Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets. But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.

That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”－events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to get the past “Where are you from?”

Mr.Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.

The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”

As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain. Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another. “We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says. “But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”

The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer. The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom with for hours. But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.

“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up. “What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”

Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.”

What can the “conversations” be best described as?

    A. Deep and one-on-one. B. Sensitive and mad.

    C. Instant and inspiring.   D. Ordinary and encouraging.

In a “feast of conversations”, participants ______.

    A. pair freely with anyone they like

    B. have a guided talk for a set of period of time

    C. ask questions they themselves would not answer

    D. wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features.

From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is ______.

    A. an attempt to promote thinking interaction

    B. one of the maddest activities ever conducted

    C. a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas

    D. an effort to give people a chance of talking freely

—Ambulance(急救）,please. —Ambulance.________1.

—I'm in a phone box outside No. 30,Nanjing road. _____________2.

—There，s been an accident. A man has been run over. He ’ s losing a lot of blood. Please send an am­bulance at once. —Is there a doctor there?

—No, there' s only me. The driver didn't stop__________. 3.

—Yes. Don' t move the patient.____________ 4. Keep the patient warm, but don ’ t give him anything to eat or  drink. OK?

—Right, please urryt

—Don ’ t worry. ______5.

A．What‘ s the trouble,sir? B．What can we do for you? C．Is there anything I can do? D．Where are you calling from?

E. Try to stop bleeding.

F. Where is the patient?

G. The ambulance is on its way now.

 

 

One evening I went out and left my 17-year-old son in charge of his 8-year-old brother and 4-year-old sister．On this occasion, the work was made less troublesome by the presence of his girlfriend．I left with complete confidence that the older children would do a wonderful job of babysitting the younger children．Later, I discovered that complete confidence was the last thing I should have left home with．
I had decided to return home earlier than planned so that my son and his girlfriend could go out．I called home with this happy news．But instead of hearing his cheerful, grateful voice on the other end of the line, all I heard was the sound of a telephone ringing．
It was, I should point out, after 10 p．m．,when the two younger children should have been in bed, and when the two older children should have been answering the phone．“I’ll give him a lesson,” I said． I decided they must be outside．Why they might be outside at 10:30 on a winter night I had no idea, but it was the only explanation I could come up with．
Finally, in desperation, I called his girlfriend’s house． After what seemed like countless rings, his girlfriend answered．“Yes,” she said brightly, “He’s right here．”
He came on the phone．I was not my usual calm, rational（理智的）self． After all, one of the rules of survival for modern parents is that you can’t trust modern teenagers．“Where are the children?” I said．He said they were with him．They had done nothing wrong．My son had taken the younger children over to his girlfriend’s house just for ice cream and cake．This was too good to be believed． Well, it turns out that I shouldn’t have believed it．It was only part of the truth．
The following Saturday evening we were at my parents’ home, celebrating my birthday．My oldest son gave me the children’s gifts．Mounted and framed were a series of lovely color photographs of my children, dressed in their best clothes, and wearing their most wonderful expressions．They are pictures to treasure a lifetime, all taken by the father of my son’s girlfriend．
【小题1】The author went out and left her eldest son in charge of the younger children because         ．   

A．she knew that her eldest son was a good baby-sitter

B．she thought it no hard work to take care of the younger ones

C．she believed he could do well with his girlfriend’s help

D．she could not find a baby-sitter on that winter night

【小题2】When the author called home that evening, she found that           ．

A．two younger children had already been in bed

B．the children were preparing a birthday gift for her

C．her son was quarrelling with his girlfriend

D．there was no one answering the telephone

【小题3】What might the children do that evening?

A．They had a birthday party．	B．They framed some photographs．
C．They had their pictures taken．	D．They made some beautiful clothes．

【小题4】What does the author intend to tell us by the story?

A．Modern teenagers are not worth trusting．

B．It is no easy job to look after young children．

C．It’s no good to have a girlfriend at an early age．

D．Her children have a caring and tender heart．

请认真阅读下面对话，并根据各题所给首字母的提示，在答题卡上标有题号的横线上，写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式、使对话通顺。

W: Where are you going to s___ your holiday this year, Bob?

M: We may go a___, but I’m not sure.

W: What do you mean?

M: Well, my wife’s talking about Egypt recently. She may want to go there. I’d like to go there, too.

W: Yes, it’s an interesting country to see.

M: But we can’t make up our m yet. You know, a round trip to Egypt c__ a lot.

W: But you may go by sea.

M: You’re right. It’s cheaper, isn’t it?

W: You may s____ at least half of the money if you go by ship.

M: But don’t you think it would t__ a long time and…

W: But you can enjoy the scene of the sea and the r_____ sun.

M: Yes, I’ll tell my wife.

W: You will definitely enjoy y_____, I’m sure.

M: Don’t be so sure. We may not go anywhere.

W: You always hesitate at everything.

M: It’s not my f____, you know. Wife always worries too much.

W: Like what?

M: Well… Who is going to look after the house? Who is going to look after the garden? And who is going to look after

the pets? We have these p___ every year. And in the end we stay at home and look after everything.

—Where are you going for the summer vacation?

—I don’t mind where we get______there’s sun, sea and beach.

A.as if       B.so long as     C.now that      D.in order that