题目内容
As the old man ____ dying in bed, he finally let out the secret about his daughter.
A. lied B. lay C. laid D. lain
We live in a technological society where most goods are mass-produced by unskilled labor. Because of this, most people think that craft no longer exists.
One of the ways these people wrongly support their view is by pointing to 100-year-old homes which are still solid, and arguing that it is the craftsmanship that is responsible for their durability. “Homes in those days were well-built,” they say. No doubt these homes were well-built, but what these people have done is mix up the quality of material used in the house with the quality of the craftsmanship.
Homes today could be built to last just as long as those old homes if people were willing or able to pay the price. For example, most people can no longer afford solid oak stairways, although they were once fairly common in older homes. Nor can they afford the high labor cost of employing a carpenter to build the stairway. Yet if someone can pay the high cost, there are still plenty of carpenters around able to make those stairways. And not only would these carpenters know how to build them, they would probably do a better job than carpenters of old.
One thing the modern carpenter has which enables him to do a better job is much more advanced tools. Such tools as laser beams and powerplanes help them lay out a house better and make more precision cuts on the wood. Also, it is not uncommon say more to find carpenters with college degrees and carpenters with a solid knowledge of mathematics, which would enable them to deal with more difficult house designs.
The problem of modern quality, then, really boils down to the problem of material, for the modern carpenter is just as able to produce craftsmanship as the carpenter of fifty years ago, but only if given proper material.
【小题1】 Compared to the carpenters in the past, modern carpenters are .
| A．more successful | B．more learned |
| C．more imaginative | D．more hardworking |
| A．Carpenters who are fond of oak stairways. |
| B．Carpenters who have college degrees. |
| C．People who think highly of carpenters of old. |
| D．People who think that modern material is of low quality. |
| A．People in the past preferred to use oak to build stairways. |
| B．It is now expensive to employ a carpenter. |
| C．Modern houses last as long as the old ones. |
| D．Good carpenters still exist in modern times. |
| A．Is Craft Dead? | B．Craft, Back to Life? |
| C．History of Craftsmanship | D．Carpenters Today and Yesterday |
No one really knows how and why people change as they get older. Also, no theory sufficiently explains all the changes of the aging process. Aging is a complex and varied process that varies in how it affects different people and organs. In fact, even in one person , different organ systems “age “ at a different rate.
At a certain point in our lives our body systems will begin to weaken . It may become more difficult for us to see and hear. The slow change of aging causes our bodies to lose some of their ability to bounce back from disease and injury. In order to live longer , we have always tried to slow or stop this change that leads us toward the end of our lives.
Many factors decide our health . A good diet plays an important role. The amount and the type of exercise we get are another two factors. Our living condition is yet another. But scientists studying the aging problem want to know: Why do people grow old? They hope that by studying the aging medical science they may be able to make the length of life longer.
There is nothing to be afraid of as the old age comes. Many consider the later part of life to be the best time for living. Physical activity may become less, but often we get better understanding of the world and ourselves.
What we consider the old age now may only be middle-aged some day soon. Who knows ,with so many advances in medical science happening so quickly, life length may one day be measured in centuries ,rather than in years!
【小题1】The underlined phrase “bounce back ”means “__________.”
| A．jump backward | B．run fast | C．prevent | D．recover |
| A．teach people how to eat properly |
| B．discover how important the exercise is to one’s health |
| C．study the ways to slow or stop the process of aging |
| D．invent new medicine to slow down the process of aging |
| A．consider their lives have been very successful |
| B．have come through the battle of life safely |
| C．know more about themselves and the outside world |
| D．can have a good rest and enjoy themselves |
| A．Two | B．Four | C．Five | D．Six |
Often we take for granted the many household items we use every day. It is difficult to imagine there was a time in the past when these inventions did not exist. Actually, several of the most common inventions have been with us for quite some time. Inventions like toothbrush, contact lenses（隐形眼镜）, and credit cards came into use long ago.
The first toothbrush was introduced in China in the late 1400s but it was only 300 years later that this simple tool came into common use in Europe. By the nineteenth century, a variety of paste and powder cleaners were available throughout Europe as dental(牙齿的) care became more widespread. The first tube of toothpaste hit the market in Great Britain in 1891.
There is evidence to show that the first contact lenses were actually suggested by an astronomer, Sir John Herschel, in 1827. However, SirJohn Herschel was never able to create a working model of his idea. It was not until 1887 that a Swiss doctor from Zurich, Dr. Eugen Frick, came up with a workable process for producing precision (精密)lenses. Dr. Frick designed a new method for producing contact lenses,and the Zeiss factory in Germany began to produce contact lenses.
Credit cards have also been available for many years. They have been in use in the United States since the 1920s. At first, these cards were only used to buy gas in the quickly growing automobile service industry. Then, in the 1950s, Diners Club introduced the first general-purpose credit card. Today, credit cards such as Master Card, Visa, and American Express are commonly used by travelers around the world.
While it may be true that some of the greatest inventions and discoveries in history came about by chance, the majority of inventions that simplify our lives today came about through careful research and patient study. Of course, it still holds true that even with all the comforts of modern technology, inventors continue to search for ways of helping all of us get out of doing those necessary but tedious (乏味的) tasks which we still face. As the old saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of invention.”
1.From the second paragraph we can learn that _____.
A. toothbrushes came into common use in Europe in the 17th century
B. people could enjoy a variety of paste and powder cleaners in the 18th century
C. more and more people paid attention to dental care throughout Europe in the 19th century
D. the English could use different kinds of tubes of toothpaste in the early 19th century
2.All of the following made a contribution to the invention and use of contact lenses EXCEPT _______.
A. Diners Club B. Sir John Herschel
C. Dr Eugen Frick D. the Zeiss factory
3.Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the fourth paragraph?
A. Credit cards have a history of about two hundred years.
B. Three kinds of credit cards are being used in the USA.
C. The use of credit cards is closely related to the economic development.
D. American Express is only used by American travelers now.
4.The last paragraph mainly tells us that ______.
A. the greatest inventions came about by chance
B. inventions came about through careful research and patient study
C. inventors still continue to make inventions
D. necessity is the mother of invention
As the old Chinese saying goes, only through reading thousands of books one can write ___.
|
A．fluently |
B．correctly |
C．energetically |
D．professionally |