In the United States, when one becomes rich, he wants people to know it. And even if he does not become very rich, he wants people to think that he is. That is what ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ is about, It is the story of someone who tried to look as rich as his neighbors.
The expression was first used in 1913 by a young American called Arthur Momand. He told this story about himself. He began earning $ 125 a week at the age of 23. That was a lot of money in those days. He got married and moved with his wife to a very wealthy neighborhood outside New York City. When he saw that rich people rode horses, Momand went horseback riding every day. When he saw that rich people had servants, Momand and his wife also hired a servant and gave big parties for their new neighbors.
It was like a race, but one could never finish this race because one was always trying to keep up. The race ended for Momand and his wife when they could no longer pay for their new way of life. They moved back to an apartment in New York City.
Momand looked around him and noticed that many people do things just to keep up with rich life—style of their neighbors. He saw the funny side of it and started to write a series of short stories, He called it ‘Keeping up with the Joneses’ because ‘Jones’ is a very common name in the United States.’ Keeping up with the Joneses’ came to mean keeping up with rich lifestyle of the people around you. Momand’s series appeared in different newspapers across the country for over 28 years.
People never seem to get tired of keeping up with the Joneses. And there are ‘Joneses’ in every city of the world. But one must get tired of trying to keep up with the Joneses because no matter what one does, Mr. Jones always seems to be ahead.Some people want to keep up with the Joneses because they ________.
A. want to be as rich as their neighbors
B. want others to know or to think that they are rich
C don’t want others to know they are rich
D. want to be happyIt can be inferred (推断) from the story that rich people like to ________.
A.live outside New York City |
B.live in New York city |
C.live in apartments |
D.have many neighbors |
Arthur Momand used the name “Jones” in his series of short stories because “Jones” is ________.
A.an important name |
B.a popular name in the United States |
C.his neighbor’s name |
D.not a good name |
If a person who keeps up with the Joneses, he would _________.
A.do as the poor persons around him do |
B.do everything he likes to do |
C.do as his neighbors do |
D.do as the rich people around him do |
According to the writer, it is ___________ to keep up with the Jonese.
A.Good | B.correct | C.interesting | D.impossible |
第三部分:阅读理解(共15小题,每小题2分,满分30分)
John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew,but whose face he didn’t,the girl with the rose.Thirteen months ago,in a Florida library he took a book off the shell and found himself interested in the notes in the margin(页边).The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightful(有洞察力的)mind.
In front of the book,he discovered the name,Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he got her address.He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to keep in touch.
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. A romance started.John requested a photograph,but she refused.She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like.Later they agreed on their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York.
“You’ll recognize me,” she wrote,“by the red rose I’ll be wearing my coat.” So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose.
A girl in a green suit was coming toward him,her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers.Almost uncontrollably he came to her,and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40.The girl was walking quickly away.
He did not hesitate(犹豫),saying,“I’m John,and you must be Miss Maynell.I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?”The woman smiled, “I don’t know what this is about,son,” she answered,“but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat.And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner,I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street.She said it was some kind of test!”
56.Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A.John once met Miss Maynell somewhere before.
B.Miss Maynell was not honest.
C.John didn’t know who Miss Maynell really was when he spoke to the woman.
D.John and Miss Maynell kept in touch by telephone before they met.
57.From the last paragraph,we can learn that.
A.the woman was waiting to be asked to dinner by John
B.the woman past 40 was Miss Maynell’s close friend
C.the woman wearing the red rose on her coat was Miss Maynell
D.Miss Maynell wanted to test John before they met
58.How did John learn about Miss Maynell at first?
A.They talked with each other on the Internet.
B.John knew her name while reading in a library.
C.They met each other in a bookstore.
D.The woman well past 40 years introduced them to each other.
59.From the passage,we can infer that.
A.Miss Maynell would accept John as her boyfriend
B.Miss Maynell used to work in the library
C.John regretted not greeting the girl in green
D.John loved Miss Maynell because of her good looks
Tuvalu, a tiny country in the Pacific Ocean, has asked for help as it fears it will be swallowed up by the sea.
Storms and huge waves are a constant threat and none of Tuvalu’s nine little islands is more than five meters above the sea level. Salt water is already entering the country’s drinking water supply, as well as damaging plants that produce fruit and vegetable. Without urgent help, the country’s days are numbered.
But Tuvalu is not the first place to face sinking into the sea. Venice, a historic city in Italy best known for its canals, had sunk about 24 cm over the past 100 years. Experts say that it will have sunk another 20-50 cm by 2050. A century ago, St. Mark’s Square, the lowest point in the city, flooded about nine times a year. Nowadays, it happens more than 100 times. While Venice is slowly sinking into the mud on which it stands, Tuvalu’s rising sea level is caused by global warming.
The average global temperature has increased by almost 0.5 centigrade degrees over the past century; scientists expect it to rise by extra 13 degrees over the next 100 years.
Warmer weather makes glaciers (冰川) melt, adding more water to the ocean. The warmer temperatures also make water expand, so it takes up more space, causing the sea level to rise. The sea level has risen 10- 25 cm in the last 100 years.
The main cause of global warming is human pollution. Through burning coal, oil and gas, people have been increasing the green house gases in the atmosphere, such as CO2. This adds to the power of the greenhouse effect, making the planet even warmer.
Many scientists believe that, if the warming is not stopped, there will be huge climate changes. The sea level could rise by one meter this century.
Should this come true, the sea would swallow up millions of homes and the world will be flooded with “climate refugees” looking for somewhere to live.
72.We can infer from the second paragraph that ___________.
A. Tuvalu is in danger of being swallowed up by the sea
B. All Tuvalu’s islands are about five meters above the sea level
C. Drinking water in Tuvalu has been destroyed
D. Tuvalu is often flooded by storms and waves
73.The author uses Tuvalu and Venice as examples in order to explain_______________.
A. they are the first place sinking into the sea
B. they are both sinking into the mud where they stand
C. they will disappear in the future
D. their trouble is caused by global warming
74.What does “climate refugees” mean?
A. People who are forced away from their homeland by climate.
B. Climate changes.
C. Rare animals.
D. Climate effect.
75.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Tuvalu’s nine little islands are less than five meters above the sea level.
B. The average global temperature has risen by 1-3 centigrade degrees over the past 100 years.
C. The warmer temperature causes the sea level to rise.
D. There will be huge climate changes unless the warming is stopped.
Culture means any human behavior that is learned in human society. All of the meaningful parts of a culture are passed on to different generations through tradition or social learning. From this view point, all human groups have a culture. Culture exists in agricultural as well as industrialized societies.
Culture is necessary for the survival and existence of human beings as human beings. Practically everything humans know, think, value, feel, and do is learned through taking part in a socio-cultural system. This statement is well supported by some well-written cases. Here is one of the cases of children growing up apart from human society. In the province of Kidnaper in India, the director of a children’s home was told by local villagers that there were “ghost(鬼)” in the forest. Upon looking into the case, the director found that two children, one about eight years old and the other about six years old, appeared to have been living with a pack of wolves in the forest. These children were the ghosts described by the local people. In his diary, the director describes his first view of Kamala (as the older child was named) and Amala (the name given to the younger child).
Kamala was a terrible-looking being----the head, a big ball of something covering the shoulders. Close at its heels there came another terrible creature exactly like the first, but smaller in size. Their eyes were very bright and sharp, unlike human eyes. They were very fond of raw meat and raw milk. Gradually, as they got stronger, they began going on all fours, and afterwards began to run on all fours like squirrels. Children learn human language in the same way they learn other kinds of human behavior by taking part in a cultural community. They learn a certain human language as well as certain kinds of human behavior through their membership in a certain cultural community.
68. From the passage we can learn that__________.
A. human beings can develop human abilities only if they are raised by their biological parents
B. Amala and Kamala were raised in forest by ghosts
C. human beings will not grow up human unless they are raised by human beings in human culture
D. culture refers only to the high art and classical music of a particular society
69. Who were the “ghosts” of the Kidnapper forest seen by the local villagers?
A. They were two children Amala and Kamala, who ran on fours
B. They were two squirrels, Amala and Kamala, who ran on fours.
C. They were two young wolves, Amala and Kamala, whose eyes were bright and sharp.
D. They were two children, Amala and Kamala, who were growing up in a children’s home.
70. How would you understand the description by the director “they began going on all fours,” in his diary?
A. They began to continue with all their four eyes.
B. They started walking with their four feet.
C. They began going with their four hands.
D. They started walking with both their hands and feet.
71. Which of the following do you think is the best title to this passage?
A. Wolf – children B. Culture and Human Behaviour
C. Culture and Language Learning D. A director’s Diary
Karen, grown up in a very traditional family in the western United States, maintained high moral(道德的)standards throughout her youth. In 1984, at the age of 23, she married Bill. They were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl.
By 1991 their love had deepened, and they were happy. Later that year Bill developed a white spot on his tongue. He visited a doctor.
One day shortly after that, Bill called Karen to sit beside him. He said with tears in his eyes that he loved her and wanted to live forever with her. The doctor suspected that he had been infected with HIV , the virus that leads to AIDS。
The family was tested. Bill and Karen’s results were positive. Bill had become infected before he met Karen; then he passed the virus on to Karen. The children’s results were negative. Within three years, Bill was dead. “I don’t know how to express what it is like to watch a once handsome man you love and intend to live with forever dying slowly. I cried many nights. He died three months short of ten years of our marriage,” says Karen. Though a doctor told Karen that she would soon follow her husband into death, she is still alive. The infection has progressed to the early stages of AIDS.
Karen is but one of about 30 million people now living with HIV/AIDS, a figure larger than the combined populations of Australia, Ireland and Paraguay. According to one UN report, Africa has 21 million of these victims. By the turn of the century that number could reach 40 million and the disease will bring on the greatest disaster in human history. Of the world’s sexually active adults aged 15 to 49, 1 in 100 has already been infected with HIV. Of these, only 1 in 10 realizes that he or she is infected. In some parts of Africa, 25 percent of the adults are infected.
Since the beginning of the spread of AIDS in 1981, about 11.7 million people have died of it. It is roughly calculated that in 1997 alone, about 2.3 million people died of it. Nevertheless, there are fresh reasons for optimism in the battle against AIDS. During the past few years, there has been a drop in new AIDS cases in wealthy nations. In addition, promising drugs hold out hope of better health and longer life.
64. By telling the story of Karen, the author intends to __________________.
A. warn people against high risk behaviours
B. stress the importance of medical test
C. express sympathy for AIDS victims
D. show the consequences of AIDS
65. The underlined part in Paragraph 1 most probably means “__________________”.
A. were lucky in having B. were asked to adopt
C. regretted having D. gave birth to
66. Bill was suspected of being infected with HIV after __________.
A. he got married to Karen
B. the family members were tested
C. Karen persuaded him to see the doctor
D. he found something wrong with his tongue
67.It can be concluded from the passage that _________.
A. promising drugs will soon stop AIDS
B. the spread of AIDS could be controlled
C. it is hopeless to win the battle against AIDS
D. the death rate of AIDS patients has been reduced
(1)
Opening week specials at Munchies Food Hall At the corner of Green and Brown Streets in the city Monday, 7th of January until Sunday,13th of January, 2008 Feast until you’re full! Come down to Munchies this week to enjoy the special dishes on offer at all of our food outlets. Order from the following: Succulent chicken rice Spicy satay beef Delicious noodle dishes Plump pork chops Seafood specialties Crunchy vegetables Sweet tropical fruit Halal food is available at the stall Malay Food Heaven
Win Prize and Gifts! |
(2)
Winner to be announced in The Straits Times on the 15th of January. Join in the Fun! Between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm each evening until the 10th of January, your favorite Channel 3 television actors and singers will entertain you: ●May Lee ●Jackie Chen ●KimYap ● Kamal Autograph sessions will follow each performance! And who will be our extra special mystery star? Come down on Saturday at noon to find out. |
60. Munchies Food Hall does NOT sell __________.
A. lamb B. beef C. pork D. chicken
61. The prices at Munchies are ___________.
A. lower than usual B. bargain prices for the opening
C. lower for two people D. lower if you spent $21.00
62. Everyone who eats at Munchies will receive a __________.
A. free raffle ticket B. lucky draw coupon
C. free meal D. balloon and whistle
63. I will find out who has won the trip to Western Australia when I __________.
A watch Channel 3 television
B. come down to Munchies at noon
C. read The Straits Times on the 15th of January
D. attend the lucky draw at Munchies Food Hall