自主学习Passage.doc

Passage 1So long as teachers fail to distinguish between teaching and learning, they will continue to undertake things for children that children can only do for themselves. Teaching children to read is not passing reading on to them. It is certainly not endless hours spent in activities about reading. Douglas insists that “reading cannot be taught directly and schools should stop trying to do the impossible.”Teaching and learning are two entirely different processes. They differ in kind and function. The function of teaching is to create the conditions and the climate that will make it possible for children to devise the most efficient system for teaching themselves to read. Teaching is also a public activity: it can be seen and observed.Learning to read involves all that each individual does to make sense of the world of printed language. Almost all of it is private, for learning is an occupation of the mind, and that process is not open to public examination.If teacher and learner roles are distinguishable, how can teaching aid the child in the quest for knowledge? Smith has one principal rule for all teaching instructions. “Make learning to read easy, which means making reading a meaningful, enjoyable and frequent experience for children.”When the roles of teacher and learner are seen for what they are, and when both teacher and learner fulfill them appropriately, then much of the pressure and feeling of failure for both is eliminated. Learning to read is made easier when teachers create an environment where children are given the opportunity to solve the problem of learning to read by reading.1.The problem with the reading course as mentioned in the first paragraph is that _.(A)it is one of the most difficult school courses(B)too much time is spent in teaching about reading(C)students spend endless hours in reading(D)reading tasks are assigned with little guidance正确答案:B,2.The teaching of reading will be successful if _.(A)teachers can enable students to develop their own way of reading(B)teachers can improve conditions at school for the students(C)teachers can devise the most efficient system for reading(D)teachers can make their teaching activities observable正确答案:A,3.The word “examination” at the end of Paragraph 3 most probably means “_”.(A)inquiry(B)observation(C)control(D)suspicion正确答案:B,4.According to the passage, learning to read will no longer be a difficult task when _.(A)children become highly motivated(B)teacher and learner roles are identical(C)teaching helps children in the search for knowledge(D)reading enriches childrens experience正确答案:A,5.The main idea of the passage is that _.(A)teachers should do as little as possible in helping students learn to read(B)teachers should encourage students to read as widely as possible(C)reading ability is something acquired rather than taught(D)reading is more complicated than generally believed正确答案:C,Passage 2If it was once the case that there were no second acts in American lives, there are now not only second acts but third, fourth, and fifth ones. This is not entirely unhealthy: The belief that one shouldnt be judged by ones worst mistakes revives (恢复) careers that might otherwise have ended. Thus, Sergio Zyman rebounded from the failure of New Coke to lead the company to great success and landed on the cover of Fortune in a story headlined, “So You Fail. Now Bounce Back!” That story put a new spin on screwing up: “If you havent failed yet, you probably will. And for the benefit of your career, you probably should.”Sometime in the 1990s, though, the notion of failure as the necessary preface to success reached its falling phase. In this, Hollywood led the way. When the movie Showgirls was not successful in theaters, its distributor, MGM, decided to actively sell it as a bad movie, arranging midnight shows stocked with drag queens (男扮女装的男同性恋者) shouting the films lines back at the screen. The notion of shame in failure came to be seen as old-fashioned, and the “redemption” (补救) phase of a comeback grew shorter and shorter until it disappeared entirely. As Hugh Grant taught us, no matter how bad ones misconduct, one can earn forgiveness through a modest chat on a national talk show. Similarly, Bob Dole didnt enter a Nixonian retreat after his political defeathe soon entered his new role as a salesman, poking (戳，捅) gentle fun at his own inability to win. The 1990s cultivation of an appreciation for failure was ideally timed since the 2000s have made failure epidemic. Failure is not merely more common than success these days, its also more interesting.1.The best title that fits this passage is _.(A)How to turn failure into success(B)Failure is the new success(C)Failure should be avoided(D)Dont be afraid of failure正确答案:B,2.What does “put a new spin on screwing up” in Para. 1 probably mean?(A)To get the car moving.(B)To tighten the parts of the car.(C)To turn failure into success.(D)To speed up the process of success.正确答案:C,3.“In this, Hollywood led the way?” (Para. 3) Here, “this” refers to _.(A)how to make first-class movies(B)failure is no longer necessary to success(C)how to resell the unsuccessful movies(D)failure is actually a necessary part of success正确答案:D,4.What did Hugh Grant and Bob Dole tell us about failure?(A)One shouldnt be ashamed of ones failure.(B)One should feel ashamed of ones failure.(C)The notion of shame in failure is up-to-date.(D)Failure is an embarrassing thing.正确答案:A,5.According to the author, failure _.(A)was predominant in 1990s(B)can also be fun(C)is less common than success(D)spread to the internet正确答案:B,Passage 1War games are commonly used by the military to evaluate strategies, explore scenarios and reveal unexpected weaknesses. American ships and aircraft have just begun two weeks of war games in the Gulf, prompting protests from Iran, and last week South Korea carried out an annual computerised war-game exercise.Might war games deserve a greater role in business? Military analogies abound in the corporate world. Plenty of bosses look to Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese general, for management tips. And in business, as in war, outcomes depend on what others do, as well as ones own actions. Yet many firms fail to think systematically about how rivals will react to their plansand traditional planning does a poor job of taking competitors responses into account, says John McDermott, head of strategy at Xerox, an office-equipment company. Corporate war games, which simulate the interactions of multiple actors in a market, provide a better way to do so.Such games have two chief characteristics. First, players break into teams and take on the roles of fierce competitors (and sometimes other citizens, such as customers). Second, the games involve several turns, allowing competitors not just to draw up their own strategies but to respond to the choices of others. Their popularity is rising. Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), a consultancy, is running 100 war games a year, up from around 50 three years ago. Open Options, a Canadian strategy consultancy, has been going since 1996 and its revenue doubled last year.BAH introduces a quantitative element into its games, calculating the effect of each teams strategy on their companys profits and stockmarket value at the end of each turn. Open Options takes a further step. To help Xerox understand the market dynamics of the print and copy industry, it ran a one-day workshop in which teams from Xerox took the roles of the big companies in the market, itself included. Each team identified the things their” company could do to change its strategy and drew up a list of its desired outcomes; these preference trees” were shared with the other teams. The results were then pumped into Open Options proprietary software tools, which played out interactions between the companies and produced a range of possible outcomes.Mr. McDermott says the games predictive power was astonishing: one forecast, that a company would start to acquire a certain group of assets within the industry, came true within six months. By shedding light on areas where companies have different priorities, the concept of preference trees helps to highlight potential trade-offs, as well as competition. Open Options charges North American clients roughly $100,000 for an engagement.The secret of successful war-gaming does not simply lie in mathematics, however. Interaction, not algebra, is the best way to win support for a new strategy. Game-players must be senior for the same reasonalthough having the top boss on a team can stifle feedback. Strategies also have to capture competitors hard-to-quantify corporate cultures: when designing a game, BAH seeks out employees at its clients who have actually worked at competitors for that reason. But perhaps war games greatest value lies in the way they encourage managers to think differently about the consequences of their actions. To know your enemy, you must become your enemy,” as Sun Tzu would say.1.The expression “abound in”(Line 1, Paragraph 2) most probably means _.(A)be limited(B)be appreciated(C)be driven(D)be plentiful正确答案:D,2.According to the text, traditional corporate planning _.(A)has been completely abandoned.(B)fails to consider rivals reactions.(C)includes the detailed analyses of strategies of all rival companies.(D)functions well for the development of most companies.正确答案:B,3.The positive effect of war games owes to the following EXCEPT_.(A)the role playing of competitors(B)the composition of several turns(C)the introduction of quantitative factors(D)the rising popularity of the game正确答案:D,4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?(A)Both BAH and Open Options developed their own software tools for data analysis of war games.(B)The war game service expands slowly because of its high fee.(C)“Preference trees” refers to desired outcomes of the companies.(D)War games predictive ability is not convincing正确答案:C,5.Which of the following is NOT a reason for the success of war games?(A)feedback(B)mathematics(C)interaction(D)consideration of enemy正确答案:A,Passage 2Almost more than any other country in the world, Britain must seriously face the problem of building upwards, that is to say, of providing accommodations to a considerable proportion of its population in high blocks of flats. It is said that the Englishman objects to this type of existence, but if the case is such, he does in fact differ from the residents of most countries of the world today.In the past our own blocks of flats have been associated with the lower income groups and they have lacked the obvious provisions (供应), such as central heating, constant hot water supply, electrically operated lifts from top to bottom, and so on, as well as such details as easy facilities (设施) for getting rid of dust and rubbish and storage places for baby carriages on the ground floor, play grounds for children on the top of the buildings, and drying grounds for washing. It is likely that the argument regarding flats versus (与相对) individual houses will continue to rage on for a long time as far as Britain is concerned. And it is unfortunate that there should be hot feeling on both sides whenever this subject is raised. Those who oppose the building of flats base their case primarily on the assumption that everyone prefers an individual home and garden and on the high cost per unit of accommodation. The latter ignores the higher cost of providing full services to a scattered community and the cost in both money and time of the journey to work from the suburban residences.1.What is the problem that Britain must face?(A)Building blocks of homes.(B)Placing people in flats.(C)Being different from other countries.(D)Helping lower income groups.正确答案:B,2.Which of the following is one of the features of todays flats?(A)Facilities for getting rid of garbage.(B)Carriages for babies.(C)Water supply for drinking.(D)Playgrounds for children.正确答案:A,3.Which of the following is likely to continue for a long time according to the passage?(A)Flats will not have the obvious provisions.(B)Houses will be preferred by most people.(C)People will not agree on flats and individual houses.(D)Britain will be an unfortunate place to live.正确答案:C,4.Why do people oppose the building of flats?(A)They think flats offer no provisions.(B)They think flats are unfortunate.(C)They think everyone prefers houses.(D)They think everyone agrees with them.正确答案:C,5.What do people ignore when they oppose flats?(A)Flats have many provisions now.(B)Flats are suitable for individual families.(C)Flats offer plenty of space for living.(D)Flats save people money and time.正确答案:D,Passage 2You hear the refrain all the time: the U.S. economy looks good statistically, but it doesnt feel good. Why doesnt ever-greater wealth promote ever-greater happiness? It is a question that dates at least to the appearance in 1958 of The Affluent (富裕的) Society by John Kenneth Galbraith, who died recently at 97. The Affluent Society is a modern classic because it helped define a new moment in the human condition. For most of history, “hunger, sickness, and cold” threatened nearly everyone, Galbraith wrote. “Poverty was found everywhere in that world. Obviously it is not of ours.” After World War II, the dread of another Great Depression gave way to an economic boom. In the 1930s unemployment had averaged 18.2 percent; in the 1950s it was 4.5 percent. To Galbraith, materialism had gone mad and would breed discontent. Through advertising, companies conditioned consumers to buy things they didnt really want or need. Because so much spending was artificial, it would be unfulfilling. Meanwhile, government spending that would make everyone better off was being cut down because people instinctivelyand wrongly-labeled government only as “a necessary evil.” Its often said that only the rich are getting ahead; everyone else is standing still or falling behind. Well, there are many undeserving rich overpaid chief executives, for instance. But over any meaningful period, most peoples incomes are increasing. From 1995 to 2004, inflation-adjusted average family income rose 14.3 percent, to $43,200. People feel “squeezed” because their rising incomes often dont satisfy their rising wantsfor bigger homes, more health care, more education, and faster Internet connections. The other great frustration is that it has not eliminated insecurity. People regard job stability as part of their standard of living. As corporate layoffs increased, that part has eroded. More workers fear theyve become the disposable American,” as Louis Uchitelle puts it in his book by the same name.Because so much previous suffering and social conflict stemmed from poverty, the arrival of widespread affluence suggested utopian (乌托邦式的) possibilities. Up to a point, affluence succeeds. There is much les physical misery than before. People are better off. Unfortunately, affluence also creates new complaints and contradictions.Advanced societies need economic growth to satisfy the multiplying wants of their citizens. But the quest for growth lets loose new anxieties and economic conflicts that disturb the social order. Affluence liberates the individual, promising that everyone can choose a unique way to self-fulfillment. But the promise is so extravagant that it predestines many disappointments and sometimes inspires choices that have anti-social consequences, including family breakdown and obesity (肥胖症). Statistical indicators of happiness have not risen with incomes.Should we be surprised? Not really. Weve simply reaffirmed an old truth: the pursuit of affluence does not always end with happiness.1.What question does John Kenneth Galbraith raise in his book The Affluent Society?(A)Why statistics dont tell the truth about the economy?(B)Why affluence doesnt guarantee happiness?(C)How happiness can be promoted today?(D)What lies behind an economic boom?正确答案:B,2.According to Galbraith, people feel discontented because _.(A)public spending hasnt been cut down as expected(B)the government has proved to be a necessary evil(C)they are in fear of another Great Depression(D)materialism has run wild in modern society正确答案:D,3.Why do people feel squeezed when their average income rises considerably?(A)Their material pursuits have gone far ahead of their earnings.(B)Their purchasing power has dropped markedly with inflation.(C)The distribution of wealth is uneven between the r5ich and the poor.(D)Health care and educational cost has somehow gone out of control.正确答案:A,4.What does Louis Uchitelle mean by “the disposable American” (Para. 5)?(A)Those who see job stability as part of their living standard.(B)People full of utopian ideas resulting from affluence.(C)People who have little say in American politics.(D)Workers who no longer have secure jobs.正确答案:D,5.What has affluence brought to American society?(A)Renewed economic security.(B)A sense of self-fulfillment.(C)New conflicts and complaints.(D)Misery and anti-social behavior.正确答案:C,Passage 1A new study from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University shows that todays youth vote in larger numbers than previous generations, and a 2008 study from the Center for American Progress adds that increasing numbers of young voters and activists support traditionally liberal causes. But theres no easy way to see what those figures mean in real life