People have been painting pictures for at least 30,000 years.The earliest pictures were painted by people who hunted 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 perhaps human beings have always wanted to tell stories in pictures.

About 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians and other people in the Near East began to use pictures as 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.

The Egyptians used to record information and to tell stories 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 buried.Some of these pictures are like modern comic strip stories.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 around 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 information, without using pictures.But we still need pictures of all kinds: drawing, photographs, signs and diagrams.We find them everywhere: in books and newspapers, in the street, and on the walls of the places where we live and work.Pictures help us to understand and remember things more easily, and they can make a story much more interesting.

1.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

2.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

3.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 Egyptians.

4.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.have disappeared from our life

Television, which made its first serious appearance in 1939, did not become common until the early 1950s.Since then, millions of children have grown up in front of the set, and many people now worry about the effect that TV has on the young, and on society in general.Educators, psychologists, and crime experts wonder if television should be abolished(取消).Many ordinary parents wish it had never been invented.Why are they so afraid? Is television as harmful as they think it is?

Like almost anything else, television has its good and its bad sides.One should surely thank its inventors for the joy and interest that they have brought into the lives of the old, the sick, and the lonely -- all those who, without it, would have no pleasure and no window on the world.

In truth, television has opened windows in everybody's life.No newspaper has ever reached so many people and shown so clearly what was happening right now in their own country and everywhere else.TV not only gives the news instantly, it also shows it in pictures more powerful than words.It can be said that TV has brought reality to the public.Millions of people now have seen the effects of a battle, a flood, a fire, a crime, disasters of every sort on the screen.

Unfortunately, television's influence has been extremely harmful to the young.Children do not have enough experience to realize that TV shows present an unreal world.They want to imitate what they see.They do believe that the violence they see is normal and acceptable.By the time they are out of high school, most young people have watched about 15,000 hours of television, and have seen about 18,000 killings or other acts of violence.All educators and psychologists agree that the "television generations" are more violent than their parents and grandparents,

According to the same experts, the young are also less patient.Used to TV shows, where everything is quick and entertaining, they do not have the patience to read an article without pictures; to read a book that requires thinking; to listen to a teacher who doesn't do funny things like the people on children's programs.And they expect all problems to be solved happily in ten, fifteen or thirty minutes.That's the time it takes on the screen.

It is certain that television has deeply changed our lives and our society.It is certain that, along with its benefits, it has brought many serious problems.To these problems we must soon find a solution because, whether we like it or not, television is here to stay.

1.First TV set was made ______.

       A.in 1939               B.in the 1950s         C.in the 1940s         D.in 1919

2.Which of the following people have a view on TV different from the others?

       A.Educators.                               B.TV producers.

       C.Crime experts.                           D.Psychologists.

3.According to the author, who need TV most?

       A.Educators.                                          B.Crime experts.

       C.The old and the lonely.                         D.The children and their parents.

4.We can conclude that ‘television generations’ are_______.

       A.lonely                                    B.more patient

       C.more violent                              D.more gentle

阅读下面短文,根据所需内容在文后第1至第10小题的空格添上适当的单词或短语。

     注意:每空不超过3个单词。

    What is eco-fashion? Eco-fashion is a complex phenomenon and the common use of the term covers two aspects of fashion——'ecological ' and 'ethical ' (伦理的).Ecological fashion usually refers to textile(织物) and clothing production processes and the environmental issues surrounding them; ethical fashion generally relates to the working conditions involved in the producing processes.

    What are the problems with fashion? Firstly, the production of textiles pollutes the environment heavily.Cotton-planting uses pesticides; sheep-farming and wool-cleaning contribute to global warming; synthetics-making (人造纤维生产) brings about harmful waste.Secondly, every stage of clothing production has a significant effect on the environment.They all use a great deal of energy, and some also involve harmful chemicals.In addition to this, there is a lot of waste produced in the process, especially in the form of polluted water.Thirdly, growing consumption levels and our shopping habits further worsen the bad effects.We are now buying clothes in increasing quantities without realizing the scale on which it affects natural environment, and we are also quick to throw away clothes that have been worn only a couple of times.

    Then, how to solve the problem? To a large degree, it is the fashion producers that really have the power and the responsibility to shape our future.There are numerous ways in which these producers can reduce their ecological footprint, from switching to green energy and reducing energy use, through selecting sustainable(可持续使用的) materials and choosing local suppliers, to recycle and minimize waste.On the other hand, as consumers we can all make contributions by selecting environmentally friendly clothing and reducing clothing consumption.

Now many people are beginning to shop for organic food products because the benefits of eating food free of chemicals are straightforward and immediate.They relate directly to our personal health.In fact, choosing eco-fashion can also contribute to our personal health, though it is mostly done by way of keeping the health of the planet.

Why choose eco-fashion?

(1)______

of fashion

Ecological

Textile & clothing production processes

Related environmental issues

Ethical

(2)______ involved

(3)______

with fashion

Textile production

Cotton-planting: use of pesticides

(4)______ : global warming

Synthetics-making: harmful waste

(5)______

Consuming a great deal of energy

Using harmful chemicals

Producing a lot of waste

Consumption levels and shopping habits

New clothes: bought (6)______

Old clothes: thrown away quickly

(7)______

to problems

Fashion producers

Ways to (8)______ and minimize waste:

·Switching to green energy

·Reducing energy use

·Selecting sustainable materials

·Choosing local suppliers

(9)______

Selecting environmentally friendly clothing

(10)______

Choosing eco-fashion can contribute to our personal health.

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