A Letter from Alan

    I have learnt of a plan to build three hundred houses on the land called Parson"s Place by the football ground. Few people know about this new plan to increase the size of our town. For me, Parson"s Place is special because it is a beautiful natural area where local people can relax — the small wood has many unusual trees and the stream is popular with fishermen and bird-watchers. ¹ It"s very quiet because there are few houses or roads nearby. I think that losing this area will be terrible because we have no other similar facilities in the neighbourhood.

    I am also against this plan because it will cause traffic problems. How will the people from the new houses travel to work? The motorway and the railway station are on the other side of town. Therefore, these people will have to drive through the town centre every time they go anywhere. The roads will always be full of traffic, there will be nowhere to park and the tourists who come to see our lovely old buildings will leave. ²  Shops and hotels will lose business. If the town really needs more homes, the empty ground beside the railway station is a more suitable place.

    No doubt the builders will make a lot of money by selling these houses. But, in my opinion, the average person will quickly be made poorer by this plan. As well as this, we will lose a very special place and our town will be much less pleasant. ³

    I am going to the local government offices on Monday morning to protest about this plan and I hope that your readers will join me there. We must make them stop this plan before it is too late.

 

词汇：

facility /fə"siləti/n．场所，设施

motorway /"məutəwei/ n．高速公路

protest /prəu"test/v．抗议

 

注释：

1.For me, Parson"s Place is special because it is a beautiful natural area where local people can relax一the small wood has many unusual trees and the stream is popular with fishermen and bird-watchers．对我来说，帕森场是非常特别的，因为它是一个美丽的天然场地并且当地人可以在此放松休息。这片小树林里有许多独特的树木并且这里的小溪受到了渔夫和野鸟观察者的欢迎。

2.The roads will always be full of traffic, there will be nowhere to park and the tourists who come to see our lovely old buildings will leave．公路上将总是有很多车辆，却没有地方停车，并且来参观我们这儿可爱的老式建筑物的观光者将会离开这里。

3. As well as this, we will lose a very special place and our town will be much less pleasant．不但如此，我们将失去一个非常特别的地方并且我们的城镇将会失去很多快乐。

Why is Parson"s Place particularly important, in Alan"s opinion?

A:Because it is near the football ground. B:Because lots of people live near it. C:Because it is a place near the town where people can enjoy nature. D:Because local people can get there easily by car from the town.

“Public Opinion”

What is the author' s opinion on the supposition that the homeless are primarily the former residents of mental hospitals

A:Denial. B:Affirmative. C:Partial affirmative. D:No opinion.

Everywhere you look in contemporary America you see a people engaged in the pursuit of happiness. You can see it in work habits. Americans on average not only work longer and harder than most Europeans, but endure lengthy commutes to and from work. You can see it in geographical mobility. About 40 m of them move every year. They are remarkably willing to travel huge distances in pursuit of things like bowling conventions and so on. And you can see it in the country’s general hopefulness: two-thirds of Americans are optimistic about the future.
Since Americans are energetic even in deconstructing their own founding principles, there is no shortage of people who have taken exception to the happiness pursuit. They range from conservatives like Robert Bork, believing the phrase summarizes the "emptiness at the heart of American ideology", to liberals who think that it is a justification for an acquisitive society.
One criticism is that the pursuit is self-defeating. The more you pursue the illusion of happiness the more you sacrifice the real thing. The other side of mobility is turmoil and anxiety, broken marriages and unhappy children. Americans have less job security than ever before. They even report having fewer close friends than a few decades ago. And international studies of happiness suggest that people in certain poor countries, such as Mexico, are apparently happier than Americans.
Another criticism is that Americans have confused happiness with material possessions. It is notable that Thomas Jefferson’s call echoes Adam Smith’s phrase about "life, liberty and the pursuit of property". Do all those pairs of Manolo Blahnik shoes really make you happy Or are they just a compensation for empty lives like in the soap opera Sex in the City
If opinion polls on such matters mean anything—and that is dubious—they suggest that both these criticisms are flawed. A 2006 Pew Research Centre study—"Are we happy yet"—claims that 84% of Americans are either "very happy" or "pretty happy". The Harris Poll’s 2004 "feel good index" found that 95% are pleased with their homes and 91% are pleased with their social lives. The Pew About sponsorship polls show that money does indeed go some way towards buying happiness. They also suggest that Americans, devotion to religion makes them happier still.
The pursuit of happiness accounts for all sorts of peculiarities of American life: from the $700/m spent on self-help books per year to the irritating dinner guests constantly looking at their BlackBerry cell phones. This pursuit may even help to explain the surge of anti-Americanism. Many people dislike it precisely because it is doing exactly what Jefferson intended. For some Europeans, the pursuit of happiness in the form of monster cars and mansions is objectionable on every possible ground. You cannot pursue happiness with such conspicuous enthusiasm without making quite a lot of people around the world rather unhappy.
Which of the following statements is true according to the last two paragraphs

A:Opinion polls proved that happiness can be bought. B:Opinion polls suggest that most Americans are happy because of religion. C:Some Europeans dislike Americans because of Jefferson’s opinion. D:Americans’ pursuit of happiness has irritated a lot of people.

"Opinion" is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief and judgment. This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most do attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours," and "Everyone’s entitled to his opinion," are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.
Is that label accurate Is it intolerant to challenge another’s opinion It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend "What do you think of the new Ford cars" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they’re ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it’s obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, "It’s pointless to argue about matters of taste." But consider this very different use of the term. A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not state their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation.
Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less casually arrived at, with or without examining the evidence. Is everyone entitled to his opinion Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.

Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the author（）

A:Everyone has a right to hold his own opinion. B:Free expression of opinions often leads to confusion. C:Most people tend to be careless in forming their opinions. D:Casual use of the word "opinion" often brings about quarrels.

"Opinion" is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief and judgment. This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most do attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours," and "Everyone’s entitled to his opinion," are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.
Is that label accurate Is it intolerant to challenge another’s opinion It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend "What do you think of the new Ford cars" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they’re ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it’s obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, "It’s pointless to argue about matters of taste." But consider this very different use of the term. A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not state their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation.
Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less casually arrived at, with or without examining the evidence. Is everyone entitled to his opinion Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.

According to the author, who of the following would be labeled as intolerant（）

A:Someone who turns a deaf ear to others' opinions. B:Someone who can't put up with others' tastes. C:Someone who values only their own opinions. D:Someone whose opinion harms other peopl

"Opinion" is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief and judgment. This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most do attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours," and "Everyone’s entitled to his opinion," are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.
Is that label accurate Is it intolerant to challenge another’s opinion It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend "What do you think of the new Ford cars" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they’re ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it’s obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, "It’s pointless to argue about matters of taste." But consider this very different use of the term. A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not state their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation.
Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less casually arrived at, with or without examining the evidence. Is everyone entitled to his opinion Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.

Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the author（）

A:Everyone has a right to hold his own opinion. B:Free expression of opinions often leads to confusion. C:Most people tend to be careless in forming their opinions. D:Casual use of the word "opinion" often brings about quarrels.

"Opinion" is a word that is used carelessly today. It is used to refer to matters of taste, belief and judgment. This casual use would probably cause little confusion if people didn’t attach too much importance to opinion. Unfortunately, most do attach great importance to it. "I have as much right to my opinion as you to yours," and "Everyone’s entitled to his opinion," are common expressions. In fact, anyone who would challenge another’s opinion is likely to be branded intolerant.
Is that label accurate Is it intolerant to challenge another’s opinion It depends on what definition of opinion you have in mind. For example, you may ask a friend "What do you think of the new Ford cars" And he may reply, "In my opinion, they’re ugly." In this case, it would not only be intolerant to challenge his statement, but foolish. For it’s obvious that by opinion he means his personal preference, a matter of taste. And as the old saying goes, "It’s pointless to argue about matters of taste." But consider this very different use of the term. A newspaper reports that the Supreme Court has delivered its opinion in a controversial case. Obviously the justices did not state their personal preferences, their mere likes and dislikes. They stated their considered judgment, painstakingly arrived at after thorough inquiry and deliberation.
Most of what is referred to as opinion falls somewhere between these two extremes. It is not an expression of taste. Nor is it careful judgment. Yet it may contain elements of both. It is a view or belief more or less casually arrived at, with or without examining the evidence. Is everyone entitled to his opinion Of course, this is not only permitted, but guaranteed. We are free to act on our opinions only so long as, in doing so, we do not harm others.

According to the author, who of the following would be labeled as intolerant（）

A:Someone who turns a deaf ear to others' opinions. B:Someone who can't put up with others' tastes. C:Someone who values only their own opinions. D:Someone whose opinion harms other peopl