(C)
Sometimes people recall past events differently from how they happened. Have you ever confused dates and events from your life, or people’s names? Don’t be too hard on yourself if this is the case; it happens to almost everyone. Every day, our brain processes an amazing amount of information. In fact, all our experiences are based on the way our brain interprets the information it receives from our senses. It is impossible to store all of this information, so some of it gets lost. The parts that remain make up our memories. All our thoughts and memories depend on the way our senses work, and we cannot always trust everything our senses tell us.
If you have ever tried to make your own short film on a digital camera, you will have noticed that the images you record are often blurry(模糊不清). To stop the same thing from happening when we see things with our own eyes, our brain is always filling in the blanks. Before our eyes can even focus on an object, our brain has created its own picture of it so that we can move smoothly from looking at one thing to another without the world looking strange. If we are moving quickly or are not focusing properly, our brain may not correctly guess what is around us.
Memory is the way we store the information that our senses have experienced. As we have discussed above, our senses do not always see things accurately, so our memory is just how we store our interpretations of these experiences. When our brain takes in new experiences, it uses the information we retrieve from our memory as a reference. This means that we often do not remember the details of things but just the important parts. When we look at something, we often do not really look closely at it, but we merely look at the different hints that help us indentify it.
This also happens with our hearing and speaking. It is natural for students of English to confuse the word “kitchen”, with the familiar word “chicken”. As the sounds are similar, the mind mistakenly identifies the new word with the one that is familiar. This is perhaps the most common reason why people make mistakes when they learn a new language.
72. Sometimes things people remember are quite different from how they really happened because ______.
A. not all people are smart enough B. the main part of the information gets lost
C. people are too strict with themselves D. information was processed incompletely
73. Taking the short film on a digital camera for an example, the author means _____.
A. images recorded by cameras could not be accurate
B. brain may form an imagery picture without reference
C. blurry pictures are caused by too fast camera movements
D. the process of vision is an interpretive construct by the brain
74. The underlined word “retrieve” in Paragraph 3 probably means ______.
A. recall B. change C. borrow D. differ
75. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE in terms of memory?
A. Memory is exactly what senses have experienced.
B. Memories are made up of the information remaining in minds.
C. Memory is the way to store information experienced by senses.
D. Memories sometimes can be obstacles to learning something new.
If someone has an accident in the afternoon, you should ____________.
| A．Phone 37499 | B．Ensure no one enters the danger area |
| C．Report to the Police station at J J Thomson Ave | D．Call an ambulance on 1-999 |
Where do you think you can find this notice?
| A．In the Assembly area | B．At the Fire station |
| C．At the University | D．At Turner Hospital |
Anytime you hear the fire alarm, you should _____________.
| A．go to the Assembly area | B．phone the Fire brigade on 37499 |
| C．use the red ‘break glass boxes’ | D．make sure the fire alarms aren’t being tested |
All writers dream of success. Yet some writers turn their back on success the moment it comes along. J.D. Salinger, the American author, is a good example.
On the face of it, the future did not look promising for the teenage Salinger. He seems always to have been running away from something. First it was school, then he dropped out of New York University. Finally, after failing to find a career in his father’s food import business and dropping out of yet another college he decided that his destiny was to be a writer. In the same year he joined a writing class at Columbia University which was taught by Whit Burnett, founder and editor of a magazine called Story. The March-April issue contained a story written by Salinger entitled ‘The Young Folks’. In it there are early versions of the moody, selfish youths that appear in his later fiction. Soon, his stories were appearing in various mass-circulation magazines but it was the famous New Yorker which he dreamed of, believing that publication within its covers would indicate his future potential as a serious writer.
Salinger has a huge reputation around the world yet it rests mainly on just one novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Published in 1951, it soon became highly popular with teenagers who identified with the hero’s powerful sense of dissatisfaction. Its success made Salinger a public figure. Most writers, of course, would welcome this. Salinger, however, hated it and refused it. He moved to a small house in Cornish, New Hampshire, where he lived away from society until his death in 2010 at the age of 91.
For Salinger, fame and artistic honesty were not the same thing. Some people become writers because they wish their works to speak for themselves. Salinger appears to have been disgusted by the idea that he had become the spokesman for a generation. In death he has perhaps achieved his highest goal: to be out of the spotlight, represented only by his work.According to the article, J.D. Salinger is an example of _____________.
A. a selfish and moody youth B. a serious writer who hates fame
C. a famous American author D. someone who lives away from society Salinger’s career as a writer improved greatly and his reputation was assured after he ____________.
| A．failed to pursue a career in business |
| B．attended a writing class at Columbia University |
| C．published the novel ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ |
| D．became a spokesman for young people |
Which event in his early life confirmed his status as a serious writer?
| A．Publication in a magazine. |
| B．Being taught by Whit Burnett. |
| C．Having a story accepted by the ‘New Yorker’. |
| D．Dropping out of New York University. |
There is a famous story about British poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was writing a poem when he was interrupted by a knock at the door.
This was an age before telephones. Someone was delivering a message. When Coleridge got back to his poem, he had lost his inspiration. His poetic mood had been broken by the knock on his door. His unfinished poem, which could otherwise have been a masterpiece, would now never be more than a fragment (片段).
This story tells how unexpected communication can destroy an important thought，which brings us to the cellphone.
The most common complaint about cellphones is that people talk on them to the annoyance of people around them. But more damaging may be the cellphone’s disruption (中断) of our thoughts.
We have already entered a golden age of little white lies about our cellphones, and this is by and large a healthy, protective development. “I didn’t hear it ring” or “I didn’t realize my phone had shut off” are among the lies we tell to give ourselves space where we’re beyond reach.
The notion of being unreachable is not a new concept – we have “Do Not Disturb” signs on the doors of hotel rooms. So why must we feel guilty when it comes to cellphones? Why must we apologize if we decide to shut off the phone for a while?
The problem is that we come from a long-established tradition of difficulty with distance communication. Until the recent mass deployment (使用) of cellphones, it was easy to communicate with someone next to us or a few feet away, but difficult with someone across town, the country or the globe. We came to take it for granted.
But cellphones make long-distance communication common, and endanger our time by ourselves. Now time alone, or a conversation with someone next to us which cannot be interrupted by a phone, is something to be cherished. Even cellphone devotees, myself usually included, can’t help at times wanting to throw their phone away, or curse the day they were invented.
But we don’t and won’t, and there really is no need. All that’s required to take back our private time is a general social recognition that we have the right to it. In other words, we have to develop a healthy contempt (轻视) for the rings of our own phones. Given the ease of making and receiving cellphone calls, if we don’t talk to the caller right now, we surely will shortly later.
A cellphone call deserves no greater priority (优先考虑的事) than a random (随机的) word from the person next to us. Though the call on my cellphone may be the one–in–a–million from Steven Spielberg–who has finally read my novel and wants to make it his next movie. But most likely it is not, and I’m better off thinking about the idea I just had for a new story, or the slice of pizza I’ll eat for lunch.What is the point of the anecdote（轶事，趣闻） about the poet Coleridge in the first three paragraphs?
| A．To direct readers’ attention to the main topic. |
| B．To show how important inspiration is to a poet. |
| C．To emphasize the disadvantage of not having a cellphone. |
| D．To encourage readers to read the works of this poet. |
What does the writer think about people telling “white lies” about their cellphones?
| A．It is a way of signaling that you don’t like the caller. |
| B．It is natural to tell lies about small things. |
| C．It is basically a good way to protect one’s privacy. |
| D．We should feel guilty when we can’t tell the truth. |
According to the author, what is the most annoying problem caused by cellphones?
| A．People get annoyed by the cellphone rings that they fail to notice anything else. |
| B．People feel guilty when they are not able to answer their cellphones. |
| C．Cellphones interrupt people’s private time. |
| D．With cellphones it is no longer possible to be unreachable. |
What does the last paragraph suggest?
| A．A person who calls us from afar deserves more of our attention. |
| B．Steven Spielberg once called the author to talk about the author’s novel. |
| C．You should always finish your lunch before you answer a call on the cellphone. |
| D．Never let cellphones interfere too much with your life. |
I moved into a new house in July. Since then I have met a few of my neighbors who are very nice people. For Christmas, I thought I would do something nice for each of the neighbors I know. There were nine neighbors whom I knew by name or spoke with often when I was out in my yard. I knew which houses they lived in.
I decided to add one more to my list. This lady I decided to add lives down the street from me. I meet her every morning walking to work as I drive down the street. She always smiles to me. But I had no idea who she was and which house she lived in.
I planned to make small fruit baskets and leave them on my neighbor’s front porches(门廊) on Christmas Eve. I signed the cards: "Happy Holidays from 5104 Northumberland Road."
I saved the last for the friendly lady. I finally decided on a house where I met her each morning and guessed that it was hers.
My neighbors really appreciated the baskets and would tell me as they saw me in the yard or they would call, and a couple even came by to thank me.
This morning I found a small note in the mailbox. It was addressed simply: Resident, 5104 Northumberland Road.
The Thank You card really caught me by surprise. I opened it and read the message, "Thank you for the lovely fruit basket you left on our porch. It was very thoughtful. Richard Kelly passed away last week. He talked a lot about how nice it was that someone remembered him in his time of illness. He really appreciated it."
I had no idea who Richard Kelly was and that he had been seriously ill. I had left that nice lady’s basket on his porch by mistake. I wanted to say sorry, but that would be wrong. I believe that Mr. Kelly was meant to have that basket because he was dying. I hate that the nice lady did not get to receive a fruit basket on Christmas, but I believe if she knew what had happened, she would be happy. I feel pleased to have helped Richard Kelly’s last days be more cheerful. How many Christmas gifts did the author intend to send?
| A．Nine. | B．Eight. | C．Ten. | D．Eleven. |
Where did the friendly lady live?
| A．She lived at the end of Northumberland Road. |
| B．Her address was 5104 Northumberland Road. |
| C．She was thought to share a house with Mr. Kelly. |
| D．The author was not sure about her address at all. |
How did the author’s neighbors respond to his gifts?
| A．They liked the gifts very much and were thankful. |
| B．They were thankful that they wanted to be friends. |
| C．They all made phone calls to say “Thank You”. |
| D．They all visited him by person to show gratitude. |
What does the author mean in the last paragraph?
| A．He was regretful that the nice lady didn’t receive his gift. |
| B．He was glad to have made Mr. Kelly’s life more pleasant. |
| C．He thought Richard Kelly deserved to receive that basket. |
| D．The old lady was happy to sacrifice to make Kelly happy. |
Two years ago, the Funk family of suburban Chicago adopted a Chinese baby girl who had been abandoned on a sidewalk near a Yangzhou textile factory.
Last year and halfway across the United States, the Ramirez family of suburban Miami adopted a girl who had been abandoned a week later on the same spot.
Both families named their daughters Mia. It turns out, a first name and Chinese heritage aren’t the only things the three-year-olds have in common. The girls’ mothers—Holly Funk and Diana Ramirez—met on a website for parents who had gone through international adoptions. After a flurry of e-mails comparing photographs and biographical details, DNA testing proved the families’ suspicions: The girls are probably fraternal (手足般的) twins.
“I was in shock,” said Ramirez, who lives with her husband Carlos in Pembroke Pines, Florida. “Well, now this is for real.”
The Internet and Web groups revolving around international orphanages are increasingly being used to link adopted children with biological kin(亲属). The site that the Funks and Ramirezes used has a membership of 137 people, with 15 sets of twins and seven sets of siblings whose relationships have been confirmed.
At a reunion on Friday at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, Mia Diamond Funk Mia Hanying Ramirez shyly surveyed each other, then reached for each other’s hand.
DNA tests established an 85 percent probability that the girls are at least half sisters. Scientists did not have a biological parent to test and reach a greater certainty, but given their ages and physical similarities, experts say it is likely they are fraternal twins.
Douglas and Holly Funk hope to take Mia to Miami in October. Both sets of parents say they are committed to staying in touch and often let the twins talk to each other on the phone.. Both the adopted girls shared a first name ________.
| A．because they both came from China |
| B．because of their physical similarities |
| C．because their US parents suspected they were twins |
| D．for no good reason |
Why did the girls’ mothers meet on the Internet?
| A．To compare photographs of the two girls. |
| B．To communicate with other people who had adopted children abroad. |
| C．To test their suspicion. |
| D．To exchange experiences on adopting children. |
Experts are still not 100 percent sure that the two girls are fraternal twins because ________.
| A．DNA tests are still not accurate enough |
| B．the two girls were born by different parents |
| C．the DNA of a biological parent is still missing |
| D．one girl is born a week later than the other |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Adopted Twins Reunited on Internet |
| B．Adopted Twins Live happily in the US. |
| C．Suspicion Turned into Reality |
| D．The Story of Adopted Twins and Their Parents |