Mistrust Mars Zhengzhou Ride-share Effort

More than 300 private car owners from a central Chinese city volunteered to offer free rides to citizens to ease crowded public transportation, but many local people didn't accept the offer for fear of being cheated.

The ride-share program was begun in October in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, when Ye Zhantong, a private car driver, started to gather volunteers to offer the free service. The drivers tied a green silk ribbon (丝带) on the car to differentiate themselves from unlicensed taxi drivers. But the free rides haven't been popular among the public as increasing reports of dishonesty have dried up many local citizens' trust towards strangers.

Ye said some of the volunteers have dropped out after they felt their kind intention was being questioned. Passersby walking in heavy rainfall or passengers who missed a bus would remain silent and walk away when the volunteers would stop and offer a ride.

“It's so common that people give us the cold shoulder, and sometimes, take our kindness as ill will,” said one of Ye's volunteers, identified as Binge. “Many would even say: 'Let's get out of here quickly to avoid being cheated by him.'” Some commenters on Weibo explained why they hesitated to participate in a ride-share program. “Trusting a stranger might bring huge risks. I can't take the risk,” one Internet user wrote.

Some said Ye's group wasn't authorized, and cheaters pretending to be kind drivers might volunteer. They suggested traffic authorities issue rules to regulate, protect and promote ride-share programs.

61. The ride-share cars were driven by _____ drivers.

A. licensed taxi         B. unlicensed taxi          C. private car               D. specially-trained

62. Some of the ride-share car drivers _____ .

A. were forced to join Ye’s group                   B. once behaved dishonestly

C. offered free rides only to acquaintances             D. have left Ye’s group

63. The free rides haven't been popular among the public because _____.

A. people often have enough time to wait         B. some think the drivers are cheaters

C. there are many taxies available                    D. many people choose to save money

64. Which correctly explains the expression “give sb. the cold shoulder”?

A. To be unfriendly to sb. .                                   B. To help sb. unwillingly.

C. To sit silently beside sb. .                          D. To try hard to support sb. .

65. The underlined word “mar” in the title possibly means “ _____”.

A. make sth. work the way it should                     B. make sth. less attractive or enjoyable

C.       help sth. to develop or increase                  D. damage sth. so badly that it no longer exists

Women who want to succeed at work should resist the temptation to act like men, scientists have said. Studies show that ambitious women are often less likely to get ahead than those who show more female characteristics. However, if they try to adapt, promotion comes their way. The findings, which will let assertive (过分自信的) women down, suggest that the best way for a woman to succeed in a man’s world is to act like a lady.
Past research has shown that women with self-confidence and other characteristics linked with successful management can be put aside at work in favor of gentle types. It is thought that while such characteristics are highly praised in men, ambitious women are penalized for not being feminine enough. Instead of being seen as strong managers, ambitious women are in an unfavorable situation.
In one US study, researchers explored personal details from university students applying for a summer job at a bank. A women applicant who attempted to apply for special wages to pay her transport or living costs was three and a half times less likely to get a job offer than a similar male. In fact, this kind of woman was the least likely to get taken on.
The latest study set out to explore what women who are naturally assertive could do to get ahead in the workplace. Eighty young men and women completed surveys about their personality while studying in college. Around eight years later, the researchers got back in touch with them to find out how their careers were going. Some had been promoted five times, others just once or twice. The results showed that ambitious women who stick to their decisions had been promoted less than more feminine groups. But the ambitious women who made a conscious effort to not appear to be threatening by “self-controlling” their behavior had done better than those who had carried on ignoring others’ views.
【小题1】 What does the underlined word “penalized” mean in the second paragraph?

Water costs money．In some places water is hard  1  ．What  2  when a town
has these problems？A small town in California found a happy  3．
　　Very little rain ever fell there．The town had no water of its own．The water it used was 4 from a river 300 miles away．As more people  5  live in the town，  6   water was needed．Now water 7  to be brought in from 600 miles away．All these cost 8  money．
　　The town  9  a plan．It found a way to clean its “dirty” water．Once the cleaned water was reused  10  many ways．Five man-made lakes were built．Here people could swim and fish and go  11  ．They could have picnics in their new parks．Farmers had more water  12  their crops．New factories can be built，now that they have the promise of 13  ．
　　In most places，water is used and thrown 14  ．The town that saved  15  water
has saved the town！

Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s?  The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．
There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for direction and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿）are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．”says a biologist．
【小题1】Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph? ________．

One day at the day care centre（日间托儿所）I watched a mother try to pick up her daughter. The girl wanted to go to McDonald’s. The mother replied, “Susie, not tonight. Maybe we can go tomorrow.”. Susie  16 dropped to the floor, kicking and screaming. “I want to …”
Her mother tried to  17  Susie’s tantrum（发脾气）. Finally her mother  18 . I was surprised that we could have almost anything we wanted by throwing a tantrum.
That day my mother 19 me up early because we were going to a department to do the shopping for 20  Day. I was excited to see a toy telephone. Looking lovingly 21 at my mother, I asked, “Can I have that telephone?”
She replied, “Baby, not now, but  22 you are a good girl, maybe Santa Clause will 23 you.” “But Mama, I want that telephone right now,” I said. My mother’s eyes   24 and her hand tightened（紧握）on mine. “Becky, you   25 have that telephone today, and if you  26 you can have a spanking（打屁股）.”
We were standing in the long   27 ,and I knew from my experience that it was now or   28 . So I lay down on the ground and began screaming, “I want that telephone.” Tired Christmas   29 looked as my mother calmly said, “Becky, you’d better get up by the   30 of three or else.” “One…Two…Three.” But I was   31 in full tantrum. Then she lay down beside me on the   32
and began screaming, “I want a new car, I want some jewellery, I want…”
  33 , I stood up. “Mama, stop, Mama, get up,” I tearfully 34 .
She stood up. The others waiting began to laugh. The next thirty minutes was complete  35 for me. Then one parent said to me with a smile, “I bet you’ll never try that again”.