Today, traditional opinions about men still exist. A man has to be strong, brave, sports loving and manly. Anything less would not be considered manly. Sports such as football, basketball and boxing all tend (往往是) to be men’s sports. However, the dance of ballet is considered feminine because it requires nice movements. This tradition is shown in the movie, Billy Elliot.

Billy Elliot is a movie that protests against this traditional view of men. Billy Elliot is an eleven-year-old boy that has a natural talent for ballet dancing, but his father will not allow it. Billy’s father wants him to take up boxing and become stronger, but Billy goes against his father’s wishes and takes up ballet dancing. This difference of opinion makes Billy sad. What’s more, his friends also laugh at him.

After saving enough money, his father sends Billy to a weekly boxing course; however, Billy doesn’t enjoy boxing because he always loses in matches and is often hurt. His ballet teacher, Mrs. Wilkinson thinks that men or women should not be judged by the activities they like to do, so she tells Billy’s father that although he wants his son to make a good living, he should let his son do what he loves to do because he has a talent for it. When his father finally realizes the truth, Billy is surprised. In the end, with the help of his father, brother and all the people around him, Billy goes to the Royal Ballet Academy in London and becomes a very successful ballet dancer.

1.The underlined word “feminine” in the first paragraph most probably means ______

A．of men

B．of children

C．of women

D．of students

2.Why is Billy laughed at by other children?

A．He always loses in boxing matches.	B．He isn’t strong.
C．He looks like a girl.	D．He loves ballet.

3.What do we know about Billy?

A．His teacher encourages him to take up ballet dancing.

B．He does well in ballet dancing and boxing.

C．He does what his father wants him to do.

D．He has never taken up any men’s sports.

4.From Billy’s story, we can see that _______.

A．children should accept their parents’ opinions

B．we should try to fight against traditional opinions

C．men and women play different sports

D．parents should let their children do what they are interested in

 

Making an advertisement for television often costs more than a movie. For example, a two – hour movie costs ＄6 million to make. A TV commercial can cost more than ＄6 000 a second. And that does not include cost of paying for air time. Which is more valuable, the program or the ad? In terms of money – and making money is what television is all about – the commercial is by far the more important.

Research, market testing, talent, time and money —— all come together to make us want to buy a product.

No matter how bad we think a commercial is, it works. The sales of Charm went up once the ads began. TV commercials actually buy their way into our head. We, in turn, buy the product.

And the ads work because so much time and attention are given to them. Here are some rules of commercial ad making. If you want to get the low middle – class buyer, make sure the announcer has a though, manly voice. Put some people in the ad who work with their hands. If you want to sell to upper – class audience, make sure that the house,  the furniture, and the hair style are the types that the group identifies  with. If you want the buyer feel superior to the character selling the product, then make that person so stupid or silly that everyone will feel great about himself or herself.

We laugh at commercials. We don’t think we pay that much attention to them. But evidence shows we are kidding ourselves. The making of a commercial that costs so much money is not kid stuff. It’s big, big business. And it’s telling us what to think , what we need, and what to buy. To put simply, the TV commercial is a form of brainwashing.

1.TV commercials are more important than other programs to television because      .

A．they bring in great profits                 B．they require a lot of money to make

C．they are not difficult to produce            D．they attract more viewers than other programs

2.The purpose of all the efforts made in turning out TV commercials is         .`

A．to persuade people to buy the product

B．to show how valuable the product is

C．to test the market value of the product

D．to make them as interesting as TV movies

3.From the rules set for making commercial ads, we can see that         .

A．the lower – middle – class buyer likes to work with his hand

B．the more stupid the characters, the more buyers of the product

C．ad designers attract different people with different skills

D．an upper – class buyer is only interested in houses and furniture

4.It is believed by the writer that         .

A．few people like to watch TV commercials

B．TV commercials are a good guide to buyers

C．TV commercials often make people laugh

D．people do not think highly of TV commercials

5.What does the author actually mean in the last paragraph?

A．He asks TV viewers never to laugh at the TV commercial ads.

B．Commercials are used to show the true value of a product to be sold.

C．TV commercials cost much and they do influence us in one way or another.

D．Brainwashing must be introduced to sell something on TV.

 

Humans are social animals. They live in groups all over the world. As these groups of people live apart from other groups, over the years and centuries they develop their own habits and ideas, which form different cultures. One important particular side of every culture is how its people deal with time.

       Time is not very important in non-industrial societies. The Nuer people of East Africa, for example, do not even have a word TIME that is in agreement with the abstract thing we call time. The daily lives of the people of such non-industrial societies are likely to be patterned around their physical needs and natural events rather than around a time schedule(时间表) based on the clock. They cook and eat when they are hungry and sleep when the sun goes down. They plant crops during the growing seasons and harvest them when the crops are ripe. They measure time not by a clock or calendar(日历), but by saying that an event takes place before or after some other events. Frequently such a society measures days in terms of “sleeps” or longer periods in terms of “moons”. Some cultures, such as the Eskimos of Greenland measure seasons according to the migration of certain animals.

       Some cultures which do not have a written language or keep written records have developed interesting ways of “telling time”. For example, when several Australian aborigines want to plan an event for a future time, one of them places a stone on a cliff or in a tree. Each day the angle of the sun changes slightly. In a few days, the rays of the sun strike the stone in a certain way. When this happens, the people see that the agreed-upon time has arrived and the event can take place.

       In contrast(成对比), exactly correct measurement of time is very important in modern, industrialized societies. This is because industrialized societies require the helpful efforts of many people in order to work. For a factory to work efficiently(well, quickly and without waste), for example, all of the workers must work at the same time. Therefore, they must know what time to start work in the morning and what time they may go home in the afternoon. Passengers must know the exact time that an airplane will arrive or depart. Students and teachers need to know when a class starts and ends. Stores must open on time in order to serve their customers. Complicated(复杂的) societies need clocks and calendars. Thus, we can see that if each person worked according to his or her own schedule, a complicated society could hardly work at all.

1. By saying “Humans are social animals”, the author means _______.

       A. they live all over the world

       B. they are different from other animals

       C. they live in one place, district or country, considered as a whole

       D. they are divided into many groups

2. Time is not very important in non-industrial societies. This is because people in those societies _______.

A. don’t have the word "time" in their languages

B. don’t get used to using clocks and other timepieces

C. don’t measure time in their daily-lives around an exact time schedule

D. don’t need to plan their daily lives around an exact time schedule

3. The Australian aborigines’ way of “telling time” is based on _______.

       A. the change of the sun rays

       B. the movement of the earth in relation to the sun

       C. the position of the stone

       D. the position of the tree or the cliff

4. Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?

       A. Time and Culture            

    B. The Measurement of Time

       C. Time Schedule and Daily Life 

    D. Clock, Calendar and Society

There was simply too much news and too much information freely available on the net．But was it accurate? Whose opinion should we trust? A survey found that 60% of UK adults think it is worth paying for a "good newspaper", and most of those said they believed more of what they read in the paid-for newspapers．

       Here was something newspapers understood—here was what they could offer: news plus comment and opinion．

       And the Internet now offered opportunities．A newspaper was just that: news printed on paper．But the Internet now offered newspapers different places to print, and in different media．

       This may explain why the readership of newspapers online in the UK is very different from people who read printed newspapers．

       The most popular newspaper in the UK is The Sun and is also the most popular newspaper in the world．The "mid—market" audience mainly reads The Daily Mail．Of the "quality" newspapers, the most popular is the Daily Telegraph．

       Online, it's a different story．The most popular site is The Mail, which has 2．3 million "browsers" every day．And the next most popular site is The Guardian.

'Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

       A．Printed newspapers are disappearing．

       B．The most popular newspapers has the most popular newspaper website as well．

       C．People from other countries also enjoy reading British newspapers．

       D．The free news on the Internet makes people unwilling to buy newspapers．

What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

       A．People no longer believe what the Internet tells them．

       B．Printed newspapers are out of date．

       C．Different readers may have their various reading taste．

       D．Printed newspapers can not deal with the challenge from the Internet．

What is the main idea of the passage?

       A．The UK has the most popular printed newspapers in the world．

       B．The condition of British newspapers in the information age．

       C．Printed newspapers face a sever challenge．

       D．The latest developments in online news sites．

From the survey we can see that the British are generally_____ to the news on the Net．

       A．traditional          B．conservative          C．cautious         D．carefree

Hans was an honest fellow with a funny round good-humored face. Living alone, every day he worked in his garden. In all the countryside there was no garden so lovely as his. All sorts of flowers grew there, blooming in their proper order as the months went by, one flower taking another flower’s place, so that there were always beautiful things to see, and pleasant odors to smell.

Hans had many friends, the most devoted being the Miller. So devoted was the rich Miller to Hans that he’d never go by his garden without plucking a large bunch of flowers or a handful of sweet herbs, or filling his pockets with fruits. The Miller used to talk about noble ideas, and Hans nodded and smiled, feeling proud of having such a friend.

The neighbors thought it strange that the rich Miller never gave Hans anything in return, though he had hundreds of sacks of flour, many cows and sheep, but Hans never troubled his head about these, and nothing gave him greater pleasure than to listen to all the wonderful things about the unselfishness of true friendship.

In spring, summer, and autumn Hans was very happy, but when winter came, and he had no fruit or flowers to sell, he suffered from cold and hunger. Though extremely lonely, the Miller never came to see him then.

“There’s no good in going to see Hans while the snow lasts.” The Miller said to his wife, “When people are in trouble they shouldn’t be bothered. So I’ll wait till the spring comes when he’s happy to give me flowers.”

“You’re certainly very thoughtful,” answered his wife, “It’s quite a treat to hear you talk about friendship.”

“Couldn’t we ask Hans up here?” said their son. “I’ll give him half my meal, and show him my white rabbits.”

“How silly you are!” cried the Miller. “I really don’t know what’s the use of sending you to school. If Hans came up here, and saw our warm fire, our good supper, and our red wine, he might get envious, and envy is a most terrible thing, and would spoil anybody’s nature. I am his best friend, and I’ll always watch over him, and see that he’s not led into any temptation. Besides, if Hans came here, he might ask me for some flour. Flour is one thing, and friendship is another, and they shouldn’t be confused. The words are spelt differently, and mean quite different things. Everybody can see that.” He looked seriously at his son, who felt so ashamed that he hung his head down, and grew quite scared, and began to cry into his tea.

Spring coming, the Miller went down to see Hans. Again he talked about friendship. “Hans, friendship never forgets. I’m afraid you don’t understand the poetry of life. See, how lovely your roses are!”

Hans said he wanted to sell them in the market to buy back his things which were sold during the hard time of the winter.

“I’ll give you many good things. I think being generous is the base of friendship.” said the Miller. “And now, as I’ll give you many good things, I’m sure you’d like to give me some flowers in return. Here’s the basket, and fill it quite full.”

Poor Hans was afraid to say anything. He ran and plucked all his pretty roses, and filled the Miller’s basket, imagining the many good things promised by the Miller.

The next day he heard the Miller calling: “Hans, would you mind carrying this sack of flour for me to market?”

“I’m sorry, but I am really very busy today.”

“Well,” said the Miller, “considering that I’m going to give you my things, it’s rather unfriendly of you to refuse. Upon my word, you mustn’t mind my speaking quite plainly to you.”

Poor Hans was driven by his friendship theory to work hard for his best friend, leaving his garden dry and wasted.

One evening Hans was sitting by fire when the Miller came.

“Hans,” cried the Miller, “My little boy has fallen off a ladder and hurt himself, and I’m going for the Doctor. But he lives so far away, and it’s such a bad windy night. It has just occurred to me that you can go instead of me. You know I’m going to give you my good things, so you should do something for me in return.”

“Certainly,” cried Hans. He struggled into the stormy night, and got the doctor to ride a horse to the Miller’s house in time to save the boy. However, Hans got lost in the darkness, and wandered off into a deep pool, drowned.

At Hans’ funeral, the Miller said, “I was his best friend. I should walk at the head of the procession.” Every now and then he wiped his eyes with a handkerchief.

1.From the passage, we can learn that Hans ___________.

A．was extremely wise and noble

B．was highly valued by the Miller

C．admired the Miller very much

D．had a strong desire for fortune

2.“Flour is one thing, and friendship is another” can be understood as ___________.

A．“Different words may mean quite different things.”

B．“Interest is long-lasting while friendship is flexible.”

C．“I’m afraid you don’t understand the poetry of life.”

D．“I think being generous is the base of friendship.”

3.From the Miller’s talk at home, we can see he was ___________.

A．serious but kind

B．helpful and generous

C．caring but strict

D．selfish and cold-hearted

4.What’s the main cause of Hans’ tragedy?

A．True friendship between them.

B．A lack of formal education.

C．A sudden change of weather.

D．Blind devotion to a friend.

5.The author described the Miller’s behavior in order to ___________.

A．entertain the readers with an incredible joking tale

B．show the friendship between Hans and the Miller

C．warn the readers about the danger of a false friend

D．persuade people to be as intelligent as the Miller