If you can see the magic in a fairytale, you can face the future.” —Danielle Steel
Who have not read fairytales? We all have had the experience of reveling in the beauty and innocence of fairytales. May it be Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty... fairytale is a word which cannot be new to us. But have you ever traveled ages back to the earliest of times and uncovered the fascinating facts about these stories? Well, if not, then here are some mystical finds I discovered when I undertook this journey.
A fairytale or fairy story is a fictional tale that usually features folkloric characters (such as fairies, talking animals). A fairytale often stars transformed princes, princesses, animals, as in “fairytale ending” where the humble but heroic princes defeat the wicked enemies or as in “fairytale romance” where after much ado the beautiful princesses marry their Prince Charming.
One distinct feature of fairytales is that, they take place “once upon a time”. The history of the fairytale is particularly difficult to trace. The oral tradition of the fairytale came long before the written page. The oldest known fairytales stem from ancient Egypt around 1,300 B.C and now, after traveling through various periods of time, they have grown and matured in various aspects and have become the most popular genre of stories for young children.
The most famous authors of fairytales are the Grimm Brothers whose works include Cinderella, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and many more; The Grimm Brothers collected their tales from farmers and edited them to suit their audience.
But whatever may the form be, fairytales are after all fairytales! G. K. Chesterton said, “Fairytales do not tell children the dragons exist; they tell the dragons can be killed.” This quote has great weight. Every child believes in fairies, dragons, etc. They do not need fairytales to tell them that. Instead fairytales tell that good always succeed over evil. So fairytales are necessary for young minds.
Fairytales are narrated to children when they are young. This is very essential indeed, for if in the beginning of our lives our minds are touched by the beauty, innocence and the morals in these tales, we will be able to trace the optimistic side of happenings. The fairies are like our wildest dreams, which seem unreachable but we can make them plausible（真实的）.What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us?
| A．The definition of fairytale. |
| B．The characters in the fairytale. |
| C．The brief introduction of fairytale. |
| D．The plot of the fairytale. |
What implies in the passage?
| A．The fairytale first appeared as a written form. |
| B．The spoken form of fairytale came earlier than the written form. |
| C．The fairytale came from ancient Egypt and hasn’t changed much since then |
| D．The fairytale always begins with “once upon a time”. |
By saying “Fairytales do not tell children the dragons exist; they tell the dragons can be killed.”, G. K. Chesterton meant________.
| A．the dragons are evil things |
| B．good always win over evil |
| C．every child believes the existence of the dragon |
| D．every child can know how to kill a dragon from the fairytale |
What does the writer think about the fairytale?
| A．He believes that we can make fairytale come ture. |
| B．He thinks the fairytale makes no difference to our lives. |
| C．He feels doubtful of the fairytale. |
| D．He thinks the fairytale is unreachable. |
Luo Gaoqi hopes to join the increasing number of Chinese students in the United States because he wants the experience of studying in a foreign land as it will help his future job at home. “I want to try Western education because people there think differently,” said the 21-year-old who is in his final year of undergraduate studies. “I also hope to meet friends from different cultures. The social connections may help in the future.”
The latest report from the US-based institute of International Education said China, for the first time, has become the top country of origin for international students in the United States.
For Yang Fan, a journalism student, said studying in the United States is a way to escape the competition for places in China’s top universities. “Due to limited education resources, only about 60 percent of high school graduates in China enter college, and a much lower rate enters the top-level ones. “A foreign degree will definitely help when I seek a job in China,” Yang said.
Both Yang’s and Luo’s parents are supportive of them studying abroad. Neither of them is thinking of settling down in the United States after graduation.
“It is not realistic to do so. As a journalism student, there would be no advantage for me to work in the United States,” Yang said. “But in China, with a US degree and good English, I may stand out against other students who have only studied in China.”
China still needs to improve its environment for scientists and high-level talents, said Xiao Mingzheng, director of the Center for Human Resource Development and Management Research of Peking University, adding that, in particular, the country needs to improve its policies relating to research environments.
In June, the Chinese government published a plan concerning talent development for the next 10 years. In it, it has improved policies and increased budgets to attract talented students back home.Why does Luo Gaoqi wants to study in a foreign land according to his words?
| A．Because the people there are more intelligent. |
| B．Because the foreign countries are more developed. |
| C．Because he can make more friends there. |
| D．Because the culture there is different from that in China. |
What do Guo Gaoqi and Yang Fan have in common?
| A．Their major is the same, which is journalism. |
| B．Both of them want to go back to China after graduation. |
| C．Their parents are against their decision. |
| D．They are forced to study in a foreign land by their parents. |
From the passage, we can infer that _______.
| A．scientists and high-level talents need a better environment in China |
| B．the students abroad are unwilling to go back to China |
| C．China doesn’t need those people to come back to our country at all |
| D．we all need to go abroad to study and then serve our own country |
Manchester is the “capital” of the northwest of England. Situated on the east bank of the River Irwell, it is a lively busy city with a large student population. Although it was once seen as only a dull industrial place, in recent years Manchester has become the “in” place. It is well-known for its clubs, its fashion and its music, not to mention its world -famous football team, Manchester United.
There is plenty to see in Manchester and something to suit all taste. For example, you have a taste of the Orient in Chinatown, home to Manchester’s large Chinese population. Another place to visit is the historical Eastlefield area, which contains the first urban heritage park in Britain. Here you can walk around the museums and experience the atmosphere of the 19th century Manchester.
Football fans need not feel left out; they can always make a trip to the Old Trafford Manchester United Museum which also contains a coffee shop and a souvenir shop
It’s easy to find your way around the city center and you’re never too far away from a bus, which will take you wherever you want to go. However, many people prefer walking in a city where there’s so much to see, and much of it is off the main travel lines.
If you get tired with all that walking, you can refresh yourself at one of the many café bars in the city. There’s a wide variety of homely and old-fashioned ones
Whatever you do, you won’t have a dull moment in the place which was awarded the title of “most interesting city in Europe “. Despite its unpopular industrial image in the past, Manchester is becoming more and more popular as a tourist destination nowadays.According to the passage, Manchester is _________.
| A．a big city in the southwest of England |
| B．only known for its heavy industry |
| C．interesting only if you like football |
| D．a very popular place now |
If you are interested in history, _____ in Manchester.
| A．you will see the 18th century center building |
| B．you can go to Chinatown |
| C．you don’t have a big choice |
| D．you can visit the Eastlefield |
What was Manchester like in the past?
| A．A small and dull city. | B．A city full of factories |
| C．An exciting city to visit | D．A popular destination |
What does the underlined word “its” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Europe’s | B．Tourism’s | C．Manchester’s | D．Industry’s |
Nobody likes home economics (家政学). But restoring the program could help us in the fight against obesity and chronic (慢性的) diseases today.
The home economics movement was founded on the belief that housework and food preparation were important subjects that should be studied scientifically. The first classes occurred in the agricultural and technical colleges that were built in the 1860s. When most departments of universities rejected women, home economics was a back door into higher education.
Indeed, in the early 20th century, home economics was a serious subject When few people understood germ (微生物) theory and almost no one had heard of vitamins, home economics classes offered vital information about washing hands regularly, eating fruits and vegetables and not feeding coffee to babies.
However, today we remember only the fixed ideas about home economics, forgetting the movement’s most important lessons on healthy eating and cooking. Too many Americans simply don’t know how to cook. Our diets, consisting of highly processed foods made cheaply outside the home, have contributed to many serious health problems. In the last decade, many cities and states have tried to tax junk food heavily or to ban the use of food stamps (食品券) to buy soda. Clearly, many people are doubtful about any governmental steps to promote healthy eating. But what if the government put the tools of obesity prevention in the hands of children themselves by teaching them how to cook?
My first experience with home economics happened two decades ago when I was a seventh grader in a North Carolina public school. A year later, my father’s job took our family to Wales, where I attended a large school for a few months. It was the first time I had ever really cooked anything. I remember that it was fun, and with an instructor standing by, it wasn’t hard. Those lessons stuck with me when I first started cooking for my husband and myself after college and they still do. Teaching cooking in public schools can help solve some problems facing Americans today. The history of home economics shows it’s possible.Home economics______.
| A．is a subject becoming more and more popular with Americans |
| B．is often used to help fight against obesity and chronic diseases |
| C．once offered women a. special approach to university education |
| D．was first taught in the agricultural and technical colleges in the early 1900s |
The third paragraph mainly tells us______ .
| A．the importance of regular hand washing |
| B．the health benefits of fruits and vegetables |
| C．the contents of home economics classes in the early 20th century |
| D．the significance of teaching home economics in the early 20th century |
In the opinion of the author, how should we fight against childhood obesity?
| A．Children should be taught how to cook. |
| B．A heavy tax should be put on junk food |
| C．Healthy eating should be promoted at school |
| D．Using food stamps to buy soda should be banned |
What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
| A．Her family moved frequently in her childhood. |
| B．Cooking classes have a far-reaching influence on her later life. |
| C．To receive a better education, she went to a large school in Wales. |
| D．Teaching cooking is the key to solving Americans’ health problems. |
For thousands of years, mankind has produced plants and animals to create more desired and useful plants and animals. For example, modern com has been produced to such a large size that it is no longer able to reproduce without man’s assistance. Modern dairy cows produce too much milk and if they are not often emptied of milk, they could leak, burst, become infected, and possibly die. Besides, most dogs raised by people can not survive in the wild even with special training.
Since natural evolution is extremely slow and mankind’s selective production programs only take a few generations to produce a completely new species, natural evolution has already taken a back seat to mankind’s production programs. In addition, mankind has successfully killed off several species all together. For example, there are no more European wolves in existence and mammoths (猛犸象) probably died out because of mankind. Even certain diseases have been permanently got rid of from the planet, and dozens of other diseases will soon be too. Again, natural evolution did i»t cause most of the destruction during man’s rule of the world.
Currently, scientists are creating new species with desired characteristics in the lab significantly faster than natural evolution creates new species. In a single generation, new species can be created and destroyed by mankind, while natural evolution could take thousands of years to do the same but only accidentally. Scientists are even able to replace defective (有缺陷的) or damaged genes with different genes to attempt to cure genetic defects. This is something that natural evolution could possibly never correct.
Eventually scientists will even be able to improve the quality of people. For example, imagine not only correcting your eyesight with gene treatment, but also ensuring that all of your children do not receive your old genes of poor eyesight too. Scientists will one day be able to improve the memory and intelligence of your children, so that they will do better in school and achieve more in life. Doctors and scientists will be able to customize (订制) babies before they are born just like picking options at a car store.
According to the first paragraph,______ .
A. man-made evolution has improved all species
B. man-made evolution has weakened some species
C man-made evolution can make up for all natural losses
D. natural evolution won’t happen without man’s assistance
What does the underlined part “taken a back seat to” in Paragraph 2 mean?
A. Become powerful assistance to.
B. Become a huge barrier to.
C Speeded up the process of.
D. Played a less important role than.
What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．Why natural evolution happens so slowly. |
| B．The way scientists adopt to have genetic defects repaired. |
| C．The advantages of man-made evolution over natural evolution. |
| D．How scientists make use of man-made evolution to create new species. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Near-sighted parents will be able to produce babies with good eyesight in the future. |
| B．Doctors and scientists will be responsible for mass production of babies in the future. |
| C．It is natural evolution that is to blame for the destruction of European wolves and mammoths. |
| D．Children can now have their memory and intelligence improved with the help of gene treatment. |
Anais Nin was a famous writer. Nin was born French-Cuban but lived in the United States in her later years of life till she died. Nin’s works had her relationships with authors, artists, and other figures as the main subject. Some of her writings were made into films. Nin was also a visiting lecturer in several colleges and promoted Women's Movement with her strong writings.
Anais Nin was born in France in 1903. Her father was a Spanish artist and a composer living in Cuba (古巴) where he met her mother, a French singer working in Cuba. As a child Nin was brought up in Spain. When her parents separated, Nin and her two brothers moved to New York with their mother. At the age of 16, Nin decided to give up studying and started to work as a dancer and model to reduce the financial burden on her mother so that her brothers could go on with their studies.
In 1923, Nin got married to her husband, Hugh Parker Guiler in Cuba. In 1924, Nin and Hugh moved to Paris where Hugh continued with his banking career and Nin started writing. Nin wrote her first book in print, D. H. Lawrence: An Unprofessional Study in 16 days. In 1939, Nin left Paris as it was a French government’s request to its residents to leave Paris because of the coming war. Nin returned to New York with Hugh and sent her written books to Frances Steioff of the Gotham Book Mart in New York for safekeeping.
In 1931, Nin wrote her book Henry and Jun: From the Unexpurgated Diary of Anais Nin. In 1936, Nin published House of Incest which was a 72-page fiction novel
Nin also appeared and was a part of various films. In 1973, Anais Nin was awarded an honorary doctorate (荣誉博士学位) by the Philadelphia College of Art. In 1974, Nin was elected to the United States National Institute of Arts and Letters.
In 1977, Nin died in her Los Angeles home after battling with cancer for three years.What can we know about Anais Nin from the first paragraph?
| A．She was a native American. |
| B．She started Women’s Movement |
| C．She gave lectures in several colleges. |
| D．She wrote mainly about her family life. |
Why did Anais Nin give up studying at the age of 16?
| A．Because she wanted to help support her family. |
| B．Because her parents divorced. |
| C．Because she wanted to realize her dream of becoming an artist |
| D．Because she moved from country to country. |
In 1939 Nin and her husband moved back to New York to______ .
| A．enter the film industry | B．stay away from war |
| C．have her books published | D．promote her new books |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．The awards Anais Nin won. |
| B．Anais Nin and her incomplete family. |
| C．The hardship Anais Nin experienced. |
| D．Anais Nin and her great achievements. |
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