社会现象类阅读模拟训练(51982)-高三英语阅读(360)-21英语网

A

“Hi Dave, how are you today? Just thought I’d let you know what I’m doing,” they would read. Or “Sorry you’re going. I’ve had a good time and that would probably have had something to do with you, so thanks.”

In some ways, the relaxed attitude was shocking, says Melville. But it was a sign of how students’ understanding of their role has changed. “They have a more independent view of the university, and they feel free to comment,” said Melville.

A committee, led by Melville, was set up earlier this year to explore the change in students’ attitudes towards teachers.

“This is something being driven by young people,” said Melville. “They live surrounded by different kinds of electronic resources. They use social networking tools and things like Wikipedia. The first group of these students is now at university.”

Students do not regard teaching staff in the same way as previous students did. “Because Web 2.0, Google, Wikipedia are all about being able to change things yourself, students expect to be able to do this as well,” said Melville.

There have been other changes in the student-teacher relationship. If students choose to study through a social networking group, they are in control. They don’t always make staff welcome, and they are free to decide which staff members they allow in.

“Almost everybody who gets into using these kinds of technologies, it appears,becomes much shallower [in their research],” said Melville.

1. Who is Dave most probably in the first paragraph?

A. a high school student B. a university student

C. a teacher D. an online pen friend

2. We can find the following changes in the student-teacher relationship EXCEPT _____.

A. it becomes much more relaxed than before

B. students are more at ease to comment

C. students have the say in choosing teachers to welcome into their social group

D. teachers are no longer regarded as knowledgeable and necessary

3. What is the change in attitudes rooted in according to Melville?

A. The first group of students at university.

B. The electronic resources.

C. The society.

D. Wikipedia.

4. What may be the disadvantages of using the technologies?

A. Students have more information resources besides from teachers.

B. Technologies keep them from doing deep research.

C. Teachers cannot control or influence their students at all.

D. Students spend too much time on online games.

5. What is the text mainly about?

A. The control university students have gained in their studies.

B. The change in university students’ attitudes to teachers.

C. Teachers are shocked by university students’ attitudes.

D. Students at university become more relaxed in their social life.

B

May I Offer You My Calling Card?

In the 1800s, there was a certain sense to the formal calling card. Those who were part of, or wanted a place among, the social élite (精英) would deliver a card with their name printed on it to someone’s home to request a visit. But now that you can IM, e-mail or text pretty much anyone immediately, the practice seems old fashioned, right?

Not so, according to Peter Hopkins of Crane & Co., where sales of the cards have doubled in the past two years. “Tired of hi-tech? A clever way of selling yourself? We’re not sure. But the demand is clear. They are our fastest-growing item.”

Calling cards — which are basically non-business business cards — are both practical and fun. Some are smaller than standard business cards, others much bigger, and many come in bright colors that seem anything but old-fashioned. Among the buyers: are parents excited to find a practical way of inviting their children’s friends over to play, the retired who miss having business cards to hand out, and traveling young professionals who are best contacted by cell phone and e-mail.

Elaine Milnes, a stay-at-home mom in Grand Rapids, Michigan, got fed up with searching for pens when visiting the playground and made a card for herself (title: Caroline’s mom). She now operates a successful online card-making business, MommyBiz.net. As does Ilene Segal, who set-up Baby iDesign, a four-year old card-making business in Manhattan. She thinks her play-date cards are popular because they’re, “a nicer way of communicating than asking for someone’s mobile number.”

For young professionals who move a lot, a calling card allows people to always contact them wherever they are. They are also a chance for self-expression. In June, Mitch Stripling, an emergency planner who recently moved to New York City, printed cards with cell phone, e-mail and his own personal design. He had them printed for a college reunion where he knew he wouldn’t have a chance to speak with old classmates for long. “I wanted to get away from the whole status thing at reunions, so a business design didn’t feel right,” says Stripling, whose card was a hit at Williams College. “Having my own little design lets me express my personal self. It’s a statement about me, not about the job I do.”

Perhaps the biggest reason the cards have pleased bored 21st century types is that they work. Says Stripling: “I can’t say for sure if it was the card or just the effects of a reunion, but I heard from around 30 people from school in the weeks after.” Some are even planning visits.

1. What is a calling card?

A. A card to show who someone is and the ways to contact him or her.

B. A small card to show someone’s rank, position and social status.

C. A small piece of paper with only someone’s name on it.

D. A non-business card to show one’s personality.

2. Which of the following is mentioned as a reason for the recent popularity of calling cards?

a. a chance for self-expression

b. making it easy to contact

c. tiredness of hi-tech

d. being practical and fun

e. a way to show off one’s social status

A. abc B. abd

C. bcd D. bde

3. From the text, we know that ______ are interested in delivering calling cards.

A. only the social elite

B. people of all social classes

C. the retired and traveling young professionals

D. people who are preparing for a college reunion

4. The purpose of writing the passage is mainly ______.

A. to show you some interesting phenomenon of bored 21st Century types

B. to inform us of the trend that calling cards are back in fashion again

C. to encourage you to make a fashionable, unique calling card

D. to introduce to you a new clever way of selling yourself

C

Where in the world does the average citizen spend just two hours a week online? A place stuck in the past, perhaps? Well, close. This center of digital (数码的) unconcern is Italy, a rich G7 nation and home to the inventors of the telephone and radio.

Some think this unwillingness to welcome the Web is a good thing that has protected the relaxed Italian tradition of “connecting with friends and family, not a mouse“. Tourists for one find the low-tech lifestyle attractive.

Others feel it has put the country at a huge disadvantage. If unhealthy economies (经济) are measured by a lack of IT skills, high-speed connections and e-commerce, then Italy is very sick indeed.

Could it be that Italians have better things to do? Face-to-face networking, old-fashioned chat and time to share news and chat over a game of cards in the shade of the village center, perhaps.

These are the same things that draw thousands tired of Net-driven modern life to Italy every year.

Information technology definitely presents a problem for many Italians, says Paolo Di Croce, the secretary of Slow Food International. He supports a little less rush in all our busy lives. He believes technology has its uses but should not take the place of real-time relationships.

The use of IT has often increased our workload and made daily life more difficult. So some on the side of the more demanding, tech-reliant digital divide are enviously eyeing Italy’s less Internet friendly, less demanding work practices. Such practices may, in the long run, even be good for business.

Financial globalization (全球化)allowed a few to take control of the world’s banking systems. But Italy claims its banks are now in better shape precisely because their old-fashioned businesses do things the old way.

However, Italy’s half-hearted adoption of the Web and the older generation’s failure to grasp the importance of IT has frustrated many youngsters. Many simply give up and go abroad.

1. What’s the passage mainly about?

A. The use of IT.

B. Digital divide in Italy.

C. Digital unconcern of Italy.

D. Slowing down our pace of life.

2. “Italy is very sick indeed” in the 3rd paragraph is used to show that _____.

A. Italy has no IT skills at all

B. Italy’s economy is dying

C. in Italy everything is slow

D. Italy is at a disadvantage for lack of IT

3. Why are many attracted to the Italian lifestyle?

A. Because it is easy but risky to become dependant on hi-tech.

B. Because ancient traditions should never be changed.

C. Because they are fed up with the Net-driven life.

D. Because this kind of lifestyle is more peaceful.

4. Which of the following shows the disadvantage of Italian low-tech lifestyle?

A. Italy is envied for its less demanding work practices.

B. Technology has its uses but never replaces real-time relationship.

C. Its banks survive the global financial crisis because of their old way of business.

D. The youngsters who are frustrated with the old-fashioned business have gone abroad.

D

Ever since he first started practicing, Berkeley, California, psychologist Allen D. Kanner, PhD, has been asking his younger clients (顾客) what they wanted to do when they grew up. The answer used to be “nurse”, “astronaut” or some other occupation that appealed to them. Today the answer is more likely to be “make money”. For Kanner, one explanation for that change can be found in advertising.

“Advertising is a multi-million dollar project that’s having an enormous influence on child development,” says Kanner, who is also a member at a clinical (临床的) psychology training program called the Wright Institute. “Advertising is growing rapidly and entering new areas of childhood, like our schools.”

According to Kanner, the result is not only the spread of materialistic (物质第一的) values among children, but also something he calls “self-love wounding” of children. Thanks to advertising, he says, children have become convinced that they’re unfortunate if they don’t have an endless supply of new products.

Now Kanner and several colleagues are up-in-arms with the psychologists and others who are using psychological knowledge to help marketers target children more effectively. They’re shocked when they are told the secret behind why 3- to 7-year-olds are attracted to toys that transform themselves into something else and why 8- to 12-year-olds love to collect things. Last fall, Kanner and a group of 59 other psychologists and psychiatrists (精神病学家) sent a letter speaking against psychologists’ employment by advertisers to American Psychological Association (APA).

In response, at its June meeting, APA’s Board of Directors acted on a recommendation from the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest and approved the creation of a task force to study the issue. The task force will examine the research on advertising’s influence on children and their families. The group will look at the role psychologists play in what some consider the exploitation (利用) of children and consider how psychology can help reduce advertising’s harmful effects and increase its positive effects. The group will also explore implications (含意) for public policy.

1. Which of the following is a reason why children today tend to say they want to make money when they grow up, according to Allen D. Kanner?

A. Traditional occupations no longer hold so much appeal to children today.

B. It’s children’s characteristic to collect things and to want more constantly.

C. Advertising is a multi-million dollar project that many children want as future job.

D. Advertisers’ targeting of young consumers has made them more materialistic.

2. Which of the following shows the negative effect advertising has had on children?

A. Many children have hobbies like collecting stamps, coins or other things.

B. Many children are hard to satisfy and constantly want and ask for more.

C. Many children are so self-centered that they don’t care about others.

D. Many children tend to wound others to please themselves.

3. The underlined words “up-in-arms” at the beginning probably mean ______.

A. angry B. interested C. happy D. surprised

4. We can learn from the last paragraph that ______.

A. American Psychological Association didn’t take Allen D. Kanner and others’ letter seriously

B. the task force will study how to use psychology to make advertising more beneficial

C. measures have been taken on the psychologists Allen D. Kanner spoken against

D. public policy has completely nothing to do with advertising

E

This is a dangerous world we live in. The number of murders goes up every year, people are dying of cancer, more people contract (感染) HIV, more teens are using drugs, etc. You know this because you’ve heard all the statistics on the news and in the paper. But do you really have an accurate idea what they mean? The numbers are going up, but how do they compare to the growth in population? Are more cases of these diseases being reported because of better testing techniques, or are the diseases more common? The fact is that without knowing the background statistics mean very little.

This growing trend of reporting only part of the information is becoming dangerous. For example, several years ago a high school student reported the dangers of the chemical known as dihydrogen monoxide. This chemical, found in most cancerous tumors (肿瘤), is often found in the blood of people drunk on alcohol, and causes complete physical and mental dependence for those who take the chemical even once. After reading his report, more than 75% of his Advanced Placement Chemistry class voted to forbid this dangerous chemical! Every one of the above statements is true, yet this chemical is necessary to all life on earth. The students made the mistake because they voted knowing only a few statements and statistics, rather than the chemical’s full background.

The point of this article is that one should be aware of what is and is not being said. When one finds a new fact or number, one should try to consider other important information before forming an opinion with only half-truths. Always remember that the author is trying to convince you of his or her own view, and will leave out information that is different to his view. For example, look again at the statistics that suggest skiing is safe. Only 32 people may die each year when skiing, while 897 die from lightning strikes, but which is really the most dangerous? If you think about it, you realize far fewer people go skiing each year than the number of people who are in danger of a lightening strike. When you think about it skiing is more dangerous than you might at first think when looking at statistics. If we teenagers are to be left this world, we had better be able to think critically, and form our own views, rather than be easily persuaded by another’s. To be warned is to be prepared.

1. In the first paragraph, what problem does the writer want to warn us?

A. We are now living in a dangerous world.

B. We get a lot of false statistics from the media.

C. There are around us more and more murders, diseases etc.

D. Statistics alone without full background doesn’t give us an accurate picture of things.

2. Why does the writer use the example in the second paragraph?

A. To show the danger of reporting only part of the information.

B. To argue that high school students are easily persuaded.

C. To prove what is necessary to us might be dangerous.

D. To warn us of the harmful substance around us.

3. Relative information is often left out because _____.

A. relative information is not that important

B. the author is trying to show what he or she says is true

C. too much information will make readers feel confused

D. readers are not able to analyze so much information at once

4. What can we learn from the passage?

A. Some measures must be taken to protect our dangerous world.

B. We should learn to think critically and look at problems from all sides.

C. The growing trend of reporting only half-truths is getting out of control.

D. Teenagers ought to improve their ability of telling right from wrong.