For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference betwee

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For a commuter rushing to catch a train, a minute can mean the difference between dinner with the family and leftovers (剩饭) in the microwave. What most passengers don’t realize is that their minute is already there.
Every commuter train that departs from New York City — about 900 a day — leaves a minute later than scheduled. If the timetable says 8:14, the train will actually leave at 8:15. In other words, if you think you have only a minute to get that train — well, relax. You have two.
The courtesy (礼貌) minute, in place for decades and published only in private timetables for employees, is meant as a grace period（宽限期）for those who need the extra time to get off the platform and onto the train.
“If everyone knows they get an extra minute, they’re going to waste time doing unimportant things,” explained Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for the Metro-North Railroad. Told of this article, Ms. Anders laughed. “Don’t blow our cover!” she said.
Entirely hidden from the riding public, the secret minute is an odd departure from the railroad culture of down-to-the-second accuracy. The railroad industry helped invent the concept of standard time, and time zones were established in the United States in the 1880s, 35 years before they were written into law. And most commuters know their train by the precise minute it departs. The trains quickly make up the minute: at all other stops, the public timetable prevails. The phantom minute does not exist at commuter railroads in Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, or San Francisco. But in New York, the secret minute dates back decades.
“That’s been done forever, from my knowledge,” said Jack Swanberg, 70, an unofficial historian of Metro-North. “I was the trainmaster starting in 1970 and I’m sure it’s been the case since 1870 for all I know.”
小题1:The courtesy minute was hidden from the public to _____.

A．prevent the passengers’ idleness	B．help invent the concept of standard time
C．show the railroad company’s consideration	D．follow the ancient tradition of New York City

小题2: The underlined part “Don’t blow our cover” in Para. 4 probably means “_____”.

A．Don’t publish the timetable	B．Don’t blame commuter trains
C．Don’t make it known by the public	D．Don’t forget our chances of catching trains

小题3:What can we conclude from the passage?

A．The courtesy minute exists in many cities in the US.

B．One minute means a lot for most of the commuters.

C．The courtesy minute has been in place for about ten years.

D．Most railroad staff in New York have no idea of the courtesy minute.

小题4: The passage mainly talks about _____.

A．the railroads in the US	B．the secret New York minute
C．the mistake of the railroad industry	D．the history of New York commuter trains

答案

小题1:A
小题1:C
小题1:B
小题1:B

解析

略

举一反三

American parents usually think that their child should not have more pocket money than the children with whom he regularly connects, even if they are wealthier．But neither are children expected to compare with the richer if a large family, heavy responsibilities, or other conditions make it necessary to give a child less spending money than is customary （惯例的）in the neighborhood．
Whatever the pocket money is, its entire use is not controlled by the parents, because a child learns to use money correctly only through dealing with it himself．If a seven-year-old child gets a quarter as a week pocket money and is made to put it all in his piggy bank to save it up, he gets no idea what the real use for the money is．He gets the shiny coins and they soon disappear．
The idea of a bank account is too early for so small a child, although he can be made to understand and enjoy saving his coins—not all of them, only a part of what he receives—to buy something he especially wants．By the time he is eight he is old enough to take part in the opening of his own savings account, parents may take him to the bank, open a savings account for him and encourage him to put a certain quantity or any checks he receives as gifts into the bank and watch his bank savings grow as entry by entry（存入） is made．
He will be saving, earning, and spending suitable quantities all along in order to learn how to manage money and to keep him in a favorable position with his friend．The boy who can"t join his fellows in a sweet shop once in a while, because he has to save every cent he gets or earns for some big unknown project his parents have chosen for him, is a sorry child．
小题1:Choose the best exolaration for the underlined part in the second paragraph.

A．It is a kind of bank run by children．

B．It is a contralre in the shape of a pig for saving coins.

C．It is a certain place in which pigs are raise．

D．It is a bank whose building looks like a pig

小题2:Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．Most of the rich people in America give children much pocket money．

B．American children usually have their bank accounts until they are eight．

C．American parents seldom care for their children"s spending money．

D．American children begin to learn how to manage money when very young．

小题3:Suppose an 8-year-old child receives 10 dollars as his birthday gift, he may probably ____．

A．spend the money on the things he wants

B．compare the gift with that of his friend

C．have most of it saved in the bank

D．put all the money in his piggy bank

小题4:Why does the writer think the boy is a sorry one if he saves every cent he gets or earns?

A．Because he can not manage his money and is kept himself in an unfavorable position

B．Because he can not join the fellows in a sweet shop once in a while

C．Because he can not learn the use of money through spending it himself

D．Because he can not have any other choice but save, earn of spend money

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In only two decades Asian Americans have become the fastest-growing US minority．As their children began moving up through the nation’s schools，it became clear that a new kind of culture was coming out．Their achievements are made in the nation’s best universities，where mathematics，science and engineering departments have taken on a decidedly Asian character.This special liking for mathematics and science is partly explained by the fact that Asian-American students who began their education abroad arrived in the U.S. with a solid grounding in mathematics but little or no knowledge of English.They are also influenced by the promise of a good job after college．Asians feel there will be less unfair treatment in areas like mathematics and science because they will be judged more objectively(客观)．And the money spent on education is more immediately returned in something like engineering than with an arts degree．
Most Asian-American students owe their success to the influence of parents who are determined that their children should take full advantage of what the American educational system has to offer.An effective measure of parental attention is homework. Asian parents spend more time with their children than American parents do，and it helps．Many researchers also believe there is something in Asian culture，such as family value，the importance of education and so on that lead to their success.
Both explanations for academic success worry Asian Americans because of fears that they could cause the native Americans’unhappiness．Many can remember when Chinese,Japanese and Filipino immigrants(移民)were unequally treated because of social separation．Indeed，it was not until 1952 that laws were laid down giving all Asian immigrants the right to citizenship.
小题1:Few Asian-American students major in human sciences mainly because .

A．they are afraid they might meet with unfair judgement in these areas

B．there is a wide difference between Asian and Western cultures

C．they know little about American cultures and Western cultures

D．their English is not good enough

小题2:Asian-Americans prefer something like engineering to an arts degree because________.

A．people majoring in engineering are respected

B．people with an arts degree are looked down upon

C．they can’t find a job with an arts degree

D．they can earn more money after graduation

小题3:While making great achievements at college，Asian-American students________.

A．are afraid that their academic successes take on a strong Asian character

B．still worry about unfair treatment in society

C．generally feel it a shame to have to depend on their parents

D．feel they are mistreated because of limited knowledge of English

小题4:According to the passage，the major factors determining the success of Asian-Americans are .

A．Asian culture and the American educational system

B．Asian culture and a solid base in basic mathematics

C．hard work and parental help

D．hard work and a limited knowledge of English

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Transportation and communication networks bring people together．Yet sometimes people themselves create barriers(障碍)to transportation and communication．
In some countries，laws stop people from moving freely from place to place．Over the centuries，many groups of people have been denied the freedom to travel because of their race，religion，or nationality．In the Middle Ages，for example，Jews were often forbidden to move about freely within certain cities．South Africa’s government used to require black Africans to carry passes when they travel within the country．Some governments require all citizens to carry identification papers and to report to government officials whenever they move．
Countries set up customs posts at their borders．Foreign travellers must go through a customs inspection before they are allowed to travel in the country．Usually travellers have to carry special papers such as passports and visas(签证)．Some countries even limit the number of visitors to their country each year．Others allow tourists to visit only certain areas of the country，or they may require that travellers be with an official guide at all times during their stay．
Many of those barriers to travel also act as barriers to communication．When two governments disagree with each other on important matters，they usually do not want their citizens to exchange news or ideas freely．Countries often try to keep military or lndustrial information secret．
Today，people have the ability to travel，to communicate，and to transport goods more quickly and easily than ever before．Natural barriers that were difficult or dangerous to cross a hundred years ago can now be crossed easily．The barriers that people themselves make are not so easy to overcome．But in spite of all the different kinds of barriers，people continue to enjoy travel and the exchange of goods and ideas.
小题1:Choose the best title for the passage．

A．Progress of Human Society

B．Restrictions on Transportation

C．Functions of Communication

D．Barriers Made by People

小题2:The author uses the examples in the second paragraph to tell people that_______.

A．travellers have to carry special papers such as visas

B．customs posts are necessary at the borders of the countries

C．people have been allowed to travel freely within the country

D．people have not been permitted to travel freely for various reasons

小题3:Why do some governments limit the freedom of communication?Because they______.

A．intend to keep their national secrets unknown to others

B．think such freedom will lead to wars

C．often disagree with each other on important matters

D．want to show their authority over communication

小题4:We may learn from the passage that_______.

A．people do not care about the removal of barriers between countries

B．people can not remove the obstacles made by themselves

C．man-made barriers are sometimes harder to overcome than natural ones

D．barriers should be taken for granted as they always exist

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Very old people do raise moral problems for almost everyone who comes into touch with them.Their values---this can not be repeated too often--aren’t necessarily our values.Physical comfort,cleanness and order are not necessarily the most important things.The social services from time to time find themselves faced with a room with rotten food covered by small worms,and an old person lying alone on bed,taking no notice of the worms.But is it interrupting personal freedom to insist that they go to live with some of their relatives so that they might be taken better care of? Some social workers,the ones who clear up the worms,think we’re in danger of carrying this idea of personal freedom to the point where serious risks(冒险)are being taken with the health and safety of the old.
Indeed,the old can be easily hurt or harmed.The old is like a car: it needs more mechanical repair as it gets older.You can carry this comparison right through to provision of spare parts.But never forget that such operations are painful experiences,however good the results are.And at what point should you stop to treat the old body?Is it morally right to try to push off death by continuing the development of medicine to excite the forgetful old mind and to make the old body active,knowing that it is designed to die?You cannot ask doctors or scientists to decide,because so long as they can see the technical chances,they will feel it necessary to give them a try,by the rule that while there’s life,there’s hope.
Talking to the old,however,you’re forced to the conclusion that whether age is happy or unpleasant depends less on money or health than it does on your ability to have fun.
小题1:After reading Paragraph 1，we learn that____.

A．very old people are able to keep their living places very clean

B．old people enjoy living alone so as to have more personal freedom

C．every old people enjoy living with their relatives

D．social services have nothing to do with very old people

小题2:Some social workers think that_____．

A．old people should keep their living places clean

B．one should not take risk dealing with old people

C．health and safety are more important than personal freedom

D．personal freedom is more important than health and safety

小题3:In Paragraph 3，the underlined word“it”refers to____．

A．one’s memory or health

B．the conclusion you have come to

C．whether age is happy or unpleasant

D．your talk to the old people

小题4:The writer of this passage thinks that_______．

A．it is always morally right to treat old people and push off death

B．the opinion that we should try every means possible to save old people is uncertain

C．old people can enjoy a happy life only if they are very rich

D．medical decisions for old people should be left to the doctors

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Perhaps the most astonishing theory to come out of kinetics，the study of body movement,was suggested by Professor Ray Birdwhistell.He believes that physical appearance Is often culturally programmed.In other words,we learn our looks;we are not born with them.
A baby generally unformed facial features.A baby,according to Birdwhistell,learns where to set the eyebrows by looking at those around family and friends．This helps explain why the people of some regions of the United States look so much lilke．New Englanders or Southerners have certain common facial characteristics that cannot be explained by genetics(遗传学)．The exact shape of the mouth is not set at birth,it is learned later．In fact，the final mouth shape is not formed until well after permanent(永久的)teeth are set．For many，this can be well into adolescence(青春期)．A husband and wife together for a long time often come to look somewhat alike．We learn our looks from those around us. This is perhaps why in a single country there are areas where people smile more than those in other areas．In the United States，for example，the South is the part of the country where the people smile most frequently．In New England they smile less，and in the western part of New York State still less．Many Southerners find cities such as New York cold and unfriendly，partly because people on Madison Avenue smile less than people on Peach Tree Street jn Atlanta，Georgia．People in densely(稠密地)populated urban areas also tend to smile and greet each other in public less than people in rural areas and small towns．
小题1:The passage might be taken out of a book dealing with______

A．physics

B．health

C．chemistry

D．body movement

小题2:Ray Birdwhistell believes that physical appearance_______．

A．has little to do with culture	B．is decided by our parents
C．can be infiuenced by culture	D．varies from place to place

小题3:Ray Birdwhistell can tell what region of the United States a person is from by .

A．the way he or she talks	B．how he or she raises his or her eyebrows
C．what he or she likes best	D．how much he or she laughs

小题4:According to the passage，people who live_______are more friendly.

A．in the north	B．in the country
C．in New York City	D．in densely populated areas

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