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
1.C 2.A 3.D 4.C 5.A
暂无解析
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.
It is not uncommon for there _____ problems of communication between the old and the young.
U.S.News____________rankingsofcollegessince1983.Theyareaverypopularresourceforstudentslookingtoapplytouniversitycampus.
You____thatlettertoJames.However，youdidn't.
Nancy was surprised that they have（），They seemed to be a happy couple.