A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

       This attitude toward manual labor is now  still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every proof of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist only of something quickly and easily collected from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby shop. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction group on a highway in order to pay for his education.

1. From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _________.

A. people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.

B. people can always rise to the top through their won efforts

C. college professors win great respect from common workers

D. people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man

2. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _________.

A. she takes pride in what she can do herself

B. servants in American are hard to get

C. she can hardly afford servants

D. It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

3. The expression “ wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_________”.

A. work in a furniture shop                     B. keep accounts for a bar

C. serve customers in a restaurant          D. wait to lay the tabl

4. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A. A Respectable Self-made Family        B.American Attitude toward Manual Labor

C. Characteristics of American Culture      D. The Development of Manual Labor

A characteristic of American culture that has become almost a tradition is to respect the self-made man — the man who has risen to the top through his own efforts, usually beginning by working with his hands. While the leader in business or industry or the college professor occupies a higher social position and commands greater respect in the community than the common laborer or even the skilled factory worker, he may take pains to point out that his father started life in America as a farmer or laborer of some sort.

       This attitude toward manual labor is now  still seen in many aspects of American life. One is invited to dinner at a home that is not only comfortably but even luxuriously (豪华地) furnished and in which there is every proof of the fact that the family has been able to afford foreign travel, expensive hobbies, and college education for the children; yet the hostess probably will cook the dinner herself, will serve it herself and will wash dishes afterward, furthermore the dinner will not consist only of something quickly and easily collected from contents of various cans and a cake or a pie bought at the nearby shop. On the contrary, the hostess usually takes pride in careful preparation of special dishes. A professional man may talk about washing the car, digging in his flowerbeds, painting the house. His wife may even help with these things, just as he often helps her with the dishwashing. The son who is away at college may wait on table and wash dishes for his living, or during the summer he may work with a construction group on a highway in order to pay for his education.

1. From paragraph 1, we can know that in America _________.

A. people feel painful to mention their fathers as labors.

B. people can always rise to the top through their won efforts

C. college professors win great respect from common workers

D. people tend to have a high opinion of the self-made man

2. According to the passage, the hostess cooks dinner herself mainly because _________.

A. she takes pride in what she can do herself

B. servants in American are hard to get

C. she can hardly afford servants

D. It is easy to prepare a meal with canned food

3. The expression “ wait on table” in the second paragraph means “_________”.

A. work in a furniture shop                     B. keep accounts for a bar

C. serve customers in a restaurant          D. wait to lay the tabl

4. Which of the following may serve as the best title of the passage?

A. A Respectable Self-made Family        B.American Attitude toward Manual Labor

C. Characteristics of American Culture      D. The Development of Manual Labor

I keep medicines on the top shelf, out of the children’s        .

A. reach       B. hand       C. hold       D. place

Susan decided not to work on the program at home because she didn’t want her parents to know what she ______ .

A. has done     B. had done         C. was doing        D. is doing

The twentieth century saw greater changes than any century before: changes for the better,

changes for the worse; changes that brought a lot of benefits to human beings, changes that put man in danger. Many things caused the changes, but, in my opinion, the most important was the progress in science.

     Scientific research in physics and biology has vastly broadened our views. It has given us a deeper knowledge of the structure of matter and of the universe; it has brought us a better understanding of the nature of life and of its continuous development. Technology m the application of science m has made big advances that have benefited us in nearly every part of life.

     The continuation of such activities in the twenty-first century will result in even greater advantages to human beings: in pure science -- a wider and deeper knowledge in all fields of learning; in applied science -- a more reasonable sharing of material benefits, and better protection of the environment.

      Sadly, however, there is another side to the picture. The creativity of science has been employed in doing damage to mankind.  The application of science and technology to the development and production of weapons of mass destruction has created a real danger to the continued existence of the human race on this planet. We have seen this happen in the case of nuclear weapons, Although their actual use has so far occurred only in the Second World War, the number of nuclear weapons that were produced and made ready for use was so large that if the weapons had actually been used, the result could have been the ruin of the human race, as well as of many kinds of animals.

     William Shakespeare said, “The web of our life is of a mingled yarn (纱线), good and ill together.” The above brief review of the application of only one part of human activities----- science seems to prove what Shakespeare said. But does it have to be so? Must the ill always go together with the good? Are we biologically programmed for war?

Which of the following best shows the structure of the passage?

A.               B.                   C.                  D.

From the fourth paragraph, we can infer that________.

A. a great many nuclear weapons were actually used for war

B. a large number of nuclear weapons should have been used for war

C. the author is doubtful about the ruin of human beings by nuclear weapons

D. the author is anxious about the huge number of nuclear weapons on the earth

The underlined word "mingled" in the last paragraph most probably means________.

A. simple           B. mixed           C. sad               D. happy

What do you think the author is most likely to suggest if he continues to write?

A. Further application of science to war.

B. More reading of William Shakespeare.

C. Proper use of science in the new century.

D. Effective ways to separate the good from the ill.