科目:高中英語 來源: 題型:閱讀理解
When families gather for Christmas dinner, some will stick to formal traditions dating back to grandma’s generation. Their tables will be set with the good dishes and silver, and the dress code will be Sunday best.
But in many other homes, this china-and-silver elegance has given way to a stoneware (粗陶) and stainless informality, with dresses assuming an equally casual-Friday look. For hosts and guests, the change means greater simplicity and comfort. For makers of fine china in Britain, it spells economic hard times.
Last week Royal Doulton, the largest employer in Stoke-on-Trent, announced that it is eliminating 1,000 jobs-one-fifth of its total workforce. That brings to more than 4,000 the number of positions lost in 18 months in the pottery (陶瓷) region. Wedgwood and other pottery factories made cuts earlier.
Although a strong pound and weak markets in Asia play a role in the downsizing, the layoffs in Stoke have their roots in earthshaking social shifts. A spokesman for Royal Doulton admitted that the company “has been somewhat slow in catching up with the trend” toward casual dining. Families eat together less often, he explained, and more people eat alone, either because they are single or they eat in front of television.
Even dinner parties, if they happen at all, have gone casual. In a time of long work hours and demanding family schedules, busy hosts insist, rightly, that it’s better to share a takeout pizza on paper plates in the family room than to wait for the perfect moment or a “real” dinner party. Too often, the perfect moment never comes. Iron a fine-patterned tablecloth? Forget it. Polish the silver? Who has time?
Yet the loss of formality has its down side. The fine points of etiquette (禮節(jié)) that children might once have learned at the table by observation or instruction from parents and grandparents (“Chew with your mouth closed.” “Keep your elbows off the table.”) must be picked up elsewhere. Some companies now offer etiquette seminars for employees who may be able professionally but inexperienced socially.
67.Why do people tend to follow the trend to casual dining?
A. Family members need more time to relax.
B. Busy schedules leave people no time for formality.
C. People prefer to live a comfortable life.
D. Young people won’t follow the etiquette of the older generation
68.It can be learned from the passage that Royal Doulton is ________.
A. a seller of stainless steel tableware B. a dealer in stoneware
C. a pottery chain store D. a producer of fine china
69.The main cause of the layoffs in the pottery industry is ________.
A. the increased value of the pound
B. the worsening economy in Asia
C. the change in people’s way of life
D. the fierce competition at home and abroad
70.Formal table manners, though less popular than before in current social life, ________.
A. are still a must on certain occasions B. are certain to return sooner or later
C. are still being taught by parents at home D. can help improve personal relationships
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科目:高中英語 來源:2013屆福建省三明九中高三上學(xué)期第二次月考英語試卷(帶解析) 題型:單選題
passion, people won't have the motivation or the joy necessary for creative thinking.
A.For | B.Without | C.Beneath | D.By |
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科目:高中英語 來源:江西省2009-2010學(xué)年高一下學(xué)期第二次月考英語試題 題型:閱讀理解
We don’t know how different our life will be in the future . We can only try to imagine it .
At first we think about human relationship . In the year 2050 , we will use computers almost every day . We will be making new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way . It will be much faster and easier for us . On the other hand , our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today—we will feel a little lonely .
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050 . For example , they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier . In addition , there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers , like robots which will do the housework for us .
Spending holidays will also be completely different . Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone . Means of transport will , of course , change , too . we will be using solar-powered cars , which will be much more environmentally friendly .
We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment . But it isn’t true .We will pay more attention to protecting the environment . And , scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases , like cancer or AIDS . Therefore , our surroundings as well as health will be in a better condition .
Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world , we often think about them . We worry about our and our children’s future ; we have expectations , hopes as well as fears . But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future . We should be happy and believe good things will happen .
1. Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050 ?
A. Because the number of people will become much smaller .
B. Because there will be less face-to-face communication .
C. Because people won’t like making friends with each other .
D. Because people won’t communicate with each other much often .
2. The third paragraph mainly tells us_________.
A. that computers will do all the things for human beings
B. how people will use computers to communicate with each other
C. that machines like computers and robots will help people a lot
D. how people will use robot to do the housework
3. According to the passage , which of the following will happen in 2050 ?
A. The relationship between people will be more important than that of today .
B. The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today .
C. It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets .
D. Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars .
4. What does the passage mainly talk about ?
A. How peoplewill communicate in the year 2050 .
B. What our life will be like in the year 2050 .
C. How people will travel and spend their holidays in the year 2050 .
D. What high technology will appear in the year 2050 .
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科目:高中英語 來源:2010-2011學(xué)年浙江省溫州市高三上學(xué)期五校聯(lián)考英語卷 題型:閱讀理解
The past ages of man have all been carefully labeled by anthropologists (人類學(xué)家). Descriptions like "Palaeolithic(舊石器時代的)Man" ."Neolithic(新石器時代的)Man" ,etc. .neatly sum up whole periods. When the time comes for anthropologists to turn their attention to the twentieth century, they will surely choose the label" Legless Man". Histories of the time will go something like this: "in the twentieth century, people forgot how to use their legs. Men and women moved about in cars, buses and trains from a very early age. There were lifts in all large buildings to prevent people from walking. And the surprising thing is that they didn't use their legs even when they went on holiday. "
The future history books might also record that we were deprived (剝奪) of the use of our eyes. In our hurry to get from one place to another, we failed to see anything on the way. Air travel gives you a bird's-eye view of the world. When you travel by car or train, an unclear picture of the countryside constantly smears the windows. Car drivers, especially, are mixed with the urge to go on and on: they never want to stop. The typical twentieth-century traveler is the man who always says" I've been there. "You mention the remotest, and someone is bound to say "I've been there"—meaning, "I drove through it at 100 miles an hour on the way to somewhere else. "
When you travel at high speeds, the present means nothing: you live mainly in the future because you spend most of your time looking forward to arriving at some other place. But actual arrival, when it is achieved, is meaningless. You want to move on again. By traveling like this, you suspend all experience. The traveler on foot, on the other hand, lives constantly in the present.
For him traveling and arriving are one and the same thing: he arrives somewhere with every step he makes. He experiences the present moment with his eyes, his ears and the whole of his body. At the end of his journey he feels a delicious physical tiredness. He knows that sound, satisfying sleep will be his: the just reward of all true travelers.
1.What's the best title of the passage?
A. The advantages of travel B. The best way to travel
C. The reward of true travel D. Possible ways to travel
2.Anthropologists label man nowadays "Legless" because______.
A. people forget how to use their legs
B. lifts prevent people from walking
C. modern vehicles have replaced walking
D. people prefer cars, buses and trains
3.While traveling at high speed,______.
A. people can get more pleasure from it
B. people always focus on next destination
C. people can enjoy the view of the destination
D. people care much about the arrangement of the journey
4.The author says "we are deprived of the use of our eyes "because ______.
A. people can't get a clear picture of the view along
B. eyes become useless in traveling at high speed
C. people want to sleep during traveling
D. people won't use their eyes
5.What does the author intend to tell us?
A. Legs become weaker.
B. There is no need to use legs or eyes.
C. Modern means of transportation make the world a small place.
D. We should experience the present heart and soul while traveling.
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科目:高中英語 來源:2008年普通高等學(xué)校招生全國統(tǒng)一考試重慶卷英語試題 題型:閱讀理解
While all my classmates seen to be crazy about a one-way ticket to Mars(火星), I’d rather say Mars is totally unsuitable for human existence. People won’t have enough food supplies there, and the terrible environment would make it impossible for them to live a long life. Besides, the journey won’t be safe. Can anybody explain to me just why people would go to Mars, never to return?
Steve Minear, UK
Here are the things you can think of: the desire to explore a foreign and unique environment, the excitement of being the first humans to open up a new world, the expectation of fame and glory…For scientists there is another reason. Their observations and research will probably lead to great scientific achievements.
Donal Trollop, Canada
There are already too many people on the Earth. I think that sometime before the end of the century, there will be a human colony(殖民地)on Mars. It will happen when people finally realize that tow-way trips to the red planet Mars are unnecessary. Most of the danger of space Flight is in the launches(發(fā)射) and landings. Cutting the trip home would therefore reduce the danger of accidents, save a lot of money, and open the way to building an everlasting human settlement on another world.
Enough supplies can be sent on ahead. And every two years more supplies and more people will needs, and Mars is far more pleasant than the other planets in the outer space.
Paul Davies. USA
1. The main purpose of Steve Minear’s writing is .
A.to report his classmates’ discussion |
B.to invite an answer to his question |
C.to explain the natural state of Mars |
D.to show his agreement on going to Mars |
2.Which of the following best states Donal Trollop’s idea?
A.There is a plan to send humans to Mars. |
B.There are many reasons for going to Mars. |
C.Scientists become famous by doing research on Mars. |
D.It is possible to build an Earth-like environment on Mars. |
3.Paul Davies points out that .
A.humans need only a one-way ticket to Mars. |
B.two-way trips to Mars will be made safe soon |
C.it is easy to reduce the danger and cost of flights to Mars |
D.it is cheap to build an everlasting human settlement on Mars |
4.What does Paul Davies think of human existence on Mars?
A.Humans will have to bring all they need from the Earth. |
B.Humans will find Mars totally unsuitable for living. |
C.Humans can produce everything they need. |
D.Humans can live longer in the colony on Mars |
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