Imagine a world in which there were suddenly no emotion — a world in which human beings could feel no love or happiness, no terror or hate. Try to imagine the consequences of such a transformation. People might not be able to stay alive: knowing neither joy nor pleasure, anxiety nor fear, they would be as likely to repeat acts that hurt them as acts that were beneficial. They could not learn: they could not benefit from experience because this emotionless world would lack rewards and punishments. Society would soon disappear: people would be as likely to harm one another as to provide help and support. Human relationships would not exist: in a world without friends or enemies, there could be no marriage, affection among companions, or bonds among members of groups. Society's economic underpinnings (支柱) would be destroyed: since earning $10 million would be no more pleasant than earning $10, there would be no incentive (动力) to work. In fact, there would be no incentives of any kind, for as we will see, incentives mean a capacity to enjoy them.
In such a world, the chances that the human species would survive are next to zero, because emotions are the basic instruments of our survival and adaptation. Emotions structure the world for us in important ways. As individuals, we categorize objects on the basis of our emotions. True, we consider the length, shape, size or texture, but an object's physical aspects are less important than what it has done or can do to us — hurt us, surprise us, anger us or make us joyful. We also use categorizations colored by emotions in our families, communities, and overall society. Out of our emotional experience with objects and events comes a social feeling of agreement that certain things and actions are "good" and others are "bad", and we apply these categories to every aspect of our social life — from what foods we eat and what clothes we wear to how we keep promises and which people our group will accept. In fact, society uses our emotional reactions and attitudes, such as loyalty, morality, pride, shame, guilt, fear and greed, in order to maintain itself. It gives high rewards to individuals who perform important tasks such as surgery, makes heroes out of individuals for unusual or dangerous achievements such as flying fighter planes in a war, and uses the legal penal (刑法的) system to make people afraid to engage in antisocial acts. Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?
A.people would not be able to tell the physical aspects of objects. |
B.People would not know what was beneficial and what was harmful to them. |
C.$ 10 million is equal to $ 10 in a world without emotions. |
D.There would be full of lies, arguments and violence. |
In can be inferred from the passage that the economic foundation of society is dependent on ________.
A.the ability to make money |
B.the capacity to work |
C.the motivation to work |
D.our emotional experiences |
Why are the emotional aspects of an object more important than its physical aspects?
A.They help society use its members for more profit. |
B.They encourage us to perform important tasks in the war. |
C.They help to perfect the legal and penal system to make people afraid. |
D.They help us adapt our behaviors to the world surrounding us. |
What is the text mainly about?
A.People could only live in a world with emotions. |
B.People would always do bad things in the emotionless world. |
C.Emotions are very important in the world. |
D.Emotions structure the world for us in important ways. |
This is a true story. Tristin Saghin enjoyed the movie Black Hawk Down very much,which is about the conflict in Somalia.The battle scenes and the exciting rescues of people who are dying,interested him greatly.
There was just one problem:Tristin was only 9 years old,and it was thought that movie was not for children. When his parents caught him watching it on TV,they made him turn it off,though he had finished his homework and it was not late. Then one day,Tristin and his family were visiting his grandmother in Mesa,Arizona. Tristin’s 2yearold sister got out of the house and fell in the backyard pool. Realizing the little girl was missing,the family ran outside,only to find the girl had fallen into the water.
Pulled from the pool and placed on the ground,the child wasn’t breathing. The family called the ambulance (救护车),but no one knew how to do first aid. No one,that is,except for Tristin. A scene in Black Hawk Down describes a doctor giving first aid. Tristin remembered it. Then the 9yearold gave first aid to his sister at once and saved her life.
His parents don’t stop him seeing the movies he likes any more. Tristin taught himself how to do first aid but he had never thought he could use it to save his little sister’s life. Any skill can be used in time,so you should always learn.Black Hawk Down is a(n)________.
A.war movie | B.comedy | C.action movie | D.love film |
Why did Tristin Saghin’s parents order him to turn off the TV?
A.They wanted him to help look after his sister. |
B.He often spent too much time watching films. |
C.They thought the film was not good for children. |
D.He was asked to finish his homework first. |
The author’s purpose in writing the text is to advise readers to________.
A.see more movies | B.learn more skills |
C.save others bravely | D.do what they like |
Consult the page adapted from an English dictionary and do Questions 68~70.Fill in the blank in the sentence “I can’t believe this is Daniel—he’s ______ since we last met! Much taller than the other boys of his age!”
A.shot up | B.shot out | C.shot through | D.shot down |
When you are talking about unimportant things, we say you are ______.
A.shooting yourself in the foot |
B.shooting your mouth off |
C.shooting the breeze |
D.shooting questions at somebody |
Choose a word to complete the sentence “The ______, which killed a policeman and wounded a passer-by(路人), was reported to have lasted only 13 seconds.”
A.shooter | B.shoot | C.shot | D.shooting |
Win $ 50 in the Coolest Gadget of the Week
Look at what’s the coolest gadget (vote for a chance to win $ 50).
Cryo S: A Cool Netbook Cooler
Like the other devices of NZXT, the Cryo S was designed to provide a competitive advantage at PC gaming. It has two adjustable(可调节的) 120mm fans(风扇) that provide powerful cooling.
The full post(帖子) can be found onTrends Updates.
Starry Night Bed
Are you having trouble getting that good nights sleep that you’re needing? Well, not any more. Why not take a look at the Starry Night Bed? The Starry Night Bed is a great new invention which will revolutionize the way in which you sleep. Not only is this bed fashionable and comfortable but it’s also a gadget heaven. With this bed you get many added gadgets including anti-snore technology, movie projector with speakers, temperature control and many more.
The full post can be found onTech Styling.
Fugoo—talking gadgets
Fugoo gets all your appliances(装置,设备) talking to each other so your alarm clock could first wake you up and then tell the coffee machine to start working while checking traffic conditions online to tell you how long it will take you to get to work.
The full post can be found onDecide What to Buy.
Vote What is this week's coolest gadget?
〇 A Cool Netbook Cooler
〇 Starry Night Bed
〇 Fugoo—talking gadgetsWhere can you find the full post of the “Cryo S”?
A.Tech Styling. | B.Super Cool Pets. | C.Decide What to Buy. | D.Trends Updates. |
If you buy a Starry Night Bed, you can get all the following gadgets EXCEPT ___________.
A.temperature control | B.movie projector |
C.adjustable fans | D.anti-snore technology |
From this passage, we learn that Fugoo can_________.
A.check traffic conditions | B.wake you up | C.take you to work | D.make coffee |
Where does this advertisement probably come from?
A.A magazine. | B.A website. | C.A newspaper. | D.A textbook. |
America is a mobile society. Friendships between Americans can be close and real, yet disappear soon if situations change. Neither side feels hurt by this. Both may exchange Christmas greetings for a year or two, perhaps a few letters for a while — then no more. If the same two people meet again by chance, even years later, they pick up the friendship. This can be quite difficult for us Chinese to understand, because friendships between us develop more slowly but then may become lifelong feelings, extending(延伸) sometimes deeply into both families.
Americans are ready to receive us foreigners at their homes, share their holidays, and their home life. They will enjoy welcoming us and be pleased if we accept their hospitality(好客) easily.
Another difficult point for us Chinese to understand Americans is that although they include us warmly in their personal everyday lives, they don’t show their politeness to us if it requires a great deal of time. This is usually the opposite of the practice in our country where we may be generous with our time. Sometimes, we, as hosts, will appear at airports even in the middle of the night to meet a friend. We may take days off to act as guides to our foreign friends. The Americans, however, express their welcome usually at homes, but truly can not manage the time to do a great deal with a visitor outside their daily routine. They will probably expect us to get ourselves from the airport to our own hotel by bus. And they expect that we will phone them from there. Once we arrive at their homes, the welcome will be full, warm and real. We will find ourselves treated hospitably.
For the Americans, it is often considered more friendly to invite a friend to their homes than to go to restaurants, except for purely business matters. So accept their hospitality at home!The writer of this passage must be ______.
A.an American | B.a Chinese | C.a professor | D.a student |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.Friendships between Americans usually last for all their lives. |
B.Americans always show their warmth even if they are very busy. |
C.Americans will continue their friendships again even after a long break. |
D.Friendships between Americans usually extend deeply into their families. |
From the last two paragraphs we can learn that when we arrive in America to visit an American friend, we will probably be ______.
A.warmly welcomed at the airport | B.offered a ride to his/her home |
C.treated hospitably at his/her home | D.treated to dinner in a restaurant |
The underlined words “generous with our time” in Paragraph 3 probably mean ______.
A.strict with time | B.serious with time |
C.careful with time | D.willing to spend time |
I still remember the last time I went to the playground with two of my children. It had rained during the night and the playground was very muddy (泥泞的). They had just put on clean clothes, so I was a little worried about the mud on the playground. It was not long before Kathy got her beautiful skirt dirty on the playground. She dug through the rocks. I was about to blame (指责) her for getting her clothes dirty when she ran towards me with a smile on her face. When she got to me, she handed me a little heart-shaped rock and said, “Here, Mom! Here is a heart for you —just because I love you! Keep it!” With tears in my eyes, I thanked her.
Should I blame her for getting her clothes muddy? No way! I still have that little heart-shaped rock. It is one of the best gifts that I have ever received. I realized that many times it was not necessary for us adults to worry about the small things our children did. Let them do what they’d like to.
I will spend a lot more time on the playground with my children. I’m sure I will learn a lot from them. It makes me think of the days when my grandfather told me, “You would not enter the kingdom of happiness until you pretended (假装) to be a small child.”At first, the author wanted to blame Kathy because she __________.
A.ran on the playground |
B.dug through rocks |
C.gave her a muddy rock |
D.got her clothes dirty |
The author was deeply moved by her daughter’s _____.
A.digging task on the playground |
B.special way to show her love |
C.smile on her face when running |
D.love of the muddy playground |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn that the author thought parents should _________.
A.not worry about the small things their children do |
B.allow kids to do whatever they like |
C.keep the presents given by children |
D.not give too much care to their own children |
The author’s grandfather’s words imply that _______.
A.children care more about happiness than adults |
B.adults can not share children’s happiness |
C.children may find happiness more easily in life |
D.adults find it hard to know children’s happiness |