All around the world, shoppers flock to Wal-Mart to buy everything.In Texas, they come for another reason: to see the wind turbine(涡轮机) , which supplies 5% of the store's electricity.It along with other facilities, such as exterior walls coated with heat-reflective paint, makes this Wal-Mart a green giant.
The laws of economics suggest that Wal-Mart, with 5, 200 stores worldwide, influences everything including the price of all kinds of goods.It throws its weight behind environmental responsibility, and the impact could be amazing."One little change in product packaging could save 1, 500 trees," says Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott."If everybody saves 1, 500 trees or 50 barrels of oil, at the end of the day you have made a huge difference."
Scott wants Wal-Mart to do its part too.He has promised to cut the existing greenhouse-gas emissions (排放) over the next few years and promised to construct new stores that are more efficient.He wants Wal-Mart's fleet (车队) of more than 7, 000 trucks to get twice as many miles per gallon by 2015.Factories that show Wal-Mart they're cutting air pollution will get preferential treatment in the supply chain. Wal-Mart says it's working with consumer-product manufacturers to reduce their packaging and will reward them if they do so.
Some people may doubt it is a bid to attract attention from Wal-Mart's controversial labor and health-insurance practices.But it's not just window dressing, because Wal-Mart sees profits in going green.Scott says, "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy.We don't go where we don't think there's a great interest in change."
Like Bill Gates, who started his charitable foundation, Scott happens to be promoting Wal-Mart's image at a time when his company's reputation is declining.He acknowledges that he launched the plan partly to shield (保护,庇护) Wal-Mart from bad press about its contribution to global warming." By doing what we're doing today, we avoid the headline risks that are going to come for people who did not do anything," he says."At some point businesses will be held responsible for the actions they take." Meanwhile, should Wal-Mart succeed at shrinking its environmental footprint and lowering prices for green products, both the planet and the company will profit.We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.Lee Scott is Wal-Mart's CEO |
B.there are 5, 200 stores in the world |
C.Wal-Mart has a great influence on the world market |
D.Wal-Mart has more than 7, 000 trucks all over the world |
What does the underlined sentence "This is a business philosophy, not a social philosophy." mean in the fourth paragraph?
A.Wal-Mart predicts huge profits in its green activity. |
B.Wal-Mart's green activity is just window dressing. |
C.Wal-Mart aims to solve its health-insurance practices. |
D.Wal-Mart doesn't have any social responsibility at all. |
What will Wal-Mart probably do in the future?
A.Reduce air pollution in its present stores. |
B.Give favorable treatment to its consumers. |
C.Ask the factories to reduce their packaging. |
D.Demand the fleet of trucks to use more fuel than before. |
What is the main idea of the last paragraph?
A.Provide the background of the green plan. |
B.Stress the purpose of Wal-Mart's green plan. |
C.Present the risk that Wal-Mart is facing nowadays. |
D.Analyze the similarity between Bill Gates and Scott. |
Alexis was hot and tired. With rage in her voice she shouted, "Pull me up! I give up, I hate this. This is stupid!" It was at that moment when Jason, the adviser on the trip, looked at me and said, "Ed, I'm going to go down and talk with her." I then shouted down to Alexis, "Hold on! You can do this. We know you can!"
Jason grasped another rope, put his climbing harness(系带) on and began to repel down the cliff. Within moments Jason was beside Alexis. She had her cheek directly against the face of the rock with her feet barely resting on a small piece of the cliff that jetted outward. Jason said to Alexis, "I know that you have been on this cliff now for what seems like a long time. Your feet and fingers are cramping(痉挛) up and your forearms feel as though they are on fire. But , Alexis, you are strong, look how far up you are already. You have taken one of the more difficult paths up the cliff. Look Alexis, look at the path you have taken."
At that moment, Alexis moved her cheek away from the rock face and looked down. The bright white chalk she used on her hands to give her a better hold, showed the path where her tired hands had moved her upward on the cliff. Jason was right. Alexis had taken the hardest way up the cliff. Jason then looked straight into Alexis' eyes and in a calm voice he said, "You are not alone out here, there are people who care about you, who want to help you and see you succeed. We are going to do this together. Are you ready?" Slowly she shook her head yes and took a deep breath.Jason went down the cliff because _________.
A.Alexis took a wrong path |
B.Alexis was trapped in rocks |
C.Alexis didn't believe in herself |
D.Alexis' forearms were badly hurt |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
A.Alexis was finally pulled up by Ed |
B.Alexis regretted having taken the wrong path up the cliff |
C.Alexis was immediately sent to hospital after she was pulled up |
D.Alexis successfully rock climbed |
The underlined word "hot" in the story means _________.
A.disappointed | B.angry |
C.uncomfortable | D.running a high body temperature |
Alexis would probably become _________.
A.more strong-minded | B.easier to give up |
C.poorer in health | D.less interested in rock climbing |
Animation means making things which are lifeless come alive and move.
Since earliest times, people have always been astonished by movement. But not until this century have we managed to take control of movement, to record it, and in the case of animation, to retranslate it and recreate it. To do all this, we use a movie camera and a projector(放映机).
In the world of cartoon animation, nothing is impossible. You can make the characters do exactly what you want them to do.
A famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan in America in the early nineteen twenties. Felix was a wonderful cat. He could do all sorts of things no natural cat could do like taking off his tail, using it as a handle and then putting it back.
Most of the great early animators lived and worked in America, the home of the moving picture industry. The famous Walt Disney cartoon characters came to life after 1928. Popeye the Sailor and his girl friend Olive Oyo were born at Max Ficischer in 1933.
But to be an animator, you don’t have to be a professional(专业人士). It is possible for anyone to make a simple animated film without using a camera at all. All you have to do is to draw directly on to an empty film and then run the film through a projector.What does the passage mainly discuss?
A.Animal world | B.Movie camera |
C.Cartoon making | D.Movement |
According to the passage, Felix the Cat ______.
A.was created by the American cartoonist Felix |
B.was designed by Pat Sullivan in the early twentieth century |
C.was unable to do what natural cats could not do |
D.was created in the United States in the nineteenth century |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A.Walt Disney’s cartoon characters were born earlier that Pat Sullivan’s |
B.only professionals can create cartoon characters |
C.Popeye the Sailor and Olive Oyo were famous cartoonists |
D.the animation industry started in the United States |
Which of the following statements best describes the author’s attitude towards cartoon making?
A.Cartoon making is not a difficult job. Anyone can do it. |
B.Only trained people can be employed in cartoon making industry. |
C.Anyone can make cartoons under the instructions of professionals. |
D.Cartoon making is no easy job. You have to spend much time drawing onto the empty film. |
Perhaps you think you could easily add to your happiness with more money.Strange as it may seem, if you're unsatisfied, the issue is not a lack of means to meet your desires but a lack of desires—not that you cannot satisfy your tastes but that you don't have enough tastes.
Real riches consist of well-developed and hearty capacities (能力) to enjoy life.Most people are already swamped(淹没) with things. They eat, wear, go and talk too much. They live in too big a house with too many rooms, yet their house of life is a hut.
Your house of life ought to be a mansion (豪宅) , a royal palace. Every new taste, every additional interest, every fresh enthusiasm adds a room. Here are several rooms your house of life should have.
Art should be a desire for you to develop simply because the world is full of beautiful things. If you only understood how to enjoy them and feed your spirit on them, they would make you as happy as to find plenty of ham and eggs when you're hungry.
Literature, classic literature, is a beautiful, richly furnished room where you might find many an hour of rest and refreshment. To gain that love would go toward making you a rich person, for a rich person is not someone who has a library but who likes a library.
Music like Mozart's and Bach's shouldn't be absent. Real riches are of the spirit. And when you've brought that spirit up to where classical music feeds it and makes you a little drunk, you have increased your thrills and bettered them. And life is a matter of thrills.
Sports, without which you remain poor, mean a lot in life. No matter who you are, you would be more human, and your house of life would be better supported against the had days, if you could, and did, play a bit.
Whatever rooms you might add to your house of life, the secret of enjoying life is to keep adding.The author intends to tell us that____________.
A.true happiness lies in achieving wealth by fair means |
B.big houses are people's most valued possessions |
C.big houses can in a sense bring richness of life |
D.true happiness comes from spiritual riches |
The underlined sentence in the second paragraph probably implies that__________.
A.however materially rich, they never seem to be satisfied |
B.however materially rich, they remain spiritually poor |
C.though their house is big, they prefer a simple life |
D.though their house is big, it seems to be a cage |
It can be learned from the passage that __________.
A.more money brings more happiness |
B.art is needed to make your house beautiful |
C.literature can enrich your spiritual life |
D.sports contribute mainly to your physical fitness |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.House of Life | B.Secret of Wealth |
C.Rest and Refreshment | D.Interest and Enthusiasm |
Social change is more likely to occur in societies where there is a mixture of different kinds of people than in societies where people are similar in many ways. The simple reason for this is that there are more different ways of looking at things present in the first kind of society. There are more ideas, more disagreements in interest, and more groups and organizations with different beliefs. In addition, there is usually a greater worldly interest and greater tolerance(容忍) in mixed societies. All these factors tend to promote social change by opening more areas of life to decision. In a society where people are quite similar in many ways, there are fewer occasions for people to see the need or the opportunity for change because everything seems to be the same. And although conditions may not be satisfactory, they are at least socially accepted customs.
Within a society, social change is also likely to occur more frequently and more readily in the material aspects of the culture than in the non-material, for example, in technology rather than in values; in what has been learned later in life rather than what was learned early; in the less basic and less emotional aspects of society than in their opposites; in the simple elements rather than in the complex ones; in form rather than in substance(物质); and in elements that are acceptable to the culture rather than in strange elements.
Furthermore, social change is easier if it is gradual. For example, it comes more readily in human relations on a continuous scale rather than on a sharp one. This is one reason why change has not come more quickly to Black Americans as compared to other American minorities, because of the sharp difference in appearance between them and white counterparts.Which of the following factors tends to promote social change?
A.Different points of view | B.Less emotional people |
C.Advanced technology | D.Similar interests |
Why is social change less likely to occur where people are quite similar in many ways?
A.Because the social tolerance in such a society is greater. |
B.Because the social interests are fairly shared. |
C.Because the conditions are generally satisfactory. |
D.Because the present situation is commonly accepted. |
What does the underlined word “one” refer to in the passage?
A.Change | B.Relation | C.Scale | D.Reason |
The passage mainly talks about social change in terms of .
A.why and how | B.where and what |
C.what and why | D.how and when |
The life-long benefits of teaching children good money habits make it well worth the effort. Children who are not taught these lessons pay the consequences for a life time. Some parents don’t teach children about money because they think they shouldn’t talk about money with children, don’t have the time, or think they don’t have enough money. Parents should take the time to teach children about money regardless of their income and should start when children are young.
Most people have strong feelings and opinions about money, based on childhood experiences and the values and beliefs of their families. Most often, these experiences, values, and beliefs are different for each parent. It is important for the healthy development of children that parents talk about these feelings and opinions and establish a consistent(始终如一的)approach to teaching children about money.
Here are some guidelines parents can keep in mind as they begin the financial socialization of their children:
★Advise rather than order how the child’s money should be used.
★Allow children to learn by mistakes and by successes.
★Be consistent while taking children’s differences into account.
★Include all family members in money management discussions, decision making, and activities suitable for their age.
★Explan to children what they can and cannot do and the consequences of going above the limits.
★As children get older increasingly include them in discussions of limits and consequences.
★Expect all family members to perform unpaid, routine household work based on their abilities.
★Express your desire to have things you can’t afford. Children need to know that parents say “no” to themselves, too.The writer believes that if children don’t learn good money habits, they.
A.won’t be able to earn enough |
B.won’t be involved in housework |
C.will have to work hard all their life. |
D.will suffer the bad results all their life |
Some parents don’t teach their children good money habits, because.
A.they don’t have money for their children to spend |
B.they think miney is too serious for children |
C.they think children can learn naturally |
D.they believe money is an adult thing |
According to the 2nd paragraph, the writer seems to believe that .
A.childhood experiences will heip people create a lifelong money value |
B.taking is the most important way to help children from their values |
C.values of money should be different from parent to parent. |
D.children’s opinion about money will never change if established |
Which of the following are parents advised to do?
A.To allow children to make mistakes if they’re likely to succeed. |
B.To make children do housework for the family and pay them. |
C.To help children learn to say “no” to their own unrealistic desires. |
D.To encourage children to set limits for themselves. |