Museums in the Modern World
Museums have changed. They are no longer places for the privileged few or for bored vacationers to visit on rainy days. Action and democracy are words used in descriptions of museums now.
At a science museum in Ontario， Canada， you can feel your hair stand on end as harmless electricity passes through your body. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City， you can look at 17th century instruments while listening to their music. At the Modern Museum in Sweden， you can put on costumes provided by the Stockholm Opera. As these examples show， museums are reaching out to new audiences， particularly the young， the poor， and the less educated members of the population. As a result， attendance is increasing.
More and more， museums directors are realizing that people learn best when they can somehow become part of what they are seeing. In many science museums， for example， there are no guided tours. The visitor is encouraged to touch， listen， operate， and experiment so as to discover scientific principles for himself. He can have the experience of operating a spaceship or a computer. He can experiment with glass blowing and paper making. The purpose is not only to provide fun but also to help people feel at home in the world of science. The theory is that people who do not understand science will probably fear it， and those who fear science will not use it to best advantage. Many museums now provide educational services and children s departments. In addition to the usual displays， they also offer film showings and dance programs. Instead of being places that one “should” visit， they are places to enjoy.
One cause of all these changes is the increase in wealth and leisure time. Another cause is the rising percentage of young people in the population. Many of these young people are college students or college graduates. They are better educated than their parents. They see things in a new and different way. They are not content to stand and look at works of are; they want art they can participate in. The same is true of science and history. In the US， certain groups who formerly were too poor to care about anything beyond the basic needs of daily life are now becoming curious about the world around them. The young people in these groups， like young people in general， have benefited from a better education than their parents received. All these groups， and the rest of the population as well， have been influenced by television， which has taught them about other places and other times.
The effect of all this has been to change existing museums and to encourage the building of new ones. In the US and Canada alone， there are now more than 6，000 museums， almost twice as many as there were 25 years ago. About half of them are devoted to history， and the rest are evenly divided between the arts and sciences. The number of visitors， according to the American Association of museums， has risen to more than 700 million a year.
In fact， the crowds of visitors at some museums are creating a major problem. Admission to museums has always been either free or very inexpensive， but now some museums are charging entrance fees for the first time or raising their prices. Even when raised， however， entrance fees are generally too low to support a museum， with its usually large building and its highly trained staff.
1. Paragraph 2________.
2. Paragraph 3________.
3. Paragraph 4________.
4. Paragraph 5________.
A Causes of changes
B Increasing number of museums and visitors
C Museums getting closer to more spectators
D Movies shown in museums
E New notions about the management of museumsF Places to visit
5. Now museums are no longer restricted to the privileged few， but________.
6. With the development of society， people， especially the young people， _________.
7. To meet the needs of society， more museums________.
8. Two major problems for museums are that they have too many visitors and they ________.
A have higher demands of museums
B are open to more people with different social background
C to lengthen their opening hours
D charge too little for admission
E have been built and open to public
KEY： C E A B B A E D
Architecture is to building as literature is to the printed word. The best buildings are often so well constructed that they outlast their original use. They then survive not only as beautiful objects， but as documents of the history of cultures. These achievements are never wholly the work of individuals. Architecture is a social art.
The renaissance brought about an entirely new age， not only in philosophy and literature but in the visual arts as well. In architecture， the principles and styles of ancient Greece and Rome were brought back to life and reinterpreted. They remain dominant until the 20th century.
Many kinds of stone are used as building materials. Stone and marble were chosen for important monuments because they are not burnable and can be expected to endure. Stone architecture was often blended with stone sculpture. The use of stone has declined， however， because a number of other materials are more adaptable to industrial use.
The complexity of modern life calls for a variety of building. More people live in mass housing and go to work in large office buildings; they spend their income in large shopping centers， send their children to many different kinds of schools， and when they are sick they go to specialized hospitals and clinics. All theses different types of buildings accumulated experiences needed by their designers.
By the middle of the 20th century， modern architecture， which was influenced by new technology and mass production， was dealing with increasingly complex social needs. Important characteristics of modern architectural works are expanses of glass and the use of reinforced concrete. Advances in elevator technology， air conditioning， and electric lighting have all had important effects.
EXERCISE：
1. Paragraph 2_____________.
2. Paragraph 3_____________.
3. Paragraph 4_____________.
4. Paragraph 5_____________.
A Building materials
B Need of greater building varieties in modern life
C Restoration of ancient civilizations
D Evolution in style
E factors affecting modern architecture
F A social art
5.Some buildings ar
e so well constructed that they are not only useful______.
6.Ancient Greek and Roman architectural styles， which were restored during renaissance， were still influential _____.
7. As modern life becomes more complex， people have to put up many different kinds of buildings _____.
8. The use of new building materials and the introduction of such new technology as the elevator and the air-conditioner have played an important role ______.
A to meet their needs
B but also beautiful to look at
C in the development of modern architecture
D to design more buildings
E even in the 20th century
F to outlast their original use
參考答案： C A B E B E A C
Old Man Myths and Realities
1 When does a middle-aged man become an old man? Officially, of course, it's when we reach retirement age. But, as we all know, this is a fairly blunt （生硬的） method of decision making. As life expectancy （預(yù)期壽命） increases, retirement planning needs to be changed. This is because being an old man today is very different from what it was a generation or so ago.
2 Sixty-five is the new middle-aged man. These days people are talking about the young-old, that is ages 70-75, and those over 75 as the old-old. The young-old frequently continue in good health and maintain strong links with friends and family. The old-old have a much higher chance of poor health and social isolation.
3 Although men are living longer, there are still more old women than old men. This fact alone should arouse interest as to why. Relatively little is actually known about why this is the case or about the experiences of the old man. Sure, we are aware that the old man experiences anxiety, financial problems, loneliness, etc., but that's really about all we know.
4 It is usually believed that the old man often complains about their health. In fact, most rate their health as good even though most are diagnosed with at least one chronic illness. The physical health of the old man is strongly affected by their health behavior when they were younger.
1 Paragraph 1
2 Paragraph 2
3 Paragraph 3
4 Paragraph 4
A New definitions of the old man
B Changing concept of the old man
C Health of the old man
D Happy old man and sad old man
E Limited knowledge of the old man's experiences
F Contempt for the old man
5 Nowadays men generally live longer than
6 A man in his mid-60s is now regarded as
7 More research should be done on the experiences of
8 Most old men consider themselves to be
A in good health
B in the past
C in the wrong
D the old man
E a middle-aged man
F a young man
【答案】1. B 2. A 3. E 4. C 5. B 6. E 7. D 8. A
Museums have changed. They are no longer places for the privileged few or for bored vacationers to visit on rainy days. Action and democracy are words used in descriptions of museums now.
At a science museum in Ontario， Canada， you can feel your hair stand on end as harmless electricity passes through your body. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City， you can look at 17th century instruments while listening to their music. At the Modern Museum in Sweden， you can put on costumes provided by the Stockholm Opera. As these examples show， museums are reaching out to new audiences， particularly the young， the poor， and the less educated members of the population. As a result， attendance is increasing.
More and more， museums directors are realizing that people learn best when they can somehow become part of what they are seeing. In many science museums， for example， there are no guided tours. The visitor is encouraged to touch， listen， operate， and experiment so as to discover scientific principles for himself. He can have the experience of operating a spaceship or a computer. He can experiment with glass blowing and paper making. The purpose is not only to provide fun but also to help people feel at home in the world of science. The theory is that people who do not understand science will probably fear it， and those who fear science will not use it to best advantage. Many museums now provide educational services and children s departments. In addition to the usual displays， they also offer film showings and dance programs. Instead of being places that one “should” visit， they are places to enjoy.
One cause of all these changes is the increase in wealth and leisure time. Another cause is the rising percentage of young people in the population. Many of these young people are college students or college graduates. They are better educated than their parents. They see things in a new and different way. They are not content to stand and look at works of are; they want art they can participate in. The same is true of science and history. In the US， certain groups who formerly were too poor to care about anything beyond the basic needs of daily life are now becoming curious about the world around them. The young people in these groups， like young people in general， have benefited from a better education than their parents received. All these groups， and the rest of the population as well， have been influenced by television， which has taught them about other places and other times.
The effect of all this has been to change existing museums and to encourage the building of new ones. In the US and Canada alone， there are now more than 6，000 museums， almost twice as many as there were 25 years ago. About half of them are devoted to history， and the rest are evenly divided between the arts and sciences. The number of visitors， according to the American Association of museums， has risen to more than 700 million a year.
In fact， the crowds of visitors at some museums are creating a major problem. Admission to museums has always been either free or very inexpensive， but now some museums are charging entrance fees for the first time or raising their prices. Even when raised， however， entrance fees are generally too low to support a museum， with its usually large building and its highly trained staff.
1. Paragraph 2________.
2. Paragraph 3________.
3. Paragraph 4________.
4. Paragraph 5________.
A Causes of changes
B Increasing number of museums and visitors
C Museums getting closer to more spectators
D Movies shown in museums
E New notions about the management of museumsF Places to visit
5. Now museums are no longer restricted to the privileged few， but________.
6. With the development of society， people， especially the young people， _________.
7. To meet the needs of society， more museums________.
8. Two major problems for museums are that they have too many visitors and they ________.
A have higher demands of museums
B are open to more people with different social background
C to lengthen their opening hours
D charge too little for admission
E have been built and open to public
KEY： C E A B B A E D
Architecture is to building as literature is to the printed word. The best buildings are often so well constructed that they outlast their original use. They then survive not only as beautiful objects， but as documents of the history of cultures. These achievements are never wholly the work of individuals. Architecture is a social art.
The renaissance brought about an entirely new age， not only in philosophy and literature but in the visual arts as well. In architecture， the principles and styles of ancient Greece and Rome were brought back to life and reinterpreted. They remain dominant until the 20th century.
Many kinds of stone are used as building materials. Stone and marble were chosen for important monuments because they are not burnable and can be expected to endure. Stone architecture was often blended with stone sculpture. The use of stone has declined， however， because a number of other materials are more adaptable to industrial use.
The complexity of modern life calls for a variety of building. More people live in mass housing and go to work in large office buildings; they spend their income in large shopping centers， send their children to many different kinds of schools， and when they are sick they go to specialized hospitals and clinics. All theses different types of buildings accumulated experiences needed by their designers.
By the middle of the 20th century， modern architecture， which was influenced by new technology and mass production， was dealing with increasingly complex social needs. Important characteristics of modern architectural works are expanses of glass and the use of reinforced concrete. Advances in elevator technology， air conditioning， and electric lighting have all had important effects.
EXERCISE：
1. Paragraph 2_____________.
2. Paragraph 3_____________.
3. Paragraph 4_____________.
4. Paragraph 5_____________.
A Building materials
B Need of greater building varieties in modern life
C Restoration of ancient civilizations
D Evolution in style
E factors affecting modern architecture
F A social art
5.Some buildings ar
e so well constructed that they are not only useful______.
6.Ancient Greek and Roman architectural styles， which were restored during renaissance， were still influential _____.
7. As modern life becomes more complex， people have to put up many different kinds of buildings _____.
8. The use of new building materials and the introduction of such new technology as the elevator and the air-conditioner have played an important role ______.
A to meet their needs
B but also beautiful to look at
C in the development of modern architecture
D to design more buildings
E even in the 20th century
F to outlast their original use
參考答案： C A B E B E A C
Old Man Myths and Realities
1 When does a middle-aged man become an old man? Officially, of course, it's when we reach retirement age. But, as we all know, this is a fairly blunt （生硬的） method of decision making. As life expectancy （預(yù)期壽命） increases, retirement planning needs to be changed. This is because being an old man today is very different from what it was a generation or so ago.
2 Sixty-five is the new middle-aged man. These days people are talking about the young-old, that is ages 70-75, and those over 75 as the old-old. The young-old frequently continue in good health and maintain strong links with friends and family. The old-old have a much higher chance of poor health and social isolation.
3 Although men are living longer, there are still more old women than old men. This fact alone should arouse interest as to why. Relatively little is actually known about why this is the case or about the experiences of the old man. Sure, we are aware that the old man experiences anxiety, financial problems, loneliness, etc., but that's really about all we know.
4 It is usually believed that the old man often complains about their health. In fact, most rate their health as good even though most are diagnosed with at least one chronic illness. The physical health of the old man is strongly affected by their health behavior when they were younger.
1 Paragraph 1
2 Paragraph 2
3 Paragraph 3
4 Paragraph 4
A New definitions of the old man
B Changing concept of the old man
C Health of the old man
D Happy old man and sad old man
E Limited knowledge of the old man's experiences
F Contempt for the old man
5 Nowadays men generally live longer than
6 A man in his mid-60s is now regarded as
7 More research should be done on the experiences of
8 Most old men consider themselves to be
A in good health
B in the past
C in the wrong
D the old man
E a middle-aged man
F a young man
【答案】1. B 2. A 3. E 4. C 5. B 6. E 7. D 8. A