What will man be like in the future — in 5,000 or even 50,000 years from now? We can only make guesses, of course, but we can be sure that he will be different from what he is today, for man is slowly changing all the time.
Let us take an obvious example. Man, even five hundred years ago, was shorter than he is today. Now, on average, men are about three inches taller. Five hundred years is relatively a short period of time, so we may suppose that man will continue to grow taller. Again, in the modern world we use our brains a great deal. Even so, we still make use of only about 20% of the brain’s capacity(容量). As time goes on, however, we shall have to use our brains more and more, and finally we shall need our brains more and more, and finally we shall need larger ones! This is likely to bring a physical change too: the head, in particular the forehead, will grow larger.
Nowadays our eyes are in constant use. In fact, we use them so much that very often they become weaker and we have to wear glasses. But over long period of time it is likely that man’s eyes will grow stronger.
On the other hand, we tend to make less use of our arms and legs. These, as a result, are likely to grow weaker. At the same time, however, our fingers will grow more sensitive because they are used a great deal in modern life.
But what about hair? This will probably disappear from the body altogether in course of time because it does not serve a useful purpose any longer. In the future, then, both sexes are likely to be bald.
Perhaps all this gives the impression that future man will not be a very attractive creature to look at! This may well be true. All the same, in spite of all these changes, future man will still have a lot in common with us. He will still be a human being, with thoughts and emotions similar to our own.The passage mainly tells us that __________.
| A．Man’s life will be different in the future |
| B．Future man will look quite different from us |
| C．Man is growing taller and uglier as time passes |
| D．Man’s organs’ functions will change |
What serves as the evidence that man is changing?
| A．Man has got stronger eyes now than he ever had. |
| B．Man’s hair is getting thinner and thinner. |
| C．Man’s arms and legs have become lighter and weaker. |
| D．Man has been growing taller over the past 500 years. |
The change in man’s size of the forehead is probably because __________.
| A．he makes use of only 20% of the brain’s capacity |
| B．his brain has grown larger over the past centuries |
| C．he will use his brain more and more as time goes on |
| D．the other 80% of his brain will grow in due time |
Which of the following is TRUE about a human being in the future?
| A．He is hairless because hair is no longer useful. |
| B．He has smaller eyes and wears better glasses. |
| C．His fingers grow weaker because he doesn’t have to make use of them. |
| D．He thinks and feels in a different way. |
It is implied that __________.
| A．human beings will become less attractive in the future |
| B．parts of our bodies will become poorer if they are not used often |
| C．human beings hope for a change in the future life |
| D．future life is always predictable（可预测的） |
A punctual person is in the habit of doing a thing at the proper time and is never late in keeping an appointment.
The unpunctual man, on one hand, never does what he has to do at the right time. He is always in a hurry and in the end loses both time and his good name. A lost thing may be found again, but lost time can never be regained. Time is more valuable than material things. In fact, time is life itself. The unpunctual man is for ever wasting and mismanaging his most valuable asset (财产) as well as others. The unpunctual person is always complaining that he finds no time to answer letters, or return calls or keep appointments promptly. But the man who really has a great deal to do is very careful of his time. He knows that he can not get through his huge amount of work unless he faithfully keeps every piece of work when it has to be attended to.
Failure to be punctual in keeping one’s appointments is the sign of disrespect towards others. If a person is invited to dinner and arrives later than the appointed time, he keeps all the other guests waiting for him. Usually this will be regarded as a great disrespect to the host and all other guests present.
Unpunctuality, moreover, is very harmful when it comes to one’s duty, whether public or private. Imagine how it would be if those who are put in charge of important tasks failed to be at their proper place at the appointed time. A man who is known to be habitually unpunctual is never trusted by his friends or fellow men.What does the author think is the main difference between a punctual person and an unpunctual person?
| A．A punctual person does everything ahead of time. |
| B．An unpunctual person never does anything at the right time. |
| C．A punctual person has a lot of appointments. |
| D．An unpunctual person has little time to do anything. |
According to the passage, the main reason that a person is always unpunctual is that _______.
| A．he has more work to do than other people |
| B．he is always in a hurry when he works |
| C．he doesn’t care much about time |
| D．he always mismanages and wastes his time |
If someone isn’t punctual in keeping his appointments, he might ________.
| A．lose his life |
| B．mismanage his asset |
| C．be thought to disrespect others |
| D．do harm to others |
According to the third paragraph, when you are invited to dinner, you should arrive there ________.
| A．after other guests |
| B．before other guests |
| C．at the appointed time |
| D．after the host getting things ready |
Which of the following statements best describes the harm of unpunctuality?
| A．If you are an unpunctual person, you cannot be in charge of any important task. |
| B．If your friends know that you are unpunctual, they may not see you again. |
| C．Unpunctuality may bring about heavy losses for both public and private affairs. |
| D．Unpunctuality may make you miss a lot of appointments and lose friends. |
Accurately forecasting the weather is a very hard thing to do. There are many parts of weather dynamics — the study of how water and air in motion cause weather patterns — to consider. Even the best forecast can be changed by a small weather disturbance halfway around the world. Today’s forecast use complex computer models, weather instruments, and detailed analyses of daily observations to predict the weather. However, it hasn’t always been that way. People, like your grandparents, use folklore and proverbs to help forecast the weather. They remembered what conditions caused changes and observed the factors associated with weather: atmospheric and cloud conditions, temperature, winds, and reactions of plants and animals. Many people believe that this way of forecasting weather is accurate more often than modem forecasting.
Grandma’s aching joints might indicate the arrival of a low-pressure system. She might also observe the geese flying lower than usual, confirming the low-pressure system. Finally, she might feel dampness on her skin, a sign of high humidity (湿度). Based on these three observations, grandma might warn that a storm is brewing.
Joints and nerves can indicate dropping air pressure, dissolved gases in the blood form bubbles under low air pressure. This causes pain in joints and nerve endings. Geese and other birds respond to changes in air pressure by adjusting how high they fly. In the fair, calm weather of a high-pressure system, the birds fly higher than in the stormy weather associated with a low-pressure system.
Nature provides other clues to changing weather. A decrease in air pressure causes deer and elk to come down from the mountains to look for shelter. Some animals feed more than usual. The higher humidity before a storm causes some insects to leave the trees and gather near the ground. Some flowers close so rain doesn’t get inside them. In winter, rhododendron plants curl up to protect themselves as the temperature drops.
Several of the sayings apply in particular areas of the world. Here are some of them.
■Early thunder, early spring.
■Rainbow in the morning gives you fair warning.
■When teeth and bones ache, expect the clouds to fill the lake.
■When high clouds and low clouds do not match together, prepare for a blow and a change in the weather.It is true that ___________.
| A．using folklore and proverbs to forecast weather is more accurate than modem forecasting |
| B．complex computer models and weather instruments can always forecast weather accurately |
| C．modern forecasting cannot always guarantee accurate weather forecasting for some reason |
| D．modem forecasting along with other observations is sure to give accurate weather forecast |
In a low-pressure system, you may notice the following EXCEPT that ___________.
| A．some birds will be seen flying near the surface of the earth |
| B．some flowers close so rain doesn’t get inside |
| C．some animals come down from mountains |
| D．some insects disappear from ground |
It is a fact that the behavior of plants and animals is _________.
| A．likely to reflect long-term weather forecasting |
| B．likely to reflect short-term weather forecasting |
| C．unlikely to reflect any kind of weather forecasting |
| D．more likely to reflect both short-term and long term weather forecasting |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．People can forecast weather with no modern equipment. |
| B．How to use proverbs to forecast weather forecasting. |
| C．Hard as it is, weather forecasting has a scientific base. |
| D．The importance of weather forecasting. |
The booking notes of the play “the Age of Innocence”:
Price: $10
BOOKING
There are four easy ways to book seats for performance:
— in person
The Box Office is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.--8 p.m.
— by telephone
Ring 01324976 to reserve your tickets or to pay by credit card（Visa, MasterCard and Amex accepted）.
— by post
Simply complete the booking form and return it to Global Theatre Box Office.
— on line
Complete the on-line booking form at www.satanfiedtheatre.com.
DISCOUNTS:
Saver: $2 off any seat booked any time in advance for performances from Monday to Thursday. Savers are available for children up to 16 years old, over 60s and full-time students.
Supersaver: half-price seats are available for people with disabilities and one companion. It is advisable to book in advance. There is a maximum of eight wheelchair spaces available and one wheelchair space will be held until an hour before the show.
Standby: best available seats are on sale for $6 from one hour before the performance for people eligible（suitable）for Saver and Supersaver discounts and thirty minutes before for all other customers.
Group Bookings: there is a ten per cent discount for parties of twelve or more.
School: school parties of ten or more can book $6 standby tickets in advance and will get every tenth ticket free.
PLEASE NOTE: we are unable to exchange tickets or refund money unless a performance is cancelled due to unpredicted circumstances.If you want to book a ticket, you CAN NOT _____
| A．go to the Box Office on Sundays. |
| B．ring the booking number and pay for the tickets by credit card. |
| C．use the Internet. |
| D．complete a booking form and post it to the Box Office. |
If you make a group booking for a group of 14 adults, how much should you pay?
| A．$120 | B．$126 | C．$140 | D．$150 |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．There are only 8 wheelchair spaces in the theatre. |
| B．A school party of 15 students should pay 90 for the standby tickets. |
| C．A group of 12 persons can get 10 per cent discount. |
| D．The audience can’t refund money if the performance is on show. |
What kind of tickets are the cheapest?
| A．The standby tickets for school parties of ten or more. |
| B．The standby tickets. |
| C．The tickets for Saver discount. |
| D．The tickets for group booking. |
[1] HEY boys, attention please! If you want to go to the US one day, you’d better be fully prepared, because, well, you and the boys in the US are a bit different. In my opinion, you’d better try to do the following things.
[2] Firstly, know how to knot a tie （打领带）. In the US, every boy above school age wears suits when they go to weddings （婚礼）. My friend Madison from Virginia said it shows respect to others. Do you know how to ____________? Learn how!
[3] Secondly, be a gentleman. I know in China some boys are still proud of being strong. But in the US, a good man should also be polite. Here are two examples: holding the door for people behind you and giving the seat on a bus to old people.
[4] The last is to learn something about football and baseball. Chinese boys like ping-pong, basketball and soccer, but American boys love football and baseball. They get very happy when they play and watch these sports. It’s not necessary to be a fan of football or fix （固定） your TV channel to baseball games. But in order to watch the sports with other boys, at least learning some rules would help.
[5] However, all this doesn’t mean that the American way is always the right way. We sometimes need to know the importance of another culture, but don’t feel you have to know that if it makes you uncomfortable. Have fun along the way!Who might be the audience of this speech? （within 10 words）
Please fill in the blank in Paragraph 2? （within 3 words）
Which paragraph might the following example be put in? （within 2 words）
“Men in the US like to follow the ‘ladies first’ rule.”What are the popular sports among American boys? （within 3 words）
How do you understand the last paragraph? （within 15 words）
Like many other places in the world, recently, Indiana education officials decided that the schools of the state will not be required to teach handwriting skills to students any longer. Instead, they will focus their energies on teaching students how to type. Is handwriting still an important skill? An online survey received some surprising responses.
Handwriting is not necessary. Students only need to know how to read it, and the only time that they must write something is to make a signature. Why stress them more than they need to be stressed? We already put so much pressure on them to perform on state tests. —Rita
Children don’t write letters now. They send e-mails or text messages. A lot of those old ways are going away. How many bills do you pay by writing a check anymore? —Brown
Although my son is not comfortable with writing, I bought a workbook for him to practice his handwriting. Can you imagine being an adult and not being able to sign a document? —Susan
What a shame! I guess one day it will be a lost art, because handwriting is that personal and beautiful. It has personality —Anna
The school where I worked dropped handwriting several years ago. Unless the students have computers in class, they will not be able to take notes at high speed. I have to speak very slowly and stop after a sentence or two because many students write very slowly. —Helen
The same thing happened here in Tennessee this past year. I think it’s a shame. I just received a handwritten letter from my stepmother and it meant that she spent time sitting and writing. Such a letter brought me a good feeling. —Kathy
Children should still learn writing, for the sake of having a skill that all people can communicate with. I certainly appreciate a handwritten note of thanks or news from my children and grandchildren. —RuthWhat is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some advice by Indiana education officials. |
| B．The importance of learning typing in schools. |
| C．A discussion about the importance of handwriting. |
| D．The popularity of computers in schools. |
What both Rita and Brown have in common is that they believe.
| A．It’s difficult for students to learn writing |
| B．In many cases, handwriting is useless. |
| C．Handwriting has caused many problems |
| D．Students show no interest in handwriting |
Which of the following isTRUE?
| A．It’s of no use for students to learn writing at school. |
| B．Susan values her son’s handwriting very much. |
| C．Handwriting has already become a lost art. |
| D．Kathy doesn’t like the typed letters from others. |
In Kathy’s opinion, in a way, handwriting .
| A．Could work as a feeling connection |
| B．Was her stepmother’s favorite |
| C．Was completely dropped in Tennessee |
| D．Brought much fun to her family |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Typing had already replaced handwriting worldwide. |
| B．Susan’s son cannot write his own name by hand. |
| C．Ruth enjoys writing to her children and grandchildren. |
| D．Handwriting can make one different from others. |