Whydopeopletravel?Well,manypeo-优题课

Ben Southall, from Britain, got the world’s best job, as an island caretaker on Hamilton Island, Queensland, Australia. Towards the end of his six-month contract, he had an incident. Please read his blog issued on Dec. 29, 2009 to find out more about the incident.
Now I’ve spent nearly six months here in Queensland and so far I thought I’d done particularly well at avoiding any contact with any of the dangerous critters that consider this part of the world their home. I’ve avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a spider or a snake—but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I seemed to be punished by a little creature known as an Irukandji.
Irukandji jellyfish are tiny and extremely poisonous jellyfish that are in the tropical waters of the Queensland coast between early October and May, and which cause symptoms collectively known as Irukandji syndrome(综合症). Its size is roughly no larger than a fingernail of an adult’s little finger.
I was enjoying a post Christmas jetski session with some friends at a quiet beach on Hamilton Island. As I climbed off the back of the ski and onto the beach I felt a small bee-like sting on my forearm. I didn’t think too much of it at the time at it disappeared very quickly and left the beach to head to a sports massage appointment I had. As I arrived I noticed that my feet and hands were tingling(刺痛) slightly. The member of staff immediately suggested that I get the symptoms checked out and within minutes had the security there to escort(陪同) me to the doctor’s room, only a few hundred metres away.
I was feeling pretty hot and sweaty, had a headache and felt pretty sick too, together with pain in my lower back and a tightness in the chest and really high blood pressure all classic symptoms of Irukandji syndrome! This was not what I’d wanted at all and had caught me a little off guard to say the least--I’m supposed to be relaxing in my last few days on Hamilton Island.
The doctor knew instantly what it was and straight away started the course of treatment to get me on the mend. I had a couple of injections which immediately took away the uncomfortable pain I was feeling and I slipped into a comfortable sleep after an hour or so, waking to say hello to a couple of friends who came to see if I was OK! Bre was there the entire time tending to me like a little Florence Nightingale!
Once I’d recovered sufficiently I was discharged that evening and allowed to go home to sleep the effects off and only really knew what had happened when Bre told the full story the next morning--I had been very lucky.
I’d had a minor brush with what can be a very serious jellyfish and has led to people being hospitalized for a number of days, my slight knock was enough to tell me that it’s not something to be messed around with and I really should have been wearing a full stinger suit, as it recommended at all beaches here at this time of year.., even if you’re in the water for just a couple of seconds as I was!
66. We now know that people who suffer from Irukandji syndrome usually ___________.
A. have headache, backache, chest pain, sweat heavily and feel sick
B. have headache, backache, chest pain, breathe quickly and cough a lot
C. is not very painful in the beginning, but can be very painful the next day
D. play with these beautiful jellyfish while swimming in the sea
67. What have we learnt from Ben’s blog EXCEPT that _______________?
A. Ben Southall knows how to take care of himself
B. Ben Southall doesn’t look after himself well enough
C. Ben Southall has been in hospital for some days
D. Ben Southall’s friend, Bre tends to him well
68. What lesson can we learn from Ben’s incident?
A. All rules must be strictly obeyed all the time.
B. All recommendations should be seriously taken into consideration.
C. Always have yourselves covered when you are in the sea.
D. Never play with creatures in the sea.
69. Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a. Keep an appointment b. See a doctor c. Go jetskiing d. Get home
A. a,c,d,b B. c,a,b,d C. c,b,a,d D. d,b,a,c
70. How do islanders deal with Ben Southall’s incident?
A. Politely, certainly and successfully. B. Nicely, slowly and carefully.
C. Hopefully, carefully and skillfully. D. Kindly, quickly and efficiently.

It’s Friday morning in the year of 2050, and you’re running late. You got distracted(分心) watching the music video that was playing in the corner of your bathroom mirror while you were brushing your teeth. How will you get to your office on time?
A quick check of your internet-connected refrigerator magnet tells your train, which travels at speeds up to 230 miles an hour, is a bit behind schedule, too. So you decide to drive your environmentally-friendly hydrogen fuel cell car instead, or rather, let your car drive you. It’s programmed to know the way, and it will get you there without speeding, getting lost, or crashing.
Settling into your office chair, which changes colour to match what you’re wearing, you pick up yesterday morning’s newspaper. Printed on reusable electronic paper, it instantly rewrites itself with today’s headlines. Now it’s time for your big meeting. Uh-oh! You’ve left your handwritten notes at home. No problem. The digital ink pen you used has stored an electronic copy of what you wrote.
Your wristwatch videophone suddenly rings. Your best friend’s face pops up on the organic light-emitting diode screen asking what you’re doing this weekend. “Will you slap on your 3-D contact lenses and play virtual soccer with the US Olympic team?” “No, no,” Your friend says, “I want to take the elevator which is made of microscopic fibers many times stronger than steel to get into space.”
Could this scene really take place in just a couple of decades? The researchers who are currently developing all this stuff think so. These gadgets(器械) may be as common in 20 years as cell phones and DVD players are today.
63. According to the passage, __________.
A. your office colour will change to that of what you’re wearing
B. newspapers will go electronic C. you usually go to work by car
D. the digital ink pen makes writing so easy
64. You decide to use your hydrogen fuel cell car because __________.
A. it is safe, quick and comfortable B. it is environmentally-friendly
C. your train is late for some reason D. you are too late to catch your train
65. What will life be like in the year of 2050 according to the passage?
A. Space tourism will be a reality. C. Transportation will be trouble-free.
B. Videophones will replace face-to-face communication.
D. People will have more time to go in for their hobbies.

If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.
It’s good to make mistakes. That’s not a typo, folks, and I have not lost my mind. It is good to make mistakes, and here’s why.
First of all, mistakes are a clear sign that you are trying new things. It’s always good to try new things because when you are trying new things you are growing. If you never try anything new, how can you improve? How can you expand? How can you innovate? The simple answer is, “You can’t.” Look around you. With very few exceptions, either everything you see in your physical world or every single detail of every single thing is the result of someone trying something new.
Another good thing about mistakes is this, when you are making mistakes, you are learning. Consider this: Edison failed 10,000 times before he perfected the light bulb. When asked how he felt to fail that many times, he remarked that he hadn’t failed 10,000 times, but rather had learned 10,000 things that didn’t work.
Finally, when you make a mistake you are that much closer to success. Why? Because when all is said and done, you will have tried some finite number of things before you succeeded. Every time you made a mistake you eliminated(消除) one of those things and are one step closer.
But this all doesn’t mean that you should forge ahead with disregard for the consequences of a mistake. Quite the contrary, when you try something new you have to be willing to set some reasonable limits so that, in the event that it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, you will be in a position to try again.
We all have limited resources in the form of time and money, so don’t blow them all on one approach to a problem. Realize that it probably won’t be perfect the first time and allocate these resources appropriately so you can learn, modify, and try it again. Only by embracing and using your mistakes in this way can you make significant advances in your business and your career.
There is an old axiom that goes, “If you’re not making mistakes, you’re not trying hard enough.”
So go forth and make mistakes. And learn. And grow, And prosper.
59. Which of the following isn’t suitable for the passage?
A. Mistakes suggest that people are trying something new.
B. People can draw lessons from their mistakes.
C. Mistakes mean that people are getting closer to success.
D. People can afford to make mistakes as long as they limit them.
60. The underlined word “typo” means ___________.
A. printing mistake B. computer error C. poor handwriting D. bad typing
61. It’s good to make mistakes as long as _________.
A. people use them positively B. people avoid them quickly
C. they help people get well D. they don’t have side effects
62. What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage as far as mistakes are concerned?
A. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are unavoidable.
B. Try your best to make fewer mistakes. They are expensive.
C. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. They are beneficial.
D. The more mistakes you make, the more advances you’ll make.

The population conference in Brasilia has now ended. One of the aims of the conference was for countries from each continent to look back at past experiences and to learn from them for the future.
In Europe
Population problems are different in different parts of the world. For example, in many European countries the population is getting older. The birth rate is very low because many young people have only one child or none at all. People are living longer, too. On average, men tire to 76 and women to 78. By 2050 around 25 % of the population of some European countries will be over 60 years old.
This change has happened very fast within two generations. If governments had expected this change, they would have encouraged people to prepare more for old age. At the moment many old people are very lonely and often very poor. If people had expected to live so long, they would probably have saved more money for their retirement.
In Africa
In Africa, the problems of the future will be very different. There, the population is doubling every 24 years. Many families continue to have large numbers of children to look after older people and to help on the land. However, better medical services have increased life expectancy and more children survive to become adults. Research shows that the size of the family is connected with the standard of women’s education. If more girls had gone to school in the last 20 years, family size in Africa would probably not have continued to be so big.
In Asia
In contrast, the problem in Asia is not just population growth but also overcrowding in many cities. Traditionally, most people have lived in the countryside, but within the next 25 years more than 65% will live in cities. If Asian countries had expected this kind of change 20 years ago, they would have tried to provide more work and better education in the countryside. This is starting to happen now, but it may be too late.
56. What is the cause of African population problem?
A. Low birth rate and increased life expectancy. B. More older people, more children.
C. People’s moving from the countryside to the cities.
D. Better medical services and increased life expectancy.
57. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. In Europe it is normal to live to be 76 or more.
B. Medicine has changed population patterns.
C. Population problems are the same everywhere.
D. Many old people in Europe experience poverty.
58. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Cities everywhere are becoming larger and larger.
B. Asian countries have tried to provide more work for people.
C. A lot of girls couldn’t go to school in Africa.
D. The older people in Europe are, the lonelier they will be.

E
　　　Scholars and students have always been great travelers. The official case for “academic mobility” is now often stated in impressive terms as a fundamental necessity for economic and social progress in the world, and debated in the areas of Europe, but it is certainly nothing new. Serious students were always ready to go abroad in search of the best teachers and the most famous academies; in search of the purest philosophy, the most effective medicine, the likeliest road to gold
　　Mobility of this kind meant also mobility of ideas, their moving across borders, their simultaneous (同时发生的)impact upon many groups of people. The point of learning is to share it, whether with students or with colleagues; one thinks that only eccentrics have no interest in being credited(相信) with a striking discovery, or a new technique. It must also have been comforting to know that other people in other parts of the world were about to make the same discovery or were thinking along the same lines, and that one was not quite alone, faced by question, ridicule or neglect.
　　In the twentieth century, and particularly in the last 20 years, the old footpaths of the wandering scholars have become vast highways. The vehicle which has made this possible has of course been the aeroplane, making contact between scholars even in the most distant places immediately available, and providing for the very rapid transmission of knowledge.
　　Apart from the vehicle itself, it is fairly easy to identify the main factors which have brought about the recent explosion in academic movement. Some of these are purely quantitative and require no further mention: there are far more centres of learning, and a far greater number of scholars and students.
　　In addition one must recognize the very considerable increase of all kinds of subjects, particularly in the sciences, which by widening the total area of advanced studies has produced an enormous number of specialists whose particular interests are precisely defined. These people would work in some isolation if they were not able to keep in touch with similar isolated groups in other countries.
71.It can be concluded from the passage that"academic mobility"_____.
A.means the friendship formed by scholars on the trip
B.is a program carried out by governments
C.has been put great emphasis on in the world
D.means going abroad in search of the best teachers
72.The word "eccentric" underlined in the second paragraph most probably means_____.
A.a rather strange person B.a person of no exceptional ability
C.an ambitious person D.peculiar or unusual
73.In the eyes of the author,what happens to a scholar who shares his ideas with his
colleagues?
A.He risks his ideas being stolen. B.He gains recognition for his achievement
C.He is considered as an eccentric. D.He is credited with a striking discovery.
74.According to the passage,the recent growth in air travel has meant that_____.
A.travel around the world becomes realistic and affordable
B.more students from remote areas can attend universities
C.all kinds of information can be shared by more people
D.scholars can meet each other more easily
75.The author thinks that it's important for scholars to be able to travel because_____.
A.their laboratories are in remote places
B.there is too much stress at universities
C.their fellow experts are spread across the world
D.there are so many people working in similar fields

A．put on a life jacket.	B．know how to swim
C．wear leather shoes	D．have rafting skills