On the evening of June 21, 1992, a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes entered the beautiful hall of the Bell Tower Hotel in Xi’an with his bicycle. The hotel workers received him and teleponed the manager, for they had never seen a bicycle in the hotel hall before though they lived in “the kingdom of bicycles”.
Robert Friedlander, an American, arrived in Xi’an on his bicycle trip across Asia which started last December in New Delhi, India. When he was 11, he read the book Marco Polo and made up his mind to visit the Silk Road. Now, after 44 years, he was on the Silk Road in Xi’an and his early dreams were coming true.
Robert Friedlander’s next destinations (目的地) were Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Urumqi, etc. He will complete his trip in Pakistan. The best headline (标题) for this newspaper article would be.
| A．The Kingdom of Bicycles | B．A Beautiful Hotel in Xi’an |
| C．Marco Polo and the Silk Road | D．An American Achieving His Aims |
The hotel workers told the manager about Friedlander coming to the hotel because______.
| A．he asked to see the manager |
| B．he entered the hall with a bike |
| C．the manager had to know about all foreign guests |
| D．the manager knew about his trip and was expecting him |
What made Friedlander want to come to China?
| A．The stories about Marco Polo. | B．The famous sights in Xi’an. |
| C．His interest in Chinese silk. | D．His childhood dreams about bicycles. |
Friedlander can be said to be.
| A．clever | B．friendly | C．hardworking | D．strong-minded |
We are not who we think we are.
The American self-image is spread with the golden glow of opportunity. We think of the United States as a land of unlimited possibility, not so much a classless society but as a place where class is mutable—a place where brains, energy and ambition are what counts, not the circumstances of one's birth.
The Economic Mobility Project, an ambitious research led by Pew Charitable Trusts, looked at the economic fortunes of a large group of families over time, comparing the income of parents in the late 1960s with the income of their children in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Here is the finding: "The 'rags to riches' story is much more common in Hollywood than on Main Street. Only 6 percent of children born to parents with family income at the very bottom move to the top.
That is right, just 6 percent of children born to parents who ranked in the bottom of the study sample, in terms of income, were able to bootstrap their way into the top. Meanwhile, an incredible 42 percent of children born into that lowest are still stuck at the bottom, having been unable to climb a single rung of the income ladder.
It is noted that even in Britain---a nation we think of as burdened with a hidebound class system-children who are born poor have a better chance of moving up. When the studies were released, most reporters focused on the finding that African-Americans born to middle-class or upper middle-class families are earning slightly less, in inflation-adjusted dollars, than did their parents.
One of the studies indicates, in fact, that most of the financial gains white families have made in the past three decades can be attributed to the entry of white women into the labor force. This is much less true for African-Americans.
The picture that emerges from all the quintiles, correlations and percentages is of a nation in which, overall, "the current generation of adults is better off than the previous one", as one of the studies notes.
The median income of the families in the sample group was $55,600 in the late 1960s; their children's median family income was measured at $71,900. However, this rising tide has not lifted all boats equally. The rich have seen far greater income gains than have the poor.
Even more troubling is that our nation of America as the land of opportunity gets little support from the data. Americans move fairly easily up and down the middle rungs of the ladder, but there is "stickiness at the ends" —four out of ten children who are born poor will remain poor, and four out of ten who are born rich will stay rich.What did the Economic Mobility Project find in its research?
| A．Children from low-income families are unable to bootstrap their way to the top. |
| B．Hollywood actors and actresses are upwardly mobile from rags to riches. |
| C．The rags to riches story is more fiction than reality. |
| D．The rags to riches story is only true for a small minority of whites. |
It can be inferred from the undertone of the writer that America, as a classless society, should ________.
| A．perfect its self-image as a land of opportunity |
| B．have a higher level of upward mobility than Britain |
| C．enable African-Americans to have exclusive access to well-paid employment |
| D．encourage the current generation to work as hard as the previous generation |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The US is a land where brains, energy and ambition are what counts. |
| B．Inequality persists between whites and blacks in financial gains. |
| C．Middle-class families earn slightly less with inflation considered. |
| D．Children in lowest-income families manage to climb a single rung of the ladder. |
What might be the best title for this passage?
| A．Social Upward Mobility. |
| B．Incredible Income Gains. |
| C．Inequality in Wealth. |
| D．America Not Land of Opportunity. |
By far the most common difficulty in study is simple failure to get down to regular concentrated work. This difficulty is much greater for those who do not work to a plan and have no regular routine of study. Many students muddle along, doing a bit of this subject or that, as the mood takes them, or letting their set work pile up until the last possible moment.
Few students work to a set timetable. They say that if they did work out a timetable for themselves they would not keep to it, or would have to change it frequently, since they can never predict from one day to the next what their activities will be.
No doubt some students take much more kindly to a regular routine than others. There are many who shy away from a self-controlled weekly timetable, and dislike being tied down to a fixed program of work. Many able students state that they work in cycles. When they become interested in a topic they work on it attentively for three or four days at a time. On other days they avoid work completely. It has to be admitted that we do not fully understand the motivation to work. Most people over 25 years of age have become used to a work routine, and the majority of really productive workers set aside regular hours for the more important areas of their work. The “tough-minded” school of workers doesn’t fully accept the idea that good work can only be done naturally, under the influence of inspiration.
Those who believe that they need only work and study as the fit takes them have a mistaken belief either in their own talent or in the value of “freedom”. Freedom from control and discipline leads to unhappiness rather than to “self-expression” or “personality development”. Our society insists on regular habits, timekeeping and punctuality (being on time), and whether we like it or not, if we mean to make our way in society, we have to meet its demands.The most widespread problem in applying oneself to study is __________ .
| A．changing from one subject to another |
| B．the failure to keep to a set timetable of work |
| C．the unwillingness to work out a systematic plan |
| D．working on a subject only when one feels like it |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Many students are not interested in using a self-controlled timetable. |
| B．Many students don’t like being told to study to a fixed timetable. |
| C．Most people over 25 years of age don’t work to a set timetable. |
| D．Tough-minded people agree that good work is done naturally. |
The underlined part “as the fit takes them” means __________.
| A．when they have the energy |
| B．when they are in the mood |
| C．when they feel fit |
| D．when they find conditions suitable |
A suitable title for the passage might be __________.
| A．Attitudes to Study |
| B．A Study Plan |
| C．The Difficulties of Studying |
| D．Study and Self-discipline |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “The elevators are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, liftusers unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.
If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.
When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be understood as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．try to keep a distance from other people |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two
people in an elevator?
According to the article, people feel awkward in lifts because of _____.
| A．someone’s odd behaviors |
| B．a lack of space |
| C．their unfamiliarity with one another |
| D．their eye contact with one another |
What’s the passage mainly about _____.
| A．Bad manners in the elevator |
| B．Some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette |
| C．An interesting but awkward elevator ride |
| D．The strange behaviors in the elevator |
Should you spend your money on a home security system? A look inside a burglar’s mind might help you decide.
1. Of course I look familiar. I was here just last week cleaning your carpets, painting your shutters, or delivering your new refrigerator.
2. Hey, thanks for letting me use the bathroom when I was working in your yard last week. While I was in your home, I unlatched the back window to make my return a little easier.
3. To you, leaving that window open just a crack during the day is a way to let in a little fresh air. To me, it’s an invitation which I am more than happy to accept.
4. If it snows while you’re out of town, get a neighbor to create car and foot tracks into the house, or it will be a dead giveaway. By the way, loud dogs and nosy neighbors are the two things I hate most.
5. It’s raining. You’re fumbling with your umbrella, and you forget to lock your door---understandable. But understand this: I don’t take a day off because of bad weather.
6. Do you really think I won’t look in your sock drawer? I always check dresser drawers, the bedside table, and the medicine cabinet. Here’s a helpful hint: I almost never go into kids’ rooms.
7. You’re right: I won’t have enough time to break into that safe where you keep your valuables. But if it’s not fastened, I’ll take it with me.
8. Avoid announcing your vacation on your Facebook.com page. It’s easier than you think to look up your address.Money and valuables might be the safest if kept in your______.
| A．kids’ room | B．sock drawer |
| C．medicine cabinet | D．safe |
The underlined words “a dead giveaway” here may probably be something that______.
| A．throws away useless things at home |
| B．warns a burglar that someone is dead |
| C．tells a burglar the truth |
| D．frightens a burglar away |
We can draw a conclusion from the text that______.
| A．burglars seldom steal in bad weather |
| B．if you do housework yourself, you’ll stay away from burglars |
| C．you yourself are sometimes to blame for a theft |
| D．you can always count on your neighbors when you are out |
The main purpose of the article is to _____.
| A．summarize when burglars steal most frequently |
| B．encourage people to spend money on home security systems |
| C．explain why burglars take up stealing |
| D．teach people how to protect their homes |
Once Dr. Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his students. The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical problems. His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live.
Dr. Mellinkoff asked to see the patient. He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt. The patient smiled and said everything was all right. Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat. The patient said that he had no desire to eat.
“Are you getting food you like?”
The patient said nothing.
“Do you get the kind of food you have at home?”
The answer was no.
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft.
“If, you had food that you liked, would you eat it?”
“Yes, yes.” the patient said.
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious. Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and had also been received.
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat. One of the students said, “We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals.”
“Suppose,” the doctor replied, “you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?”
“I would probably insist,” the student said.
“Very well,” the doctor said. “You might want to try the same method in the kitchen. It won’t be easy, but I can help you. Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it. Or he’ll be killed by hunger. By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish. If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him. ”
Three weeks later, Dr. Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power. It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable.The patient had no desire to eat because __________.
| A．he was not hungry |
| B．he was seriously ill |
| C．he was given special meals |
| D．he was not satisfied with the food |
According to the passage, we can conclude that __________.
| A．the patient was from another country. |
| B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger |
| C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient |
| D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff ?
| A．Cold. | B．Considerate. |
| C．Curious. | D．Confident. |
What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
| A．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems. |
| B．Doctors should be able to speak foreign languages. |
| C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills. |
| D．Doctors should give more medicine to patients. |
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