British writer John Bunyan was born at Elstow, Bedfordshire, England, in November, 1628. His father was a maker and mender of pots and kettles, and the son followed the same trade. Though he is usually called a tinker, Bunyan had a settled home and place of business. He had little schooling, and he describes his early surroundings as poor and mean. He became much interested in religions, but it was only after a tremendous spiritual conflict, lasting three or four years, that he found peace. His struggles are related with extraordinary vividness and intensity in his “Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.” His writing began with a controversy against the Quakers (教友派), and shows from the first the command of a homely but vigorous style.
Like most working men at the time, Bunyan had a deep hatred for the corrupted, hypocritical rich who accumulated their wealth “by hook and by crook.” As a stout Puritan(清教徒), he had made a conscientious study of the Bible and firmly believed in salvation (拯救) through spiritual struggle.
Bunyan’s style was modeled after that of the English Bible. With his concrete and living language and carefully observed and vividly presented details, he made it possible for the reader of the least education to share the pleasure of reading his novel and to relive the experience of his characters.
Bunyan’s works include Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners (1666), The Life and Death of Mr. Badman (1680), The Holy War (1682) and The Pilgrim’s Progress (1684).
The Pilgrim’s Progress is the most successful religious allegory (寓言) in the English language. Its purpose is to urge people to observe Christian doctrines and seek salvation through constant struggle with their own weaknesses and all kinds of social evils. It is not only about something spiritual but also bears much relevance to the time. Its predominant metaphor — life as a journey — is simple and familiar. The objects that Christian meets are homely and commonplace, and the scenes presented are typical English ones, but throughout the allegory a spiritual significance is added to the commonplace details. Here the strange is combined with the familiar and the trivial joined to the divine, and, a rich imagination and a natural talent for storytelling also contribute to the success of the work which is at once entertaining and morally instructive.
“The Vanity Fair,” is an excerpt from The Pilgrim’s Progress. The story starts with a dream in which the author sees Christian the Pilgrim, with a heavy burden on his back, reading the Bible. When he learns from the book that the city in which he and his family live shall be burnt down in a fire, Christian tries to convince his family and his neighbors of the oncoming disaster and asks them to go with him in search of salvation, but most of them simply ignore him. So he starts off with a friend, Pliable. Pliable turns back after they stumble into a pit, the Slough of Despond. Christian struggles on by himself. Then he is misled by Mr. Wordly Wiseman and is brought back onto the right road by Mr. Evangelist. There he joins Faithful, a neighbor who has set out later but has made better progress. The two go on together through many adventures, including the great struggle with Apollyon, who claims them to be his subjects and refuse to accept their allegiance to God. After many other adventures they come to the Vanity Fair where both are arrested as alien agitators. They are tried and Faithful is condemned to death. Christian, however manages to escape and goes on his way, assisted by a new friend, Hopeful. Tired of the hard journey, they are tempted to take pleasant path and are then captured by Giant Despair. Finally they get away and reach the Celestial City, where they enjoy eternal life in the fellowship of the blessed.According to the passage, Bunyan hated the rich people mainly because ______.
| A．his father was making and mending pots and kettles |
| B．Bunyan had poor and mean early surroundings |
| C．the rich usually got their wealth in dishonest ways |
| D．Bunyan studied the Bible to save the human souls |
What are the main characteristics of Bunyan’s works?
①The languages are concrete and living.
②The stories are carefully and vividly described.
③The plots are romantic and twisting.
④The works are easy to understand.
| A．①②③ | B．②③④ | C．①③④ | D．①②④ |
John Bunyan wrote the book The Pilgrim’s Progress in order to ______.
| A．advise people to obey religious principles for salvation |
| B．add spiritual significance to the commonplace details |
| C．to combine the strange things with the familiar things |
| D．tell people that life is a simple and familiar journey |
What moral does the story of the last paragraph convey to us?
| A．Any imaginable things might happen in a pilgrim’s dream. |
| B．Christian the Pilgrim likes reading the Bible with a burden. |
| C．People can enjoy eternal life in the fellowship of the blessed. |
| D．People can struggle against weaknesses and evils for salvation |
The displays of bad temper are nothing new in kindergarten and first grade, but the behavior of a 6-year-old girl this fall at a school in Fort Worth, Texas, had even the most experienced staff members wanting to run for cover. Asked to put a toy away, the youngster began to scream. Told to calm down, she knocked over her desk and crawled（爬行） under the teacher’s desk, kicking it and throwing out the contents of the drawers. Then things really began to worsen. Still screaming, the child stood up and began casting books at her terrified classmates, who had to be accompanied to safety.
Just a bad day at school? More like a bad season. The desk-throwing incident followed scores of other crazy acts by some of the youngest Fort Worth students at schools across the district, and even the country. There have been an increasing number of kindergartners and first-graders with violent behavior and it has become an alarming trend.
The youngest school kids are acting out in really ridiculous ways and violence is getting younger and younger. Why? Educators and psychologist argue that they are witnessing the result of a number of social trends that have come together in a most unfortunate way. Many mention economic stress, which has parents working longer hours than ever before, kids spending more time in day care and everyone coming home too tired to engage in the kind of relationships that build social skills. In addition, many educators worry about rising academic pressure in kindergarten and first grade as the students have to take the yearly tests demanded by the No Child Left Behind Act. They believe that even more important than early reading is the learning of play skills. Other experts also point out that violent behavior in children has been closely linked to exposure to violence on TV and in movies, video games and other media. They insist schools try to teach kids what they have failed to learn at home, for example, having varieties of anti-violence and character-education programs, instructing children to interact with people who love them and teaching them how to behave.The author leads in the topic of the passage with.
| A．detailed examples | B．scientific analysis |
| C．satisfactory evidence | D．rich imagination |
The second paragraph tells us that.
| A．autumn is considered as a bad season for the youngest school kids |
| B．Fort Worth students set good example to their peers in the district |
| C．the problem of kids’ violent behaviors is too serious to be ignored |
| D．kindergartners are urged to be equipped with alarming systems |
As for the children, which of the following results in their violent behavior?
a. economic stress
b. academic pressure
c. lack of interaction with parents
d. ill personality
e. exposure to media violence
| A．a, b, d | B．a, c, d |
| C．b, c, e | D．b, d, e |
The passage mainly discusses about.
| A．causes and solutions of school violent behaviors |
| B．student behavior management in the digital age |
| C．kids’ exposure to violence on TV and in movies |
| D．functions of character-education programs |
Expert Tricks on iPhone 5
We don’t want to change your phone, we wanna make you say, wow, that is a bigger change than I expected. iPhone 5 in a result of that desire to surprise. It’s been completely redesigned.
For the first time ever, we’ve increased the size of display by making the screen taller but not wider. You can see more of your content without the need to scroll. We are making scrolling the thing of the past. iPhone 5 is more comfortable to use and reduces scrolling tiredness when you are reading long documents.
Even with the larger display, iPhone 5 is the thinnest iPhone we ever built. To achieve the design this tall, we have to look at it and completely redesign the internal architecture. It’s 18% thinner and 79.5% taller than the previous iPhone.
It makes everything you do on iPhone 5 feels easier and just move your arm away. No more hidden menus, no confusing gestures. Everything is right at your fingertips.
The panorama feature(全景功能) is simply awesome. The ultra-HD widescreen display let you get your entire shot in a single snap. You can also use your iPhone 5’s innovative design for image stabilization.
With an iPhone this tall, reception has never been better. You enjoy crystal clear clarity on even the longest calls.
And of course, all your favorite applications are still available. In fact you will find your old favorites also benefit from the new handsome ultra-HD widescreen. We found while many previous iPhone owners were using Facetime, they only used it for the faces. That’s why we are introducing Bodytime. Using iPhone 5’s ultra-HD widescreen display, Bodytime let you see a person’s entire body, allowing you to detect mannerisms and defects like never before.
We look way beyond what our thoughts expect, it took all of our learning, all of our thinking to realize something so simple, so clear, and yet so tall.
iPhone 5, the tallest thing to happen to iPhone since iPhone.What can we learn about iPhone 5?
| A．It is taller, wider and thinner. |
| B．It is taller, wider and thicker. |
| C．It is taller, thinner but not wider. |
| D．It is shorter, wider and thinner. |
Which this new iPhone, you can do all the following EXCEPT .
| A．doing things easily on it by moving arm away |
| B．scrolling more quickly than before |
| C．getting the entire shot in a single snap |
| D．using Bodytime for a person’s entire body |
How thick is the redesigned iPhone 5 if the previous iPhone is 7.6mm in thickness?
| A．6.232mm. | B．1.558mm. |
| C．1.368mm. | D．6.042mm. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Bodytime will replace Facetime in the future. |
| B．Scrolling on the phone will be the thing of the past. |
| C．All your favorite apps are still available on the new iPhone. |
| D．iPhone 5 will be the tallest thing to happen. |
People often say that Money talks. They mean that a person with a lot of money can say how he or she wants things done. But it is not easy to earn enough money to gain this kind of power.
Ask anyone in business. They will tell you that it is a jungle out there. The expression probably began because a jungle is filled with wild animals and unknown dangers that threaten people.
People in business have to be careful if they are to survive the jungle out there. They must not be led into making bogus investments. Bogus means something that is not real.
Nobody is sure how the word got started. But it began to appear in American newspapers in the 1800s. A newspaper in Boston, Massachusetts, said the word came from a criminal whose name was Borghese. Borghese wrote checks to people although he did not have enough money in the bank. After he wrote the checks, he would disappear. So, people who were paid with his checks received nothing. The newspaper said Americans shortened and changed the criminal’s name Borghese to Bogus.
People trying to earn money must be also aware of the risk of being ripped off. A writer for a magazine said he first saw the expression used in 1971. It was on a sign that a student carried during a protest demonstration at a university. The message on the sign was that the student felt cheated.
To be successful, a person in business works hard and tries to get down to brass tacks. This expression means to get to the bottom or the most important of something. For example, a salesman may talk about his product without saying the price. You get down to brass tacks when you say, “it sounds good, but how much does it cost?”
Word expert Charles Funk thinks the expression comes from sailors on ships. They clean the bottom of a boat. When they have removed all the dirt, they are down to the copper pieces that hold the ship together. So, if we get down to brass tacks, we can prevent rip-offs and bogus ways of earning money in that jungle out there. And, some good luck will help, too.Why do people say money talks?
| A．Because money can tell us something. |
| B．Because the rich tend to decide a thing. |
| C．Because everyone loves to have money. |
| D．Because it is hard to earn money. |
My uncle is in a jungle out there, which means .
| A．he is a success in his own business |
| B．he will face many difficulties soon |
| C．he will fight against wild animals |
| D．he is interested to go through a jungle |
Borghese is considered to be a criminal .
| A．because he used the word “bogus” for the first time |
| B．because he was accused of writing false checks |
| C．because he didn’t have enough money in the bank |
| D．because he disappeared after he paid some checks |
When you ask how much it cost, it means .
| A．you are always caring about money |
| B．you declare you won’t be cheated |
| C．you care nothing about the quality |
| D．you get down to the real issues |
It can be inferred from the passage that .
| A．Charles Funk has created many interesting words |
| B．brass is a necessary people of equipment of a ship |
| C．many businessmen have been cheated in life |
| D．many English words have their interesting stories |
A winter wonderland on the outskirts of Quebec City has become one of Canada's hottest attractions and most sought out accommodations. Guests stay close for warmth in sleeping bags on beds of ice, hats pulled over their ears to prevent frostbite, while sipping cocktails (鸡尾酒) in glasses also made of ice.
A cool place to host a memorable wedding or for a romantic getaway, the Quebec Ice Hotel has attracted 600,000 curious tourists, including 30,000 who stayed overnight, since openingseasonally 11 years ago. Like Victoria and Jeremy Martin, dozens of couples will exchange vows (誓约) this winter in a temporary church next to the hotel, sculpted entirely from blocks of ice withseats covered in furs.
Average temperatures fall below minus 20 degrees C (minus four F) in winter, but inside the hotel's 36 rooms it is relatively cozy. Thick walls of packed snow and ice act as aninsulator, trapping body heat inside. Each room is uniquely decorated, using designs created by Quebec architecture students.Two hotel bars also sell special cocktails in ice glasses.
First-time guests of the hotel, however, are recommended to stay only one night as sleeping insub-zero temperatures is not very refreshing. This year for the first time the ice hotel has teamed up with a bricks and concrete Quebec City hotel to offer packages for one-night accommodations ateach. Prices for one night only at the ice hotel start at 200 US dollars per person.
The 3,000-square-metre (32,300-square-feet) buildings take six weeks starting in December to build, using 15,000 tonnes of snow and 500 tonnes of ice, at a cost of some 750,000 US dollars.Eleven weeks after its seasonal grand opening, the hotel will close on March 27 and then melt away with the arrival of spring.What is true with the ice hotel?
| A．630,000 people have visited it. |
| B．30,000 people visit it each year. |
| C．It has stayed open for many years. |
| D．Wedding ceremonies are often held there. |
What can we learn about the hotel rooms?
A. It can be -20°C inside.
B. The temperature is always below 0°C.
C. The rooms all look alike.
D. Each room costs $200 per night.First-time guests are advised to stay there only one night because _____.
| A．they may not be able to stand the cold |
| B．their other night is with an ordinary hotel |
| C．new guests have less advantages over old ones |
| D．the first-day service is just for a test run |
If you choose to visit the ice hotel during the Christmas season, you'll find _____.
| A．it doesn't exist at all |
| B．it is just being built |
| C．most of its rooms are vacant |
| D．it is crowded with guests |
Many people think of the brain as a mystery.They don’t know much about intelligence and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is，many people believe that a person is born smart，average，or dumb—and stays that way in the whole life.But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it.And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
Everyone knows that when you lift weights，your muscles get bigger and you get stronger.A person who can’t lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time.That’s because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise.And when you stop exercising，the muscles shrink and you get weaker.That’s why people say “Use it or lose it！”
But most people don’t know that when they practice and learn new things，parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise.Inside the cortex (皮层) of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells，called neurons.The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network.Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems.When you learn new things，these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger.The more you challenge your mind to learn，the more your brain cells grow.Then，things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do—like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra (代数)—seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time.The result is a stronger，smarter brain.
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals’ brains.They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more “perspicacious”—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.According to the first paragraph，________.
| A．the function of our brain is like that of the muscle |
| B．until now it’s impossible to explain the brain’s mystery |
| C．many people believe one’s intelligence is naturally determined |
| D．one’s brain grows stronger as the age increases |
Training muscles is compared to________.
| A．using the brain |
| B．connecting things in your brain |
| C．lifting weights |
| D．doing research about the brain |
What does the underlined word “perspicacious” in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Strong. | B．Smart. |
| C．Popular. | D．Active. |
The following paragraph will most probably talk about________.
| A．the differences between animals’ brains and humans’ brains |
| B．the relation between human brains and muscles |
| C．scientists’ findings about animals’ brains |
| D．how to make your brain smarter through selfdevelopment |