Mr. Brown was going away for a week. Before he left, he said to his son, "if anyone asks for me, you can tell him that your father has been out for doing something, and will be back in a week, then be sure to ask him to sit down for a cup of tea."
"OK, Dad," said his son. But he was afraid his son couldn't remember this, he wrote these words down on a piece of paper and gave it to him. His son put it into his small pocket, took it out and looked at it every now and then.
Four days passed, but no one came to see his father. The boy thought that there was no man to come and that the piece of paper was of no more use for him, so he burnt it that evening.
The next afternoon, someone knocked at the door. The boy opened it. A man was standing at the door and said, "Where is your father?" The boy put his hand into his pocket at once and looked for the piece of paper. He could not find it. He suddenly remembered he had burnt it, so he shouted, "No more." The man was very surprised. He asked, "No more? I met your father last week. When did it happen?"
"Burnt yesterday evening."Mr. Brown told his son that _____.
| A．he would be away from home for four days |
| B．he would be back in seven days |
| C．he would be back in a month |
| D．he liked a cup of tea |
Mr. Brown wrote the words down on ________.
| A．the wall | B．the door | C．a piece of paper | D．his son's pocket |
A man came to visit the boy's father on ________.
| A．the second day | B．the third day | C．the fourth day | D．the fifth day |
The man was very surprised because _________.
| A．he thought the child's father was dead |
| B．the child didn't ask him to sit down |
| C．the child gave him a cup of tea |
| D．he couldn't find that piece of paper |
What was burnt?
| A．The piece of paper | B．Mr. Smith | C．The visitor | D．The boy |
Psychologists(心理学家) have known that what's going on inside our head affects our senses. For example, poorer children think coins are larger than they are, and hungry people think pictures of food are brighter. Professor Remi Radel wanted to investigate(look into) how this happens -- whether it's right away, as the brain receives signals from the eyes, or a little later, as the brain's higher-level thinking processes get involved.
Radel chose 42 students and each student was told to arrive at the lab at noon after three or four hours of not eating on the day of the test. Then they were told there was a delay. Some were told to come back in 10 minutes; others were given an hour to get lunch. So half the students were hungry when they did the experiment and the other half had just eaten.
For the experiment, the participant looked at a computer screen. One by one, 80 words flashed on the screen. A quarter of the words were food-related. After each word, the person was asked how bright the word was and asked to choose which of two words they'd seen -- a food-related word like gateau (cake) or a neutral (中性的) word like bateau (boat).
Hungry people saw the food-related words as brighter and were better at identifying food-related words. Because the word appeared too quickly for them to be reliably seen, this means that the difference is in perception (直觉), Radel says—it's not because of some kind of processing happening in the brain after you've already figured out what you're looking at.
"This is something great to me, that humans can really realize what they need or what they hope for, to know that our brain can really arrange for our motives and needs," Radel says. "There is something inside us that selects information in the world to make life easier.”The purpose of Radel's research is to let us know ____.
| A．how our thinking has effect on our senses happens |
| B．what it is the good time for students to have lunch |
| C．whether poorer children think coins are larger than they are |
| D．whether hungry people think pictures of food are brighter |
In the experiment 20 words that flashed on the screen had something to do with “____”.
| A．boat | B．food | C．mind | D．weather |
Which of the following is true about the experiment?
| A．The students should stare at the words in the book. |
| B．Each word appeared slowly in order that the participant could read it exactly. |
| C．After each word flashed on the screen, the person was asked to finish two tasks. |
| D．On the day of the test, all the students were very hungry because of the delay of their lunch. |
What does the new study find?
| A．Actually our brain can arrange for our motives and needs. |
| B．In the experiment the brain was totally controlled by the senses. |
| C．People who had just eaten saw all the words more clearly than hungry people. |
| D．The participants saw the words look different long after the brain dealt with the information. |
Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.
According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.
Think back to the time you took your very first sip of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation(attraction) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.
Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.
These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.What do most people think causes bad behavior?
| A．Being forced by others. | B．Not having enough will power. |
| C．Enjoying their first experiences. | D．Following the examples of their friends. |
The author mentions his experience in the third paragraph to prove ____.
| A．will power helps develop bad habits sometimes |
| B．drinking beer is harmful to the health of teenagers |
| C．self-control should be developed when one is young |
| D．everyone can be challenged by different temptations |
In the last paragraph, the author stresses(强调) that ____.
| A．without self-control, no one can succeed |
| B．bad habits don’t always lead to bad results |
| C．applying self-control correctly is important |
| D．people can develop wisdom from bad behavior |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．My First Sip of Beer | B．Do You Have Will Power ? |
| C．Will Power Benefits Us | D．Dark Side of Self-control |
To Whom It May Concern:
On March 5, 2012 , I bought a Perfect Muffin Kit from your store at Midfield Shopping Center. The cashier who assisted me was George. George was very friendly and told me that the Perfect Muffin Kit would live up to the guarantee on the box: “Perfect Muffins Every Time!”.
Unfortunately, this product did not live up to what it promised . The muffins I made were far from perfect . I followed the directions in the package very carefully . First , I removed the bag of mix from the box. Then , I poured it into a bowl. Next, I added the correct amount of water to the mix and stirred it. According to the directions, after stirring the mixture , I added half a cup of dried grapes, nuts , berries, or another favorite ingredient . My favorite ingredient happens to be hot sauce . I find that a bit of hot sauce makes pizza and soup taste very delicious. So, continuing to follow the directions, I added half a cup of hot sauce to the mix and stirred it. Finally, I poured the mix into muffin tins and baked it in the baker at 350 degrees for exactly 20 minutes.
When the muffins finished baking, I was very excited to eat the “Perfect Muffins” as promised on the box. You can imagine my disappointment when, upon tasting the muffins, I discovered that they were not perfect. These muffins were , in fact , absolutely terrible. Not even my dog was interested in eating these supposedly “perfect” muffins.
I would appreciate a full refund( money to be returned) of $3.99 for this product as soon as possible. Enclosed are the receipt, the empty box, and one of the un-perfect muffins so that you can experience it for yourself . Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely，
Michelle BauerThis letter is most likely addressed to _______.
| A．a local storeowner |
| B．the owner of the muffin mix company |
| C．the clerk at a local muffin bakery |
| D．George, the cashier who sold the muffin mix |
The tone(语气 ) of the author can best be described as ________.
| A．embarrassed | B．hopeless | C．disappointed | D．disgusted |
The author was unhappy with the product because________.
| A．the directions of the product contained a mistake |
| B．it was not up to the promise made on the box |
| C．it was too difficult to follow the directions |
| D．it was worth less money than she paid for it |
The author’s main purpose in writing this letter is to ________.
| A．prevent others from making the same mistake |
| B．persuade the company to change the wording on their box |
| C．get back all the money paid from the shop |
| D．complain about how bad the muffins tasted |
Churchill's full name was Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill. He was born in 1874. He was educated at Harrow School and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
In 1900 Churchill was elected a member of parliament .As First Lord of the Admiralty , in 1911, he was responsible for strengthening the British navy.
During World War I, he still remained a member of parliament, but he resigned from his post in the British navy, and became a soldier again, fighting in France. In 1917, however, he became Minister of Munitions . In this job, he encouraged the development and use of the tank, which was then a new weapon. After the war, Churchill held several government posts.
From 1931 to 1939, he was only a member of parliament. He had fallen into dislike because of his militant (war-loving) attitude. Even his closest friends discouraged him from seeking higher office. But when World War II started in 1939. Churchill returned to his former job as First Lord of the Admiralty.
In May 1940, he became Prime Minister. Throughout the war, Churchill showed great strength and energy. He worked for long periods with little sleep and traveled many thousands of miles. By the courage and determination expressed in his speeches, he inspired the people of Britain to keep on fighting. His speeches also gave hope to people in parts of Europe occupied by enemy forces.
In the general election at the end of the war, the Conservative Party, of which he was leader, was defeated. But he became Prime Minister again in 1951. He resigned as Prime Minister in 1955. However, he remained a member of parliament until 1964. Some time later, in 1965, he died.Before World War I, Churchill worked for his country as ____.
| A．headmaster of Harrow School | B．a leader of the Britain Navy |
| C．a leader of the Conservative Party | D．Prime Minister of Britain |
How many times was Churchill elected Prime Minister?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
What can we learn from Para. 4?
| A．In 1938 Churchill left the parliament. |
| B．Churchill's closest friends were against his attitude toward war. |
| C．Churchill's closest friends always inspired him to seek higher office. |
| D．Churchill and his closet friends served in the army before World War II. |
We can know all the following from the text EXCEPT that ____.
| A．Churchill gave up as Prime Minister in 1955 |
| B．Churchill once became a soldier, fighting in France |
| C．Churchill's speeches encouraged the British people to keep on fighting |
| D．Churchill led his army to fight bravely and defeated the enemy in World War I |
In the year 1986 there was a terrible explosion(爆炸). The explosion was at a nuclear power plant(核电站) in Ukraine. The radiation(辐射) caused a lot of damage. It polluted the soil and other things. People were living in the area when the explosion happened. More than twenty years later those people are still suffering. The influence of the explosion will go on for a long time.
Over two million people still live in that area. Only 56 people died from the explosion but many other problems have been caused because of it. Some types of cancer are more than 200 times above the world average(平均水平). Many children have cancer now and children born with problems have doubled since the accident.
Some people in the United States are worried about the children living in the explosion area. One group has been trying to raise money. They are called the Chenobyl Children’s Project. They want to bring children from Ukraine to the U.S. each summer.
A spokesperson for the group says that radiation is the highest in the summertime so it is a good time to get the children out of the country. They want to help the children get away for a little while. The Project wants them to be safe from radiation.
It costs $1,500 to bring each child to the United States for six weeks. The group raised enough money to bring 28 children to the United States last year. The children were able to do lots of fun things. They enjoyed clean air, healthy food, and plenty of outdoor fun. One little nine-year-old girl who got to come to the United States said that she likes America.
The spokesperson says that the children that come to America during the summer miss less school when they return home because they have a long summer vacation.What can we learn about the explosion that happened in 1986?
| A．Children suffering from cancer have doubled since the accident. |
| B．More than 200 people died in the accident. |
| C．The influence of the explosion will last for more than 20 years. |
| D．Millions of people still live in the area where the explosion happened. |
Why does the group bring children to the U.S. in summer?
| A．Because the radiation is the highest in summer. |
| B．Because children have a long summer vacation. |
| C．Because the U.S. is the most beautiful in summer. |
| D．Because traveling in the U.S. in summer costs the least. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the Project?
| A．It brings 28 children to the U.S. every summer. |
| B．It lets children stay in the U.S. for six weeks. |
| C．It teaches children useful outdoor skills. |
| D．It mainly raises money in Ukraine. |
What does the underlined word in Paragraph1 mean?
A. effort B affect C. offer D. effect