Men are spending more and more time in the kitchen encouraged by celebrity (名人) chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver, according to a report from Oxford University.
The effect of the celebrity role models, who have given cooking a more manly picture, has combined with a more general drive towards sexual equality and men now spend more than twice the amount of time preparing meals than they did in 1961.
According to the research by Prof. Jonatahn Gershuny, who runs the Centre for Time Research at Oxford, men now spend more than half an hour a day cooking, up from just 12 minutes a day in 1961.
Prof. Gershuny said, “The man in the kitchen is part of a much wider social trend. There has been 40 years of sexual equality, but there is another 40 years probably to come.”
Women, who a generation ago spent nearly two hours a day cooking, now spend just one hour and seven minutes—a great fall, but they still spend far more time in the kitchen than men.
Some experts have named these men in aprons as “Gastrosexuals (men using cooking skills to impress friends)”, who have been inspired to pick up a kitchen knife by the success of Ramsay, Oliver as well as other male celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Marco Pierre White and Keith Floyd.
“I was married in 1974. When my father came to visit me a few weeks later, I was wearing an apron when I opened the door. He laughed,” said Prof. Gershuny. “That would never happen now.”
Two-thirds of adults say that they come together to share at least three times a week, even if it is not necessarily around a kitchen or dining room table. Prof. Gershuny pointed out that the family meal was now rarely eaten by all of its members around a table—with many “family meals” in fact taken on the sofa in the sitting room, and shared by family members. “The family meal has changed a lot, and few of us eat—as I did when I was a child—at least two meals a day together as a family. But it has survived in a different format.” What is one reason behind the trend that men spend more time cooking than before?
A.The improvement of cooks’ status. |
B.The influence of popular female chefs. |
C.The change of female’s view on cooking. |
D.The development of sexual equality campaign. |
What does the author think about the time men and women spend on cooking?
A.Men spend more time cooking than women nowadays. |
B.Women spend much less time on cooking than before. |
C.It will take 40 years before men spend more time at the stove than women. |
D.There is a sharp decline in the time men spend on cooking compared with 1961. |
How did Prof. Gershuny see the family meal according to the passage?
A.It has become a thing of the past. |
B.It is very different from what it used to be. |
C.It shouldn’t be advocated in modern times. |
D.It is beneficial to the stability of the family. |
Which is the best title for the passage?
A.The Changes of Family Meals |
B.Equality between Men and Women |
C.Cooking into a New Trend for Men |
D.Cooking—a Thing of the Past for Women |
A traveller was staying in an Egyptian village. One day, she held up her camera to take pictures of the children. Suddenly the young ones began to shout at her. The traveller's face turned red and she apologized to the head for what she was doing, and told him she had forgotten that people in some places believed a person would lose his soul(灵魂) if his picture was taken. She explained to him the operation of a camera for a long time. Several times the head tried to say something, but he couldn't. When she believed that the head didn't fear any longer, the traveller then let him speak. With a smile, he said, "The children were trying to tell you that you forgot to take off the lens(镜头) cap!" The children shouted when the traveller was taking pictures of them because ______.
A.they didn't want to stop playing |
B.the traveller forgot to take off the cap on her head |
C.they didn't want to have their pictures taken |
D.the traveller was not doing well with her camera |
The traveller made an apology to (向……道歉) the head because _______.
A.she thought it was not right to take people's pictures without telling them beforehand(事先) |
B.the children would lose their souls |
C.she had stayed in the village too long |
D.she didn't take a picture of the head first |
The traveller explained how to use a camera to the head because _______.
A.the head was very interested in her camera |
B.the head wanted to learn to take pictures |
C.she was afraid of the head |
D.she wanted the head not to worry about what she was doing |
When the head smiled, it's clear that _______ .
A.the children wanted to play with her |
B.the traveller didn't know what the children meant |
C.he wanted the traveller to tell him something else |
D.the traveller didn't let him speak |
Which of the following is NOT right?
A.The traveller knew something about people in some countries. |
B.The children wouldn't mind if the traveller took pictures of them. |
C.The head was afraid that the traveller's camera would hurt the children. |
D.The traveller didn't understand why the children shouted. |
City buses are white and blue. Please board at the front door and pay the fare as you get on. The fare per ride is $1.50 for adults and $1.00 for senior citizens. The fare may be paid by cash, bus pass or multiple passes. Please pay the exact amount directly into the slot at the top of the fare box. Remember that bills are not accepted and drivers cannot make change for riders.
When you wish to get off the bus, please notify the driver in advance by pressing one of the buttons provided throughout the bus for this purpose. The bus may pass bus stops without stopping if no one is getting off or waiting to get on.
There are five subway lines in the city. The fare is set at five rates from $2.00 to $3.50 according to the number of predetermined “price zones” traveled. To purchase the appropriate ticket, please check the fare on the boards installed above the ticket-selling machines in each subway station.
Pass through the automated ticket gates by inserting the ticket into the slot. When getting off the subway at a station beyond the validity of the ticket, pay the additional fare at a fare-adjustment machine. What is the lowest cost of a subway ride for an adult?
A.$1.00. | B.$1.50 . | C.$2.00. | D.$3.50. |
How can a rider determine the fare of a subway ride?
A.It is automatically determined. |
B.It is always $2.00 |
C.Fare-adjustment machines determine the fare. |
D.All fares are posted. |
Bus riders can NOT use _________.
A.change | B.bills | C.a bus pass | D.a multiple pass |
According to the information, all bus riders should _________.
A.exit from the back door |
B.let the driver know in advance if they want to get off |
C.ask the driver for chang. |
D.pay according to a “price zone” |
This text mainly tells us _________.
A.how to use city buses and subways |
B.how convenient city buses and subways are |
C.how to pay the fare for city buses and subways |
D.how well city buses and subways are equipped |
The first newspapers were written by hand and put up on walls in public place. The earliest daily newspaper was started in Rome in 59 BC. In the 700’s the world’s first printed newspaper was published. Europe didn’t have a regularly published newspaper until 1609, when one was started in Germany.
The first regularly published newspaper in the English language was printed in Amsterdam in 1620. In 1621, an English newspaper was started in London and was published once a week. The first daily English newspaper was the Daily Courant (每日新闻). It came out in March 1702.
In 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first American newspaper in Boston. But not long after it was first published, the government stopped the paper. In 1704, John Campbell started The Boston Newsletter (波士顿新闻通讯), the first newspaper published in the American colonies. By 1760, the colonies had more than thirty daily newspapers. There are now about 1,800 daily papers in the United States.
Today, as a group, English language newspapers have the largest circulation (发行量) in the world. But the largest circulation for a newspaper is that of the Japanese newspaper Asahi Dhimbun (朝日新闻).It sells more than 11 million copies every day.The first daily newspaper came out in _____.
A.59 BC | B.700’s | C.1609 | D.1620 |
The first regular published newspaper in Europe was printed in _____.
A.England | B.Germany | C.France | D.Sweden |
The first printed newspaper in America came out in _____.
A.Washington | B.New York | C.Boston | D.New Orleans |
Today there are about _____ daily newspaper printed in the United States.
A.1621 | B.1704 | C.1760 | D.1800 |
Which is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The first regularly published newspaper in the English language was printed in Amsterdam. |
B.English language newspaper sells more than 11 million copies every day. |
C.Europe didn’t have a regularly published newspaper in 1608. |
D.The first daily English newspaper came out in March 1702. |
Have you wondered why different animals or pests have their particular colors? Colors in them seem to be used mainly to protect themselves.
Birds, especially seagulls are very fond of locusts, but birds can’t easily catch locusts because locusts change their colors together with the change of the color of crops. When crops are green, locusts look green. But when crops are ripe, locusts take on exactly the same brown color as crops have. Some other pests with different colors from plants are usually easily found and eaten by their enemies. So they have to hide themselves in terror for lives and appear only at night.
If you study the animal life in any part of the world, you will find the main use of coloring is to protect themselves, bears, wolves and other beasts move quietly through forests. They are usually invisible to the eyes of hunters, because they have the color much like the barks(树皮) of trees.
An even more strange act remains to be noticed. A kind of fish living in seas can send out a kind of very black liquid when it faces danger. While the liquid is over, its enemies cannot find it, and it quickly swims away. Thus, it has existed up to now though it is not powerful at all.This passage mainly talks about ______.
A.the change of color in locusts |
B.the protective coloration of animals and pests |
C.how a certain sea fish protects itself |
D.animals or pests can dye themselves different colors |
Locusts are ______ but they aren’t easily wiped out(消灭)by their enemies because _______.
A.animals; they are powerful enough |
B.beasts; they are dangerous to their enemies |
C.pests; they take on the same colors as crops |
D.birds; they fly very fast |
What does the underlined word “invisible” in Paragraph 3 mean?
A.can’t be seen | B.can be seen | C.can’t move | D.can’t change |
The laptop is a machine which can be a mobile office;it can be used to entertain us and people can play computer games on them. One machine can perform many tasks at the same time. As technology grows,the size of the new laptop machines is decreasing. Now laptops are lighter,have smaller screen sizes,and perform better. Smaller screen laptops,which are more convenient to take along with,have been specially designed for professionals. Huge display screen laptops are still used by graphic(绘画的)designers and those who like playing computer games.
Laptops are advanced machines,and they can be very expensive. When we spend much money on something,we should take good care of it. I know some people who buy a new laptop every year. The reason they do this is that the old one either is broken or has some problems which cannot be fixed. Common problems are the breaking of the screen,the breaking of joints of the laptop,display problems,and keyboard problems.
Different problems will always come up with machines,and they cannot be avoided(避免).Old machines will always have to be replaced by new ones. However,if we are more careful and handle our laptops with care,they will last for a longer period of time,and they will perform better. This is not a hard thing to do,but it will greatly increase the life and performance of laptops.According to the first paragraph,the laptop is a machine which________.
A.is being used by more and more people in the office |
B.will take the place of desktops sooner or later |
C.is specially designed for people who like playing computer games |
D.can be used for both work and entertainment purposes |
The underlined word in the first paragraph means “________”.
A.becoming smaller |
B.becoming more important |
C.becoming more popular |
D.becoming better |
We infer that graphic designers still use huge display screen laptops most probably because________.
A.huge display screen laptops are very cheap |
B.small display screen laptops are not on sale yet |
C.they can see their drawings more clearly |
D.they also want to play computer games |
What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A.That laptops can only be used for one year. |
B.That laptops are not as good as desktops. |
C.That the prices for laptops are too high. |
D.That laptops may have problems which cannot be fixed. |