Passage 1 To me personally, the most remarkable and, in the long run, the most influential man who was translated was not a Greek. That is because I am interested in the perception of objects in space. And that was a subject about which the Greeks were totally wrong. It was understood for the first time about the year AD 1000 by an eccentric mathematician whom we call Alhazen, who was the one really original scientific mind that Arab culture produced. (66) Alhazen first recognized that we see an object because each point of it directs and reflects a ray into the eye. The Greek view could not explain how an object, my hand say, seems to change size when it moves. In Alhazen’s account it is clear that the cone of rays that comes from the outline and shape of my hand grows narrower as I move my hand away from you. (67) And that, and only that, accounts for the difference in size. It is so simple a notion that it is astonishing that scientists paid almost no attention to it for six hundred years. (68) The concept of the cone of rays from object to the eye becomes the foundation of perspective [透视画法]. And perspective is the new idea which now revivifies mathematics. (69) A manuscript of Alhazen’s Optics in translation in the Vatican Library in Rome is annotated by Lorenzo Ghiberti, who made the famous bronze perspectives for the doors of the Baptistry in Florence. He was not the first pioneer of perspective--that may have been Filippo Brunelleschi--and there were enough of them to form an identifiable school of the Perspectivi. (70) A. It was a school of thought, for its aim was not simply to make the figures lifelike, but to create the sense of their movement in space. B. The Greeks had thought that light goes from the eyes to the object. C. The excitement of perspective passed into art in north Italy, in Florence and Venice, in the fifteenth century. D. As I move it towards you, the cone of rays that enters our eye becomes larger and subtends a larger angle. E. Above all, we feel that the painter’s eye is on the move. F. But artists attended to it long before that, and in a practical way.
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Passage 4 Newcomers to San Francisco who can’t speak English have a hard time finding an apartment, a job, or health care. Institutions that baffle and frustrate native-born Americans, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, are even more intimidating to immigrants. Many immigrants are greeted at the airport by relatives who can ease their transition to life in the U.S. But some arrive without contacts and need immediate help. In San Francisco, this help comes more from local ethnic communities than from the government. Organizations such as the Chinatown Youth Center and Jewish Family and Children’s Services apply for grant money and provide services to immigrants. Many Hispanic immigrants to the city seek help at the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in the heart of the Mission district. The Good Samaritan center teaches "survival" English to help people get by until they can enroll in a regular language class. The center also teaches newcomers about life in San Francisco, such as how to find health care and schools. The center offers support groups that function as extended families. If a client is afraid to go to the hospital, for example, someone from the support group will go with her. English classes have become a precious commodity in San Francisco, with some people waiting six months to get instruction. In the meantime, they have to survive the best they can, often without a job. Foreign-born Americans who do not speak English well have much higher unemployment rates than those who speak English well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This rule is not true for female Hispanics, however. Many Hispanic immigrants live in Spanish-speaking communities where they can get by without learning English. Government offices try to help non-English speakers, but their bureaucracy is intimidating to the newcomer who wants a driver’s license or Social Security number. Immigrants "are afraid that no one will understand them," says Joe C. Buenavista, principal of San Francisco’s Newcomer High School. In San Francisco, English classes are ______ .
A. of high quality
B. in great demand
C. of large numbers
D. becoming more and more popular
Passage 3 Monochronic time (M-time) and polychronic time (P-time) represent two variant solutions to the use of both time and space as organizing frames for activities. Space is included because the two systems (time and space) are functionally interrelated. M-time emphasizes schedules, segmentation, and promptness. P-time systems are characterized by several things happening at once. They stress involvement of people and completion of transactions rather than adherence to preset schedules. P-time is treated as much less tangible than M-time. P-time is apt to be considered a point rather than a ribbon or a road, and that point is sacred. Americans overseas are psychologically stressed in many ways when confronted by P-time systems such as those in Latin America and the Middle East. In the markets and stores of Mediterranean countries, one is surrounded by other customers vying for the attention of a clerk. There is no order as to who is served next, and to the northern European or American, confusion and clamor abound. In a different context, the same patterns apply within the governmental bureaucracies of Mediterranean countries: A cabinet officer, for instance, may have a large reception area outside his private office. There are almost always small groups waiting in this area, and these groups are visited by government officials, who move around the room conferring with each. Much of their business is transacted in public instead of having a series of private meetings in an inner office. Particularly distressing to Americans is the way in which appointments are handled by polychronic people. Appointments just don’t carry the same weight as they do in the United States. Things are constantly shifted around. Nothing seems solid or firm, particularly plans for the future, and there are always changes in the most important plans right up to the very last minute. In contrast, within the Western world, man finds little in life that is exempt from the iron hand of M-time. In fact, his social and business life, even his sex life are apt to be completely time dominated. Polychronic people may often delay their appointments because ______ .
A. being late is a custom to show importance
B. things are often changing until the last minute
C. they don’t have plans for the future at all
D. they are too busy to be punctual
TOPICAfter graduation from a university, some students look for jobs in companies, others go to university and work as teachers. Which do you think is preferable Give specific reasons for your choice.
Passage 4 Newcomers to San Francisco who can’t speak English have a hard time finding an apartment, a job, or health care. Institutions that baffle and frustrate native-born Americans, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, are even more intimidating to immigrants. Many immigrants are greeted at the airport by relatives who can ease their transition to life in the U.S. But some arrive without contacts and need immediate help. In San Francisco, this help comes more from local ethnic communities than from the government. Organizations such as the Chinatown Youth Center and Jewish Family and Children’s Services apply for grant money and provide services to immigrants. Many Hispanic immigrants to the city seek help at the Good Samaritan Family Resource Center in the heart of the Mission district. The Good Samaritan center teaches "survival" English to help people get by until they can enroll in a regular language class. The center also teaches newcomers about life in San Francisco, such as how to find health care and schools. The center offers support groups that function as extended families. If a client is afraid to go to the hospital, for example, someone from the support group will go with her. English classes have become a precious commodity in San Francisco, with some people waiting six months to get instruction. In the meantime, they have to survive the best they can, often without a job. Foreign-born Americans who do not speak English well have much higher unemployment rates than those who speak English well, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This rule is not true for female Hispanics, however. Many Hispanic immigrants live in Spanish-speaking communities where they can get by without learning English. Government offices try to help non-English speakers, but their bureaucracy is intimidating to the newcomer who wants a driver’s license or Social Security number. Immigrants "are afraid that no one will understand them," says Joe C. Buenavista, principal of San Francisco’s Newcomer High School. Newcomers to San Francisco may get help from the following organizations EXCEPT ______ .
A. Jewish Family and Children’s Services
B. the Department of Motor Vehicles
C. the Good Samaritan center
D. San Francisco’s Newcomer High School