A high school teacher once told us, "If you make one close friend in school, you will be most fortunate. A true friend is someone who stays with you for life." Experience teaches that he was right. Good friendships are just not easily formed. Why?
One reason may relate to the mobility in our society. Mr. Darrell Sifford, a news columnist, has been studying friendship for many years. He reports the thoughts of one woman on this aspect of friendships:
"She was nine, and her family had just moved to New Jersey, and she didn't know anybody. Her mother said to her," "Amelia, I know you're feeling bad because you don't have any friends. But you can fix that. Just walk across the street—I know there's a girl about your age over there—and knock on the door and ask her to be your friend."
"She added that the direct approach always worked when she was a child. But as she left childhood, she found that the simple direct approach was more and more difficult for her to follow. As an adult, Amelia longed to have friends but her hands were tied. The problem, according to her, is that society teaches us in a number of ways that direct action is not acceptable behavior. We need to be less direct to cushion ourselves against possible rejection and the fright of exposing our own helplessness."
What are some of the obstacles to friendships? According to Mr. Sifford, the greatest is the temptation (诱惑) to expect too much too soon. Deep relationships take time. Another big difficulty is the selfish tendency to think one "possesses" the other, with an almost exclusive right to his time and attention. Similarly, friendships require two-sided actions. In brief, you must give as much as you take. Finally, unless you spend reasonable time together, talking on the phone, writing letters, doing things together, friendships will not last.
Why is it so difficult to form friendships? Perhaps the answer has something to do with the impatient temperament (急躁) of some American people. It is possible, as Mr. Sifford states, that we simply do not stay in one place long enough for a true friendship to develop. However, there can be no disagreement on the need for each of us to think carefully about the kind of friendships we want. As in all interpersonal relationships, success depends on clarity of purpose, openness to others, and a willingness to experiment. What does the underlined word "obstacles" mean?
| A．Something that makes it difficult for you to do or achieve something. |
| B．Something that makes it easy for you to do or achieve something. |
| C．Something that makes it difficult for you to understand something. |
| D．Something that makes it easy for you to do or understand something. |
It can be implied that adults don't make friends in a direct approach because __________.
| A．they are afraid to be rejected by others |
| B．they are afraid to expose their rudeness |
| C．they think it is impolite behavior |
| D．their hands are tied tightly together |
In which of the following cases is it possible for you to develop true friendships?
| A．You stay in one place for long enough with your friend. |
| B．You spend all your time together with your friend. |
| C．You completely possess your friend's time and attention. |
| D．You give your friend as much as you take from him. |
The author quoted many times what Mr. Darrell Sifford said in order to __________.
| A．show respect for him |
| B．share the same opinion with him |
| C．strengthen the authority of his opinion |
| D．make some comments about friendships |
Beware of those who use the truth to cheat. When someone tells you something that is true, but leaves out important information that should be included, he can create a false impression.
For example, someone might say,“I just won a hundred dollars on the lottery（抽奖）. It was great. I took that dollar ticket back to the store and turned it in for one hundred dollars!”
This guy’s a winner, right? Maybe, maybe not. We then discover that he bought two hundred tickets, and only one was a winner. He’s really a big loser!
He didn’t say anything that was false, but he deliberately omitted important information. That’s called a half-truth. Half-truths are not technically lies, but they are just as dishonest.
Untrustworthy candidates in political campaigns often use this tactic (策略). Let’s say that during Governor Smith’s last term, her state lost one million jobs and gained three million jobs. Then she seeks another term. One of her opponents runs an as saying, “During Government Smith’s term, the state lost one million jobs!”That’s true. However an honest statement would have been, “During Governor Smith’s term, the state had a net (净余的) gain of two million jobs.”
Advertisers will sometimes use half-truths. It’s against the law to make false claims so they try to mislead you with the truth. An ad might say, “Nine out of ten doctors recommend Yucky Pills to cure nose pimples (丘疹).” It fails to mention that they only asked ten doctors and nine of them work for the Yucky Corporation.
This kind of deception happens too often. It’s a sad fact of lif
e: Lies are lies, and sometimes the truth can lie as well. Which statement is true according to the article?
| A．Whenever people tell the truth, they are really lying. |
| B．The truth can be used in dishonest ways |
| C．All governors help their states. |
| D．You can’t trust gamblers (赌博的人) |
The author clearly wants people to .
| A．vote for female candidates |
| B．know that lies are lies |
| C．never trust anyone |
| D．think carefully about what they read and hear |
Which of the following would be the best title?
| A．Lying With the Truth | B．Everyone Lies |
| C．Yucky Corporation | D．Nose Pimples |
An idea that started in Seattle's public library has spread throughout America and beyond. The concept is simple: help to build a sense of community in a city by getting everyone to read the same book at the same time.
In addition to encouraging reading as a pursuit (追求) to be enjoyed
by all, the program allows strangers to communicate by discussing the book on the bus, as well as promoting reading as an experience to be shared in families and schools. The idea came from Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl who launched (发起）the "If All of Seattle Read the Same Book " project in 1998. Her original program used author visits, study guides and book discussion groups to bring people together with a book, but the idea has since expanded to many other American cities, and even to Hong kong.
In Chicago, the mayor(市长）appeared on television to announce the choice of To Kill a Mockingbird as the first book in the "One Book, One Chicago" program. As a result, reading clubs and neighbourhood groups sprang up around the city. Across the US, stories emerged of parents and children reading to each other at night and strangers chatting away on the bus about plot and character.
The only problem arose in New York ,where local readers could not decide on one book to represent the huge and diverse population. This may show that the idea works best in medium-sized cities or large towns, where a greater sense of unity(一致）can be achieved .Or it may show that New Yorkers rather missed the point ,putting all their energy and passion into the choice of the book rather than discussion about a book itself.
Eventually，as Nancy points out, the level of success is not measured by how many people read a book, but by how many people are enriched by the process, or h
ave enjoyed speaking to someone with whom they would not otherwise have shared a word.What is the purpose of the project launched by Nancy?
A．To invite authors to guide readers. |
B．To encourage people to read and share. |
| C．To involve people in community service. | D．To promote the friendship between cities. |
Why was it difficult for New Yorkers to carry out the project?
| A．They had little interest in reading. | B．They were too busy to read a book. |
| C．They came from many different backgrounds | D．They lacked support from the local government |
According to the passage, where would the project be more e
asily carried out?
| A．In large communities with little sense of unity | B．In large cities where librar ies are far from home |
| C．In medium-sized cities with a diverse population | |
| D．In large towns where agreement can be quickly reached |
The underlined words “shared a word
” in Paragraph 5 probably mean.
| A．exchanged ideas with each other | B．discussed the meaning of a word |
| C．gamed life experience | D．used the same language |
According to Nancy, the degree of success of the project is judged by.
| A．the careful selection of a proper book | B．the growing popularity of the writers |
| C．the number of people who benefit from reading | D．the number of books that each person reads |
There is no other five-year –old like him. He has a potato-shaped head , thick eyebrows and a voice that is not easily forgotten. He is not evil, but trouble follows him wherever he goes.
Crayon Shinchan（蜡笔小新）enjoys great popularity in China. He has many fans in Hong Kong , Taiwan and on the mainland. And he is one of the hottest cartoon characters in his home country, Japan.
But, the trouble-maker’s show was ranked the No. 1 most unwanted cartoon program by Japan’s Parents’ Association on April 18.
More than half the parents who took part in the study thought Shinchan was a negative role model for children. They believed his actions and speech were adult in nature and not suitable for kids.
Many parents and education experts in China agree with them. Shinchan, they say, is really offensive. He looks out for pretty ladies on the street; at the bookstore he reads magazines full of sexy women; he pretends to be kidnapped by his teacher when he sees a police car; and he raises his mum’s skirt and shouts out the color of her underpants if she doesn’t buy him what he wants.
“Crayon Shimchan is full of dirty humor. The boy shows some terrible adult ment
ality(心态),which doesn’t match his age,” said Pang Lijuan, professor of the Education Department at Beijing Normal University. Pang further pointed out that Shinchan destroys the traditional image of a polite, hard-working boy. She fears that some teens may copy his behavior and harm their psychological development. Pang and many others in China think that Shinchan is a cartoon for adults-----not for children.
But some kids disagree. Jiangxin, a senior 2 student in Luhe Middle School 
in Beijing, became a fan of Shinchan after he first saw the cartoon two years ago. He said it is Shinchan’s humor , courage, and cleverness that makes him and his friends love the little cartoon character . “Shinchan looks at the adults’ world with kid’s eyes. He uncovers the hypocrisy(虚伪) and selfishness in a childish way,” explained Jiang. “We watch it just for fun.” But Jiang also admitted that Shinchan is not good for all ages. “It may not be suitable for primary school kids. They may try to blindly copy him.”
Shinchan’s “father ”, Japan’s popular cartoonist, Yoshito Ushi, never thought Shinchan would cause such a heated discussion. He argued that Shinchan is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. The boy does everything adults would like, but don’t dar
e to do. “People can easily forgive him because he’s only five years old,” said Yoshito. Teachers and parents dislikes Crayon Shincha
n because .
| A．he looks very ugly |
| B．he caused a heated discussion |
| C．the character was created by an adult cartoonist |
| D．he was regarded as a negative role model for children to follow |
Many children are crazy about Shinchan mainly because.
| A．he looks very funny |
| B．the cartoon character is suitable for all ages |
| C．they think he is humorous, clever and brave |
| D．he is a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men |
The underlined word “offensive” in Paragraph 5 probably means.
| A．humorous | B．ugly-looking | C．funny | D．unpleasant |
What is Yoshito Ushi’s explanation of Shinchan’s behaviour?
| A．Shinchan is such a naughty boy that he can’t behave himself. |
| B．Shinchan is trying to draw people’s attention by doing some offensive things. |
| C．Shinchan wants to set a role model in a different way. |
| D．Shinchan’ s behaviour is just a childish copy of Japan’s middle-aged men. |
We know the famous ones—the Thomas Edisons and the Alexander Graham Bells—but wha
t about the 
less famous inventors? What about the people who invented the traffic light and the windshield wiper (雨刮器)？ Shouldn’t we know who they are?
Joan Mclean thinks so. In fact, McLean, a professor of physics at Mountain University in Range, feels so strongly about this matter that she’s developed a course on the topic. In addition to learning “who” invented “what”, however, McLean also likes her students to learn the answers to the “why” and “how” questions. According to McLean, “When students learn the answers to these questions, they are better prepared to recognize opportunities for inventing and more willing to give inventing a try.”
Her students agree. One young man with a patent（专利）for an unbreakable umbrella is walking proof of McLean’s statement. “If I had not heard the story of the windshield wiper’s invention,” said Tommy Lee, a senior physics major, “ I never would have dreamed of turning my bad experience during a rainstorm into something so useful.” Lee is now considering to sell his patent to an umbrella producer.
So, just what is the story behind the windshield wiper? Well, Mary Anderson ca
me up with the idea in 1902 after a visit to New York City. The day was cold and stormy, but Anderson still wanted to see the sights, so she jumped aboard a streetcar. Noticing that the driver was struggling to see through the snow covering the windshield, she found herself wondering why there couldn’t be a built-in device(装置) for cleaning the window. Sti
ll wondering about this when she returned home to Birminghan, Alabama, Anderson started drafting out solutions. One of her ideas, a lever (操作杆) on the inside of a vehicle that would control an arm on the ou
tside, became the first windshield wiper.
Today we benefit from countless inventions and innovations. It’s hard to imagine driving without Garrett A. Morgan’s traffic light. It’s equally impossible to picture a world without Katherine J. Blodgett’s innovation that makes glass invisible. Can you picture life without clear windows and eyeglasses?
Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn't matter where you live--in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village--the chances are that you' ll be disturbed by jet planes, radios, oil - powered engines, etc. We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they' re working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be a very frightening experience for a human being. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓). The noise level in some discos is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
One recent report about noise and concentration(专心) suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really influences their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise which doesn't change too much(music, for example) may even help people to concentrate.According to this passage, the noise pollution .
| A．has become the worst in the countryside | B．has become better in big cities |
| C．has spread from cities to villages | D．has been controlled in modern cities |
Some people have their hearing harmed .
| A．while listening to pop music | B．in complete silence |
| C．when speaking loudly | D．while watching TV |
Scientists have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating on something is .
| A．all kinds of noise | B．changes in the level of noise |
| C．background noise | D．popular music |