Over the past century, all kinds of unfairness and discrimination have been made illegal. But one popular form continues to exist, that is alphabetism (字母排序法). This, for those as yet unaware of such a disadvantage, refers to discrimination against those whose surnames(姓氏)begin with a letter in the lower half of the alphabet.
It has long been known that the cars of a taxi firm called AAAA have a big advantage over Zodiac cars when customers look through their phone directories. Less well known is the advantage that Adam Abbot has in life over Zoe Zysman. English names are fairly spread between the halves of the alphabet. Yet a quite large number of top people have surnames beginning with letters between A and K.
Thus the American presidents and vice-presidents have surnames starting with B and C separately and 26 of those before George Bush took office (including his father ) had surnames in the first half of the alphabet against just 16 in the second half. Even more striking, six of the seven heads of government of the G7 rich countries are alphabetically advantaged (Berlusconi, Blair, Bush, Chirac, Chretien and Koizumi). The world's three top central bankers ( Greenspan, Duisenberg and Hayami)are all close to the top of the alphabet, even if one of them really uses Japanese characters. The same case are the world's five richest men ( Gates, Buffet and so on) .
Can this merely happen by chance? At the start of the first year in primary school, teachers seat pupils, alphabetically from the front, to make it easier to remember their names. So shortsighted and small-sized Zysman junior gets stuck in the back row, and is seldom asked the improving questions by those teachers. At that time the alphabetically disadvantaged may think they have had a lucky escape. Yet the result may be worse qualifications, because they get less attention, as well as less confidence in speaking publicly.
The unfairness continues. At university graduation parties, the ABCs proudly get their awards first. However, by the time they reach the Zysmans most people are a little tired. Lists of job interviews and conference speakers and attendees all tend to be drawn up alphabetically, and their readers lose interest as they plough through them.What does the author intend to show with AAAA cars and Zodiac cars?
| A．An example of competition of two kinds of cars. |
| B．Some advantages of AAAA cars in the taxi firm. |
| C．An example of unfairness caused by alphabetism. |
| D．Some disadvantages of Zodiac cars in the taxi firm. |
What can we infer from the first three paragraphs?
| A．The alphabet is to blame for the failure of Zoe Zysman. |
| B．In both East and West, names are important to success. |
| C．Customers often pay a lot of attention to companies' names. |
| D．The discrimination in alphabetism can be found in many areas. |
The fourth paragraph suggests that .
| A．alphabetically disadvantaged often escape from class |
| B．teachers should pay equal attention to all their students |
| C．questions are often put to the more intelligent students |
| D．students should be seated according to their eyesight |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．VIPs in the western world gain a great deal from alphabetism. |
| B．People with surnames beginning with N to Z are often misunderstood. |
| C．Putting things alphabetically may lead to unintentional unfairness. |
| D．The movement to get rid of alphabetism still has a long way to go. |
A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and loved the boy very much. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous（有毒的）medicine meant for adults in small dosages（剂量）. When the child fell down, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was shocked. She was terrified how to face her husband.
When the father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words. The husband just said ‘I am with you, Darling’. The husband's totally unexpected reaction is active behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was comfort and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of viewpoint, there would be much fewer problems in the world. Take off all your envies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think. Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.The uncapped medical bottle was not put back into the cupboard because .
| A．the husband was careless | B．the wife ignored the matter |
| C．the husband was busy | D．the wife wasn’t informed of the matter |
What do we know about the bottle? .
| A．It contained poison only for adults | B．It was kept in the kitchen |
| C．It was broken by the child | D．It appeared like a nice drink |
The husband’s attitude towards his wife can be described as .
| A．optimistic | B．confident | C．considerate | D．generous |
What did the writer intend to tell us about life? .
| A．Think of nothing and life will be easy |
| B．It is always useless finding who is responsible |
| C．Let go the negative side and we can enjoy life. |
| D．Life should give way to responsibility |
When you think of all the ways your body can get hurt---falling off a bike, stepping on a nail, being bitten by a crazed dog---the aches and pains that come from sitting at a computer may not seem like much.
But more doctors are getting worried about just that. If you sit at a PC the wrong way, the nerves and muscles in your back, neck and arms can get out of line.
Ergonomics is the study of how people work and how jobs and equipment can be designed so that people are safer and more comfortable in the things they do---whether that’s working on a factory assembly line or sitting in front of a computer.
The monitor
You should not have to tilt（倾斜） your neck up or down to lock at the screen. Your eyes should be level with the top of the screen.
How far away should you sit? Reach your arm out so your fingertips just touch the screen.
The keyboard
It should be directly in front of you. Don’t unfold the legs on the bottom of the keyboard so that it tilts up toward you---it should be as flat as possible, or even tilted away from you. You want your wrists “neutral,” which means straight, not bent. This puts less strain on your nerves and muscles.
Arms should be close to the body. Don’t look at your fingers as you type. Use a document holder to hold papers at the same level as the monitor. Keep the mouse on the same level as the keyboard and close by--- so you don’t have to reach for it.
The chair
Your feet shouldn’t dangle---the blood will pool in your feet. They should rest flat on the floor, or on phone books, if necessary. Your back needs support. Roll up a towel and stick it there.
The Body
If you think of your body as a collection of right angles when you sit at a computer, you should be just fine.
Your hips should be at a 90-degree angle to your back. That takes the pressure off the spine. And your knees should bend at a 90 degree angle so your feet are flat.The passage mainly talks about.
| A．avoiding pains caused by using PC | B．the science of ergonomics |
| C．illness caused by a computer | D．how to keep fit |
The underlined word “ergonomics” most probably means ______ in Chinese.
| A．管理学 | B．人机工程学 | C．机械工程学 | D．经济学 |
How high should a monitor be placed according to the passage?
| A．As high as your arms. |
| B．A little higher than your eyes. |
| C．A little lower than your eyes. |
| D．At the same level as your eyes. |
How shouldn’t a keyboard be placed?
| A．Tilting away from you. | B．Tilting up toward you. |
| C．Flat. | D．Not mentioned. |
How should you place your foot?
| A．Rest them on a phone book. | B．Rest them on the floor. |
| C．They should rest flat. | D．They should dangle. |
I hated dinner parties. But I decided to give them another shot because I’m in London. And my friend Mallery invited me. And because dinner parties in London are very different from those back in New York. There, “I’m having a dinner party” means “I’m booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you can’t afford and we’ll be sharing the cheque evenly, no matter what you eat.”
Worse, in Manhattan there is always someone who leaves before the bill arrives. They’ll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me, who don’t drink, end up paying even more. But if I try to use the same trick, the hostess will shout “Where are you going?” And it’s not like I can say I have somewhere to go : everyone knows I have nowhere to go.
But in London, dinner parties are in people’s homes. Not only that, the guests are an interesting mix. The last time I went to one, the guests were from France, India, Denmark and Nigeria; it was like a gathering at the United Nations. In New York, the mix is less striking. It’s like a gathering at Bloomingdale’s, a well-known department store.
For New Yorkers, talking about other parts of the world means Brooklyn and Queens in New York. But at Mallery’s, when I said that I had been to Myanmar recently, people knew where it was. In New York people would think it was a usual new club.What does the word “shot” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Choice. | B．Try. | C．Style. | D．Goal. |
What does the author dislike most about dinner parties in New York?
| A．There is a strange mix of people. | B．The restaurant are expensive. |
| C．The bill is not fairly shared. | D．People have to pay cash. |
What does the author think of the parties in London?
| A．A bit unusual. | B．Full of tricks. |
| C．Less costly. | D．More interesting. |
What is the author’s opinion of some New Yorkers from her experience?
| A．Easygoing.. | B．Self-centred. |
| C．Generous. | D．Conservative. |
What is the main idea of this article?
| A．The author hated dinner parties. |
| B．The author prefer dinner parties in London to those in New York. |
| C．The difference between London and New York. |
| D．Mallery invited the author to a party. |
Many job opportunities are offered to those who wish to work. It helps if you know more than one language. There are good jobs for interpreters and typists who know English and another language.
There are many good jobs in government. In most cases, you must be a citizen of this country, and you must take a civil service examination. These examinations are open to everyone, regardless of race, religion, or color.
For many civil service jobs you need a high school diploma. The person who does not have a high school diploma can get one. There are several ways. You can study high school subjects at home and then take special tests. If you pass the tests, then you get a diploma. Or you can go to night school. There are classes that prepare you to take special tests to earn a diploma.
You can attend a night school that grants a high school diploma if you complete certain courses. If you do this, you do not have to take the special tests. Be as well trained as you can. Get as much training as you can. Opportunity knocks at every door. Be sure that when it knocks at your door you are ready.From the passage, we know that an interpreter’s job must have something to do with_________.
| A．money | B．languages | C．opportunities | D．diploma |
In order to get a government job, you must take a certain__________.
| A．course | B．trip | C．test | D．service |
The passage suggests that _________.
| A．any citizen can try to get a government job |
| B．civil service jobs are offered only to foreigners |
| C．training programs are often poorly organized |
| D．anyone who wishes to work can get a good job |
We can see that.
| A．one can work on a high school diploma at home |
| B．typists who know English get a good pay |
| C．well-trained people are often out of work |
| D．job opportunities will help you to know more than one language |
Which of the following is not true? If you want to get a high school diploma, you need.
| A．to study at home and pass special tests |
| B．to go to night school to prepare you to pass special tests |
| C．to attend a night school and complete certain courses |
| D．to get as much training as you can and be always ready |
What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?
We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop.The second is the application of the special methods of thought and actionthat scientists use in their work.
What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious - he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, andlooks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover,he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves.
He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum(光谱).
He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively.
Furthermore,he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation.
Lastly,he is full of imaginationsince he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore,he needs imaginationif he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place.
These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts.Many people believe that science helps society to progress through_________
| A．knowledge only. | B．more than one aspect. |
| C．technology only. | D．the use of machines. |
Which of the following statements about a curious scientist is TRUE?
| A．He doesn’t find confidence and pleasure in work. |
| B．He is interested in problems that are explained. |
| C．He makes efforts to investigate potential connections. |
| D．He looks for new ways of acting. |
According to the passage, a successful scientist would NOT_______________.
| A．easily believe in unchecked statements. |
| B．easily criticize others' research work. |
| C．always use his imagination in work. |
| D．always use evidence from observation. |
Which word can be used to describe the data that a good scientist uses?
| A．complete | B．objective | C．complicated | D．accurate |