Twenty-first century humanity has mapped oceans and mountains, visited the moon, and surveyed the planets. But for all the progress, people still don’t know one another very well.

That brings about Theodore Zeldin’s “feast of conversation”-events where individuals pair with persons they don’t know for three hours of guided talk designed to get the past “Where are you from?”

Mr.Zeldin, an Oxford University professor, heads Oxford Muse, a 10-year-old foundation based on the idea that what people need is not more information, but more inspiration and encouragement.

The “feast” in London looks not at politics or events, but at how people have felt about work, relations among the sexes, hopes and fears, enemies and authority, the shape of their lives. The “menu of conversation” includes topics like “How have your priorities changed over the years?” Or, “What have you rebelled against the past?”

As participants gathered, Zeldin opened with a speech: that despite instant communications in a globalized age, issues of human heart remain. Many people are lonely, or in routines that discourage knowing the depth of one another. “We are trapped in shallow conversations and the whole point now is to think, which is sometimes painful,” he says. “But thinking interaction is what separates us from other species, except maybe dogs…who do have generations of human interactions.”

The main rules of the “feast”: Don’t pair with someone you know or ask questions you would not answer. The only awkward moment came when the multi-racial crowd of young adults to seniors, in sun hats, ties and dresses, looked to see whom with for hours. But 15 minutes later, everyone was seated and talking, continuing full force until organizers interrupted them 180 minutes later.

“It’s encouraging to see the world is not just a place of oppression and distance from each other,” Zeldin summed up. “What we did is not ordinary, but it can’t be madder than the world already is.”

Some said they felt “liberated” to talk on sensitive topics. Thirty-something Peter, from East London, said that “it might take weeks or months to get to the level of interaction we suddenly opened up.”

What can the “conversations” be best described as?

    A. Deep and one-on-one. B. Sensitive and mad.

    C. Instant and inspiring.   D. Ordinary and encouraging.

In a “feast of conversations”, participants ______.

    A. pair freely with anyone they like

    B. have a guided talk for a set of period of time

    C. ask questions they themselves would not answer

    D. wear clothes reflecting multi-racial features.

From the passage, we can conclude that what Zeldin does is ______.

    A. an attempt to promote thinking interaction

    B. one of the maddest activities ever conducted

    C. a try to liberate people from old-fashioned ideas

    D. an effort to give people a chance of talking freely


Pass Your Love On
Waiting for the airplane to take off, I was happy to get a seat by myself. Just then, an air hostess approached me and asked, “Would you mind   36  your seat? A couple would like to sit together.” The only   37  seat was next to a girl with her arms in casts (石膏绷带),a black-and-blue face, and a sad expression. “   38  am I going to sit there,” I thought immediately. But a soft voice spoke, “She needs help.” Finally, I     39 _  to move to that seat.
The girl was named Kathy. She   40  in a car accident and now was on her way for_ 41  .
When the snack and juice arrived, it did not take me long to   42  that Kathy would not be able to  43  herself. I considered  44   to feed her but hesitated, as it seemed too   45  to offer a service to a  46___. But then I realized that Kathy’s need was more   47  than my discomfort. I offered to help her eat, and   48  she was uncomfortable to accept, she   49  as I expected. We became closer and closer in a short period of time. By the end of the five-hour trip, my heart   50  , and the   51  was really better spent than if I had just sat by myself.
I was very glad I had reached   52  my comfort zone(地带) to sit next to Kathy and feed her. Love   53  flows beyond human borders(边界) and removes the fears that keep us   54 . When we   55  to serve another, we grow to live in a larger and more rewarding world.

【小题1】
A.losingB.changingC.takingD.bringing
【小题2】
A.comfortableB.suitableC.availableD.favorite
【小题3】
A.No problem B.No wayC.NowhereD.No doubt
【小题4】
A.decidedB.wantedC.regrettedD.refused
【小题5】
A.wasB.would beC.used to beD.had been
【小题6】
A.treatmentB.travelC.pleasureD.business
【小题7】
A.see B.sayC.realizeD.recognize
【小题8】
A.eatB.feedC.chooseD.support
【小题9】
A.offeringB.needing C.stoppingD.trying
【小题10】
A.impoliteB.farC.goodD.fast
【小题11】
A.interpreterB.neighborC.passengerD.stranger
【小题12】
A.unusualB.directC.importantD.shameful
【小题13】
A.whenB.althoughC.sinceD.as
【小题14】
A.refusedB.wonderedC.criedD.did
【小题15】
A.had warmed B.had jumped C.had brokenD.hadcheered
【小题16】
A.lifeB.money C.timeD.energy
【小题17】
A.belowB.throughC.acrossD.beyond
【小题18】  
A.seldomB.neverC.hardlyD.sometimes
【小题19】
A.separateB.independentC.silentD.upset
【小题20】
A.happenB.offerC.waitD.continue

Tim Becker and his neighbors are doing something to make their neighborhood a trouble-free area.
When Tim Becker gets in his car to go shopping, he doesn’t  36  drive to a store and back home. He always looks  37  up and down the streets of his neighborhood. He looks for anything 38  such as strange cars, loud noises,  39  windows , or people gathering on street corners.
Tim  40  to a neighborhood watch group in Stoneville Indiana, USA. The neighborhood watch group  41  on the third Wednesday of every month. That’s   42  Tim gets together with about ten of his neighbors to discuss community  43  . Members of the neighborhood watch group want to help the police  44  their homes , streets, and families safe.
Tina Stedman , president of  45  neighborhood watch group , agrees with Tim . “People seem to think that crime(犯罪) happens to other people but not  46  them. Well , it’s never happened to me,” she said, “but I don’t think anyone has the 47  to steal from other people or to make them feel  48 sitting in their own homes.
Alex, a member of the group, said that all the neighbors  49  out for one another. “We 50 each other’s homes. We keep watch on the neighborhood at night and on weekends .Usually a 51  of four or five of us goes out together. If something doesn’t look right, then we call the 52  . For example, if we notice a group of teenagers who seem to be looking for 53 ,  or someone destroying property(财产), we report to the police.”
Alex feels the neighborhood watch groups   54 a lot in keeping crime down. Her husband Jim agrees, “Police are good people, but they don’t do  55  .”

【小题1】
A.yetB.still C.justD.rather
【小题2】
A.carefullyB.clearlyC.nervouslyD.coldly
【小题3】A. familiar  B. unusual       C expensive.   D. interesting
【小题4】
A.curtained B.openC.old D.broken
【小题5】
A.attends B.belongsC.goes D.turns
【小题6】
A.meetsB.quarrelsC.sings D.searches
【小题7】
A.where B.why C.whenD.how
【小题8】
A.politicsB.wealthC.health D.safety
【小题9】
A.keep B.holdC.let D.protect
【小题10】
A.its B.his C.theirD.your
【小题11】
A.roundB.on C.about D.to
【小题12】
A.right B.changeC.courageD.mind
【小题13】
A.unluckyB.unsafeC.disappointedD.discouraged
【小题14】
A.set B.letC.holdD.look
【小题15】
A.careB.enterC.watchD.manage
【小题16】
A.groupB.set C.numberD.crowd
【小题17】
A.judges B.policeC.fireman D.doctors
【小题18】
A.workB.burden C.serviceD.trouble
【小题19】
A.produceB.find C.getD.help
【小题20】
A.anythingB.everythingC.harmD.wrong


Passage one(The only way to travel is on foot)
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists. Descriptions like ‘ Palaeolithic Man’, ‘Neolithic Man’, etc., neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label ‘Legless Man’. Histories of the time will go something like this: ‘in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts and escalators in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. This situation was forced upon earth dwellers of that time because of miles each day. But the surprising thing is that they didn’t use their legs even when they went on holiday. They built cable railways, ski-lifts and roads to the top of every huge mountain. All the beauty spots on earth were marred by the presence of large car parks. ’
The future history books might also record that we were deprived of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird’s-eye view of the world – or even less if the wing of the aircraft happens to get in your way. When you travel by car or train a blurred image of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, in particular, are forever obsessed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. Is it the lure of the great motorways, or what? And as for sea travel, it hardly deserves mention. It is perfectly summed up in the words of the old song: ‘I joined the navy to see the world, and what did I see? I saw the sea.’ The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says ‘I’ve been there. ’ You mention the remotest, most evocative place-names in the world like El Dorado, Kabul, Irkutsk and someone is bound to say ‘I’ve been there’ – meaning, ‘I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. ’
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience; the present ceases to be a reality: you might just as well be dead. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present. For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical weariness. He knows that sound. Satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travellers.
1、Anthorpologists label nowaday’s men ‘Legless’ because
A   people forget how to use his legs.
B   people prefer cars, buses and trains.
C   lifts and escalators prevent people from walking.
D   there are a lot of transportation devices.
2、Travelling at high speed means
A   people’s focus on the future.
B   a pleasure.
C   satisfying drivers’ great thrill.
D   a necessity of life.
3、Why does the author say ‘we are deprived of the use of our eyes’ ?
A   People won’t use their eyes.
B   In traveling at high speed, eyes become useless.
C   People can’t see anything on his way of travel.
D   People want to sleep during travelling.
4、What is the purpose of the author in writing this passage?
A   Legs become weaker.
B   Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
C   There is no need to use eyes.
D   The best way to travel is on foot.
5. What does ‘a bird’s-eye view’ mean?
A   See view with bird’s eyes.
B   A bird looks at a beautiful view.
C   It is a general view from a high position looking down.
D   A scenic place.

 

第二节 完型填空(共20小题;每小题1.5分,满分30分)

阅读下面短文,掌握其大意,然后从36—55各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。

I remembered vividly that the first English class in the last term of high school. We boys (there were  no girls in the school) 36 expectantly for the new teacher to appear. Before long came a tall ordinary-looking man of about 40. He said shyly, “Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

His 37 had a surprising tone of respect, almost 38 he were addressing the Supreme Court(最高法院) 39 a group of youngsters. He wrote his 40 on the blackboard – Wilmer T. Stone 41 sat on the front of his desk.  “Gentlemen,” he began, “we are now this term- your last –to continue your study of 42.I know we shall 43 learning with and 44 one another. We are going to learn something about journalism and 45 to get out your weekly school paper.46 we are going to try to feel the 47 of good literature. 48 some of us will really get 49 in reading and writing. A man who reads lives many lives. A man who 50, walks the earth with blindfold. If I had to put all my 51 into a single word, it would be: browse(广泛阅读).”

Mr. Stone went on like that, 52 in a friendly and understanding tone. The 53of the class came 54 soon.

And we boys had to leave the classroom 55 an unexpected feeling of excitement.

36.A.waiting      B.looking       C.asking        D.calling

37.A.spirit           B.voice        C.appearance     D.attitude

38.A.as             B.as if          C.after           D.if

39.A.besides        B.except       C.instead          D.instead of

40.A.address        B.telephone      C.name          D.word

41.A.then                B.but           C.so              D.only

42.A.maths         B.chemistry      C.English         D.physics

43.A.begin         B.enjoy        C.practice        D.suggest

44.A.among        B.for          C.from          D.of

45.A.why          B.how          C.when          D.where

46.A.Really         B.Especially    C.Possibly       D.Truly

47.A.joy            B.sorrow              C.anger        D.excitement

48.A.But         B.Then            C.Maybe          D.Surely

49.A.interesting     B.interested      C.moving        D.moved

50.A.does           B.doesn’t       C.must           D.needn’t

51.A.praise         B.trust                C.advice          D.promise

52.A.speaking     B.spoke           C.telling         D.told

53.A.beginning     B.end           C.middle              D.time

54.A.again           B.just             C.too much      D.much too

55.A.on          B.of             C.with           D.at

 

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