Shenzhen’s transport police recently declared a policeman a “star” member of staff, after he continued to serve in his post even after losing his newborn son. After a netizen made that known, internet users were merciless in their criticism, claiming Sun had sacrificed his son for his career and was unqualified to be a father or even a human being. Though Sun’s wife said via her micro blog he was the best husband and father in the world, it didn’t stop the tide of condemnation.
I feel deeply sorry for this man. It’s not that he should have received the award. It’s traditional in China for individuals to make sacrifices for a group or the country, which remains to be questioned. What annoys me is the netizens pouring anger on the father instead of showing sympathy. Why are they so quick to claim the moral high ground and set themselves up as judges? Whether the father accompanied his son until the last moment or not is a personal affair. The treatment of Sun is a case in point—of the “tyranny(专制)of the majority”. And the majority is not always correct or fair.
Micro blogs have been a growing trend in China in the last few years, becoming a channel for ordinary people to express their opinions, which was previously the preserve of elites(精英) and the media. The positive side of this has been praised enough. But we also need to examine the downside: Self-proclaimed（自诩的）online arbiters of what is right and wrong form another type of unfair rule running cruelly over opinions that don’t match their own. Without knowing enough details and without any serious thought, they pronounce their judgment as opinion of the “majority”.
We should question this expression of personal opinion and the commonness of group attacks. What we need is real, independent critical thinking instead of an Internet mob（暴徒）.
I have no idea how to change the situation but I do hope it happens.
What do we know about the policeman referred to ?
| A．He was a model policeman but a failure as a father. |
| B．He cared little about the loss of his newborn son. |
| C．He was severely under verbal（言语上的） attack of the netizens. |
| D．He did not even have his wife’s understanding. |
The writer of the passage probably will agree that .
| A．the policeman quite deserved the honor of the award. |
| B．individuals’ sacrifice for a group is undoubtedly a good act. |
| C．micro blogs are a preserved channel for elites and the media only. |
| D．some netizens claim their unsound judgments as opinion of the majority. |
The underlined word “arbiters” in the third paragraph is closest in meaning to .
| A．bloggers | B．referees |
| C．criminals | D．programmers |
Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Tyranny of the majority online goes wild |
| B．Policeman who lose baby son got awarded |
| C．Micro blogs need tough control |
| D．How to stay away from Internet mobs |
When the explorers first set foot upon the continent of North America, the skies and lands were alive with an astonishing variety of wildlife. Native Americans had taken care of these precious natural resources wisely. Unfortunately, it took the explorers and the settlers who followed only a few decades to decimatea large part of these resources. Millions of waterfowl ( 水禽 ) were killed at the hands of market hunters and a handful of overly ambitious sportsmen. Millions of acres of wetlands were dried to feed and house the ever-increasing populations, greatly reducing waterfowl habitat.
In 1934, with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act (Act), an increasingly concerned nation took firm action to stop the destruction of migratory ( 迁徙的) waterfowl and the wetlands so vital to their survival. Under this Act, all waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over must annually purchase and carry a Federal Duck Stamp. The very first Federal Duck Stamp was designed by J.N. "Ding" Darling, a political cartoonist from Des Moines, lowa, who at that time was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt as Director of the Bureau of Biological Survey. Hunters willingly pay the stamp price to ensure the survival of our natural resources.
About 98 cents of every duck stamp dollar goes directly into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund to purchase wetlands and wildlife habitat for inclusion into the National Wildlife Refuge System - a fact that ensures this land will be protected and available for all generations to come. Since 1934, better than half a billion dollars has gone into that Fund to purchase more than 5 million acres of habitat. Little wonder the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated.
28. What was a cause of the waterfowl population decline in North America?
| A． |
Loss of wetlands. |
B． |
Popularity of water sports. |
| C． |
Pollution of rivers. |
D． |
Arrival of other wild animals. |
29. What does the underlined word "decimate" mean in the first paragraph?
| A． |
Acquire. |
B． |
Export. |
| C． |
Destroy. |
D． |
Distribute. |
30 
What is a direct result of the Act passed in 1934?
| A． |
The stamp price has gone down. |
B． |
The migratory birds have flown away. |
| C． |
The hunters have stopped hunting. |
D． |
The government has collected money. |
31. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?
| A． |
The Federal Duck Stamp Story |
B． |
The National Wildlife Refuge System |
| C． |
The Benefits of Saving Waterfowl |
D． |
The History of Migratory Bird Hunting |
By day, Robert Titterton is a lawyer. In his spare on stage beside pianist Maria Raspopova - not as a musician but as her page turner. "I'm not a trained musician, but I've learnt to read music so I can help Maria in her performance."
Mr Titterton is chairman of the Omega Ensemble but has been the group's official page turner for the past four years. His job is to sit beside the pianist and turn the pages of the score so the musician doesn't have to break the flow of sound by doing it themselves. He said he became just as nervous as those playing instruments on stage.
"A lot of skills are needed for the job. You have to make sure you don't turn two pages at once and make sure you find the repeats in the music when you have to go back to the right spot." Mr Titterton explained.
Being a page turner requires plenty of practice. Some pieces of music can go for 40 minutes and require up to 50 page turns, including back turns for repeat passages. Silent onstage communication is key, and each pianist has their own style of "nodding" to indicate a page turn which they need to practise with their page turner.
But like all performances, there are moments when things go wrong. "I was turning the page to get ready for the next page, but the draft wind from the turn caused the spare pages to fall off the stand," Mr Titterton said, "Luckily I was able to catch them and put them back."
Most page turners are piano students or up-and-coming concert pianists, although Ms Raspopova has once asked her husband to help her out on stage.
"My husband is the worst page turner," she laughed. "He's interested in the music, feeling every note, and I have to say: 'Turn, turn!' "Robert is the best page turner I've had in my entire life."
24. What should Titterton be able to do to be a page turner?
| A． |
Read music. |
B． |
Play the piano. |
| C． |
Sing songs. |
D． |
Fix the instruments. |
25. Which of the following best describes Titterton's job on stage?
| A． |
Boring. |
B． |
Well-paid. |
| C． |
Demanding. |
D． |
Dangerous. |
26. What does Titterton need to practise?
| A． |
Counting the pages. |
B． |
Recognizing the "nodding". |
| C． |
Catching falling objects. |
D． |
Performing in his own style. |
27. Why is Ms Raspopova's husband "the worse page turner"?
| A． |
He has very poor eyesight. |
B． |
He ignores the audience. |
| C． |
He has no interest in music. |
D． |
He forgets to do his job. |
Rome can be pricey for travelers, which is why many choose to stay in a hostel ( 旅社 ). The hostels in Rome offer a bed in a dorm room for around ＄25 a night, and for that, you'll often get to stay in a central location (位置) with security and comfort.
Yellow Hostel
If I had to make just one recommendation for where to stay in Rome, it would be Yellow Hostel. It's one of the best-rated hostels in the city, and for good reason. It's affordable, and it's got a fun atmosphere without being too noisy. As an added bonus, it's close to the main train station.
Hostel Alessandro Palace
If you love social hostels, this is the best hostel for you in Rome. Hostel Alessandro Palace is fun. Staff members hold plenty of bar events for guests like free shots, bar crawls and karaoke. There's also an area on the rooftop for hanging out with other travelers during the summer.
Youth Station Hostel
If you're looking for cleanliness and a modern hostel, look no further than Youth Station. It offers beautiful furnishings and beds. There are plenty of other benefits, too; it doesn't charge city tax; it has both air conditioning and a heater for the rooms; it also has free Wi-Fi in every room.
Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes
Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes is located just a 10-minute walk from the central city station and it's close to all of the city's main attractions. The staff is friendly and helpful, providing you with a map of the city when you arrive, and offering advice if you require some. However, you need to pay 2 euros a day for Wi-Fi.
21. What is probably the major concern of travelers who choose to stay in a hostel?
| A． |
Comfort. |
B． |
Security. |
| C． |
Price. |
D． |
Location. |
22. Which hotel best suits people who enjoy an active social life?
| A． |
Yellow Hostel. |
B． |
Hostel Alessandro Palace. |
| C． |
Youth Station Hostel. |
D． |
Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes. |
23. What is the disadvantage of Hotel and Hostel Des Artistes?
| A． |
It gets noisy at night. |
B． |
Its staff is too talkative. |
| C． |
It charges for Wi-Fi. |
D． |
It's inconveniently located. |
If you ever get the impression that your dog can"tell"whether you look content or annoyed, you may be onto something. Dogs may indeed be able to distinguish between happy and angry human faces, according to a new study.
Researcherstrained a group of 11 dogs to distinguish between images(图像) of the same person making either a happy or an angry face. During the training stage, each dog was shown only the upper half or the lower half of the person's face. The researchers then tested the dogs' ability to distinguish between human facial expressions by showing them the other half of the person's face or images totally different from the ones used in training .The researchers found that the dogs were able to pick the angry or happy face by touching a picture of it with their noses more often than one would expectby randomchance.
The study showed the animalshad figured out how to apply what they learned about human faces during training to new faces in the testing stage." Wecan rule out that the dogs simply distinguish between the pictures based on a simple cue, such as the sight of teeth,"said study author Corsin Muller." Instead,our results suggest that the successful dogs realized that a smiling mouth means the same thingas smiling eyes,and the same rule applies to an angry mouth having the same meaning as angry eyes."
"With our study, we think we can now confidently conclude that at least some dogs can distinguish human facial expressions,"Muller told Live Science.
At this point,it is not clear why dogs seem to be equipped with the ability to recognize
different facial expressions in humans."To us, the most likely explanation appears to be that the basis lies in their living with humans, which gives them a lot of exposure to human facial expressions," and this exposurehas provided them with many chances to learn to distinguish between them,Muller said.
8.The new study focused on whether dogs can .
| A． |
distinguish shapes |
B． |
make sense of human faces |
| C． |
feel happy or angry |
D． |
communicate with each other |
9. What can we learn about the study from paragraph 2?
| A． |
Researchers tested the dogs in random order. |
B． |
Diverse methods were adopted during training. |
| C． |
Pictures used in the two stages were different |
D． |
The dogs were photographed before the lest. |
10.What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A． |
A suggestion for future studies. |
B． |
A possible reason for the study findings. |
C． |
A major limitation of thestudy |
D． |
An explanation of the research method. |
We live in a town with three beaches.There are two parks less than 10 minutes'walk from
home where neighborhoodchildren gather to play.However,what my children want to do after school is pick up a screen-any screen- and stare at it for hours.They are not alone.Today'schildren spend an averageof four and a half hours a day looking at screens,split between watching television and using the Internet.
In the past few years, an increasing number of people and organisations have begun coming up with plans to counter this trend.A couple of years ago film-maker David Bond realised that his children,then aged five and three,were attached to screens to the point where he was able to say"chocolate" into his three-year-old son's ear without getting a response. He realised that something needed to change, and, being a London media type, appointed himself"marketing director fro Nature".He documented his journey as he set about treating nature as a brand to
be marketed to young people.The result was Project Wild T hing,a film which chartsthe birth
of the World Network,a group of organisations with the common goal of getting children out into nature.
"Just five more minutes outdoors can make a difference,"David Bond says."There is a lot of really interesting evidence which seems to be suggesting that if children are inspired up to the age of seven,then being outdoors will be a habit for life."His own children have got into the habit of playing outside now: "We just send them out into the garden and tell them not to come back in for a while."
Summer is upon us. There is an amazing world out there, and it needs our children as much as they need it.Let us get them out and let them play.
What is the problem with the author's children?
| A． |
They often annoy the neighbours. |
B． |
They are tired of doing their homework. |
| C． |
They have no friends to play with |
D． |
They stay in front of screens for too long. |
5. How did David Bond advocate his idea?
| A． |
By making a documentary film. |
B． |
By organizing outdoor activities. |
| C． |
By advertising in London media. |
D． |
By creating a network of friends. |
6.Which of the following can replace the underlined word "charts" in paragraph 2?
| A． |
records |
B． |
predicts |
C． |
delays |
D． |
confirms |
7.What can be a suitable title for thetext?
| A． |
Let Children Have Fun |
B． |
Young Children Need More Free Time |
| C． |
Market Nature to Children |
D． |
David Bond:A Role Model for Children |