高考英语限时阅读训练之八

高考英语限时阅读训练之八

（A）

No violence on TV

Hong Kong stars Nicolas Tse (谢霆锋) and Edison Chen (陈冠希) can be seen everywhere: magazines, newspapers, movies. But their latest action film might have trouble finding a place on prime time (黄金时间) TV.
　　 The movie, "The Moving Targets" (《青年干探》), is one of many violent films that will soon no longer be shown between 7 pm and 9 pm. In an attempt to protect young minds from violence, a new regulation issued by China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT, 广电总局) is to make prime time a forbidden zone.
　　 Directed by the famous Hong Kong film maker Wong Jing, "The Moving Targets" tells the story of two young detectives battling against gangsters. Unsurprisingly, it is full of explosions (爆炸), gun battles and street fighting. The movie was given a parental guidance (PG) rating in Hong Kong, and might now only appear after 9 pm on mainland TV screens. If it's a school night, most students will be fast asleep by the time it ends.
　　But despite this possible loss on entertainment, senior high school students in Beijing welcome the new rule, even boys who enjoy a good action movie."We think the regulation is for the benefit of teenagers like us, although we rarely watch TV at that time on weekdays," said She Fei, a Senior 1 student at Beijing Huiwen High School. "The prime time for TV channels is also the prime time for us to do our homework. Like many boys, I enjoy watching action movies, but I think violence has been over-played in recent years," She explained. "I'd like to watch more knowledge-based programmes like Samsung Intelligence Express (三星智力快车) on CCTV."
For millions of parents in China, the new rule has been a long time in coming. "Measures to clean up TV to protect our children should have been introduced years ago," said Liu Yingming, a teacher and mother of a Senior 1 boy in Xi'an. "We have already seen the negative effects of TV and movie violence on children.
　　　A juvenile delinquency (未成年人犯罪) case in Xi'an last month heard how a teenager was killed when 11 boys started a street fight. Aged as young as 13, they were armed with blades and daggers (匕首), local police said. The boys admitted that they were strongly affected by street fighting scenes in the Hong Kong gangster movie series "Young & Dangerous" (《蛊惑仔》). Many parents and teachers in Xi'an see this case as proof of the negative effect of TV and movie violence on teens.
　　 This bad influence includes the use of bad language first heard used on screen. "A s a result of watching unsuitable movies from Hollywood, many children do not speak English well," said Lu Ying, a teacher in Beijing. "But they are fluent in English swear words."
　　 The administration admitted the rule was introduced following requests from many parents. "They hoped the government could create a more healthy environment for children," said deputy minister Zhao Shi. "Domestic TV productions have become more violent."

Choosing what children see THE movie industry has praised the move to protect children from violence. But it argues that, without a proper rating (分级) system for films and TV, the new law is hard to put into practice (实施). Screenwriter Wang Xingdong suggested last March that children be forbidden from watching violent, overly sexual or other unsuitable movies in cinemas. His proposal has caused much debate in China since then. Many people in the movie business, including directors Zhang Yimou and Feng Xiaogang, agree on the need for a rating system for children. According to Wang, SARFT is working on a system to rate movies in three categories — all ages admitted, 15 years and over, and 18 years and over. Many other countries, such as the US, already have movie and TV programme rating systems. The system for American motion pictures, which was designed in 1968, has five rating categories. G GENERAL AUDIENCES All Ages Admitted PG PARENTAL GUIDANCE SUGGESTED Some Material May not Be Suitable for Children PG-13 PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED Some Material May Be Inappropriate for Children Under 13 NC-17 NO ONE 17 AND UNDER ADMITTED R RESTRICTED Under 17 Requires Accompanying Parent or Adult Guardian Meanwhile, the US system for TV programmes has six similar categories. The symbols appear on screen at the start of each programme.

 Spend 5 minutes fast reading and answer the following questions.
1) Why may the movie, "the Moving Targets", have trouble finding a place on prime time TV?
2) Why has the new regulation been issued?
3) Name the places that already have rating systems.
4) How are movies rated in the US?
5) What is the rating of the movie, "Terminator 3"?

(B)

Every dog has his say

KIMIKO Fukuda always wondered what her dog was trying to say. Whenever she put on makeup, it would pull at her sleeve.
　　Now, the Japanese girl thinks she knows. When the dog barks, she glances at a small electronic gadget (小机械). The following "human" translation appears on its screen: "Please take me with you."
　　I realized that's how he was feeling," says Fukuda.
　　The gadget is called Bowlingual, and it translates dog barks (吠) into feelings. People laughed when the Japanese toymaker Takara Company made the world's first dog-human translation machine in 2002. But 300,000 Japanese dog owners bought it. More customers are expected when the English version is launched this summer.
　　"Nobody else had thought about it," said Masahiko Kajita, who works for Takara, "We spend so much time training dogs to understand our orders; what would it be like if we could understand dogs?"
　　Bowlingual, one of US Time magazine's 42 coolest inventions of 2002, has two parts. A wireless microphone is attached to the dog's collar (项圈), which sends information to the gadget held by the owner. The translation is done in the gadget using a database (数据库) containing every kind of bark.
　　Based on animal behaviour research, these noises are divided into six categories (种类): happiness, sadness, frustration (沮丧), anger, declaration and desire.
　　Each one of these emotions is then linked to a phrase like "Let's play," "Look at me," or "Spend more time with me." In this way, the database scientifically matches a bark to an emotion, which is then translated into one of 200 phrases.
　　When a visitor went to Fukuda's house recently, the dog barked a loud "bow wow ([声]汪汪)." This translated as "Don't come this way". It was followed by "I'm stronger than you" as the dog growled(咆哮) and sniffed at the visitor.
　　The product will be available in US pet stores this summer for about US$120.
　　 It can store up to 100 barks, even recording the dog's emotions when the owner is away. Meanwhile, the Meowlingual, aimed at cat owners, will be available in November.
　　 However, the translations are never completely accurate.
　　 "We can't say it's 100 per cent right," said Yoko Watanabe of Takara. "You can't really understand how a dog feels unless you become one yourself."

1. When the dog growled at the visitor, it showed the emotion of _____.
   A. sadness B. frustration
   C. desire D. declaration
2. When the first dog-human translation machine came out, _______.
   A. it was expected to train dogs how to better understand our orders
   B. no one expected it to make money
   C. it sold much better than people thought
   D. the translation was in English
3. Which of the following is not contained in the Bowlingual machine?
   A. Dog's collar. B. A wireless microphone.
   C. A database. D. The gadget held by the owner
4. What is the meaning of the word “accurate” in the last paragraph but one?
   A. Clear. B. Correct. C. Occur. D. Considerate

（C）

Friends forever?

BRITAIN and France are separated by the English Channel, a body of water that can be crossed in as little as 20 minutes. But the cultures of the two countries sometimes seem to be miles apart.
　　Last Thursday Britain and France celebrated the 100th anniversary (周年纪念) of the signing of a friendship agreement called the Entente Cordiale. The agreement — signed in London on April 8, 1904 — marked a new beginning for the countries following centuries of wars and love-hate partnerships.
　　But their relationship has seen ups and downs over the past century. Just last year, there were fierce disagreements over the Iraq war — which British Prime Minister Tony Blair supported despite French President Jacques Chirac speaking out against it.
This discomfort is expressed in Blair and Chirac's body language at international meetings. While the French leader often greets German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder with a hug (拥抱), Blair just receives a handshake.
　 However, some political experts say the war in Iraq could in fact have helped ties. "The British population was against war," said Francois Heisbourg, director of the Paris-based Foundation for Strategic Research (战略研究基金会). "So it could have actually helped bring the two sides closer."
　 The history of divisions may well be because of the very different ways in which the two sides see the world.
　 "The French think Britain is not doing its best to become part of Europe by not introducing the single European currency (货币)," said Geoff Hare, a former lecturer in French politics and language at Newcastle University in Britain. "France has spent the past 15 to 20 years making itself seen as part of the European Union."
　　But this doesn't stop 12 million Britons taking holidays in France each year. However, only 3 million French come in the opposite direction.
　　Surveys show that most French people feel closer to the Germans than they do the British. And the research carried out in Britain has found that only a third of the population believes the French can be trusted.
　　Perhaps this bad feeling comes because the British dislike France's close relationship with Germany. Or because the French are not happy with Britain's close links with the US.
　　Whatever the answer, as both sides celebrate 100 years of "doubtful friendship", they are at least able to make jokes about each other.
　　Here's one: What's the best thing about Britain's relationship with France? The English Channel.

Read and answer:
1. What is this story about?
2. What does the joke in the last paragraph mean?

(D)

Try not to watch the clock

YOU have waited 40 minutes for the valuable 10-minute break between classes. But when the bell for the next class rings, you can't believe how quickly time has passed.
　　　If you are familiar with this scene, you'll know how time flies when you are having fun — and drags when you are bored. Now scientists have come up with a reason why this is the case.
Scans (扫描) have shown that patterns of activity in the brain change according to how we focus on a task.
　　When we are bored, we concentrate more on how time is passing. And this makes our brains think the clock is ticking (滴答作响) more slowly.
　　In a study conducted by a French laboratory, 12 volunteers watched an image while researchers monitored their brain activity using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI, 核磁共振成像) scans.
　　The volunteers were told to first concentrate on how long an image appeared for, then focus on the colour of the image, and thirdly, study both duration (持续的时间) and colour.
The results showed that the brain was more active when the volunteers paid attention to more subjects.
　　It is thought that if the brain is busy focusing on many aspects of a task, it has to spread its resources, and pays less attention to the clock.
　　Therefore, time passes without us really noticing it, and seems to go quickly.
　　 If the brain is not so active, it concentrates its full energies on monitoring the passing of time. As a result, time seems to drag.
　　 However, the researchers found that the more the volunteers concentrated on how long an image appeared for, the more accurate (准确) were their estimates (估计) of its duration.
Lead researcher Dr Jennifer Coull said many areas of the brain help estimate time. These areas also play a key role in controlling movement and preparing for action.
　　"This suggests that the brain may make sense of time as intervals (间隔) between movements," she explained. "For example, a musician marks time with his foot, while an athlete anticipates (预期) the sound of a starter's pistol (手枪)."
　　 Next time you feel bored in class, perhaps you should pay more attention to what the teacher is saying!

1. Why does time drag when you are bored? Because _____.
   A. patterns in our activities change
   B. your mind is elsewhere and estimates the time wrongly
   C. there's a clock ticking in your brain and, when you're bored, it ticks more slowly
   D. the brain then focuses on nothing but the passing of time
2. How did the scientists come up with a reason for the different feelings of passing time?
   A. By having volunteers watch an image.
   B. By scanning the pattern of brain activities in set tasks.
   C. By monitoring the clocks in the volunteers' brains.
   D. By monitoring the key areas of the volunteers' brains.
3.  Which of the following is true?
   A. The more subjects the volunteers focused on, the more accurate their estimates of time were.
   B. The brain estimates time through movements.
   C. The areas of the brain that help estimate time also help us control our movement.
   D. The fact that an athlete waits for the sound of a starter's pistol is used to explain how some areas of the brain are important in controlling movements.