When a magazine for high school students asked its readers what life would be li
题型：不详难度：来源：
When a magazine for high school students asked its readers what life would be like in twenty years, they said: Machines would be run by solar power. Buildings would rotate（旋转）so they could follow the sun to take maximum advantage of its light and heat. Walls would “give light” and “change color with the push of a button.” Food would be replaced by pills. School would be taught by electrical impulse（电脉冲）while we sleep. Cars would have radar（雷达）. Does this sound like the year 2000? Actually, this article was written in 1958 and the question was, “what will life be like in 1978?
The future is much too important to simply guess about, the way the high school students did, so experts are regularly asked to predict accuately. By carefully studying the present, skilled businessmen, scientists, and politicians are supposedly able to figure out in advance what will happen. But can they? One expert on Cities wrote: Cities of the future would not be crowded, but would have space for farms and fields. People would travel to work in “airbuses”, large all-weather helicopters carrying up to 200 passengers. When a person left the airbus station he could drive a coin-operated car equipped with radar. The radar equipment of cars would make traffic accidents “almost unheard of”. Does that sound familiar? If the expert had been accurate it would, because he was writing in 1957. His subject was “The city of 1982”.
If the professionals sometimes sound like high school students, it’s probably because future study is still a new field. But economic forecasting, or predicting what the economy will do, has been around for a long time. It should be accuate, and generally it is. But there have been some big mistakes in the field, too. In early 1929, most forecasters saw an excellent future for the stock market. In October of that year, the stock market had its worst losses ever, ruining thousands of investors who had put their faith in financial foreseers.
One forecaster knew that predictions about the future would always be subject to significant error. In 1957, H.J. Rand of the Rad corporation was asked about the year 2000, “Only one thing is certain,” he answered. “Children born today will have reached the age of 43.”
小题1:How many examples does the author offer to describe the future life?小题2:The high school students’ answers to “What would life be like in 1978?” sound __________.| A．accurate | B．imaginative | C．correct | D．foolish |
小题3:In the second paragraph, the writer gives examples to show _________.| A．predicting about the future can be done in a humorous way | | B．no predictions are based on careful research | | C．experts are always better than others in figuring out what the future will be like | | D．forecasting the future is not an easy job even for experts in this field |
小题4:From the third paragraph we can learn that _________.| A．economy forecasting is rather a new field | | B．experts began economy forecasting in 1929 | | C．the predictions about economic situation caused the investors to lose lots of money | | D．good, accurate forecasting helped the stock market overcome the difficulties |
小题5:H.J.Rand’s prediction about the year 2000 shows that ________.| A．it is easy to figure out in advance what will happen | | B．it is difficult to figure out in advance what will happen | | C．only professionals can figure out in advance what will happen | | D．very few professionals figure out in advance what will happen |
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答案
小题1:B
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:C
小题5:B |
解析
试题分析：文章介绍一些学生预测未来的生活是非常不准确的，但是，即使是这方面的专家，也很难做出准确的预测。
小题1:细节题：从第一段的句子：When a magazine for high school students asked its readers what life would be like in twenty years, they said: Machines would be run by solar power. Buildings would rotate（旋转）so they could follow the sun to take maximum advantage of its light and heat. Walls would “give light” and “change color with the push of a button.”可知作者提到4种未来的生活，选B。
小题2:推理题：从第一段的句子：Does this sound like the year 2000? Actually, this article was written in 1958 and the question was, “what will life be like in 1978?学生们描述的未来生活更象2000年的生活，而不是1978年，所以他们的想法是愚蠢的，选B。
小题3:细节题：从第二段的句子：If the expert had been accurate it would, because he was writing in 1957. His subject was “The city of 1982”.可知作者在这段举例是想说明甚至对于这个领域的专家来说，预测未来都不是一件容易的事情，选D。
小题4:细节题：从第三段的句子：In October of that year, the stock market had its worst losses ever, ruining thousands of investors who had put their faith in financial foreseers.可知关于经济形势的预测导致投资者失去了很多钱，选C
小题5:细节题：从第四段的句子：“Only one thing is certain,” he answered. “Children born today will have reached the age of 43.”可知H.J.Rand 对于未来的预测表示很难预测未来会发生什么，选B |
举一反三
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table，I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation．At one point the woman asked，“So，how have you been?" And the boy -who could not have been more than seven or eight years old-replied．“Frankly, I"ve been feeling a little depressed lately．"
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing．As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”，that is，in low spirits，until we were in high school．
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years．Children don"t seem childlike anymore．Children speak more like adults，dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to．
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different．Childhood as it once was no longer exists．Why?
Human development is depended not only on born biological states，but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge．Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social posifions．Children have always been taught adult secrets，but slowly and in stages；traditionally,we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders．
In the last 30 years，however, a secret-revelation(揭示)machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes．It is called television．Television passes information to all viewers allke，whether they are children or adults．Unable to resist the temptation(诱惑)，many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging，more attractive moving pictures．
Communication through print，as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain．Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials．
小题1:According to the author, feeling depressed is ．| A．a sure sign of a mental problem in a child | | B．a mental state present in all humans, including children | | C．something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development | | D．something hardly to be expected in a young child |
小题2:Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world ．| A．through connection with society | | B．gradually and under guidance | | C．naturally without being taught | | D．through watching television |
小题3:According to the author’that today’s children seem adultlike results from ．| A．the widespread influence of television | | B．the poor arrangement of teaching content | | C．the fast pace of human scientific development | | D．the rising standard of living |
小题4:What does the anthor think of communication through print for children?| A．It enables children to gain more social information． | | B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing． | | C．It helps chlldren to read and write well | | D．It can control what children are to learn． |
小题5:What does the author think of the change in today’s children?| A．He feels their adultlike behavior is so funny． | | B．He thinks the change worthy of note． | | C．He considers it a rapid development． | | D．He seems to be upset about it． |
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One’s style of the dress reveals the human obsession with both novelty and tradition. People use clothing to declare their membership in a particular social group; however, the rules for what is acceptable dress for that group may change. In affluent societies, this changing of the rules is the driving force behind fashions. By keeping up with fashions, that is, by changing their clothing style frequently but meanwhile, members of a group both satisfy their desire for novelty and obey the rules, thus demonstrating their membership in the group.
There are some interesting variations (变种) regarding individual status. Some people, particularly in the West, consider themselves of such high status that they do not need to display it with their clothing. For example, many wealthy people in the entertainment industry appear in very casual clothes, such as the worn jeans and work boots of a manual laborer. However, it is likely that a subtle but important signal, such as an expensive wristwatch, will prevail over the message of the casual dress. Such an inverted (颠倒的)status display is most likely to occur where the person’s high status is conveyed in ways other than with clothing, such as having a famous face.
小题1:According to the author, fashions serve all the following purposes EXCEPT| A．satisfying an interest in novelty | | B．signaling a change in personal beliefs | | C．displaying membership in a social group | | D．following traditional rules |
小题2:Why does the author discuss individual status in paragraph 2?| A．To state that individual’s status is not important in the West | | B．To argue that individuals need not obey every fashion rule | | C．To contrast the status of entertainers with that of manual laborers | | D．To explain how high status may involve an inverted status display |
小题3:What’s the meaning of the underlined word?| A．newness | B．convention | C．nobleness | D．benzene |
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A large number of people in the world eat fast food. Whenever you go into a fast food restaurant, you can see lots of people enjoying their meals there. How do you know in which country people like fast food best?
The English people are the world’s biggest fans of fast food, while the French are the least interested in quick meals, according to a survey done last year.
The survey of thirteen countries shows 45% of the English people say they can’t give up fast food because it’s delicious. And 44% of Americans and 37% of Canadians say the same.
The French, proud of their delicious cuisine, don’t like fast food. 81% of them think it is unhealthy, followed by 75% of the Japanese.
How about the Chinese? How often do you have hamburgers or fried chicken? It doesn’t matter whether you like Western fast food or Chinese food. The most important thing is to keep a balanced diet.
小题1:According to the survey, some people can’t give up fast food because _____.| A．it’s cheap | B．it’s safe | | C．it’s delicious | D．it’s healthy From the survey， |
小题2:We know _____ like fast food best.| A．the Chinese | B．the French | C．the Japanese | D．the English |
小题3:The survey is about _______.| A．Western countries | B．fast food | | C．restaurants in the world | D．Chinese food |
小题4:The word “cuisine” in the passage means _______.| A．food | B．house | C．water | D．country |
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No doubt that you know about Charities. Here it is another chance for you to know more. Difficult times often bring out the best in people. And this was the case for basketball star Yao Ming, who hosted a television show in Shanghai that raised US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS. Fundraising, or charity, is an act of goodwill towards others. Charities in the West have more flexible ways. Look at a typical day for Ruth, a wealthy woman in the UK, for example. Ruth wakes up in the morning and collects her post. There’s a letter addressed to her with a picture of a half-dead, beaten horse. It’s from a charity asking Ruth to donate money to save the animals. The door bell rings and there, on Ruth’s doorstep, is an old woman asking for money to help the aged. She turns on the television, hears sad music and sees a picture of a wide-eyed child dying of hunger in Africa with an appeal for money to help the child. Ruth then goes shopping for a dress to wear to that evening’s large party for the rich and famous. The ticket cost her a small fortune, but she doesn’t mind because most of the money is going to a charity that fights AIDS. She feels good about going because she’s helping the sick. Within five minutes of walking down the street, Ruth has passed a charity shop. She doesn’t stop because she doesn’t think she’d find a suitable dress there—it’s full of old, secondhand clothes. But, many other people enter and but all sorts of bargains. Edna, a little old lady, looks after the shop. Any profit it has made goes to a cancer charity. Now that she has retired, she has plenty of spare time to offer her services for free.
For people like Yao Ming, Ruth and Edna, charity is a virtue that holds the same importance in life as faith and hope. “As you look back on your life, the moments that stand out are the moments when you have done things for others,” said Scottish author Henry Drummond.
小题1:Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the story as a way of fundraising ?| A．Charity party | B．Charity post | | C．Charity TV program | D．Charity for beggars. |
小题2:What does the word “raise” in the first paragraph mean ?| A．Collect together | B．Donate | | C．Increase | D．Bring to someone’s attention. |
小题3:We can infer from the passage that .| A．Yao Ming donated US$300,000 to help researchers find a cure for SARS | | B．Edna may not be a rich lady but she is willing to do something for others | | C．Ruth leads a busy life and she feels very tired | | D．Ruth is angry because so many people ask her for money every day |
小题4:What’s the writer’s attitude towards charity ?| A．The writer thinks it’s something only people like Ruth can afford to do | | B．The writer just wants to inform us of the different ways to practice charity | | C．The writer thinks it’s a virtue and admires the people who practice it | | D．The writer doesn’t make it clear in the story |
小题5:The underlined part in the last paragraph probably means that .| A．when you look back sometimes, you need stand out | | B．when you want to do something for others, you need stand out | | C．the moment you stand out, you can do something for others | | D．what impresses people deeply is what they have done for others |
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You"re rushing to work and a man ahead of you falls down on the sidewalk. Do you stop to help? In a study of by-standers, it was found that some people keep on walking.
"There is a tendency to decide that no action is needed," says a psychologist, "In order to take action, you have to work against them." Here are some common thoughts that stop you from helping.
●Why should I be the one? I"m probably not the most able person in this crowd. You might think someone older or with more medical knowledge should offer assistance.
●What if he doesn"t really need my help? The fear of embarrassment is powerful; no one wants to risk looking foolish in front of others.
●No one else looks concerned. We can follow the people around us, but most people tend to hold back their emotions in public.
"If you spot trouble and find yourself explaining inaction, force yourself to stop and figure out the situation instead of walking on," says the psychologist. "Then retry to involve other people; you don"t have to take on the entire responsibility of being helpful. Sometimes it"s just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, "It looks like we should do something." Or asking someone if an ambulance has been called and, if not, to call for one. Once you take action, most people will follow you."
小题1:Which is NOT the common thought that stops you from helping others?| A．I"m not the very capable person. | | B．It looks like we should do something. | | C．No one else is concerned. | | D．He doesn"t really need my help. |
小题2:In order to offer your timely help, you need to .| A．go directly to the police station | | B．get along well with the passers-by who spot the trouble | | C．ask others for help and call the police | | D．work against the first thoughts that stop you from offering help |
小题3:The main purpose of the passage is to tell readers .| A．to give others a hand | B．to be more able | | C．to explain their inaction | D．to evaluate the situation |
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