Pride and Prejudice for the Modern Woman
Let us imagine how Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's most famous work, might be updated, 200 years on.
Austen's popularity is rooted in her intelligence. But today she would certainly have had a very different life, as would her characters. Here's my own suggestion. . .
It is a truth finally and universally acknowledged that a single woman with brains deserves to have equal opportunities to men, however disadvantaged she may feel by sexism.
" My dear husband," said his hopeful wife one day, " have you heard that the local store, standing empty for so long, is taken over by a bright young businesswoman?"
Her dull and indifferent (漠不关心的) husband replied that he had not. "But it is, it is," she replied excitedly. Mr Dull-Husband made no reply.
"Don't you want to know her plans?" she cried with some impatience.
"Well, clearly you think it matters to your silly little head. .. so I'd better listen. "
"Well, my dear, the rumour (传言) is that she has already set up a string of successful businesses in northern England, though how a woman can know anything about that is beyond me. She will move in herself next month. " "What is her name?" "Bingley. "
"Is she married or single?"
"What a question! And none of your business. But her coming will be a fine thing for our five boys. " "How so? How can it possibly affect them? "
"My dear love; those lazy boys need something to wake them up. There are bound to be jobs going. "
" Is that her point in settling here? Surely as a woman she has simply taken a fancy to the place. "
" Nonsense, my love, how little you've noticed the world has changed. She's got a first-rate degree and some sort of business qualification, I'm told. She surely needs one of our boys! Perhaps you might give her a call. "
" Me? No. Perhaps you can take an interest. You still have your looks, after all. She may even offer you a job. " "Oh, that's not likely. These new chances belong to the younger generation. But now you mention it, I think I'll go along all the same. "
And Mrs Bennet went along. That was 10 years ago. She is now managing director of a FTSE-listed company.
... It would remain the case, of course, that Mrs Bennet would be one of very few women on the company board, that her salary would be lower than her male colleagues, her bonus of a more "female" dimension and her lifespan (年限) among the city's business leaders shorter than theirs. Still, she'd no doubt have enjoyed Davos—and might even have hobnobbed (攀谈) with influential figures.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Austen was born 200 years ago. |
| B．Austen rewrote Pride and Prejudice. |
| C．Austen's success lies in her wisdom. |
| D．Austen's updated work gains popularity. |
The underlined part in the passage suggests that Mrs Bennet ____.
| A．had mixed feelings of admiration and surprise about Bingley |
| B．felt kind of worried and doubtful about Bingley |
| C．was extremely anxious to meet Bingley |
| D．had a great curiosity about Bingley |
In the eyes of Mrs Bennet, Bingley surely needed one of their boys to ____.
| A．get married to | B．work for her |
| C．help her move in | D．take over her store |
What does the writer intend to tell us?
| A．Women with brains can also be as successful as men. |
| B．Women have to pay a high price for success. |
| C．A judgment must be made free from prejudice. |
| D．Sex discrimination still exists nowadays. |
Stepping into a pool of water is common enough, but who could ever imagine stepping into a pool of fish? In February of 1974, Bill Tapp, an Australian farmer, saw a rain of fish that covered his farm.How surprised he must have been!
What caused this strange occurrence? This is a question that had long puzzled people who study fish. The answer turned out to be a combination of wind and storm．
When it is spring in the northern part of the world, it is fall in Australia. Throughout the autumn season, terrible storms arise and rains flood the land. The strong winds sweep over Australia like huge vacuum cleaners (吸尘器), collecting seaweed, pieces of wood, and even schools of fish. Strong winds may carry these bits of nature for many miles before vacuum dropping them on fields, houses, and astonished people．
Although they seem unusual, fish-falls occur frequently in Australia. When Bill Tapp was asked to describe the scene of fish, he remarked, “They look like millions of dead birds falling down. ” His statement is not surprising. The wonders of the natural world are as common as rain. Nature, with its infinite wonders, can create waterfalls that flow upward and fish that fall out of the sky． What could be the feelings of Bill Tapp the moment he saw the rain of fish?
| A．excited | B．scared | C．calm | D．amazed |
Fish-falls occur in Australia ________．
A. quite often B. on large farms C. only in winter D when the air is calmThe word “infinite” is closest in meaning to _________．
| A．easy | B．difficult | C．countless | D．dangerous |
What might be the reasons of the rain of fish?
| A．Vacuum cleaners | B．Strong wind |
| C．Wind and storm | D．It is still a puzzle |
What is this passage about?
| A．A sad story． | B．Australia's northern part． |
| C．A rain of fish． | D．The damage done by floods． |
根据短文内容，从短文后的
选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
________. He had more money than he could ever spend, and he was admired and looked up to by his community._____
_____ .He was not happy. All his life he had been pursuing happiness and struggling for happiness, but he had never been able to find it.
Then one day he heard about a hidden temple in Nepal that had a special room that contained the secret of happiness._______ .After many years searching and countless hardships he arrived there. He was tired and penniless, but he knew that none of that mattered now because he had found the temple. He asked a wise, smiling monk(和尚)if he could enter the special room. The monk agreed and showed him to the stairs leading to the room.____
__ .He stared into the room with sunlight streaming through the window and saw what he had come so far to find. There hanging on the wall was the secret of happiness. The man looked at his reflection in the mirror and laughed.
____ .Happiness is a choice that we can make. Don’t spend the rest of your life searching the world for happiness then. Just look at the mirror and laugh. Let the happiness flow from your heart, mind, and soul until it fills your life and the lives of all around you.
| A．He immediately sold all that he owned and set out to find this hidden temple. |
| B．The man found the secret of happiness at last. |
| C．But he knew that something was missing in his life. |
| D．He climbed them with legs shaking with expectation and slowly opened the door. |
E. There was once a very wealthy and successful man.
F. It is time we all realized that we were the secret of our own happiness.
G. It was difficult to find the temple in Nepal.
Pingyao, in the center of Shanxi Province, is a famous historic cultural city of China and a world cultural heritage site (世界文化遗址). It’s 90 kilometers south of Taiyuan on the Fen River.
People lived in Pingyao during the New Stone Age. Its long period as a country government seat has left Pingyao with lots of historic buildings and sites, with a 2,700-year history. Ninety-nine of them are under government protection, including Zhengguo Temple, Shuanglin Temple and Pingyao Ancient City.
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, businessmen organized commercial (商业的) groups that did business nationwide. Shanxi Province had some of the most important ones and Pingyao was their center. In 1823, a store, known as Rishengchang(Sunrise Prosperity), traded in bank checks rather than in silver or gold coins. It was the beginning of modern Chinese banking. Branch banks were soon set up in major cities in China and other parts of Asia, leading to great development in Pingyao. Its Lacquer ware (漆器) became well known.
In Pingyao Ancient City are many traditional houses and commercial buildings, 3,797 of which are protected and more than 400 of which are
in good condition. Not only do the houses in Pingyao show Shanxi’s history and culture, but this large number is valuable for studying its history, customs, and ancient buildings and art. Most of these houses are still used as homes and shops of local people.
In 1997, Ancient Pingyao City was listed in World Heritage List as “ World Culture Heritage Site”. What does the
underlined word “them”(in the 2nd paragraph) refer to?
| A．Historic buildings and sites. | B．The three temples. |
| C．The country government seats. | D．The 2,700-year history. |
Which of the following about Pingyao is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Its location (位置). | B．Its tourism. |
| C．Its business. | D．Its history. |
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, Pingyao was a leading center in __________.
| A．agriculture | B．raising cattle |
| C．commercial trade | D．making gold coins |
If you want to know about the history of banking in China, you’ll visit __________.
| A．Sunrise Prosperity | B．Zhengguo Temple |
| C．A lacquer ware store | D．A commercial house |
The main idea of the passage is that______________.
| A．Pingyao was the center of commerce |
| B．There are many ancient architecture in Pingyao |
| C．Pingyao was listed in World Heritage List |
| D．Pingyao is a historic cultural city |
Directions: The following people are expressing their thoughts (1--4) to show their concern for food, environment and so on. After that are pieces of related information (A--E). Now decide which piece of information would be most suitable for the thought and idea mentioned in questions1---4 and mark your answer letter (A---E) on your answer sheet. There is one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
______ How I was struck by the clear water and fresh air in my childhood! But everything has changed, that is, the clear water and fresh air are nowhere to be found again as they were. Above all, a great deal of waste hardly rots away.
_____More and more people are beginning to have a good knowledge of the importance of a safer and cleaner environment, which in turn forces the business to be cleaned up.
____ I’m very much fond of growing some vegetables of my own in my small garden, for many vegetables on sale in markets are actually becoming more and more dangerous as a result of widespread pesticides.
____ Nowadays it is very convenient for consumers to find and buy green food in supermarkets as they are clearly marked.
| A．“Organic produce is always better,” Gold said. “The food is free of pesticides, and you are generally supporting family farms instead of large farms. And more often than not it is locally grown and seasonal, so it is more tasty.” Gold is one of a growing number of shoppers buying into the organic trend, and supermarkets across Britain are counting on more like him as they grow their organic food business. |
| B．The concern for a safer and cleaner environment is making companies rethink how they do business. No longer will the public accept the old attitude of “Buy it, use it, throw it away, and forget it.” The public pressure is on, and gradually business is cleaning up its act.[ |
| C．Many cities around the world today are heavily polluted. Careless methods of production and lack of consumer demand for environment-friendly products have contributed to the pollution problem. One result is that millions of tons of glass, paper, plastic, and metal containers are produced, and these are difficult to get rid of. |
| D．Only a few years ago, it was impossible to find green products in supermarkets, but now there are hundreds. Some supermarket products carry labels (标签) to show that the product is green. Some companies have made the manufacturing (制造) of clean and safe products their main selling point and emphasize it in their advertising. |
E. Market research shows that Gold and others who buy organic food can generally give clear reasons for their preferences - but their knowledge of organic food is far from complete. For example, small amounts of pesticides can be used on organic products. And about three quarters of organic food in Britain is not local but imported to meet growing demand. “The demand for organic food is increasing by about one third every year, so it is a very fast-growing market,” said Sue Flock, a specialist in this line of business.
Animation means making things which are lifeless come alive and move.
Since earliest times, people have always been astonished by movement. But not until last century had we managed to take control of movement, to record it, and in the case of animation, to retranslate it and recreate it. To do all this, we use a movie camera and a projector (放映机).
In the world of cartoon animation, nothing is impossible. You can make the characters do exactly what you want them to do.
A famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan in America in the early nineteen twenties. Felix was a wonderful cat. He could do all sorts of things no natural cat could do like taking off his tail, using it as a handle and then putting it back.
Most of the great early animators lived and worked in America, the home of the moving picture industry. The famous Walt Disney cartoon characters came to life after 1928. Popeye the Sailor and his girl friend Olive Oyo were born at Max Flcischer in 1933.
But to be an animator, you don’t have to be a professional. It is possible for anyone to make a simple animated film without using a camera at all. All you have to do is to draw directly onto an empty film and then run the film through a projector. What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．Animal world | B．Movie camera | C．Cartoon making | D．Movement |
Which of the following statements is True?
| A．People were unable to recreate the movement or record it in the nineteenth century. |
| B．Pat Sullivan was a famous early cartoon character. |
| C．It is impossible to make cartoon characters to do what they are designed to do. |
| D．Only professional animators can make animated films. |
According to the passage, Felix the Cat _________.
| A．was created by the American cartoonist Felix. |
| B．was designed by Pat Sullivan in the early twentieth century. |
| C．was unable to do what natural cats could not do. |
| D．was created in the United States in the nineteenth century. |
It can be inferred from the passage that _________.
| A．Walt Disney’s cartoon characters were born earlier than Pat Sullivan’s. |
| B．only professionals can create cartoon character |
| C．Popeye the Sailor and Olive Oyo were famous cartoonists. |
| D．the cartoon industry started in the United States. |