One day while shopping in a small town in southern California，it was my misfortune to be approached by a clerk whose personality conflicted with mine. He seemed most unfriendly and not at all concerned about my intended purchase. I bought nothing，and marched angrily out of the store. My hostility（敌意） toward that clerk increased with each step.
On the outside，standing by the road，was a darkskinned young man in his early twenties. His expressive brown eyes met and held mine，and in the next instant a beautiful, dazzling smile covered his face. I gave way immediately. The magnetic（磁力的） power of that smile dissolved all bitterness within me，and I found the muscles in my own face happily responding（回应）.
“Beautiful day，isn't it？”I remarked，in passing. Then，I turned back.“I really owe you a debt of gratitude，”I said softly.
His smile deepened, but he made no attempt to answer．A Mexican woman and two men were standing nearby．The woman stepped forward and volunteered, "Sir, but he doesn't speak English．Do you want me to tell him something?" In that moment I felt transformed（改变）．The young man's smile had made a big person of me．My friendliness and good will toward all mankind stood ten feet tall．
"Thank you?" The woman seemed slightly puzzled．
I gave her arm a friendly pat as I turned to leave．"Just tell him that," I insisted．"He'll understand．I am sure !"
Oh, what a smile can do! Although I have never seen that young man again, I shall never forget the lesson he taught me that morning．From that day on, I became smile-conscious, and I practice the art anywhere and everywhere, with everybody．Why did the author leave the store angrily?
| A．The clerk treated him unkindly． | B．He couldn't buy what he wanted． |
| C．The clerk didn't speak English． | D．The store's goods were too dear． |
By saying "I felt the muscles（肌肉） in my own face happily responding" （in Paragraph 2）, the author means __.
| A．he was still angry | B．he did not want to smile |
| C．he would thank the young man | D．he smiled back at the young man |
The author asked the woman to say "Thank you!" to the young man because the young man_____.
| A．had helped the author before | B．taught the author how to smile |
| C．was a kind employee of the store | D．taught the author a valuable lesson |
In the passage, the author seems to suggest that we should __ ___.
| A．be generous to strangers | B．practice smiling every day |
| C．smile at other people | D．help people in trouble |
People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.
Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly(均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.
"We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions," Jack said. "Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth."
According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.
The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of. expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.
It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. "The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions," Jack said. "Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less."
In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation. The discovery shows that Westerners .
| A．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth |
| B．consider facial expressions universally reliable |
| C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways |
| D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions |
What were the people asked to do in the study?
| A．To make a face at each other. | B．To get their faces impressive. |
| C．To classify some face pictures. | D．To observe the researchers' faces. |
What does the underlined word "they" in Paragraph 6 refer to?
| A．The participants in the study. |
| B．The researchers of the study. |
| C．The errors made during the study. |
| D．The data collected from the study. |
In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to .
| A．do translation more successfully |
| B．study the mouth more frequently |
| C．examine the eyes more attentively |
| D．read facial expressions more correctly |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul |
| B．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions |
| C．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills |
| D．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding |
Every year 2.2 million tons of oil are spilled ( 散落，溅出 ) into the ocean. Actually, this only amounts to a small percentage of the total 1.6 billion tons of oil shipped around the world each year.However, this spilled oil has terrible effects on ocean life, including the coastlines where the off washes up onto shore. Some of the largest spills in history were caused by oil tankers running into each other or by an oil tanker sailing into shallow water and hitting the bottom of the ocean. After these spills, officials try to discover who or what was at fault to help prevent similar accidents in the future.
One of the worst oil spills in history occurred along the Alaskan coastline in 1989. In this accident, 42,000 tons of oil spilled from a tanker which resulted in terrible damage to this sensitive natural area. In this spill, the tanker's captain, who was tired from overwork and drinking alcohol, had gone to take a rest. He gave control of the ship to the third mate. The third mate was unfamiliar with the path the ship took, and he ran the ship onto Blighe Reef. Blighe Reef is a natural underwater rock wall near the Alaskan coast. Damaged by the reef, the ship leaked oil out into the ocean. More than 1,600 kilometers of coastline were affected by the oil spill. Some scientists who studied nature in the area guessed that 580,000 birds and 5,500 otters died when the oil from the spill covered their skin. As well, smaller shellfish and other sea creatures were later eaten by seals, whales, and other animals.
The most oil ever spilled was actually dumped on purpose as an act of ecological warfare. The term ecological warfare means to fight by doing harm to nature in the area under attack. In 1990, Iraq sent soldiers into Kuwait and set off the Persian Gulf War. As part of the Iraq war plan,900,000 tons of oil were let out into the Persian Gulf Way Iraq. This oil covered 1,500 square kilometers of water in the Persian Gulf. The oil also damaged 650 kilometers of the coastline of both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. In some places, oil floating on the water was measured to be 43 centimeters thick. Water birds, water plants, and baby fish were all seriously affected by the oil. The long-term effects of this act on the food chain in the area are bound to cause problems tar into the future.Which cause of oil spills is described in the second paragraph?
| A．Dumping | B．War |
| C．Accidents | D．Throwing about carelessly |
The creatures affected by the oil spill near Alaska were_________.
| A．birds and otters | B．shellfish |
| C．seals and whales | D．all of the above |
The third mate ran the thanker agound (触礁) in this accident because_______.
| A．he was tired | B．he was drunk |
| C．he was talking on the phone | D．he did not know the sea |
________ was responsible for dumping oil into the Persian Gulf.
| A．The United States | B．Kuwait | C．Saudi Arabia | D．Iraq |
When you consider what subject to study in college, chances are that you and your parents will think about what you can make out of it after graduation. You will likely ask the question: “Can I find a well-paid job or simply a job with a degree in this in the future?”
This consideration also influences students when they come to choose between studying science or humanities (人文学科) at college. People generally believe that the humanities, which include literature , history, cultural studies and philosophy, do not prepare students for a specific vocation (职业). Science subjects, however, are considered vocational courses that produce scientists, engineers and economists (经济学家).
“I've decided to take finance as my college major. My parents and I think this subject will help me get a good job or start a business,” said Huachen Yueru, 17, a science student at Wuxi No. 1 High School.
Even those who choose a liberal arts (文科) education often pick the humanities subject which they think will best help them later find a job.
“I'm going to study Spanish in college, which I believe will open doors to a high-paying job for me,” said Liu Chao, 18, a Senior 2 student at Dalian No 20 High School. He said few of his classmates show interest in subjects like philosophy and history, which are seen as “less promising” in job markets.
The popularity of liberal arts subjects among college students has also been decreasing in the United States. American scholars (学者) and universities are concerned that in the ongoing economic crisis (经济危机) liberal arts subjects will be hit hardest. As money tightens (紧缩), they worry that the humanities may become “a great luxury (奢侈品) that many cannot afford”, according to the New York Times. When you consider what to study in college, what does you and your parents usually think about ?
| A．whether you are interested in the subject. |
| B．if you can lead a happy life. |
| C．what you can make out of it after graduation. |
| D．How much you can learn in the college. |
Why do students show little interest in the subjects, like philosophy or history ?
| A．Because they are not interested in them. |
| B．Because they think these subjects are useless. |
| C．Because they see these subjects as less-promising in job market. |
| D．Because they like the science subjects. |
What can we infer from the passage ?
| A．Humanities are becoming less and less popular with the students. |
| B．Studying science subjects is sure to find a well-paid job. |
| C．The humanities in college should be cancelled. |
| D．The writer thinks those who choose the liberal arts education will choose their favorite subjects. |
What does the underlined word “it” refer to in the first paragraph ?
| A．the subject you study in college | B．science | C．humanities | D．liberal arts |
体裁：说明文 词数：326 难度系数：☆☆☆☆ 建议用时：8分钟
类别：细节理解+推理判断题+词义猜测题 本文标题 ：…Arts in crisis…
While small may be beautiful, tall is just plain uncomfortable it seems, particularly when it comes to staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign for the needs of the tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants. Beds that are too small, showe heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any leg-room all make life difficult for those of above average height, it says.
But it is not just the extra-tall whose needs are not being met. The average night of the population has been increasing ye the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.]
“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a king-size bed at 6′6″(6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men, while the standard 6′3″ bed caters for less than half of the male population.” Said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy, “seven-foot beds would work fine.”
Sililarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems. Small tables, which mean the long-legged have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note, however. At Queens Moat Houses′Caledoman Hotl in Edinburgh, 6′6″beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors, particularly Americans.What is the purpose of the TPCGB campaign?
| A．To provide better services. |
| B．To rebuild hotels and restaurants. |
| C．To draw public attention to the needs of the tall. |
| D．To attract more people to become its members. |
Which of the following might be a bed of proper length according to Phil Heinricy?
| A．7′2″. | B．7′ | C．6′6″ | D．6′3″ |
What may happen to restaurants with small tables?
| A．They may lose some customers. |
| B．They may start businesses elsewhere. |
| C．They have to find easy chairs to match the tables. |
| D．They have to provide enough space for the long-legged. |
What change has already been made in a hotel in Edinburgh?
| A．Tall people pay more for larger beds. |
| B．6′6″beds have taken the place of 6′3″beds. |
| C．Special rooms are kept for Americans. |
| D．Guest rooms are standardized. |
Cyberspace,data superhighway,multimedia,for those who have seen the future,and the linking of computers,televisions and telephones will change our lives for ever.Yet for all the talks of a forthcoming technological utopia,little attention has been given to the implications of these developments for the poor.As for all the new high technology,the West concerns itself with the “how”,while the question of “for whom” is put aside once again.
Economists are only now realizing the full extent to which the communication revolution has affected the world economy.Information technology allows the extension of trade across geographical and industrial boundaries,and transnational corporations take full advantage of it. Terms of trade and exchange, interest rates and money movements are more important than the production of goods.The electronic economy made by information technology allows the haves to increase their control on global markets — with a destructive impact on the have-nots.
For them the result is unstable. Developing countries which rely on the production of a small range of goods for export are made to feel like small parts in the international economic machine. As “futures” are traded on computer screens, developing countries simply have less and less control of their destinies.
So what are the options of regaining control？One alternative for developing countries is to buy in the latest computers and telecommunications. Yet this leads to long-term dependency and perhaps permanent constraints on developing countries’ economies.
Communication technology is generally exported from the US, Europe or Japan；the patents, skills and ability remain in the hands of a few industrialized countries. It is also expensive, therefore imported products and services must be bought on credit usually provided by the very countries whose companies stand to gain. From the passage we know that the development of high technology is in the interests of________.
| A．the rich countries | B．scientific development |
| C．the local elites | D．the world economy |
It can be inferred from the passage that________.
| A．international trade should be expanded |
| B．the interests of the poor countries have not been given enough consideration |
| C．the exports of the poor countries should be increased |
| D．communication technology in developing countries should be modernized |
Why does the author say that the electronic economy may have a destructive impact on developing countries?
| A．Because it enables the developed countries to control the international market. |
| B．Because it destroys the economic balance of the poor countries. |
| C．Because it violates the national boundaries of the poor countries. |
| D．Because it inhibits the industrial growth of developing countries. |
The development of modern communication technology in developing countries may________.
| A．hinder their industrial production |
| B．cause them to lose control of their trade |
| C．force them to reduce their share of exports |
| D．cost them their economic independence |
The author’s attitude towards the communication revolution is________.
| A．positive | B．critical |
| C．indifferent | D．tolerant |
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