1 . The Great PowerPoint Panic of 2003.
Sixteen minutes before touchdown on the morning of February 1, 2003, the space shuttle Columbia (“哥伦比亚”号航天飞机)
The immediate
By the start of 2003, the phrase “death by PowerPoint” had well and truly entered the
Wired ran an excerpt (节选) from Tufte’s booklet in September 2003 under the headline “PowerPoint Is Evil.” A few months later, The New York Times Magazine included his assessment — summarized as “PowerPoint Makes You Dumb” — in its
Despite the backlash it inspired in the
On its face at least, the idea that PowerPoint makes us stupid looks like a textbook case of misguided technological doomsaying. Today’s concerns about social media somehow resemble the PowerPoint critique. Both boil down to a worry that new media technologies
A.disappeared | B.disintegrated | C.distributed | D.disappointed |
A.side | B.cause | C.feature | D.issue |
A.collected | B.unified | C.dropped | D.single |
A.discounted | B.viewed | C.accessed | D.founded |
A.muted | B.absorbed | C.buried | D.sunk |
A.technical | B.popular | C.negative | D.special |
A.possibly | B.reasonably | C.ordinarily | D.necessarily |
A.accommodated | B.combined | C.distinguished | D.enhanced |
A.abstract | B.repetition | C.review | D.brief |
A.press | B.publication | C.media | D.criticism |
A.opened | B.created | C.threw | D.jumped |
A.rules | B.harmonizes | C.impacts | D.roars |
A.feature | B.encourage | C.value | D.defend |
A.Therefore | B.However | C.Certainly | D.Surprisingly |
A.difference | B.truth | C.time | D.concern |
2 . Transition. It’s a pleasant word and a calming concept. It means going surely and sweetly from somewhere present to somewhere future. Unless, that is, it is newspapers’ ‘transition’ to the
Just look at the latest print circulation figures. The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and many of the rest are down overall between 8% and 10% year-on-year, but their websites go ever higher.
All of that may well be true, depending on timing, geography and more.
One is the magazine world, both in the UK and in the US. It ought to be
As for news and current affairs magazines — which you’d expect to find in the eye of the digital storm — they had a 8.4% increase to report. In short, on both sides of the Atlantic, although some magazine areas went down, many showed rapid growth.
You can discover a
So if sales in that area have fallen so little, perhaps the
Already 360 US papers—including most of the biggest and best — have built paywalls around their products. However, the best way of attracting a paying readership appears to be a deal that offers the print copy and digital access as some kind of
Of course this huge difference isn’t
A.publishing | B.online | C.ideal | D.unknown |
A.On the other hand | B.After all | C.To begin with | D.For instance |
A.stop | B.exist | C.emerge | D.fit |
A.regulated | B.advancing | C.collapsing | D.minimized |
A.solid | B.simple | C.creative | D.changeable |
A.cultural | B.common | C.scientific | D.similar |
A.later | B.harder | C.clearer | D.slower |
A.all | B.neither | C.both | D.either |
A.service | B.system | C.crisis | D.figure |
A.right | B.vague | C.designed | D.mixed |
A.made up | B.told apart | C.took over | D.held on |
A.joint | B.mysterious | C.modern | D.complex |
A.In other words | B.On the contrary | C.What’s more | D.Even so |
A.new | B.sad | C.big | D.good |
A.spared | B.updated | C.noticed | D.edited |
3 . Group-Centered Societies Have Just as Much Creativity
What does culture have to do with creativity? The answer could be “a lot”. For decades, psychologists trying to understand the roots of creative imaginations have looked at the ways in which two different types of cultures can come to have an effect over its artistic and
Individualism has long been thought to have a creative
The new work comes from comparing communities in different parts of China. Though it scores high, as a nation, on measures of cultural
In the new creativity study, researchers investigated innovation with these two groups in mind. The team used a drawing test that had been created by psychologists. They gave kids a sheet of paper with just a few basic elements printed on it: some dots here, squiggles (弯曲的线条) there, and a rectangle that suggested a drawing frame. The children got 15 minutes to use the elements already on the page to draw whatever they wanted. They could get “adaptive creativity” points for doodling in ways that connected the squiggles and lines into an original and
The researchers gave the test to 683 middle school students from north and south of the Yangtze River. When the scientists got the scores back, they discovered that there were no differences in the children’s overall creativity. When they broke down the results into components, they found that students from collectivistic regions scored
The findings are also a warning against cultural chauvinism (极端民族主义). Western countries have tended to lead the way in innovation — at least as defined by the metrics (指标) we Westerners have created. Perhaps we have been
A.theoretical | B.inventive | C.productive | D.regular |
A.prioritize | B.deprive | C.tolerate | D.abandon |
A.satisfy | B.stimulate | C.cherish | D.sacrifice |
A.shelter | B.edge | C.border | D.alternative |
A.embrace | B.propose | C.resist | D.create |
A.However | B.Therefore | C.Meanwhile | D.Moreover |
A.broadly | B.objectively | C.seriously | D.narrowly |
A.individualism | B.identity | C.collectivism | D.flexibility |
A.selfish | B.collective | C.individualistic | D.realistic |
A.fall apart | B.fit in | C.give in | D.show off |
A.separate | B.ugly | C.unified | D.tiny |
A.catch | B.miss | C.target | D.misuse |
A.higher | B.averagely | C.lower | D.vaguely |
A.capturing | B.approaching | C.imitating | D.overlooking |
A.improvements | B.drawbacks | C.insights | D.attempts |
4 . Fall down as you come onstage. That’s an odd trick. Not recommended. But it saved the pianist Feltsman when he was a teenager back in Moscow. The experienced cellist Rostropovich tripped him purposely to
Today, music schools are addressing the problem of
Teachers and psychologists offer wide-ranging
Psychotherapist Diane Nichols suggests some strategies for the moments before
Extreme demands by conductors or parents are often
When Lynn Harrell was 20, he became the principal cellist of the Cleverland Orchestra, and he suffered extreme stage fright. “There were times when I got so nervous I was sure the audience could see my chest responding to the heartbeat, which was just total
It is not only
A.assure | B.cure | C.remind | D.rob |
A.anxiety | B.adolescence | C.principle | D.psychology |
A.absent | B.blank | C.keen | D.narrow |
A.advice | B.choices | C.services | D.education |
A.instead of | B.along with | C.such as | D.with regard to |
A.definite | B.neutral | C.natural | D.precious |
A.ceremony | B.performance | C.lecture | D.rehearsal |
A.audience | B.orchestra | C.staff | D.choir |
A.at the face of | B.at the root of | C.in favour of | D.in contrast with |
A.craze | B.fault | C.failure | D.panic |
A.unusual | B.imperfect | C.invalid | D.unpopular |
A.talented | B.unknown | C.young | D.experienced |
A.Actually | B.Certainly | C.Luckily | D.Similarly |
A.appreciation | B.contribution | C.expectation | D.satisfaction |
A.learn | B.offer | C.say | D.lose |
5 . The networked computer is an amazing device. It is the first media machine that serves as the mode of production (you can make stuff), means of distribution (you can upload stuff to the network), site of
But for all the reasons there are to
All animals download, but only a few upload anything besides faces and their own bodies. Humans are
Despite the possibilities of our new culture machines, most people are still
The networked computer offers the first chance in 50 years to
Of course people will still download. Nobody uploads more than a tiny percentage of the culture they consume. But using the networked computer as a download-only device, or even a download-mainly device, is a
A.celebration | B.conversations | C.reception | D.ceremonies |
A.Without doubt | B.In return | C.In particular | D.By contrast |
A.liberate | B.celebrate | C.concern | D.reject |
A.request | B.support | C.defense | D.creation |
A.unique | B.familiar | C.efficient | D.loyal |
A.In addition | B.In fact | C.For instance | D.By the way |
A.striving | B.comparing | C.failing | D.attempting |
A.optimistic about | B.unfamiliar with | C.stuck in | D.ashamed of |
A.transformation | B.emergence | C.encounter | D.maintenance |
A.consume | B.neglect | C.combine | D.innovate |
A.enhance | B.quicken | C.reverse | D.extend |
A.outcome | B.exposure | C.break | D.evolution |
A.puzzle | B.cure | C.regret | D.favor |
A.analyzing | B.maintaining | C.featuring | D.increasing |
A.wasted | B.treasured | C.multiplied | D.revised |
6 . We never talked about school as the ticket to the future. I was in the classroom, but I wasn’t there to learn how to write, read or even
I had a(n)
Now I am 41 years old. One day, I planned to
The experts say what once
A.listen | B.paint | C.speak | D.act |
A.jump | B.hide | C.sleep | D.succeed |
A.but | B.and | C.although | D.so |
A.Chinese | B.history | C.geography | D.English |
A.important | B.strange | C.necessary | D.unwise |
A.turned to | B.looked after | C.looked down upon | D.paid attention to |
A.managed | B.failed | C.liked | D.tried |
A.gradually | B.frequently | C.immediately | D.directly |
A.drive | B.fly | C.walk | D.ride |
A.making | B.buying | C.fetching | D.sending |
A.pocket | B.machine | C.clothes | D.arms |
A.shyly | B.proudly | C.excitedly | D.angrily |
A.girl | B.man | C.woman | D.boy |
A.upset | B.glad | C.regretful | D.grateful |
A.news | B.jobs | C.chances | D.ideas |
A.work | B.write | C.read | D.teach |
A.author | B.assistant | C.teacher | D.doctor |
A.company | B.factory | C.house | D.classroom |
A.hurt | B.worried | C.hit | D.surprised |
A.excuse | B.ability | C.help | D.desire |
7 . The Last Robot-Proof Job in America?
You can get most food, such as warm cookies or vodka, to your doorstep in minutes. But try getting a red snapper (红鲷鱼). Until recently, if you could obtain it, it would likely have been pre-frozen and shipped in from overseas.
A new tech startup is aiming to
There is one thing,
“
By 1 a.m. each night, the company collects
Then, what can a fishmonger see that a computer can’t? DeGregorio showed me his part of the
Is he ever
A.maintain | B.remedy | C.substitute | D.recognize |
A.free | B.overseas | C.separate | D.fresh |
A.therefore | B.otherwise | C.however | D.thus |
A.ensure | B.propose | C.concede | D.remind |
A.overpriced | B.misidentified | C.displaced | D.modified |
A.computer | B.cuisine | C.fish | D.marketing |
A.Rather than | B.Thanks to | C.Except for | D.Prior to |
A.fund-raising | B.online-grocery | C.fish-selling | D.non-profit |
A.significant | B.worthy | C.responsible | D.ridiculous |
A.sales | B.orders | C.alternatives | D.statistics |
A.analyze | B.supply | C.prioritize | D.feed |
A.require | B.process | C.predict | D.value |
A.calculation | B.decoding | C.correction | D.selection |
A.smash | B.touch | C.wipe | D.roll |
A.concerned about | B.eager for | C.delighted with | D.capable of |
8 . The notion of building brand personality is promoted by Starbucks as a part of company culture to embed meaning in their products and thus attract more customers.
Starbucks literally changed the definition of “a good cup of coffee”. For Starbucks, the brand had three elements: coffee,
Almost all Starbucks stores were corporately owned and controlled. Starbucks prided itself on the “Starbucks Experience”,
The green Starbucks logo is a mermaid that looks like the end of the double image of the sea. It was designed by Terry Heckler, who got the
Starbucks makes the typical American culture gradually broken down into elements of
But the
A.people | B.managers | C.customers | D.clients |
A.assured | B.promised | C.ensured | D.predicted |
A.emergency | B.environment | C.employment | D.customer |
A.consisted of | B.benefited from | C.contributed to | D.headed for |
A.going beyond | B.coming across | C.making up | D.depending on |
A.With regard to | B.In addition to | C.Compared with | D.In terms of |
A.general | B.reasonable | C.legal | D.fascinating |
A.committed | B.alerted | C.subjected | D.required |
A.negotiate | B.perform | C.conceal | D.escape |
A.imagination | B.inspiration | C.patent | D.philosophy |
A.creates | B.cultivates | C.credits | D.conveys |
A.brand | B.logo | C.possession | D.experience |
A.greedily | B.gently | C.persistently | D.indifferently |
A.busy | B.easy | C.miserable | D.energetic |
A.product | B.vision | C.essence | D.importance |
9 . Everyone knows that taxation is necessary in a modern state: without it , it would not be possible to pay the soldiers and policemen who protect us;
In most countries, a direct tax on
And countries with taxation nearly
Probably this last kind of indirect tax, together with a direct tax on incomes which is low for the poor and high for the rich, is the best arrangement.
1.A.nor | B.neither | C.never | D.not |
A.look into | B.look over | C.look after | D.look through |
A.In accordance with | B.By means of | C.With reference to | D.On account of |
A.If | B.When | C.Though | D.As |
A.when | B.how | C.why | D.which |
A.persons | B.sectors | C.communities | D.classes |
A.form | B.way | C.measure | D.method |
A.quicker | B.speedier | C.more | D.larger |
A.periodically | B.almost | C.often | D.always |
A.which | B.who | C.what | D.whom |
A.manner | B.form | C.means | D.way |
A.either | B.also | C.too | D.often |
A.lent | B.saved | C.borrowed | D.collected |
A.alike | B.like | C.as | D.for |
A.heavier | B.fairer | C.finer | D.better |
10 . Eating fast food makes people impatient even when they are not short of time, a new study claims.
Students in the study became
Researchers say that daily exposure to fast food brands could have a subliminal (潜意识的) effect on
Thinking about fast food increases
Student volunteers were quickly shown six logos from fast-food chains — McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC, Subway, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. They could not consciously see what they were but the subliminal effect was
Researcher Chen-Bo Zhong, assistant professor of organizational behaviour at Canada’s Toronto University, said: “Fast food represents a culture of time efficiency and immediate
“We’re finding that the mere exposure to fast food is
A.hungry | B.stressful | C.anxious | D.timid |
A.recognize | B.investigate | C.diagnose | D.recall |
A.motivation | B.appearance | C.emotion | D.behaviour |
A.common | B.unconscious | C.primary | D.temporary |
A.preferences | B.implications | C.ingredients | D.intentions |
A.naturally | B.strikingly | C.fortunately | D.personally |
A.gain | B.proof | C.respond | D.attention |
A.concealed | B.imposed | C.edited | D.marked |
A.separate | B.special | C.expensive | D.original |
A.potential | B.constant | C.intense | D.instant |
A.cultivation | B.resistance | C.satisfaction | D.awareness |
A.in terms of | B.on account of | C.regardless of | D.with respect to |
A.In other words | B.On the contrary | C.For example | D.In addition |
A.promoting | B.assuming | C.insulting | D.assessing |
A.chance | B.sense | C.rush | D.harm |