If you happen to find “On the Road” at a gas station or “Who Moved My Cheese?” in your grocery store, it might not be and accident. You could be the unwitting beneficiary of a “bookcrosser”---- a person who on purpose leaves books in public places hoping they’ll be found by strangers.
The idea o leaving a book for someone else to find and enjoy is not new ---- some people have been leaving just-finished books in airports and on buses since the dawn of the hurry-up-and-wait. Creating a system for book-leavers to find out what happened to those books adds a new way to the practice. Bokcrossing.com, the website that encourages books to be “released into the wild”, has more than 18,000 members since its start last year, and averages 112 new participants daily.
Its members have scattered(分发) more than 42,000 novels, self-help books, memoirs, technical manuals and biographies in 45 countries, leaving them in public restrooms, movie theatres, coffee studios or anywhere that they can imagine. The result: a worldwide living library.
Peri Doslu, a California yoga instructor, has dropped three--- one on top of a telephone booth, one on a rock wall at remote Mono Lake in the eastern Sierra Nevada, and another in one of the studios where she teaches.
“I’m always looking for paces to pass on books,” said Doslu. “To think my book’s going to go off and have this future, and I might even get to know a little bit about it down the road.”If you are an unwitting beneficiary of a bookcrosser, that means_____.
| A．you get a book on how to avoid accidents |
| B．you know where to get a book for free |
| C．you get a book somewhere for free without knowing in advance |
| D．you get a card with which you can borrow books at a gas station or somewhere else |
Bookcrossers are the people who ____.
| A．have lots of books |
| B．have lots of money |
| C．release books in public places on purpose |
| D．like reading books very much |
A bookcrosser may not leave books in _____.
| A．toilets | B．a studio | C．the fields | D．his bed |
Which of the following about Doslu is true?
| A．She dropped her first book on top of a telephone booth. |
| B．She had no idea who took her books away |
| C．She always left books to her students |
| D．She is a bookcrosser traveling around the world |
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Part Ⅰ:
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Basic Business English: Sun. 8:00-10:00 a.m.
Intermediate Business English: Sun. 7:00-9:00 p.m.
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Part Ⅱ: ENGLISH SALON
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| A．To raise the interest of readers. |
| B．To show the structure of the passage. |
| C．To list the function of fluent English. |
| D．To give a clue of the advertisement. |
| A．We have all the languages you want! |
| B．Enjoy English, enjoy your beautiful life! |
| C．Want to be an English teacher, follow me! |
| D．Top English City, your smart choice! |
| A．Standard Spoken English and Basic Studies. |
| B．Basic Business English and Intermediate Spoken English. |
| C．TOEFL Super Studies and Standard Spoken English. |
| D．TOEFL Super Studies and Intermediate Business English. |
| A．Requirements. | B．Knowledge. |
| C．Vocabulary. | D．Learning skills. |
| A．Sports section. | B．Family section. |
| C．Advertisement section. | D．Entertainment section. |
For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions. People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer. For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer. He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing.
Cold can affect other parts of the body. The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet. The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do. For example, you agree to be president of an organization. But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organizations will be your responsibility. You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
The expression“give someone the cold shoulder”probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone instead of speaking to him face to face. You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you. Or, to someone who has lied about you to others.
A cold fish is not a fish. It is a person. But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth. A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone. Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted. Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy. Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers.
“Out in the cold”means not getting something that everybody else got. A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise —— he was left out in the cold. And it is not a pleasant place to be.
| A．3 | B．4 | C．6 | D．7 |
| A．I give him the cold shoulder |
| B．I think he is a cold-blooded man |
| C．I think he is a cold fish |
| D．I’m likely to get cold feet |
| A．she is a cold-blooded killer |
| B．she gets cold feet |
| C．she is a cold fish |
| D．she is out in the cold |
| A．cold-blooded | B．cold shoulder |
| C．cold feet | D．cold-hearted |
| A．the relationship between cold and our body |
| B．some expressions about friendship |
| C．some expressions connected with cold |
| D．how cold weather comes into being |
When different species of birds flock (聚集) together, their flight formations are determined by social dynamics both between and within species.
New research from the Universities of Cambridge and Exeter reveals for the first time that, contrary to current models used to explain the movement of flocks, the differences between bird species and social relationships between individuals play a critical role in determining the dynamics of mixed-species flocks.
The unified(群集) behaviour of bird flocks has puzzled scientists for hundreds of years. One naturalist from the turn of the century even suggested telepathy(心灵感应)may be involved. There have since been more logical explanations, including mathematical models that show that repeated interactions among individuals following simple rules can generate coordinated (协同的)group movements. However, these models usually rely on the assumption that individuals within groups are identical and interact independently, which may not reflect reality.
Jolle Jolles, a PhD student at the University of Cambridge's Department of Zoology and author of the paper, said：“Spectacular collective behaviour can be found in a large range of animal species, and we now know that often these complex coordinated group movements may be the result of individuals following simple rules. However, rarely are the individual characteristics and social relationships within them taken into account. Our research highlights that these striking displays of group behaviour are much more complex.”
By analysing high-resolution photographs of mixed flocks of rooks and jackdaws (both from the corvid family), the researchers found that rather than individuals interacting in a consistent fashion throughout the flock, interactions depended on social dynamics between the different species as well as relationships within a species.
The researchers discovered that birds prefer to fly close to members of their own species, and that the larger and more dominant rooks take the lead by flying near the front of flocks. Additionally, the lifelong, monogamous(一妻一夫制的)pair bonds that are characteristic of both species seem to be reflected in flight, as birds often fly particularly close to a single, same-species partner.
Dr Alex Thornton, principal investigator of the Cambridge Jackdaw Project, now at the University of Exeter and author of the paper, said: “Together, our findings demonstrate that to understand the structure of groups — such as bird flocks — we need to consider the characteristics and relationships of the individuals within them.”The underlined word “generate” means ______.
| A．set down | B．take away |
| C．bring about | D．give up |
According to Jolle Jolles, what are seldom considered about coordinated group movement?
| A．Individual characteristics and social relationship between them |
| B．Repeated interactions among individuals and social dynamics |
| C．Telepathy and social relationship between them |
| D．The structure of groups and the varieties of species |
Birds may prefer to fly the closest to _____ .
| A．the largest one | B．the most dynamic one |
| C．the lifelong partner | D．the friendly partner |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．How birds interact in simple rules. |
| B．How birds of different feathers flock together. |
| C．Why birds show preference to flocking. |
| D．Why birds display the characteristics. |
A man enters a store to buy milk. He walks out of the store with milk. That is all— milk. At the same time, a woman enters the same grocery store also to buy milk. She buys it. But, she also buys chicken and lemons to make dinner that night. Then she remembers to buy food for her son to eat at school. She also gets a bottle of wine for drinks with friends and a birthday card for her husband's niece. Then she gets coffee for breakfast, ice cream for dessert and remembers stamps to mail the bills. And don't forget soap for the bathroom.
And that is the difference between the female and male brains simply explained in a grocery store. Generally speaking，men do one thing at a time. Women do many. Doing many things at one time is often called “multi-tasking”, a very popular word these days.
Now scientific research supports this theory about male and female brains. A recent study has confirmed what we have known all along—men and women think differently.
Scientist at the university of Pennsylvania studied brain images of 949 people aged from 8 to 22 years old. They found that male brains have more connections on one side of the brain, or hemisphere. In female brain, they found more activity and connections between the right and left sides of the brain. The left side of the brain is known as the side of “reason” The right hemisphere is known as the “creative” side.
Regina Verma is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She co-wrote the report. She says when women are asked to do something difficult they might use different parts of the brain. Men, she adds, generally use just one side of the brain.
As a result, men generally deal directly with a problem. There is a strong connection between the “understanding” and the “action” parts of their brains. Women, however, might include other parts of the brain, like the part connected with reason and the part connected with sensitivity when solving a problem. Women take a less direct path to find a solution.
Dr. Venma warns that the study should not lead anyone to expect some behaviors from women and others from men.By describing the scene of shopping, the writer wants to ____ .
| A．reveal men and women's preference of living expense |
| B．criticize women's wasted living expense |
| C．think highly of women's considerate behavior |
| D．illustrate men and women's different brains |
When asked to deal with a problem, _____ .
| A．men tend to take action straight |
| B．women tend to take action straight |
| C．women tend to use a single part of the brain |
| D．men tend to use connected parts of the brain |
Dr. Verma's warning indicates that _____ .
| A．women and men can hardly learn from each other |
| B．women and men can hardly cooperate well |
| C．women and men can hardly complete multitasks |
| D．women and men can hardly perform the same behavior |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．“reason” brain or “creative” brain |
| B．Multi-tasking or single-tasking |
| C．Costly shopping or economical shopping |
| D．Reason or sensitivity |
Older people with hearing loss may suffer faster rates of mental decline. People who have hearing trouble suffered meaningful impairments in memory, attention and learning about three years earlier than people with normal hearing, a study published online January 21 in JAMA Internal Medicine reveals.
The finding supports the idea that hearing loss can have serious consequences for the brain，says Patricia Tun of Brandeis University in Waltham，Mass., who studies aging. “I'm hoping it will be a real wake-up call in terms of realizing the importance of hearing. ”
Compared with other senses, hearing is often overlooked, Tun says. “We are made to interact with language and to listen to each other, and it can have damaging effects if we don't.”
Frank Lin of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and colleagues tested the hearing of 1,984 older adults. Most of the participants, who averaged 77 years old, showed some hearing loss — 1,162 volunteers had trouble hearing noises of less than 25 decibels, comparable to a whisper or rustling leaves. The volunteers; deficits reflect the hearing loss in the general population: Over half of people older than 70 have trouble hearing.
Over the next six years, these participants underwent mental evaluations that measured factors such as short-term memory, attention and the ability to quickly match numbers to symbols. Everybody got worse at the tasks as time wore on, but people with hearing loss had an especially sharp decline, the team found. On average, a substantial drop in performance would come about three years earlier to people with hearing loss.
Lin cautions that the study has found an association between hearing loss and mental abilities; the researchers can't conclude that hearing loss directly causes the decline. Yet more and more studies are turning up ways that diminished hearing could damage the brain.
A person who can't hear well might avoid social situations, and isolation(孤立)is known to be bad for the brain. “You gradually become more socially withdrawn, ” Lin says. “Social isolation is a major, major factor for dementia(痴呆)and cognitive decline. ”
Other studies suggest that when people struggle to interpret and decode(译解）words, their brains divert energy away from other tasks, such as memory. Audiologist and psychologist Kathy Pichora — Fuller says that this brain drain happens to everyone, even people without hearing loss. Studies have shown that people are worse at remembering things when they're in a noisy room, for instance. People with hearing loss may be constantly diverting a large swath(—大片)of their brainpower，leaving less for other mental tasks, says Pichora— Fuller, of the University of Toronto Mississauga. Mass does the research to _____ .
| A．present the mental decline |
| B．attach importance to hearing |
| C．compare hearing with other senses |
| D．exaggerate the damaging effects |
What is paragraph 4 mainly about?
| A．The outcome of the test. |
| B．The design of the test |
| C．The participants of the test. |
| D．The purpose of the test. |
Dementia and cognitive decline mainly result from ____ .
| A．social isolation | B．hearing loss |
| C．memory loss | D．speech impairment |
The underlined word “divert” probably means _____ .
| A．block | B．accumulate | C．shift | D．change |