In Eastern Europe, blue jeans symbolize (象征) American culture and “the good life”. In Spain they are known as “cowboys”. In China, jeans are known as “niuzaiku”, also, “cowboy trousers”, which means they are connected with the American West cowboy culture and outdoor work.
Jeans are usually made from denim (粗布), but may also be made from other materials. The earliest known cloth for jeans was a thick cotton cloth from the Indians. At first they were working clothes. They became popular among teenagers in the 1950s. Today jeans are a very popular form of casual wear around the world and come in many styles and colors.
Jeans were first made in Genoa in Italy. The trousers were made for the Genoese navy (海军) because they needed trousers which could be worn wet or dry, and whose legs could be easily rolled up while the men were cleaning the ships. These jeans would be washed by pulling them in large fishing nets behind the ship, and the sea water would make them white.
In the 1850s Levi Strauss, a business man living in San Francisco, was selling blue jeans under the “Levi’s” name to the coal workers of California.
During World War II, the coal workers liked jeans very much because they were strong and did not tear easily. In the 1950s, jeans became popular with young people in the United States. Wearing of blue jeans by teenagers was the symbol of rebels (反叛者) in TV programmes and movies. Some cinemas and restaurants refused to let people in if they wore blue jeans. In the 1980s, jeans finally became high fashion clothing, when famous designers started making their own styles of jeans, with their own labels on them. Sales of jeans went up and up.From the first paragraph we know that ________.
A.cowboys wear jeans only |
B.cowboys live a good life |
C.American culture is cowboy culture |
D.cowboy culture is usually related to the West of America |
Jeans were first made in ______.
A.Italy | B.America | C.Spain | D.China |
From Paragraph 4 we know that “Levi’s” was ____.
A.the name of a worker |
B.the brand (名牌) of a kind of jeans |
C.the name of a kind of cloth |
D.the nickname of a businessman |
Why the people who wore blue jeans were refused to go into the cinema in the 1950s?
A.Because jeans were made for workers. |
B.Because jeans were made of denim. |
C.Because it was during the time of war. |
D.Because wearing jeans was the symbol of rebels. |
Sports can help you keep fit and get in touch with nature .However, whether you are on the mountains, in the waves, or on the grassland, you should be aware that your sport of choice might have great influence on the environment.
Some sports are resource-hungry. Golf, as you may know, eats up not only large areas of countryside, but also tons of water. Besides, all sorts of chemicals and huge amounts of energy are used to keep its courses(球场) in good condition. This causes major environmental effects. For example, in the dry regions of Portugal and Spain, golf is often held responsible for serious water shortage in some local areas.
There are many environment-friendly sports. Power walking is one of them that you could take up today. You don’t need any special equipment except a good pair of shoes; and you don’t have to worry about resources and your purse. Simple and free, power walking can also keep you fit. If you walk regularly, it will be good for your heart and bones. Experts say that 20 minutes of power walking daily can make you feel less anxious, sleep well and have better weight control.
Whatever sport you take up, you can make it greener by using environment-friendly equipment and buying products made from recycled materials. But the final goal should be “green gyms”. They are better replacements for traditional health clubs and modern sports centers. Members of green gyms play sports outdoors, in the countryside or other open spaces. There is no special requirement for you to start your membership. And best of all, it’s free.Which of the following is the author most probably in favor of?
A.Cycling around a lake. | B.Motor racing in the desert. |
C.Playing basketball in a gym. | D.![]() |
What do we know about golf from the passage?
A.It is popular in Portugal and Spain. |
B.It causes water shortages around the world. |
C.It pollutes the earth with chemicals and wastes. |
D.It needs water and electricity to keep its courses green. |
The author uses power walking as an example mainly because______.
A.it is an outdoor sport | B.it improves our health |
C.it uses fewer resources | D.it is recommended by experts |
The author writes the passage to_______.
A.show us the function of major sports |
B.encourage us to go in for green sports |
C.discuss the major influence of popular sports |
D.introduce different types of environment-friendly sports |
How to Be a Winner
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病). Believing my career(职业生涯) was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believed in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn't finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success-you can’t follow a career in any field without being well—organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological(心理的) tool”What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
A.Difficulties influenced his career. | B.Specialists offered him medical advice. |
C.Training helped him defeat his disease. | D.He overcame the shadow of illness to win. |
What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
A.Her training schedule. | B.Her daily happenings. |
C.Her achievements. | D.Her sports career. |
What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
A.Ways that help one to focus. | B.Words that help one to feel less tense. |
C.Activities that turn one's attention awa![]() |
D.Habits that make it hard for one to relax. |
According to the passage ,what do the three people have in common?
A.Courage. | B.Devotion. | C.Hard work . | D.Self-confidence. |
I was waiting for a phone call from my agent. He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled(取消). I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later. So I waited and waited, but there was still no call. Three hours passing by, I became more and more impatient. I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me. I was overcome with that thought. I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on. Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone! ” And she swept it into the wastebasket.
I stood watching her, speechless .What on earth…?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the rest of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room—if you do anything to upset my husband , out you go!”
Then she turned to me, kissed me, and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control.” With that, she left the room.
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight, I noticed that something in my mood(情绪)had changed. I was laughing. How could I have trouble with that phone? Her antics helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things. Twenty minutes later my agent did call. I was able to listen to him and talk to him calmly.
Why did the author shout at the telephone?
A.He was mad at the telephone. | B.He was angry with his agent. |
C.He was anxious about his wife. | D.He was impatient with the secretary. |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
A.She said nothing. | B.She shouted at him. |
C.She called the agent. | D.She threw the phone away. |
What made the author laugh?
A.His own behavior. | B.His wife’s suggestion. |
C.His changeable feelings. | D.His wife’s sweet kiss. |
What does the underlined word “antics” refer to?
A.Smart words. | B.Unusual actions. | C.Surprising looks. | D.Anxious feelings. |
To what degree can a computer achieve intelligence ? The answer to this question may lie in a newly-developed US computer program called Smarter Child and the Internet .
If you ran into Smarter Child online , you would be surprised at this kid’s huge memory .It can recite many facts . For example , Smarter Child knows every baseball player in every team this season .
He knows every word in the dictionary and the weather in every major city areas across the US. However , if you ask Smarter Child other questions , you get stranger answers . A question about Smarter Child’s age returns . “One year , 11 days , 16 hours , 7 minutes , and 47 seconds!” Asking where he lives gets , “In a clean room in a high-tech building in California.”
Smarter Child uses the vast information on the World Wide Web as his memory bank . To answer questions about spelling , for instance , Smarter Child goes to American Heritage Dictionary online . For the weather , he visits www.intellicast.com.
Some scientists believe that by joining the many systems of the Internet , an artificial being with the combined knowledge of , say , Albert Einstein, Richard Nixon and Britney Spears could be born. However if Smarter Child wants to think and learn on his own like the boy-computer David in the movie A. I. , Artificial Intelligence , he must overcome two problems .
The first is that computers find it difficult to read web pages because the files are labeled in different ways . That’s why programmers need to tell Smarter Child where to look for the weather . It would be a much more difficult task to let him find it himself .
Another problem is that while Smarter Child can process (处理) information more exactly and faster than any human , he lacks common sense—a basic grounding of knowledge that is obvious to any young child .From the text we can infer that www.intellicast.com is a website .
A.which is specially designed to help Smarter Child . |
B.where we people can find Smarter Child |
C.where weather forecasts are made |
D.which is about artificial intelligence |
It is probably most difficult for Smarter Child to .
A.tell us how to spell a difficult word |
B.tell us show the American government is run |
C.provide us with a famous poem by Shakespeare |
D.learn the ability to tell right behaviors from wrong ones . |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text ?
A.Smart Child has his own memory bank big enough for all kinds of information .
B.A.I. Artificial Intelligence is probably the name of a film about a boy-computer .
C.Smart Child can recognize different files and find information needed on his own .
D.We have similar product now which ahs the knowledge of Einstein , Nixon and Spears.Which of the following is the bet title for the passage ?
A.A New Web Child | B.Smarter Child |
C.The Future of Internet | D.Intelligence Development |
We often think of future.We often wonder what the world would be like in a hundred years' time.
Think of space, perhaps a permanent(永久的) station on the moon will have been set up.Perhaps people will be able to visit the moon as tourists.Cheap rockets for space travel will have been developed, permitting long journeys throughout the solar system(太阳系).When that time comes, people will be taking holidays in space and visiting other planets.Great progress will have been discovered for the most terrible of all diseases—cancer.Pollution is a problem we must solve.In a hundred years' time it will have been controlled.
All the world will have been developed—even Antarctica.There will be large cities in Antarctica.We already have supersonic(超音速的) flight, but in a hundred years' time we will have supersonic land travel as well.
We will have used up most of earth's land to build our cities, so floating cities will have been built.The Japanese already have plans for cities of this kind.And there will be cities under the sea.The first of these will have been completed.We will have developed __________ in a hundred years' time, permitting long journeys all over the solar system.
A.cheap rockets for space travel | B.a plane for space travel |
C.a permanent spaceship | D.a satellite for tourists |
The last paragraph mainly talks about _____________.
A.new ways of building cities | B.the building of cities under the sea |
C.the building of floating cities in Japan | D.the danger which earth's land will face |
The best title for the passage is ______________.
A.Travel in the Future | B.Future Life |
C.Where to Live in the Future | D.Space Travel |