I was waiting for a phone call from my agent．He had left a message the night before, telling me that my show was to be cancelled．I called him several times, but each time his secretary told me that he was in a meeting and that he would call me later．So I waited and waited, but there was still no call．Three hours passing by, I became more and more and impatient．I was certain that my agent didn’t care about my work, and he didn’t care about me．I was overcome with that thought．I started to shout at the phone, “Let me wait, will you? Who do you think you are?”
At that time I didn’t realize my wife was looking on．Without showing her surprise, she rushed in, seized the phone, tore off the wires, and shouted at the phone, “Yeah! Who do you think you are? Bad telephone! Bad telephone!” And she swept it into the wastebasket．
I stood watching her, speechless．What on earth．．．?
She stepped to the doorway and shouted at the test of the house, “Now hear this! All objects in this room----if you do anything to upset my husband, out you go!”
Then she turned to me．Kissed me and said calmly, “Honey, you just have to learn how to take control．” With that, she left the room．
After watching a crazy woman rushing in and out, shouting at everything in sight , I noticed that something in my mood （情绪） had changed．I was laughing．How could I have trouble with that phone? Her anties helped me realize I had been driven crazy by small things．Twenty minutes later my agent did call．I was able to listen to him and talk to him and talk to him calmly．Why did the author shout at the telephone?
| A．He was mad at the telephone． | B．He was angry with his agent． |
| C．He was anxious about his wife． | D．He was impatient with the secretary? |
What did the author’s wife do after she heard his shouting?
| A．She said nothing． | B．She shouted at him． |
| C．She called the agent． | D．She threw the phone away． |
What made the author laugh?
| A．His own behavior | B．His wife’s suggestion |
| C．His changeable feelings． | D．His wife’s sweet kiss． |
What does the underlined word “anties” refer to?”
| A．Smut words | B．Unusual actions． |
| C．Surprising Looks | D．Anxious feelings． |
A group of reporters asked a group of 4-to-8-year-old children this question, “What does love mean?” The answers were surprising. The children would answer like they did below.
Rebecca --- age 8
“When my grandmother hurt her knees , she couldn’t bend (弯腰) over and paint her toenails (脚趾甲) any more. So my grandfather would do it for her all the time, even when his hands hurt, too. That’s love.”
Samantha --- age 6
“Love is when someone hurts you, and you get so mad but you don’t shout at her because you know it would hurt her feelings.”
Terry --- age 4
“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.”
Bethany --- age 4
“I let my big sister pick on (捉弄) me because my Mum says she only picks on me because she loves me. So I pick on my baby sister because I love her.”
Lauren --- age 4
“I know my elder sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new clothes.”
Elaine --- age 5
“Love is when Mummy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.”
Clear --- age 5
“My Mummy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.”
Jessica --- age 8
“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.”The passage mainly tells us about ______.
| A．what “ life ” means to children |
| B．what “family ” means to children |
| C．what “ friendship ” means to children |
| D．what “ love ” means to children |
Who told us the love between Mum and Dad?
| A．Clear. | B．Elaine. |
| C．Rebecca. | D．Lauren. |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Rebecca’s grandmother ever couldn’t bend over. |
| B．Bethany wants to be picked on by any other person. |
| C．If Samantha becomes angry, she will not shout at others. |
| D．Lauren prefers to wear her sister’s old clothes. |
What does Jessica mean about love?
| A．Too much love is no love. |
| B．You should say love more often. |
| C．You mean what you think. |
| D．Say love more often if you have it. |
What is love according to Terry?
| A．Love is the care between husband and wife. |
| B．Love is a rest when you are tired. |
| C．Love is what cheers you up when you are tired. |
| D．Love is a kiss from parents. |
Here’s one number to keep in mind during your next cell phone conversation: 50. A new experiment shows that spending 50 minutes with an active phone pressed up to the ear increases activity in the brain. This brain activity probably doesn't make you smarter. When cell phones are on, they emit (发出) energy in the form of radiation that could be harmful, especially after years of cell phone usage. Scientists don't know yet whether cell phones are bad for the brain. Studies like this one are attempting to find it out.
The 47 participants in the experiment may have looked a little strange. Each one had two Samsung cell phones attached to his or her head — one on each ear. The phone on the left ear was off. The phone on the right ear played a message for 50 minutes, but the participants couldn't hear it because the sound was off.
With this set-up, the scientists could be sure they were studying brain activity from the phone itself, and not brain activity due to listening and talking during a conversation. After 50 minutes with two phones strapped to their heads, the participants were given PET scans.
The PET scan showed that the left side (the side with the phone turned off) of each participant's brain hadn't changed during the experiment. The right side of the brain, however, had used more glucose, which is a type of sugar that provides fuel to brain cells. These right-side brain cells were using almost as much glucose as the brain uses when a person is talking. This suggests that the brain cells there were active ― even without the person hearing anything. That activity, the scientists say, was probably caused by radiation from the phone.
Henry Lai, who works at the University of Washington in Seattle, is uncomfortable with the data related to cell phones. Holding a cell phone to your ear during a conversation is “not really safe,” Lai told Science News. Lai is a bioengineer at the University of Washington in Seattle. He wrote an article about the new study for a journal, but he did not work on the study. Bioengineers bring together ideas from engineering and biology.
For those who don't want to wait to find out for sure whether cell phones are bad for the brain, there are ways to talk more safely. You can have short and sweet conversations, use a speakerphone or keep the phone away from your head. Which of the following statement is true?
| A．Scientists are sure that cell phones are bad for the brain. |
| B．In the experiment, the left side of the brain used more glucose. |
| C．Radiation from the phone probably causes the change in the brain. |
| D．Henry Lai wrote a lot of articles about this new study. |
Why weren’t the participants allowed to have a conversation on the phone during the experiment?
| A．Because the scientists want to be sure of the accuracy of the experiment. |
| B．Because they really looked strange and no one wanted to talk to others. |
| C．Because they were given PET scans and they lost the ability to talk. |
| D．Because that would be too noisy and bad for the experiment. |
What is glucose?
| A．A type of sugar that provides vitamin to brain cells. |
| B．Something that the right side of the brain used. |
| C．A type of sugar that gives energy to brain cells. |
| D．Something that makes a human excited. |
According to the last two paragraphs, which is the safest way to use a cell phone?
| A．Holding the cell phone close to your head. |
| B．Using a cell phone more than three hours a day. |
| C．Taking the most powerful cell phone. |
| D．Keeping the cell phone at a distance. |
Where is this article probably taken from?
| A．Literature magazine. | B．Science News. |
| C．Story books. | D．Art Journal. |
Are morning people born or made? In my case it was definitely made. In my early 20s, I hardly went to bed before midnight, and I would always get up late the next morning.
But after a while I couldn’t ignore the high relationship between success and rising early. On those rare occasions where I did get up early, I noticed that my productivity (效率) was always higher. So I set out to become a habitual early riser. But whenever my alarm went off, my first thought was always to stop that noise and go back to sleep. Eventually some sleep research showed that my strategy was wrong.
The most common wrong strategy is this: supposing you’re going to get up earlier, you’d better go to bed earlier. It sounds very reasonable, but will usually fail.
There are two main schools (流派) of thought on sleep patterns. One is that you should go to bed and get up at the same time every day. The second school says you should go to bed when you’re tired and get up when you naturally wake up. However, I have found both are wrong if you care about productivity. If you sleep at fixed hours, you’ll sometimes go to bed when you aren’t sleepy enough. You’re wasting time lying in bed awake.
My solution is to combine both methods. I go to bed when I’m sleepy and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time. So I always get up at the same time (in my case 5 a.m.), but I go to bed at different times every night.
However, going to bed only when I’m sleepy, and getting up at a fixed time every morning are my ways. If you want to become an early riser, you can try your own. According to the passage, the underlined phrase refers to ________.
| A．people who stay up until the next morning |
| B．people who get up early in the morning |
| C．people who feel sleepy in the morning |
| D．people whose productivity is the lowest in the morning |
Why did the author want to become a habitual early riser?
| A．Because he / she found that the productivity was higher. |
| B．Because he / she wanted to do morning exercise. |
| C．Because he / she wanted to test which school is better. |
| D．Because he / she wanted to have more sleep time. |
The author experienced all the following EXCEPT ________.
| A．going to bed after midnight |
| B．asking scholars for advice on sleeping habits |
| C．getting up early occasionally |
| D．pressing off the alarm to go on sleeping |
What’s the author’s sleep pattern?
| A．Going to bed early and getting up early. |
| B．Going to bed late and getting up late. |
| C．Going to bed when sleepy and getting up at a fixed early time. |
| D．Going to bed early and getting up late. |
The passage is mainly about ________.
| A．main schools of thought on sleep patterns |
| B．how to have a good sleep |
| C．wrong strategies for getting up early |
| D．how to become an early riser |
The Jungle Book
The Jungle Books were published in 1894 and 1895. Lost in the jungles of India as a child and adopted into a family of wolves, Mowgli is brought up on a diet of Jungle Law, loyalty, and fresh meat from the kill. Regular adventures with his friends and enemies in the jungles improve this child’s strength and cleverness and stir every reader’s imagination.
Price: $ 7.79
ISBN-13: 978-1613820742
Average Customer Review: ★★★★
A Stolen Life
The first work of its kind—Jaycee Dugard’s personal life story, her own story of being kidnapped in 1991. When Jaycee was eleven years old, she was kidnapped from a school bus stop. She was missing for more than eighteen years, and gave birth to two daughters during her imprisonment.
Price: $ 19.79
ISBN-13: 978-1442344983
Average Customer Review: ★★★★★
While We’re Far Apart
Five-time Christy Award winner Lynn Austin is called as “one of the style’s best historical fiction novelists”. Set in Brooklyn, New York, during World War I, while a motherless girl longs for her daddy and a young lady hopes for a second chance at love, this tale explores the uncertainty that stays in people in Europe.
Price: $ 6.00
ISBN-10: 0764204971
Average Customer Review: ★★★★
The Fashion Police
The Fashion Police was runner-up in the Chapter One Promotions Novel Competition 2010 and nominated (提名) Best Novel with Romantic Elements 2010 by The Romance Reviews. It is a strange comedy-mystery, combining murder with romance and chick-lit.
For starters, Amber accidently shoots Chief Inspector Janice Skipper and gets thrown off the police force. The only one who knows the truth about the incident is Amber, but no one will believe her. After accepting a job as an insurance investigator from her ex-fiancé, Brad Beckett, it turns out that Brad thinks they’ve still got unfinished business and the job description includes sexual favors that come with a price.
Price: $ 12.73
ISBN-13: 978-1451555653
Average Customer Review: ★★★If the book concerning a person who had children in prison appeals to you, you can choose the book .
| A．A Stolen Life | B．The Jungle Book |
| C．The Fashion Police | D．While We’re Far Apart |
The ISBN of the book that gains least popularity among the research is .
| A．ISBN–13: 978–1613820742 |
| B．ISBN–13: 978–1442344983 |
| C．ISBN–10: 0764204971 |
| D．ISBN–13: 978–1451555653 |
.If you want to buy one book about human’s living with animals and two about historical fiction, you have to pay .
| A．19.79 dollars | B．20.52 dollars |
| C．27.58 dollars | D．18.73 dollars |
What makes the book The Fashion Police distinguish itself from others?
| A．It wins the award Christy Award five times |
| B．It is a great book on violence and family education |
| C．It is named Best Novel with Romantic Elements 2010 |
| D．It has many elements borrowed from stories of true policemen. |
In which part of a newspaper would the information of the books be most likely to appear?
| A．Science | B．Opinion |
| C．Lifestyle | D．Advertisement |
Indeed,” George Washington wrote in his diary in 1785, “some kind of fly, or bug, had begun to eat the leaves before I left home.” But the father of America was not the father of bug. When Washington wrote that, Englishmen had been referring to insects as bugs for more than a century, and Americans had already created lightning-bug(萤火虫). But the English were soon to stop using the bugs in their language, leaving it to the Americans to call a bug a bug in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
The American bug could also be a person, referring to someone who was crazy about a particular activity. Although fan became the usual term, sports fans used to be called racing bugs, baseball bugs, and the like.
Or the bug could be a small machine or object, for example, a bug-shaped car. The bug could also be a burglar alarm, from which comes the expression to bug, that is, “to install an alarm”. Now it means a small piece of equipment that people use for listening secret
ly to others’ conversation. Since the 1840s, to bug has long meant “to cheat”, and since the 1940s it has been annoying.
We also know the bug as a flaw in a computer program or other design. That meaning dates back to the time of Thomas Edison. In 1878 he explained bugs as “little problems and difficulties” that required months of study and labor to overcome in developing a successful product. In 1889 it was recorded that Edison “had been up the two previous nights discovering ‘a bug’ in his invented record player.” We learn from Paragraph 1 that __________________.
| A．Americans had difficulty in learning to use the word bug |
| B．George Washington was the first person to call an insect a bug |
| C．the word bug was still popularly used in English in the nineteenth century |
| D．both Englishman and Americans used the word bug in the eighteenth century |
What does the word “flaw” in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Explanation. | B．Finding. |
| C．Origin. | D．Fault. |
The passage is mainly concerned with__________________.
| A．the misunderstanding of the word bug |
| B．the development of the word bug |
| C．the public views of the word bug |
| D．the special characteristics of the word bug |