There was once a captain who loved money so much that he cheated his sailors at the end of every voyage and took their wages.
On the last day of one voyage, the ship was in a small port. It was winter time, and the sea was very cold, so the captain said to his sailors, “ If one of you stays in the water during the whole night, I will give him my ship. But if he comes out before the sun appears, I shall get his wages.(工资)”
The sailors had heard about the captain’ cheating, so they didn’t trust him. But then one of them, who thought that he was cleverer than the captain, said that he would do it. He got into the water and, though it was very cold, stayed in it. When it was nearly morning, some fishermen lit a fire on the shore abut half a mile away.
“ You are cheating,” the captain said to the sailor. “ The fire’s warming you.”
“ But it’s half a mile away.” Said the sailor.
“ A fire is fire,” answered the captain.
“ Perhaps you think that you are clever because you have won my wages, but you can’t cook a chicken,” said the sailor.
“ I can’t,” answered the captain.
“ If you cook this chicken,” said the sailor, “ I shall work for you without wages for seven years, but if you can’t, you will give me your ship.”
The captain agreed, took the chicken and said, “ Where’s the fire?”
“There it is,” answered the sailors, “ On the shore.”
“ ‘A fire’s fire’, you said,” answered the sailor. “ If it is enough to warm me in the water, it is enough to cook your chicken.”
66. The captain got the sailors’ wages ________________.
A. to buy a chicken for himself
B. and kept the money for future use
C. by cheating them
D. and said he would return the money soon.
67. Which of the following statement is true?
A. All the sailors refused to get into the water because it was too cold.
B. The captain knew that the fire the fishermen made was enough to warm the sailor in the water.
C. The captain succeeded in cheating the sailor.
D. It was the sailor who was clever.
68. The captain insisted that the fire was warming the sailor because he ___________.
A. didn’t want to lose the bet
B. didn’t believe the sailor’s success
C. wanted to keep his promise
D. wanted to show his cleverness
69. Which of the following statement is NOT true?
A. The sailor didn’t trust the captain.
B. In order to help the sailor in the water, the fishermen made a fire.
C. The Captain failed to cheat the sailor this time.
D. The sailor didn’t get out of the water before the sun appeared.
70. What is the best title?
A. How A Captain Cheated His Sailor
B. How A Sailor Got A ship
C. A Brave Sailor
D. A Fire is Fire
Who hasn't found themselves reaching for the closest food available when they're tired and stressed? More and more research is proving that this isn't all in our mind. Some foods really do lead to a change in our moods (心情).
Carbohydrate (碳水化合物) for calm
This is how some people medicate(治疗) themselves with food — by reaching for cookies or pasta(意大利面食) whenever they're upset. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work. You must eat a meal consisting of 100% carbohydrate, on an empty stomach, to obtain the serotonin (血清素) increase so that you have a good mood.
To get the wishedfor effect, you must not eat anything for four hours and then eat at least 30 grams of straight carbohydrate. Dry cereal (谷类食品), a piece of bread with jam, or a potato should do_the_trick.
Protein (蛋白质) for power
Of course, sometimes we don't need to be calm and sleepy.Sometimes we need a great deal of mental concentration, so this is when it's important to mix protein and carbohydrate. The protein will prevent the tryptophan (色氨酸) from flooding your brain,and the rise in serotonin(血清素) won't occur.
Why dessert makes us happy
Fat and sugar cause the brain to let go endorphins (内啡肽), which send pleasure signals throughout the body. This would be fine, except humans are not particularly good at stopping at one cookie or cake.
You can also satisfy your sweet tooth by choosing fruit for dessert.
Timing your meals for energy
Blood sugar drops after four hours of going without food, causing a decrease(减少) in energy. Eating usually fixes this within 20 to 30 minutes, but don't suppose that eating more will cause a faster increase in energy.
When you eat has as much of an effect on your mood as what you eat. If you regularly go for a long period of time between meals, rethink your schedule and plan ahead.The underlined phrase“ do_the_trick” in the third paragraph means ________.
A.be extremely smart |
B.intend to cheat someone |
C.bring about the desired result |
D.do something to amuse people |
The function of protein is ________.
A.to help you keep calm and sleepy |
B.to make you feel energetic |
C.to lead you to slowness |
D.to increase serotonin in your brain |
We can infer from the last two parts that ________.
A.fat and sugar can greatly help people feel happy |
B.we humans tend to eat lots of cookies and cakes |
C.the more we eat, the faster we will gain energy |
D.what we eat is more important than when we eat |
The main idea of the passage is ________.
A.eating for a better mood |
B.eating to make you calm |
C.eating for more protein |
D.eating to make us strong |
American researchers have discovered that human brains and sleep patterns are confused by devices(装置) that give out bright lights. Electronics, such as laptops, mislead our minds into thinking that it is still daytime, preventing sleep and increasing the risk of insomnia.
Sleep experts say human's natural body clock begins to rest and relax from the day between 9 and 10 pm but the use of computers confuses it.
A person's brain biologically becomes awake when the sun is out because bright light after dark causes the brain to stop producing the hormone (荷尔蒙) called melatonin that makes us sleepy.
Researchers say blue light from devices such as iPads, which is expected to become a popular reading tool when it comes out later this month, is particularly disruptive (干扰的)during the night when the brain thinks it should be dark.
Experts say a good book is a far better way of resting the brain and ensuring a good night's sleep because the bedside lamp(灯) light doesn't affect the brain as it does not look straight into a person's eyes.
“Potentially, yes, if you're using an iPad or a laptop close to bedtime... that light can be stimulating (刺激) to the brain to make it more awake and delay your ability to sleep,” Phyllis Zee, a professor at Northwestern University and director of the school's Centre for Sleep & Circadian Biology, told CNN.
“And I think more importantly, it could also be enough to affect your circadian (昼夜节律的) rhythm. This is the clock in your brain that determines when you sleep and when you wake up. ”
Alon Avidan, associate director of the Sleep Disorders Center at the University of California Los Angeles, added, “I wish people would just take a boring book — an oldfashioned book — and read by a lamp.”The underlined word “insomnia” in the first paragraph probably means “________”.
A.being unable to eat properly |
B.brain injury |
C.being unable to fall sleep |
D.lack of energy |
Melatonin is the hormone that ________.
A.makes us sleepy |
B.helps us relaxed |
C.prevents us from waking up |
D.makes us excited |
The bedside lamp light doesn't affect the brain because ________.
A.it doesn't give out blue light |
B.it's not as bright as your laptop |
C.it doesn't enter your eyes directly |
D.it is adjustable |
We can conclude from the passage that ________.
A.one who uses his laptop often before bedtime can have his body clock disturbed |
B.using a laptop before bedtime is more harmful than using an iPad |
C.we'd better not do anything before going to bed |
D.the best time to go to bed is before 9 pm |
Camping wild is a wonderful way to experience the natural world and, at its best, it makes little environmental influence. But with increasing numbers of people wanting to escape into the wilderness, it is becoming more and more important to camp unobtrusively (不引人注目地) and leave no mark.
Wild camping is not permitted in many places, particularly in crowded lowland Britain. Wherever you are, find out about organizations responsible for managing wild spaces, and contact them to find out their policy on camping and shelter building. For example, it is fine to camp wild in remote parts of Scotland, but in England you must ask the landowner’s permission, except in national parks.
Camping is about having relaxation, sleeping outdoors, experiencing bad weather, and making do without modern conveniences. A busy, fully equipped campsite(野营地) seems to go against this, so seek out smaller, more remote places with easy access to open spaces and perhaps beaches. Better still, find a campsite with no road access:walking in makes a real adventure.
Finding the right spot to camp is the first step to guaranteeing a good night’s sleep. Choose a campsite with privacy(隐秘) and minimum(最小的) influence on others and the environment. Try to use an area where people have obviously camped before rather than creating a new spot.
When camping in woodland, avoid standing dead trees, which may fall on a windy night. Avoid animal runs and caves, and possible homes of biting insects. Make sure you have most protection on the windward(迎风的) side. If you make a fire, do so downwind of your shelter. Always consider what influence you might have on the natural world. Avoid damaging plants. A good campsite found, not made—changing it should be unnecessary. You needn’t ask for permission when camping in________.
A.national parks in England | B.most parts of Scotland |
C.crowded lowland Britain | D.most parts of England |
The author thinks that a good campsite is one________.
A.with easy access | B.used previously(以前) |
C.with modern conveniences | D.far away from beaches |
The last paragraph mainly deals with________.
A.protecting animals |
B.building a campfire |
C.camping in woodland |
D.finding a campsite with privacy |
The passage is mainly about________.
A.the protection of campsites |
B.the importance of wild camping |
C.the human influence on campsites |
D.the dos and don’ts of wild camping |
It’s well known that our human memory can fail us. People can be forgetful, and they can sometimes also “remember” things incorrectly, with damaging consequences in the classroom, courtroom, and other areas of life. Now, researchers show for the first time that bumblebees(大黄蜂) can be unreliable witnesses too.
Bumblebees are rather clever animals, which explains why Chittka has been studying learning and memory in the insects for the last 20 years.
Most times when people have studied memory in animals, errors in performance have been taken to mean that the animals failed to learn the task or perhaps learned it and then forgot. But what if animals can experience a more interesting type of memory failure?
To find out, Chittka first trained bumblebees to expect a reward when visiting a yellow artificial flower followed by one with black-and-white rings. During subsequent tests, bees were given a choice between three types of flowers. Two were the types they’d seen in the training before. The third had yellow-and-white rings, representing a mixed-up version of the other two. Minutes after the training, the bees showed a clear preference for the flower that recently rewarded them.
One or three days later, however, something very different happened when the bumblebees’ memory was put to the test. At first, the bees showed the same preference displayed in the earlier tests, but as the time went on, they began selecting the flower with yellow rings, even though they’d never actually seen that one in training before.
Chittka says that insects make similar errors in the conjunction (结合) of long-term memories as humans do. The ability to extract (提取) common features between different events in the environment might come at the expense of remembering every detail correctly. In bees, with their limited brain capacity (容量), the pressure to store main features of several objects rather than each individual object might be much greater, compared with humans.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?
A.Human memory can fail sometimes. |
B.Bumblebees make false memories too. |
C.Humans are not as clever as bumblebees. |
D.Bumblebees have extraordinary memory. |
Which of the following is the closest in meaning to the underlined word “subsequent”?
A.scientific | B.accurate |
C.following | D.exceptional |
According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
A.Memory failure influences students’ study effects. |
B.Bumblebees’ memory is complicated and worth studying. |
C.The bees couldn’t make out which flower had rewarded them days later. |
D.Bumblebees are stupid insects with limited brain capacity. |
What does the test mentioned in Paragraph 4 tell us?
A.Short-term memories serve the bees well. |
B.The yellow artificial flower appeals to the bees. |
C.Bumblebees like the flowers with yellow-and-white rings. |
D.Bees have remarkable abilities to distinguish colors. |
We can infer from the passage that ______.
A.Chittka thinks that bumblebees failed to remember the color of the flowers |
B.Researchers have learned that bumblebees are unreliable animals |
C.There exist no similarities between the memory errors in humans and bees. |
D.It is less challenging for humans than bees to store main features of several objects. |
“BANG!” the door caused a reverberation (回声). It was just standing there, with father standing on one side, and me on the other side.
We were both in great anger. “Never set foot in this house again!” stormed father. With tears welling up in my eyes, I rushed out of the flat and ran along the street.
The street lights were shining, causing rather sad feelings. I wandered aimlessly.
A young father who held a child in his arms walked past me. I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space: happy and carefree.
But now
I dont know whether it is because I have grown up or because dad is getting old. We differ in our ways of thinking. We are just like two people coming from two different worlds. It feels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened.
I wandered the streets, without a destination in mind. My heart was frozen on this hot summer night. As I walked on, there were fewer and fewer people on the streets, until I had only the street lights to keep me company. When I finally reached the high-rise apartment block in which I lived, I saw that the light was still on.
I thought to myself: Is father waiting for me, or is he still angry with me?
In fact, it was nothing. Perhaps, dad was throwing away some of his old stamps. Perhaps he thought they were useless. I never had the courage to tell him that I liked collecting stamps.
All the lights were off except fathers.
Dad was always like this. Maybe he didnt know how to express himself. After shouting at me, he never showed any mercy or any moments of regret.
This was how he always was. He has been a leader for so long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature.
The light was still on. Am I wrong? I whispered, maybe
With the key in my hand, I was as nervous as I had ever been. At last, I decided to open the door. As soon as I opened the door, tears ran down my cheeks. I suddenly realized that the iron door that I had imagined between us did not exist at all. Love----its second to none.Which is the correct order of the following events according to the passage?
a. I opened the door and entered the house.
b. I ran out into the street angrily.
c. I reached the place where I lived and saw my house still brightly lit.
d. I recalled my happy childhood.
e. I began to walk about in the street without any aim.
A.e, b, d, c, a | B.b, e, d, c, a |
C.b, e, c, d, a | D.e, b, c, a, d |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The author fully understood why he and his father had different thinking. |
B.The author’s father didn’t approve of his stamp collecting. |
C.The author and his father lacked communication. |
D.The author’s father opened the door for him when he came back. |
According to the author, why did his father often shout at him?
A.Perhaps the father was getting older and older. |
B.Perhaps the son had already grown up. |
C.Perhaps they never agreed with each other. |
D.Perhaps the father had been used to doing that. |
What did the author mean by the underlined sentence “My heart was frozen on this hot summer night”?
A.He felt lonely because there were so few people on the street. |
B.He felt uncomfortable because it was a very hot night. |
C.He was completely disappointed with his father. |
D.He was at a loss because he had nowhere to go. |
What was the author’s attitude towards his father at the end of the story?
A.He loved his father. |
B.He was frustrated with his father. |
C.He was afraid of his father. |
D.He was dissatisfied with his father. |