The word tolerance is widely used in liberal democracies. It indicates a positive meaning. Politicians urge us to be tolerant towards minorities. Educators teach us to be tolerant towards the other. The press is full of references to the need to display tolerance when faced with individuals or groups espousing a different view or holding a different religious belief. A tolerant society is an objective sought after by anyone who believes in the values of democracy. A tolerant individual is attributed with virtuous qualities.
The question we must ask is whether we have been using the word tolerance fully aware of its meaning and whether we have applied it correctly to reflect what we really wish to convey?
The word tolerance means to bear, or to bear with. If I tolerate something or someone, I basically say that I am ready to bear it or him. I can tolerate a bad smell or a noisy neighbour. The act of toleration forces me to desist from conveying my objection to the existence of a phenomenon, which I find difficult to bear. A bad smell or a noisy neighbour is considered by me to be an objectionable phenomenon. By tolerating either of them, I am not transforming the bad smell or the noisy neighbour into positive phenomena. Let's be honest: I don't have a different taste when it comes to bad smells. I simply dislike it and wish that it disappears. I don't respect the noisy neighbour. I would rather have him stop at once the noise he is making so I can live in peace.
To try to remove the bad smell or take reasonable action in order for the noisy neighbour to stop bothering me would most probably not be considered an intolerant act by most people.
Now, let's try to apply the word tolerance in reference to a person who is law-abiding and holds a legally acceptable different view from my own. I may have a strong view, which is opposed to his. Quite frankly, I may decide to tolerate his view. By so doing, I would be attributing to it a negative characteristic. I would apply the same attitude to his view as to the bad smell or noisy neighbour. Thus, to try to take action in order to make his view disappear would be considered an intolerant act. To tolerate his view the way I would a bad smell or a noisy neighbour, could hardly be considered virtuous.
The subject tolerating is by nature not equal to the object being tolerated. If I tolerate you, I essentially say that I am above you and am prepared, although unwillingly, to bear with your presence or with your practices or opinions. That may be true in the case of an individual who is ready to tolerate the other. However, this attitude by such an individual, though empirically true, is hardly a virtue. Certainly, the fact that an individual, in reality, may merely tolerate the other or his opinion does not justify a government or any official authority promoting tolerance as a virtue. One cannot tolerate an equal being. True equality involves respect, not toleration. To respect the other as a distinctive person is hardly to tolerate him. This is the true meaning of equality: diversity existing in a mutually-respectful socio-legal setting.
The danger with tolerance is that it can lead to the acceptance of individuals or groups bent on destroying the foundations of democratic systems. We have seen such cases with regard to political parties or destructive religious groups that have been treated in a liberal manner under the guise of tolerance.
A tolerant attitude involves the grant of a favour, not a right. The question we should ask ourselves is whether we would ever wish a parliament to make laws according to us, as individuals and as part of a collective entity or a permission to pursue certain actions interpreted as a favour rather than a right? Indeed, would we ever wish anyone to listen to our views and accept us the way we are simply because he is kind enough to tolerate us? The first two paragraphs are mainly intended to show that __________.
| A．tolerance is a symbol of liberal democracies |
| B．democratic society always advocates tolerance |
| C．people’s understanding of tolerance is one-sided |
| D．tolerance can be applied to many situations |
The example of a bad smell and a noisy neighbour is raised to indicate that _________.
| A．the writer are fed up with them |
| B．most people find them hard to tolerate |
| C．the writer isn’t prejudiced against them |
| D．tolerating them isn’t a virtuous act |
Which of the following will the writer probably agree with?
| A．Too much tolerance will endanger the foundations of democratic systems. |
| B．By tolerating people can transform something negative into the opposite. |
| C．People tolerating others are likely to consider them as their equals. |
| D．Being tolerant should be regarded as a right instead of a favour |
The best title for this passage should be “___________”.
| A．Tolerance and respect | B．What is to be tolerated? |
| C．Is Tolerance a Virtue? | D．Should people be tolerant? |
Strange Baby-Naming Laws
Germany Parents are banned by law from using last names and the names of objects and products as first names. A child’s first name must clearly indicate his or her sex, and all names must be approved by the office of vital statistics in the area in which the child was born.
Iceland The country’s naming committee consults the National Register of Persons to determine if a name is acceptable. If parents want to go off-list, they must apply for approval and pay a fee, and the name must contain only letters in the Icelandic alphabet.
New Zealand The country’s Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registration Act of 1995 prohibits parents from choosing a name that “ might cause offense to a reasonable person; is unreasonably long; or is, includes, or resembles an official title or rank,” including, apparently, Adolf Hitler and Yeah Detroit—both names recently rejected.
Denmark If Danish parents prefer a moniker not on the list of 7,000 preapproved baby names, they must get permission from local church and government officials. Fifteen to 20 percent of the 1,100 reviewed names—including creative spellings of common names, last names as first names, and unusual names—are rejected each year.You can tell whether a baby is a girl or a boy according to the first name in _____.
| A．Germany | B．New Zealand |
| C．Iceland | D．Denmark |
In Iceland, the names should _____.
| A．be approved by the office of vital statistics. |
| B．be accepted by the National Register of Persons. |
| C．contain only letters in the Roman alphabet. |
| D．be paid for some money. |
Which name is accepted in New Zealand?
| A．Bin Laden | B．Talula Does The Hula |
| C．John Smith | D．Keenan Got Lucky |
According to the passage, which of the following is true?
| A．Parents should pay a fee for babies’ names if the names are rejected. |
| B．Each year about 150-200 reviewed names are rejected in Denmark. |
| C．Adolf Hitler is banned in Iceland. |
| D．Danish babies’ names should be on the list if parents can’t get the permission. |
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there，lost and lonely in the strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband’s name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can（垃圾桶）that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a half-written letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
| A．Go shopping | B． Join his family |
| C．Find a house | D．Take a vacation |
The girl’s parents got Rashid’s phone number from_______.
| A．a friend of his family | B．a letter in his papers |
| C．a Sydney policeman | D．a stranger in Sydney |
What does the underlined word “restored” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Showed | B．Sent out |
| C．Gave back | D．Delivered |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．From India to Australia. | B．Living in a New Country. |
| C．In Search of New Friends. | D．Turning Trash to Treasure.（财富） |
Who found the pile of papers?
| A．the author himself | B．the young daughter |
| C．the author’s wife | D．the parents of the strangers |
A large number of women in Western European countries wish that they were born men. The number is said as high as 60% in West Germany.
“Women often wish that they had the same chance as men have, and believe it is still men’s world,” said Dr James Holden, one of the scientists who did the study.
Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company. She also believes in “Women’ s Liberation(解放)”.
“I don’t wish that I were a man,” she says, “and I don’t think many women do. But I do wish that people would stop looking down upon us women. At work, for example, we often do the work that men do but get paid less. There are still a lot of jobs that are usually the best ones and open only to men. If you’re a man, you have a much better chance of leading an exciting life. How many women pilots are there ... or engineers or scientists?”What can we learn from the first paragraph?
| A．60% women in West Germany wish that they were born men. |
| B．Most women in Western European countries wish that their babies were all boys. |
| C．60% Western European women wish that they were born men. |
| D．60% Western European women who wish that they were born men are from West Germany. |
“It is still men’s world.” means “______.”
| A．There’re more men than women in the world |
| B．There’re more men scientists or engineers than women scientists or engineers in the world |
| C．Women have not been given the same chance as men |
| D．Women cannot live without men |
Anne Harper considers that women should ______.
| A．be well paid | B．live a better life than men |
| C．be really liberated | D．get better jobs than men |
Anne Harper doesn’t wish that she were a man because she ______.
| A．has got a very good job |
| B．isn’t looked down upon by anyone |
| C．does the work that a man can’t do |
| D．believes in “Women’s Liberation” |
Which is not true about Anne Harper?
| A．Anne Harper has a very good job for an international oil company |
| B．she is one of the scientists who did the study. |
| C．She believes in “Women’ s Liberation.” |
| D．She doesn’t want to be a man. |
For Children
Museum: Children’s Museum, Sundays, 89 North Street, 67641235
Story time: Children’s Library, 106 Green Street, Wednesdays during 9:30 a.m -5:00p.m. 66599624
Sports: Soccer Club, Tuesdays and Thursdays, 16 Yangtze Road, 96725643
Basketball Club, Wednesdays and Fridays, 79071632
Cinema: New films for children, 99 Brick Road, 69001354
Useful Phone Numbers
Fast Food Restaurant: 66387901
Hospital: 68787451
Visitor Information Center: 800-120-9847
Taxi: 79210583
Visitor Hotel Information: 800-739-7302It’s Friday afternoon，you can go to _______ .
| A．visit the museum | B．play soccer |
| C．read children’s stories | D．play basketball |
If children want to watch new films，they should go to ________.
| A．16 Yangtze Road | B．99 Brick Road |
| C．106 Green Street | D．89 North Main Street |
If you dial 66387901，you can __________.
| A．order fast food in a restaurant |
| B．do some shopping |
| C．have a good story time |
| D．ask for some hotel information |
Lily’s father is ill．She should dial ________.
| A．800-120-9847 | B．79210583 | C．6878745l | D．96725643 |
You can not get any information about ________ from the two notices．
| A．looking for a hotel | B．eating fast food |
| C．doing eye exercises | D．taking a taxi |
Yoga(瑜伽) is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I practice hatha yoga at least twice a week, but consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga — you live it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one asana-or 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 control weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles length-wise, causing fat to be eliminated around the cells, thus reducing cellulite(皮下脂肪团) . "
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 when I'm stuck in traffic.
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" (放弃） to the pose by letting go of the tension.From the passage we know that _______.
| A．not all the people are fit to do yoga |
| B．yoga is part of everyone's life |
| C．yoga does good for our health |
| D．yoga has a short history |
According to the third paragraph, yoga can help ________.
| A．a person who wants a good job |
| B．a person who wants to lose weight |
| C．a person who wants to travel |
| D．a person who wants to make friends |
What will be talked about following this passage?
| A．Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. |
| B．Yoga becomes popular all over the world. |
| C．The disadvantages of yoga. |
| D．Encouraging people to do yoga. |
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．What's Yoga? |
| B．How Do I. Do Yoga Poses? |
| C．The Benefits of Yoga |
| D．The Varieties of Yoga |