a级

第四十四篇

americans get touchy

the new york times recently reported that american teens are hugging practically everyone they see．say goodbye to the greetings of the past, from the hands-off "what's up!" to the handshake or high-five．for young people across the country, hugging is the new "hello"．

girls are hugging girls．boys are hugging boys．girls and boys are hugging each other．and, like every major trend, there are lots of variations on the form．there's the classic, full-body, arms-around-the-person bear hug，the casual one-armed side hug, the group hug and the hug from behind．there's the handshake that turns into a hug and the hug that turns into a pat on the back．

as trends go, this one seems pretty innocent．but some parents, teachers and school administrators are worried nonetheless．will young people who aren't as comfortable with physical contact feel peer pressured into hugging? will kids who don't receive hugs feel left out? could an extra-long hug slide into the more ominous territory of sexual harassment?

in response to some of these concerns, some schools have set up new rules to limit or eliminate hugging．one school head has created a three-second limitation for hugs at her school．a few schools have taken even more drastic measures, placing a ban on all forms of touching between students．

a few important points are being left out of the discussion．while the us has traditionally been reserved about touching－saving hugs and kisses for relatives, romantic partners and very close friends－people in many other parts of the world have been greeting each other this way for ages．

in latin america or western europe, in countries like spain, france, and italy, a kiss on the cheek is common among women, as well as among women and men who are not romantically involved. the cheek-kiss varies by region．

sometimes it is just an air kiss blown past the face．in other places, the proper way of greeting is to deliver a kiss upon both cheeks, or sometimes even a triplet of kisses performed by kissing one cheek, then the other, then back to the first．

latin american men are more likely to shake hands when greeting other men,but in some countries like turkey, it's not unusual for men who know each other well to exchange kisses on the cheek. meanwhile, for the maori people of new zealand, a traditional greeting called the "hongi" involves pressing noses together．

so, from a global perspective, the new trend of teen hugging in america is not so "new" after all．people all around the world move in close to say hello, and americans are just now joining in．

 

练习：

1． the word "practically" in the first paragraph could be best replaced by

a) certainly 一定地

b) nearly  几乎差不多

c) actively  积极地，活跃地

d) voluntarily  自愿地

 

2． which of the following is not among the typical ways of greetings in the past?

a) hands off "what's up"

b) handshake

c) high-five

d) embrace

1 the new york times recently reported that american teens are hugging practically everyone they see．say goodbye to the greetings of the past, from the hands-off "what's up!" to the handshake or high-five．for young people across the country, hugging is the new "hello"．

 

3． some parents, teachers and school administrators concern the new trend of hugging for the following reasons except：

a) some young people get involved into the trend due to peer pressure．

b) those who don't receive hugs feel left out．

c) there's the danger that hugging slide into the more ominous territory of sexual harassment．

d) diseases could be transmitted more easily through the extra-long body contact．

3as trends go, this one seems pretty innocent．but some parents, teachers and school administrators are worried nonetheless．will young people who aren't as comfortable with physical contact feel peer pressured into hugging? will kids who don't receive hugs feel left out? could an extra-long hug slide into the more ominous  不利的territory of sexual harassment?

4． which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

a) teenagers across the us hug everyone they see in nearly the same way．

b) although some adults worry about the trend, few measures have been taken to ban on it．

c) traditionally, the us people have been reserved about hugging between anybody．

d) in some countries, it's usual for men to kiss each other on the cheek．

从答案入手

b 4 in response to some of these concerns, some schools have set up new rules to limit or eliminate hugging．one school head has created a three-second limitation for hugs at her school．a few schools have taken even more drastic measures, placing a ban on all forms of touching between students．

c 1 the new york times recently reported that american teens are hugging practically everyone they see．say goodbye to the greetings of the past, from the hands-off "what's up!" to the handshake or high-five．for young people across the country, hugging is the new "hello"．

d 6 in latin americal拉丁语 or western europe, in countries like spain, france, and italy, a kiss on the cheek is common among women, as well as among women and men who are not romantically浪漫的 involved. the cheek-kiss varies by region．

 

5． we can infer that the author holds a attitude toward the new trend of hugging

a) positive  肯定的

b) negative   否定的

c) indifferent  不同的

d) conservative保守的

9 so, from a global perspective远景, the new trend of teen hugging in america is not so "new" after all．people all around the world move in close to say hello, and americans are just now joining in．

第四十五篇

women staying in mini-skirts for longer

british women are happy nowadays to wear mini-skirts up until the age of 40, according to research by debenhams．just 20 years ago, few women would dare to wear a mini-skirl after the age of 33, the store said．"it shows that women now have an increasing confidence in their bodies and are happy to dress accordingly," it added in a statement．

"if this trend continues, there's no doubt that, within the next decade, women in their mid 40s and early 50s will rightly regard a mini-skirt as an essential part of their everyday wardrobe．"

the figures emerged when the store examined the latest age profile of women buying short, 36-cm skirts over the past six months．their results show that it has jumped from an average age of 36-years-old at the start of millennium to 40 today．figures from 1980 showed that on average women stopped buying minis when they reached 33 years old -- a figure unchanged from the mid-960s．

the store noted that experts believe that the popularity of intensive gym culture, providing women with well toned bodies for longer may be the reason，the increasing, number of british women living on their own may also be a facto．

the debenhams' study showed that a modern woman's love affair with a miniskirt begins at the age of 14 but that she doesn't buy her first one until the age of 16．instead, she flouts school rules by rolling up the waistband of the school uniform to give the impression of wearing a mini skirt．

skirts get shorter between the ages of 16 and 19, reducing in size from 46 to 36 cm before reaching their shortest, a mere 32 cm, at the age of 23．skirt length increases slightly between the ages of 23 and 27, rising to 37 cm, possibly due to girls being in their first stable relationship, with no desire to attract attention, the store said．

however, it found short skirts suddenly zoom in popularity between the ages of 27 and 34, as those early relationships break down, and new relationships are formed．the move into longer skirts begins irreversibly at 40 years old, when 46-cm skirts, still slightly above the knee are the norm．from then on, skirt length increases dramatically, falling below the knee for the very first time since school days at the age of 42．

 

练习：

1． debenhams could most possibly be

a) a fashion magazine

b) a lifestyle association

c) an expert on trends

d) a department store

1 british women are happy nowadays to wear mini-skirts up until the age of 40, according to research by debenhams．just 20 years ago, few women would dare to wear a mini-skirl after the age of 33, the store said．"it shows that women now have an increasing confidence in their bodies and are happy to dress accordingly," it added in a statement．

3the figures emerged when the store examined the latest age profile of women buying short, 36-cm skirts over the past six months．their results show that it has jumped from an average age of 36-years-old at the start of millennium to 40 today．figures from 1980 showed that on average women stopped buying minis when they reached 33 years old -- a figure unchanged from the mid-960s．

 

2． according to the passage, british women are happy to wear mini-skirts up until an old age because of the following reasons except：

a) women are more and more confident in their bodies．

b) women nowadays pay much more attention to body building, and this provides them with well toned bodies to wear mini-skirts．

c) the climate of great britain are getting warmer in recent years, thus women can wear minis for a longer time．

d) more and more women are now living on their own．

先从答案入手

a 1 british women are happy nowadays to wear mini-skirts up until the age of 40, according to research by debenhams．just 20 years ago, few women would dare to wear a mini-skirl after the age of 33, the store said．"it shows that women now have an increasing confidence in their bodies and are happy to dress accordingly," it added in a statement．

b4 the store noted that experts believe that the popularity of intensive gym健身房 culture, providing women with well toned bodies for longer may be the reason，the increasing, number of british women living on their own may also be a facto．

 

3． we can infer from the second and third paragraph that in 1970s

a) a lot of women dared to wear mini-skirts at the age of 40．

b) most women between 33 and 36 were still happy to wear mini-skirts．

c) even women in their early 50s rightly regarded a mini-skirt as an essential part of their everyday wardrobe．

d) most women no longer wore mini-skirts when they reach the age of 33．

 

2"if this trend continues, there's no doubt that, within the next decade, women in their mid 40s and early 50s will rightly regard a mini-skirt as an essential part of their everyday wardrobe．"

3the figures emerged when the store examined the latest age profile of women buying short, 36-cm skirts over the past six months．their results show that it has jumped from an average age of 36-years-old at the start of millennium to 40 today．figures from 1980 showed that on average women stopped buying minis when they reached 33 years old -- a figure unchanged from the mid-1960s．

4． which of the following statements about the length of the mini-skirts is true?

a) at the age of 14, girls often wear mini-skirts which are about 46cm in size．

b) girls at the age of 19 wear the shortest mini-skirts．

c) at the age of 23, most girls wear mini-skirts which are 37cm long．

d) from the age of 23, skirt length increases because girls are in their first stable relationship．

6 skirts get shorter between the ages of 16 and 19, reducing in size form 46 to 36 cm before reaching their shortest, a mere 32 cm, at the age of 23．skirt length increases slightly between the ages of 23 and 27, rising to 37 cm, possibly due to girls being in their first stable relationship, with no desire to attract attention, the store said．

 

5． the word "zoom" in the first sentence of the last paragraph can be best replaced by: 急速上升

a) soar    高飞，高涨

b) decrease    减少

c) hold steady  牢固的保持

d) drop    下降，终止