For those who make journeys across the world, the speed of travel today has turned the countries into a series of villages. Distances between them appear no greater to a modern traveler than those which once faced men as they walked from village to village. Jet planes fly people fro one end of the earth to the other, allowing them a freedom of movement undreamt of a hundred years ago.
Yet some people wonder if the revolution in travel has gone too far. A price has been paid, they say, for the conquest(征服) of time and distance. Travel is something to be enjoyed, not endured(忍受). The boat offers leisure and time enough to appreciate the ever-changing sights and sounds of a journey. A journey by train also has a special charm about it. Lakes and forests and wild, open plains sweeping past your carriage window create a grand view in which time and distance mean nothing. On board a plane, however, there is just the blank blue of the sky filling the narrow windows of the airplane. The soft lighting, in-flight films and gentle music make up the only world you know, and the hours progress slowly.
Then there is the time spent being "processed" at a modern airport. People are conveyed like robots along walkways; baggage is weighed, tickets produced, examined and produced yet again before the passengers move to another waiting area. Journeys by rail and sea take longer, yes, but the hours devoted to being "processed" at departure and arrival in airports are luckily absent. No wonder, then, that the modern high-speed trains are winning back passengers from the airlines.
Man, however, is now a world traveler and cannot turn his back on the airplane. The working lives of too many people depend upon it; whole new industries have been built around its design and operation. The holiday-maker, too, with limited time to spend, patiently endures the busy airports and the limited space of the flight to gain those extra hours and even days, relaxing in the sun. Speed controls people’s lives; time saved, in work or play, is the important thing –or so we are told. . Perhaps those first horsemen, riding free across the wild, open plains, were enjoying a better world than the one we know today.
They could travel at will, and the clock was not their master.What does the writer try to express in Paragraph 1 ?
| A．Travel by plane has speeded up the growth of villages. |
| B．The speed of modern travel has made distances relatively short. |
| C．The freedom of has helped people realize their dreams. |
| D．Man has been fond of traveling rather than staying in one place. |
How does the writer support the underlined statement in Paragraph 2 ?
| A．By giving instructions. |
| B．By analyzing cause and effect. |
| C．By following the order of time. |
| D．By giving example. |
According to Paragraph 3, passengers are turning back to modern high-speed trains because__________.
| A．they pay less for the tickets |
| B．they feel safer during the travel |
| C．they can enjoy higher speed of travel |
| D．they don’t have to waste time being “processed” |
What does the last sentence of the passenger mean?
| A．They could enjoy free and relaxing travel. |
| B．They needed the clock to tell the time. |
| C．They preferred traveling on horseback. |
| D．They could travel with their master. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Air travel benefits people and industries. |
| B．Train travel has some advantages over air travel. |
| C．Great changes have taken place in modern travel. |
| D．The high speed of air travel is gained at a cost. |
If Confucius(孔子) were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.
While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day, few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.
But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.
In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually included Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学). Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantages of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Westerners philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.
So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.
Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.
As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is. The opening paragraph is mainly intended to ______.
| A．provide some key facts about Confucius |
| B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject |
| C．show great respect for the ancient thinker |
| D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations |
We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students______.
| A．have a great interest in studying Chinese |
| B．take an active part in Chinese competitions |
| C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams |
| D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．Forgotten Wisdom in America |
| B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language |
| C．Chinese Culture for Westerners |
| D．Old Thinker with a Big Future |
The passage is likely to appear in _______.
| A．a biography |
| B．a history paper |
| C．a newspaper |
| D．a philosophy textbook |
| Backpacking in America Hi. My friend and I are two engineering students in New York. We are planning a backpacking trip in America. We are friendly, easy-going and adventurous. We are looking for friendly people to go with us along our wild adventurous journey. We are trying to make this trip as cheap as possible, as the cheaper it gets the more excitement it will bring to our journey. So please email us at Stephen302@gmail.com. |
| Free French Conversation Hi. I am an American girl. My native language is English and I have a very good knowledge of French. I would like to meet a girl from China to practice speaking French. I would speak slowly so that you can understand me better and learn French more easily. You can teach me Chinese in return. My email is Janet123@hotmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you soon. |
| Private English Teacher An English teacher offers private lessons. I have over 5 years’ experience in teaching English. I correct mistakes (grammar, pronunciation), and also teach reading and writing. I always do my best to encourage students to use English and develop their language skills. $10 for a lesson of 40 minutes, and $15 for a lesson of up to 70 minutes. Please email me if you need more information. Email: David305@gmail.com. |
| Room Available in Washington I am Lydia from America and looking for a clean and nice female room-mate to live with. It will be available from January 1st, 2012 to August 31st, 2012. The room is large enough for the two of us. It is close to bars, restaurants, and shops and it is within 10 minutes to walk to the bus station. The room price is $460/month, including electricity, hot water, and the Internet! Email me at Lydia606@hotmail.com to set up a time to come and have a look. |
To get close to nature in a group, you will most probably send your e-mail to_____.
| A．Lydia606@hotmail.com |
| B．David305@gmail.com |
| C．Janet123 @hotmail.com |
| D．Stephen302@gmail.com |
How much will a student pay a month if he goes to the 40 minutes’ class twice and the 70 minutes’ once every week?
| A．$35 | B．$100 | C．$140 | D．$160 |
If you are allowed to move into the room for rent, you _____.
| A．can get a free Internet connection every day |
| B．can spend ten minutes walking to school |
| C．will share the room with a female roommate |
| D．will find the restaurants across the bus station |
If you are a Chinese girl who wants to practice French, you can write an e-mail to _____.
| A．Stephen302@gmail.com |
| B．David305@gmail.com |
| C．Lydia606@hotmail.com |
| D．Janet123 @hotmail.com |
What time is it? Most people are pretty accurate in their answer. And if you don’t know for sure, it’s a very likely that you can find out. There may be a watch on your wrist, there may be a clock on the wall, desk, or computer screen; or maybe you’re riding in a car that has a clock in the dashboard(仪表板).
Even if you don’t have a timepiece of some sort nearby, your body keeps its own beat. Humans have an internal clock that regulates(调节) the beating of our heart, the pace of our breathing, the discharge(排出) of chemicals within our bloodstream, and many other bodily functions.
Time is something from which we can’t escape. Even if we ignore it, it’s still going by, ticking away, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour. So the main issue in using your time well is, “Who’s in charge?” We can allow time to slip by and let it be our enemy. Or we can take control of it and make it our ally.
By taking control of how you spend your time, you’ll increase your chances of becoming a more successful student. Perhaps more importantly, the better you are at managing the time you devote to your studies, the more time you’ll have to spend on your outside interests.
The aim of time management is not to schedule every moment so we become slaves of a timetable that governs every waking moment of the day. Instead, the aim is to make informed choices as to how we use our time. Rather than letting the day go by, largely without our awareness, what we are going to discuss next can make us better able to control time for our own purposes.The underlined word “ally” in Para. 3 probably means somebody or something that is _____.
| A．your slave and serves you |
| B．your supporter and helps you |
| C．under your control and obeys you |
| D．under your influence and follows you |
The author intends to tell us that time _____.
| A．could be regulated by a timepiece such as a clock or a watch |
| B．could be managed by the internal clock of human bodies |
| C．should be well managed for our own good |
| D．should be saved for outside interests |
In the next part, the author would most probably discuss with you _____.
| A．how to keep up with the time | B．how to make up for lost time |
| C．how to have a good time | D．how to make good use of time |
One cold winter evening, some young families and young couples were eating in a McDonald’s when an old couple walked slowly into McDonald’s hand in hand.
Some of the customers looked admiringly at them .You could tell what the admirers were thinking. Look, there is a couple who has been through a lot together, probably for 60 years or more.” The little old man walked right up to the cash register, placed his order with no hesitation(迟疑) and then paid for their meal. The couple took a table near the back wall and started taking food off the tray. There was one hamburger, one order of French fries and one drink. The little old man unwrapped(打开) the plain hamburger and carefully cut it in half. He placed one half in front of his wife. Then he carefully counted out the French fries, divided them in two piles and neatly placed one pile in front of his wife. He took a sip(吸) of the drink, his wife took a sip and then set the cup down between them.
When the man began to eat his few bites of hamburger, the crowd began to get restless. Again you could tell what they were thinking. “That poor old couple. All they can afford is one meal for the two of them.” Then, the man began to eat his French fries, when one young man stood and came over to the old couple’s table. He politely offered to buy another meal for the old couple to eat. But the old man replied that they were just fine and they were used to sharing everything.
Then the crowd noticed that the little old lady hadn’t eaten a bite. She just sat there watching her husband eat and occasionally taking turns sipping the drink. When the little old man finished eating and was wiping his face neatly, the young man could stand it no longer. Again he came over to their table and offered to buy some food.
After being politely refused again, he finally asked a question of the little old lady. “Ma’am, why aren’t you eating? You said that you shared everything. What is it that you are waiting for?”
She answered, “The false teeth”.According to the first paragraph, the old couple _____.
| A．enjoyed the scene outside the McDonald’s |
| B．didn’t look suitable(合适的) for the environment |
| C．loved being with young families and couples |
| D．liked the food in McDonald’s |
The little old man cut the plain hamburger in half because _____.
| A．he couldn’t finish eating it with one bite |
| B．he was very careful with his food |
| C．he ordered more than he could eat |
| D．he wanted to share it with his wife |
The young man who offered to buy the old couple food was _____.
| A．impolite | B．stubborn | C．sympathetic(有同情心的) | D．doubtful |
From the old lady’s answer, we know that _____.
| A．she was not interested in the food |
| B．the couple suffered a terrible toothache |
| C．the couple were using the same false teeth |
| D．actually she didn’t answer the young man’s question |
When movie star Scarlett Johansson was photographed naming in Los Angeles recently, she attracted a lot of attention; for the 27-year-old actress was wearing Vibram FiveFingers, so called because they look more like gloves than shoes, with a space for each toe.
Strange though they may look, these so-called barefoot shoes, which reproduce the effect of barefoot running but with less pain, are just one brand in a range of minimalist footwear. These super-thin sports shoes are causing a stir in the world of running and fitness. Why? Because some experts believe they could make you a better, more efficient runner and that traditional trainers could be doing you more harm than good.
"Wearing a shoe that has lots of cushioning and support affects the way your body naturally moves and studies suggest that this carries a higher risk of injury," explains Matt Wallden, an athlete performance expert. "But with barefoot shoes, the foot can actually feel the firmness and shape of the ground, which allows your body to respond effectively.'"
But before you rush out to invest in minimalist footwear, be careful. These kinds of shoes are not meant for everyone, or at least not straight away.
"Ordinary sports shoes with support are good for beginners whose bodies are not used to the impact of running," explains Patrick Davoren, former Olympic athlete. "If you are not in great condition, then running in minimalist footwear may cause injuries and will turn a lot of people off exercise and running.
If you are currently injured, and figures show that in any given year 65% of all runners are, it can be tempting to try anything that promises to get you back on the road, trail, or beach. But barefoot running is not a method of treating injury nor is it a magical way of suddenly turning you into a great athlete.
Even if you're used to running, when you start using minimalist shoes you should build up your distance gradually. Start_off'by doing just 10% of what you'd normally run and increase the distance by no more than 10% every week. And a word of warning - you may never have soft feet againThe Vibram FiveFingers are shoes ______.
| A．specifically designed for women |
| B．that have lots of cushion inside |
| C．safest for people who enjoy sports |
| D．that are much thinner than normal sports shoes |
The underlined word "they" in paragraph 2 refers to ________.
| A．experts | B．feet | C．shoes | D．runners |
According to Matt Wallden, the new shoes ________.
| A．make feet more sensitive to the running surface |
| B．will produce immediate improvements |
| C．force your body to move less naturally |
| D．increase the chances of getting hurt |
The author suggests that new users of Vibram FiveFingers should ________.
| A．run in the shoes every day at top speed |
| B．begin with a shorter running distance than normal |
| C．occasionally run barefooted to harden their feet |
| D．make sure they are already very fit before using them |
Where would you probably read this article?
| A．A travel book. | B．A movie website. |
| C．A sports magazine. | D．A science journal. |