“Mom, can I bake some bread?” We were 15, my best friend, Hanna, and I, determined to try our hands at creating some beautiful bread.
“It’s not worth the trouble,” my mother said. “It takes lots of time and makes a big mess. Our bakery bread is delicious without all that effort.”
Begging was useless. Mom’s “no” meant “No!”
But several weeks later, opportunity knocked: My parents were going out for the evening. I immediately invited Hanna to be my partner in bread-baking crime.
We studied the recipe. That was easy. “Mix oil into flour then beat in four of the eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt.”
We were not good at breaking eggs. I tried to learn from my mother.
“Gradually add eight cups of flour. When dough (面团) holds together, squeeze it.”
We took turns working like that. “Is the dough ‘holding together’?” we asked each other.
I remembered my neighbor’s instructions: “If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if too dry, add water.”
We added water. Then more flour. Then more water. By then, the mass of our dough had grown very much.
“Place dough on floured surface and squeeze till smooth,” the recipe instructed.
We took turns burying our hands in the damp dough, pinching, squeezing, and feeling it leak between fingers.
“Clean and oil bowl, then return dough to bowl. Cover and let dough rise in warm place for 1 hour.”
This was good news --- we’d have a break. On dirtied kitchen chairs, we dreamed about our beautiful bread. “See?” we would tell my mom. “Isn’t it worth the work?”
Hanna and I couldn’t help glancing at the rising process every few minutes. But nothing was happening.
“Maybe something will happen in the hot oven,” I said.
Unfortunately, when we removed the loaves from the oven, they were like hard stones.
Mom was right; it takes time and effort. It sometimes makes a mess. But still it feels good, somehow, to be part of that long, ongoing chain of bread bakers. Since that night, both Hanna and I have learned to do it right.To the writer, what her mother said was __________.
| A．law | B．rubbish | C．advice | D．warning |
Which of the following can best describe the children’s feelings while making their first bread?
| A．Confident; hopeful; disappointed. | B．Curious; hopeful; disappointed. |
| C．Interested; excited; satisfied. | D．Worried; satisfied; proud. |
Which of the following did the writer do without instructions?
| A．Placed dough on floured surface. | B．Added eight cups of flour to eggs. |
| C．Returned dough to a cleaned bowl. | D．Placed the dough into the hot oven. |
The passage mainly tells us ______________.
| A．the process of making bread | B．the conflict between mother and daughter |
| C．the first experience of making bread | D．the way of doing housework |
Not everyone in the world requires the same amount of living space. The amount of space a person needs around him is a cultural (文化的) difference, not an economic one. Knowing your own psychological (心理的) space needs is important because they strongly affect your choices, including, for example, the number of bedrooms in the home. If you were brought up in a two-child family and both you and your sister or brother had your own bedrooms, the chances are if you have two children or more, that you also will offer separate bedrooms for them. In America, for example, they train people to want to have their own rooms by giving them their own rooms when they are babies. This is very unusual in the world. In many other countries, the baby sleeps in the same bed with his parents or in bed near them.
The space in the home also shows a lot about psychological space needs. Some families gather closer to each other and the size of their house has nothing to do with it. Others have separate little corners where family members go to be alone.
Although it is true that psychological space needs are not decided by economic reasons, they sometimes have to be changed a little because of economic pressure（压力）. It is almost impossible, however, to completely change your psychological space needs.
The first sentence in Paragraph 1 “Not everyone in the world requires the same amount of space” means “______”.
| A．Not two people need exactly the same amount of living space |
| B．Living space requirements are not always the same |
| C．The world requires the same amount of living space |
| D．Nobody needs a required amount of living space |
Some families gather closer to each other at home than others because ______.
| A．they have limited living space |
| B．they are brought up in a large family |
| C．it satisfies（满足） their psychological space needs |
| D．the children in the family sleep in the same bed with their parents |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．Americans are trained to live in the large rooms at birth. |
| B．Economic situation decides one’s amount of space needs. |
| C．People in different countries demand(need) different psychological space. |
| D．Knowing your psychological space needs is important, as it has effect on your future. |
The best title for this passage is ______.
| A．American Way of Living |
| B．Psychological Space |
| C．Space Needs in Different Countries |
| D．Psychological Space and Economic Pressure |
What is your favorite color? Do you like yellow, orange or red? If you do, you must be an optimist (乐观者), a leader, an active person who enjoys life, people and excitement. Do you prefer grays (灰色) and blues? Then you are probably quiet, shy and you would rather follow than lead. If you love green, you are strong-minded and determined (意志坚定的). You wish to succeed and want other people to see you are successful. At least this is what psychologists (心理学家) tell us, and they should know, because they have been seriously studying the meaning of color preference (爱好), and the effect (影响) that colors have on human beings. They tell us that we don’t choose our favorite color as we grow up. If you happen to love brown, you did so as soon as you opened your eyes, or at least as soon as you could see clearly.
A yellow room makes us feel more cheerful (开心的) and more comfortable (舒服的) than a dark green one, and a red dress rings warmth and cheer to the saddest winter day. On the other hand, black is depressing (压抑). Light and bright colors make people not only happier but more active. It is a fact that factory workers work better, harder, and have fewer accidents when their machines are painted orange rather than black or dark gray.
Remember, then, that if you feel low, you can always brighten your day or your life with a new shirt or a few colorful things. Remember also that you will know your friends and your enemies better when you find out what colors they like and dislike. And don’t forget that anyone can guess a lot about your character when you choose a piece of handkerchief.According to this passage, _________.
| A．one can choose his color preference |
| B．one is born with his color preference |
| C．one’s color preference is changeable |
| D．one has to choose his favorite color as soon as he can see clearly |
We would pay attention to colors because _______.
| A．colors do have effect on our moods(情绪) |
| B．colors may have effect on our work and study |
| C．light and bright colors make people happy |
| D．you can know your friends better by the colors they like or dislike |
The main idea of this passage is ________.
| A．one’s color preference shows one’s character |
| B．you can brighten your life with wonderful colors |
| C．psychologists have been studying the meaning of color preference |
| D．one’s color preference has something to do with his character and colors have effects on human beings |
"I am feeling black" means ______.
| A．I am feeling well | B．I am very happy |
| C．I am excited | D．I am depressed |
Scientific Progress
Most scientific progress is the result of careful consideration of work that has already been done. The wonderful world which lies before us today has been put up by hardworking men with clear heads and inventive mind, and these who follow them along life’s road will improve on their efforts. It is sometimes necessary to question and even to disbelieve some of the statements made by experts. Action or experiment can often end an argument or achieve a breakthrough.
When men were wondering whether it was possible to reach India by sailing westwards from Europe, and whether there was any land on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Christopher Columbus decides to act. He gathered some men, invited them to go on board his three ships, and set out across the dangerous waters of the Atlantic Ocean. He was successful in finding land, but it was not India. The result of his action was that the arguments came to the end.
Any young man who wishes to do research must be courageous enough to question old beliefs and do some original thinking about them. Although we seem to know so much, there are many things we don’t know. Even when we pull an atom to pieces, we do not really know what the pieces are, we often do not reach the reality behind what we discover, and the more we learn, the better we realize our ignorance.Christopher Columbus decided to set out his trip because he wants to ________
| A．travel round the world |
| B．bring words into action |
| C．discover the truth with action |
| D．bring the argument to an end |
According to the passage, the more we learn _______
| A．the more ignorance we will become |
| B．the more brilliant we are |
| C．the more confident we are of ourselves |
| D．the more we know about our ignorance |
Our present wonderful world has been built up by _______
| A．men who do not believe in others but themselves |
| B．those who work hard and dare to break way from old ideas |
| C．those who can make improvements on other people’s work |
| D．men who work extremely hard in following their teachers |
Columbus succeeded in finding out that_______
| A．the Atlantic was dangerous to get across |
| B．India was to the west of the Atlantic |
| C．There was land on the other side of the Atlantic |
| D．it was possible sail to India by crossing the Atlantic |
It is men’s nature to live together in families and tribes(部落), and cities and nations, and therefore men have learned to prize those qualities in each other which make social life the happiest and best.
Of these qualities one of the most important is sympathy－fellow-feeling. If a man had no fellow-feeling, we should call him “inhuman”; he would be no true man. We think so much of this quality that we call a kind man “human”－that is, man-like in his conduct, first to other men, and afterwards to all living things.
If you are cruel to animals, you are not likely to be kind or thoughtfull to men; and if you are thoughtful towards men, you are not likely to be cruel and thoughtful towards animals. This is why the wise man of old wrote, “The merciful man is merciful to his beast.”
What a pleasure it is also to be loved by our pets or domestic animals; and to feel that we are caring for them and are deserving of their love; or to watch the ways of wild creatures, and gradually to make friends with them!
Treating animals kindly does not mean that we must never inflict any pain on them. We ourselves are trained by pains as well as by pleasures; so too, punishment is sometimes needed to train our dogs and horses to obey us. We endure pains at the hands of the surgeon, to cure some wound or to heal some disease; so too, animals must submit to being doctored.
We send out our bravest men to face wounds, sickness and death, for the good of the nation; so too, we let our horses share the risk of battle. For similar reasons, we cannot hesitate to destroy dangerous creatures like wolves and show senseless ferocity(残忍). It is no excuse to say that these animals deserve to be treated cruelly on account of their own cruelty. They are not really cruel, for they tear and kill not from love of unkindness, but because they must do so in order to live.One of the most important qualities of men is fellow-feeling because .
| A．you are likely to be cruel and thoughtful without it |
| B．a man would be inhuman without it |
| C．men can’t bear any pain on themselves and animals |
| D．only sympathy makes a man man-like in his conduct |
The author would probably agree with the following EXCEPT that .
| A．we must never force any pain on animals |
| B．some people have to kill some animals in order to live |
| C．it is human for a doctor to cut off some part from the animals |
| D．wise men are not only good to men but also to animals |
What do you think is the title of the passage?
| A．Loving your pet. | B．Fellow-feeling. |
| C．Making friends with animals. | D．Kindness to animals. |
Which of the following is inhuman according to the writer?
| A．To treat animals cruelly because they are cruel. |
| B．To train animals. |
| C．To destroy some of the dangerous animals. |
| D．To make animals submit to being doctored. |
The underlined word “inflict” here means .
| A．make sb/sth suffer | B．forbid |
| C．punish | D．avoid |
Do American children still learn handwriting in school? In the age of the keyboard, some people seem to think handwriting lessons are on the way out. 90% of teachers say they are required to teach handwriting.But studies have yet to answer the question of how well they are teaching it. One study published this year found that about three out of every four teachers say they are not prepared to teach handwriting. Some teachers are teaching handwriting by providing instruction for 10 15 minutes a day, and then other teachers who basically teach it for 60 to 70 minutes a day — which really for handwriting is pretty much.
Many adults remember learning that way — by copying letters over and over again. Today’ s thinking is that short periods of practice are better. Many experts also think handwriting should not be taught by itself.Instead, they say it should be used as a way to get students to express ideas. After all, that is why we write.
Handwriting involves two skills. One is legibility,_which means forming the letters so they can be read. The other is fluency — writing without having to think about it. Fluency continues to develop up until high school.
But not everyone masters these skills. Teachers commonly report that about onefourth of their kids have poor handwriting. Some people might think handwriting is not important any more because of computers and voice recognition programs.
But Steve Graham at Vanderbilt says word processing is rarely done in elementary school, especially in the early years. American children traditionally first learn to print, and then to write in cursive, which connects the letters. But guess what we learned from a spokeswoman for the College Board, which administers the SAT college admission test. More than 75 percent of students choose to print their essay on the test rather than write in cursive.We can learn ________ from Paragraph 1.
| A．teaching handwriting is a basic requirement in teaching job |
| B．most teachers prefer to teach handwriting |
| C．teachers spend little time in teaching handwriting |
| D．a keyboard has taken the place of the handwriting entirely |
Which of the following is WRONG for traditional handwriting in the USA?
| A．The students are taught by practicing a long period. |
| B．The letters are repeated many times. |
| C．Handwriting includes two skills. |
| D．To write in cursive is taught first. |
The underlined word “legibility” in Paragraph 3 means ________.
| A．easy to read | B．complex | C．unexpected | D．unreadable |
The best title for the passage is ________.
| A．How to improve handwriting in school |
| B．Right or wrong: the death of handwriting |
| C．Handwriting involves two skills |
| D．Handwriting lessons are on the way out |
The author’ s attitude towards whether still to learn handwriting in school is________.
| A．negative | B．objective | C．critical | D．optimistic |