The day before the deadline for this article,I had no clue what I was going to write about. I took my problem to the editor-in-chief, and.he said to me:“Don’t worry; you’re creative. ”
I’m not sure where the editor-in-chief reached the conclusion that I was “creative”. Maybe it was through the poems I wrote. Personally, I simply enjoy writing because it’s fun. There’s also the fact that I can’t draw or do anything else creatively, I’m equally sure that there are people in the boat on the other side who can make things look excellent, but can’t write a poem.
At this point you probably want to ask me what poetry and art have to do with engineering. For one, it makes you a more rounded person, making you a better engineer. More importantly, as an engineer, you will be faced with many problems every day. There are some that can be solved by consulting a textbook, but more often than not, you will need that thing in your brain to put together things in a completely original combination to solve the problem at hand.
Think of the wonderful things that creative engineers have done. Civil engineers have made the road more long-lasting so we don’t have to close them for repairs as often. Coming up with a new innovation (创新) is similar to writing a good poem. It’s not some-thing you plan to do. The critical moment comes unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere. You don’t think about what you’re doing, you simply do. After some mad struggling you take a look at the end product and say to yourself, “This is a masterpiece . ” This is perhaps the greatest personal satisfaction one can experience.
So all you engineers out there get out and do something creative. I don’t care if it’s writing a poem or a computer program, just be natural and do something creative.This passage mainly deals with .
| A．the creativity of engineers | B．the power of editor-in-chief |
| C．engineering in general | D．a way of thinking |
In the author’s opinion, writing poems can
.
| A．show one is creative | B．make him happy |
| C．bring him in lots of money | D．have an effect on one’s mental health |
According to the author, art can help an engineer to .
| A．find the solutions to problems | B．learn to write poetry |
| C．be courageous in face of challenges | D．get along well with others |
Coming up with a new innovation is similar to writing a good poem in that both are .
| A．logically developed | B．strictly planned |
| C．experience- based | D．naturally creative |
The greatest personal satisfaction of an engineer comes from .
| A．planning his work successfully | B．building things quickly |
| C．finishing his work innovatively | D．writing good poems naturally |
A scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of some four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it. Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait until the last moment.
By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable. The children who gave in to temptation（诱惑）early on were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible.
Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn’t show up on an IQ test.
The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists’ concerns. But brain theory can’t explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain upbeat in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant soul.
Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence: when it comes to predicting people’s success, brain ability as measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as “character”.
EQ is not the opposite(相反) of IQ. What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one’s ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use. Among the ingredients(要素) for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ makes up about 20%; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck.
While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse. The experiment with the four-year-olds makes it clear that .
| A．the age of 4 is a proper time for scientific experiment |
| B．emotional intelligence won’t show up until adolescence |
| C．the ability of self-control plays a role in personal success |
| D．candy can be used to measure a person’s emotional intelligence |
The underlined word “upbeat” in Paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．kind | B．floating | C．excited | D．cheerful |
Why does the author mention the experiment at the beginning of the text?
| A．To amuse both the children and readers. |
| B．To prove the scientist’s wisdom. |
| C．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| D．To show us how to do an IQ test. |
What is most likely to be written in the paragraph that follows?
| A．Information about famous people with high EQ. |
| B．Examples showing the opposite voice about EQ. |
| C．Some reasons why EQ is a relatively new field. |
| D．Strong demand for basic emotional education. |
Chinese New Year for Kids
‘Chinese New Year for Kids’ is a full color paperback book with beautiful Chinese illustrations (插图). This is a hands-on workbook for parents and teachers, written for children from ages 3 to 12 years old, for use in the classroom or at home. Music, physical movement, art, and food all add to the atmosphere of taking an imaginary trip to China during the Chinese New Year.
| Author:Cindy Roberts |
| Date: 2002-10-01 |
| List Price: $ 9.95 |
| Price: $ 8.95 Buy it On Amazon.com |
The Polar Express
One couldn’t select a more delightful and exciting premise (前提) for a children’s book than the tale of a young boy lying awake on Christmas Eve only to have Santa Claus sweep by and take him on a trip with other children to the North Pole. And one couldn’t ask for a more talented artist and writer to tell the story than Chris Van Allsburg.
| Author:Chris Van Allsburg |
| Date: 1985-10-28 |
| List Price: $18.95 |
| Price: $ 12.89 Buy it On Amazon.com |
The Secret of Saying Thanks
Perhaps you’d like to know a secret, one of the happiest ones of all. You’ll discover it all on your own, maybe when you least expect. If you’ve not yet discovered the secret of saying thanks, it’s waiting for you. The secret can be found in the sunrise that offers promises for the day ahead, or in the gentle shade of a tree sheltering you from the hot rays of the sun.
| Author:Douglas Wood |
| Date: 2005-9-27 |
| List Price: $ 16.95 |
| Price: $ 11.53 Buy it On Amazon.com |
The Runaway Pumpkin
When Buck, Billy and their little sister Lily spy the biggest pumpkin they’ve ever seen, they can’t resist (抵制). Buck and Billy try to roll the pumpkin down the hill to show everyone, but it’s too big! Before they know it, it’s rolling out of control down the hillside. It knocks over Grandpa Baxter and makes him think of pumpkin soup. And when Poppa Baxter finally stops, all he can think of is pumpkin bread.
| Author:Kevin Lewis |
| Date: 2003-09-01 |
| List Price: $ 15.95 |
| Price: $ 6.38 Buy it On Amazon.com |
We can infer from the passage that Chinese New Year for Kids ________.
| A．is very popular with readers all over the world |
| B．is helpful to foreigners to travel to China. |
| C．helps readers to learn about Chinese culture |
| D．introduces a lot of outdoor activities. |
If you buy a copy of The Runaway Pumpkin on Amazon. Com, you can save ________.
| A．30% | B．60% | C．40% | D．70% |
The author wrote the passage mainly to ________.
| A．offer us some advice on shopping |
| B．tell us some interesting stories |
| C．introduce some children’s books |
| D．compare some books’ information |
It’s not easy being a teenager nor is it easy being the parent of a teenager．You can make your child feel angry, hurt or misunderstood by what you say without realizing it yourself．It is important to give your child the space he needs to grow while gently letting him know that you’ll still be there for him when he needs you．
Expect a lot from your child，just not everything．Except for health and safety problems，such as drug use or careless driving，consider everything else open to discussion．If your child is unwilling to discuss something，don’t insist he tell you what’s on his mind．The more you insist， the more likely that he’ll clam up．Instead，let him try to solve things by himself. At the same time，remind him that you’re always there for him if he seeks advice or help．Show respect for your teenager’s privacy(隐私)．Never read his mail or listen in on personal conversations．
Teach your teenager that the family phone is for the whole family. If your child talks on the family’s telephone for too long，tell him he can talk for l5 minutes，but then he must stay off the phone for at least all equal period of time．This not only frees up the line so that other family members can make and receive calls，but teaches your teenager moderation(节制).Or if you are open to the idea，allow your teenager his own phone that he pays for with his own pocket money or a part-time job．The main purpose of the text is to tell parents．
| A．how to get along with a teenager |
| B．how to respect a teenager |
| C．how to help a teenager grow up |
| D．how to understand a teenager |
What does the phrase "clam up" in Paragraph 2 probably mean?
| A．become excited | B．show respect |
| C．refuse to talk | D．seek help |
The last paragraph is about how to teach a teenager ________.
| A．to use the phone in a proper way |
| B．to pay for his own telephone |
| C．to share the phone with friends |
| D．to answer the phone quickly |
What should parents do in raising a teenager according to the text?
| A．Not allow him to learn driving or take drugs. |
| B．Give him advice only when necessary. |
| C．Let him have his own telephone. |
| D．Not talk about personal things with him. |
Although the U.S. is so big and its people have so many different ethnic (racial) backgrounds, it is in some ways less varied than Europe. The English language is used almost everywhere in its American form. The American way of speaking has developed independently of England and is on the whole closer to what can be heard in Ireland.
American instance of uniformity（一致性） is in habits and ways of living. From Boston to Los Angeles it is as far as from France to Central Asia, and from east to west there are five time zones; but everywhere people get up and go to bed at about the same time, eat the same kind of food, buy in the same kind of shops, work and rest at the same times of the day and have the same pattern of holidays. In most of the things that matter there is less difference between rich people and ordinary people, or between town and country, than in any single European nation.
Although the United States covers so much land and the land produces far more food than the present population needs, its people are by now almost entirely an urban society. Less than a tenth of the people are engaged in agriculture, and most of the rest live in or around towns, large and small. Here the traditional picture is changing; most Americans do not live in small towns any more. Half the population now live in some thirty metropolitan（大城市的） areas.
The fact that the United states has always been a single economic unit has contributed to uniformity. Modern industry favors large organizations, and it is no accident that the world’s biggest commercial firms are American. The people can choose between the products of competing manufacturers, but the products are all much alike. In describing the uniformity in the U.S. the author does not mention that
| A．the American people get up and go to work at the same time. |
| B．the American people spend their holidays in the same pattern. |
| C．the American people buy and eat the same kind of food. |
| D．the American people have more or less the same income. |
What can we learn from the passage about the U.S. agriculture?
| A．The American farmers need more land than before. |
| B．More and more Americans are interested in farming. |
| C．It is quite modernized. |
| D．It is now going backward. |
What is the feature of the U.S. modern industry according to the last paragraph?
| A．The production scale and the organizational scale are very big. |
| B．It is a single economic unit that manufactures the same kind of products. |
| C．There are more and more competing manufacturers. |
| D．There are always a variety of products to choose from. |
What does “most of the things” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．food, clothing and houses. |
| B．Cars, computers and TV sets. |
| C．Their wealth and income. |
| D．Land, housing and bank savings. |
You're rushing to work and a man ahead of you falls down on the sidewalk. Do you stop to help? In a study of by-standers, it was found that some people keep on walking.
"There is a tendency to decide that no action is needed," says a psychologist, "In order to take action, you have to work against them." Here are some common thoughts that stop you from helping.
●Why should I be the one? I'm probably not the most able person in this crowd. You might think someone older or with more medical knowledge should offer assistance.
●What if he doesn't really need my help? The fear of embarrassment is powerful; no one wants to risk looking foolish in front of others.
●No one else looks concerned. We can follow the people around us, but most people tend to hold back their emotions in public.
"If you spot trouble and find yourself explaining inaction, force yourself to stop and figure out the situation instead of walking on," says the psychologist. "Then retry to involve other people; you don't have to take on the entire responsibility of being helpful. Sometimes it's just a matter of turning to the person next to you and saying, 'It looks like we should do something.' Or asking someone if an ambulance has been called and, if not, to call for one. Once you take action, most people will follow you."Which is NOT the common thought that stops you from helping others?
| A．I'm not the very capable person. |
| B．It looks like we should do something. |
| C．No one else is concerned. |
| D．He doesn't really need my help. |
In order to offer your timely help, you need to .
| A．go directly to the police station |
| B．get along well with the passers-by who spot the trouble |
| C．ask others for help and call the police |
| D．work against the first thoughts that stop you from offering help |
The main purpose of the passage is to tell readers .
| A．to give others a hand | B．to be more able |
| C．to explain their inaction | D．to evaluate the situation |