阅读一
Art museums are places where people can learn about various cultures(文化).The increasingly popular“design museums”that are opening today,however,perform quite a different role.Unlike most art museums,the design museum shows objects that are easily found by the general public.These museums sometimes even place things like fridges and washing machines in the center of the hall.
People have argued that design museums are often made use of as advertisements for new industrial technology.But their role is not simply a matter of sales—it is the honoring of excellently invented products.The difference between the window of a department store and the showcase in a design museum is that the first tries to sell you something,while the second tells you the success of a sale.
One advantage of design museums is that they are places where people feel familiar with the exhibits.Unlike the average art museum visitors,design museum visitors seldom feel frightened or puzzled(困惑).This is partly because design museums clearly show how and why mass-produced products work and look as they do,and how design has improved the quality of our lives.Art museum exhibits,on the other hand,would most probably fill visitors with a feeling that there is something beyond their understanding.
In recent years,several new design museums have opened their doors.Each of these museums has tried to satisfy the public’s growing interest in the field with new ideas.London’s Design Museum,for example,shows a collection of mass-produced objects from Zippo lighters to electric typewriters to a group of Italian fish-tins.The choices open to design museums seem far less strict than those to art museums,and visitors may also sense the humorous(幽默的)part of our society while walking around such exhibits as interesting and unusually attractive toys collected in our everyday life.
1.Showcases in design museums are different from store windows because they______.
A.show more technologically advanced products B.help increase the sales of products
C.show why the products have sold well D.attract more people than store windows do
2.The author believes that most design museum visitors______.
A.do not admire mass-produced products B.are puzzled with technological exhibits
C.dislike exhibits in art museums D.know the exhibits very well
3.The choices open to design museums______.
A.are not as strict as those to art museums B.are not aimed to interest the public
C.may fail to bring some pleasure to visitors D.often contain precious exhibits
4 .The best title for this passage is______.
A.The forms of design museums B.The exhibits of design museums
C.The nature of design museums D.The choices open to design museums
答案 .C D A C
阅读二
There are thousands of products of all colors and shapes in a supermarket, making you believe that they are worth a try. How?Packaging(包装)is the silent but persuading salesman.
There on the shelves, each bottle, can, box, and jar has been carefully designed and measured to speak to the inner self of the consumer(消费者)，so that he is buying not only a product but also his belief in life. Scientists have studied consumer behavior recently and found that the look of the package has a great effect on the“quality”of the product and on how well it sells, because “Consumers generally cannot tell between a product and its package. Many products are packages and many packages are products , ”as Louis Cheskin, the first social scientist studying consumers’ feeling for packaging, noticed.
Colors are one of the best tools in packaging. Studies of eye movement have shown that colors draw human attention quickly. Take V8 for example. For many years, the bright red color of tomatoes and carrots on the thin bottle makes you feel that it is very good for your body. And the word“green”today can keep food prices going up.
Shapes are another attraction. Circles often suggest happiness and peacefulness, because these shapes are pleasing to both the eye and the heart. That’s why the round yellow M sings of McDonald’s are inviting to both young and old.
This new consumer response(反应)to the colors and shapes of packages reminds producers and sellers that people buy to satisfy both body and soul.
1. According to the passage, ______seems to be able to persuade a consumer to buy the product.
A. the pleasing color of the package B. the special taste of the product
C. the strange shape of the package D. the belief in the product
261. If a package or a product is round in shape, it can______.
A. bring excitement to the consumers B. attract the consumers’ attention
C. catch the eye movement of the consumers D. produce a happy and peaceful feeling
3. “And the word ‘green’ today can keep food prices going up. ”This sentence suggests that consumers today are______.
A. starting to notice the importance of new food B. enjoying the beauty of nature more than before
C. beginning to like green vegetables D. paying more attention to their health
4. It can be inferred from the passage that V8 is a kind of______.
A. vegetable dish B. healthy juice
C. iced drink D. red vegetable
答案 A D D B
阅读三
Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about thinking is the key to critical(判断性的)thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes(过程). Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.
The word“critical”here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen—beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning.
Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it. you are a critical thinker. If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.
Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world：fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence(智力)，you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein, Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, “Please go slowly. I don’t understand things quickly. ”
1. Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically, .
A. it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast
B. we might be controlled by other people’s ideas
C. we will follow the ideas of others naturally
D. we might be fooled by other people’s ideas
2. If you are a critical thinker, you will______.
A. think deeply about different ideas B. trust the reports in the newspapers
C. take one view against another view D. criticize other people for their mistakes
3. In the last paragraph, “something new”suggests that______.
A. the smarter you are, the faster you do things
B. the faster you do things, the smarter you become
C. speed can improve intelligence D. intelligence is not decided by speed
4. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Thinking and Critical Thinking B. Understanding Critical Thinking
C. Thinking Is Natural and Human D. Thinking Fast Means Intelligence
答案 B A D B
阅读四
A teacher of English as a second language is the 2004 Teacher of the year in the United States.Kathy Mellor of Rhode Island will spend the next year as an international spokeswoman for education.President Bush and his wife,Laura,honored her during a ceremony(仪式) at the White House last week.
For the past nineteen years,Kathy Mellor has taught English as a second language at Davisville Middle School in North Kingstown,Rhode Island,in the northeastern United States.She redesigned the program for E.S.L. students at her school to provide each student with one to three periods per day in classes for English learners.How much instruction the students get depends on their level of skill in listening,speaking,reading and writing.The amount of time they spend in these classes is reduced as their level of English increases.
A teacher describes this as the most successful E.S.L. program in North Kingstown.She also praises Kathy Mellor for providing help to students and their families by forming a local parents group for speakers of other languages.This improved their ability to help their children.
Kathy Mellor earned a master’s degree in education from Rhode Island College.She studied teaching English as a second language.
She was chosen for the national honor of Teacher of the Year from among top teachers in each of the fifty states.As Teacher of the Year,Kathy Mellor will travel around the United States and to other countries.She will talk about the importance of education and the work of teachers.
1.This passage is mainly about______.
A.Teacher of the Year 2004 in the United States
B.Ms Mellor’s English teaching instruction
C.Ms Mellor’s teaching skills of learning English
D.praises to Ms Mellor from other teachers
2.What does“E.S.L.”in the passage stand for?
A.English study learners. B.English speaking and listening.
C.English special learners. D.English as a second language.
3.From this passage we can learn that______.
A.middle school teachers from each state are honored Teachers of the Year
B.middle school teachers in the USA have to get master’s degrees
C.Ms Mellor’s students have no problems in learning English
D.the American government pays much attention to education
答案 A D D