Early one morning,more than a hundred years ago,an American inventor called Elias Howe finally fell asleep.He had been working all night on the design of a sewing machine but he had run into a very difficult problem: It seemed impossible to get the thread to run smoothly around the needle.
Though he was tired,Howe slept badly.He turned and turned.Then he had a dream.He dreamt that he had been caught by terrible savages whose king wanted to kill him and eat him unless he could build a perfect sewing machine.When he tried to do so,Howe ran into the same problem as before.The thread kept getting caught around the needle.The king flew into the cage and ordered his soldiers to kill Howe.They came up towards him with their spears raised.But suddenly the inventor noticed something.There was a hole in the tip of each spear.The inventor awoke from the dream,realizing that he had just found the answer to the problem.Instead of trying to get the thread to run around the needle,he should make it run through a small hole in the center of the needle.This was the simple idea that finally made Howe design and build the first really practical sewing machine.
Elias Howe was not the only one in finding the answer to his problem in this way.Thomas Edison,the inventor of the electric light,said his best ideas came into him in dreams.So did the great physicist Albert Einstein.Charlotte Bronte also drew in her dreams in writing Jane Eyre.
To know the value of dreams,you have to understand what happens when you are asleep.Even then,a part of your mind is still working.This unconscious(无意识的),but still active part understands your experiences and goes to work on the problems you have had during the day.It stores all sorts of information that you may have forgotten or never have really noticed.It is only when you fall asleep that this part of the brain can send messages to the part you use when you are awake.However,the unconscious part acts in a special way.It uses strange images which the conscious part may not understand at first.This is why dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves ”.According to the passage,Elias Howe was_________.
| A．the first person we know of who solved problems in his sleep |
| B．much more hard-working than other inventors |
| C．the first person to design a sewing machine that really worked |
| D．the only person at the time who knew the value of dreams |
The problem Howe was trying to solve was_________.
| A．what kind of thread to use |
| B．how to design a needle which would not break |
| C．where to put the needle |
| D．how to prevent the thread from getting caught around the needle |
Thomas Edison is spoken of because_________.
| A．he also tried to invent a sewing machine |
| B．he got some of his ideas from dreams |
| C．he was one of Howe's best friends |
| D．he also had difficulty in falling asleep |
Dreams are sometimes called “secret messages to ourselves” because _________.
| A．strange images are used to communicate ideas |
| B．images which have no meaning are used |
| C．we can never understand the real meaning |
| D．only specially trained people can understand them |
Encouragement and praise can come in many forms, and some ways are better for child development than others. Researchers at the University of Chicago who studied mother-child interactions (互相作用) found that the type of praise children receive affects their attitudes towards challenges later in life.
Specifically, praise that focused on their behavior and the choices that kids made helped them deal with difficult experiences better five years later, compared with praise that focused more on the child himself, like “You’re a good boy.” The study, which appears in the journal Child Development, is the first major study of praise and child development done outside of a lab setting.
“It’s exciting to see it play out in the real world,” said Elizabeth Gunderson who led the study. “Praising the efforts, actions and work of kids is going to be more beneficial in their long-term persistence and desire to be challenged and work hard in the future.”
Such “process praise” includes comments such as “You worked really hard”, which emphasize a child’s actions. “Person praise” includes comments like “You’re so smart”, which focus on a child’s personal qualities. These distinctions (差别) aren’t new in the field of psychology, but exactly how they affect children’s development over the years hasn’t always been clear.
As part of the study, the researchers visited the homes of more than 50 kids between the ages of 1 and 3, and filmed their daily interactions with their parents during 90-minute sessions. Five years later, the researchers followed up with the families, measuring the children’s attitudes towards challenges and problem solving. The children who grew up with more process praise were more open to challenges. Though person praise didn’t seem to have any negative effect on the children, the study suggests that process praise teaches children that their talents and abilities can be developed and improved, while person praise sends the message that their abilities are fixed and therefore not easily changed.What can we learn from the first Paragraph?
| A．Researchers encourage more mother-child interactions. |
| B．Different kinds of praise have different effects on children. |
| C．Encouragement and praise have the same effects on children. |
| D．Researchers have different attitudes to children’s development. |
The underlined word "it" in Paragraph 3 refers to _______ .
| A．the journal Child Development |
| B．the study of praise and child development |
| C．the relationship between parents and their children |
| D．the relationship between progress praise and person praise |
Which of the following belongs to "progress praise"?
| A．You did a good job! | B．What an adorable boy! |
| C．You're a real gentleman! | D．We are so proud of you! |
Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
| A．Praise is good for children's development. |
| B．Praise is more beneficial than punishment. |
| C．Person praise is better than process praise. |
| D．Process praise is more beneficial in the long run. |
If you hear the sound of a mobile phone beeping in a bag or pocket, you could think that someone has received a text message. Text messaging, or texting, is the art of sending a short, electronic message between two mobile phones. The users should pay a certain amount to send messages via SMS--- short message service. But in the last few years, with the development of smart phones, messaging in this way has been at a low ebb.
The rise of smart phones has seen an increase in the use of instant messaging apps. The apps offer a cheap alternative to traditional texts. Using wireless internet connections, people can send a number of messages to their friends at a very low cost. Unlike traditional mobile texts, the users usually only have to pay to download the app once, after which each message they send is free.
Instant messaging apps have become popular all over the world. Hundreds of millions of people use the apps to chat with their friends. These apps allow people to send pictures messages for free---something which previously was quite costly. Many of these apps also allow users to have access to a huge range of colourful emotions, which can help people express their emotions.
The research company Informa said that almost 19 billion messages were sent per day using chat apps last year, compared with 17.6 billion SMS texts. And it expects the chat app market to grow to 50 billion per day by 2015. So does this really mean the end of communicating by texting?
Pamela Clark-Dickson from Informa doesn’t think so. She says that there are a large number of people who use normal mobile phones, particularly in developing countries and prefer the SMS messaging tool. For the moment, these users still find that SMS is the best messaging experience for them.The underlined phrase “at a low ebb” can be replaced by “______”
| A．on the increase | B．on the decrease |
| C．in the end | D．at the moment |
What can we learn about instant messaging apps?
| A．Normal mobile phones can be used to download the apps. |
| B．The apps enjoy high popularity in developing countries. |
| C．Only part of the messages sent by the apps are free of charge. |
| D．It will cost the users some money for downloading the apps. |
Instant messaging apps won’t take the place of the SMS messaging tool soon in that_____________________________________
| A．there are a large number of people who enjoy using normal mobile phones. |
| B．many people in developing countries can’t afford to buy smart phones. |
| C．many people in developing countries don’t like instant messaging apps |
| D．instant messaging apps are only known to people in developed countries. |
In which section of an English newspaper will this text probably be found?
| A．Science & Technology | B．Culture |
| C．Entertainment | D．Health & care |
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| A．they lack confidence |
| B．they do exercise alone |
| C．they are under great pressure |
| D．they don't get enough exercise |
From the text, we can learn that if you join the gym, _______ .
| A．you'll lose weight safely but slowly |
| B．you'll struggle with workout routines |
| C．you'll be advised to pay attention to nutrition |
| D．you'll be advised to do nothing in between workouts |
How much do a couple have to pay if they join the gym today?
| A．$500. | B．$800. | C．$900. | D．$1,000. |
This text is most probably taken from a ________ .
| A．newspaper | B．magazine |
| C．website | D．textbook |
One day, our teacher talked about the stereotypes (固定看法) of different people. I learned the stereotypes of Mexicans: they are poor and lazy. I was ashamed of who I was because I am a Mexican and thought that it would be hard for me to be successful.
One day in the eleventh grade, we had a discussion in history class. The kid next to me said, "You look like one of those Mexicans who sell food in the street." I told him that he was also a Mexican. He said, "I don't look as Mexican as you. I have light skin." That was the first time that I'd heard someone say, "I don't look as Mexican as you." Could it be that the people who succeed in this country are those who look like an American?
Towards the end of the eleventh grade, I was asked to write a restaurant review. When I went to a restaurant, I saw the waiter talking to the chefs (厨师) and thought they were judging me. I felt nervous but I couldn't leave because I had to write the review. Minutes later, the waiter stopped talking and took my order. He was happy to serve me. I started asking him questions about his restaurant and I guessed that he liked that because he gave me a free dish. After I left the restaurant, I thought, "That's wasn't bad at all." Not all people think of me as a failure.
Now, I am running for the school president in my senior year. I am not sure if I can win, but I tell myself that if I want to be successful, I have to stop despising (鄙视) myself. I want to prove that Latinos can be successful. I do belong to the United States. An American is a person who overcomes struggles to become successful and that is what I'm doing.In Paragraph 2, what the kid said to the author made him doubt whether ______.
| A．he should laugh at the kid |
| B．the kid was a real Mexican |
| C．he should sell food in the street |
| D．the color of one's skin really mattered |
The author's experience of finishing his restaurant review helped him realize that .
| A．he could succeed easily if he tried his best |
| B．the waiters in America were all very friendly |
| C．not everyone in American looked down on Mexicans |
| D．he was actually popular with people around him |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Where one was born matters a lot. |
| B．Being a Mexican is hard in America. |
| C．Other people's opinions are very important. |
| D．It is what he does that makes him an American. |
Ask someone what they have done to help the environment recently and they will almost certainly mention recycling. Recycling in the home is very important of course. However, being forced to recycle often means we already have more material than we need. We are dealing with the results of that over-consumption in the greenest way possible, but it would be far better if we did not need to bring so much material home in the first place.
The total amount of packaging increased by 12% between 1999 and 2005. It now makes up a third of a typical household’s waste in the UK. In many supermarkets nowadays food items are packaged twice with plastic and cardboard.
Too much packaging is doing serious damage to the environment. The UK, for example, is running out of it for carrying this unnecessary waste. If such packaging is burnt, it gives off greenhouse gases which go on to cause the greenhouse effect. Recycling helps, but the process itself uses energy. The solution is not to produce such items in the first place. Food waste is a serious problem, too. Too many supermarkets encourage customers to buy more than they need. However, a few of them are coming round to the idea that this cannot continue , encouraging customers to reuse their plastic bags, for example.
But this is not just about supermarkets. It is about all of us. We have learned to associate packaging with quality. We have learned to think that something unpackaged is of poor quality. This is especially true of food. But is also applies to a wide range of consumer products, which often have far more packaging than necessary.
There are signs of hope. As more of us recycle, we are beginning to realise just how much unnecessary material are collecting. We need to face the wastefulness of our consumer culture, but we have a mountain to climb.What does the underlined phrase “over-consumption” refer to?
| A．Using too much packaging. |
| B．Recycling too many wastes. |
| C．Making more products than necessary. |
| D．Having more material than is needed. |
According to the text, recycling ______.
| A．helps control the greenhouse effect |
| B．means burning packaging for energy |
| C．is the solution to gas shortage |
| D．leads to a waste of land |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．Fighting wastefulness is difficult. |
| B．Needless material is mostly recycled. |
| C．People like collecting recyclable waste. |
| D．The author is proud of their consumer culture. |