1 . Roughly the size of a soda can, sitting on a bookshelf, a relatively harmless device may be turning friends away from your home. The elephant in your living room is your Internet-connected camera, a device people are increasingly using for peace of mind in their homes. But few stop to think about the effect these devices may have on house guests. Should you tell your friends, for instance, that they’re being recorded while you all watch the big game together?
“It’s certainly new territory (领地), especially as home security cameras become easier to fix,” says Lizzie Post, president of the Emily Post Institute, America’s distinguished manners advisors. “I think it will be very interesting to see what manners appear in terms of whether you tell people you have a camera or not, and whether guests have a right to ask that it be turned off, if it’s not a security issue.” Post wants to make clear that she’s not talking about legal rights, but rather personal preference.
When it comes to security cameras, Post says it’s a host’s responsibility to make sure guests feel comfortable within their home. If the host casually acknowledges that there is a camera in the room by telling a story about, it that may be enough to provide an opening for a guest to say if they are uncomfortable.
However, if a contractor (合约工) is working in your home, you don’t need to tell them that there are cameras watching. Then again, the camera can also work in contractors’ favor. “If anything does go wrong while they’re in the house, they don’t want to be blamed for it,” she says. “In fact, the camera could be the thing that proves that they didn’t steal the $20, or knock the vase off the table.”
1. What is Lizzie Post mainly discussing about the use of home security cameras?| A．Legal rights. |
| B．Moral issues. |
| C．The possible impact on health. |
| D．Likes and dislikes of individuals. |
| A．Indicating its position. |
| B．Turning it on all the time. |
| C．Making their guests feel at ease. |
| D．Having a casual talk with guests. |
| A．It can prove their innocence. |
| B．It can record their working progress. |
| C．It can prevent the accidents happening. |
| D．It can make their work more enjoyable. |
| A．Negative. | B．Pessimistic. |
| C．Favorable. | D．Objective. |
2 . Katie always wanted to be a performer. She, the youngest of, the three kids from Cleveland, was crazy about musicals and Disney movies from an early age and would often watch them singing with her mom, Karen. However, Katie’s happy childhood took a turn when her mother was diagnosed(诊断)with cancer. When the doctor informed the family that Karen’s disease was terminal, they decided to make a trip to Disney World.
The family spared no expense for their once-in-a-lifetime vacation and stayed at Disney’s hotel for eight nights. They spent their days in the parks, seeing the sights, greening characters, all the while pushing Karen in her wheelchair and watching her face light up with joy. They all shared in the merriment of experiencing the parks for the first time with Karen. The trip to Disney World at the height of Karen’s battle with cancer slowed them to escape into a world of magic and laughter. This was the day Katie decided she wanted to work for Disney.
Sadly, Karen lost the battle and died later, but the whole family remembered her every day and often thought of that Disney vacation Katie went on to go after her dream. After she received her degree in musical theater, she struggled for years, working as a waitress and trying to be a performer. Her hard work finally paid off when she was hired to work for Disney.
As a Disney performer, Katie is aware that many other families visit the parks and have similar stories to her own. She encourages everyone, especially children, who may be experiencing a hard time. “Every moment -is meant for you, even the painful ones.” she says. “It’s just like in your favorite Disney movie: There is always some kind of conflict or hardship or pressure. Remember to celebrate those moments, too, because they are taking you to whatever your version of a happy ending is.”
1. What made Katie decide to work for Disney?| A．The dream that she wanted to live a lire full magic. |
| B．The memory that she watched Disney movies as a kid. |
| C．The great joy the Disney vacation brought to her family. |
| D．The great courage her mother showed in fighting cancer. |
| A．Kind and curious. | B．Patient and helpful. |
| C．Strict and independent. | D．Tough and determined. |
| A．Sweet is pleasure after pain. | B．Experience must be bought. |
| C．Many drops make a shower. | D．Good medicine tastes bitter. |
3 . Many high school students consider a college education useless. Therefore, they choose not to go to college. If you’re one of them, think again. Here are some reasons why you should go to college and receive a good education there.
Schools and universities are the first sources of knowledge. We take that knowledge later on to build our careers after graduation. More knowledge will be gained after you start working, but without an education, that job will not be within easy reach. Knowledge leads to knowledge.
While limited within the walls of the educational institutions, we openly explore other cultures of the world. We come to know that ours is not the only culture. Other cultures have valuable insights to share, enriching our own at last. Education also makes us want to travel and interact with various cultures, broadening our horizons.
When there’s a downturn (衰退) in the economy, those who attended college will be more, likely to find a new job than those who only finished grade school and have a limited skill set. The more education you have, the more chances you will get to improve the quality of your life as you have a better job and earn a higher salary.
When you’re skillful and knowledgeable, you get to “rub knees” with people of similar backgrounds and tastes. It means a good education leads to excellent networking. Good networking can benefit you a lot in your later life.
A good education makes you a more interesting and confident person. You can talk about ideas and events instead of just listening to other people. An educated person doesn’t gossip, have a preference to discuss ideas and listen to what other people have to say.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．Sources of knowledge. |
| B．Benefits of attending college. |
| C．The disadvantages of not being educated. |
| D．The reasons why some people think college useless. |
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By listing reasons. |
| C．By following directions. |
| D．By offering suggestions. |
| A．Gaining more knowledge. |
| B．Enlarging social networks. |
| C．Becoming a humorous person. |
| D．Experiencing diverse cultures. |
4 . The earliest known copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa—thought to have been painted at the same time as the original masterpiece—has been discovered at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain. The work offers art-lovers an attractive clue to what the model for the world’s most famous painting really looked like. Controllers of the museum found the picture hidden beneath layers of paints during restoration work on a picture initially thought to have been a later replica(exact copy) of the Mona Lisa.
The restored version shows the same woman that Leonardo depicted (描画), against a landscape similar to that shown in the background of the original, which now hangs in the Louvre in Paris. And while the features of Leonardo’s Mona Lisa have been dulled by centuries of dirt and layers of cracked paints—which are unlikely ever to be removed—in the recently-rediscovered copy, she appears fresher-faced and younger than her better-known “twin”.
News of the find was revealed at a meeting at London’s National Gallery, linked to its “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan” exhibition. “This sensational (轰动的) find will transform our understanding of the world’s most famous picture,” the Art Newspaper reported, adding that the clues found on the Madrid version suggest that the original and the copy were begun at the same time and painted next to each other, as the work went on.
Miguel Falomir, manager of Italian painting at the Prado, told reporters that expert analysis suggested a strong link between Leonardo and the artist who painted the copy. “The painting was done in the painter’s own workshop,” he said. “It is absolutely consistent with Leonardo’s work, but Leonardo didn’t actually do any work on it himself.”
1. Which of the following is TRUE about the new version of the Mona Lisa?| A．It was a restored version by Leonardo. |
| B．It was painted much later than the original version. |
| C．It is better preserved than the original one. |
| D．It has been dulled by layers of cracked paints. |
| A．the new version of the Mona Lisa went on display at a meeting. |
| B．there would be two versions of the Mona Lisa at the exhibition. |
| C．Leonardo was made to paint with another painter meanwhile. |
| D．the new finding affects the understanding of the original version. |
| A．The artist painted the copy in his home. |
| B．The artist who painted the copy must have been Leonardo’s student. |
| C．The artist finished painting the copy under Leonardo’s guidance. |
| D．The artist who painted the copy had close relation with Leonardo. |
| A．The Prado Museum has discovered the earliest copy of the Mona Lisa. |
| B．The Prado Museum restored the earliest copy of the Mona Lisa. |
| C．The Prado Museum displayed the recently-rediscovered copy of the Mona Lisa in Spain. |
| D．The Prado Museum offers art-lovers a better understanding of Leonardo. |
5 . Samuel Morse was born in Massachusetts USA. He started off his career as an inventor after being a painter and sculptor (雕塑家). He even earned a gold medal from the famous Adelphi Society of Arts for his first effort in sculpture, the “Dying Hercules”. He became the first president of the National Academy of Design, and was made Professor of the Arts of Design in the University of the City of New York.
Yet, this painter turned to inventing to make his fortune during a sea voyage. On this journey, Samuel Morse heard about many attempts to create usable telegraphs. He was fascinated by this problem and began to study books on physics for two years to gain more scientific knowledge. He realized that pulses (脉冲) of electrical current could carry information over wires.
Thus the world’s first working model of a telegraph was born. His signaling device was quite simple. It consisted of a transmitter (containing a battery and a key), a small buzzer (蜂鸣器) as a receiver and a pair of wires connecting the two. Samuel Morse improved it by adding a switch and a second buzzer to allow transmission (传播) in the opposite direction as well.
On May 24, 1844 Samuel Morse sent the first electronic message between Baltimore and Washington, “Look what God has enabled us to build, and benefit by.”
Seventeen years later, the two coasts of the United States were linked by telegraph. The telegraph continued to enjoy the position of being the fastest and most reliable means of communication for almost 140 years since its invention.
1. From the passage we learn that Samuel Morse ________.| A．was a famous sculptor at one time |
| B．was president of New York University |
| C．first discovered pulses of electrical current |
| D．became a millionaire after inventing the telegraph |
| A．he was very interested in it |
| B．he thought he was a talented inventor |
| C．he thought he could make a fortune |
| D．he thought he would be famous |
| A．the battery and the key |
| B．the transmitter and the buzzer |
| C．the wires and the battery |
| D．the receiver and the key |
6 . It is now possible to watch live sport on television on any day of the week, and the present amount of reporting will undoubtedly increase further in years to come. This is certainly having an influence on the live sports events themselves, and there are both benefits and shortcomings to this.
What are the benefits of this televised sport?
However, there will be some disadvantages if so much sport is on television. Considering football again, many small clubs have suffered financial losses recently, as they cannot compete with the large ones.
In a word, watching live sport on television has both good and bad effects. Televised sport has created many chances and benefited certain people and clubs very much.
| A．Why has there been such growth in televised sport? |
| B．Why are there so many benefits of watching live sport on television? |
| C．Televised sport can be helpful in increasing people’s value of teamwork. |
| D．There has been a general falling in ticket sales, especially among smaller clubs. |
| E．Through televised sport, more people have become interested in actually playing sport. |
| F．One obvious advantage of televised sport is the money provided by television companies. |
| G．However, it has also been responsible for changing the nature of live sports events for ever. |
7 . Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调).
One of the study's authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”.This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr. Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the researchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings:squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C.M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
1. When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.| A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time |
| B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time |
| C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
| A．created | B．spelled | C．seemed | D．pronounced |
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
You’re on your way to school as usual when suddenly an invisible barrier appears out of nowhere, trapping you underneath it and isolating you from the outside world. What do you do?
This is the scary experience the residents of a fictional town called Chester’s Mill are going through in the US TV series Under the Dome. Based on famous US author Stephen King’s 2009 best-selling novel, the show has become “the highest-rated summer show in 21 years” since debuting (首播) on June 24, reported the New York Post.
The series begins with the dome (穹顶) making its alarming appearance. As the earth trembles and birds take off, an enormous, invisible barrier slices down, cutting the town off from the rest of the world.
The residents quickly realize they are trapped, probably for quite some time. Families are separated, emergency services are unreachable and water, food and fuel are strictly limited.
There is no way out or in. But who or what is responsible? Nobody knows. Thus, the residents are at the mercy of unknown forces and their internal conflicts.
While it provides an enjoyable TV thrill ride, the movie’s science fiction is closely linked with reality.
“Not only is it worrying, suspenseful (悬疑的) and full of splendid special effects, but it has big thoughts about environmentalism and the future of the commented The Denver Post planet.”
As King himself explained to The Telegraph: “The dome is a microcosm (微观世界) of life. We all live under the dome. We live on this little blue planet and so far as we know that’s all we’ve got,” he said. “The resources that we’ve got are the resources that we’ve got; they’re limited.”
But the show explores many themes in addition to environmental destruction. It also shows “how quickly the social order we take for granted can disappear when people are isolated and afraid”, said the Los Angeles Times.
It is “a science-fiction social study”, said The Washington Post. “Once the people of Chester’s Mill realize they are indefinitely trapped without means of food supply, outside communication and power, their polite sense of small-town, American civilization begins to fall apart.”
1. The underlined word “isolating” in the first paragraph probably means _______.| A．separating | B．protecting |
| C．discouraging | D．distinguishing |
| A．the dome, which appears out of nowhere, doesn’t have huge effects on the residents’ lives |
| B．it takes a long time for residents to realize they are trapped by the invisible dome |
| C．because of the dome, the residents in the small town become more united and helpful |
| D．not knowing what has happened, the residents feel helpless against unknown forces |
| A．Because it is suspenseful and uses splendid special effects to reflect modern life. |
| B．Because it gets us to think about the future of the earth and the importance of environmental protection. |
| C．Because it attaches great importance to following the social order even in frightening situations. |
| D．Because the residents in the TV series live almost the same life as ordinary Americans do. |
9 . How old is “old” ?
How old is “old” ?
So, how old is old? The answer is one you’ve heard many times, from all sorts of people. “You are as old (or young) as you feel!” The calendar(日历) simply tells you how many years you have lived.
Once an unknown author wrote , “
There are many wrong ideas about aging.
| A．Old is a point of view. |
| B．It’s extremely terrible to be grown old. |
| C．The answer has changed over the years. |
| D．Your body tells you how well you’ve lived. |
| E．Older people are stubborn, unable to change. |
| F．Youth is not a time of life but it is a state of mind. |
| G．These ideas stereotype (固化) people on the basis of age. |
10 . It warmed my heart today to walk into the Thirsty Camel downtown in the Thanksgiving Day, for a quick lunch before a haircut and library trip. Ihan, a food shop owner, said that he was refusing to take money today because it was Buy Nothing Day. To increase awareness(意识) of the strange’s over-spending nature of our society, Ilan suggested a trade for food today. He simply asked that you offer something of equal personal value for the meal you received.
At first I was really uncomfortable, wondering if it would be fair to exchange a yet to be determined “I Owe You” (IOU) for food? What could I give him of equal value? After all, his food is the best in the town!
We ended up writing our IOU’s with promises of a book, some paintings and the offer of work in a variety of ways if he needs it.
I think the idea isn’t that the trade is “equal” so much as the importance of the kind of transaction. We put thought into our offer and we had an even greater understanding for the meals we ate.
We don’t buy a lot, especially at this upcoming time of year. We don’t give gifts at all in fact. The holiday time is spent enjoying each other’s company and doing things together with family and friends. This is what seems most sensible.
Ilan is a good person. We are all lucky to have someone like this in our community.
1. Ilan did not take any money that day in order to .| A．have a quick lunch before a haircut and library trip |
| B．trade for something of equal value in return |
| C．make people aware of their over spending |
| D．buy nothing that day to save some money |
| A．some promises | B．a book |
| C．some paintings | D．work in different ways |
| A．transport | B．trade |
| C．meal | D．giving |
| A．Disagreeable | B．Meaningless. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Supportive. |
