Many people write to newspaper and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are held responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.
“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.
There are people who wish to remain anonymous(匿名的) for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he does not want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.
Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter of responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our own name that we honor what we say.What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?
| A．Writers need to provide their personal information in the game. |
| B．Publication must bear the writer’s full name, address and phone number. |
| C．Writers should be responsible for their names. |
| D．Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say. |
The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may _______.
| A．not get a reply |
| B．help to end a relationship |
| C．be accepted all the same |
| D．become a family problem |
Some people don’t want their names known because they are ________.
| A．hesitant to make a donation |
| B．unwilling to draw public attention |
| C．afraid of an accusation |
| D．ready for involvement |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．honor and writers |
| B．identity and signature |
| C．signature and responsibility |
| D．anonymity and signature |
Harvard researchers have created a tough, low-cost, biodegradable(可生物降解的)material inspired by insects’ hard outer shells. The material’s inventors say it has a number of possible uses and someday could provide a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The material, made from shrimp(虾)shells and proteins produced from silk, is called “shrilk”. It is thin, clean, flexible and strong.
A major benefit of the material is its biodegradability. Plastic’s toughness and flexibility represented a revolution in materials science during the 1950s and 1960s. Decades later, however, plastic’s very durability(耐用性) is raising questions about how appropriate it is for one-time products such as plastic bags, or short-lived consumer goods, used in the home for a few years and then cast into a landfill where they will degrade for centuries. What is the point of making something that lasts 1,000 years?
Shrilk not only will degrade in a landfill, but its basic components are used as fertilizer(肥料), and so will enrich the soil.
Shrilk has great potential, the inventors said. Materials from which it is made are plentiful in nature, found in everything ranging from shrimp shells, insect bodies to living plants. That makes shrilk low-cost, and its mass production possible should it be used for products demanding a lot of material.
Work on shrilk is continuing in the lab. The invertors said the material becomes flexible when wet, so they’re also developing simpler production processes, which could be used for non-medical products, like for computer cases and other products inside the home. They’re even exploring combining it with other materials, like carbon fibers, to give it new properties.Paragraph 1 of the passage is mainly about shrilk’s _____.
remarkable design
interesting name
major features
basic elementsWhat has become a concern about plastic?
Using it properly.
Producing it cheaply.
Developing its properties quickly.
Evaluating its contributions fairly.According to the inventors, shrilk has great potential partly because _____.
it can help plastic degrade
it can be found in living things
its mass production has been realized
its raw materials are abundant in natureWhat are the inventors doing in the lab?
Replacing carbon fibers with shrilk.
Testing shrilk’s use in wet conditions.
Making shrilk out of used household goods.
Improving shrilk’s flexibility for medical purposes.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
Recent Progress in Environmental Protection
Benefits of Insects in Scientific Research
The Harm of One-time Products
A Possible Alternative to Plastic
For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers(慢跑者). They were there all the time: early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces.
“Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every morning. “You’ll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood hogging army. I’m alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet take a real pounding(重击)running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn’t kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn’t my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn’t just the first week; it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn’t fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don’t jog any more, and I don’t think I ever will. I’m walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I’m getting exercise, and I’m enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I’ve found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.What was the writer’s attitude towards jogging in the beginning?
He felt it was worth a try.
He was very fond of it.
He was strongly against it.
He thought it must be painful.From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer’s neighborhood _____.
jogging became very popular
people jogged only during the daytime
Alex organized an army of joggers
Jogging provided a chance to get togetherThe underlined word “them” (paragraph 4) most probably refers to _____.
| A．heart attacks |
| B．back problems |
| C．famous joggers |
| D．physical weaknesses |
Why did the writer give up jogging two months later?
He dislikes doing exercise outdoors.
He found it neither healthy nor interesting.
He was afraid of having a heart attack.
He was worried about being left alone.From the writer’s experience, we can conclude that _____.
not everyone enjoys jogging
he is the only person who hates jogging
nothing other than jogging can help people keep fit
jogging makes people feel greater than any other sport
Among the sportsmen, medals and pride, Olympics viewers may find something that drives this international athletic movement. There actually are things called Olympic values, and they are based on the idea of Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games. These values continue to inspire the Olympic tradition.
Coubertin considered respect, fair balance, pursuit of excellence, joy in effort, and balance between mind, body and will as the most essential Olympic values. Coubertin believed that sport can and should play a role in human development like science, literature and the arts. The self-control, adherence to rules, and respect for others necessary in athletic pursuits, are also necessary off the playing field, whether in the classroom, at work or at home.
So when he set out to revive the Olympic Games in 1894, he wanted to do more than establish a modern sporting competition. He wanted to create an international movement that combined sport and education as a model for peace and harmony.
According to Coubertin, the Olympics should have a set of values that become the base of all Olympic activities and can extend well beyond the playing field, making the Olympic Games different from all other sporting events.
This whole way towards sports taken by Coubertin is the same as taken by the ancient Greeks. “Sport is Man’s best way to achieve perfection in every respect,” Coubertin said. “The important thing in life is not the triumph(伟大胜利), but the fight.”
In order to place the original values in a modern context, the International Olympic Committee recently reframed them under three core theme: excellence, friendship and respect. Just like what Jacques Rogge said, “Sport is a universal language. It teaches us how to strive(奋斗)for excellence in all that we do, how to live in friendship and peace, and how to respect ourselves, each other and the rules. ”Which of the following does not belong to the Olympic values according to the passage?
| A．Disrespect. |
| B．Joy in effort. |
| C．Determination. |
| D．Pursuit of excellence. |
In Coubertin’s opinion, the Olympics should _____.
| A．be only a sporting competition |
| B．play a big role than science does |
| C．extend its themes all over the world |
| D．help encourage the human development |
Coubertin provided the Olympics with some values to _____.
| A．make the Olympics special |
| B．make the Olympics more modern |
| C．make the Olympics develop faster |
| D．make the Olympics more competitive |
Jacques Rogge considered sport as a universal language because _____.
| A．it is most people’s favorite activity |
| B．it’s the final aim for the Olympics |
| C．it spreads excellence, friendship and respect |
| D．the fight is more important than the triumph |
The passage is mainly to tell us _____.
| A．the Olympic tradition |
| B．the Olympic values |
| C．the founder of the modern Olympics |
| D．the development of the Olympics |
One of Britain’s favourite pastimes, gardening is to be celebrated during the Olympics. Last week, the Olympics minister Tessa Jowell announced a public competition to design a typically British garden within London’s new Olympic park.
Jowell said the idea behind the competition was to show off to the world one of the nation’s favourite hobbies. It’s likely the government also hopes that the competition will inspire more Brits to take an interest in the Olympics. It’s a good plan, as the British love gardens almost as much as they love tea.
Gardening is an iconic activity in Britain. In many ways it defines Brits, perhaps because they are some of the world’s keenest gardeners. The garden is seen as a private retreat(清静的场所)in the UK. Most Brits would far rather sit in their garden for instance than visit a park. They see their garden as an extension of their house outdoors, which is why so many Brits are as garden-proud as they are house-proud. There also seems to be something about the nourishing(滋养的)act of gardening that appeals to the nation’s gentle temperament(气质).
Interestingly, gardening has never been as widely enjoyed as it is today in Britain. Its growing popularity is no doubt due to people’s increased awareness of the environment and the success of several popular gardening programs.
Historically, Brits are also skillful gardeners. As Jowell noted when she made her announcement, if gardening were an Olympic sport then green-fingered Brits “would win gold, silver and bronze”.
Of course, the irony of Brits’ passion for gardening is that their climate is so wet that there are very few months in the year they can sit outside and enjoy their gardens. In fact, it may be the very preciousness of these few warm months that make gardens so prized and valued by Brits.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Brits’ favourite tea. |
| B．Brits’ favourite pastime in the garden. |
| C．A public competition. |
| D．A typically British garden. |
The purpose of the competition is _____.
| A．to support the 2012 London Olympics |
| B．to require participants to design a typically British garden in their backyard |
| C．to attract foreign visitors |
| D．to show off one of the nation’s favourite hobbies |
The underlined word “iconic” in the third paragraph means _____.
| A．有代表性的 |
| B．活跃的 |
| C．积极的 |
| D．受欢迎的 |
Which of the following sentences does NOT contribute to people’s love for gardens in Britain?
| A．Brits think of their garden as an extension of their house outdoors. |
| B．Brits value the short warm months when they get to enjoy their garden. |
| C．Brits do not have many public parks to relax themselves in. |
| D．Brits’ gentle temperament makes them enjoy something like gardening. |
What can we conclude from the passage?
| A．Brits love their gardens than they love their houses. |
| B．Brits enjoy sitting in their gardens as much as sitting in a park. |
| C．Brits don’t adore gardening as much as before. |
| D．Brits are known to love gardening as much as they love tea. |
Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world, an international cultural ambassador. And he was also a teacher and activist. For more than sixty years, Mr. Stern performed excellent music. He performed in concerts around the world and on recordings.
Isaac Stern was born in 1920 in Ukraine. His parents moved to California the following year. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory(旧金山音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was sixteen, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York and was praised by music critics.
Isaac Stern became one of the busiest musicians of his day. He played more than one hundred concerts a year. He also became one of the most recorded musicians in history. Isaac Stern also supported artistic development and freedom.
In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film. It is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Centre Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said music is an important part of a civilized life. He said people need music as much as they need bread.
Isaac Stern died in 2001 at the age of eighty-one. He was a major influence on music in the twentieth century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.What did Isaac Stern think of music?
| A．Necessary. |
| B．Difficult. |
| C．Entertaining. |
| D．Interesting. |
The passage mentioned Isaac Stern’s visit to China mainly to _____.
| A．encourage people to develop the international relationship |
| B．advise the readers to take up music |
| C．introduce more achievements of Isaac Stern |
| D．show he acted as an international cultural ambassador |
Which of the following statements is TRUE about Isaac Stern?
| A．He was born in California in the 1920s. |
| B．He had visited many countries to advertise his recordings. |
| C．He played less than one hundred concerts in all. |
| D．His excellent music life lasted over 60 years. |
From the passage, we can infer that _____.
| A．Isaac Stern influenced the culture in the 20th century a lot |
| B．Isaac Stern was one of the most active musicians of his day |
| C．Isaac Stern was so busy that he couldn’t spare time to educate the youth |
| D．Isaac Stern led a rich life in his later life |
What will be the best title for the passage?
| A．Isaac Stern and the awards he got. |
| B．Isaac Stern’s life of pursuing music. |
| C．Isaac Stern: one of the most honored musicians |
| D．Isaac Stern’s visit to China |