Cut off from society
You're on your way to school as usual when suddenly an invisible barrier appears out of nowhere, trapping you underneath it and isolating you from the outside world. What do you do?
This is the scary experience the residents of a fictional town called Chester’s Mill are going through in the US TV series Under the Dome. Based on famous US author Stephen King’s 2009 best-selling novel, the show has become “the highest-rated summer show in 21 years” since debuting (首播) on June 24, reported the New York Post.
The series begins with the dome (穹顶) making its alarming appearance. As the earth trembles and birds take off, an enormous, invisible barrier slices down, cutting the town off from the rest of the world.
The residents quickly realize they are trapped, probably for quite some time. Families are separated, emergency services are unreachable and water, food and fuel are strictly limited.
There is no way out or in. But who or what is responsible? Nobody knows. Thus, the residents are at the mercy of unknown forces and their internal conflicts.
While it provides an enjoyable TV thrill ride, the movie’s science fiction is closely linked with reality.
“Not only is it worrying, suspenseful (悬疑的) and full of splendid special effects, but it has big thoughts about environmentalism and the future of the commented The Denver Post planet,”
As King himself explained to The Telegraph: “The dome is a microcosm (微观世界) of life. We all live under the dome. We live on this little blue planet and so far as we know that’s all we’ve got,” he said. “The resources that we’ve got are the resources that we’ve got; they’re limited.”
But the show explores many themes in addition to environmental destruction. It also shows “how quickly the social order we take for granted can disappear when people are isolated and afraid”, said the Los Angeles Times.
It is “a science-fiction social study”, said The Washington Post. “Once the people of Chester’s Mill realize they are indefinitely trapped without means of food supply, outside communication and power, their polite sense of small-town, American civilization begins to fall apart.” The underlined word “isolating” in the first paragraph probably means _______.
| A．separating | B．protecting |
| C．discouraging | D．distinguishing |
In the TV series Under the Dome, _______.
A．the dome, which appears out of nowhere, doesn’t have huge effects on the residents’ lives
B．it takes a long time for residents to realize they are trapped by the invisible dome
C．because of the dome, the residents in the small town become more united and helpful D．not knowing what has D．happened, the residents feel helpless against unknown forcesWhy is the TV series closely linked with reality according to the article?
| A．Because it is suspenseful and uses splendid special effects to reflect modern life. |
| B．Because it gets us to think about the future of the earth and the importance of environmental protection. |
| C．Because it attaches great importance to following the social order even in frightening situations. |
| D．Because the residents in the TV series live almost the same life as ordinary Americans do. |
Like lots of small-business owners, Lola Gonzalez had to decide to cut down her company’s nine-person staff (员工) when the economic recovery began to fail last spring. Unlike other companies, she picked an unlikely employee to lay off (解雇): herself.
Her business began to have problems in 2008 after going through her books (账簿)
One day, her husband, Marcos, told her she had to reduce her payroll（薪金总额）by one person. Gonzalez said at a meeting, “I want you all to know that I have to lay somebody off and it’s been a very difficult decision. And that person is me.” Employees first froze in amazement and then burst into laughter until they realized she was serious. Gonzalez ’s employees said they were grateful for her kindness.
Her reason was simple. Although she ran the business and her employees did the legwork (跑腿), she thought she could find work more easily than her staff. Sure enough, she soon got a job as a social worker for a non-profit organization called Devereux Kids. She enjoys her social-worker job now, but the salary (薪水) cut has required some lifestyle changes. She and Marcos no longer eat out daily; they no longer pay for their son’s car and mobile phone, and they changed their car to a smaller one to save $300 a month.
Her business has picked up a bit recently and Marcos has begun to work part-time at Gonzalez’s company. Gonzalez says she has no plan to return to work at her company until the economic situation becomes better, perhaps in a year. Her employees, however, will get Christmas bonuses (奖金) this year.How many workers are there in Gonzalez’s company at present?
| A．8. | B．9. | C．10. | D．11. |
How did her employees feel at first when they heard Gonzalez’s decision?
| A．Happy. | B．Grateful. |
| C．Surprised. | D．Unbelievable. |
After leaving her company, _____________.
| A．Gonzalez sold her car and went to work by bus |
| B．Gonzalez always had meals in a restaurant |
| C．Gonzalez’s son helped her a lot |
| D．Gonzalez changed her lifestyle a lot |
From the text, we can learn that ___________.
| A．Gonzalez will not return to her company in future |
| B．Gonzalez’s business has improved a little lately |
| C．Gonzalez got her social-worker job with great difficulty |
| D．Marcos lost his job and had to work at Gonzalez’s company |
Ireland has had a very difficult history. The problems started in the 16th century when English ruler tried to conquer Ireland. For hundreds of years, the Irish people fought against the English, Finally, in 1921, the British government was forced to give independence to the south of Ireland. The result is that today there are two "Irelands". Northern Ireland, in the north, is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland, in the south, is an independent country.
In the 1840s the main crop, potatoes, was affected by disease and about 750,000 people died of hunger. This, and a shortage (短缺) of work, forced many people to leave Ireland and live in the USA, the UK, Australia and Canada. As a result of these problems, the population fell from 8.2 million in 1841 to 6.6 million in 1851.
For many years, the majority of Irish people earned their living as farmers. Today, many people will work on the land but more and more people are moving to the cities to work in factories and offices. Life in the cities is very different from life in the countryside, where things move at a quieter and slower pace.
The Irish are famous for being warm-hearted and friendly. Oscar Wilde, a famous Irish writer, once said that the Irish were "the greatest talkers since the Creeks". Since independence, Ireland has revived (复兴) its own culture of music, language, literature and singing. Different areas have different styles of old Irish songs which are sung without instruments. Other kinds of Irish music use many different instruments such as the violin, whistles, etc. What does the author tell us in paragraph 1?
| A．How the Irish fought against the English. |
| B．How Ireland gained independence. |
| C．How English rulers tried to conquer Ireland. |
| D．How two “Irelands” came into being. |
We learn from the text that in Ireland________.
| A．food shortages in the 1840s led to a decline in population |
| B．people are moving to the cities for lack of work in the countryside |
| C．it is harder to make a living as a farmer than as a factory worker |
| D．different kinds of old Irish songs are all sung with instruments |
The last paragraph is mainly about________.
| A．the Irish character |
| B．Irish culture |
| C．Irish musical instruments |
| D．a famous Irish writer |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Life in Ireland | B．A very difficult history |
| C．Ireland, past and present | D．the independence of Ireland |
My wife and I used to feel that it was impossible to be a true friend to someone whose name we didn’t know. How wrong we were! Years of Sunday-morning bus trips through the city with the same group of “nameless” people have changed our thinking. Before the bus takes off, we all join in a conversation: where’s the silent woman who sits up front and never responds to our cheery greetings? Here she comes. Her worn clothing suggests she doesn’t have much money to spare, but she always takes an extra cup of coffee for the driver.
We get smiles from a Mexican couple as they get on the bus hand in hand. When they get off, they’re still holding hands. The woman was pregnant late last year, and one day her change of shape confirmed that she’d delivered the child. We even felt a little pride at the thought of our extended family.
For many months, our only sadness lay in our inability to establish the same friendship with the silent woman at the front of the bus. Then, one evening, we went to a fish restaurant. We were shown to a table alongside someone sitting alone. It was the woman from the bus.
We greeted her with friendly familiarity we’d shown all year, but this time her face softened, then a shy smile. When she spoke, the words escaped awkwardly from her lips. All at once we realized why she hadn’t spoken to us before. Talking was hard for her.
Over dinner, we learned the stay of a single mother with a disabled son who was receiving special care away from home. She missed him desperately, she explained. “I love him… and he loves me, even though he doesn’t express it very well,” she murmured. “Lots of us have that problem, don’t we? We don’t say what we want to say, what we should be saying. And that’s not good enough.” The candles flared on our tables. Our fish had never tasted better. But the atmosphere grew pleasant, and when we parted as friends—we shared names.All the following statements can describe the woman except ______.
| A．poor | B．warm –hearted |
| C．silent | D．cold |
The underlined word “establish” in the 3th paragraph has the same meaning as_________.
| A．keep | B．discover |
| C．set up | D．accept |
The woman had the same problem with her son in the way that ______.
| A．they both disabled people |
| B．they both had some difficulty in expressing |
| C．they both liked bus travel |
| D．they both brought interest to the passengers |
Which of the following might be the best title of this passage?
| A．Friends of the Road | B．The Silent Woman on the Bus |
| C．Going to Work by Bus | D．Different Kinds of Friendship |
Squirrels often communicate with whistles, chirps and chucks, which sound like the word “chuck”. Whistles and chirps are like the sounds that many birds make. Now scientists have translated some of their squirrel-speak.
Hare, a professor of zoology at the University of Maniloha in Winnipeg, and his team managed to record squirrels' alarm calls. The researchers studied the sounds and then played them back to 60 wild squirrels, which the scientists approached individually with a video recorder to capture(抓拍）their responses. Some squirrels lifted their heads up and became alert(警惕的）. Creatures that were more frightened simply ran for their lives and dived into caves.
"In effect then, whistles that mix with chucks say 'there's an enemy of average threat that's here', and whistles without chucks say 'there's an enemy of seemingly average threat around here somewhere', while pure chirps say, 'I'm hiding here because there's an immediate danger. ' " Hare told. Discovery News.
Hare and some other researchers believe such sounds are part of an advanced language that develops just as all other communication systems.
Although squirrels risk their lives when they call out to warn others of threats, other squirrels might admire this behavior, thus increasing the caller’s social status, like humans who look up to heroes. Hare added that other animals, such as birds, probably understand at least some squirrel language, since they also may benefit from the alarm calls.
In fact, another Canadian study found that deep-voiced, black-capped chickadees have their own language too. According to certain research, there are a lot of tidings in chickadees' calls, such as directing fellows' activities, keeping in contact between mates, and raising alarms.
While chickadees and other birds are often welcomed into gardens by homeowners, squirrels are frequently viewed as pests(害兽）. Hare wishes a greater understanding of the complex social lives and communication systems of squirrels will provide “hope that humans will gain a greater appreciation and stop doing harm to these animals”.The text mainly talks about _______ .
| A．the ways for squirrels to escape from their enemies |
| B．the comparison between squirrels and chickadees |
| C．the calling for the protection of squirrels |
| D．the study on the language of squirrels |
If a squirrel is in a very dangerous situation, it would probably make ____.
| A．whistles with chucks | B．pure chirps |
| C．whistles without chucks | D．repeated chucks |
The underlined word “tidings” in paragraph 6 probably means ____.
| A．difficulties | B．noises |
| C．messages | D．languages |
What can be learned from this text?
| A．Squirrels communicate with each other as humans do. |
| B．Some squirrels understand the recorded alarm calls. |
| C．Other animals also well understand the language of squirrels. |
| D．Birds such as chickadees don’t have their own language. |
| Café en Seine The wildly luxury (奢华) new art style of this huge bar has been a huge hit since it first opened in 1995, and while it may not be the “in” place it once was, it is still very popular with the after-work crowd and out-of-towners. Maybe it’s the glass frames, or the real 12m-high trees; but most likely it’s the beautiful people supporting the wood-and-marble bar. Good for: decoration, cocktails, amazing food and service Address: 40 Dawson St Transport: all city centre Phone: 01 677 4369 |
| Gravediggers (aka Kavanagh’s) The gravediggers from the neighboring Glasnevin Cemetery had a secret serving hatch (舱口) so that they could drink on the job – therefore the pub’s nickname. Founded in 1833 by one John Kavanagh and still in the family, this pub is one of the best in Ireland, almost unchanged in 150 years. In summer time the green of the square is full of drinkers bathing in the sun, while inside the hardened locals ensure that never a hint of sunshine disturbs some of the best Guinness in town. An absolute classic. Good for: Guinness, traditional pub, pub food Address: 1 Prospect Sq Glasnevin Transport: 13 from city centre Phone: 830 7978 |
| Davy Byrne’s James Joyce, an Irish author and a poet (1882-1941), would hardly recognize the bar that Leopold Bloom rushed into for a gorgonzola sandwich and a glass of wine in Ulysses. It doesn’t stop Davy Byrne’s from making the most of its Joyce’s connections, even though today's version is strictly for out-of-towners and the rugby crowd. Good for: socializing with the locals, tasty Irish food, watching TV Address: 21 Duke St Transport: all city centre Website: www.davybyrnes.com Phone: 01 677 5217 |
People choose Café en Seine most probably because they enjoy _____as well as its cocktails and service
| A．its location | B．its history |
| C．its decoration | D．its environment |
“Guinness” in Gravediggers probably refers to ________.
| A．a kind of tea | B．a kind of beer |
| C．the name of the boss | D．the name of the town |
We can infer that Davy Byrne’s is ________.
| A．a newly-opened bar |
| B．an old-fashioned bar |
| C．a bar with a long history |
| D．a bar popular with foreigners |
What do Café en Seine and Davy Byrne’s have in common?
| A．Their represent the same architecture style. |
| B．They give the same description about transport. |
| C．They both serve cocktails and tasty Irish food |
| D．They are both popular with the rugby crowd. |