Having one of those days or weeks — when everything seems to annoy you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster — often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster. A person who’s in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we’ve had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what’s on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you’ve been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. ("I still don’t have a job. "vs" I have two interviews next week.")
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren’t. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to against distress is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options(选择权) By taking control over certain areas, you realize you’re not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won’t improve your mood
TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate your mind something — that the TV show "Neighbors" won’t do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them. We learn from the text that it might help rid us of a bad mood ________.
| A．to do nothing about it |
| B．to take a long walk on the beach |
| C．to do some exercises with light music |
| D．to talk it to neighbours |
Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?
| A．It is not complicated to do so. |
| B．It is an area to be easily controlled. |
| C．It helps beat a bad mood. |
| D．It brings us a new technique. |
TV may not improve your mood because ________.
| A．it sometimes shows what happens around you |
| B．it keeps you stay unmoved |
| C．it reminds you of eating and drinking |
| D．it produces a calming effect |
This text most probably appears in ________.
| A．a book on physical exercises | B．a doctor’s handbook |
| C．a notice | D．a magazine |
In ancient times the most important examinations were spoken, not written. In the schools of ancient Greece and Rome, testing usually was made up of saying poetry aloud and giving speeches.
In the European universities of the Middle Ages, students who were working for advanced degrees had to discuss questions in their field of study with people who had made a special study of the subject. This custom exists today as part of the process of testing candidates (应试者) for the doctor’s degree.
Generally, however, modem examinations are written. The written examination, where all students are tested on the same questions, was probably not known until the nineteenth century. Perhaps it came into existence with the great increase in population and the development of modem industry. A room full of candidates for a state examination timed exactly by electric clocks and carefully watched over by managers, looks like a group of workers at an automobile factory. Certainly, during examinations teachers and students are expected to act like machines.
One type of test is sometimes called an “objective” test. It is intended to deal with facts, not personal opinions. To make up an objective test, the teacher writes a series (一系列)of questions, each of which has only one correct answer. Along with each question the teacher writes the correct answer and also three statements that look like answers to students who have not learned the material properly. The main idea of Paragraph Three is that ________.
| A．workers now take examinations | B．the population has grown |
| C．there are only written exams today | D．examinations are now written and timed |
The kind of exams where students must select answers are
| A．objective | B．personal |
| C．spoken | D．written |
Modem industry must have developed ________.
| A．around the 19th century | B．before the Middle Ages |
| C．in Greece or Rome | D．machines to take tests |
It may be concluded that testing ________.
| A．should test only opinions | B．should always be written |
| C．is given only in factories | D．has changed since the Middle Ages |
I grew up in a small town. My father raised chickens and ran a construction company. I was barely 10 years old when my dad gave me the responsibility (责任) of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable. He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace, I washed dishes and cooked from 4: 00 pm to 9: 00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged. One night, a woman executive (懂事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I released my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man. Knowing that I had done my best filled me with pride. I still feel that way today, even though I have become a well-known singer.Why was the writer once known as the singing cook?
| A．Because he was a cook at a country-music club. |
| B．Because he sang for guests while he worked as a cook. |
| C．Because he often sang while cooking. |
| D．Because he liked singing better than cooking. |
Who first recognized his talents and helped make his career successful?
| A．Wamer Brothers. | B．His manager. |
| C．His father. | D．A businesswoman. |
What made the writer proud of himself?
| A．His ability to live independently. |
| B．His sense of responsibility in whatever he did. |
| C．His courage in the face of rejections. |
| D．His hard work in his early days. |
“The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses(冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral(道德) freedom.
A single angry word has lost many friends. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whoever the gods would destroy they first make them mad.” “Keep cool,” says Webster, “anger is not argument.” “Be calm in arguing,” says George Herbert, “for fierceness(狂怒) makes error a fault.”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. “Anger,” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last and greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also.What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The importance of self- control. |
| B．How to conquer oneself? |
| C．The relation between a man’s moral freedom and his feelings. |
| D．A man should keep cool. |
What’s the meaning of “whoever the gods would destroy they first make them mad”?
| A．If you are mad, the gods will kill you. |
| B．If you lose your temper first, gods will kill you first. |
| C．If you can’t control yourself, you will be crazy. |
| D．If the gods want to kill you, they will make you mad first. |
Which of the following is NOT true, according to passage?
| A．The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself. |
| B．You will make a small mistake serious if you don’t keep cool. |
| C．You must measure a man’s strength by the power of the feelings which conquer him. |
| D．Anger brings with folly and ends with regret. |
Which of the following can’t help you avoid anger, according to the passage?
| A．Be calm in arguing. |
| B．Check your temper or anger by speaking low. |
| C．Keep your mouth shut. |
| D．Try to make the other angry first。 |
Wild animals seem to have escaped the Indian Ocean tsunami(海啸), adding weight to ideas they possess a “sixth sense” for disasters, experts said on Thursday.
Sri Lanka wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean island’s coast seemingly missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found.
“No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening,” H.D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department, said on Wednesday.
The waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km (2 miles) inland at Yala National Park in the southeast, Sri Lanka’s biggest wildlife reserve and home to hundreds of wild elephants. “There has been a lot of evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proven,” said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behaviour specialist at Johannesburg Zoo.
“There have been no specific studies because you can’t really test it in a lab or field setting,” he said.
Other authorities agreed with this conclusion.
“Wildlife seem to be able to pick up certain phenomenon, especially birds. There are many reports of birds detecting coming disasters,” said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife.
Animals certainly rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as predators(食肉动物).
The idea of an animal “sixth sense” is a lasting one that the evidence on Sri Lanka’s damaged coast is likely to add to. This passage is mainly about________.
| A．the damage that was caused in the Indian Ocean tsunami |
| B．why animals can save them from natural disasters |
| C．how to protect the wildlife when disaster happens |
| D．the different opinions about animals’ natural power |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A．It has been proved that animals have a “sixth sense”. |
| B．Research has been made on the special movements of animals before disasters. |
| C．It’s generally considered that animals can sense the coming of disasters. |
| D．Animals have depended on the known senses to escape the Indian Ocean tsunami. |
What does the term “sixth sense” in the text means?
| A．It is the natural ability of animals that can save them from danger. |
| B．It is the animal’s imagination in the brain. |
| C．It is some hidden power to say in advance that something will happen. |
| D．It is a kind of sense that is the same as smell or hearing. |
Which section does the text most probably appear in a newspaper?
| A．News Report. | B．Discovery. | C．Science Fiction. | D．Culture. |
The physicians in a hospital form the center of medical staff. But they could not provide effective medical care to their patients without the help of numerous other medical employees. From the viewpoint of the patients, the nursing staff is particularly important. Nurses are usually in close contact with patients as long as they are in the hospital.
A nurse does not study for as many years as a doctor. however, each must be equally dedicated. Caring for sick persons requires a great deal of patience and concern. Most nurses work long days, and they often must work at odd hours or during the night.
Under the supervision (监管) of the head nurse, the nursing staff must provide nursing services on a 24-hour basis and attend to patients’ needs. This responsibility continues around the clock, and so nurses must work in shifts. A shift is a period of duty, usually eight in length. The nurses on the ward rotate their shifts. Some take turns working night duty; others work odd shifts.
A nurse must always be alert. She can never afford to be careless. This is true in all nursing situation, but it is especially true in the intensive care unit. Patients under intensive care are critically ill, and they must be monitored at all times. The nurses who do intensive care duty have one of the most demanding jobs in the hospital.
Serving as a nurse can be a very rewarding job. But it is not an easy one. Not every person is suited to become a nurse. Only very dedicated people have chosen nursing as a profession.The nursing staff ________.
| A．are central to the medical staff |
| B．play an important role in caring for patients |
| C．can work effectively without physicians |
| D．are always in close contact with the patients |
Why don’t nurses study for as many years as doctors?
| A．They don’t treat patients for illness and injury. |
| B．Most nurses work long days. |
| C．Caring for sick patients requires patience and concern. |
| D．They are not dedicated. |
Nurses work in shifts because ________.
| A．they are careless. |
| B．nursing services must be provided continuously. |
| C．they work at night from time to time. |
| D．a shift is usually eight hours long. |
What kind of person is suited to become a nurse?
| A．A very careful person. | B．An able person. |
| C．A very dedicated person. | D．A specially trained person. |
How men first learned to invent words is unknown, in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken, or written in letters, we call words.
The power of words, then, lies in their association—the thing they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and the sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increase.
Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and emotions. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should, therefore, learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they make our speech silly and vulgar. What is the origin of language?
| A．It is unknown. |
| B．It is a matter that is unclear. |
| C．It is a question difficult to answer. |
| D．It is a problem not yet solved. |
Which of the following about a real poet is NOT true?
| A．He is less than a master of words. |
| B．His style is always charming. |
| C．His poem can move men to tears. |
| D．He can express his ideas in words that sing like music. |
Where does the real power of the words come from?
| A．From the words themselves. |
| B．From their characteristics. |
| C．From their peculiarity. |
| D．From their association. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．The importance of choosing words. |
| B．Where the real power of words come from. |
| C．What great writers are like. |
| D．We should learn to choose words carefully. |
George Washington Carver showed that plant life was more than just food for animals and humans. Carver’s first step was to analyze plant parts to find out what they were made of. He then combined these simpler isolated substances with other substances to create new products.
The branch of chemistry that studies and finds ways to use raw materials from farm products to make industrial products is called chemurgy. Carver was one of the first and greatest chemurgists of all time. Today the science of chemurgy is better known as the science of synthetics(合成纤维织物). Each day people depend on and use synthetics made from raw materials. All his life Carver battled against the disposal of waste materials, and warned of the growing need to develop substitutes(代用品) for the natural substances being used up by humans.
Carver never cared about getting credit for the new products he created. He never tried to patent(申请专利) his discoveries or get wealthy from them. He turned down many offers to leave Tuskegee Institute to become a scientist in private industry. Thomas Edison, inventor of the electric light, offered him a laboratory in Detroit to carry out food research. When the United States government made him a collaborator in the Mycology and Plant Disease Survey of the Department of Agriculture, he accepted the position with the understanding that he wouldn’t leave Tuskegee. An authority on plant disease—especially of the fungus(真菌) variety—Carver sent hundreds of specimens(标本) to the United States Department of Agriculture. At the peak of his career, Carver’s fame and influence were known on every continent. What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．It mainly tells us about Gorge Washington Carver, a great chemurgist. |
| B．It mainly tells us about chemurgy. |
| C．It mainly tells us about the research made in Tuskegee. |
| D．It mainly tells us about the development of making synthetics. |
The underlined word “disposal” in the second paragraph mean “________”.
| A．control | B．throwing away |
| C．management | D．keeping |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Make a study of plant parts. |
| B．Make new products out of farm products. |
| C．Carver helped the United States Department of Agriculture. |
| D．Make a study on animal disease. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Carver never patented what he discovered. |
| B．Carver refused many offers to work in private companies. |
| C．Carver made little money out of his discoveries. |
| D．Carver helped Edison invent electric light. |
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23—The House of Representatives, which prides itself on being “the People’s House” has been turning into a rich man’s club.
The representatives newly elected in 1984 were almost four times as wealthy as the first term lawmakers elected only six years before, according to a new study on the members’ financial reports.
Behind this remarkable swing, the study says, are two main factors: a court decision that outlawed limits on what candidates could give to their own campaigns, and the enormous growth in the cost of pursuing a seat in congress. As a result, it is increasingly difficult for candidates of modest means, particularly women to amount successful challenge to entrenched office holders.
One solution, the authors contend, is a system of public financing for campaigns, but congress seems in no mood to change the political rules any time soon.
“The lower chamber is going upper class,” said Mark Green, the president of The Democracy Project, a public policy institute based in New York. “But this evolution from a House of Representatives to a House of Lords denies the diversity of our democracy. It establishes a de facto property qualification for office that increasingly says: low and middle income need not apply.
The Democracy Project produced the study in cooperation with the United States Public Interest Research Group, a similar institute situated in Washington. But their research was not entirely theoretical. In 1980 Mr Green was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress in New York’s 15th District, in Manhattan. The winner was Bill Green, one of the wealthiest members of CongresWhat can we know from the passage?
| A．The House of Representatives is poor men’s club. |
| B．The House of Representatives was made up of people with low and middle income. |
| C．The House of Representatives was rich men’s club. |
| D．The House of Representatives is made up of people with low and middle income. |
What does “this remarkable swing” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．The House of Representatives prides itself on being “the people’s House”. |
| B．The new study based on the members’ financial reports. |
| C．A court decision that outlawed limits on what candidates could give to their own campaigns. |
| D．The representatives elected now are much wealthier than those elected a few years ago. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the study?
| A．Any honest man can become a representative of the House. |
| B．Women are more difficult than men to be an entrenched office holder. |
| C．Limits on what a candidate could give to his campaign are outlawed. |
| D．One must spend much money getting a seat in the Congress. |
What is the United States Public Interest Research Group like?
| A．The House of Representatives. |
| B．A public policy institute based in New York. |
| C．A public policy institute based in Washington. |
| D．The House of lords. |
To Chinese immigrants, in the mid-1800s, California was “The Land of the Golden Mountain.” In their homeland they had heard the words, “There’s gold in California.” They sailed 7,000miles to join the gold rush and strike it rich. Between 1849 and 1882, more than 30,000 Chinese came to California. Most were men. They had been farmers in China. They came here to be miners and laborers. They ended up doing many other jobs, too.
Like many other immigrants, they did not plan to stay in America. They came because of their ties to their homeland and their families. They planned to return to China with their fortunes and help their families.
Only a few Chinese gold miners struck it rich. Most picked over the areas that had been mined already. But still, white miners resented the Chinese. Slowly, they drove the “yellow peril” from the mining camps.
By the end of the 1850s, many Chinese returned home. Those who stayed found other jobs.
Few women had come west in the gold rush. The Chinese saw a good business opportunity. They began doing the jobs women would have done. Many became house servants. Many more opened laundries.
The Chinese opened restaurants. Chop suey and show mein are popular Chinese-American dishes. The Chinese probably created these dishes to serve to the white miners.
Other Chinese became fishermen, farmers, and even cigar makers. Why did Chinese go to America in the mid-1800s?
| A．Because they could find good jobs there. |
| B．Because they had found gold there. |
| C．Because they could open laundries and restaurants there. |
| D．Because they heard there was gold there. |
The underlined word “resented” mean “________”.
| A．liked | B．helped | C．hated | D．served |
of the following was NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Some Chinese became drivers. |
| B．Many Chinese opened shops to help wash clothes. |
| C．Many Chinese picked gold around the old mines. |
| D．Many Chinese returned to China by the end of the 1850s. |
should be the title of the passage?
| A．Early Chinese immigrants in America |
| B．Dream to strike it rich |
| C．The difference between men and women |
| D．Gold miners in America |
The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space showed it as a solid ball covered by brown land masses and blue-green oceans. We had never seen the Earth from that distance before. To us, it appeared as though the Earth had always looked that way and always would. Scientists now know, however, that the surface of the Earth is not as permanent as we had thought.
Scientists explain that the surface of our planet is always moving. Continents moves about the Earth like huge ships at sea. They float on pieces of the Earth’s outer skin. New outer skin is created as melted rock pushed up from below the ocean floor. Old outer skin is destroyed as it rolls down into the hot area and melts again.
Only since the 1960s have scientists really began to understand that the planet Earth is a great living machine. Some experts have said this new understanding is one of the most important revolutions in scientific thought. The revolution is based on the work of scientists who study the movement of the continents—a science called plate tectonics.
The modern story of plate tectonics begins with the German scientist Alfred Wegener. Before World War One, Wegener argued that the continents had moved and were still moving. He said the idea first occurred to him when he observed that the coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. He proposed that the two continents might have been one and then split apart.
Wegener was not the first person to wonder about the shape of the continents. About 500 years ago, explorers thought about it when they made the first maps of Americas. The explorers noted the east coast of North America and South America would fit almost exactly into the west coast of Europe and south Africa. What the explorers did not do, but Wegener did, was to investigate the idea that the continents move.What does the writer mainly tell us in the passage?
| A．The first breath-taking pictures of the Earth taken from space. |
| B．Human’s recognition of the earth’s surface. |
| C．The German scientist Alfred Wegener. |
| D．The early explorers’ discovery. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．We didn’t see the Earth from far away until we saw the picture taken in the space. |
| B．Our ancient thought that the surface of the earth is still. |
| C．Alfred Wegener was not the first person to investigate the idea that the continents move. |
| D．The coastline of India and Africa fit together. |
The last word of the third paragraph “tectonics” mean “________”.
| A．study of construction |
| B．study of architecture |
| C．earth surface |
| D．structural geology |
What did the explorers find?
| A．The coastlines of South America and Africa could fit together. |
| B．The coastlines of North America and Africa could fit together. |
| C．The east coastlines of North America and the west coast of Europe could fit together. |
| D．The coastlines of North America and India could fit together. |
Maggie was very glad that James was not a frequent visitor to the house. So far as the children were concerned, they had a mystery about him that stirred their imagination. He stirred Maggie’s anger, however, so that she often said to her husband, “It’s mercy that brother of yours doesn’t come oftener.”
In fact James came once a year, unexpectedly, around eight o’clock in the evening, and he stayed for six hours of close discussion with his brother. His arrival was a signal to the children that their bedtime would be delayed. Not that he ever spoke to them or played with them. He took no notice of them, as if he was unable to see children, at least until the time came for him to go. Instead, after his first greeting and a careless kiss, James took no notice of Maggie either, except to add, “You’ll be getting on with the supper, Maggie.” Such was his regard for her.
Maggie paid him back in her own way. She kept the children up, the four of them, to keep her company, she said, but of course they sang and made a noise and broke the endless sound of James’s voice. Very late, they dropped off to sleep in their chairs. Then, when James was about to go, Maggie woke them up and so more or less forced him to part with four shillings before he left. That gave her some satisfaction, for James, though rich, was mean. He always went home by the last train, just after two o’clock.
Maggie’s children secretly stared at their uncle. They could not forget that he had, in their mother’s words, “lost two wives and taken a third, ” They wondered about those two unfortunate lost ladies. They asked each other what their fate had been, and if neither could ever be found again. James never brought his third wife with him nor ever mentioned her. The children decided that he must be so frightened of losing her that he never allowed her outside the door. The underlined word “mercy” in the text most probably means _______.
| A．loss | B．wonder |
| C．lucky thing | D．terrible thing |
Maggie never prepared anything special for James because _______.
| A．he was a man difficult to please |
| B．she never knew when he was coming |
| C．she was too busy looking after her children |
| D．he never stayed long enough for a meal |
What do we know about James’ behavior?
| A．He was a kind man, with love for the family. |
| B．He was generous, especially towards his brother. |
| C．He was anxious to please the family, especially the kids. |
| D．He was rude to his sister-in-law. |
Maggie felt pleased when _______.
| A．she paid James the money that she owed him |
| B．James gave some money to the children |
| C．she had to wake James up to catch his train |
| D．James thanked her for the nice supper |
The children did not realize that two of James’ wives _______.
| A．had been dead | B．suffered from loss of memory |
| C．had run away from him | D．might appear again one day |
America is growing older. Fifty years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65. The aging of the population will affect American society in many ways — education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the aging of America has made us a very different society — one in which people have a quite different idea of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.
A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his/ her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that kept us on time and told us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.
Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother or my father was at my age.” No one says “Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.It can be learned from the text that the aging of the population in America ________.
| A．has made people feel younger |
| B．has changed people’s social position |
| C．has changed people’s understanding of age |
| D．has slowed down the country’s social development |
The underlined word “one” refers to ________.
| A．a society | B．America | C．a place | D．population |
“Act your age” means people should ________.
| A．be active when they are old |
| B．do the right thing at the right age |
| C．show respect to their parents young or old |
| D．take more physical exercises suitable to their age |
f a’ 25-year-old man becomes general manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it _________.
| A．normal | B．wonderful | C．unbelievable | D．unreasonable |
Brazil has become one. of the developing world’s great successes at reducing population growth but more by accident than design. While countries such as India have made joint efforts to reduce birth rates, Brazil had better results without really trying, says George Martine at Harvard.
Brazil’s population growth rate dropped from 2. 99% a year between 1951 and 1960 to 1. 93% a year between 198 land 1990, and Brazilian women now have only 2. 7 children on average. Martine says this figure may have fallen still further since 1990, an achievement that makes it the envy of many other Third World countries.
Martine puts it down to, among other things, soap operas (肥皂剧) and installment (分期付款) plans introduced in the 1970s. Both played an important, although indirect, role in lowering the birth rate. Brazil is one of the world’s biggest producers of soap operas. Globo, Brazil’s most popular television network, shows three hours of soaps six nights a week, while three others show at least one hour a night. Most soaps are based on wealthy characters living the high life in big cities.
Although they have never really tried to work in a message towards the problems of reproduction, they describe middle and upper class values: not many children, women working, says Martine. They sent this image to all parts of Brazil and made people conscious (有意识的) of other patterns of behaviour and other values, which were put into a very attractive package.
Meanwhile, the installment plans tried to encourage the poor to become consumers. " This led to an enormous change in consumption (消费) patterns and consumption was incompatible (不相容的) with unlimited reproduction," says Martine.
according to the passage, Brazil has lowered its population growth ________.
| A．by educating its citizens | B．by careful family planning |
| C．by developing TV programmes | D．by chance |
according to the passage, many Third World countries
| A．haven’t given much attention to birth control |
| B．would soon join Brazil in controlling their birth rate |
| C．haven’t yet found an effective measure to control their population |
| D．haven’t realized the importance of TV plays in family planning |
Soap operas have helped in lowering Brazil’s birth rate because ________.
| A．they keep people sitting long hours watching TV |
| B．they have gradually changed people’s way of life |
| C．people are drawn to their attractive package |
| D．they popularize birth control measures |
What is Martine’s conclusion about Brazil’s population growth?
| A．The increase in birth rate will increase consumption. |
| B．The desire for consumption helps to reduce birth rate. |
| C．Consumption goes with reproduction. |
| D．A country ‘s production is limited by its population growth. |
In a time of low academic (学术的) achievement by children in the United States, many Americans are turning to Japan, a country of high academic achievement and economic success, for possible answers. however, the answers provided by Japanese preschools are not the ones Americans expected to find. In most Japanese preschools, surprisingly little emphasis is put on academic instruction. In one investigation, 300 Japanese and 210 American preschool teachers, child development specialists, and parents were asked about various aspects of early childhood education. Only 2 percent of the Japanese respondents (答问卷者) listed "to give children a good start academically" as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. In contrast, over half the American respondents chose this as one of their top three choices. To prepare children for successful careers in first grade and beyond, Japanese schools do not teach reading, writing, and mathematics, but rather skills such as persistence, concentration, and the ability to function as a member of a group. The majority of young Japanese children are taught to read at home by their parents.
In the recent comparison of Japanese and American preschool education, 91 percent of Japanese respondents chose providing children with a group experience as one of their top three reasons for a society to have preschools. 62 percent of the more individually oriented (强调个性发展的) Americans listed group experience as one of their top three choices. An emphasis on the importance of the group seen in Japanese early childhood education continues into elementary school education.
Like in America, there is diversity (多样性) in Japanese early childhood education. Some Japanese kindergartens have specific aims, such as early musical training or potential (潜力) development. In large cities, some kindergartens are attached to universities that have elementary and secondary schools.
Some Japanese parents believe that if their young children attend a university-based program, it will increase the children’s chances of eventually being admitted to top-rated schools and universities. Several more progressive programs have introduced free play as a way out for the heavy intellectualizing in some Japanese kindergartens.
We learn from the first paragraph that many Americans believe ________.
| A．Japanese parents pay more attention to preschool education than American parents |
| B．Japan’s economic success is a result of its scientific achievements |
| C．Japanese preschool education emphasizes academic instruction |
| D．Japan’s higher education is better than theirs |
Most American respondents believe that preschools should also attach
importance to ________.
| A．problem solving | B．group experience |
| C．parental guidance | D．individually oriented development |
In Japan’s preschool education, the focus is on ________.
| A．preparing children academically | B．developing children’s artistic interests |
| C．tapping children’s potential | D．shaping children’s character |
Why do some Japanese parents send their children to university-based kindergartens?
| A．They can do better in their future studies. |
| B．They can gain more group experience there. |
| C．They can be individually oriented when they grow up. |
| D．They can have better chances of getting a first-rate education. |
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