The television news feature about Ben Heckmann, an eighth grader from Farmington, Minn, was breathless in its praise. “At 14, he has accomplished something many adults can’t achieve,” the reporter said, “Ben is a twice-published author.” But Ben’s two “Velvet Black” books, describing a fictional rock band, were not picked from a pile of manuscripts（手稿）by an eagle eyed publisher. They were self-published, at the cost of $400 by Ben’s parents.
Over the past five years, print-on-demand technology and a growing number of self publishing companies whose books can be sold online have inspired writers of all ages to avoid the traditional gatekeeping system for determining who could call himself a “published author.”
The mothers and fathers who foot the bill say they are simply trying to encourage their children, in the same way that other parents buy equipment for a promising baseball player. But others see self-publishing as a lost opportunity to teach children about hardship and perseverance. Mr. Robbins, a critic, thinks it is wonderful to start writing at a young age, but worries self-publishing sends the wrong message. “There are no prodigies(神童) in literature,” he said. “Literature requires experience, in a way that mathematics and music do not.” Alan Rinzler, a publishing industry veteran, suggested parents hire a professional editor like him to work with their child to tear a manuscript apart and help make a better. Ben’s father, Ken, said Ben’s ambitions “weren’t to knock Harry Potter off the list,” but “to get that good feeling inside that you’ve done something.”
Ajla Dizdarevic, 12, who has self-published two books of poetry, has been on television and in local newspapers. “Being a published author,” she said, “was always a dream of mine.” Her new dream: three books by age 15.Which of the following is true of Ben?
| A．He has achieved something unusual for his age. |
| B．His self-published books were well received. |
| C．His manuscripts were favored by the publisher. |
| D．He was thought little of by the public media. |
What makes it possible for writers of all ages to self-publish their works?
| A．The rapid increase of online readership. |
| B．The increasing number of publishers. |
| C．The immediate access to marketing agencies. |
| D．The development of printing and publishing. |
Why do some parents pay the self-publishing bill?
| A．They want to offer opportunities to their children. |
| B．They want to give encouragement to their children. |
| C．They want to help their children avoid hardship. |
| D．They want to show love and care for their children. |
What dose Alan Rinzler suggest that children should do?
| A．Be forbidden to write books |
| B．Start writing at an early age |
| C．Be professionally guided |
| D．Learn from experience |
Why do some children self-publish works according to the last part?
| A．Just to achieve their dreams. |
| B．Just to earn more money. |
| C．Just to gain self-confidence. |
| D．Just to satisfy their parents. |
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(病毒) 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 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(奥斯维辛集中营), 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).
1. The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
A. 4 B. 5 C. 6 D. 3
2. Which of the following does not agree with the chosen passage?
A. The Eskimos 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.
3. Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.
A. they are working in the isolated arctic region
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
4. 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
5. The passage mainly discusses _______.
A. the experiments on the common col B. the fallacy about the common cold
C. the reason and the way people catch colds D. the continued spread of common colds
Doctors say anger can be an extremely damaging emotion, unless you learn how to deal with it. They warn that anger can lead to heart disease, stomach problems, headaches, emotional problems and possibly cancer.
Anger is a normal emotion that we all feel from time to time. Some people express anger openly in a calm reasonable way. Others burst with anger, and scream and yell. But other people keep their anger inside. They can not or will not express it. This is called repressing anger.
For years many doctors thought that repressing anger was more dangerous to a person's health than expressing it. They said that when a person is angry, the brain releases the same hor- mones (荷尔蒙).They speed the heart rate, raise blood pressure, or sugar into the blood, etc．In general the person feels excited and ready to act.
Some doctors say that both repressing and expressing anger can be dangerous. They believe that those who express anger violently may be more likely to develop heart disease, and they believe that those who keep their anger inside may face a greater danger of high blood pressure.
Doctors say the solution is learning how to deal with anger. They say the first step is to admit that you are angry and to recognize the real cause of the anger, then decide if the cause is serious enough to get angry about. If it is, they say, “Do not express your anger while angry. Wait until your anger has cooled down and you are able to express yourself calmly and reasonably.”
Doctors say that a good way to deal with anger is to find humor in the situation that has made you angry. They said that laughter is much healthier than anger. “Damaging emotion” means that _________.
| A．the emotion is harmless | B．the emotion is harmful |
| C．the feeling is very strong | D．the feeling is hard |
What statement is right?
| A．Were you angry, you would be cancered (得癌症). |
| B．Once you are angry, you must be cancered. |
| C．Angry as you are often, you can't be cancered, |
| D．Anger may cause you a cancer. |
Expressing anger violently _________ repressing it according to some scientists.
| A．is just the same as | B．is more harmful than |
| C．is no better than | D．is much better than |
According to the author, you'd better _________.
| A．never be angry |
| B．cool it down before you express it |
| C．laugh and laugh when you get angry |
| D．admit you are wrong when you are angry |
Fat and shy，Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football，tennis，cricket—anything with a round ball，I was useless，” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire，England.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually，Saunders set up his mind on building up his body，increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18，he ran his first marathon.
The following year he met John Ridgway and was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of adventure in Scotland，where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits. Greatly interested，Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures，then decided that this would be his future.
In 2001，after becoming a skillful skier，Saunders started his first long-distance expedition towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite，ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit，pulling his supply-loaded sled up and over rocky rice.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole，and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change.
Next October，Saunders，27，heads south from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and back，a 2900-kilometer journey that has never been completed on skis.Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Saunders?
a. He ran his first marathon.
b. He skied alone in the North Pole.
c. He rode his bike in a forest
.d. He planned an adventure to the South Pole.
| A．a-c-d-b | B．c-d-a-b | C．a-c-b-d | D．c-a-b-d |
The underlined word “exploits” is closest in meaning to______
| A．journeys | B．operations | C． researches | D．adventures |
The story mainly tell us about Saunders that he is______
| A．a good instructor at school | B．the best British skier |
| C．Ridgway’s favorite student | D．a success in sports |
Ben Saunders______after he was 15 years old .
| A．become good at most sports. | B．began to build up his body. |
| C．made friends with a runner. | D．joined a sports team |
The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself; to be conquered by himself is, of all things, the most shameful,” says Plato. Self-control is at the root of all the advantages. Let a man give in to his impulses(冲动) and feelings, and from that moment he gives up his moral(道德) freedom.
A single angry word has lost many friends. When Socrates found in himself any temper or anger, he would check it by speaking low in order to control himself. If you are conscious of being angry, keep your mouth shut so that you can hold back rising anger. Many a person has dropped dead in great anger. Fits of anger bring fits of disease. “Whoever the gods would destroy they first make them mad.” “Keep cool,” says Webster, “anger is not argument.” “Be calm in arguing,” says George Herbert, “for fierceness(狂怒) makes error a fault.”
To be angry with a weak man is to prove that you are not strong yourself. “Anger,” says Pythagoras, “brings with folly and ends with regret.” You must measure the strength of a man by the power of the feelings he conquers, not by the power of those which conquer him.
Self-control is man’s last and greatest victory.
If a man lacks self-control he seems to lack everything. Without it he can have no patience, no power to govern himself; he can have no self-confidence, for he will always be controlled by his strongest feeling. If he lacks self-control, the very backbone and nerve of character are lacking also. What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．The importance of self- control. | B．How to conquer oneself? |
| C．The relation between a man’s moral freedom and his feelings. | |
| D．A man should keep cool. |
What’s the meaning of “whoever the gods would destroy they first make them mad”?
| A．If you are mad, the gods will kill you. |
| B．If you lose your temper first, gods will kill you first. |
| C．If you can’t control yourself, you will be crazy. |
| D．If the gods want to kill you, they will make you mad first. |
Which of the following is NOT true, according to passage?
| A．The first and best of victories is for a man to conquer himself. |
| B．You will make a small mistake serious if you don’t keep cool. |
| C．You must measure a man’s strength by the power of the feelings which conquer him. |
| D．Anger brings with folly and ends with regret. |
Which of the following can’t help you avoid anger, according to the passage?
| A．Be calm in arguing. | B．Check your temper or anger by speaking low. |
| C．Keep your mouth shut. | D．Try to make the other angry first. |
Let children learn to judge their own work. A child learning to talk does not learn by being corrected all the time :if corrected too much, he will stop talking. He notices a thousand times a day the difference between the language he uses and the language those
Around him use. Bit by bit .he makes the necessary changes to make his language like other people's. In the same way, children learn to do all the other things: they should learn to do without being taught, such as to walk, run, climb, whistle, ride a bicycle—compare their own performances with those of more skilled people, and slowly make the needed changes. But in school we never give a child a chance to find out his mistakes and correct them for himself. We do it all for him. We act as if we thought that he would never notice a mistake unless it was pointed out to him, or correct it unless he was made to .Let him work out, with the help of other children if he wants it, what this word says, what the answer is to that problem, whether this is a good way of saying or doing this or not.
If it is a matter of right answer, as it may be in mathematics or science, give him the answer book. Let him correct his own papers. Why should we teachers waste time on such routine（常规）work? Our job should be to help the child when he tells us that he can’t find the way to get the right answer .Let the children learn what all educated persons must some day learn ,how to measure their own understanding, how to know what they know or do not know.According to the passage ,the best way for children to learn things is by______
| A．listening to skilled people's advice |
| B．asking older people many questions. |
| C．making mistakes and having them corrected |
| D．doing what other people do |
which of the following does the writer think teachers should NOT do?
| A．Give children correct answers. |
| B．Allow children to make mistakes. |
| C．Point out children's mistakes to them. |
| D．Let children mark their own work. |
According to the writer, teachers in school should______
| A．allow children to learn from each other |
| B．point out children's mistakes whenever found |
| C．correct children's mistakes as soon as possible |
| D．give children more book knowledge |
The passage suggests that learning to speak and learning to ride a bicycle are ____
| A．different from learning other skills |
| B．the same as learning other skills |
| C．more important than other skills |
| D．not really important skills |