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How we look and how we appear to others probably worries us more when we are in our teens or early twenties than at any other time in our life. Few of us are content to accept ourselves as we are, and few are brave enough to ignore the trends of fashion.
Most fashion magazines or TV advertisements try to persuade us that we should dress in a certain way or behave in a certain manner. If we do, they tell us, we will be able to meet new people with confidence and deal with every situation confidently and without embarrassment. Changing fashion, of course, does not apply just to dress. A barber today does not cut a boy’s hair in the same way as he used to, and girls do not make up in the same way as their mothers and grandmothers did. The advertisers show us the latest fashionable styles and we are constantly under pressure to follow the fashion in case our friends think we are odd or dull.
What causes fashions to change? Sometimes convenience or practical necessity or just the fancy of an influential person can establish a fashion. Take hats for example. In cold climates, early buildings were cold inside, so people wore hats indoors as well as outside. In recent times, the late President Kennedy caused a depression in the American hat industry by not wearing hats, and more American men followed his example.
There is also a cyclical(周期性的) pattern in fashion. In the 1920s in Europe and America, short skirts became fashionable. After World War II, they dropped to ankle length. Then they got shorter and shorter until the miniskirt was in fashion. After a few more years, skirts became longer again.
Today, society is much freer and easier than it used to be. It is no longer necessary to dress like everyone else. Within reason, you can dress as you like or do your hair the way you like instead of the way you should because it is the fashion. The popularity of jeans and the “untidy” look seems to be a reaction against the increasingly expensive fashion of the top fashion houses.
At the same time, appearance is still important in certain circumstances and then we must choose our clothes carefully. It would be foolish to go to an interview for a job in a law firm wearing jeans and a sweater, and it would be discourteous(失礼的) to visit some distinguished scholar looking as if we were going to the beach or a night club. However, you need never feel depressed if you don’t look like the latest fashion photo. Look around you and you’ll see that no one else does either!According to the passage, we care about our appearance most in the age period of_____.
| A．10-20 | B．10-25 | C．20-25 | D．20-30 |
The reason why we are constantly under pressure to follow the fashion is mainly that_____.
| A．Fashion magazines or TV advertisements show us the latest fashionable styles. |
| B．We can’t meet new people and deal with every situation confidently. |
| C．Our friends may think we are strange or out of date. |
| D．We are not content to accept ourselves as we are. |
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．President Kennedy once caused a disaster in the American hat industry |
| B．Before the second World War , skirts had dropped shorter to ankle length. |
| C．You can’t dress however you like or do your hair the way you like today. |
| D．The “untidy” jeans are a reaction against the increasingly expensive fashion. |
We can conclude from the last paragraph that_____.
| A．We do need to dress ourselves properly on some occasions. |
| B．We do need to follow the fashion all the time. |
| C．We may feel depressed if we don’t look like the latest fashion photo. |
| D．People around are always following the latest fashion. |
There were two interesting pieces of news items in the paper a few years ago. One was about a man who received a bill from the telephone company for $ 2,000 a month for doing nothing.
The connection between the two news items is simple; computers-the best invention of the 20th century. The telephone bill came from a computer which made a terrifying mistake; that man’s bill was only $ 23.26. The other item was not as amusing. A man walked into the unguarded computer room of a large packaged food company and expertly programmed the computer to pay him $ 2,000 a month for raw meat which he “supplied ” to the company. Of course he never sent the meat, but he certainly received the money . The computer wrote out a bill, and even “signed ” it. It was only a random (随便) check that uncovered the trick. It could be happening in thousands of other companies all over the world.
Computers are not the magical workers that some people say they are. They make mistakes, they’re sometimes slower than human beings and they’re easily fooled.
The US used to conscript (征兵) people with the help of a computer. The army sent out a card, which had to be filled in and sent back. It was easy to avoid being called up simply by spreading candle-wax(腊) on the card. The computer couldn’t read the card, and did nothing with it.
It’s in our everyday life that computers cause many problems. Let’s get back to using people instead of computers, before a mistake that we can’t put right.In the first paragraph we can conclude ______.
| A．the paper is telling a lie | B．the first sentence is the topic sentence |
| C．the two news items made people surprised | |
| D．if a man did nothing at all for the telephone company, he would still get $2,000 a month |
The main idea of the second paragraph is _______.
| A．the computers are magical workers |
| B．the computers can do anything as well as man |
| C．the computers can write out the bill and even sign it |
| D．the computers sometimes also make mistakes |
Computers ______.
| A．were used to conscript people | B．are usually faster than human beings |
| C．are not so magical as people expect | |
| D．were not easily controlled and always fooled human beings |
The writer thinks _______.
| A．we’d better use people instead of computers in our everyday life |
| B．we should not use computers because they always make mistakes |
| C．computers are widely used in our everyday life |
| D．if we want to work well, don’t use the computers |
There are two types of twins; identical and non-identical twins. Identical twins are formed from a single egg in mother’s body which divides to from two separate babies. Identical twins look the same, and are often dressed by their parents in clothes of the same colors. It is often difficult to tell identical twins from each other, even when they are standing side by side. Non-identical twins come into being when the mother produces two separated eggs a the same time, both of which grow to form babies. In this case the twins look like normal brothers and sisters and are easy to tell one from the other.
In the 1970s and 1980s a scientist did some research into twins. He invited many pairs of identical twins to university and asked them to take part in a week of tests. He was particularly interested in adopted (收养) twins who had been separated at birth. He would give the twins different kinds of tests to study their speed of thinking, their speech, their memory, the ways they saw and heard different things, and so on. Time and time again he found separated twins who preferred clothes of the same color, used the same kind of shaving soap, wore the same shaped square glasses and the same colored socks.
There is a third type of twins, but it is a very unusual one. Twins which are joined together at birth are known in western countries as Siamese twins.It is difficult to tell identical twins apart because _______.
| A．they are dressed in the same clothes | B．they are dressed in the same color |
| C．they are very alike | D．they are standing side by side |
If the twins are easy to tell from each other, they are ______.
| A．very probably non-identical twins | B．surely identical twins |
| C．surely identical twins | D．always a brother and a sister |
Which of the following is NOT true according to this passage?
| A．In the 1970s and 1980s a scientist did some research into the two main types of twins. |
| B．In the week of tests, he tested their speed of thinking, their speech, their memory and some other things. |
| C．There were twins who had been separated from each other as soon as they were born. |
| D．Very often, separated twins were found to choose things of the same kind, the same shape and the same color. |
This passage mainly tells us _______.
| A．the main types of twins | B．what has been found out about twins |
| C．how twins are formed | D．how a scientist studied twins |
Early in the 18th century, Captain Cook, a famous explorer of Australia, unexpectedly caught sight of an unusual animal during his first visit to Australia. The animal had a large mouse like head and jumped along on its large legs. To his great surprise, the unusual animal carried its young in a special pocket of flesh. Captain Cook pointed to the animal which was eating grass in the distance and asked his native guide what the animal was referred to. The guide seemed not to know that he was pointing at and finally said “Kang-a-roo”, but their requests were met with puzzled looks of the native people. Before long they got to discover that the native guide who made the answer to Cook’s question really meant, “I don’t know what you pointing at. “ Funny enough, the name “ Kang-a-roo”, stuck and it is still in use today.Which of the following sentences best expresses the main idea?
| A．captain Cook’s guide made a joke. |
| B．Native Australians could not speak English in Cook’s time. |
| C．Some words have rather funny origins (起源). |
| D．Captain Cook was a lover of wild animals. |
When the native guide said “Kang-a-roo ”, he really meant “ ______”
| A．Ah, it is a special kind of animal |
| B．I wonder what you have said |
| C．What do you mean by pointing at that animal? |
| D．I have no idea of what you are referring to. |
We can infer from this passage ______.
| A．we should learn many different languages |
| B．Captain Cook made a mistake in understanding |
| C．Captain Cook was a foolish explorer |
| D．the importance of a language in common |
A scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of some four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it. Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait until the last moment.
By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable. The children who gave in to temptation early on were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible .
Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn’t show up on an IQ test.
The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists’ concerns. But brain theory can’t explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain upbeat in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant soul.
Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence: when it comes to predicting people’s success, brain ability as measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as “character”.
EQ is not the opposite of IQ. What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one’s ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use. Among the elements for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ counts for about 20%; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck.
While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse. Which of the following is true of EQ and IQ according to the text?
| A．The higher a person’s EQ is, the higher his or her IQ is. |
| B．The higher a person’s IQ is, the higher his or her EQ is. |
| C．Some people can be blessed with lots of both, but some with little of either. |
| D．Scientists have already discovered the way in which EQ and IQ work together. |
The underlined word “upbeat” in Paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．kind | B．floating | C．excited | D．optimistic |
What is most likely to be written in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Information about famous people with high EQ. |
| B．Examples showing the opposite voice about EQ. |
| C．Some reasons why EQ is a relatively new field. |
| D．Strong demand for basic emotional education. |
Decision-making can be extremely difficult. Decision-making styles are significantly different in different cultures.
In any approach to a problem and in any negotiations, the Western world turns to the“I to you” approach while Japan，the “you to you” approach. The former means both sides present their arguments openly from their own point of view. Naturally, often comes a conflict situation, which Westerners are very skillful in dealing with.The latter is based on each side trying to understand the other person’s point of view. Thus, the direction of the meeting is a mutual(相互的) attempt to reduce confrontation and achieve harmony.
Besides, Western decision-making goes mostly from top management and often does not consult middle management or the worker. However, in Japan great consideration is given to the thoughts and opinions of everyone at all levels. Based on “bottom-up direction”, ideas can be created at the lowest levels, travel upward through an organization and have an effect on the final decision.
Difference in decision-making also comes from different communication styles. The Japanese business person works to achieve harmony, even if the deal fallsthrough, and will spend whatever time is necessary to determine a “you to you” approach, communicating personal views only indirectly. They put a thorough job above the Western deadline approach. So the Japanese are thorough in their meetings. Thus Americans are often annoyed by the many meetings in many Japanese businesses. But where the American is pressingfor a specific decision, the Japanese is trying to think up a rather broad direction.
On the other hand, once a given agreement is made, it is the Japanese who sometimes wonderat the slow pace in which Westerners carry out the decision. The Japanese are eager to move forward and Westerners, perhaps, fall behind as they take the time for in-depth planning.A Japanese business bases its decision .
| A．on top-down direction | B．on nothing but its workers’ views |
| C．on bottom-up direction | D．only on its top leaders’ opinions |
The text mainly tells us that Japan and the Western world .
| A．face great difficulty in making decisions |
| B．are different in decision-making styles |
| C．have all members contribute to a decision |
| D．have two approaches: “I to you” and “you to I” |
The author’s attitude towards Japanese decision-making is .
| A．positive | B．critical | C．negative | D．casual |