L1 P14 Why does the author tell s not to be afraid to ask stupid questions？ The author thinks that many apparently naive inquiries like why grass is green， or why the sn is round， or why we need 55，000 unclear weapons in the world ——are really deep questions. He says when you try to get the answers， you will gain deep understanding of the things. Its also important to know， as well as you can， what it is that you dont know， and asking questions is the way. He also tell us to ask stupid questions requires courage on the part of the asker and knowledge and patience on the part of the answers. And dont confine your learning to schoolwork. Discuss ideas in depth with friends. Its much brave to ask questions even when theres a prospect of ridicule than to suppress your questions and become deadened to the world around you.

　　L2 Icons P30 What are the factors to shift the hero-worship to the celebrity-worship？ The new forms of media——photography， moving pictures， radio and television are the main factors. The reproduction of photos in newspapers turned famous people into celebrities whose dress， appearance， and personal habits were widely commented upon. Slowly， the focus of public attention began to shift away from knowing what such people did to knowing what looked like. The shift was accelerated by the arrival of moving pictures. Between 1901 and 1914， 74 percent of the magazine articles about famous people were about political leaders，inventors， inventors， professionals， and businessmen. After 1922， however， most articles were about movie stars. With the arrival of television， the faces of the stars became as familiar as those we saw across the breakfast table. We came to know more about the lives of the celebrities than we did about most of the people we know personally. Less than seventy years after the appearance of the first movimg pictures， the shift from hero-worship to celebrity-worship was complete.

　　L3 GO-GO AMERICAN P46 What is the Americans attitude towards time？Give necessary examples. In the United States， many people keenly feel the shortness of each lifetime. They are aware that once a day in their life is gone， it will never come back. And Americans believe no one stands still .If you are not moving ahead， you are falling behind. So they value time and want every minte to count. This attitde towards time is shown in the fast pace of life in the country. Whatever they do they always seem to be in a rush. You find people hurrying to get where they are going. They hurry to eating places for a mea and finish it as quickly as possible. Also Americans do what they can to save time. They produce a lot of labour-saving devices such as clothes-and dish-washers； they rapidly communicate through phone calls， telex and e-mail and cut down on personal contacts.

　　L4 Take Over，Bosn！ P62 Can you imagine what did Barret think of when he heard Snyders whisper Take over，bosn？ Becase of thirst，Barret was almost out of mind. He rose several times and was a constant threat. But when he heard Snyder said“Take over， bosn， he had a strange feeling suddenly. He came to realize he would and must take over the task and be responsible for the rest. As long as he stopped others from the little water， they would always have hopes and wouldnt die soon. So he picked Snyders gun up and decided to hold off the other from the water until night when a ship saved them.

　　L5 Are You Giving Your Kids Too Much？ P78 Why parents overindulge their children？ There are several reasons to explain why parents overindulge their children. One fairly common reason is that parents overindulge their chidren out of a sense of guilt. Parents who both hold down full-time jops may feel guilty about the amount of time they spend away from their children and may attempt to compensate by showering them with material possessions. Other parents overindulge because they want their children to have everything they had while growing up， along with those things the parents yearned for but didnt get. Still others are afraid to say no to their childrens denless requests for toys for fear that their children will feel unloved or will be ridiculed if thy dont have the same playthings their friends have. 转贴于：自考_考试大

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