A.was anybody threatened | B.did anybody threaten |
C.anybody was threatened | D.did nobody threaten |
2 . Research has shown that two-thirds of human conversation is taken up not with discussion of the cultural or political problems of the day, not heated debates about films we’ve just watched or books we’ve just finished reading, but plain and simple
Language is our greatest treasure as a species, and what do we
So why are we keen on gossiping? Are we just natural
Dunbar
Dunbar arrived at his cheery theory by studying the
As we human beings evolve from a particular branch of the primate family, Dunbar
But as the groups got bigger and bigger, the amount of time spent in grooming activities also had to be
A.gesture | B.gossip | C.description | D.recognition |
A.occasionally | B.habitually | C.discreetly | D.originally |
A.historical | B.natural | C.social | D.cultural |
A.wasters | B.users | C.masters | D.owners |
A.witty | B.vivid | C.vital | D.worthless |
A.supposes | B.rejects | C.highlights | D.outlines |
A.on the contrary | B.for instance | C.in addition | D.as a result |
A.comprehension | B.appearance | C.motivation | D.behaviour |
A.contact | B.attack | C.assistance | D.trick |
A.concludes | B.recalls | C.requires | D.confesses |
A.protection | B.prospect | C.responsibility | D.promise |
A.echo | B.blame | C.ease | D.preserve |
A.established | B.extended | C.earned | D.consumed |
A.efficient | B.scientific | C.considerate | D.common |
A.regular | B.independent | C.widespread | D.physical |
A.open; may well | B.be opened; may well |
C.open; may as well | D.be opened; may as well |
6 . Future living: what will the home of tomorrow look like?
What will our homes be like in the future? Growing cities, shrinking living spaces, and climate change are major challenges
Energy efficient and carbon neutral
One of the greatest challenges for homes of the future is our increasing energy consumption, something that cannot be covered by fossil fuels going forward.
The trend to downsizing
Living more efficiently not only means improving energy use and reducing one’s own carbon footprint, but also building to save space. Rooms
Trends for living and working under one roof
Over the last few months, the office
7 . What Makes a Nobel Laureate?
Are there any predictors that point to who will be selected as Nobel laureates?
Is brilliance in childhood a predictor? When the 2006 chemistry laureate, Roger Kornberg, was asked what he wanted for Christmas, he said, “A week in the lab.”
Experts often recommend that people specialize in one field of work or research to maximize their chances of success.
There remains one quality that is essential. It is what Leon Lederman (physics, 1988) called “compulsive dedication.”
A.What distinguishes Nobel laureates is passion for their work, work that engages their hearts as well as their heads. |
B.But early privilege is not essential. |
C.The typical Nobel laureate in science is a male born into a middle-class family. |
D.In many Nobel laureates’ autobiographies, they pay tribute to an outstanding mentor. |
E.In fact, Nobel laureates are mostly down-to-earth and discreet. |
F.Yet recently published researches indicate that successful innovators take a broader path. |
8 . Shipping containers are gaining popularity as an alternative to traditional houses. These 20-or 40-foot containers can be obtained for as little as several hundred US dollars a piece, and it’s not surprising that some industry professionals and even city planners consider them the future of home building. Below are details of some amazing homes made out of shipping containers.
London Container City (I and II)
London’s Container City first sprang up in the heart of the docklands in 2001. It took just five months to complete the original 12 work studios. Shortly after that, a fourth floor of studios and living apartments was built on top of these. The first container city was so successful that another—Container City II—was added to it.
Los Angeles Redondo Beach house
With its modern lines and appealing spaces, the award-winning Redondo Beach House is a luxury beachside showpiece built from eight recycled steel shipping containers, along with some traditional building materials. According to the architects, the modified containers are “nearly indestructible”.
Amsterdam Keetwonen
Amsterdam’s massive Keetwonen complex houses 1,000 students and it is the largest container city in the world. The housing project is a roaring success and features units that are quiet and comfortable. Each resident enjoys a bathroom, a kitchen and separate sleeping and studying quarters. The complex even has central heating and high-speed internet as well as areas for parking bikes.
Mexico M2ATK Container House
M2ATK designed this unique container house for an artist. It’s fully equipped with heating and cooling, a kitchen and bathroom. On the bottom floor of the house are “public spaces” such as the kitchen and living room. The second floor are bedrooms, and the top floor is a studio space in which to work, read and “let fly the imagination”.
1. Compared to traditional houses, container houses are________.A.easier to maintain | B.less expensive to build |
C.more comfortable to live in | D.more fashionable in style |
A.It is the first container city in the world. | B.It’s equipped with modern facilities. |
C.It features a luxury and unique style. | D.It includes living space and car parks. |
A.London Container City (I and II) | B.Los Angeles Redondo Beach house |
C.Amsterdam Keetwonen | D.Mexico M2ATK Container House |
9 . Our culture has caused most Americans to assume not only that our language is universal, but that the gestures we use are understood by everyone. We do not realize that waving good-bye is the way to ask a person from the Philippines to one’s side, or that in Italy and some Latin-American countries, curling the finger to oneself is a sign of farewell.
Those private citizens who sent packages to our troops occupying Germany after World War II and marked them GIFT to escape duty payments did not bother to find out that “Gift” means poison in German. Moreover, we like to think of ourselves as friendly, yet we prefer to be at least 3 feet or an arm’s length away from others. Latins and Middle Easterners like to come closer and touch, which makes Americans uncomfortable.
Our linguistic and cultural blindness and the informality with which we take notice of the developed tastes, gestures, customs and languages of other countries, are losing us friends, business and respect in the world.
Even here in the United States, we make few compromises to the needs of foreign visitors. There are no information signs in four languages on our public buildings or monuments; we do not have multilingual guided tours. Very few restaurant menus have translations, and multilingual waiters, bank clerks and policemen are rare. Our transportation systems have maps in English only and often we ourselves have difficulty understanding them.
When we go abroad, we tend to cluster in hotels and restaurants where English is spoken. The attitudes and information we pick up are conditioned by those natives—usually the richer—who speak English. Our business dealings, as well as the nation’s diplomacy, are conducted through interpreters.
For many years, America and Americans could get by with cultural blindness and linguistic ignorance. After all, America was the most powerful country of the free world, the distributor of needed funds and goods.
But all that is past. American dollars no longer buy all good things, and we are slowly beginning to realize that our proper role in the world is changing. A l979 Harris poll reported that 55 percent of Americans want this country to play a more significant role in world affairs; we want to have a hand in the important decisions of the next century, even though it may not always be the upper hand.
1. It can be inferred that Americans being approached too closely by Middle Easterners would most probably________.A.stand still | B.scream out | C.step forward | D.draw back |
A.cultural self-centeredness | B.casual manners |
C.indifference towards foreign visitors | D.blindness to native culture |
A.are isolated by the local people |
B.are not well informed due to the language barrier |
C.tend to get along well with the natives |
D.need interpreters in hotels and restaurants |
A.it is dangerous to ignore their foreign friends |
B.it is important to maintain their leading role in world affairs |
C.it is necessary to use several languages in public places |
D.it is time to get acquainted with other cultures |
A. replace B. trustworthy C. apparently D. pick E. owe AB. expressing AC. land AD. ironically AE. version BC. position BD. challenging |
What Is 2023’s Word of the Year, According to Dictionaries?
What word defined the past year for you? Find out if your answer matches the actual word of the year from four famous dictionaries.
Cambridge Dictionary’s
Those dictionary people are
With Merriam-Webster’s word authentic, we have an AI trifecta (三连胜)! While its core meaning is the same — “not false or imitation” — it should
Oxford slides in at the last minute with a totally different word of the year for 2023: rizz. This noun means “style, charm or attractiveness”. It’s believed to be a shortened