题目内容

Our quarrel with efficiency is not that it gets things done, but that it is a thief of time when it leaves us no leisure to enjoy ourselves, and that it strains our nerves when we try to get things done perfectly. In building bridges, American engineers calculate so finely and exactly as to make the two ends come together within one-tenth of an inch. But when two Chinese begin to dig a tunnel from both sides of a mountain both come out on the other side. --The Chinese’s firm belief is that it doesn’t matter so long as a tunnel is dug through, and if we have two instead of one, why, we have a double track to boot.

The pace of modern industrial life forbids this kind of glorious and magnificent idling. But, worse than that, it imposes upon us a different conception of time as measured by the clock and eventually turns the human being into a clock himself. (This sort of thing is bound to come to China, as is evident, for instance, in the case of a factory of twenty thousand worker. The luxurious prospect of twenty thousand workers coming in at their own sweet pleasure at all hours is, of course, somewhat terrifying.)Nevertheless, such efficiency is what makes life so hard and full of excitement. A man who has to be punctually at a certain place at five o’clock has the whole afternoon from one to five ruined for him already. Every American adult is arranging his time on the pattern of the schoolboy - three o’clock for this, five o’clock for that, six-thirty for change of dress, six-fifty for entering the taxi, and seven o’clock for arriving at the destination. It just makes life not worth living.

1.The writer objects to efficiency mainly on the grounds that it ____.

A. entitles us to too much leisure time

B. deprives us of leisure time

C. urges us to get things done punctually

D. imposes on us a perfect concept of time

2. In the eyes of the author, the introduction of industrial life gives rise to ____.

A. more emphasis on efficiency

B. magnificent idling of time

C. the excitement of life

D. terrifying schoolboy

3.The passage tells us ____.

A. Chinese workers come to work when it is convenient

B. Americans ought not to work so hard for efficiency

C. Chinese engineers are on better terms with the management

D. all Americans are forced to be efficient against their will

4.What is implied but NOT stated by the author is that ____.

A. every American is arranging his time in the pattern of a schoolboy

B. every American is reluctant to be efficient

C. every one should have some time to spend as he pleases

D. being punctual is an undesirable habit which should not be formed

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Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on neighboring farms fell into conflict (冲突). It was the first serious one between them in 40 years of farming peacefully side by side. In the end, they fell apart.

One morning, a man with a carpenter's toolbox came for some work. The elder brother said, “I just have a job for you. Look at the farm across the creek (河沟). My younger brother lives there. It was he who used his bulldozer (推土机) to dig the creek last week to spite (刁难) me. So I want you to build me a fence, an 8?foot?high fence, in order not to see his place any more.” The carpenter smiled and said, “I see. I'll try to do a job that satisfies you.” Then the elder brother went downtown.

At sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes opened wide! To his surprise, there was no fence there at all! Instead, there was a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work! He saw his younger brother coming to him with the hands outstretching. The brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other's hands. They turned to see the carpenter lift his toolbox on his shoulder. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other work for you,” said the elder brother. “I'd love to stay on,” the carpenter said, “but I have so many more bridges to build.”

1.What was the life like for the two brothers before the conflict?

A. They lived a poor life.

B. They lived in peace.

C. They never spoke to each other.

D. They lived on the same farm.

2.It can be learned that the carpenter was ________.

A. unwilling to obey the farmer

B. fond of building bridges

C. unable to build a fence

D. willing to help others

3.The best title for this passage is ________.

A. A Fine Piece of Work

B. A Carpenter

C. A Conflict Between Two Brothers

D. Two Brothers

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The elder brother used his bulldozer to dig a creek.

B. The elder brother helped the carpenter build the bridge.

C. The brothers were both satisfied with the carpenter's work.

D. The carpenter planned to build an 8?foot?high fence as asked to.

Our body clock, or natural body rhythm, influences our energy and alertness. Paying attention to it can help us choose the suitable time of the day when we best perform specific tasks.

The reality, however, is that most of us organize the time around work demands, school deadlines, commuting or social events. Doing whatever the body feels like doing is a luxury in today’s fast-paced modern society.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth trying. Obeying our body clock has significant health benefits. Disrupting our natural body rhythm, on the other hand, has been linked to problems such as depression, obesity, or headache, says Steve Key, a biology professor.

When the body clock can synchronize (使……同步) the rhythms of its natural processes, it “gives us an advantage in daily life”, says Key.

According to him, when it comes to cognitive (认知的) work, most adults perform best in the late morning. As our body temperature starts to rise just before awakening in the morning and continues to increase until midday, our memory, alertness and concentration gradually improve.

However, he adds, our ability to concentrate typically starts to decrease soon thereafter. Most of us are more easily distracted (分心) between noon and 4 pm.

Alertness also tends to fall after eating a meal and sleepiness tends to peak around 2 pm, making that a good time for a nap.

Surprisingly, tiredness may increase our creative powers. For most adults, problems that require open-ended thinking are often best dealt with in the evening when they are tired, according to a study in the journal Thinking & Reasoning.

When choosing a time of the day to exercise, paying attention to your body clock can improve results. Physical performance is usually best from about 3 to 6 pm, says Michael Smolensky, a professor of biomedical engineering.

Of course, not everyone’s body clock is the same, making it even harder to synchronize natural rhythms with daily plans.

1.If we know our natural body rhythm well, we can ______.

A. find out the suitable time to do specific tasks

B. organize our time around work demands

C. do whatever our body feels like doing

D. be sure to be healthy

2.Which of the following is NOT true?

A. Our alertness is influenced by our natural body rhythm.

B. Doing whatever your body feels like is very difficult in our modern society.

C. Obeying our body clock is good for our health.

D. Disrupting our natural body rhythm must lead to obesity.

3.Inspiration (灵感) to solve a difficult problem will most probably come to us

______.

A. when we get up in the morning

B. when we are tired in the evening

C. when we are full of energy in the late morning

D. when we are asleep at night

4.Which of the following can be the suitable title for the passage?

A. What is natural body rhythm?

B. Natural body rhythm is good for us.

C. Something about natural body rhythm.

D. The latest research about natural body rhythm.

When building houses, people used to think about not only the climate of the areas but also the building materials and the fashions for their houses. However, since electricity became more and more expensive, people began to pay much more attention to the energy they could get for their houses and the new ways they could find to protect their houses from both cold and heat.

Houses of an old yet new type have been widely built. In some parts of the world, people share their houses with their livestock (家畜). During cold weather, they gather their cows, goats, or other animals and keep them on the first floor of their houses. The reasons are that the animals can be protected from the cold and that they can help to heat the houses as well. The body heat given off by the animals rises to the second floor of the houses, where people live. By sharing their houses with their livestock, people gain a source of heat.

People who live in or near cities do not usually keep livestock. However, home builders use the fact that heat rises. This natural law can be used in building houses in these areas. Instead of keeping livestock on the first floor, builders fill it with large rocks. As they are open to the sun’s rays during cold weather, these rocks take in heat. They also give off the heat, and, of course, the warm air rises into the living areas of the houses. So these houses are energy saving.

House building becomes a great challenge to building designers and energy engineers. They try to meet this challenge by learning from old traditions and by using modern technology. And someday in the future, people will be able to live in more energy saving houses.

1.What did people begin to consider as electricity was no longer cheap?

A.The climate of their areas

B.The energy for their houses

C.The fashions for their houses

D.The building materials for their houses

2.People in some areas gain a source of heat by _________.

A.Keeping their livestock downstairs

B.Protecting their livestock from the cold

C.Sharing their houses only with their cows

D.Living on the second floor with their livestock

3.The underlined words “natural law” in the third paragraph refer to the fact that ________.

A.Heat raises the temperature in the houses

B.Heat increases the temperature of rocks

C.Heat goes up if temperature is raised

D.Heat goes in the upward direction

4.From the passage, we can infer that __________.

A.People will no longer consider building materials in the future

B.Energy saving buildings will become more popular in the future

C.Almost all people will move into the houses heated by large rocks

D.Energy engineers will devote themselves only to modern technology.

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