The idea of “law” exists in every culture. All societies have some kind of law to keep order and to control the interactions of people with those around them. The laws of any culture tell people three things: what they can do (their right), what they must do (their duties), and what they may not do. In addition, there are usually specific types of punishment for those who break the law.

  Although all societies have laws, not all have the same idea of justice—which is “right” and “wrong” and how “wrong” should be punished. In most Western cultures, it is thought that punishing criminals will prevent them from committing other crimes. Also, it is hoped that the fear of punishment will act as a deterrent(威慑) that prevents other people from committing similar crimes; in other words, people who are considering a life of crime will decide against it because of fear of punishment. In most non-Western cultures, by contrast, punishment is not seen as a deterrent. Instead, great importance is placed on restoring balance in the situation. A thief, for example, may be ordered to return the things he has stolen instead of, as in Western societies, spending time in prison.

   Another difference in the concept of justice lies in various societies’ ideas of what laws are. In the West, people consider “laws” quite different from “customs”. There is also a great contrast between “sins” (breaking religious laws) and “crimes” (breaking laws of the government). In many non-Western cultures, on the other hand, there is little separation of customs, laws, and religious beliefs; in other cultures, these three may be quite separate from one another, but still very much different from those in the West. For these reasons, an action may be considered a crime in one country, but be socially acceptable in others. For instance, although a thief is viewed as a criminal in much of the world, in a small village where there is considerable communal（公共的） living and sharing of objects, the word thief may have little meaning. Someone who has taken something without asking is simply considered an impolite person.

   Most countries have two kinds of law: criminal and civil. People who have been accused of acts such as murder or theft are heard in the criminal justice system, while civil justice deals with people who are believed to have violated others’ rights. The use of the civil system reflects the values of the society in which it exists. In the United States where personal, individual justice is considered very important, civil law has become “big business.” There are over 600,000 lawyers in the United States, and many of them keep busy with civil lawsuits; that is, they work for people who want to sue others. If a man falls over a torn rug in a hotel and breaks his arm, for instance, he might decide to sue the hotel owners so that they will pay his medical costs. In a country like Japan, by contrast, there is very little use of the civil justice system. Lawsuits are not very popular in Japan, where social harmony is even more important than individual rights, and where people would rather reach agreement outside court.

The main point of paragraph 1 is that____.

A. all societies, Western or non-Western, have some kind of law to keep order.

B. most countries in the world have two kinds of law “criminal and civil ”

C. there are usually specific types of punishment for those who break the law.

D. the laws of any culture dictate people’s rights, duties and what they are not supposed to do

Which is TRUE in most Western cultures?

A. Punishment has double functions.

B. A thief may be referred to as an impolite person.

C. Punishment is not regarded as a deterrent.

D. There is lots of communal living and sharing of objects.

Which statement is NOT true according to the article?

A. In the West, people think laws and customs are rather different.

B. In the West, there is little difference between “sins” and “crimes”.

C. An action that is considered a crime in one country may be socially acceptable in another.

D. There is far less use of the civil justice system in Japan than in the United States.

Which of the following cases are not heard in the criminal justice system?

A. Robbing a pedestrian.            B. Kidnapping people for ransom.

C. Breaking into a bank.                     D. Failing to pay back the money.

Israel has passed a law banning the use of underweight models in advertising. Known as the “Photoshop Law”, it also requires that agencies tell their audience if they’ve digitally changed pictures to make models look thinner.

The new law forbids the use of models with a body mass index of 18.5 or less, a standard based on internationally accepted measures. The figure matches the set of fixed limits by the U. S. Department of Health.

The law doesn’t set a money amount that can be gained in court from such a suit. Lawmakers realize that it may be a long and difficult process to prove in court that a company broke the new law, but they feel that simply having the law in place will accomplish what they want; stopping advertising companies from continuing to influence Israelis with images of unhealthy-looking models as the gold standard of beauty.

Some modeling agencies in Israel aren’t happy. They say that the indexes on which the law is based are arbitrary (任意的)and are not suitable for every model. Many models who are totally healthy girls might be disqualified because of the law. Some models are naturally thin and unable to gain weight and the new law would unfairly prevent them from finding jobs.

However, plus-size American supermodel Emme told CNN that she thinks the law will cause other countries to make similar measures against showing underweight models. “I think this is fantastic because so many young women and men are suffering to look in a way that is unrealistic and unhealthy,” she said.

1.What is “Photoshop Law” about?

A. Banning the use of underweight models.

B. Banning underweight models in advertising.

C. Banning changing pictures digitally.

D. Banning models in advertising.

2.The underlined word “suit” in Paragraph 3 means           .

A . a set of clothing

B. a group of rooms

C. an action in court

D. a performance in advertising

3.What can we know from the passage?

A. All models are happy about the law.

B. All advertising agencies are happy about the law.

C. The law makes no sense.

D. There are arguments over the beauty standard of models.

Good morning. I’m Chen Hua. Here’s my culture report for today, Monday.

A new film starts tonight at the student cinema at eight o’clock. The film is Pirates of the Carribean. It’s a fantastic adventure film. Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom are the stars. They are both very popular and famous, and they both act well in this film, and make their characters believable.

The story is about an old ship. It sails around the Carribean islands. Depp and Bloom try to find some lost gold. Then they come face to face with some terrible men, and have to fight them. There's lots of action, and the fighting looks really dangerous. They also saves Keira Knightly. She plays Elisabeth, the daughter of a rich man. The scenes with Knightly and Bloom are beautiful and romantic.

The film isn't true to life, but it' s very exciting, and some of it is very funny. It' s an enjoyable film, although in my opinion there's too much fighting. But except for that, it's an excellent film.

    You didn't see it when it first came out, I advise you to go and see it now. I' m sure you' 11 enjoy it. It' s showing all week.

41. Pirates of the Carribean is__________.

A. a tragedy          B. a comedy          C. an action film           D. an adventure film

42. Depp and Bloom sails around the Carribean islands because__________.

A. they try to find some lost gold               B. they try to find some gold

C. they try to find some lost iron         D. they try to find some lost iron

43. They meet __________.

A. some terrible men                   B. some terrible women

C. some smiling men                   D. some smiling men

44. There's lots of action in the film because they have to_______.

A. fight the frightening people      B. fight the terrible women

C. make the film interesting         D. make the film exciting

45. Keira Knightly plays__________.

A. Depp and Bloom      B. Elisabeth        C. Orlando Bloom         D. Johnny Depp