William Butler Yeats, a most famous Irish writer, was born in Dublin on June 13, 1865. His childhood lacked the harmony(和睦) that was typical of a happy family. Later, Yeats shocked his family by saying that he remembered “little of childhood but its pain”. In fact, he inherited(继承) excellent taste in art from his family—both his father and his brother were painters. But he finally settled on literature, particularly drama(戏剧) and poetry.
Yeats had strong faith in coming of new artistic movements. He set himself the fresh task in founding an Irish national theatre in the late 1890s. His early theatrical experiments, however, were not received favorably at the beginning. He didn’t lose heart, and finally enjoyed success in his poetical drama.
Compared with his dramatic works, Yeats’s poems attract much admiring notice. The subject matter includes love, nature, history, time and aging. Though Yeats generally relied on very traditional forms, he brought modern sensibility to them. As his literary life progressed, his poetry grew finer and richer, which led him to worldwide recognition.
He had not enjoyed a major public life since winning the Nobel Prize in 1923. Yet, he continued writing almost to the end of his life. Had Yeats stopped writing at age 40, he would who probably now be valued as a minor poet, for there is no other example in literary history of a poet who produces his greatest works between the ages of 50 and 75. After Yeats’s death in 1939, W.H.Auden wrote, among others, the following lines:
Earth, receive an honored guest:
William Yeats is laid to rest.
Let the Irish vessel(船) lie
Emptied of its poetry. Which of the following can describe Yeats’s family?
| A．It filled Yeats’s childhood with laughter. |
| B．It was shocked by Yeats’s choice. |
| C．It was a typically wealthy family. |
| D．It had an artistic atmosphere. |
According to the passage, what do we know about Yeats’s life?
| A．Yeats founded the first Irish theater. |
| B．Yeats stuck to modern forms in his poetry. |
| C．Yeats began to produce his best works from the 1910s. |
| D．Yeats was not favored by the public until the 1923 Noble Prize. |
What kind of feeling is expressed in W. H. Auden’s lines?
| A．Envy. |
| B．Sympathy. |
| C．Emptiness. |
| D．Admiration. |
Like every language, American English is full of special expressions, phrases that come from the day-to-day life of the people and develop in their own way. Our expression today is “to face the music.”
When someone says, “Well, I guess I’ll have to face the music,” it does not mean he’s planning to go to the concert. It is something far less pleasant, like being called in by your boss to explain why you did this and did that, and why you didn’t do this or that. Sour music indeed, but it has to be faced. At sometime or another, every one of us has had to face the music, especially as children. We can all remember father’s angry voice, “I want to talk to you!” and only because we did not obey him. What an unpleasant business it was!
The phrase “to face the music” is familiar to every American, young and old. It is at least 100 years old. And where did this expression come from? The first explanation comes from the American novelist, James Fenimore Looper. He said, in 1851, that the expression was first used by actors while waiting in the wings to go on the stage. When they got their cue (提示) to go on, they often said, “Well, it’s time to face the music.” And that is exactly what they did---facing the orchestra which was just below them. And an actor might be frightened or nervous as he moved on to the stage in front of an audience that might be friendly or perhaps hostile, especially if he forgot his lines (台词). But he had to go out. If he did not, there would be no play. So the expression “to face the music” came to mean “having to go through something, no matter how unpleasant the experience might be, because you knew you had no choice.”
Other explanations about the expression go back to the army. When the men faced inspection by their leader, the soldiers would be worried about how well they looked. Was their equipment clean, shinny enough to pass inspection? Still the men had to go out and face the music of the band as well as the inspection. What else could they do?
Another army explanation is more closely related to the idea of facing the results and accepting the responsibility for something that should not have been done. As for example, when a man is forced out of the army because he did something terrible, he is dishonored. The band does not play. Only the drums tap a sad, slow beat. The soldier is forced to leave, facing such music as it is and facing the back of his horse.How many explanations are mentioned about the phrase “to face the music” in the passage?
| A．1. | B．2. | C．3. | D．4. |
What does the phrase “to face the music” really mean?
| A．To face the stage. |
| B．To face the back of the horse. |
| C．To face one’s leader or father. |
| D．To face something far less pleasant. |
Which of the following occasions is the one we may have to face the music?
| A．When we are playing basketball in the playground. |
| B．When we are making a speech before a lot of people. |
| C．When we are having a party at ease with our teachers. |
| D．When we are talking with somebody in secret. |
The underlined word “hostile” in the third paragraph means ______.
| A．unfriendly | B．dislike |
| C．unkind | D．Unnecessary |
Could cities that float (漂浮) on the sea solve the problems caused by floods and provide food for the world?
Some scientists think so. The idea is already being tested and they believe that floating citied will provide more homes for a growing population, without having to use land needed to grow food. And they believe floating areas will allow more food to be grown, so that no one in the world is hungry.
In some places, cities that float on the sea are already being planned, A company in the Netherlands called DeltaSync thinks that sea cities will save the world, with more than one in ten people living in them.
They say sea cities solve many of the problems the world faces in the 21st century, like not having enough land , more and more people needing homes, fossil fuels (矿物燃料) running low and the increasingly serious problems caused by floods.
DeltaSync says building in the desert (沙漠) is not possible because there is no enough water and that developing ways for people to live in space is still too expensive. So they believe the answer is our oceans, which cover over two thirds of the Earth’s surface. Their plans for floating areas include using algae (海藻) to produce fuel and food.
More than a quarter of the land in the Netherlands already lies underwater and scientists there have spent years trying to find ways to deal with it. In the city of Rotterdam they already have floating homes.
Bart Roeffen from DeltaSync says: “We have plans for neighbourhoods including roads and, in the end, I believe we can build floating cities on the sea.”DeltaSync is a company that wants to build cities _______．
| A．on land | B．in space |
| C．on the sea | D．in the desert |
Which of the following is the advantage of the cities that DeltaSync wants to build?
| A．Providing more jobs for people. |
| B．Making travel in space possible. |
| C．Supplying enough water to people. |
| D．Satisfying more people’s housing needs. |
What does Bart Roeffen think of his company’s future plans?
| A．He doubts them. |
| B．He is hopeful of them. |
| C．He is uncertain about them. |
| D．He has no idea about them. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Will there be enough water? |
| B．Will sea cities save the world? |
| C．Is it possible to live in the desert? |
| D．Is it expensive to build floating cities? |
John was waiting for the girl whose heart he knew，but whose face he didn’t，the girl with the rose．Thirteen months ago，in a Florida library he took a book off the shell and found himself interested in the notes in the margin(页边)．The soft handwriting showed a thoughtful soul and insightful(有洞察力的)mind．
In front of the book，he discovered the name，Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he got her address．He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to keep in touch．
During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail．A romance started．John requested a photograph，but she refused．She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn’t matter what she looked like．Later they agreed on their first meeting—7:00 pm at Grand Central Station in New York．
“You’ll recognize me,” she wrote，“by the red rose I’ll be wearing my coat.” So at 7：00 he was in the station looking for the girl with the red rose．
A girl in a green suit was coming toward him，her figure long and slim and her eyes were blue as flowers．Almost uncontrollably he came to her，and just at this moment he saw Hollis Maynell—a woman well past 40．The girl was walking quickly away．
He did not hesitate(犹豫)，saying，“I’m John，and you must be Miss Maynell．I am so glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?”
The woman smiled, “I don’t know what this is about，son，” she answered，“but the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose on my coat．And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner，I should tell you that she is waiting for you in the restaurant across the street．She said it was some kind of test!”
It’s not difficult to admire Miss Maynell’s wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive.John was attracted by Miss Hollis Maynell because ________.
| A．John believed her one of her old friends |
| B．she took good notes with a soft handwriting |
| C．John thought her a considerate and thinking lady |
| D．she was beautiful with a slim figure and blue eyes |
Why did John uncontrollably go up to the young girl in the green suit?
| A．Because he knew it was Miss Hollis Maynell. |
| B．Because she was the very lady he was waiting for. |
| C．Because he was drawn to her beautiful appearance. |
| D．Because John didn’t want to meet Miss Hollis Maynell |
We can find John was a person who ________.
| A．was easy to change his mind |
| B．was casual and independent |
| C．judged a person by his looks |
| D．valued a person’s inner spirit |
What’s the theme of the story?
| A．The wisdom is shown in one’s action. |
| B．Love can be met by chance if you like. |
| C．You should never judge a book by its cover. |
| D．A noble heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. |
Someday a stranger will read your e-mail without your permission or scan the websites you’ve visited. Or perhaps someone will casually glance through your credit card purchases or cell phone bills to find out your shopping preferences or calling habits.
In fact, it’s likely that some of these things have already happened to you. Who would watch you without your permission? It might be a husband or wife, a girlfriend, a marketing company, a boss, a cop or a criminal. Whoever it is, they will see you in a way you never intended to be seen—the 21st century equivalent (相等物) of being caught naked.
Psychologists tell us boundaries are healthy, that it’s important to reveal yourself to friends, family and lovers in stages, at appropriate times. But few boundaries remain. The digital bread pieces you leave everywhere make it easy for strangers to reconstruct who you are, where you are and what you like. In some cases, a simple Google search can reveal what you think. Like it or not, increasingly we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret.
The key question is Does that matter?
For many Americans, the answer apparently is “no.”
When opinion polls ask Americans about privacy, most say they are concerned about losing it. A survey found a serious depression about privacy, with 60 percent of respondents saying they feel their privacy is “slipping away, and that bothers me.”
But people say one thing and do another. Only a tiny part of Americans change any behaviors in an effort to preserve their privacy. Few people turn down a discount at tollbooths (收费站) to avoid using the EZ-Pass system that can track automobile movements. And few turn down supermarket loyalty cards. Privacy economist Alessanfro Acquisti has run a series of tests that reveal people will surrender personal information like Social Security numbers just to get their hands on a pitiful 50-cents-off coupon (优惠券).
But privacy does matter—at least sometimes. It’s like health.When you have it, you don’t notice it. Only when it’s gone do you wish you’d done more to protect it. What would psychologists advise on the relationships between friends?
| A．There should be a distance even between friends. |
| B．Friends should always be faithful to each other. |
| C．Friends should open their hearts to each other. |
| D．There should be fewer disagreements between friends. |
Why does the author say “we live in a world where you simply cannot keep a secret”?
| A．People leave tracks around when using modern technology. |
| B．Modern society has finally developed into an open society. |
| C．There are always people who are curious about others’ affairs. |
| D．Many search engines profit by revealing people’s identities. |
What do most Americans do about privacy protection?
| A．They change behaviors that might disclose their identity. |
| B．They talk a lot but hardly do anything about it. |
| C．They rely more and more on electronic devices. |
| D．They use various loyalty cards for business deals. |
According to the passage, privacy is like health because __________.
| A．its importance is rarely understood |
| B．people don’t treasure it until they lose it |
| C．it is something that can easily be lost |
| D．people will make every effort to keep it |
Everyone has good days and bad days.
Sometimes, you feel as if you’re on top of the world and all the questions on your maths test might seem easy. But occasionally you feel horrible, and you lose things and cannot focus on our schoolwork.
For more than 20 years, scientists have suggested that high self-esteem(自尊) is the key to success.Now, new research shows that focusing just on building self-esteem may not be helpful. In some cases, having high self-esteem can make people less likeable or more upset when they fail in something.
“Forget about self-esteem,” says Jennifer Crocker, a psychologist at the University of Michigan, US. “It’s not the important thing.”
Feeling good
Crocker’s advice may sound a bit strange. After all, feeling good can be good for you.Studies show that people with high self-esteem are less likely to be depressed, anxious, shy, or lonely than those with low self-esteem.
However, after reviewing about 18,000 studies on self-esteem, Roy Baumeister, a psychologist at Florida State University, has found that building up your self-esteem will not necessarily make you a better person.
He believes that violent people often have the highest self-esteem of all. He also said:“ There’s no evidence that kids with high self-esteem do better in school.”
Problems
All types of people have problems. People with high self-esteem can have big egos(自我) that can make them less likeable, said Kathleen Vohs, a psychology professor at Columbia University.People with high self-esteem tend to think more of themselves, VOhs says. People with low self-esteem are more likely to rely on their friends when they need help.
What to do
Researchers say it is best to listen to and support other people. Find positive ways to contribute to society. If you fail in something, try to learn from the experience. “The best therapy(药方) is to recognize your faults,” Vohs says. “It’s OK to say, ‘I’ m not so good at that,’ and then move on.” What does the underlined part “on top of the world” in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．Quite helpful. | B．Extremely happy. |
| C．Very unlucky. | D．Rather upset. |
The conclusion drawn from the new research shows that high self-esteem_____.
| A．is not important at all |
| B．makes people more likeable |
| C．helps you do better at school |
| D．may not be the key to success |
Which of the following is TRUE according to Vohs?
| A．Feeling good doesn’t mean you lead a happy life. |
| B．People with high self-esteem always seek others’ help. |
| C．People with high self-esteem tend to be selfish. |
| D．People with low self-esteem are often more popular. |
We can infer from the text that the best therapy mentioned in the last paragraph is mainly for people_____.
| A．with high self-esteem |
| B．with low self-esteem |
| C．who contribute significantly to society |
| D．who are in need of support |