题目内容
After 5 days of fantastic space trip ,the two astronauts walked out of the spaceship, ______
A.tired and happy B.tired but happy
C.tiredly and happily D.tiredly but happily
B
People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(选择权). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.
【小题1】We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.
A.the spelling mistakes in the messages make her very annoyed |
B.only writing letters will bring friends and neighbors much closer |
C.she talks to plants more because no one shares her joys and sorrows |
D.gestures and the pen can express a lot more than the cold keyboard |
A.She has been separated from all his classmates many years. |
B.No doctors write prescriptions by hand because of computers. |
C.In communication, we should write more letters than send messages. |
D.Less shy than school girls, boys rarely write letters to their friends. |
A.the writer is a person full of emotions and treasures friendship and affections |
B.the writer becomes excited when she gets priceless gifts from other people |
C.her classmates would write to each other because they couldn’t send messages |
D.people put a smiley face at the end of a message just to show they are happy |
A.The writer wastes much time in reading many rubbish text messages every day. |
B.Few people can write letters well in modern society owing to texting messages. |
C.Now people are too busy to communicate with each other face to face often. |
D.The writer prefers personal communication rather than electronic equipment. |
A.Because she thinks the annoyance of reading text messages is originated from it. |
B.Because we have more options to keep in touch with each other than ever before. |
C.Because advanced technology partly takes the blame for lacking the human touch. |
D.Because she thinks humans today become colder with the development of society. |
A.Optimistic. | B.Critic. | C.Sympathetic. | D.Pessimistic. |
The Winter Palace was built between 1754 and 1762 for Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great. Unfortunately, Elizabeth died before the palace was completed and only Catherine the Great and her successors were able to enjoy the great interior (内部) of Elizabeth’s home. Many parts of the palace’s impressive interior have been remodeled since then, particularly after 1837, when a huge fire destroyed most of the building. Today the Winter Palace, together with four more buildings arranged side by side along the river embankment, houses the extensive collections of the Hermitage. The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia and is among the largest and most respected art museums in the world.
The museum was founded in 1764 when Catherine the Great bought a collection of 255 paintings from the German city of Berlin. Today, the Hermitage boasts over 2.7 million exhibits and displays, a diverse range of art and artifacts (手工艺品) from all over the world and throughout history (from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century Europe). The Hermitage’s collections include works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Titian, a collection of Rembrandts and Rubens, many French Impressionist works by Renoir, Cezanne, Monet and Pissarro, and several works by Rodin. The collection is really worth a stop for all those interested in art and history. The experts say that if you were to spend a minute looking at each exhibit on show in the Hermitage, you would need 11 years before you’d seen them all. However, we suggest you choose a guided tour instead!
Location: Dvortsovaia Naberezhnaia, 32-38.
Open: 10:30 am to 5:30 pm, Sunday till 5 pm.
Closed: Mondays. Ticket-office closes 1 hour before closing time.
【小题1】 According to the passage, the Winter Palace was built for ______.
A.Catherine the Great. | B.Empress Elizabeth |
C.Peter the Great. | D.Empress Elizabeth’s successors |
A.Catherine the Great and her successors didn’t like the design. |
B.Empress Elizabeth wanted to remodel the palace. |
C.A huge fire destroyed most of the building in 1837. |
D.The building became old itself. |
A.The Winter Palace was built between 1753 and 1761. |
B.The Hermitage’s collections don’t include works by Monet. |
C.The Hermitage Museum is the largest art gallery in Russia. |
D.The Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764 when Empress Elizabeth bought a collection of 255 paintings from Berlin. |
A.At 10:30 am on Monday. | B.At 10:00 am on Tuesday. |
C.At 11:00 am on Sunday. | D.None of the above. |
Ten years ago I used to be very fit (健康的). I rode a bike to work and I got a lot of exercise at weekends. I used to play tennis a lot and go for long walks. In those days I didn’t earn very much. I had a job in an office. It wasn’t a very good job but I had a lot of time to do the things I enjoyed doing.
Then, about eight years ago, I got a much better job. The pay was better, but the hours were a lot longer. I bought a car and drove to work every day. I began to take people out to lunch. And I began to put on weight, too. I stopped playing tennis and going for long walks at weekends because I just didn’t have any time for things like that any more.
There’s a lot of stress in my job. Perhaps that’s why I started drinking more than I used to. For example, I used to have only half a glass of whisky when I got home, but then I started filling my glass to the top, and instead of having one glass, I would have several. I started smoking a lot, too. I never used to smoke at all.
Two months ago I had a heart attack. At first I just couldn’t believe it. Luckily it wasn’t very serious. The doctor advised me to stop smoking and to eat less. He also advised me to work less and get more exercise. But I just haven’t any time! My job takes everything out of me!
Sometimes I wonder if I should get another job. Perhaps I could do something like I used to do. But if I do that, I won’t earn as much. I have a family to support. I have to think of them, too. I just don’t know what I should do. What do you think?
【小题1】The author used to go to work ________
A.on foot | B.by bike | C.by car | D.by train |
A.His job. | B.His pay. | C.His means of transport. | D.His health. |
A.He got higher pay. | B.His working hours weren’t long. |
C.He found it very stressful. | D.He had little free time at weekends. |
A.not to work any longer | B.to take a long vacation abroad |
C.to work less and take exercise | D.not to eat out any more |
A.The author is not sure what he should do now. |
B.The author has taken the doctor’s advice. |
C.The author has got another new job. |
D.The author feels much better now. |