I’m Sorry, I Won’t Apologize
Almost daily，news reports include accounts of public figures or heads of companies being forced to say they're sorry. In a recent case，Marge Schott，managing partner of the Cincinnati Reds，at first did not want to apologize for her remark that Hitler "was good at the beginning but he just went too far. "Under pressure，she finally said that she regretted her remarks "offended many people". Predictably — and especially given her history with such comments — many were not satisfied with this response and successfully lobbied for her resignation.
This particular use of "I'm sorry" has a familiar ring. The other day my husband said to me，"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings." I knew he was really trying. He has learned，through our years together，that apologies are important to me. But he was grinning，because he also knew that "I'm sorry I hurt your feelings" left open the possibility — indeed，strongly suggested — that he regretted not what he did but my emotional reaction. It sometimes seems that he thinks the earth will open up and swallow him if he admits fault.
It may appear that insisting someone admit fault is like wanting him to humiliate himself. But I don't see it that way，since it's no big deal for me to say I made a mistake and apologize. The problem is that it becomes a big deal when he won't.
This turns out to be similar to the Japanese view. Following a fender bender，according to a Times article，the Japanese typically get out of their cars and bow，each claiming responsibility. In contrast，Americans are instructed by their insurance companies to avoid admitting fault. When an American living in Japan did just that — even though he knew he was to blame — the Japanese driver "was so incensed by the American's failure to show contrition that he took the highly unusual step of suing him."
The Japanese driver and I are not the only ones who are offended when someone obviously at fault doesn't just fess up and apologize. A woman who lives in the country told me of a similar reaction. One day she gave her husband something to mail when he went into town. She stressed that it was essential the letter be mailed that day，and he assured her it would. But the next day，when they left the house together，she found her unmailed letter in the car. He said，"Oh，I forgot to mail your letter." She was furious— not because he had forgotten，but because he didn't apologize.What was Marge Schott forced to do？
| A．To make a prediction of the future. |
| B．To say "Hitler was good at the beginning." |
| C．To say "Im sorry." |
| D．To count figures. |
The author felt _____ .
| A．her husband regretted the choice he had made |
| B．her husband regretted what he did |
| C．her husband regretted her emotional response |
| D．her husband regretted the dirty words he had used |
According to the author，when one makes a mistake，he should _____ .
| A．admit it and apologize |
| B．avoid admitting it |
| C．wxplain it away |
| D．make every effort to maintain his face |
According to the passage，what would Japanese drivers usually do after a car accident？
| A．They would admit their own faults. |
| B．They would blame each other. |
| C．They would avoid admitting faults |
| D．They would sue each other. |
What does the underlined word “furious” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Angry |
| B．Surprised |
| C．Crazy |
| D．Mad |
Animation means making things which are lifeless come alive and move.
Since earliest times, people have always been astonished by movement. But not until this century have we managed to take control of movement, to record it, and in the case of animation, to retranslate it and recreate it. To do all this, we use a movie camera and a projector（放映机）.
In the world of cartoon animation, nothing is impossible. You can make the characters do exactly what you want them to do.
A famous early cartoon character was Felix the Cat, created by Pat Sullivan in America in the early nineteen twenties. Felix was a wonderful cat. He could do all sorts of things no natural cat could do like taking off his tail, using it as a handle and then putting it back.
Most of the great early animators lived and worked in America, the home of the moving picture industry. The famous Walt Disney cartoon characters came to life after 1928. Popeye the Sailor and his girl friend Olive Oyo were born at Max Ficischer in 1933.
But to be an animator, you don’t have to be a professional（专业人士）. It is possible for anyone to make a simple animated film without using a camera at all. All you have to do is to draw directly on to an empty film and then run the film through a projector.What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．Animal world | B．Movie camera | C．Cartoon making | D．Movement |
According to the passage, Felix the Cat ______ .
| A．was created by the American cartoonist Felix |
| B．was designed by Pat Sullivan in the early twentieth century |
| C．was unable to do what natural cats could not do |
| D．was created in the United States in the nineteenth century |
It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
| A．Walt Disney’s cartoon characters were born earlier that Pat Sullivan’s |
| B．only professionals can create cartoon characters |
| C．Popeye the Sailor and Olive Oyo were famous cartoonists |
| D．the animation industry started in the United States |
Which of the following statements best describes the author’s attitude towards cartoon making?
| A．Cartoon making is not a difficult job. Anyone can do it. |
| B．Only trained people can be employed in cartoon making industry. |
| C．Anyone can make cartoons under the instructions of professionals. |
| D．Cartoon making is no easy job. You have to spend much time drawing onto the empty film. |
Many crimes and social problems are caused by children. Despite the damage these teenage criminals cause, parents are not responsible in most countries. This article will discuss whether parents should be forced to pay for their children’s crimes.
There are many reasons why parents should not be responsible for crimes committed by teenage children. First of all, teenagers today are independent. They often move out of the parents’ house at 18 years of age or younger. They are expected to learn to take care of themselves and make their own decisions, and not to stay like small children attached to their parents. Secondly, parents are working. They cannot watch their adolescent children all the time. A third point is that even children from good families can sometimes commit crimes. Parents should not be responsible if they have worked hard to raise their children properly.
However, young troublemakers cause many problems, and I feel we should make parents responsible. Firstly, most juvenile（未成年的）crimes are committed by adolescents whose parents do not care or make any effort to control their children. If parents had to pay fines（罚款）, they might make more effort. Another point is that even though the children may seem mature, they are not really able to make good decisions. Parents should be responsible for raising and teaching their children until they are fully grown. Furthermore, if children know that their parents will have to pay, they will think carefully before getting into trouble.
In summary, there are good reasons both for and against making parents pay for acts committed by their children. However, I feel strongly that if we want to reduce the number of such crimes, we need to make parents take more responsibility.Those who insist that parents should not be responsible for their children’s crimes believe that ________.
a. teenagers are able to deal with things on their own
b. children need to experience difficulties to be fully grown
c. it’s impossible for parents to be with their children all the time
d. parents are not to blame as long as they try their best to educate their children
| A．a, c, d | B．a, b, c | C．b, c, d | D．a, b, d |
According to Paragraph 3, the main reason for children’s crimes is ________.
| A．unstable social environment | B．parents’ carelessness |
| C．bad family relationship | D．heavy financial burden |
The author thinks that making parents pay for their children’s crimes is ________.
| A．useless | B．easy | C．necessary | D．impractical |
What can be the best title for the passage?
| A．Proper ways to educate children | B．Reasons for children’s crimes |
| C．Should children move out? | D．Should parents pay? |
Scientists from South Korea are trying to convert（转化）sound waves into electricity. The research could lead to charging a cell phone from a conversation or providing energy to the nation’s electricity system generated（产生）by the noise during rash-hour traffic.
“Just as speakers transform electrical signals into sound, the opposite process —turning sound into a source of electrical power — is possible,” said Young Jun Park and Sang-Woo Kim, the joint authors of a new article in the journal Advanced Materials.
Harvesting energy from phone calls and passing cars is based on materials known as piezoelectrics. When bent, piezoelectric materials turn that mechanical energy into electricity. Lots of materials are piezoelectric: cane sugar, quartz （石英）and even dried bone which could create an electrical charge when stressed. For decades, scientists have pumped electricity into piezoelectric materials for use in environmental sensors, speakers and other devices.
Over the past few years, however, scientists have made dramatic advances in getting electricity out of piezoelectric devices. In an experiment, by using sound waves, which at 100 decibels（分贝）were not quite as loud as a rock concert （a normal conversation is about 60-70 decibels）, the South Korean scientists produced a mild electrical current of about 50 millivolts（毫伏）. The average cell phone requires a few volts to function, several times the power this technology can currently produce.
“But the real question is whether there is enough surrounding noise to act as a power source as for a cell phone,” said McAlpine, a leading scientist. A consumer probably wouldn’t want to attend a rock concert or stand next to a passing train to charge his cell phone. The South Korean scientists agree but they expect to get a higher power output as they continue their work.According to the two South Korean scientists, ________.
| A．sound waves can travel faster than electricity |
| B．new materials can send cell phone signals better |
| C．using cell phones adds to heavy traffic in rush hour |
| D．electricity and sound can be transformed into each other |
We know from the passage that piezoelectric materials ________.
| A．can produce electricity when stressed |
| B．are good at changing electricity into sound |
| C．can reduce the noise of passing cars |
| D．have been widely used in phones and cars |
It can be inferred from the South Korean scientists’ experiment that ________.
| A．it is hard to change sound into electricity under current conditions |
| B．it is impossible to make use of loud sound |
| C．the technology has a long way to go to have a practical use |
| D．the technology can power cell phones easily |
What McAlpine doubts about the technology is ________.
| A．the noise pollution | B．the sound resource |
| C．the cost of piezoelectrics | D．the safety of devices |
| Shangri-La Hotel Singapore Singapore 22 Orange Grove Road, 258350 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Coffee shop or café ● Elevator/lift ● Gift shops ● Restaurants in hotel ● Outdoor swimming pool ● Free Internet access Check-in time: 2:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets not allowed |
Swissotel Merchant Court Singapore 20 Merchant Road, 058281 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Coffee shop or café ● Elevator/lift ● Restaurants in hotel ● Outdoor swimming pool ● Television in lobby Cheek-in time: 3:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets not allowed |
| Royal Plaza On Scotts Singapore 25 Scotts Road, Orchard, 228220 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Elevator/lift ● Gift shops ● Restaurants in hotel ● Smoke-free environment ● Outdoor swimming pool Check-in time: 2:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets not allowed |
Landmark Village Hotel Singapore 390 Victoria Street, 188061 General ● Air-conditioned public areas ● Ballrooms ● Bar ● Coffee shop or café ● Elevator/lift ● Restaurants in hotel ● Outdoor swimming pool Check-in time: 2:00 pm Check-out time: noon Pets allowed |
Which of the following can you do in every hotel mentioned above?
| A．You can have a swim. | B．You can have free coffee. |
| C．You can check in at the same time. | D．You can’t bring your pet with you. |
In which hotel can you buy things on the Internet?
| A．Shangri-La Hotel Singapore | B．Swissotel Merchant Court |
| C．Royal Plaza On Scotts | D．Landmark Village Hotel |
The purpose of the passage is ________.
| A．to make people enjoy their trips | B．to persuade people to visit Singapore |
| C．to introduce four hotels in Singapore | D．to improve the hotel services |
When looking back at the scary situation that happened to him on Saturday, Patrick Canney said he couldn’t still believe that it was true. It was a situation that could have ended with a tragedy for Patrick, his father and his sister. But it didn’t really happen thanks to Patrick.
That morning, Patrick’s father was driving down busy Interstate 95 in Peabody, Massachusetts. The car started going really slowly, which seized Patrick’s attention. And then he realized that something was wrong. At that point, Patrick found his father was having a seizure （中风）.
“It was really scary,” he said. “It was unlike anything that had ever really happened to me.” But Patrick didn’t act scared. He took control of the situation and got behind the wheel of the SUV. He turned the key off and pulled the car over to the breakdown lane （车道）. He then stopped the SUV, grabbed a cell phone out of his dad’s pocket and called 911 for help.
Patrick’s 9-year-old sister was in the SUV, too. He told his little sister not to worry about it. Then he opened the door and stood right next to the guard rail. Thanks to Patrick’s description of their location during the 911 call, Massachusetts State Police were able to locate the Canneys within minutes -- and get them all to safety.
“A 12-year-old boy’s clear thinking and decisive action actually saved this family from a tragedy,” said state police spokesman David. “That’s Patrick. He is cool and collected. I couldn’t imagine what would be the result if he were panicked （惊慌失措）.”
Patrick’s father was expected to recover fully from the seizure. And thanks to Patrick, all of the Canneys are still alive. “The word hero may be overused in our society,” said David. “But Patrick is surely that -- and then some.”As soon as he found his father had a seizure, Patrick ________.
| A．told his sister not to worry | B．called the police for help at once |
| C．tried his best to save his father | D．managed to take control of the car |
The underlined word “collected” in Paragraph 5 means “_________”.
| A．confused | B．positive | C．calm | D．serious |
What did David think of Patrick?
| A．Patrick should learn from real heroes in society. |
| B．Patrick was a cool boy who matched the word hero. |
| C．Patrick should be rewarded for his behavior. |
| D．Patrick should protect his family carefully in the future. |
Which of the-following best expresses the main idea of the passage?
| A．A kid made every effort to survive in a car crash. |
| B．A kid turned into a lifesaver after his father was ill. |
| C．A kid learned how to become a hero by using his wisdom. |
| D．A kid saved his sister when they drove on a highway. |
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