Dear Editor,
I am writing to ask what has happened to our youth. They are not as polite, hard-working or clever as my generation. I will give you two examples.
Last Friday, I got on the underground at 9.15a.m. It was very busy so there were no free seats. There were some teenagers sitting on the seats nearest me. I didn’t know why they were not at school. They were talking loudly and laughing. It was difficult to read my newspaper with all the noise. A heavily pregnant(怀孕的) woman and her daughter got on at the next stop, with lots of shopping bags. I expected the teenagers to let them sit down. They saw the woman but did nothing. I had to ask them to give her a seat. They reluctantly(勉强地)did so but give me a rude look. I got off at the next stop and was glad that the teenagers didn’t follow me.
Last Saturday, I had dinner with my friend’s family. I was expecting to meet his children, who I hadn’t seen for ten years. During dinner, we started talking about world politics. It soon became clear that they didn’t know much. They couldn’t tell me the name of the King of Spain or the President of Italy. All they knew about was the Internet and which singers were the most beautiful. In my day, students knew the kings, queens and presidents of every country in Europe.
I worry about the future of Germany. How could these young people become responsible workers and parents? They sit around Macdonald’s after instead of going to the library like I did at their age. Maybe they have too much money. Perhaps another reader can give us an idea about what to do with this“lost generation”.
Franz Vogts
HamburgMr. Vogts writes this letter to the editor to _________.
| A．show how rude the teenagers are |
| B．complain the way some people act |
| C．express his worry about Germany’s future |
| D．show how lazy young people nowadays are |
When Franz Vogts met the teenagers on the underground, he_________.
| A．expected that they would make less noise |
| B．knew there was no hope for him to get a seat |
| C．felt he would meet with some trouble from them |
| D．thought they should have been studying instead of staying there |
Franz Vogts was not pleased at the dinner because_________.
| A．he was not politely treated |
| B．the children cared more about singers than him |
| C．the children did not know much about world politics |
| D．he had different opinions about the world from his friend |
By saying “lost generation”, Mr. Vogts refers to__________.
| A．the fact that he is angry with young people today. |
| B．the people at his age |
| C．his worry about these young people |
| D．today’s young people |
Sorry to say,our brains naturally start slowing down at the Cruelty young age of 30.It used to be thought that this couldn’t be helped,but new studies show that people of any age can train their brains to work faster.“Your brain is a learning machine,”saying University of California scientist Dr. Michael Merzenich.Given the right tools,we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger.All that’s required is the practice designed just for the purpose:a few exercises for the mind.
Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process(过程) in which the brain deals with information (positscience.com).Since much of the data we receive comes through speech,the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better speed and accuracy(准确性).
Over the course of training,the program starts asking you to distinguish(辨别) sounds (between“dog”and“bog”,for example) at an increasingly faster speed.It’s a bit like tennis instructor,says Merzenich,hitting balls at you—faster and faster to keep you challenged(受到挑战).You may start out slow,but before long you’re pretty quick.
The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic.If you ask your brain to learn,it will learn.And it may even speed up while in the process.
To keep your brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you:playing table tennis or bridge,doing crossword puzzles,learning a language...“When it comes to preventing ageing,you really do ‘use it or lose it’,”says Barbara Sahakian,professor at Cambridge University.Dr.Merzenich’s training method mainly depends on______.
| A．speech training |
| B．computer languages |
| C．the activities one joins in |
| D．the information being dealt with |
By saying “the brain at any age is highly plastic”,the writer probably means the brain can be______.
| A．used | B．mastered |
| C．developed | D．researched |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Practice makes a quick mind. |
| B．Brain research started ten years ago. |
| C．Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer. |
| D．People believed nothing could stop the brain slowing down. |
Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?
| A．The training methods work better for the old. |
| B．People should use the brain to stop it from ageing. |
| C．The training of the brain should start at an early age. |
| D．It’s necessary to take part in as many activities as possible. |
It’s great fun to explore(探索) new places—it feels like an adventure,even when you know you’re not the first to have been there.But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles.
●Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere.It’ll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you’re traveling in.Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn,or you’ll have to move to the back seat.
●Get a group of friends together and go exploring.You’ll need a good map,a compass(指南针),a raincoat,a cell phone to call for help in case you get lost,and a bit of spare cash for emergencies(应急现金).Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back.The test is in not getting lost,not in seeing how fast you can go,so always stick together,waiting for slower friends to catch up.
●See if your school or a club organizes orienteering activities,in which you need a map and a compass to find your way.This can be done as a sport,with teams trying to find the way from A to B(and B to C,etc.) in the fastest time,or simply as a spare-time activity.Either way,it’s not only good fun,but a great way to keep fit.Sitting beside the driver,you should______.
| A．direct the driver when necessary |
| B．look ahead to see where there’s a turn |
| C．move to the back seat if feeling uncomfortable |
| D．keep looking at the map to find a place to go to |
Why do you need to tell someone your exploration plan before setting out?
| A．To get information when in danger. |
| B．To be saved in case of an accident. |
| C．To share the fun with him/her in exploration. |
| D．To tell him/her what’s going on with the group members. |
Orienteering activities can______.
| A．make people work fast |
| B．help people stay healthy |
| C．help people organize other activities |
| D．make people get prepared for sports |
The text mainly talks about______.
| A．the fun of exploration |
| B．what to bring for exploration |
| C．the way to use a map in exploration |
| D．how to prevent getting lost in exploration |
Jim suffered heart problems.In conversation he expressed little joy and it seemed that his life was drawing to a close.
When his heart problems led to operation,Jim went through it successfully,and a full recovery was expected.Within days,however,his heart was not beating properly.Jim was rushed back to operation,but nothing was found to explain the cause of his illness.He died on the operating table on the day before his 48th birthday.
Dr.Bruce Smoller,a psychologist(心理学家),had had many conversations with him,and the more he learned,the stranger he realized Jim’s case was.When Jim was a child,his father,a teacher,suffered a heart attack and stayed home to recover.One morning Jim asked his father to look over his homework,promising to come home from school at noon to pick it up.His father agreed,but when Jim returned his father had died.Jim’s father was 48.
“I think all his life Jim believed he killed his father,”Dr. Smoller says.“He felt that if he had not asked him to look at his homework,his father would have lived.Jim had been troubled by the idea.The operation was the trial(判决) he had expected for forty years.”Smoller believes that Jim willed himself not to live to the age of 48.
Jim’s case shows the powerful role that attitude(态度) plays in physical health,and that childhood experiences produce far-reaching effect on the health of grown-ups.Although most cases are less direct than Jim’s,studies show that childhood events,besides genes,may well cause such midlife diseases as cancer,heart disease and mental illness.Jim was sent back to operation because______.
| A．his heart didn’t work well |
| B．he expected a full recovery |
| C．his life was drawing to a close |
| D．the first one wasn’t well performed |
What made Dr. Smoller feel strange about Jim’s case?
| A．Jim died at a young age. |
| B．Jim died on the operating table. |
| C．Both Jim and his father died of the same disease. |
| D．Jim’s death is closely connected with his father’s. |
From Smoller’s words,we can infer that______.
| A．Jim’s father cared little about his study |
| B．Smoller agreed that Jim did kill his father |
| C．Jim thought he would be punished some day |
| D．Smoller believed Jim wouldn’t live to the age of 48 |
Which of the following could have strong effect on one’s physical health according to the text?
| a.One’s genes. b.One’s life in childhood. c.One’s physical education. d.The date of one’s birthday. e.The opinions one has about something. |
| A．a,b,d | B．a,b,e |
| C．a,c,e | D．b,c,d |
Last year more than one million Filipinos worked abroad as servants,nurses,sailors and in other difficult but low-paid jobs.Southeast Asians leave their poorer countries for their richer neighbours.
Many of these wage-earners return in the end.In the meantime,they send home huge amounts of money—in the Philippines’ case,over 10% of its GDP.Between January and November,the amount was up 18% on the same period of 2005.Poverty and unemployment are still high in the Philippines and other labour-exporting(劳务输出) countries.They would be far worse but for this outflow of bodies and inflow of dollars.As for those Asian countries that import(输入) labour,as in Europe,falling birth rates mean they are going to need more foreign workers.
On January 13th leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) signed an agreement to help migrant(流动的) workers—with the realization that the flow of labour between their countries is a growing problem that they cannot blame on outsiders.A 2005 study showed that 8.4 million Southeast Asians worked outside their home countries,but this did not include the huge numbers of Indonesians doing so without papers.So the true total is probably rather higher.
Of the ten ASEAN countries,the Philippines,Indonesia,Myanmar,Cambodia,Vietnam and Laos export labour,Singapore and Brunei import it,and Thailand and Malaysia do both.Sziraczki of the UN’s International Labour Organization points out that,in the next ten years,the total labour force of the worker-exporting countries should grow by about a third.It makes sense to work on the problem before it gets out of control.
People in the receiving countries seem to be worried about competition for their jobs.Most Thais said their government should admit(准入) no more foreign workers,and a few thought otherwise.Even in Singapore,just over half of people are against admitting more foreign workers.Malaysians think that the increase in foreign workers has worsened crime rates(犯罪率).It can be inferred from the case of the Philippines that______.
| A．the country is Asia’s main source of migrant workers |
| B．labour exports lead to a 10% growth of its GDP |
| C．the outflow of labour helps solve its social problems |
| D．the country both exports and imports labour force |
The flow of labour is a growing problem because______.
| A．there is a greater flow of labour than reported |
| B．more Indonesians work abroad without papers |
| C．some countries suffer from low birth rates |
| D．the ASEAN is against admitting foreign workers |
For the labour-importing countries,the flow of labour may lead to______.
| A．higher birth rates |
| B．lower crime rates |
| C．greater money inflows |
| D．stronger job competition |
The writer of the text seems to______.
| A．support the flow of labour between countries |
| B．report fairly on the question of labour flow |
| C．express his worries over the ASEAN’s decision |
| D．regard the outflow of labour as a serious problem |
Teens don’t understand the big fuss(小题大做).As the first generation to grow up in a wired world,they hardly know a time when computers weren’t around,and they eagerly catch the chance to spend hours online,chatting with friends.So what?
But researchers nationwide are increasingly worried that teens are becoming isolated(孤寂),less skillful at person-to-person relationships,and perhaps numb(麻木) to the cheatings that are so much a part of the e-mail world.“And a teen’s sense of self and values may be changed in a world where personal connections can be limitless,”said Sherry Turkle.
Another researcher,Robert Kraut,said he’s worried about the “opportunity costs”(机会成本) of so much online time for youths.He found that teens who used computers,even just a few hours a week,showed increased signs of loneliness and social isolation.“Chatting online may be better than watching television,but it’s worse than hanging out(闲逛) with real friends,”he said.
Today’s teens,however,don’t see anything strange in the fact that the computer takes up a central place in their social lives.“School is busy and full of pressure.There’s almost no time to just hang out,”said Parker Rice,17.“Talking online is just catch-up time.”
Teens say they feel good about what they say online or taking the time to think about a reply.Some teens admit that asking someone for a date,or breaking up,can be easier in message form,though they don’t want to do so.But they insist there’s no harm.The researchers argue that______.
| A．teens may develop a different sense of values |
| B．nothing is wrong with teens’ chatting online |
| C．teens can manage their social connections |
| D．spending hours online does much good to teens |
Teens think that talking online can help them______.
| A．use computers properly |
| B．improve their school work |
| C．develop an interest in social skills |
| D．reduce their mental pressures |
The text mainly deals with______.
| A．teens’ pleasant online experience |
| B．teens’ computer skills and school work |
| C．the effects of the computer world on teens |
| D．different opinions on teens’ chatting online |
The purpose of the text is to______.
| A．describe computer research results |
| B．draw attention to teens’ computer habits |
| C．suggest ways to deal with problem teens |
| D．discuss problems teens have at school |