It appears that the police now have a device that can read license plates and check if a car is unregistered, uninsured or stolen. We already know that National Security Agency can dip into your Facebook page and Google searches. And it seems that almost every store we go into these days wants your home phone number and ZIP code as part of any deal.
So when Edward Snowden — now cooling his heels in Russia — revealed the extent to which the NSA is spying on Americans, collecting data on phone calls we make, it's not as if we should have been surprised. We live in a world that George Orwell predicted in 1984. And that realization has caused sales of the 1949, dystopian (反乌托邦）novel to spike dramatically upward recently — a 9,000% increase at one point on Amazon. com.
Comparisons between Orwell’s novel about a tightly controlled totalitarian (极权主义的）future ruled by the everywhere-present Big Brother and today are, in fact, quite similar. Here are a few of the most obvious ones.
Telescreens — in the novel, nearly all public and private places have large TV screens that broadcast government propaganda (宣传), news and approved entertainment. But they are also two-way monitors that spy on citizens, private lives. Today websites like Facebook track our likes and dislikes, and governments and private individuals hack into our computers and find out what they want to know. Then there are the ever-present monitoring cameras that spy on the ordinary people as they go about their daily routine.
The endless war — In Orwell’s book, there's global war that has been going on seemingly forever, and as the book's hero, Winston Smith, realizes the enemy keeps changing. One week we’re at war with Eastasia and friends with Eurasia. The next week, it's just the opposite. There seems little to distinguish the two opponents, and they are used primarily to keep the people of Oceania, where Smith lives, in a constant state of fear, thereby making disagreement unthinkable — or punishable. Today we have the so-called war on terror, with no end in sight, a generalized societal fear, suspensionof certain civil liberties, and an ill-defined enemy who could be anywhere, and anything.
Newspeak — the fictional, stripped-down English language, used to limit free thought. OMG (Oh my God), RU (Are you) serious? That's so FUBAR (Fucked Beyond Ail Recognition). LMAO (Laugh My Ass Off).
Memory hole — this is the machine used in the book to change or disappear embarrassing documents. Paper shredders (碎纸机） had been invented, but were hardly used when Orwell wrote his book, and the concept of wiping out a hard drive was years in the future. But the memory hole foretold both technologies.
So what’s it all meant? In 1984, Winston Smith, after an intense round of “behavioral modification” — read: torture— learns to love Big Brother, and the difficult world he was born into. Jump forward to today, it seems we’ve willingly given up all sorts of freedoms, and much of our right to privacy. Fears of terrorism have a lot to do with this, but dizzying advances in technology, and the ubiquity of social media, play a big part.
There are those who say that if you don't have anything to hide, you have nothing to be afraid of. But the fact is, when a government agency can monitor everyone’s phone calls, we have all become suspects. This is one of the most frightening aspects of our modem society. And even more frightening is the fact that we have gone so far down the street, there is probably no turning back. Unless you spend your life in a wilderness cabin, totally off the grid, there is simply no way the government won’t have information about you stored away somewhere.
What this means, unfortunately, is that we are all Winston Smith. And Big Brother is the modem surveillance state.What caused 1984 to sell well on Amazon.com?
| A．The similarities between the world we live in and that of 1984. |
| B．The surprise at how Americans are spied on by the government. |
| C．The fact that authorities have access to our personal information. |
| D．The worry that our government agencies can monitor our phones. |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
| A．When Orwell wrote 1984, paper shredders didn't exist. |
| B．The war with Eastasia makes people in Oceania fearful. |
| C．Telescreens are used to broadcast and spy on citizens’ privacy. |
| D．Winston Smith loves Big Brother due to the fears of terrorism. |
What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 8 refer to?
| A．Addiction to social media. |
| B．The phone calls being monitored. |
| C．A round of “behavioral modification”. |
| D．Willingness to abandon freedom and privacy. |
The underlined part in the passage replies that _______.
| A．it is impossible for us to return to our initial path |
| B．it’s very difficult for us to change the current situation |
| C．we are walking along the street too far to go back home |
| D．the government can find out which street we are going down |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．We are all Winston Smith. |
| B．Big Brother is watching you. |
| C．We’re living “1984” today. |
| D．The NSA is spying on Americans. |
What is the writer's attitude towards the phenomenon?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Concerned. | C．Angry. | D．Indifferent. |
At thirteen, I was diagnosed（诊所） with kind of attention disorder. It made school difficult for me. When everyone else in the class was focusing on tasks, I could not.
In my first literature class, Mrs.Smith asked us to read a story and then write on it, all within 45 minutes. I raised my hand right away and said,"Mrs.Smith, you see, the doctor said I have attention problems. I might not be able to do it."
She glanced down at me through her glasses, "you are no different from your classmates, young man."
I tried, but I didn't finish the reading when the bell rang. I had to take it home.
In the quietness of my bedroom, the story suddenly all became clear to me. It was about a blind person, Louis Braille. He lived in a time when the blind couldn't get much education. But Louis didn't give up. Instead, he invented a reading system of raised dots（点）, which opened up a whole new world of knowledge to the blind.
Wasn't I the "blind" in my class, being made to learn like the "sighted" students? My thoughts spilled out and my pen started to dance. I completed the task within 40 minutes. Indeed, I was no different from others; Ijust needed a quieter place. If Louis could find his way out of his problems, why should I ever give up?
I didn't expect anything when I handled in my paper to Mrs.Smith, so it was quite a surprise when it came back to me the next day- with an"A" on it. At the bottom of the paper were these words:" See what you can do when you keep trying?"
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The author didn't finish the reading in class because.
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What do we know about Louis Braille from the passage?
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What was Mrs.Smith 's attitude to the author at the end of the story?
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What is the main idea of the passage?
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D
In 2004 ,when my daughter Becky was ten , she and my husband ,Joe, were united in their desire for a dog . As for me , I shared none of their canine lust.
But why , they pleaded. “Because I don’t have time to take care of a dog.” But we’ll do it. ” Really? You’re going to walk the dog? Feed the dog? Bathe the dog?” Yes, yes , and yes .”I don’t believe you .” We will . We promise.
They didn’t . From day two (everyone wanted to walk the cute puppy that first day ) , neither thought to walk the dog . While I was slow to accept that I would be the one to keep track of her shots , to schedule her vet appointments , to feed and clean her , Misty knew this on day one . As she looked up at the three new humans in her life (small, medium, and large) , she calculated ,”The medium one is the sucker in the pack .”
Quickly, she and I developed something very similar to a Vulcan mind meld (心灵融合) . She’d look at me with those sad brown eyes of hers , beam her need , and then wait , trusting I would understand — which , strangely , I almost always did . In no time , she became my feet as I read , and splaying across my stomach as I watched television .
Even so , part of me continued to resent walking duty . Joe and Becky had promised. Not fair , I’d balk (不心甘情愿地做) silently as she and I walked . “Not fair , ” I’ d loudly remind anyone within earshot upon our return home .
Then one day — January 1, 2007 , to be exact — my husband ‘ s doctor uttered an unthinkable word : leukemia ( 白血病) .With that , I spent eight to ten hours a day with Joe in the hospital , doing anything and everything I could to ease his discomfort. During those six months of hospitalizations, Becky, 12 at the time, adjusted to other adults being in the house when she returned from school. My work colleagues adjusted to my taking off at a moment's notice for medical emergencies. Every part of my life changed; no part of my old routine remained.
Save one: Misty still needed walking. At the beginning, when friends offered to take her
through her paces, I declined because I knew they had their own households to deal with.
As the months went by，I began to realize that I actually wanted to walk Misty. The walk in the morning before I headed to the hospital was a quiet, peaceful time to gather my thoughts or to just be before the day's medical drama unfolded. The evening walk was a time to shake off the day's upsets and let the worry tracks in my head go to white noise.
When serious illness visits your household, it's , not just your daily routine and your assumptions about the future that are no longer familiar. Pretty much everyone you acts differently.
Not Misty. Take her for a walk, and she had no interest in Joe's blood counts or ’one marrow test results. On the street or in the park, she had only one thing on her mind: squirrels! She Was so joyous that even on the worst days, she could make me smile. On a daily basis she reminded me that life goes on.
After Joe died in 2009，Misty slept on his pillow.
I'm grateful一to a point. The truth is, after years of balking, I've come to enjoy m’ walks with Misty. As I watch her chase after a squirrel, throwing her whole being into the here-and-now of an exercise that has never once ended in victory, she reminds me, too, that no matter how harsh the present or unpredictable the future , there's almost always some measure of joy to be extracted from the moment.why didn't the writer agree to raise a dog at the beginning of the story?
| A．She was afraid the dog would get the family, into trouble. |
| B．It would be her business to take care of the dog |
| C．Her husband and daughter were united as one. |
| D．She didn't want to spoil he’ daughter. |
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to "The medium one is “he sucker in the pack.” (Paragraph 3)?
| A．"The middle-aged person loves me most.” |
| B．”The medium-sized woman is the hostess.” |
| C．"The man in the middle is the one who has the final say.” |
| D．"The woman is the kind and trustworthy one in the family.” |
It can be inferred from Paragraph 3 that_______.
| A．Misty was quite clever |
| B．Misty could solve math problems |
| C．the writer was a slow learner |
| D．no one walked Misty the first day |
The story came to its turning point when________.
| A．Joe died in 2009 |
| B．Joe fell ill in 2007 |
| C．the writer began to walk the dog |
| D．the dog tired to please the writer |
Why did the writer continue to walk Misty while Joe was in hospital?
| A．Misty couldn’t live without her |
| B．Her friends didn’t offer any help |
| C．The walk provided her with spiritual comfort. |
| D．She didn't want Misty to ’others companion. |
What is the message the writer wants to convey in the passage?
| A．One should learn to enjoy hard times. |
| B．A disaster can change everything in life. |
| C．Moments of joy suggest that there is still hope ahead. |
| D．People will change their attitude toward you when you are in difficulty. |
If humans were truly at home under the light of the moon and stars，we would go in darkness happily，the midnight world as visible to us as it is to the vast number of nocturnal(夜间活动的) species on this planet. Instead，we are diurnal creatures, with eyes adapted to living in the sun's light. This is a basic evolutionary fact, even though most of us don't think of ourselves as diurnal beings. Yet it's the only way to explain what we've done to the night: We've engineered it to receive us by filling it with light.
The benefits of this kind of engineering come with consequences 一 called light pollution 一 whose effects scientists are only now beginning to study. Light pollution is largely the result of bad lighting design，which allows artificial light to shine outward and upward into the sky. III-designed lighting washes out the darkness of night and completely changes the light levels 一 and light rhythms - to which many forms of life, including, ourselves, have adapted. Wherever human light spills into the natural world, some aspect or life is affected .
In most cities the sky looks as though it has been emptied of stars, leaving behind a vacant haze(霾) that mirrors our fear of the dark. We've grown so used to this orange haze that the original glory of an unlit nigh, - dark enough for the planet Venus to throw shadow on Earth, is wholly beyond our experience, beyond memory almost.
We've lit up the night as if it were an unoccupied country, when nothing could be further form the truth. Among mammals alone, the number of nocturnal species is astonishing, Light is a powerful biological force, and on many species it acts as a magnet(磁铁). The effect is so powerful that scientists speak of songbirds and seabirds being "captured" by searchlights on land or by the light from gas flares on marine oil platforms. Migrating at night, birds tend to collide with brightly lit tall buildings.
Frogs living near brightly lit highways suffer nocturnal light levels that are as much as a million times righter than normal, throwing nearly every aspect of their behavior out of joint including most other creatures ,we do need darkness .Darkness is as essential to our biological welfare, to our internal clockwork, as light itself.
Living in a glare of our making,we have cut ourselves off from our evolutionary and cultural heritage-the light of the stars and the rhythms of day and night .In a very real sense light pollution causes us to lose sight of our true place in the universe, to forget the scale of our being, which is best measured against the dimensions of a deep night with the Milky Way-the edge of our galaxy arching overhead.
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According to the passage, human being
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What does "it"(Paragraph 1) most probably refer to?
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The writer mentions birds and frogs to
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It is implied in the last paragraph that
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What might be the best title for the passage?
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Graph can be a very useful tool for conveying information especially numbers， percentages, and other data . A graph gives the reader a picture to interpret. That can be a lot more pages and pages and pages explaining the data .
Graphs can seem frightening, but reading a graph is a lot like reading a story. The graph has a title ,a main idea ,and supporting details .You can use your active reading skills to analyze and understand graphs just like any other text .
Most graphs have a few basic parts: a caption or introduction paragraph, a title , a legend or key, and labeled axes. An active reader looks at each part of the graph before trying to interpret the data. Captions will usually tell you where the data came from (for example, a scientific study of 400 African elephants from 1980 to 2005). Captions usually summarize the author's main point as well. The title is very important. It tells you the main idea of the graph by stating what kind of information is being shown. A legend, also called a key ,is a guide to the symbols and colors used in the graph. Many graphs, including bar graphs and line graphs, have two axes that form a corner, Usually these axes are the left side and the bottom of the graph .Each axis will always have a label. The label tells you what each axis measures.
Bar Graphs
A bar graph has two axes and uses bars to show amounts. In Graph 1 ,we see that the x-axis shows grades that students earned, and the y-axis shows bow many students earned each grade .You can see that 6 students earned an A because the bar for A stretches up to 6 on the vertical measurement. There is a lot of information we can get from a simple graph like this(See Graph 1).
Line Graphs
A line graph looks similar to a bar graph ,but instead of Bars, it plots points and connects them with a line .It has the same parts as a bar graph - two labeled axes -and can be read the same way .To read a line graph, it's important to focus on the points of intersection rather than the line segments between the points, This type of graph is most commonly used to show how something changes over time.
Here is a graph that charts how far a bird flies during the first Five days of its spring migration (See Graph 2).
The unit of measurement for the x-axis is days. The unit of measurement for the y-axis is kilometers. Thus we can see that ,on the first day, the pipit flew 20 kilometers. The line segment goes up between Day 1 and Day 2,which means that the bird flew farther on Day 2.If the line segment angled dawn, as between Day 4 and Day 5,it would mean that the bird flew fewer kilometers than the day before. This line graph is a quick, visual way to tell the reader about the bird's migration.
Pie Graphs
A typical pie graph looks like a circular pie. The circle is divided into sections, and each section represents a fraction of the data. The graph is commonly used to show percentages; the whole pie represents l00 percent, so each piece is a fraction of the whole.
A pie graph might include a legend，or it might use icons or labels within each slice. This pie graph shows on month's expense, (See Graph 3 ).
Food $ 25
Movies $ 12
Clothing $ 36
Savings $ 20
Books $ 7
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When used in a graph，a legend is
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What is the total number of students who earned a C or better ?
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The bird covered the longest distance on
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Which of the following cost Amy most ?
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阅读下列材料，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑。
A
From the very beginning of school we make books and reading a constant source of possible failure and public humiliation. When children are little we make them read aloud, before the teacher and other children, so that we can be sure they “know” all the words they are reading. This means that when they don’t know a word, they are going to make a mistake, right in front of everyone. After having taught fifth-grade classes for four years, I decided to try at all costs to rid them of their fear and dislike of books, and to get them to read oftener and more adventurously.
One day soon after school had started, I said to them, “Now I’m going to say something about reading that you have probably never heard a teacher say before. I would like you to read a lot of books this year, but I want you to read them only for pleasure. I am not going to ask you questions to find out whether you understand the books or not. If you understand enough of a book to enjoy it and want to go on reading it, that’s enough for me. Also I’m not going to ask you what words mean. “
The children sat stunned and silent. Was this a teacher talking? One girl, who had just come to us from a school where she had had a very hard time, looked at me steadily for a long time after I had finished. Then, still looking at me, she said slowly and seriously, Mr Holt, do you really mean that?” I said just as seriously, “I mean every word of it.
During the spring she really astonished me. One day, she was reading at her desk, From a glimpse of the illustrations I thought I knew what the book was. I said to myself, “It can’t be,” and went to take a closer look. Sure enough, she was reading Moby Dick , in edition with woodcuts. I said, “Don’t you find parts of it rather heavy going?” She answered, Oh, sure, but I just skip over those parts and go on to the next good part. “
This is exactly what reading should be and in school so seldom is, an exciting, joyous adventure. Find something, dive into it, take the good parts, skip the bad parts, get what you can out of it, go on to something else. How different is our mean-spirited, picky insistence that every child get every last little scrap of “understanding” that can be dug out of a book. According to the passage, children’s fear and dislike of books may result from________.
| A．reading little and thinking little |
| B．reading often and adventurously |
| C．being made to read too much |
| D．being made to read aloud before others |
The teacher told his students to read______ .
| A．for enjoyment |
| B．for knowledge |
| C．for a larger vocabulary |
| D．for higher scores in exams |
Upon hearing the teacher’s talk, the children probably felt that________.
| A．it sounded stupid |
| B．it was not surprising at all |
| C．it sounded too good to be true |
| D．it was no different from other teachers' talk |
Which of the following statements about the girl is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．She skipped over those easy parts while reading. |
| B．She had a hard time finishing the required reading tasks. |
| C．She learned to appreciate some parts of the difficult books. |
| D．She turned out to be a top student after coming to this school. |
From the teacher's point of view,_________ .
| A．children cannot tell good parts from bad parts while reading |
| B．children should be left to decide what to read and how to read |
| C．reading is never a pleasant and inspiring experience in school |
| D．reading involves understanding every little piece of information |
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