Book II extra passages for careful reading.docx

1、Book II extra passages for careful readingPassage 1 （Unit 1, Book II: Dream of shadowland. Story of ones life)The first day of school one of my classmates began a talk with me that changed my life.She said, Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. Im eighty-seven years old? Why are you in college at such an a

2、ge? I asked.I always dreamed of having a college education and now Im getting one! she told me.After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet and Ill never fo

3、rget what she taught us. She cleared her throat and began:We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy and achieving success.You have to laugh and find humor each and every day.Youve got to have a dream. Whe

4、n you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dead and they dont even know it!There is a giant difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and dont do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years

5、 old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesnt take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change. Have no regrets. The elderly usually dont have regrets f

6、or what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets.She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.At years end, Rose finished the college degree she

7、had begun all those years ago. One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that its never too late to be all you can possibly be.1. What is the meaning of “We became insta

8、nt friends” in Line 5?A. We became friends right after the class.B. We never talked to each other after then.C. We did not keep our friendship for a long time.D. We often helped each other after making friends.2. Rose was invited to speak at the football banquet most probably because _.A. she was a

9、great football fanB. she tried hard to achieve her dreamsC. she became more educated than the professorsD. she was an outstanding student at the university3. Rose will agree with the idea that _.A. growing older means growing upB. one can grow up without doing anythingC. it takes ones talent and abi

10、lity to grow upD. one grows older at the same time when he grows up4. According to Rose, people will not fear death when _.A. they fulfill all they want toB. they still have dreams to fulfillC. they become elderly peopleD. they find the chances in change5. The passage is intended to _.A. tell a movi

11、ng story about RoseB. discuss what to do to grow upC. instruct the readers how to live up to livesD. teach the readers how to realize their dreamsPassage 2 (Unit 2, Book II: Critical Thinking. Discovery)People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed. Its not ea

12、sy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive.Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of question. They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibits certain behaviors. There ar

13、e no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed. As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory. The controversy is often conveniently referred to as “nature/n

14、urture”.Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that out personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factor. That our environment has little, if anything to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory. Ta

15、ken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a great degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts.Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claim that our environment is more important than our biologicall

16、y based instincts in determining how we will act. Behaviorists see humans as being whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings. Their view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans respond to environmental stimuli as the basis of their be

17、havior.The social and political implications of these two theories are profound. In the United States, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligent test. This leads some “nature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically interior to whites. Behaviorists, in contr

18、ast, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often deprived of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that white enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do.Neither of these theories can yet fully explain huma

19、n behavior. In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes. That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain.1. The author is mainly concerned about solving the problem _.A. why our personalities and behaviors differB. what makes diffe

20、rent stages of intelligenceC. how social scientists form different theoriesD. what causes the “nature/nurture” controversy 2. The word “proponents” can best be replaced by _.A. approachesB. advocatesC. principlesD. characters3. Which of the following statement may be supported by the “nature” school

21、?A. We are born with certain personalities and behaviors.B. Environment has nothing to do with our personalities.C. Abilities and characteristics are revealed by behaviors.D. Only extreme behaviors are determined by instinct.4. What can we learn about the behaviorists?A. They believe human beings ar

22、e mechanical.B. They compare our behaviors to the machines.C. They suggest that we react to the environment as the machines do.D. They uphold that the mechanistic theory can be applied on us as well.5. The “nature” theorists believe that the blacks low scores _.A. are the result of the educational d

23、isadvantagesB. are a manifestation of the blacks poor intelligenceC. have nothing to do with their true intelligenceD. have nothing to do with factors other than heredityPassage 3 (Unit 3, Book II: Recycling. Environmental issues)Climbing to the top of my nearest hill in San Francisco, my purpose is

24、 not to enjoy the view but to experience a bit of fresh air and nature. Some birds dwell in these urban islands of trees, bushes and soil. So few people are there, but they are happy, relaxed and friendly (unless insane and out to rob). I find the view of San Francisco Bay and the metropolis most di

25、sturbing, seeing in all directions the industrial activity and oil-fueled trade of questionable imported products. Massive port facilities dwarf the human scale of sustainable import/export. A very small number of sailboats for pleasure cant quite offer a vision of renewable-energy travel and exchan

26、ge. Passenger planes take off, military jets show off their ear-splitting capabilities, all against the backdrop of polluted air that is warming in general thanks to commercial activity and the mindless consumption by the individual. The hills are full of roads and energy-wasting houses. Its not lik

27、e this everywhere; the hills around Kyoto are pitch black at night, for they consist of forest, trails and small, outdoor temples. Seven million people surround me in this metropolitan area. Those among them who really care whether Barry Bonds used steroids to hit baseballs, or what pregnant celebri

28、ty has checked into a drug rehabilitation facility, are not likely to be trying to live lightly on the planet. Normal citizens under the spell of mass media want to consume, and be given answers and easy fixes. Such citizens, I suspect, would argue about the color-coordination of the shoes and handb

29、ag of the person in front of them in the line, like sheep, to the slaughterhouse. For they are already there in line, as they want to know badly whats on cable TV and whats in the freezer to eat. They may get what they want tonight, and again, and again, but it will come to an abrupt end, and will p

30、eople pick up a shovel to plant food or pick up the gun to take others food? That depends on the area affected, the culture (urban U.S. or otherwise), and population size. Why should I be disturbed by what I see now, when all is basically calm? Or feel uneasy as I stroll about in the safety of my co

31、mfortable home? Is not San Francisco and the surrounding area a great city, with many wonderful people and activities to appreciate? What about the noble struggles of valiant, compromised hard-working people, or the dysfunctional and disabled folk who are really kind? The social injustice that is st

32、ill pervasive, in our boastful age of scientific and technological power, is outrageous and occupies many of the best hearts and minds in the world who live in our very midst. Much of what ails people, it is thought, is that they do not have enough cheap, affordable energy or material things that are supposed to both satisfy and uplift. More public funds for health care, through an end to costly, imperialist wars, would be the ticket to a healthy society, i