“Did you hear what happened to Adam last Friday?” Lindsey whispers to Tori.

With her eyes shining, Tori brags, “You bet I did. Sean told me two days ago.”

What are Lindsey and Tori talking about? It just happens to be yours truly, Adam Freedman. I can tell you that what they are saying is (a) not nice and (b) not even true. Still, Lindsey and Tori aren’t very different from most students here at Linton High School, including me. Many of our conversations are gossip(闲话). I have noticed three effects of gossip: it can hurt people, it can give gossipers a strange kind of satisfaction, and it can cause social pressures in a group.

An important negative effect of gossip is that it can hurt the person being talked about. Usually, gossip spreads information about a topic—breakups, troubles at home, even dropping out—that a person would rather keep secret. The more embarrassing or shameful the secret is, the juicer the gossip it makes. Probably the worst type of gossip is the absolute lie. People often think of gossipers as harmless, bur cruel lies can cause pain.

If we know that gossip can be harmful, then why do so many of us do it? The answer lies in another effect of gossip: the satisfaction it gives us. Sharing the latest rumor can make a person feel important because he or she knows something that others don’t. Similarly, hearing the latest rumor can make a person feel like part of the “in group”. In other words, gossip is satisfying because it gives people a sense of belonging or even superiority(优越感).

Gossip can also have a third effect: it strengthens unwritten, unspoken rules about how people should act. Professor David Wilson explains that gossip is important in policing behaviors in a group. Translated into high school terms, this means that if everybody you hang around with is laughing at what John wore or what Jane said, then you can bet that wearing or saying something similar will get you the same kind of negative attention. The do’s and don’ts conveyed through gossip will never show up in any student handbook.

The effects of gossip vary depending on the situation. The next time you feel the urge to spread the latest news, think about why you want to gossip and what effects your “juicy story” might have.

1.An important negative effect of gossip is that it ________.

A. breaks up relationships

B. embarrasses the listener

C. spreads information around

D. causes unpleasant experiences

2.In the author’s opinion, many people like to gossip because it ________.

A. gives them a feeling of pleasure

B. helps them to make more friends

C. makes them better at telling stories

D. enables them to meet important people

3.Professor David Wilson thinks that gossip can ________.

A. provide students with written rules

B. help people watch their own behaviours

C. force schools to improve student handbooks

D. attract the police’s attention to group behaviours

4.What advice does the author give in the passage?

A. Never become a gossiper.

B. Stay away from gossipers.

C. Don’t let gossip turn into lies.

D. Think twice before you gossip.

Electrical devices (仪器) could soon use power made by human energy. Scientists say they have developed an experimental device that produces electricity from the physical movement of a person walking. British scientist Max Donelan and other scientists in Canada and the United States developed the device.

The device connects to a person's knee. As the person walks, the device captures energy each time the person slows down. To do this, the device helps with the slowing down movement of the leg. The movements of the walking person push parts of a small machine that produces electricity. Using the device, an adult walking quickly could produce thirteen watts of electricity in just a minute. Donelan says walking at that speed could produce enough power to operate a laptop computer for six minutes.

There are several possible uses for the device. Developers say it could help people who work in areas without electricity to operate small computers. The device could also be used in hospitals to operate heart pacemakers (起搏器). It could even be used to assist in the movement of robotic arms and legs.

The experimental version of the device weighs about one and a half kilograms, but it is too costly for most people to buy. But the researchers hope to make a lighter, less costly version. An improved version should be ready in one year.

The developers hope the device will one day help developing countries. Nearly twenty-five percent of people around the world live without electric power.

A similar product was invented in 2005 by Larry Rome of the University of Pennsylvania. He created a bag carried on a person's back that also produces power from walking. The knee device does not produce as much electricity as the bag. But the bag requires the walker to carry a load of twenty to thirty kilograms.

1.The second paragraph mainly talks about ________.

A. who developed the device

B. how the device works

C. several possible uses for the devices

D. how much electricity the device can produce

2.What is the disadvantage of the experimental version of the device?

A. It is too heavy for the walker to bear.

B. It is too complex for people to use.

C. It will slow down one's walking speed.

D. It is too expensive for most people to afford.

3.Compared with the device designed by Larry Rome, this new device ________.

A. produces power without adding more loads to the walker

B. can produce more power in a much shorter time

C. needs to be equipped with a battery

D. can help the walker walk faster

4.From the passage, we can learn that the electrical device can ________.

A. help housewives operate the micro-wave oven

B. make it much easier for us to go online

C. produce more electricity than that invented by Larry Rome

D. be applied in medicine to operate heart pacemakers

Outside her shabby cottage, old Mrs. Tailor was hanging out laundry on a wire line, unaware that some children lay hidden in the leaves of a nearby tree watching her every move. They were determined to find out if she really was a witch.

They watched as she took a broomstick to clean the dirt from her stone steps. But, much to their disappointment, she did not mount the broomstick and take a flight. Suddenly, the old lady’s work was interrupted by the cackling of her hen—a signal that an egg had been laid in the warm nest on top of the haystack.

The old broomstick was put aside as she hobbled off towards the haystack followed by Sooty, a black cat she had rescued from a fox trap some time back. With only three legs, it was hard for Sooty to keep up with the old lady. The cat provided proof—the children were sure that only a witch could own a black cat with three legs.

There, standing on a wooden box, was Mrs. Tailor, stretching out to gather her precious egg. Taking the egg in one of her hands, she began to climb down when, without warning, the box broke and the old lady fell.

“We have to got and help her,” whispered Amy.

“What if it is a trick?” replied Ben.

“Don’t be silly, Ben. If she were a witch, she would have turned us into frogs already,” reasoned Meg. “Come on, Amy, let’s go.” The girls climbed down the tree and ran all the way to the haystack.

Approaching carefully, they could see a wound on the old lady’s face. She had knocked her head on a stone and her ankle was definitely broken. “Go and get Dad,” Amy yelled to her brother. “Tell him about the accident.”

The boys did not need another excuse to leave. They ran as fast as they could for help, hoping that Mrs. Tailor would not wake and turn the girls into frogs.

1.Why were the children hiding in the tree?

A. They wanted to watch Mrs. Tailor do her housework closely.

B. They were playing a hide-and-seek game.

C. They wanted to find out if the rumors about Mrs. Tailor were true.

D. They were pretending to be spies.

2.Mrs. Tailor stopped sweeping when ________.

A. her front steps were clean

B. she noticed the children in the tree

C. she was ready to take a flight

D. she heard the hen cackling

3.Ben did not rush in help Mrs. Tailor because ________.

A. he thought that she could be tricking them

B. he knew that they could not have been in the tree

C. he did not see the old lady fall down

D. he was afraid of the three-legged cat

4.Which of these old sayings best suits the story’s lesson for us?

A. Make hay while the sun shines.

B. Never judge a book by its cover.

C. People in glasshouses should not throw stones.

D. A bird in the hands worth two in the bush.

违法和不良信息举报电话:027-86699610 举报邮箱:58377363@163.com

精英家教网