The search for beauty spans centuries and continents. Paintings of Egyptians dating back over 4,000 years show both men and women painting their nails and wearing makeup. In 18th-century France, wealthy noblemen wore large wigs (假发）of long, white hair to make themselves attractive. Today, people continue to devote a lot of time and money to their appearance.
There is at least one good reason for the desire to be attractive：beauty is power. Studies suggest that good-looking people make more money, get called on more often in class, and are regarded as friendlier.
But what exactly is beauty? It's difficult to describe it clearly, and yet we know it when we see it. And our awareness of it may start at a very early age. In one set of studies, six-month-old babies were shown a series of photographs. The faces on the pictures had been rated for attractiveness by a group of college students. In the studies, the babies spent more time looking at the attractive faces than the unattractive ones.
The idea that even babies can judge appearance makes perfect sense to many researchers. In studies by psychologists, men consistently showed a preference for women with larger eyes, fuller lips, and a smaller nose and chin while women prefer men with large shoulders and a narrow waist. According to scientists, the mind unconsciously tells men and women that these traits —the full lips, clear skin , strong shoulders —equal health and genetic well-being.
Not everyone thinks the same way, however. “Our hardwiredness can be changed by all sorts of expectations —mostly cultural,” says C. Loring Brace, an anthropologist at the University of Michigan. What is considered attractive in one culture might not be in another. Look at most Western fashion magazines: the women on the pages are thin, but is this "perfect" body type for women worldwide? Scientists' answer is no; what is considered beautiful is subjective and varies around the world. They found native peoples in southeast Peru preferred shapes regarded overweight in Western cultures.
For better or worse, beauty plays a role in our lives. But it is extremely difficult to describe exactly what makes one person attractive to another. Although there do seem to be certain physical traits considered universally appealing, it is also true that beauty does not always keep to a single, uniform standard. Beauty really is, as the saying goes, in the eye of the beholder.People's ideas about beauty __________.
| A．have existed since ancient times |
| B．can be easily described |
| C．have little influence on a person's success |
| D．are based upon strict criteria |
In Paragraph 3, the babies in the study __________.
| A．were rated for their appearance |
| B．were entered in a beauty contest |
| C．were shown photos of a group of college students |
| D．were able to tell attractive faces from unattractive ones |
The underlined word “traits” in Paragraph 4 probably means __________.
| A．qualities | B．measurements |
| C．judgments | D．standards |
We can learn from the passage that __________.
| A．the ideas of beauty vary as people grow up |
| B．the search for beauty is rooted in lack of confidence |
| C．the standards for beauty are based on scientific researches |
| D．the understanding of beauty depends on cultural backgrounds |
What can probably be the best title for this passage?
| A．The History of Beauty |
| B．The Standards for Beauty |
| C．The Mystery of Beauty |
| D．The Attitudes toward Beauty |
San Francisco, a leader in urban recycling, is preparing to turn dog waste into energy.
Norcal Waste System Inc., the city’s largest garbage company, plans to test collection carts(回收车)and collection bags in a city-center park which is popular with dog walkers.
A city study found that almost 4 percent of all the garbage picked up at San Francisco homes was from animal waste, Norcal Waste spokesman Robert Reid said. San Francisco has about 120,000 dogs.
“The city asked us to start a program to recycle dog waste in order to cut back adding more waste in landfills(废渣埋填池) “,Reid said.
Dog waste will be poured into a methane digester(沼气池),and the methane it gives off will be collected and burned to make electricity or to heat homes.
“Dogs and cats in the United States produce about 10 million tons of waste a year,” Will Brinton, an environmental scientist said.
“As much as we love them, our pets leave a lot of fertilizer behind them in yards and on the street but that can be a major source of contamination of groundwater,” Brinton said.
European cities such as Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna are starting biology programs to turn waste into gas ,he said.
San Francisco runs a great program to recycle bottles, cars, paper and other rubbish and now two-thirds of its garbage needn’t be carried to landfills .The city’s goal is a 75 percent drop by 2010 and zero new waste in landfills by 2020.
63.San Francisco will plan to use dog waste for making __________.
A. fertilizer B. gas C. electricity D. methane
64.What does the underlined word “ contamination” mean?
A. Increase B. Reduction C. Flow D. Pollution
65.What can we infer from the passage?
A. San Francisco is short of electricity
B. San Francisco has done a lot of in rubbish recycling.
C. Fewer people will keep dogs as pets in San Francisco
D. There will be no rubbish by 2010 in San Francisco
66.The passage is mainly about_______.
A .San Francisco ‘s new policy for pet keepers
B. San Francisco ‘s new plan for recycling
C. how to keep a city clean
D. how to deal with rubbish
| Album Name |
Introduction |
“Master of the Chinese Dulcimer” -----Xu Pingxin |
Xu Pingxin shows skillful technique and spellbinding(迷人的)musical expression on the Chinese dulcimer (yangqin) .His musicianship has won him international praise and he is considered one of the most successful yangqin players of the world. |
| “The Silk String Quartet(丝弦四重奏组)Contemporary &Traditional Chinese Music” |
Cheng Yu (pipa),Sun Zhuo (guzheng),Hu Bin (erhu)and Zhou Jinyan (yangqin)present traditional as well as modern pieces. The music describes moonlight scenes ,river landscapes, court dances and more. |
“Chinese Masterpieces of the Pipa & Guzheng” ---ChengYu |
Beautiful music as well as lively pieces played on pipa ,guzheng, xiao and dizi. Cheng Yu is an internationally famous pipa and guzheng virtuoso(名家),former soloist(独奏者)at the China Central Orchestra of Chinese Music in Beijing .Information about the artist, the music and the instruments in English, German, French and Spanish. |
TsengYungching----“Magic of the Chinese Flute” |
Beautiful Chinese flute (dizi) music played by world-famous flute virtuoso Tseng Yungching Accompanied(伴奏) on traditional Chinese instruments. |
Zhou Yu----“The Art of the Chinese Erhu” |
During his great musical career Zhou Yu won many awards in China and internationally .Here he presents an album of Chinese music, played on erhu with orchestral accompaniment: pipa, yangqin, ruan, and others. This is a very beautiful album with the typical “mystical ,dreamy” mood of Far Eastern music. Very enjoyable! |
59.If you are interested in playing the Chinese flute what will you probably buy?
A."Chinese Masterpieces of the Pipa & Guzheng" and "Magic of the Chinese Flute."
B."The Silk String Quartet” and "Chinese Masterpieces of the Pipa & Guzheng."
C."Master of the Chinese Dulcimer "and The Art of the Chinese Erhu."
D."Magic of the Chinese Flute "and "The Silk String Quartet."
60.Whose information is introduced in four different languages?
A. Xu Pingxin’s B. Cheng Yu’s C. Tseng Yungching’s D. Zhou Yu’s
61.From the passage ,we can know Tseng Yungching is ______.
A. a famous pipa and erhu player B. a skillful guzheng virtuoso
C. a famous yangqin player D .a world-famous flute player
62.Which album has the typical mood of Far Eastern music?
A. Zhou Yu ----“The Art of the Chinese erhu.”
B.“ The Silk String Quartet----Contemporary &Traditional Chinese Music.”
C.“ Master of the Chinese Dulcimer”---Xu Pingxin
D. Tseng Yungching-----“Magic of the Chinese Flute.”
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项A、B、C、D中选出最佳选项。
The most frightening words in the English language are,“ Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said,” I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket .Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”
I looked down the counter(柜台)and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the blank screen. Then I asked her,” What do you do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That ‘s right, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea .Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes , sometimes for two hours. There is no way we can find out without asking the computer , and since it’s down, it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no spare computer ,I said, “ Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying aren’t they?”
“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington.” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to .Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the dark screen.” Only ‘IT’ knows . ’IT’ can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines .The words soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down Some people went, some people started to cry and still others kicked(踢) their luggage.
56.The best title for the passage is ______.
A. Asking the computer B. The computer of the airport
C. The most useful words D. When the computer is down
57.What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
A. She could answer the passengers’ questions B. She could do nothing
C. She could sell tickets D. She could write out tickets
58.The last paragraph suggests that _____.
A. modern computers won’t be down
B. computers can take the place of humans
C. computers may bring trouble to people
D .there will be great changes in computers
Some years ago industries had more freedom than they have now，and they did not need to be as careful as they must today. They did not need to worry a lot about the safety of the new products that they developed. They did not have to pay much attention to the health and safety of the people who worked for them. Often new products were dangerous for the people who used them; often conditions in the work place had very bad effects on the health of the workers.
Of course sometimes there were real disasters which attracted the attention of governments and which showed the need for changes. Also scientists who were doing research into the health of workers sometimes produced information which governments could not ignore. At such times, there were inquiries into the causes of the disasters or the problems. New safety rules were often introduced as a result of these inquiries; however, the new rules came too late to protect the people who died or who became seriously ill.
Today many governments have special departments which protect customers and workers. In the U.S., for example, there is a department which tests new airplanes and gives warnings about possible problems. It also makes the rules that aircraft producers must follow. Another department controls the foods and drugs that companies sell. A third department looks at the places where people work, and then reports any companies that are breaking the laws which protect the health and safety of workers. Of course, new government departments and new laws cannot prevent every accident or illness, but they are having some good results. Our work places are safer and cleaner than before. The planes and cars which we use for travel are better. Producers are thinking more about the safety and health of the people who buy and use their products.
51. The main topic of the passage is ______.
A. conditions in the work place B. the freedom of industries in the past
C. changes in industrial production D. the safety and health of workers and customers
52. It can be inferred from the passage that in the past ______.
A. workers often got ill because of the poor working conditions
B. companies were free to put out any products they wanted to
C. many people were killed by dangerous products
D. industries were as careful in management as they are today
53. It is implied in the passage that ______.
A. governments and companies had different opinions about the safety of products
B. in the past no safety laws were introduced by governments
C. government officials often did not listen to scientists
D. governments paid no attention to the safety of products at all
54. From the passage, we know that some years ago safety rules ______.
A. were put forward due to scientists’ recommendations
B. came into being as a result of the workers’ demands
C. were introduced because quite a number of people were killed or seriously injured
D. were effective enough to protect workers and customers
55. The special departments protect customers and workers in many ways EXCEPT by ______.
A. testing new products B. controlling the sale of products
C. designing new products D. inspecting work places
A California family drives a car that could help protect the environment. When Jon and Sandy go to the store or to their daughters’ soccer games, they drive in high-tech style. They drive a $1 million, fuel-cell-powered car. It may be the world’s most expensive car and one of the most environmentally friendly cars. The FCX is the first fuel-cell-powered car to be used by a family anywhere in the world. The FCX uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel. Car makers have been working to develop vehicles that are better for the environment. They are developing cars that use fuel other than gasoline. And then what is fuel cell technology? Fuel cell technology works by changing the chemicals hydrogen and oxygen into water. This process produces electricity, and water vapor which comes out of the exhaust pipe. Most cars release dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Many scientists say these gases are major contributors to global warming. “The FCX is driven just like any other vehicle on the road, but without the gases which pollute the environment,” scientists say. Fuel cell technology has been around since the 1800s, but scientists have yet been to perfect it. They say it may take years before the technology is ready for widespread use. Another earth-friendly car is already on the market. Hybrid cars use both gasoline and an electric motor. They are becoming more popular with customers because they cut pollution and improve fuel efficiency.
46. Which of the following about the FCX is not true?
A. It may be the most expensive car in the world.
B. It is one of the most environmentally friendly cars.
C. It releases dangerous gases to pollute the air.
D. It uses hydrogen and oxygen for fuel other than gasoline.
47. According to the passage, what is the major cause for global warming?
A. Gases from FCX. B. Water vapor from cars.
C. Hydrogen and oxygen. D. Gases from cars.
48. From the passage, we know that fuel cell technology ______.
A. works by water B. has a history for over two hundred years
C. works by electricity D. has been widely used since the 1800s
49. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. future cars will be environmentally friendly
B. there will be no gasoline for cars
C. people can’t afford to buy cars in the future
D. global warming has been stopped
50. Hybrid cars are popular because ______.
A. they are the fuel-cell-powered cars
B. they are energy-saving and cut pollution
C. they are perfect cars in the world
D. they produce no gases to pollute the environment