TheNationalGalleryDescription:-优题课

When I was fourteen, I earned money in the summer by cutting lawns（草坪）, and within a few weeks I had built up a body of customers. I got to know people by the flowers they planted that I had to remember not to cut down, by the things they lost in the grass or struck in the ground on purpose. I reached the point with most of them when I knew in advance what complaint was about to be spoken, which particular request was most important. And I learned something about the measure of my neighbors by their preferred method of payment: by the job, by the month--- or not at all.
Mr. Ballou fell into the last category, and he always had a reason why. On one day, he had no change for a fifty, on another he was flat out of checks, on another, he was simply out when I knocked on his door. Still, except for the money apart, he was a nice enough guy, always waving or tipping his hat when he’d see me from a distance. I figured him for a thin retirement check, maybe a work-relayed injury that kept him from doing his own yard work. Sure, I kept track of the total, but I didn’t worry about the amount too much. Grass was grass, and the little that Mr. Ballou’s property comprised didn’t take long to trim (修剪).
Then, one late afternoon in mid-July, the hottest time of the year, I was walking by his house and he opened the door, mentioned me to come inside. The hall was cool, shaded, and it took my eyes a minute to adjust to the dim light.
“ I owe you,” Mr Ballou, “ but…”
I thought I’d save him the trouble of thinking of a new excuse. “ No problem. Don’t worry about it.”
“ The bank made a mistake in my account,” he continued, ignoring my words. “ It will be cleared up in a day or two . But in the meantime I thought perhaps you could choose one or two volumes for a down payment.
He gestured toward the walls and I saw that books were stacked (堆放) everywhere. It was like a library, except with no order to the arrangement.
“ Take your time,” Mr. Ballou encouraged. “Read, borrow, keep. Find something you like. What do you read?”
“ I don’t know.” And I didn’t. I generally read what was in front of me, what I could get from the paperback stack at the drugstore, what I found at the library, magazines, the back of cereal boxes, comics. The idea of consciously seeking out a special title was new to me, but, I realized, not without appeal--- so I started to look through the piles of books.
“ You actually read all of these?”
“ This isn’t much,” Mr. Ballou said. “ This is nothing, just what I’ve kept, the ones worth looking at a second time.”
“ Pick for me, then.”
He raised his eyebrows, cocked his head, and regarded me as though measuring me for a suit. After a moment, he nodded, searched through a stack, and handed me a dark red hardbound book, fairly thick.
“ The Last of the Just,” I read. “ By Andre Schwarz-Bart. What’s it about?” “ You tell me,” he said. “ Next week.”
I started after supper, sitting outdoors on an uncomfortable kitchen chair. Within a few pages, the yard, the summer, disappeared, and I was plunged into the aching tragedy of the Holocaust, the extraordinary clash of good, represented by one decent man, and evil. Translated from French, the language was elegant, simple, impossible to resist. When the evening light finally failed I moved inside, read all through the night,
To this day, thirty years later, I vividly remember the experience. It was my first voluntary encounter with world literature, and I was stunned (震惊) by the concentrated power a novel could contain. I lacked the vocabulary, however, to translate my feelings into words, so the next week. When Mr. Ballou asked, “ Well?” I only replied, “ It was good?”
“ Keep it, then,” he said. “ Shall I suggest another?”
I nodded, and was presented with the paperback edition of Margaret Mead’s Coming of Age in Samoa ( a very important book on the study of the social and cultural development of peoples--- anthropology (人类学) ).
To make two long stories short, Mr. Ballou never paid me a cent for cutting his grass that year or the next, but for fifteen years I taught anthropology at Dartmouth College. Summer reading was not the innocent entertainment I had assumed it to be, not a light-hearted, instantly forgettable escape in a hammock (吊床) ( though I have since enjoyed many of those, too). A book, if it arrives before you at the right moment, in the proper season, at an internal in the daily business of things, will change the course of all that follows.
.The author thought that Mr. Ballou was ______________.

A．rich but mean	B．poor but polite
C．honest but forgettable	D．strong but lazy

. Before his encounter with Mr. Ballou, the author used to read _____________.

A．anything and everything	B．only what was given to him
C．only serious novels	D．nothing in the summer

. The author found the first book Mr. Ballou gave him _____________.

A．light-heated and enjoyable	B．dull but well written
C．impossible to put down	D．difficult to understand

. From what he said to the author we can gather that Mr. Ballou _______________.

A．read all books twice	B．did not do much reading
C．read more books than he kept	D．preferred to read hardbound books

. The following year the author _______________.

A．started studying anthropology at college	B．continued to cut Mr. Ballou’s lawn
C．spent most of his time lazing away in a hammock
D．had forgotten what he had read the summer before

. The author’s main point is that _____________.

A．summer jobs are really good for young people

B．you should insist on being paid before you do a job

C．a good book can change the direction of your life

D．a book is like a garden carried in the pocket.

Greenspace facilities (设施) are contributing to an important degree to the quality of the city environment. Fortunately it is no longer necessary that every lecture or every book about this subject has to start with the proof of this idea. At present it is generally accepted, although more as a self-proved statement than on the base of a closely reasoned scientific proof. Recognizing the importance of greenspaces in the city environment is a first step on the right way, this does not mean, however, that enough details are known about the functions of greenspace in towns and about the way in which people are using these spaces. As to this subject I shall within the scope (范围) of this lecture, enter into one aspect only, namely the recreative function of greenspace facilities.
The theoretical separation of living, working, traffic and recreation which for many years has been used in town and country planning, has in my opinion resulted in more attention for forms of recreation far from home, while there was relatively little attention for improvement of recreative possibilities in the direct neighborhood of the home. We have come to the conclusion that this is not right, because an important part of the time which we do not pass in sleeping or working, is used for activities at and around home. So it is obvious that recreation in the open air has to begin at the street door of the house. The city environment has to offer as many recreation activities as possible, and the design of these has to be such that more required activities can also have recreative aspect.
The very best standard of living is nothing if it is not possible to take a pleasant walk in the district, if the children cannot be allowed to play in the streets because the risks of traffic are too great, if during shopping you can nowhere find a spot for enjoying for a moment the nice weather, in short, if you only feel yourself at home after the street door of your house is closed after you.
. The importance of greenspaces in the city environment _____.

A．is still unknown	B．is paid little attention to
C．is accepted on the base of scientific proof	D．has been recognized

For many years town and country planning has _____.

A．brought living areas and places of entertainment close together

B．separated recreation facilities far from home

C．improved recreative possibilities in the neighborhood

D．enabled people to reach the best standard of living

. The word “recreation” in the passage probably means,_____.

A．activities done for pleasure or enjoyment	B．doing something again in a creative way
C．doing something important after work	D．required activities done after work

According to the author, greenspaces should be designed _____.

A．to reduce the number of recreative activities

B．to attract more and more people

C．for people to use more conveniently

D．for people to do recreative activities at the street door of the house

The main idea of this passage is that _____.

A．attention must be paid to the improvement of recreation

B．greenspace facilities should be used better to improve the quality of life

C．the city environment is providing more recreative activities

D．we should try our best to raise our living standard

It came as something of a surprise when Diana, Princess of Wales, made a trip to Angola in 1997, to support the Red Cross’s campaign for a total ban on all anti-personnel landmines. Within hours of arriving in Angola television screens around the world were filled with images of her comforting victims injured in explosions caused by landmines. “I knew the statistics,” she said, “But putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to me; like when I met Sandra, a 13-year-old girl who had lost her leg, and people like her.”
The Princess concluded with a simple message: “We must stop landmines”. And she used every opportunity during her visit to repeat this message.
But, back in London, her views were not shared by some members of the British government, which refused to support a ban on these weapons. Angry politicians launched an attack on the Princess in the press. They described her as “very ill-informed” and a “loose cannon (乱放炮的人).”
The Princess responded by brushing aside the criticisms: “This is a distraction we do not need. All I’m trying to do is help.”
Opposition parties, the media and the public immediately voiced their support for the Princess. To make matters worse for the government, it soon emerged that the Princess’s trip had been approved by the Foreign Office, and that she was in fact very well-informed about both the situation in Angola and the British government’s policy regarding landmines. The result was a severe embarrassment for the government.
To try and limit the damage, the Foreign Secretary, Malcolm Rifkind, claimed that the Princess’s views on landmines were not very different from government policy, and that it was “working towards” a worldwide ban. The Defence Secretary, Michael Portillo, claimed the matter was “a misinterpretation or misunderstanding”.
For the Princess, the trip to this war-torn country was an excellent opportunity to use her popularity to show the world how much destruction and suffering landmines can cause. She said that the experience had also given her the chance to get closer to people and their problems.
Princess Diana paid a visit to Angola in 1997______.

A．to voice her support for a total ban of landmines.

B．to clarify the British government’s stand on landmines.

C．to investigate the sufferings of landmine victims.

D．to establish her image as a friend of landmine victims.

. What did Diana mean when she said“…putting a face to those figures brought the reality home to
me” (Para.1)?

A．She just couldn’t bear to meet the landmine victims face to face.

B．The actual situation in Angola made her feel like going back home.

C．Meeting the landmine victims in person made her believe the statistics.

D．Seeing the pain of the victims made her realize the seriousness of the situation.

Some members of the British government criticized Diana because______.

A．she was ill-informed of the government’s policy.

B．they believed that she had misinterpreted the situation in Angola.

C．she had not consulted the government before the visit.

D．they were actually opposed to banning landmines.

How did Diana respond to the criticisms?

A．She made more appearances on TV.

B．She paid no attention to them.

C．She met the 13-year-old girl as planned.

D．She rose to argue with her opponents.

What did Princess Diana think of her visit to Angola?

A．It had caused embarrassment to the British government.

B．It had brought her closer to the ordinary people.

C．It had greatly promoted her popularity.

D．It had affected her relations with the British government.

Tsunami warning system is tested
If he, the founder of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, were alive, Thomas Jaggar would be proud of the U.S. tsunami warning system after Friday’s devastating earthquake in Japan sent a surge (大浪，汹涌) of ocean water dashing toward the West Coast.
● WASHINGTON — So many people surged to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center website that it slowed to a crawl early Friday, unable to provide critical information to the public about the coastal impact in the U.S. of a massive earthquake in Japan.
McClatchy Washington Bureau — Mar 11 06:09 p.m.
● CHICAGO — A tsunami warning has been issued for the central and northern California coast and Oregon, the National Weather Service announced early Friday.
Chicago Tribune— Mar 11 06:07 a.m.
● HONOLULU — A tsunami warning was issued late on Thursday for Hawaii after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific near Japan, prompting state civil defense officials to order all coastal areas evacuated（把…撤出…）by 2 a.m. local time. Tsunami sirens (警报) began sounding at9:59 p.m. on Thursday. They have sounded every hour since 11:15 p.m.
Alaska Tsunami Warning Center also issued a warning for much of the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.
Reuters via Yahoo! News — Mar 11 01:22 a.m.
● LOMPOC — Tsunami warning ‘a wake-up call’
A tsunami warning that led to evacuations for coastal

communities and campgrounds in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties Friday served as a successful trial for a more serious emergency, officials said after the danger passed.
The Lompoc Record — Mar 11 11:29 p.m.
● WELLINGTON — The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued a warning after an 8.9 magnitude earthquake struck in the Pacific near Japan, and it said the sea level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated and was in effect for some Pacific islands — Hawaii, China’s Taiwan, the Philippines and Indonesia etc.
New Straits Times — Mar 11 07:48 a.m.
— Reproduced by Yahoo Greenwich Meantime
.
. A tsunami warning was issued for all the following states in the U.S. except for _____.

A．Ohio

B．California

C．Oregon

D．Alaska

.
The underlined word “prompting” (in the fourth paragraph) most probably means _____.

A．promoting

B．advocating

C．urging

D．appealing

.
According to the passage, the Pacific Tsunami warning was first reported by _____.

A．New Straits Times	B．Reuters via Yahoo! News
C．McClatchy Washington Bureau	D．Chicago Tribune

.
In which city did the news agency issue a tsunami affecting for some other places apart from Japan and Hawaii?
A. LOMPOC. B. WASHINGTON. C. HONOLULU. D. WELLINGTON.

In Daniel Gilbert’s 2006 book "Stumbling(跌撞) on Happiness," the Harvard professor of psychology looks at several studies and concludes that marital(婚姻的) satisfaction decreases after the birth of the first child and increases only when the last child has left home. He also declares that parents are happier grocery shopping and even sleeping than spending time with their kids.
The most recent comprehensive study on the emotional state of those with kids shows us that the term "bundle of joy" may not be the most accurate way to describe our kids. "Parents experience lower levels of emotional well-being, less frequent positive emotions and more frequent negative emotions than their childless peers," says Florida State University’s Robin Simon, a sociology professor.
Simon received plenty of hate mail in response to her research，which isn’t surprising. Her findings shake the very foundation of what we’ve been raised to believe is true. In a recent NEWSWEEK Poll, 50 percent of Americans said that adding new children to the family tends to increase happiness levels. But which parent is willing to admit that the greatest gift life has to offer has in fact made his or her life less enjoyable?
Is it possible that American parents have always been this disillusioned(有幻觉的)? In pre-industrial America, parents certainly loved their children, but their kids also served a purpose—to work the farm, contribute to the household. Today, we have kids more for emotional reasons, but an increasingly complicated work and social environment has made finding satisfaction far more difficult. Raising children has not only become more complicated, it has become more expensive as well. The National Marriage Project’s 2006 report says that parents have significantly lower marital satisfaction than nonparents because they experienced more single and child-free years than previous generations.
As for those of us with kids, all the news isn’t bad. Parents still report feeling a greater sense of purpose and meaning in their lives than those who’ve never had kids. And there are other rewarding aspects of parenting that are impossible to quantify.
.
What’s the main idea of the book Stumbling on Happiness?

A．Parents are happier shopping than looking after their children.

B．Once they have children, the couples can never be as happy as before.

C．Compared with their childless peers, parents are leading a sad life.

D．The adding of children at home brings down marital satisfaction.

.
. What can we infer from Para.3?

A．The Newsweek Poll shows that people think Prof. Simon’s finding is right.

B．Many people can’t accept the fact that they are not happy with their children.

C．It isn’t surprising that Professor Simon’s controversial research made her famous.

D．Simon’s findings are based on the belief passed down from generation to generation.

.
What can we learn about American’s families in the past?

A．People had very good parents-children relationship in the family.

B．Having children could be partly out of some practical purposes.

C．Parents loved their children but they still asked them to work a lot.

D．Children had to work very hard to make their parents love them.

.
What’s the author’s opinion about having children?

A．The author doesn’t think having children is a good thing to the family.

B．The author feels children make the life of a family happy.

C．The author thinks parenting can still be rewarding in a certain way.

D．The author believes that parents sacrifice a lot for having children.

A．The 13th.	B．The 17th.
C．The 18th.	D．The 20th.

A．In the East Wing.	B．In the main West Wing.
C．In the Sainsbury Wing.	D．In the North Wing.

A．Embankment.	B．Leicester Square.
C．Piccadilly Circus.	D．Charing Cross.