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 full use 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. 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. |
阅读下面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
E
When several different people look at the same person, it is not unusual for each of them to see different things：when you alone observe one behaviour or one person at two different times, you may see different things. The following are some of the factors that lead to these varying perceptions(感知)．
Each person's perceptions of others are formed by his or her own cultural conditioning, education, and personal experience.
1. Sometimes perceptions differ because of what we choose to observe and how we deal with what we've observed. It is not necessarily true that a person's perceptions is based on observations of a particular person. You observations may be totally controlled by what others have told you about this person; or you may focus primarily on the situation or role relationship. Most people do not use the same yardstick(标准)to measure their parents, their friends and strangers.
2．Sometimes we see only what we want to see that may be observe(对应面)to others because of our own needs, desires, or temporary(临时的)emotional states. This is a process known as selective perception. Selective perception is obviously more difficult when contradictory(矛盾的)information is particularly obvious, but it can be done. We can ignore the stimulus——“He's basically a good boy, so what I saw was not shoplifting.”We can reduce the importance of the contradictory information—“All kids get into mischief. Taking a book from the bookstore isn't such a big deal.”We can change the meaning of the contradictory information—“It wasn't shoplifting because he was going to pay for it later.”Observations of the same person by two people at the same time may differ because________.
| A．their yardsticks are not the same |
| B．either of them may be slow to catch information |
| C．the time for observation is not long enough |
| D．each of them uses different languages to express his or her impressions |
The underlined word “ignore” in paragraph 4 means to________.
| A．understand something |
| B．try to do something |
| C．pay no attention to something |
| D．know something better |
The worst thing in selective perception is that________.
| A．perceived information runs against your desire |
| B．facts can be totally ignored and distorted(扭曲) |
| C．importance of contradictory information can be overrated(估计过高) |
| D．the same information may not be dealt with in the same way |
阅读下面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
D
Dr Wiseman started “the laugh lab” project in September 2001. It is the largest study of humour. Participants(参加者)are invited to log onto the laugh lab website, give a few personal details, tell their favourite jokes and judge the jokes told by other people.
The project will last for a year, and the organizers hope to finally discover the world's funniest joke. But there is also a serious purpose. The researchers want to know what people from different nations and cultures find funny. And they want to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humour. The idea is that if we want to understand each other, we have to find out what makes us laugh.
This is a subject that has long interested psychologists(心理学家)and philosophers(哲学家). Most of the time, people are not completely honest. We do things that society expects us to and say things that help us get what we want. But laughing cannot be controlled. When we laugh, we tell the truth about ourselves.
By December 2001 over 10,000 jokes had been submitted. This gave the scientists enough evidence(证据)to make early conclusions. It seems that men and women do have different senses of humor, for instance.
“Our findings show the major differences in the ways in which males and females use humour，”said Dr Wiseman. “Males use humour to appear superior(优越)to others, while women are more skilled in languages and prefer word play.”
Researchers also found that there really is such a thing as a national sense of humour. The British enjoy what is usually called “toilet humor”. But the French like their jokes short and sharp：“You're a high priced lawyer. Will you answer to questions for $ 500？”“Yes. What's the second question？”
The Germans are famous for not having a sense of humor. But the survey found that German participants were more likely to find submitted jokes funny than any other nationality. Perhaps that provides the point. Is this joke funny? I don't know, but let's say yes, just to be safe.
Dr Wiseman and his workmates also submitted jokes created by computer. But none of those who took part in the survey found any of them amusing. Perhaps this is relief. Computers already seem like they can do everything. At least they should leave the funny stuff to us.Scientists started “the laugh lab” project________.
| A．to find the funniest joke in European countries. |
| B．to know what funny people are from different nations and cultures |
| C．to find out the differences between the male and female sense of humor |
| D．to get more personal details about participants |
We can infer from the passage that________.
| A．most of the people all over the world are completely honest |
| B．psychologists and philosophers take interest in “the laugh lab” project |
| C．ordinary people are not interested in “the laugh lab” project at all |
| D．people tell the truth about themselves only when they laugh |
What is the main idea of the 4th and 5th paragraph?
| A．Man and woman have different senses of humour. |
| B．Male and female have similar senses of humour. |
| C．About 10,000 jokes have been submitted from September 2001 to December 2001. |
| D．Scientists have collected enough evidence to make conclusions. |
The writer gave the examples of the British, the French and the Germans________.
| A．to show the French people have a better sense of humour |
| B．to prove the British people have a sense of“toilet humour” |
| C．to show people from different nations have different senses of humour |
| D．to prove that the Germans have no sense of humour |
阅读下面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
C
In early October, thousands of people around the globe stepped outside to gaze at their local night sky. As part of an event called the Great World Wide Star Count, adults and kids of looked for one of two constellations(星群)—Cygnus in the Northern Hemisphere and Sagittarius in the Southern Hemisphere. The observers recorded how many stars they saw and how bright the stars were, and then posted their results online.
The Star Count was part of global effort to help scientists learn more about how light pollution affects our view of the night sky. Whether participants saw thousands of stars—or just a dozen—depended a lot on whether they were surrounded by darkness or by twinkling city lights.
Dark spots on the map, above, show the locations of people who participated in the first annual Great Worldwide Star Count. Over 2 weeks, people in 64 countries made 6,624 observations.
On a clear night, with no clouds, moonlight, or artificial lights to block the view, people can see more than 14,000 stars in the sky, but when people are surrounded by city lights they're lucky to see 150 stars.
If you've ever driven toward a big city at night and seen its glow from afar, you're witnessed light pollution. It occurs when light from streetlights, office buildings, signs, and other sources streams into space and illuminates the night sky. This light makes many stars invisible to people on Earth.
Dust and particles of pollution from factories and industries worsen the effects of light pollution. When these particles float into the atmosphere, light ricochets(跳飞)off of them and scatters even more.
Light pollution doesn't fly affect star visibility. It can harm wildlife too. Scientists don't entirely understand how animals navigate at night, but it's clear that artificial light can attract them, making them go off course. There's increasing evidence, for example, that migrating birds use sunsets and sunrises to help find their way.Why did do many people look at the local sky?
| A．To enjoy the beauty of the stars. |
| B．To develop their interest in Astronomy. |
| C．To help scientists do a research on light pollution. |
| D．To get the exact number of star in the sky. |
When people are surrounded by artificial lights, ________.
| A．they can find more stars in the sky |
| B．the stars might appear more clearly |
| C．the stars seem to be bigger |
| D．they can find far fewer stars |
What does the word “illuminates” probably means in this passage?
| A．make...bright |
| B．make...invisible |
| C．make...beautiful |
| D．make...clear |
How does light pollution affect birds?
| A．It does great harm to their eyes at night. |
| B．It mistakes them the way when they migrate. |
| C．It can enable them to see their routes clearly. |
| D．It can make them find their way easily. |
According to the maps above, which continent has fewest participants in the Star Count?
| A．North America. |
| B．Australia. |
| C．South America. |
| D．Africa. |
阅读下面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
B
Tears are nature's way making us feel comfortable. When our eyes are made uncomfortable by some small pieces of pollution, or when we are cutting onions, or when we are exhausted and “red-eyes” from overwork and late hours, tears from in our eyes to clean and refresh them.
Tears are also a sign of strong emotion. We cry when we are sad and we cry when we are happy.
And tears seem to be uniqueness(唯一)of human. We know that animals also experience emotion—fear, pleasure, loneliness—but they do not shed(流)tears. From this we can conclude that tears are closely related to the emotional and biological makeup of the human species.
Biologically speaking, tears are actually drops of saline fluid, which is a little bit salty, produced by a gland(腺)in the body. Because salt is an important component, tears may actually constitute the most conclusive evidence that the human animals are the end product of a long evolutionary(进化的)process that began in the sea.
And it is clear that, in addition to(除了)the emotional benefits, the shedding of tears has a specific biological function as well. Through tears, we can eliminate from our body certain chemicals which build up in response to stress and cerate a chemical imbalance in the body. Crying actually makes us feel better by correcting that imbalance and making us feel good again. And thus the emotional and the biological functions of tears merge(合并)into one and make us even more “human” than we would otherwise be.According to the passage, human beings may have originated in________.
| A．the sea |
| B．the salt |
| C．chemicals |
| D．animals |
Which of the following is NOT a function of tears?
| A．Biological. |
| B．Emotional. |
| C．Political. |
| D．Chemical. |
According to the article, which of the following is unique to humans?
| A．The feeling of loneliness. |
| B．The state of feeling good. |
| C．The ability to shed tears. |
| D．The feeling of fear. |
The word “eliminate” probably means________.
| A．add |
| B．produce |
| C．replace |
| D．remove |
阅读下面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出最佳选项。
A
The human nose has given to the language of the world many interesting expressions. Of course this is not surprising. Without the nose we could not breathe or smell. It is the part of the face that gives a person special character. Cyrano De Bergerac said that a large nose showed a great man—brave, polite, manly, and bright. A famous woman poet wished that she had two noses to smell a rose. Blaise Pascal, a French philosopher(哲学家)made an interesting comment about Cleopatra's nose. “If it had been shorter，”he said，“it would have changed the whole face of the world.”Historically, man's nose has had an important role in his imagination. Man has referred to the nose in many ways to express his feelings. Expressions about the nose refer to human weakness, anger, pride, jealousy(嫉妒)and revenge(报复). In English there are a number of phrases about the nose. For example, “To_hold_up_one's_nose” expresses a basic human feeling—pride. People can hold up their noses at people, things and places. The phrases, to be led around by the nose, shows man's weakness. A person who is led around by the nose lets other people control him. On the other hand, a person who follows his nose, lets his instinct guide him.
For the human emotion of rejection, the phrase to_have_one's_nose_put_out_of_joint is very descriptive. The expression applies to persons who have been turned aside because of a competitor. Their pride is hurt and they feel rejected. This expression is not new. It was used by Erasmus in 1542.
This is only a sampling of expressions in English dealing with the nose. There are a number of others. However, it should be as plain as the nose on your face that the nose is more than an organ for breathing and smelling!This passage is about________.
| A．the human nose, an organ for breathing and smelling |
| B．the nose giving various expressions |
| C．a woman poet's wish was to have two noses |
| D．interesting comments made on Cleopatra's nose |
According to Blaise Pascal, “Cleopatra's nose”________．
| A．did change the whole face of the world |
| B．should be shorter |
| C．represents her powerful character |
| D．had been cut shorter |
“To hold up one's nose” is an expression of________.
| A．contempt |
| B．revenge |
| C．anger |
| D．jealousy |
A man who is described as “to have one's nose put out of joint”________．
| A．is happy |
| B．wants to sell a flower |
| C．is ill |
| D．feels hurt and rejected |