When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday best.
But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware (粗陶)-and-stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times.
Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs—one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier.
Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend” toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television.
Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?
Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette (礼节) that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents (“Chew with your mouth closed.” “Keep your elbows off the table.”) must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be able professionally but inexperienced socially.
67. Why do people tend to follow the trend to casual dining?
A. Family members need more time to relax.
B. Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.
C. People prefer to live a comfortable life.
D. Young people won’t follow the etiquette of the older generation.
68. It can be learned from the passage that Royal Doulton is ______.
A. a seller of stainless steel tableware B. a dealer in stoneware
C. a pottery chain store D. a producer of fine china
69. The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is ______.
A. the increased value of the pound B. the worsening economy in Asia
C. the change in people’s way of life D. the fierce competition at home and abroad
70. Formal table manners, though less popular than before in current social life, ______.
A. are still a must on certain occasions B. are certain to return sooner or later
C. are still being taught by parents at home D. can help improve personal relationships
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
请认真阅读下列短文，从短文后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。s5u.com
A
Your Genes, Your Future
How would you feel if someone gave you an envelope with a description of every one of your genes? Supposing this information could tell you what illnesses you were likely to get, or even what illness you might die of, would you open the envelope?
It's a difficult question to answer. But the fact is that scientists have already begun to discover how certain genes influence us. And in the next decade, they will learn a lot more.
We have known for a long time that many of our physical characteristics are inherited. For example, our eye colour and certain diseases are decided by our genes. As long as you have a good diet, scientists can predict your height by looking at your parents' heights. And we now know that the need to wear glasses has a genetic cause. Our eating habits also appear to be decided by our genes!
With other characteristics, things are not so clear. Certainly, scientists have now shown that some traits are strongly influenced by our genes. Do you prefer getting up early or late? To a great extent, it's your genes that decide, Do you enjoy dangerous sports such as car racing? There is a gene that influences how much excitement we need.
But with most psychological characteristics, scientists are learning that both our genes and our environment affect us. This is true of things such as how violent we are, and how well we get on with other people. So, even though scientists may soon be able to describe our genes in detail, it does not mean they will be able to predict our future with any real success.
Nonetheless, the fact is that scientists will be able to "read" our genes in the near future. This will create new problems. To give a few examples, insurance companies may not want to insure people whose genes predict certain illnesses. Employers may not want to employ people who have a gene for violence. One thing is already clear -- with these new developments, life is going to become even more complicated!
56. Which characteristics is mostly likely to be inherited?
A. Eye colour. B. Interest. C. Future. D. Ability.
57. What kind of problem will these new developments create?
A. You may die of a certain illness described in the envelope.
B. There will be an increased number of violent people.
C. People may take part in dangerous sports such as car racing.
D. Insurance companies may refuse to insure people with a gene for certain disease.
58. Why won’t scientists be able to tell us a lot about our future?
A. Because we’re affected not only by our genes but also by our environment.
B. Because scientists will not able to read our genes in the near future.
C. Because life in the future will be more complicated.
D. Because scientists can’t describe our genes in detail.
Will there ever be another Einstein? This is the undercurrent（潜流） of conversation at Einstein memorial meetings throughout the year. A new Einstein will appear, scientists say. But it may take a long time. After all, more than 200 years separated Einstein from Isaac Newton.
Many physicists say the next Einstein hasn't been born yet, or is a baby now. That's because the search for a unified theory that would explain all the forces of nature has pushed current mathematics to its limits. New math must be created after the problem can be solved.
But researchers say there are many other factors working against another Einstein appearing anytime soon. For one thing, physics is a much different field today. In Einstein's day, there were a few thousand physicists worldwide, and the theorists who could argue with Einstein probably would fit into a streetcar with seats to spare. Education is different, too. One key aspect of Einstein's training that-is little noticed is the years of philosophy he read as a teenager --- Kant, Schopenhauer and Spinoza, among others. It taught him how to think independently about space and time and it wasn't long before he became a philosopher himself.
And Einstein was a clever musician. The interplay between music and math is well-known. Einstein would play his violin hard as a way to think through a knotty physics problem.
Today, universities have produced millions of physicists. There aren't many jobs in science for them, so they go to Wall Street and Silicon Valley to apply their analytical skills. Those who stay in science don’t work alone and they sometimes do experiment together which takes years.
It's hard to imagine a renegade(背叛者) like Einstein standing it. “Maybe there is an Einstein out there today,” said Columbia University physicist Brian Greene, “but it would be a lot harder for him to be heard.”According to the second paragraph, the next Einstein will ___________.
| A．have to create new math | B．create a unified theory |
| C．have to be born now | D．push math to its limits |
The underlined words “knotty” in the fourth paragraph means ____________.
| A．easy | B．interesting | C．strange | D．difficult |
Which of the following will be useful for the next Einstein to be born?
| A．There will be music around. |
| B．There will be no problems to solve. |
| C．There will be suitable philosophy to study. |
| D．There are only a few physicists. |
The bold words “unified theory” in Paragraph 2 refers to ___________.
| A．agreement | B．mathematical rule |
| C．unique idea | D．physical saying |
A husband-and-wife team from California reached the Pacific Ocean after a 4,900- mile-cross
-country walk, becoming the first to backpack the American Discovery Trail in one continuous
walk.
Marcia and Ken powers, of Pleasanton, started the travel across 13 states, through 14 national parks and 16 national forests on Feb. 27 from Cape Henlopen in Delaware. Nearly eight months later, the excited couple walked through water into the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes, a day ahead of time.
“We are a little sad that a great adventure is over. It was a fantastic adventure. And now we go home and just do housework. It's really sad.” Marcia, who said she's in her 50s, and her 60-year-old husband traversed cities, desert, mountains and farmland before reaching the Pacifics alone with arms around each other' s backpacks.
They overcame deep snow in the East, a quicksand in Utah, close lightning strikes in the Mid- west and strong desert sandstorms in the West while averaging 22 miles a day and taking only four days off. But they enjoyed the French history of St. Louis' the beauty of the Colorado Rockies and the kindness of strangers they met along the way. They particularly remember two brothers ---- a
doctor and dentist-------who put them up in their homes, after terrible days, and a motorcyclist who gave them water after they failed to find any on Utah's lonely Wah Wah Desert.
“Americans are truly warm-hearted and wonderful people.” Marcia Powers said. “We got to meet people that we would never meet in our daily living at home. We got to touch it with our feet and hands and smell all its scents and hear its wildlife. It' s an amazing country,” she added.Which of the following about couple's walk is TRUE?
| A．The walk covered more than 13 states. |
| B．The walk lasted about half a year. |
| C．The walk didn't meet any desert. |
| D．The walk might end before October 27. |
The underlined word “traversed” in the third paragraph means “____________.”
| A．enjoy | B．move across, through or over |
| C．overcome | D．look at |
According to the text, we can infer that during the walk the couple __________.
| A．were treated warm-heartedly by the local people |
| B．never stopped to have a rest |
| C．were ever caught in a heavy rain and became ill |
| D．felt the quicksand in Utah was very interesting |
The couple went through many places except ____________.
| A．big rivers | B．desert | C．hills | D．fields |
Nate suffered a hard blow when he lost his job. His boss had spoken rudely, “Your services are no longer needed.” Nate left the building filled with despair. By the time he reached home, he was in a deep depression. When he entered his house, he blurted out to his wife Sophia, “I lost my job. I am a complete, absolutely failure.” A tense silence followed. Then a smile crept across Sophia's face. “What great news!” she responded, “Now you can write the book you have always wanted to write.”
“But I have no job and no prospect of a job,” he objected, completely without hope. “If I struggle to be an author, then what will we live on? Where will the money come from?” Sophia took her husband by the hand and led him to the kitchen. Opening a drawer, she took out a box that was full of cash. “Where on earth did you get this?” Nate gasped. “To whom does it belong?”
“It's ours!” Sophia replied. "I always know that one day you would become a great writer only if you were given the chance. From the money you gave me for housekeeping every week, I have saved as much as I could so you would have your chance. Now there is enough to last us a whole year.”
What a surprise! What encouragement! What a wife! The unemployed husband did concentrate on writing that year, and the novel he wrote became a literary masterpiece（杰作）. The book is The Scarlet Letter. Sophia had an even greater achievement, and she turned Nathaniel Hawthorne from a poor clerk into a world famous master. Which of the following can be inferred from the first paragraph?
| A．Sophia was very disappointed to hear the news. |
| B．Nate was too sad to speak any more. |
| C．Sophia was thinking of how to encourage Nate. |
| D．Neither husband nor wife had any idea of what to do. |
Sophia saved money because ____________.
| A．she knew her husband would lose his job one day |
| B．she knew their life would be in difficulty |
| C．she was very careful with money |
| D．she was trying to help her husband in every possible way |
From the passage we can know that Sophia was ___________.
| A．kind and brave |
| B．careful and encouraging |
| C．friendly and warm-hearted |
| D．honest and determined |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sophia's Achievement |
| B．A Great Writer's Struggle to Success |
| C．Great Encouragement in Hard Times |
| D．Failure is the Mother of Success |
Academy Awards The Academy Awards are the most prominent film award in the United States. The Awards are granted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Academy Awards are nicknamed “Oscars” , which is also the nickname of the statuette. The name is said to have been born in 1931 when Margaret Herrick saw the statuette on a table and said. “It looks just like my uncle Oscar!”
Berlin Film Festival One of the “A” festivals in Europe. The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the “Berlinale”, is held annually in February and started in 1951 after an initiative of the American, who occupied part of the city after World War II. The jury always placed special emphasis on representing films from all over the world, from the former Eastern Bloc Countries (东方阵营) as well as from Western countries.The awards are called Golden and Silver Bears ( as the bear is the symbol of Berlin).
Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival takes place every year in late August/early September on the Lido in the historic Palazzo del Cinema, in Venice, Italy since 1932; its main award is the “Leond'Oro” (Golden Lion). Recently, a new award has been added, the San Marco Award for the best film
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival is. a famous international film festival. It has been held annually in Cannes, in the south of France, since 1946 with a few exceptions. Given massive media exposure, the Festival is attended by many movie stars and is a popular venue for movie producers to launch their new films and attempt to sell their works to the distributors who come from all over the globe.
The most famous award given out at Carmes is the “Palme d'Or” (Golden Palm) for the best film; this is sometimes shared by multiple films in one year.Which award can be shared by multiple films in one year?
| A．Golden Lion. | B．Golden Palm. |
| C．Academy Awards. | D．San Marco Award. |
Which of the following statements about “Oscars” is NOT true?
| A．It s the nickname of Academy Awards. |
| B．It's also the nickname of the statuette. |
| C．It got its name because Margaret said the statuette looked like her uncle. |
| D．It s an award in France. |
Which award has the shortest history?
| A．Golden Lion. | B．Golden Palm. |
| C．Academy Awards. | D．San Marco Award. |
Which of the following best states the main idea of the passage?
| A．An introduction to famous film festivals and film awards. |
| B．An advertisement for films and TV programs. |
| C．An introduction to the nicknames of famous film awards. |
| D．A guide of bow to attend famous film festivals. |
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