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It was a magic night until the spell was broken. time charm space opportunity
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They are trying to identify what is wrong with the present system. prove discover consider imagine
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Several windows had been smashed. cleaned replaced broken fixed
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She felt that she had done her good deed for the day. homework act justice model
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London quickly became a flourishing port. major large successful commercial
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His professional career spanned 16 years. started changed moved lasted
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His stomach felt hollow with fear. empty sincere respectful terrible
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The worst agonies of the war were now beginning. pains parts aspects results
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The group does not advocate the use of violence. limit regulate support oppose
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His knowledge of French is fair. very useful very limited quite good rather special
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The majority of people around here are decent. real honest normal wealthy
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He led a very moral life. honorable human intelligent natural
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The curriculum was too narrow and too rigid. hidden inflexible traditional official
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The committee was asked to render a report on the housing situation. copy furnish publish summarize
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Afterwards there was just a feeling of let-down. excitement anger calm disappointment
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The Most Wonderful Islands
The Palm Islands are the largest artificial islands in the world and are under construction in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. They are being developed as tourist, leisure, and residential resorts, and will increase the coastline of the country by 120 kilometres.
After four years of planning and careful consideration of the environmental issues, construction started in 2001. Dutch engineers with experience of reclaiming land from the sea were employed in the building of the first two islands. The site for all three islands is an area of the sea where the water is not very deep. Sand is taken from the seabed and sprayed into the construction site. Although the shallow water facilitates this process, the islands are still very exposed to the currents and tidal movements of the sea. Rocks are used to hold the sand in place resulting in a large crescent(月状的)structure. This acts as a breakwater and protects the islands from the sea.
The first two islands are in the shape of date palm trees and consist of a trunk and 17 fronds, or leaves, coming off the trunk. The first island, named Palm Jumeirah, has three five-star hotels in the trunk, and luxury homes in the leaves. It is astonishing that when these homes went on sale in 2004, they were all sold within three days.
The second palm, Jebel Ali, was started in 2002 and is designed to be an entertainment centre. Six marinas(小游艇船坞)are planned, with a water theme park, and homes built on stilts(桩柱)in the water.
The Palm Deira is planned to be the largest of the three islands, with a length of 14km and a width of 8. 5km, an area larger than the city of Paris. It will consist of residential properties, marinas, shopping malls, sports facilities and clubs. These will be open to both residents and tourists.
More artificial islands, the World Islands, are now being constructed near the Palm Jumeirah. They consist of 300 private islands grouped into the shape of the continents of the world and will be used for estates, private homes, community islands, and resorts.
Unquestionably, these artificial islands are one of the wonders of the modern world. They will also maintain Dubai’ s status as one of the leading tourist destinations in the region.
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A. a lot of money
B. a number of reasons
C. almost everything
D. his childhood memories
E. telling scary stories
F. making children laugh
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The Storyteller
1 Steven Spielberg has always had one goal: to tell as many interesting stories to as many people as possible. The son of a computer scientist and a pianist, Spielberg spent his early childhood in New Jersey and then Arizona. Some of his childhood memories became the inspiration for his filmmaking.
2 Even decades later, Spielberg says he has vivid memories of his earliest years, which are the origins of some of his most successful films. He believes that E. T. is the result of the difficult years leading up to his parent’ s 1966 divorce. He commented, “It is really about a young boy who was in search of some stability in his life. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind was inspired by times when the four-year-old Steven and his father would search the skies for meteors(流星). His mother remembers, “ He was scared of just about everything. When trees brushed against the house, he would jump into my bed. And that’ s just the kind of scary stuff he would put in films like Pottorgeist.
3 Spielberg was 11 when he first got his hands on his dad’ s movie camera and began shooting short flicks(电影)about flying saucers(飞碟)and World War H battles. These homemade movies gave him a way to escape his fears. From the very beginning, he had a creative imagination. With his talent for scary storytelling, he could terrify his three younger sisters. It also made it easier for him to make friendships. On Boy Scout camping trips, when night fell, young Steven became the center of attention. “Steven would start telling his ghost stories, “says Richard Y. Hoffman. Jr. , leader of Troop 294, “and everyone would suddenly get quiet so that they could all hear.
4 Spielberg moved to California with his father and went to high school there, but his grades were so bad that he barely graduated. Both UGLA and USC film schools rejected him, so he entered California State University at Long Beach because it was close to Hollywood. Spielberg was determined to make movies, and he managed to get an unpaid, non-credit internship(实习)in Hollywood. Soon he was given a contract and he dropped out of college. He never looked back.
5 Now, many years later, Spielberg is still telling stories with as much passion as when“he was a boy. Ask him where he gets his ideas, and Spielberg will shrug. “The process for me is mostly intuitive, “he says. “There are films that I feel that I need to make. And it’s for a variety of reasons, for personal reasons, or because I just want to have fun. Or maybe because the subject matter is cool, and I think that my kids will like it. “
A. An Aim of Life
B. A Funny Man
C. Inspirations for His Movies
D. Telling Stories to Make Friends
E. The Trouble of Making Movies
F. Getting Into the Movie Business
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The Worker’ s Role in Management
Traditionally, it has been the workers’ role to work and management’ s role to manage. Managers have planned and directed the firm’ s operations with little thought of consulting the labor force. Managers have rarely felt compelled(被迫的)to obtain the workers ’ opinions or to explain their decisions to their employees. At most, companies have provided “ suggestion boxes“ in which workers could place ideas for improving procedures. In recent years, however, many management specialists have been arguing that workers are more than sellers of labor—they have a vital stake in the company and may be able to make significant contributions to its management. Furthermore, major company decisions profoundly affect workers and their dependents. This is particularly true of plant closings, which may put thousands on the unemployment lines. Should workers, then, play a stronger role in management?
Workers should have a role in management. At the very least, the labor force should be informed of major policy decisions(A common complaint among rank-and-file workers is the lack of information about company policies and actions). Between 1980 and 1985 about five million workers were the victims of plant closings and permanent layoffs(失业)often with no warning. At least 90 days’ notice ought to be given in such instances so that workers have time to adjust. Management should consult workers before closing a plant, because the workers might be able to suggest ways of improving productivity and reducing costs and might be willing to make concessions that will help keep the plant operating.
It should become a general practice to include workers in some managerial decision making. There ought to be representatives of the workers on the firm’ s board of directors or other major policymaking groups. If rank-and-file workers are given a voice in the planning and management of the work flow, they will help to make improvements, their morale will rise, and their productivity will increase. As a further incentive, they must be given a share in the company’ s profits. This can be done through employee stockownership plans, bonuses, or rewards for efficiency and productivity. Finally, when a plant can no longer operate at a profit, the workers should be given the opportunity to purchase the plant and run it themselves.
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Approaches to Understanding Intelligences
It pays to be smart, but we are not all smart in the same way. You may be a talented musician, but you might not be a good reader. Each of us is different.
Psychologists disagree about what is intelligence and what are talents or personal abilities. Psychologists have two different views on intelligence. Some believe there is one general intelligence. Others believe there are many different intelligences.
Some psychologists say there is one type of intelligence that can be measured with IQ tests. These psychologists support their view with research that concludes that people who do well on one kind of test for mental ability do well on other tests. They do well on tests using words, numbers, or pictures. They do well on individual or group tests, and written or oral tests. Those who do poorly on one test, do the same on all tests.
Studies of the brain show that there is a biological basis for general intelligence. The brains of intelligent people use less energy during problem solving. The brain waves of people with higher intelligence showT a quicker reaction. Some researchers conclude that differences in intelligence result from differences in the speed and effectiveness of information processing by the brain.
Howard Gardner, a psychologist at the Harvard School of Education, has four children. He believes that all children are different and shouldn’ t be tested by one intelligence test. Although Gardner believes general intelligence exists, he doesn’ t think it tells much about the talents of a person outside of formal schooling. He thinks that the human mind has different intelligences. These intelligences allow us to solve the kinds of problems we are presented with in life. Each of us has different abilities within these intelligences. Gardner believes that the purpose of school should be to encourage development of all of our intelligences.
Gardner says that his theory is based on biology. For example, when one part of the brain is injured, other parts of the brain still work. People who cannot talk because of brain damage can still sing. So, there is not just one intelligence to lose. Gardner has identified 8 different kinds of intelligence: linguistic, mathematical, spatial, musical, interpersonal, intrapersonal, body-kinesthetic(身体动觉的), and naturalistic.
