At some time in your life you may have a strong desire to do something strange or terrible. However, chances are that you don't act on your impulse , but let it pass instead. You know that to take the action is wrong in some way and that other people will not accept your behavior. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the phenomenon of taboo behavior is how it can change over the years within the same society, how certain behavior and attitudes once considered taboo can become perfectly acceptable and natural at another point in time. Topics such as death, for example, were once considered so upsetting and unpleasant that it was a taboo to even talk about them. Now with the publication of important books such as On Death and Dying and Learning to Say Goodbye, people have become more aware of the importance of expressing feelings about death and, as a result, are more willing to talk about this taboo subject. One of the newest taboos in American society is the topic of fat. Unlike many other taboos, fat is a topic that Americans talk about constantly. It's not taboo to talk about fat; it's taboo to be fat. The "in" look is thin, not fat. In the work world, most companies prefer youthful-looking, trim executives to sell their image as well as their products to the public. The thin look is associated with youth, vigor, and success. The fat person, on the other hand, is thought of as lazy and lacking in energy, self-discipline, and self-respect. In an image-conscious society like the U.S., thin is "in", fat is "out". It's not surprising, then, that millions of Americans have become obsessed with staying slim and "in shape". The pursuit of a youthful physical appearance is not, however, the only reason for America's fascination with diet and exercise. Recent research has shown the critical importance of diet and exercise for personal health. As in most technologically developed nations, the life-style of North Americans has changed dramatically during the course of the last century. Modern machines do all the... The topic of fat is _ many other taboo subjects. A) the same as B) different from C) more boring than D) less often talked about than
B
(Question)
The 9.2magnitude earthquake which caused the tsunami in the Indian Ocean on Boxing Day last year occurred at 7:58 a.m.,95 miles off the west coast of Aceh, Indonesia. Eighteen minutes later.10-metre high waves crashed the ashore along a 500----mile-long stretch of Aceh. Two hours later the tsunami hit Thailand and Malaysia and then Burma, Bangladesh, India,the Maldives,Sri Lanka,Kenya and Somalia.The final death toll is thought to be about 280,000,with tens of thousands more listed as missing.More than l.8 million people lost their homes. *What Is Tsunami? A tsunami is a chain of fast moving waves caused by a sudden strong quake in the ocean.They can be caused by earthquakes,volcanic eruptions ,or even the collision of meteorites .Tsunamis are also incorrectly known as tidal waves,but unlike tidal waves they are not caused by changes in the tides. They are also most common around the edge of the Pacific,where more than half of the world's volcanoes are found.These fast moving waves can attack coastlines,often with little or no warning.Rocks weighing as much as 20 metric tonnes have been pulled from sea walls and carried l 80m inland. *Wave Power Atsunami can have a wavelength in excess of 1 00km and there may be an hour between them.They travel at great speeds across an ocean with hardly any energy losses and are barely noticeable out at sea. Over the deep Pacific Ocean,a tsunami travels at about 800kph.If an earthquake happened in Los Angeles.a tsunami could hit Tokyo quicker than you could fly between the cities by jet. *Strange Animal Behaviors Ten days before giant waves slammed into Sri Lanka and India coastlines,wild and domestic animals seemed to know what was about to happen and fled to safety. Elephants screamed and ran for higher ground. Dogs refused to go outdoors. Zoo animals rushed into their shelters and could not be enticed to come back out. ..Which of the following is a characteristic of a tsunami? A) Having a lot of small waves linked together. B) The waves of a tsunami travel extremely fast. C) The waves of a tsunami can be found in the distance. D) The power of the waves becomes stronger and stronger as a tsunami travels.
(Answer)
B
66-year-old Dai once worked as a boat tracker along the Yangtze River. "It was something that required brute strength,but not that alone, "Dai said at his home in Xialong village, which sits at the entrance to Wuxia Gorge, one of the famous Three Gorges in Southwest China. "You needed a lot of skills to do what we did." When outboard motors became available in the 1980's,boat trackers became a thing of the past. Today, they are seen only occasionally along the river during festivals and cultural events. However, Dai can still remember a time when being pulled by tracker along the Yangtze was the only way for people to travel from village to village in the mountainous Wushan county. Due to the area's rich mining resources,his services were vital for companies that wanted to ship their goods. "I was 15 or 16 when I started", said the retiree,explaining that his father also worked as a tracker. "He died in 1964, when I was a teenager. I can't even remember us tracking together, but we did. It was so long ago." Dai said that boats crews worked in teams with a first, second and third master. The first master was the most essential because he sat in the boat and steered it along the safest route. "It was a key role. He had to guide the boat past jagged rocks and whirlpools," he said, adding that first masters were often the most experienced boatmen and the most familiar with the Yangtzer River. "My tracker days were dangerous," Dai said. "If the boat got caught in a whirlpool, it could have swallowed the boat and all the trackers down with it. The same thing would have happened if the halter broke." Dai's days as a tracker finally came to an end when his family invested in a motorboat in the early 1980s. He successfully applied for a license from Wushan shortly after. What does the passage mainly tell about? A) Dai's miserable life in the old society. B) Dai and his father. C) Dai's past life as a tracker. D) Dai's happy life.
C