PASSAGETWO

(1)TheNobelsaretheoriginals,ofcourse.AlfredNobel,themanwhoinventeddeadlyexplosives,decidedtotryanddosomethinggoodwithallthemoneyheearned,andgaveprizestopeoplewhomadeprogressinliterature,science,economicsand—perhapsmostimportantly—peace.

(2)NotallrewardsareasnobleastheNobels.Eventhoughmostcountrieshaveasystemofrecognizing,honoringandrewardingpeoplewhohavedonesomethinggoodintheircountries,therearenowhundredsofawardsandawardceremoniesforallkindsofthings.

(3)TheOscarsareprobablythemostfamous,atimeforthe(mostly)Americanfilmindustrytotellitselfhowgooditisandanannualopportunityforlotsofbigstarstogiveeachotherawardsandmaketearfulspeeches.AswellasthattherearealsotheGoldenGlobes,evidentlyforthesamething.

(4)Butit’snotonlyfilms---therearealsoGrammies,Brits,theMercuryPrizeandtheMTVformusic.InBritain,awriterwhowinstheBookerPrizecanexpecttoseetheirdifficult,literarynovelhitthebestsellerlistsandcompetewiththeDaVinciCodeforpopularity.TheTurnerPrizeisanawardforBritishcontemporaryartists—eachyearitcausescontroversybyapparentlygivinglotsofmoneytoartistswhodothingslikedisplayingtheirbeds,puttinganimalsinglasscasesor—thisyear—buildingagardenshed.

(5)Awardsdon’tonlyexistforarts.TherearenowawardsforSportsPersonalityoftheYear,forEuropeanFootballeroftheYearandWorldFootballeroftheYear.Thisseemsverystrange—sometimesawardscanbegoodtogiverecognitiontopeoplewhodeserveit,ortohelppeoplewhodon’tmakealotofmoneycarryontheirworkwithoutworryingaboutfinances,butprofessionalsoccerplayersthesedayscertainlyaren’tshortofcash!

(6)Manysmalltownsandcommunitiesallovertheworldalsohavetheirownawardceremonies,forlocalwritersorartists,orjustforpeoplewhohavegraduatedfromhighschoolor,gotauniversitydegree.EventheBritishCouncilhasitsownawardsfor“InnovationinEnglishLanguageTeaching”.

(7)Whyhavealltheseawardsandceremoniesappearedrecently?Shakespeareneverwonaprize, nordidLeonardoDaVinciorAdamSmithorCharlesDickens.

(8)Itwouldbepossibletosay,however,thatinthepast,scientistsandartistscouldwin“patronageformrichpeople”—akingoralordwouldgivetheartistsorscientistsmoneytohavethempainttheirpalacesorhelpthemdevelopnewwaysofmakingmoney.Withthechangeinsocialsystemsacrosstheworld,thisnolongerhappens.Alotofscientificresearchisnoweitherfundedbythestateorbyprivatecompanies.

(9)Perhapsawardceremoniesarejustthemostrecentphaseofthisprocess.

(10)However,thereismoretoitthanthat.WhenafilmwinsanOscar,manymorepeoplewillgoandseeit,orbuytheDVD.WhenawriterwinstheNobelPrize,manymorepeoplebuytheirbooks.WhenagroupwinstheMTVawards,theceremonyisseenbyhundredsofthousandsofpeopleacrosstheworld.Theresult?Thegroupsellslotsmorerecords.(11)Mostawardceremoniesarenowsponsoredbybigorganizationsorcompanies.Thismeansthatitisnotonlythepersonwhowinstheawardwhobenefits---butalsothesponsors.TheMTVawards,forexample,aregreatforpublicizingnotonlymusic,butalsoMTVitself!

(12)Onthesurface,itseemstobea“Win-win”situation,witheveryonebeinghappy,butletmeaskyouaquestion—howfardoyouthinkthatpublicityandmarketingarewinninghere,andhowmuchgenuinerecognitionofachievementistakingplace?

1.Whatistheauthor’stonewhenhementionsawardssuchastheOscars,theGoldenGlobesand

Grammies(Paras.3&4)

A.Amused.

B.Appreciative.

C.Sarcastic.

D.Serious.

2.AccordingtoPara.4,whatwouldhappentoawardwinningwriters?

A.Theywouldenjoyamuchlargerreadership.

B.Theywouldturntopopularnovelwriting.

C.Theywouldcontinuenon-fictionwriting.

D.Theywouldtrycontroversialformsofart.

3.WhichofthefollowingstatementsbestsumsupPara.6?

A.Awardsceremoniesareheldforlocalpeople.

B.Awardsceremoniesareheldonimportantoccasions.

C.Awardsceremoniesareheldincertainprofessions.

D.Awardsceremoniesareheldforallsortsofreasons.

4.AccordingtoPara.8,onedifferencebetweenscientistsandartistsinthepastandthoseatpresent

liesin_____________.

A.natureofwork

B.personalcontact

C.sourceoffunding

D.socialstatus

5.ItcanbeconcludedfromPara.12thattheauthorthinksawards________.

A.promotemarketratherthanachievements

B.dogoodtobothmarketandpopularity

C.helpthosewhoarereallytalented

D.areeffectiveinmakingpeoplepopular

.IfyouhavereallybeenstudyingEnglishforsolong,it’sabouttimeyou_____abletowritelettersinEnglish.

TEXTB

Whatweknowofprenataldevelopmentmakesallthisattemptmadebyamothertomoldthecharacterofherunbornchildbystudyingpoetry,art,ormathematicsduringpregnancyseemutterlyimpossible.Howcould

suchextremelycomplexinfluencespassfromthemothertothechild?Thereisnoconnectionbetweentheirnervoussystems.Eventhebloodvesselsofmotherandchilddonotjoindirectly.Anemotionalshocktothemotherwillaffectherchild,becauseitchangestheactivityofherglandsandsothechemistryherblood.Anychemicalchangeinthemother'sbloodwillaffectthechildforbetterorworse.Butwecannotseehowalooking

formathematicsorpoeticgeniuscanbedissolvedinbloodandproduceasimilarlikingorgeniusinthechild.

Inourdiscussionofinstinctswesawthattherewasreasontobelievethatwhateverweinheritmustbeof

someverysimplesortratherthananycomplicatedorverydefinitekindofbehavior.Itiscertainthatnoone

inheritsaknowledgeofmathematics.Itmaybe,however,thatchildreninheritmoreorlessofarathergeneral

abilitythatwemaycallintelligence.Ifveryintelligentchildrenbecomedeeplyinterestedinmathematics,they

willprobablymakeasuccessofthatstudy.

Asformusicalability,itmaybethatwhatisinheritedisanespeciallysensitiveear,apeculiarstructureofthe

handsorthevocalorgansconnectionsbetweennervesandmusclesthatmakeitcomparativelyeasytolearnthe

movementsamusicianmustexecute,andparticularlyvigorousemotions.Ifthesefactorsareallorganized

aroundmusic,thechildmaybecomeamusician.Thesamefactors,inothercircumstancemightbeorganized

aboutsomeothercenterofinterest.Therichemotionalequipmentmightfindexpressioninpoetry.Thecapable

fingersmightdevelopskillinsurgery.Itisnottheknowledgeofmusicthatisinherited,thennoreventheloveof

it,butacertainbodilystructurethatmakesitcomparativelyeasytoacquiremusicalknowledgeandskill.

Whetherthatabilityshallbedirectedtowardmusicorsomeotherundertakingmaybedecidedentirelybyforces

intheenvironmentinwhichachildgrowsup.

6.Whichofthefollowingstatementsisnottrue?

A.Somemotherstrytoinfluencetheirunbornchildrenbystudyingartandothersubjectsduringtheir

pregnancy.

B.Itisutterlyimpossibleforustolearnanythingaboutprenataldevelopment.

C.Thebloodvesselsofmotherandchilddonotjoindirectly.

D.Therearenoconnectionbetweenmother'snervoussystemsandherunbornchild's.

7.Amotherwillaffectherunbornbabyontheconditionthat____.

A.sheisemotionallyshocked

B.shehasagoodknowledgeofinheritance

C.shetakespartinallkindofactivities

D.shestickstostudying

8.Accordingtothepassage,achildmayinherit____.

A.everythingfromhismotherB.aknowledgeofmathematics

C.arathergeneralabilitythatwecallintelligence

D.hermother'smusicalability

9.Ifachildinheritssomethingfromhismother,suchasanespeciallysensitiveear,apeculiarstructureofthe

handsorofthevocalorgans,hewill____.

A.surelybecomemusician

B.mostlybecomeapoet

C.possiblybecomeateacher

D.becomeamusicianontheconditionthatallthesefactorsareorganizedaroundmusic

10.Whichofthefollowingisthebesttitleforthepassage?

A.RoleofInheritance.

B.AnUnbornChild.

C.Functionofinstincts.

D.InheritedTalents.

There_____nothingmorefordiscussion,themeetingcametoanendhalfanearlier.

ProfessorJohnsonissaid_____somesignificantadvanceinhisresearchinthepastyears.