题目内容
Today even ordinary people understand that the universe is something larger than ever ____ before.
A. think B. to think C. thought D. thinking
C
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It’s not uncommon in America for a person to belong to some kind of volunteer group. Donating one’s time and services is very much a part of the American way of life. Most charitable activities are organized by churches and groups around the nation and even encouraged by the government. The helping hand is extended to the poor， the homeless and the disabled. Some people work to teach youngsters how to read. Others open up soup kitchens to feed the homeless. Volunteers also take care of the disabled by making reading tapes for the blind and working in orphanages（孤儿院）to help children without parents.
High school students are often encouraged to become volunteers and many school club activities center around volunteer services. Students may work with disabled children during a summer program， or participate in a club activity which helps to bring meal to senior citizens who are shut-ins. With their sense of idealism（理想主义）students are often eager to donate their spare time. They see such activities as a way of becoming involved in the community and the adult-world. Social action for them becomes as important as their academic studies.
In a like manner， throughout the year，fund raising drives are also conducted by schools and community groups to raise money for a worthy cause. They may respond to a recent earthquake in a foreign country， a flood somewhere within their own， or another natural disaster which has left people destitute and homeless. They may organize drives to collect food， clothing and medicines to serve an immediate need. Today even the Halloween custom of ‘trick or treat’has become an occasion to collect money for a charitable cause.
The motive to help those less fortunate comes from the poor origins of the American nation. Those immigrants who were poor and downtrodden（受压迫的）became dependent on the kindness of their neighbors to make a new life for themselves.
American volunteers work throughout the world in less developed countries. They volunteer by serving as a champion of goodwill both at home and abroad， which no doubt enriches both his life and those whom he serves.
【小题1】 Which of the following charitable activities is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Some people open up soup kitchens to feed homeless people. |
| B．Some students bring meals to old people who can’t go out easily. |
| C．Some people collect money to help a foreign country with a recent earthquake. |
| D．Some students donate books to children in mountainous areas. |
| A．Because they want to participate in some social activities. |
| B．Because they want to go to better universities. |
| C．Because they can get higher scores at school. |
| D．Because they can realize their dream sooner. |
| A．lifeless | B． penniless | C．useless | D．valueless |
| A．Americans are always ready to share with others |
| B．Americans are mostly kind |
| C．poor immigrants needed help badly |
| D．poor Americans couldn’t live on without help |
| A．The Call from the Poor | B．Voluntary Work in the US |
| C．Ways to help the Poor | D．American Volunteers Around the World |
Just 25 years ago, the top three career hopes for young people in Britain were teacher, banker and doctor. Now, they want to be sports star, pop star and actor, according to a survey by the Guardian newspaper.
Rachel, a character in the popular TV show Glee, may be said to speak for British teenagers. “Nowa
days being nobody is worse than being poor.” He said.
Emma Brockes, a reporter with the Guardian, believes it is “the bad influence of celebrity(名人) culture” that is to blame. “When children wanted to be doctor, it wasn’t because they were really more interested in the functions of human organs than they are now; you go where the respect is.” She wrote.
It could explain why there has been such an increase in levels of anxiety and depression. Dr Carlo Stranger, of Tel Aviv University, studied the sense of self for his new book The Fear of Insignificance: Searching for Meaning in the 21st Century. He told the Daily Mail that young people now are “affected by the close connection to the global entertainment network, which has turned ranking and rating people according to wealth and celebrity into an obsession(痴迷).”
“As humans, we naturally measure ourselves to those around us, but now we live in a global village. We are comparing ourselves with the most ‘important’ people in the world and finding ourselves wanting…” he said. Today, even high achievers constantly fear that they are insignificant when they compare themselves to success stories in the media.
The way out? Simply stop measuring your achievement through a fantasy of wealth and celebrity. Dr Strenger said that it is a process called “active self-acceptance through a constant search for self-knowledge through life.”
“The fear of insignificance can only be overcome through strong individual and cultural identity over and above measurable achievement,” he said.
【小题1】.Nowadays, young people in Britain want to .
| A．choose jobs based on interests | B．become famous |
| C．be teacher, banker and doctor | D．earn more money |
| A．Choices of future careers. | B．Access to the global network. |
| C．Bad influences of celebrities. | D．Endless comparison with others. |
| A．He is a newspaper reporter. | B．He is the spokesman of teenagers. |
| C．He tells success stories on TV. | D．He is against ranking people with wealth. |
| A．seek active self-acceptance | B．stick to their own dreams |
| C．make great achievements | D．search for the secret of wealth |
| A．talk about job choices | B．analyse a social phenomenon |
| C．encourage celebrity culture | D．introduce three famous people |
London: It’s well known that Charles Darwin’s famous theory of evolution annoyed many people because it was against the Biblical view of creation. But few know that it also created problems for Darwin at home with his deeply religious wife, Emma.
“Darwin held back the publication of On the Origin of Species to avoid offending (触怒) his wife,” says Ruth Padel, the naturalist’s great – great – granddaughter. “Emma told him that he seemed to be putting God further and further off”, Padel says in her north London home. “But they talked it through, and Emma once said, ‘Don’t change any of your ideas for fear of hurting me.’”
As the world celebrates the 200th birthday of the man who changed scientific thought forever and the 150th anniversary of his book today, even his opponents admitted he was a giant figure.
Though opposition to his theory continues, it is the elegant explanation of how species evolutes through natural selection that makes his 200th birthday such a major event.
More than 300 celebrations have been planned in Britain alone, where Darwin's face graces (使增光)the 10-pound bill along with that of Queen Elizabeth II.
Shrewsbury, the central England town where Darwin was born and raised, is holding a month-long festival for its most famous son. Down House, his former home near London, will hold a permanent exhibition recreating some of his most famous experiments.
Many more events have been planned all over the world.
What would he be doing if he were alive today? Padel thinks he would properly be studying DNA and the immune system.
【小题1】The main purpose of the author is .
| A．to say something about Darwin and his wife |
| B．to introduce Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution |
| C．to sing high praise for the book On the Origin of Species |
| D．to report some celebrations of Darwin’s 200th birthday and the 150th anniversary of his books |
| A．Everyone agrees with Darwin now. |
| B．Darwin was brought up in Shrewsbury. |
| C．Emma was not really fond of his theory. |
| D．Darwin was very interested in living things. |
| A．prevented from | B．kept a secret | C．cared about | D．put off |
| A．a scientific report | B．a news report |
| C．an English composition | D．a text |
Edward Wilson is America’s, if not the world’s, leading naturalist. In The Future of Life, he takes us on a tour of the world’s natural resources(资源). How are they used? What has been lost? What remains and is it able to continue with the present speed of use? Wilson also points out the need to understand fully the biodiversity(生物多样性)of our earth.
Wilson begins with an open letter to the pioneer in environment (环境) protection, Henry David Thoreau. He compares today’s Walden Pond with that of Thoreau’s day. Wilson will use such comparisons for the rest of the book. The problem is clear: man has done great damage to his home over the years. Can the earth, with human help, be made to return to biodiversity levels that will be able to support us in the future?
Biodiversity, Wilson argues, is the key to settling many problems the earth faces today. Even our agricultural crops can gain advantages from it. A mere hundred species(物种) are the basis of our food supply, of which but twenty carry the load. Wilson suggests changing this situation by looking into ten thousand species that could be made use of, which will be a way to reduce the clearing of the natural homes of plants and animals to enlarge farming areas.
At the end of the book, Wilson discusses the importance of human values in considering the environment. If you are to continue to live on the earth, you may well read and act on the ideas in this book.
1. We learn form the text that Wilson cares most about ______
|
A．the environment for plants |
B．the biodiversity of our earth |
|
C．the wastes of natural resources |
D．the importance of human values |
2. How many species are most important to our present food supply?
|
A．Twenty. |
B．Eighty. |
C．One hundred |
D．Ten thousand. |
3. Wilson suggests that one way to keep biodiversity is to _______.
|
A．learn how to farm scientifically |
|
B．build homes for some dying species |
|
C．make it clear what to eat |
|
D．use more species for food |
4. We can infer that the text is _______
|
A．a description of natural resources |
|
B．a research report |
|
C．a book review |
|
D．an introduction to a scientist. |
5. Edward Wilson is _______
|
A．a pioneer in environment protection |
|
B．an American scientist in environment protection |
|
C．a world-famous scientist in Asia |
|
D．a well-known expert in nature in U.S.A |