A family in Guelph, Ontario is spending a year living “in 1982”. They’re doing it so their kids can see what life was like before technology like iPads, computers and even coffee machines was part of everyday life.
They have stopped using all technology from their home and are relying on the things people would have used back in the 80s. There is a box at the front door where people can put their cell phones in, while they’re visiting the family.
Blair McMillan and his wife Morgan want their kids—Trey, 5, and Denton, 2—to have a year without technology.
Instead of reading e-readers, they are reading books. Instead of using a GPS, they used paper maps. The home the family is living in was built in the 1980s. Even the way they dress and style their hair is from the 80s.
The whole idea started when young Trey was called to come outside. He didn’t because he was busy playing on the ipad. That’s why his dad thought of the idea of living “in 1982” for a year. The family plans to live like “it’s 1982” until April next year. To them, one of the hardest things was giving up their cell phone.【改编】 What will you do when you visit the family?
| A.The way you dress and must be from the 80s. |
| B.You must leave your cell phone at home. |
| C.You will put your cell phone outside before entering the room. |
| D.You can use the phone prepared by the family. |
【改编】How long do they live without technology?
| A.a year. | B.twenty years. |
| C.a month. | D.five years. |
【改编】To them,what is the hardest thing?
| A.Giving up reading e-readers |
| B.Give up GPS |
| C.The way they dress and style their hair is from the 80s |
| D.Give up cell phone |
If we were asked exactly what we were doing a year ago,we should probably have to say that we could not remember. But if we had kept a book and had written in it an account of what we did each day,we should be able to give an answer to the question.
It is the same in history. Many things have been forgotten because we do not have any written account of them. Sometimes men did keep a record of the most important happenings in their country,but often it was destroyed by fire or in a war.Sometimes there was never any written record at all because the people of that time and place did not know how to write.For example,we know a good deal about the people who lived in China 4,000 years ago, because they could write and leave written records for those who lived after them.But we know almost nothing about the people who lived even 200 years ago in central Africa, because they had not learned to write.
Sometimes,of course,even if the people cannot write,they may know something of the past.They have heard about it from older people,and often songs and dances and stories have been made about the most important happenings,and these have been sung and acted and told for many generations .For most people are proud to tell what their fathers did in the past.This we may call ’remembered history’.Some of it has now been written down. It is not so exact or so valuable to us as written history is,because words are much more easily changed when used again and again in speech than when copied in writing.But where there are no written records,such spoken stories are often very helpful..We know very little about the central Africa 200 years ago because ___
| A.there was nothing worth being written down at that time |
| B.the people there ignored the importance of keeping a record |
| C.the written records were perhaps destroyed by a fire |
| D.the people there did not know how to write |
.“Remembered history”refers to ___.
| A.history based on a person’s imagination |
| B.stories of important happenings passed down from mouth to mouth |
| C.songs and dances about the most important events |
| D.both B and C |
.“Remembered history”is regarded as valuable only when ____.
| A.it is written down |
| B.no written account is available |
| C.it proves to be time |
| D.people are interested in it |
.The passage suggests that we could have learned much more about our past than we do now if the ancient people had _____
| A.kept a written record of every past event |
| B.not burnt their written records in wars |
| C.told exact stories of the most important happenings |
| D.made more songs and dances |
Many people go to school for an education. They learn languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry and mathematics. Others go to school to learn a skill so that they can make a living. School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So, much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.
It is always more important to know how to study by oneself than to memorize some facts or a formula. It is usually quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula in mathematics. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a maths problem. Great scientists, such as Einstein, Newton and Galileo didn’t get anything from school. But they were all so successful. They invented so many things for mankind.
The reason for their success is that they knew how to study. They read books that were not taught at school. They worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. They would ask many questions as they read and they did thousands of experiments.
Above all, they knew how to use their brains. Many people go to school for an education. But some others go to school for __________.
| A.enjoying themselves | B.learning subjects |
| C.learning a skill | D.making a living |
. A teacher’s job is mainly to train his students to master the ability of __________.
| A.learning by themselves | B.making a living |
| C.reading and thinking | D.studying all the subjects |
Using a formula in working out a maths problem is ______ memorizing it.
| A.much easier than | B.more difficult than |
| C.as easy as | D.as difficult as |
The scientists were successful because __________.
| A.they read books that were not taught at school |
| B.they worked all their lives |
| C.they wasted not a single moment |
| D.they knew how to use their brains |
Once there was a king who never ate a meal unless there was a dish of fish with it, but one day there was a big storm and the fishermen were not able to go out to catch fish, so the king had no breakfast and no lunch. Then he ordered his servants to tell everybody in his capital that if anyone brought him a fish, he would give him anything that he asked for.
At last, a fisherman caught a big fish late in the afternoon and hurried to the king's palace with it. But the king's Prime Minister would not let him in until he promised to give him half of whatever the king gave him for the fish.
The king was very happy when he saw the fish. He asked the fisherman what he wanted for his fish. To his surprise, the fisherman said, "I want you to beat me two dozen(一打) times with a stick." When the king began to beat him a dozen times, the fisherman jumped away and said, "That is enough for me. I promised the other dozen to your Prime Minister." Then he told the king what had happened between the Prime Minister and himself. The king was very angry. He not only gave the Prime Minister the dozen hits, but also said, "Because you have been dishonest, you will not be my Prime Minister any more. The fisherman will take your place."The king didn't have breakfast and lunch because ____.
| A.there was a big storm |
| B.the Prime Minister did not bring him any food |
| C.there was no fish |
| D.his servants didn't know how to cook well |
. The fisherman took his fish to the king's palace because ____.
| A.the king had promised to give him whatever he wanted |
| B.the king was dying from hunger |
| C.he wanted to teach the Prime Minister a lesson |
| D.he wanted to be the Prime Minister |
. When the fisherman told the king what he wanted, the king ____.
| A.was very happy | B.was very surprised |
| C.was very angry | D.gave him what he wanted at once |
. The king got rid of his Prime Minister because ____.
| A.the fisherman was cleverer than his Prime Minister |
| B.the Prime Minister did not know how to catch fish |
| C.the Prime Minister was not an honest man |
| D.the Prime Minister took half of what the king gave the fisherman |
Young people can have problems with their minds. Some students become worried because they have to study very hard. Others have trouble getting on well with people like their parents and classmates.
Liu Wei, a Junior 2 student from Hefei, could not understand his teacher and was doing badly in his lessons. He became so worried about it that he started to cut his finger with a knife. Another student, 14-year-old Yan Fang from Guangzhou, was afraid of exams. She got very worried in the test, and when she looked at the exam papers, she couldn’t think of anything to write.
A recent report from Jiefang Daily says about 18% of Shanghai teenagers have mental (精神上的,心理上的)problems. Their troubles include being worried and very unhappy, and having problems in learning and getting on well with people. Many students who have problems won’t go for advice or help. Some think they will look stupid if they go to see a doctor. Others don’t want to talk about their secret.
Liang Yuezhu, an expert on teenagers from Beijing Aiding Hospital has the following advice for teenagers.
1). Talk to your parents or teachers often.
2). Take part in group activities and play sports.
3). Go to see a doctor if you feel unhappy or unwell.The students who often become worried or have trouble getting on well with others may have___________.
| A.mental problems | B.a headache |
| C.knives with them | D.no parents |
. Liu Wei cut his finger with a knife because____________.
| A.he was afraid of his teacher | B.he wanted to frighten his parents |
| C.he was so worried about his study | D.his finger was badly hurt |
Yan Fang’s problems happened whenever ______________.
| A.she studied very hard | B.she had exams |
| C.she talked with her parents | D.she thought of something |
Tourism probably started in Roman times. Rich Romans visited friends and family who were working in another part of the Roman Empire. But when the empire broke down, this kind of tourism stopped.
In the early 17th century, the idea of the “Grand Tour” was born. Rich young English people sailed across the English Channel. They visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time, including Paris in France, and Rome and Venice(威尼斯)in Italy. Their tours lasted for two to four years, and the tourists stayed a few weeks or months in each city. The “Grand Tour” was an important part of young people’s education-but only for the rich.
In the 18th century, tourism began to change. For example, people in the UK started to visit some towns, such as Bath to “take the waters”. They believed that the water there was good for their health. So large and expensive hotels were built in these towns.
In the 19th century, travel became much more popular and faster. When the first railways were built in the 1820s, it was easier for people to travel between towns, so they started to go for holidays by the sea. And some started to have holidays in the countryside as cities became larger, noisier and dirtier.
Traveling by sea also became faster and safer when the first steamships were built. People began to travel more to faraway countries.
The 20th century saw cars become more and more popular among ordinary people. Planes were made larger, so ticket prices dropped and more people used them.
Thus tourism grew, in 1949, Russian journalist Vladimir Raitz started a company called Horizon Holidays. The company organizes everything-plane tickets, hotel rooms, even food-and tourists pay for it all before they leave home. The package tour and modern tourist industry was born and began to take off.When tourism first started in Roman times, people ______.
| A.just visited the countryside. |
| B.visited the most beautiful and important European cities of the time. |
| C.stayed in friends’ town for weeks or even months. |
| D.just visited friends and families within the Roman Empire. |
. In the early times, the travelers ______.
| A.all came from Roman. | B.were very young and strong. |
| C.had lots of money. | D.traveled by boat. |
______ played the most important role in the tourism development.
| A.Education. | B.Money. | C.Transportation. | D.People’s ideas. |
Package tour was born ______.
| A.in the 20th century. | B.in Roman times. |
| C.in the early 17th century. | D.in the 19th century. |
The underlined phrase “take off” means ______.
| A.a plane rising into the air. | B.develop very fast. |
| C.remove hats and clothes. | D.bring down the prices. |