Things are seldom what they seem.Skim milk masquerades as cream.Anil labor-saving household appliances often do not save labor.This is the surprising conclusion reached by a small army of historians, sociologists, and home economists who have undertaken, in recent years, to study the one form of work that has turned out to be most resistant to inquiry and analysis -?namely, housework. During the first half of the twentieth century, the average American household was transformed by the introduction of a group of machines that profoundly altered the daily lives of housewives.The forty years between 1920 and 1960 witnessed what might be called the "industrial revolution in the home".Where once there had been a wood or coal burning stove there now was a gas or electric range.The dryer replaced the clothes-line; the vacuum cleaner replaced the broom; the refrigerator replaced the icebox and the root cellar.No one had to chop wood any more. And yet American housewives in 1960, 1970, 1980 and even 1990 continued to log about the same number of hours at their work as their grandmothers and mothers had in 1910, 1920 and 1930.The earliest time studies of housewives date from the very same period in which time studies of other workers were becoming popular--the first three decades of the twentieth century.The sample sizes of these studies were usually quite small, and they did not always define housework in precisely the same way.but their results were more or less consistent; whether rural or urban, the average American housewife performed fifty to sixty hours of unpaid work in her home every week, and the only variable that significantly altered _ was the number of small children. A half-century later not much has changed.Survey research has become much more sophisticated, and sample sizes have grown considerably, but the results of the time remain consistent.The average American housewife, now armed with dozens of motors and thousands of electronic chips, still spends fifty to sixty hours a... Which of the following best describes the author's viewpoint? A) Housewives benefit a lot from the "industrial revolution in the home". B) Housewives generally resist being studied. C) Study of housework has revealed fruitful results. D) Housework is still a heavy burden for most housewives.
D
(Question)
The Red Cross is an international organization which cares for people who are in need of help. A man in a Paris hospital who needs blood, a woman in Mexico who was injured in an earthquake, and a family in India that lost their home in a storm may all be aided by the Red Cross. The Red Cross exists in almost every country around the world. The world Red Cross organizations are sometimes called the Red Crescent, the Red Mogen Daid, the Sun, and the Red Lion. All of these agencies share a common goal of trying to help people in need. The idea of forming an organization to help the sick and wounded during a war started with Jean Henri Dunant. In 1859, he observed how people were suffering on a battlefield in Italy. He wanted to help all the wounded people regardless of which side they were fighting for. The most important result of his work was an international treaty called the Geneva Convention . It protects prisoners of war, the sick and wounded, and other citizens during a war. The American Red Cross was set up by Clara Barton in 1881. Today the Red Cross in the United States provides a number of services for the public, such as helping people in need, teaching first aid and providing blood. We may draw a conclusion that _ during a war. A) the Red Cross only protects the wounded B) the Red Cross only helps prisoners of war C) the Red Cross only helps citizens D) the Red Cross helps all the people in need no matter which side they are fighting for
(Answer)
D
Ques: Even people who don't understand English can enjoy Chaplin's films because they are mostly silent. It isn't what he says that makes us laugh. It depends upon actions which mean the same thing to people all over the world. He is _ of the art - a kind of world language. As a young man, he and his brother traveled to America in a small company of actors. Chaplin was then invited to join a new company that was making film comedies. Very soon he had made dozens of short films for this company. And it was in his second film that he wore the clothes which made his reputation - black hat, tight coat, baggy trousers, huge shoes, moustache and walking stick. He intended simply to make people laugh. But the odd make-up made him look both comic and sad. By the time he was thirty, Chaplin was the greatest, best known and best loved comedian in the world. He received thousands of dollars for each film he made. He had formed his own manner of acting. He was welcomed by excited crowds wherever he went. But he worked very hard and had few close friends. Perhaps that is why the sad side of the little tramp began to show more clearly in the films he made. The little man began to want more than food and a roof over his head. He began to want love. In one of his most famous films "The Gold Rush" a girl plays tricks on the little man. Then she begins to feel sorry for him and treats him kindly. He mistakes her pity for love. The girl in "City Lights" is blind. She thinks he is the most wonderful man she has ever met. But then she recovers her sight and sees what a foolish figure he is. This sadness gives Chaplin's films a depth of human experience which few comedians can equal. After living in America for forty years he moved to Switzerland. There he died on Christmas Day 1977. He once described himself as a citizen of famous pictures that were made during the 1920s and 1930s, the time of the silent films. But, to many people all over the world Chaplin will always be the king of comedy. Charlie Chaplin had few friends because he _ . A) was famous B) didn't want to have friends C) was not good at making friends D) spent most of his time in working and had no time to make friends
Ans: D
The iPhone, the iPad, each of Apple's products sounds cool and has become a fashion. Apple has cleverly taken advantage of the power of the letter "i" -- and many other brands are following suit. The BBC's iPlayer -- which allows Web users to watch TV programs on the Internet -- adopted the title in 2008. A lovely bear -- popular in the US and UK -- that plays music and video is called "iTeddy". A slimmed-down version of London's Independent newspaper was launched last week under the name "i". In general, single-letter prefixes have been popular since the 1990s, when terms such as e-mail and e-commerce first came into use. Most "i" products are targeted at young people and considering the major readers of Independent's "i", it's no surprise that they've selected this fashionable name. But it's hard to see what's so special about the letter "i". Why not use "a", "b", or "c" instead? According to Tony Thorne, head of the Language Center at King's College, London, "i" works because its meaning has become ambiguous. When Apple uses "i", no one knows whether it means Internet, information, individual or interactive, Thorne told BBC Magazines. "Even when Apple created the iPod, it seems it didn't have one clear definition," he says. "However, thanks to Apple, the term is now associated with portability ."adds Thorne. Clearly the letter "i" also agrees with the idea that the Western World is centered on the individual. Each person believes they have their own needs, and we love personalized products for this reason. Along with "Google" and "blog", readers of BBC Magazines voted "i" as one of the top 20 words that have come to define the last decade. But as history shows, people grow tired of fads . From the 1900s to 1990s, products with "2000" in their names became fashionable as the year was associated with all things advanced and modern. However, as we entered the new century, the trend eventually disappeared. The writer suggests that _ . A) the popularity of "i" products may not last long B) "i" products are often of high quality C) iTeddy is a live bear popular in the US and UK D) the letter "b" replaces letter "i" to name the products
A