In 490 B.C. the Greek messenger,  Pheidippides , ran about 40 kilometers from the town of “Marathon”to  Athens to announce the victory of  Athens over Macedon . Since then ,the 42–kilometer “Marathon”race has become a great test for athletes. However, for many years  , only men were allowed to run  this  race ,  because the distance was said to be unbearable for women. In 1966, an   American  women named Roberta Gibb proved that idea wrong.

Gibb had always enjoyed running .One day in 1964 , she saw the Boston Marathon happening as she was running in the woods. Since running meant a lot to her, she began training harder , hoping to join the marathon some day.

Gibb finally applied to run in the 1966 Boston Marathon, but she was not given entrance because the Boston Marathon Association considered that women were not strong enough to run 42  kilometers . Yet, this was no obstacle to Gibb, for she knew she had the physical and mental strength to complete the race .On the day the 1966 Boston Marathon was held , Gibb hid in the bushes and jumped into the race when it began. She finished the race in 3 hours and 21 minutes, defeating two thirds of the men in the race and proving that women could run the marathon.

Although what Gibb did was only to realize her dream, in doing so she showed the world that women could accomplish greater things than many people believed they could.

1.why were women forbidden to run the 42–km marathon ?

A．Training was only provided for men .

B．Women could not work as messengers.

C．Women were believed too weak to finish it.

D．It was a race held only for professional athletes

2.What  did  Roberta Gibb do to prepare herself for the  Boston Marathon ?

A．She dressed herself as a man.

B．She trained herself harder than before.

C．She found a job in the Boston Marathon Association .

D．She hid in the bushes, waiting for the end of the race.

3.What happened to Gibb in the 1966 Boston Marathon?

A．Her application wasn’t accepted.

B．She was asked to train harder .

C．Her determination amazed people.

D．She was welcome to run the race.

4.According to the text ,what can we learn from  Roberta Gibb’s story?

A．Most women ran slower than men in marathons.

B．Joining marathons is the best way to prove one’s strength.

C．It takes at least two years to train to become a marathon runner.

D．Women may be able to achieve greater things than they’re expected.

 

It’s really true what people say about English politeness: it’s everywhere. When squeezing  past someone in a narrow passage, people say “sorry”. When getting off a bus, English passengers say “thank you” rather than the driver. In Germany, people would never dream of doing these things. After all, squeezing past others is sometimes unavoidable, and the bus driver is only doing his job. I used to think the same way, without questioning it, until I started traveling to the British Isles, and here are some more polite ways of interacting  with people in UK.

People thank each other everywhere in England, all the time. When people buy something in a shop, customer and shop assistant in most cases thank each other twice or more. In Germany, it would be exceptional to hear more than one thank you in such a conversation. British students thank their lecturers when leaving the room. English employers thank their employees for doing their jobs, as opposite to Germans, who would normally think that paying their workers money is already enough.

Another thing I observed during my stay was that English people rarely criticize others. Even when I was working and mistakes were pointed out to me, my employers emphasized several times but none of their explanations were intended as criticism. It has been my impression that by avoiding criticism, English people are making an effort to make others feel comfortable. This also is showed in other ways. British men still open doors for women, and British men are more likely to treat women to a meal than German men. However, I do need to point out here that this applies to English men a bit more than it would to Scottish men! Yes, the latter are a bit tightfisted.

1.What is the author’s attitude towards English politeness?

A. He thinks it is unnecessary.                      B. He thinks little of it.

C. He appreciates it very much.                            D. He thinks it goes too far.

2.What can be inferred from the passage?

A. German men never treat a woman to dinner.

B. The author think it’s unnecessary to say “thank you” to the bus driver.

C. In Germany, employers often say “thank you” to employees for their job.

D. Germans think it is unnecessary to thank workers because payment is enough.

3.We can learn from the last paragraph that Scottish men ______.

A. like to fight with each other          

B. treat women in a polite way

C. are as generous as English men              

D. are unwilling to spend money for women

4.The author develops the text through the method of ______.

A. making comparisons   B. telling stories                  C. giving reasons    D. giving examples

 

 

Many Western people are not used to sitting on the floor any more. In Japan, however, sitting upright on the floor is common in different situations. For example, meals are traditionally had when people sit on the tatami (榻榻米) loor around a low table. Also during the tea ceremony and other traditional events, one sits on the floor.

    The formal way of sitting for both men and women is kneeling upright. People who are not used to sitting in this style may feel uncomfortable after a few minutes, and their legs may go numb. However, foreigners are not usually expected to be able to sit in this style for a long time, and an increasing number of Japanese people themselves aren’t able to do so, owing to a more westernized lifestyle.

    In other situations, men usually sit cross-legged, while women sit on their knees laying both legs to one side. The former sitting style is considered wholly male, while the latter is considered completely female.

    The most important guest sits on the honored seat which is set farthest from the entrance. If there is a tokonoma (壁龛) in the room, the guest should be seated in front of it. The host or the least important person is supposed to sit next to the entrance. Of course, there are other things to be considered in each particular case.

1. Which of the following situations is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A. When men and women meet.

B. When a tea ceremony is held.

C. When traditional events are held.

D. When meals are traditionally had.

2. According to the passage we can learn that ______.

A. more and more Japanese sit in the formal way

B. foreigners should always sit in the formal style in a Japanese home

C. men shouldn’t sit on their knees laying both legs to one side

D. men and women in Japan sit in the same informal way

3. When some guests are in a Japanese home, _______ should sit nearest to the entrance.

A. the host himself

B. both the host and the hostess

C. the host or the least important person

D. the most important guest

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A. How foreigners should sit in Japanese homes.

B. How foreigners should behave in Japanese homes.

C. Where to sit in Japanese homes.

D. How and where to sit in Japanese homes.

 

Britain has laws to make sure that women have the same chances as men in education, jobs and training. But it’s still unusual to find women doing dirty or heavy jobs.

Nikki Henriques is a car maintenance engineer in London. She used to be a secretary. Barty Philips, a journalist with “The Observer”, a Sunday newspaper, asked her why she wanted to work with cars.

“My first reason was independence(独立),” she said. “I also wanted to use my hands, and I like learning about how things work. Many people prefer to have a woman repair their cars, too.”

Nikki didn’t find it easy to become a car maintenance engineer. She went to a Government Skill Centre—a special sort of college where people can learn a new job for twenty weeks. “For ten weeks I was the only woman among four hundred men, and some of them were rude to me. It was also very tiring—from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, with only 30 minutes for lunch.”

Now Nikki works free-lance, that is, she’s self-employed, working for herself and not for a garage or a company.

Barty Phillips also spoke to Rose, who works as a general builder in Sheffield, an industrial town in the north of England. Like Nikki, Rose used to be a secretary. “I didn’t enjoy it at all.” she said. “I wanted to do more practical work, and I wanted to be self-employed.”

Rose joined a women’s building co-operative, and she learnt her job from other people and from experience. However, many of the women in her group have been specially trained. Most of the jobs they do are improvements to buildings and general repairs.

“People often say, ‘Oh, women aren’t strong enough,’ but I don’t think strength is important.” said Rose, “The important thing is to get used to doing a different sort of work.”

Rose would like more women to come into the building industry. “Everything built at the moment is a product of man’s world. If women become builders, they will be able to understand the production of their house and their towns.”

1.There are laws in Britain to help women _____.

A．get higher pay than men

B．enjoy more freedom than men

C．do whatever they like to do

D．have equal chances with men in education and work

2.The job of a car maintenance engineer is to _____.

A．make cars	B．sell cars
C．repair cars	D．keep cars for others

3.According to Rose, a woman wishing to be a general builder _____.

A．must be specially trained

B．should be strong enough

C．can learn her job either from others or by experience

D．must get used to doing a different sort of work

4.The best title for this passage might be _____.

A．Nikki Henriques, a car maintenance engineer

B．Rose, a General Builder in Shefield

C．Women at Work

D．British Women

 

In the past ten years, many scientists have studied the differences between men and women. And they all got the same answer: The sexes(性别) are different, because their brains are different. And this, the scientists say, makes men and women see the world in different ways.

Boys, for example, generally are better than girls at mathematical ideas. Boys also generally are better than girls at the kind of hand and eye movements necessary for ball sports. Girls, on the other hand generally start speaking earlier than boys. And they generally see better in the dark than boys and are better at learning foreign languages.

What makes men and women better at one thing or another? The answer is the brain. The brain has two sides connected by nerve(神经) tracks. The left side generally is used for mathematics, speech and writing. The right side is used for artistic creation(创造) and the expression for emotions(情感). In men and women, different areas in each side of the brain develop differently. In boys, for example, it’s the area used for mathematics. In girls, it is the area used for language skills. Another interesting difference is that the two sides of a man’s brain are connected by a smaller number of nerves than the two sides of a woman’s brain are.

1.Which of the following is the best title of the article?

A. Research on the Brain

B. Men and Women are Different in Brain

C. People’s Different Brains

D. Who Are Better, Boys or Girls

2.__________ men and women think differently.

A. The different brains make

B. Sex makes

C. The different experiences make

D. The influences(影响) of society make

3.According to the article, girls are generally better than boys at __________ in your school.

A. mathematics              B. physics     C. English                          D. chemistry

4.Which of the following is true?

A. The left side of brain in boys generally develops better than that in girls.

B. The left side of brain in girls generally develops better than that in boys.

C. Men are better than women in all things.

D. The area in girls used for language skills develops better.

5.60. The number of nerves connecting the two sides of the brain in men __________.

A. is the same as women’s

B. is different from women’s

C. is larger than women’s

D. is twice as large as women’s