I am a writer. I spend a great deal of my time thinking about the power of language — the way it can evoke(唤起) an emotion, a visual image, a complex idea, or a simple truth. Language is the tool of my trade. And I use them all—all the Englishes I grew up with.
Born into a Chinese family that had recently arrived in California, I’ve been giving more thought to the kind of English my mother speaks. Like others, I have described it to people as “broken” English. But feel embarrassed to say that. It has always bothered me that I can think of no way to describe it other than “broken”, as if it were damaged and needed to be fixed, as if it lacked a certain wholeness. I’ve heard other terms used, “limited English,” for example. But they seem just as bad, as if everything is limited, including people’s perceptions(认识)of the limited English speaker.
I know this for a fact, because when I was growing up, my mother’s “limited” English limited my perception of her. I was ashamed of her English. I believed that her English reflected the quality of what she had to say. That is, because she expressed them imperfectly her thoughts were imperfect. And I had plenty of evidence to support me: the fact that people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her.
I started writing fiction in 1985. And for reasons I won’t get into today, I began to write stories using all the Englishes I grew up with: the English she used with me, which for lack of a better term might be described as “broken”, and what I imagine to be her translation of her Chinese, her internal(内在的)language, and for that I sought to preserve the essence, but neither an English nor a Chinese structure: I wanted to catch what language ability tests can never show; her intention, her feelings, the rhythms of her speech and the nature of her thoughts.
By saying “Language is the tool of my trade”, the author means that ______.
A.she uses English in foreign trade | B.she is fascinated by languages |
C.she works as a translator | D.she is a writer by profession |
The author used to think of her mother’s English as ______.
A.impolite | B.amusing | C.imperfect | D.practical |
Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 3?
A.Americans do not understand broken English. |
B.The author’s mother was not respected sometimes. |
C.The author’ mother had positive influence on her. |
D.Broken English always reflects imperfect thoughts. |
The author gradually realizes her mother’s English is ______.
A.well structured | B.in the old style | C.easy to translate | D.rich in meaning |
What is the passage mainly about?
A.The changes of the author’s attitude to her mother’s English. |
B.The limitation of the author’s perception of her mother. |
C.The author’s misunderstanding of “limited” English. |
D.The author’s experiences of using broken English. |
In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.
Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally(通常)see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.
What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve(神)tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation and the expression for emotions(情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.
Which of the following is best to outline(概括)the article?
A.Research on the Brain | B.Differences between Men and Women |
C.People’s Different Brains | D.Who Are Better, Boys or Girls |
______ men and women think differently.
A.Sex makes | B.The different brains make |
C.The different experiences make | D.The influences of society make |
According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at ______ in your school.
A.Mathematics | B.Physics | C.English | D.Chemistry |
Which of the following is true?
A.The left side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls. |
B.The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys. |
C.Men are better than women in all things. |
D.The area in girls used for language skills develops better. |
In men and women the number of nerves connecting the halves of brain _______.
A.is the same | B.is different | C.is zero | D.can’t be found out |
The fact that blind people can see things using parts of their bodies apart from their eyes may help us to understand our feelings about color.If they can sense color differences, then perhaps we, too, are affected by color without knowing it.Salesmen have discovered by experience over a long period of time that sugar sells badly in green wrappings, that blue foods are considered not agreeable to the taste, and that cosmetics(化妆品) should never be packed in brown.These discoveries have grown into a whole subject of color psychology.
Some of our preferences are clearly psychological.Dark blue is the color of the night sky and therefore connected with calm, while yellow is a day color connected with energy and encouragement.Experiments have shown that colors, partly because they are connected with psychology, also have a direct effect on people's mind.People in bright red surroundings show an increase in breathing speed, heartbeat and blood pressure.Red is exciting.Pure blue has exactly the opposite effect; it is a calming color.Being exciting, red was chosen as the signal for danger, but a closer study shows that a bright yellow can produce a more basic state of alarm, so fire engines in some advanced areas are now rushing around in bright yellow colors that stop buses, trucks and cars.
The passage tells us that salesmen have____ .
A.tried colors on blind people |
B.found out that colors affect sales |
C.developed a special subject of color psychology |
D.discovered the relationship between color and psychology |
It can be inferred from the passage that__ _.
A.blind people cannot sense color differences |
B.foods sell well in green or blue wrappings |
C.w hat color we prefer depends on our state of mind |
D.a bright color has exactly the opposite effect to red |
The most effective color in the passage for warning people is____.
A.red | B.dark blue | C.green | D.bright yellow |
If someone is in an angry mood, which color is better for him to become quiet?
A.Red. | B.Dark blue. | C.Brown. | D.Bright yellow |
Which of the following do you think is the best title for the passage?
A.Colors and Feelings | B.Colors and Sales |
C.The Blind and Colors | D.Preferences for Colors |
I had the meanest mother in the world.While other kids ate candy for breakfast.I had to have cereal, eggs and toast.Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich.As you can guess, my supper was different from the other kids'.But at least I was not alone in my suffering.My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did.
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times.She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing.We had to wear clean clothes every day.Other kids always wore their clothes for days. We reached the height of disgrace (耻辱) because she made our clothes herself, just to save money.
The worst is yet to come.We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning.So while my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law.She made us work I
believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us.Through the years, our friends' report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing.My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks.None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout (辍学者).
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults.Using this as a background, I'm now trying to bring up my three children.I'm filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world.
From the passage we can learn that the writer's mother was____.
A.not generous at all | B.very cruel to her children |
C.very mean with money matters | D.very strict with her children |
Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?
A.Eating differently from other kids. | B.Letting mother know where they were. |
C.Going to bed early and getting up early. | D.Wearing clean clothes made by mother. |
It can be inferred from the passage that____.
A.the writer's family lived a miserable life |
B.all the other kids studied better than the writer |
C.Mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law |
D.the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
A.The writer is very thankful to her mother. |
B.The writer has a deep hatred for her mother. |
C.Mother practiced economy in running her home. |
D.The writer is strict with her children when bringing them up. |
The passage was written in a way of__ __tone.
A.humorous | B.hateful | C.ridiculous | D.impatient |
At one time, people used to travel to foreign countries because they thought they would be different from home—the building, the food, the national dress. Nowadays, however, one large city is very like another. They all have their Hilton or Sheraton Hotels which look Hilton or Sheraton Hotels everywhere. They all have their McDonald’s, their KFCs, their Pizza Huts. Office buildings look the same everywhere, and most city centers are full of office buildings. And, of course, people are driving the same brands of Japanese or European cars, usually wearing the same kinds of clothing and the world’s airlines are all flying the same aircraft, Boeings or Airbuses.
What, therefore, is the purpose of foreign travel for people who are not on business? What do tourists hope to experience in a foreign country that they cannot experience at home? Why travel to foreign countries at all? The answer could be that people are very interested in the past. It is a nation’s history that is its main attraction. Most of today’s tourists travel overseas to find out what foreign countries and cultures used to be like, not what they are like today. The words “cultural tourism” are now part of the language of tourism, and it is the museums and works of art in many countries that are their main attractions.
If they are lucky—and have had sensible, strong governments—many countries also usually have at least a few beautiful places for tourists to visit.
Finally there is perhaps a nation’s greatest attraction: its people. A nation is not just its historical buildings, its works of art or beautiful places, it is also the people who live in it. This is why a country such as Thailand attracts millions of people every year. They come mainly because of the friendliness of the Thai people. It is why the Pacific Islands are also so popular. There may not be much to see or do in Fiji, but there are lots of friendly, smiling people to make visitors feel welcome.
The passage is mainly about .
A.the importance of tourism | B.different foreign cultures |
C.how to plan an overseas trip | D.why people travel to foreign countries |
The writer thinks that large cities in foreign countries .
A.are similar to one another | B.share the same aircraft |
C.do not have good hotels | D.do not offer a warm service to foreigners |
The writer believes that many tourists are interested in foreign .
A.hotels | B.history | C.cars | D.programs |
The underlined phrase “cultural tourism” means .
A.visiting lots of museums | B.traveling overseas |
C.studying the history of a foreign country | D.tourists being interested in a nation’s past and ideas |
Ok, I admit it: Emoticons(表情符号) are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.
Some, however, such as editor and Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, blast the use of emotions as “ infantile(幼稚的) just like the people who use them”. He believes that words themselves should be enough. “If you’re being funny, happy or sad, that should be apparent from the comment that goes before the emoticons,” he argues.
In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender issue. “Men don’t use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all.,” he said. “Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there’s an emoticons gene.”
It’s an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed “ to seek out representations of humanity”. He believes that they appeal not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they tap into(输入)something beyond language. They reach to our need to be with and communicate with people.
All of these arguments may be somehow valid(正确的). Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I do not have much time for emoticons. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing into a primary school class that I had no place being in. I’d rather let my words do the talking.
Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this, I don’t regard any of my friends as lazy or immature. It’s just a question of individuality.
According to the article, emoticons are popular because_________.
A.most of them look funny |
B.they are easy for lazy people to use |
C.they add feeling and character to a communication |
D.a reader cannot understand a message without them |
Which of the following views would John Blumenthal agree with ?
A.Instant Message chatters are childish. |
B.It’s enough to use language in digital communication. |
C.Men never use emoticons. |
D.There is an emoticon gene in everybody. |
From the text, we can conclude that the author________.
A.feels he has no difficulty using emoticons |
B.thinks emoticons don’t suit him |
C.encourage his friends to use emoticons |
D.believes that emoticons are suitable for everyone |
What is the main point of the article ?
A.Advice on language used over the Internet. |
B.The history of emoticons. |
C.Arguments over the use of emoticons. |
D.Reasons for the popularity of emoticons. |
Barbie(芭比娃娃),believe it or not,is 50 this year and she's still as popular as ever.A doll is a doll,but Barbie illustrates how,over the last five decades,women have become a standard for judging what freedom really means. How women are treated in different countries tells you a lot about the politics and culture of where they live.
The doll that every little girl wants enables young children to test their possibilities in role playing,giving them a glimpse of what they might be when they grow up,whether to be frivolous or serious (or both).
But in many countries that's not an option. In Saudi Arabia,where woman can't drive or go out publicly unless covered,Barbie is banned. They think Barbie dolls are offensive to Islam(伊斯兰教) and a threat to morality.
In America,she represents the swiftly changing roles of women. Barbie is fun to tease but she's as American as miniskirts_and_pantsuits in her flexible identities and her “growth” from model to astronaut.
Barbie inspired a dollrevolution movement. When a Teen Talk Barbie was programmed electronically to say “Math class is tough”,she was criticized by a national women's group and was regarded as a bad stereotype. Some of her critics also say she's a bad influence because she's too thin and encourages anorexia,that she has run through too many stereotypes(固定模式),and that she lends too much significance to the fantasy stages of child's play.
In some Muslim countries, substitute Barbie dolls have been developed that promote traditional values,with their modest clothing and profamily backgrounds. They are widely seen as an effort to resist the American dolls that have flooded the market.
Toy seller Masoumeh Rahimi welcomed the dolls,saying Barbie was “foreign to Muslim culture” because some of the dolls have little clothing. She said young girls who play with Barbie,could grow into women who reject Muslim values. “I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile,”Ms. Rahimi said.
The writer mentioned “miniskirts and pantsuits”(in Paragraph 4) to imply that ________.
A.these are the only clothes a doll should wear |
B.these are very traditional American clothes for women |
C.there are a range of different life options available for women |
D.readers should wear these clothes more often |
The underlined word “anorexia” (in Paragraph 5) most probably means“________”.
A.an illness of refusing to eat |
B.giving up math study |
C.the wearing of inappropriate clothes |
D.a decrease in people's imagination |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
A.children who like Barbie dolls won't be so serious when they grow up |
B.Muslim Barbies are the same as American Barbies |
C.Muslim societies are generally more conservative than western societies |
D.Americans have no worry about Barbie's influence on children |
When you are far away from home for the first time and have a lot to adjust to,you can't do it alone. However independent you are,it is good to have a roommate during your first year.
Living with someone helps ease your loneliness. Sure it may seem appealing to be able to play your music and turn up your TV as loud as you want, but coming home to an empty room every day can be depressing. If you have a bad day, you may want to talk to someone.
Friends are great sources of venting (宣泄), but friends can't always be there. Even worse, they may be selfcentered and show no interest in your problem. It's not that roommates aren't like this, but even just small talk can help you feel better.
Having a roommate teaches you how to get along with people and settle conflict. You two should set up rules immediately and discuss what to do when there is conflict. If you two don't like each other,you still study,relax,and sleep in the same room. You must find a way to get along.
Finally,having a roommate exposes (使接触) you to different ways of living. Your roommate may come from a different city,and have different living habits. He or she also has different interests and personalities. You don't have to end up liking the same things your roommate does,but try to learn something different. You will be surrounded by many different people in college and have the chance to try things you never have before. Why not start learning from your roommate?
Having a roommate gives you the skills and personal background you will need to utilize (利用) when you are out on your own. Make the most of living with a stranger and besides,there will be plenty of opportunities for you to have your own room later in your college years.
Who are probably the intended readers of the passage?
A.University teachers. |
B.Students who are not independent. |
C.Students in the first year of college. |
D.Students who will graduate from college soon. |
From the passage,we can learn that .
A.roommates will become good friends in the end |
B.there may be disagreements between roommates |
C.students can choose those they like as their roommates |
D.those with similar interests can become roommates |
How is the passage organized?
The purpose of the passage is to .
A.tell the importance of friends |
B.compare friends with roommates |
C.encourage students to find a roommate |
D.state the different ways of living |
The word “conservation” has a thrifty meaning. To conserve is to save and protect, to leave what we ourselves enjoy in such a good condition that others may also share the enjoyment. Our forefathers had no idea that human population would increase faster than the supplies of raw materials: most of them, even until very recently, had the foolish idea that the treasures were “limitless” and could “last forever”. Most of the citizens of earlier generations knew little or nothing about the complicated and delicate system that runs all through nature, and which means that, as in a living body, an unhealthy condition of one part will sooner or later be harmful to all the others.
Fifty years ago, nature study was not part of school work; scientific forestry was a new idea; wood was still cheap because it could be brought in any quantity from distant woodlands; soil destruction and river floods were not national problems; nobody had yet studied long-term climatic cycles in relation to proper land use; even the word “conservation” had nothing of the meaning that it has for us today.
For the sake of ourselves and those who will come after us, we must now set about correcting the mistakes of our forefathers. Conservation should be made part of everybody’s daily life. To know about the water table (水位) in ground is just as important to us as a knowledge of the basic math formulas. We need to know why all watersheds (上游集水区) need the protection of plant life and why the running current of streams and rivers must be made to give their full benefit to the soil before they finally escape to the sea. We need to be taught the duty of planting trees as well as of cutting them. We need to know the importance of big, grown trees, because living space for most of man’s fellow creatures on this planet is figured not only in square measure of surface but also in cubic(立方体的)volume above the earth. In a word, it should be our goal to restore as much of the original beauty of nature as we can.
The author’s attitude towards the use of natural resources is_________.
A.positive | B.uninterested | C.optimistic | D.critical |
According to the author, the greatest mistake of our forefathers was that________.
A.they had no idea about scientific forestry |
B.they had little or no sense of environmental protection |
C.they were not aware of the importance of nature study |
D.they had no idea of how to make good use of raw materials |
To avoid repeating the mistakes of our forefathers, the author suggests that ________.
A.we plant more trees |
B.natural sciences be taught to everybody |
C.environmental education be given to everybody |
D.we return to nature |
How can you understand the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?
A.Our living space on the earth is getting smaller and smaller. |
B.Our living space should be measured in cubic volume. |
C.We need to take some measures to protect space. |
D.We must preserve good living condition for both birds and animals. |
For a while, my neighborhood was taken over by an army of joggers.(慢跑者). They were there all the time—early morning, noon, and evening. There were little old ladies in gray sweats, young couples in Adidas shoes, middle-aged men with red faces. “Come on!” My friend Alex encouraged me to join him as he jogged by my house every evening. “You'll feel great.”
Well, I had nothing against feeling great and if Alex could jog every day, anyone could. So I took up jogging seriously and gave it a good two months of my life, and not a day more. Based on my experience, jogging is the most overvalued form of exercise around, and judging from the number of the people who left our neighborhood jogging army. I'm not alone in my opinion.
First of all, jogging is very hard on the body. Your legs and feet a real pounding (沉重的脚步) running down a road for two or three miles. I developed foot, leg, and back problems. Then I read about a nationally famous jogger who died of a heart attack while jogging, and I had something else to worry about. Jogging doesn't kill hundreds of people, but if you have any physical weaknesses, jogging will surely bring them out, as they did with me.
Secondly, I got no enjoyment out of jogging. Putting one foot in front of the other for forty-five minutes isn't my idea of fun. Jogging is also a lonely pastime. Some joggers say, “I love being out there with just my thoughts.” Well, my thoughts began to bore me, and most of them were on how much my legs hurt.
And how could I enjoy something that brought me pain? And that wasn't just the first week: it was practically every day for two months. I never got past the pain level, and pain isn't fun. What a cruel way to do it! So many other exercises, including walking, lead to almost the same results painlessly, so why jog?
I don't jog any more, and I don't think I ever will. I'm walking two miles three times a week at a fast pace, and that feels good. I bicycle to work when the weather is good. I'm getting exercise, and I'm enjoying it at the same time. I could never say the same for jogging, and I've found a lot of better ways to stay in shape.
From the first paragraph, we learn that in the writer's neighborhood ________.
A.jogging became very popular |
B.many people were encouraged to jog |
C.Alex organized an army of joggers |
D.jogging provided a chance to get together |
The underlined word “them”(Paragraph 3) most probably refers to ________.
A.heart attacks | B.Back problems |
C.hundreds of people | D.physical weaknesses |
From the author's experience, we can conclude that ________.
A.jogging can help people keep fit |
B.many physical problems result from jogging |
C.not everyone enjoys jogging |
D.jogging makes people feel great |
Several years ago, I had a huge falling out with one of my best friends. So huge, in fact, that now I can’t even remember what happened.
In the past nine years, I’ve seen her twice, and each time we’ve been polite but distant. And that troubles me because we were once that close to each other. I’d like nothing more than to go back nine years, and continue our friendship. But how? How do you reconnect with friends you’ve lost throughout the years?
Linking to your past
The desire to reconnect with lost friend isn’t unusual. Why? Because friends link us to the past. “Friends from years ago are custodians(监护人) of our past,” says Sandy Sheehy, author of Connecting” The Enduring Power of Female Friendship.
Although you can’t share information about your past with friends you’ve met recently, you don’t have a shared history with them. So you wind up only telling them about your past, rather than sharing it with them.
But many people never try to reconnect. Women especially have trouble taking the first step. Shyness or fear that the other person doesn’t want to reconnect often stops many women. And that shouldn’t be. Your friends probably want to be in touch with you as much as you want to be in touch with them.
Searching for friends
Fortunately, finding lost friends isn’t as difficult as it once was, thanks to tools like the Internet. Our experts offer these suggestions for locating contact information:
Search Internet sites designed to locate people like classmates.com and switchboard.com.
Contact your high school or college alumni(校友)office to request current address information.
Surf online yellow pages. Check current phone records from your friend’s hometown.
Network with other friends who might have known your friend.
Get in touch with any of her relatives(亲戚), if you know where they live. If you know where she works, find the company’s web site and search the directory of personnel.
What ‘s the subject discussed in the passage?
A.How to make new friends. | B.How to rediscover friendships. |
C.How to develop healthy friendships | D.How to keep in touch with friends. |
The underlined sentence “Friends from years ago are custodians of our past” means _____.
A.many years ago old friends kept something for us |
B.in the past old friends took care of us |
C.old friends are part of our life history |
D.old friends know what wrong things we did in the past |
What makes us unwilling to reconnect old friends?
A.Lack of money | B.Shortage of time |
C.Regret and shame | D.Fear and shyness |
How can we make contact with the lost friends?
A.By asking other friends of the information on your lost friends. |
B.By searching your friends’ telephone number in the net. |
C.By asking the local post office about your friends’ new address. |
D.By putting an ad in your friends’ local town. |
Remind children that bad things don’t last. It may sound simple, but the message is extremely important. “Children often don’t have the experience to know that when something bad happens---they lose an important game or their best friend lets them down---it’s not the end of the world,” explains Nancy Leffert, a senior research scientist with the Research Institute, an American adolescents(青少年) and children’s research group. “They think their bad feelings will last for ever, or that one failure will ruin everything.”
Unfortunately, that kind of thinking discourages motivation(动机). “If a child believes that the cause of her upset is lasting, or that nothing she does will make a difference, it decreases her ability to keep on trying.” says Dorothy Rich, president of the MegaSkills Education Center of the Home and School Institute, based in Washington. Any time you can help your child see that a situation is not lasting, that a result can be changed, or that one opinion does not reflect reality, you give her reason to hope.
Case in point: “When my daughter Kathy was eight, art was one of her favorite subjects,” says Beth, a mother of two. “Then she got an art teacher who gave a great deal of praise to one student and barely noticed the rest. Kathy was ready to give up until I explained to her, “Never stop doing your best just because one person doesn’t give you praise.” Beth had to repeat the advice often, and finally her daughter got the message. “Kathy is 12 now, and art is still one of her strongest subjects.”
According to the passage we know many children__________.
A.know how to face a failure |
B.try their best to avoid a situation of failure |
C.don’t want to stay in bad feelings for ever |
D.tend to take a failure as the end of the world |
Which of the following is RIGHT about Nancy Leffert?
A.She is concerned about children’s attitudes towards failure. |
B.She is the president of the Education Center. |
C.She strongly believes that bad things won’t last long. |
D.She is the director of the Research Institute. |
Which of the following can a parent say to his children to show that one’s opinion does not reflect reality?
A.“If you call your friend and apologize, he won’t stay mad at you.” |
B.“Go ahead. Don’t care what other people think.” |
C.“You have lost today, but you can try again tomorrow.” |
D.“That may be what your teacher thinks, but I see it differently.” |
The best title of the passage is__________.
A.Help Children Promote Problem Solving Ability |
B.Tell Children Not to Let Failure Ruin Them |
C.Set Reasonable Hopes for Your Children |
D.Teach Your Children to Be Happy |
You speak, write a letter, make a telephone. Your words carry a message. People communicate with words. Do you think you can communicate without words? A smile on your face shows you are happy or friendly. Tears in your eyes tell others that you are sad.
When you put up your hands in class, the teacher knows you want to say something or ask questions. You shake your head, and people know you are saying "No". You nod and people know you are saying "Yes". Other things can also carry messages. For example, a sign at the bus helps you to know which bus to take. A sign on the door helps you where to go in or out. Have you ever thought that there are a lot of signs around you and that you receive messages from them all the time? People can communicate in many other ways. An artist can use his drawing to tell beautiful mountains, about the blue sea and many other things. Books are written to tell about all the wonderful things in the world and also about people and their ideas. Books, magazines, TV, radio and films all help us communicate with others. They can help us to know what is going on in the world and what other people are thinking about.
People communicate ________.
A.with words only | B.in many different ways |
C.in letters and drawings | D.with smiles, tears and hands |
Signs can carry as many _________ as words.
A.questions | B.examples | C.tears and smiles | D.messages |
Which of the following is not talked in the passage as which can help us communicate?
A.books and magazines | B.TV and films | C.newspapers | D.radio |
Communication is important because it can help people to ______.
A.understand the world and other people better around us. |
B.teach each other to speak, write, read and draw. |
C.know what other people are thinking about |
D.learn about mountains,blue sea and other things. |
The best title(题目)for this short passage is _________.
A.Signs Carry Messages | B.The important Communication |
C.Words, Signs and Drawing | D.Ways of Communication. |
What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange, red? Do you prefer grays and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy, and you would rather follow than lead. You tend to be pessimist. At least, this is what psychologists tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference, as well as the effect that colors have on human beings. If you happen to love brown, you did so, as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly
A yellow room makes most people feel more cheerful and more relaxed than a dark green one; and a red dress brings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. A black bridge over the Thames River, near London, used to be the scene of more suicides(自杀) than any other bridge in the area-until it was repainted green. The number of suicide attempts immediately fell sharply. Perhaps it would have fallen even more if the bridge had been done in pink or baby blue.
It is an established fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or gray.
A.On the other hand, black is depressing. |
B.They tell us, among other facts, that we do not choose our favorite color as grow up—we are born with our preference. |
C.The rooms are pained in different colors as you like. |
D.If you do, you must be an optimist, a leader, an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. |
E. Light and bright colors make people not only happier but more active.
F. Life is like a picture or a poem, full of different colors.
G. Colors do influence our moods-there is no doubt about it.
Why play games? Because they are fun, and a 1ot more besides. Following the rules…planning your next move...acting as a team member…these are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.
Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating (合作) .
Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which sharpens the hand-eye coordination(协调)needed in hunting.
Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.
Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it—some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.
Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.
Through playing hide-and-seek, children are expected to learn to ________.
A.obey the basic rules | B.be a team leader |
C.act as a grown-up | D.predict possible danger |
The underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably means that games can________.
A.describe life in an exciting way |
B.make learning life skills more interesting |
C.turn real-life experiences into a play |
D.change people’s views of sporting events |
Iribarne’s goal of forming the foundation is to _______.
A.bring fun to poor kids |
B.provide soccer balls for children |
C.give poor kids a chance for a better life |
D.appeal to soccer players to help poor kids |
What can be inferred from the passage?
A.Sports increase a country’s competitiveness. |
B.Sports can get all athletes together. |
C.People are advised to play games for fun. |
D.Games benefit people all their lives. |