I'm in Paris, and a strangely quiet Paris it is. Nothing is going nowhere. If they're not on strike here, they're stuck in a traffic jam. It took me two hours to go two miles yesterday evening. And this morning many of the taxis, too, have joined in, leaving me with no alternative but to start walking. And it' s bitterly cold!
The strikes are serious protests about serious issues, but I'm struck, as so often on these occasions, by something much more mundane. People are once again talking to people; strangers are going out of their way to befriend strangers, allies for a week or two in their shared frustration. Parisian motorists, even, normally the most competitive of individualists, have been seen leaving notes in their parked cars saying where they are going and when they expect to leave in case anymore wants a lift.
Remove the technology of modem life, it seems, and we often start to be nice to one another again. Technology can isolate us, for all its benefits. It started, I guess, with the chimney. Before there were chimneys, we all had to huddle together in one room Just to keep warm, master and maid, cowman and son of the house. Then some unknown genius came up with the idea of the chimney, and the social stratification of society increased dramatically as all withdrew into their own quarters. Central heating, which is, more truthfully, decentralized heating, made it worse, and now we have our walkmans, our microwaves, or, if we' re really trendy, the Internet and e-mail. You can get by, these days, without actually speaking to anyone at all. Just the odd grunt to show that you' re alive !
I liked the survey which asked teenagers how they laid a table for a meal. Did they put the knife on the fight and the fork on the left, or did they put them both together? And 40 percent said one and 20 percent the other, but 40 percent didn't know! They had never sat down at a table together but had always, as they say, been grazers, helping themselves from the fridge and carrying the food off to their own comer to munch on their own.
If progress means that we don' t need to talk to each other anymore, then I'm getting worried. You can' t begin to love and befriend your neighbors if you never talk to them, and vice versa, they can't love you. It becomes a recipe for a world of solitaries. But most of us weren't destined to be hermits. People need people to be truly people, as the Parisians, in spite of all their frustrations, are discovering again this week. "Try walking instead" was my motto for this morning, but perhaps the motto for us all this festive month might be "Turn it off, whatever it is, and try talking instead!"
According to the author, the advent of modem technology may NOT______.
A.isolate us from the test of the society.
B.enable us to enjoy a much more convenient life.
C.leave people alone so that they may become truly people.
D.help people become grazers who are used to helping themselves from the fridge and carrying the food off to their own comer to munch on their own.
时间:2023-10-07 15:26:39
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Diana died on Sunday, August 31,1997, following a () crash in Paris.
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In the latter half of the 16th century, a form of drama arose in France called “French Light and Shadow”, which caused a great sensation when it was staged in Paris and Marseilles.
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In the “Academy”, Gulliver came across a strange man who tried to produce sunlight with ____ .
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Once I looked at the moon and caught sight of a strange thing. Here the moon symbolizes homesickness and nostalgic feelings as well as the beautiful and tranquil night.
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Usually, I (work)_______ as a secretary at ABT, but this summer I (study)_______ French at a language school in Paris. That is why I am in Paris.
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I'm tired of traveling in and out to work every day in the rush hour. I'dlike to buy a cottage in the country and ___________.
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_______ by a strange loud noise downstairs, the who girls jumped from their bed and screamed.
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____ took interest in the strange and the mysterious as opposed to common sense , and showed a profound admiration and love for nature.
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Tom: I see in the paper they're sending more equipment to space. And we might have to live there someday.John: ______! I'm staying right here!A.Never I B.Not meC.No me D.None me
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听力原文:W: Oh, hello. I'm so sorry I'm late. I know we'd arranged to meet at 1:30,bnt the place completely slipped my mind. In the end, I had to phone your secretary, and fortunately, she had it in her diary.
M: Oh, don't worry. I was a bit late, too.
Why was the woman late?
A.She forgot the time.
B.She forgot the place.
C.She slipped on the ground and hurt herself.
D.She was talking with the man's secretary and forgot the time.
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听力原文:M: Would you be interested in going to Paris with me this Sunday? I want to take in a show.
W: I'd love to, if I don't have guesses coming. What about next weekend?
Q: What does the woman suggest the man do?
(16)
A.Meet her this weekend in Paris.
B.Ask someone else to the show.
C.Invite her guests to come along.
D.Go to Paris with her another time.
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听力原文:Man: And today I'm talking to Angela Morgan. Angela, what made you decide to fly round the world in a helicopter?
Woman: People often ask me why I decided to do it but I'm surprised they don't ask 'Why did you wait so long?' because I'm 57 now! I'm sorry I didn't do it years ago, because it was such a wonderful experience. But the main purpose for going was to collect £500,000 for sick children by getting different companies to pay us money for each kilometre that we flew.
Man: And now everyone calls you the flying grandmother!
Woman: Yes, the thing about growing older is that you don't feel any different inside, so
you have to do as much as you can while you can. I'm healthy, and my own children are grown up, so I was free to go.
Man: And what about preparing for the trip?
Woman: Well, it took five months to plan. I was going to go with my husband, but he couldn't take time off work. Instead I made the trip with my flying teacher who became a great friend while she was teaching me to fly three years ago. I passed my flying test after two weeks; found it quite easy.
Man: And what was the trip like?
Woman: It was really exciting flying over so many different countries. The only thing was that we weren't able to spend much time sightseeing because we only stopped to get water and to camp. We took very little with us, but we did have tents and cooking things to use at night. We had to spend two days in Thailand because of an engine problem, but that was the longest we spent anywhere. Fortunately nothing else went wrong, so we just kept on going after that.
Man: What did you enjoy most about the trip?
Woman: The most wonderful thing about flying was seeing the differences in the countryside as we flew across 26 countries in 97 days. We flew over oceans and close to mountains; sometimes it was quite frightening, but we didn't travel when it was dark. We spent several nights camping in the desert and the sky was just full of stars. I made a video of the trip; you'll see it in a minute.
Man: Was there anything that you missed while you were away?
Woman: Well, to my surprise I didn't miss going to work or going out to restaurants or films. The most difficult thing was sitting still all the time; I normally play tennis and swim several times a week, so I started to feel very unfit. I missed hot water and proper showers sometimes too, but not as much as I thought I would!
The main reason for Angela's trip was to
A.make money for her business.
B.make money for other people.
C.have an exciting adventure.
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Shop-assistant: Can I help you? Customer: Yes, I'd like to try these shoes in size 4, please? Shop -assistant: Yes, just a moment... I'm sorry but we've only got them in four and a half.______?
A.How about another pair
B.Do you want to try them on
C.Do you need any help
D.Any particular color
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Look! The man in the bar behaves strangely. He ________ a lot of alcohol()
A.should have drunk
B.needn’t have drunk
C.could have drunk
D.must have drunk
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听力原文:I'm in the play at school and I have rehearsals Monday Tuesday and Friday. Then the play opens on Saturday night and goes all next week except Monday and Tuesday.
M: It sounds like you're going to be a very busy young lady for the next fortnight.
Q: In which evenings is the woman free between Monday and Opening Night?
(13)
A.Monday and Tuesday.
B.Tuesday and Wednesday.
C.Wednesday and Thursday.
D.Thursday and Friday.
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“Are you worried about your son being alone in a strange country ”“ .I’m sure he’ll manage fine.”
A.By all means
B.Of course
C.Not in the least
D.No wonder
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听力原文:W: Mr. Matheson, I'm the business consultant to make some suggestions on developing a functional organizational structure in your company. I've studied all your reports, and your company is making excellent progress,
M: Thank you, Miss Carlyle, I'm in bad need of such suggestions because, to be frank, my company, although small, is rapidly expanding. And please, call me Len. So, what are your recommendations for my new organizational structure?
W: Call me Mary. First, let's start with your operation here. You should set up separate Administrative, Clerical, Back office, and Support functions. There's too much work for your personnel to wear more than one hat any more.
M: Yes, they're already overworked. But that will entail more Managerial functions, won't it?
W: That's right, Lea, and you'll need at least two new managers for separate Marketing and Product Development departments.
M: OK, Mary. What else?
W: I think you'll need an Executive assistant to help you deal with corporate affairs. That should do it for your headquarters here, but since your business is no longer just local, I also suggest setting up a regional office in the south.
M: What about personnel there?
W: You'll need the same basic functionality as here, on a reduced scale. Product Development is only needed at headquarters for now. Your regional head can manage all functions there initially, but will probably need an assistant, also. And that's it!
M: Thanks for your advice, Mary. You do help a lot. Looks like I'll need that assistant right away to help me set all this up!
(23)
A.A personnel manager.
B.A business consultant.
C.A secretary.
D.An assistant.
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I wish we had a color television. I'm ______ pictures in black and white.
A.tired of
B.interested in
C.fond of
D.fed up
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By the time Mr.Saint Laurent set up shop in Paris under his own name,he had always workeda as a(n)
A. showman.
B. artist.
C. painter.
D. designer.
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It seems strange that in the past ten years Mike and I might just as well have been in different worlds.
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听力原文:W: My parents told me my uncles and aunts are planning a big family gathering in Paris this fall.
M: Are you going there?
W: You bet. All my uncles and aunts will take their children along, too. So I'll meet many cousins there.
M: How nice! But why Paris?
W: Because two of my aunts are French. They met and got married to my uncles in France. Some of their relatives are still living there.
M: Have you ever been to France before?
W: No. I've never traveled abroad. I'm very excited about it. I just can't wait.
M: My parents are going to take me on a trip to Hawaii next month by way of Tokyo, but I've been there three times already.
Where do the woman's families gather in autumn?
A.In Paris.
B.In Hawaii.
C.In Tokyo.
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英语翻译
1.Mr.Smith lives in a tall building.He lives on the 14th floor.Every day he takes a lift up and down.
2.One Sunday afternoon he drove his nine-year-old son to go shopping.
3.They shopped all afternoon and bought many things.They drove back and carried all the things up to the lift.
4.Suddenly they saw a piece of paper on the wall.It said,"Dear sirs,there is something wrong with the lift.Please use the stairs now."
5.The son was very happy.He took a bag and ran upstairs quickly.But Mr.Smith walked and walked.
6.At last they stood in front of their door,feeling very tired.Mr.Smith began to look for the keys,but he could not find them.
7.Suddenly he shouted in a loud voice,"Oh,no.I've leftmy keys in the car.Bill,could you run down and get the keys for me?"
8.But Bill said,"I'm sorry,Dad.I ran all the way up here and I'm very tired.This time you should run down and do the things by yourself."
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At first glance, there is little in Horton to attract people. The other nearby towns have much more to offer: Bradfield has its river and historic buildings, while Newtown has shops and entertainment. The buildings of Horton look dirty and unloved. For shops, there is a small supermarket, a few bargain shops, a bakery which, strangely, does not sell bread and a florist which has one stand of sadlooking flowers. Even so, Horton has several advantages over its neighboring towns.
Firstly, it has a country park. Four thousand years ago, this was an important fort. There are no historic remains here now, but there are wonderful views over the countryside. On sunny weekends you can often see kids out with their parents, kicking balls or flying kites.
There aren’t many job opportunities in Horton, and the roads to nearby cities aren’t really fast, but there are excellent rail links. You can be in London in an hour and a half, and other cities are less than an hour away. That means that parents can earn a good salary and still get home in time to spend the evenings with their families. Houses in Horton aren’t pretty, but they’re functional and cheap. The streets are quiet and safe, and there are plenty of parks and playgrounds. It has a library, three primary schools and a secondary school, St.Mark’s. It is friendly and offers a wide range of subjects and activities to children of all abilities and backgrounds. The town also has a swimming and a sports centre, and the community halls hold regular clubs and events for people of all ages.
C-21. What is the writer’s main purpose?
A、To explain what tourists can do in Horton.
B、To explain why Horton is a good place to live in.
C、To explain why Horton is not as pleasant as other towns.
D、To describe the history of Horton.
C-22.Which part of Horton does the writer find disappointing?
A、The shops.
B、Country park.
C、 Transport links.
D、The schools.
C-23. Which of the following is NOT the advantage of Horton?
A、Plenty of parks and playgrounds.
B、Historical buildings.
C、The quiet and safe streets.
D、Functional and cheap houses.
C-24. What advantages does Horton bring to workers?
A、There are plenty of jobs available in the town.
B、You can drive to nearby cities in a short time.
C、You can get to several cities quickly by train.
D、Working conditions are better here than in other towns.
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To be in a strange city without money and friends is an extremely____situation.
A.original
B.distressing
C.introduced
D.basically
E.dependable