Some people like modern art, while others say that is rubbish. But a cleaner who works in the Tate Gallery in London isn’t able to tell the difference. The woman, whose name isn’t known, mistook a work of art by the German painter Gustav Metzger for a bag of rubbish, and threw it out with other bags. The plastic bad, which contained pieces of paper and cardboard, was later recovered outside the gallery, but the artist thought that it was too damaged to be put on show again. 78-year-old Mr Metzger explained that the exhibit, which he said was a copy of a similar work he had created in 1960, was meant to show that all art is temporary and “finite”(有限的).
Embarrassed officials at the museum said that they had had to call a meeting with cleaners to explain which things should not be touched. They would not say whether Mr Metzger would be paid any compensation for the incident. However, to make absolutely sure the same thing would not happen again, they decided to cover Mr Metzger’s work every evening with a colored cloth. In this way the cleaners arriving after the gallery had closed to the general public would realize they should not touch it.
This is not the first time that museum cleaners have had trouble distinguishing exhibits from rubbish. In 2001, in another London gallery, a cleaner threw away a work by the well-known British artist Damien Hirst. It was an arrangement of empty beer bottles, coffee cups, and overflowing ashtrays, which were meant to indicate the chaos in the life of an artist.
However, cleaners don’t always throw things away—sometimes they clean them! This was the case with a dirty asking what the bath was doing in the gallery, the cleaners simply scrubbed it clean.What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Cleaners mistake modern art for rubbish |
| B．Modern art shouldn’t be cleaned |
| C．What makes a great work of art |
| D．Cleaners don’t always throw things away |
Which of the following is not true?
| A．People have different opinions on modern art |
| B．Mr Metzger would be paid much compensation |
| C．A work of Damien Hirst was thrown away by a cleaner in 2001 |
| D．Some modern work is about artists’ chaos of their life |
The last paragraph is written to show that____________.
| A．cleaners often make exhibits as clean as possible |
| B．cleaners can’t always differ exhibits from rubbish |
| C．exhibits are usually difficult to clean |
| D．exhibits are not always so beautiful |
It was a warm April day when a big fat envelope came in the mail from the only college I had ever imagined attending. I tore open the packet. My eyes were fixed on the word “congratulations”. I don’t remember ever smiling so wide.
Then I looked at my financial package.
The cost of Dream School’s tuition, room and board was around MYM 40,000—an impossible sum! How could I afford to attend? What good reasons did I have to go there when three other fine colleges were offering me free tuition? My other choices were good, solid schools even if they weren’t as famous as my first choice.
In my mind, attending my dream university would be the only way to realize my dream of becoming a world-class writer. My parents understood how I felt. They told me that even though it would be a financial problem, I could go wherever I would be happiest. But as 1 was always careful with money, I wasn’t sure what to do.
One of the schools that offered me a full ride had an informational dinner one night in the spring. Considering my parents’ financial difficulties, I decided to drive the 45 minutes and attend. At first, all I had planned to do was smile politely, eat free food, listen quietly. But I surprised myself.
At dinner the president of the university talked about the wonderful activities on campus including guest lectures and social gatherings. He also made it perfectly clear that free food would be offered at all future events. He continued with explanations of professors, class sizes, activities, and sporting events on campus. As he spoke, I began to realize that this school, though not as good as my first choice, might be the best one for me. It seemed small yet with many great programs. It seemed challenging yet caring.
As the president ended his speech, we clapped politely and pushed back our chain. As I walked out of that door, a feeling of comfort washed over me. Looking at the campus that night, I realized that I would be spending the next four years fighting there.
In all honesty, my university is not as well-known as my “dream” university. However, it turned out to be the right choice of schools for me. How did the author feel when he started to read the letter?
| A．He was full of joy. | B．He was lost in his dream. |
| C．He was worried about the money. | D．He was uncertain which school to go to. |
We can learn from the passage that the parents were _________.
| A．honest | B．strict | C．supportive | D．decisive |
In Paragraph 5, “offered me a full ride” can be replaced by “_________”.
| A．would pay for transport to the school | B．would show me around the campus |
| C．would offer free meals at all events | D．would charge me nothing for tuition |
What does the author mainly want to say?
| A．Your second-choice college may actually be your best fit. |
| B．You should consider comfort in your choice of schools. |
| C．You should try your best to attend your dream school. |
| D．Your choice of schools should be based on their fame. |
Have you ever thought about what you would like to do after school? Perhaps one of these rather different jobs will suit you.
TASTER: Food companies need people to taste the products that they are making. So many kinds of no bad-tasting food are put onto the supermarket shelves. All tasters do all day is take small bites of food. They make notes of what tastes good and what tastes bad. It is not a job for those who would like to stay thin.
SNAKE MILKER: This involves taking the poison out of a snake’s teeth. You hold the snake over a glass and make it open its mouth very wide. The poison will then drip from the back of the teeth into the glass; this is known as milking the snake. You have to be very brave if you want to try this.
GOLF BALL HUNTER: You will spend your day diving into waterholes at different golf courses to hunt for lost golf balls. You could be picking up as many as 5,000 balls a day. Many golfers are willing to buy used golf balls and you could be making a lot of money.
CLOCK CLEANER: Every day you will be climbing to the top of the clock towers in the city. Your responsibilities will be to oil, wind and repair the clocks. This is not a job for someone who is afraid of heights. If you are a taster, you will .
| A．pick up golf balls | B．oil and repair the clocks |
| C．get some milk from snakes | D．try different kinds of food |
If you are afraid of heights, you’d better not choose the job as a .
| A．taster | B．snake milker | C．clock cleaner | D．golf ball hunter |
You can probably find this passage in a .
| A．newspaper | B．textbook | C．report | D．novel |
Happy birthday! Do birthday really make people happy? Of course they do．Birthday celebrate the day when we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggest another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder of growth in others, as well．For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud．For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process．But growing old? That is a different story．
Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented（以年轻人为中心）American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel．” Older people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”．
Many older Americans find the “golden years” to be anything but golden．Economically, “senior citizens” often struggle just to get by．Retirement at the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care, and housing．Some even experience age discrimination（歧视）．American sociologist Pat Moore once dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely--even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．
Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹）are “in”．Marketing experts are ready noticing this growing group of consumer．
Title: Different Opinions About 1._____________Old.
| Items / Aspects |
Descriptions / Details |
|
| General idea |
Growing older, being mature and 3.__________ |
|
| Positive attitude |
4. About ________ |
A wonderful process: children 5.__________ and learning new things, enjoying another birthday party |
| About the old |
Being respected by the young |
|
| 6. Being _______ as a source of experience and wisdom |
||
| Living happily in the “golden years” |
||
| 2.________ |
Never being young again |
|
| Feeling lonely in a youth-oriented culture |
||
| 7.___________ problem: personal income 8.___________ sharply |
||
| Health problem: suffering from poor nutrition and other diseases |
||
| Housing problems: poor and simple |
||
| 9._________ problems: being ill-treated --- experiencing age discrimination, cheating and robbery |
||
| Solution |
Improving 10._________________ benefits |
|
| The young caring for and respecting the old |
There is one foreign product the Japanese are buying faster than others and its popularity has caused an uneasy feeling among many Japanese.
That product is foreign words.
Gairaigo — words that come from outside － have been part of the Japanese language for centuries. Mostly borrowed from English and Chinese, these terms are often changed into forms no longer understood by native speakers.
But in the last few years the trickle (涓涓流水) of foreign words has become a flood, and people fear the increasing use of foreign words is making it hard for the Japanese to understand each other and could lead to many people forgetting the good qualities of traditional Japanese.
“The popularity of foreign words is part of the Japanese interest in anything new,”says University Lecturer and Writer Takashi Saito.”By using a foreign word you can make a subject seem new, which makes it easier for the media to pick up.”
“Experts often study abroad and use English terms when they speak with people in their own fields. Those terms are then included in government white papers,” said Muturo Kai, president of the National Language Research Institute.”Foreign words find their way easily into announcements made to the general public, when they should really be explained in Japanese.”
Against the flow of new words, many Japanese are turning back to the study of their own language. Saito’s Japanese to Be Read Aloud is one of many language books that are now flying off booksellers’ shelves.
“We were expecting to sell the books to young people,” said the writer, ”but it turns out they are more popular with the older generation, who seem uneasy about the future of Japanese.”What advantages do foreign words have over traditional Japanese terms?
| A．The ideas expressed in foreign words sound new. |
| B．Foreign words are best suited for announcements. |
| C．Foreign words make new subjects easier to understand. |
| D．The use of foreign words makes the media more popular. |
In the opinion of Takashi Saito, Japanese people ______.
| A．are good at learning foreign languages | B．are willing to learn about new things |
| C．trust the media | D．respect experts |
Which of the following plays an important part in the spread of foreign words?
| A．The media and government papers. | B．Best-selling Japanese textbooks. |
| C．The interest of young Japanese. | D．Foreign products and experts. |
The book Japanese to Be Read Aloud ______.
| A．sells very well in Japan |
| B．is supported by the government |
| C．is questioned by the old generation |
| D．causes misunderstanding among the readers |
I realized that I was getting cold, and felt it was probably time to go back to the apartment, so I put my collar up against the wind and began to walk back up the cold street. I managed to get some food from a vendor（小贩）, and walked on.
About twenty-five minutes later I knew that something was wrong. It was getting very, very cold, there were no streetlights, and the hill I was hoping to see on my right was nowhere in sight. There was almost no light except for mysterious red crosses shining from the tops of churches, and I was beginning to get worried. To cut a long story short, I had walked the wrong way from a crossroads, and had wandered miles in the wrong direction. My head was aching from the cold, and I couldn’t think straight. Turing around, I started back, and a long time later was outside the house I had set off from. It was at about that time I realized that I had a gate key but no house key. How happy I was when I found that the front door was open—my only piece of good luck that day. My apartment was of course locked, my head felt like it was about to explode, and my hands and feet were freezing.
I tried turning the handle. No luck. I tried another key from England. I wanted to avoid waking the family downstairs, so despite the fear of an early death from cold, I couldn’t break the door down. What would my hosts think? I pulled an ATM card from my pocket and forced it alongside the inside of the lock. I didn’t think it would work, but after fifteen minutes of trying, I heard a click. Another couple of minutes later the door was open. Relieved, I took off my clothes in the dark and got into bed. The purpose of the passage is mainly to .
| A．tell us how difficult it is living abroad |
| B．show us how terrible the weather was |
| C．tell us an unusual experience abroad |
| D．show us how afraid the author was |
What made the author find he had walked the wrong way?
| A．He didn’t see the house. |
| B．A vendor reminded him. |
| C．The street name reminded him. |
| D．He didn’t see the hill. |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The front door was closed. |
| B．The house had many locks. |
| C．The author woke the hosts. |
| D．The author came from England. |
From the passage we can infer that the author was .
| A．careful | B．careless | C．excited | D．annoying |
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