Minimalism (简约主义) is a term that describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is reduced to its most basic features.
As for me, minimalism functions well not in art or design, but in my daily life.
When I was packing for university, I found it extremely difficult to let go of some of the things I owned. I knew I couldn’t take everything with me, but I kept asking myself “how could I possibly throw this away?”, “what if I need it one day?”, and “what about all of the memories?” Now that I’ve moved, and left that stuff behind, I don’t even miss it. Whether or not I got rid of it, it barely makes a bit of difference to me now.
I’ve learned that over time people forget, or their need for a particular object eventually disappears. Either they store it away or they get rid of it.
You might think nostalgically（怀旧的） about the toys you cared about when you were a child, but what is making you smile now is not the thing itself but the memory of it. 1’ve heard it a hundred times, “you don’t need things to make you happy.” It takes something life-changing like moving across the country to realize how true this is.
Speaking of which, for a lot of people, minimalism is about able to move. It’s about being able to go almost anywhere at any time because you don’t have many possessions to carry. When you keep things you don’t need they become a burden that ties you to a place. Moving to university was a good time to let go of a lot of stuff. And when I visit for the holidays, I’ll probably get rid of even more, to lighten the burden.
Of course there are exceptions. There are some things that are irreplaceable, very rare or expensive or we simply love and cherish for some reason or another, since we are humans. But after we keep those, how much is left that we don’t really need?
Hence, minimalism. And why does minimalism bring happiness? That was a bit of a roundabout way of saying that, it’s because what really makes me happy is freedom. And the key to freedom is minimalism because minimalism reduces our attachment to things.
Attachment to too many objects creates a great mess and can severely hold back our freedom to do whatever we want, while minimalism helps us start new projects, move, travel, learn new things, work, expand, be debt-free, be healthy – really living life to our full potential.
I left the nest to fly onwards and upwards, I can’t do it with old things weighing me down. And that is why I have adopted minimalism with open arms.In paragraph l, the writer gives the definition of minimalism to .
| A．introduce a topic | B．present his own idea |
| C．describe a scene | D．offer an argument |
Many people don’t want to let go of some of their belongings because .
| A．they haven’t had any life-changing experiences |
| B．they fear their memories will be gone with the thrown-away stuff |
| C．they hope to live life to their full potential by storing things away |
| D．they may have to change their lifestyle because of the loss of them |
Which of the following is NOT the reason why the writer favors “minimalism” in life?
| A．It takes the burden off her while she is moving. |
| B．It reduces her attachment to her personal things. |
| C．It enables her to gain the freedom that she desires. |
| D．It helps her to realize how true life is. |
By saying “there are exceptions”, the writer means
| A．little is left if we keep what we cherish most in our life |
| B．minimalism should be practised accordingly in different situations |
| C．minimalism is a method difficult to employ in reality |
| D．life is full of exceptions so it’s difficult to preserve what we value |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Minimalism brings happiness. |
| B．Minimalism is applied in many fields. |
| C．Minimalism makes people think nostalgically. |
| D．Minimalism is about able to move. |
In the late nineteenth century, ^5,000 pianos were sold in the United States each year and, with over half a million youths learning to play the instrument, there was a huge demand for sheet music （活页乐谱）．Indeed the demand was so huge that publishers rushed to enter the profitable market．During the last fifteen years of the century, many publishers began to set up shops in New York, the center for the production of the musical arts
By the turn of the nineteenth century many important publishers had their offices on 28th Street between Broadway and 5th Avenue, and this Is the area that became known as Tin Pan Alley．It was here that publishers adopted new, aggressive business practices and marketing techniques to achieve great sales．
How it became to be known by that name is unclear, but the general opinion is that it is down to a visiting journalist by the name of Monroe Rosenfeld．He described the area as being drowned in the noise coming from the producers' offices, sounding as though hundreds of people were hitting tin pans（锡锅）．He used it several times in his newspaper articles in the early twentieth century and the term stuck．With time this name was popularly embraced and many years later it came to describe the U．S．music publishing industry in general．
The start of Tin Pan Alley is usually dated to about 1885,．but the end of Tin Pan Alley is less clear-cut ．Some date it to the start of the Great．Depression in the 1930s when the phonograph（留声机） and radio replaced sheet music, as the driving force of American popular music, while others consider Tin Pan Alley to have continued into thel950s when earlier styles of American popular music were upstaged （抢风头） by the rise of rock & roll．
There's a plaque（纪念匾牌）on the sidewalk on 28th Street in honor of the influence of Tin Pan Alley on American popular culture, but the buildings that were home to the legendary Tin Pan Alley publishers and songwriters are up for sale and may be torn down to make room for modern high-rise buildings．What．is the passage mainly about ?
| A．American popular music． |
| B．Tin Pan Alley's future。 |
| C．American music Industry． |
| D．The history of Tin Pan Alley． |
In the early 20th century．Tin Pan Alley was used to refer to ____．
| A．the American popular culture． | B．the American printing media |
| C．the American rock-music center | D．the American music publishing industry． |
In the nineteenth century, the driving force of American popular music was:____．
| A．rock & roll | B．sheet music |
| C．country music | D．phonographs and radios |
When visiting Tin Pan Alley , Rosenfeld probably felt it was ____．
| A．very noisy | B．very quiet | C．wide | D．narrow |
We can learn from the passage that ______．
| A．the term " Tin Pan Alley" was perhaps first used by Rosenfeld． |
| B．the old shops of Tin Pan Alley will be well protected． |
| C．Tin Pan Alley got its name in the early nineteenth century． |
| D．there were once some factories in Tin Pan Alley |
When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses．This phenomenon is referred to as the bystander effect．
The bystander effect is also called the Genovese effect, which was named after Catherine Kitty Genovese, a．young woman who was murdered on March 13, 1964．Early in the morning, 28-year-old Genovese was returning home from work．As she approached her apartment entrance, she was attacked and stabbed（刺）by a man later identified as Winston Moseley．Despite Genovese]s repeated cries for help , none of the dozen or so people in the nea
rby apartment building who heard her cries called the police for help ．The attach first began at 3:20 , but it was not until 3:50 that someone first contacted the police．
There are two major factors that contribute to the bystander effect．First, the presence of other people creates a diffusion（分散）of responsibility．Because there are other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action, since the responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all of those present．
The second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways．When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or not appropriate．Other researchers have found that onlookers are less likely to take action if the situation, is ambiguous^ R^E^?）．In the case of Kitty Genovese, many of the 38 witnessing reported that they believed that they were witnessing a " lovers' quarrel" , and did not realize that the young woman was actually being murdered．The passage seems to suggest that Genovese might not have been murdered if there had been_____．
| A．no observer | B．fewer observers |
| C．more observers ． | D．younger observers |
Genovese was murdered.
| A．while she was going out | B．in her apartment |
| C．halfway home | D．in front of her apartment ? |
The underlined word "this" in the last
paragraph probably refers to ____．
| A．not doing anything to help | B．behaving in correct ways |
| C．taking action | D．murdering |
We can learn from the passage that Genovese's neighbors didn't lend a hand partly because they ____．
| A．were afraid of being attacked by the murderer |
| B．thought someone else might come to her rescue． |
| C．didn't get along well with her |
| D．were sure it was murdering |
At IRA’s annual research conference, held each year immediately prior to the annual convention, researchers and practitioners have an opportunity to share information ab
out research-based best practices in reading education.
The research conference is an important opportunity for educators whose primary responsibility is providing pre-service and in-service education in reading and literacy
Program
Reading research 2007 will feature four distinct lines: beginning reading, comprehension, teacher preparation, and adolescent literacy. Get program details.
The keynote speaker will be Donald J. Leu, holder of the John and Maria Neag Endowed Chair of Literacy and Technology |at the University of Connecticut.
New this year, the 2007 IRA research award winners will be honored at a special Research Awards Luncheon during this conference and dissertation finalists will display their poster presentations
Registration
Prepaid registration is now open. The prepaid registration deadline is April 9,2007.
Please note: Registration for the Saturday Reading Research Conference is limited, and we encourage attendees to take advantage of the savings and convenience of registering in advance. If there is additional space available on the day of the conference, only cash or checks will be accepted on site in Toronto.
Conference registration includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and a closing wine and cheese 
reception. You can register online or by using the Convention Prepaid Registration Form from the December/January and the February/March issues of Reading Today or from the Preliminary Program, There will be no telephone registrations. Questions about registration should be directed to customerservice@ reading, org.
Please note: Separate registrations are required for the Annual Convention, the Sunday Institutes, and the Saturday Research Conference!
Other information
For information on travel and housing, visit the annual convention area.
For further information on this conference,, contact the Research and 'Policy Division, international Reading Association, 800 Barksdale Road, PO Box 8139, Newark, DE 19714-8139, USA. E-mail; gkeating@reading.org. Telephone: 302-731-1600, ext. 226.What is this passage mainly about?
| A．The registration information for IRA's annual research conference. |
| B．Pre-service and in-service education in reading and literacy. |
| C．Reading Research 20C 7. |
| D．Convention Prepaid Registration Form. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Practitioners have no opportunity to attend the conference. |
B．The 2007 confe rence v/ill be held at the University of Connecticut. |
| C．Attendees can make a phone call to register. |
| D．Attendees can take the separate registrations． |
What is new for 2p07 IRA annual research conference?
| A．The keynote speaker will be Donald J．Leu． |
| B．IRA research award winners will be honored at a special-Research Awards Luncheon． |
| C．Attendees will visit the annual convention area． |
| D．Conference registration includes a continental breakfast, lunch, and a．closing wine and cheese reception． |
I had this exchange with my 6-year-old last week．
Him: Mom, we have to start buying Danimals．
Me: Why?
Him: So, I can bring it to |school for lunch．It's yogurt ．
Me: Why do you want it so badly?
Him: Because Danimals i|s giving away five fantastic Caribbean vacations．
I had to explain that there was little chance that he would win a vacation．It's a strategy used to encourage kids to beg for artificially-colored （人工着色的） yogurt that costs a lot．
Marketing follows my kids —and yours—wherever they go ．It comes via TV commercials． Store displays and websites are also constantly selling at our kids ．But the most powerful means in kids" lives is the presence of licensed characters on every product imaginable．
Children can begin their day in character clothing．There's even character -themed wall paint available．A breakfast in a character bowl can be followed by a character toothbrush and character toothpaste（牙膏）, character soap and shampoo, and a character wash cloth and towel ．Then, they can put on character clothing and character shoes．Check that, character clock on the wall: Is it time for characier-shaped fruit snacks yet?
Surround kids with enough of the characters and they'll come to believe they need them．Most of us, of course, don't buy all those items．But say no to four products out of five and your home can still get filled with these tiny items encouraging brand loyalty （品牌忠诚）
At this time of year, parents buy licensed school supplies．With so much marketing around us, it can be to
ugh to stop the tide．
"One thing that helps parents'is that they can talk to other parents about, this kind of thing," Linn suggested ．"If you decide you want to buck this, it helps to find other people who will do the same thing ．That way, if your child says．"Everyone's doing it," you can really have a sense of whether everyone is．" |From the dialogue between the author and the son, we can infer that ____-
| A．the son likes drinking yogurt a lot． |
| B．buying Danimals may win a free tour |
| C．the son's school encourages kids to eat yogurt |
| D．Danimals in the most popular yogurt among kids． |
We can learn from th^ passage that '
| A．character bowls increase kids' appetite． |
| B．character-themed wall paint is expensive |
| C．household goods are becoming the target of advertisers． |
| D．Linn considered character-themed products a foolish marketing strategy． |
The underlined word "buck" in the last paragraph probably means _____．
| A．support | B．resist | C．advertise | D．learn |
What does the passage mainly tell us ?．
| A．Marketing is affecting kids all the time． |
| B．Most kids now don't have a happy childhood, |
| C．Kids like buying licensed school supplies a lot. |
| D．Licensed character produce are doing great harm to kids. |
An old problem is getting new attention in the United States—bullying．Recent cases included the tragic case of a fifteen-year-old girl whose family moved from Ireland．She hanged herself in Massachusetts in January following months of bullying．Her parents criticized her school for failing to protect her．Officials have brought criminal charges against several teenagers．
Judy Kaczynski is president of an anti-bullying group called Bully Police USA．Her daughter Tina was the victim of severe bullying starting in middle school in the state of Minnesota．She said, "Our daughter was a very outgoing child．She was a bubbly personality, very involved in all kinds of things, had lots of friends．And over a period of time her grades fell completely．She started having health issues．She couldn't sleep．She wasn't eating．She had terrible stomach pains．She started clenching her jaw and grinding her teeth at night．Didn't want to go to school．"
Bullying is defined as negative behavior repeated over time against the same person． It can involve physical violence．Or it can be verbal — for example, insults or threats．Spreading lies about someone or excluding a person from a group is known as social or relational bullying．
And now there is cyberbullying, which uses the Internet, e-mail or text messages．It has easy appeal for the bully because it does not involve face-to-face contact and it can be done at any time．
The first serious research studies into bullying were done in Norway in the late 1970s．The latest government study in the United States was released last year．It found that about one-third of students age twelve to eighteen were bullied at school．
Susan Sweater is a psychologist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and co-director of the Bullying Research Network．She says schools should treat bullying as a mental health problem to get bullies and victims the help they need．She says bullying is connected to depression, anxiety and anti-social behavior, and bullies are often victims themselves．From the case of Tina, we can know that．
| A．bullying is rare | B．victims suffered a lot |
| C．schools are to blame | D．personalities are related |
Which of the following is NOT bullying?
| A．To beat someone repeatedly． | B．To call someone names． |
| C．To isolate someone from friends． | D．To refuse to help someone in need． |
Why is cyberbullying appealing to the bully?
| A．Because it can involve more people． | B．Because it can create worse effects． |
| C．Because it is more convenient． | D．Because it can avoid cheating． |
According to Susan Sweater,．
| A．bullies are anti-social | B．bullies should give victims help |
| C．students are not equally treated | D．bullies themselves also need help |
Which of the following can be the best title of the text?
| A．Bullying—Old Irish Girl Committed Suicide |
| B．15-Year-Old Irish Girl Committed Suicide |
| C．Cyberbullying-Taking Off in Schools |
| D．How to Find Bullying among Teens |