He could have been president of Israel or played violin at Carnegie Hall, but he was too busy thinking. His thinking on God, love and the meaning of life grace our greeting cards and day-timers.
Fifty years after his death, his shock (蓬乱) of white hair and hanging mustache still symbolize genius. Einstein remains the foremost scientist of the modern time. Looking back 2,400 years, only Newton, Galileo and Aristotle were his equals.
Around the world, universities and academies (研究院) are celebrating the 100th anniversary of Einstein's "miracle year" when he published five scientific papers in 1905 that basically changed our grasp of space, time, light and matter. Only he could top himself about a decade later with his theory of relativity.
Born in the age of horse-drawn carriages, his ideas launched a technological revolution that has made more change in a century than in the previous two thousand years. Computers, satellites, telecommunication, lasers, television and nuclear power all owe their invention to ways in which Einstein exposed a stranger and more complicated reality underneath the world．
He escaped Hitler's Germany and devoted the rest of his life to human rights and peace with an authority unmatched by any scientist today, or even most politicians and religious leaders. He spoke out against fascism (法西斯主义) and racial prejudice. His FBI (美国联邦调查局) file ran 1,400 pages.
His letters expose a disorderly personal life -- married twice and indifferent toward his children while absorbed in physics. Yet he charmed lovers and admirers with poetry and sailboat outings. Friends and neighbors fiercely protected his privacy.The first paragraph implies that Einstein _____.
| A．had the gift for politics and music |
| B．had run for president before he worked at his research |
| C．was an excellent violinist |
| D．was more a political leader or a musician than a thinker |
When you think of Einstein, what typical appearance was formed in your mind?
| A．Funning and humorous, with an air of a musician. |
| B．Wearing very wide trousers, a moustache, with an image of an actor. |
| C．Rough untidy mass of white hair and hanging moustache, with an image of thinking. |
| D．Black long hair and moustache, with his eyes deep set. |
Why was 1905 called Einstein’s “miracle year”?
| A．Because he topped himself with the theory of relativity. |
| B．Because he made important discoveries of space, time, light and matter. |
| C．Because he published five papers on his theory of relativity. |
| D．Because he wrote five important articles to help people better understand space, time, light |
and matter.Which of the following is not true about Einstein according to the passage?
| A．When he was absorbed in his research, he didn’t care for his family. |
| B．He tried to amuse his family and friends in his spare time. |
| C．He was so busy with the physical research that he showed no interest in politics. |
| D．His theory led to much improvement in many technological fields. |
A famous teacher was speaking to the students at our school. He began his lesson by holding up a ￡100 bill. Then he said to the three hundred students, "Who would like to have this ￡100 bill?" The students began to put up their hands at once.
Then he said, "I am going to give this bill to one of you, but first, let me do this." He then made this bill into a ball. Then he said, "Who wants it?" Hands went into the air.
"Well," he said, "What if I do this?" and he dropped it on the floor and stepped on it. He picked up the dirty, crumpled bill and said, "Who still wants it?" Hands went back into the air.
"My friends," he said, "You've learned a valued lesson today. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it didn't go down in value. It was still worth ￡100.
Many times in our lives, we're dropped, crumpled, and stepped on by the chances we take and the things that happen to us. We feel as if we are worth nothing. But remember, no matter what has happened to you, you will never lose your value. You are always valuable to those who love you. Your value doesn't come from what you drop or whom you know，but WHO YOU ARE .
You are special and valuable. Don't ever forget it!The story happened ______.
| A．when the teacher gave the students some advice on how to learn English |
| B．when the students were having a meeting |
| C．when the teacher gave the students a speech |
| D．when the students were discussing something interesting with their teachers |
Even though the money was dirty, it _______.
| A．went up in value | B．was worth much |
| C．didn't reduce in value | D．was still ours |
The underlined sentence “Hands went back into the air.” in the third paragraph
means_______.
| A．the students put up their hands again |
| B．the students put down their hands |
| C．the students agreed to what the teacher said |
| D．the students put their hands in front of them |
Why did the famous teacher use a ￡100 at his lesson?
| A．Because he wanted to give a lecture about money. |
| B．Because he was used to dropping a bill on the floor and stepping on it. |
| C．Because he was going to give the bill to one of the students. |
| D．Because he wanted to make the students know what the value was. |
What lesson can you learn from the passage?
| A．￡100 bill is worth the same no matter what you do with it. |
| B．All people love money most. |
| C．Your value doesn't change no matter what happens to you. |
| D．The value of money changes when it is made dirty. |
A new argument has been put forward as to whether penguins are disturbed by the presence of tourists in Antarctica.
Previous research by scientists from Keil University in Germany monitored Adelie penguins and noted that the birds’ heart rates increased dramatically at the sight of a human as far as 30 meters away. But new research using an artificial egg, which is equipped to measure heart rates, disputes this. Scientists from the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge say that a slow moving human who does not approach the nest too closely, is not viewed as a threat by penguins.
The earlier findings have been used to partly explain the 20 per cent drop in populations of certain types of penguins near tourist sites. However, tour operators have continued to insist that their activities do not adversely affect wildlife in Antarctica, saying they encourage non-disruptive behavior in tourists, and that the decline in penguin numbers is caused by other factors.
Amanda Nimon of the Scott Polar Research Institute spent three southern hemisphere summers at Cuverville Island in Antarctica studying penguin behavior towards humans. “A nesting penguin will react very differently to a person rapidly and closely approaching the nest,” says Nimon. “First they exhibit large and prolonged heart rate changes and then they often flee the nest leaving it open for predators (掠夺者) to fly in and remove eggs or chicks.” The artificial egg, specially for the project, monitored both the parent who had been ‘disturbed’ when the egg was placed in the nest and the other parent as they both took it in turns to guard the nest.
However, Boris Culik, who monitored the Adelie penguins, believes that Nimon’s findings do not invalidate his own research. He points out that species behave differently ---- and Nimon’s work was with Gentoo penguins. Nimon and her colleagues believe that Culik’s research was methodologically flawed because the monitoring of penguins’ responses needed capturing and restraining the birds and fitting them with beart-rate transmitters. Therefore, argues Nimon, it would not be surprising if they became stressed on seeing a human subsequently. According to the passage, what overall message is presented?
| A．No firm conclusions are drawn. |
| B．Neither Culik’s nor Nimon’s findings are of much value. |
| C．Penguin reduction is closed related to tourist behavior. |
| D．Tourists are not responsible for the fall in penguin numbers. |
Which ONE argument of the following is stated in the passage?
| A．Penguins are harder to research when they have young. |
| B．Tour operators should encourage tourists to avoid Antarctica. |
| C．Not all penguins behave in the same way. |
| D．Penguins need better protection from tourists. |
What do you notice about the views presented in the passage?
| A．They are groundless. | B．They are factual. |
| C．They are descriptive. | D．They are conflicting. |
What does the underlined word (final line) probably mean?
| A．Later on. | B．Calmly. | C．Separately. | D．In the same place. |
Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 babies aged 9 months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were typically boys’ toys ---- a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys；and could pick whichever toy they liked their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (9 to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.
Dr Brenda Todd said, “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer: moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the colour of a newborn baby.”Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because ________.
| A．baby boys are much more active |
| B．baby girls like bright colours more |
| C．their parents treat them differently |
| D．there is a natural difference between them |
Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with ________ according to the study.
| A．a ball | B．a teddy | C．a car | D．a doll |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3?
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all. |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls. |
| C．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is. |
| D．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys. |
What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?
| A．Adults purposely influence their babies’ preference. |
| B．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings. |
| C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting. |
| D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted. |
A recent Living Social survey showed that Americans may live up to their poor reputation while travelling abroad. But what’s more surprising is that many of those surveyed self-identified themselves as ‘ugly’ Americans and the world’s worst travelers.
Those in the U.S. ranked themselves as the worst travellers by a shocking 20 per cent, followed by 15 per cent saying the Chinese were the most substandard tourists.
Americans topped the list as being the worst-behaved travelers in a survey of 5,600 respondents, 4,000 of whom were Americans. Other respondents were in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. But even American respondents considered their compatriots(同胞) as the worst travelers from a list of 16 nationalities.
Canadians and Australians also put Americans in the No. 1 spot. Irish respondents pointed to U.K. residents and U.K. respondents gave Germans the nod. On the other hand, 37% of Americans opted for "none of the above" in answer to the worst-tourists question, displaying more tolerance and open-mindedness than the other nationalities.
Other survey questions had respondents admitting pilfering from hotels. Four in ten U.S. survey-takers said they’d stolen something – mostly towels (28%) and bathrobes (8%). Other popular pinched items included pillows, remote controls, Bibles and sheets.
Not surprising is that Americans have less time off from work than other nationalities. Americans reported getting 16 days off, compared with 28 days for the Irish, 27 days for Australians, 23 days for U.K. workers; and 21 days for Canadians.
In the travel mishaps department, the most common travel disaster reported by Americans was lost luggage on an airline (21%)； bad weather (21%)； and getting very lost (16%).
As for places Americans most want to see, Disney World and Las Vegas made the top 10, but they weren't at the top of the heap. And New York didn't make the cut.What percentage of American respondents is in the survey?
| A．20 % | B．15% | C．71% | D．37% |
The underlined word “pilfering” in Para. 5 most probably means ________.
| A．taking | B．bringing | C．stealing | D．borrowing. |
According to the survey, what kind of things are most taken away by Americans?
| A．towels and pillows |
| B．bathrobes and remote controls. |
| C．towels and Bibles |
| D．bathrobes and towels. |
What’s the best title of this passage?
| A．Chinese were announced as the world’s worst travellers. |
| B．The global worst travellers were announced. |
| C．Disney World is the best destination to Americans. |
| D．European travellers were the best in the world |
Work Your Mind
Here’s something to think about the next time you ask your teacher for help: struggling with schoolwork on your own can help you learn. According to a recent study, the more you struggle while you are learning new information, the better you can remember it later.
This theory might surprise you. When teachers are presenting new information, they often give students lots of help. But a new study shows this may not be the best way to support learning. “Don't be too quick to get help when learning something new,” education expert Manu Kapur told TFK. “Try to work on it yourself even if it means trying different ways.”
Kapur came up with the idea that struggling can lead to better learning. Then he tested it out on students in Singapore. He separated students into two groups. In the first group, students were asked to solve math problems with the teacher’s help. In the second group, students were asked to solve the same problems by helping one another, instead of getting help from the teacher.
With the teacher’s help, students in the first group were able to find the correct answers. Students in the second group did not solve the problems correctly. But they did come up with a lot of good ideas. The students were then tested on what they had learned. The group without any help from a teacher scored much higher than the group who had help. Kapur said working to find the answers helped students understand the process, not just the solution.
Kapur’s advice for kids is to put a lot of effort into learning something new rather than going to your teacher for help. “Simply doing a little work or nothing at all won’t work,” says Kapur. “The struggle needs to be a genuine attempt to figure out or solve a problem in as many ways as possible.”When you have doubt on schoolwork, you’d better ____________.
| A．ask your teacher for help |
| B．make it clear by yourself |
| C．ask your classmates to help you |
| D．ask your parents for help |
What’s Manu Kapur educational idea on learning new knowledge?
| A．Give students much help as soon as possible. |
| B．Let students learn it on themselves in one way. |
| C．Let students learn it by themselves in the same way. |
| D．Let students learn it for themselves in different ways. |
How did Kapur check his idea on better learning?
| A．By asking questions. |
| B．By solving art problems. |
| C．By group comparations. |
| D．By solving science problems. |
What is most important in learning knowledge?
| A．Getting the teacher’s help. |
| B．Getting the student’s help. |
| C．Grasping the learning course. |
| D．Receiving the final solution. |