It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers（生产商） follow certain uniform

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It is hardly surprising that clothing manufacturers（生产商） follow certain uniform standards for various features of clothes．What seems strange, however, is that the standard adopted for women is the opposite of the one for men．Take a look at the way your clothes button．Men’s clothes tend to button from the right, and women’s form the left．Considering most of the word’s population----men and women----are right-handed, the men’s standard would appear to make more sense for women．So why do women’s clothes button from the left?
History really seems to matter here．Buttons first appeared only on the clothes of the rich in the 17th century, when rich women were dressed by servants．For the mostly right-handed servants, having women’s shirts button from the left would be easier．On the other hand, having men’s shirts button form the right made sense, too．Most men dressed themselves, and a sword drawn from the left with the right hand would be less likely to get caught in the shirt．
Today women are seldom dressed by servants, but buttoning form the left is still the standard for them．Is it interesting? Actually, a standard, once set, resists change．At a time when all women’s shirts buttoned form the left, it would have been risky for any single manufacturer to offer women’s shirts that buttoned from the right．After all, women had grown so used to shirts which buttoned from the left and would have to develop new habits and skills to switch．Besides, some women might have found it socially awkward to appear in public wearing shirts that buttoned from the right, since anyone who noticed that would believe they were wearing men’s shirts．
小题1:What is surprising about the standard of the clothing industry?

A．It has been followed by the industry for over 400 years．

B．It is different for men’s clothing and women’s．

C．It woks better with men than with women．

D．It fails to consider right-handed people．

小题2:What do we know about the rich men in the 17th century?

A．They tended to wear clothes without buttons．

B．T

hey were interested in the historical matters．

C．They were mostly dressed by servants．

D．They drew their swords from the left．

小题3:Women’s clothes still button from the left today because ．

A．adopting men’s style is improper for women

B．manufacturers should follow standards

C．customs are hard to change

D．modern women dress themselves

小题4:The passage is mainly developed by ．

A．analyzing causes	B．making comparisons
C．examining differences	D．following the time order

答案

小题1:B
小题1:D
小题1:C
小题1:A

解析

略

举一反三

Attempt a guess at the following question: In the English-speaking world, which country has the least affordable homes? You are wrong if you guessed the US, even with the housing bubble (气泡) and main sadness. Nor is it the UK, where prices have risen because demand is far from supply. According to a recent survey of 227 cities around the globe, you must go south of the equator (赤道) to Australia to find the priciest homes.
The report measured a city’s housing market along the following guidelines. An “affordable” home required three times or less of the average family’s income to purchase. At four times earnings, a home fell into the “unaffordable” category. And a “seriously unaffordable” home needed five times a family’s income. In Australia, homes in the least affordable city cost just about 9.5 times the average income. Sydney, Perth, and Melbourne were only a little under this figure.
Australian officials offered little comment, apart from a general statement on the dismal findings. These prices make the possibility that many Australians will one day own a home largely unbelievable. Land rationing (配给制) and excessive development charges have raised prices, and the problem will only be solved through urgent action by the Rudd government.
Some American cities were also included on the least affordable list, four of which were in California. America is still involved in a mortgage（抵押）crisis, though, affecting the affordability of homes. Yet a number of US cities garnered “affordable” status, namely Dallas and Kansas. Australia had no cities listed in the top fifty places with affordable homes.
The survey suggests that you can find affordable homes in most places, just not if you’re Australian and choose to live down under.
小题1:To buy an affordable house, you should pay _____.

A．3 times or less of the average family’s income

B．4 times or less of the average family’s income

C．5 times or less of the average family’s income

D．9.5 times or less of the average family’s income

小题2:What caused the prices of houses to increase in Australia?

A．The rising family’s income.

B．The demand over supply.

C．The excessive development charges.

D．The decrease of land.

小题3:The underlined word “dismal” in Paragraph 3 may mean _____.

A．cheerful

B．satisfactory

C．difficult

D．gloomy

小题4:What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．Affordable Houses

B．A House is a Dream First

C．Housing Bubble

D．Homes Too Expensive

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。
C
China’s economic growth “hard to predict”
The worsening global economic situation makes it difficult for China to predict its growth for next year, a senior official said on Friday.
“How fast China’s economy will grow next year is uncertain,” Liu He, deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group on Finance and Economy Work, told China Daily.
“To a large extent, the rate will be decided by the external(外部) situation,” Liu said during a discussion with Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and other economists in Beijing.
“This year, GDP is estimated to grow at 9.4 or 9.5 percent, down from 10.6 percent last year,” he said. “However, the impact of the current financial turbulence on our economy is much less than on the rest of the world.”
Nicholas Stern, a former UK government advisor, also told China Daily it will take at least one or two years for the world to recover from the recession, which is now spreading from the US and the UK to the rest of the world.
“We don’t know how long the recession will last, but it is unlikely to be short,” he said.
Liu said China can use the downturn(衰退) as an opportunity to restructure its economy, which has relied heavily on government investment, foreign trade and low-cost technology over the past years.
“When the economy is experiencing fast growth, companies are unwilling to upgrade their technologies,” Liu said.
“The slowdown gives such firms the opportunity to enhance(提高) their competitive edge through better technologies.”
(From China Daily 2009-01-11)
小题1:How many people are mentioned in this passage?

A．Only 2.

B．No more than 3.

C．Not more than 4.

D．At least 5.

小题2:It can be inferred from Liu’s words that the impact of the current financial turbulence on China’s economy is ______.

A．more

B．less

C．the most

D．the least

小题3:The underlines word “extent” probably means ______.

A．sense

B．degree

C．size

D．depth

小题4: According to the passage, the reason why Liu said this downturn is an opportunity for China to restructure its economy is that ______.

A．China’s economy will not depend on government investment in the future

B．Foreign trade will grow in the future

C．The downturn will force China’s companies to upgrade their technologies

D．Low-cost technologies will not exist in China

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阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
D
People in Shanghai can quench their thirst with high quality water if the Shanghai Water Authority (SWA) is able to make good on its word. It has vowed to make the city’s water match its status as a world class city.
“The current tap water quality meets national standards, but, compared with that of the European Union and the United States, it still needs to be improved.” said the SWA’s director general, Hang Jiayi.
In other developed countries, water fountains can be found almost everywhere—people do not bother with bottled drinking water.
By 2020, the water of the Huangpu River will be treated to reduce the amount of organic waste in it. Major water works that draw water from the Huangpu will need more treatment facilities to improve the colour, texture, ammonia(氨)and nitrogen content before 2010.
These treatment facilities are expected to cost 4 billion yuan, something that could affect the price of water, according to Chen Yin, SWA’s deputy director general.
Chen said that replacing water pipes was also a key project. The city’s aged pipes are mostly to blame for the bad water quality.
The SWA has started the water facilities renovation(更新)work, including the more than 14,000 kilometres of indoor piping, 107,000 tanks on top of the buildings, and more than 6,000 underground facilities.
World Water Day came on March 22, and this year’s theme is “Water for the future”. Beijing is also drawing up plans during China’s Water Week, which runs until March 28.
By 2010, the water for the Shanghai EXPO is to be above World Health Organization standards. And, the people of Beijing will be able to drink their tap water as well.
小题1:People in Shanghai can drink their tap water_____.

A．by 2020

B．in the first half of this year

C．by 2010

D．by 2008

小题2:What step need not be taken in order to improve the tap water?

A．The water of the Huangpu River will be treated.	B．Aged water pipes will be treated.
C．Water facilities must be renovated.	D．Water fountains must be found.

小题3:Which is the correct statement according to the passage?

A．The tap water quality in Shanghai hasn’t met national standards.

B．World Water Day fell on March 22 this year.

C．The people of Beijing cannot drink their tap water now.

D．The treatment of the water of Huangpu River has been finished.

小题4:What is the main idea of the passage?

A．The cost of treating the tap water.

B．How to reach the water standards of developed countries.

C．The project for making tap water drinkable in Shanghai and Beijing.

D．The progress of treating the water of Huangpu River.

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Research has shown that music has an important effect on one’s body and psyche (心灵). In fact, there is a growing field of health care known as music therapy, which uses music to treat diseases. Even hospitals are beginning to use music therapy. This is not surprising, as music affects the body and mind in many powerful ways.
Research has shown that quick music can make a person feel more alert, while slow music can produce a calm, deep thinking state. Also, research has found that music can change brainwave activity levels. This can help the brain to change speeds more easily on its own as needed, which means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.
Breathing and heart rates can also be influenced by music. This can mean slower breathing, slower heart rate. This is why music and music therapy can help reduce the damaging effects of long-term stress, greatly promoting (促进) not only relaxation, but health.
Music can also be used to bring about a more posi

tive state of mind by helping to keep worries at bay. Music has also been found to bring many other benefits, such as lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk of strokes. It is no surprise that so many people are considering music as an important tool to help the body become or stay healthy.
小题1:What can we infer about music therapy?

A．It is a type of music.

B．It is a research about music.

C．It is a kind of musical effect on diseases.

D．It is the use of music method to help treat diseases.

小题2:The reason why music can help deal with stress is that ________.

A．it is used by many hospitals

B．it can help change brainwaves

C．it does good to breathing and heart rates

D．it can bring a more positive state of mind

小题3:According to the passage, music can help deal with all the following EXCEPT ________.

A．nervousness	B．mind illnesses
C．strokes	D．high blood pressure

小题4:The passage is mainly about _________.

A．the importance of music therapy

B．benefits music can bring

C．research on the effect of music

D．diseases music can help heal

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

Do you know Australia? Australia is the largest island in the world. It is a little smaller than China. It is in the south of the earth. Australia is big, but its population is not large. The population of Australia is nearly as large as that of Shanghai.
The government has made enough laws to fight pollution. The cities in Australia have got little air or water pollution. The sky is blue and the water is clean. You can clearly see fish swimming in the rivers. Plants grow very well.
Last month we visited Perth, the biggest city in Western Australia, and went to a wild flowers’ exhibition. There we saw a large number of wild flowers we had never seen before. We had a wonderful time. Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers. In spring every year Perth has the wild flowers’ exhibition. After visiting Perth, we spent the day in the countryside. We sat down and had a rest near a path at the foot of a hill. It was quiet and we enjoyed ourselves. Suddenly we heard bells ringing at the top of the hill. What we saw made us pick up all our things and run back to the car as quickly as we could. There were about three hundred sheep coming towards us down the path.
Australia is famous for its sheep and kangaroos(袋鼠). After a short drive from any town, you will find yourself in the middle of white sheep. Sheep, sheep, everywhere are sheep.
小题1:Australia is _______.

A．the largest country in the world	B．as large as Shanghai
C．not as large as China	D．the largest island in the north of the earth

小题2: The government had made _______.

A．too enough laws to fight pollution

B．so many laws that it can fight pollution

C．enough laws that it can hardly fight pollution

D．enough laws because the pollution is very serious

小题3: Which of the following is NOT true？

A．Perth is famous for its beautiful wild flowers.

B．Perth is bigger than any other city in Western Australia.

C．Perth lies in the west of Australia.

D．No other city is larger than Perth in Australia.

小题4: Which of the following is true？

A．Australia is famous for its sheep, kangaroos and wild flowers.

B．We ran back to the car because we were in the middle of white sheep.

C．Three hundred sheep came towards us because they saw us.

D．If you go to the countryside in Australia, you will see a large number of white sheep.

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