It all begins with engagement. Traditionally, a young man asks the father of his sweetheart for permission to many her. If the father agrees, the man later proposes to her. Often he tries to surprise her by "popping the question" in a romantic way. Sometimes the couple just decides together that the time is fight to get married. The man usually gives his fiancée a diamond ring as a symbol of their engagement. They may be engaged for weeks, months or even years. As the big day approaches, bridal showers and bachelor' s parties provide many useful gifts. Today many couples also receive counseling during engagement. This prepares them for the challenges of married life.
At last it's time for the wedding. Although most weddings follow long-held traditions, there' s still room for American individualism. For example, the usual place for a wedding is in a church. But some people get married outdoors in a scenic spot. A few even have the ceremony while sky-diving or riding on horseback! The couple may invite hundreds of people or just a few close friends. They choose their own style. of colors, decorations and music during the ceremony. But some things rarely change. The bride usually wears a beautiful, long white wedding dress. She traditionally wears "something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue". The groom wears a formal suit or tuxedo. Several close friends participate in the ceremony as attendants, including the best man and the maid of honor.
As the ceremony begins, the groom and his attendants stand with the minister, facing the audience. Music signals the entrance of the bride' s attendants, followed by the beautiful bride. Nervously, the young couple repeats their vows. Traditionally, they promise to love each other "for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health". But sometimes the couple has composed their own vows. They give each other a gold ring to symbolize their marriage commitment. Finally the minister announces the big moment: "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride!"
At the wedding reception, the bride and groom greet their guests. Then they cut the wedding cake and feed each other a bite. Guests mingle while enjoying cake, punch and other treats. Later the bride throws her bouquet of flowers to a group of single girls. Tradition says mat the one who catches the bouquet will be the next to many. During the reception, playful friends "decorate" the couple' s car with tissue paper, tin cans and a "Just Married" sign. When the reception is over, the newlyweds nm to their "decorated" car and speed off. Many couples take a honeymoon, a one-to two-week vacation trip, to celebrate their new marriage.
Almost every culture has rituals to signal a change in one' s life. Marriage is one of the most basic life changes for people of all cultures. So it's no surprise to find many traditions about getting married ... even in America. Yet each couple follows the traditions in a way that is uniquely their own.
The word "business" occurs twice in the first paragraph, what does the second "business" mean?
A. Trade.
B. Affair.
C. Duty.
D. Right.
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SECTION B INTERVIEW
Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.
Now listen to the interview.
听力原文:Dr Simons: Well, as I said, there were three areas of interest, so perhaps we should take each in turn.
Presenter: Fine. Let's take the medical and physical evidence first.
Dr Simons: Mm. Well first of all, life expectancy. Although some very old individuals were encountered, and Rameses is a case in point-he was probably over 90! (Good Lord!) It seemed the average Egyptian died rather young. From about 30 to 35 years old on the whole, although the nobility, as might be expected, tended to live longer-some of them have been found to be 50 or 60 years old. Well, naturally, the older, they got the more medical problems were encountered, but some modern disorders have so far not been found. There is no evidence yet of any malignant tumours, for example, although the fact that most of the people studied were comparatively young could account for this. Another modern problem-dental decay-was also absent, probably due to the plain diet and absence of sugar, though there was another problem with the teeth caused by the same diet. The stones on which their flour was ground caused a lot of grit to get into the break and this eroded the teeth-so much that many older people must have suffered greatly and could have been confined to a liquid diet. An abscess on the jaw caused by this kind of erosion may in fact have contributed to the death of Rameses the Second. Analysis of the internal organs of several mummies has revealed that intestinal parasites were common, even among the upper classes (Really)-evidence of a generally low standard of public hygiene. And another widespread disorder was a form. of anemia. Naturally, the Ancient Egyptians didn't smoke, but er lesions of the lungs were widespread. These, however, are the sort that we associate today with workers in mines and quarries, and must be due in the case of the Egyptians, to living in sandy desert conditions. (Hm) Actually-on the smoking issue-there was a temporary sensation when traces of what appeared to be tobacco were found in Rameses, sarcophagus! But, er botanists later confirmed that it was not in fact tobacco itself, but a related plant which is native to Egypt. In the meantime, the cynics were commenting that it probably had come from the cigarette of some careless Egyptologist or museum attendant of the past!
Presenter: Hah, hah and what about their physical appearance?
Dr Simons: Well, very much what you would expect from seeing Egyptian art. They were light and slight in build. The average height for both men and women was about 1 metre 60-and er studies of the skeletons from which the covering of flesh can be extrapolated suggest that they weighed much less in relation to their height than most modern people-from about 10 to 15 kilograms less than someone of a similar height today is the estimate.
Presenter: And what about mummification?
Dr Simons: Ah well, the first thing to be said is that it wasn't always done in the same way and it was by no means infallible, as many people tend to think. Many bodies, including that of the famous king Tukanhamun, were almost entirely destroyed by overuse of one or other of the substances generally employed. The basic procedure was much the same however-most of the internal organs, including the brain, were removed and preserved separately in a jar. The brain was got out through the nose (uh) using a sort of hook. Presenter: Oh dear!
Dr Simons: Yes. It used to be thought that the heart was always removed too, but in the case of Rameses it was found in place. The body was then immersed in a substance called natron-that's a form. of sodium carbonate-which occurre
A. 32
B. 37
C. 50
D. 60
听力原文: Members of Parliaments in Britain have rejected a cut in the time limit for abortions from 24 to 22 weeks or lower. In a series of votes MPs decided by large majorities against moves to reduce the legal time limit for abortion to as little as 12 weeks. The debate in Parliament focused on whether modem medicine had in- creased survival rates of premature babies and in particular those born before 23 weeks.
When voting, the minorities agreed to cut the legal time limit for abortion to
A. 24 weeks.
B. 12 weeks.
C. 23 weeks.
D. 22 weeks.
And it is worth stressing that by engaging in activities which are by definition dosed to them, women can overturn social preconceptions and reassert their identity. Engaging in sport enriches women in terms of communication, feelings and sociability. It is certainly true that this process is largely determined by the position of women within a given society, and that they are still under-represented in countries where cultural and religious traditions limit their advancement. However, we will see more and more women choosing to take up a sport, whether this means breaking with the norms of their society or staying within them. Regardless of the path chosen, these women will become role models for many of their peers who see their actions as a contribution, however small, to their emancipation.
The Olympic Movement is firmly convinced of the need to encourage sports practice among women, and is working to that end, at the same time taking cultural specifics into account and accommodating them. Women must also play a greater part in decision making. It is our task to facilitate access for women to leadership positions within national and world sport, as it is through them that these ideas can be passed on to future generations, since women are still the privileged interlocutors for education in the broadest sense of the term.
Historically, and although the 1896 Olympic Games were not opened to women, they were already taking part in physical activities in the ancient times, and particularly in the competitions of the Her Games, staged specifically for them. Historical documents also show that Roman women were engaged in horse-tiding and swimming. During the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, women put leisure activities aside, as did men. But the following centuries were marked by renewed interest, until at the end of the nineteenth century women became more involved in sports activities by establishing their own clubs and taking up new sports. Women' s first participation in the Olympic Games goes back to 1900 when they took part in the tennis and golf events and in an increasing number of other sports in following years. We are pleased to see that Coubertin' s reservations did not prevent women from participating nor did it stop them from organizing their own Women' s Olympiad at Monaco in 1921 on the initiative A/ice Milliat, the great champion of women' s rights in European sport.
More generally since the 1970s, we have seen a rising awareness of the contribution of sport to well-being and in particular to that of women. Women' s sports associations and clubs have made their appearance mostly in the developed countries but also in developing ones. Thanks to the efforts of women and their struggle for equality, women' s competitive sport has gained full recognition.
As a result, women today took part in the Games of the XXVI Olympiad in the United States of America, in 1996, with a program of 21 sports, and 108 events, including 11 mixed events, and will compete in six sports and 31 events, including 2 mixed events, in the XVIII Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, in 1998. It was also with the aim of promoting women' s sport that the IOC decided tall sports seeking inclusion in the Oly
A. a competition among sportsmen
B. an event for everyone
C. a social force
D. the condition of women
听力原文: A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Island of Bermuda as Hurricane Bertha continues to chum in the Atlantic. The Category 1 storm is expected to dump up to two inches of rain as it passes by the south and east of the island. [10]In the meantime, the fifth named storm of the season, Elida, has formed off the Pacific coast of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center says Elida is packing winds of nearly 40 miles per hour and is about 400 miles southeast of Acapulco.
Together with Hurricane Elida, there have been ______ storms in this season.
A. fifteen
B. two
C. forty
D. five