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If anyone knows what makes a great children's book, it must be Sussex author and illustrator(插图家) Jane Hissey. Her "Old Bear" books have achieved classic status in a variety of formats.
I caught up with Jane at her home in the East Sussex countryside and asked her what she thinks is the secret of a classic children's book. "That's a difficult one. I suppose it's got to be relevant to the child's stage of development-for young children, pictures on a page that are familiar, for older children, an experience. The book should be familiar, but hold some surprises too to keep the interest. It must inspire and delight, but there are the things that happen every day."
After the birth of her first child, she gave up teaching and worked on her own artwork, drawing pictures of teddy bears. An editor from a publishing company saw her work and invited Jane to do a children's book. Over the years, from the first "Old Bear" book in 1988, her children have made a huge contribution—not least in terms of plot. She said, "I used to give my children the toys to play with—and they had tea parties and so on. One of my bear characters, "Little Bear", is the same age as Ralph, my youngest, who's seven now. All the children have joined in my work and, in years to come, they will realize how much."
"I hope I'll know when people are getting tired of the characters. If ever they did, I think I'd go on drawing them for fun," Jane continued, "My own children have been very useful to me in my work, but as they are older now, I'll just have to hope that other people's children can inspire me. "
1.What is Jane's opinion about a successful children's book?
A. It contains something unexpected.
B. It offers an escape from everyday life.
C. It's attractive as children get older.
D. It's set in a place known to its readers.
2.Why did Jane take up book writing?
A. She got to know an editor.
B. Her husband encouraged her to try.
C. Her artwork attracted professional.
D. She wrote stories for her own children.
3.How did Jane's children assist her in her work?
A. By helping her concentrate on her work.
B. By telling her how they found her stories.
C. By suggesting characters for her stories.
D. By giving her ideas for her stories.
4.What is Jane's attitude towards her future work?
A. Encouraged. B. Uncertain. C. Tired. D. Unfit.
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It's long been thought that in order to succeed in life you need to think only of yourself and ignore the needs of others. New research, however, suggests the exact opposite is true and being nice to others actually makes you more likely to be successful. The scientists found that ‘givers’ were more likely to share knowledge, and in turn gain more information themselves.
Researchers divided participants into three groups based on a personality test: givers, takers and matchers. In a social dilemma task, participants were given a made-up donation which was equal to the amount of ￡ 240($400). They were then asked to decide how much of their money they would give to a shared group pool. They were told that the money in the pool would be doubled and divided equally among all group members. Thus, it would be more beneficial to the group as a whole if everyone contributed their individual donations. However, it would be more beneficial for the individual if everyone else from the group contributed,while the individual kept his or her own money. The researchers used this strategic (策略的) information sharing task to examine how much and which pieces of information participants shared: the less important and already known information or the really important information only known by the individual.
The results showed that givers are less self-centered and self-loving than takers. Givers shared not only more money with the group, but they also shared important information. Takers on the other hand kept both the money as well as different types of information.
The findings suggest that it may not be enough to simply provide knowledge management tools in order to make the best of knowledge exchange in a group of people. It may be necessary for leaders and managers to keep in mind the personality styles of their employees. Specifically, they should be aware that takers may keep the important information for themselves.
1.What is the traditional opinion about success?
A. Cooperating and communicating with others.
B. Sharing knowledge and information with others.
C. Being warm-hearted and enthusiastic to others.
D. Paying all attention to your own need.
2.What can we learn from the results of the personality test?
A. Being self-centered and self-loving were unpopular.
B. Both givers and takers benefited from each other.
C. Takers got more than givers in money and information.
D. Sharing in turn brings more money and important information.
3.What can be concluded from the last paragraph?
A. Knowledge exchange in a company is not enough.
B. Knowing the personality styles helps the development of the company.
C. Leaders should not share any information with his employees.
D. Employees often keep important information to themselves.
4.In which column of the newspaper will you find this passage?
A. Science. B. Entertainment.
C. Culture and art. D. Human nature.
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Can you imagine printing food? Some scientists are trying to revolutionize the dining experience by doing this. They hope that having a 3D printer in the kitchen will become as commonplace as the microwave. Scientists say that they are easy to use: you simply have to select a recipe and put the raw food "inks" into the printer. You can also change the instructions to make the food exactly how you want it. This means that it would be very quick and easy to create tasty and nutritious meals.
They say that if people used 3D printers to create meals there would be less need for traditional growing, transporting and packaging processes as food production would be a lot easier. For example, alternative ingredients (原料) such as proteins from insects could be changed into tasty products. And as is known, those traditional activities are not beneficial to our surroundings.
This technology could also help people who suffer from dysphagia (a swallowing disorder). The patients could program the printer and softer versions would be made so that they would not have trouble swallowing them.
However, some people think that using 3D-printed foods would be a disaster. It could take away many jobs, including those for growing, transporting and packaging food. Imagine a world where there was no need for farming or growing crops and the same tastes could be printed from a raw "food ink". Likewise, traditional cafes and restaurants might lose business. Also, there are concerns about the nutritional value of printed food: is it really possible to get the nutrients we need from food-based inks?
What's more, cooking and eating together with family and friends has long been a traditional and enjoyable activity. It is hard to imagine a world where the pastime of cooking is dead and meals can be created at the touch of a button.
1.What do scientists think of 3D food printing?
A. It is cheap to use it. B. It is environment-friendly.
C. It is advancing quickly. D. It needs improving.
2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
A. The printed foods. B. Their favorite foods.
C. The more nutritious foods. D. The more tasty foods.
3.What can we infer about the printed foods from Paragraph 4?
A. Their raw "food inks" are more nutritional.
B. People would get more jobs produced by them.
C. People need more evidence about their nutrition.
D. They would be bought in traditional restaurants.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. The growth of 3D food printing B. The future of 3D food printing
C. The 3D food printing business D. The two sides of 3D food printing
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Natural sites and historic buildings, when left alone, can slowly be in bad condition. 1.For these reasons we must protect them.
“World Heritage" is the title given to places chosen from natural sites and buildings around the world. These places are considered special, valuable and require protection. They may be places of nature or cultural heritages that are the pride of the people in the country. 2. Each is a treasure of our planet that must be protected for us and our future generations.
Even extremely beautiful natural environments can be in bad condition if they are left alone. 3.For instance, the Galapagos Islands are now protected by rules that stop people from bringing or removing plants and animals to or from the islands, moving rocks and touching the animals. In the US, people are not allowed to visit Grand Canyon National Park by vehicle. It aims to protect the park's environment from the gas produced by cars. 4. Australia is making stricter laws to prevent agricultural chemicals from flowing into the ocean near the Great Barrier Reef. Efforts are also being made to protect Natural Heritage sites in Japan. In Shiretoko, only a small number of people are allowed to walk on its nature path at the same time. 5.
A. They may also be home to endangered species(物种).
B. Today there are 183 Natural Heritage sites around the world.
C. People can change these places too, just as the wind and rain can.
D. Natural Heritage is valued for geographical characteristics and beautiful scenery.
E. That's why measures are being taken around the world to protect them.
F. It can reduce the risk of people accidentally stepping on valuable plants.
G. There are even security guards there who can arrest people that break the rules.
