B
Although man has known asbestos for many hundreds of years, it was not until 160 years ago that it was mined for the first time on the North American continent. H. W. Johns, owner of a New York City Supply Shop for roofers, was responsible for he opening of that first mine.
Mr. Johns was given a piece of asbestos which had been found in Italy. He experimented with the material and then showed its surprising powers to his customers. After putting on a pair of asbestos gloves, which looked much like ordinary work gloves, he took red-hot coals from the fireplace and played with them in his hands. How astonished the customers were to discover that he was not burned at all. You can well imagine that he had increasing business in asbestos roofing materials. However, because it was very expensive to transport them from Italy to the United States, Mr. Johns sent out a young scientist to seek a source nearer home. This young man found great vein in the province of Quebec in Canada.
Ever since 1881 Quebec has led the world in the production of this unusual mineral, which is made up of magnesium, silicon, iron, and oxygen. When it is mined, the asbestos is heavy, just as you would expect a mineral to be. When it is separated, a strange thing happens; the rock breaks down into fine, soft, soapy fibers .
Scientists do not know why the rock can be separated easily into threads,but they have found thousands of uses of this fireproof material, of the so-called “cloth of stone”.
60. Which title best expresses the main idea of this passage?
A. Asbestos mined in Canada B. Fireproof matter
C. A “wonder” mineral D. A new roofing material
61. Johns proved his ability as a salesman by_______.
A. going into roofing business
B. carrying asbestos from Italy
C. sending a trained scientist
D. showing the use of asbestos gloves
62. Which is the most important character of asbestos that the author wants to show us?
A. It is like thread. B. It feels soapy.
C. It burns easily. D. It is unusually heavy.
63. The author’s main purpose in writing this passage was to _______.
A. show the need for more scientists
B. compare asbestos with other minerals
C. increase the sales of asbestos
D. present facts about asbestos
(2013·高考新课标全国卷Ⅰ，B)The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital.She is quiet but alert (警觉)．Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it.She stares at it carefully.A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another，this time with the spots differently spaced.As the cards change from one to the other，her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus—until a third，with three black spots，is presented.Her gaze returns：she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card.Can she tell that the number two is different from three，just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment，but with three spots shown before two，shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes.Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb，a key，an orange and so on)，changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves.Could it be the pattern that two things make，as opposed to three? No again.Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three，or three to two.The effect even crosses between senses.Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two；likewise (同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s________.
| A．sense of hearing | B．sense of sight |
| C．sense of touch | D．sense of smell |
Babies are sensitive to the change in________.
| A．the size of cards | B．the colour of pictures |
| C．the shape of patterns | D．the number of objects |
Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
| A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment. |
| B．To see how babies recognize sounds. |
| C．To carry their experiment further. |
| D．To keep the babies’ interest. |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．Science fiction. |
| B．Children’s literature. |
| C．An advertisement. |
| D．A science report. |
There was once a lonely girl who longed so much for love.One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving songbirds.She took them home and put them in a small cage，caring them with love.Luckily，the birds grew strong little by little.Every morning they greeted her with a wonderful song.The girl felt great love for the birds.
One day the girl left the door to the cage open accidentally.The larger and stronger of the two birds flew from the cage.The girl was so frightened that he would fly away so as he flew close，she grasped him wildly.Her heart felt glad at her success in capturing him.Suddenly，she felt the bird go limp，so she opened her hand and stared in horror at the dead bird.It was her desperate love that had killed him.
She noticed the other bird moving back and forth on the edge of the cage.She could feel his strong desire－needing to fly into the clear，blue sky.Unwillingly，she lifted him from the cage and tossed him softly into the air.The lucky bird circled once，twice，three times.
The girl watched delightedly at the bird.Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss.What she wanted to see was that the bird could fly happily.Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder.It sang the sweetest tune that she had ever heard.
Remember，the fastest way to lose love is to hold on it too tight；the best way to keep love is to give it wings!After the girl found the two birds，she________．
| A．became delighted at once |
| B．treated them for a long time |
| C．took them to their home |
| D．fed them and raised them |
Why did the girl grasp the stronger bird wildly?
| A．Because the girl disliked the bird any longer. |
| B．Because the bird wanted to fly alone. |
| C．Because the girl loved the bird deeply. |
| D．Because the bird intended to found some food. |
The underlined word “tossed” in the passage means________．
| A．throw someting with slightly force |
| B．give up something happily |
| C．hold something fast |
| D．cast something without patient |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Catch what you can catch on your way to success. |
| B．Going too far is as bad as not going far enough. |
| C．The best things come when you least expect them to. |
| D．A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
Being able to call on the old boy's network helps you get your foot in the door，but has little impact on your later success.Having good connections does change your possibility of being offered a higher wage when you start working，but has no impact on your eventual wage.Coming from a wealthy background has little impact on lifetime earnings.Over time，brain power soon overtakes(超过)，and intelligence is the factor，which will determine your earnings and success.The speed of your rise through the ranks is determined largely by your own intelligence.
The study monitored earnings and promotions over the course of 25 years.Scores were used to assess the SocioEconomic Background(SEB)－wealth and connections－and standard Army intelligence tests used to assess intelligence.The study is sure to infuriate(激怒)those angered by wealthy groups such as Oxford's upper－crust(上流社会)Bullingdon Club，of which both David Cameron and Borris Johnson were members.
Professor Yoav Ganzach says that these findings have a positive message for those，who can't rely on nepotism(裙带关系)for their first job.“Your family can help you start your career and you do get an advantage，but it doesn't help you progress.And once you start working，you can go wherever your abilities take you，” he says.When intelligence and SEB are pitted directly against once another(相互较量)，intelligence is a more accurate predictor of future career success，he say.How many factors which may influence one's career are mentioned in the passage?
| A．1. | B．2. |
| C．3. | D．4. |
Who will be encouraged most after reading the passage?
| A．People who are lack of money. |
| B．People who can't depend on nepotism. |
| C．People with high intelligence. |
| D．People with wide connections. |
What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Earnings and promotions are up to your own. |
| B．A study conducted by Professor Yoav Ganzach. |
| C．SEB is very important in one's first career. |
| D．Success is determined by your own brain power. |
The breaking news of Mo Yan's Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday evening soon aroused public curiosity of the 57yearold Chinese writer: Why was it him that was favored by the Swedish Academy?
Born in 1955 into a rural family，Mo dropped out of school and became a farmer when he was a teenager.He joined the military and devoted himself to writing after the Cultural Revolution (1966－1976)．
Less than half an hour after the announcement，Mo's works turned to soldout status at China's major online book sellers.One lucky buyer wrote in an online comment: “Rushed to purchase，but to my shame，I have not read any of his novels.”
Although Mo was entitled one of the top domestic literature awards before the Nobel Prize，he is not the most popular novelist in China，in either the book market or in reputation.
Mo's novel “Big Breasts & Wide Hips，” translated by Howard Goldblatt，tells a story of a mother who struggled and suffered hardship and intertwined fates with Chinese people in the 20th century.His more recent work “Frog” more directly criticized China's onechild family policy，which helped control the country's population explosion but also brought tragedies to rural residents in the past 60 years.
“I think the reason why I could win the prize is because my works present lives with unique Chinese characteristics，and they also tell stories from a viewpoint of common human beings，which is above differences of nations and races，” Mo said on Thursday evening to Chinese journalists.Mo also said many folk arts originated from his hometown，such as clay sculpture，paper cuts，traditional new year paintings，have inspired and influenced his novels.
With more Chinese writers like Mo，the world could learn a more real China.Perhaps，this is another reason for the Swedish Academy's choice.What can we conclude from the second paragraph?
| A．Mo's life experiences. | B．Mo's family life. |
| C．Mo devoted himself to writing. | D．Mo had a gift for writing. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Mo didn't got any national awards before he won the Nobel Prize. |
| B．Mo was the top novelist in China before he won the Nobel Prize. |
| C．Mo's novels have attracted many people to read. |
| D．Mo's novels are all based on his daily life. |
Which of the following have no effect on Mo's novels according to the passage?
| A．Clay sculpture. | B．Paper cuts. |
| C．Folk arts. | D．Beijing opera. |
According to the passage，we know that________．
| A．Big Breasts & Wide Hips' leading role is one happy mother |
| B．Big Breasts & Wide Hips criticized China's onechild family policy |
| C．Frog came out earlier than Big Breasts & Wide Hips |
| D．Frog shows benefit as well as shortcoming of one China's policy |
New research has revealed that which song drivers listen to can influence how safe they are on the roads.Among the top ten safest songs to drive to are Come Away With Me by Norah Jones，I Don't Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith and Tiny Dancer by Elton John.Each of the songs has an optimum tempo(最佳节奏) for safe driving，imitating the human heartbeat at around 60 to 80 beats per minute.The Scientist by Coldplay and Justin Timberlake's Cry Me a River also appeared in the top 10.
The study，conducted at London Metropolitan University，also revealed the type of songs that cause motorists to drive dangerously.Unsurprisingly，music that is noisy increases a driver's heart rate，which can be deadly.Fast beats cause excitement that can lead people to concentrate more on the music than on the road and to speed up to match the beat of the song.Styles of music were also measured during the experiment and revealed differences between male and female drivers.Hiphop made a female driver drive far more aggressively，speeding up faster than male driver.The heavy metal music caused the fastest driving among males in the group while the dance music had the same effect among women.The male and female drivers who listened to the classical music drove the most irregularly.
The experiment involved eight people driving 500 miles each using the confused.com MotorMate app，which monitored driving behaviors through GPS technology.What's the main idea of the whole passage?
| A．Songs that drivers prefer to listen to on their way. |
| B．A study made by the confused.com MotorMate app. |
| C．What kind of songs the drivers should choose to listen to during driving. |
| D．Female drivers and male drives have different responses to the same music. |
The underlined word “monitored” in the last paragraph means________．
| A．controlled | B．banned | C．modeled | D．showed |
．Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Tiny Dancer by Elton John appeared in the top 10. |
| B．Usually human hearts beat at around 60 to 80 beats per minute. |
| C．The classical music makes most drivers drive comfortably and safely. |
| D．The passage reveals appropriate music and improper music for drivers. |
If there is another paragraph in the end of the passage，the author may mention________．
| A．female and male drivers' popular tastes of music |
| B．how did the study carry out |
| C．why fast beat music is harmful to drivers |
| D．some music with optimum tempo for driver to enjoy |