People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years. The earliest pictures were painted by people who hun??ted animals. They used to paint pictures of the animals they wanted to catch and kill. Pictures of this kind have been found on the walls of caves in France and Spain. No one knows why they were painted there. Perhaps the painters thought that their pictures would help them to catch these animals. Or per??haps human beings have always wanted to tell stories accord??ing to pictures.

About 5,000 years ago the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as a kind of writing. They drew simple pictures or signs to represent things and ideas, and also to represent the sounds of their language. The signs these people used became a kind of alphabet(字母表).

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell sto??ries by putting picture-writing and pictures together. When an important person died, scenes and stories from his life were painted and carved on the walls of the place where he was bur??ied. Some of these pictures are like modem comic-strip sto??ries. It has been said that Egypt is the home of the comic-strip. But, for the Egyptians, pictures still had magic power. So they did not try to make their way of writing simple. The ordinary people could not understand it.  

By the year 1,000 BC, people who lived in the area a-round the Mediterranean Sea had developed a simpler system of writing. The signs they used were very easy to write, and there were fewer of them than in the Egyptian system. This was because each sign, or letter, represented only one sound in their language. The Greeks developed this system and formed the letters of the Greek alphabet. The Romans copied the idea, and the Roman alphabet is now used all over the world.

These days we can write down a story, or record informa??tion, without using pictures. But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawings, photographs, signs and diagrams. We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the streets, and on the walls of the places where we live and work. Pic??tures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

6. Pictures of animals were painted on the walls of caves in France and Spain because ________.

A. the hunters wanted to see the pictures  B. the painters were animal lovers

C. the painters wanted to show imagination D. the pictures were thought to be helpful

7.The Greek alphabet was simpler than the Egyptian system for all the following reasons EXCEPT that ________.  

A. the former was easy to write         B. there were fewer signs in the former

C. the former was easy to pronounce    D. each sign stood for only one sound

8. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. The Egyptian signs later became a particular alphabet.

B. The Egyptians liked to write comic-strip stories.

C. The Roman alphabet was developed from the Egyptian one.

D. The Greeks copied their writing system from the Egyp??tians.

9. In the last paragraph, the author thinks that pictures　__________.

A. should be made comprehensible         B. should be made interesting

C. are of much use in our life             D. are disappearing from our life

Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.

A. Reasons for the use of Podcasting

B. Definition and origin of Podcast

C. Importance of Podcasting at school

D. Advantage of Podcasts over other audio media

E. Podcasts—a further step from voice recordings

F. Devices needed for Podcasting

_______

Recently a group of second-graders visited our school library to work on a “holidays around the world” project. The children created pictures showing holiday customs and then created voice recordings explaining what they drew. The incident showed very clearly the effectiveness of student-created voice recordings. Now imagine taking things one step further and creating Podcasts in a classroom setting.

________

The term Podcast refers to an audio recording, linked to the Web, that can be downloaded to a personal MP3 player. The word is created from broadcast and from iPod ---the wildly popular MP3 player from Apple.

________

Using audio with students isn’t new, of course. Teachers have used audiobooks at listening centers and recorded student voice on tape or CD for many years. Voice and music are the original media for teaching. Podcasts, however, can reach a much wider audience in a time frame outside the school days. Booktalking, an old way of getting kids excited about books, gets a tech assistance with Podcasting. Students can do some booktalking themselves; book review Podcasts seem to be another natural way for students to share what they know, providing an alternative to the book report.

________

    There are a number of excellent reasons for using Podcasting. Teachers made audio Podcasts, including visuals or video clips for any content area instruction and review. Some teachers have begun to record themselves teaching important concepts; this creates an account of information online for kids to access when they’re stuck on a homework assignment. Audio and video files can also function as assessment tools. Imagine being a classroom teacher in September who can actually hear how his or her students were reading in June the school year before.

________

You don’t need an iPod to make a Podcast. If you have a computer, a microphone, and some free software, you can make a Podcast. While an MP3 player is a popular and useful gadget, your audience doesn’t need MP3 players to listen, either: your students and their families can use the computer to play back what you’ve recorded.

It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers （生产商）follow certain uniform standards for various features（特征）of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left. Considering most of the world’s population-men and women-are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women’s clothes button from the left?

   History really seems to matter here. Button first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirts button from the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.

   Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacture to offer women’s shirts that buttoned the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.

1.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

A. It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years.

B. It is different for men’s clothing and women’s.

C. It woks better with men than with women.

D. It fails to consider right-handed people.

2.What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

A. They tended to wear clothes without buttons.

B. They were interested in the historical matters.

C. They were mostly dressed by servants.

D. They drew their swords from the left.

3.Women’s clothes still button from the left today because         .

A. adopting men’s style is improper for women

B. manufacturers should follow standards

C. modern women dress themselves

D. customs are hard to change

4.The passage is mainly developed by          .

A. analyzing cause

B. making comparisons

C. examining differences

D. following the time order

It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers （生产商）follow certain uniform standards for various features（特征）of clothes. What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clothes button. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s from the left. Considering most of the world’s population--men and women are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women. So why do women’s clothes button from the left?

History really seems to matter here. Button first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants. For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirts button form the right made sense, too. Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt.

Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning from the left is still the standard for them. Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacture to offer women’s shirts that buttoned the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch. Besides from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.

1.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

A. It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years.

B. It is different for men’s clothing and women’s.

C. It works better with men than with women.

D. It fails to consider right-handed people.

2.What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

A. They tended to wear clothes without buttons.

B. They were interested in the historical matters.

C. They were mostly dressed by servants.

D. They drew their swords from the left.

3.Women’s clothes still button from the left today because         .

A. adopting men’s style is improper for women

B. manufacturers should follow standards

C. modern women dress themselves

D. customs are hard to change

4.The passage is mainly developed by          .

A. analyzing cause                    B. making comparisons

C. examining differences           D. following the time order

C

It is have xxxxxx that clothing manufacturcrs（生产商）follow certa a untharm standards far yarious featurce（特征）of clothes. What seerns strange, however. Is that the xxxxxx adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men. Take a look at the way your clodns buntm. Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s form the left. Lonsidering most of the world’s popalation—men and women—are right-handnd, the men’s standard would apper inake more sense for women. Xxxxx why do women’s clethes bution from the left?

Histov mally coms to matter here. Buttons finst appcaned only on the lothes or the rich in the 17^th camary. When rich women were dressed by servents. For the mostly right-hand-d servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier. On the other hand, having men’s shirt button from the right made secse.too. Most men dressed themselves, and a swont drawn from the lelt with the right hand would be lese likely to get catght in the sairt.

Tady women are seldom dressed by scryants. Hat tuaoning from the lefts still the standard for them. Is it intcesting? Actually, a standoont, once set, resists change. At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned from the left, it would have been risky for any sigle manufactura is offer women’s shirts that battoned from the right. After all, women had grown so used to shirts whirt unored from the left and would have to devclop new habits and skills to switch. Benides, come women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who rociced that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts.

64.What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

  A.It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years.

  B.It is different for men’s clothing and women’s.

  C.It works better with men than with women.

  D.It fails to consider right-handed people.

65.What do we know about the rich men in the 17^th century?

  A.They tended to wear clothes without bottons.

  B.They were interested in historical matters.

  C.They were mostly dressed by servants.

  D.They drew their swords from the left.

66.Women’s clothes still button from the left today because______.

  A.abouting men’s style is improper for women

  B.manufacturers should follow standards

  C.modern women dress themselves

D.customs are hard to change

67.The passage is mainly developed by _______.

  A.analyzing causes

  B.making comparisons

  C.examining differences

  D.following the time order