1 . One of the classic science-fiction treatments of the end of civilization was The Death of Grass, by John Christopher, in which a mysterious sickness struck down all the grasses on which most of the world’s agriculture is based, from rice to wheat. In the end, politics among the survivors of disease, war and famine were reduced to bitter fratricidal struggle over a defensible potato patch. Like most of the so-called “comfortable disaster” novels, this could be criticized for optimism. Depressing as a future of famine and the war of all against all might seem, the consequences were largely limited to humans.
However, the threatened extinction of insect populations around the world raises the prospect of a much less general disaster, which would involve plants, birds, fish, small mammals, and everything else depending on insects. That’s just the start. Other species, and we ourselves, depend on the animals and plants that need insects. When they go, we go. This is not just a greater disaster. It’s a much more reasonable one. The most recent study has concluded that insect biomass is decreasing around the world at a rate of 2.5% a year. At that rate, half the insects in the world will be gone in 50 years’ time, and all of them in a century — though no one will be keeping track of centuries then.
The chief driver of this disaster is unchecked human greed. For all our individual and even collective cleverness, we behave as a species with as little foresight as a colony of nematode worms that will consume everything that it can reach until all is gone and it dies off naturally. The challenge of behaving more intelligently than creatures that have no brain at all will not be easy. But unlike the nematodes, we know what to do. The UN convention on biodiversity was signed in 1992, alongside the convention on climate change. Giving it the strength to hold back our appetites is now urgent. Biodiversity is not an optional extra. It is the web that holds all life, including human life.
The two main expressions of greed that speed this apocalypse are global warming and industrial agriculture. It appears that most of the damage is being done in the developed world by farming practices. The use of giant fields, lacking in shelter for insects of any sort at all, whether they are harmful to human interests or not, and where the plants are drenched in long-lasting pesticides, has been fatal for uncounted billions of insects. The effects of this kind of forming reach beyond the fields immediately affected, too. There has been a huge loss of aquatic insect species from the rivers into which the products of industrial agriculture arc flushed by rain. Even in German nature reserves, which are by definition protected from the use of pesticides, there have been sleep falls in insect populations because so many of the most widely used ones are persistent and prevent breeding.
1. Which of the following statements about The Death of Grass is true?| A．It gives a vivid account of the most serious famine in history. |
| B．It holds an optimistic attitude towards famine in the future. |
| C．It understates the severity of the disaster facing the world. |
| D．It demonstrates how evil human nature turns out to be. |
| A．prove that the prediction about the great disaster makes sense |
| B．suggest a possible approach to increasing insect biomass |
| C．show how soon the insects worldwide will go extinct |
| D．argue for the necessity to protect insect populations |
| A．Humans are similar to nematode in that both of them lack foresight. |
| B．Modem farming is to blame for the threatened extinction of insects. |
| C．Germany sets a good example by minimizing the use of pesticides. |
| D．We haven’t done enough about maintaining biodiversity. |
| A．What we can do to deal with the situation. |
| B．How industrial agriculture brings about apocalypse. |
| C．What influence pesticides may have on people’s lives. |
| D．Why insect populations in Germany are on the decline. |
2 . Every four years we get to see the best competing to win the Olympic medals. But sometimes the best inspiration comes from those who don’t win-- or even someone who came in dead last.
In 1988, Michael “The Eagle” Edwards became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping. How did Eddie do? He came in No. 58 out of 58. But it didn’t matter. His fans loved him for other reasons. He had no trainer, no money, no practice facilities--and some called him the great British loser. Eddie says, “I got my letter saying, ‘Congratulations, you can represent Great Britain in the Olympic Games’ when I was in a mental hospital in Finland. I wasn’t a patient. I was there because it was the cheapest place for me to stay.” On getting ready to do his jump, Eddie says, “There were about 85 or 90 thousand people in the ski jump area, and I thought ‘this is going to be really good, I’m really going to go for this,’ The Germans and the Swiss and the Italians were going down jumping, but the crowd were ignoring them and chanting, ‘Eddie! Eddie!’”
“And I got out and sat on the bar and they started cheering and cheering and it was great!”
“When you sit at the top of the ski jump, you look down, and you’re probably about 500 or 600 feet up from where you’re actually going to finish. You can see a million and one different reasons why you shouldn’t really go down. So you do have to be not a little crazy, but probably a lot.”
“You’re travelling at 65 or 75 miles per hour. Within about a second you’ll be 250 feet up from where you’re going to be landing. And you just try to relax and let your skis carry you to the bottom of the hill.”
“It’s the most exciting feeling in the world.”
Eddie’s British record jump of 71 meters landed him in 58th place--out of 58 competitors, 19 meters behind the jumper who was placed 57th. And if you ask anyone in Great Britain, “Who won the Olympic ski jump in 1988?” Almost no one could tell you. But if you ask, “Who is Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards?” They’ll tell you all about the crazy ski jump guy who they still remember and love to this day. The British people were so proud of him for just trying, that winning didn’t matter a bit. He dares to go where most of us won’t. Yes, he came in dead last, but he will be forever and fondly remembered by his country for doing what no one else had done in 60 years.
So what daring thing are you afraid to do? Take Eddie’s example and just go for it.
You might just become a legend.
1. The competitor who was placed 57th kept the record jump of ________meters in 1988.| A．52 | B．77 | C．90 | D．129 |
| A．Eddie represented Finland in Olympic ski jumping. |
| B．Eddie trained himself with good practical facilities. |
| C．Eddie thought it didn’t matter to be in dead last. |
| D．Eddie thought himself to be a legend in Britain. |
| A．He became the first British competitor in Olympic ski jumping. |
| B．He did what no one else had done in 60 years for his country. |
| C．He could ski jump at the speed of 65 or 75 miles per hour. |
| D．He has got a great deal of British sport fans. |
| A．The Eagle | B．Getting to the medal |
| C．The Importance of Failure | D．When Last Place is Really First |
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| To: Marilyn Sawyer From: Paul Lebowski Sent: Tuesday, October 3 Subject: Office rental Marilyn, Here’s a link to an office rental ad I found online: www.offices.com/10-01. I think it’s worth looking at even though the rent is a bit high. I know it is a good deal more than we are paying now, but look at the size. It’s twice as big as our current office, and I’m sure we can use the space. And it has a kitchen, a bathroom and a reception area just like we have now. Unfortunately, it is nowhere near a subway station. That is a convenience I would miss having, but it does have parking, unlike our current office. I’m sure our clients would appreciate that. It would also be good to be in a building with an elevator. I’m really tired of using the stairs. I’d like to see the space as soon as possible. Could you call and make an appointment? Try and get one for tomorrow if you can, because after that I’ll be away until next Monday, as you know. Thanks. Paul |
| A．450 square feet. | B．750 square feet. |
| C．900 square feet. | D．1,750 square feet. |
| A．It is near the subway. |
| B．It is in a 10-story building. |
| C．It is in a building with an elevator. |
| D．It cost more than the advertised office. |
| A．Monday | B．Tuesday | C．Wednesday | D．Thursday |
4 . Misty didn’t always feel so confident in herself. The challenges she has faced over almost 20 years of dancing have made her strong.
At the young age, Misty was a shy child and
Today, Misty says, “I’ve learned to embrace my appearance, skin color, and figure.” She wants to help other dancers
| A．liked | B．ignored | C．needed | D．avoided |
| A．By this means | B．With courage | C．Over time | D．At her age |
| A．cheered | B．made | C．brought | D．picked |
| A．strength | B．confidence | C．weight | D．knowledge |
| A．first | B．only | C．special | D．poorest |
| A．happiest | B．best | C．toughest | D．scariest |
| A．down | B．up | C．away | D．out |
| A．happened | B．turned | C．worsened | D．improved |
| A．change | B．like | C．accept | D．believe |
| A．devotion | B．fortune | C．experience | D．patience |
5 . Blind Olympic Athletes Show the Universal Nature
Tune into any sports coverage on TV, and you will see many athletes proudly raise their arms and heads in victory, while a much larger number hang their shoulders and necks in defeat. Studies have revealed why—they are universal behaviours, performed by humans in response to success and failure.
The discovery came from Jessica Tracy from the University of British Columbia and David Matsumoto from San Francisco State University, who wanted to see how people showed feelings of pride and shame.
The answer was Athens, during the 2004 Olympic Games. Its sister competition—the Paralympics—included many athletes who were born blind.
These actions were also remarkably consistent between contestants from every part of the world. Tracy and Matsumoto argue that pride and shame deserve a place alongside other primary emotions like happiness, fear and surprise.
| A．Analyzing the data, they found that the sighted and sightless athletes behaved in almost exactly the same ways. |
| B．In fact, the culture was found to have only a very small effect on their body language. |
| C．In particular, they wanted to know whether these expressions were culturally determined and learned through observation. |
| D．The athletes’ behaviours give strong evidence that they have had the actions naturally since birth. |
| E．The result suggested that the athletes were showing their pride based on careful observation. |
| F．Therefore, they could not have witnessed how other people reacted to winning and losing. |
| G．They are inborn behaviours and are accompanied by their own distinct sets of actions. |
If you see humor as an optional form of entertainment (娱乐), you’re missing some of its biggest benefits: Humor makes average-looking people look cute. Humor helps uninteresting people seem entertaining too. Studies show that a good sense of humor even makes you seem smarter.
Humor also transports your mind away from your daily troubles. Humor lets you better understand life and sometimes helps you laugh at even the worst of your problems.
In my experience, most people think they have a sense of humor, and to some degree that’s true. But not all senses of humor are created equal. So I thought it would be useful to include some humor tips for everyday life.
You don’t have to be the joke teller in the group in order to show your sense of humor. You can be the one who directs the conversation to fun topics that are ripe for others to add humor.
When it comes to in-person humor, effort counts a lot. When people see you trying to be funny, it frees them to try it themselves. For in-person humor, quality isn’t as important as you might think. Your attitude and effort count a lot.
Some people believe that humorous complaints (抱怨) about the little problems of life make humor, and sometimes that is the case. The problem comes when you start doing too much complaint-based humor. One funny observation about problem in your life can be funny, but five is just complaining, no matter how smart you think you are.
Self-deprecating humor (自嘲式) is usually the safest type, but here again you don’t want to overshoot the target. One self-deprecating comment is a generous and even confident form of humor. But if you do it too often, you can transform in the eyes of others from a confident joker to a Chihuahua dog.
1. How does humor make average-looking people look? (不多于六个单词)2. What is important for in-person humor? (不多于三个单词)
3. How many humor tips are mentioned in the passage? (一个单词)
4. What’s the passage mainly about? (不多于七个单词)
7 . POETRY CHALLENGE
Write a poem about how courage, determination, and strength have helped you face challenges in your life.
Prizes
3 Grand Prizes: Trip to Washington, D. C. for each of three winners, a parent and one other person of the winner’s choice. Trip includes round-trip air tickets, hotel stay for two nights, and tours of the National Air and Space Museum and the office of National Geographic World.
6 First Prizes: The book Sky Pioneer: A Photobiography of Amelia Earhart signed by author Corinne Szabo and pilot Linda Finch.
50 Honorable Mentions: Judges will choose up to 50 honorable mention winners, who will each receive a T-shirt in memory of Earhart’s final flight.
Rules
Follow all rules carefully to prevent disqualification (不合格).
·Write a poem using 100 words or fewer. Your poem can be any format, any number of lines.
·Write by hand or type on a single sheet of paper. You may use both the front and back of the paper.
·On the same sheet of paper, write or type your name, address, telephone number, and birth date.
·Mail your entry to us by October 31 this year.
1. How many people can get “First Prize”?| A．3. | B．6. | C．50. | D．100. |
| A．A special T-shirt. |
| B．A book named Sky Pioneer. |
| C．A free plane trip. |
| D．A picture of Amelia Earhart. |
| A．Writing a poem by hand. |
| B．Using both sides of the paper. |
| C．Writing a poem with 120 words. |
| D．Mailing the entry on October 29. |
| A．prize winners | B．book readers |
| C．poetry lovers | D．disqualified competitors |
Rowan Atkinson is an English actor, comedian and screenwriter. Rowan was born
9 . It was a cold evening, and my daughter and I were walking up Broadway. I didn’t notice a guy sitting inside a cardboard box, but Nora did. She wasn’t even four, but she
I don’t remember my reply. But I do remember a sudden heavy feeling inside me. I had always been delighted at how much my daughter noticed in her
A few days later, I saw an article in the newspaper about volunteers who picked up a food package from a nearby school on a Sunday morning and
The building was in a bad state. Facing us was a silver-haired woman in an old dress. She took the package and asked us to come in. Nora ran inside. I unwillingly followed. Once inside, I saw that the department belonged to someone poor. Our hostess showed us some photos. Nora played and when the time came to say goodbye, we three hugged, I walked home in tears.
Professionals call such a(n)
| A．pulled | B．glanced | C．waved | D．aimed |
| A．area | B．part | C．eyesight | D．world |
| A．coldness | B．illness | C．suffering | D．ignorance |
| A．delivered | B．returned | C．devoted | D．posted |
| A．creative | B．valuable | C．shocking | D．simple |
| A．warn | B．stop | C．allow | D．push |
| A．back | B．away | C．up | D．out |
| A．stay | B．visit | C．adventure | D．opinion |
| A．fair | B．famous | C．difficult | D．enjoyable |
| A．improved | B．benefited | C．tried | D．seized |
10 . Several years ago, Jeremy Clarkson, presenter of the famous BBC television programme ‘Top Gear’, discovered that one of his guests was half German and half Irish. Immediately, he said, “That’s quite a strange combination. It’s like, ‘this must be done absolutely perfectly… tomorrow’ ”.
This joke played on stereotypes of the Germans as efficient and the Irish as lazy. Many people could understandably be offended by these kinds of assertions(断言). We do not know every Irish person, so how can we then conclude that every Irish person is lazy?
I recently read on a website that Irish business people were described as being “generally rather casual” and “more outwardly friendly than many European countries”. German business people, on the other hand, are considered to be very direct and according to the website, they “do not need a personal relationship in order to do business”. Once you hear advice like this, it becomes easier to understand where jokes like the one in the first paragraph come from.
So why do some people disapprove of the kind of stereotypes as seen in Clarkson’s joke, but not batting an eyelid(眨眼) when it comes to generalizations. What is the difference between the two?
By definition, a stereotype is a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing. A cultural characteristic, on the other hand, is a pattern of behaviour that is typical of a certain group.
So what does this really mean? Stereotypes are simply overstated assumptions about groups of people. Imagine if a tourist visited a small town in Switzerland and saw a number of locals playing the alphorn instrument, and then claimed that Swiss people can play the alphorn. This would be a stereotype! This is an overstated image of the Swiss which is based on one tourist’s experience.
If, however, this tourist were to say that the Swiss are very punctual, this could be seen as a cultural characteristic. This is because it is a pattern of behaviour which is very typical in Switzerland: from their transport system to their business meetings. In this way, some people argue that generalizing another culture is not just useful, but important. Politicians always have to be mindful of the cultural characteristics of different countries. By becoming aware of different cultural characteristics, they can avoid causing offence in those cultures. However, others argue that generalizing cultures will always lead to offensive stereotypes. They argue that the best thing we can do is to stop generalizing cultures and start treating people as individuals.
All this raises important questions: can making generalizations about groups of people be a positive thing? Or should we always avoid making broad assumptions about different groups?
1. When he said, “It’s like, ‘this must be done absolutely perfectly…tomorrow’”, Jeremy Clarkson really meant ________.| A．the stereotypes of the Germans and the Irish are not so good |
| B．the combination of half German and half Irish is interesting |
| C．the characteristics of the Germans and the Irish are opposite |
| D．the Germans will do it perfectly tomorrow while the Irish won’t |
| A．The Swiss can play the alphorn quite well. |
| B．The Irish people are considered as lazy, direct and casual. |
| C．The Germans are thought to be efficient, friendly and direct. |
| D．The Swiss tend to arrive on time on various occasions. |
| A．they don’t want to offend other people |
| B．generalizing will lead to offensive stereotypes |
| C．cultural characteristics are better than stereotypes |
| D．they think different cultural characteristics are useful |
| A．illustrate the importance of making generalizations |
| B．show it is wrong to play jokes on stereotypes of different people |
| C．tell us the differences between stereotypes and cultural characteristics |
| D．discuss whether it is good to make generalizations about groups of people |
