NO one should be forced to wear a uniform under any circumstance.Uniforms are demanding to the human spirit and totally unnecessary in a democratic society.Uniforms tell the world that the person who wears one has no value as an individual but only lives to function as a part of a whole.The individual in a uniform loses all self-worth.

  There are those who say that wearing a uniform gives a person a sense of identification with a larger, more important concept.What could be more important than the individual himself?If an organization is so weak that it must rely on cloth and buttons to inspire its members, that organization has no right to continue its existence.Others say that the practice of making persons wear uniforms, say in a school, eliminates all envy and competition in the matter of dress, such that a poor person who cannot afford good quality clothing need not be played down by a wealthy person who wears expensive, quality clothing.Those persons conveniently ignore such critical concepts as freedom of choice, motivation, and individuality.If all persons were to wear the same clothing, why would anyone strive to be better?It is only a short step from forcing everyone to wear the same clothing to forcing everyone to drive the same car, have the same type of house, eat the same types of foods.When this happens, all incentive(鼓励办法)to improve one's life is removed.Why would parents bother to work hard so that their children could have a better life than they had when they know that their children are going to be forced to have exactly the same life that they had?

  Uniforms also hurt the economy.Right now, billions of dollars are spent on the fashion industry yearly.Thousands of persons are employed in designing, creating, and marketing different types of clothing.If everyone were forced to wear uniforms, artistic personnel would be unnecessary.Sales persons would be unnecessary as well;why bother to sell the only items that are available?The wearing of uniforms would destroy the fashion industry which in turn would have a ripple effect(连锁反应)on such industries as advertising and promotion.Without advertising, newspapers, magazines, and television would not be able to remain in business.One entire information and entertainment industries would founder.

(1)

The author's primary purpose in writing this passage was to ________

[  ]

A.

call for the abolishment of uniforms

B.

show that uniforms are not possible in a democratic society

C.

advocate stronger governmental controls on the wearing of uniforms

D.

convince the reader that uniforms have more disadvantages than advantages

(2)

With which of the following would the author most likely disagree?

[  ]

A.

Persons have the right to dress as they please and show off their wealth if they choose to do so

B.

Individuality is a luxury that a large society can no longer afford

C.

Organizations must have more intrinsic(固有的)worth than wearing a uniform would suggest

D.

Freedom of choice is a right that cannot be removed by a government

(3)

Why does the author discuss forcing everyone to buy the same car or eat the same food?

[  ]

A.

To show that freedom of choice is absolute(绝对)

B.

To show that the government has got involved too much in the lives of individuals

C.

To assume what would happen if uniforms became compulsory

D.

To predict the way society will be in the next few generations

(4)

The next paragraph in this passage might discuss ________.

[  ]

A.

the positive effects of wearing uniforms

B.

more negative effects of wearing uniforms

C.

an alternative to weaving uniforms

D.

the legal rights of those not wishing to wear uniforms

阅读短文,在表中的空格处填上适当的单词或短语,每空不超过3个单词.

  Certain animals and plants develop characteristics that help them deal with their environments better than others of their kind.This natural biological process is called adaptation.Among the superior characteristics developed through adaptation are those that may help in getting food or shelter, in providing protection, and in producing and protecting the young.That results in the evolution(进化)of more and more organisms(生物体)that are better fitted to their environments.

  Each living thing is adapted to its way of life in a general way, but each is adapted especially to its own special class.A plant, for example, depends on its roots to fix itself firmly and to absorb water and inorganic chemicals.It depends upon its green leaves for using the sun’s energy to make food from inorganic chemicals.These are general adaptations, common to most plants.In addition, there are special adaptations that only certain kinds of plants have.

  Many animals have adaptations that help them escape from their enemies.Some insects are hidden by their body color or shape, and many look like a leaf or a little branch.The coats of deer are colored to mix with the surroundings.Many animals have the ability to remain completely still when an enemy is near.

  Organisms have a great variety of ways of adapting.They may adapt in their structure, function, and genetics, in their development and production of the young, and in other aspects.An organism may create its own environment, as do warm-blooded mammals(哺乳动物), which have the ability to adjust body heat exactly to maintain their ideal temperature despite changing weather.Usually adaptations are an advantage, but sometimes an organism is so well adapted to a particular environment that if conditions change, it finds it difficult or impossible to readapt to the new conditions.

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men aboard were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. Not knowing what else to do, the two survivors agreed that they had no alternativethan to pray to God.
However, to find out whose prayers were more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the island, and he was able to eat its fruit. But the other man’s parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man became lonely and decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the island. But on the other side of the island, there was nothing.
Soon thereafter the first man prayed for a house, clothes and more food. The next day, like magic, all of these things were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship so that he and his wife could leave the island, and in the morning he found a ship docked at his side of the island.
The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island, considering the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from Heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
“My blessings are mine alone since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he doesn’t deserve anything.”
“You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”
“Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
“He prayed that all your prayers would be answered.”
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us. So what you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself.
【小题1】The first man’s wife is _____.

A.a swimmer who got to the island by accident
B.an angel sent by God to keep him company
C.a survivor from another wrecked ship
D.a native person on the desert-like island
【小题2】The underlined word “barren” in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to _____.
A.isolatedB.unproductiveC.fertileD.dry
【小题3】Which of the following is true about the second man?
A.He didn’t deserve any blessing from God.
B.None of his prayers was answered by God.
C.He is not brave enough to tell God his needs.
D.His prayer helped his companion get out of trouble.
【小题4】What’s the moral of the story?
A.Never judge a person by appearance.
B.Don’t lose heart in trouble.
C.Helping others is helping ourselves.
D.Greed is the root of all evil.

阅读下面文章,根据要求回答下列问题。
                                                          What causes an earthquake?
     An earthquake is caused by rocks moving underground. The surface of the earth is made up of about 20
huge plates. The plates are thousands of miles wide and many miles thick. Like turtles with their shells, they
carry oceans and continents right on their backs.
     All the earth's plates are constantly in motion, although they move very slowly, maybe an inch a year. They
push each other, trying to slip under or over each other, or to slide past one another. Earthquakes often happen
when two plates come together. Along the plates where the plates meet, there is a kind of crack in the earth's
surface called a fault. The most famous fault in the United States is the San Andreas Fault, which runs 600 miles
through California and is more than 30 million years old.
     An earthquake happens along a fault where two plates rub together while moving in different directions. The
earth shakes and shivers and vibrates like a rubber band that's been snapped. Those vibrations are picked up by
an instrument which enables experts to figure out where the earthquake occurs and how strong it is. Scientists
measure an earthquake's strength by what they have named the Richter Scale. The Scale runs from zero to nine,
with nine being the most powerful. Sometimes an earthquake occurs so far below the surface, we can hardly
feel it on top. Sometimes an earthquake is so strong that it has more power than a nuclear explosion. An
earthquake can last five seconds or up to ten minutes and create enough heat to melt any rock.
(Help: 1. plate n.板块 2. turtle n.海龟 3. shell n.壳 4. constantly adv.不断地 5. occur v.发生
         6. rub v. 摩擦 7. vibrate v. 振动 8. figure out计算出 9. measure v. 测量 10. melt v. 熔化)
根据文章内容判断下列句子的对(T)与错(F)。
(     )1. An earthquake is caused by rocks moving underground.
(     )2. All the earth's plates are constantly in motion, and they move very fast.
(     )3. The most famous fault in the United States is the San Andreas Fault, which runs 600 miles through
           California.
(     )4. The Scale runs from zero to nine, with zero being the most powerful.
根据文章内容,回答下列问题。
5. When can an earthquake occur according to the passage?
    ____________________________________________________________________________
6. How strong can an earthquake sometimes be? 
    ____________________________________________________________________________
7. What is your feeling if an earthquake occurs far below the surface of the earth? 
    ____________________________________________________________________________

  Certain animals and plants develop characteristics that help them deal with their environment better than others of their kind. This natural biological process is called adaptation. Among the superior characteristics developed through adaptation are those that may help in getting food or shelter, in providing protection, and in producing and protecting the young. That results in the gradual development of more and more organisms(small living things)that are better fitted to their environments.

   Each living thing is adapted to its way of life in a general way, but each is adapted especially to its own distinct class (kind ) . A plant, for example, depends upon its roots to fix itself firmly and to absorb water and inorganic chemicals (无机化学物). It depends upon its green leaves for using the sun's energy to make food from inorganic chemicals. These are general adaptations, common to most plants. In addition, there are special adaptations that only certain kinds of plants have.

   Many animals have adaptations that help them escape from their enemies. Some insects are hidden by their body color or shape, and many look like a leaf or a little branch. The coats of deer are colored to mix with the surroundings. Many animals have the ability to remain completely still when an enemy is near.

  Organisms have a great variety of ways of adapting. They may adapt in their structure, function, and genetics; in their development and production of the young; and in other respects. An organism may create its won environment, as do warm-blooded mammals, which have the ability to adjust body heat exactly to maintain their ideal temperature despite changing weather. Usually adaptations are an advantage, but sometimes an organism is so well adapted to a particular environment that, if conditions change, it finds it difficult or impossible to readapt to the new conditions.

40. Some plants and animals develop superior characteristics so that they may    .

  A. help others of their kind get food, shelter and other things needed

  B. survive even in extremely severe conditions

  C. become better adapted to the environments than others of their kind

  D. result in the evolution and production of more intelligent organisms

41. In the first paragraph, the word "environments" could best be replaced by     .

  A. contexts    B. surroundings      C. neighbors    D. enemies

42. It can be inferred from this passage that the feathers of a bird are colored     .

  A. to frightened its enemies.        B. to attract its enemies

  C. to adjust its body heat       D. to match its environment

43. Which of the following is not directly mentioned?

  A. A living thing may adapt in its structure.

  B. An organism may adapt in its function.

  C. A living creature may adapt in its genetic makeup.

  D. A living organism may adapt in its sleeping habit.

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