A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.
Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.
A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till without stopping, and continued to walk.
A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.
The one who paid the most attention was a 3-year-old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.
In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most beautiful pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment.
The outlines were: in a commonplace(普通的) environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we enjoy beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected situation?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?Few people stopped to listen to Joshua Bell playing because____________.
| A．people were in a hurry |
| B．they were not interested in music |
| C．it was too cold in the subway |
| D．the performance was not good enough |
When children stopped to look at the violinist, their parents ____________.
| A．would give him some money |
| B．would stop to enjoy the music |
| C．would applaud for the performance |
| D．would urge them to continue walking |
Which of the following is true about Joshua Bell’s performance?
| A．Nobody gave him money |
| B．Nobody recognized him. |
| C．Nobody appreciated it |
| D．Nobody organized it |
Joshua Bell played in the metro station in order to ____________.
| A．make more money |
| B．practice his skills in playing music |
| C．made an advertisement for his concert |
| D．find out people’s reaction under such a circumstance |
The purpose of the passage is to _________.
| A．set us to think about our life |
| B．show us how to play music |
| C．tell us the importance of music |
| D．report a subway performance |
Bringing Art into Hospitals.
The medical world is slowly realizing that the quality of the environment in hospitals may play an important role in helping patients to recover(康复).
As part of a nationwide effort in Britain to bring art out of the museums and into public places, some of the country’s best artists have been called in to change older hospitals and to soften the hard, modern buildings. Of the 2500 national health service hospitals in Britain, almost 100 now have collections of art in passages(走廊), waiting areas and treatment rooms.
These recent movements were first started by one artist, Peter Senior, who set up his studio at a Manchester hospital in northeastern England during the early 1970’s. He felt the artist had lost his place in modern society, and that art should be enjoyed by more people.
A common hospital waiting room might have as many as 5000 visitors each week. What a good place to hold exhibitions(展览) of art! Senior held the first exhibition of his own paintings in the waiting area of the Manchester Royal Hospital in 1975. Believed to be Britain’s first hospital artist, Senior was so much in demand that he was soon joined by a team of six young art school graduates.
The effect is amazing. Now in the passages and waiting rooms the visitors experience a full view of fresh colors, playful images(形象) and restful courtyards.
The quality of the environment may reduce the need for expensive drugs when a patient is recovering from an illness. A study has shown that a patient who had a view onto gardens needed half the number of strong pain killers compared with(与……相比) patients who had no view at all or only a brick wall to look at.Some best artists of Britain have been called in to_____
| A．set up new hospitals |
| B．make the corners of hospital collect paintings |
| C．bring art into hospitals |
| D．help patients recover from serious illness |
After the improvement of the hospital environment, _____
| A．patients no longer take drugs to kill their pains |
| B．patients don’t have to stay long in hospital |
| C．patients need fewer pain killers when they suffer from an illness |
| D．patients feel happy in hospital |
It can be inferred from the passage that_____
| A．the role of hospital environment is being recognized |
| B．hospital artists have done more than doctors |
| C．exhibitions attract more people in hospitals than in museums |
| D．the hospitals is a better place for people than the museum in Britain |
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theater. With opening night only a week away, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away any possible robbers(抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment, I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck(垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? The door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eyes. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 a.m. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had got my wallet back. I also had got back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were willing to help each other.How did the writer feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick | B．Lucky and hopeful |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful | D．Disappointed and helpless |
From the first paragraph, we learn that the writer was busy_____.
| A．solving her problem at the bank |
| B．taking part in various city activities |
| C．learning acting in an evening school |
| D．preparing for the first night show |
On her way home the writer_____
| A．lost her wallet unknowingly |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．was robbed of her wallet by a man with a knife |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．She heard someone call her name |
| D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck |
From the text, we can infer that the writer_____
| A．would stop working at night |
| B．would stay on in San Francisco |
| C．would make friends with cleaners. |
| D．would give up her job at the bank |
Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time; if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those around him use. Bit by bit, he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people’s. In the same way, children learn to do all the other things without being taught to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle…They compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake. If it is a matter in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time in such routine(日常的) work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer. Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn, how to measure their own understanding, how to know what he does not know.According to the passage, the best way for children to learn things is by_____.
| A．listening to skilled people’s advice. |
| B．asking older people many questions |
| C．making mistakes and having them corrected |
| D．doing what other people do |
Which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?.
| A．Give children correct answers |
| B．Allow children to mark mistakes. |
| C．Point out children’s mistakes to them. |
| D．Let children mark their own work |
According to the writer, teachers in school should _____
| A．allow children to learn from each other |
| B．point out children’s mistakes whenever found |
| C．correct children’s mistakes as soon as possible |
| D．give children more book knowledge |
The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are____
| A．different from learning other skills |
| B．the same as learning skills |
| C．more important than other skills |
| D．not really important skills |
The title of this passage could probably be_____
| A．Let Us Teachers Stop Work |
| B．Let Us Make Children Learn |
| C．Let Children Correct Their Exercises |
| D．Let Children Learn by Themselves |
People in the United States honor their parents with two special days: Mother’s Day, on the second Sunday in May, and Father’s Day, on the third Sunday in June. These days are set aside to show love and respect for parents. They raise their children and educate them to be responsible citizens. They give love and care. These two days offer a chance to think about the changing roles of mothers and fathers. More mothers now work outside the home. More fathers must help with child-care.
These two special days are celebrated in many different ways. On Mother’s Day people wear carnations. A red one stands for a living mother. A white one shows that the mother is dead. Many people attend religious services(宗教仪式) to honor parents. It is also a day when people whose parents are dead visit their graves. On these days, families get together at home and in restaurants. They often have outdoor BBQs for Father’s Day. These are days of fun and good feelings and memories.
Another tradition is to give cards and gifts. Children make them in school. Many people make their own presents. These are valued more than the ones bought in stores. It is not the value of the gift that is important, but it is “the thought that counts”. Greeting card stores, florists, candy makers, bakeries, telephones companies and other stores do a lot of business during these holidays.Which is NOT a reason for children to show love and respect for parents?
| A．Parents bring children |
| B．Parents give love and care to children |
| C．Parents educate children to be good persons. |
| D．Parents pass away before children grow up |
What do you know from the passage?
| A．Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are both in May. |
| B．Fewer women worked outside the home in the past |
| C．Not all the children respect their parents |
| D．Fathers are not as important as mothers at home |
Which do you think is right about “carnation”?
| A．It only has two kinds of color. |
| B．It is a special kind of clothes people wear on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. |
| C．It’s a kind of flower showing love and best wishes. |
| D．People can wear carnations only on the second Sunday in May. |
What do you think “florists” do?
| A．They sell flowers |
| B．They made bread or pastry |
| C．They offer enough room for having family parties. |
| D．They sell special clothes for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. |
Shopping is not as simple as you may think! There are all sorts of tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand (商标) of product on the shelf.
Colouring, for example, varies according to what the producers are trying to sell. Health foods are packaged (包装) in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours. Ice cream packets are often blue and expensive goods, like chocolates, are gold or silver.
When some kind of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that the colours turned the customers off because they made the product look weak and ineffective. Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package—blue because we think of it as safe, and white as calm.
The size of a product can attract a shopper. But quite often a bottle doesn’t contain as much as it appears to.
It is believed that the better-known companies spend, on average, 70 per cent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!
The most successful producers know that it’s not enough to have a good product. The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to promote(推销) their goods, came to the conclusion: “Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius (天才) to sell it.”Which of the following may trick a shopper into buying a product according to the text?
| A．The cost of its package. | B．The price of the product. |
| C．The colour of its package. | D．The brand name of the product. |
The underlined part “the colours turned the customers off”(in Para. 3 ) means that the colours _____.
| A．attracted the customers strongly |
| B．had weak effects on the customers |
| C．tricked the customers into shopping |
| D．caused the customers to lose interest |
Which of the following is the key to the success in product sales?
| A．The way to promote goods. |
| B．The discovery of a genius. |
| C．The team to produce a good product. |
| D．The brand name used by successful producers. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this text?
| A．Choice of Good Products | B．Disadvantages of Products |
| C．Effect of Packaging on Shopping | D．Brand Names and Shopping Tricks |