I have been living in the United States for twenty years ,but seldom _____ so lonely as now.
| A．have I felt | B．I had felt | C．I have felt | D．had I felt |
For some people, music is no fun at all. About four percent of the population is what scientists call “amusic.” People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes (音调). Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs. Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are very far apart on the musical scale.
As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. Their inability to enjoy music set them apart from others. It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition. In fact, most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in social isolation( 隔离). “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition.
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music. The difference is complex, and it doesn’t involve defective hearing. Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can’t see certain colors.
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed . For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music. Now she knows that she is not alone. There is a name for her condition. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say, ‘No thanks, I’m amusic,’” says Margaret. “I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy.”Which of the following is true of amusics?
| A．Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them. |
| B．They love places where they are likely to hear music. |
| C．They can easily tell two different songs apart. |
| D．Their situation is well understood by musicians. |
According to paragraph 3, a person with “defective hearing” is probably one who _________.
| A．dislikes listening to speeches |
| B．can hear anything nonmusical |
| C．has a hearing problem |
| D．lacks a complex hearing system |
In the last paragraph, Margaret expressed her wish that __________.
| A．her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier |
| B．she were seventeen years old rather than seventy |
| C．her problem could be easily explained |
| D．she were able to meet other amusics |
What is the passage mainly concerned with?
| A．Amusics’ strange behaviours. |
| B．Some people’s inability to enjoy music. |
| C．Musical talent and brain structure. |
| D．Identification and treatment of amusics. |
Even at school there had been an unhealthy competition between George and Richard.
“I’ll be the first millionaire in Coleford!” Richard used to boast.
“And you’ll be sorry you knew me,” George would reply “because I’ll be the best lawyer in the town!”
George never did become a lawyer and Richard never made any money. Instead both men opened bookshops on opposite sides of Coleford High Street. It was hard to make money from books, which made the competition between them worse.
Then Richard married a mysterious girl. The couple spent their honeymoon on the coast—but Richard never came back. The police found his wallet on a deserted beach but the body was never found. He must have drowned.
Now with only one bookshop in town, business was better for George. But sometimes he sat in his narrow, old kitchen and gazed out of the dirty window, thinking about his formal rival. Perhaps he missed him?
George was very interested in old dictionaries. He’d recently found a collector in Australia who was selling a rare first edition. When the parcel arrived, the book was in perfect condition and George was delighted. But while he was having lunch, George glanced at the photo in the newspaper that the book had been wrapped in. He was astonished—the smiling face was older than he remembered but unmistakable! Trembling, George started reading.
“Bookends have bought ten bookstores from their rival Dylans. The company, owned by multi-millionaire Richard Pike, is now the largest bookseller in Australia.”George and Richard were ______ at school.
| A．roommates | B．good friends |
| C．competitors | D．booksellers |
How did George feel about Richard after his disappearance?
| A．He envied Richard’s marriage. |
| B．He thought of Richard from time to time. |
| C．He felt lucky with no rival in town. |
| D．He was guilty of Richard’s death. |
What can we infer from this article?
| A．Richard’ wife played an important part in his career. |
| B．Competition could make close friends become rivals. |
| C．George got information about Richard from the wrapping paper of a book. |
| D．Richard became a millionaire while George had no great success. |
完形填空,阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从1—20各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
It’s The Thought That Counts
This past Christmas was one of the best I have ever had. This was made possible by my sister, Amy. She is eight years older and has already made it into“real world”.
My sister bought me three wonderful gifts, only one would capture my heart forever. First she handed me the . Because Amy is careful with her actions, I knew this was her favourite. It was a bottle of perfume（香水）. I was happy with it, yet as to what lay ahead. Next she handed me a box. After away the wrapping paper, I found a stylish and expensive sweater. I was deeply moved that my sister was so . Then she handed me the gift. Judging by the familiar size and , I knew it was a CD. It was the soundtrack （电影原声带）to the movie“Rocky”, with songs inspiring to all athletes, dreamers…I loved it, but not as much as I would after what my sister explained to me.
She was to a knee injury that me half of my soccer season. I desired to be with my team-mates and each minute I sat on the bench. I tried hard, hoping my knee injury would heal soon. This was what led my sister to buying that CD.
After mentioning what was behind the , Amy played the CD for me. Even though I had heard those songs a thousand times, each note struck me as if it were . It played in my soul and on my emotions. I breathlessly, as the words“Trying hard now. It’s so hard now”sounded through the room. It me in a way beyond the happiness most gifts could bring. I couldn’t_______ crying and hugged my sister. Knowing that my sister had my problem so deeply made me realize that I am the little sister in the world. I had never received a gift with so much behind it！ I’ll cherish it forever.
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根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中的两项为多余选项。
Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my fate. I cannot change it.” . You don’t have to suffer needlessly. Your fate depends on you, not on any other outside factors
We want to be happy and live our life to the fullest, but we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams. You just don' t sit around and wait for a million dollars to fall from the sky. You have to get off the couch, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone ( unless it contributes to your success), and get your mind and body to work I
If your life is not meant the way you want it to be, don't just say: "Our time will come. " or " Don' t expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don' t just regard it as a temporary setback; but use it as feedback. Learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It' s not enough to think positive; you also have to act positive.
If someone' s life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not!
So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to DO your best. In other words, don't just stand (or sit) there.
| A．I think so. |
| B．Of course not. |
| C．You'd better let it be. |
| D．Things will get better someday. |
E. Do something to improve your life.
F. Remember that you harvest what you sow.
G. You've got to do anything you can to save the person.
If you have a bad habit of losing things, a new device that can be connected to any item that you might lose may be the way to solve your problem. The Tile, a small square linked up to your iPhone or iPad via Bluetooth, lets you see how close you are to the missing item, within a 50-to 150-foot range . If the item goes out of your phone’s 150-foot range, it can still be detected (发现) on other smartphones with the same app.
When you log into the app on your phone, it shows you, with green bars that increase or decrease, how far away you are from the Tile. You can also program it to make a sound when you get close to the Tile. And you can link up your phone with up to ten Tiles. And if your lost item — a dog, for example, or a stolen bike — goes out of your own phone’s 150-foot Bluetooth range, you can set it as a “lost item”. If any of the phones with the Tile app comes within the range of your lost item, a message will be sent to your own phone, reminding you of its position. The Tile app also has the function to remember where it last saw your Tile, so that you can easily find where you left it.
Since the Tiles use Bluetooth rather than GPS, they never run out of battery or need to be charged, and they last for one year before needing to be replaced. The app, which will come into the market this winter, works with iPhone 5S, iPhone 6, iPad Mini, iPad 3rd and 4th generation, and iPod 5th generation.The Tile app can help you .
| A．find your missing items |
| B．use your phone more wisely |
| C．save your phone’s battery power |
| D．connect something to your phone |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The Tile needs to be charged after a year of use. |
| B．One smart phone can only be linked up to one Tile. |
| C．The Tile cannot work when linked up to a phone without Bluetooth. |
| D．A missing item can’t be found if it goes out of the needed range. |
What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．What the Tile app is. |
| B．How the Tile app works. |
| C．The advantages of the Tile app. |
| D．Why the Tile app was invented. |
Where does this passage probably come from?
| A．A science fiction novel. | B．An advertisement. |
| C．A personal diary. | D．A news report. |