Some people believe that greed and selfishness has become the basis of modern society, and we should return to the old traditions of family and community, then we will have a better life. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the above opinion?
In this fast-paced world, many values are undergoing major changes. While people traditionally prioritize caring, sharing and generosity in life and work, modern people seem to be more self-absorbed and self-concerned.
Modern people act selfishly to survive the harsh competition of life. They say that it is a jungle out there. To survive, you have to fight with whatever means that come handy. Obviously greed and selfishness go perfectly well with such ideas. In a company, employees do everything they can to get better pay and higher position, even at the cost of colleagues. We are in any way advocating（拥护）any selfish conduct. It is just that people are pressured to behave in a different way due to outside influences.
Are we happier to share with others and be generous to them? There is no fixed answer, either. Some people take great pleasure helping and giving to others while others feel happy doing the opposite. But I personally think that people should not be too selfish. Caring for others can actually encourage the development of a friendly relationship.
In conclusion, modern people appear to be more self-centered than those in the past due to strong outside pressure. However, we should encourage people to know the importance of being caring and generous and to build a friendly relationship with others.
Are modern people becoming more selfish?
| Main comparisons |
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| In the past people put caring, sharing and generosity in the first |
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| Nowadays, people seem to be more |
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| People in the past appeared to be modest and self-effacing(谦让的). |
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| People may strive to achieve their own |
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| The author’s understanding |
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| Fierce |
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| The author’s |
A |
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在文后的空格里填上适当的单词或短语。注意：每空不超过三个单词。
My name is Jane. My job is to write stories and newsletters for a magazine. My hobby is traveling and I hope to visit Great Britain one day. I’d like a pen-pal from London, who is interested in discussing the differences between Europe and Asia. I love listening to pop music and playing football.
I’m Manuel. I’m a businessman and have a large company with many workers and clerks. I’d like to find a pen-pal who is also a businessman and lives in North America. I like using the Internet.
I am working in a university. I speak English, French and Russian. My family name is Jackson but my students usually call me Sarah. I’d like a pen-pal who is fond of language learning working in Oxford University. I don’t like using computers for learning and I believe that true language can only happen in a classroom.
I’m Peter and interested in the differences bet ween East Europe and North America. I love riding my horse and listening to jazz. I usually get up at 7 o’clock and go to school around 7:30 in the morning. I want to find a pen-pal living in Sydney who has the same interest as me.
Cindy is my first name. I’m working in a travel agency. Sometimes I am called Mr. Guide as I am working. I’d like to find a pen-pal who comes from Europe. I like playing the piano and listening to jazz. I’m interested in history, but I don’t like to discuss languages.
Name Vocation(职业) ___________ Pen-pal from
Jane _____________ Traveling;
listening to pop music and ____________
London _____________ Businessman Using
_________ North America
Jackson _____________ Teaching Oxford University
Peter Student ____________ and listening to jazz
_____________
Cindy _____________ Playing the piano; listening to jazz; history
_____________
请认真阅读下面短文，并根据所读内容在文章后图表中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。
注意：每空只填一个单词。
Bored at school now? How do you think it will look in the future? Last week, about 600 teenagers in the U.S. imagined a future changed by technology in which their lessons are taught by robots and they learn about celebrities (名人)and alien(外星人)languages.
According to a survey published last week by the U.S. ,Internet service provider American Online(AOL), only one in 100 thinks that in the future they will walk from home to school; the rest believe they will use jet packs, and hover boards(滑板) as everyday transport.
All the participants(参与者)of the survey are teenagers born into the Internet age. The study is to show how the first cyber (网络的)generation dream about a future life created by advanced technology.
Most believe there will still be schools to go to, but that technology will play an increasingly important role in learning. The 600 teens surveyed think there will still be teachers, but 37 percent imagine them to be robots. Some 24 percent believe that teachers will still be human but they will have inter-changeable microchips so that one person can teach all subjects.
More than one in two believe hover boarding will be popular, while one-third say that wearing rocket boots will be their favorite activity. Another third think jet packs will be popular. Nearly 30 percent think playing football and bike-riding will remain popular.
When it comes to the curriculum(课程), they think future generations will be learning about robot building(63 percent), alien languages(47 percent) celebrities(26 percent) and R’n’B music(22 percent).
Children will wear virtual(虚拟的)reality helmets(头盔) to bring lessons to life, say 40 percent, while over 20 percent believe they will not need lessons because microchips implanted(植入)in their head will send relevant information into the brain. Matt Whyman, adviser to the chief medical officer on youth issues of AOL, said: “ The kids seem very aware of the liberation qualities of technology.”
Title_________school
| Changes in the way of |
At present, most students walk to school. In the future, students will use jet packs, and hover boards. |
| Changes in the way of |
In the future, robots will |
| Changes in the way of |
Virtual reality helmets can bring |
| Changes in |
Most students will |
“BANG! BANG!” Setting off firecrackers(爆竹), which has been the most typical custom on the Spring Festival, is the happiest part of the Festival for most Chinese kids. They light the fuse(导火线) nervously, run away in a hurry, cover their ears with their hands and watch the colorful display with a big smile on their faces. Faced with the beautiful scene, they feel they are the happiest ones in the world as if they had never had a more exciting experience.
While setting off firecrackers can bring kids so much fun, these firecrackers can also be dangerous. Therefore, many Chinese big cities including Beijing began to ban them in the 1980s. Such an activity was completely or partially forbidden in big cities because the government took security, noise and pollution factors into consideration. As a replacement, some buy tapes with firecracker sounds to listen to, some break little balloons to get the sound too, while others buy firecracker handicrafts to hang in the living room.
This year good news came for teens in Beij ing. The ban on firecrackers was cancelled on September 9, 2008. It will add much fun to the coming Spring Festival in tile capital. Hearing the news, many kids were wild with joy.
According to Chinese custom, lighting firecrackers is a must during the Spring Fesrival. People believe the sound of the firecrackers drives away demons(恶魔) and bad luck for the coming year. Their beautiful colours and sound also bring much excitement during this most important traditional Chinese festival.
Since the ban, people complained that the Spring Festival was too quiet and not traditional enough. Children lost the fun and grown-ups lost their childhood memories.
Some even worried that if the ban continued, the next generation would only know the custom of lighting firecrackers through books. This would be a great loss for tradition.
Everybody knows that we can’t give up eating for the slight risk of choking(因噎废食). So in recent years, many cities have resumed the old custom at the request of local residents. This year Beijing kids will also be able to join in.
However, every year there are kids injured by setting off fireworks in a dangerous way. So while enjoying yourself, please bear safety in mind.
Don’t light fireworks among crowds, inside a bottle or with a part of your body right over it.
No matter how much fun firecrackers are, the most important thing is to keep away from danger. We wish every kid an exciting and safe Spring Festival!
Title：Firecrackers back in Beijing on the Spring Festival
for setting off firecrackers |
☆It is the most typical custom of the Chinese. ☆The sound of the firecrackers is ☆Their beautiful colours and sound also make people |
| Fun for kids |
☆Feeling nervous and running away ☆Covering the ears with hands and |
| ☆It is very dangerous for people and their properties. ☆Its noise and smoke cause heavy |
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| Complaints about the ban |
☆Much fun for kids will be ☆It’s difficult for grown-ups to remember their childhoods. |
| Return of firecrackers |
☆The government ☆If taking proper |
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For centuries people dreamed of going into space. This dream began to seem possible when high-flying rockets were built in the early 1900s.
In 1903 a Russian teacher named Konstantin Tsiolkovsky figured out how to use rockets for space travel. His plan was the first one in rocket science to use correct scientific calculation. About 30 years later, a U.S. scientist named Robert Goddard built the first rockets that could reach high altitudes. During World War II, German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. After the war, scientists from Germany went to the United States and the Soviet Union to help those countries build space rockets.
These two countries were soon racing to get to space first. Each of these countries wanted to prove that it was stronger and more advanced than the other one. Both countries also had powerful bombs. People in the United States were worried when the Soviets were first to launch a space satellite, which was called Sputnik. The Soviets were also first to send a person into space. Yury Gagarin orbited the earth in the Vostok I spaceship in 1961.
The US government set a goal for its space program to be the first country to put a person on the Moon. The U.S. space program built a series of Apollo spaceship. These vehicles were powered by huge Saturn 5 rockets. In 1969 Apollo II took three men to the moon successfully. Nell Armstrong became the first person to walk on the Moon.
The Soviets may have lost the race to fly people to the Moon, but they built the first space station in 1971. The United States also built a space station. The space stations allowed people to live and work in space. Then the Soviet Union and the United States cooperated to hook two spaceships together in space. This action ended the "space race". Today a much larger space station, built by several countries together, orbits Earth.
Another new way to go to space is by space shuttle. A space shuttle, first made in the United States in 1981, looks like an airplane. Astronauts who fly spaceships have used shuttles to help put satellites into space.
| The |
||
| Time |
Events |
Information concerned |
| Early 1900s |
High-flying rockets were built. |
It made the ancient dream of going to space possible to come |
| 1903 |
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky a way to use rockets for space travel. |
He planned to put correct scientific calculation to use in rocket science. |
| Around 1933 |
Robert Goddard built new rockets. |
The rockets could fly very |
| During and after World War II |
German scientists built large rockets that could travel very far and carry dangerous explosives. |
Germany was ahead of all the other countries in building space rockets and later it even offered |
| |
The Soviet Union and the United States competed to get to space first. |
The Soviet Union became the of the race when it launched the first satellite and sent the first astronaut into space. |
| 1969 |
The United States |
In one way, it |
| 1970s |
The Soviets built the first space station and was soon followed by Americans. And they finally ended the "space race" by |
Astronauts can live and work in space stations. |
| 1980s-- |
Space shuttles are used as new vehicles for space |
Shuttles are also used to help put satellites into space. |
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
注意：请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。每个空格只填1个单词。
Color use in nature
Nature is very colorful, full of different hues（色调）that delight the eye. What makes these colors and why do they exist?
Causes of Colors in Nature
Colors in nature are formed in two ways. Pigments, like the melanin in skin and many animal furs, produce most blacks, browns, reds and yellows. Most plants are green due to chlorophyll（叶绿素）. Other colors are caused by structure, like many greens, blues, and whites. Blue bird’s feathers actually contain black pigment, but their structure causes them to appear blue. The scattering of light by tiny dust particles in the air, viewed against the black background of space, makes the sky look blue too.
Color Use in Plants
Color has a great effect on the survival of plants and animals. Flowers have bright hues and patterns to attract insects. These insects move from one flower to another, making sure seeds are produced. Bees can see colors we cannot, i.e. ultraviolet, and follow these patterns of stripes or dots to the inside of the flower.
Not only flowers but also fruits use color for the good of the plant. An unripe fruit mixes in with the leaves, but ripe berries contrast, becoming more appealing to the creatures who eat them. Birds are especially drawn to red fruit, and in turn help the plant by broadcasting its seeds.
Camouflage（伪装）in Nature
Many colors and patterns camouflage animals who want to avoid enemies. Some animals have damaging shapes to break up their outline, so an enemy will not recognize them. The eye, a very recognizable animal characteristic, is often disguised by a black stripe or patch. Light color below makes up for the shadow on the underside of many fish, amphibians and mammals.
Some animals even change colors to better camouflage themselves, seasonally like the snowshoe hare.
Warning Coloration and Mimicry（动态伪装）
Warning colors make an animal more visible rather than hidden. These usually indicate a negative aspect of the animal, like the bad taste of a monarch butterfly, smelly smell or painful bite of a bee. Usually black and a contrasting color (white, yellow, orange or red) form a striking pattern in these creatures, and frighten their enemies away. Nature is tricky, though, and sometimes harmless creatures pretend the patterns of harmful ones to scare off animals living on meat too.
Social Coloration in Nature
Sometimes coloration is important socially. Male birds, typically more colorful, defend their territories and attract females. Eggs may use color and pattern to remain hidden. When they hatch, parents feed the nestlings when they see the bright pattern in their gaping mouths.
Taking a closer look at nature throws light on how color is used in marvelous ways!
| Color use in nature |
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| ___ |
Many colors are caused by |
| Other colors exist due to |
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| Color use in Plants |
Flowers have bright hues and patterns to attract insects, and then insects’ moving from one flower to another makes seeds |
| Fruits use colors, ripe color for example, to protect and help |
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| Color use in animals |
Colors help many animals |
| Some animals, like snowshoe hares, |
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| Using warning colors to make themselves more |
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| Harmless creatures |
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| Social use in nature |
Animals use colors to defend their territories and attract the |
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