Argentina in the late nineteenth century was an exciting place.Around 1870,it was experiencing an economic(经济的)boom,and the capital,Buenos Aires,attracted many people.Farmers,as well as a flood of foreigners from Spain and Italy,came to Buenos Aires seeking jobs.These jobs didn’t pay well,and the people felt lonely and disappointed with their new life in the city.As the unhappy newcomers mixed together in the poor parts of the city,the dance known as the tango(探戈舞)came into being.
At the beginning the tango was a dance of the lower classes.It was danced in the bars and streets.At that time there were many fewer women than men,so if a man didn’t want to be left out,his only choice was to dance with another man so that he could attract the attention of the few available women.Gradually,the dance spread into the upper classes of Argentinean society and became more respectable.
In Europe at this time,strong interest in dance from around the world was beginning.This interest in international dance was especially evident in Paris.Every kind of dance from ballet(芭蕾舞)to belly dancing could be found on the stages of the Paris theaters.After tango dancers from Argentina arrived in Europe,they began to draw the interest of the public as they performed their exciting dance in cafes.Though not everyone approved of the new dance,saying it was a little too shocking,the dance did find enough supporters to make it popular.
The popularity(流行)of the tango continued to grow in many other parts of the world.Soldiers who returned to the United States from World War I brought the tango to North America.It reached Japan in 1926,and in 2003 the Argentinean embassy in Seoul hired a local tango dancer to act as a kind of dance ambassador,and promote tango dancing throughout South Korea.The origin of the tango is associated with________.
A.belly dancers |
B.American soldiers |
C.a Spanish city |
D.the capital of Argentina |
Which of the following is true about the tango?
A.It was created by foreigners from Spain and Italy. |
B.People of the upper classes loved the tango most. |
C.It was often danced by two males in the beginning. |
D.A dancer in Seoul became the Argentinean ambassador. |
Before World War I,the tango spread to________.
A.America | B.Japan |
C.France | D.South Korea |
What can be the best title for the text?
A.How to Dance the Tango |
B.The History of the Tango |
C.How to Promote the Tango |
D.The Modern Tango Boom |
The reading skills of young male students may improve more when huts are tutored (辅导) by women, a Canadian study shows, contradicting some school policies to hire male teachers to improve boys' literacy.
Herb Katz, an education professor at the University of Alberta, took 175 boys in the third and fourth grades, identified as struggling readers, and paired them with a research assistant who worked on their reading skills for 30 minutes a week over 10 weeks.
On average, the boys paired with female tutors felt better about their reading skills after the 10 weeks than those who were guided by a male research assistant, the study found.
Katz said the study, published in the US journal Sex Roles, may cause educational policy - makers in countries such as Australia and Britain to rethink policies that call for more male teachers to be hired to provide role models for boys whose reading skills fall behind their peers (同龄人). "It tells us that the way governments respond with policy is perhaps a little too quick and a little too simple," Katz said." Boys and girls enter kindergarten with similar reading skills, Katz said, but by the end of the third grade, boys have lower reading scores than girls. The reasons behind that difference are not entirely clear. "I don't know that reading skills fade so much as teachers may not recognize what boys are doing," he said. "We don't really know a lot about boys, even in those early years."
The boys involved in the study attended 12 schools in the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Most were from downtown neighborhoods. About a third were native Canadians and 55 percent came from ethnic minority groups.
60. What's the purpose of this passage?
A. To encourage boys to do more reading. B. To persuade schools to hire female teachers.
C. To advise good ways for reading skills. D. To provide some information about a study.
61. The underlined word "contradicting" in the first paragraph probably means"_________".
A. finding out B. going against C. standing by D. bringing about
62. Which of the following is TRUE about the boys taking part in the study?
A. They have difficulty in reading. B. They take no interest in reading.
C. They come from different Canadian cities. D. They have no female teachers at school.
63. It can be known from the passage that _________.
A. women must be better al teaching than men
B. girls do more reading than boys
C. male teachers are preferred to help reading- troubled boys in Australia
D. governments will change their policy on hiring teachers
第三部分:阅读理解 (共20小题;每小题2分, 满分40分)
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。
"Reduce, reuse and recycle", this familiar environmentalist slogan tells us how to reduce the amount of rubbish that ends up in landfills and waterways.
The concept is being used to deal with one possibly dangerous form of waste – electronic junk (电子垃圾), such as old computers, cell-phones, and televisions. But this process for managing e-waste may be used in an unscrupulous way more often than not used, a recent report suggests.
"A lot of these materials are being sent to developing nations under the excuse of tense - to bridge the digital divide," said Richard Gutierrez, a policy researcher.
One of the problems is that no one proves whether these old machines work before they hit the seaways. Because of this, the report says, e-waste is a growing problem in Lagos, Nigeria, and elsewhere in the developing world. Much of the waste ends up being thrown away along rivers and roads. Often it's picked apart by poor people, who may face dangerous exposure to poisonous chemicals in the equipment.
Businessmen also pay workers a little money to get back materials such as gold and copper. This low-tech recovery process could expose workers and the local environment to many dangerous materials used to build electronics. According to Gutierrez, this shadow economy exists because the excuse of recycling and reusing electronics gives businessmen "a green passport" to ship waste around the globe. '" Developing nations must take upon some of the responsibility themselves," Gutierrez said. But, he added, "A greater part of this responsibility should fall on the exporting state."
China, for example, has become a dumping place for large amounts of e-waste. The nation is beginning to take action to stop the flow of dangerous materials across its borders. The Chinese government, after many years of denial, is finally beginning to take the lead.
56. What does the fourth paragraph mainly discuss?
A. Old computers and TVs still work before they are sent abroad.
B. Poor people break up e-waste to collect some valuable materials.
C. A lot of e-waste is dumped in developing countries.
D. The problem of e-waste is growing in developing countries.
57. From what Gutierrez said we can learn that ________.
A. exporting countries should mainly be responsible for this problem.
B. neither rich nor pour countries should be blamed for this problem
C. developing countries should be responsible for this problem
D. poor countries should be blamed for this problem
58. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that __________.
A. China has hidden a large amount of e-waste in many secret places
B. China has greatly changed her idea about the problem of e-waste
C. China has prevented poisonous materials from entering China for a long time
D. China is failing behind other countries in dealing with e-waste
59. The passage mainly tells us that ________.
A. developing countries are facing serious environmental problems
B. e-waste is a growing problem in developed countries
C. e - waste is sent to developing countries under the excuse of reuse
D. developing countries are making full use of e-waste
第二节 根据对话内容,从对话后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
—Lovely day, isn't it?
—Mm, yes, 61And it's supposed to get warmer.
—Yes, that's true. You know, though, I'm always a little worried to see winter go.
— 62
—Well, I love skating. In fact, I used to teach skating for a living.
—Oh? That sounds interesting. 63
—I work at Bank of America. How about you?
— 64
—Here?
—No, I'm from Chicago. I'm just visiting here for the wedding.
—Oh, I see.
—By the way, 65I'm Helen Keller.
—Nice to meet you. My name is John Smith.
A.But what do you do now? |
B.It's very cold. |
C.It's really warm. |
D.I guess I should introduce myself. |
E. I'm on the radio station.
F. What' your name?
G. Really?
Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep, a problem, which couldn’t be solved the night before, can often seem more manageable, although the evidence until now has been anecdotal (个人体验的). But researchers, at the University of Luebek in Germany, have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight (顿悟) and problem-solving.
“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and restructures (重新组织) them, and as a result, after sleep, the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr Jan Born, a neuroscientist (神经科学家), at the university.
To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn a string of (一连串) numbers into a new order. There was also a third, hidden rule, which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem. The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups: Half were allowed to sleep after the training, while the rest were forced to stay awake. Dr Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out (想出) the third rule as the other group.
“Sleep helped,” Born said in a telephone interview. “The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation (描绘,表现) of the problem you want to solve in your brain and then you sleep, so it can act on the problem.” But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how restructuring of memories occurs or what governs it.
Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the anecdotal suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking. Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery, the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep, they added.
57. The underlined phrase “sleep on it” in Paragraph 1 probably means ______.
A. to delay deciding something until the next day
B. to get as much sleep as possible
C. to go on sleeping without being disturbed
D. to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning
58. Jan Born and his team carried out the experiment through ______.
A. comparison B. interview C. survey D. imagination
59. It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
A. people should sleep so long as they have time
B. sleep is the only way to solve hard problems
C. people have various periods of sleep
D. people know how sleep reconstructs memories
60. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. How Sleep Works B. Sleep Helps Solve Problems
C. No Evidence, But Well Founded D. Born’s Discovery On Sleep
Summer Holiday Fun 2010 !
The summer holidays are upon us again. Here is our guide to summer holiday fun in Peterborough!
Peterborough Museum
The Age of the Dinosaurs is the museum’s main attraction this summer. Get up close to prehistoric creatures via some great hands—on exhibits! Watch out for monsters lurking around every ember! The museum is open from 10: 00am to 5: 00pm Monday to Saturday, and from 12: 00pm to 4: 00 pm on Sundays in August.
Call 01733 864663 for details
Saxon Youth Club
School holiday fun: Young people aged 13-19 will be able to produce their own music, compete in spots activities, or try their hand at cooking at Saxon Youth Club,Saxon Community Centre, Norman Road. Peterborough every Monday and Wednesday from 3: 00pm. Moreover, an aero ball tournament will take place on Thursday 12th August between 3: 30pm and 6: 30pm.
Call 0135 3720274 for details
Houghton Mill
Alice through the Looking Class—a new production of the family favorite on Monday 30th August. Bring rugs or chairs to sit on and a picnic if you wish to eat during the play. Gates open 5: 30pm, performance 6: 30pm—8: 30pm. Tea room will be open until end of the interval. Adult £10. Child£7. Family £20.
Booking advisable on 0845 4505157.
Farmland Museum and Denny Abbey
Farmland Games: From Wellie Wading to Pretend Ploughing matches, come and join the Farmland Team. Collect your sporting stickers and create a colorful rosette that is fit for a winner!No need to book, just turn up between 12: 00pm and 4: 00pm on Thursday 19th August. Suitable for children aged four and above, each child should be accompanied by an adult and all activities are included in the normal admission price Tickets Cost£7 per child.
For further information, call 01223 810080.
53. If you are interested in cooking, you can go to______.
A. Peterborough MuseumB. Houghton Mill
C. Saxon Youth Club D. Farmland Museum
54. You want to watch the new play with your parents, so it will cost you______.
A. £7B. £17 C. £27 D. £20
55. Which of the following activities needs parents’ company?
A. Playing farmland games B. Watching a new play.
C. Competing in spots activities. D. Visiting the dinosaur exhibition.
56. If Tom comes to Peterborough for amusement on August 19, he will have ______activities to choose from for himself.
A. one activity B. two activities C. three activities D. four activities