Unit 4 Making the news

Ⅰ .阅读理解

Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.

In the early 16th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.

Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?

Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家)，encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground. 1.The kings of France and England in the 16th century closed bath houses because____. A.they lived healthily in a dirty environment

B.they thought bath houses were too dirty to stay in C.they believed disease could be spread in public baths D.they considered bathing as the cause of skin disease

2.Which of the following best describes Henry IV’s attitude to bathing? A.Afraid. B.Curious.

C.Approving. D.Uninterested. 3.How does the passage mainly develop? A.By providing examples. B.By making comparisons.

C.By following the order of time.

D.By following the order of importance.

4.What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage? A.To stress the role of dirt.

B.To introduce the history of dirt.

C.To call attention to the danger of dirt. D.To present the change of views on dirt.

My grandmother was from a town in Michigan. I enjoyed staying with my grandparents when I was a young child. 5_______ People knew everyone, their kids, their pets and their ancestors. The relationship with them continued to grow as I grew and got older. 6________She would make little sandwiches and we’d have tea parties. She’d plant flowers and carefully tend them. I remember the small thimble she would use while doing her needlework. Placing her thimble on her finger she’d remark: “I wouldn’t want to sew without one.”

A few years ago when my grandmother passed away, I made farewell to a loving grandmother.

7_______ We had just had tea together a couple of months earlier, on her 91st birthday. I missed her very much, but I noticed it particularly on my birthday, as there was no card from my grandmother. She’d never forgotten my birthday!

On one particular birthday when I was feeling a little low, something happened to make me feel like she was sharing that special day with me. 8 __________They are what she had made, and suddenly I felt something inside one pillow. It was small and hard. I moved the object to a seam that I carefully opened, and to my delight out came a tiny silver thimble!

9______ Not realizing it had fallen off her finger, she sewed it in that little pillow that I just “happened” to place on my bedspread that day. I carefully laid the thimble alongside the others I’ve collected over the years, where I could continue to see the gift God chose to reveal to me.

What a precious memory of a very special lady who somehow, I knew, was delighted to sew her thimble inside my pillow!

Ⅱ.完形填空

Recently, one of my best friends, whom I’ve shared just about everything with since the first day of kindergarten, spent the weekend with me. Since I moved to a new town several years ago, we’ve both always 1 the few times a year when we can see each other.

Over the 2 , we spent hours and hours, staying up late into the night, talking about the people she was 3 around with. She started telling me stories about her new boyfriend, about how he experimented with 4 and was into other 5 behavior. I was blown away!She told me how she had been 6 to her parents about where she was going and even sneaking out to see this guy 7 they didn’t want her to keep in touch with him. No matter how hard I tried to tell her that she 8 better, she didn’t believe me. Her self-respect seemed to have disappeared.

I tried to 9 her that she was ruining her future and heading for big trouble. I felt like I was getting 10 . I just couldn’t believe that she really thought

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it was 11 to hang with a bunch of losers, especially her boyfriend.

By the time she left, I was really worried about her and 12 by the experience. It had been so frustrating, I had come 13 to telling her several times during the weekend that maybe we had just grown 14 far apart to continue our friendship—but I didn’t. I put the power of 15 to the ultimate test. We’d been friends for far too long. The chance was that she 16 me enough to know that I was trying to save her from hurting herself. I wanted to believe that our friendship could 17 anything.

A few days later, she called to say that she had thought long and hard about our 18 , and then she told me that she had 19 with her boyfriend. I just listened on the other end of the phone with tears of joy running down my face. It was one of the truly rewarding moments in my life. 20 had I been so proud of a friend. 1.A.worried about B.looked forward to C.paid attention to D.thought of 2.A.weekend B.months C.years D.days

3.A.working B.falling in love C.hanging D.keeping in touch 4.A.books B.girls C.friends D.drugs

5.A.self-destructive B.self-respecting C.self-confident D.self-defensive 6.A.explaining B.reasoning C.declaring D.lying 7.A.when B.but C.because D.what 8.A.did B.deserved C.had D.got

9.A.tell B.convince C.force D.warn

10.A.somewhere B.everywhere C.nowhere D.anywhere 11.A.acceptable B.believable C.reliable D.admirable 12.A.exhausted B.surprised C.satisfied D.terrified 13.A.almost B.nearly C.close D.over 14.A.very B.too C.so D.quite

15.A.love B.friendship C.truth D.justice 16.A.thought B.remembered C.valued D.hated 17.A.mean B.conquer

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