Passage Five Tattoos didn’t spring up with the biker gangs and rock ’n’ roll bands. They’ve been around for a long time and had many different meanings over the course of history. For years, scientists believed that Egyptians and Nubians were the first people to tattoo their bodies. Then, in 1991, a mummy was discovered, dating back to the Bronze Age of about 3,300 B.C. "The Iceman," as the specimen was called, had several markings on his body, including a cross on the inside of his knee and lines on his ankle and back. It is believed these tattoos were made in a curative (治病的) effort. Being so advanced, the Egyptians reportedly spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world. The pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of Egypt developed international nations with Crete, Greece’, Persia and Arabia. The art tattooing stretched out all the way to Southeast Asia by 2,000 B.C. Around the same time, the Japanese became interested in the art but only for its decorative attributes, as opposed to magical ones. The Japanese tattoo artists were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors, perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a whole new angle. During the first millennium A.D., Japan adopted Chinese culture in many aspects and confined tattooing to branding wrongdoers. In the Balkans, the Thracians had a different use for the craft. Aristocrats, according to Herodotus, used it to show the world their social status. Although early Europeans dabbled with tattooing, they truly rediscovered the art form when the world exploration of the post-Renaissance made them seek out new cultures. It was their meeting with Polynesian that introduced them to tattooing. The word, in fact is derived from the Polynesian word tattau, which means "to mark." Most of the early uses of tattoos were ornamental. However, a number of civilizations had practical applications for this craft. The Goths, a tribe of Germanic barbarians famous for pillaging Roman settlements, used tattoos to mark their slaves. Romans did the same with slaves and criminals. In Tahiti, tattoos were a rite of passage and told the history of the person’s life. Reaching adulthood, boys got one tattoo to commemorate the event. Men were marked with another style when they got married. Later, tattoos became the souvenir of choice for globe-trotting sailors. Whenever they would reach an exotic locale, they would get a new tattoo to mark the occasion. A dragon was a famous style that meant the sailor had reached a "China station." At first, sailors would spend their free time on the ship tattooing themselves and their mates. Soon after, tattoo parlors were set up in the area, surrounding ports worldwide. In the middle of the 19th century, police officials believed that half of the criminal underworld in New York City had tattoos. Port areas were renowned for being rough places flail of sailors that were guilty of some crime or another. This is most likely how tattoos got such a bad reputation and became associated with rebels and criminals. Tattoo can be traced back to as early as ______.
A. the middle of the 19th century
B. the year 1991 when a mummy was discovered
C. 2000 B.C.
D. 3300 B.C.
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Passage Three Valentine’s Day is a festival of romance and affection. The holiday is an interesting combination of pagan (异教徒的) and Christian influences. Some of the day’s customs probably came from an ancient Roman holiday caned Lupercalia, Which honored Juno (wife of Jupiter, the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth) and Pan (the God of nature). During the Lupercalia festival, young women dropped poems bearing their names into a large vase. Each young man picked a name from the vase to find his sweetheart for that year. During the Middle Ages, church leaders wanted to relate this pagan holiday to Christianity, so they renamed it after a Christian saint and moved the holiday from February 15 to February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine. St. Valentine was a third-century Christian martyr, a young man who was imprisoned in Rome for refusing to worship pagan gods. According to legend, before Valentine was beheaded on February 14, he restored the eyesight of his jailer’s blind daughter. Then he sent her a farewell letter signed, "From your Valentine". This phrase is now a common expression of affection that appears on many of the holiday greeting cards. Perhaps another reason that February 14 was picked as a holiday for lovers was that the ancient Romans believed that birds began to mate on this date. In modern times, early in February of each year, card shops, drugstores, and department stores begin displaying a wide variety of greeting cards called valentines. Most of them are illustrated with the symbolic red heart, which stands for love. Many also show a picture of Cupid with his bow and arrow. Some valentines are very fancy--decorated with paper lace, scented satin, feathers, ribbons, or bows. Some contain affectionate verses, while others simply say, "Be my Valentine". There are special Valentines for various family members, sweet hearts, and friends. People sometimes send anonymous valentines to the persons whom they are in secret love with. On that day, children usually buy packages of small, inexpensive valentines to give to classmates and teachers. Sweet-hearts and married couples may exchange more expensive cards, along with small gifts. Men often give red roses or chocolates wrapped up beautifully in red, heart-shaped boxes to their girlfriends or wives. This holiday derived its name from ______
A. Juno, the goddess ’of marriage
B. Pan, the god of nature
C. Lupercalia, a holiday for lovers
D. a Christian martyr-priest
Passage Two We unemployed share a social stigma (耻辱) similar to that of the rape victim. Whether consciously or subconsciously, much of the work-ethic driven public feels that you’ve somehow "asked for it". Secretly wanted to lose your job and "flirted (幻想)" with unemployment through your attitude- probably dressed in a way to invite it (left the vest unbuttoned on your three-piece suit). But the worse of it isn’t society’s work-ethic morality; it’s your own, which you never knew you had. You find out how much self-satisfaction was gained from even the most simple work-related task: a well-worded letter, a well-handled phone call, even a clean file. Being useful to yourself isn’t enough. But then almost everyone has heard about the need to be a useful member of society. What you didn’t know about was the loneliness. You’ve spent your life almost constantly surrounded by people, in classes, in dorms and at work. To suddenly find yourself with only your cat to talk to all day distorts (歪曲) your sense of reality. You begin to worry that fights of fancy might become one way. But you always were, and still are, stronger than that. You maintain balance and perspective, mainly through resorting frequently to sarcasm (嘲笑) and irreverence. Although something going wrong in any aspect of your life now seems to push you into temporary despair much more easily than before, you have some very important things to hang on to-- people who care, your sense of humor, your talents, your cat and your hopes. And beyond that, you’ve gained something- a little more knowledge and a lot more compassion. You’ve learned the value of the routine you scorned and the importance of the job you took for granted. But most of all, you’ve learned what a "7.6 percent unemployment rate" really means. What does "work-ethic" refer to
A. Crazy attitude toward work.
B. Public attitude toward work.
C. People who are working.
D. People who are out of work.
Promptness is important in American business, academic, and social settings. The (56) of punctuality is taught to young children at school. Today slips and the use of bells signal to the child that (57) and time itself are to be respected. People who keep (58) are considered dependable. If people are late for job interviews, appointments, or classes, they are often (59) unreliable and irresponsible. In the business setting, "time is money" and companies may (60) their executive for tardiness to business meetings. Of course, it is not always possible to be punctual. Social and business etiquette also provides rules for (61) arrivals. Calling (62) the telephone if one is going to be more than a few minutes late for (63) appointments is (64) polite and is often expected. Keeping a friend waiting (65) ten to twenty minutes is considered rude. Respecting deadlines is also important in academic and professional (66) . Students who (67) assignments late may be surprised to find that the professor will (68) their grade or even refuse to (69) their work. (70) it is a question of arriving on time or of meeting a deadline, people are culturally expected to stick to the schedule time.
A. integrity
B. importance
C. scrutiny
D. insignificance
Passage Three Valentine’s Day is a festival of romance and affection. The holiday is an interesting combination of pagan (异教徒的) and Christian influences. Some of the day’s customs probably came from an ancient Roman holiday caned Lupercalia, Which honored Juno (wife of Jupiter, the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth) and Pan (the God of nature). During the Lupercalia festival, young women dropped poems bearing their names into a large vase. Each young man picked a name from the vase to find his sweetheart for that year. During the Middle Ages, church leaders wanted to relate this pagan holiday to Christianity, so they renamed it after a Christian saint and moved the holiday from February 15 to February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine. St. Valentine was a third-century Christian martyr, a young man who was imprisoned in Rome for refusing to worship pagan gods. According to legend, before Valentine was beheaded on February 14, he restored the eyesight of his jailer’s blind daughter. Then he sent her a farewell letter signed, "From your Valentine". This phrase is now a common expression of affection that appears on many of the holiday greeting cards. Perhaps another reason that February 14 was picked as a holiday for lovers was that the ancient Romans believed that birds began to mate on this date. In modern times, early in February of each year, card shops, drugstores, and department stores begin displaying a wide variety of greeting cards called valentines. Most of them are illustrated with the symbolic red heart, which stands for love. Many also show a picture of Cupid with his bow and arrow. Some valentines are very fancy--decorated with paper lace, scented satin, feathers, ribbons, or bows. Some contain affectionate verses, while others simply say, "Be my Valentine". There are special Valentines for various family members, sweet hearts, and friends. People sometimes send anonymous valentines to the persons whom they are in secret love with. On that day, children usually buy packages of small, inexpensive valentines to give to classmates and teachers. Sweet-hearts and married couples may exchange more expensive cards, along with small gifts. Men often give red roses or chocolates wrapped up beautifully in red, heart-shaped boxes to their girlfriends or wives. All the following statements about Valentine’s Day are true except ______.
A. Valentine’s Day is only celebrated by adults
B. Valentine’s Day is a religious as well as a secular (俗世的) holiday
C. the customs of Valentine can be traced far back to an ancient Roman holiday
D. it’s possible for someone to receive a gift on this particular day without knowing its sender