Ich habe eine Tante. _____ mag ich sehr.

Are you superstitious? No, of course not. Do you believe in magic (魔法), and luck charms (护身符), and elves or gremlins (小精灵) ? Certainly not, but if I should greet you with the usual How's business?" You'll answer "Oh, just so-so" although your business is profiting greatly. When you are successful in some venture you might say you were just lucky. And yet, you know it was probably due to your a bility and hard work. Why? Sometimes you knock on wood because wood was once a tree and there is a primitive belief that protective gods inhabit trees and knocking on wood attracts their attention so they may be credited with your successes.

If I should sneeze, only the strongest of you could refrain(克制而不) from saying "God bless you". Why bless this unsanitary (不讲究卫生的) habit? Our ancestors believed that a sneeze opened the body to invasion by devils, and invoking (召唤) the name of God made the devils get out in a hurry. You may not realize it, but you express this same "devil invasion" when you say, "Whatever can have gotten into that child?" or "I wonder what possessed me to do that?"

Although they may no longer be believed, evidences of superstitions that have had their origins in the primitive fear of the unknown still exist in modern language and gestures.

The author ______.

A．believe that most people are superstitious

B．believe that very few people are superstitious

C．believes that there are still some evidences of superstitions in what we say and what we do

D．is superstitious

Knitting

My mother knew how to knit(编织), but she never taught me. She assumed, as did many women of her generation, that knitting was no longer a skill worth passing down from mother to daughter. A combination of feminism (女权主义), consumerism (消费主义) and household gadgetry made many women feel that such homely accomplishments were now obsolete. My grandmother still knitted, though, and every Christmas she made a pair of socks for my mother and me, of red wool. They were the ones we wore under our ice skates (冰鞋) , when it was really important to have warm feet.

Knitting is a nervous habit that happens to be productive. It helped me quit smoking by giving my hands something else to do. It is wonderful for depression because no matter what else happens, you are creating something beautiful. Time spent in front of the television or just sitting is no longer time wasted.

I love breathing life into the patterns. It's true magic, finding a neglected, dog-eared old book with the perfect snowflake design, buying the same Germantown knitting worsted my grandmother used, in the exact blue to match my daughter's eyes, taking it on the brain with me every day for two months, working feverishly to get it done by Christmas, staying up late after the stockings are filled to sew in the sleeves and weave in the ends.

Knitting has taught me patience. I know that if I just keep going, even if it takes months, there will be a reward. When I make a mistake, I know that anger will not fix it, that I just have to go back and take out the stitches (针脚) between and start over again.

People often ask if I would do it for money, and the answer is always a definite no. In the first place, you could not pay me enough for the hours I put into a sweater. But more important this is an activity I keep separate from such considerations. I knit to cover my children and other people I live in warmth and color. I knit to give them something earthly that money could never buy.

Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythm to the daily deadline. By day I can write about Northern Ireland or the New York City Police Department and get paid for it, but on the time train home, surrounded by people with laptops, I stage my little rebellion. I take out my old knitting bag and join the centuries of women who have knitted for love.

Why did many women feel that knitting was out of date?

A．Because their mothers didn't teach them.

B．Because they were feminists.

C．Because they were influenced by feminism and consumerism.

D．Because they were consumerists.

根据下列文章,请回答 31～35 题。

Knitting

My mother knew how to knit(编织)，but she nevertaught me．She assumed，as did many women of her generation，that knitting was nolonger a skill worth passing down from mother to daughter．A combination offeminism(女权主义)and consumerism(消费主义)made many women feel that such homelyaccomplishments were now out of dale．My Grandmother still knitted，though。andevery Christmas she made a pair of socks for my brother and me，of red woo1．Theywere the ones we wore under our ice skates(冰鞋)，when it was really important tohave warm feet．

Knitting is a nervous habit that happens tobe productive．It helped me quit smoking by giving my hands something else to do．Itis wonderful for depression because no matter what else happens。you are creating something beautiful．Timespent in front of the television or just sitting is no longer time wasted．

I love breathing life into the patterns．It'strue magic，finding a neglected，do9—eared old book with the perfect snowflakedesign，buying the same Germantown wool my grandmother used，in the exact blue tomatch my daughter's eyes，taking it on the train with me every day for twomonths。working enthusiastically to get it done by Christmas，staying up lateafter the stockings are filled to sew in the sleeves and weave in the ends．

Knitting has taught me patience．I know thatif l just keep goin9。even if it takes months．there will be a reward．When l makea mistake，I know that anger will not fix it，that I just have to go back andtake out the stitches(针脚)between and start over again．

People often ask if l would do it for money,and the answer is always a definite no．In the first place。you could not pay meenough for the hours I put into a sweater．But not'e important．this is anactivity l keep separate from such considerations．1 knit to cover my childrenand other people I love in warmth and color．1 knit to give them something earthlythat money could never buy．

Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythmto the daily deadline．By day I can write about Northern Ireland or the New YorkCity Police Department and get paid for it，but on the train home，surrounded bypeople with laptops，I stage my little rebellion．I take out my ole knitting but inthe centuries of women who have knitted for love．

第 31 题 Why did many women feel that knitting wasout of date?

A．Because their mothers didn'tteach them．

B．Because they were influencedby feminism and consumerism．

C．Because they were feminists．

D．Because they were consumerists．

阅读材料，回答题：

Knitting

My mother knew how to knit(编织), but she never taught me. She assumed, as did manywomen of her generation, that knitting was no longer a skill worth passing down from mother todaughter. A combination of feminism ( 女权主义) and consumerism ( 消费主义 ) made manywomen feel that such homely accomplishments were now out of date. My Grandmother still knitted, though, and every Christmas she made a pair of socks for my brother and me, of red wool.

They were the ones we wore under our ice skates (冰鞋), when it was really important to havewarm feet.

Knitting is a nervous habit that happens to be productive. It helped me quit smoking by giv-ing my hands something else to do 。it is wonderful for depression because no matter what else

happens, you are creating something beautiful. Time spent in front of the television or just sittingis no longer time wasted.

I love breathing life into the patterns. It&39;s true magic, finding a neglected, dog-eared oldbook with the perfect snowflake design, buying the same Germantown wool my grandmother used,in the exact blue to match my daughter&39;s eyes, taking it on the train with me every day for twomonths, working enthusiastically to get it done by Christmas, staying up late after the stockingsare filled to sew in the sleeves and weave in the ends.

Knitting has taught me patience. I know that if I just keep going, even if it takes months,there will be a reward. When I make a mistake, I know that anger will not fix it, that I just haveto go back and take out the stitches(针脚) between and start over again.

People often ask if I would do it for money, and the answer is always a definite no. In thefirst place, you could not pay me enough for the hours I put into a sweater. But more important,this is an activity I keep separate from such considerations. I knit it to cover my children and oth-er people I love in warmth and color. I knit to give them something earthly that money could neverbuy.

Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythm to the daily deadline. By day I can write aboutNorthern Ireland or the New York City Police Department and get paid for it, but on the trainhome, surrounded by people with laptops, I stage my little rebellion. I take out my old knittingbag and join the centuries of women who have knitted for love.

Why did many women feel that knitting was out of date? 查看材料

A.Because their mothers didn"t teach them.

B.Because they were influenced by feminism and consumerism.

C.Because they were feminists.

D.Because t.hey were eonsumerists.

根据下列文章,请回答 36～40 题。Mymother knew how to knit(编织)，but she never taught me．She assumed，as did manywomen of her generation．That knitting was no longer a skill worth passing down frommother to daughter．A combination of feminism(女权主义)and consumerism(消赞主义)mademany women feel that such homely accomplishments were now out of date．MyGrandmother still knitted。though，and every Christmas she made a pair of socksfor

my brother and me，of red w001．They were theones we wore under our ice skates(冰鞋)，when it was really important to have warmfeet．

Knitting is a nervous habit that happens to be productive．It helped mequit smoking by giving my hands something else to do．It is wonderful fordepression because no matter what else happens，you are creating somethingbeautiful．Time spent in front of the television or just sitting is no longertime wasted．

Ilove breathing life into the patterns．It's true magic，finding a neglected，dog-earedold book with the perfect snowflake design，buying the same Germantown wool my grandmotherused，in the exact blue to match my daughter’s eyes；taking it on the train withme every day for two months。working enthusiastically to get it done byChristmas，staying up late after the stockings are filled to sew in the sleevesand weave in the ends．

Knitting hastaught me patience．1 know that if I just keep goin9。even if it takes months，therewill be a reward．When l make a mistake。I know that anger will not fix it，that ljust have to go back and take out the stitches(针脚)between and start over again．

People often ask if l would do it for money, and the answer is always adefinite no．In the first place，you could not pay me enough for the hours I putinto a sweater．But mote important。this is an activity I keep separate from suchconsiderations．I knit to cover my children and other people l love in warmthand color．I knit to give them something earthly that money could never buy．

Knitting gives my life an alternative rhythm to the daily deadline．Byday I can write about Northern Ireland or the New York city Police Departmentand get paid for it，but On the train home，surrounded by people with laptops，Istage my little rebellion：I take out my old knitting bag and join the centuriesof women who have knitted for love．

第36题：Why did many women feel that knitting wasout of date?

A．Because their mothers didn’tteach them．

B．Because they were influencedby feminism and consumerism．

C．Because they were feminists．

D．Because they were consumerists．

With the understanding of phobias has come a magic bag of treatments: exposure therapy that can stomp out a lifetime phobia in a single six-hour session; virtual-reality programs that can safely simulate the thing the phobia most fears, slowly stripping it of its power to terrorize; new medications that can snuff the brain's phobic spark before it can catch.

In the past year, the U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first drug—an existing antidepressant.

Most psychologists now assign phobias to one of the three broad categories: social phobias, in which the sufferer feels paralyzing fear at the prospect of social or professional encounters; panic disorders, in which the person is periodically blindsided by overwhelming fear for no apparent reason; and specific phobias—fear of snakes and enclosed spaces and heights and the like.

If you are living with a generalized sense of danger, it can be profoundly therapeutic to find a single object on which to deposit all that unformed fear—a snake, a spider and a rat. A specific phobia becomes a sort of backfire for fear, a controlled blaze that prevents other blazes from catching.

But a condition that is so easy to pick up is becoming almost as easy to shake, usually without resort to drugs. What turns up the wattage of a phobia the most is the strategy the phobias rely on to ease their discomfort: avoidance. The harder phobics work to avoid the things they fear, the more the brain grows convinced that the threat is real.

Progress in treating social-anxiety disorder is also providing hope for the last—and most disabling—of the family of phobias: panic disorder. Panic disorder is to anxiety conditions what a tornado is to weather conditions: a devastating sneaks havoc and then simply vanishes. Unlike the specific phobic and the social phobic who know what will trigger their fear, the victim of panic attacks never know where or when one will hit. Someone who experiences an attack in, say, a supermarket will often not return there, associating the once neutral place with the traumatic event. But the perceived circle of safety can quickly shrink, until sufferers may be confined entirely to their homes. When this begins to happen, panic disorder mutates into full-blown agoraphobia. The treatment for agoraphobia is much the same as it is for social phobia: cognitive-behavioral therapy and drugs.

Which of the following is NOT true of the treatment with more and more understanding of phobia?

A．New medicines that can get rid of the fear in the brain.

B．New psychological methods that can help people not fear.

C．New medicines that can remove phobia in six-hour period.

D．The method that can help people overcome phobia by facing fearful things.

Perhaps only a small boy training to be a wizard at the Hogwarts school of magic could cast a spell so powerful as to create the biggest book launch ever. Wherever in the world the clock strikes midnight on June 20th, his followers will flock to get their paws on one of more than 10 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Bookshops will open in the middle of the night and delivery firms are drafting in extra staff and bigger trucks. Related toys, games, DVDs and other merchandise will be everywhere. There will be no escaping Pottermania.

Yet Mr. Potter's world is a curious one, in which things are often not what they appear. While an excitable media (hereby including The Economist, happy to support such a fine example of globalisation) is helping to hype the launch of J.K. Rowling's fifth novel, about the most adventurous thing that the publishers (Scholastic in America and Britain's Bloomsbury in English elsewhere) have organised is a reading by Ms. Rowling in London's Royal Albert Hall, to be broadcast as a live webcast. Hollywood, which owns everything else to do with Harry Potter, says it is doing even less. Incredible as it may seem, the guardians of the brand say that, to protect the Potter franchise, they are trying to maintain a low profile. Well, relatively low.

Ms. Rowling signed a contract in 1998 with Warner Brothers, part of AOL Time Warner, giving the studio exclusive film, licensing and merchandising rights in return for what now appears to have been a steal: some $500,000. Warner licenses other firms to produce goods using Harry Potter characters or images, from which Ms. Rowling gets a big enough cut that she is now wealthier than the queen—if you believe Britain's Sunday Times rich list. The process is self-generating: each book sets the stage for a film, which boosts book sales, which lifts sales of Potter products.

Globally, the first four Harry Potter books have sold some 200 million copies in 55 languages; the two movies have grossed over $1.8 billion at the box office.

This is a stunning success by any measure, especially as Ms. Rowling has long demanded that Harry Potter should mot be over-commercialised. In line with her wishes, Warner says it is being extraordinarily careful, at least by Hollywood standards, about what it licenses and to whom. It imposed tough conditions on Coca-Cola, insisting that no Harry Potter images should appear on cans, and is now in the, process of making its licensing programme even more restrictive. Coke may soon be considered too mass market to carry the brand at all.

The deal with Warner ties much of the merchandising to the films alone. There are no officially sanctioned products relating to "Order of the Phoenix"; nor yet for "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", the film of the third book, which is due out in June 2004. Warner agrees that Ms. Rowling's creation is a different sort of commercial property, one with long-term potential that could be damaged by a typical Hollywood marketing blitz, says Diane Nelson, the studio's global brand manager for Harry Potter. It is vital, she adds, that with more to come, readers of the books are not alienated. "The evidence from our market research is that enthusiasm for the property by fans is not waning."

When the author says "there will be no escaping Pottermania", he implies that______.

A．Harry Potter's appeal for the readers is simply irresistible

B．it is somewhat irrational to be so crazy about the magic boy

C．craze about Harry Potter will not be over in the near future

D．Hogwarts school of magic will be the biggest attraction world over