大学英语快速阅读教程(第一册第六单元)

Book OneUnit SixPassage OneDirections: You will have 10 minutes to read this passage quickly and answer the following questions from A, B, C and D. You should decide on the best choice.Choose the Perfect Christmas TreeHow to pick the perfect specimen and care for it over the holidays?Nothing adds to the excitement of the holiday season like a decorated Christmas tree. And, now that natural trees have been declared the winner in the “which-is-greener” debate, you’ll want one that reflects your own style.Enviro-winnerNatural Christmas trees are more enviro-friendly for several reasons. According to Ross Gough, executive director of the Christmas Tree Farmers of Ontario, “If composted corr ectly, a natural Christmas tree will break down within two years so there is nothing for the landfill. Buying natural also means you’re supporting a local farmer and reducing your carbon footprint.”Back to the basicsNot only will you be doing your bit fo r the environment you’ll also be in vogue. “With the downturn in the economy, people want to keep things simple but beautiful. Nothing looks better or is more authentic than a natural Christmas tree,” says Lena Maher, a Montreal-based eco- decorator and event planner.Choose your typeThere are four basic types of trees sold at farms and nurseries:Scotch pine: Brought over by European settlers, the Scotch pine has been the perennial favourite throughout North America. Its sturdy branches that curve upwards mean this tree can handle plenty of ornaments. Needles are in sharp clusters of two with colours ranging from blue-green to yellow-green. It has decent needle retention, but it requires plenty of pesticides to get a healthy tree, so it’s falling out of favour.Balsam fir: With its dense, dark-green foliage, the balsam is quickly becoming the new darling of natural trees. It’s tall but narrow pyramid shape is topped off with a spire-like tip—perfect for a star. The flat, rounded needles are softer, making it one of the easiest to decorate so you can get the kids to help. It’s also very aromatic, holding its scent and needles for longer than most other trees. An excellent choice if your tree is going to be up longer than three weeks.White spruce: This tree has strong slender branches with dense green to bluish-green foliage. It has a perfect form with a symmetrical, cone-shaped crown and evenly spreading branches. Needles are short, stiff and blunt at the end, so it can be a bit prickly to decorate. It has excellent needle retention, but its one downside is a rather disagreeable odour when the needles are crushed.Fraser fir: Similar in shape to the balsam, the Fraser fir is quickly becoming the designer natural tree. It has a rich, dark green foliage with soft silver undertones. Its upper branches have a gentle upward curve, giving it a pleasing U-shape. It’s pleasant scent and ultra-soft needles with good retention are also a plus. Due to its longer growing cycle, this will be a much more expensivetreeDon’t procrastinateAvoid leaving tree shopping until the last minute. After December 15, the best trees will be gone. “Two weeks before Christmas is the optimum time for picking your tree. Many cut-your-own farms will be running out of stock by then,” say s Gough.Caring for your treeForget the ginger ale, aspirin, sugar water or bleach. A study done by The Natural Christmas Christmas Tree Association proved that plain H20 is the best solution to prolong the life of your tree. “Solutions like sugar water actually create a seal and prevent the cells between the bark and the wood from taking up water and your tree will dry out quicker,” says Gough.Gough’s tree tipsWhen you get the tree home, immediately cut between half an inch to one inch off the bottom.Make sure your stand is big enough for your tree.Water your tree immediately. It’s going to be thirsty, so start off with four litres and keep topping that up.As soon as the needles start of drop, your tree is done. Pack it up and send it out to be recycled. Ask your tree farm for a tree bag. These convenient bags rest underneath the tree so when you are done you simply pull the bag up around the tree and put it outside with no pine needle trails.(694 words) Questions1.Why does Scotch pine fall out of favour?A) It can handle plenty of ornaments.B) Its needles are in sharp clusters of two.C) It has decent needle retention.D) It requires plenty of pesticides to get a healthy tree.2.is an excellent choice if your tree is going to be up longer than three weeks.A)Balsam fir B) White spruce C) Fraser fir D). Scotch pine3. will emit a rather disagreeable odour when the needles are crushed.A) Balsam fir B) White spruce C) Fraser fir D) Scotch pine4. upper branches have a gentle upward curve, giving it a pleasing U-shape.A) Balsam fir’s B) White spruce’s C) Fraser fir’s D) Scotch pine’s5. When is the optimum time for picking your Christmas tree?A) Dec.15. B) Dec.17. C) Dec.25. D) Two weeks before Christmas.Passage TwoDirections: In this part,y ou will have 10 minutes to go over the passage quickly and decide questions 1-8 according to the passa ge. If it is true you fill “T” in the parenthesis, ifnot or false fill “F” in parenthesis before the sentence.The Human Brain—New DiscoveriesParts of the BrainMost of us learn basic facts about the human brain in our middle or high school biology cla sses. We study the subcortex, the “old brain”, which is found in the brains of most animals and is responsible for basic functions such as breathing, eating, drinking, and sleeping. We learn about the neocortex, the “new brain”, which is unique to humans a nd is where complex brain activity takes place. We find that the cerebrum, which is responsible for all active thought, is divided into two parts, or hemispheres. The left hemisphere, generally, manages the right side of the body: it is responsible for logical thinking. The right hemisphere manages the left side of the body: this hemisphere controls emotional, creative, and artistic functions. Recent research is shedding light on creativity, memory, maturity, gender, and the relationship between mind and body.Left Brain/Right Brain: CreativityPsychologists agree that most of us have creative ability that’s greater than what we use in daily life. In other words, we can be more creative than we realize! The problem is that we use mainly one hemisphere of our brain—the left.Memory—True or False?In the 1980s in the United States, there were many cases of adults, who suddenly remembered, with the help of a psychologist, things that had happened to them in childhood. These memories had been repressed—held back—for many years. Some of these newly discovered memories have sent people to prison. As people remember crimes (such as murder or rape) that they saw or experienced as children, the police have re-opened and investigated old criminal cases. In fact, over 700 cases have been filed that are based on these repressed memories.However, studies in the 1990s suggested that many of these might be false memories. It is known that small pieces of a memory (sound, sight, feeling, and so on) are kept in different parts of the brain; the limbic system, in the middle of the brain, pulls these pieces together into one complete memory. But it’s certain that people can “remember” things that have never happened. Most frightening, according to Dr. Michael Nash of the Unive rsity of Tennessee, is that “there may be no structural difference” in the brain between a false memory and a true one.The Teen BrainThe traditional belief was that by the age of 8 to 12, the brain was completely mature. However, very recent studies provide evidence that the brain of a teenager differs from that of both children and adults. According to Jay Giedd of the National Institute of Mental Health, “Maturation does not stop at age 10, but continues into the teen years” and beyond. In fact, Giedd and his colleagues found that the corpus callosum “continues growing into your 20s.” Because, it is believed, the corpus callosum is involved in self-awareness and intelligence, the new studies imply that teens may not be as fully self-aware or as intelligent as they will be later. Other researchers at McLean Hospital in Massachusetts, have found that teenagers are not able (as adults are) to “read” emotions on people’s faces.Differences in Male and Female BrainsWatch a group of children as they play. Yo u’ll probably notice that, the boys and girls play differently, speak differently and are interested in different things. When they grow into men and women, the differences do not disappear. Many scientists are now studying the origins of these gender differences. Some are searching for an explanation in the human brain. Some of their findings are interesting. For example, they’ve found that more men than women are left-handed; this reflects the dominance of the brain’s right hemisphere. By contrast, more w omen listen equally with both ears while men listen mainly with the right ear. Men are better at reading a map without having to rotate it. Women are better at reading the emotions of people in photographs.Wired for Music?It might seem logical to believe that our appreciation of music is learned—that nurture, not nature, determines this. However, it is now clear that nature also plays a role; recent studies indicate that the human brain is “wired” for music. Music might actually improve some forms of intelligence. A 1999 study proves that music can help children do better at math —not, oddly, other subjects, just math.The Mystery of the Mind-Body RelationshipThere is more and more evidence everyday to prove that our minds and bodies are closely connected. Negative emotions, such as loneliness, depression, and helplessness, are believed to cause a higher rate of sickness and death. Similarly, it’s possible that positive thinking can help people remain good physical health or become well faster after an illness. Although some doctors are doubtful about this, most accept the success of new therapies (e.g., relaxation and meditation) that help people with problems such as ulcers, high blood pressure, insomnia (sleeplessness), and migraine headaches.(824 words) True or False( ) 1. Different parts of the brain control different activities or parts of the body.( ) 2. The main idea of this article is the new discoveries in human brain function.( ) 3. Most people probably don’t use all their creative ability.( ) 4. Newly discovered memories from childhood are false memories.( ) 5. The human brain is mature by the age of twelve.( ) 6. There is no real difference between the brains of males and those of females.( ) 7. Music can make children clever.( ) 8. Most doctors believe our minds and bodies are closely connected.Passage Three:Directions: In this part, you’ll have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions followed. For questions 1-7, mark Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with theinformation given in the passage. N (for NO) if the statement contradicts theinformation given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not givenin passage three. For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the informationgiven in the passage.Feeding a CityNothing to Buy!It snowed all day and all night, for two days and two nights. By the third day there was four feet of snow in the street. Many streets were blocked by the snow. Cars and trucks could not get through. Some food stores weren’t open, and others did not have much food to sell. Only a little canned food was left on the shelves, and a little frozen food in the freezers.The city’s food moves on wheels. If the trucks can’t run, no food reaches the stores. Any time the trucks cannot make deliveries, there is trouble. Soon there is nothing to buy.Today most people live in cities and do not grow their own food. Their food must be bought in stores.Protecting Food from AirThe air contains many living things that can harm our food. Some things, such as insects, can be seen only with a microscope.All living things need water. We can protect some of our food by drying it. Living things can grow only at certain temperatures. We can also protect our food by heating or cooling it.We can keep some living things away from our food by wrapping it.Icebox CarsIn the old days, fresh food had to be eaten in the city no more than one or two days after it left the farm. If kept longer, it would spoil. Food could not be moved very far, so people in one part of the country could not enjoy food grown in other parts.A New York man had an idea. He filled a wooden railroad car with eight tons of butter. The car was hooked to a freight train and pulled from New York to Boston, Massachusetts.How could this be? The butter was packed in ice, and twice during the trip, more ice was added. This was the first “refrigerator” car.Now there are mechanical refrigerator cars. But most refrigerator cars still use ice. Many refrigerator cars have fans that keep the cool air moving through the car. In this his way, all the food stays at the same temperature.This Little Piggy Went to MarketAnimals that will be used for food must travel in special livestock trucks. These trucks do not have solid sides; there are large openings so that the animals can get enough air. The animals must be given water on the trip.These trucks can get very hot on a summer day. If the trip is long, the animals can lose weight. To keep this from happening, the trucks have sprinklers that sprinkle water on the animals to keep them cool.Frozen FoodsSome foods, such as fish, spoil very quickly. This food must be frozen before it is shipped.If fresh food is frozen quickly, its taste is not changed very much. There are factories that freeze fish as soon as it is taken off the fishing boats. It is shipped in refrigerator trucks to the cities.Tanks of MilkFresh milk does not travel far, and it needs very special handling. It is not put into containers on the farms. It is put into huge, refrigerated tank trucks. The tank is made of stainless steel, which is kept very clean.These trucks travel to the bottling plants in the city. There the milk is pasteurized to remove any bacteria before it is put into bottles. It is then sent to the stores in a refrigerator truck.CanningNapoleon knew that his army needed a way to save food. Fresh food could not be prepared every day. He offered a prize to anyone who could find the best way to preserve food for the French army.Nicholas Appert, who lived in Paris, came up with the idea of canning. He used glass bottles with tight corks.Glass bottles broke too easily, so people started using tin cans.Canning, today, is done in factories that are very close to the farms. This way, the food can be done while it is still fresh, and it is cheaper than shipping fresh food all the way to the city. The food in cans has been cooked, and the cans are tightly sealed to keep bacteria out.From Farm to YouFresh, frozen, dried, canned—food comes rushing into the city stores from everywhere. But most stores do not have the space to keep much extra food. So trucks must deliver food to them day after day. Cities are for people. People are the most important part of a city. And people must be fed.(764 words) Questions( ) 1. People in the city can’t buy anything from the food store because of the heavy snow. ( ) 2. Th e city’s food is served by the city people.( ) 3. Bacteria is visible to the naked eye.( ) 4. In the old days, food could not be moved very far, so people in one part of the country could not enjoy food grown in other parts.( ) 5. The first “refrigerator” car was born in 1956.( ) 6. The livestock trucks do not have solid sides.( ) 7. Sweet, ripe strawberries are often transported by air from California to the East Coast on planes.Fill in the blanks8. We can protect some of our food by drying it, or .9. The milk is to remove any bacteria before it is put into bottles.10. came up with the idea of canning.Passage FourDirections: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions. For questions 1-7, choose the best answer from the four choices marked A),B), C) and D). For questions 8-10, complete the sentences with the information givenin the passage.Young blog their way to a publishing revolutionThe extent of the personal publishing revolution has been revealed by a Guardian/ICM poll showing that a third of all young people online have launched (发动，开办) their own blog or website.Millions of young people who have grown up with the internet and mobile phones are no longer content with the one-way traffic of traditional media. They are publishing and collecting their own content, according to the survey of those aged between 14 and 21.A generation has grown up using the internet as its primary means of communication, thanks to an early grasp of online communities and messaging services as well as simple technology allowing web users to launch a personal weblog, or blog, without any specialist technical knowledge. On average, people between 14 and 21 spend almost eight hours a week online, but it is far from a solitary (独自的) activity. There are signs of a significant generation gap, and rather than using the internet as their parents do——as an information source, to shop or to read newspapers online—most young people are using it to communicate with one another.About half of that time is spent chatting to friends in online communities or using messaging services, while another hour is spent emailing. The internet may be a window into their personal field, but it is not a window on the world for young people: only one in 10 say they use it to keep up with news and current affairs.This trend towards online communication has already shown itself among music fans, with enthusiastic new communities forming around the latest bands often before they have even released a single or been heard on the radio. According to the survey, those aged between 14 and 21 download an average of 34 tracks a month from the internet and buy an average of two CDs. Of those with internet access at home, almost eight in 10 have a broadband connection. The explosion in cheaper high-speed internet access, which allows quicker access to music and video files and is typically charged at a flat monthly rate, has led to a sudden increase in the time web users spend online.The media regulator Ofcom said this year that more than 8m households are now connected to broadband. According to the poll, six in 10 young people have internet access at home, with a quarter of those having their own computer in their bedroom. Many more have access at school, college or university. But among those with a web connection at home, 31% said that they had launched their own personal site or blog. Those aged 16 to 17 have taken most eagerly to personal online publishing, with a female bias (趋势，偏爱).Some will have started personal sites with basic personal information or centered around music or sport, while others have become mini publishing magnates（巨头）before leaving school. Earlier this year, the tracking site Technorati revealed that a new blog was created every second.The results also lay bare the confusing pace of change in media consumption among young people and outline the challenge faced by traditional publishers and broadcasters.Rupert Murdoch, who recently spent £332.85m on the youth networking site , issued a “change or die” warning to an audience of US editors earlier this year. Admitting that the media industry had been “remarkably, unaccountably complacent (得意的)”, he described the shift in attitudes as “a revolution in the way young people are accessing news”.“They don’t want to rely on the morning paper for their up-to-date information. They don’t want to rely on a God-like figure from above to tell them wh at’s important. And to carry the religion analogy a bit further, they certainly don’t want news presented as gospel (福音书)”, he said.Only one in 10 said they used the internet to read the news, with most preferring to use it as a means of expression and communication. More than half said they read a newspaper at least once a week, rising to seven in 10 by the age of 21. Their preference, most probably often influenced by their parents’ choice of paper, was for the Sun, followed by the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail. The survey showed 96% of those questioned owned a mobile phone, and two-thirds had a games console.(752words) Questions:1. A third of all young people online have their own blog or website according to aGuardian/ICM poll, which shows ________.A) the development of the personal publishing revolutionB) the increase of the internet usersC) the internet revolutionD) the development of personal publishing2. The young can launch their own blog because of ________.A) an early understanding of online communities and messaging servicesB) an early grasp of the technologyC) the simple technologyD) both A and C3. The parents of young people usually use internet to _______.A) communicate with othersB) share their information with othersC) get informationD) email others4. “it is not a window on the world for young people” means________.A) young people don’t like the worldB) young people don’t use internet to keep up with the worldC) young people mostly use internet to communicate with othersD) young people take the internet as a window of the world5. There is a sudden increase in the time web users spend online ________.A) because the internet access is charged at a flat monthly rateB) because of the cheaper high-speed internet accessC) because the internet allows quicker access to music and video filesD) because of the personal publishing6. Among the young people, who like personal online publishing most?A) Those aged 16 to 21.B) Those aged 16 to 17.C) The female.D) The male.7. What are included in personal sites mentioned in the passage?A) novel and news.B) magnates and sport.C) music and bandsD) music and personal informationFill in the blanks8. The results from Technorati also show the confusing pace of change in _________________among young people.9. Rupert Murdoch warned US editors earlier this year that if they didn’t want to die theymust ________.10. Many young people by the age of 21 prefer reading the Sun, the Daily Mirror and Daily Mailprobably because of ______________.Notes1. Blog: 网志（Web log，缩写Blog），又译为网络日志、博客，是一种通常由个人管理、不定期张贴新的文章、或的网站。