Ok, I admit it: Emoticons(表情符号) are popular. Some people even think they are fun

题型：不详难度：来源：

Ok, I admit it: Emoticons(表情符号) are popular. Some people even think they are fun. Many seem unable to get through an e-mail or Instant Message chat sentence without using one. Some feel that they add feeling and character to otherwise cold digital communications.
Some, however, such as editor and Hollywood scriptwriter John Blumenthal, blast the use of emotions as “ infantile(幼稚的) just like the people who use them”. He believes that words themselves should be enough. “If you’re being funny, happy or sad, that should be apparent from the comment that goes before the emoticons,” he argues.
In the eyes of Blumenthal, the use of emoticons is a gender issue. “Men don’t use emoticons very much. Maybe not at all.,” he said. “Teenage girls and women seem to use them a lot. Maybe there’s an emoticons gene.”
It’s an interesting opinion, but it is not shared by all.
In an interview with The New York Times, Dacher Keltner, professor of psychology at the University of California, said that emoticons are popular because our brains are programmed “

to seek out representations of humanity”. He believes that they appeal not because they are shortcuts for the lazy, but because they tap into（输入）something beyond language. They reach to our need to be with and communicate with people.
All of these arguments may be somehow valid（正确的）. Each one of us will choose to communicate in our own way. I do not have much time for emoticons. I tried to use one once and felt like I was stealing into a primary school class that I had no place being in. I’d rather let my words do the talking.
Friends, however, send me messages and e-mails full of emoticons. I have no problem with this, I don’t regard any of my friends as lazy or immature. It’s just a question of individuality.
小题1:According to the article, emoticons are popular because_________.

A．most of them look funny

B．they are easy for lazy people to use

C．they add feeling and character to a communication

D．a reader cannot understand a message without the

小题2: Which of the following views would John Blumenthal agree with ?

A．Instant Message chatters are childish.

B．It’s enough to use language in digital communication.

C．Men never use emoticons.

D．There is an emoticon gene in everybody.

小题3:From the text, we can conclude that the author________.

A．feels he has no difficulty using emoticons

B．thinks emoticons don’t suit him

C．encourage his friends to use emoticons

D．believes that emoticons are suitable for everyone

小题4:What is the main point of the article ?

A．Advice on language used over the Internet.

B．The history of emoticons.

C．Arguments over the use of emoticons.

D．Reasons for the popularity of emoticons.

答案

小题1:C
小题1:B
小题1:B
小题1:C

解析

略

举一反三

I had the meanest mother in the world．While other kids ate candy for breakfast．I had to have cereal, eggs and toast．Others had cakes and candy for lunch, while we had to eat a sandwich．As you can guess, my supper was different from t

he other kids"．But at least I was not alone in my suffering．My sister and two brothers had the same mean mother as I did．
My mother insisted on knowing where we were at all times．She had to know who our friends were and what we were doing．We had to wear clean clothes every day．Other kids always wore their clothes for days． We reached the height of disgrace （耻辱） because she made our clothes herself, just to save money．
The worst is yet to come．We had to be in bed by 9:00 each night and up at 7:45 the next morning．So whil

e my friends slept, my mother actually had the courage to break Child Labor Law．She made us work I
believed she lay awake all night thinking up mean things to do to us．Through the years, our friends" report cards had beautiful colors on them, black for passing, red for failing．My mother, however, would only be satisfied with black marks．None of us was allowed the pleasure of being a dropout （辍学者）．
She forced us to grow up into educated and honest adults．Using this as a background, I"m now trying to bring up my three children．I"m filled with pride when my children think I am mean because now I thank God every day for giving me the meanest mother in the world．
小题1:From the passage we can learn that the writer"s mother was____．

A．not generous at all	B．very cruel to her children
C．very mean with money matters	D．very strict with her children

小题2:Which of the following things did the writer hate to do most?

A．Eating differently from other kids．	B．Letting mother know where they were．
C．Going to bed early and getting up early．	D．Wearing clean clothes made by mother．

小题3:It can be inferred from the passage that____．

A．the writer"s family lived a miserable life

B．all the other kids studied better than the writer

C．Mother was punished for breaking the Labor Law

D．the writer worked hard and usually got good grades in studies

小题4:Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The writer is very thankful to her mother．

B．The writer has a deep hatred for her mother．

C．Mother practiced economy in running her home．

D．The writer is strict with her children when bringing them up．

小题5:The passage was written in a way of__ __tone．

A．humorous

B．hateful

C．ridiculous

D．impatient

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

The fact that blind people can see things using parts of their bodies apart from their eyes may help us to understand our feelings about color．If they can sense color differences, then perhaps we, too, are affected by color without knowing it．Salesmen have discovered by experience over a long period of time that sugar sells badly in green wrappings, that blue foods are considered not agreeable to the taste, and that cosmetics（化妆品） should never be packed in brown．These discoveries have grown into a whole subject of color psychology．
Some of our preferences are

clearly psychological．Dark blue is the color of the night sky and therefore connected with calm, while yellow is a day color connected with energy and encouragement．Experiments have shown that colors, partly because they are connected with psychology, also have a direct effect on people"s mind．People in bright red surroundings show an increase in breathing speed, heartbeat and blood pressure．Red is exciting．Pure blue has exactly the opposite effect; it is a calming color．Being exciting, red was chosen as the signal for danger, but a closer study shows that a bright yellow can produce a more basic state of alarm, so fire engines in some advanced areas are now rushing around in bright yellow colors that stop buses, trucks and cars．
小题1:The passage tells us that salesmen have____ ．

A．tried colors on blind people

B．found out that colors affect sales

C．developed a special subject of color psychology

D．discovered the relationship between color and psychology

小题2:It can be inferred from the passage that__ _．

A．blind people cannot sense color differences

B．foods sell well in green or blue wrappings

C．w hat color we prefer depends on our state of mind

D．a bright color has exactly the opposite effect to red

小题3:The most effective color in the passage for warning people is____．

A．red

B．dark blue

C．green

D．bright yellow

小题4:If someone is in an angry mood, which color is better for him to

become quiet?

A．Red．

B．Dark blue．

C．Brown．

D．Bright yellow

小题5:Which of the following do you think is the best title for the passage?

A．Colors and Feelings	B．Colors and Sales
C．The Blind and Colors	D．Preferences for Colors

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

I"ll be a photographer. I"m going to bring bits of Australia back home with me. I told myself this before, yet I feel so doubtful on this plane that"s flying me thousands of miles away. I was so confident yesterday .But today I don"t belong to this plane where men sit with briefcases reading newspapers. They"re all adults.
I"ve never been out of the US. And now ,I"m traveling into Australia alone, a world I know nothing about. A part of me recognizes it as home.
I remember little about my mother, but I remember she had an Australian accent and golden hair. She wan fun and she would often take us to New Jersey beaches, where we would spend the whole day taking walks along the shore. My mom told me that in Australia, Christmas was always spent on the beach with friends and family, and everyone wore Santa hat with their bathing suits. It never got cold and bitter there. My mom was different and I was proud of her.
I don"t know how she met my father. but after they met several years, they got married and moved into an apartment in New Jersey. Then I was born and we were a perfect family of three who went out to dinner and watched movies in the dark and loved each other.
I know things have been hard on my father since my Mom died years ago. It"s hard for me, too, and I have to experience the wonderful place my mom grew up in and loved. My mom talked about Australia so much and now I have to see this place.
This is an adventure.
小题1:How did the author feel when he was on the plane?

A．Confident	B．Foolish
C．Doubtful	D．Childish

小题2:The author traveled to Australia alone mainly because he wanted to__.

A．search his fortune there	B．find more about his mother
C．look for his grandparents there	D．find more about this wonderful place

小题3:The third paragraph is mainly concerned with__.

A．the author"s first impression of Australia

B．the author"s brief impression of his mother

C．the reason why the author loved his mother

D．the difference between his mother and father

小题4:What can we learn from the passage?

A．The author writes this passage to honor his mother.

B．The author decides to learn taking photos in Australia.

C．The author had a good time when his mother was still alive.

D．The author didn"t like to live with his father after his mother died.

小题5:Where did the author most probably write this passage?

A．In America.

B．In Australia.

C．At home

D．On the Plane

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.
Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally（通常）see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.
What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve（神）tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation and the expression for emotions（情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.
小题1:Which of the following is best to outline（概括）the article?

A．Research on the Brain	B．Differences between Men and Women
C．People’s Different Brains	D．Who Are Better, Boys or Girls

小题2:______ men and women think differently.

A．Sex makes	B．The different brains make
C．The different experiences make	D．The influences of society make

小题3:According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at ______ in your school.

A．Mathematics

B．Physics

C．English

D．Chemistry

小题4:Which of the following is true?

A．The left side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls.

B．The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys.

C．Men are better than women in all things.

D．The area in girls used for language skills develops better.

小题5:In men and women the number of nerves connecting the halves of brain _______.

A．is the same

B．is different

C．is zero

D．can’t be found out

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案

On a BA flight from Johannesburg, a middle-aged South African lady found herself sitting next

to a black man. She called the cabin crew attendant over to complain about her seating.
“What seems to be the problem, Madam?” Asked the attendant.
“Can’t you see?” She said, “You’ve sat me next to a black. I can’t possibly sit next to this dirty disgusting human. Find me another seat!”
“Please calm down, Madam,” the attendant replied, “The flight is very full today, but I’ll tell you what I’ll do—I’ll go and check to see if we have any seats available in club or first

class.”
A few minutes later, the attendant returned with the good news, which she delivered to the lady, who cannot help but look at the people around her with a smug and self-satisfied grin.
“Madam, unfortunately, as I guessed, economy is full. I’ve spoken to the cabin services director, and club is also full. However, we do have one seat in first class.”
Before the lady had a chance to answer, the attendant continued.
“It’s most extraordinary to make this kind of upgrade, however, and I have had to get special permission from the captain. But, according to this special situation, the captain felt that it was unbelievable that someone should be forced to sit next to such an

obnoxious(讨厌的) person.”
Having said that, the attendant turned to the black man sitting next to the lady, and said, “So if you’d like to get your things, sir, I have your seat ready for you.”
At that moment, the surrounding passengers stood and gave a long-lasting ovation (欢呼) while the black man walked up to the front of the plane…
小题1:What made the white South African lady angry?

A．She had to find the attendant to complain.

B．She couldn’t find another seat to sit down.

C．The passenger next to her is dirty.

D．She sat next to a blac

k man.

小题2:Who will fly in first class?

A．The attendant.

B．The white woman.

C．The black man.

D．The captain.

小题3:How many types of seats are there in the plane?

A．2

B．3

C．4

D．5

小题4: What was the “special situation” that the attendant mentioned in Paragraph 8?

A．The woman was obnoxious.

B．The black man was obnoxious.

C．The white woman can’t sit next to a black man.

D．The passengers around can’t stand the woman any longer.

小题5:From the passage, we can make a conclusion that __________.

A．people don’t like those who look down on others

B．the attendant aboard is unfriendly

C．the white lady was refused to go on the plane at last

D．many passengers aboard don’t like to sit next to the black man.

题型：不详难度：| 查看答案