It is the women who have only themselves to blame though they are mercilessly exploited (剥削) year after year. Because they tremble at the thought of being seem in public in clothes that are out of fashion, they are always taken advantage of by the designers and the big stores. Clothes which have been worn only a few times have to be put aside because of the change of fashion. When you come to think of it, only a woman is capable of standing in front of a wardrobe packed full of clothes and announcing sadly that she has nothing to wear.
Changing fashions are nothing more than the intentional creation of waste. Many women spend vast sums of money each year to replace clothes that have hardly been worn. Women who cannot afford to throw away clothing in this way, waste hours of their time altering the dresses they have. Skirts are lengthened or shortened; neck-lines are lowered or raised, and so on.
No one can claim that the fashion industry contributes anything really important to society. Fashion designers are rarely concerned with vital things like warmth, comfort and durability (耐用). They are only interested in outward appearance and they take advantage of the fact that women will put up with any amount of discomfort, as long as they look right. There can hardly be a man who hasn't at some time in his life smiled at the sight of a woman shaking in a thin dress on a winter day, or delicately picking her way through deep snow in high-heeled shoes.
When comparing men and women in the matter of fashion, the conclusions to be drawn are obvious. Do the constantly changing fashions of women's clothes, one wonders, reflect basic qualities of inconstancy and instability? Men are too clever to let themselves be cheated by fashion designers. Do their unchanging styles of dress reflect basic qualities of stability and reliability? That is for you to decide.Designers and big stores always make money _____.
A. by mercilessly exploiting women workers in the clothing industry
B . by constantly changing the fashions in women's clothing
C . because they are capable of predicting new fashions
D . because they attach great importance to quality in women's clothingThe writer would be less critical if fashion designers placed more stress on the ______ of clothing.
A.cost | B.appearance | C.suitability | D.comfort |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE? ______________
A . The constant changes in women's clothing reflect their strength of character.
B . New fashions in clothing are created for the commercial exploitation of women.
C . The fashion industry makes an important contribution to society.
D . Fashion designs should not be encouraged since they are only welcomed by women.By saying "the conclusion to be drawn are obvious" (Para 4, Line 1-2), the writer means that ____________.
A. men are more stable and reliable in character
B. men are also exploited greatly by fashion designers
C .women's inconstancy in their choice of clothing is often laughed at
D .women are better able to put up with discomfort
A well-dressed man entered a famous jewelry shop. He explained that he wished to buy a pearl for his wife’s birthday. The price didn’t matter, since business had been very good for him that year. After examining a nice black one that costs $5, 000, he paid for the pearl in cash, shook hands with the jeweler, and left.
A few days later the man returned and said that his wife liked the pearl so much that she wanted another one just like it. It had to be exactly the same size and quality as she wanted a pair of earrings made. "Can you give me any advice on how to get such a pearl?" said the man. The jeweler regretfully replied, "I would say it’s exactly impossible to find one exactly like that pearl."
The rich man insisted that the jeweler advertise in the newspapers, offering $25,000 for the matching pearl. Many people answered the advertisement but nobody had a pearl that was just right.
Just when the jeweler had given up hope, a little old lady came into his store. To his great surprise, she pulled the perfect pearl from her purse." “I don’t like to part with it." she said sadly, I got it from my mother, and, my mother got it from her’s. But I really need the money.
The jeweler was quickly to pay her before she changed her mind .Then he called the rich man’s hotel to tell him the good news .The man, however, was nowhere to be found. The jeweler immediately realized the whole thing.Actually, the man wanted to buy another pearl for _____.
A.himself | B.his wife | C.no one | D.his mother |
He paid $5,000 for the black pearl without bargaining because______.
A.he wanted to make the jeweler believe him |
B.he was very rich. |
C.his business had been successful |
D.he was anxious to get it |
He told the jeweler to get him another pearl that must be______.
A.exactly the same quality as the black one |
B.exactly the same size as the black one. |
C.exactly the same as the black one |
D.exactly worth $25,000 |
The jeweler couldn’t find the man anywhere because ______.
A.he happened to be out |
B.he died suddenly |
C.he wouldn’t show up until the jeweler called him a second time |
D.he got $20,000 by cheating and had run away with the money |
阅读下面短文,根据短文内容按照每题的具体要求回答问题。(答案写在答题卡上相应番号后的横线上)
Born in 1949, Diana Nyad took an early interest in swimming as a sport and was a Florida State High School swimming champion. Like many young athletes, she had Olympic dreams, but a serious illness kept her from competing in the Games. The disappointment didn’t stop her from going forward. Instead, she became interested in marathon swimming. A brilliant athlete, she was well-conditioned for spending long periods of time in the water. As a long-distance swimmer, she would compete against herself and the obstacles presented by distance, danger, cold, and exhaustion.
For ten years Nyad devoted herself to becoming one of the world’s best long-distance swimmers. In 1970, she swam a ten-mile marathon in Lake Ontario, setting the women’s record for the course. In 1972 she set another record by swimming 102.5 miles from an island in the Bahamas to the coast of Florida. Then she broke a third record when swimming around Manhattan Island in 1975.
Nyad attempted to swim the distance between Florida and Cuba in 1978. Though the span of water is less than 100 miles wide, it is rough and dangerous. After battling the water for two days, she had to give up for the sake of her own health and safety. Even so, she impressed the world with her courage and strong desire to succeed. For Nyad her strength of purpose was just as important as reaching Cuba. That is how she defined success. It did not matter that her swim came up short; she believed she had touched the other shore.
When Nyad ended her career as a swimmer, she continued to try new things---travelling the world as a reporter, writing books and giving public speeches about her life. Diana Nyad works to inspire others, just as she did when she swam the waters of the world.What prevented Nyad from taking part in the Olympic Games? (Not more than 5 words)
_______________________________________________________________________What does the underlined word “obstacles” mean? (1 word)
_______________________________________________________________________What achievement did Nyad make in 1970? (Not more than 10 words.)
_______________________________________________________________________Why did Nyad believe that she had touched the other shore? (Not more than 10 words)
_______________________________________________________________________Please explain how you are inspired by Nyad. (Not more than 20 words)
_____________________________________________________________________
“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good”—these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.
That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.
Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who says of her students “so passive” and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Klompus, contributes to children’s passivity. “We’re talking about a generation of kids who’ve never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”
Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It’s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’s for their own good. It’s time to start telling them no again.We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on(强调).
A.his learning a foreign language |
B.his ability to control behavior |
C.his natural development |
D.his school education |
According to the author, “the permissive period” in Paragraph 2 means a time.
A.when children are allowed to do what they wish to |
B.when everything can be taught at school |
C.when every child can be educated |
D.when children are permitted to receive education |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A.Parents should leave their kids alone |
B.Kids should have more activities at school. |
C.It’s time to be stricter with our kids. |
D.Parents should set a good example to their kids. |
Social Program: 22nd—26th August 2011
Monday Evening—Study Centre or Sports Park
Study Center: The school will be open from 7.45 pm to 9.35pm.
Sports Park: Aerobics, Swimming or Fitness Training (with a Fitness Card).
Tuesday Evening—Cinema
Cinema: To get your free ticket, you must write down which film you would like to watch. See the leaflet on the board for this evening’s UCI Cinema program. For more information about the films, visit the UCI website www.uci.co.uk or see the film section in this week’s Time Out magazine.
Wednesday Evening—Study Centre of Tennis Coaching
Study Center: The school will be open from 7.35 pm to 9.35 pm.
Tennis Coaching: With former Junior Wimbledon tennis player Stuart Silvester.
Thursday Evening—Chinese Party
Chinese Party: Come along and enjoy the hospitality of the Chinese students! You can try delicious Chinese food and learn about Chinese traditions. Please note that you should eat your evening meal at your home-stay, as the food is a taster and not a full meal. Non alcoholic and alcoholic drinks will be served.
Friday afternoon—Historical Walking Tour or Sports Parks
Historical Walking Tour: This afternoon you will have the opportunity to visit parts of Norwich you may have otherwise missed, with a professional guide. In medieval times Norwich was the second most important city in England and this afternoon you can learn some of the interesting history of our fine city.
Sports Park: Badminton, Basketball, Fitness Training (with a Fitness Card), Football, Squash, Swimming or Volleyball.
Please sign early if you wish to play any of the sports listed above.You can do all the following things during the weekday except ___________.
A.going to the cinema | B.going to the Chinese party |
C.taking a historical walking tour | D.taking a mountain climbing tour |
The passage may probably be found ___________.
A.in a school’s bulletin board | B.in a school’s text book |
C.in a latest newspaper | D.in a fashion magazine |
From the passage we know that ___________.
A.students have to pay for the film tickets |
B.some of the students in the school are Chinese |
C.Norwich is the second largest city in Britain |
D.the school is closed during the daytime |
From the passage we can infer that __________.
A.students in the school can have access to computers |
B.students in the school only have morning classes |
C.the school often serves Chinese food to students |
D.every Friday afternoon the students will have a tour |
India is a developing country. It has thousands of years of tradition and culture. Different types of people live in India. In the old days the educational institutions (教育机构) were called "ashramam" and teachers were "gurus". A guru was a respected person in society.
Now we are living in the technological world. Big changes are occurring in people’s living. The influence of television, telephone, radio, computer, Internet and mobile phones is very strong in everyday life. But even today, teachers are role models for students. Teaching is still a respectable job. But there are great changes in the education system.
One of the most obvious changes is that the influence of Western culture has increased. We are paying too much attention to doing business, just like the Western world. Teachers are likely to be influenced by this too, but it is not good. Teachers are nation builders. The development of any country depends upon its education system. All types of development are possible through education.
Another change has happened in the curriculum. The curriculum connects the teacher and the student. While education is about learning, curriculum means the situations in which one learns. When we say that education deals with "what", then curriculum deals with "how" and "when". But at the moment, it is hard to say whether the curriculum is playing such a role.
In India, an ashramam was _________.
A.a teacher who was respected by people |
B.a person who worked for the government |
C.a place where students were taught |
D.a place where tradition and culture developed |
Which of the following is NOT a reason to change people’s lives in India?
A.TV. | B.Computer. | C.Mobile phones. | D.Tradition. |
In modern society, teaching is considered as a job that __________.
A.is respected | B.brings good luck |
C.is hopeless | D.connects with the fashion |
What is the author’s attitude towards educational change in India?
A.He likes it. | B.He is annoyed at it. |
C.He is indifferent (冷漠的)to it. |
D.He is worried about it. |