When you get tired of homework, several minutes’ walk in a nearby green park helps you relax at once. Or you may stand facing the lake or the sea. They’ll calm (not to be excited or nervous) you just like the green plants.
Wonder why? Color is a key part of the answers. Since it is so, green and blue help make people feel more quiet and safe.
All colors have special power. Scientists have found that many colors have specific effects (效果) on people’s minds and feelings.
Try an easy and interesting experiment and you’ll see how color “misleads” you sometimes. Wrap (包装) two boxes of the same size with colored paper, one red and the other white. Then weigh the two boxes with your hands. Which one is heavier? Most people will think that the red box is heavier, even though they weigh the same.
Colors can affect (影响) learning. Scientists have found that students spend more time reading if they read information written in blue text. Blue helps most people calm down and think more.
Smart (clever) uses of colors in daily life are to be seen everywhere. Hospital and libraries seldom (很少) paint their walls, tables and desks red. They use light colors, like light blue or green. Red makes people excited while light colors help them relax. Haven’t worked out how color affects your daily life? Start with your small room. Try to make some changes in it and you’ll get to know how important color is!The underlined word “misleads” means ______
| A．affects |
| B．effects |
| C．causes someone to have a wrong idea |
| D．give wrong directions |
We’d better paint the walls of the hospital in ______
| A．light blue or light green |
| B．deep red or deep brown |
| C．deep orange or deep red |
| D．light green or light yellow |
If you want to _______, you’d better sit in the room painted blue.
| A．weigh something with your hands |
| B．study attentively |
| C．face the lake or the sea |
| D．enjoy some rock music |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．When you are going to have a rest, you’d better sit in the room painted green |
| B．Scientists have known some differences among some colors |
| C．When you get tired of homework, you should look at the green plants far away |
| D．The passage has told us clearly why some colors are warm and other are cool |
The reading mainly shows us _____
| A．the difference between red and white. |
| B．how to get on well with others |
| C．how to make smart uses of different colors in our daily life |
| D．how to paint and decorate our rooms |
We always regard dogs as man’s best friends. But what about cats?
Cats can also do us a favor sometimes.
Here is a comparison of the two animals.
A Friend Helps You When You’re Sick
| Dogs |
When Catherine lay down on the sofa, Pepe stared(盯) into her eyes and kept sniffing(嗅). After being pushed away, he suddenly jumped onto her chest. That’s when Catherine felt a pain that made her visit a doctor, and a fast-growing cancer was found. Months later, however, Pepe started staring and sniffing again. It seemed strange, but sure enough, Catherine’s cancer had spread. |
| Cats |
Alana immediately finds a chair when Tee sits and stares directly into her face. That’s because Tee is warning her that she is about to faint(昏倒), which can happen as often as three times a day. But Alana won’t get hurt if she sits down. Not only does Tee warn Alana, but also her husband. Then the cat stays with Alana until she recovers. |
A Friend Saves Your Life
| Dogs |
Ryan fell into the water by accident. The river was full of ice, and Ryan was very cold and his body temperature was dropping dangerously low. Luckily, he was found by Chelsea, who was playing with her dog, Zion. “Zion knew the boy was in trouble,” says Chelsea. “Ryan grabbed onto the dog’s collar, and Zion just turned around and came back to the bank.” |
| Cats |
Bernice says: “I was sleeping in my bedroom, and then I was woken by Joey screaming and running”. Then she found smoke around her. With Joey helping her, she managed to get out of the door. “I found him in a mailbox when he was young and now I feel very lucky. Without him, I’d have probably died in the smoke.” |
When Alana is about to faint, Tee will ________.
| A．stare at her and keep sniffing | B．jump onto her chest suddenly |
| C．sit and stare directly into her face | D．scream and run |
What can we learn about Ryan?
| A．He likes swimming in rivers. |
| B．He has a lovely dog, Zion. |
| C．Chelsea helped him swim back to the bank. |
| D．He was in danger when he was found by Chelsea. |
What happened when Bernice was sleeping?
| A．She was badly hurt in a big fire. |
| B．She found the brave cat in a mailbox. |
| C．A fire broke out when she was sleeping. |
| D．She ran out of the burning house with the help of firemen. |
When something becomes fashionable very quickly , we say that it’s a “craze”. The latestcraze is sometimes a style of clothes or a hairstyle. Sometimes it is a game or a TV programme.
In the 20th century a lot of crazes started in the USA and then became popular in the USA andthen became popular in other parts of the world. American youth culture has spread through tourism , TV , films, magazines and music videos.
One of the biggest crazes was the hula hoop（呼啦圈）. Hula hoops are not popular now, butin the1950s they were a sensation. An American company called Wham-O started to make plastic（塑料的）hoops toys, and in the USA the company sold 100 million hoops in a year.
Frisbees（飞盘）were another Wham-O product（产品）. Some people say that the idea
started in the factory of the Frisbee Baking Company in Connecticut. Workers there threw metalpans to each other during their breaks. Two businessmen made a plastic type of the flying pans,and sold their products to Wham-O. They became a big business.
So businesses usually help to produce a craze. Yoyos were another example. In the Philippines, where its name means “comeback”, the yoyo was a popular toy in the 1920s. Butit didn’t become a global (世界性的) craze until an American called Donald Duncan bought theidea and sold it to the world. Around 100 million people bought yoyos in 1962 and 1963.
Most crazes come and go, but sometimes they survive. When the big skateboard started in California in 1965, many parents and governments said that the boards were dangerous, and theywere not allowed in some areas. But the boards became popular again and they are still an important part of youth culture today.What is a “craze” ?
A. A special culture in the western country.
B. Something that is liked by the young.
C. Something that first spreads in the USA.
D. Something that becomes very popular over a short period (时期) of time.What does the underlined word “sensation” mean ?
| A．昂贵的物品 |
| B．值得珍藏的物品 |
| C．轰动一时的物品 |
| D．昙花一现的物品 |
What fact does the passage provide ?
| A．All crazes in the world come and go quickly. |
| B．Skateboards are not allowed in most areas of America. |
| C．In the last century the USA introduced many new crazes. |
| D．Crazes have nothing to do with culture. |
Which of the following can be chosen as the best title of the passage ?
| A．Something about Crazes |
| B．Wham-O products |
| C．A successful Company |
| D．American Youth Culture |
If you’ve tried studying when you’re tired, you know that it can seem very impossible to do well.
A study of sleep in sparrows suggests the relationship between sleep and the ability to learn may be more complicated(复杂) than people knew.
Niels C·Rattenborg, a scientist from Wisconsin-Madison, wanted to find out how the sparrows were able to deal with getting so much less sleep. He and his team brought eight wild birds into a lab and watched them for one year. They invented a game to check how well the birds could learn. In the game, the sparrows had to peck(啄)three buttons （按钮）in a right order to get a food treat. The scientists discovered that the birds’ ability to learn the right button order depended on(依靠)two things: the time of year and the amount of sleep the birds had had.
During the migration（迁徙）season, the sparrows were restless at night and got much less sleep than usual. Even so, they were able to understand how to get the food quickly as if they’d had a regular night of sleep. Outside the migration season, they found the sparrows that got less sleep than usual had much more difficulty learning how to get the food treats than birds that had a regular sleep.
The results show that the sparrows can deal with much less sleep during the migration season than usual. If scientists can find out why, they may learn from sparrows and find ways of helping people deal with getting much less sleep. Until scientists fully understand the relationship between sleep and learning, it’s better to get plenty of sleep when preparing for an exam.
| A．sparrows’ migration. |
| B．sleep lessons from Sparrows. |
| C．how to get less sleep while studying |
| D．how sparrows that got less sleep get food treats |
| A．They eat more. |
| B．The climate is better |
| C．They can get food quickly |
| D．Scientists still don’t know the reason. |
| A．We should sleep as little as sparrows do. |
| B．We should get enough sleep before an exam. |
| C．When tired, we should try to focus on(聚焦) our study. |
| D．When tired, we should check how we can sleep less than usual. |
One day I got into a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right way when suddenly a black jeep jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver had to stop the car at once, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car started shouting at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy, and I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, “Why did you just do that? This guy almost destroyed your car and sent us to the hospital!” This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck(垃圾车).”
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of anger(愤怒). As their garbage gets more, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it seriously. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and pass it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
Life’s too short , so...
a. I took a taxi to the airport.
b. The driver of the other car shouted at us.
c. A black jeep suddenly jumped right in front of us.
d. Our taxi nearly crashed into the other car.
e. My taxi driver taught me the law.
f. My taxi driver smiled and waved.
| A．a-e-b-d-f-c | B．b-a-e-d-c-f |
| C．a-c-d-b-f-e | D．f-e-a-c-d-b |
| A．share the terrible ride with us |
| B．tell us how to drive safely |
| C．show us how great the taxi driver is |
| D．show us how to deal with life more wisely |
| A．the writer will never forget the taxi driver |
| B．the writer will become a good and friendly taxi driver, too |
| C．the writer will be better at dealing with anger in his life |
| D．the writer will be always friendly to others |
Are you looking for some new and exciting places to take your kids to? Try some of these
places:
Visit art museums
They offer various activities to excite your kids' interest. Many offer workshops for making
land-made pieces, book signings by children's favorite writer, and even musical performances
and other arts.
Head to a natural history museum
This is where kids can discover the past from dinosaur models to rock collections and
pictures of stars in the sky. Also, ask what kind of workshops are prepared for kids and any special events that are coming up.
Go to a youth centre
Look for one in your area offering plays for child and family visitors. Pre-show play shops
are conducted by area artists where kids can discover the secret about performing arts- puppet(木偶)making .
Try hands-on science museum
Visit one of the many hands-on science museums around the country. These science play-lands are great fun for kids . They'll keep your child mentally and physically active the whole day through experimenting and building.
| A．a youth centre | B．an art museum |
| C．a natural history museum | D．a hands-on science museum |
| A．Science games designed by kids. |
| B．Learning science by doing things. |
| C．A show of kids' science work. |
| D．Reading science books. |
| A．A science magazine. | B．A tourist leaflet. |
| C．A museum guide. | D．A local newspaper. |