Kong Zi, also called Confucius (551 — 479 B.C.), and Socrates (469 — 399 B.C.) lived only a hundred years apart, and during their lifetimes there was no contact between China and Greece, but it is interesting to look at how the world that each of these great philosophers came from shaped their ideas, and how these ideas in turn, shaped their societies.
Neither philosopher lived in times of peace, though there were more wars in Greece than in China. The Chinese states were very large and feudal, while the Greek city-states were small and urban. The urban environment in which Socrates lived allowed him to be more radical (激进的) than Confucius. Unlike Confucius, Socrates was not asked by rulers how to govern effectively. Thus, Socrates was able to be more idealistic, focusing on issues like freedom, and knowledge for its own sake. Confucius, on the other hand, advised those in government service, and many of his students went on to government service.
Confucius suggested the Golden Rule as a principle for the conduct of life: “Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you.” He assumed that all men were equal at birth, though some had more potential than others, and that it was knowledge that set men apart. Socrates focused on the individual, and thought that the greatest purpose of man was to seek wisdom. He believed that some had more potential to develop their reason than others did. Like Confucius, he believed that the superior class should rule the inferior (下层的) classes.
For Socrates, the family was of no importance, and the community of little concern. For Confucius, however, the family was the centre of society, with family relations considered much more important than political relations.
Both men are respected much more today than they were in their lifetimes.Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?
| A．Socrates and Confucius had much in common. |
| B．The societies were influenced by the philosophers’ ideas. |
| C．Confucius had much influence on Socrates’ ideas. |
| D．There were cultural exchanges between China and Greece. |
Socrates shared with Confucius the idea that .
| A．all men were equal when they were born |
| B．the purpose of man was to seek freedom and wisdom |
| C．the lower classes should be ruled by the upper class |
| D．people should not ask others to do what they did not want to |
What made some pe
ople different from others according to Confucius?
| A．Family. | B．Knowledge. | C．Potential. | D．Community. |
This passage is organized in the pattern of .
| A．time and events | B．cause and effect |
| C．comparison and contrast | D．definition and classification |
Roughly half of college students will have some degree of depression at some point during their time in school. Even more startling, 6.2 percent of college students surveyed in 2012 considered suicide and 1.3 percent attempted it, according to an American College Health Association study released this spring. If you’re feeling depressed on campus, you may find the following tips helpful.
Exercise: Physical activity releases endorphins – chemicals that produce an overall positive feeling within the body, which fight depression naturally. Mental health experts claim that exercise is a solution to those feeling mild or moderate depression. However, for those severely depressed, simply doing sports is not enough.
Use school counseling services: Campuses don’t employ mental health experts simply to throw thousands of dollars down the drain. Their job is to help students, so experts recommend you use them. Most students, however, are hesitant to take a trip to their college’s counseling center, fearing being laughed at by peers. As a result, some schools like Texas Christian University, are testing students for mental health problems when they get sick and visit the campus health clinic.
Take advantage of technology: Staying in touch with family members and friends from childhood and high school has become easier than ever with the coming of Facebook and video chat services like Skype. While mental health experts insist that it’s important to make friends in your new environment and be involved in the college community, it’s also significant to keep in touch with the people you knew before college.
Go to sleep: Following a fairly regular sleep pattern can defend you against depression. In college, many students’ sleep patterns are irregular thanks to late-night studying and partying, which is harmful to their mental health. Research strongly suggests that sleep is the key to learning and memory formation.According to the passage, physical activity __________ .
| A．is regarded as the best way to fight depression |
| B．contributes to the release of endorphins |
| C．can’t help the seriously depressed students |
| D．improve people’s ability to learn and memorize |
It can be inferred from the 3rd paragraph that __________ .
| A．employing mental health experts on campus is a waste of money |
| B．students with mental health problems can’t get on well with others |
| C．going to college’s counseling center for help requires a lot of courage |
| D．sick students in Texas Christian University must take psychological tests |
Taking advantage of technology is encouraged because it ____
| A．enables students to get involved in college life |
| B．helps students stay in contact with others |
| C．offers students a way to make new friends |
| D．provides a way to avoid getting bored |
which of the following can NOT help one reduce depression?
| A．Taking exercise regularly every week |
| B．Chatting with old friends with Skype |
| C．Turning to mental health experts for advice |
| D．Holding parties deep into the night to relax |
Grandma celebrated her fifty-third birthday just weeks before grandpa died of cancer in 1965. Although his passing was very difficult for her, I think their shared struggle to make his life longer taught grandma that good health was not to be taken for granted, and she made up her mind to live the rest of her own life as fully and as long as she could. One day, when she announced to attend lessons at the Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Portland, Oregon, where she lived, we rolled our eyes in embarrassment and helplessly wished she would just stay home and bake cookies as normal grandmothers did. Many years filled with countless dance lessons passed before we learned to appreciate the wonder of having a dancing grandma.
I suppose grandma's primary motivation for wanting to learn to dance was social. She had been a shy girl, always very tall and heavy, and had married into grandpa's quiet lifestyle before developing any elegance or confidence in her personal appearance. Dancing, on the other hand, filled her life with flash lights, wonderful parties, beautiful dresses, handsome young dance instructors, and the challenge of learning. Although the weekly dance lessons did not change her ample, two-hundred-pound figure, grandma surprised everyone with energetic performances on the dance floor, which soon gave her as much elegance and confidence as any Miss American competitor.
Having taken weekly dance lessons for years, my grandma learned various dances easily and was soon participating in dancing matches all over the Northwest. When I was fourteen, grandma proudly invited me to watch her compete in one of these matches to be held in the grand ballroom of the Red Lion Inn. My attitude was still unenthusiastic at that point, but to make her happy, my mother and I attended the match. As if to prove me wrong, grandma made a wonderful showing in every event she entered. I thought she was truly the queen of the ball during the dance, and my thoughts were shared by the judges a short time later when she was awarded a gold cup for her outstanding performance.What did grandma learn from grandpa's death?
| A．Good health was not there for everyone. |
| B．She should take dance lessons. |
| C．She had to struggle to live a better life. |
| D．She should wear beautiful dresses. |
Normal grandmas usually ________ in the author's point of view?
| A．took dance lessons |
| B．did some exercises at home |
| C．took care of grandchildren at home |
| D．did some housework at home |
The author felt ______ when he was invited to watch grandma's match.
| A．happy | B．proud |
| C．excited | D．uninterested |
Many people turn to doctors or self-help books, but they ignore(忽视) a powerful thing that could help them fight illness: their friends.
Researchers are only now starting to pay attention to the importance of friendship in health. A 10-year Australian study found that old people with a large circle of friends were 22 percent less likely to die during the study period than those with fewer friends. A large 2007 study showed an increase of nearly 60 percent in the risk(风险) for obesity (肥胖) among people whose friends gained weight. And last year, Harvard researchers reported that strong social ties could improve brain health as we age.
“In general, the role (作用) of friendship in our lives isn’t well realized,” said Rebecca, a professor at the University of North Carolina. “Friendship has a bigger effect on our psychological (心理的) health than family relationships.”
While(尽管) many friendship studies are about the close relationships of women, some research shows that men can benefit, too. In a six-year study of 736 middle-aged men, having friendships reduces the risk of heart attack. Only smoking was as important a risk factor (因素) as having little social support.
Exactly why friendship has such a big effect isn’t entirely(完全) clear. While friends can send a sick person to the hospital or pick up medicine, the benefits go well beyond physical assistance. Friendship clearly has a big psychological effect. “People with stronger friendships feel like there is someone they can turn to,” said Karen, a doctor. “The message of these studies is that friends make your life better.”The three studies in the second paragraph show that ______.
| A．old people need friends the most |
| B．friends can help us lose weight |
| C．social ties are connected to health |
| D．more friends make us healthier |
What do Rebecca’s words in the 3rd paragraph mean?
| A．Friendship is more important to women than to men. |
| B．What people need most is a friend’s care. |
| C．Friendship is more important than family relationship. |
| D．The value of friendship hasn’t been fully understood. |
The author mentioned smoking in the 4rd paragraph to discuss ______.
| A．the cause of heart attack | B．the risk of having no friends |
| C．smoking is bad for men | D．friends’ influence on habits |
What would be the best title of the text?
| A．Friends are better than medicine |
| B．Friends are as important as a family |
| C．Having good friends leads to a healthier life |
| D．Friendship makes people happy |
French lessons in France
Whatever your level is, choosing to take French lessons in France is the best way to learn French. Place yourself in the local culture and practice your newly found skills in your free time.
You will be taught by native (本地的) French speakers who have a love for teaching and use excellent teaching techniques. Lessons are interesting and you will speak French on the first day both inside and outside the classroom.
Learners
● Suitable for all levels from beginners to advanced (高级的)
● Over 18 years old
Class Schedule (课表)
● Classes start on Mondays and run throughout the summer.
● Please arrive at the school by 8:15 am on your first day for a short level test. It will help to place you in the right class.
● Classes run from Monday to Friday each week.
● Classes start at 8:45 am each day depending on your level.
● You will have 3 classes per day lasting 55 minutes each.
● You will have a short break between classes.
Free Time and Tours
● The school offers a lot of cultural activities throughout the week. These activities can include cooking lessons, wine and cheese tasting, visits to Paris, cycling, movies and much more.
● You will have plenty of free time to explore (探索) the local area and practice your newly found language skills or just relax on this learning holiday with a difference.
Other Information
● You should bring a small dictionary, pens and paper with you.
Get more from your holiday, have fun, meet new people and take home a new language skill that will stay with you forever.What is special about the French courses?
| A．They are taught in small groups. |
| B．The teachers are young French speakers. |
| C．People learn French in and out of class. |
| D．They will offer a wine tasting license.(执照) |
On the first day, the students should ______.
| A．take a language test | B．pay for their study |
| C．do a survey | D．introduce themselves to the class |
How many lessons are there in a week?
| A．21. | B．30. | C．15. | D．12. |
We can learn from the text that the course ______.
| A．is not suitable for teenagers |
| B．offers cooking classes as well |
| C．provides dictionaries for students |
| D．has a short game between classes |
Where do the turtles go?
Every summer, thousands of endangered green sea turtles climb onto beaches around the world. Each mother sea turtle produces 100 or more eggs in a hole, and covers the hole with sand before she swims away.
Two months later, the eggs hatch(孵化), and the baby turtles climb out of the sand and swim into the ocean. They don’t reappear until they have grown as large as dinner plates. Until now, no one knows where the baby turtles go or what they do.
“if we don’t know where these little turtles are, we can’t protect them,” says Kim Reich, who helps solve part of the mystery.
Her teacher, Karen Bjorndal, has studied green sea turtles for more than 30 years. Every year, Bjorndal goes to the Bahamas Islands. Many young sea turtles come here to live and eat at the end of their childhood.
These turtles are the only sea turtles that live as plant eaters. In fact, their name may be a result of what they eat. The turtles don’t look green but they do have green fat. Scientists learned that the turtles eat green sea plants, which may turn their fat green.
Between 2002 and 2004, Bjorndal caught 44 green sea turtles in the Bahamas. After testing them, she found something to support the 20-year-old idea: baby green sea turtles eat meat before they turn to a diet of plants. In fact, they eat animals that live in the open ocean.
Scientists still need to find where exactly green sea turtles grow. We now know that baby green sea turtles are out in the open ocean, but the open ocean is a big place.
“It is really a problem,” says Bjorndal. The discovery may help us do a better job of protecting this sea animal.What can we learn from the first two paragraphs?
| A．baby turtles go to the ocean when they are two months old. |
| B．Mother turtles leave the eggs alone after they produce them. |
| C．No one knows when turtles appear on the beach. |
| D．Mother turtles are as large as dinner plates. |
Kim Reich does research on where baby turtles go because she wants to _________.
| A．help her teacher | B．prove an idea |
| C．protect turtles | D．become a scientist |
What does Karen Bjorndal’s research prove about green sea turtles?
| A．the young live in the Bahamas Islands. |
| B．The young eat meat before turning to a diet of plants |
| C．They live in the open ocean for a lifelong time |
| D．They are the only sea turtles that live as plant eaters. |
What does the underlined word “It” in the last paragraph refer to?
| A．Finding out where young turtles grow. |
| B．Protecting this endangered sea animal. |
| C．Changing young turtles’ eating habits. |
| D．Living in the open ocean. |