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UNIT 1 Passage One>>> Everywhere, you will always find "the white-haired boy", sometimes called "the fair-haired boy". He gets special treatment, as if he were above everybody else. You will find him in school, in college, at home, or where you work. In school, he is teacher's pet, her darling who can do nothing wrong. Sometimes she lets him do little jobs for her. He comes to class in the morning, all shiny and clean. He is always raising his hand, ready with an answer to teacher's questions. And he knows all the answers. He "gets into your hair", especially if you are at the bottom of the class and the teacher thinks you are stupid. How you hate the brat! At college, he walks-more often strides-cross the school grounds as if he owned them. Sometimes he wears a colorful football or basketball shirt or sweater, with a bright red, or green or yellow college letter proudly worn on the front of it. What broad shoul​ders, what muscles he has! He makes the girls happy by just smiling at them. He has the mark of success on him. At home, "the fair-haired boy" is mother's choice, her favorite. Sometimes, he is the oldest son—at times, the youngest. If you are in between, you are out of luck. On the job, you meet another one of these "white-haired boys"; you can't escape them. For some strange reason, he is the man who is always moved ahead. He gets better and better jobs, with more and more money. But you stand still, wondering why, and try​ing to explain to yourself why you hate him so much. Then, you discover that there are others who share your feelings, ready to "let their hair down" —to tell you their private thoughts. One of them asks, "What does he have that I haven't got?" You ask yourself the same question. Finally, there comes a day when you decide to stop hating him. Is it perhaps because he has been made boss and you find yourself working for him? 注释： 1.​ brat: n. （贬）小孩 2.​ stride：v. 大步走；迈进 n. 大步；【常做-s】进展 例如：We are striding confidently towards the future. 我们正满怀信心阔步走向未来。 At one stride she has become a film star. 她一举成为明星。 3.​ Let one’s hair down: （非正式）毫无顾忌；随随便便 1. From the passage we can know that "the white-hired" boy is__________. A. a boy with white hair B. a boy who is treated with favor C. a very bright boy D. a boy who looks more mature than others 2. In the second paragraph, the underlined part of the sentence "He 'gets into your hair'" means __________. A. he upsets you B. he insults you C. he plays a joke on you D. he pulls your hair 3. From the third paragraph, we can see that "the white-haired boy"_ A. is usually smarter than other students B. looks very proud of himself C. succeeds in everything that he does D. always smiles at the girls 4. Which of the following is considered to be the most unlucky child at home? A. The first-born child. B. The last-born child C. The middle child. D. The only child. 5. The passage is probably written _______. A. to explain the meanings of certain phrases containing the word “hair”. B. to express the writer’s anger at the “white-haired boy” C. to teach ordinary people how to take good care of their hair D. to show the writer’s admiration for the “white-hair” boy. Passage Two>>> During the first two hundred years of their nation's existence (1776—1976) Ameri​cans were never forced to change their great optimism about wealth and abundance. Later in the 1970s, however, an important change in the attitude of Americans began to take place. Most no longer believed that this abundance would continue to expand. During this time it became increasingly clear that the days of cheap and abundant energy, which in one form or another had powered the American economy, were coming to an end. Moreover, the technology of mass production which had produced so much new wealth in recent decades now seemed to bring increasing danger in the form of air and water pollution. Most Americans experienced new shortages through the highest rates of inflation ——rising prices for everything they bought ——that most of them could remember. It is not surprising, therefore, that by the end of the 1970s, 62 percent of the Ameri​can people agreed with the statement: "Americans should get used to the fact that our wealth is limited and most of us are not likely to become better off than we are now.” In other words, the majority of Americans had come to the conclusion that the abundance had stopped growing. Americans had suffered economic hard times before the 1980s, most notably in the Great Depression of the 1930s. But in the past the belief that the United States was, and would continue to be, a land of plenty continued and supported an optimism about the fu​ture. What never happened in the 1980s is the acceptance by most Americans that the Li​nked States has finally reached its limit of material wealth and that "our current standard of living may be the highest we can hope for". 注释： 1.​ abundance: n. 充足；富裕 例如：an abundance of sunshine 充足的阳光 abundance of the heart 感情的丰富 ★ abundant: adj 2.​ expand：v. 扩展；增加 3.​ decade：n. 十年 4.​ shortage: n. 缺乏 5.​ be likely to: 可能 6.​ Great Depression:（指美国二十世纪三十年代的）经济大萧条 6. This passage is mainly about__________. A. ever-increasing material abundance of the U. S. A. B. the economic hard times in the U. S. A. C. Americans' falling expectations of their wealth D. Americans' attitudes to inflation and pollution 7. Which of the following statements is true? A. Americans remained hopeful until the 1970s even though they had experienced the Great Depression. B. The United States has plenty of cheap energy, so there should be no fear of energy shortage. C. The introduction of new technology led to the rising of prices. D. The American economy continues to develop as smoothly as ever 8. Americans no longer believe that the United States is a land of plenty. The reason giv​en in this passage is ___________. A. they have had the highest rate of inflation on record B. the abundance will not last forever C. the population of America keeps growing D. the government hasn't taken action to limit the use of energy 9. The reason for Americans' unchanged optimism by the 1970s is____________. A. prices were rising acceptably high B. people saved up plenty of money for hard times C. industry didn't bring about such a serious problem as pollution D. cheap and abundant energy kept the nation's economy upwards 10. The word "notably" in the last paragraph means___________. A. dangerously B. recently C. remarkably D. widely Passage Three>>> We don't have beds in the space shuttle (航天飞机), but we do have sleeping bags. During the day, when we are working, we leave the bags tied to the wall, out of the way. At bedtime we untie them and take them wherever we've chosen to sleep. On most space shuttle flights everyone sleeps at the same time. No one has to stay awake to watch over the space plane; the shuttle's computers and the engineers at Mission Control do that. If anything goes wrong, the computers ring an alarm and the engineers call us on the radio. On the space shuttle, sleep-time doesn't mean nighttime. During each ninety-minute orbit(轨道运行) the sun "rises" and shines through our windows for about fifty minutes; then it "sets" as our path takes us around the dark side of the Earth. To keep the sun out of our eyes, we wear black sleep masks. It is surprisingly easy to get comfortable and fall asleep in space. Every astronaut sleeps differently. Some sleep upside down, some sideways, some right side up. When it's time to sleep, I take my bag, my sleep mask, and my tape player with earphones and float (漂浮) up to the flight deck(驾驶舱). Then I crawl into the bag, and float in a sitting po​sition just above a seat, right next to a window. Before I pull the mask down over my eyes, I relax for a while, listening to music and watching the Earth go by beneath me. 注释： 1.​ During the day, when we are working, we leave the bags tied to the wall, out of the way. 白天工作时，我们将睡袋绑在舱壁，免得碍手碍脚。 （1）“Leave” 在该句意为“使处于（某种状态）”，后面常接宾语补足语。例如： Leave the door open. 让门开着吧 When I returned, I upset to find that everything was left undone. 我回来后，发现他们什么都没有做，我有些不高兴。 （2）out of the way: 不挡道；不碍事；不妥的；异常的；偏远的 与之相对的一个表达式的in the way 意为“挡道的，妨碍的” 11. When it's bedtime, astronauts put their sleeping bags__________. A. on the wall B. at Mission Control C. in the flight deck D. in any place they like 12. According to the passage, in order to get comfortable and fall asleep in space, it is necessary to__________. A. make a bed B. wear a sleep mask C. listen to a tape player D. set an alarm clock 13. "Watch over" in para.2 has the closest meaning to__________. A. go over B. research on C. look into D. take care of 14. The main idea of the last paragraph is _________ A. what "I" do when it is bedtime B. where and how all the astronauts sleep C. it’s hard to have a good sleep in space D. one can only relax for a while in space if tired 15. The best title for this passage is _________ A. Sleeping on the Space Shuttle B. Travel in Space C. Sleeping Equipment for Astronauts D. The Earth Seen from Outer Space Passage Four>>> Real policemen, both in Britain and the United States, hardly recognize any resemblance between their lives and what they see on TV—if they ever get home in time. There are similarities, of course, but the cops don't think much of them. The first difference is that a policeman's real life revolves round the law. Most of his training is in criminal law. He has to know exactly what actions are crimes and what evidence can be used to prove them in court. He has to know nearly as much law as a professional lawyer, and what is more, he has to apply it on his feet, in the dark and rain, running down an alley after someone he wants to talk to. Little of his time is spent in chatting to charming ladies or in dramatic confrontations with desperate criminals. He will spend most of his working life typing millions of words on thousands of forms about hundreds of sad, unimportant people who are guilt—or not— of stupid, petty crimes. Most television crime drama is about finding the criminal, as soon as he's arrested, the story is over. In real life, finding criminals is seldom much of a problem. Except in very serious cases like murders and terrorist attacks— where failure to produce results reflects on the standing of the police— little effort is spent on searching. The police have elaborate machinery which eventually shows up most wanted men. Having made an arrest, a detective really starts to work. He has to prove his case in court and to do mat he often has to gather a lot of different evidence. Much of this has to be given by people who don't want to get involved in a court case. So, as well as being overworked, a detective has to be out at all hours of the day and night interviewing his witnesses and persuading them, usually against their own best interests, to help them. A third big difference between the drama detective and the real detectives is that the real detective lives in an unpleasant moral twilight. Detectives are subject to two opposing pressures: first, as members of a police force they always have to behave with absolute legality; second, as expensive public servants they have to get results. They can hardly ever do both. Most of the time, some of them have to break the rules in small ways. If the detective has to deceive the world, the world often deceives him. Hardly anyone he meets tells him the truth. And this separation the detective feels between himself and the rest of the world is deepened by the simplemindedness— as he sees it —of citizens, social workers, doctors, law-makers, and judges, who, instead of stamping out crime punish the criminals less severely in the hope that this will make them reform. The result, detectives feel, is that nine-tenths of their work is re-catching people who should have stayed behind bars. This makes them rather cynical. 16. What is the best title for this passage? A. Defectives' Life—f act and Fantasy B. Policemen and Detectives C. The Reality of Being a Detective D. Drama and reality 17. It is essential for a policeman to be trained in criminal law_________ A. so that he can catch criminals in the street B. because many of the criminals he has to catch are dangerous C. so that he can justify his arrests in court D. because he has to undertake the duties of a professional lawyer 18. The everyday life of a policeman is_________ A. full of danger B. exciting and striking C. devoted mostly to routine matters D. wasted on unimportant matters 19. The real detective lives in "an unpleasant twilight" (Para. 6) because A. he must always behave with absolute legality and get results B. he is obliged to break the law in order to preserve it C. he sometimes catches some innocent people D. he feels himself to be cut off from the rest of the world 20. Which of the following is NOT true? A. Policemen feel that the image of their lives shown on TV is not accurate. B. Most people don't want to be the witness of the case. C. In reality society doesn't punish criminals severely enough. D. When murders and terrorist attacks occur the police often fail to produce results. UNIT 2 Passage One>>> Although Beethoven could sit down and make up music easi​ly, his really great compositions did not come easily at all. They cost him a great deal of hard work. We know how often he rewrote and cor​rected his work because his notebooks are still kept in museums and li​braries. He always found it hard to satisfy himself. When he was 28, the worst difficulty of all came to him. He began to notice a strange humming in his ears. At first he paid little at​tention; but it grew worse, and at last he consulted doctors. They gave him the worst news any musician can hear; he was gradually going deaf. Beethoven was in despair; he was sure that he was going to die. He went away to the country, to a place called Heiligenstadt, and from there he wrote a long farewell letter to his brothers. In this he told them how depressed and lonely his deafness had made him. "It was impossible for me to ask men to speak louder or shout, for I am deaf," he wrote. In fact, Beethoven did something braver than dying. He gathered his courage and went on writing music, though he could hear what he wrote only more and more faintly. He wrote his best music, the music we remember him for, after he became deaf. The music he wrote was very different from any that had been composed before. In​stead of the elegant and stately music that earlier musicians had written for their wealthy listeners, Beethoven wrote stormy, exciting, revolu​tionary music, which reminds us of3 his troubled and courageous life. He grew to admire courage more than anything, and he called one of his symphonies the “Eroica” or “heroic symphony”, “to celebrate the memory of a great man”. During the dramatic opening notes of his famous Fifth Symphony, he said, “thus fate knocks on the door.” 注释： 1. Beethoven: 贝多芬 2. composition: n. 作曲；乐曲 3. hum: v. & n. 嗡嗡声；哼哼声 4. consult: v交换意见；商量；请教；向…咨询；查询 5. in despair绝望 6. depress: vt. 使…压抑 7. remind…of : 使…想起 例如：The singing of the birds reminds me of the days I spent in the countryside 鸟的歌声使我想起我在农村的日子 8.​ Eroica: 《英雄交响曲》(即《降E大调第三交响曲》 9.​ symphony: n. 交响乐, 交响曲 1 Which of the following statements is not true? A. Beethoven made his great compositions easily. B. Beethoven could make up music easily C. Great compositions cost Beethoven a great deal of hard work. D. Beethoven's great compositions did not come easily at all 2. The word "despair" (Line 5, Para. 2) means______. A. sadness B. unhappiness C. completely lack of hope D. desire 3. From the letter Beethoven wrote to his brothers we know A. Beethoven was full of hope for the future B. Beethoven was in high spirits C. Beethoven was in low spirits D. Beethoven was dying 4. At the news that he was going deaf Beethoven______ A. stopped writing music B. began writing novels C. went on writing music D. started working harder 5. His best music was made up _______ A. before he became deaf B. when he was teenager C. after he became deaf D. when he was old Passage Two>>> The word "television" is made up of two parts, the Greek "tele" and the Latin "video". Television means seeing at a distance, and it has taken many years to develop. It was not until 1936 that the BBC (the British Broadcasting Company) started the first regular tele​vision service in the world. The picture on the screen is composed of a series of lines which run from left to right and from top to bottom. These lines are lines of various shades of light. They travel across the screen so quickly that they give the impression of one steady continuous picture. The vie​wer sees twenty-five pictures per second, with a fixed number of lines making up each picture. Depending on which system is used, the num​ber of lines is either four hundred and five or six hundred and twenty-five. Unlike films, which are taken at one time and then shown at another, a television transmission is usually instantaneous. Events are seen at the same time as they take place6. In sound broadcasting, sounds are changed into small electric currents by a microphone. These small currents are then carried by a cable to a transmitter. The transmitter sends them out into space as radio waves. They can be picked up8 by a sound receiver which changes them back into the origi​nal sounds. A similar method is used in television. The picture is seen by an electric "eye"—the television camera—which changes it into small electric currents. As with sound radio, the electric currents are carried 注释： 1. to make up of: 构成 2. at a distance： 远距离 3. to be composed of： 由 组成 4. shade: n. 暗影 5. instantaneous: adj. 瞬间的 6. electric currents: 电流 7. microphone: n. 麦克风 8. cable: n. 电缆 9. transmitter: n. 发射机/台 10. antenna: n. 天线 6. The word “instantaneous” (Line 2, Para3) means ________ A. happening at once B. for instance C. not immediately D. not instance 7. Which of the following has been mentioned in sound broadcasting? A. Sounds are changed into small electric currents B. Small currents are carried into a transmitter C. Transmitter sends them out into space as radio waves D. All of the above. 8. What is function of sound receiver? A. It changes sound into small electric currents B. It carries a transmitter C It changes radio waves into the original sounds D. None o f the above 9. The waves carrying the sound and picture _______ A. arrive at the television B arrive at the receiver C. arrived at the radio station D. arrived at the antenna of the receiver 10. This passage is about ______ A. how television is made B. the history of television C. the differences between radio and television D. the principle of television pictures Passage Three>>> Now, Lotte, pay attention. The English like to queue. My goodness! They queue everywhere: for the bus, at the cinema, in shops, everywhere. I simply must tell you what happened to me when I first arrived. I had to catch a bus. I saw it coming, ran, and hopped on. The conductor, looking daggers at me, told me to get off. He said I had jumped the queue! Well, I scratched my head, and it took me quite a time to realize what the matter was. I got off, anyway, and got dirty looks from the people waiting. Was my face red! Lotte, never jump the queue. Anyway, always use the Tube for getting about. It's much faster. You'll find it very handy indeed. Now tipping. This is something of a problem, especially when eating out. Some restaurants put 10 per cent on the bill, others don't. If they do, it's usually written on the menu at the bottom. For heaven's sake, do check it, or sometimes you will walk out leaving long-faced8 waiters behind you. Tip taxi-drivers and barbers (sorry, the hairdresser for you) , but don't tip the barman. Give a little more than 10 per cent if the bill is small. Don't just leave a few small coins. As for clothes, you can wear what you like except your birthday suit. Make sure to bring one or two thick coats and dresses, and a stout rain-hat.