Perhaps no single monument in the USA is as famous as the Statue of Liberty. Standing on a
Which of the following is the best title for this passage? ______
A.Gateway to the USA.
B.Statue of Liberty.
C.Ellis Island.
D.Immigrants of the USA.
Which of the following is the best title for this passage? ______
A.Gateway to the USA.
B.Statue of Liberty.
C.Ellis Island.
D.Immigrants of the USA.
听力原文: Researching friendship,psychologist Lillian Rubin spent two years interviewing more than two hundred women and men. No matter what their age,their sex,the results were completely clear. Women have more friendships than men,and the difference in the content and the quality of those friendships is“marked and unmistakable”.
More than two-thirds of the single men,Rubin interviewed,could not name a best friend. Those who could were likely to name a woman. Yet three-quarters of the single women had no problem naming a best friend,and almost always it was a woman. More married men than women named their wife/husband as a best friend,most trusted person,or the one they would turn to in time of emotional distress. “Most women. ”says Rubin,“identified at least one,usually more,trusted friends to whom they could turn to in a troubled moment,and they spoke openly about the importance of these relationships in their lives. ”
“In general,”Rubin writes in her new book,“women's friendships with each other rest on shared emotions and support,but men's relationships are marked by shared activities. ”“Even when a man is said to be a best friend,”Rubin writes,“the two share little about their innermost feelings. Whereas a woman's closest female friend might be the first to tell her to leave fl failing marriage,it wasn't unusual to hear a man say he didn't know his friend's marriage was in serious trouble until he appeared one night asking if he could sleep on the sofa. ”
(33)
A.Men spend more nights in their friends'home than women.
B.Women are much more talkative than men.
C.Women enjoy more and better friendships than men.
D.Men have more difficulty remembering names than women.
Perhaps the most startling theory to come out of kinesics, the study of body movement, was suggested by Professor Birdwhistell.He believes that physical appearance is often culturally programmed.In other words, we learn our books, but we are not born with them.A baby has generally unformed facial features.A baby, according to Birdwhistell, learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around family and friends.This helps explain why the people of some regions of the United States look so much alike.New Englanders or Southerners have certain common facial characteristics that cannot be explained by genetics.The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth;it is learned after.In fact, the final mouth shape is not formed until well after permanent teeth are set.For many, this can be well in adolescence.A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look somewhat alike.We learn our looks from those around us.This is perhaps why in a single country there are areas where people smile more than those in other areas.In the United States, for example, the South is the part of the country where the people smile more frequently.In New England they smile less, and in the western part of New York state still less.Many Southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly, partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia.People in densely populated urban areas also tend to smile and greet each other in public less than do people in rural areas and small towns.()
A.Ray Birdwhistell can tell what region of the United States a person is form. by how much he or she smiles
B.Ray Birdwhistell is a leader in the field of kinesics
C.Ray Birdwhistell says that our physical appearance is influenced by the appearance of people around us
D.People who live in the country are more friendly than people who live in densely populated areas
Perhaps the uniqueness of America's contribution to the 【27】______ can best be characterized through brief descriptions of several of the most important and best-known musicals. One of these is surely Oklahoma by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hamerstein. It burst 【28】______ popularity in 1943. Broadway audience and critics were 【29】______ by its 【30】______ , vitality and excitement. This "new" type of musical was 【31】______ as kind of 【32】______ theater in which the play, the music and lyrics, the dancing, and the scenic background were assembled not merely to provide entertainment and 【33】______ , but to 【34】______ in a single unifying whole to contribute to its unique feature. 【35】______ , it meant that the songs and dances should 【36】______ naturally out of the situations of the story and play an important part in carrying the action 【37】______ . In Oklahoma, an American folk-dance style. was organically combined with classical ballet and modem dance. It is fight to say that the musical was a brilliantly integrated performance by the talented dancers and singing actors.
Oklahoma also marked a new 【38】______ in the choice of story on which a musical is based. Writers and composers began to abandon the sentimentally picturesque or aristocratic setting 【39】______ more realistic stories in authentic social and cultural 【40】______ Oklahoma was based on a "folk" whose story dealt not only with young love but also with the opening of the American West.
【21】
A.number
B.amount
C.quantity
D.numbers
But people have always had a need to do more than simply "tell it as it is". Language is for reporting not only one's work. For this, a language needs all kinds of grammar and style. that throw back its history and development just as a person needs eyebrows. Is there some special reason why our lips should be a different color from the rest of our face? Perhaps not, but this is how people—real people—are. For communication between people, languages in all kinds will remain to reflect the growth of the societies that speak them.
In this passage, "tell it as it is" means "______".
A.people think Basic English can express what they see or hear
B.people can use basic English to say what they want to
C.tell something they like to
D.people say what they want to simply according to the fact
请根据短文的内容,回答题。
The State of Marriage Today
Is there something seriously wrong with marriage today? During the past 50 years, the rate of divorce in the United States has exploded: almost 50% of marriages end in divorce now, and the evidence suggests it is going to get worse. If this trend continues, it will lead to the breakup of the family, according to a spokesperson for the National Family Association. Some futurists predict that in 100 years, the average American will marry at least four times, and extramarital (婚外的)affairs will be even more common than they are now.
But what are the reasons for this, and is the picture really so gloomy (昏暗的 )? The answer to the first question is really quite simple: marriage is no longer the necessity it once was. The institution of marriage has been based for years partly on economic need. Women used to be economically dependent on their husbands, as they usually didn&39;t have jobs outside the home. But with the rising number of women in well-paying jobs, this is no longer the ease, so they don&39;t feel that they need to stay in a failing marriage.
In answer to the second question, the outlook may not be as pessimistic (悲观的 ) as it seems.
While the rate of divorce has risen, the rate of couples marrying has never actually fallen very much, so marriage is still quite popular. In addition to this, many couples now simply live together and don&39;t bother to marry. These couples are effectively married, but they do not appear in either the marriage or divorce statistics. In fact, more than 50% of first marriages survive.
So is marriage really an outdated institution? The fact that most people still get married indicates that it isn&39;t. And it is also true that married couples have a healthier life than single people: they suffer less from stress and its consequences, such as heart problems, and married men generally consider themselves more dependent than their single counterparts. Perhaps the key is to find out what makes a successful marriage and apply it to all of our relationships!
Which of the following is true about the marriage in the United States today? 查看材料
A.Divorce leads to the breakup of the family
B.More than half of the married couples get divorced
C.American people marry more than four times
D.More and more people are getting divorced
听力原文: Judging from the recent surveys, most experts in sleep behavior. agree that there is virtually an epidemic of sleepiness in the nation. "I can't think of a single study that hasn't found Americans getting less sleep than they ought to," says Dr. David. Even people who think they are sleeping enough would probably be better off with more rest.
The beginning of our sleep-deficit recording and others can be traced to the invention of the light bulb a century ago. From diary entries and other personal accounts from the 18th and 19th centuries, sleep scientists have reached the conclusion that the average person used to sleep about 9.5 hours a night. "The best sleep habits once were forced on us, when we had nothing to do in the evening down on the farm, and it was dark." By the 1950s and 1960s, that sleep schedule had been reduced dramatically, to between 7.5 and eight hours, and most people had to wake to an alarm clock. "People cheat on their sleep, and they don't even realize they're doing it," says Dr. David. "They think they're okey because they can get by on 6.5 hours, when they really need 7.5, eight or even more to feel ideally vigorous."
Perhaps the most merciless robber of sleep, researchers say, is the complexity of the day. Whenever pressures from work, family, friends and community increase, many people consider sleep the least expensive item on his programme. "In our society, you're considered dynamic if you say you only need 5.0 hours' sleep. If you've got to get 8.5 hours, people think you lack drive and ambition."
(33)
A.Americans are ideally vigorous even under the pressure of life.
B.Americans often neglect the consequences of sleep deficit.
C.Americans don't know how to relax themselves properly.
D.Americans can get by on 6.5 hours of sleep.
Section B
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage One
Questions 57 to 61 are based on the following passage.
Throughout this long, tense election, everyone has focused on the presidential candidates and how they’ll change America. Rightly so, but selfishly, I’m more fascinated by Michelle Obama and what she might be able to do, not just for this country, but for me as an African-American woman. As the potential First Lady, she would have the world’s attention. And that means that for the first time people will have a chance to get up close and personal with the type of African-American woman they so rarely see.
Usually, the lives of black women go largely unexamined. The prevailing theory seems to be that we’re all hot-tempered single mothers who can’t keep a man. Even in the world of make-believe, black women still can’t escape the stereotype of being eye-rolling, oversexed females raised by our never-married, alcoholic (酗酒的) mothers.
These images have helped define the way all women are viewed, including Michelle Obama. Before she ever gets the chance to commit to a cause, charity or foundation as First Lady, her most urgent and perhaps most complicated duty may be simple to be herself.
It won’t be easy. Because few mainstream publications have done in-depth features on regular African-American women, little is known about who we are, what we think and what we face on a regular basis. For better or worse, Michelle will represent us all.
Just as she will have her critics, she will also have millions of fans who usually have little interest in the First Lady. Many African-American blogs have written about what they’d like to see Michelle bring to the White House—mainly showing the world that a black woman can support her man and raise a strong black family. Michelle will have to work to please everyone—an impossible task. But for many African-American women like me, just a little of her poise (沉着), confidence and intelligence will go a long way in changing an image that’s been around for far too long.
57. Why does Michelle Obama hold a strong fascination for the author?
A. She serves as a role model for African women.
B. She possesses many admirable qualities becoming a First Lady.
C. She will present to the world a new image of African-American women.
D. She will pay closer attention to the interests of African-American women.
Questions are based on the following passage.
Cubes aren"t usually the go-to shape when creating an object that"s meant to move around, but (1)in Switzerland have created one that can do just that—along with a(2)of other surprising talents. Called the Cubli, it measures nearly 6 inches oneach side and can walk around by (3) flipping itself over. Perhaps more impressively, itcan also balance on any of its sides or even just a single corner. As the research team fromETH Zurich"s Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control(4)in a video, the cube caneven remain balanced while a surface is raised up at an angle beneath it.
Though it"s a moving cube, the Cubli still (5) on a series of spinning wheels to getgoing. Three internal wheels angled along a different axis each will spin faster or slower inorder to maintain enough momentum to keep the cube balanced. By quickly(6)a spinningwheel, the cube can also be caused to flip over,(7)allowing it to move around. Theresearchers say that Cubli"s system of spinning wheels is similar to what (8) satellitesout in space, and that other research groups have considered using this technology to buildrobots that could be used to explore other planets.
A group of researchers at MIT later demonstrated another use for(9)like this:allowing a robot to reassemble itself. MIT"s cubes had magnets embedded across theirsides and edges, which let them grip each other and form. different shapes. Though theyweren"t able to balance like the Cubli can, MIT"s "M-blocks" could move much(10)actually hopping offthe ground when getting around.
A.blocks
B.continually
C.delightful
D.demonstrates
E.effectively
F.further
G.halting
H.handful
I.hardly
J.preceding
K.relies
L.researchers
M.spheres
N.stabilizes
O.stronger
第1题应选() 查看材料
Excite's Universal Inbox: A Mixed Bag
If information is coming at you from mo many directions, Excite @ Home's Excite Inbox promises a solution. This Web site gives you one Inbox for e-mail, voice mail, and faxes, and, perhaps best of all, you get it all for free. It's not a particularly good inbox.
The service is pretty much your standard Web-based e-mail system, not much different from Hotmail or any other, you can visit it from any Web-enabled computer. It supports attachments, displays formatted messages properly, and can read messages from your standard POP e-mail accounts in addition to any other account you set up with Excite. And, just like the other e-mail services on the Web, it's much slower than non-Web-based e-mail. You do get one unique feature: you can personalize the Excite Inbox with your choice of nine unread-mail icons and 15 color schemes, including Lavender, Techno, and Mint Julep. It's a nice feature, but not an earth-shattering one.
For voice mail, then Excite Inbox offers great conveniences for you and annoying hassles for your callers. If your friends call when you're not at home, they must hang up and call another number (at least it's toll-free). Then, they must dial or say a ten-digit extension (there are ten billion ten-digit numbers; how many subscribers does Excite hope to get?). They have to wait through a short commercial, then leave their message. And they'd better be brief, because no message can exceed 90 seconds.
Things can get worse for anyone sending you a fax. They must dial the toll-free number and then the extension, wait through file commercial, and finally press the fax machine's Start button on cue. While only a minor annoyance for anyone standing over a fax machine, this can be a major challenge for some poor soul sending you a fax from a computer. On the other hand, should anyone leave you a message or send you a fax, it is conveniently listed in your inbox alongside your e-mail messages. Listening to messages and viewing faxes are both simple and easy. You cannot currently send faxes from the Excite Inbox, but Excite @ Home is working in this feature for a future version.
The service offers some nice ways to stay connected—you can synchronize your inbox data with Microsoft Outlook or Palm Desktop, and if you have a Palm VII, you'll get wireless access to your messages. If you need free voicemail, the Excite Inbox could be worthwhile. If you want to receive faxes in your e-mail, Excite Inbox is just one choice of many.
Which of the following statement is Not correct according to the passage?
A.Excite Inbox is a mailbox which is not much different from the ordinary mailboxes.
B.You can visit Excite Inbox from any Web-enabled computer.
C.The Excite Inbox supports attachment, displays formatted messages properly and can read messages from your standard POP e-mail.
D.The Excite Inbox e-mail services are much slower than non-Web-based e-mail.