As the old saying goes, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But Venezuela, whose beauty queens have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times, doesn’t leave it to chance. In Venezuela, girls as young as four can be found attending beauty schools, where they can learn a range of skills from how to walk to the correct way to hold a wine glass.
“Hair must always be completely clean, make-up should look natural, and you should always, always wear high-heels,” advises Andrea Reyes, a teacher in a school of Caracas with 160 students.
Beauty contests are treated in Venezuela much as sporting competitions are elsewhere. Many Venezuelan parents believe that if their daughters can succeed and get the beauty crown, their future as famous and public persons is sure to come. As a result, the girls are trained to compete at a young age.
Among former beauty queens are Irene Saez, who went on to compete for the country’s president, and Eva Ekvall, whose battle with cancer helped to make more people know about the illness in Venezuela.
However, voices against the trend can be heard all over the country. At one time, a feminist (男女平等主義者) group tried to stop the Miss Venezuela broadcast. President Hugo Chavez has spoken out against the culture of plastic surgery(整形手術)in Venezuela, calling it a “frightening thing”.
The BBC reporter Sarah Grainger says that acceptance of the contests is partly a result of the country’s “machista” (大男子主義的) view of the different roles that men and women should play, “Men are supposed to be strong and brave and women to be gentle and beautiful”.
Miss Universe 1996, Alicia Machado, knows the price to be paid when you’re no longer seen as attractive. After winning the beauty contest, she said all she wanted to do was “eat, eat and eat”. Her weight gain later and warning by the organizers of the contest to replace her as queen with the runner-up was among the hottest topics in the country, especially in Latin America.
小題1:What’s the advice given by a teacher in Caracas to her students?
A．Attending beauty schools as early as possible.
B．Wearing high-heels at times.
C．Washing your hair quite often.
D．Fighting against cancer bravely.
小題2:Girls try to win in the beauty contest to__________.
A．try plastic surgery
B．practice the country’s “machista” view
C．earn a good future
D．eat as much as one pleases
小題3:We can learn from the passage that__________.
A．Venezuela girls have won Miss Universe and Miss World over six times by chance
B．In Venezuela, people judge men and women in quite different ways
C．Eva Ekvall once competed for the country’s president
D．Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has spoken out against beauty contests
小題4:What does the underlined word “runner-up” in the last paragraph mean?
A．the news reporter covering the beauty contest
B．the organizer of the beauty contest
C．the girl who is slim
D．the person who comes in the second place

小題1:C
小題2:C
小題3:B
小題4:D

試題分析：本文主要介紹了培養(yǎng)選美冠軍的選美學校的一些情況以及選美冠軍的一些情況。
小題1:細節(jié)題。根據(jù)“Hair must always be completely clean, make-up should look natural, and you should always, always wear high-heels,” advises Andrea Reyes, a teacher in a school of Caracas with 160 students.故選C。
小題2: 細節(jié)題。根據(jù)Many Venezuelan parents believe that if their daughters can succeed and get the beauty crown, their future as famous and public persons is sure to come，故選C。
小題3:細節(jié)題。根據(jù)“Men are supposed to be strong and brave and women to be gentle and beautiful”.
可知從文章中，我們可以知道在委內(nèi)瑞拉，人們以不同的方式判斷男子和女子，故選B。
小題4: 猜詞題。根據(jù)最后一個自然段內(nèi)容，可猜出“runner-up”意思是亞軍，故選D。
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It all began with a stop at a red light.
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D．She stays outside all the while recently．
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A．drove away or forced somebody or something to leave
B．put away or stored something
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D．threw something away
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B．A family of raccoons stole the food together．
C．Toto’s casual attitude toward the raccoons．
D．How the raccoons made the writer’s porch dirty．
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Home exchanges are not new. At least one group, Intervac, has been facilitating such an arrangement since 1953. But trading online is gaining popularity these days, with several sites in operation, including Home Exchanges. Founded in 1992, with some 28,000 listings, this company bills itself as the world’s largest home exchange club, reporting that membership has increased 30% this year.
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However, the concept may sound risky to some people. What about theft? Damage? These are reasonable causes for concern, but equally unlikely. As one swapper puts it, “Nobody is going to fly across the ocean or drive 600 miles to come steal your TV. Besides, at the same time they’re staying in your home, you are staying in their home.”
Exchange sites recommend that swappers discuss such matters ahead of time. They may fill out an agreement spelling out who shoulders which responsibilities if a problem arises. It does not matter if the agreement would hold up in court, but it does give the exchangers a little satisfaction.
Generally, the biggest complaint among home exchangers has to do with different standards of cleanliness. Swappers are supposed to make sure their home is in order before they depart, but one person’s idea of “clean” may be more forgiving than another’s. Some owners say if they come back to a less-than-sparkling kitchen, it may be inconvenient but would not sour them on future exchanges.
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A．How to exchange homes.
B．The biggest home exchange agency Intervac.
C．The fact that home exchanges are not new.
D．A contrast between Intervac and Home Exchanges.
小題2:How do home exchangers normally begin their communication?
A．By phone.B．Via a matchmaker.
C．By e-mail.D．Via a face-to-face meeting.
小題3:What is recommended in the passage to deal with the concerns about theft and damage?
A．One can file a lawsuit in court.
B．Both parties can trade online.
C．One can damage the home of the other party in return.
D．Both parties can sign an agreement beforehand.

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