Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.
Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.
The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.
Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here’s where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles — making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles — so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.
When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren’t fooled — they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.
As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they’re more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.
55．Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate .
A．children’s and adults’ eye-sight
B．people’s ability to see accurately
C．children’s and adults’ brains
D．the influence of people’s age
56．When asked to find the larger circle, .
A．children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around
B．only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around
C．children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around
D．adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around
57．Visual context may work when children get older than .
A．4 B．6 C．10 D．18
58．Why are younger children not fooled?
A．Because they are smarter than older children and adults.
B．Because older people are influenced by their experience.
C．Because people’s eyes become weaker as they grow older.
D．Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.
第三部分阅读（共两节，满分40分）
第一节阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列三篇短文，从每题所给的四个选现（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
American like to visit the national parks. In 1996, over 250,000,000 people visited areas run by the National Park Service. Experts predict that by 2010, 500,000,000 people per year will visit the parks. As a result, people are trying to think of ways to protect the parks from the crowds.
The crowding of the parks has caused several problems. One is that there is not enough space for all of the people who want to use the parks. To cope with this problem, national parks may require reservations months in advance for some spots. The Park Service may also raise entrance fees at these places.
Another problem caused by increased park use is pollution. Some garbage and waste can be cleaned up, and the cleanup can be paid for by increased entrance fees. To cut down on noise pollution and air pollution, officials may decrease the number of cars allowed in parks. If this happens, people may use buses to travel around the parks. Officials may also limit the use of jet-skis, snowmobiles (摩托雪橇), motorboats, and sightseeing helicopters and planes.
The parks are also threatened by development that is going on around them. For example, around Yellow Stone Park, many motels (汽车旅馆), golf courses, resorts, and other tourist attractions have been built. Some of these developments affect areas that are used by animals. People will have to learn to agree about ways to protect the parks. If they do not, there will soon be no reason to visit these national treasures.
1. By 2010, the number of visitors will rise by ______ per year.
A. 250 million B. 500 million C. 2.5 billion D. 5 billion
2. If you want to visit the national parks, you may have to _____ in the future.
A. pay less than before B. stay there for months
C. book the ticket before months D. fill in a form to apply for the ticket
3. Entrance fees may be increased _______.
A. just for the benefit of the National Park Service
B. either to limit the number of visitors or to pay for the cleaner
C. not only to protect the animals but to reduce the noise pollution
D. merely for the development of the national parks
4. What does the underlined sentence in the passage mean?
A. People are not supposed to visit the national parks for fear that they will harm the animals.
B. Only if more man-made tourist attractions are built will more people visit the parks.
C. It is reasonable to keep the balance between the development of the parks and the reserve.
D. People will not visit the national parks since there are no golf courses and resorts.
5. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. High fees may probably keep some people out of parks.
B. Helicopters and planes will not be used in parks any longer.
C. The bus will become the only toot in parks with the purpose of pollution reduction.
D. The National Park Service welcomes as many visitors as possible.
①Isaac Stern was more than a great violin player. He was one of the most honored musicians in the world. He was an international cultural ambassador. He was a major supporter of the arts in America and in other countries. He was a teacher and activist.
②Issac Stern was born in 1920 in what is now Ukraine. His parents moved to San Francisco, California the following year. His mother began teaching Isaac the piano when he was six. He began taking violin lessons after hearing a friend play the instrument. Later, he began studying music at the San Francisco Conservatory (音乐学院). He progressed quickly. When he was 16, he played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. The next year, he performed in New York City and was praised by music critics.
③During World War II, Mr Stern played for thousands of American soldiers. It was the first time many of them had heard classical music. After the war, he was the first American violinist to perform in a concert in the Soviet Union. He also supported young musicians and cultural organizations in Israel.
④In 1979, Isaac Stern visited China. He met with Chinese musicians and students. He taught them about classical Western music. His visit was made into a film, which is called From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China. It won an Academy Award for best documentary film.
⑤In 1984, Isaac Stern received the Kennedy Center Honors Award for his gifts to American culture through music. He expressed his thoughts about the part that music plays in life. He said he believed that music makes life better for everyone, especially children.
⑥Mr Stern supported and guided younger classical musicians. They include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Pinchas Zukerman, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and pianist Yefim Bronfman.
⑦Isaac Stern died in 2001 at eh age of 81. He was a major influence on music in the 20th century. He leaves the world richer with his many recordings.
1. Which of the following is the RIGHT time order for these events in Stern’s life?
a. He began learning music in an institution.
b. He received the Kennedy Center Honors Award.
c. He visited the Soviet Union.
d. He met with Chinese musicians.
e. He performed for American soldiers.
A. a,e,c,d,b B. a,e,b,c,d C. e,a,b,c,d D. e,a,c,d,b
2. Paragraph 2 is mainly about ______.
A. how Stern began to learn music B. how Stern began his musical career
C. Stern’s early education D. Stern’s achievement in music
3. Which of the following statements about Stern is TRUE?
A. He was an activist in opposing war.
B. He was active in cultural exchanges between countries.
C. He had an interest in both playing music and making films.
D. He made a lot of money from music.
4. The Underlined word “cellist” in Paragraph 6 may refer to ________.
A. someone who supports young musicians
B. someone who wants to be a musician
C. someone who has a gift for music
D. someone who plays a certain kind of instrument
5. Which of the following shows the RIGHT structure of the text?
A.① B.①
↓ ↓
②③④⑤②③④⑤⑥
↓ ↓
⑥⑦⑦
C. ①②③④⑤⑥ D.①②③
↓↓
⑦④⑤⑥⑦
Everybody is happy as his pay rises. Yet pleasure at your own can disappear if you learn that a fellow worker has been given a bigger one. Indeed, if he is known as being lazy, you might even be quite cross. Such behavior is regarded as “all too human”, with the underlying belief that other animals would not be able to have this finely developed sense of sadness. But a study by Sarah Brosnan of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, which has just been published in Nature, suggests that it is all too monkey, as well.
The researchers studied the behaviors of some kind of female brown monkeys.
They look smart. They are good-natured, co-operative creatures, and they share their food happily. Above all, like females human beings, they tend to pay much closer attention to the value of “goods and services” than males.
Such characteristics make them perfect subjects for Doctor Brosnan’s study. The researchers spent two years teaching their monkeys to exchange tokens（奖券）for food. Normally, the monkeys were happy enough to exchange pieces of rock for pieces of cucumber. However, when two monkeys were placed in separate and connected rooms, so that each other could observe what the other is getting in return for its rock, they became quite different.
In the world of monkeys, grapes are excellent goods（and much preferable to cucumbers）. So when one monkey was handed a grape in exchange for her token, the second was not willing to hand hers over for a mere piece of cucumber. And if one received a grape without having to provide her token in exchange at all, the other either shook her own token at the researcher, or refused to accept the cucumber. Indeed, the mere presence of a grape in the other room(without an actual monkey to eat it) was enough to bring about dissatisfaction in a female monkey.
The researches suggest that these monkeys, like humans, are guided by social senses. In the wild, they are co-operative and group-living. Such co-operation is likely to be firm only when each animal feels it is not being cheated. Feelings of anger when unfairly treated, it seems, are not the nature of human beings alone. Refusing a smaller reward completely makes these feelings clear to other animals of the group. However, whether such a sense of fairness developed independently in monkeys and humans, or whether it comes from the common roots that they had 35 million years ago, is, as yet, an unanswered question.
1．According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A．Only monkeys and humans can have the sense of fairness in the world.
B．Women will show more dissatisfaction than men when unfairly treated.
C．In the wild, monkeys are never unhappy to share their food with each other.
D．Monkeys can exchange cucumbers for grapes, for grapes are more attractive.
2．The underlined statement “it is all too monkey” means that .
A．monkeys are also angry with lazy fellows
B．feeling bitter at unfairness is also monkey’s nature
C．monkeys, like humans, tend to be envious of each other
D．no animals other than monkeys can develop such feelings
3．Female monkeys of this kind are chosen for the research most probably because they are .
A．more likely to weigh what they get
B．attentive to researchers’ instructions
C．nice in both appearance and behaviors
D．more ready to help others than their male companions
4．Which of the following conclusions is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Human beings’ feeling of anger is developed from the monkeys.
B．In the research, male monkeys are less likely to exchange food with others.
C．Co-operation between monkeys stays firm before the realization of being cheated.
D．Only monkeys and humans have the sense of fairness which dates back to 35 million years ago.
5．What can we infer about the monkeys in Sarah’s study?
A．The monkeys can be trained to develop social senses.
B．They usually show their feelings openly as humans do.
C．The monkeys may show their satisfaction with equal treatment.
D．Co-operation among the monkeys remains effective in the wild.
“What’s in a name?” According to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is not too much. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” But Shakespeare may have been wrong. In most cultures, names matter a great deal.
Americans choose names for their children with care. Parents usually think about the impression a name gives, not its meaning. Most Americans would consider a “Jennifer” more attractive than a “Bertha”, for example. The last name, or, surname, must also be considered when choosing a first and middle name. A name like Lester Chester Hester would sound poetic, but odd. Parents would avoid names that remind them of people they don’t like. On the other hand, people might name their children after a respected elderly relative or even a famous person. The popularity of certain names can change with each new generation. Names that were once common, like Fanny or Elmer, sound old-fashioned today. But other names---like John and David, Mary and Sarah---have stood the test of time and continue to be favorites.
People in America don’t always call their friends and relatives by their given names. Instead, they often use nicknames. Sometimes nicknames are short forms of a longer name. For instance, a girl named Elizabeth may be called Lisa, Beth or Betsy. As children grow up, they may decide for themselves which nickname they wish to be called. Some people just go by the initials of their first and middle names, like B.J. or R.C. And of course, people may call their children or their sweethearts other special nicknames. Often they have a “sweet” flavor, like Honey or Sugar.
What’s in a name? A world of significance. So if you’re choosing an English name for yourself, take care to choose a good one. A made-up name could sound strange to native English speakers. And a translation of your Chinese name may not make an appropriate name, either. But a good name can leave a positive and lasting impression. As an American politician once said, “In real life, unlike in Shakespeare, the sweetness of the rose depends upon the name it bears.”
1. What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 2 mean?
A.People change names in order to be popular with the new generation.
B.Names will change by themselves in order to be popular.
C.Some names may no longer be popular among the new generation.
D.No names can stand the test of time.
2When choosing names, you should stick to the following principles except that __________.
A.the impression a name gives is more important than its meaning
B.you can name after a well-known person
C.surname should be paid attention to
D.you can create a name that is special
3The word “initial” in paragraph 3 probably means __________.
A. nickname B. the first letter
C. short form D. title
4. The author will name a new born baby girl __________.
A. Bertha B. Fanny C. Yunyun D. Elizabeth
5. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Names have great significance to Americans.
B. Names change when time goes by.
C. Chinese people should be careful when choosing their English names.
D. Roses smell sweet by any other name.
III阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
April 27 is Take Our Daughters to Work Day in Britain. Started at first in the Unite States and brought to Britain in 1994, Take Our Daughters to Work Day has become a special day for girls between 11 and 15. On that day thousands of girls take a day off school and go together with one of their parents to their work places. The purpose of this day is to broaden girls’ horizons and raise their self-confidence.
For many years people have thought that boys can do better than girls in society. But actually, “girls can be whatever they want to be just like boys, whether it is a pilot, a nurse or a chief executive,” says the chairman of the Our Sons and Daughters Charitable Trust, an organization which supported the activity of the Day. “Now the girls have a close look at what their parents are doing and this may help them to be more self-confident when they are faced with a choice of work.”
Schools and many companies support the activity too. Palmers’ Green High School for girls, in north London, has made the day necessary part of careers education.
Zarina Bart, 15, from Palmers’ Green, went with her mother to her Lawyer’s office this year’s Take Our Daughters to Work Day. She found it interesting to see her mother at work. “It’s really strange seeing Mum at work--- running around, getting serious and telling people what to do.” She has always liked this idea of going into law and thinks it likely that she will follow in her mother’s footsteps. Having a chance to see how her mother works has given her more self-confidence.
Experts believe that girls with higher self-confidence aim higher and are more likely to be successful in life. Parents have most important effect on the confidence of teenage girls. If parents believe in their daughters and show examples both at work as well as at home for them, this will give a lot of help to girls. Take Our Daughters to Work Day is surely a step in the right direction.
1.Which is the best title of this passage?
A.Raising Self-confidence
B.Take Our Daughters to Work Day
C.Girls can be Excellent too!
D.Following Footsteps
2.It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that __________.
A.Women pilots are popular in Britain
B.Girls are sure about their future jobs
C.People have wrongly believed that girls can do as well as boys
D.For many years boys have a comparatively wider choice of work
3.According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?
A.Take Our Daughters to Work Day is British in origin.
B.On Take Our Daughters to Work Day, children are taken to their parents’ work places.
C.Palmers’ Green High School for girls favors Take Our Daughters to Work Day.
D.Parents always show good examples for their children both at work and at home.
4.After her experience on Take Our Daughters to Work Day, Zarina felt __________.
A.confident about her study
B.strange to work in a lawyer’s office
C.sure about what to choose as her future career
D.interested in following in her father’s footsteps
5.The writer’s attitude towards Take Our Daughters to Work Day is __________.
A. favorable B. unclear C. critical D. not sure