If your recurring(经常性的)dreams are worrying you，you can rest assured and needn’t worry．Psychologists say in the vast majority of these cases，this is just the mind’s way of dealing with stress and conflicts，problems and concerns．It’s a good thing．
They call be surprisingly vivid and real，or fragmented and weird．They can be comforting or frightening．Our dreams can tell us a lot about what we are really thinking．Dreams give us an x-ray of our unconsciousness(潜意识)．They tell us，particularly when we are at life’s passages or turning points．
Lisa Oppenheim had the same dream whenever she was about to move to a new home or a new city．It’s always just a feeling of needing to stay safe．Experts say disturbing dreams often occur around major life events．For Lisa，it was moving．For others，it can be marriage or divorce，the death of a loved one or pressure at work．
Doctor Siegel has studied the meaning of dream for nearly 30 years．He believes stressful or upsetting dreams can be a sign of what’s buried deep inside our minds．
He said．“Dreams are important to survival．They are crucial to the balance of our psyche(心灵)．They help us work out problems that we’re having every single day．They go to the cutting edge of what’s stressful，what’s bothering us and what we’re working out in our lives．Dreams can guide us and in order to find that guidance，to find that deep source of wisdom that’s in our dreams every night，we need to pay attention to our dreams．”
But many dreams are scary and horrible．How can we understand these nightmares? Doctor Siegel says they are reflecting especially intense emotion or unresolved conflict．The stronger the emotion in the dream，whether it’s pleasure or fear，the likelier the dream is to be important．
Knowing what your recurring dreams or nightmares mean can be liberating．Some nightmares can be a sign of serious psychological problems，such as post-dramatic stress disorder．If they are extremely disturbing or violent or the cause of severe anxiety，you should see a professional therapist(治疗专家)．By saying “Dreams give US an x-ray of our unconsciousness,” the author means that dreams
| A．do harm to our mind | B．show us our real mind |
| C．solve our stress in mind | D．give us a turning point in mind |
People will have recurring dreams when they_______________．
| A．1ive with great pressure or have great events |
| B．do the same things all their lives |
| C．move to a new home or a new city |
| D．are comforted or frightened |
Which of the following is true according to Doctor Siegel?
| A．Dreams play a very important role in the world’s balance． |
| B．Dreams help us find out the problems we need to solve． |
| C．We should pay attention to every dream we have． |
| D．Only the dreams with pleasure are important to us． |
How should we deal with the recurring nightmares?
| A．We should remember them because they are important to us． |
| B．We can ignore them since they are just reflecting our emotions． |
| C．We need to take some sleeping pills to stop this serious problem． |
| D．We should see a psychological doctor if they are seriously disturbing |
The purpose of the passage is_________________．
| A．to introduce a variety of dreams |
| B．to offer some advice on avoiding nightmares |
| C．to compare recurring dreams with nightmares |
| D．to ease our anxiety on recurring dreams |
Easy for one to learn a foreign language? When A student is learning to speak British English, he wonders: Can I communicate with Americans? Can they understand me? Learners of English often ask: What are the differences between British and American English? How important are these differences?
Certainly, there are some differences between British and American English. There are a few differences in grammar. For example, speakers of British English say “in hospital”and "Have you a pen?”, Americans say “in the hospital”and ‘Do you have a pen?’.Pronunciation is sometimes different. Americans usually sound theirs in words like “bird”and “hurt”. Speakers of British English do not sound theirs in these words. There are differences between British and American English in spelling and vocabulary. For example, “colour”and “honour”are British, “color” and “honor”are American.
These differences in grammar, pronunciation, spelling and vocabulary are not important, however. For the most part, British and American English are the same language.According to this passage, we can guess a student who is learning to speak American English might be afraid that ________.
| A．British people cannot understand him |
| B．American people cannot understand him |
| C．the grammar is too hard for him |
| D．the spelling is too hard for him |
What is NOT talked about in the passage?
| A．Whether there are differences between British English and American English. |
| B．Whether British English and American English are one language or two. |
| C．How the differences between British English and American English came about. |
| D．How important the differences are. |
Most __________ say “Do you have a watch?”
| A．British people | B．Americans |
| C．children | D．teachers |
According to this passage, British people and Americans have __________ difficulty in understanding each other.
| A．little | B．much | C．some | D．great |
Too many people want others to be their friends, but they don’t give friendship back. That is why some friendships do not last very long. To have a friend, you must learn to be one. You must learn to treat your friend the way you want your friend to treat you. Learning to be a good friend means learning three rules: be honest; be generous; be understanding.
Honesty is where a good friendship starts. Friends must be able to trust one another. If you do not tell the truth, people usually find out. If a friend finds out that you haven’t been honest, you may lose your friend’s trust. Good friends always trust one another to speak and act honestly.
Generosity means sharing and sharing makes a friendship grow. You do not have to give your lunch money or your clothes of course. Instead you have to learn how to share things you enjoy, like your hobbies and your interest. Naturally you will want to share your ideas and feelings. These can be very valuable to a friend.
Sooner or later everyone needs understanding and help with a problem. Something may go wrong at school. Talking about the problem can make it easier to solve. Turning to a friend can be a first step in solving the problem. So to be a friend you must listen and understand.
No two friendships are ever exactly alike. But all true friendships have three things in common. If you plan to keep your friends, you must practice honesty, generosity, and understanding.Some friendships don’t last very long because ____.
| A．some people receive friendship but don’t give friendship back |
| B．they don’t know friendship is something serious |
| C．those who give others friendship receive friendship from others |
| D．there are too many people who want to make friends |
The best title of this passage is _____.
| A．Honesty is the Best Policy |
| B．A Friend in Need is a Friend Indeed |
| C．Three Important Points in Life |
| D．Three Important Points in Making Friends |
Which of the following isn’t mentioned in the passage?
| A．Always tell your friends the truth. |
| B．Sharing your mind with your friends is of great value. |
| C．A friend who gives you his lunch money is a true friend. |
| D．Discussing your problems with your friend often helps to solve the problem. |
‘Well,’ began Enfield, ‘I was coming home about three o’clock on a black winter morning, when suddenly I saw two people. The first was a short man who was walking along the street, and the second was a little girl who was running as fast as she could. Well, the two bumped into each other and the child fell down. Then a terrible thing happened. The man calmly walked all over the child’s body with his heavy boots, and left her screaming on the ground. It was an inhuman thing to do. I ran after the man, caught him and fetched him back. There was already a small crowd around the screaming child. The man was perfectly cool, but he gave me a very evil look, which made me feel sick in my stomach. The child’s family then arrived, and also a doctor. The child had been sent to fetch the doctor for a sick neighbor, and was on her way home again.
‘“The child is more frightened than hurt,” said the doctor — and that, you would think, was the end of the story. But, you see, I had taken a violent dislike to the short man. So had the child’s family — that was only natural. But the doctor, who seemed a quiet, kind man, was also looking at our prisoner with murder in his eyes.
‘The doctor and I understood each other perfectly. Together we shouted at the man, and told him we would tell this story all over London so that his name would be hated.
‘He looked back at us with a proud, black look. “Name your price,” he said.
‘We made him agree to a hundred pounds for the child’s family. With another black look, the man led us to that door over there. He took out a key and let himself into the building. Presently he came out and handed us ten pounds in gold and a cheque for ninety pounds from Coutts’s Bank. The name on the cheque was a well-known one.
‘“See here,” said the doctor doubtfully, “it isn’t usual for a man to walk into an empty house at four in the morning and come out with another man’s cheque for nearly a hundred pounds.”
‘“Don’t worry,” said the man with an ugly look, “I’ll stay with you until the banks open, and change the cheque myself.”
‘So we all went off, the doctor and the prisoner and myself, and spent the rest of the night at my house. In the morning we went together to the bank. Sure enough, the cheque was good, and the money was passed to the child’s family.’Which of the following is true according to the passage above?
| A．The little girl was frightened as well as seriously hurt. |
| B．The doctor did not trust the short man and disliked him. |
| C．The short man willingly paid the little girl’s family a hundred pounds. |
| D．The doctor was present at the spot to see what was wrong with the little girl. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “Presently” in the fifth paragraph?
| A．Instantly. | B．Constantly. |
| C．Consequently. | D．Merely. |
Which of the following makes Enfield, the narrator of the story, puzzled most?
| A．The doctor’s attitude towards the short man. |
| B．The validity of the cheque accepted by the bank. |
| C．The name on the cheque the short man produced. |
| D．The short man’s attitude towards what he had done. |
The cheque was written by ________.
| A．Mr. Utterson, an upright lawyer |
| B．Mr. Jekyll, a well-known doctor |
| C．Doctor Lanyon, Mr. Jekyll’s friend |
| D．Mr. Hyde, the short man mentioned in the passage above |
A scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it. Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see. Some last a few minutes before they give in. But others are determined to wait until the last moment.
By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened. A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable. The children who gave in to temptation (诱惑) early were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible (固守己见的).
Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn’t show up on an IQ test.
The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists’ concerns. But brain theory can’t explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain upbeat in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant (有抵抗力的) soul.
Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence: when it comes to predicting people’s success, brain ability as measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as “character”.
EQ is not the opposite of IQ. What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one’s ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use. Among the ingredients (要素) for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ counts for about 20%; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck.
While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse.Why does the author mention the experiment at the beginning of the text?
| A．To introduce the topic of the text. |
| B．To prove the scientist’s wisdom. |
| C．To amuse both the children and readers. |
| D．To show us how to do an IQ test. |
The experiment with the four-year-olds makes it clear that .
| A．the age of 4 is a proper time for scientific experiment |
| B．emotional intelligence won’t show up until adolescence |
| C．the ability of self-control plays a role in personal success |
| D．candy can be used to measure a person’s emotional intelligence |
The underlined word “upbeat” in Paragraph 4 probably means .
| A．kind | B．optimistic |
| C．floating | D．excited |
Which of the following is TRUE of EQ and IQ according to the text?
| A．There is no link between EQ and IQ. |
| B．The higher a person’s IQ is, the higher his or her EQ is. |
| C．Some people can be blessed with lots of both, but some with little of either. |
| D．Scientists are trying to discover the way in which EQ and IQ work together. |
Rae Armantrout, who has been a poetry professor at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) for two decades, has won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in the poetry category for her most recent book, Versed.
“I’m delighted and amazed at how much media recognition that the Pulitzer brings, as compared to even the National Book Critics Award, which I was also surprised and delighted to win,” said Armantrout.
“For a long time, my writing has been just below the media radar, and to have this kind of attention, suddenly, with my 10th book, is really surprising.”
Armantrout, a native Californian, received her bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley, where she studied with noted poet Denise Levertov, and her master’s in creative writing from San Francisco State University. She is a founding member of Language Poets, a group in American poetry that analyzes the way language is used and raises questions to make the reader think.
In March, she won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Versed.
“This book has gotten more attention,” Armantrout said, “but I don’t feel as if it’s better.”
The first half of Versed focuses on the dark forces taking hold of the United States as it fought the war against Iraq. The second half looks at the dark forces casting a shadow over her own life after Armantrout was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.
Armantrout was shocked to learn she had won the Pulitzer but many of her colleagues were not. “Rae Armantrout is a unique voice in American poetry,” said Seth Lerer, head of Arts and Humanities at UCSD.
Versed, published by the Wesleyan University Press, did appear in a larger printing than her earlier works, which is about 2,700 copies. The new edition is scheduled to appear in May.Which of the following is true of Rae Armantrout?
| A．She published a poetry textbook. |
| B．She used to teach Denise Levertov. |
| C．She started a poets’ group with others. |
| D．She taught creative writing at UC Berkeley. |
According to Rae Armantrout, __________.
| A．her 10th book is much better |
| B．her winning the Pulitzer is unexpected |
| C．the media is surprised at her works |
| D．she likes being recognized by her readers |
Rae Armantrout’s colleagues think that she __________.
| A．deserves the prize | B．should write more |
| C．has a sweet voice | D．is a strange professor |
What can we learn about Versed?
| A．It consists of three parts. |
| B．It is mainly about the American army. |
| C．It is a book published two decades ago. |
| D．It partly concerns the poet’s own life. |