Experts do not really know when people began keeping fish as pets. But they say that people have been interested in fish for thousands of years. Some say the ancient Sumerians were the first civilization to keep fish in ponds more than four thousand years ago. The Chinese kept and studied carp and goldfish more than one thousand years ago. The ancient Romans kept eels as pets. And the Greek philosopher Aristotle made what is believed to be the first known study of sea life, including sharks and dolphins.
Keeping fish at home in small water tanks called aquariums is extremely popular today. And everyone seems to enjoy visiting huge public aquariums that have opened around the world.
By the middle of the eighteen hundreds, science had shown that plants, fish and other sea creatures could survive together under water. So it was no longer necessary to change the water in a tank for the fish to live there. This led to the building of the first public aquariums.
The first aquariums opened in London, England in 1853. in the next fifteen years, other aquariums opened in Europe and the United States. By 1928, there were about forty-five public aquariums.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has been recognized as the first aquarium in the United States and it shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. The Georgia Aquarium opening in 2005 says it is the largest in the world. It has more than one hundred thousand sea animals in thirty million liters of water including two whale sharks---the world’s largest fish.
Another aquarium re-opened in 2005 in Camden, New Jersey. The Adventure Aquarium first opened in 1992. It spent about fifty million dollars expanding its building and improving its exhibits.
Aquariums provide the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. They can be found in most areas of the world. People might even want to start an aquarium at home and join the millions of people around the world who keep fish as pets.Which aquarium opened again after its rebuilding ?
| A．The Monterey Bay Aquarium. | B．The Adventure Aquarium. |
| C．The Georgia Aquarium. | D．The first aquarium in London. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned to have kept fish as pets?
| A．The ancient Sumerians. | B．The ancient Romans. | C．The Chinese. | D．The ancient Indians. |
Which of the following is correct?
| A．People were not interested in fish until the middle of the eighteen hundreds. |
| B．The Moneterey Bay Aquarium is regarded as the best aquarium in America. |
| C．Plants, fish and other sea creatures could not survive together under sea. |
| D．People have to change the water in a tank frequently for the fish to live there. |
The passage is written mainly .
| A．to tell people the importance of keeping fish as pets |
| B．to explain why people want to visit aquariums |
| C．to let people know the development of the aquariums |
| D．to describe different aquariums |
What does the underlined word “aquariums” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
| A．Exhibition centres where people can watch and enjoy different species of fish. |
| B．Small boxes made of glass, where people keep fish in, usually at home. |
| C．Places which shows visitors the underwater life in the bay. |
| D．Places which provides the public with many chances to experience life under the sea. |
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59. Why is TOKNOW a special magazine?
| A． |
It entertains young parents. |
| B． |
It provides serious sdvertisements. |
| C． |
It publishes popular science fictions. |
| D． |
It combines fun with complex concepts. |
60. What does TOKNOW offer its readers?
| A． |
Online courses. |
| B． |
Articles on new topics. |
| C． |
Lectures on a balanced life. |
| D． |
Reports on scientific discoveries. |
61. How much should you pay if you make a 12-mouth subscription to TOKNOW with gift pack from China?
| A． |
£55. |
B． |
£60. |
C． |
£65. |
D． |
£70. |
62. Subscribers of TOKNOW would get .
| A． |
free birthday presents |
| B． |
full refund within 28 days |
| C． |
membership of the TOKNOW club |
| D． |
chances to meet the experts in person |
It was a cold March day in High Point, North Carolina. The girls on the Wesleyan Academy softball were waiting for their next turns at bat during practice, stamping their feet to stay warm, Eighth-grader Taylor Bisbee shivered(发抖) a little as she watched her teammate Paris White play. The two didn't know each other well -Taylor had just moved to town a month or so before.
Suddenly, Paris fell to the ground,"Paris's eye rolled back," Taylor says. "She started shaking . I knew it was an emergency."
It certainly was, Paris had suffered a sudden heart failure. Without immediate medical care, Paris would die. "Does anyone know CPR?"
CPR is a life-saving technique. To do CPR, you press on the sick person's chest so that blood moves through the body and takes oxygen to organs. Without oxygen the brain is damaging quickly.
Amazingly, Taylor had just taken a CPR course the day before. Still, she hesitated. She didn't think she knew it well enough. But when no one else came forward, Taylor ran to Paris and began doing CPR, "It was scary. I knew it was the difference between life and death," says Taylor.
Taylor's swift action helped her teammates calm down. One girl called 911. Two more ran to get the school nurse, who brought a defibrillator, an electronic devices(器械) that can shock the heart back into work. Luck stayed with them Paris' heartbeat returned.
"I know I was really lucky," Paris say now. "Most people don't survive this. My team saved my life"
Experts say Paris is right For a sudden heart failure, the single best chance for survival is having someone nearby step in and do CPR quickly.
Today, Paris is back on the softball team. Taylor will apply to college soon. She wants to be a nurse. "I feel more confident in my actions now," Taylor says."I know I can act under pressure in a scary situation."
56.What happened to Paris on a March day?
| A． |
She caught a bad cold. |
| B． |
She had a sudden heart problem. |
| C． |
She was knocked down by a ball. |
| D． |
She shivered terribly during practice |
57.Why does Paris say she was lucky?
| A． |
She made a worthy friend. |
| B． |
She recovered from shock. |
| C． |
She received immediate CPR. |
| D． |
She came back on the softball team. |
58.Which of the following words can best describe Taylor?
| A． |
Enthusiastic and kind. |
| B． |
Courageous and calm. |
| C． |
Cooperative and generous. |
| D． |
Ambitious and professional. |
I'm a 34-year-old man, married, lived in a nice house, and have a successful career as an educational consultant. But my life was not always so great. I had a learning disability from an early age. I went to a special school where I got plenty of extra help. Still, I suffered the rest of my school days in public schools.
My life improved remarkably when I discovered art. The art world gave me a chance to express myself without words. I went to a workshop and gradually got good at making things with clay(黏土). Here I learned my first important lesson: disabled as I was in language. I could still be smart and well express myself with clay. And my confidence came along.
I got my next lesson from rock climbing. It was a fun thing but I was scared from the start. I soon noticed it wasn't a talent thing; it was practice. So I did it more. After about five years of climbing, I found myself in Yosemite Valley on a big wall. I learned that if you fall in love with something and do it all the time, you will get better at it.
Later I decided to apply my previous experience to learning how to read and write. Every day I practiced reading and writing, which I used to avoid as much as possible. After two hard years, I was literate.
Having gone through the long process with art, rock climbing, and reading and writing, now I've got to a point in my life where I know I am smart enough to dive into an area that is totally unknown, hard, but interesting.
56. What made the author's school days difficult? (No more than 5 words)
57. Why did art give the author confidence? (No more than 10 words)
58. What lesson did the author learn from rock climbing? (No more than 15 words)
59. What is the meaning of the underlined part in Paragraph 4? (No more than 5 words)
60. How does the author's story inspire you to overcome difficulties in life? Put it in your own words. (No more than 20 words)
Failure is probably the most exhausting experience a person ever has. There is nothing more tiring than not succeeding.
We experience this tiredness in two ways: as start-up fatigue(疲惫) and performance fatigue. In the former case, we keep putting off a task because it has either too boring or too difficult. And the longer we delay it, the more tired we feel.
Such start-up fatigue is very real, even if not actually physical, not something in our muscles and bones. The solution is obvious though perhaps not easy to apply: always handle the most difficult job first.
Years ago, I was asked to write 102 essays on the great ideas of some famous authors. Applying my own rule, I determined to write them in alphabetical(按字母顺序), never letting myself leave out a tough idea. And I always started the day's work with the difficult task of essay-writing. Experience proved that the rule works.
Performance fatigue is more difficult to handle. Though willing to get started, we cannot seem to do the job right. Its difficulties appear so great that, however hard we work, we fail again and again. In such a situation, I work as hard as I can-then let the unconscious take over.
When planning E n cyclopaedia Britannica(《大英百科全书》), I had to create a table of contents based on the topics of its articles. Nothing like this had ever been done before, and day after dat I kept coming up with solutions, but none of them worked. My fatigue became almost unbearable.
One day, mentally exhausted, I wrote down all the reasons why this problem could not be solved. I tried to convince myself that the trouble was with the problem itself, not with me. Relived, I sat back in an easy chair and fell asleep.
An hour later, I woke up suddenly with the solution clearly in mind. In the weeks that followed, the solution which had come up in my unconscious mind provided correct at every step. Though I worked as hard as before, I felt no fatigue. Success was now as exciting as failure had been depressing.
Human beings, I believe must try to succeed. Success, then, means never feeling tired.
51. People with start-up fatigue are most likely to .
| A． |
delay tasks |
| B． |
work hard |
| C． |
seek help |
| D． |
accept failure |
52. What does the author recommend doing to prevent start-up fatigue?
| A． |
Writing essays in strict order. |
| B． |
Building up physical strength. |
| C． |
Leaving out the toughest ideas. |
| D． |
Dealing with the hardest task first. |
53. On what occasion does a person probably suffer from performance fatigue?
| A． |
Before starting a difficult task. |
| B． |
When all the solutions fail. |
| C． |
If the job is rather boring. |
| D． |
After finding a way out. |
54. According to the author, the unconscious mind may help us .
| A． |
ignore mental problems |
| B． |
get some nice sleep |
| C． |
gain complete relief |
| D． |
find the right solution |
55. What could be the best title for the passage?
| A． |
Success Is Built upon Failure |
| B． |
How to Handle Performance Fatigue |
| C． |
Getting over Fatigue: A Way to Success |
| D． |
Fatigue: An Early Sign of Health Problems |
When John was growing up, other kids felt sorry for him. His parents always had him weeding the garden, carrying out the garbage and delivering newspapers. But when John reached adulthood, he was better off than his childhood playmates. He had more job satisfaction, a better marriage and was healthier. Most of all, he was happier. Far happier.
These are the findings of a 40-year study that followed the lives of 456 teenage boys from Boston. The study showed that those who had worked as boys enjoyed happier and more productive lives than those who had not. "Boys who worked in the home or community gained competence (能力) and came to feel they were worthwhile members of society," said George Vaillant, the psychologist (心理学家) who made the discovery. "And because they felt good about themselves, others felt good about them."
Vaillant's study followed these males in great detail. Interviews were repeated at ages 25, 31 and 47. Under Vaillant, the researchers compared the men's mental-health scores with their boyhood-activity scores with their boyhood-activity scores. Points were awarded for part-time jobs, housework, effort in school, and ability to deal with problems.
The link between what the men had done as boys and how they turned out as adults was surprisingly sharp. Those who had done the most boyhood activities were twice as likely to have warm relations with a wide variety of people, five times as likely to be well paid and 16 times less likely to have been unemployed. The researchers also found that IQ and family social and economic class made no real difference in how the boys turned out. Working----at any age----is important. Childhood activities help a child develop responsibility, independence, confidence and competence---the underpinnings (基础) of emotional health. They also help him understand that people must cooperate and work toward common goals. The most competent adults are those who know how to do this. Yet work isn't everything. As Tolstoy once said, "One can live magnificently in this world if one knows how to work and how to love, to work for the person one loves and to love one's work."
46. What do we know about John?
| A． |
He enjoyed his career and marriage. |
| B． |
He had few childhood playmates. |
| C． |
He received little love from his family. |
| D． |
He was envied by others in his childhood. |
47. Vaillant's words in Paragraph 2 serve as _____.
| A． |
a description of personal values and social values |
| B． |
an analysis of how work was related to competence |
| C． |
an example for parents' expectations of their children |
| D． |
an explanation why some boys grew into happy men |
48. Vaillant's team obtained their findings by _____.
| A． |
recording the boys' effort in school |
| B． |
evaluating the men's mental health |
| C． |
comparing different sets of scores |
| D． |
measuring the men's problem solving ability |
49. What does the underlined word "sharp" probably mean in Paragraph 4?
| A． |
Quick to react |
| B． |
Having a thin edge |
| C． |
Clear and definite |
| D． |
sudden and rapid |
50. What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
| A． |
competent adults know more about love than work. |
| B． |
Emotional health is essential to a wonderful adult life. |
| C． |
Love brings more joy to people than work does. |
| D． |
Independence is the key to one's success. |