Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking right at you!
Parapsychologists(灵学家) say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a “sixth sense” really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist(心理学家) at the University of Kentucky, performed two experiments.
In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects（受试者）were eating, drinking, reading, studying, watching TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them.
For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind a two-way mirror in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were started at than if they had just guessed.
Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they’re being stared at. If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, “I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves.”The purpose of the two experiments is to _______.
| A．explain when people can have a sixth sense |
| B．show how people act while being watched in the lab |
| C．study whether humans can sense when they are stared at |
| D．prove why humans have a sixth sense |
In the first experiment, the subjects _______.
| A．were not told that they would be stared at | B．lost their sense when they were stared at |
C．were not sure when they woul d be stared at |
D．were uncomfortable when they were stared at |
The underlined word “outcome” in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
| A．value | B．result | C．performance | D．connection |
What can be learned from the passage?
| A．People are born with a sixth sense. |
| B．The experiments support parapsychologists’ idea. |
| C．The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments. |
| D．People have a sixth sense in public places. |
In every school there is a “top” crowd that sets the pace, while the others follow their lead. Let’s say the top crowd decides that it is smart to wear bright red sweaters. Pretty soon everybody is wearing a bright red sweater.
There is nothing wrong with that, except the fact that on some people bright red sweater is extremely unbecoming. The situation can even become dangerous, if the top crowd decides that it is smart to drink or to drive cars at seventy miles an hour. Then the people who follow the lead are endangering their lives. They are like the sheep being led to the butcher.
Now, chances are that you have come across situations like these more than once in your life; chances are that one time or another you probably did something you knew to be wrong. You may have excused yourself by saying, “Gee, the crowd does it.” Well, let the crowd do it, but don’t do it yourself. Learn to say, “No.”
Develop your own standards and your own judgment. If you know the crowd is planning something you disagree to, have the courage to bow out mannerly. You’ll have the satisfaction of standing on your own two feet.Which is the best title for this passage?
| A．Follow the Lead. | B．Top Crowd. | C．Being Yourself. | D．Bright Red. |
The author doesn’t think it good wearing red sweaters if ________.
| A．the crowd does it | B．you can’t afford them |
| C．you don’t look good in red | D．the situation isn’t safe |
According to the passage, people who follow the crowd ________.
| A．sometimes do things against their better judgment |
| B．make mistakes blindly |
| C．are willing to put their lives in danger |
| D．will in the end become pace-setters |
Many people who work in London prefer to live outside it, and to go in to their offices or schools every day by train, car or bus, even though this means they have to get up early in the morning and reach home late in the evening.
One advantage of living outside London is that houses are cheaper. Even a small flat in London without a garden costs quite a lot to rent. With the same money, one can get a little house in the country with a garden of one’s own.
Then, in the country one can rest from the noise and hurry of the town. Even though one has to get up earlier and spend more time in trains or buses, one can sleep better at night and during weekends and on summer evenings, one can enjoy the fresh, clean air of the country. If one likes gardens, one can spend one’s free time digging, planting, watering and doing the hundred and one other jobs which are needed in a garden. Then, when the flowers and vegetables come up, one has the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
Some people, however, take no interest in country things: for them, happiness lies in the town, with its cinemas and theatres, beautiful shops and busy streets, dance-halls and restaurants. Such people would feel that their life was not worth living if they had to live it outside London. An occasional walk in one of the parks and a fortnight’s (two weeks) visit to the sea every summer is all the country they want: the rest they are quite prepared to leave to those who are glad to get away from London every night.Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．People who like country things prefer to live outside the city. |
| B．People who work in London prefer to live in the country. |
| C．Because of certain disadvantages of living outside London, some people who work in London prefer to live inside London. |
| D．Because of certain advantages of living outside London, many people who work in London prefer to live outside London. |
One can use the same money for ________ to buy a little house with a garden in the country.
| A．getting a small flat with a garden | B．having a small flat with a garden |
| C．renting a small flat without a garden | D．buying a small flat without a garden |
When the flowers and vegetables in the garden come up, those _______ have the reward of one who has shared the secret of Nature.
| A．who live in the country |
| B．who have spent time working in the garden |
| C．who have a garden of their own |
| D．who have been digging, planting and watering |
People who think happiness lies in the town would feel that _______ if they had to live it outside London.
| A．their life was meaningless | B．their life was invaluable |
| C．they didn’t deserve a happy life | D．they were not worthy of their happy life |
The underlined word rest in the last paragraph refers to ________.
| A．the rest time | B．the rest people |
| C．the rest of the country | D．the rest of the parks and of the sea |
Have you ever been afraid to talk back when you were treated unfairly? Have you ever bought something just because the salesman talked you into it? Are you afraid to ask a boy (girl) for a date？
Many people are afraid to assert themselves (insist upon their own rights). Dr Robert Alberti, author of Stand Up, Speak Out, and Talk Back, thinks it’s because their self-esteem(自尊) is low. “Our whole set-up makes people doubt themselves,” says Alberti. “There’s always a 'superior' around — a parent, a teacher, a boss — who 'knows better’”.
But Alberti and other scientists are doing something to help people to assert themselves. They offer “assertiveness training” courses (AT). In the AT courses people learn that they have a right to be themselves. They learn to speak out and feel good about doing so. They learn to be aggressive(敢闯, 闯劲儿) without hurting other people.
In one way, learning to speak out is to overcome fear. A group taking an AT course will help the timid person to lose his fear. But AT uses an even stronger motive—the need to share. The timid person speaks out in the group because he wants to tell how he feels. AT says you can get to feel good about yourself. And once you do, you can learn to speak out.In the passage, the writer talks about the problem that _______.
| A．some people are too easy-going |
| B．some people are too timid |
| C．there are too many superiors around us |
| D．some people dare not stick up for their own rights |
The effect of our set-up on people is often to _______.
| A．make them distrust their own judgment |
| B．make things more favorable for them |
| C．keep them from speaking out as much as their superiors do |
| D．help them to learn to speak up for their rights |
One thing AT doesn’t do is to _______.
| A．use the need of people to share |
| B．show people they have the right to be themselves |
| C．help people to be aggressive at anytime even when others suffer |
| D．help people overcome fear |
How to protect children Web fans from unsuitable material on-line while encouraging them to use the Internet has long been discussed in the U.S.
For some parents, the Internet can seem like a jungle, filled with danger for their children. But jungles contain wonders as well as dangers and with good guides, some education, and a few precautions(预防措施), the wilds of the Internet can be safely navigated(航行). “Kids have to be on-line. If we tell our kids they can’t have access(机会) to the Internet, we’re cutting them off from their future,” said an expert.
Most kids have started to use search engines. Many of them are great for finding tons of interesting Internet sites, and they can also locate places where you might not want your kids to go. There are search engines designed just for kids. A certain software contains only sites that have been selected as safe. The most popular way to limit access would be to use what is known as a “content screener(过滤器)”. But this can’t be wholly reliable(可靠), and the best thing parents can do is to talk to their kids and let them know what is OK or not OK to see or do on the Internet. Another way is that mum or dad is nearby when the child is surfing(浏览) the Internet.
A few other tips
●Don’t put the PC in a child’s room but keep it in an area where mum or dad can keep an eye on things. That also makes the Internet more of a family activity.
●Ask your child what he or she has been doing and about any friends they make on-line.
●Tell your child not to give on-line strangers personal information, especially like address and phone number.
●And tell your children never to talk to anyone they meet on-line over the phone, send them anything, accept anything from them or agree to meet with them unless you go along.The passage is mainly about the subject of _______.
| A．American children going on-line | B．Internet in America |
| C．appreciating Internet | D．opposing children’s on-line |
The best way to protect children from improper material is _______.
| A．to install(安装) a content screener on the computer |
| B．to buy some search engines for the children |
| C．to be nearby when they are surfing the Internet |
| D．to talk to the children and persuade them to tell right from wrong |
Which of the following is right according to the passage?
| A．Surfing the Internet is the best method of educating children. |
| B．Children’s not having access to Internet may have effect on their progress. |
| C．Using a content screener is most reliable for keeping children having access to Internet. |
| D．Searching engines can help children to select materials fit for them. |
According to the passage, we can infer that _______.
| A．soft wares fit for children want programming |
| B．a child who is on-line is in danger |
| C．Internet is a jungle full of danger |
| D．Internet contains a lot of harmful sites |
My husband and children think they are very lucky that they are living and that it’s Christmas again. They can’t see that we live on a dirty street in a dirty house among people who aren’t much good. But Johnny and children can’t see this. What a pity it is that our neighbours have to make happiness out of all this dirt. I decided that my children must get out of this. The money that we’ve saved isn’t nearly enough.
The McGaritys have money but they are so proud. They look down upon the poor. The McGarity girl just yesterday stood out there in the street eating from a bag of candy(糖果)while a ring of hungry children watched her. I saw those children looking at her and crying in their hearts; and when she couldn’t eat any more she threw the rest down the sewer(下水道). Why, is it only because they have money ? There is more to happiness than money in the world, isn’t there?
Miss Jackson who teaches at the Settlement House isn’t rich, but she knows things. She understands people. Her eyes look straight into yours when she talks with you. She can read your mind. I’d like to see the children be like Miss Jackson when they grow up. This passage mainly suggests that the writer _______.
| A．is easy to get along with |
| B．is unhappy with the life they are living |
| C．is good at observing and understanding |
| D．is never pleased with her neigbours |
What do you think of McGarity girl?
| A．She is proud and hungry. | B．She is selfish and cruel. |
| C．She is lonely and friendless. | D．She is unhappy and misunderstood. |
In this text, the writer tries to tell us that _______.
| A．money is the key to everything |
| B．the more money you have, the less happy you’ll be |
| C．there is something more important than money |
| D．when talking to people we should look into their eyes |
Pick out the one that does NOT describe the writer’s view on money.
| A．Why, is it only because they have money? |
| B．There is more to happiness than money. |
| C．Miss Jackson isn’t rich, but she knows things. |
| D．The money we saved isn’t nearly enough. |