I had an experience some years ago, which taught me something about the ways in which people make a bad situation worse by blaming themselves. One January, I had to hold two funerals on successive days for two elderly women in my community. Both had died “full of years”, as the Bible would say. Their homes happened to be near each other, so I paid condolence (吊唁) calls on the two families on the same afternoon.
At the first home, the son of the deceased (已故的) woman said to me, “If only I had sent my mother to Florida and gotten her out of this cold and snow , she would be alive today. It’s my fault that she died.” At the second home, the son of the other deceased woman said, “If only I hadn’t insisted on my mother’s going to Florida, she would be alive today. That long airplane ride, the sudden change of climate, was more than she could take. It’s my fault that she’s dead.”
You see that any time there is a death, the survivors will feel guilty. Because the course of action they took turned out badly, they believe that the opposite course — keeping Mother at home, putting off the operation — would have turned out better. After all, how could it have turned out any worse?
There seem to be two elements involved in our willingness to feel guilty. The first is our pressing need to believe that the world makes sense, that there is a cause for every effect and a reason for everything that happens. That leads us to find patterns and connections both where they really exist and where they exist only in our minds.
The second element is the view that we are the cause of what happens, especially the bad things that happen. It seems to be a short step from believing that every event has a cause to believing that every disaster is our fault. The roots of this feeling may lie in our childhood.
A baby comes to think that the world exists to meet his needs, and that he makes everything happen in it. He wakes up in the morning and summons the rest of the world to its tasks. He cries, and someone comes to attend to him. When he is hungry, people feed him, and when he is wet, people change him. Very often, we do not completely outgrow that childish view that our wishes cause things to happen.The author had to hold the two women’s funerals probably because .
| A．he wanted to comfort the two families | B．he was an official from the community |
| C．he had great pity for the deceased | D．he was priest of the local church |
People feel guilty for the deaths of their loved ones because .
| A．they couldn’t find a better way to express their sorrow |
| B．they believe that they were responsible |
| C．they had neglected the natural course of events |
| D．they didn’t know things often turn out in the opposite direction |
According to the passage, the underlined part in paragraph 4 probably means that .
| A．everything in the world is predetermined |
| B．the world can be interpreted in different ways |
| C．there’s an explanation for everything in the world |
| D．we have to be sensible in order to understand the world |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Life and death is an unsolved mystery. |
| B．Every story should have a happy ending. |
| C．Never feel guilty all the time because not every disaster is our fault. |
| D．In general, the survivors will feel guilty about the people who passed away. |
The United Nations is warning that the world is not prepared to deal with the fast growth of cities. The World Economic and Social Survey 2013 calls for new ways to meet the needs of city populations. More than 6.5 billion people are expected to be living in cities by 2050.
Most new city dwellers will be in developing countries. The United Nations says the effect on limited resources in many countries will be huge. The World Economic and Social Survey points to the increasing demand for energy, water, sanitation, public services, education and health care.
The world population is expected to rise to more than nine billion by 2050, two-thirds of all people are expected to live in cities. The United Nations says about 80 percent of this growing urban population will be found in Africa and Asia.
The report says sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues, these include land-use, food security, job creation and transportation.
Willem Van Der Geest is with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, he says cities need to work closely with rural communities, so that food supplies can be secured, and the environment can be protected.
"We need enough integration(整合，融合) with cities... An integration between the rural and urban economies is absolutely vital for issues of nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability."
The report says development in a sustainable（可持续发展）way is important to end poverty. The report also examines the problem of food insecurity, which affects hundreds of millions of people around the world. One in eight people still severely lack nutrition.
UN officials say some things are clear. The Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development, Shamshad Akhtar, says world food production will have to increase by 70%, that increase will be needed to feed the additional 2.3 billion people expected on the planet by the middle of the century. She says an important part of meeting that need is to waste less food. "There has to be efforts to reduce food wastage. ."
Food and nutrition security are core elements of the sustainable development agenda.The survey includes the following statements except that ______.
| A．varieties of demands are hard to meet because of the increasing population in Africa and Asia. |
| B．one way to put an end to poverty is to be able to develop for a long time. |
| C．transportation is an important issue to deal with when it comes to sustainable development of urban areas. |
| D．hundreds of millions of people around the world are affected by the problem of food insecurity. |
From the passage we can infer that ______.
| A．cities grow so fast that the world can’t find out new ways to deal with the growing population. |
| B．the growing city dwellers who mainly come from the developing countries greatly challenge limited resources in the world. |
| C．sustainable development of urban areas requires coordination and investments to deal with important issues |
| D．food wastage is an effective way to feed the additional 2.3 biilion people by the middle of the century. |
What is the best titile of the passage?
| A．The World Economic and Social Survey 2013. |
| B．City Population Will Increase to 9 Billion. |
| C．Cities Need to Cooperate with Rural Areas. |
| D．The World Is Not Prepared to Deal with the Fast Growth of Cities. |
The passage is chosen from ______.
| A．a textbook | B．a travel guide | C．a novel | D．a newspaper |
Poor Oral Health Leads to Social and Emotional Problems
A new report says nearly four-billion people have major tooth decay, or cavities. That number represents more than half of the world's population. Health officials are warning that failure to repair cavities can lead to social and emotional problems.
Wagner Marcenes is with the Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London. He led a team of researchers as part of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. About 500 researchers attempt to collect and examine studies about all major diseases. They used the information to estimate rates of the infection.
The report says untreated tooth decay is the most common of all 291 major diseases and injuries. Professor Marcenes says cavities or holes in permanent teeth are also known as caries.
"Caries is a chronic disease that shares the same risk factors as cancer, cardiovascular disease. What we're having now is an increase in disease from highly developed countries happening in sub-Saharan Africa and probably it will be in other areas of Africa, too."
He says an increase in tooth decay in Africa could be a result of developing countries becoming more like Western nations.
"It is likely to be related to a change in diet. Our industrialized diet leads to chronic disease, which includes caries. And that may be the main explanation."
Western diets are rich in sugar, a leading cause of health problems in the mouth. Wagner Marcenes says oral health problems can have a major effect on a person's quality of life. First, cavities make eating difficult. Second, people may change what they eat. They may eat softer foods that are not hard to chew. However, softer foods are often fattier foods.
But professor Marcenes says the biggest issue in tooth decay is both social and mental. He says the researchers found strong evidence that the mouth has a big influence on socialization. He says many people want to hide bad teeth. They smile less and communicate less.
Wagner Marcenes is calling for an "urgent, organized, social response" to the widespread lack of oral health. He believes in a natural method to fight tooth decay by having a healthier diet. He is also calling for the development of new and less costly dental materials and treatments.From the passage, we know that Wagner Marcenes ______.
| A．works as the leader of the Institute of Dentistry at Queen Mary, University of London. |
| B．and his researchers accumulate some studies to find out some ways to cure all major disease. |
| C．is in charge of the activity to estimate the infection rate with the collected and examined studies about all major studies. |
| D．thinks that the most serious problem caused by tooth decay is cancer that will last for a long time. |
Caries is a disease that ______.
| A．is listed in the most common of all 291 major diseases and injuries which will last for a long time.. |
| B．is closely related to industrialized diet which calls for people to eat slowly. |
| C．increases in Africa now because developing countries are becoming developed countries. |
| D．will cause phychological disorder which will affect people’s communication. |
The writer wrote this passage in order to ______.
| A．arouse people’s concern about caries and take measures to deal with it. |
| B．tell the result of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 study. |
| C．warn people in Africa to adjust their diet to prevent caries. |
| D．tell doctors that caries affects a person’s quality of life. |
What is the writer’s attitude towards tooth decay?
| A．indifferent | B．concerned | C．angry | D．negative |
It had been a difficult move. I’d left my family and friends in Indiana, the beloved state where I’d lived most of my life. My new home in Florida was thousands of miles away from anything I knew. It was hot—all the time. Jobs were hard to come by, but I was up for almost any challenge.
At last, I taught in a special school where students have severe learning and behavioral difficulties.
Another teacher and I had spent weeks teaching the children appropriate behavior for public outings. Unexpectedly, only a few students, including Kyle, had not earned the privilege of going. He was determined to make his disappointment known.
In the corridor(走廊) between classrooms, he began screaming, cursing, spitting, and swinging at anything within striking distance. Once his outburst died down, he did what he’d done when he was angry at all his other schools, at home, even once at a juvenile detention(拘留)center. He ran.
People watched in disbelief as Kyle dashed straight into the heavy morning traffic in front of the school.
I heard someone shout, “Call the police!”
But I ran after him.
Kyle was at least a foot taller than me. And he was fast. His older brothers were track stars at the nearby high school. But I could run long distances without tiring. I would at least be able to keep him in my sight and know he was alive.
After several blocks of running directly into oncoming traffic, Kyle slowed his pace.
He took a sharp left. Standing next to a trash bin, Kyle bent over with his hands on his knees. I must have looked ridiculous. But his was not a look of fear. I saw his body relax. He did not attempt to run again. Kyle stood still and watched me approach. I had no idea what I was going to say or do, but I kept walking closer.
He opened his mouth to speak when a police car pulled up, abruptly filling the space between Kyle and me. The school principal and an officer got out. They spoke calmly to Kyle, who willingly climbed into the back of the vehicle. I couldn’t hear what was said, but I didn’t take my eyes off Kyle’s face, even as they drove away.
I couldn’t help but feel that I had failed him, that I should have done or said more, that I should have fixed the situation.
I shared my feelings with a speech therapist who was familiar with Kyle’s history. “No one ever ran after him before, Rachel,” she said. “No one. They just let him go.”
Things changed the day he ran and I ran after him, even though I didn’t have the right words, even though I wasn’t able to save him from the mess he was in. It was the day I didn’t throw my hands in the air and decide he was too fast, a waste of time and effort , a lost cause. It was the day my mere presence was enough to make a profound difference.From the passage we know that _____.
| A．the author left her family to Florida because jobs were hard to come by in Indiana. |
| B．students were allowed to go out after they passed some specific tests. |
| C．the author worked in a school where students were excellent. |
| D．no teacher had ever run after Kyle before except the author . |
Which of the following description about Kyle is not true?
| A．He had some behavioral difficulties and once moved from one detention to another. |
| B．He used to run out to let out his anger when he was in school,home or juvenile detention. |
| C．Different from his brothers, he learned in a special school while not a normal high school. |
| D．He was moved by his teacher who treated him with more patience and understanding. |
Which is the correct order of the trace?
①He burst out when he knew he couldn’t go out.②I decided to run after him.
③Kyle stoppped beside a trash bin.④A police car came and Kyle left with it.
⑤He rushed into the heavy morning traffic.⑥Kyle slowed his pace.
⑦I walked toward Kyle.
| A．①⑤②⑥③⑦④ | B．①⑤②④⑥⑦③ |
| C．⑤④②⑥③⑦① | D．①②⑥⑦③④⑤ |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Kyle, a Boy with Learning and Behavior Difficulties. |
| B．The Teacher Who Ran. |
| C．A School with Special Students. |
| D．A Terrible Conflict. |
Digital Trend: BOOKLESS LIBRARIES
What if you could fit all of a library’s collection in the palm of your hand? That’s part of the idea behind an upcoming bookless public library in San Antonio. Called Biblio Tech, the system will lend out e-readers loaded with 10,000 titles for two-to-three –week periods. But don't bother holding on to the device longer than that because it’s programmed to go dead.
Other libraries have tried similar programs: In 2002, the Santa Rosa Branch Library in Tucson, Arizona, launched a digital-only facility, and a bookless project was proposed last year in Newport Beach, California. Those digital-only projects folded—residents wanted their paperbacks—but Stanford University maintains a successful bookless engineering library with over 65,000 titles. Officials say digital libraries are a low-cost way to educate the masses and argue their rise is inevitable.
Still, some insist print isn’t doomed. A recent Wall Street Journal article notes that e-book purchases skew（倾斜）heavily toward the sort of “light entertainment” novels you can pick up at the grocery store. A survey from the Pew Research Center shows that about 90 percent of digital readers still crack open physical books.( After all, there are only four Twilight books. How hard is it to drag those around?)From the first paragraph, we can tell _____.
| A．you can always keep all of the books in your hands, |
| B．Biblio Tech will lend readers 10,000 books temporarily. |
| C．the books will not be stored in your device forever. |
| D．the bookless public library can be found in San Antonio now. |
The following statements are true except that _____.
| A．the Santa Rosa Branch Library lend out e-readers with 10,000 books. |
| B．the physical books are still popular despite those bookless projects. |
| C．Stanford University sets a successful example of bookless engineering. |
| D．some officials agree that digital libraries are educative and unavoidable. |
What is the meaning of the underlined word in paragraph 2?
| A．succeeded | B．opened | C．accepted | D．failed |
Some people insist that print will not disappear because _____.
| A．e-books are mainly sort of “light entertainment” novels. |
| B．most of the digital readers prefer books about physics. |
| C．a majority of e-reader users still choose to read paperbacks. |
| D．it is easy to take 4 Twilight books everywhere. |
Strange Baby-Naming Laws
Germany Parents are banned by law from using last names and the names of objects and products as first names. A child’s first name must clearly indicate his or her sex, and all names must be approved by the office of vital statistics in the area in which the child was born.
Iceland The country’s naming committee consults the National Register of Persons to determine if a name is acceptable. If parents want to go off-list, they must apply for approval and pay a fee, and the name must contain only letters in the Icelandic alphabet.
New Zealand The country’s Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act of 1995 prohibits parents from choosing a name that “ might cause offense to a reasonable person; is unreasonably long; or is, includes, or resembles an official title or rank,” including, apparently, Adolf Hitler and Yeah Detroit—both names recently rejected.
Denmark If Danish parents prefer a moniker not on the list of 7,000 preapproved baby names, they must get permission from local church and government officials. Fifteen to 20 percent of the 1,100 reviewed names—including creative spellings of common names, last names as first names, and unusual names—are rejected each year.You can tell whether a baby is a girl or a boy according to the first name in _____.
| A．Denmark | B．New Zealand | C．Iceland | D．Germany |
In Iceland, the names should _____.
| A．be approved by the office of vital statistics. |
| B．be accepted by the National Register of Persons. |
| C．contain only letters in the Roman alphabet. |
| D．be paid for some money. |
Which name is accepted in New Zealand?
| A．Bin Laden | B．Talula Does The Hula |
| C．Keenan Got Lucky | D．John Smith |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．Danish babies’ names should be on the list if parents can’t get the permission. |
| B．Each year about 150-200 reviewed names are rejected in Denmark. |
| C．Adolf Hitler is banned in Iceland. |
| D．Parents should pay a fee for babies’ names if the names are rejected. |