.
My mother moved a lot when she was growing up on account of Grandpa being in the army．She hated having to adjust to new schools and make new friends．That’s why I thought she was joking when she put forward the idea of moving．But she was completely serious. “For just the two of us，” my mother said， “an apartment in the city will suit our needs much better．” Personally, I think she lost her mind．I guess I can understand why she would want to move，but what about me and what this house means to me?
I suppose if you looked at my house，you might think it was just another country house．But to me it is anything but standard．I moved into this house with my parents ten years ago. I can still remember that first day like it was yesterday．The first thing I noticed was the big front yard．To me it seemed like an ocean of grass—couldn’t wait to dive in．The backyard was full of gnarled(扭曲的，粗糙的)and scary trees that talked on windy nights．But I grew to like them and the shadows they cast in my room．My father and I even built a small tree house，where I often go to remember all the wonderful time we had before Father’s death.
This house is special—maybe only to me—but special nevertheless. It’s the little seemingly insignificant things that make this house so special to me; the ice-cold tile floors that make me tremble on midnight snake runs; the smell of my fathers pipe that still exists; the towering bookcases of my mother; the view outside my bedroom window.
This house bears too many memories, memories which would be lost if we gave it up.
50．Why did the author’s mother decide to move?
A．Because she hated the countryside．
B．Because Grandpa was on constant move．
C．Because Dad’s death made her lose her mind．
D．Because she thought a city flat more fit for them．
51．What impressed the author when she first moved into the house?
A．The tree house B．The big trees C．The cold floors D．The green grass
52．How did the author let us feel that the house was special to her?
A．By arguing whether the house was standard
B．By explaining why the house suited their needs
C．By describing the small things related to her house．
D．By comparing the differences between country and city life．
53．The author describes the house with ．
A．love B．responsibility C．promise D．enthusiasm
Many people think of the brain as a mystery.They don't know much about intelligence and how it works.When they do think about what intelligence is，many people believe that a person is born smart，average，or dumb—and stays that way in the whole life.But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it.And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
Everyone knows that when you lift weights，your muscles get bigger and you get stronger.A person who can't lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time.That's because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise.And when you stop exercising，the muscles shrink and you get weaker.That's why people say “Use it or lose it！”
But most people don't know that when they practice and learn new things，parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise. Inside the cortex(皮层)of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells，called neurons. The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network. Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems. When you learn new things，these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger.The more you challenge your mind to learn，the more your brain cells grow.Then，things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do—like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra(代数)—seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time.The result is a stronger，smarter brain.
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals'brains.They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more perspicacious—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.According to the first paragraph，________.
| A．the function of our brain is like that of the muscle |
| B．until now it's impossible to explain the brain's mystery |
| C．many people believe one's intelligence is naturally determined |
| D．one's brain grows stronger as the age increases |
Training muscles is compared to ________.
| A．using the brain |
| B．connecting things in your brain |
| C．lifting weights |
| D．doing research about the brain |
What does the underlined word“perspicacious”in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Strong. | B．Smart. |
| C．Popular. | D．Active. |
The following paragraph will most probably talk about ________.
| A．the differences between animals'brains and humans'brains |
| B．the relation between human brains and muscles |
| C．scientists' findings about animals' brains |
| D．how to make your brain smarter through selfdevelopment |
One summer I was driving from my hometown of Tahoe City，Calif.，to New Orleans.In the middle of the desert, I came upon a young man standing by the roadside. He had his thumb out and held a gas can in his other hand. I drove right by him.There was a time in the country when you'd be considered a jerk if you passed by somebody in need. Now you are a fool for helping. With gangs, drug addicts, murderers, rapists, thieves lurking everywhere, “I don't want to get involved” has become a national motto.
Several states later I was still thinking about the hitchhiker.Leaving him stranded in the desert did not bother me so much.What bothered me was how easily I had reached the decision.I never even lifted my foot off the accelerator.
Does anyone stop any more? I wondered.I recalled Blanche DuBois's famous line：“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers”. Could anyone rely on the kindness of strangers these days? One way to test this would be for a person to journey from coast to coast without any money, relying solely on the goodwill of his fellow Americans.What kind of Americans would he find? Who would feed him, shelter him，carry him down the road?
The idea intrigued me.
The week I turned 37，I realized that I had never taken a gamble in my life.So I decided to travel from the Pacific to the Atlantic without a penny.It would be a cashless journey through the land of the almighty dollar.I would only accept offers of rides, food and a place to rest my head.My final destination would be Cape Fear in North Carolina，a symbol of all the fears I'd have to conquer during the trip.
I rose early on September 6, 1994, and headed for the Golden Gate Bridge with a 50pound pack on my back and a sign displaying my destination to passing vehicles：“America”．
For six weeks I hitched 82 rides and covered 4,223 miles across 14 states.As I traveled, folks were always warning me about someplace else.In Montana they told me to watch out for the cowboys in Wyoming; in Nebraska they said people would not be as nice in Iowa. Yet I was treated with kindness everywhere I went.I was amazed by people's readiness to help a stranger, even when it seemed to run contrary to their own best interests.Why did the author drive past the young man in the desert without stopping?
| A．Because he failed to notice this man. |
| B．Because he was driving too fast. |
| C．Because he thought the young man didn't need help. |
| D．Because he was afraid of being tricked. |
What was it that made the author upset?
| A．Leaving the young man alone in the desert. |
| B．Being considered a fool. |
| C．Making the decision of not offering help so easily. |
| D．Keeping thinking about the young man. |
The author decided to travel without a penny in order to ________.
| A．find out how long he could survive without help |
| B．go through the great difficulty in surviving unexpected environment |
| C．find out whether strangers would offer help to him |
| D．figure out how strangers thought of his plan |
In the passage，the author described his journey as a gamble because ________.
| A．he was not so sure of the outlook of the journey |
| B．he had no money to give to strangers |
| C．he was sure of the coming sufferings |
| D．he wasn't sure whether to make the journey |
The following part might probably ________.
| A．describe how he fooled strangers |
| B．describe how strangers went out of their way to help him |
| C．explain why people refused to help strangers |
| D．explain how he overcame his difficulties on the way |
Did you know that the first documented use of OMG(oh my god)was in 1917, or that LOL was once a common term meaning little old ladies in 1960? That's what the world learned when OMG, LOL, and FYI (for your information) were added to the Oxford English Dictionary last week. This dictionary is considered by many to be the reference book that defines the English language.
Words added to the Oxford English Dictionary are truly considered new members of the language. People invent new words all the time, but only a few become popular enough to get defined in dictionaries.
Typed online or in text messages, LOL, FYI, and OMG are initialisms,_which can be said aloud letter by letter, like LOL, which now stands for Laugh Out Loud.Faster to type than the full phrases, initialisms like these have been used online since the 1990s. But these three online terms are now spoken outside the Internet too, making them different from other online lingo( 行话). Dictionary editors decided the words are used so commonly that they had to be defined this year.
Another important addition to the dictionary this year was ♥， as in “I♥ NY.” This is the first graphic (图形的 ) symbol ever defined in the Oxford English Dictionary.The editors added ♥ as a verb under the definition of “heart”， meaning “to love”．
Some slang words — informal language used more commonly in speech than in writing — were also added, like wassup, a shortened way to say “What's up”. Even words that have been in use for many years like biker and happy camper were finally added to the dictionary.
The Oxford English Dictionary now defines more than 600,000 words.That adds up to more than 21,730 pages! Guinness World Records calls it the longest dictionary in the world.The Oxford English Dictionary is known for recording words of all kinds—popular, outdated, and even foreign words used by English speakers throughout the language's long history.The text is mainly about that ________.
| A．expressions like LOL and FYI have been added to the Oxford English Dictionary |
| B．English words change their meaning as time goes by |
| C．English language is becoming more and more difficult to learn |
| D．the Oxford English Dictionary breaks the Guinness World Record |
Which of the following is NOT included in the facts that the Oxford English Dictionary has been updated?
| A．Some online terms are added to it. |
| B．A graphic symbol is first introduced into it. |
| C．Some slang words are collected in it. |
| D．Some old words are left out. |
What does the underlined word “initialisms” refer to?
| A．Words having foreign origins. |
| B．Words made from the first letters of several words in a phrase. |
| C．Uncommon words frequently appearing on the Internet. |
| D．Official words used in formal documents with capital letters. |
Before any new word is added to the Oxford English Dictionary, it must be ________.
| A．spread widely across the Internet |
| B．used commonly by the dictionary editors |
| C．used commonly in either spoken or written language |
| D．a short word |
Shirley Chisholm was best known as the first black woman elected to the United States Congress and the first black woman to run for president of the United States. However, her life was filled with much more than being the first black woman to do important things. She believed in being a person to fight for change. All her life, she worked to improve the lives of others.
Shirley was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1924. Though her parents had very little money, they wanted their daughters to get a good education and to have a better life. When Shirley was three years old they sent her and her sisters to live with their grandmother in Barbados. There Shirley received a good education from the British school system. She enjoyed the years with her grandmother. Shirley always remembered the words her grandmother spoke.
In 1934 Shirley moved back to Brooklyn. She continued to do very well in school. She later graduated from Brooklyn College with honors.In 1949, she married Conrad Chisholm who worked as a private investigator. Together they took part in local politics. Their marriage ended almost thirty years later.
As a young woman, Shirley decided to become a teacher.She believed she could improve society by helping children.She worked for seven years at a childcare center in the Harlem area of New York City.She attended Columbia University at night and received an advanced degree in early childhood education in 1952. She became known as an expert in children and early education.From 1959 to 1964 Shirley was an education official in the day care division of the city's office of child welfare.
In 1964 Shirley's political career began.She was elected to the New York State Assembly, where she served for four years.In 1968 she ran for the United States Congress and she succeeded. She became the first black woman elected to Congress.
Shirley was very different from other members of Congress.She looked different.Her hair was a big cloud of curls. She wore very large eyeglasses. And she had dark skin. Her voice was strong.She spoke with power.She said her greatest tool was her mouth. She was not afraid to say the things others would not say before Congress and the public.From the passage，we learn that Shirley's parents believed that ________.
| A．women played an important part in modern society |
| B．black people ought to have equal rights as whites |
| C．a good education was important for a child's future |
| D．the UK had a better education system than the USA |
Who influenced Shirley most during her childhood?
| A．Her father. | B．Her mother. |
| C．Her sisters. | D．Her grandmother. |
How many of the following have been mentioned in the passage?
a．Her education. b．Her family.
c．Her marriage. d．Her political career.
e．Her political beliefs. f．Her contribution to the USA.
A．Three. B．Four.
C．Five. D．Six.In which order did the following events take place?
a．Her marriage to Conrad Chisholm ended.
b．She was elected to the New York State Assembly.
c．She became an education official.
d．She succeeded in running for the United States Congress.
e．She received an advanced degree in Columbia University.
| A．e－c－b－d－a | B．c－a－b－d－e |
| C．e－c－a－b－d | D．e－c－b－a－d |
The last paragraph mainly tells us about ________.
| A．her political career |
| B．her political opinions |
| C．her typical style |
| D．her contribution in politics |
It was August 2nd,1927.The news had spread fast.A man named Ralph Peer was coming to the city of Bristol.He wanted to make recordings of local people singing and playing musical instruments.And he said he would pay fifty dollars for each song recorded.That was a lot of money in those days.Many people came to Bristol that day to play for Mr.Peer.But one group seemed to have just the sound that he was looking for.They were a man named A．P.Carter，his wife Sara，and her cousin Maybelle.They called themselves the Carter Family.
Their first recordings were sent to radio stations throughout the United States.Many listeners were surprised at what they heard.Instead of classical or jazz songs that radio stations usually played，a new sound was born.The Carter Family sounded different.They did not sound as if they had taken music lessons.But it did not matter.The people in poor rural areas thought they sounded just like their neighbors.
The Carters sang songs about living in the mountains of Virginia，Tennessee，and North Carolina.They sang about the love of a young man for a special girl.They sang about the beauty of nature.They sang about death and sadness.And they sang religious songs that told of the hope for a better life after death.
A．P.Carter sang in the group and also searched for new songs.He often traveled long distances to small towns in the southeastern United States.He wanted to hear the songs that local people sang in their communities.He wrote down the words but kept the music in his memory.When he returned home，he helped Sara and Maybelle fit them to the Carter Family musical style.
The Carter Family soon became famous.They recorded more songs.They traveled to many cities and towns in the eastern United States to perform.Thousands of people heard them sing and bought their recordings.Some people estimate that within three years，the Carter Family sold three hundred thousand recordings.What does this passage mainly talk about?
| A．A family born for music. |
| B．A family singing differently. |
| C．The first family of country music. |
| D．A family singing in a group. |
When Mr.Peer heard the Carter Family's songs，he most probably felt ________.
| A．disappointed | B．calm |
| C．confused | D．excited |
Many listeners were surprised when they heard the Carter Family's singing because ________.
| A．the family did not seem to be good at singing |
| B．what the family sang sounded uncomfortable |
| C．the family sang classical and jazz songs in a very different way |
| D．the family sang something that they had never heard before |
What was A．P.Carter's purpose in traveling to small towns in the southeastern United States?
A．To ask for some advice on his music.
B．To collect songs sung by the local people there.
C．To introduce his music to the local people there.
D．To see if the local people there had heard his music.