I prefer Lynne Truss’s phraseology: I am a grammar “sticker”. And, like Truss – author of Eats, shoots & Leaves – I have a “zero tolerance” approach to grammar mistakes that make people look stupid.
Now, Truss and I disagree on what it means to have “zero tolerance”. She thinks that people who mix up basic grammar “deserve to be struck by lightning, hacked (砍) up on the spot and buried in an unmarked grave”, while I just think they deserve to be passed over for a job – even if they are otherwise qualified for the position.
Everyone who applies for a position at either of my companies, iFixit or Dozuki, takes a compulsory grammar test. If job hopefuls can’t distinguish between “to” and “too”, their applications go into the bin.
Of course, we write for a living. iFixit.com is the world’s largest online repair manual (指南), and Dozuki helps companies write their own technical documentation, like paperless work instructions and step-by-step user manuals. So, it makes sense that we’ve made a strong strike against grammar errors.
But grammar is relevant for all companies. Yes, language is constantly changing, but that doesn’t make grammar unimportant. Good grammar is credibility, especially on the Internet. And, for better or worse, people judge you if you can’t tell the difference between “their” “there” and “they’re”.
Good grammar makes good business sense – and not just when it comes to hiring writers. Writing isn’t in the official job description of most people in our office. Still, we give our grammar test to everybody, including our salespeople, our operations staff, and our programmers.
Grammar signifies more than just a person’s ability to remember high school English. I’ve found that people who make fewer mistakes on a grammar test also make fewer mistakes when they are doing something completely unrelated to writing – like stocking shelves or labeling parts. It is the same with programmers. Applicants who don’t think writing is important are likely to think lots of other things also aren’t important.The author agrees with Lynne Truss in that ________.
| A．grammar mistakes can’t be tolerated |
| B．books on grammar make people stupid |
| C．people need to learn basic grammar |
| D．grammar mistakes are absolutely unavoidable |
What’s the author’s “zero tolerance” approach to these job seekers who mix up basic grammar?
| A．They should be left out for a job. |
| B．They have to correct their mistakes. |
| C．They aren’t qualified for their jobs. |
| D．They must be severely punished. |
Which of the following is TRUE of iFixit and Dozuki?
| A．Only one of them has a compulsory grammar test. |
| B．They are companies where one learns grammar. |
| C．Grammar is quite important for their existence. |
| D．They depend on grammar correction for a living. |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Companies giving grammar tests may have no good business sense. |
| B．Grammar becomes unimportant as language is constantly changing. |
| C．A “zero tolerance” approach to grammar errors might seem a little unfair. |
| D．People who pay attention to writing may pay attention to other things. |
Kindergarten outside? Yes, indeed. It’s part of a growing worldwide trend toward outdoor education. The schools are called forest kindergartens.
The numbers are small so far in the U.S., but the idea is well established in Europe, with schools in Scotland, England, and Switzerland. By far the most such schools are in Germany, which has more than 400 forest kindergartens.
Some schools feature several hours of outdoor schooling. This is certainly the case with the Waldorf School of Saratoga Springs. Children there will be venturing out on the nearby Hemlock Trail to learn more about the natural world. Some lessons are focused on nature; others are academic topics delivered in a natural setting. In all cases, students are active-not sitting at desks or on mats on the floor but walking, running, jumping, solving problems like how to get the mud off the bottoms of their shoes before their parents find out.
Seriously, the focus is on activity at these schools. Studies have shown that children’s immune systems actually get stronger after all of the outdoor activity, and that graduates of forest kindergartens show a higher ability to learn when they progress through their academic careers.
Other schools are all outdoors, all the time. This is the case with the Cedar Song Nature School, on Vashon Island, Washington. Students at this school spend their whole three–hour day outdoors, in a private five-acre forest, doing all kinds of physical activities.
At these forest kindergartens, students learn science by observing and doing it, learn math by applying it to the natural world around them, learn letters and words by putting them together using sights and sounds. These students learn how to get along with one another, individually and in a group. They also develop healthy levels of self-confidence.
Nowadays many children become obese(肥胖的) because of sedentary（久坐的） activities like watching television and playing video games. These outdoor schools give children chances to learn just as much, if not more, from opening their eyes to the real world around them.What do we know about forest kindergartens?
| A．The first one was created in England. | B．They are very popular in Germany. |
| C．There are 400 all over the world. | D．Their number is huge in the U.S. |
What is special about forest kindergartens?
| A．Kids learn more than those at ordinary kindergartens. |
| B．Students go outside when weather permits. |
| C．They value activity very much. |
| D．They are situated in forests. |
The main difference between the Waldorf School and Cedar Song Nature School lies in______.
| A．the subjects | B．the activities |
| C．the outdoor time | D．the teaching methods |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
| A．Get close to nature | B．A new trend of education |
| C．Forest kindergartens are popular | D．Outdoor education benefits kids a lot |
Thirty years ago not many people would have dreamed of doing the repairs and decorations in their own homes. In those days labor was fairly cheap and most people would have thought it worthwhile to employ a professional painter and decorator, unless of course they were either very hand up or were in the trade themselves.
Today, however, it is quite a different story. Men and women in all walks of life turn their hands to all sorts of jobs round the house including painting, papering, putting up shelves and wall units, and tiling walls and floors. Some people with no professional training of any kind have even successfully built their own houses. These jobs have been made easier today by the introduction of prepared materials, which require the minimum amount of skill to use. In every high street throughout Britain nowadays there is at least one “Do-It-Yourself” shop containing a vast range of timber, tiles, paints, wallpapers and floor coverings besides tools of every description including power drills and many accessories. “Do-It-Yourself” is a booming business; all these shops do a roaring trade and look like continuing to do so. Probably the main reason for the craze is the high cost of present-day labor and the shortage of building firms willing to do small jobs.Why did people employ professional workers to decorate homes thirty years ago?
| A．Because they could not do it themselves. |
| B．Because professional workers were very cheap. |
| C．Because they had no time. |
| D．Because professional workers could do much better. |
Thirty years later what changes took place?
| A．People could do everything themselves. |
| B．Few people chose to be a professional worker. |
| C．People with no professional training successfully built their own houses. |
| D．New expensive materials required no skills at all. |
What caused the DIY craze?
| A．Young people liked to follow the fashion. |
| B．“Do-It-Yourself” is a booming business. |
| C．There were fewer building companies. |
| D．High cost of professional workers. |
What is the speaker telling us ?
| A．How DIY comes into being. | B．Changes in building. |
| C．Changes in housing. | D．Great changes in these thirty years. |
They say money doesn’t grow on trees. But it certainly appears to do so on the mysterious coin-studded(嵌满) trunks dotted around the UK’s woodland. The strange phenomenon of old trees with coins fixed firmly all over their bark has been spotted on trails from the Peak District to the Scottish Highlands. The coins are usually knocked into felled (砍伐的) tree trunks using stones by passers-by, who hope it will bring them good fortune.
These fascinating spectacles often have coins from centuries ago buried deep in their bark and warped by the passage of time. The tradition of making offerings to gods at wishing trees dates back hundreds of years, but this combination of the man-made and the natural is far more rare. It used to be believed that god’s spirits lived in trees, and they were often decorated with sweets and gifts — as is still done today at Christmas. The act is like tossing money into ponds for good luck, or the trend for couples to attach “love padlocks” to bridges and fences to symbolize lasting romance. Some pubs, such as the Punch Bowl in Askham, Cumbria, have old timbers with splits in them into which coins are forced for luck. There are seven felled tree trunks with coins pushed into them in the picturesque village of Portmeirion, in Wales.
Meurig Jones, an estate manager at the tourist destination, told the BBC, “We had no idea why it was being done when we first noticed the tree trunk was being filled with coins. I did some detective work and discovered that trees were sometimes used as ‘wishing trees’. In Britain it dates back to the 1700s — there is one tree somewhere in Scotland which apparently has an old coin stuck into it. ” He said that a sick person could press a coin into a tree and their illness would go away. If someone then takes the coin out though, it’s said they then become ill. We haven’t made it known at all, it’s just happened,” he added. “It’s quite amazing really.” In Scotland, there is also a legend about a kissing tree. If a young man could drive a nail into a tree with one blow, he earned a kiss from his sweetheart.What was the real reason why in UK people knocked coins into the old trees?
| A．It was hoped that it would bring them good future and make the trees more beautiful. |
| B．Nobody knew why there was such a strange custom that it could make them lucky. |
| C．It might come from the tradition of making offerings to gods hundreds of years ago. |
| D．It was said that god’s spirits lived in trees and doing so could please the gods of the trees. |
The underlined part in Paragraph 2 may mean ____________.
| A．this combination of the man-made and the natural is far from realistic. |
| B．the mysterious phenomenon of old trees with coins is rarely seen in the world. |
| C．people wanted to make the works of art with the help from the forces of nature. |
| D．the appearance of trees would be nicer than their original. |
The passage mainly tells us that________.
| A．some people attached “love padlocks” to bridges and fences to symbolize lasting romance |
| B．a particular way in which people made good wishes is still popular in the UK |
| C．visitors tossed money into ponds for good luck just as they knocked coins into the trees |
| D．a long history of a strange phenomenon of old trees with coins in the UK |
Which of the following can be used as the best title for the passage?
| A．Who Says Money Doesn’t Grow on Trees? |
| B．Do Trees with Some Coins Become Valuable? |
| C．Is It Really Amazing to Have Coins Fixed into Trees? |
| D．What Is the Purpose of Knocking Coins into Trees? |
The Sauna World Championships (世界桑拿锦标赛) ended in tragedy at the weekend when one of the two finalists collapsed and died. Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy, a Russian amateur wrestler in his 60s, suffered severe burns in the bizarre(怪诞的) annual event in the southern Finnish town of Heinola. He was pronounced dead late on Saturday after he collapsed alongside reigning (卫冕) champion Timo Kaukonen of Finland roughly six minutes into the final round. The “sport” calls on participants to sit in a 230-degree (110 Celsius) room as water was tossed onto a searing stove, officials and witnesses said. Medical workers pulled both men out of the sauna in front of nearly 1,000 horrified spectators.
Both were shaking and bleeding from what appeared to be severe burns, said Hakon Eikesdal, a photographer with the Norwegian daily Dagbladet. Kaukonen, about 40, was in hospital in stable condition Sunday, contest spokesman Ossi Arvela said. The event, which had over 130 participants from 15 countries, had been held since 1999. It will never be held again, Arvela said. A pint of water is added to the stove every 30 seconds and the last person to remain at the sauna is the winner. There was no prize other than “some small things” Arvela said. He declined to provide details. Arvela said Kaukonen — the defending world champion — had refused to leave the sauna despite getting sick. Sauna bathing is a popular past-time in Finland, which has an estimated 1.6 million saunas for a population of 5 million.
Temperatures are normally kept around 158 to 176 degrees (70~80 degrees Celsius). “I know this is very hard to understand to people outside Finland who are not familiar with the sauna habit,” Arvela said. “It is not so unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna. A lot of competitors before have sat in higher temperatures than that.” Arvela said all rules in Saturday’s competition were followed and the temperatures and times were similar to those in previous years.Which of the following is True of Paragraph 1?
| A．Only the Russian amateur wrestler suffered severe burns in the Sauna World Championships. |
| B．Timo Kaukonen won a world sauna championship though he was badly burned. |
| C．In the Sauna World Championships Vladimir Ladyzhenskiy was badly burned and then died. |
| D．Both of the finalists were pulled out of the sauna, then they were horrified to death. |
The underlined word “searing” means “__________”.
| A．burning | B．comfortable | C．warm | D．extinct |
What can we conclude from the situation after the tragedy?
| A．There was no prize other than “some small things”, which the world champion would refuse to accept. |
| B．Ossi Arvela suggested there were great risks in the sauna contest and it never be held in the future. |
| C．The contest would be continued in which the temperatures were kept around 158 to 176 degrees. |
| D．It was unusual to have 110 degrees in a sauna and it was hard to understand to some people outside. |
We can infer from the news that ___________.
| A．sauna is so popular that there are often competitions on weekdays in Finland. |
| B．the temperatures in usual saunas are too high for most people to stand in Finland. |
| C．the sauna contest is much too horrible even for the spectators in Finland. |
| D．there is a sauna for more than three people on average in Finland. |
The time of year a baby is born can shape what profession they will embark on (从事) in later life, a new study has suggested. Being born in a certain month appears to indicate the statistical likelihood of what job a person will end up with, the study by the Office for National Statistics found. Researchers have uncovered that the month in which babies are born could also affect everything from intelligence to length of life.
A child born December is more likely to become a dentist while someone whose birthday falls in January will tend to a debt collector, they found. A February birth appears to increase the chances of being an artist while March babies appear to go on to become pilots. Meanwhile, April and May are said to have a fairly even spread of professions, births in the summer months mean a much lower chance of becoming a high-earning football player, doctor or dentist.
The study was derived (推导出) by researchers who analyzed the birth months of people in 19 separate occupations using information from the last census, the Daily Mail reported. Although these trends may be difficult to explain, correlations (关联) between birth months and specific health problems have a scientific basis. Spring babies are at greater risks of illnesses including schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma and autism. They may also be less clever than classmates born in other parts of the year.What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．The year when a baby is born may not be associated with the job he or she will end up with. |
| B．Researchers have found the birth month could affect both intelligence and length of life. |
| C．The birth time can give signs of future development of what professions people will start. |
| D．The study indicates there are correlations between birth months and some terrible risks. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．A child born in December is more likely to become an artist while someone born in January will tend to be a dentist. |
| B．A February birth appears to have the possibilities of being an artist while March babies appear to become pilots. |
| C．Children born in April and May are said to have equally balanced chances in their future professions. |
| D．Births in the summer months mean they have few chances to earn a lot of money as a football player, doctor or dentist. |
What do the researchers also study besides the analyses of the trends between birth months and professions?
| A．Some serious diseases from births of many children. |
| B．A lot of mental illnesses caused by giving birth to children. |
| C．The secret of births and healthy problems. |
| D．The relationship between birth months and certain health problems. |
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