题目内容
As school starts again, there's so much more for an American parent to nag (唠叨)about, like homework,bedtime and lost hours on the Internet.
But in the age of digital childhood,Jacky Longwell, 45 , of McLean, Virginia, often text – messages what she once told her children by mouth: Be nice to your brother; walk the dog; remember your reading.
This is the world of the modern family, in which even reminding children to do something has become electronic.
There are changes in how parents nag and in what they nag about and in how often of their nagging.
With technology," you nag more, and you are a little bit more precise (其体的)with your nagging,” said Reginald Black, 46, of Woodbridge. Virginia.
For many young people electronic nagging is part of the experience of growing up.
Charles Flowers, 17, a senior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, says his mother reminds him about everything from laundry, being on time to baseball practice and mowing the lawn by text.
When she uses capitals he knows she’s serious: GET HOME!
Some say technology has made nagging less annoying. Jacky Longwell thinks texts are less emotional than spoken messages and less likely to be resisted by teenagers.
“It’s not as painful for them to hear it by text. It becomes grouped with the friendly communication.” she said. “They can’t hear the nagging.”
She thinks a good way to do it is to mix friendliness with nagging. A parent can always start by saying hello.
Not all parents like the new electronic nagging. Joyce Bouchard, 51, a mother of four in Fairfax, Virginia , texts her 14 - year - old son but says that for many things-chores, homework-the old - fashioned way works better. Nagging by text has risks. She notes: “I always think, if you’re texting them something and they’re with their friends, they are getting a big laugh out of it.”
1. The main idea of the article is .
A. what American parents like to nag about
B. why American parents like to nag their children
C. how American parents began to nag their children by text messages
D. that electronic nagging is becoming common in the US
2. The example of Reginald Black is used to show readers .
A. that her nagging is thoughtful
B. that she likes nagging her children very much
C. the kind of skills a parent needs to nag effectively
D. how the amount and kind of nagging have changed with the arrival of the digital age
3. The underlined sentence “Nagging by text has risks.” most probably means “ “
A. Nagging messages may be resisted
B. Electronic nagging costs too much
C. Receiving texts is harmful to teenagers’ health
D. Parents are likely to be addicted to nagging by text
4. We can infer from the article that .
A. it’s better for parents to nag in a friendly way
B. if nagging is electronic, it is not annoying
C. American parents generally don’t like to nag
D. American parents like to use capital letters in messages
【小题1】D
【小题2】D
【小题3】A
【小题4】A
Ever thought you’d get to experience the smell of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair, or the scent(气味) of the sun? Visitors to the Reg Vardy Gallery will soon be able to do just that.
The gallery, at Sunderland University, England, is holding a new exhibition “If There Ever Was”. It focuses on scent rather than sight.
The innovative(创新的) idea is the brainchild of curator(馆长) Robert Blackson. His inspiration came from reading the book Fast Food Nation. The book discussed the use of artificial chemicals to flavor things such as milkshakes, making them smell and taste like strawberries, when they’re not actually made from them.
A smell can often conjure up(召唤) memories such as school dinners or a childhood holiday by the sea, but the smells on display, will allow visitors to experience smells their noses won’t have been able to pick out before.
“There’s a whole variety of different smells, including some extinct flowers,” explains Blackson. “Some have been gone for hundreds of years.”
One extraordinary fragrance(香气) is the aftermath(灾难的后果) of the first atomic bomb, dropped on Japan on August 6,1945.
There is also the smell of Clepatra’s hair, based on incense(熏香) that was popular among ancient Egyptians.
The Soviet Mir space station, which burnt up in the atmosphere in 2001, smells of charred(烧焦的) material (the space station caught fire).
Among the stranger smells is the “surface of the sun”.
“It is hard to sum up. It is an atmospheric smell, like walking into a room when the sun has been pouring in” says Blackson. “It gives a freshness, a sun kissed feel with a bit of metal. If you can say something smells hot, this is it.”
A team of 11, including perfume designers, have been working on recreating the smells for the exhibition. James Wong, a botanist(植物学家)at Botanic Gardens Conservation International, UK, helped in the recreation of the smells of four extinct flowering plants.
He did this by closely linking the extinct flowers with the smells of existing ones. With the help of historical reports of how the extinct flowers smelled, he was able to remix the aromas(芳香).
The exhibition runs until June 6.Fourteen extinct and impossible smells are on display.
【小题1】What might be the best title of the passage?
A.The Reg Vardy Gallery | B.Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair |
C.A visit to a new exhibition | D.The scents of ancient Egypt |
A.the scent of ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra’s hair |
B.the smells of charred material of the Soviet Mir space station |
C.the scent of having a childhood vacation by the sea |
D.the smell of the aftermath of the first atomic bomb dropped on Japan |
A.Visitors go to Reg Vardy Gallery to enjoy beautiful sights. |
B.James Wong managed to remix the aromas by referring to some historical reports. |
C.The exhibition will last until July 6. |
D.The scents visitors will smell are found in the tomb (坟墓) of the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra. |
A.Science | B.Education | C.Entertainment | D.Economy |
I began working in journalism when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel. It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence, and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
【小题1】Why did the boy start his job young?
A.He wanted to be famous in the future. | B.The job was quite easy for him. |
C.His mother had high hopes for him. | D.The competition for the job was fierce. |
A.excited | B.interested | C.ashamed | D.disappointed |
A.She forced him to continue. | B.She punished him. |
C.She gave him some money. | D.She changed her plan. |
A.The early life of a journalist. |
B.The early success of a journalist. |
C.The happy childhood of the writer. |
D.The important role of the writer in his family. |