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(优先考虑的事) 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 they would be ‘intimate’ 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.”

1.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.

2.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.

3.In paragraph 6, “they would be ‘intimate’” is closest in meaning to “______”.

A．they would have physical contact           B．they would have in-depth talk

C．they would be close friends               D．they would exchange basic information

4.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

 

Actually，information technology can_____the gap between the poor and the rich because all can get what they want at the same time．

  A．break    B．1ink    C．bridge D．combine

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.”
【小题1】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.

【小题2】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．

【小题3】In paragraph 6, “they would be ‘intimate’” is closest in meaning to “______”.

A．they would have physical contact	B．they would have in-depth talk
C．they would be close friends	D．they would exchange basic information

【小题4】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

We can offer you a place at one of the best universities in Britain. We’ll provide you with a choice of 150 first-class courses developed especially to enable you to study in your own time. All of these courses are backed by the Open University’s own special study method — OU Support Open Learning.

We’ll give you the support of a personal teacher, and the chance to meet your fellow students. You can study for a diploma, a degree or a postgraduate degree. Subjects available include: Computing, Business Management, Technology, Modern Languages, Social Sciences, English Law, Arts, Science, Mathematics, Education and Health & Social Welfare.

Whether you want to study to improve your career prospects or for your own personal interest, there’s almost certainly a course for you. If you haven’t studied for a while, we will help you get started. No previous training or degrees are required. All that is required is a willingness to learn. The OU is great value for money and you can pay monthly.

The OU leads the world in the use of new technology for learning, and a number of courses provide source material on CD-ROM. What else can the Open University offer you?

☆ The OU is in the top 15% of all UK universities for teaching quality.

☆ 25% of all British MBAs come from the OU.

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☆ There are 9-month courses and diplomas as well as degrees.

Send for your free instructions now.

Post to: The Open University, PO Box 625, Milton Keynes MK76 AA, U99LX.

1.The purpose of writing this passage is to _________.

A．introduce the best university inBritain

B．let the readers know the OU Support Open Learning

C．describe the new technology for learning in the Open University

D．attract students to the Open University

2.If you want to study in the Open University, you need ________.

A．a good study habit

B．some previous training

C．a willingness to learn

D．a degree from a good university

3.The Open University can offer you all of the following EXCEPT ______.

A．an MBA degree

B．high-quality teaching

C．a computer so you can study online from home

D．9-month courses and diplomas as well as degrees

 

BUKHANNON, West Virginia—Two rescue teams slowly moved along a two-mile path on Monday night to the site of a coal mine explosion that trapped 13 miners, who had not been heard from since the early morning accident.

   Meanwhile, at a nearby church, more than 250 family members and friends gathered, waiting for updates（最新报道）on the rescuers’ progress.

  The miners were trapped at about 6:30 and many families weren’t informed of the accident until about 10 a.m-more than three hours after it happened. “It’s very upsetting, but you’ve got to be patient, I guess,” said John Helms, whose brother, Terry, was trapped in the mine.

   The trapped miners were about 260 feet underground and about 10,000 feet from the Sago Mine’s entrance, said Roger Nicholson, general counsel from International Coal Group.

   At a late night news conference, Nicholson said one team had advanced about 4, 800 feet in the four hours since entering the mine just before 6 p.m. Another team entered the mine about 30 minutes later.

   He said the crew was very experienced, with some members having worked underground for

30 to 35 years. The miners were equipped with about one hour of breathable oxygen each. The company has not released the names of the miners.

   The teams test the air about every 500 feet, and have to disconnect (remove) the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface before doing that. “ We don’t want to be energizing anything if it’s in an atmosphere with burnable gases,” Kips said.

   The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. High levels of carbon monoxide were discovered shortly after the explosion, which delayed rescue efforts, but those levels have since subsided（减退）, authorities said.

According to the passage, we can infer that ________.

A. all the miners who were trapped underground were still alive

B. communication with the trapped miners was cut off

C. the two rescue teams entered the mine at the same time

D. the rescue started as soon as the accident happened

If the first team advanced at an average speed, they could dig about _______ per hour.

       A. 1,000 feet          B. 2,400 feet         C. 1,200feet             D. 4,800feet

Where can the passage be seen?

 A. In a magazine.        B. In a newspaper.     C. In a science book..      D. On an advertisement.

Which of the following shows the position where the miners were trapped?