WhenChristopherColumbuslandedo-优题课

Nervous suspects (嫌疑犯) locked up in Britain's newest police station may feel relieved by a pleasant yellow color on the door. If they are close to confessing（供认，坦白） a crime, the blue on the wall might tip the balance.
Gwent Police have abandoned colors such as grays and browns of the 20th-century police cell (牢房) and have used color psychology（心理学） to decorate them.
Ystrad Mynach station, which recently opened at a cost of ￡5 million, has four cells with glass doors for prisoners who suffer from claustrophobia(幽闭恐怖症). Designers have painted the frames yellow, which researchers say is a calming color. Other cells contain a royal blue line because psychologists believe that the color is likely to encourage truthfulness.
The station has 31 cells, including 12 with a “live scan” system for drunken or disturbed prisoners, which detects the rise and fall of their chest. An alarm alerts（报警） officers if a prisoner's breathing stops and carries on ringing until the door is opened.
Designers and psychologists have worked for years on color. Blue is said to suggest trust, efficiency, duty, logic, coolness, thinking and calm. It also suggests coldness and unfriendliness. It is thought that strong blues will stimulate clear thought and lighter, soft colors will calm the mind and aid concentration.
Yellow is linked with confidence, self-respect and friendliness. Get the color wrong and it could cause fear, depression and anxiety, but the right yellow can lift spirits and self-respect.
Ingrid Collins, a psychologist who specializes in the effects of color, said that color was an “energy force”. She said: “Blue does enhance communication but I am not sure it would enhance truthful communication.”
Yellow, she said, affected the mind. Red, on the other hand, should never be considered because it could increase aggression（攻击性）. Mrs. Collins praised the designers for using colors in the cells. Gwent is not the first British force to experiment with color to calm down or persuade prisoners to co-operate. In the 1990s Strathclyde Police used pink in cells based on research carried out by the US Navy.
49. The expression “tip the balance” in paragraph 1 probably indicates that the blue might _____.
A. let suspects keep their balanceB. help suspects to confess their crimes
C. make suspects cold and unfriendly in law courtD. enable suspects to change their attitudes to colors
50. Which of the following colors should NOT be used in cells according to the passage?
A. Pink.B. YellowC. Blue.D. Red.
51. Which of the following helps alert officers if someone stops breathing?
A. Scanning equipment.B. Royal blue lines. C. Glass doors. D. Yellow frames.
52. The passage is mainly concerned with _____.
A. the relationship between colors and psychology
B. a comparison of different functions of colors
C. the use of colors in cells to affect criminals’ psychology
D. scientific ways to help criminals reform themselves in prison

Professor Barry Wellman of the University of Toronto in Canada has invented a term to describe the way many North Americans interact (互动) these days. The term is “networked individualism”. This concept is not easy to understand because the words seem to have opposite meanings. How can we be individuals (个体) and be networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.
Here is what Professor Wellman means. Before the invention of the Internet and e-mail, our social networks included live interactions with relatives, neighbors, and friends. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time.
A recent research study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project showed that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced this person-to- person interaction. However, a lot of people interviewed for the Pew study say that’s a good thing. Why?
In the past, many people were worried that the Internet isolated (孤立) us and caused us to spend too much time in the imaginary world of the computer. But the Pew study discovered that the opposite is true. The Internet connects us with more real people than expected — helpful people who can give advice on careers, medical problems, raising children, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told Pew that the Internet plays an important role in helping them make major life decisions.
Thanks to the computer, we are able to be alone and together with other people — at the same time!
45. The underlined phrase “networked individualism” probably means that by using computers people ________.
A. stick to their own ways no matter what other people say
B. have the rights and freedom to do things of their own interest
C. do things in their own ways and express opinions different from other people
D. are able to keep to themselves but at the same time reach out to other people
46. According to the Pew study, what do many people rely on to make major life decisions?
A. Networks. B. Friends. C. Phones. D. Parents.
47. It can be inferred from the Pew study that _______.
A. people have been separated from each other by using computers
B. the Internet makes people waste a lot of time and feel very lonely
C. the Internet has become a tool for a new kind of social communication
D. a lot of people regard the person-to-person communication as a good thing
48. Which would be the best title for this passage?
A. We’re Alone on the Internet.
B. We’re Communicating on the Internet.
C. We’re Alone Together on the Internet.
D. We’re in the Imaginary World of the Internet.

第二部分：阅读理解（每小题2分，满分40分）从A B C D 四个选项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上涂黑。
I was in a rush as always, but this time it was for an important date I just couldn’t be late for! I found myself at a checkout counter behind an elderly woman seemingly in no hurry as she paid for her groceries. Being a PhD student without a lot of money, I had hurried into the store to pick up some flowers. I was in a huge rush, thinking of my upcoming evening. I did not want to be late for this date.
We were in Boston, a place not always known for small conversations between strangers. The woman stopped unloading her basket and looked up at me. She smiled. It was a nice smile—warm and reassuring(令人宽慰的)-and I returned her gift by smiling back.
“Must be a special lady, whoever it is that will be getting those beautiful flowers,” she said.
“Yes, she’s special,” I said, and then to my embarrassment, the words kept coming out. “It’s only our second date, but somehow I am just having the feeling she’s ‘the one,’” jokingly, I added, “The only problem is that I can’t figure out why she’d want to date a guy like me.”
“Well, I think she’s very lucky to have a boyfriend who brings her such lovely flowers and who is obviously in love with her,” the woman said .”My husband used to bring me flowers every week—even when times were tough and we didn’t have much money. Those were incredible days; he was very romantic and—of course— I miss him since he’s passed away.”
I paid for my flowers as she was gathering up her groceries. There was no doubt in my mind as I walked up to her. I touched her on the shoulder and said “You were right, you know. These flowers are indeed for a very special lady.” I handed the flowers and thanked her for such a nice conversation.
It took her a moment to realize that I was giving her the flowers I had just purchased. “May you have a wonderful evening ,”I said. I left het with a big smile and my heart warmed as I saw her smelling the beautiful flowers.
I remember being slightly late for my date that night and telling my girlfriend the above story. A couple of years later, when I finally worked up the courage to ask her to marry me, she told me that this story had helped to seal it for her—that was the night that I won her heart .
41．Why was the writer in a hurry that day?
A. He was to meet his girlfriend. B. He had to go back to school soon.
C. He was delayed by an elderly lady. D. He had to pick up some groceries.
42．What does the underlined phrase “her gift” (Paragraph 2 ) refer to?
A. Her words. B. Her smile. C. Her flowers. D. Her politeness.
43．Why did the writer give his flowers to the elderly lady?
A. She told him a nice story. B. She allowed him to pay first.
C. She gave him encouragement. D. She liked flowers very much.
44．What is the message conveyed in the story?
A. Flowers are important for a date. B. Small talk is helpful.
C. Love and kindness are rewarding. D. Elderly people deserve respecting.

SYDNEY (AFP) — Thousands of people sat down to breakfast on the Sydney Harbor Bridge on Sunday after the bridge was closed to traffic and carpeted with grass for the first time for a giant picnic.
About 6,000 early riser were on the steel bridge from 6:30 am to take part in the two-hour event designed to show Sydney’s best food and outdoor lifestyle.
As music performers provided the background music, those who had won tickets to the picnic in a random lottery (随机抽奖) began to feast on fruit, pastries, muesli, yoghurt ...
“It’s amazing to see the bridge in this perspective (角度),” said Don Fuchs who lives near the bridge, which is used by about 100,000 cars daily.
“Usually you sit in the car, you cross it, and that’s it.”
“It was beautiful,” said Linda Curnow who attended the picnic with her family. “The grass was so thick that it was like being in your backyard.”
New South Wales state Premier Nathan said the event was set to become a mark of an annual Sydney’s month-long October food festival.
About 45,000 people applied for tickets to the breakfast for which people brought their own food but were able to taste samples from some of the state’s best producers.
Organizers used about 40 percent of the grass on Sydney parks. The bridge reopened at about 1:00 pm.
67. What made Linda Curnow feel as if she were in her own backyard?
A. There being no cars passing by.
B. The thick grass covering the bridge.
C. So many people dining at the same time.
D. So much food offered by Australian producers.
68. Why was the event planned?
A. To improve the Australian life. B. To attract more tourists to Sydney.
C. To mark the Sydney food festival. D. To display the world’s best food.
69. We learn from the passage that _____.
A. the picnic is organized in London
B. the Sydney Harbour Bridge was open to traffic all day
C. the grass from Sydney parks was moved to the bridge
D. those who had won tickets to the picnic didn’t eat breakfast
70. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Welcome to Sydney
B. October — Sydney’s art festival
C. What is the feature of Sydney?
D. Thousands eat breakfast on Sydney Harbour bridge

America is growing older. Fifty-eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging (变老) of the population will affect (影响) American society in many ways — education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the aging of America has made us a very different society — one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior (行为) is suitable (合适) at various ages.
A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has been a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother — or my father — was at my age.” No one says “Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.
64. According to the passage, the aging of the population in America _____.
A. has made people feel younger
B. has changed people’s social position
C. has changed people’s understanding of age
D. has slowed down the country’s social development
65. The underlined word “one” refers to _____.
A. a society B. a person C. a place D. population
66. If a 25-year-old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it _____.
A. normal B. wonderful C. unbelievable D. surprising

A．pink and red	B．yellow and orange
C．blue and green	D．grey and black