BEIJING, Sep. 10 (Xinhuanet) -- The extra-large model baby in the Spain Pavilion（馆） was “conceived”（构思）by a Spanish filmmaker, Shi Yingying reports.

Visitors admiring the 6.5-meter-high giant baby, Miguelin, in the Spain Pavilion may be surprised to realize that it was not the concept of a famous designer or a group of groundbreaking engineers. It came from one filmmaker’s interpretation of the meaning of “Better City, Better Life”.

Spanish director Isabel Coixet developed the idea after being asked to contribute to Expo 2010 Shanghai.

“They asked me to do something to tell the Chinese audience about Spain in the future and the first thing jumping to my mind was a baby,” said Coixet. “If we really fight to have better cars, better cities and better lives, it’s for them - for our children.”

Despite her Spanish heritage, Coixet doesn’t focus on making Spanish films or using Spain as the setting. Fans of her various award-winning films, including My Life Without Me, The Secret Life of Words and Elegy, may not even be aware of Coixet’s Spanish background.

“The borders between countries are just illusion（假象）,” said Coixet. “Some directors feel really comfortable telling stories that belong to their territory.”

But Coixt feels the opposite: “I'm more comfortable outside my country. It gives me a strange freedom.”

One of her favorite things about being a director is the freedom. “The thing is that the world is wide and this freedom lets you make films everywhere,” she said.

Coixet’s curiosity took her latest exploration and movie work to Japan. In the movie Map of the Sound of Tokyo, the Catalan actor Sergi Lopez is the owner of a wine shop in Tokyo, and Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi is a young woman who works both as a fishmonger and as a hired killer.

The conflict of the two people's very different worlds and the tango-like relationship they develop is just one representation of what Coixet is able to produce by mixing cultures.

While she doesn’t know if she will shoot a film in Shanghai, two things have caught her attention: Shanghainese women and crickets（蟋蟀）.

After just arriving in the city, she was surprised by the mix of old Chinese culture in a booming chief city “Behind the skyscrapers, there is a flower and bird market with heaps of crickets and birdcages in,” she said. “I'm totally amazed with the city.”

The huge baby represents the idea that ______________.

  A. our children are the new generation full of imagination.

  B. our children will develop the friendship between China and Spain.

  C. our children are our future.

  D. our children will understand the meaning of “better city, better life”.

We learn from the passage that Coixet’s award-winning films were set ____________.

  A. only in Spain.                              B. only in Japan.

  C. mainly in the countries outside Spain.      D. mainly in the countries within Europe.

According to Isabel Coixet, a flower and bird market behind the high rises_______________.

  A. shows people in Shanghai are living a rich life spiritually and materially.

  B. reflects prosperity of the market.

  C. indicates the Chinese people are leading a rich life.

  D. represents the traditional culture of China.

From the passage we can learn that ____________.

  A. Isabel Coixet is dissatisfied with the design of the extra-large model baby.

  B. A mix of different cultures is reflected in Isabel Coixet’s films.

  C. Isabel Coixet feels less comfortable while making films all over the world.

  D. Isabel Coixet designed the huge baby according to the requirement of a group of engineers.

For many parents, raising a teenager is like fighting a long war, but years go by without any clear winner．Like a border conflict between neighboring countries, the parent-teen war is about boundaries: Where is the line between what I control and what you do?

Both sides want peace, but neither feels it has any power to stop the conflict．In part, this is because neither is willing to admit any responsibility for starting it．From the parents’ point of view, the only cause of their fight is their adolescents’ complete unreasonableness．And of course, the teens see it in exactly the same way, except oppositely．Both feel trapped．

In this article, I’ll describe three no-win situations that commonly arise between teens and parents and then suggest some ways out of the trap．The first no-win situation is quarrels over unimportant things．Examples include the color of the teen’s hair, the cleanliness of the bedroom, the preferred style of clothing, the child’s failure to eat a good breakfast before school, or his tendency to sleep until noon on the weekends．Second, blaming．The goal of a blaming battle is to make the other admit that his bad attitude is the reason why everything goes wrong．Third, needing to be right．It doesn’t matter what the topic is — politics, the laws of physics, or the proper way to break an egg — the point of these arguments is to prove that you are right and the other person is wrong, for both wish to be considered an authority — someone who actually knows something — and  therefore to command respect．Unfortunately, as long as long as parents and teens continue to assume that they know more than the other, they’ll continue to fight these battles forever and never make any real progress．

1.Why does the author compare the parent-teen war to a border conflict?

A．both can continue for generations．      B．Both are about where to draw the line．

C．Neither has any clear winner．          D．Neither can be put to an end．

2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．The teens blame their parents for starting the conflict．

B．The teens agree with their parents on the cause of the conflict．

C．The teens accuse their parents of misleading them．

D．The teens tend to have a full understanding of their parents．

3.Parents and teens want to be right because they want to ________．

A．give orders to the other       B．know more than the other

C．gain respect from the other    D．get the other to behave properly

4.What will the author most probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A．causes for the parent–teen conflicts      

B．Examples of the parent–teen war．

C．Solutions for the parent–teen problems        

D．Future of the parent–teen relationship

 

阅读下列短文，根据所读内容在文章后的表格中填入恰当得单词。 注意：表格中每个空格中只填入一个单词。

A conflict at work is common. If you can avoid conflict, it means you will win what you want regardless of what the other person wants. Since the potential issue has not been removed, it will simply reappear later. Let’s see what you can do.

    ★Be aware of the fact that some conflicts are unavoidable at work. On numerous occasions, conflict and disagreement are likely to happen. But when a conflict happens it's not the end of the world. On the contrary, it can be the beginning of an interesting learning process. Conflicts mean that people care enough to disagree strongly. The trick is not to allow the conflict to go on forever.

    ★ Deal with conflicts sooner rather than later. Solve a conflict when it starts, as it only gets worse with time going by. Conflicts at work arise not from something that was said, but from something that wasn't said! Everyone's waiting for the other to admit he's wrong and gets more unpleasant after the conflict has lasted a while. It's essential to interrupt the "waiting game" before it gets to that point.

    ★ Ask nicely. If somebody has done something that made you angry, or if you don't understand their viewpoint or actions, simply asking nicely about it can make a world of difference.  Never assume that people do what they do to annoy or hurt you. Sometimes there's a good reason why that person does what he or she does, and a potential conflict disappear right there. Do remember to make an inquiry, not an accusation of any sort.

    ★ Appreciate. Praise the other part in the conflict. Tell them why it's worth it to you to solve the conflict. This can be difficult as few people find it easy to praise and appreciate a person they disagree strongly with, but it's a great way to move forward.

 

Topic	How to1.______ conflicts at work
Reason	Conflicts won't 2.______ if not dealt with
3. _____ on handling conflicts	● Don't be afraid of conflicts which are usually 4._____. ● Interrupt the "waiting game",  try to admit your 5.______ actively and solve it soon or it will get 6.______ ● Don’t imagine people do something to make you 7.______ on purpose. Remember not to 8.______ others, but ask them nicely about what they do, which may make a difference. ● Try to appreciate the other part in the conflict although it is 9.______ to do so.
10.	If you learn to do with conflicts, you'll work in joy.

 

 

Social networking websites are causing alarming changes in the brains of young users, a famous scientist has warned．Sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Bebo are said to shorten attention spans （幅度）, encourage instant satisfaction and make children more self-centered．
Warnings from neuroscientist （神经系统科学家） Susan Greenfield will disturb the millions whose social lives depend on surfing their favorite websites each day．But they will strike a chord （弦） with parents and teachers who complain that many teenagers lack the ability to communicate or concentrate away from their screens．
More than 150 million use Facebook to keep in touch with friends, share photographs and videos and post regular updates of their movements and thoughts．A further six million have signed up to Twitter, the "micro-blogging" service that lets users exchange text messages about themselves．But while the sites are popular and extremely profitable, a growing number of psychologists and neuroscientists believe they may be doing more harm than good．
Baroness Tarot, an Oxford University neuroscientist believes repeated exposure could rewire the brain．Computer games and fast-paced TV shows were also a factor, she said．"My fear is that these technologies are weakening the brain to the state of small children who are attracted by buzzing noises and bright lights, who have a small attention span and live for the moment．" "I often wonder whether real conversation in real time may eventually give way to these easier and faster screen dialogues, in much the same way as killing and butchering an animal to eat has been replaced by the convenience of packages on the supermarket shelf," she said．
Psychologists have also argued that digital technology is changing the way we think．They point out that students no longer need to plan their term papers before starting to write—thanks to word processors they can edit as they go along．
A study by the Broadcaster Audience Board found teenagers now spend seven and a half hours a day in front of a screen．Educational psychologist Jane Healy believes children should be kept away from computer games until they are seven．Most games only excite the "flight or fight" areas of the brain, rather than the areas responsible reasoning．
Sue Palmer, author of Toxic Childhood, said: "We are seeing children's brain development damaged because they don't engage in the activity they have engaged in for thousands of years．I'm not against technology and computers．But before they start social networking, they need to learn to make real relationships with people．"
【小题1】.
According to the passage, social networking websites might _____．

A．make young users more selfish

B．lengthen young users' attention span

C．encourage young users constant satisfaction

D．help young users communicate better with their families

【小题2】.
A neuroscientist may worry that sites like Facebook may ______．

A．help children learn to make real relationships with people in society

B．encourage students not to plan their term papers before starting to write

C．disturb those whose social lives depend on surfing their favorite websites

D．make real conversation in real time give way to easier and faster screen dialogue

【小题3】.
From the passage we can infer that _____．

A．Baroness Tarot agrees websites cause small children's small attention span

B．Jane Healy believes computer games can do good to children's reasoning

C．Susan Greenfield's warnings have been brought to wide public attention

D．Sue Palmer's book Toxic Childhood discusses the development of networking

【小题4】.
What is the purpose of this passage?

A．To tell us the conflict between neuroscientists and psychologists on websites．

B．To present some negative opinions on social networking websites．

C．To offer advice on the problem of brain damage caused by social networking．

D．To analyse how social networking websites cause damage in the brains of teenagers．

The conflict(争执) over what or how much homework should be comes partly from the fact that people can't seem to agree on the purpose of homework.

What teachers think?

Some teachers think that homework is necessary to reinforce(巩固)what is learned in school. And so they ask their students to memorize what was discussed in class through homework..

Some teachers think the point of homework is to cover material that the class didn't have time to get to, so their homework is to let students learn additional things.

Other teachers like homework simply because they want students to form work habits and still others believe homework is necessary because it is the best way for parents to learn what their children do in school.

Parents' ideas.

But many parents seem to have different ideas.

Elissa Cohen,who has twins at Lafayette Elementary School, doesn't like the fact that third-grade students in DC elementary schools are asked to write about 25 book summaries a year. “They do the same thing over and over without really getting into alternate(交替) ways of thinking about books and thinking about reading and writing. ”

Experts' opinions.

Some education reformers (改革者), such as Howard Gardner, a Harvard University, professor well-known for his theory on multiple intelligence(智力), think that Cohen is on the right track. But it is often hard to persuade overworked teachers to give much thought to homework tasks.

60. How many opinions do the teachers have on "homework"?

A. 3.            B. 4.          C. 5          D.6

61. According to the experts' opinions,

A. teachers should give necessary work to the students

B. teachers should not work too hard or too long

C. teachers should let the students repeat what they didn't have time to get in class

D. what Cohen's thinking about is correct

62. What's the problem with Elissa Cohen's twins in writing about their book report?

A. They find homework really hard.

B. They simply copy one repeatedly.

C. They aren't given much thinking about what they read.

D. They get different ways of thinking about their work.