuals learnt the task by observing others while those who were relaxed did not, even though they spent more time watching.
This mismatch between collecting social information and using it shows that personality plays a key role in social learning in animals, something that has previously been ignored in studies on how animals learn to do things. The findings are significant because they suggest that animals may perform poorly in cognitive (认 知的）tasks not because they aren't clever enough to solve them，but because they are too shy or nervous to use the social information.
The findings may impact how we understand the formation of culture in societies through social learning. If some individuals are unable to get information from others because they don't associate with the knowledgeable individuals，or they are too shy to use the information once they have it，information may not travel between all group members, preventing the formation of a culture based on social learning.
| 1． |
What is the first paragraph mainly about?
|
| 2． |
According to the research, which baboons are more likely to complete a new learning task?
|
| 3． |
Which best illustrates the "mismatch" mentioned in Paragraph 4?
|
| 4． |
Dr. Carter's findings indicate that our culture might be formed through.
|
London’s newest skyscraper (摩天大楼)is called the Shard and it cost about 430 million pounds to build. At a height of almost 310 metres, it is the tallest building in Europe. The Shard has completely changed the appearance of London. However, not everyone thinks that it is a change for the better.
The Shard was designed by the famous Italian architect Renzo Piano. When he began designing the Shard for London, Piano wanted a very tall building that looked like a spire (尖顶)• He wanted the glass surfaces to reflect the sky and the city. The sides of the building aren’t regular. So the building has an unusual shape. It looks like a very thin，sharp piece of broken glass. And that is how the building got the name: the Shard. Piano says that the spire shape of the Shard is part of a great London tradition. The shape reminds him of the spires of the churches of London or the tall masts (桅杆）of the ships that were once on the river Thames.
The Shard has 87 floors. At the top, there is an observatory. At the moment the building is empty, but eventually there will be a five-star hotel. There will also be top quality restaurants, apartments and offices.
Before building work began, a lot of people didn’t want the Shard though the plans were approved. Now they are still unhappy about the Shard. Some critics say that such a tall skyscraper might be good in a city like New York, but not in London. They say that the best thing about the Shard is its spire shape. But that is the only thing. There is no decoration, only flat surfaces. The Egyptians did that 4,500 years ago. They also think the Shard is too big for London. It destroys the beauty of the city.
Other critics don’t like what the Shard seems to represent. They say that the Shard shows how London is becoming more unequal. Only very rich people can afford to buy the expensive private apartments and stay in the hotel. But the people who live near the Shard are among the poorest in London. So the Shard seems a symbol of the division in society between the very rich and the poor.
The Shard now dominates the London skyline. It is not certain, however, that ordinary London citizens will ever accept it as a valuable addition to the city.London’s newest skyscraper is called the Shard because of ._____
A. its cost
B its size
C .its shape
D .its heightWhen he designed the Shard, Piano wanted it to ._____
| A．change London’s skyline |
| B．inherit London’s tradition |
| C．imitate the Egyptian style |
| D．attract potential visitors |
The critics who refer to social division think the Shard_______ .
| A．is only preferred by the rich |
| B．is intended for wealthy people |
| C．is far away from the poor area |
| D．is popular only with Londoners |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Shard: Cheers and Claps |
| B．The Shard: Work of a Great Architect |
| C．The Shard: New Symbol of London? |
| D．The Shard: A Change for the Better? |
Before I had my son, I spent two years working with children with disabilities. I learned that shouting and threats of punishment would result in a disaster. Coming up against their behaviour could only make the job harder and their behaviour more extreme. I found something that worked, though.
There was a very naughty boy in the nursery and a teacher who was generally very confident with the children was asked to take charge of him. One day the boy joined a session in the room next to mine. His appearance created an atmosphere of tension. He spent the entire session running around, hitting and kicking, and destroying property.
I was in the craft room working with some other children when my co-worker told me that this boy’s teacher was in tears, and could not get control of the situation. As we were talking，the boy ran in. I told my co-worker that I would take care of him.
I closed the door. He was full of energy, throwing things around and making a huge mess. But I could see that he was doing all these to annoy me. He needed connection, and this was the only way he knew how to ask for it. So I sat back down and kept quiet. Then he slowed down and began making a rocket. I talked to him about it. We continued like this for a few minutes before I slipped into the conversation:
“So what happened today?”
It was purely a question, no blame or anger in my tone. I believe that if I had criticized him, the gate that was slowly opening would have shut firmly closed. He told me that the teacher didn’t let him do what he knew well due to safety but asked him to do what he disliked. He also admitted that he had enjoyed making her run around and saw it as a game. I explained that his teacher had not seen it as a game and was very upset. This again was stated simply as a fact. I suggested that next time he had a session, he talk about what he hoped to do at the start，which might be easier for everyone. He agreed and was quiet for a moment. Then he looked at me with tears in his eyes before quietly asking if he could go to find his teacher to apologize.The boy made trouble for his teacher because he_____ .
| A．was accused of destroying property |
| B．was told not to yell at other children |
| C．was made to do things against his will |
| D．was blamed for creating an air of tension |
Why didn’t the author do anything about the boy’s bad behavior at first?
| A．She didn’t want to make it worse. |
| B．She didn’t mind the huge mess at all. |
| C．She was tired of shouting and threats. |
| D．She hadn’t thought of a coping strategy. |
The author managed to get the boy to talk to her by _____.
| A．playing games with him |
| B．giving him a good suggestion |
| C．describing his teacher’s feelings |
| D．avoiding making critical remarks |
Why did the boy have tears in his eyes in the end?
| A．He was sorry about his reputation. |
| B．He was regretful about his behavior. |
| C．He was fearful of the author’s warning. |
| D．He was sad for the author’s misunderstanding. |