题目列表(包括答案和解析)
For a 400-year-old art form, opera had a bad fame: overweight actresses singing the words which were hard to understand in one of those romantic languages you were supposed to learn in high school. And with tickets costing as much as $145 a performance, operagoers also had a certain appearance in people’s mind: rich, well-dressed and old.
But now opera companies around the country are loosening their ties and kicking off their shoes in an attempt to keep opera alive and take it to a younger and not so wealthy audience.
Opera producers have found that to attract this crowd, they need to associate opera with the common people. That means no formal suits, old-styled theatre or bank-breaking ticket prices. And because young people don’t or won’t come to the opera, companies are bringing the opera to them, giving performances in such usual places as parks, libraries and public schools.
The Houston Grand Opera’s choice is the public library, where it performs “mobile operas”, shortened versions of child-friendly operas. This summer’s production is Hansel & Gretel. By performing smaller versions of large productions, producers are able to make people interested while keeping costs at a reasonable level. The San Francisco Opera, which will be celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is staging Cinderella free of charge, keeping costs down by employing students from its Young Artists’ Training Program.
1.Which is the main idea of this passage?
A. Opera is famous for its long history.
B. Opera is only performed for rich people.
C. Opera companies are trying to keep opera alive.
D. Young people are not interested in opera.
2.The underlined phrase in the second paragraph means _________.
A. breaking up the old rules B. changing the dresses
C. making the audience at ease D. advertising themselves
3.Opera companies prefer to perform short versions because _________.
A. they can be performed in public libraries
B. short versions are easy to perform
C. it is hard to find long versions
D. they can make people interested
4.The San Francisco Opera employs students in order to _________.
A. celebrate its 75th anniversary
B. reduce the cost
C. attract young people
D. make Cinderella popular
5. From the passage we can infer that _________.
A. the tickets for opera are very expensive
B. opera is performed in a difficult language
C. opera is not so popular an art form today
D. students enjoy performing opera very much
A single night of taking the drug Ecstasy (摇头丸) can cause serious brain damage and speed up the start of Parkinson’s disease（帕金森综合症）, scientists say. Just two or three Ecstasy tablets can permanently destroy brain cells that affect movement and reasoning, according to American research that links the drug to Parkinson’s for the first time.
A study by a team at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, involving squirrel monkeys and baboons (狒狒) found that both species suffered permanent damage to key cells, which are lost in Parkinson’s, after receiving three low doses（剂量）of Ecstasy at three-hour periods.
The study is particularly important because baboons are one of the best animal models for the human brain. George Ricaurte, who led the research, said that the widespread abuse of drug might have caused severe damage. “The most troubling result is that young adults using Ecstasy may be increasing their risk of developing Parkinsonism as they get older.”
Alan Leshner, a former director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, said, “This study emphasizes the multi-aspect damage that Ecstasy causes to users. We’ve long known that repeated use damages brain cells. But this study shows that even very occasional（偶尔） use can have long-lasting effects on many different brain systems. It sends an important message to young people: don’t experiment with your own brain.”
Janet Betts, a mother whose teenage daughter Leah died after a single Ecstasy tablet in 1995, said, “This comes as no surprise. But people can’t see the effects at first, and they say it won’t happen to them. We’ll see the symptoms later, just as we have with smoking.”
1.The article is intended to ______.
A．explain the bad effects of drugs on people’s health
B．warn young people of the risk of taking the drug Ecstasy
C．persuade people out of such bad habits as smoking and using drugs
D．tell us the links between the drug Ecstasy and the animal models
2.We know from the passage that a low dose of Ecstasy ______.
A．can permanently destroy one’s brain cells
B．can cause serious brain damage occasionally
C．will result in immediate symptoms
D．may bring on Parkinson’s at once
3.Why are squirrel monkeys and baboons involved in the experiments?
A．Because these animals usually take drugs.
B．Because their brain is similar to human beings.
C．Because there is a model in the animals’ brains.
D．Because they will soon get well after the experiment.
4.The underlined word “it” in the last paragraph probably refers to” ”.
A．Leah’s death after a single tablet
B．the symptoms after smoking
C．the damage to the brain systems
D．repeated use of the drug
Five years ago, David Smith wore an expensive suit to work every day. “I was a clothes addict,” he jokes. “I used to carry a fresh suit to work with me so I could change if my clothes got wrinkled.” Today David wears casual clothes—khaki pants and sports shirt—to the office. He hardly ever wears necktie. “I’m working harder than ever,” David says, “and I need to feel comfortable.”
More and more companies are allowing their office workers to wear casual clothes to work in the United States. The change from formal to casual office wear has been gradual. In the early 1990s, many companies allowed their employees to wear casual clothes on Friday(but only on Friday). This became known as “dress-down Friday” or “casual Friday.” “What started out as an extra one-day-a-week benefit for employees has really become an everyday thing,” said business consultant Maisly Jones.
Why have so many companies started allowing their employees to wear casual clothes? One reason is that it’s easier for a company to attract new employees if it has a casual dress code. “A lot of young people don’t want to dress up for work,” says the owner of a software company, “so it’s hard to hire people if you have a conservative dress code.” Another reason is that people seem happier and more productive when they are wearing comfortable clothes. In a study conducted by Levi Strauss and Company, 85 percent of employers said that they believe that casual dress improves employee morale(士气). Only 4 percent of employers said that casual dress has a negative impact on productive. Supporters of casual office wear also argue that a casual dress code helps them save money. “Suits are expensive, if you have to wear one every day,” one person said. “For the same amount of money, you can buy a lot more casual clothes.”
1.David Smith refers to himself as having been “a clothes addict” because .
A. he often wore khaki pants and a sports shirt
B. he couldn’t stand a clean appearance
C. he wanted his clothes to look neat all the time
D. he didn’t want to spend much money on clothes
2.David Smith wears casual clothes now, because .
A. they make him feel at ease when working
B. he cannot afford to buy expensive clothes
C. he looks handsome in casual clothes
D. he no longer works for any company
3.According to this passage, which of the following statements is FALSE?
A. Many employees don’t like a conservative dress code.
B. Comfortable clothes make employees more productive.
C. A casual clothes code is welcomed by young employees.
D. All the employers in the US are for casual office wear.
4.In this passage, the following advantages of casual office wear are mentioned EXCEPT .
A. saving employees’ money
B. making employees more attractive
C. improving employees’ motivation
D. making employees happier
Tens of thousands of theatre tickets will be given away to young people next year as part of a government campaign to inspire a lifelong love for theatre.
The plan to offer free seats to people aged between 18 to 26—funded with £2.5 million of taxpayers’ money—was announced yesterday by Andy Burnham, the Culture Secretary. It received a cautious welcome from some in the arts world, who expressed concern that the tickets may not reach the most underprivileged.
The plan comes as West End theatres are enjoying record audiences, thanks largely to musicals teaming up with television talent shows. Attendances reached. 13.6 million in 2007, up 10 percent on 2006, itself a record year. Total sales were up 18 percent on 2006 to almost £470 million.
One theatre source criticised the Government’s priorities(优先考虑的事) in funding free tickets when pensioners were struggling to buy food and fuel, saying: “I don’t know why the Government’s wasting money on this. The Yong Vic, as The Times reported today, offers excellent performances at cheap prices.”
There was praise for the Government’s plan from Dominic Cooke of the Royal Court Theatre, who said: “I support any move to get young people into theatre, and especially one that aims to do it all over England, not just in London.”
Ninety-five publicly funded theatres could apply for funding under the two-year plan. In return, they will offer free tickets on at least one day each week to 18 to 26-year-olds, first-come, first-served. It is likely to be on Mondays, traditionally a quiet night for the theatre.
Mr. Burnham said: “A young person attending the theatre can find it an exciting experience, and be inspired to explore a new world. But sometimes people miss out on it because they fear it’s ‘not for them’. It’s time to change this perception.”
Jeremy Hunt, the Shadow Culture Secretary, said: “The real issue is not getting enthusiastic children into the theatre, but improving arts education so that more young people want to go in the first place. For too many children theatres are a no-go area.”
【小题1】Critics of the plan argued that ______.
| A．the theatres would be overcrowded |
| B．it would be a waste of money |
| C．pensioners wouldn’t get free tickets |
| D．the government wouldn’t be able to afford it |
| A．benefit the television industry |
| B．focus on producing better plays |
| C．help increase the sales of tickets |
| D．involve all the young people in England |
| A．Ninety-five theatres have received funding. |
| B．Everyone will get at least one free ticket. |
| C．It may not benefit all the young people. |
| D．Free tickets are offered once every day. |
| A．many plays are not for young people |
| B．many young people don’t like theatre |
| C．people know little about the plan |
| D．children used to receive good arts education |
| A．controversial | B．inspiring | C．exciting | D．unreasonable |
If you dream in color, you’re not alone: the majority of people today claim to have colorful dreams. But it wasn’t always thus. Research conducted in the early part of the last century consistently found that people reported dreaming most often in black and white.
According to Eva Murzyn at the University of Dundee, there are at least two possible explanations for this strange situation.
The first is the methods used in the researches. The early studies tended to use questionnaires（问卷）, while more modern studies use dream diaries (filled in upon rising in the morning) or so-called “REM-awakening”, which involves interrupting people’s dream-filled periods of sleep to find out what they were dreaming about. People’s memories of their dreams are likely to be less accurate by using the questionnaire approach and they are more likely to reflect their beliefs about the form dreams generally take in an unclear way.
The second explanation has to do with black and white television and film. It's possible that the sudden increase in black and white film and television during the first half of the last century either affected the form of people’s dreams at that time, or affected their beliefs about the form dreams generally take.
According to Murzyn’s findings, it’s the explanation based on media exposure that carries more weight. She used both questionnaire and diary methods to study the dreams of 30 older (average age 64) and 30 younger people (average age 21).
The methodological technique made no difference to the type of dreams people reported. However, the extremely important thing was that, across both questionnaires and diaries, the older participants (who had had significant early life exposure to black and white media) reported experiencing significantly more black and white dreams over the last ten days than the younger participants (22 per cent vs. 4 per cent).
Another finding was that older participants reported black and white dreams and colorful dreams to be of equal clearness. By contrast, the younger participants reported that the quality of black and white dreams was poorer. This raises the possibility that the younger participants didn’t really have any black and white dreams at all, but were simply regarding poorly remembered dreams as black and white.
1.We learn from the text that ______.
A. people in the first half of the last century never had colorful dreams
B. older people are more likely to have black and white dreams
C. the dreams of younger people are always colorful
D. people today don’t have white and black dreams any more
2.What did Murxyn do to find out the explanations for the colors in people’s dreams?
A. She applied both questionnaire and diary methods to study people’s dreams.
B. She used diary methods to record people’s dreams.
C. She chose 60 people to answer her questions about their dreams.
D. She woke people up to record the colors of their dreams.
3.What does the underlined expression “carry more weight” in paragraph 5 mean?
A. be heavier B. be more powerful C. be more important D. be more useful
4.From Murxyn’s findings we can infer that ______.
A. both older people and younger people could report colorful dreams clearly
B. young people don’t have any black and white dreams in fact
C. the color of a person’s dream is decided by one’s age
D. it is probably the color of media that affects the color of one’s dream
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