B
Advice to “sleep on it” could be well founded, scientists say. After a good night’s sleep a problem that couldn’t be solved the night before can often appear more manageable, although the evidence（证据）until now has been personal experience. But researchers at the University of Luebek in Germany have designed an experiment that shows a good night’s sleep can improve insight（洞察力）and problem-solving.
“If you have some newly-got memories in your brain, sleep acts on these memories and rebuild them, so that after sleep the insight into problem which you could not solve before increases,” said Dr Jan Born, a neuroscientist（神经病学专家）at the university. To test the theory, they taught volunteers two simple rules to help them turn some numbers into a new order．There was also a third，hidden rule，which could help them increase their speed in solving the problem．The researchers divided the volunteers into two groups：half were allowed to sleep after the training while the rest were forced to stay awake．Dr Jan Born and his team noticed that the group that had slept after the training were twice as likely to figure out the third rule as the other group．“Sleep helped，”Born said in a telephone interview．“The important thing is that you have to have a memory representation in your brain of the problem you want to solve and then you sleep，so it can act on the problem．”But Born admitted that he and his team don’t know how rebuilding of memories occurs or what governs it．Pierre Maquet and Perrine Ruby of the University of Liege in Belgium said the experimental evidence supports the suggestions that sleep can help develop creative thinking．Although the role of sleep in human creativity will still be a mystery，the research gives people good reason to fully respect their periods of sleep，they added．
60．The underlined phrase“sleep on it”in Paragraph 1 probably means_________．
A．to delay deciding something until the next day
B．to get as much sleep as possible
C．to go on sleeping without being disturbed
D．to sleep till after the time you usually get up in the morning
61．Jan Born and his team carried out the experiment through________．
A．comparison B．interview C．survey D．imagination
62．It can be inferred from the passage that___________．
A．people should sleep so long as they have time
B．sleep is the only way to solve hard problems
C．people have various periods of sleep D．people know how sleep rebuilds memories
63．What would be the best title for the passage?
A．How Sleep Works． B．Sleep Helps Solve Problems．
C．No Evidence，But Well Founded． D．Born’s Discovery on Sleep．
If you intend using humor in your talk to make people smile, you must know how to identify shared experiences and problems. Your humor must be relevant to the audience and should help to show them that you are one of them or that you understand their situation and are in sympathy with their point of view. Depending on whom you are addressing, the problems will be different.
If you are talking to a group of managers, you may refer to the disorganized methods of their secretaries; alternatively if you are addressing secretaries, you may want to comment on their disorganized bosses.
Here is an example, which I heard at a nurses' convention, of a story which works well because the audience all shared the same view of doctors. A man arrives in heaven and is being shown around by St. Peter. He sees wonderful accommodations, beautiful gardens, sunny weather, and so on. Everyone is very peaceful, polite and friendly until, waiting in a line for lunch, the new arrival is suddenly pushed aside by a man in a white coat, who rushes to the head of the line, grabs his food and stomps over to a table by himself. “Who is that?” the new arrival asked St. Peter. “Oh, that's God.” came the reply, “but sometimes he thinks he's a doctor.”
If you are part of the group which you are addressing, you will be in a position to know the experiences and problems which are common to all of you and it'll be appropriate for you to make a passing remark about the inedible canteen food or the chairman's notorious bad taste in ties. With other audiences you mustn't attempt to cut in with humor as they will resent an outsider making disparaging remarks about their canteen or their chairman. You will be on safer ground if you stick to scapegoats like the Post Office or the telephone system.
If you feel awkward being humorous, you must practice so that it becomes more natural. Include a few casual and apparently off-the-cuff(即兴的)remarks which you can deliver in a relaxed and unforced manner. Often it's the delivery which causes the audience to smile, so speak slowly and remember that a raised eyebrow or an unbelieving look may help to show that you are making a light-hearted remark.
Look for the humor. It often comes from the unexpected. A twist on a familiar quote “If at first you don't succeed, give up” or a play on words or on a situation. Search for exaggeration and understatements. Look at your talk and pick out a few words or sentences which you can turn about and inject with humor. To make your humor work, you should ________.
| A．take advantage of different kinds of audience |
| B．make fun of the disorganized people. |
| C．address different problems to different people. |
| D．show sympathy for your listeners. |
The joke about doctors implies that, in the eyes of nurses, they are ________.
| A．impolite to new arrivals. |
| B．very conscious of their godlike role. |
| C．entitled to some privileges. |
| D．very busy even during lunch hours. |
It can be inferred from the text that public services ________.
| A．have benefited many people. |
| B．are the focus of public attention. |
| C．are an inappropriate subject for humor. |
| D．have often been the laughing stock. |
To achieve the desired result, humorous stories should be delivered ________.
| A．in well-worded language. | B．as awkwardly as possible. |
| C．in exaggerated statement. | D．as casually as possible. |
The best title for the text may be ________.
| A．Use Humor Effectively. | B．Various Kinds of Humor. |
| C．Add Humor to Speech. | D．Different Humor Strategies. |
When Charles Strattion was five, he stopped growing. His mother took him to see the famous showman, P.T.Barnum, and thought a small person would be the perfect addition to his show. He hired Charles’ parents along with him, and they traveled around the world together.
He gave the two-foot-tall Charles a new name, general Tom Thumb. He taught Tom how to sing, dance, act, and tell jokes. When he felt Tom was ready to perform on stage, he made up ads. To stir up great interest, he said that Tom was eleven years old and had come from England.
During the show, Tom fought battles pretendedly with tall people. He also danced upon a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall.
Tom’s act was very popular and brought in a lot of money. By the time Tom was an adult, he had grown very rich. He had become a billionaire at the age of twenty-five.
Fortunately for Tom, Mr. Barnum added more little people to his show, and Tom became lucky in love as well. One of the little people was Lavinia Warren, a school teacher. Tom was able to win her love, and they married.
The ceremony and reception were the talk of the town. They were attended by many rich and famous people and by about two thousand guests. Crowds filled the streets of New York to have a look at their tiny wedding carriage. The couple even met with President Abraham Lincoln on their honeymoon, just before going to live in Tom’s house in Connecticut.
Their wedding, which took place during the Civil War, provided a welcome escape from the sad problems of war. Not willing to let this bit of sunshine fade, communities throughout the country sponsored “Tom Thumb” weddings. In these weddings, small boys and girls, all dressed up, went through marriage ceremony for fun.“the talk of the town” means _________ .
| A．they were in the newspaper |
| B．people spread mean rumors about them |
| C．they were the most popular things happening |
| D．they were discussed in a city meeting |
What does the author think about Tom Thumb’s wedding?
| A．People gave it too much of their attention. |
| B．It helped people cheer up in a dark time. |
| C．It was funny and ridiculous. |
| D．Tom and Lavinia were stupid. |
Which of the following is the best clue to the fact that Tom was smart?
| A．He became a billionaire at twenty-five. |
| B．He learned how to sing, dance, and act at a very young age. |
| C．He met with President Lincoln during his honeymoon. |
| D．He married a school teacher. |
It was very funny when Tom danced on a wooden plate held by a person who was eight feet tall because ________ .
| A．the wooden plate would make it sound as if Tom were tap dancing |
| B．it made Tom feel taller |
| C．the eight-foot-tall man was the only tall person Tom trusted |
| D．the difference between them would make Tom look even smaller |
What does the author imply in the last paragraph?
| A．Weddings always make people feel full of sunshine. |
| B．People are always disappointed during wartime. |
| C．Entertainment can serve an important purpose. |
| D．People should be married even if they are small. |
Four hundred years ago, an Italian scientist named Galileo Galilei became the first person to see the craters（环形山） on the moon. Galileo was one of the first people to use a telescope to study the sky. Since then, telescopes have become the most important tool used by astronomers. Scientists never stop finding new ways to make these instruments more powerful. In the next several years, two new telescopes with different purposes are to be used.
One of the telescopes, called Pan-STARRS, could save humans from dying out. Nick Kaiser, a scientist who works on the project, says the Pan-STARRS telescope has been designed to find “90 percent of all killer asteroids(小行星) near Earth”.
Pan-STARRS, like most telescopes, uses mirrors and lenses(透镜) to provide pictures of outer space. Giant mirrors are used to “gather” light. They reflect the light onto the lens of a camera, which can then record the image.
When completed, Pan-STARRS will include four telescopes which will be put on top of a mountain on the Hawaiian island of Maui. Only one telescope is in place and working now. Each telescope will take pictures of one patch of sky for about 30 seconds, and then move on to another patch. Every night, each telescope will take pictures of about 1,000 patches. Every week, each telescope will have photographed the whole sky.
Each of the four telescopes will take pictures of the same patches of sky. One telescope, working alone, may sometimes incorrectly show an asteroid. If there are three other telescopes working, astronomers can use them to see if there really is an asteroid coming our way. By using four telescopes instead of one, scientists hope to get a better picture of space. If a giant asteroid was identified, astronomers would try to break it up long before it reached Earth. Galileo Galilei is mentioned to ____________.
| A．tell us the history of telescopes |
| B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．show people his contributions |
| D．tell us about the craters on the moon |
For what purpose is Pan-STARRS designed?
| A．To find more asteroids around Earth. |
| B．To help scientists know Earth better. |
| C．To find killer asteroids coming towards Earth. |
| D．To learn about asteroids in outer space. |
What is paragraph 3 mainly about?
| A．The use of mirrors in a telescope. |
| B．Why Pan-STARRS is different. |
| C．How telescope “gather” light |
| D．How a telescope works. |
How many patches is the whole sky divided into when Pan-STARRS is working?
| A．1,000 | B．7,000 | C．21,000 | D．28,000 |
The four telescopes will take pictures of the same patches of sky because _____.
| A．one telescope often takes unclear pictures |
| B．one telescope may provide incorrect information |
| C．information from just one telescope is usually incorrect |
| D．no information is allowed to be identified based on single information |
The Global Heritage Fund organization recently released a list of cultural treasures in the developing world that are in danger of disappearing. These“On the Verge” places face many threats. They included war, development pressures, stealing and misuse by visitors. The Global Heritage Fund says these places are important because they are records of our human civilization. And the group says countries can learn to use these treasures to help support responsible development in the future.
One such place is the town of Lamu. Lamu was once a very important trading center in East Africa. This ancient city became part of the United Nations Heritage list in 2001. But it still faces threats. For example, a modern port might be built nearby.
Other endangered places include Ani, a city in Turkey, the town of Maluti in India, the ancient city of Ninevah in northern Iraq, the Sans-Souci palace in Haiti, and the former capital of Ayutthaya in Thailand.
The Global Heritage Fund is nonprofit organization based in California. The group says it only focuses on developing countries which often have few resources to protect places of cultural importance. And, other major cultural organizations often pay more attention to protecting places in the developed world. For example, the fund points out the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has forty-five World Heritage places in Italy. UNESCO has forty-two in Spain. But Peru, famous for its ancient Incan buildings, has only nine World Heritage places. Guatemala has only three.
The Global Heritage Fund says its new report tries to place a value on cultural places so that they can also be considered as economic resources. It estimates that by 2025 these places of cultural importance could produce one hundred billion dollars a year in income for developing countries. The underlined part “On the Verge” in Paragraph 1 is used to show the places are _____.
| A．popular | B．famous |
| C．endangered | D．dangerous |
The town of Lamu faces danger from ________.
| A．development pressures | B．stealing |
| C．misuse by visitors | D．a war |
We can know that The Global Heritage Fund organization mainly _____.
| A．protects places of cultural importance in developing countries |
| B．protects places of cultural importance in developed countries |
| C．provide resources to protect cultural places in every country |
| D．helps people know the importance of protecting cultural treasures |
Which of the following countries has the fewest World Heritage places?
| A．Italy | B．Guatemala |
| C．Peru | D．Spain |
According to The Global Heritage Fund organization, saving the places of cultural
importance_______.
| A．has attracted a lot of attention worldwide |
| B．will start to benefit developing countries in 2015 |
| C．is mainly to increase income of developing countries |
| D．can help developing countries make money out of them |
Trees should only be pruned (修剪) when there is a good and clear reason for doing so and , the number of such reasons is small. Pruning involves the cutting away of overgrown and unwanted branches, and the inexperienced gardener can be encouraged by the thought that more damage results from doing it unnecessarily than from leaving the tree to grow in its own way.
First, pruning may be done to make sure that trees have desired shape or size. The object may be to get a tree of the right height, and at the same time to help the growth of small side branches, which will thicken its appearance or give it a special shape. Secondly, pruning may be done to make the tree healthier. You may cut out diseased or dead wood, or branches that are rubbing against each other and thus cause wounds. The health of a tree may be encouraged by removing branches that are blocking up the center and so preventing the free movement of air.
One result of pruning is that an open wound is left on the tree and this provides an easy entry for disease , but it is a wound that will heal (愈合). Often there is a race between the healing and the disease as to whether the tree will live or die, so that there is a period when the tree is at risk. It should be the aim of every gardener to reduce that risk of death as far as possible. It is important to make the area, which has been pruned, smooth and clean, for healing will be slowed down by roughness. You should allow the cut surface to dry for a few hours and then paint it with one of the materials available from garden shops produced especially for this purpose. Pruning is usually done in winter , for then you can see the shape of the tree clearly without interference (妨碍) from the leaves and also it is very unlikely that the cuts you make will bleed. If this does happen, it is, of course, impossible to paint them properly .．Why should pruning be done?
| A．To make the tree grow taller. | B．To improve the shape of the tree. |
| C．to get rid of the small ranches . | D．To make the small branches thicker. |
．Trees become unhealthy if the gardener__________.
| A．giving a tree a special shape and a definite height |
| B．removing small side branches and making a tree look less thick |
| C．allowing too many branches to grow in the middle |
| D．having a tree surrounded by many other trees |
．Why is a special material painted on the tree?
| A．To help a wound to dry. | B．to cover a rough surface. |
| C．To make a wound smooth. | D．To prevent disease entering a wound. |
．A good gardener prunes a tree _________ .
| A．several times throughout the year | B．as quickly as possible |
| C．occasionally when necessary | D．regularly every winter |
．What was the author’s purpose when writing this passage?
| A．To discuss different methods of pruning. |
| B．To introduce some common knowledge of pruning. |
| C．To explain how trees develop disease. |
| D．To give practical instruction for pruning a tree. |