Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive (重新体验) these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase (抹去), the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers’ troubling memories after war.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.“Some memories can ruin people’s lives. They come back to you when you don’t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,”said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at Harvard Medical School.“This could relieve a lot of that suffering.”
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past. “All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we'd want to wipe those memories out,” said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist (伦理学家).
Some people fear that although the drug would first be used in only very serious cases, it would become more and more common. “People always have the ability to misuse science,”said Joseph LeDoux, a New York University memory researcher. “All we want to do is help people have better control of memories.”What’s the main idea of the text?
| A．People often suffer from bad memories. |
| B．American researchers are trying to develop a pill. |
| C．Forget bad memories, and be happy. |
| D．The research has caused a heated argument. |
The underlined word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to “_____”.
| A．the new drug | B．the research into the drug |
| C．the memory | D．the chemical in the drug |
Which of the following is not the opinion of the supporters?
| A．The pill can erase all the memories in the past. |
| B．Some memories can ruin people’s life. The pill can relieve emotional suffering. |
| C．The pill can also help many people who suffer from terrible memories. |
| D．The pill can prevent or treat troubling memories in soldiers after war. |
Which of the following is not the opinion of the opponents (反对者)?
| A．Our memories give us our identity. |
| B．The memories help humanity avoid mistakes of the past. |
| C．The drug should be used in only very serious cases. |
| D．People may not be sure whether they want to wipe the memories out. |
History is full of examples of leaders joining together to meet common goals. But rarely have two leaders worked together with such friendship and cooperation as American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. They both were born in wealthy families and were active in politics for many years. Both men loved the sea and the navy，history and nature.
Roosevelt and Churchill first met when they were lowerlevel officials in World War One. But neither man remembered much about that meeting. However，as they worked together during the Second World War they came to like and trust each other. Roosevelt and Churchill exchanged more than one thousand seven hundred letters and messages during five and a half years. They met many times，at large national gatherings and in private talks. But the closeness of their friendship might be seen best in a story told by one of Roosevelt’s close advisors，Harry Hopkins. Hopkins remembered how Churchill was visiting Roosevelt at the White House one day. Roosevelt went into Churchill’s room in the morning to say hello. But the president was shocked to see Churchill coming from the washing room with no clothes at all. Roosevelt immediately apologized to the British leader for seeing him naked. But Churchill reportedly said: “The Prime Minister of Great Britain has nothing to hide from the president of the United States.” And then both men laughed.
The United States and Great Britain were only two of several nations that joined together in the war to resist Hitler and his Allies. In January,1942，twentysix of these nations signed an agreement promising to fight for peace，religious freedom，human rights，and justice. The three major Allies，however，were the most important for the war effort: the United States，Britain，and the Soviet Union. Yet，Churchill and Roosevelt disagreed about when to attack Hitler in western Europe. And Churchill resisted Roosevelt’s suggestions that Britain give up some of its colonies. But in general，the friendship between Roosevelt and Churchill，and between the United States and Britain led the two nations to cooperate closely.What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Roosevelt and Churchill had much in common. |
| B．Roosevelt and Churchill had nothing in common. |
| C．Roosevelt and Churchill had no difference but cooperation. |
| D．Roosevelt and Churchill always joined together to meet common goals. |
Which of the following about Roosevelt and Churchill is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Since World War One they had believed in each other. |
| B．They exchanged just 27 letters and messages per month during the 5.5 years. |
| C．Harry Hopkins never let out the closeness of their friendship. |
| D．Roosevelt and Churchill hadn’t been presidents before World War One. |
We can know from the passage that________.
| A．Roosevelt and Churchill did not always agree with each other |
| B．over two differences between Churchill and Roosevelt were mentioned |
| C．Churchill urged Roosevelt to give up some of its colonies |
| D．the differences between Roosevelt and Churchill had an effect on their cooperation |
In Canada you can find dogs, cats, horses, etc. in almost every family. These are their pets. People love these pets and have them as their good friends. Before they keep them in their houses, they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections(注射) so that they won’t carry diseases. They have special animal food stores, though they can get animal food in almost every kind of stores. Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food.
When you visit people’s houses, they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them. You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden. All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal. They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada. They have a law against killing wild animals. If you killed an animal, you would be punished. If an animal happened to get run over by a car, people would be very sad about it.
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals. One of them might be: Their family ties are not as close as ours. When children grow up, they leave their parents and start their own life. Then the old will feel lonely. But pets can solve this problem. They can be good friends and never leave them alone.The passage mainly talks about ______.
| A．how to keep diseases from pets | B．Canadians have pets as friends |
| C．how to take good care of pets | D．life of the old in Canada |
Pets are given injections in animal hospitals ______.
| A．in order to keep them safe | B．after being taken home |
| C．because they carry diseases | D．because they are sick |
The word “bird feeder” in the second paragraph probably means ______.
| A．a person who gives food to birds | B．a container that has food for birds |
| C．something that catches birds | D．an animal that eats birds |
InCanada, childrenleavetheirparentswhenthey grow up because ______.
| A．they don’t love their parents any more |
| B．they can only find jobs far from their parents |
| C．their parents’ houses are too small |
| D．they wouldn’t depend on their parents any more |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Peoplebuyanimal foodonlyattheanimalfood stores. |
| B．Pets eat better than people. |
| C．Almost every family has a birdcage(鸟笼) in his house. |
| D．Any bird can come to the bird feeders to eat. |
Gwendolyn Brooks wrote hundreds of poems during her lifetime. She was known around the world for using poetry to increase understanding of black culture in America.
During the 1940’s and the 1950’s, Gwendolyn Brooks used her poems to describe conditions among the poor, racial (种族的) inequality and drug use in the black community. She also wrote poems about the struggles of black women.
But her skill was more than her ability to write about struggling black people. She combined traditional European poetry styles with the African American experience.
Gwendolyn Brooks once said that she wrote about what she saw and heard in the street. She said she found most of her materials through looking out of the window of her second-floor apartment in Chicago, Illinois.
In her early poetry, Gwendolyn Brooks wrote about the South Side of Chicago, where many black people live. In her poems, the South Side is called Bronzeville. It was “A Street in Bronzeville” that gained the attention of literary experts in 1945. Critics praised her poetic skills and her powerful descriptions about the black experience during the time. The Bronzeville poems were her first published collection.
In 1950, Gwendolyn Brooks became the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize for Literature. She won the prize for her second book of poems called “Annie Allen”. “Annie Allen” is a collection of poetry about a Bronzeville girl as a daughter, a wife and a mother. She experiences loneliness, loss, death and poverty (贫穷).
Gwendolyn Brooks said that winning the prize changed her life.
Her next work was a novel written in 1953 called “Maud Martha”. “Maud Martha” attracted little attention when it was first published. But now it is considered an important work by some critics. Its main ideas about the difficult lives of many women are popular among female writers today.Gwendolyn Brooks became world-famous because.
| A．she was an expert on the language of poetry |
| B．she introduced black culture by writing poems |
| C．she fought for black rights by writing poems |
| D．her poems showed the lives of black women |
Which of the following can we learn from the text?
| A．Gwendolyn Brooks’ poems focused on black people in Africa. |
| B．Winning the Pulitzer Prize for Literature was important to Brooks. |
| C．Gwendolyn Brooks used to suffer a lot from drugs. |
| D．Gwendolyn Brooks was very strict with herself. |
How did Gwendolyn Brooks get ideas for most of her poems?
| A．By observing life. | B．By having talks. |
| C．By reading widely. | D．By traveling. |
We can infer that the book “Annie Allen” mainly deals with.
| A．family life | B．inequality | C．adventure | D．failure |
There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. Sadly, she went to the holy man and asked, “What magical things do you have to bring my son back to life?”
Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard (芥菜) seed from a home that has never known sadness. We will use it to drive the sadness out of your life.” The woman happily went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed.
She first came to a splendid house, knocked at the door and said, “I am looking for a home that has never known sadness. Is it such a place? It is very important to me.”
They told her “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place” and began to describe all the tragic things that had happened to them recently.
The woman said to herself, “I have had misfortune of my own. Who is able to help these poor, unfortunate people?” She stayed to comfort them, and then went on in search of a home that had never known sadness. But wherever she went, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so involved in other people’s sorrow that finally she forgot about her search for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sadness out of her life.Which of the following does the story lead us to believe?
| A．Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. |
| B．Time passed cannot be called back again. |
| C．You can’t feel happy unless compared with others. |
| D．You can’t expect to know the result until you have tried. |
Instead of sending the woman away, the holy man.
| A．asked her to help him first |
| B．tried to comfort her with kind words |
| C．asked her to look for a thing that didn’t exist at all |
| D．tried to encourage her by talking with her |
Leaving the holy man, the woman.
| A．was full of hope | B．was filled with sadness |
| C．was determined to try again | D．became discouraged |
The best title for the text would be “”.
| A．A woman’s misfortune | B．A nice surprise |
| C．The holy man’s faith | D．Cure for sadness |
We spent a day in the country, picking wild flowers. With the car full of flowers we were going home. On our way back my wife noticed a cupboard outside a furniture shop. It was tall and narrow. “Buy it,” my wife said at once. “We’ll carry it home on the roof rack(行李架), I’ve always wanted one like that.”
What could I do? Ten minutes later I was 20 pounds poorer, and the cupboard was tied onto the roof rack. It was six inches long and eighteen inches square, quite heavy too.
In the gathering darkness I drove slowly. Other drivers seemed unusually polite that evening. The police even stopped traffic to let us through. Carrying furniture was a good idea.
After a time my wife said, “There’s a long line of cars behind. Why don’t they overtake, I wonder?”
In fact a police car did overtake. The two officers inside looked at us seriously as they passed. But then, with great kindness, they led us through the rush-hour traffic. The police car stopped at our village church. One of the officers came to me.
“Right, sir,” he said. “Do you need any more help?”
I was a bit puzzled. “Thanks, officer,” I said. “You have been very kind. I live just on the road.”
He was staring at our car: first at the flowers, and then at the cupboard. “Well, well,” he said, laughing. “It’s a cupboard you’ve got there! We thought it was, something else.”
My wife began to laugh. Then the truth hit me like a stone between the eyes. I smiled at the officer. “Yes, it’s a cupboard, but thanks again.” I drove home as fast as I could.It can be inferred from the passage that______.
| A．other drivers let the couple go first, because the husband did not drive fast |
| B．the cupboard cost less than 20 pounds |
| C．the husband, in fact, would rather not buy the cupboard |
| D．all the cars followed the couple’s |
The police will be more polite to those who are______.
| A．in great sorrow | B．driving in the gathering darkness |
| C．driving with wild flowers in the car | D．carrying furniture |
What did the police officer think of the cupboard?
| A．It was so expensive that it needed their help |
| B．It was a box for a dead person to be buried in. |
| C．There might be something stolen in it. |
| D．It was a big box with some bomb in it. |
What did the husband think of the whole matter?
| A．It was very strange. | B．He took great pride in it. |
| C．He was puzzled at it | D．He felt embarrassed. |