Everyone knows about straight-A students. We see them frequently in TV situation comedies and in movies like Revenge(报复)of the Nerds. They get high grades, all right, but only by becoming dull laborers, their noses always stuck in a book. They are not good at social communication and look clumsy while doing sports.
How, then, do we account for Domenica Roman or Paul Melendres?
Roman is on the tennis team at Fairmont Senior High School. She also sings in the choral group, serves on the student council and is a member of the mathematics society. For two years she has maintained A’s in every subject. Melendres, a freshman at the University of New Mexico, was student-body president at Valley High School in Albuquerque. He played soccer and basketball well, exhibited at the science fair, and meanwhile worked as a reporter on a local television station. Being a speech giver at the graduation ceremony, he achieved straight A’s in his regular classes, plus bonus points for A’s in two college-level courses.
How do super-achievers like Roman and Melendres do it? Brains aren’t the only answer. “Top grades don’t always go to the brightest students, ” declares Herbert Walberg, a professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who has conducted major studies on super-achieving students. “Knowing how to make the most of your innate(天生的)abilities counts for more. Much more.”
In fact, Walberg says, students with high IQ sometimes don’t do as well as classmates with lower IQ. For them, learning comes too easily and they never find out how to get down.
Hard work isn’t the whole story, either. “It’s not how long you sit there with the books open, ” said one of the many-A students we interviewed. “It’s what you do while you’re sitting.” Indeed, some of these students actually put in fewer hours of homework time than their lower-scoring classmates.
The kids at the top of the class get there by mastering a few basic techniques that others can readily learn.The underlined word “nerds” can probably be________ .
| A．dull bookworms lacking sports and social skills |
| B．successful top students popular with their peers |
| C．students with certain learning difficulties |
| D．born leaders crazy about social activities |
What can we conclude from the first paragraph?
| A．Most TV programs and films are about straight-A students. |
| B．People have unfavorable impression on straight-A students. |
| C．Everyone knows about straight-A students from TV or films. |
| D．Straight-A students are well admired by people in the society. |
Some students become super-achievers mainly because_________ .
| A．they are born cleverer than others |
| B．they work longer hours at study |
| C．they make full use of their abilities |
| D．they know the shortcut to success |
What will be talked about after the last paragraph?
| A．The interviews with more students. |
| B．The role IQ plays in learning well. |
| C．The techniques to be better learners. |
| D．The achievements top students make. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．IQ is more important than hard work in study. |
| B．The brightest students can never get low grades. |
| C．Top students certainly achieve all-around developments. |
| D．Students with average IQ can become super-achievers. |
How can you find out what is going on inside a person’s body without opening the patient’s body up? Regular X rays can show a lot. CAT scans can show even more. They can give a complete view of body organs.
What is a CAT scan? CAT stands for a kind of machine. It is a special X-ray machine that gets a 360-degree picture of a small area of a patient’s body.
Doctors use X rays to study and determine diseases and injuries within the body, X rays can find a foreign object inside the body or take pictures of some inside organs to be X-rayed.
A CAT scanner, however, uses a group of X rays to give a cross-sectional（横截面）view of a specific part of the body. A fine group of X rays is scanned across the body and around the patient from many different directions. A computer studies the information from each direction and produces a clear cross-sectional picture on a screen. This picture is then photographed for later use. Several cross sections, taken one after another, can give clear “photos” of the entire body or of any body organs. The latest CAT scanners can even give clear pictures of active, moving organs, just as a fast-action camera can “stop the action”, giving clear pictures of what appears unclear to the eye. And because of the 360-degree pictures, CAT scans show clear and complete views of organs in a manner that was once only shown during operation or examination of a dead patient.
Frequent appearance before X rays can cause skin burns, cancer or other damage to the body. Yet CAT scans actually don’t cause the patient to more radiation than regular X rays do. CAT scans can also be done without getting something harmful into the patient, so they are less risky than regular X rays.
CAT scans provide exact, detailed information. They can quickly find such a thing as bleeding inside the brain. They are helping to save lives.What is NOT true of a CAT scan?
| A．It is safer than regular X rays. |
| B．It makes use of computer techniques. |
| C．It can stop the action of an organ for a short time. |
| D．It gives clear pictures of active, moving body parts. |
The underlined words “a foreign object”（Para 3）most probably refer to .
| A．a badly injured part inside the body |
| B．a new thing that is unknown to the doctor |
| C．a strange organ that has grown in the body |
| D．an object that gets inside the body by chance |
What is the special use of the latest CAT scanners?
| A．It provides clear photos of moving organs. |
| B．It can take 3-dimension（三维）pictures of inside organs. |
| C．It won’t cause serious skin burns, cancer or other damage to the body. |
| D．It helps to find out what is going on inside a person’s body without opening it up. |
We can infer from this passage that .
| A．patients in front of CAT may suffer from a bit of radiation |
| B．doctors need no opening-up of the body with CAT scanners |
| C．CAT scanners are more expensive than regular X-ray machines |
| D．CAT scanners can take photos of either the whole body or a part of it |
The best title of this passage might be .
| A．the Newest Medical Invention |
| B．New X-ray Machine to Save Lives |
| C．How to Avoid the Damage of X Rays |
| D．Advantages and Disadvantages of CAT Scanners |
Most people hate change, which is sad since we often go through intense changes in life. And for some of us, even the smallest changes can upset our day. So the question is: Why do most of us find making adjustments to our lives so hard?
Fear of change is nothing new. Over a century ago, the Parisians were unhappy over a particular addition to their city: the Eiffel Tower. In fact, the citizens were so angry about the plans for the tower that they protested its construction. As strange as it may seem, their anger was completely natural. They were given no choice about the huge change that was going to be made, so they became angry.
But we get upset over changes even when we do have a say in the matter and think about them carefully. Changes are brought about every day by the decisions we make: which school to attend, which job to take, whom to marry. Voluntary changes also make most of us uneasy because we don’t know how those changes will affect our future.
People have discovered that the key to overcoming the fear and anger associated with change is to be flexible(可弯曲的). When they are flexible, people can adapt to new situations more easily. Being flexible is especially important in the 21st century as technology makes change occur faster than ever before. Those who oppose change, especially with technology in the workplace, may find themselves out of a job.
When change comes, and you have no choice but to face it, embrace it. A positive attitude helps a lot. In fact, the change may turn out to be the best thing for you. That new job you got may end up being much better than your old one. You may make the best friends of your life in the new city you moved to. Don’t merely focus on how you feel about change; instead decide to accept the change. The change is the reality, and it’s up to you whether the change will be a success or a failure. You never know – your next change may be your life’s Eiffel Tower!Why did the building of the Eiffel Tower make the Parisians unhappy?
| A．Because they didn’t like the design of the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．Because they couldn’t avoid accepting the Eiffel Tower. |
| C．Because it was no use building the Eiffel Tower. |
| D．Because the Eiffel Tower seemed strange. |
According to the passage, it can be inferred that what won’t disturb us are _____________.
| A．the changes that have agreement with one’s will |
| B．the small changes we meet in our daily life |
| C．the changes whose effect we can predict and control |
| D．the changes that we discuss or consider thoroughly |
How should we overcome negative emotions that the changes bring?
| A．We are not supposed to face the changes and let them alone. |
| B．We should actively accustom ourselves to the new circumstance. |
| C．We should not take the changes seriously and avoid them as much as possible. |
| D．We should know that the changes merely bring us bad influence. |
What does the underlined sentence in the last paragraph mean?
| A．The change will probably make you fail like the Eiffel Tower. |
| B．The change is like the Eiffel Tower which is not good for our future life. |
| C．Your future life is never known just like the Eiffel Tower unknown to the Parisians. |
| D．Your future life is likely to be a great achievement due to the change. |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．The Psychology of Change | B．The ways to Overcome the Fear |
| C．Changes That Disturb Us | D．The Bad Effect of Changes |
The common cold is the world’s most widespread illness, which is plagues(疫病) that flesh receives.
The most widespread fallacy(谬误) of all is that colds caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos(爱斯基摩人) to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(战壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds.
In the Second World War prisoners at the notorious Auschwitz concentration camp(集中营), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in Experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet in drafty room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter？Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other times, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms(症状). The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
| A．4 | B．5 | C．6 | D．3 |
Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?
| A．The Eskimos（爱斯基摩人） do not suffer from colds all the time. |
| B．Colds are not caused by cold. |
| C．People suffer from colds just because they like to stay indoors. |
| D．A person may catch a cold by touching someone who already has one. |
Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.
| A．they are working in the isolated arctic regions |
| B．they are writing reports in terribly cold weather |
| C．they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions |
| D．they are coming into touch again with the outside world |
Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit ______.
| A．suffered a lot | B．never caught colds |
| C．often caught colds | D．became very strong |
The passage mainly discusses _______.
| A．the experiments on the common cold |
| B．the cures about the common cold |
| C．the reason and the way people catch colds |
| D．the continued spread of common colds |
What if you could fly like a bird just by thinking happy thoughts? Or you could disappear to a faraway land, never grow old and fight pirates every day? For Peter Pan and his friends, the Lost Boys, these dreams come true.
More than 100 years after this playful boy was “born”, Peter Pan and his friends are to continue their adventure in a sequel(续集)to J.M. Barrie’s original novel. “Peter Pan in Scarlet”(重返梦幻岛),written by British author Geraldine McCaughrean, was published earlier this month.
The sequel brings all the original characters back. Peter Pan’s friends, the Lost Boys, are now grown up and live in the real world. What’s more, at the end of the first book, Peter Pan thinks he has killed his enemy, Captain Hook. But ,new readers discover he is not so dead at all.
For those who are unfamiliar with the original story, Peter Pan lives in faraway Neverland with a group of orphans. But they are eager for a real mother and Peter Pan flies to London with a fairy(仙女), Tinkerbell, to find one. They visit a young girl, Wendy, who loves to read stories, and bring her and her two brothers back to Neverland to live with them. In Neverland, children never have to grow up, and there are no parents to tell them what to do.
Many teenagers dream of a world where they don’t have to grow old and take responsibility. But, the author explains such a world is not the paradise(乐园)when it first appears: adventures can be scary and often dangerous, and, though we all sometimes dream of running away, we all need someone to love and look after us too. The passage is written to ________.
| A．tell you about an unrealistic dream |
| B．introduce novels about Peter Pan |
| C．analyze the difficulties of growing up |
| D．explain why Peter Pan can’t grow old |
“Peter Pan in Scarlet” is about _________.
| A．how some children fought against the pirate–Captain Hook |
| B．the care–free life the children led in Neverland |
| C．how peter Pan looked for a real mother for the Lost Boys |
| D．how the Lost Boys return to Neverland for more adventures |
The stories of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys reflect that those at their age ________.
| A．are ready to shoulder responsibility |
| B．choose adventures in faraway places |
| C．long for independence but also need someone to love them |
| D．can’t wait to grow up |
The place Peter Pan and his friend stay is named Neverland probably because.
| A．they never have to grow up |
| B．they don’t have parents |
| C．they never have troubles |
| D．they never need to worry |
Peter Pan flies to London _________.
| A．to find a fairy |
| B．to visit a young girl |
| C．to find a real mother |
| D．to earn money |
When Mary Moore began her high school in 1951, her mother told her, "Be sure and take a typing course so when this show business thing doesn't work out, you'll have something to rely on. " Mary responded in typical teenage fashion. From that moment on, "the very last thing I ever thought about doing was taking a typing course," she recalls.
The show business thing worked out, of course. In her career, Mary won many awards. Only recently, when she began to write Growing Up Again, did she regret ignoring her morn," I don't know how to use a computer," she admits.
Unlike her 1995 autobiography, After All, her second book is less about life as an award-winning actress and more about living with diabetes (糖尿病). All the money from the book is intended for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), an organization she serves as international chairman. "I felt there was a need for a book like this," she says. " I didn't want to lecture, but I wanted other diabetics to know that things get better when we're self-controlled and do our part in managing the disease. "
But she hasn't always practiced what she teaches. In her book, she describes that awful day, almost 40 years ago, when she received two pieces of life-changing news. First, she had lost the baby she was carrying, and second, tests showed that she had diabetes. In a childlike act, she left the hospital and treated herself to a box of doughnuts (甜甜圈). Years would pass before she realized she had to grow u p ---again---and take control of her diabetes, not let it control her. Only then did she kick her three-pack-a-day cigarette habit, overcome her addiction to alcohol, and begin to follow a balanced diet.
Although her disease has affected her eyesight and forced her to the sidelines of the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity. "Everybody on earth can ask, 'why me?' about something or other," she insists. "It doesn't do any good. No one is immune (免疫的) to heartache, pain, and disappointments. Sometimes we can make things better by helping others. I've come to realize the importance of that as I've grown up this second time. I want to speak out and be as helpful as I can be. "Why did Mary feel regretful?
| A．She didn't achieve her ambition. | B．She didn't take care of her mother. |
| C．She didn't complete her high school. | D．She didn't follow her mother's advice. |
When Mary received the life-changing news, she .
| A．lost control of herself | B．began a balanced diet |
| C．need to get a treatment | D．behaved in an adult way |
What can we know from the last paragraph?
| A．Mary feels pity for herself. |
| B．Mary has recovered from her disease. |
| C．Mary wants to help others as much as possible. |
| D．Mary determines to go back to the dance floor. |