Television has turned 88 years old on September 7, 2015, and it has never looked better. In its youth, television was a piece of furniture with a tiny, round screen showing unclear pictures of low-budget programs. In spite of its shortcomings, it became popular. Between 1950 and 1963, the number of American families with a television jumped from 9% to 92% of the population.
As the audience got larger, the technology got better. Television sets became more reliable through the 1960s. The reception (接收效果) improved. The picture improved. The major networks started broadcasting programs in color.
Even greater improvements were coming according to Sanford Brown, who wrote an article for the Post in 1967. Surprisingly, just about every prediction he made in the article became a reality. For example: All sets in the not-distant future will be color instruments. He also predicted that TV sets would become smaller, simpler, more reliable and less expensive and may forever put the TV repairman out of work. Smaller sets do not, of course, mean smaller screens. TV engineers expect screens to get much bigger. However, today’s 3-D TV is even farther away, if it’s coming at all. There is some doubt whether the public would be eager to pay for it, in view of people’s cold reception given to 3-D movies.
But the technology with the greatest potential, according to Brown, was cable television (有线电视), which was still in its early stages then. As he predicted, the future of cable television was highly interactive (互动的). It wasn’t cable television that gave Americans their electronic connection to the world, however. It was the Internet. He even foresaw the future office: using picture phones, big-screen televisions for conferences, and computers providing information at the touch of a button.
Brown ever said, “The future of television is no longer a question of what we can invent. It’s a question of what we want.” What can we infer about television sets in the 1960s?
A.They were very popular with Americans. |
B.The reception showed no improvement. |
C.They showed black-and-white pictures. |
D.They were out of order now and then. |
Which of the followings did Sanford Brown fail to predict?
A.Television’s good quality. |
B.The invention of 3-D TV. |
C.The future office’s model. |
D.The potential of cable TV. |
What is the text mainly about?
A.The shortcomings of television. |
B.The bright future of television. |
C.The development of television. |
D.The invention of television. |
Babies are born yogis.Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it.Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back.In short, we lost our balance.
Yoga(瑜伽) is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit.It brings us balance.I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999.I had plantar fascitis in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis.I was desperate for exercise.Yoga became my salvation and even enhanced my other fitness activities.I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life.Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other.I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight.“Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S.Guide to Yoga.“Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight.Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells.” I do yoga poses throughout the day.After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms.When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses.When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life.Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses.This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety.I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist’s chair, and in traffic jams.You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired.If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time “fighting” yourself, trying to force yourself into poses.In yoga, you “surrender” to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life.Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group.Yoga teaches “right” living in how we deal with ourselves and others.As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness.Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.
1.What would be the best title for this passage?
A.What’s Yoga? B.How I Do Yoga Poses
C.The Benefits of Yoga D.The Varieties of Yoga
2.According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people __________.
A.grow taller B.lose weight
C.become flexible in thinking D.make more friends
3.People feel tired after yoga because __________.
A.they consume energy in practicing yoga
B.they respond well to yoga poses
C.they spend too much time on yoga
D.they force themselves into yoga poses
4.If this passage continues, what will the writer most probably write about in the next paragraph?
A. Yoga as a means to keep fit. B.Different yoga poses.
C.Popularity of yoga all over the world. D.Encouraging people to do yoga.
第三部分:阅读理解(第一节20小题,第二节5小题;每小题2分,满分50分)
第一节:阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
When we think about giving help to developing countries, we often think about giving money so that these countries can build schools and hospitals, buy food and medicine, or find clean water supplies.These seem to be the most important basic needs of the people we are trying to help.However, it's far from enough.Ladies and gentlemen, we've got to come up with some better ideas to help them.
I was very surprised, then, when I read about a plan to make cheap laptop computers for children in developing countries.A man called Nicholas Negroponte invented a cheap laptop computer, which can run without electricity.He decided to invent this computer after he visited a school in Cambodia.
The laptop which Mr.Negroponte has designed is a little different from the normal laptop computers you can buy in the shops.One difference is that it is covered in rubber so that it is very strong and won't be damaged easily.As an electricity supply can be a problem in developing countries, the computer also has a special handle so that children can wind the computer up to give it extra power when needed.
These special laptop computers will cost less than 100 US dollars and Mr.Negroponte wants to build as many as 15 million machines in the first year of production.The idea is that these computers will help the children's education as they will be able to access the Internet.These computers might not help the people in developing countries immediately, but by improving children's education they should help people to find their own solutions to their problems in the long term.
Another idea to help children in developing countries is to recycle old mobile phones so that they can be used again.In the UK, and, probably in many other countries too, millions of mobile phones are thrown away every year.The waste created by throwing away these old phones is very bad for the environment, so it seems to be an excellent idea to recycle them.In this way we will be able to achieve two important goals at the same time.We will reduce the waste we produce and help others.In other words, we will be able to 'kill two birds with one stone', and that is always a good thing.
1.It's an excellent idea to recycle old mobile phones because _______.
A.it reduces waste and can help others
B.it prevents waste and can earn lots of money
C.it can send the waste produced by developed countries to other countries
D.it is good for the environment and very educative for phone users
2.The author gives the example of Mr.Negroponte's cheap computers _______.
A.to show what high tech can bring us.
B.to illustrate the kindness of people in the developed countries
C.to show how to find business opportunities in developing countries
D.to give an example of how to help developing countries
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE about Mr.Negroponte's cheap computers?
A.His computers don’t need any power to function well.
B.His computers are covered with rubber so that they are very cheap.
C.His computers will help children in developing countries to have better education.
D.His computers will help people in developing countries to find all the solutions.
4.Where does this passage probably come from?
A.A magazine B.A newspaper C.A lecture D.An advertisement
Every year more people recognize that it is wrong to kill wildlife for “sport”.Progress in this direction is slow because shooting is not a sport for watching,and only those few who take part realize the cruelty and destruction.
The number of gunners,however,grows rapidly.Children too young to develop proper judgments through independent thought are led a wrong way by their gunning parents.They are subjected to advertisements of gun producers who describe shooting as good for their health and gun carrying as a way of putting redder blood in the veins (血管).They are persuaded by gunner magazines with stories honoring the chase and the kill.In school they view motion pictures which are supposedly meant to teach them how to deal with arms safely but which are actually designed to stimulate(刺激) a desire to own a gun.Wildlife is disappearing because of shooting and because of the loss of wild land habitat(栖息地).Habitat loss will continue with our increasing population,but can we slow the loss of wildlife caused by shooting?There doesn’t seem to be any chance if the serious condition of our birds is not improved.
Wildlife belongs to everyone and not to the gunners alone.Although most people do not shoot,they seem to forgive shooting for sport because they know little or nothing about it.The only answer,then,is to bring the truth about sport shooting to the great majority of people.
Now,it is time to realize that animals have the same right to life as we do and that there is nothing fair or right about a person with a gun shooting the harmless and beautiful creatures.The gunners like to describe what they do as characterbuilding,but we know that to wound an animal and watch it go through the agony of dying can make nobody happy.If,as they would have you believe,guncarrying and killing improve human character,then perhaps we should encourage war.
1.According to the text,most people do not seem to be against hunting because_________.
A.they have little knowledge of it
B.it helps to build human character
C.it is too costly to stop killing wildlife
D.they want to keep wildlife under control
2.The underlined word “agony” in the last paragraph probably means_________.
A.form B.condition C.pain D.sadness
3.According to the text,the films children watch at school actually_________.
A.teach them how to deal with guns safely
B.praise hunting as characterbuilding
C.describe hunting as an exercise
D.encourage them to have guns of their own
4.It can be inferred from the text that the author seems to_________.
A.blame the majority of people
B.worry about the existence of wildlife
C.be in favor of war
D.be in support of character building
CALCUTTA, IndiaMar 24, 2006(AP) —One of the world’s oldest creatures, a giant tortoise believed to have been about 250 years old, has died in the Calcutta zoo where it spent more than half its long life.
Addwaita, which means “the one and only” in the local Bengali language, was one of four Aldabra tortoises brought to India by British sailors in the 18th century. Zoo officials say he was a gift for Lord Robert Clive of the East India Company, who was instrumental in establishing British colonial rule in India, before he returned to England in 1767. Long after the other three tortoises died, Addwaita continued to thrive, living in Clive’s garden before being moved to the zoo in 1875.
“According to records in the zoo, the age of the giant tortoise, Addwaita, who died on Wednesday, would be about 250 years,” said zoo dir
ector Subir Chowdhury. That would have made him much older than the world’s oldest documented living animal: Harriet, a 176-year-old Galapagos tortoise who lives at the Australia Zoo north of Brisbane, according to the zoo’s Web site. She was taken from the island of Isla Santa Cruz by Charles Darwin in the 19th century.
Aldabra tortoises come from the Aldabra atoll in the Seychelle islands in the Indian Ocean, and often live to more than 100 years of age. Males can weigh up to 550 pounds. Addwaita, the zoo’s biggest attraction, had been unwell for the last few days, said local Forest Minister Jogesh Burman.
“We were keeping a watch on him. When the zoo keepers went to his enclosure on Wednesday they found him dead,” Burman said.
1. According to the passage, Addwaita ________.
A. was sent to India as a gift by British government
B. was sent to India by British sailors in 1767
C. lived together with three other Aldabra tortoises in India
D. belonged to Lord Robert Clive for some time
2. By now, the oldest animal in the world is about at ________.
A. 176 years old B. 100 years old C. 250 years old D. 200 years old
3. In the last few days before Addwaita died, he ________.
A. had been sent to hospital for treatment
B. had been playing with travelers
C. had been found not better than before
D. had stayed in his enclosure for days
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. An Old Aldabra Tortoise Died in India
B. A Remarkable Life: Tortoise Dies at 250
C. A Special Kind of Tortoise — Addwaita
D. The Oldest Animal Aldabra Tortoise Died
CARDIFF, Wales Poets, singers and musicians from across the globe gathered in Wales to celebrate the tradition of storytelling.
“It might seem strange that people still want to listen in age of watching television, but this is an unusual art form whose time has come again,” said David Ambrose, director of Beyond the Border, an international storytelling festival in Wales.
“Some of the tales, like those of the Inuit from Canada, are thousands of years old. So our storytellers have come from distant lands to connect us with the distance of time,” he said early this month.
Two Inuit women, both in their mid 60s, are among the few remaining who can do Kntadjait, or throat singing, which has few words and much sound. Their art is governed by the cold of their surroundings, forcing them to say little but listen attentively.
Ambrose started the festival in 1993, after several years of working with those reviving (coming back into use or existence) storytelling in Wales.
“It came out of a group of people who wanted to reconnect with traditions. and as all the Welsh are storytellers, it was in good hands here.” Ambrose said.
1. From the tales told by the Inuit, people can learn _______.
A. about their life as early as thousands of years ago
B. why they tell the stories in a throat-singing way
C. how cold it has been where the Inuit live
D. how difficult it is to understand the Inuit
2. According to the writer, which of the following is NOT true?
A. Storytelling once stopped in Wales.
B. Storytelling has a long history in Wales.
C. Storytelling is always well received in Wales.
D. Storytelling did not come back until 1993 in Wales.
3. The underlined phrase in good hands means _______.
A. controlled by rich people B. grasped by good storytellers
C. taken good care of D. protected by kind people