This passage discusses the romanticization of wilderness in American thought. It argues that the idea of untouched, unworked wilderness is really a fantasy that comes from urban people disconnected from the land. For rural people who make their living from the land, the idea of wilderness as a place without human influence does not make sense. The passage also says that the American idea of wilderness represents an escape from history and the responsibilities of civilization. Overall, it critiques the romanticization of wilderness as an unrealistic and privileged urban perspective.
This passage discusses the romanticization of wilderness in American thought. It argues that the idea of untouched, unworked wilderness is really a fantasy that comes from urban people disconnected from the land. For rural people who make their living from the land, the idea of wilderness as a place without human influence does not make sense. The passage also says that the American idea of wilderness represents an escape from history and the responsibilities of civilization. Overall, it critiques the romanticization of wilderness as an unrealistic and privileged urban perspective.
This passage discusses the romanticization of wilderness in American thought. It argues that the idea of untouched, unworked wilderness is really a fantasy that comes from urban people disconnected from the land. For rural people who make their living from the land, the idea of wilderness as a place without human influence does not make sense. The passage also says that the American idea of wilderness represents an escape from history and the responsibilities of civilization. Overall, it critiques the romanticization of wilderness as an unrealistic and privileged urban perspective.
This passage discusses the romanticization of wilderness in American thought. It argues that the idea of untouched, unworked wilderness is really a fantasy that comes from urban people disconnected from the land. For rural people who make their living from the land, the idea of wilderness as a place without human influence does not make sense. The passage also says that the American idea of wilderness represents an escape from history and the responsibilities of civilization. Overall, it critiques the romanticization of wilderness as an unrealistic and privileged urban perspective.
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01-05 Choose one that is closest in meaning to the underlined expression.
01 Many scientists talk with relish about how insignificant we humans are when placed against the time scale of geology and the cosmos. trivial uncivilized unfathomable groundless short-sighted 02 The biggest European banks may finally have to own up to their losses. pay back compensate for cover up control admit 03 Finding my seat at last, I was overcome with a presentiment of worse things to come. puzzled frustrated overwhelmed determined relieved 2 04 The processes to which a dead body may be subjected are after all to some extent circumscribed by law. diverted protected bypassed restricted upheld 05 We need creative alternatives to the onslaught of talking heads, all saying much the same thing to docile audiences. cynical obedient bored intelligent innocent 06-10 Choose one that is best for the blank. 06 _______ the people who saw the painting thought it was fantastic. Every one Most Each All None 07 If you want to be good at writing complicated computer programs, you have to adopt a more _______ approach to your work. symptomatic systemic systematic syndical sympathetic 08 My book is _______ in the bedroom, but I am not quite sure where. everywhere anywhere nowhere wherever somewhere 09 I really need your help, so dont _______, please. let me through let me off let me out let me down let me in 10 My sister attempted to _______ light of my disapproval of her manners, but I said I was very serious. bring make speak talk throw 3 11-15 Choose one that is either ungrammatical or unacceptable. 11 A very ingenious invention comes from Canada, which enables the user to rest as comfortable as if lying on a bed, as it provides a rest for head, neck back, and elbow at the same time. 12 What I cannot forget is the way he had with an idea, the genuine curiosity with which he approached it, the pause while he gave his little thoughtful cough, and then the bulldog tenacity which he would argue his point. 13 Although the media were largely denied access with the battlefields, the Gulf War nevertheless gained the reputation of the first real-time television war, and the images projected into American homes helped to incite the most passionate war fever since World War . 14 At least part of their great secret is that they both live in the same country. White and black have shared that secret for a long time now, and has done an efficient job of keeping it from each other. 15 Alike most groups of the newly arrived or awakened, our faith in education and paper degrees also has yet to be shaken. 16 Choose the best for the blank. 16 According to the above passage, John is very _______. stingy generous considerate forgetful arrogant 16 John bought his wife a dustpan for a Christmas present. When his friends asked him about the brush to go with it, he replied, Oh, shes getting that for her birthday. 4 17 Choose the best for the blank. Time zone Money Baggage Amnesia Flight delay 18-50 Read the following passages and answer the questions. 18 The underlined expression suggests that so many others were _______. treated fairly by their families too authoritative in their homes nobodies in their homes uncooperative with their families, refusing to do housework a disgrace to their families 19 The best title of the passage would be _______. A Life of Devotion The Final Breakout The Dangers of Drug Abuse The Importance of Family Life An Illusion of Mutual Communication 17 _______ is a rich source of horror stories. There was the unlucky traveller who left Chicago in minus-23 weather. He was going to an important meeting in Dallas, where the temperature was 80-plus. Unfortunately his suitcase had gone to LA, where it spent the next two days. The customers he was trying to impress were more than a little surprised to see him going round in a thick suit, heavy overcoat and fur hat. 18-19 For years he had been hiding this knowledge, just as he had always pretended that he enjoyed nothing so much as his family life. How often had he boasted of the sympathetic devotion of his wife and children, saying how lucky he was compared with so many others, who found themselves ciphers in their own homes. Why, why had he gone on telling himself these lies? It was as if he had been drugged or was it simply that the air was so thick with nonsense, with cant, that it was almost impossible for any man to see the truth, even the biggest, the most obvious truth? Wasnt it simply by a stroke of luck that he had broken out into clear air? And as if the words themselves demanded the action, he put on his mackintosh and went out. 5 20 Which of the following would be best for the blank ? give adolescents as much freedom as they desire admit the aggressive behaviors of teenage children understand adolescents desire to copy their parents behavior stop copying teenagers in dress and action imitate teenagers in speech and behavior 21 Which of the following is most appropriate for the blank ? not to punish their children not to exaggerate the problems to set and stick to firm rules to stop talking with their children to behave like their own children 20-21 A leading psychiatrist has come out in defense of teenage aggression and the generation gap and advised parents to _______. Dr. Jonathan Gray, consultant psychiatrist at London Royal Hospital for Sick Children, told senior public school heads meeting yesterday: Parents who dress like their adolescent children are an embarrassment to them. And he outlined some of the most common cases where parents invited rather than avoided problems with their children. One example was that of a middle-aged mother who would dress up jeans and a tee-shirt to accompany her adolescent daughter to a discotheque. The daughter was almost certain to end up finding a boyfriend and marrying long before her mother gave up going to discos. Her daughter will grow up and achieve maturity before her mother, said Dr. Gray. He pointed out that adolescents need and respect a degree of pressure and control from parents even though they will bitterly resent it, and he advised parents _______. 6 22 The best title of the above passage would be _______. Illusions of Wilderness Preservation of Wilderness Revival of the Christian View of Wilderness Increasing Threat to Environment Landscape and the Decline of American Dream 23 According to the passage, which of the following is true? Supermarkets have encouraged urbanites to maintain a healthy relationship with the wilderness. Country people do not believe anymore that their real home is in the wilderness. Urban development had destroyed the romantic idea of the wilderness. Deserted wilderness had been caused by urbanites lack of historical knowledge. The notion of the wilderness has been invented and constructed. 22-23 In virtually all its manifestations, the American wilderness represents a flight from history. Seen as the original garden, it is a place outside time, from which human beings had to be ejected before the fallen world of history could properly begin. Seen as the frontier, it is a savage world at the dawn of civilization, whose transformation represents the very beginning of the national historical epic. Furthermore, the dream of unworked landscape is very much the fantasy of people who have never themselves had to work the land to make a living urban folk for whom food comes from a supermarket or a restaurant instead of a field, and for whom the wooden houses in which they live and work apparently have no meaningful connection to the forests in which trees grow and die. Only people whose relation to the land was already alienated could hold up wilderness as a model for human life in nature, for the romantic ideology of wilderness leaves no place in which human beings can actually make their living from the land. 7 24 The best title of the passage would be _______. Benefits of Scientific Progress Media and the Ethics of Cloning Medias Contribution to Anti-cloning Campaigns Sports and Scientific Determinism Regulation of Cloning through Laws 25 According to the passage, which of the following is true? Scientists are entitled to adopt the objective attitude towards moral controversy. The media seem to be obsessed with the idea of DNA as fate. Most scientists admit that cloning research needs to be limited. Most theologians have very little knowledge of science. There has been too much negative media attention on human cloning. 24-25 Perhaps the most significant problem with the media hyperbole concerning cloning is the easy assumption that humans simply are a product of their genes a view usually called genetic essentialism. Television hosts and radio personalities have asked whether it would be possible to stock an entire basketball team with clones of Michael Jordan. In response, philosophers, theologians, and other experts have reiterated wearily that, although human behavior undeniably has a genetic component, a host of other factors including uterine environment, family dynamics, social setting, diet, and other personal history play important roles in an individuals development. Consequently, a clone produced from the DNA of an outstanding athlete might not be interested in sports. Whats more, the cloning issue reveals the way in which the mass media foster attitudes of technological and scientific determinism by implying that scientific progress cannot be halted. Of course, many scientists share these attitudes, and, too often, they refuse to accept moral responsibility for their participation in research that may contribute to human suffering. 8 26 What is the tone of the passage? informative sentimental apologetic satirical gloomy 27 Which of the following would be best for the blank? our pictures are out of focus we dont visit the real places we are not in the picture we forget to bring the cameras we are not the professional photographers 28 According to the passage, which of the following is true? In Morocco, it is very hard to find the real Moroccans. The poor skill of amateur photographers often distorts the reality. Tourists tend to prefer modern Morocco to old-fashioned one. Travelling with camera encourages tourists to experience the unexpected things. Travelling with camera often narrows the minds of tourists. 26-28 The camera is the means by which we stamp ourselves on everything we see, under cover of recording the Wonders of the World already wonderfully recorded by professionals and on sale at every corner bookshop and newsagent. But what use to us an illustrated book of perfect photographs? What use to show our friends, back home, postcards of the Taj Mahal, the Coliseum, the Leaning Tower of Pisa since _______? No temple is of interest without our faces beside it, grinning. Most amateur photographers show no interest in the world as it is, only in the world as it ideally should be. For example, you want a picture of the Real Morocco a scene as old as time. Unfortunately for you, a glassy modern building edges up to the mosque; behind the minaret television aerials spike the sky; beside the camel two Moroccans in unsuitable Western suits stand discussing business. So you must stand and twist your camera, hold it up sideways, shift your position so that the little yellow lines just clear the building, just cut out the aerials and the telegraph wires, just exclude the business men while retaining the rest. And when all these alien elements have, for a precious moment, been obliterated, click. There, the Real Morocco. That is the summit of the amateur photographers art total unreality. The World As It Isnt. 9 29 The managing director eventually got angry with the middle managers because _______. they rejected his generous offer outright they were not open to the new ideas their performance did not meet the companys requirements they did not seem to appreciate his benevolent gesture they did not present the follow-up report in time 30 Which of the following would be best for the blank ? No one complained No one decided No one thanked me No one asked me No one helped me 31 Which of the following would be best for the blank ? consultation self development team building profit-making hierarchy 29-31 The managing director in a client company booked two of his middle managers on a team building seminar. This prestigious event was held in the opulence of a posh Manhattan hotel. The attendance fee was not much under $1,000 apiece, so the direct cost was over $2,000, plus the opportunity cost of their time. He had singled them out because they were both keen on and normally receptive to the idea of self development, they were hard workers and high flyers, and he wanted to send a clear message to them about how pleased he was with their performance. When he handed over their tickets, he received a response that could generously be described as lukewarm, and the only feedback he had from them after the event was that it had been all right. When he probed further, he discovered simmering resentment which could be paraphrased as We head up two of the best and smoothest functioning teams in the place. Why pick on us? What have we done wrong? Hardly able to credit such ingratitude our man went off in a huff and with the silent resolve to be less generous in the future. What went wrong? A major part of the answer is _______. It is not a question of pandering to egalitarianism. It is common sense. This approach is no more than a special case of the general principle: Where possible, involve everyone who is going to be affected by a decision. We operate in an age where _______ is, or should be, part of the fabric of work. This case shows that no matter how unfair it seems, it is a terrible mistake to think that it can be bypassed just because we are doing something nice. 10 32 The best title of the passage would be _______. History of Handwriting Analysis Recent Popularity of Graphlogy among Job-seekers Mythical Origin of Graphic Symbolism Digital Signatures as a Replacement for Handwriting Use of Graphology in Criminal Investigation 33 Which of the following is most appropriate for the blank? Moreover Therefore Obviously Officially Yet 34 According to the passage, which of the following is true? The government controlled handwriting practices because they often misled the general public. Michon was the first person to receive the research grant for the new field. Identifying the difference between the famous and the infamous is the most important task for graphologists. Graphology contributed to changing the superstitious minds of rural people. Graphology was often regarded as a simple fortune-telling skill. 32-34 An interesting aspect of graphic symbolism is the extent to which individual variations in letter formation can reliably be interpreted. The term graphology, which refers to the psychological study of handwriting, has been practised for over a century. It was the French abbot, Jean Hippolyte Michon, who first set this branch of scholarship in train. Graphologists claim that careful and detailed analysis of an individuals handwriting can reveal important information about an individuals personality and can indicate, for example, whether they are suitable for a particular job or not. In recent years they have been employed in several professional contexts and in forensic science, where questions of handwriting identity and imitation are critical. The subject plainly has the scope for scientific development, as variables such as letter size, shape, angle, line direction and consistency of stroke all lend themselves, in principle, to precise scientific description. _______ Graphology has suffered from scepticism generated by its popularity at agricultural shows and seaside resorts, where characters are described and fortunes foretold on the basis of little more than a scribbled signature. The subject has also been heavily biased towards the famous or infamous, discerning the basis of success in a signature but without objective controls. 11 35 When the above passage can be divided into three paragraphs, which would be the best boundaries? and and and and and 36 The underlined expression implies that the longer you watch TV, _______. the more informed you become the less moral you become the more excited you become the more of its content matters the less of its content matters 37 According to the passage, the author argues that _______. TV industry needs more intelligent program makers many people avoid TV documentaries because they do not contain any moral messages TV turns out to be no transformer of our minds and societies TV will have the greater impact on human civilization in the future TV is getting more and more successful as a moral educator 35-37 The nation has lived with TV for more than 50 years now. We are not, as it was once predicted we would be, fantastically well-informed about other cultures or about the origins of life on earth. People do not remember much from television documentary beyond how good it was. Only those who knew something about the subject in the first place retain the information. Documentaries are not what most people want to watch anyway. Television is at its most popular when it celebrates its own present. Its ideal subjects are those that need not be remembered and can be instantly replaced, where what matters most is what is happening now and what is going to happen next. Sport, news, panel games, cop shows, long-running soap operas, situation comedies these occupy us only for as long as they are on. However good or bad it is, a nights viewing is wonderfully forgettable. Its a little sleep, its Entertainment; our morals remain intact. The box is further neutralized by the sheer quantity people watch. Of course, some programs are infinitely better than others. There are gifted people working in television. But seen from a remoter perspective say, four hours a night viewing for three months the quality of individual programs means as much as the quality of each car in the rush-hour traffic. 12 38 The best title of the passage would be _______. Decline in the Quality of Education Implications of Recent Advertizing Campaign Political Responsibilities of Multi-national Companies History of Marketing Strategy Positive Impacts of Multi-national Companies on Education 39 According to the passage, which of the following is true? The new advertizement was prompted by the governments budget reduction in education. The new advertizement was revolutionary in that it targeted the government. The multi-national companies encouraged the government to provide more social services. The government criticized the multi-national companies intervention to childrens education. New multi-national companies tend to choose social responsibilities over profit-making. 40 The author is concerned most about the fact that _______. multi-national companies will affect the governments social policies multi-national companies will corrupt the morals of childrens education multi-national companies will gain more political power the new advertizement can put unfair economic pressure on the customers the new advertizement can expose the limits of the government as a social service provider 38-40 The first time it appeared it did not seem possible: a poster promising new school equipment for those children who collected labels from the cans of a certain brand of baked beans. It seems that things are now so bad in the aftermath of public sector spending cuts that a multi-national company was inviting us to eat our way to our childrens education facilities. If the state no longer proposes to provide, perhaps God has disposed the commercial hearts of giant business to find a way of doing so and making money at the same time. Yet this is a marketing revolution. The moral overtones of selling on the basis of making penny-pinched mothers aware that the more beans they buy, the better their childrens school facilities will be, are something new. Recently there has been a shift in attitudes among the multi-nationals themselves. They have begun to admit, rather than hide, how powerful they are as a social force. Now they are tending to set up departments within themselves, such as the Division for International Social Action at General Motors, or Shells recently formed committee to take care of social responsibility for the company. Conscience is beginning to make commercial sense. The baked beans poster campaign, though, raises questions which could shift marketing out of psychology and into domination. This campaign coming at a time when everyone is pressed for money as unemployment rises and the value of earnings evaporates in inflation adds the element of guilt. If you do not spend the money, your child may be deprived at school. 13 41 The best title of the passage would be _______. Decline of the Indian Art World Young Indian Artists in the West Growth of Commercial Galleries in Modern India Conflict between Curators and Artists in India New Breed of Indian Art Collectors 42 Which of the following is most appropriate for the blank? quality crisis demand money technology 41-42 The fine arts in India depended on royal patronage by the maharajahs and nawabs of Indias princely states well into the 20th century. After independence in 1947, the countrys few industrialist families became the most important collectors, but the field remained as insular as their privately held companies. Over the past 10 years, Indias economic boom created a new class of affluent, salaried professionals, particularly in technology companies. The collector base has really increased, says a curator and art consultant in New Delhi. There were more corporate executives with greater disposable income. But this new burst of demand rapidly pushed up prices and attracted speculators, generating a frenzy in India similar to the ones that engulfed the U.S. and European markets. Artists, too, developed unrealistic expectations. Everyone wants to be Damian Hirst overnight, says one Mumbai gallery owner. Buffeted by the global economic crisis, Indias art bubble has deflated, with some pieces fetching just a quarter of what they once sold for. But art-world insiders say thats not bad thing. The collapse has driven out both the investment-driven buyers and those artists who succumbed to the temptation to produce derivative work simply because it sold well. The _______ is coming back into collecting. 14 43 The best title of the passage would be _______. Far Bigger Challenges for Muslim Women Clothing as a Political Symbol in the Arab World Discrimination against Muslim Women in the West Obamas New Approach to U.S. Muslim Relations Growth of Secularism in Iran 44 According to the passage, Obama views the hijab as the matter of _______. personal choice cultural restraint uncivilized tradition male power female resistance 45 The author argues that _______. the hijab is the essence of what a Muslim woman is the West should pay more attention to the political struggles of Muslim women the education for Muslim women is far more important than Muslim womens clothes talking about the hijab should be stopped because it prevents Muslim women from participating in politics Obamas attitude to Muslim womens clothes is more flawed than Sarkozys attitude 43-45 Recently two presidents, Nicholas Sarkozy and Barack Obama, have taken up the issue of Muslim womens clothes in rather different ways. Sarkozy used Muslim dress as a nationalistic prop, seeing it as a threat to Frances eternal values. In 2004, France banned head scarves from schools and public buildings. In our country, said Sarkozy, We cannot accept that women are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of an identity. This is not the French republics idea of dignity. Obamas speech in Cairo took a different tack. His concern was not the hijab the Muslim womans head covering so much as a womans right to wear it if she so chose. Western countries, Obama said, cannot dictate the dress of Muslim women. Obama avoided any sense that American values and Islamic ones were in conflict. Instead, he offered a more porous vision of both Islam and the West, one in which Islam has always been a part of Americas story. It may sound fine. But by taking only of womens dress, he ignored the many challenges Muslim women face, such as polygamy, early marriage and honor killings across the Muslim world. In the weeks since the two speeches, Iran has shown the world a different, more muscular image of Muslim women. The Tehran protesters, in their emerald hijabs, were not human signboards for imposed conservatism, as Sarkozy might think. But nor did they fit Obamas formulation of Muslim womanhood, one which needed legal protection for the freedom to wear what it likes. Irans women are determinedly political actors, claiming fundamental rights, and deserving our support when they do so. When they risk their lives to claim such rights, what they wear is irrelevant. With Muslim women showing such involvement in basic political struggles, is it too much to hope that Western male leaders will find something more worthwhile to comment on than their clothes? 15 46 When the above passage can be divided into three paragraphs, which would be the best boundaries? and and and and and 47 Which of the following is most appropriate for the blank? stop driving immediately take further risks be more careful direct more attention to other vehicles be more relaxed 48 According to the passage, which of the following is true? Younger drivers are at more risk because they are proud of their driving skill. Busy interchanges are far more dangerous to sleepy drivers than motorways. Driving during the afternoon can be dangerous to older drivers. Anti-sleep driving devices tend to work better for older drivers than younger ones. Most drivers believe the length of the drive is less critical than the timing of the drive. 46-48 Falling asleep at the wheel could account for more than 20 percent of accidents on dull, monotonous roads such as motorways, according to a recent medical report. Typically, these involve running off the road or into the back of another vehicle, and are more likely to cause serious injury owing to the sleepy drivers failure to brake. Of course it is a fact that the bodys biological clock has a major influence, as these accidents peak at times when sleepiness is naturally higher. Men under 30 are the most vulnerable, as they are the drivers most typically out on the roads in the early hours. Apparently, they take more risks in driving while sleepy. In contrast, older people suffer from an early afternoon dip, when they are more at risk. Time-of-day was found to be as important as the length of the drive, yet practical advice to drivers often concentrates more on the length of the drive than its timing. Devices are now being marketed as in-car monitors of driver sleepiness, ostensibly to warn drivers, but doubts are being raised about these devices. What is the use of alerting drivers already aware that they are sleepy but who still persist in driving? What is more, these devices are of unproven reliability and may simply encourage drivers to _______. Not only does driving motivate tired drivers into putting more effort into remaining awake, but, in this kind of situation, sleep onset can be delayed and distorted. The best advice is either to find some reason not to drive at night, or to get the car off the road as soon as possible, if youre not feeling too bright and breezy! 16 49 Which of the following is most appropriate for the blank? forgetting the writing kits spending too much time working out one question being late for the exam not answering the questions as set not submitting the paper in time 50 According to the passage, which of the following is true? Some students have too much pride to admit that they failed the exams. Some exam candidates tend to add unnecessary materials to their answers. The worst nightmare for the examiners is the rude attitudes of the exam candidates. Writing at great length is always the best way for doing well on exams. The examiners are rarely affected by the poor handwriting of the exam candidates. 49-50 In the depths of every exam candidates nightmares lurks the toad-like examiner, dripping red ink all over the painfully written exam script and laughing fiendishly. But examiners are remarkably tolerant people. They all stress that they try to find good work and would far rather pass somebody than fail them. However, there are certain things which are guaranteed to irritate the most friendly of examiners. A chief examiner says, Any paper thats roughly presented starts off as a loser. How can we be fair to someone if we cant read what they have written? The one thing that most infuriates them all is _______. Some candidates pick out one or two words in the written question and they think, Ah, I remember those words, and just pour out what they did in class. It should be statutory that no exam candidate is allowed to pick up a pen for the first quarter of an hour. They should spend that time just making sure they understand whats wanted and then planning answers. Some pupils pride themselves on their ability to waffle but there are no prizes for writing a longer script than anybody else, so dont pad. On the other hand, its better to resort to waffle rather than leave one question out.