Silence is unnatural to man．He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness．I
题型：不详难度：来源：
Silence is unnatural to man．He begins life with a cry and ends it in stillness．In between he does all he can to make a noise in the world, and he fears silence more than anything else．Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence．If he is introduced to another person, and a number of pauses occur in the conversation, he regards himself as a failure, a worthless person, and is full of envy of the emptiest headed chatterbox（喋喋不休的人）.He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than the buzzing of a fly, but he is anxious to join in the buzz and to prove that he is a man and not a waxwork figure（蜡塑人像）.
The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound. There are, it must be admitted, different qualities of buzz; there is even a buzz that is as annoying as the continuous noise made by a mosquito （蚊子）.But at a dinner party one would rather be a mosquito than a quiet person. Most buzzing, fortunately, is pleasant to the ear, and some of it is pleasant even to the mind. He would be a foolish man if he waited until he had a wise thought to take part in the buzzing -with his neighbors.
Those who hate to pick up the weather as a conversational opening seem to me not to know the reason why human beings wish to talk. Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new. Some of them are content if they are merely allowed to go on making a noise into other people"s ears, though they have nothing to tell them except that they have seen two or three new plays or that they had food in a Swiss hotel. At the end of an evening during which they have said nothing meaningful for a long time, they just prove themselves to be successful conservationists.
小题1:According to the passage, people usually talk to their neighbors_____.| A．in the hope of learning something new | | B．in the hope of getting on well | | C．about whatever they want to | | D．about whatever they have prepared |
小题2:According to the author, people make conversation to______.| A．achieve success in life | | B．overcome their fear of silence | | C．exchange ideas | | D．prove their value |
小题3:What is the author"s purpose in writing the passage?| A．To persuade people to stop making noises． | | B．To explain why people keep talking． | | C．To discuss why people like talking about weather． | | D．To encourage people to join in conversations． |
小题4:By "the buzzing of a fly"(Para.1), the author means"_____".| A．the voice of a chatterbox | | B．meaningless talk sound | | C．a low whispering | | D．the noise of an insect |
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答案
小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:B
小题4:B |
解析
试题分析：本文的作者了解释人们为什么会交谈。大多数的交谈是害怕沉默而进行的毫无意义的交谈
小题1:推理题：从第三段的句子：Very few human beings join in a conversation in the hope of learning anything new.可知和邻居的谈话是无所不谈。选C
小题2:细节题：从第一段的句子：Even his conversation is an attempt to prevent a fearful silence．可知人们的交谈是害怕沉默。选B
小题3:主旨题：从第二段的句子：The aim of conversation is not, for the most part, to communicate ideas; it is to keep up the buzzing sound.可知作者是解释人们为什么会交谈。选B
小题4:猜词题：从前面的句子：He knows that ninety-nine percent of human conversation means no more than 可知the buzzing of a fly是指毫无意义的交谈。选B
点评：本文的作者了解释人们为什么会交谈。这篇文章要先看问题，再带着问题仔细阅读短文，理解了全文内容，很容易选出正确答案。阅读短文时，常常会遇到一些生词。这时，要沉着，冷静，细心思考。首先要把整段、整篇文章看完。猜词题主要通过对全篇短文的理解，和单词所在句子的前后的暗示，就很有可能猜测出生词的大意。 |
举一反三
A recent survey shows that the alarming rate of child suicide(自***) in Hong Kong, raising levels of stress and anxiety among young people, increasing conflicts between children and teachers, and children’s complaints that their parents do not understand their problems—all point to a drop in “emotional quotient” (EQ) (情商), the ability to handle relationships.
EQ is defined as the ability to deal with oneself and others effectively. High EQ, psychologists say, is easy to spot. Some of the greatest humanitarian (人道主义的) leaders have high EQ, along with successful managers and inspirational and respected teachers. The problem is not how to spot high EQ but to improve on low EQ, so society as a whole can benefit.
In the United States, declining EQ among young people is seen as one of the factors behind rising young people’s crime because youths fail to understand others’ feelings—one of the key components of EQ. While the situation in Hong Kong is not so bad, there are warning signs that the levels of anxiety among youth may become critical. Declining EQ among Hong Kong teenagers has been acknowledged by several studies including a key study by the education concern group, the Learning-Teacher Association, which found a high degree of anxiety among students over the future and also that young people lacked confidence in dealing with problems. Parents and teachers will also need to develop their own EQ skills in order to deal with them effectively.
Daniel Goleman cites a number of basic elements of high EQ: first, awareness of your feelings as you experience them which is very important to making good decisions in life; second, feeling or awareness of what others are feeling. “90% of emotional information is expressed non-verbally and people vary in their ability to pick it up,” Dr. Goleman says in his book.
Dr. Goleman argues that without high EQ even highly-educated, highly-intelligent people will not find success in life. Or those with low EQ, even though they may be brilliant, tend to lack feeling and impulse control. They fail easily, and they are easily intolerant and often aggressive in interpersonal relations. Some educational psychologists believe work on EQ may be important in Hong Kong with its high rate of suicide among school children. EQ test may be able to help predict those most at risk, and those least able to deal with their own emotions or unable to deal with others, including parents and teachers.
小题1:According to the passage, children in Hong Kong commit suicide at an alarming rate as a result of _______.| A．parents not understanding their children | | B．the rising levels of stress and anxiety among young people | | C．the inability of dealing with relationships | | D．increasing conflict between children and teachers |
小题2:We can infer from the passage that people with low emotional quotient _______.| A．are least likely to become good leaders | | B．can deal with oneself and others effectively | | C．are beneficial to society | | D．are more likely to be respected |
小题3:The word “its” in the last paragraph refers to ________.| A．the work on EQ | | B．Hong Kong | | C．EQ | | D．China |
小题4:Daniel Goleman believes that _______.| A．one can be just as successful without having a high EQ | | B．only people with both high EQ and high IQ will be successful in life | | C．people with low intelligence will not get a successful life | | D．people not having high EQ may not be successful in life despite being extremely intelligent |
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Old age may not sound exciting. But recent findings offer good news for older people and for people worried about getting older.
Researchers found that people become happier and experience less worry after they reach the age of fifty. In fact, they say by the age of eighty-five, people are happier with their life than they were when they were eighteen years old.
The findings came from a survey of more than three hundred forty thousand adults in the United States. The Gallup Organization questioned them by telephone in two thousand eight. At that time, the people were between the ages of eighteen and eighty-five.
The researchers asked questions about emotions like happiness, sadness and worry. They also asked about mental or emotional stress.
Arthur Stone in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stony Brook University in New York led the study. His team found that levels of stress were highest among adults between the ages of twenty-two and twenty-five.
The findings showed that stress levels dropped sharply after people reached their fifties.
Happiness was highest among the youngest adults and those in their early seventies. The people least likely to report feeling negative emotions were those in their seventies and eighties.
The study also showed that men and women have similar emotional patterns as they grow older. However, women at all ages reported more sadness, stress and worry than men.
The findings appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers say they do not know why happiness increases as people get older. One theory is that, as people grow older, they grow more thankful for what they have and have better control of their emotions. They also spend less time thinking about bad experiences.
Professor Stone says the emotional patterns could be linked to changes in how people see the world, or maybe even changes in brain chemistry.
The researchers also considered possible influences like having young children, being unemployed or being single. But they found that influences like these did not affect the levels of happiness and well-being related to age.
小题1: What is the report about?| A．The relationship between happiness and age. | | B．The influence between happiness and unemployment. | | C．The tendency between family and health. | | D．The expectation between age and children. |
小题2:Suppose John is 90 years old and Mike is 24, which of the following is True about them according to the research?| A．John is happier and more energetic than Mike. | | B．Mike is happier but weaker than John. | | C．John is more sad and worried than Mike. | | D．Mike is more worried and depressed than John. |
小题3: One of the possible reasons why the older one gets, the happier one becomes is that _______.| A．they have had enough bad experiences | | B．they become more grateful about the things they own | | C．they have found it easy to forget their pains and pressures | | D．they have lost their ability to control themselves |
小题4: Which of the following is true according to the passage?| A．Having young children affects the levels of happiness of the old. | | B．Emotional patterns can change the physical structures of human’s brains. | | C．It’s reported that women at all ages are happier than men. | | D．Why happiness increases as people get older is still an unsolved mystery. |
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With the rapid progress of technology, the English language is changing fast. All the people have to face a choice: either ignore the development of the language and spend the rest of our lives wishing Shakespeare were alive, or keep pace with the Internet age, welcoming the new English which someone has once called Weblish. “you can’t avoid it for the simple reason that wherever a new language comes along, it surely impacts (影响) the language as a whole,” says Dr David Crystal, a famous language professor at the University of Wales.
However, there is great trouble with keeping up with the new English because there are so many new words and the old ones no longer mean what we thought they did. In the past if someone said they didn’t have “Windows”, you would have to suppose they lived in a cave without windows. But now, it is probably because they use a Mac, which is a computer. Spam, which once meant a not-so-good-kind of canned meat, now stands for unwanted “junk (垃圾)” email.
Spelling is changing too. Weblish loves to see nouns happily become verbs ( for example, “Please bookmark this site”), and verbs become nouns (“Send me the download”).Verbs and prepositions are regularly thrown together to become new nouns or adjectives(for example, dial-up, logon, print-out, pull-down, upload), while others are created from a simple pairing of nouns: cyberspace, ethernet, Internet, hyperlink, metatag and netspeak.
小题1: We can infer from the first paragraph that _____ .| A．English has completely become Weblish | | B．some people wish Shakespeare were still alive | | C．people may have different attitudes towards Weblish | | D．people who know English have to learn a new language |
小题2: What is the main idea of the second paragraph?| A．Now English has many new words. | | B．English words have changed a lot. | | C．Old English words are no longer used at all. | | D．People have difficulty in understanding some new words related to computers and the Internet. |
小题3: The best title for this passage would be “_____”.| A．Technology and English | | B．Keep Up with the Latest Weblish | | C．Don’t Forget English | | D．The Advantage and Disadvantages of Weblish |
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There is no doubt that watching television and movies can influence the way that people behave. Moreover, it seems that people are spending more and more time watching some sort of visual entertainment, whether it is television, a video tape or a DVD. Therefore, the effects of the visual media cannot be ignored.
One obvious effect of these media is that watching them induces(诱导)people to buy certain products. Television advertising is widespread and, nowadays, even movie theaters permit advertisements. Another way TV and the movies affect people is that they give people either a broader view of the world or a distorted(扭曲的)one, depending on what type of program they watch. Those who watch news and educational programs can learn many new things while those who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world have great wealth and good looks. It may make them become dissatisfied with their own lives. Finally perhaps the most susceptible(易受影响的)viewers are children, who may be unable to tell fact from fiction and may try to copy acts that they see on TV or in the movies.
With the ever-increasing popularity of video entertainment, society must pay attention to these effects. Television and movies, while entertaining and informative, cannot take the place of real experiences.
小题1:From the passage, we know that watching television and movies can .| A．make people live better | B．make people feel pleased | | C．make people change their way of life | D．make people live worse |
小题2:The writer holds the view that .| A．people may take no notice of the effects of the visual media | | B．people must pay attention to the effects of the visual media | | C．the effects of the visual media make the world changed greatly | | D．the visual media only affect young people |
小题3:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?| A．Those who watch news and educational programs can earn a lot of money and become very pretty. | | B．The reason why most people possess great wealth and good looks is that they often watch television advertising. | | C．People buy products only when they are induced by television advertising. | | D．People who watch primarily entertainment shows may come to believe that most people in the world are rich and beautiful. |
小题4:What would be the best title for this text?| A．The Influence of Television and Movies | | B．The Reason Why People Watch Television and Movies | | C．Television and Movies Induce People | | D．The Importance of Television and Movies |
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"Regardless of social class, race and age, men say they hate to shop." says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. "Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they"ll say, "Well, that"s not shopping. That"s research. "
In other words, what men and women call "buying things" and how they approach that task are different.
Women will wander through several 1,000-aquare-meter stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder. Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.
"Men are frequently shopping to win," says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. "They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best one, the latest one and if they do that it makes them happy. "When women shop, "They"re doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy." says Ann. "They"re kind of shopping for love."
"Teenage girls learn to shop from their moms and older sisters, but they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen, "City University Zukin says." And although men"s magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it"s TV that has the eye of young male shoppers, "say Ann and Zukin.
"Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen magazine or Lucky is used by girls," says Zukin, "to help make clothing and toiletry choices."
"Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it." Loyola"s Ann says. And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don"t want to get cheated. Ann adds, "There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home-----they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it."
小题1:From the first paragraph we can find that _____.| A．men are all dishonest | | B．men are all book-lovers | | C．men hate to shop actually | | D．men like to shop in fact |
小题2:Compared to women, men usually treat shopping _____.| A．honestly | B．seriously | C．frequently | D．foolishly |
小题3:As is shown in this passage, teenage girls go shopping _____.| A．only with their moms | | B．only with their sisters | | C．often following magazines | | D．often following TV shows |
小题4:The underlined word "magnets" in the last paragraph means _____. | A．magazines that attract young women | | B．persons that have a powerful attraction | | C．tools that can help housewives much | | D．vegetables that make women beautiful |
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