Does Fame Drive You Crazy?
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi (狗仔队) camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.
According to psychologist Christina Villareal, celebrities — famous people — worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villareal says, “they feel separated and alone.”
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain (抱怨) about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already. It can be learned from the passage that stars today________.
| A．are often misunderstood by the public |
| B．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| C．spend too much on their public appearance |
| D．care little about how they have come into fame |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired. |
| B．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| C．Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Availability of modern media. |
| B．Inadequate social recognition. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere. |
| B．Skeptical. |
| C．Disapproving. |
| D．Sympathetic. |
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第三部分阅读理解 (共15小题, 每小题2分, 满分 30分)
When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores on certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school subjects. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or upsetting situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.
For instance, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tried to do something about it. He probably isn’t sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And if he cannot make things work out right, he doesn’t feel ashamed that he failed, he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook on life, a special feeling about life, and how he fits into it.
If you look at children, you’ll see a great difference in what we call “bright” children and “not bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out about life, he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream world: he seems to have a walk between him and life in general.
61. According to the passage, intelligence is the ability to ________________ .
A. get high scores in some tests B. do well in school subjects
C. deal with life D. know what to do
62. In a new situation, an intelligent person _______________ .
A.knows more about what might happen to him
B.is sure of the result he will get
C.is ready to face and fit himself in the situation
D.cares more about himself
63. If an intelligent person failed, he would ___________ .
A.try not to feel ashamed B. learn from his experiences
C. try to find all he could D. make sure what result he would get
64. The difference between bright children and non-bright children lies in _________ .
A. their attitude towards life B. the degree of cleverness
C. the amounts of knowledge about the world D. their way of thinking
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The first MP4 player was born years ago. Soon many music fans were wondering how fantastic it is! If you have been into technology enough, perhaps you may have a knowledge of the MP4. If not, you do need to know something before buying one, even if you are familiar with MP3. MP3 is the CD-like disc with greater capacity. How about MP4? This small digital product will really enrich the joy from listening to music. You can even feel the “touch” of music to your soul!
Now, some similar digital products advertised as “MP4 players” are simply MP3 players, which do not play video and MPEG format (格式) and also lack other particular functions. These products confuse some buyers, as they may think the “MP4” players simply mean they can do more than MP3.
What is MP4?!
It is a multimedia container. It is not only used to store digital audio (音频) and digital video streams, especially those of MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles (字幕) and pictures. As a most modern container format, it allows streaming over the Internet.
With the help of a piece of MP4 video equipment, you can change various programs such as MPEG to MP4, ASX to MP4, AVI to MP4 and so on, which can be done very quickly and easily without any effect on the sound quality. By installing (安装) DVD-MP4 software, you can transfer particular music from a DVD to an MP4 video file. It really excites your listening music experience.
Then, there is MP4 advanced and you can set your own collection of all the programs — TV shows, games, and music. You can even see movies which are still running in cinemas. What else digital product could you possibly ask for?
57. It is suggested here that you should ________ before buying an MP4 player
A. first be a music fan B. have a knowledge of MP4
C. get familiar with MP3 D. buy a CD-like disc
58. From the passage, we can see that MP4 is ________ MP3.
A. much bigger than B. just as advanced as
C. not so particular as D. more functional than
59. Which function of MP4 is NOT directly mentioned in this passage?
A. Storing digital audio and video streams. B. Recording some movies in cinemas.
C. Playing TV shows, games and movies. D. Transferring particular music from a DVD.
60. From the last sentence, it’s clear that the writer tries to tell us it is _______.
A. reasonable to buy other digital products B. impossible to buy something else
C. a very wise choice to buy an MP4 D. an exciting experience to buy an MP3
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Sadness is unpleasant, and in a society where personal happiness is prized above all else, there is little tolerance for falling in despair. Especially now we’ve got drugs for getting rid of sad feelings — whether it’s after losing a job, the break-up of a relationship or the death of a loved one. So it’s no surprise that more and more people are taking them.
But is this really such a good idea? A growing number of voices from the world of mental health research are saying it isn’t. They fear that the increasing tendency to treat normal sadness as a disease is playing fast and loose (行为轻率). Sadness, they argue, serves a useful purpose—and if we lose it, we lose out. Yet many psychiatrists (精神病医生) insist not. Sadness has a nasty habit of turning into depression(抑郁), they warn. Even when people are sad for good reason, they should take drugs to make themselves feel better.
So who is right? Is sadness something we cannot live without or something horrible never to touch?
There are lots of ideas about why feeling sad should become part of human life. It may be a self-protection strategy, as other primates (灵长类) also show signs of sadness. A losing monkey that doesn’t show sadness after it loses a fight may be seen as continuing to challenge the winning monkey — and that could result in death.
In humans sadness has a further function: we may display sadness as a form of communication. By acting sad, we tell other community members that we need support.
Then there is the idea that creativity is connected to dark moods. There are plenty of great artists, writers and musicians who have suffered from depression or disorder. Scientists found that people with signs of depression performed better at a creative task, and negative moods make people think deeply over the unhappy experience, which allows creative processes to come to the front. There is also evidence that too much happiness can be bad for your career. A doctor found that people who scored 8 out of 10 on a happiness test were more successful in income and education than 9s or 10s. The happiest people lose their willingness to make changes to their lives that may benefit them.
53. The underlined word “this ” refers to ________.
A. taking medicine B. falling in despair C. losing a job D. feeling sad
54. The author believes sadness is ________.
A. a good thing for people’s health B. something horrible never to touch
C. a necessary function of humans’ D. always to be treated as depression
55. Some animals show their sadness in order to ________.
A. cheat their enemy B. protect themselves
C. comfort the loser D. challenge the winner
56. We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A. people with great creativity tend to be happier
B. unhappy experiences contribute to a greater career
C. too much happiness can be bad for your career
D. the happiest people are the most successful ones
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Hoorah！I have escaped the Czech (捷克) Republic! I am now wearing light clothing and sunglasses, although the latter are superfluous today, as it is cool and overcast with cloud and it has rained slightly.
The city of Qatar (卡塔尔) is flat and sandy with few trees — mostly palms. You can see construction everywhere, new streets with hotels and apartment blocks in Venice theme. It’s a mix of super modern and traditional building styles. Everything looks new including the vehicles. There are many huge roundabouts; no traffic rules or at least no one obeys any. The huge 4-storey shopping mall in fantastic style has an ice rink (溜冰场) on the ground floor. Thousands of people walk round the waterfront after dark.
Qataris are very religious and there are calls to prayers regularly. Qatari men are dressed in all sorts of traditional clothing plus western dresses. You can easily find imported labour from South Asian countries, poorly paid and discriminated against. I am told that Qataris don’t hide their racist attitudes.
Women are always wonderful sights. Some are in all sorts of black clothing with face uncovered; some totally enveloped; lots wearing western dresses. Best sight so far: a woman in a mall completely wrapped in black including gloves, not even an eye shown — wearing glasses on the outside of her veil (面纱), using a cell phone while fingering a dress.
I am living with my employers — a New Zealand couple, and another teacher named Wayne, all about my age. We share one apartment. I have a large room with a bathroom attached: it is a little run-down but very comfortable. The only rather annoying thing is that I have to use the laptop on my bed as there is no desk and chair in here. As soon as it is clear that I will be staying I will make a change to all this. I haven’t lived with other people for many years and have been used to living alone so it will be interesting to see how this works.
49. The best title for this passage is ________.
A. The New Life with My EmployersB. General Observation of Qataris
C. My Adventure in the Czech RepublicD. My First Impressions of Qatar
50. The underlined part in paragraph one can be explained as ________.
A. it will be a fine day laterB. light clothing is helpless with cold
C. sunglasses appear fantasticD. sunglasses become unnecessary
51. In the author’s eyes, Qatar is a ________.
A. rich western industrialized country B. backward agricultural country
C. modern society with religious tradition D. nation closed to the outside world
52. It is true that the author is ________.
A. pleased with her present living condition B. missing her days in the Czech Republic
C. not certain how long she will be staying D. worried about her relation with her boss
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When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really, and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. Even if this is possible, it is short-term, and tends to produce unexpected and unwanted result. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they have to, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they connect you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear does no good to leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something, which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they become fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation (动机). Today’s work place is all about relationships.
Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Leaders understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most important factor in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence — knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationship with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.
45. The writer thinks that it is not ________ for us to connect leadership with strength and power.
A. possible B. necessary C. easy D. effective
46. One may NOT be working hard when ________.
A. they’re regarded as human beings B. others like to do more for leaders
C. money is taken as the most important D. leaders understand the way things work
47. From the passage, we can conclude that ______ is the key to making a good leader.
A. developing one’s emotional intelligence B. influencing others in one’s own way
C. producing some unexpected results D. having confidence in one’s ability
48. This passage is most helpful to those who ________.
A. have strength and power B. are going to make a speech
C. would like to be leaders D. are to be excellent employees