ArecentAuburnUniversitystudypr-优题课

When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously(同时地) about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what’s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen --- they can’t do both --- and they don’t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships --- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle(细微的) body language signals that reveal(显露) how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls’ mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author Social Behavior and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents hold the brain bias of their children. Since a girl’s brain is better organized to send and receive speech, we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts(哼声) in reply.
68．While watching TV with others, women usually talk a lot because they _______ .
A．are afraid of awkward silence with their families and friends
B．can both talk and watch the screen at the same time
C．think they can have a good time and develop relationships
D．have to explain the plot and body language to their husbands
69．After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to_______ .
A．experience the happy time again
B．keep a close tie with her
C．recommend her a new scenic spot
D．remind her of something forgotten
70．The underlined word "bonding" in the 3rd paragraph probably means__________
A．long hours’ conversation B．close personal relationship
C．frequent communication D．sharing past experiences
71．What does the author want to tell us most?
A．Women’s brains are better organized for language and communication
B．Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men.
C．Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts.
D．Social conditioning is the reason why women love talking.

Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.
After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window. I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn't wash her window. It really looks terrible.”
One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside. Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!
Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.
That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?
Since then, whenever I wanted to judge someone, I asked myself first, “Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?”
Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.
64.The writer couldn't see everything clearly through the window because _______ .
A．the woman's window was dirty B．the writer's window was dirty
C．the woman lived nearby D．the writer was near-sighted
65．Finishing the cleaning, the writer was surprised that _______.
A．the woman was sitting by her window
B．the woman's window was clean
C．the woman did cleaning in the afternoon
D．the woman's window was still terrible
66．“…it dawned on me” probably means “_______ ”.
A．I began to understand itB．it cheered me up
C．I knew it grew light D．it began to get dark
67．It’s clear that _______.
A．the writer had never met the woman before
B．the writer often washed the window
C．they both worked as cleaners
D．they lived in a small town

Earthquakes may rightly be ranked as one of the most destructive forces known to man: since records began to be written down, it has been estimated that earthquake-related fatalities (死亡) have numbered in the millions, and that earthquake-related destruction has been beyond calculation. The greater part of such damage and loss of life had been due to collapse of buildings and the effects of rockslides, floods, fire, disease, tsunamis, and other observable events resulting from earthquakes, rather than from quakes themselves.
The great majority of all earthquakes occur in two specific geographic areas. One such area covers the Pacific Ocean and its bordering landmasses. The other extends from the East Indians to the Atlas Mountains, including the Himalayas, Iran, Turkey and the Alpine regions. It is in these two great belts or zones that ninety percent of all earthquakes take place; they may, however, happen anywhere at any time.
This element of unknown has for centuries added greatly to the dead and horror surrounding earthquakes, but in recent times there have been indications that earthquake forecast may be possible. By analyzing changes in animal behavior, patterns of movements in the earth's shell, variations in the earth's force of attraction, and the frequency with which minor earth shakes are observed, scientists have shown increasing success in expecting when and where earthquakes will strike. As a result, a worldwide earthquake warning network is already in operation and has helped to prepare for (and thus lessen) the vast destruction that might otherwise have been totally unexpected.
It is doubtful that man will ever be able to control earthquakes and get rid of their destructiveness altogether, but as how and why earthquakes happen become better understood, man will become more and more able to deal with their possible damage before they occur.
60. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A. Earthquakes destruction is declining.
B. Man is capable of conquering earthquakes.
C. Man is no longer fearful of earthquakes.
D. Earthquake forecast is improving.
61. We can infer from the passage that quakes _______ .
A. mostly strike in oceans and mountains
B. may happen anywhere at any time
C. are unperceivable in masses of land
D. are hardly the direct cause of fatalities
62. The underlined phrase "This element of unknown" in Paragraph 3 refers to__.
A. the extension of earthquake zones
B. the percentage of earthquake occurrences
C. when and where earthquakes may occur
D. what big damage earthquakes may cause
63. Man's research on earthquake forecast at present is to _________ .
A. lower the frequency of earthquakes
B. release the energy that causes earthquakes
C. reduce the loss from earthquake disasters
D. analyze the relationship between different earthquakes

第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项。
A man accused of failing to return more than 700 children's books to five different libraries in the county was released from prison after a book publisher agreed to post his bond(保释金)of $1,000. The publisher said, "There's a story here. This is a man who loves books. He just can't let go of them. He hasn't stolen a single book. So what's the crime? We think that Mr Banish has a story to tell. We plan to publish his story."
When asked why he didn't return the books, Mr Banish said, "Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these books and chew them up, throw them around, tear the pages, spill soda on them, get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet.
He continued, "Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich you with wisdom, humor and love. A book is a guest in my home. How could I kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air."
"Every week I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they're all back in the libraries, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me. I need to rescue them. Excuse me. I have to go now."
56. Why was the man put into prison?
A. Because the book publisher persuaded the police to do so.
B. Because he stole 700 children's books from the five different libraries.
C. Because he refused to return the books that he had borrowed.
D. Because he wanted to publish his story.
57. How did the man treat books?
A. He treated them as real people.
B. He treated them as his own children.
C. He treated them as his furniture.
D. He treated them as his job.
58. From the passage we can learn that the man is _______.
A. a thiefB. a writer C. crazy about booksD. unfortunate
59. What might happen after the man was set free?
A. He might stop borrowing books.
B. He might start a library of his own.
C. He might go on borrowing books from libraries.

Most of us were taught that generosity (慷慨) is about giving freely, and putting others’ needs before our own. Although there is nothing wrong with this definition, it remains somewhat incomplete. To think of generosity only in terms of giving can limit us.
Being truly generous is also about being open to receiving graciously （落落大方地） from others. Allowing others to “give” to us whether it may be a compliment, emotional support or even material help in times of need is, interestingly, the same act of kindness as trying our best to give to others.
Besides, we need to be aware that giving can sometimes be a thinly disguised (伪装的) power trip! It’s time we began to understand generosity as a kind of two-way street.
With all the talk about how “selfish” we are today, it’s pretty amazing to see how many people have real difficulty being able to receive.
There may be at least four reasons why people have trouble receiving. Maybe they simply haven’t learned how to graciously receive a gift or help from others. Or it could be that they don’t want to feel under obligation to the giver. It’s also possible that they consider receiving a weakness, and want to always come across as the strong part of a relationship; to receive, for some, is to admit that they have needs, or are weak, and they find this very hard. Or perhaps, most sadly, they don’t feel they deserve what they receive.
Unfortunately, all of these reasons put the focus on the receiver rather than on the joy of the person giving the gift. But it helps to recall the joy we feel when we ourselves give and to allow others opportunities for experiencing the same joy.
67. The author thinks that receiving _____.
A. is more important than giving B. is seldom seen in our daily life
C. means as much as giving does D. limits us more than giving
68. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that people usually believe that giving _____.
A. is the obligation of the rich B. shows the giver’s powerfulness
C. determines people’s relationship D. usually needs to be taught
69. According to the passage, most people have trouble receiving _____.
A. mainly because of their own personality
B. mainly because of their own culture.
C. because they only think of themselves
D. because they are addicted to giving
70. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Generosity: a two-way street
B. To receive, not to give
C. Give freely, receive occasionally
D. New definition of giving