In 1993, researchers at the University of California at Irvine discovered the so – called “Mozart Effect” – that college students who listened to ten minutes of Mozart’s Sonata for Two Pianos in D major (D大调) before taking an IQ test scored nine points higher than when they had sat in silence or listened to relaxation tapes. Other studies also have indicated that people gain information better if they hear classical or baroque (a style of art) music while studying.
It is said that Albert Einstein was an average student until he began playing the violin. "Before that, he had a hard time expressing what he knew," says Hazel Cheilek, orchestra director at Fairfax County's Thomas Jefferson High School. “Einstein said he got some of his greatest inspirations while playing the violin. It liberated his brain so that he could imagine." In the early 1700s, England's King George I also felt he would make better decisions if he listened to good music. Reportedly, Handel responded by composing his Water Music suites to be played while the king floated the Thames on his royal boat. Even Plato in ancient Greece believed studying music created a sense of order and harmony necessary for intelligent thought.
The deepest effects take place in young children, while their brains are growing. This year, the same researchers at Irvine’s Center for Neurobiology of Leaming and Memory found that preschoolers who had received eight months of music lessons scored 80 percent higher on certain tasks than other youngsters who received no musical training.
Music students continue to beat their non – arts peers (同龄人) on the SAT, according to the 1999 “Profiles of SAT and Achievement Test Takers” from The College Board. Students with coursework in music appreciation scored 42 points higher on the math section of the test than students with no coursework or experience in the arts.
All of this to say "you are the judge" but listening to Mozart certainly won't hurt you. My point always is that making music is preferable to passive listening and that listening to live music is always preferable to listening to recorded music. Mozart WILL NOT raise your IQ, but it might help you organize your thoughts better before taking a standardized test.
63.When people mention Albert Einstein, King George I and Plato, they believe that the effect of music is_______.
A.positive B.negative C.suspicious D.sensitive
64.So far researchers at the University of California at Irvine have done studies about_______.
A.college students who listen to rock music every day
B.people who hear classical music while studying
C.preschoolers with music lessons
D.music students in SAT
65.Which of the following is an opinion rather than a fact?
A.Handel composed Water Music to be played while the kind floated the Thames on his boat.
B.Mozart might help you organize your thought better before taking a standardized test.
C.Preschoolers with music training scored higher on object – assembly tasks.
D.Music students continue to beat their non – arts peers on the SAT.
66.What is the author’s opinion about music?
A.He thinks that listening to music is better than making music.
B.He has a doubt whether listening to Mozart will hurt the listeners.
C.He is sure that listening to the music of Mozart will raise people’s IQ.
D.He thinks that live concert is better worth listening to than recorded music.
People who traveled in the past had to put up with many discomforts which we do not have nowadays, and of course they traveled far more slowly. Roads were bad indeed and you often found you could not get along at all because of the mud. In dry weather many places were thick in dust and when it was stormy, trees might fall across the road and it was nobody’s business to clear them away.
Ordinary people traveled on foot or on horseback, but everyone who could afford it kept a private coach. There were public coaches too. called “stage coaches” because long journeys took several days and were done in stages, with stops over night at inns. Some stage, coaches ran only in the summer months. Others all the year around. They were very slow and crowded and passengers often became in on the way because of the swaying (摇晃).
Break downs were frequent, since many roads were not smooth. So a coach might very easily turn right over. Early in the century coach and wagon builders were encouraged to put very wide wheels on their vehicles. So that these might level the roads a little. But many people complained of this since it slowed travel down a good deal.
Most travelers during the 18th century wrote bitterly about the state of the roads. One visitor to Sussex took six hours to travel nine miles in his coach; another wrote to a friend that on time of his journeys “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage”.Which of the following mainly prevented people from travelling fast in the past?
A.Falling trees | B.Thick dust |
C.Muddy road | D.Many discomforts |
The underlined word “them” in the first paragraph refers to _____.
A.the discomforts | B.the blocked roads |
C.the dusty places | D.the fallen trees |
Public coaches were called “stage-coaches” because ______.
A.the long journey was broken into several parts |
B.they were slow and crowded |
C.they stopped for meals at inns |
D.they served public people only |
The sentence “almost every mile was marked by the overturn of a carriage” suggests that ______.
A.the coaches were of poor quality |
B.the writers liked to describe the road bitterly |
C.the road condition was really poor |
D.travelling about in the past was extremely slow |
Toyota is the world's largest automaker, but its road to success has been long and filled with speed bumps(颠簸).
1958:The company's first foray into the American market was the Toyopet in 1958. It was a flop.
1964:Toyota introduced their Corona line of automobiles and sales hit 6, 400 in 1965,
marking an increase in popularity.
1969:Toyota began importing the Corolla and in 1985 it would become the first Toyota built in the U.S.
1975:Toyota surpassed the popular German brand Volkswagen to become the top import sold in the U.S.
1986:The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ordered its first recall of Toyota cars due to "speed control" problems.
1988:The First North American Toyota plant opened in Georgetown, Ky.
1989:Toyota introduced the Lexus LS 400, the company's first U.S. luxury car. It was a major hit.
1997:Toyota debuted their Prius gas-electric hybrid car.
2002:The first consumer complaints emerged of the Camry's engine surging under braking.
2004:The NHTSA opened a defect investigation into 2002-2003 Camry, Camry Solara and Lexus ES models.
2006:Toyota "Americanizes" and opened a new plant in Texas to build full-size pickups
2007:Toyota surpassed General Motors to become the world's largest automaker.
2007:The NHTSA investigated pedal entrapment in some Toyota vehicles, which led recalls of floor mats on Camry and Lexus models.
2007:The NHTSA investigated pedal entrapment in some Toyota vehicles, which led recalls of floor mats on Camry and Lexus models.
Aug. 2009:An off-duty California Highway Patrol officer and three family members were killed when their rental 2009 Lexus ES speeds out of control.
Nov. 2009:Toyota recalled 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota models to remove floor mats that can trap pedals.
Jan. 2010:Toyota recalled approximately 2.3 million more vehicles with potential sticking pedal problems. On Jan. 26, Toyota stopped selling eight models involved in the recall.
Feb. 2010:Prius and Lexus hybrids are now being recalled for brake problems in 2010 models.Which of the following brands belong to Toyota family?
A.Toyopet, Volkswagen, Lexus, Prius |
B.Camry, Prius, Lexus, Georgetown |
C.Corona, Prius, Lexus, Corolla |
D.General Motors, Lexus, Camry, Corolla |
The underlined the word in Para.6 probably means:
A.appreciation | B.sorrow | C.withdrawal | D.resolve |
We can infer from the passage that____________
A.Lexus LS 400 is a cheaper car |
B.Prius may be a kind of environmentally friendly car |
C.Corona became popular as soon as introduced to the US |
D.Toyota’s plant opened in Georgetown symbolized its “Americanize” tactics |
The purpose of this passage is to
A.advertise for Toyota |
B.introduce Toyota’ s struggle in the US |
C.uncover Toyota’s braking problems |
D.display Toyota’s glory |
What is the best title of the passage?
A.The world’s largest automaker | B.The rise of Toyota |
C.Toyota meeting problems in the US | D.Toyota’s failure in the US |
The Diet Zone: A Dangerous Place
Diet Coke, diet Pepsi, diet pills, no-fat diet, vegetable diet…We are surrounded by the word “diet” everywhere we look and listen. We have so easily been attracted by the promise and potential of diet products that we have stopped thinking about what diet products are doing to us. We are paying for products that harm us psychologically and physically。
Diet products significantly weaken us psychologically. On one level, we are not allowing our brains to admit that our weight problems lie not in actually losing the weight, but in controlling the consumption of fatty, high—calorie, unhealthy foods. Diet products allow us to jump over the thinking stage and go straight for the scale(秤) instead. All we have to do is to swallow or recognize the word “diet” in food labels.
On another level, diet products have greater psychological effects. Every time we have a zero—calorie drink, we are telling ourselves without our awareness that we don’t have to work to get results. Diet products make people believe that gain comes without pain, and that life can be without resistance and struggle.
The danger of diet products lies not only in the psychological effects they have on us, but also in the physical harm that they cause. Diet foods can indirectly harm our bodies because consuming them instead of healthy foods means we are preventing our bodies from having basic nutrients. Diet foods and diet pills contain zero calorie only because the diet industry has created chemicals to produce these wonder products. Diet products may not be nutritional, and the chemicals that go into diet products are potentially dangerous.
Now that we are aware of the effects that diet products have on us, it is time to seriously think about buying them. Losing weight lies in the power of minds, not in the power of chemicals .Once we realize this, we will be much better able to resist diet products, and therefore prevent the psychological and physical harm that comes from using them. From Paragraph 1, we learn that __________.
A.diet products are misleading people |
B.people have difficulty in choosing diet products |
C.diet products fail to bring out people’s possibility |
D.people are fed up with diet products |
One psychological effect of diet products is that people tend to ______.
A.try out a variety of diet foods | B.watch their weight rather than their diet |
C.pay attention to their own eating habits | D.hesitate before they enjoy diet foods |
In Paragraph 3, “gain comes without pain” probably means ________.
A.diet products bring no pain | B.it costs a lot to lose weight |
C.losing weight is effortless | D.diet products are free from calories |
Diet products indirectly harm people physically because such products ______.
A.are over-consumed | B.provide too much energy |
C.are short of chemicals | D.lack basic nutrients |
阅读理解(20题,共40分)
Farmer John and Farmer Bob were neighbours. For more than 30 years, they had been getting along very well.
Then their good relationship broke. It began with a small thing, then bitter words, and then weeks of silence. One morning Farmer John woke up to find a stream between the two farms. “It must be Bob,” John thought.
Then one day there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a carpenter standing at the doorway.
“I’m looking for a few days’ work,” the carpenter said.
“I do have a job for you,” John said. “Look across the stream at that farm. That’s my neighbor Bob. He dug a stream between the two farms. I want you to build a fence—an 8-foot fence. I don’t want to see his place or his face any more. I don’t have such a neighbor!”
The carpenter said, “I think I know what to do, sir, and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”
Farmer John helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day.
About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide. There was no fence there at all!
It was a bridge! And the neighbor, Bob, was coming across, with his hand outstretched(伸出). “Hi, John! You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!”
Then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hands. “I’m terribly sorry for what I have said and done. We should be good to each other.” said Farmer Bob.
Then they turned to see the carpenter, who was ready to go. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I have a lot of other jobs for you,” said Farmer John. “I’d love to stay,” the carpenter said, “but I have more bridges to build.” Just before the carpenter came, John and Bob each other.
A.often fought with | B.were friendly to |
C.didn’t speak to | D.never had bitter words with |
Farmer John asked the carpenter to build a fence because .
A.he wouldn’t like to see Bob | B.he didn’t want to do it himself |
C.he wanted to protect his farm | D.he wanted to find him something to do |
What does the sentence “You’re quite a fellow to build this bridge!” mean?
A.John should build the bridge earlier |
B.John was not good at building bridges. |
C.John was foolish to build such a bridge. |
D.] John was great to build this bridge. |
What do you think of the carpenter?
A.Shy. | B.Careless. | C.Proud. | D.Wise |
Researches show what we already suspected: Three out of four babies who died of SIDS(婴儿猝死) involved co-sleeping. We’ll say it again. The safest course is not to sleep with babies.
We know the argument: Bad parenting, not co-sleeping, is to blame for the dozens of babies’ deaths. Some parents stick to co-sleeping because it helps them bond with their newborns. They say those who give co-sleeping a bad name either had been drinking, used drugs or were too tired to notice that they rolled over on their children.
But, most of the cases did not involve drugs or alcohol. There’s a “but” here, however. Submitting to a test for drugs or alcohol in these cases is voluntary, so it’s difficult to know with certainty.
Organizations like the Black Health Coalition and others have explained the safe way to co-sleep. While we understand those arguments, we also know that mistakes can happen and that it only takes one time for something to go terribly wrong. The risk outweighs the benefit.
In all likelihood, parents will continue to co-sleep, and some will do so without ever having an incident, but babies are too vulnerable(易受伤的) for parents to take such chances. Therefore, the best place for babies to sleep is in their own beds, on their backs, with no pillows, blankets or toys. No parent wants a tragedy(悲剧) to occur. The best way to make sure the tragedy doesn’t happen is to allow babies to sleep alone in their own cribs(摇篮).According to the author, most of the SIDS cases happened because of ________.
A.drugs |
B.co-sleeping |
C.drinking |
D.bad parenting |
Some parents think sleeping with their babies can ________.
A.keep the babies healthy |
B.give co-sleeping a good name |
C.prevent themselves from drinking |
D.develop a good relation with their babies |
The author holds the opinion that ________.
A.parents can sleep with babies, but cautiously |
B.co-sleep helps to bring babies closer to parents |
C.parents can’t take chances to sleep with their babies |
D.accidents only happen to those careless parents |
Which of the following best describes the structure of the text?
A.① | B.①② | C.① | D.① |
↙↘ ↓↙↓↘ ↙↓↓↘
②③④③④②③④②③④⑤
↘↙ ↓↘↓↙
⑤⑤⑤