Passage 29 The first English window was just a slit in the wall. (29) It was cut long, so that it would let in as much light as possible, and narrow, to keep out the bad weather. However, the slit let in more wind than light. This is why it was called "the wind’s eye". The word window itself comes from two Old Norse words for wind and eye. Before windows were used, the ancient halls and castles of northern Europe and Britain were dark and smoky. Their great rooms were high, with only a hole in the roof to let out the smoke from torches and cooking fires. As time went on, people wanted more light and air in their homes. They made the wind’s eyes wider so as to admit air and light. They stretched canvas across them to keep out the weather. The first window was a______.
A. large hole in the roof
B. hole with canvas stretched across it
C. long and narrow slit in the wall
D. slit to let out the smoke from fires
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Passage 25 Is teaching important Well, of course it is. There was a time when the necessary knowledge could be taught to the young by family members. (25) But as societies became more complex and division of labor more common, it was impossible for family members to teach the information and skills young people needed to become useful members of the society. As the need for specialists appeared, the job of teaching came into being in our society, and teaching as a job has been of increasing importance over the past hundred years. Today, we have strict rules for teachers. We hope all children can attend schools. Many things tell us that teaching is indeed an "important" job. In recent years, there has been an increasing need for teachers to be "responsible". This means that the public expects teachers to succeed in teaching important information to the young. Teachers’ salaries today, while not much, certainly are much higher than they were in years past. These increases have come about because people have realized that without enough salaries, people who have abilities will not become teachers. Today almost no one says that "anybody will do" for a teacher. The public expects "quality people" to teach the young, and progress is being made to give salaries that will make people who have abilities become teachers. "Anybody will do" for a teacher means that______.
A. almost all people want to become a teacher
B. the job of teaching is so easy that everybody can do it
C. a teacher will do whatever he can for his students
D. a teacher is so highly respected that people all want to help him
Passage 18 We all know that it is possible for ordinary people to make their homes on the equator (赤道), although often they may feel uncomfortably hot there. Millions do it. But as for the North Pole (北极)-we know that it is not only a dangerously cold place, but that people like you and me would find it quite impossible to live there. At the present time only the scientists and explorers can do so, and they use special equipment. Men had been traveling across and around the equator on wheels, on their feet or in ships for thousands of years; but only a few men, with great difficulty and in very recent time, have ever crossed the ice to the North Pole. So it may surprise you to learn that, when traveling by air, it is really safer to fly over the North Pole than over the equator. Of course, this is not true about landings in the polar region (which passenger planes do not make), but the weather, if we are flying at a height of 5, 000 meters above the Pole, is a delight. At 4, 000 meters and more above the earth you can always be sure that you will not see a cloud in the sky as far as the eye can reach. In the tropics (热带), on the other hand, you are not certain to keep clear of bad weather even at such heights as 18,000 or 20,000 meters. Planes can’t climb as high or as quickly in cold air as in warm air. Nor can clouds. (18) In practice, this is an advantage to the plane, which is already at a good height when it reaches the polar region and so does not need to climb, while at the same time cold air keeps the clouds down low. Planes usually do not need to climb quickly or fly high in the polar region because______.
A. they do not land there
B. there are no clouds at all
C. they can cross the ice with special equipment
D. it is very cold
Passage 16 Sports and games make our bodies strong, prevent us from getting too fat, and keep us healthy. But these are not their only use. They give us valuable practice in making eyes, brain and muscles work together. In tennis, our eyes see the ball coming, judge its speed and direction and pass this information on to the brain~ The brain then has to decide what to do, and to send its orders to the muscles of the arms, legs, and so on, so that the ball is met and hit back where it ought to go. All this must happen with very great speed, and only those who have had a lot of practice at tennis can carry out this complicated chain of events successfully. For those who work with their brains most of the day, the practice of such skills is especially useful. Sports and games are also very useful for character-training. In their lessons at school, boys and girls may learn about such virtues as unselfishness, courage, discipline and love of one’s country; but what is learned in books cannot have the same deep effect on a child’s character as what is learned by experience~ The ordinary day-school cannot give much practical training in living, because most of the pupils’ time is spent in classrooms, studying lessons. So it is what the pupils do in their spare time that really prepares them to take their place in society as citizens when they grow up. (16) If each of them learns to work for his team and not for himself on the football field, he will later find it natural to work for the good of his country instead of only for his own benefit. When we play tennis we have to______.
A. use, first, our eyes, then the brain and finally the muscles
B. make our eyes, brain and muscles work almost at the same time
C. use mainly the arms and legs to hit
D. use mainly the muscles so that the ball is met and hit back
Passage 20 How men first learned to invent words is unknown; in other words, the origin of language is a mystery. (20) All we really know is that men, unlike animals, somehow invented certain sounds to express thoughts and feelings, actions and things, so that they could communicate with each other; and that later they agreed upon certain signs, called letters, which could be combined to represent those sounds, and which could be written down. Those sounds, whether spoken or written in letters, we call words. The power of words, then, lies in their combinations--the things they bring up before our minds. Words become filled with meaning for us by experience; and the longer we live, the more certain words recall to us the glad and sad events of our past; and the more we read and learn, the more the number of words that mean something to us increases. Great writers are those who not only have great thoughts but also express these thoughts in words which appeal powerfully to our minds and feelings. This charming and telling use of words is what we call literary (文字的) style. Above all, the real poet is a master of words. He can convey his meaning in words which sing like music, and which by their position and association can move men to tears. We should therefore learn to choose our words carefully and use them accurately, or they will make our speech silly and rude. According to the passage, words are______.
A. visual letters
B. represented by sounds
C. represented either by sounds or letters
D. signs called letters