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

Insomecountrieswhereracialprejudiceisacute,violencehassocometobetakenforgrantedasameansofsolvingdifferences,thatitisnotevenquestioned.Therearecountrieswherethewhitemanimposeshisrulebybruteforce;therearecountrieswheretheblackmanprotestsbysettingfiretocitiesandbylootingandpillaging.Importantpeopleonbothsides,whowouldinotherrespectsappeartobereasonablemen,getupandcalmlyargueinfavorofviolence–asifitwerealegitimatesolution,likeanyother.Whatisreallyfrightening,whatreallyfillsyouwithdespair,istherealizationthatwhenitcomestothecrunch,wehavemadenoactualprogressatall.Wemaywearcollarsandtiesinsteadofwar-paint,butourinstinctsremainbasicallyunchanged.Thewholeoftherecordedhistoryofthehumanrace,thattediousdocumentationofviolence,hastaughtusabsolutelynothing.Wehavestillnotlearntthatviolenceneversolvesaproblembutmakesitmoreacute.Thesheerhorror,thebloodshed,thesufferingmeannothing.Nosolutionevercomestolightthemorningafterwhenwedismallycontemplatethesmokingruinsandwonderwhathitus.Thetrulyreasonablemenwhoknowwherethesolutionsliearefindingitharderandherdertogetahearing.Theyaredespised,mistrustedandevenpersecutedbytheirownkindbecausetheyadvocatesuchapparentlyoutrageousthingsaslawenforcement.Ifhalftheenergythatgoesintoviolentactswereputtogooduse,ifoureffortsweredirectedatcleaninguptheslumsandghettos,atimprovingliving-standardsandprovidingeducationandemploymentforall,wewouldhavegonealongwaytoarrivingatasolution.Ourstrengthissappedbyhavingtomopupthemessthatviolenceleavesinitswake.Inawell-directedeffort,itwouldnotbeimpossibletofulfilltheidealsofastablesocialprogramme.Thebenefitsthatcanbederivedfromconstructivesolutionsareeverywhereapparentintheworldaroundus.Genuineandlastingsolutionsarealwayspossible,providingweworkwithintheframeworkofthelaw.Beforewecanevenbegintocontemplatepeacefulco-existencebetweentheraces,wemustappreciateeachother'sproblems.Andtodothis,wemustlearnaboutthem:itisasimpleexerciseincommunication,inexchanginginformation."Talk,talk,talk,"theadvocatesofviolencesay,"allyoueverdoistalk,andwearenonethewiser."It'sratherlikethestoryofthefamousbarristerwhopainstakinglyexplainedhiscasetothejudge.Afterlisteningtoalengthyargumentthejudgecomplainedthatafterallthistalk,hewasnonethewiser."Possible,mylord,"thebarristerreplied,"nonethewiser,butsurelyfarbetterinformed."Knowledgeisthenecessaryprerequisitetowisdom:theknowledgethatviolencecreatestheevilsitpretendstosolve.

1.Whatisthebesttitleforthispassage?

[A]AdvocatingViolence.

[B]ViolenceCanDoNothingtoDiminishRacePrejudice.

[C]ImportantPeopleonBothSidesSeeViolenceAsaLegitimateSolution.

[D]TheInstinctsofHumanRaceAreThirstyforViolence.

2.Recordedhistoryhastaughtus

[A]violenceneversolvesanything.[B]nothing.[C]thebloodshedmeansnothing.[D]everything.

3.Itcanbeinferredthattrulyreasonablemen

[A]can'tgetahearing.

[B]arelookeddownupon.

[C]arepersecuted.

[D]Havedifficultyin

advocatinglawenforcement.

4."Hewasnonethewiser"means

[A]hewasnotatallwiseinlistening.

[B]Hewasnotatallwiserthannothingbefore.

[C]Hegainsnothingafterlistening.

[D]Hemakesnosenseoftheargument.

5.Accordingtheauthorthebestwaytosolveraceprejudiceis

[A]lawenforcement.[B]knowledge.[C]nonviolence.[D]Moppinguptheviolentmess.

_____ifIhadarrivedyesterdaywithoutlettingyouknowbeforehand.

Ifyourcar_____anyattentionduringthefirst12months,takeittoauthorizeddealer.

Whichissafer-stayingathome，travelingtoworkonpublictransport，orworkingintheoffice?Surprisingly，eachofthesecarriesthesamerisk，whichisverylow.However，whataboutflyingcomparedtoworkinginthechemicalindustry?Unfortunately，theformeris65timesriskierthanthelatter!Infact，theaccidentrateofworkersinthechemicalindustryislessthanthatofalmostanyofhumanactivity，andalmostassafeasstayingathome.

Thetroublewiththechemicalindustryisthatwhenthingsgowrongtheyoftencausedeathtothoselivingnearby.Itisthiswhichmakeschemicalaccidentssonewsworthy.Fortunately，theyareextremelyrare.ThemostfamousoneshappenedatTexasCity(1947)，Flixborough(1974)，Seveso(1976)，Pemex(1984)andBhopal(1984)。

Someofthesearealwaysinthemindsofthepeopleeventhoughthelossoflifewassmall.NoonediedatSeveso，andonly28workersatFlixborough.TheworstaccidentofallwasBhopal，whereupto3，000werekilled.TheTexasCityexplosionoffertilizerkilled552.ThePemexfireatastorageplantfornaturalgasinthesuburbsofMexicoCitytook542lives，justamonthbeforetheunfortunateeventatBhopal.

Someexpertshavediscussedtheseaccidentsandusedeachaccidenttoillustrateaparticulardanger.ThustheTexasCityexplosionwascausedbytonsofammoniumnitrate(硝酸铵)，whichissafeunlessstoredingreatquantity.TheFlixboroughfireballwasthefaultofmanagement，whichtookriskstokeepproductiongoingduringessentialrepairs.TheSevesoaccidentshowswhathappensifthelocalauthoritieslackknowledgeofthedangerontheirdoorstep.Whenthepoisonousgasdriftedoverthetown，localleaderswereincapableoftakingeffectiveaction.ThePemexfirewasmadeworsebyanoverloadedsiteinanovercrowdedsuburb.Thefiresetoffachainreactionosexplodingstoragetanks.Yet，byamiracle，thetwolargesttanksdidnotexplode.Hadthesecaughtfire，then3，000strongrescueteamandfirefighterswouldallhavedied.

1.Chemicalaccidentsareusuallyimportantenoughtobereportedasnewsbecause____.

A.theyareveryrare

B.theyoftencauselossoflife

C.theyalwaysoccurinbigcities

D.theyarousetheinterestofallthereaders

2.Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrue?

A.Workingattheofficeissaferthanstayingathome.

B.Traverllingtoworkonpublictransportissaferthanworkingattheoffice.

C.Stayingathomeissaferthanworkinginthechemicalindustry.

D.Workinginthechemicalindustryissaferthantravelingbyair.

3.Accordingtopassage，thechemicalaccidentthatcausedbythefaultofmanagementhappenedat____.

A.TexascityB.FlixboroughC.SevesoD.MexicoCity

4.Fromthediscussionamongsomeexpertswemaycocludethat____.

A.toavoidanyaccidentsweshouldnotrepairthefacilitiesinchemicalindustry

B.thelocalauthoritiesshouldnotbeconcernedwiththeproductionofthechemicalindustry

C.alltheseaccidentscouldhavebeenavoidedorcontrolledifeffectivemeasurehadbeentaken

D.naturalgasstoredinverylargetanksisalwayssafe

5.Fromthepassageweknowthatammoniumnitrateisakindof____.

A.naturalgas，whichcaneasilycatchfire

B.fertilizer，whichcan'tbestoredinagreatquantity

C.poisonoussubstance，whichcan'tbeusedinovercrowdedareas

D.fuel，whichisstoredinlargetanks