Recently, an almost literal case of lifeboat ethics(伦理) occurred. On Aug. 4, Graham and Sheryl Anley, while boating off the coast of South Africa, hit a rock. As the boat threatened to sink the husband got off, but his wife was trapped in the boat. Instead of freeing his wife and getting her to shore, Graham grabbed Rosie, their pet dog. With Rosie safe and sound, Graham returned for Sheryl. All are doing fine.
It's a great story, but it doesn't strike me as especially newsworthy. News is supposed to be about something fairly unique, and recent research suggests that, in the right circumstances, lots of people also would have grabbed their Rosie first.
We have strange relationships with our pets. We lavish our pets with adoration and better health care than billions of people receive. We speak to pets with the same high-pitched voices that we use for babies. As an extreme example of our feelings about pets, the Nazis had strict laws that guaranteed the humane treatment of the pets of Jews being shipped to death camps.
A recent paper by George Regents University demonstrates this human involvement with pets to an astonishing extent. Participants in the study were told a situation in which a bus is out of control, bearing down on a dog and a human. Which do you save? With responses from more than 500 people, the answer was that it depended: What kind of human and what kind of dog?
Everyone would save a brother, grandparent or close friend rather than a strange dog. But when people considered their own dog versus people less connected with them—a distant cousin or a hometown stranger—votes in favor of saving the dog came rolling in. And an astonishing 40% of respondents, including 46% of women, voted to save their dog over a foreign tourist.
What does a finding like this mean? First, that your odds aren't so good if you find yourself in another country with a bus bearing down on you and a cute dog. But it also points to something deeper: our unprecedented(史无前例的) attitude toward animals, which got its start with the birth of humane societies in the 19th century.
We prison people who abuse animals, put ourselves in harm's way in boats between whales and whalers and show sympathy to Bambi and his mother. We can extend empathy to an animal and feel its pain like no other species. But let's not be too proud of ourselves. As this study and too much of our history show, we're pretty selective about how we extend our humaneness to other human beings.What is the function of the first paragraph?
| A．To create a relaxing mood for readers. |
| B．To present the theme of this essay straightly. |
| C．To lead in the main topic of this essay. |
| D．To raise problems that will be solved later. |
The author mentions Nazi laws in the third paragraph _______________.
| A．to show how cruel the Nazis were to the Jews |
| B．as an example to persuade people not to love pets |
| C．to illustrate the strange relationship between human and pets |
| D．as an example to display the humaneness of the Nazis |
Which of the following is true according to the article?
| A．The story of the Anleys and their dog was too unique to be newsworthy. |
| B．Most people surveyed choose to save their own dog rather than a human. |
| C．It was in the 19th century that human beings started to love their pets. |
| D．Human beings are more and more concerned with animals nowadays. |
What does the author mainly argue for?
| A．Pets are of great significance to us human beings. |
| B．We should rethink about our attitude towards animals and mankind. |
| C．It is kind of human beings to extend humaneness to animals. |
| D．We should be selective when showing attitude toward other human beings. |
We all know what it is like to be unable to turn your head because of a cold in the muscles of your neck, or because an unexpected twist has made your neck ache and stiff. Your whole body feels tight. The slightest move makes you jump with pain. Nothing could be worse than a pain in the neck. That is why we use phrase to describe some people who give you the same feeling. We have all met such people.
One is the man who always seems to be clapping his hands—often at the wrong time—during a performance in the theater. He keeps you from hearing the actors.
Even worse are those who can never arrive before the curtain goes up and play begins. They come hurrying down to your row of seats. You are comfortably settled down, with your hat and heavy coat in your lap. You must stand up to let them pass. You are proud of your self-control after they have settled into their seats…Well, what now…Good God, one of them is up again. He forgot to go to the men’s room, and once more you have to stand up, hanging on to your hat and coat to let him pass. Now, that is “a pain in the neck.”
Another, well-known to us all, is the person sitting behind you in the movies. His mouth is full of popcorn; he is chewing loudly, or talking between bites to friends next to him. None of them remain still. Up and down, back and forth, they go for another bag of popcorn, or something to drink.
Then, there is the main sitting next to you at a lunch counter smoking a smelly cigar. He wants you to enjoy it too, and blows smoke across your food into your mouth.
We must not forget the man who comes into a bus or subway car and sits down next to you, just as close as you will let him. You are reading the newspaper and he leans over and stretches his neck so that he can read the paper with you. He may even turn the paper to the next page before you are ready for it.
We also call such a person a “rubberneck”, always putting out his neck to where it does not belong, like neighbors who watch all your visitors. They enjoy invading your privacy. People have a strong dislike for rubbernecks. They hate being spied upon.Where can you find this passage?
| A．Medicine dictionaries. | B．A travel guide. |
| C．Social science books. | D．Students text books. |
How do you feel when late comers walk back and forth in front of you in a cinema?
| A．Disturbed. | B．Ignored. | C．Bored. | D．Relaxed. |
A “rubberneck” often .
| A．says bad words behind people |
| B．quarrels face to face with neighbors |
| C．bargains the price with sales women |
| D．asks about other people’s business |
Which of the follow is “a pain in the neck”?
| A．Someone who helps you find your seat in a movie theatre. |
| B．Someone who smokes in a smoking section on a train. |
| C．Someone who throws trash out of his car window on the highway. |
| D．Someone who goes to the doctor for his severe pain on the neck. |
完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）
It’s 10:30 p.m., and 11-year-old Brandon Blanco is sound asleep at home. Suddenly, a loud noise (1)____ him up. Naturally, Brandon (2) ____ his cell phone. He blinks twice, and the message on the screen becomes clear: “R U awake?”
The (3) ____ text does not annoy Brandon since he gets frequent (4) ____ and calls, even after bedtime. And he can’t imagine life without them. “If I didn’t have a cell phone, I wouldn’t be able to talk to my friends or family as often,” he told the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Brandon’s use of (5) ____ doesn’t stop there. He also has a computer, a TV and three video-game consoles（控制台）in his room. With so many (6) ____, it is no surprise that when he is not at school, he spends nearly every (7) ____ minute using one or more of these devices. Brandon is hardly (8) ____. According to a recent study by TFK, kids aged 8 to 18 are spending more time than ever before using (9) ____ devices. How much time? More than seven and a half hours a day (10) ____, the study found. That’s about an hour more than just five years ago.
The jump is the result of a huge explosion in mobile devices, says Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study. “These devices have opened up many more (11) ____ for young people to use media, whether it’s on the bus, on the way to school or waiting in line before the cashier,” says Rideout.
Often, kids (12) ____, or use more than one device at a time. “If you’ve got a chance to do something on your (13) ____ and take a phone call and have the TV on at the same time, why not?” Media expert Cheryl Olson says. Most experts agree technology has much to (34) ____ kids. But some worry the kids could be (15) ____ other (16) ____ like playing outside or (17) ____ with friends. “It’s a matter of balance,” says Olson.
Multitasking while (18) ____ is another concern. Some kids listen to music, watch TV or use the phone while doing their homework. “It’s important to make sure that you should (19) ____ one thing deeply,” says Rideout.
With new and exciting devices hitting stores every year, keeping technology use (20) ____ is more important than ever. “Kids should try,” adds Rideout. “But parents might have to step in sometimes.”
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D
Americans are pound of their variety- and individuality(多样性与个性), yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform（制服）, whether it is the uniform of an elevator operator or the uniform of a five-star general. Why are uniforms so popular in the United States?
Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more professional than civilian (百姓的) clothes. People have become conditioned to expect superior quality from a man who wears a uniform. The television repairman who wears uniform tends to inspire more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes. Faith in the skill of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform. What easier way is there for a nurse, a policeman, a barber, or a waiter to lose professional identity (身份) than to step out of uniform ?
Uniforms also have many practical benefits. They save on other clothes. They save on laundry bills. They are tax-deductible (可减税的). They are often more comfortable and more durable than civilian clothes.
Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the consequent loss of individuality experienced by people who must wear them. Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without change, until retirement. When people look alike, they tend to think, speak, and act similarly, on the job at least.
Uniforms also give rise to some practical problems. Though they are long-lasting, often their initial expense is greater than the cost of civilian clothes. Some uniforms are also dear to maintain, requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home laundering possible with many types of civilian clothes.It is surprising that Americans who worship variety and individuality________.
| A．still judge a man by his clothes |
| B．hold the uniform in such high regard |
| C．enjoy having a professional identity |
| D．will respect an elevator operator as much as a general in uniform |
People are used to thinking that a man in uniform________.
| A．suggests quality work |
| B．discards his social identity |
| C．appears to be more practical |
| D．looks superior to a person in civilian clothes |
The chief function of a uniform is to________.
| A．provide practical benefits to the wearer |
| B．make the wearer catch the public eye |
| C．inspire the wearer’s confidence in himself |
| D．provide the wearer with a professional identity |
According to the passage, people wearing uniforms________.
| A．are usually helpful |
| B．have little or no individual freedom |
| C．tend to lose their individuality |
| D．enjoy greater popularity |
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