Passage 40 Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public. Not only does he want to say it well, but he wants it to be something which has not been said before. He hopes that the public will listen and understand--he wants to teach them, and he wants them to learn from him. What visual artists like painters want to teach is easy to make out but difficult to explain, because painters translate their experiences into shapes and colors, not words. (40) They seem to feel that a certain selection of shapes and colors, out of the countless billions possible, is exceptionally interesting for them and worth showing to us. Without their work we would never have noticed these particular shapes and colors, or have felt the delight which they brought to the artist. Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in motion and stillness; their choices indicate that these aspects of the world are worth looking at, that they contain beautiful sights. Contemporary artists might say that they merely choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern, and that there is nothing more in it, yet even they do not choose entirely without reference to the character of their subjects. If one painter chooses to paint an injured leg and another a lake in moonlight, each of them is directing our attention to a certain aspect of the world. Each painter is telling us something, showing us something, emphasizing something--all of which means that, consciously or unconsciously, he is trying to teach us. An artist’s choice of shapes and colors indicates that he believes them to be______.
A. calm
B. moving
C. delightful
D. worth looking at
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Passage 26 Though some people have suggested that women should return to housework in order to leave more jobs for men, the idea has been rejected by both women and men in public opinion polls (民意测验). Lately some union officials have suggested that too many women are employed in type of work more suitable fore men and that women should step aside to make way for unemployed young men. (26) They argue that women, especially women in their childbearing years actually delay economic development and result in lower productivity, poor quality and inefficiency. To solve the problem, they have suggested that the working women stay at home while their husbands or brothers were given double wages. They argue that under these circumstances, families would retain their same level of income, and women could run the house and raise children much better. The suggestion has been rejected by 9 out of 10 people polled. A hundred persons in a big city were questioned last summer. Out of 50 women, 46 said they were unwilling to leave their jobs, no matter what the situation was. The other 4 said they would like to return home if their jobs could be taken by their sons or daughters. Of 50 men polled, only 6 said they would like to see their wives give up their jobs, if it meant higher wages for themselves. Some other people have suggested another way called "phased employment theory". The theory suggests that a woman worker take leave from her job when she is seven months pregnant (妊娠) and stay off the job until her baby reaches the age of 3. It suggests that women on leave receive 75 percent of their normal salary and be allowed to return to work after the 3-year period. This will benefit children, women, their families and the society. Some of those polled, both women and men, felt the idea is a good one. It definitely seems to be more acceptable than the suggestion that women return to home forever. Some union officials have suggested that if women resign their jobs,______.
A. they should be allowed to attend school to be trained
B. their jobs should be taken over by the male members of their families
C. their children should also leave their kindergartens
D. the male employees in their families should receive double wages
Passage 32 How can a single postage stamp be worth $ 16,800 Any mistake made in the printing of a stamp raises its value to stamp collectors. A mistake on one inexpensive postage stamp has made the stamp worth a million and a half times its original value. The mistake was made more than a hundred years ago in the British colony of Mauritius, a small island in the Indian Ocean. In 1847, an order for stamps was sent to a London printer--Mauritius was to become the fourth country in the world to issue stamps. (32) Before the order was filled and delivered, a ball was planned at Mauritius’ Government House, and stamps were needed to send out the invitations. A local printer was instructed to copy the design for the stamps. He accidentally inscribed the words "Post Office" instead of "Post Paid" on the several hundred stamps that he printed. Today there are only 26 of these misprinted stamps left-fourteen One-Penny OrangeReds and twelve Two-penny Blues. Because of the Two-penny Blues’ rareness and age, collectors have paid as much as $ 16,800 for it. The best title for this passage is______.
A. The "Post Paid" Error
B. The Two-penny Blue
C. A London Printer’s Error
D. How Mauritius Became Famous
Passage 45 Do you ever feel sick, confused, or very tired after a long plane ride If you were fly-ing east to west or west to east, the problem could have been jet lag. (45) Jet lag happens when your body’s time clock becomes confused. Crossing several time zones may make you feel very tired. You may become confused because you are tired. In fact, you may become so confused that you won’t be able to do your work. You might get headaches and feel that you have problems eating and sleeping. These are all symptoms of jet lag. However, if you feel tired after flying from north to south or south to north, you do not have jet lag. Maybe you feel tired from the tiredness and work of getting ready for the trip. You will feel better after you get some sleep. The symptoms that you feel during a flight, such as thirst and motion sickness, are not jet lag either. They are caused by the air pressure in the plane. When you travel north or south, you do not cross time zones. So you do not have true jet lag. Flying in which direction is more likely to cause jet lag
A. North to south.
B. South to north.
C. West to east.
D. None of the above.
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. The secret of a writer’s success is the use of words that______.
A. recall to us the glad and sad events of our past
B. are arranged in a creative way
C. are as beautiful as music
D. agree with certain literary style