【推荐1】Humans are social animals. They live in groups all over the world. As these groups of people live apart from other groups, over the years and centuries they develop their own habits and ideas, which are different from other cultures. One important particular side of every culture is how its people deal with time.

Time is not very important in nonindustrial (非工业的) societies.   The Nuer people of East Africa, for example, do not even have a word TIME that is in agreement with the abstract thing we call time. The daily lives of the people of such nonindustrial societies are likely to be patterned around their physical needs and natural events rather than around a time schedule (时间表) based on the clock. They cook and eat when they are hungry and sleep when the sun goes down. They plant crops during the growing seasons and harvest them when the crops are ripe. They measure time not by a clock or calendar, but by saying that an event takes place   before or after some other event. Frequently such a society measures days in terms of “sleeps” or longer periods in terms of “moons”. Some cultures, such as the Eskimos   of Greenland measure seasons according to the migration of certain animals.

Some cultures which do not have a written language or keep written records have developed interesting ways of “telling time”. For example, when several Australian aborigines want to plan an event for a future time, one of them places a stone on a cliff or in a tree. Each day the angle of the sun changes slightly. In a few days, the   rays of the sun strike the stone in a certain way. When this happens, the people see that the agreed-upon time has arrived and the event can take place.

In contrast (成对比), exactly correct measurement of time is very important in modern, industrialized societies.

This is because industrialized societies require the helpful efforts of many people in order to work. For a factory to work efficiently (well, quickly and without waste), for example, all of the workers must work at the same time. Therefore, they must know what time to start work in the morning and what time they may go home in the afternoon. Passengers must know the exact time that an airplane will arrive or depart. Students and teachers need to know when a class starts and ends. Stores must open on time in order to serve their customers. Complicated (复杂的) societies need clocks and calendars. Thus, we can see that if each person worked according to his or her own schedule, a complicated society could hardly work at all.

1. By saying “Humans are social animals”, the author means .

A．they live all over the world

B．They are all connected in one society

C．they live in their own groups as a whole

D．they are divided into many groups

2. Time is not very important in nonindustrial societies because people in those societies .

A．don’t have the word TIME in their languages

B．don’t get used to using clocks and other timepieces

C．don’t measure time in their daily-lives around an exact time schedule

D．don’t need to plan their daily lives around an exact time schedule

3. The Australian aborigines’ way of “telling time” is based on .

A．the change of the angle of the sun	B．the way sunlight was reflected
C．the position of the stone	D．the position of the tree or the cliff

4. Which of the following might be the best title for this passage?

A．Time and Culture	B．The Measurement of Time
C．Time Schedule and Daily Life	D．Clock, Calendar and Society

【推荐2】As I walked down the street on the first day in Dubai last year, the hot air mixed with my excitement, reminding me that I was now in a mysterious habitat. With the curiosity of wanting to try some Arabian food, I excitedly went to a local restaurant. Unexpectedly, an incident happened.

The guard standing outside the restaurant said to me, "Now is the special festival for Muslims called Eid, during which Muslims go on fasting. Eating is banned before sunset. " " But I am only a tourist, not a Muslim. You could not restrict my liberty to have dinner, " I argued. He firmly answered "The tradition of Islam is the same for everyone in Dubai. Once you step on the ground of Abu Dhabi, you should, and you must, obey the rule."

Listening to his response, my disappointment turned into annoyance. As a person who knew nothing about Islam, I felt that their customs seemed quite unusual. Back to the hotel, I began to search for the information of Eid and came to know that every year there is a period of time that Muslims go on fasting until sunset. For Muslims, the fasting is to purify themselves both physically and mentally.

Glancing over the information about Eid, I felt guilty about getting annoyed with the guard. I realized that I should constantly understand and respect others' customs and beliefs. Although sometimes the beliefs of people from various backgrounds are quite hard to accept, understanding the situation better before solving conflicts is much more effective. Only by truly accepting others' customs could I learn from the value of their beliefs. I understood the importance of being determined to one's belief, while at the same time learning to possess a passionate attitude towards others.

1. What did the author do on the first day in Dubai?

A．He enjoyed a delicious Arabian meal.

B．He made an appointment with the guard.

C．He argued with a guard outside a local restaurant.

D．He stayed in the hotel because of the hot weather.

2. What does the underlined phrase "go on fasting" in paragraph 2 mean?

A．Clean the whole room.	B．Stop eating in a period.
C．Refuse to eat in a day.	D．Enjoy some entertainments.

3. How did the guard in the restaurant talk to the author?

A．Enthusiastically.

B．Rudely.

C．Seriously.

D．Impolitely.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph about the author?

A．He apologized to the guard.

B．He believed in Islam after the trip.

C．He regretted arguing with the guard.

D．He changed Muslim customs and beliefs.

【推荐3】Some Famous Libraries in the World
The Royal Library of Alexandria

The Royal Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt is probably known as the largest and the most famous library in the ancient world. It is said that the ancient library was burned three times over the centuries. A likeness of the ancient library was built in Alexandria and was opened on October 16，2002.

Celsus Library

Celsus Library was built in what had been a monument tomb of the governor of the Province of Asia, Celsus Polemaeanus in Ephesus, Turkey. It used to be the third richest of ancient times in the world，which had more than 12,000 works of art, but it was destroyed in wars, leaving some ruins. Even so, it is now still so world-famous for its beautiful structure that many visitors come to see it. There is a statue of Athena at its entrance as she is the Goddess of Wisdom. It remains delicate and appealing.

Bodleian Library

Bodleian Library is attached to Oxford University and mainly used as a research library. It is also a copyright library, which means it has a right to every book published in the United Kingdom. The library was designed by the architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. Construction was completed in 1940.

The British Library

The British Library was set up in 1973 and is one of the world’s greatest libraries. This library has PACCAR gallery of living and workshop of words. The sounds and images offer shows and different programs at the theme exhibitions. They also have a wide collection of stamps of the world which are on show for visitors. The library also offers events like music and discussions.

1. Which of the following libraries has been reconstructed?

A．The Royal Library of Alexandria.	B．Celsus Library.
C．Bodleian Library.	D．The British Library.

2. What can you do in Celsus Library?

A．Read books.	B．Borrow books.
C．See a stamp exhibition.	D．Enjoy the beautiful remains.

3. What is special about Bodleian Library?

A．It belongs to a university.

B．It was once destroyed by fires.

C．It is one of the famous ancient libraries.

D．It is well-known for its beautiful structure.