British men are abandoning（抛弃，放弃）their stiff upper lips but still do not wear their hearts on their sleeves like Americans, a new survey showed. When it comes to strong emotion, the once serious British are now happy to shed tears quite openly.
“Thirty percent of all British males have cried in the last month. That is a very high figure,” said Peter Marsh, director of the Social Issues Research Center which took the emotional temperature of Britain. “Only two percent said they could not remember when they last cried,” the head of the independent research group said.
Long gone is the “No Tears — We’re British” time when emotion was considered distinctly bad form. “In our survey of 2,000 people, very few people in their forties of fifties had seen their father cry. Now it is twice as many,” he told reporters. “Seventy-seven percent of men considered crying in public increasingly acceptable.” Almost half the British men opened the floodgates over a sad movie, book or TV program. Self-pity got 17 percent crying. Nine percent cried at weddings.
From the days of Empire, the British have always considered themselves models of reserve（含蓄缄默）, laughing at “excitable foreigners” who show no self-control.
Marsh argued the divide was still there: “We have probably not caught up with the Americans or the Italians when it comes to the actual display of emotions.
“But we are clearly changing. What we take as typical British reserve has significantly faded”
Women’s battle for equal rights has certainly had an effect — both in the workplace and at home. “Men in their twenties or thirties are interacting（相互影响）with women on equal terms much more than a generation ago. They have to relate to the opposite sex. Women become more man-like and men become more female. That transfers into the work place too,” Marsh said.
1. The underlined phrase wear their hearts on their sleeves means ________.| A．wear their sleeves properly | B．express their feeling openly |
| C．put their heart into their work | D．have a heart-to-heart discussion |
| A．natural | B．sensible |
| C．unacceptable | D．important |
| A．over a sad film | B．over self-pity |
| C．at wedding | D．at graduation |
相似题推荐
I’m a Senior I student in a middle school. This term, my favorite teacher, Miss Mao, no longer teaches us. I want to see her, but I’m afraid that she no longer likes me and I don’t want to trouble her. I really miss her. What should I do?
Tian Yan
Dear Tian Yan,
It’s bad luck that you have lost your favorite teacher. But, if she is still in your school, nothing can stop you going to see her. When she isn’t busy, ask her if she minds having a quick chat. You can then tell her she was your favorite teacher—everyone is happy to know that he or she is liked!
If she has left the school, it will be more difficult to meet her. It will be hard, but remember people always come and go in their lives. We can’t rely on them to be with us all the time.
You may be sad to say goodbye to her, but we can remember and learn from her. Think of her best qualities.
You could also try looking for similar qualities in your other teachers. Study hard and give your new teacher a chance. In time, you might start to see that he or she has different qualities to learn from.
Finally, you can not completely rely on other people to get you through your studies, or even your life.
Editor
1. Tian Yan ______.| A．is a troublemaker | B．likes Miss Mao very much |
| C．is happy these days | D．doesn’t like to tell her secret to anyone |
| A．Find a time to see Miss Mao | B．Have a short chat with Miss Mao |
| C．Tell Miss Mao she likes her | D．Keep quiet about the thing |
| A．completely by their favorite teachers | B．completely by their favorite classmates |
| C．mainly by their parents | D．mainly by themselves |
【推荐2】If you feel yourself turning into an old grouch(脾气坏的人), don’t worry — happiness is just around the bend. A survey has found that although happiness dips in those in their 30s and 40s, people start to feel more content with life after the age of 50.
However an economist found that older people will never again regain the excitement of youth. Rather it is thought that with age, individuals become more pragmatic about the ups and downs that life brings and accept their fortune.
He questioned those in Britain, Switzerland and Germany and applied the findings to people’s life cycle.
Mr. Van Landeghem, 29, said:“A happiness curve does not necessarily imply that a 65-year-old prefers his own life to the life of a 25-year-old.”
“Both the 25-year-old and 65-year-old might agree that it is nicer to be 25 than to be 65. But te 65-year-old might nevertheless be more satisfied, as he has learned to be satisfied with what he has.”
It was suggested the mid-life happiness dip is because this is when people have the most responsibilities — taking care of a family, paying a mortgage (抵押贷款) and having a demanding career. The middle-aged dip in happiness was also compared to that of losing a close relative or suddenly becoming unemployed.
The study is just one of many put forward as an indicator of what makes for a happy life.
Psychologists concluded that having money makes you happier, but only if you have a lot more than your friends and neighbors. At the same time, you’d better have enough tie to enjoy yourself instead of spending all your time on making money.
Separate research found that owning the house of your dreams, the car you always longed for and having millions in the bank doesn’t stop that desire to keep up with the Joneses (攀比). And if the Joneses have more than you do, you’ll be miserable. It seems envy at being lower in the social pecking order (权势等级) reduces the satisfaction of being well off.
If you just do what you love and you are good at, which society also values much, you may have a higher probability to be happy. But if your job pays less, how can you stick to it in disregard of responsibilities? Happiness means different things from different points of view, and point of view grows from one’s experience and knowledge. Perhaps it comes with you when you don’t need to think about adult problems or when you are wise enough to understand what satisfaction is.
1. The underlined word “pragmatic” in paragraph 2 may mean ________.| A．realistic | B．concerned | C．nervous | D．careful |
| A．may feel it more difficult to experience happiness |
| B．may sense happiness declines owing to other complicated factors |
| C．start to realize responsibility and risk mean happiness |
| D．may associate happiness with money and status and risk pursuing happiness |
| A．happiness comes when you complain less |
| B．life is full of ups and downs in fact |
| C．a sense of responsibility brings you happiness |
| D．competing with others often makes you blue |
| A．One’s family. |
| B．One’s money. |
| C．One’s wisdom. |
| D．One’s status. |
| A．happiness is U-shaped |
| B．happiness is an experience |
| C．happiness makes you satisfied |
| D．happiness can be won by yourself |
There was a man named Ken Nwadike, who wanted desperately to run this year’s Boston Marathon. But the Boston Marathon is different from most marathons: you have to qualify in order to enter it. Namely, you have to have completed your previous marathon in a certain amount of time, depending on your age category.
Well, the man in question was 23 seconds short of the qualifying time he needed in order to enter the marathon. He had a number of options. He could get angry. He could blame someone. He could get depressed. Any of them could easily have led to his turning tail(逃走) and going home, angry or depressed.
Instead, Ken Nwadike attended the Boston Marathon in his own way. He made a “ Free Hugs” sign, and with that had a camera on a tripod (三脚架), he gave out hugs and smiles to the runners that passed him by, his way of encouraging and supporting them. From that humble beginning, Ken began his widely acclaimed Free Hugs Campaign, which states its purpose as follows: “continuing the movement of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the mission of the Free Hugs Project is to spread love, inspire change and raise awareness of social issues.” His campaign, which quickly became a huge success, got the widespread compliments.
When things go wrong in our lives, as they do from time to time --- sometimes seemingly all the time --- we have a choice. We need to take a deep breath, judge the situation, and find a positive direction in which we should go. Whether it’s something relatively small, like missing a marathon, or large, like losing a loved one, let Ken’s story inspire you to take that breath, re-orient(重新调整)yourself, and move on to doing something worthwhile with the experience.
1. Why couldn’t the man take part in the Boston Marathon at first? (no more than 10 words)2. What did Ken Nwadike mainly do during the Boston Marathon? (no more than 10 words)
3. What does the underlined word mean in the third paragraph? (1 word)
4. What is the aim of Ken Nwadike’s Free Hugs Campaign? (no more than 15 words)
5. What do you think of Ken Nwadike from his story? Why? (no more than 25 words)
The problem that those people create is that a lot of people from Europe are unemployed and they don’t have jobs because immigrants have taken so many jobs. But the question is also: Would European people want a job such as cleaning or hard labor? I think that most of them wouldn’t. So we should stop criticizing for a moment and think. We would then maybe realize that it’s not that bad to have immigrants at home.
The only problem is that it’s not right that immigrants want to impose (强加于) their religion on other countries by leading and building mosques (清真寺). Because if they had done that in other countries they would have caused trouble. Phenomena like these happened a few years ago in Great Britain: It was forbidden to switch on Christmas lights outside, because Christmas is a Catholic (天主教的) recurrence and it was offensive for the Islamic people who lived there. That is not right. The country that gives hospitality to immigrants has the task to allow them to enter society, to be free to believe in their religion and their culture, but every country does not have to forget its tradition and culture. This is one of the many facts which happened in the past years, and I think that many others are going to happen because this phenomenon is developing every day more and more.
1. The first paragraph is mainly about__________.
| A．what a life Europeans lived |
| B．why some Europeans migrated |
| C．how Europeans migrated |
| D．what migration caused |
| A．Native people and immigrants fight for the same job opportunities. |
| B．Native people always leave the worst jobs to the immigrants. |
| C．Different religions and cultures often result in some conflicts. |
| D．Native people refuse the immigrants to enter their country. |
| A．It takes them too much trouble to migrate. |
| B．They have made contributions to the host country. |
| C．They are offered hard jobs but paid less. |
| D．They should be accepted in the host country. |
| A．some people reject foreigners’ immigrating to their own country |
| B．the author thinks immigrating can help mix different cultures together |
| C．immigrants to Great Britain were all Islamic people |
| D．immigrants can only find hard and dirty jobs in other countries |
| A．people with different religions won’t be allowed to migrate to another country |
| B．immigrants are not free to believe in their own culture |
| C．no other European countries but Great Britain have conflicts |
| D．problems caused by different religions and cultures will exist long |
【推荐2】People from Britain and Ireland first came to live in Australia in 1788. They brought different dialects (方言) of English with them. These different kinds of English began to mix and change. The newcomers soon began to speak with their own typical accent (口音) and vocabulary. More and more people came to Australia during the Gold Rush in the 19th and 20th centuries. Some came from Britain and Ireland; others came from non-English speaking countries. Australian English continued to grow and change.
Australian English has also been influenced by American English. During the Second World War, there were many American soldiers staying in Australia. More importantly, American television shows and music have been popular in Australia since the 1950s.
Australians use many words that other English speakers do not use. The famous Australian greeting, for example, is G’day! A native forest is called the bush and central Australia is called the outback. Many words were brought to Australia from Britain and Ireland. For example, mate means “friend”, and it is still used in Britain. Some of these words have changed in meaning. Some words have come from Australian original languages, many of which are names for animals, plants and places, like dingo and kangaroo.
Australian spelling comes from British spelling. In words like organise and realise, -ise is the expected and taught spelling method. In words like colour, favourite, -our is the normal, but nouns such as the Labor Party and Victor Harbor are spelled with -or. Program, on the other hand, is more common than programme.
There are also differences in the definition (定义) of words Australians use in different parts of the country. For example, football means “rugby” in New South Wales and Queensland, but “Australian rules football" in everywhere else in Australia. In New South Wales, a swimming costume is called a cossie or swimmers, while in Queensland it is called togs and bathers in Victoria.
1. What does paragraph 1 mainly talk about?| A．Reasons why English is important. |
| B．Different dialects of Australian English. |
| C．Various aspects that Australian English has been influenced. |
| D．Changes of the accent and vocabulary in English. |
| A．Mate. | B．Outback. | C．Program. | D．Rugby. |
| A．Confusing and interesting. |
| B．Multicultural and creative. |
| C．Crazy and boring. |
| D．Unchangeable and mixed. |
| A．The History of Australia |
| B．The Birth of Australian English |
| C．The Development of Australian English |
| D．Different Kinds of English Across the World |
【推荐3】Art and culture is lived and breathed in every corner of Canada. Due to a racial and immigrant population, the variety and richness of art and sports is very evident.
Since World War II, Canada has produced an impressive amount of writing. From novels to poetry, the selection is wide. Native writers are also becoming better known across Canada in recent years.
Musicians are reaching a higher level of recognition in the world music scene. Everything from country to pop, classical to heavy rock can be found across Canada and across the globe performed by Canadian artists.
The National Film Board, a film crew in Canada, is the most famous producer of movies in Canada. However, many Hollywood studios are turning to Canada as an alternative (供替代的选择) to the more expensive US. Many well-known actors, directors, screen writers and movies come from Canada and often scoop awards for their work.
French art was the first to appear in Canada along the St. Lawrence in and around Quebec. Since then the volume of art and artists has increased. Canadian photography as well as painting by Canadians is not well-known outside of Canada but recognition is increasing.
Sport is a major part of today’s society in Canada. Hockey is the most popular sport with more participants taking part in curling (冰壶). American-style football and baseball are also very popular and all of these sports are played across Canada.
1. What would be the best title for the passage?| A．Brief Introduction to Canada |
| B．Canadian Arts, Culture and Sports |
| C．Canadian Artists |
| D．Canadian Arts and Culture Are World Famous |
| A．a long history | B．a large area |
| C．a large population | D．a variety of immigrants |
| A．Native writers and screen writers. | B．Photographers and actors. |
| C．Painters and writers. | D．Musicians, actors and directors. |
| A．Expect. | B．Set up. |
| C．Harvest. | D．Ignore. |
