What secret force drives us into the arms of one person, while pushing us away from another who might appear e
qually desirable to any fair observer? Of the many factors influencing our idea of the perfect mate, one of the most telling is our “lovemap” ---- a group of messages formed in our brains that describes our likes and dislikes．It shows our preferences in hair and eye color, in voice, smell, body build．It also records the kind of personality that attracts us, whether it’s the warm and friendly type or the strong silent type．In short, we fall for and go after those people who most clearly fit our lovemap．And this lovemap is determined in childhood．By age eight, the pattern for our ideal mate has already begun to float around in our brains．
The mother has special influence on her sons: she not only gives them clues to what they will find attractive in a mate, but also influences how they feel about women in general．So if she is warm and nice, her sons are going to think that’s the way women are．They will likely grow up warm and responsive lovers and also be helpful around the house．
Just as mothers influence their son’s general feelings toward women, fathers influence their daughter’s general feelings about men．If a father lavishes praise on his daughter and shows that she is a worthwhile person, she’ll feel very good about herself in relation to men．But if the father is cold, critical or absent, the daughter will tend to feel she’s not very lovable or attractive．
While the mother determines in large part what qualities attract us in a mate, it’s the father ----- the first male in our lives ----- who influences how we relate to the opposite sex．Fathers have a great effect on their children’s personalities and chances or marriage happiness．What is the proper title for this passage?
| A．Why we love who we love | B．What is a lovemap |
| C．Different influence from parents | D．Ideal mate in the mind |
A perfect mate is a person who ____．
| A．is fair to everyone | B．is the most desirable |
| C．fits one’s lovemap | D．is perfect in everything |
If the husband hardly does any housework, ____．
| A．his mother must be warm | B．his father must be critical |
| C．his mother must be cold | D．his wife can’t be attractive |
The passage leads to a belief that ____．
| A．parents’ personalities decides the children’s lovemap |
| B．mothers have no influence on daughters’ marriage life |
| C．fathers care more about children’s marriage happiness |
| D．mothers influence children’s choices of perfect mates |
Water, which covers about 74 percent of the earth’s surface, is man’s most precious resource. Without it we cannot live. Clean water keeps us alive; polluted water means disease and death.Keeping our water pure is by no means an easy task but it is something that must be done.
Hong Kong once prided herself on being the “Fragrant Harbour”. However, these days, it is not certain if Hong Kong’s harbour could still be called “fragrant”. For, like many other places, Hong Kong has not been spared water pollution. A visit to Tolo and Victoria Harbour, or any of the beaches in Hong Kong is enough to make one aware of the ugly truth that Hong Kong waters are indeed polluted.
The great threat to our water is bacteria pollution. Another great source of water pollution is poisonous chemicals. These substances, which are found in industrial waste and agricultural pesticides, make up unseen dangers that enter biological food chains.
Pollution control is a continuing problem for the government. It is believed that the most effective form of control is legislation（立法）. Most importantly, the present laws on pollution should be given more force. On the other hand, no amount of legislation can effectively control pollution unless those concerned are properly educated about the danger posed by pollution.
While a great majority of Hong Kong citizens and residents seem to be greatly concerned about ways to control water pollution, it is discouraging to note that there are, in our midst, some people who remain apathetic（无动于衷）about the problem. In a recent radio programme conducted on what people in the streets thought about the water pollution problem, one apparently unconcerned person said, “What do I care about water pollution? I don’t drink polluted water. As long as the water I drink is not polluted, I’m not bothered. Water pollution is too big a problem and let’s leave it to the government.”
If all residents in Hong Kong will take such an indifferent attitude, all the government’s attempts to control pollution, let alone the anti-pollution legislation, will prove useless. The best form of pollution control each citizen can employ is to be aware of his surroundings. We hope that someday, the problem of water pollution in Hong Kong will cease to alarm us. By the underlined sentences, the writer wants to show that ______.
| A．we should not use polluted water |
| B．it is our responsibility to keep our water clean and safe |
| C．clean water is vitally important to the survival of human beings |
| D．water is abundant but very expensive |
What can you infer from the second paragraph?
| A．Hong Kong indeed deserves the name. |
| B．Hong Kong never deserves such a name. |
| C．Hong Kong can’t avoid the damage of pollution. |
| D．Hong Kong has failed to live up to such reputation. |
The writer quotes the words in the programme to show us that a block to the solution of the problem is _________.
| A．people’s lack of education |
| B．people’s I-don’t-care attitude |
| C．people’s wait-and-see attitude |
| D．people’s over-dependence on the government |
In the final analysis, the best approach to the problem of water pollution is ________.
| A．legislation |
| B．rapid development of modern science |
| C．mass education |
| D．everybody taking care of his own surroundings |
It’s 10:30 p.m., and 11-year-old Brandon Blanco is sound asleep at home. Suddenly, a loud noise wakes him up. Naturally, Brandon reaches for his cell phone. He blinks twice, and the message on the screen becomes clear: “R U awake?”
But the late-night text does not annoy Brandon. He gets frequent messages and calls, even after bedtime. And he can’t imagine life without them. “If I didn’t have a cell phone, I wouldn’t be able to talk to my friends or family as often,” he told the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Brandon’s use of technology doesn’t stop there. He also has a computer, a TV and three video-game consoles（控制台）in his room. With so many devices, it is no surprise that when he is not at school, he spends nearly every waking minute using one or more of these devices. Brandon is hardly alone. According to a recent study by TFK, kids aged 8 to 18 are spending more time than ever before using electronic devices. How much time? More than seven and a half hours a day on average, the study found. That’s about an hour more than just five years ago.
The jump is the result of a huge explosion in mobile devices, says Victoria Rideout, the lead author of the study. “These devices have opened up many more opportunities for young people to use media, whether it’s on the bus, on the way to school or waiting in line at the pizza parlor,” says Rideout.
Often, kids multitask, or use more than one device at a time. “If you’ve got a chance to do something on your computer and take a phone call and have the TV on in the background, why not?” Media expert Cheryl Olson says. Most experts agree technology has much to offer kids. But some worry the kids could be missing out on other activities like playing outside or hanging out with friends. “It’s a matter of balance,” says Olson.
Multitasking while doing homework is another concern. Some kids listen to music, watch TV or use the phone while doing their homework. “It’s important to make sure that you can stop and concentrate on one thing deeply,” says Rideout.
With new and exciting devices hitting stores every year, keeping technology use in check is more important than ever. “Kids should try,” adds Rideout. “But parents might have to step in sometimes.”It can be learned from the text that _________.
| A．many teenagers lack friends in their middle school |
| B．kids have too many electronic devices to choose from |
| C．Brandon feels annoyed about his late-night message |
| D．Olson is against teenagers’ using mobile phones |
Which of the following is an example of multitasking?
| A．Watching TV when using the computer. |
| B．Talking on the phone when lying on the sofa. |
| C．Playing video games after having lunch. |
| D．Listening to loud music while relaxing. |
The underlined phrase “in check” in the last paragraph can be replaced by _________.
| A．in order | B．in store | C．in control | D．in sight |
According to the text, Victoria Rideout would probably agree that kids should ______.
| A．do homework while watching TV |
| B．have less homework |
| C．spend more time on homework |
| D．do homework in a place without disturbance |
St. Paul’s Cathedral
Ludgate Hill, EC4
Underground: St. Paul’s; Bus: 6, 8, 11, 15, 22, 25
Open: Daily 8:00-19:00 (17:00 from Oct. to Mar.)
Entrance free
Designed by the great architect, Sir Christopher Wren, St. Paul’s Cathedral was built following the Great Fire of London of 1666, which destroyed the gothic cathedral on the site at that time. It is an inescapable attraction for all travellers to this great city and the most recognisable gothic cathedral in England. Its choir（唱诗班）is internationally famous. Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married here in 1981.
Buckingham Palace
South end of the Mall (SW1)
Underground: St. James’s Park, Victoria, Hyde Park Corner, Green Park; Bus: 2, 11, 14, 16, 19, 22, 24, 29, 30, 38, 52, 73, 74, 137
Buckingham Palace is Queen Elisabeth II’s official residence（住所）, and has been the official residence of Britain’s monarch（君主）since 1837. The State Rooms at Buckingham Palace have been opening to the public for the Annual Summer Opening, in August and September, since 1993. The Queen is not at Buckingham Palace when it is open to the public; she goes to one of her country residences. The State Rooms are extremely grand. You can see many of the treasures of the Royal Collection: paintings by Rembrandt, Rubens and Canaletto; and beautiful examples of English and French furniture.
The Tower of London
Tower Hill, EC3
Underground: Tower Hill; Bus: 42, 78
Open: Mon.— Sat.9:00-18:00; Sun.8:00-19:00
Parts of the Tower of London are over nine centuries old, as building began under William the Conqueror in 1078. Famous as a prison in the distant past, the Tower has also been a royal residence, a zoo and an observatory（瞭望台）. It is now a museum and many thousands of people visit it every year in particular to see the Crown Jewels. Only by going inside can you experience nearly a thousand years of history and hear the myths and legends that make it “a day out to die for”.
Westminster Abbey
Broad Sanctuary, SW1
Underground: Westminster, St James’s Park; Bus: 3, 11, 12, 24, 29, 39, 53, 59, 76, 77, 88, 109, 155, 168, 170, 172, 184, 503
Open: Daily 8:00-18:00 (Mar. — Dec., Tuesday till 20:00)
Entrance free
Located next to the Houses of Parliament in the heart of London, Westminster Abbey is a gothic church and place of worship. The building of the present Abbey was started by King Henry III in 1245. The oldest parts of the building date back to 1050. Westminster Abbey has hosted many royal weddings including the wedding of The Queen and Prince Philip in 1947 and the wedding of Prince William and Kate in 2011. It is a traditional place of coronation（加冕礼）and burial for English monarchs—38 monarchs have been crowned at the Abbey. There are many tombs there, including those of Queen Elizabeth I, “Bloody” Queen Mary, naturalist Charles Darwin, many poets and writers.You can see the inside of all the buildings all the year around except ______.
| A．St. Paul’s Cathedral | B．the Tower of London |
| C．Westminster Abbey | D．Buckingham Palace |
The two places you can visit by getting off at the same underground station are ______.
| A．Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey |
| B．Buckingham Palace and St. Paul’s Cathedral |
| C．Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London |
| D．the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral |
Where is the text most probably taken from?
| A．A history book about London. |
| B．A guidebook for visitors to London. |
| C．A book about London’s development. |
| D．A book about London’s churches. |
The space shuttle Discovery has had a long and busy career. For 27 years, it has worked for NASA, carrying astronauts to space and back on 39 missions. On March 9, 2011, after returning from its final voyage, the world’s most traveled spaceship was retired.
A crowd of shuttle workers, reporters and schoolchildren waited to greet Discovery at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Three minutes before noon, they watched as the shuttle appeared in the sky and made one last touchdown. “For the final time: wheels stop,” Discovery’s commander Steven Lindsey said when the shuttle rolled to a stop.
Discovery’s final trip was to the International Space Station (ISS), a giant space lab in the sky. Discovery’s crew took care of the last U.S. construction project at ISS. They delivered 10 tons of supplies for the ISS. The six-person crew also dropped off an unusual companion for ISS’s researchers: a human-like robot named Robonaut 2. Astronauts will assemble（组装）R2 at the ISS over several months.
Now, NASA is winding down its shuttle programme. NASA is to begin work on new spaceships that can travel longer distances. Discovery’s retirement is the first of three. Endeavor, another shuttle, is scheduled to make its final voyage soon. And Atlantis’s last trip is planned for the end of June.
Museums across the country have requested the retired shuttles. The Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum, in Washington, D.C., was the lucky recipient（接收者）of Discovery. The museum’s collection contains hundreds of NASA artifacts.
Where will the other shuttles go? You’ll have to wait to find out. NASA will announce its decision on April 12, the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launching. Stay tuned!As part of the final mission, Discovery’s crew___________.
| A．carried researches to space |
| B．assembled the Robonaut 2 at the ISS |
| C．brought supplies to the ISS |
| D．went on a spacewalk |
The underlined phrase “winding down” in Paragraph 4 probably means _________.
| A．improving | B．ending | C．changing | D．testing |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Discovery completed 39 missions during its two decades of space travel. |
| B．The ISS is a big project and six researchers live on the station. |
| C．American space exploration will focus on longer missions. |
| D．The shuttles Endeavor and Atlantis will make their last missions next month. |
According to the text, we can learn about ___________.
| A．people’s opinions of Discovery’s retirement |
| B．the government’s concern about the shuttles’ future |
| C．the shuttles’ final homes after retirement |
| D．museums’ great interest in the retired shuttles |
An earthquake happens when two plates rub (碰撞) together. The earth plates travel in different directions and at different speeds. If one plate is slowly forced underneath the other, pressure builds up until the plates break apart. This process causes the ground to move. It is an earthquake. In other words, earth-quakes are the shaking of the earth’s surface caused by the earth’s rocky outer layer as a result of the energy stored within the earth. The strain within the rocks is suddenly released (释放).
The damage an earthquake causes depends on where it is and the time it is happening. If an unpopulated region is struck, there will be low loss of life or property. If it hits a large city, there may be many in-juries and much destruction. Many of the areas at risk are largely populated now. Major earthquakes hitting those areas today could produce terrible damage.
Actually, there are several million small earth-quakes every year. Large earthquakes such as the 1964 Alaskan quake that measured 9.2 on the Richter scale, cause millions of dollars in damage. In the last 500 years, millions of people have been killed by earth-quakes around the world — including 240,000 in the 1976 Tangshan earthquake in China.
A 60-second or less earthquake can cause devastation that continues for years after the first tremor (小震). In 1972, a series of severe earthquakes struck Managua, Nicaragua. Fifteen years later, the city still looked the way it had a week after the earthquake hit, because the country did not have the necessary money to rebuild it.
The shaking of the earth is sometimes not the greatest disaster. It is in the ensuing fires and floods that often the greatest damage occurs. In the 1906 earthquake, it was the fires caused after it that did the majority of the damage. An earthquake can also destroy dams high above a city or valleys, causing floods to sweep down and sweep away everything in their path. Which of the following is the main idea of the first paragraph?
| A．An earthquake comes from inside the earth. |
| B．The earth has great energy in storage. |
| C．How the earth plates move. |
| D．How an earthquake happens. |
How many examples are used in the passage to show the damage and destruction earthquakes cause?
| A．Three. | B．Four. | C．Five. | D．Six. |
Which of the following is mentioned to show that an earthquake can kill too many people?
| A．The 1964 Alaskan quake. |
| B．The 1976 Tangshan earthquake. |
| C．The 1972 Managua earthquake. |
| D．The 1906 earthquake. |
The underlined word “ensuing” in the last paragraph probably means ______.
| A．causing too much heat and great damage |
| B．causing many injuries and much destruction |
| C．happening as a result of another event |
| D．happening suddenly and unexpectedly |
By giving the example in Paragraph 4, the author wants to show that ______.
| A．an earthquake doesn’t last long |
| B．the damage can last long |
| C．people in Managua suffered too much |
| D．Nicaragua is still a poor country |