题目内容
There is a scene that is repeated up and down the land during the month of June. Outside a church in some Scottish town or village a small crowd has interrupted its daily affairs to gather on the pavement. Near the west door a dozen or so overdressed people are glancing impatiently at their watches. The men seem a little self-conscious in their hired kilts; the women hold their wind-blown dresses and loudly admire each other’s hats. They are all lively and talkative, yet at the same time strangely reserved. The crowd ignores them, barely noticing when they disappear into the church. Even the arrival of the groom rouses little excitement. These participants are not the main attraction. We are waiting for the bride.
Whatever her age or appearance, everyone will smile and express approval. By convention, all brides are beautiful. Nobody says so, but the spectators feel cheated unless she steps out of a car, dressed in white from head to toe. The nearer she matches their image, the greater their satisfaction. This event is not merely a wedding; it is a tradition, and such occasions are potentially dangerous. Participants must pay strict attention to detail. An untraditional bride destroys the magic.
When the crowd has left, some bystanders will remain to watch the bride walk out of church on the arm of her groom. The guests troop out behind the happy couple and all gather on the pavement with an obvious air of relief. A piper strikes up Mairi’s Wedding and the guests start shouting and jumping everywhere, putting the photographer off his work. Before bride and groom lead their party to the reception, someone is sure to disobey the priest and scatter forbidden confetti (五彩碎纸).
The particulars of this scene are modern; yet three elements are present that have existed since marriage in Scotland began—ancient Roman law redefined in a Christian context, Celtic tradition, and pre-Christian tradition.
51. Why is the scene mentioned in this article often seen all over Scotland in June?
A. It’s hot in June so men can wear kilts and women can put on beautiful dresses.
B. A lot of Scottish people like getting married at that time of the year.
C. In June people can get away from their daily affairs and go to church.
D. June is considered the luckiest month of the year.
52. The underlined word “them” (in Paragraph 1) refers to ________.
A. the overdressed people B. the bride and groom
C. the people on the street D. the people’s hats
53. Please put the following in correct order.
a. The bride arrives.
b. The couple walks out of the church.
c. A piper plays some music.
d. The groom arrives.
e. The bride and groom lead people to the reception.
f. People wait outside the church.
A. f, d, a, c, b, e B. f, d, a, b, c, e
C. d, f, a, b, e, c D. d, a, f, b, e, c
54. The underlined part “putting the photographer off his work” (in Paragraph 3) most probably means _____.
A. making the photographer feel relieved
B. giving the photographer a chance to rest
C. disturbing the photographer when he is taking pictures
D. having the photographer taken away from his duty
55. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Women going to a wedding ceremony pay most attention to each other.
B. Spectators of a wedding ceremony are particularly interested in the groom.
C. Confetti is forbidden at the wedding ceremony because it is not all white.
D. If the bride is dressed all in white traditionally, she is considered beautiful.
B
A
B
C
D
【解析】
There seems never to have been a civilization without toys, but when and how they developed is unknown. They probably came about just to give children something to do.
In the ancient world, as is today, most boys played with some kinds of toys and most girls with another. In societies where social roles are strictly determined, boys pattern their play after the activities of their fathers and girls after the tasks of their mothers.This is true because boys and girls are being prepared, even in play, to step into the roles and responsibilities of the adult world.
What is remarkable about the history of toys is not so much how they changed over the centuries but how much they have remained the same. The changes have been mostly in terms of skill, mechanics, and technology. It is the universality of toys with regard to their development in all parts of the world and their insistence to the present that is amazing. In Egypt, the US, China,Japan and among the Arctic peoples, generally the same kinds of toys appeared. Variations depended on local customs and ways of life because toys reflect their surroundings.Nearly every civilization had dolls, little weapons, toy soldiers, tiny animals and vehicles.
Because toys can be generally regarded as a kind of art form, they have not been affected by technological quick development that characterize inventions for adult use. The progress from the wheel to the ox-cart to the automobile is a direct line of ahievement. The progress from a rattle(拨浪鼓) used by a baby in 3000 BC to one used by a baby today, however, is not characterized by inventiveness. Each rattle is the product of the artistic tastes of times and subject to the limtations of available materials.
【小题1】. The reason why the toys most boys play with are different from those that girls play with is that_________.
A.their social roles are strictly determined |
B.most boys would like to follow their fathers’ professions |
C.boys like to play with their fathers while girls with their mothers |
D.they like challenging activities |
A.The making skills in toys has remained essentially unchanged. |
B.Toys have remained basically the same all through the centuries. |
C.The toy industry has witnessed great improvement in technology in recent years. |
D.Toys are playing an increasingly important role in shaping a child’s character. |
A.follow a direct line of achievement |
B.also appeal greatly to adults |
C.are not characterized by technological progress |
D.reflect the pace of social progress |
A.in toy-making there is a continuity in the use of materials |
B.even the simplest toys can reflect the progress of technology |
C.it often takes a long time to introduce new technology into toy-making |
D.even a simple toy can mirror the artistic tastes of the time |
Most British telephone cards are just plain green, but card collecting is becoming a popular hobby in Britain and collectors even have their own magazine, International Telephone Cards. One reason for their interest is that cards from around the world come in a wide variety of different and often very attractive designs. There are 100, 000 different cards in Japan alone, and there you can put your own design onto a blank card simply by using a photograph or a business card.
The first telephone cards, produced in 1976, were Italian. Five years later the first British card appeared, and now you can buy cards in more than a hundred countries. People usually start collecting cards because they are attractive, small and light , and they do not need much space. It is also a cheap hobby for beginners, although for some people it becomes a serious business. In Paris, for example, there is a market where you can buy only telephone cards, and some French cards cost up to 4, 000 pounds. The first Japanese card has a value of about 28, 000 pounds. Most people only see cards with prices like these in their collectors magazine.
【小题1】The text is mainly about ________ .
A.the history of phone cards | B.phone card collecting as a hobby |
C.reason for phone card collecting | D.the great variety of phone cards |
A.In 1971. | B.In 1975. | C.In 1976. | D.In 1981. |
A.they find the cards beautiful and easy to keep |
B.they like to have something from different countries |
C.they want to make money with cards |
D.they think the cards are convenient to use |
A.card collecting is popular among young people |
B.French and Japanese cards are the most valuable |
C.people can make money out of card collecting |
D.card collectors magazines are very useful |
Do you want to live with a strong sense of peacefulness, happiness, goodness, and self-respect? The collection of happiness actions broadly categorized(把…归类) as "honor" help you create this life of good feelings.
Here's an example to show how honorable actions create happiness.
Say a store clerk fails to charge us for an item. If we keep silent, and profit from the clerk's mistake, we would drive home with a sense of sneaky(卑鄙的) excitement. Later we might tell our family or friends about our good fortune. On the other hand, if we tell the clerk about the uncharged item, the clerk would be grateful and thank us for our honesty. We would leave the store with a quiet sense of honor that we might never share with another soul.
Then, what is it to do with our sense of happiness?
In the first case, where we don't tell the clerk, a couple of things would happen. Deep down inside we would know ourselves as a type of thief. In the process, we would lose some peace of mind and self-respect. We would also demonstrate(演示) that we cannot be trusted, since we advertise our dishonor by telling our family and friends. We damage our own reputations by telling others. In contrast, bringing the error to the clerk's attention causes different things to happen. Immediately the clerk knows us to be honorable. Upon leaving the store, we feel honorable and our self-respect is increased. Whenever we take honorable action we gain the deep internal rewards of goodness and a sense of nobility(高尚).
There is a beautiful positive cycle that is created by living a life of honorable actions. Honorable thoughts lead to honorable actions. Honorable actions lead us to a happier existence. And it's easy to think and act honorably again when we're happy. While the positive cycle can be difficult to start, once it's started, it's easy to continue. Keeping on doing good deeds brings us peace of mind, which is important for our happiness.
【小题1】According to the passage, the positive action in the example contributes to our_______.
A.self-respect | B.financial rewards | C.advertising ability | D.friendly relationship |
A.lying | B.stealing | C.cheating | D.advertising |
A.telling the truth to the clerk | B.offering advice to the clerk |
C.asking the clerk to be more attentive | D.reminding the clerk of the charged item |
A.We'll be very excited. | B.We'll feel unfortunate. |
C.We'll have a sense of honor. | D.We'll feel sorry for the clerk. |
A.How to Live Truthfully | B.Importance of Peacefulness |
C.Ways of Gaining Self-respect | D.Happiness through Honorable Actions |
A farm planted levels or floors is called a vertical(垂直的)farm. A skyscraper type building can house a vertical farm. Since the garden is built upwards,rather than outwards,it requires much less space than a conventional farm.
The world is quickly running out of room for conventional farming. Vertical farms could be a key to this situation. An 18story vertical farm could feed as many as 50,000 people,all in an area which is the size of the average city block. Vertical farms in the city could cut down on transportation costs as well. Think about the amount of fuel it takes to transport food from farmland to city. The resources saved would be surprising. Besides saving travel time,food would be delivered in fresher condition and with less damage.
There is a growing concern about the use of pesticides(杀虫剂) in agriculture today. But the vertical farm would be a greenhouse type environment, avoiding the need for a large number of pesticides. Vertical farms can be built in a contained space,therefore they are an excellent solution for living well in an environment far different from our own. Hydroponics(水耕法) could be a big part of vertical gardening. This would reduce the amount of soil needed to grow food. Of course,not all food does well with this type of planting,but there are many crops that actually seem to do better.
In some climates,a lack of sunlight creates a short growing season. The solar power option may not work as well here. The addition of grow lights would make it possible to grow crops in vertical gardens in these areas .In other words,we could grow crops in areas where we never could before.
Vertical farms may just be a concept for now,but they are a concept that will solve many of our problems in the future.
【小题1】According to the passage, a vertical farm________.
A.is mainly built outwards |
B.is dependent on solar power |
C.is planted on levels upwards |
D.is only an environmental friendly farm |
A.depend far less on sunlight |
B.greatly increase the use of soil |
C.help to protect the limited gardens |
D.reduce the use of harmful pesticides |
A.have been put into use |
B.only use hydroponics to grow food |
C.need less room than conventional farms |
D.may increase the transportation costs |
A.Vertical farms for our future |
B.Ways to deal with future problems |
C.Vertical farms and green skyscrapers |
D.Making Full Use of Our Limited Land |