Why I Don’t Spare “Spare Change”

“Poor but honest.” “The deserving (值得帮助的) poor.” These words always come to my mind when I think of “the poor.” But I also think of people who, perhaps through alcohol (酒) or drugs, have ruined not only their own lives but also the lives of others in order to give way to their own pleasure. Perhaps alcoholism and drug addiction (上瘾) really are “diseases,” as many people say, but my own feeling --- based. Of course, not on any serious study --- is that most alcoholics and drug addicts belong to the “undeserving poor.” And that is largely why I don’t give spare change to beggars.

But surely among the street people there are also some who can rightly be called “deserving.” Deserving what? My spare change? Or simply the government’s assistance? It happens that I have been brought up to believe that it is proper to make contributions to charity (慈善机构), but if I give some change to a beggar, am I making a contribution to charity and thereby helping someone, or, am I perhaps simply encouraging someone not to get help? Or, maybe even worse, am I supporting a cheat?

If one believes in the value of private charity, one can either give to needy people or to charitable organizations. In giving to a beggar one may indeed be helping a person who badly needs help, but one cannot be certain that one is giving to a needy person. In giving to an organization, on the other hand, one can feel that one’s money is likely to be used wisely. True, facing a beggar one may feel that this particular unfortunate person needs help at this moment --- a cup of coffee or a sandwich --- and the need will not be met unless I put my hand in my pocket right now. But I have come to think that the beggars whom I meet can get along without my spare change, and indeed perhaps they are actually better off for not having money to buy alcohol or drugs.

I know nothing about these beggars, but it’s my impression that they simply prefer begging to working. I am not generalizing about street people. I am talking about the about whom I actually meet. That’s why I do not give “spare change,” and I don’t think I will in the future.

1.What does the author think of beggars who take drugs?

   A. They should be given a check-up.

   B. They really need money to live.

   C. They have no pleasure in life.

   D. They are not worth helping.

2.Why doesn’t the author give money to street people?

   A. He doesn’t think they need help.

   B. He doesn’t have enough money to give.

   C. He is not convinced they will use it rightly.

   D. He believes they can get help from the government.

3.In the second paragraph, the author presents his idea by _______.

   A. asking questions for people to think about

   B. giving examples to support his argument

   C. raising questions and answering them

   D. expressing his opinions directly

4.Which of the following opinions does the author accept?

   A. Drug addiction is a disease.

   B. Some street people are poor and needy.

   C. Most beggars have received enough help.

   D. Charitable organizations handle money properly.

While parents, particularly mothers, have always been attached to their infants (婴儿), societal conditions frequently made this attachment difficult to maintain (保持). First of all, the high infant death rate in the premodern times meant that such attachments often ended in hopelessness. Perhaps to prevent the sadness that infant death caused, a number of societal practices developed which worked against early attachment of mother and child.

One of these premodern attachment-discouraging practices was to leave infants unnamed until they had survived into the second year. Another practice that discouraged maternal (母亲的) attachment was tightly wrapping (包裹) infants. Wrapping effectively prevented the close physical interactions like stroking (抚摸) and kissing that are so much a part of modern mothers’ and fathers’ affection for their infants.

A third practice which had the same distancing effect was wet-nursing. Breast-feeding (母乳哺育) was not popular among the well-to-do in the early modern times; infants were often fed by wet nurses hired for the purpose. In some places, such as nineteenth-century France, city infants were sent to wet nurses in the country. Often a wet nurse would feed her own child first, leaving little for the city infant --- who, in many case, died. In Rouen, the death rate for children sent to a wet nurse was 35 percent.

1.Babies were unnamed until they were two so that ________.

   A. an old social custom could be kept up

   B. maternal attachment could be maintained

   C. they could have better chances to survive

   D. their parents would not be too sad if they died

2.Why were babies wrapped?

   A. To protect them from the cold.

   B. To distance their mothers from them.

   C. To make them feel more comfortable.

   D. To make it easy for their mothers to hold them.

3.Wet nurses were women who _________.

   A. babysat city infants

   B. fed babies of other families

   C. sent their babies to the country

   D. failed to look after their babies

4.Which is the best title for the passage?

   A. Societal Conditions in Premodern Times

   B. Practices of Reducing Maternal Attachment

   C. Poor Health Service and High Infant Death Rate

   D. Differences between Modern and Premodern Parents

A study published in September suggests there is a surprising way to get people to avoid unhealthy foods: change their memories. Scientist Elizabeth Loftus of the University of California at Irvine asked volunteers to answer some questions on their personalities (个性) and food experiences. “One week later,” Loftus says, “we told those people we’d fed their answers into our smart computer and it came up with an account of their early childhood experiences.” Some accounts included one key additional detail (细节). “You got sick after eating strawberry ice-cream.” The researchers then changed this detail into a manufactured (人为促成的) memory through leading questions --- Who were you with? How did you feel? By the end of the study, up to 41% of those given a false memory believed strawberry ice-cream once made them sick, and many said they’d avoid eating it.

When Loftus published her findings, she started getting calls from people begging her to make them remember hating chocolate or French fries. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. False memories appear to work only for foods you don’t eat on a regular basis. But most important, it is likely that false memories can be implanted (灌输) only in people who are unaware of the mental control. And lying to a patient is immoral, even if a doctor believes it’s for the patient’s benefit.

Loftus says there’s nothing to stop parents from trying it with their overweight children. “I say, wake up --- parents have been lying about Father Christmas for years, and nobody seems to mind. If they can prevent diseases caused by fatness and all the other problems that come with that, you might think that’s more moral lie. Decide that for yourself.”

一个人的饮食习惯的能改变？一个善意的谎言是怎样做到的？

1.Why did Loftus ask the volunteers to answer some questions?

   A. To improve her computer program.

   B. To find out their attitudes towards food.

   C. To find out details she can make use of.

   D. To predict what food they’ll like in the future.

2.What did Loftus find out from her research?

   A. People believe what the computer tells them.

   B. People can be led to believe in something false.

   C. People tend to forget their childhood experiences.

   D. People are not always aware of their personalities.

3.According to the study, people may stop having a certain food if they _______.

   A. learn it is harmful for health

   B. lie to themselves that they don’t want it

   C. are willing to let doctors control their minds

   D. think they once had a bad experience of eating it

4.What is the biggest concern with the method?

   A. Whether it is moral.            B. Who it is best for.

   C. When it is effective.            D. How it should be used.

 国际文化交流中心将组织一次由各国学生参加的“和平、友谊”夏令营活动，要求报名者提交英文个人简历。假设你是王姗，请根据下列信息写一篇个人简历。

注意：*1、词数不少于60。

      *2、可根据内容要点适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。

 请根据下面提示，写一篇短文。词数不少于50。

You and your Australian friend Jim are visiting a city in China where you see the street sculptures as shown below. You and Jim are discussing what the artist is trying to say. Now you are telling Jim how you understand this piece of art and what makes you think so.

提示词：  雕塑    sculpture

          笔记本电脑  laptop

(某城市街头雕塑)

做题时，先将答案标在试卷上。录音内容结束后，你将有两分钟的时间将试卷上的答案第一节（共5小题：每小题1.5分，满分7.5分）

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有一个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听完每段对话后，你都有10秒钟的时间来回答有关小题和阅读下一小题。每例：How much is the shirt?

A. £19.15

B. £ 9.15

C. £ 9.18

答案是B。

1.How much will the man pay for the tickets?

A. £7.5                 B. £15                   C. £50

2.Which is the right gate for the man’s flight?

  A. Gate 16.               B. Gate 22.              C. Gate 25.

3.How does the man feel about going to school by bike?

  A. Happy.                B. Tired.                C. Worried.

4.When can the woman get the computers?

  A. On Tuesday.            B. On Wednesday.         C. On Thursday.

5.What does the woman think of the shirt for the party?

A. The size is not large enough.

B. The material is not good.

C. The color is not suitable.

第二节（共15小题；每小题1.5分，满分22.5分）

听下面5段对话。每段对话后有几个小题，从题中所给的A、B、C三个选项中选出最佳选项，并标在试卷的相应位置。听每段对话前，你将有时间阅读各个小题，每小题5秒钟；听完后，各小题将给出5秒钟的作答时间。每段对话读两遍。

    听第6段材料，回答第6、7题。

6.What can we learn about Mr. Brown?

   A. He is in his office.           B. He is at a meeting.           C. He is out for a meal

7.What will the man probably do next?

   A. Call back.                  B. Come again.                C. Leave a message.

听第7段材料，回答第8、9题。

8.What kind of room does the man want to take?

   A. A single room.           B. A double room.             C. A room for three.

9.What does the man need to put in the form?

A. Telephone and student card numbers.

B. student card number and address

C. Address and telephone number.

听第8段材料，回答第10至12题。

10.What is the relationship between the speakers?

   A. Fellow clerks           B. Boss and secretary.          C. Customer and salesperson.

11.What does the man like about his job?

   A. Living close to the office.    B. Chances to go abroad.      C. Nice people to work with

12.What do we know about the woman?

   A. She likes traveling.        B. She is new to the company.    C. She works in public relations.

听第9段材料，回答第13至16题。

13.When will the visitors come?

   A. In March.            B. In April             C. In May

14.How many visitors are coming?

  A.8.                    B.10.                  C. 12.

15.What will the visitors do on the second day?

  A. Go to a party.           B. Visit schools.               C. Attend a lecture.

16.Where will the visitor go on the final day?

  A. To London.            B. To Scotland.        C. To the coast.

听第10段材料，回答第17至20题。

17.What is the first word the baby tried to say?

  A. Truck.                B.OK             C. Duck.

18.How old was the baby when he learned to say that word correctly?

  A. About 18 months.      B.  About 21 months.      C.  About 24 months.

19.What did the father do when the baby screamed that word at the airport?

  A. He corrected the baby.    B. He tired to stop the baby.   C. He hid himself somewhere

20.Why did the mother pretend not to know the baby?

A. She got angry with the father.

B. She was frightened by the noise.

C. She felt uneasy about the noisy baby.

 -Who called me this morning when I was out?

-A man calling ________ Robert.      

A. him           B. himself         C. his            D.不填

 Look out! Don’t get too close to the house________ roof is under repair.

A .whose         B. which          C. of which       D. that

 Sorry, Madam. You’d better come tomorrow because it’s ________ the visiting hours.

   A. during          B. at              C. beyond        D. before

 Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts. The plane________.

  A. takes off         B. is taking off       C. has taken off   D. took off