E

Manners nowadays in big cities like London are particularly non-existent. It’s nothing for a big, strong schoolboy to elbow an elderly woman aside in the dash for the last remaining seat on the tube or bus, much less stand up and offer his seat to her.

This question of giving up seats in public transport is much argued by young men, who say that, since women have claimed equality, they no longer deserve to be treated with courtesy(谦恭有礼) and that those who go out to work should take their turn in the rat race like anyone else. Women have never claimed to be physically as strong as men. Even if it’s not agreed, however, that young men should stand up for older women, the fact remains that courtesy should be shown to the old, the sick and the burdened. Are we really so lost to all ideals of unselfishness that we can sit there indifferently reading the paper or a book, saying to ourselves “ First come, first served”, while a gray-haired woman, a mother with a young child or a cripple stands? Yet this is too often seen.

Older people, tired and easy annoyed from a day’s work, aren’t angels, either—far from it. Many a brisk argument or an insulting quarrel breaks out as the weary queues push and shove each other to get on buses and tubes. One cannot commend(推崇) this, of course, but one does feel there is just a little more excuse.

If cities are to remain pleasant places to live in at all, however, it seems necessary, not only that communication in transport should be improved, but also that communication between human beings should be kept smooth and polite. Shop assistant won’t bother to assist, taxi drivers growl at each other as they dash dangerously round corners, bus conductors pull the bell before their desperate passengers have had time to get on or off the bus, and so on. It seems to us that it’s up to the young and strong to do their small part to stop such deterioration (恶化).

1.What is the writer’s opinion concerning courteous manners towards women?

A. They no longer need to be treated differently from men.

B. Young men should give up their seats to young women.

C. “Lady first” should universally practiced.

D. Special consideration ought to be shown to them in some cases.

2.What does “ the rat race” in paragraph 2 probably mean in the passage?

A. A race that involves many people

B. A well-paid job

C. A fierce competition

D. A race for rats

3.According to the passage, communication between human beings would not be smoother unless ____.

A. people become more considerate towards each other

B. people are not so tired and easily annoyed

C. women are treated with more courtesy

D. public transport is improved

4.The main purpose of the passage is to ______.

A. call on people in big cities to pay more attention to politeness

B. blame the schoolboy’s rude behavior towards elderly women on tube or bus

C. criticize the fast pace of life in most of the big cities

D. tell young men to give their seats to elderly people and women

B

“Have you ever been out on a boat and felt it lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the rush of energy as waves came over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh. “There is certainly a lot of energy in waves,” he said. Scientists are working to use that energy to make electricity. Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean. “The wind starts out by making little ripples(涟漪), but if they keep on blowing, those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves,” Taylor said. “Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey.” When waves come toward the shore, people can set up dams to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine(涡轮机). The turbine can then power an electrical generator to produce electricity.

“The resource is huge,” said Janet Swain of the World Watch Institute. “We will never run out of wave power.” Besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil or coal. Oceans cover three quarters of the Earth’s surface—that would make wave power seem ideal for creating energy throughout the world, though there are some weak points yet to overcome.

Swain said that wave power still costs too much money. She also said that its effects on sea animals are still unknown. What is more, wave power could affect fishing and boat traffic. Traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may someday run out. “Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is rising rapidly throughout the world,” Swain said. In the future when you turn on a light, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!

1.The writer uses the two questions at the beginning of the passage to .

A. test the readers’ knowledge about waves

B. draw the readers’ attention to the topic

C. show Jamie Taylor’s importance

D. invite the readers to answer them

2.The underlined phrase “picking up” is closest in meaning to .

A. starting again B. speeding up

C. improving D. gathering

3.We can make better use of wave energy if we .

A. shorten its journey to thousands of homes

B. build more small power stations on the oceans

C. reduce the cost of turning it into electric power

D. quicken the steps of producing electricity

4.It can be inferred that someday we might not worry about .

A. our power supply

B. our boat traffic

C. air pollution

D. our supply of sea fish

Many people write to newspaper and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are held responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.

“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.

There are people who wish to remain anonymous(匿名的) for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he does not want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.

Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter of responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our own name that we honor what we say.

1.What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?

A. Writers need to provide their personal information in the game.

B. Publication must bear the writer’s full name, address and phone number.

C. Writers should be responsible for their names.

D. Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say.

2.The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may _______.

A. not get a reply

B. help to end a relationship

C. be accepted all the same

D. become a family problem

3.Some people don’t want their names known because they are ________.

A. hesitant to make a donation

B. unwilling to draw public attention

C. afraid of an accusation

D. ready for involvement

4.The passage is mainly about _______.

A. honor and writers

B. identity and signature

C. signature and responsibility

D. anonymity and signature

Proudly reading my words, I glanced around the room, only to find my classmates bearing big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes. Confused, I glanced toward my stone-faced teacher. Having no choice, I slowly raised the report I had slaved over, hoping to hide myself. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Quickly, I flashed back to the day Miss Lancelot gave me the task. This was the first real talk I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. Since my idea of history came from an ancient teacher in my home country, I had never heard of that name before. As I searched the name of this fellow, it became evident that there were two people bearing the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; flip (掷) a coin. Heads—the commander, and tails—the peanuts guy. Ah! Tails, my report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, standing before this unfriendly mass, I was totally lost. Oh well, I lowered the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American Revolution.” The whole world became quite! How could I know that she meant that George Washington?

Obviously, my grade was awful. Heartbroken but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to Miss Lancelot, but she insisted: No re-dos; no new grade. I felt that the punishment was not justified, and I believed I deserved a second chance. Consequently, I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, that chance unfolded as I found myself sitting in the headmaster’s office with my grandfather, now having an entirely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the embarrassing moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster informed me of my option to skip the sixth grade. Justice is sweet!

1. What did the author’s classmates think about his report?

A. interesting B. ridiculous.

C. boring. D. puzzling.

2.Why was the author confused about the task?

A. He was unfamiliar with American history.

B. He followed the advice and flipped a coin.

C. He forgot his teacher’s instruction.

D. He was new at the school.

3. The underlined word “burning” in Para. 3 probably means _______.

A. annoyed B. ashamed C. ready D. eager

4.In the end, the author turned things around _______.

A. by redoing his task

B. through his own efforts

C. with the help of his grandfather

D. under the guidance of his headmaster

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