In this century the traditional American family is constantly faced with the threat of breakdown. Some sociologists suggest that one little-noticed cause may be the introduction of the TV dinner.

Before the appearance of television sets, the American dinner was a big event for the family. In many homes, dinner time may be the only time when everyone got together. A typical dinner was usually in three stages. In the preparation stage, the children and Father frequently helped with setting while Mother put the last touches on the roast. In the eating stage, family members shared the day's experiences and more than food was eaten. In this stage families got to know one another and made joint decisions around the dinner table, and thus the family unit was strengthened. In the cleaning-up stage, children or Father again gave their hands, so that their importance to the home community was clear. Unfortunately, all of these have been removed by a product---the television set.

By the beginning of the 1980s, the typical American family dinner was just twenty minutes long. The speed-up of the once-leisurely experiences is clearly connected to the pace of modern life and maybe a model of the modern life is the TV dinners --- meals designed to be eaten from the beginning to the end of a half-hour program. The once family affair has now become nothing more than the use of a fork and knife.

1.The underlined word in the second paragraph can be replaced by ____.

       A.big                B.important          C.combined           D.separate

2.In the past, Americans tended to ____.

       A.spend more time eating their food at dinner table

       B.eat more food than they have today

       C.spend more time talking about their day's experiences at dinner table

       D.talk so much that they forgot to eat

3.The shortening of the dinner time in America is related to ____.

       A.the TV programs                    B.the pace of modern life

       C.the wide use of electrical equipment      D.the popularity of fast food

4.The best title for this passage might be ____.

       A.Talk at Dinner Table                     B.TV Dinner

       C.Pace of Modern Life                    D.Problems Caused by TV

Everyone knows you must exercise regularly to keep good health. Indeed, staying physically fit is a big part of our culture. we consider(or rightly so)that healthy people are attractive people. Since most of us want to be attractive, there is no shortage of exercise clubs, training videos, magazines and books offering to help us stay physically fit.   

Unfortunately, however, our culture doesn’t place the same emphasis on mental fitness. Although we tend to like men and women with strong, healthy-looking bodies, we don’t have the same degree of respect or attraction for smart, educated, mentally healthy people. This is a pity, because there are great rewards for people who have developed the ability to think well.   

If your mind is well trained and flexible, you will be able to understand a great deal of what happens around you. And if you are also well educated --- that is, if you understand basic science, mathematics, music, art, literature, history and so on --- you will find it much easier to make good decisions throughout your life. Over the long run, this leads to a sense of control over your destiny and a much better life than otherwise.   

People who are poorly educated or who don’t think well --- that is, people who are not mentally fit --- see things differently. Their world is controlled by mysterious, often malevolent(恶意的)forces. Such people live within a system they will never master, forced to follow rules they will never understand. Although it may not be obvious, most spend their lives being manipulated(控制)by others. They are told what to do, what to think, how to spend their money, and what they should and should not aspire(渴望)to in life.   

In my opinion, if you want to live well, you must be able to use your mind well. For this reason, I want you to be able to concentrate, to solve problems, to understand complex ideas, and to think clearly and quickly. Such skills will make it easier for you to make informed decisions, understand current events, choose good friends, manage your money well, make wise lone-term decisions and appreciate music, art and literature.

The key to developing such skills is to enjoy learning, and to have the ability and motivation to teach yourself.

1.The writer of the passage feel disappointed that ____.

      A.too little has been done to help people to keep physically fit

      B.too much has been done to help people to keep physically fit

      C.mentally healthy people are not as popular as physically healthy people

      D.physically healthy people are not as popular as mentally healthy people

2.The underlined word “this” in the 3rd paragraph means ____.

      A.the understanding of a great deal of what goes on around you

      B.the understanding of basic science and mathematics

      C.good training in body and mind

      D.being able to make good decisions in life

3.The writer of this passage thinks those who are not mentally fit ____.

      A.live a poor and mysterious life             B.can’t control over their life

      C.often do what others do                    D.enjoy being fooled and ruled

4.The best title of the passage will most probably be ____.

      A.Train Your Body                              B.Train Your Mind 

      C.Make Informed Decisions                     D.Think Hard and Work Hard

Are you worried by the rising crime rate? If you are, then you probably know that your house, possessions and person are increasingly in danger of suffering from the great rise in the cases of burglary(入室行窃) and attack.

Figures indicate an ever- increasing crime rate but it is only too easy to imagine “it will never happen to me”. Unfortunately, numbers show that it really can happen to you and, if you live in a large city, you run twice the risk of being a victim(受害者).

Fortunately, there is something which you can do. Protect Alarms can help to protect your house with a burglar alarm system which is effective, simple to operate and easy to buy.

You must remember that possessing a burglar alarm is no indication that your house is filled with valuable possessions. It quite simply indicates to unwelcome visitors that yours is one house they will not break into easily so they carry on to an unprotected house where their job is made a lot easier.

Send now for our free leaflet(小册) telling you how we can Protect Alarm your house quickly, easily and cheaply. Complete and tear off the slip below and post it to us. Postage is free. Or telephone us on 327 6721 where we have a round-the-clock answering service, through which you can get the information any time you want. It costs nothing to find out about Protect Alarms.

1.It seems that people who live in large cities are ________.

       A.more often sufferers than those living in other areas

       B.of the opinion that numbers are wrong

       C.twice as rich as people living in other areas

       D.too poor to afford the protect system

2.The writers of this text want to give the impression that the PROTECT ALARMS system is _________.

   A.free of charge      B.easy to use       C.complex           D.lasting

3.The article shows that having an alarm system will _______.

       A.show burglars that you have something worth stealing

       B.persuade burglars not to break into your house

       C.make the burglar’s job less difficult

       D.persuade burglars to try again another time.

4.In order to find out more information about this alarm system, one can _______.

     A.buy a leaflet                           B.write enclosing a stamped, addressed envelope

       C.sign an agreement                       D.phone at any time of day or night

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