My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:
In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them. It can be learned from the article that ________.
| A．the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world |
| B．a judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal |
| C．the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich |
| D．In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery |
The function of the graph is to ________.
| A．show chances that those things take place are fewer |
| B．support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets |
| C．indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot |
| D．say shark attack death will seldom happen this year |
Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?
| A．If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily. |
| B．Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets. |
| C．The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country. |
| D．Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich. |
The underlined phrase “at play” in the 7th paragraph most probably means ________.
| A．effective | B．ridiculous | C．contradictory | D．astonishing |
What do you think is the best title?
| A．The Popular Mega Millions Jackpot | B．Lottery is Merely a Trick |
| C．Mega Million is Like a Shark Attack | D．Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon |
Many Western people are not used to sitting on the floor any more. In Japan, however, sitting upright on the floor is common in different situations. For example, meals are traditionally had when people sit on the tatami (榻榻米) loor around a low table. Also during the tea ceremony and other traditional events, one sits on the floor.
The formal way of sitting for both men and women is kneeling upright. People who are not used to sitting in this style may feel uncomfortable after a few minutes, and their legs may go numb. However, foreigners are not usually expected to be able to sit in this style for a long time, and an increasing number of Japanese people themselves aren’t able to do so, owing to a more westernized lifestyle.
In other situations, men usually sit cross-legged, while women sit on their knees laying both legs to one side. The former sitting style is considered wholly male, while the latter is considered completely female.
The most important guest sits on the honored seat which is set farthest from the entrance. If there is a tokonoma (壁龛) in the room, the guest should be seated in front of it. The host or the least important person is supposed to sit next to the entrance. Of course, there are other things to be considered in each particular case.
1. Which of the following situations is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. When men and women meet.
B. When a tea ceremony is held.
C. When traditional events are held.
D. When meals are traditionally had.
2. According to the passage we can learn that ______.
A. more and more Japanese sit in the formal way
B. foreigners should always sit in the formal style in a Japanese home
C. men shouldn’t sit on their knees laying both legs to one side
D. men and women in Japan sit in the same informal way
3. When some guests are in a Japanese home, _______ should sit nearest to the entrance.
A. the host himself
B. both the host and the hostess
C. the host or the least important person
D. the most important guest
4. What is the passage mainly about?
A. How foreigners should sit in Japanese homes.
B. How foreigners should behave in Japanese homes.
C. Where to sit in Japanese homes.
D. How and where to sit in Japanese homes.
I stopped to watch my little girl busy playing in her room. In one hand was a plastic phone; in the other a toy broom. I listened as she was speaking to her doll. And I will never forget the words she said, ever though it was pretended.
She said, “Suzie’s in the corner because she’s not been very good. She didn’t listen to a word I said or do the things she should.” In the corner I saw her baby doll all dressed in lace and pink. It was obvious that she’d been put there to sit alone and think.
My daughter continued her “conversation”, as I sat down on the floor. She said, “I’m all fed up, I just don’t know what to do with her anymore. She cries whenever I have to work and wants to play games, too. She tries to help me with the dishes, but her arms just cannot reach…And she doesn’t know how to fold towels. I don’t have the time to teach. I have a lot of work to do and a big house to keep clean. I don’t have the time to sit and play —don’t you know what I mean?”
And that day I thought a lot about making some changes in my life, as I listened to her words that cut me like a knife. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to what I hold most dear.
But now my attitude has changed, because, in my heart, I realize…I’ve seen the world in a different light through my little darling’s eyes. So, let the cobwebs have the corners and the dustbunnies rule the floor, I’m not going to worry about keeping up with them anymore.
I’m going to fill the house with memories of a child and her mother…For we are granted only one childhood, and we will never get another.
1. What was the little girl doing with her doll?
A. She was dressing up her doll.
B. She was playing the doll with her friend Suzie.
C. She was talking to her mother.
D. She was punishing her doll.
2. Which statement is TRUE about the mother’s behaviors before that day?
A. She spent a lot of time with her daughter talking to her.
B. She was busy cleaning the house with little time spared for her daughter.
C. She didn’t show her love to her child.
D. She always dressed up baby dolls with her daughter.
3. What do the underlined words “cobwebs” and “dustbunnies” probably refer to?
A. A happy atmosphere inside the home.
B. All her d aughter’s toys
C. Happy memories of a child
D. Things that kept the mother busy
4. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?
A. Daughter and Her Doll B. Daughter’s Words
C. Only One Childhood D. A Busy Mother’s Change
III. 阅读理解
William Shakespeare is the most famous playwright (剧作家). Although he died in 1616, people still go to see his plays. Among the most popular are ＲｏｍｅｏａｎｄＪｕｌｉｅｔ, ＡＭｉｄｓｕｍｍｅｒＮｉｇｈｔ’ｓＤｒｅａｍ and Ｈａｍｌｅｔ — the story of a prince who struggles to respond to the crimes around him.
Shakespeare, who was born in 1564, was an actor as well as a writer. Most of his ideas for plays were taken from history, people’s conversation, ancient stories, and also from other writers. He wrote not only about kings and queens and princes, but also about friends and ordinary people. He wrote about the cruelty of war and the bravery of heroes, as well as about jealousy, joy, hate, ambition and love. His stories live on. The tragedy ＲｏｍｅｏａｎｄＪｕｌｉｅｔ was reborn as the musical ＷｅｓｔＳｉｄｅＳｔｏｒｙ and more recently as the movie ＲｏｍｅｏａｎｄＪｕｌｉｅｔ with the wonderful performance of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes.
He invented a number of great characters: powerful magicians, thrilling witches, smart women and both wise and wicked men. He also invented some great phrases. If you’ve ever said, “Oh, for goodness sake!” you can thank Shakespeare for that. Other examples of common phrases adapted from Shakespeare: “as luck would have it”, “your own flesh and blood”, “too much of a good thing”, “good riddance”, “in one fell swoop”, and “in the twinkling of an eye”. “To be, or not to be: that is the question,” Hamlet says. “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it is morrow,” says Juliet to her Romeo.
Don’t be surprised if you don’t understand everything when reading Shakespeare or watching one of his plays because the meanings of many words have changed over the years. And Shakespeare’s characters speak in poetry, so their speeches can be complicated.
It does help to find out a little bit about the story before reading a Shakespeare play. It’s worth the effort. As Shakespeare wrote, “All the world is a stage.” And in his plays you’ll find that an entire world is waiting for you.
1. Shakespeare created the following characters EXCEPT ________.
A. Juliet B. Hamlet C. Claire Danes D. Romeo
2. From Paragraph 3 we can learn that ________.
A. most of the characters created by Shakespeare were negative ones
B. most of the phrases used today were invented by Shakespeare
C. “Oh, for goodness sake!” is what Juliet says to Romeo
D. Shakespeare contributed greatly to the development of English
3. Which of the following is a reason why it’s difficult to understand some of Shakespeare’s plays?
A. There are many new words in his plays.
B. He wrote his plays using uncommon words.
C. The characters in his plays speak in poetry.
D. Most of the words in his plays are outdated.
4. We can infer from the passage that ______.
A. most of Shakespeare’s plays have been made into films
B. language changes with the development of society
C. Shakespeare made lots of money from his works
D. it is more useful to read Shakespeare’s works than to watch them
On some level, I always knew that I wanted to be a doctor－at least from the age of eight or ten years old, anyway.
Although my father wasn’t a doctor, he made his own brand of “house calls”. I followed him as he brought a plate of my mother’s home cooking to an elderly man named Frank on all major holidays and when Frank was sick. As far as I know, their only connection was that Frank was an occasional customer at Dad’s small gas station. Frank’s home was a two-room house on the rough side of town with an old front porch (门廊) where you could fall if you weren’t careful. Frank had no relatives and as far as I could tell, no other visitors either. Through his attitude and by caring, my father was teaching me to be a doctor, although neither of us knew it at the time.
When I was 13, my father developed lung cancer. He brought home a diagram the doctor had drawn showing where his cancer was and told me that he was going to die. He asked me to take care of my mother when he was gone. I was an only child. He said he loved me on the night when he died.
When you’re 13 and your father dies, you have some choices to make. You can use the situation as an excuse for letting your actions and graded go down, or you can honor his memory and try to do something positive with yourself. I focused my energy on my schoolwork and my goal of becoming a doctor.
1. What’s the father’s “own brand of ‘house calls’”?
A. his treatment for frank’s serious illness.
B. his care for Frank.
C. his attitude towards the author.
D. his wish that his kid would be a doctor.
2. The author began to want to be a doctor when_________
A. father helped frank regularly
B. Father developed lung cancer
C. father asked him/her to take care of Mother
D. father died
3. what was the influence of Father’s death on the author?
A. The author began to think seriously about his/her career.
B. The author was too sorrowful to carry through his /her study.
C. The author used the situation as an excuse for quitting school.
D. The author made great effort at his/her goal of becoming a doctor.
4. The best title for the text would be_________.
A. What Made Father Respectable
B. What Led Me to Be a Doctor
C. How to Help Strangers
D. How to Deal with Death
We have two daughters: Kristen is seven years old and Kelly is four. Last Sunday evening, we invited some people home for dinner. I dressed them nicely for the party, and told them that their job was to join Mommy in answering the door when the bell rang. Mommy would introduce them to the guests, and then they would take the guests’ coats upstairs and put them on the bed in the second bedroom.
The guests arrived. I introduced my two da
ughters to each of them. The adults were nice and kind and said how lucky we were to have such good kids.
Each of the guests made a particular fuss over (对…关爱倍至)Kelly, the younger one, admiring her dress, her hair and her smiles. They said she was an unusual girl to be carrying coats upstairs at her age.
I thought to myself that we adults usually make a big “to do” over the younger one because she’s the one who seems more easily hurt. We do it with the best of intentions (意图).
But we seldom think of how it might affect (影响) the other child. I was a little worried that Kristen would feel she was ignored. I was about to serve dinner when I realized that she had been missing for twenty minutes. I ran upstairs and found her in the bedroom, crying.
I said, “What are you doing, my dear?”
She turned to me with a sad expression and said, “Mommy, why don’t people like me the way they like my sister? Is it because I’m not pretty? Is that why they don’t say nice things about me as much?”
I tried to explain to her, kissing her to make her feel better.
Now, whenever I visit a friend’s home, I make it a point to speak to the elder child first.
1．The underlined expression “make a big ‘to do’ over” (in paragraph 4) means _______.
A．show much concern about B．have a special effect on
C．list jobs to be done for D．do good things for
2．The guests praised Kelly for carrying coats upstairs for her _______.
A．pretty clothes B．lovely smile C. young age D．beautiful hair
3．Kristen felt sad and cried because ______.
A．the guests gave her more coats to carry
B．the guests praised her sister more than her
C．her mother didn’t introduce her to the guests
D．she didn’t look as pretty as Kelly
4．We can conclude from the passage that _______.
A．parents should pay more attention to the elder children
B．the younger children are usually more easily hurt
C．people usually like the younger children more
D．adults should treat children equally
粤公网安备 44130202000953号