I sat at my seat waiting for the school paper to be passed around. I waited anxiously, knowing that once I received it I would know how good a writer I really am.
When the paper arrived at my classroom, I nearly knocked down five of my classmates to get to the first paper. With a school paper in my hands, I returned to my seat. About a month earlier, I had handed in one of, what I believed to be, my best stories. I named it Symbol of Success. The head of the English Department at my school, Professor Cullen had said that she would include some reviews of students’ stories in the latest school paper. Professor Cullen was known for her rough criticism. Impressing her was very hard but I wanted to be the first to do so.
I sat at the edge of my seat as I read through the other story reviews. There wasn’t one story that got more than three stars .I became calm and wasn’t anxious to know my review. It was long after that I heard someone shout out “Five stars?! Seriously!” from behind me. I turned around and saw the shocked expression of Gene’s face, “Peter, your story got five stars!” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I turned my attention back to my story and saw the five stars at the end of the review that I had not read yet. I looked through the review written by Professor Cullen. She wrote that I had a gift for story writing.
I was proud that I achieved what I thought was impossible .For so long I believed I wasn’t as good as I thought I was and that my talent was not enough to cover up my lack of wring skills .But this review proved that I was truly a good writer and that there was a future ahead of me in the field of fiction writing. The review and the five stars meant the world of me. Those five stars became the symbol of my success.How did the writer get the school paper?
| A．His teacher gave it to him first |
| B．The publisher sent it to him first |
| C．His friend helped him get the first one. |
| D．He rushed ahead to get the first one by himself. |
What can we learn about Professor Cullen?
| A．She was very gentle to everyone. | B．She seldom praised her students. |
| C．She was very cold to her students. | D．She was respected by her students. |
We can learn from this text that Peter_______.
| A．had thought his story was better than those of others |
| B．was always anxious to know the review about him |
| C．didn’t know he got five stars until others told him |
| D．looked through a few stories that had got four stars |
What did Professor Cullen think of Peter’s story?
| A．She thought highly of it . |
| B．She thought it was just so-so. |
| C．She thought it was extremely bad |
| D．She doubted if it was written by him. |
Why did the review and the five stars mean the world to Peter?
| A．Because they helped him learn writing skills |
| B．Because they made him happy for some time |
| C．Because they helped him enter a key university |
| D．Because they made him see his writing talents |
As the new semester begins，millions of college students across the country are trying hard to remember how best to write a paper-or，more likely，how best to delay that paper．
Procrastination is the thief of time and a lot of students suffer from it．They can spend whole days in the library doing nothing but staring into space，eating snacks，surfing the Internet，watching videos and looking at their pretty peers sitting around them，who，most likely，are doing nothing either．
Paralyzed by their habit to procrastinate，they write micro blogs about their fears，asking their online friends if they sometimes have the same issue．But this does nothing to solve their problems．
According to a recent report by the BBC，95 percent of us procrastinate at some point and 20 percent of the world’s population are procrastinators，complicating their lives with their continual delaying of tasks．
Procrastinators like to find excuses to justify their behavior，but BBC columnist Rowan Pelling says they are all wrong．Many procrastinators tell themselves they are perfectionists who work best under pressure．Pelling says this is nonsense，as work done at the last minute is more likely to have mistakes than work done on time．
She says the behavior of procrastinators often makes them feel flustered and ashamed，inconveniences others，and annoys loved ones．
Fortunately，social scientists have made tireless efforts to understand this behavioral shortcoming and offer strategies to control it．Piers Steel，a Canadian social scientist and author of The Procrastination Equation，believes humankind is“designed”to procrastinate．Nevertheless，he suggests a couple of good ways to get through the task at hand．
The first one is obvious：Break the task down into small pieces and work your way through them methodically．
The second is clever：Give a trusted friend a sum of money and tell them that if you don’t complete the task you have undertaken by a specific time，they can keep it or donate it to a cause you hate.What does the underlined word“Procrastination” in the second paragraph refer to?
| A．A bad habit of putting work or tasks off． |
| B．A thief who steals time and money in college. |
| C．A college student who learns nothing． |
| D．A study way of doing nothing in the library. |
According to Rowan Pelling，we can learn that procrastinators .
| A．can find reasonable excuses for their behavior |
| B．are able to work best under pressure |
| C．are more likely to avoid mistakes at work[] |
| D．may upset themselves and their loved ones more frequently |
Which of the following may Piers Steel support?
| A．Human beings are not born to be procrastinators． |
| B．Complete your tasks or work step by step． |
| C．Give your trusted friend money and ask him to help you finish your tasks． |
| D．You can’t control procrastination but you can avoid it． |
What’she best title of the text?
| A．Who steals my time? |
| B．The solutions to procrastination |
| C．I’ll do it tomorrow，I swear! |
| D．Don’t do nothing! |
Google has been collecting tons of data about smartphone usage around the world.Here are some of the most surprising and interesting facts：
Android is most popular in Japan, with 55% of respondents(调查对象) using it, compared with 39% for iOS. Android is also number one in a few other countries, including New Zealand (41%), the US(40%), and China (38%)．
iOS is farthest ahead in Switzerland, with 52% usage vs 23% for Android.Other countries where iOS is far ahead include Australia (49% vs 25% Android), Canada (45% vs 23% Android and 23% Blackberry), and France (43% vs 25% Android)．
In Egypt, Windows Mobile is far more popular than iOS.13% of survey respondents use the Microsoft smartphone platform, behind Symbian (19%) and Android (14%). iOS is very far down at 4%.
Mobile social networking is biggest in Mexico and Argentina, where 74% and 73% of users visit a social network daily. But mobile social is weak in Japan where 34% of users never visit a social network on their phone, and this figure rises to 41% in Brazil.
Watching video is most popular in Saudi Arabia, with 59% of respondents doing it daily. Number two is Egypt, with 41%.
Chinese users shop from their phones.59% of Chinese users do this, compared with only 41% in second place Egypt. Chinese users also love to write reviews.41% of them write a review of a local business after looking it up on their smartphone. Number two, Japan, is far behind, with only 24% of respondents doing this.Which of the following best describes the usage of the smartphone operating systems in Egypt?
| A．Windows Mobile＞iOS＞Symbian＞Android |
| B．Android＞Windows Mobile＞iOS＞Symbian |
| C．iOS＞Android＞Symbian＞Windows Mobile |
| D．Symbian＞Android＞Windows Mobile＞iOS |
In which of the following countries is mobile social networking least popular?
| A．Brazil. | B．Japan. | C．Mexico. | D．Argentina. |
In which section of a newspaper can we most probably read the passage?
| A．Health. | B．Environment. |
| C．Technology. | D．Entertainment. |
Several dollars equal nothing for some people, but make a difference for others. Steve has just lost his wife to cancer and everything they had is gone due to the treatment. He now lives in the shelter for the homeless. So we know each other.
Just like other homeless people, he didn’t think he needed anything. But once he mentioned to me he needed eye glasses. His voice hesitated a bit, he looked down, and it appeared like he thought such a request was just a dream. Too much to hope for? It was as if his wish were known by me only.
I submitted an application for him to a program that is supposed to provide a free eye examination and glasses. Three months later, I phoned to ask what was up with the appointment but they told me there was a cash flow problem until late summer.
Steve showed disappointment, thanked me and started to walk away. I said, “Hold on, I will figure out a way to get you an eye examination and glasses.” His face lit up a tiny bit. He had seen some of the things I have done for other people in our shelter and to me it looked like he might have a line of hope.
I took a picture of him and posted his picture and his story in the Twitter. In about 4 days, eight people from around the world donated $25 each and one person donated $40 and I made up the rest to get him an eye exam and glasses.
Steve picked up his glasses on Wednesday: May 11th, 2011. Today Steve has returned to a previous job he had in a nearby car wash. Because he now has glasses he will be able to see what he is doing while cleaning the vehicles. He is starting a second job at a pet center next week!We can learn from the first two paragraphs that ______.
| A．it took a long time to treat Steve’s wife |
| B．homeless people never ask for anything |
| C．Steve was too embarrassed to ask for help |
| D．the author and Steve have been friends for years |
The program failed to satisfy Steve because ______.
| A．it was already out of business |
| B．it had some trouble in finance |
| C．Steve didn’t submit the application himself |
| D．it’s not designed for people like Steve |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．The program was closed three months ago. |
| B．Steve used to work as a salesman in a car factory. |
| C．Steve got $240 in total from kind-hearted people. |
| D．The author might be a volunteer in the shelter. |
The best title for the passage is probably ______.
| A．Money can sometimes talk |
| B．Small help can really count |
| C．Two heads are better than one |
| D．God helps those who help themselves |
Move Earth—it’s no science fiction
LONDON—Scientists have found an unusual way to prevent our planet from overheating: move it to a cooler spot. All you have to do is send a few comets（彗星）in the direction of Earth, and its orbit will be changed. Our world will then be sent spinning into a safer, colder part of the solar system.
This idea for improving our climate comes from a group of US National Aeronautics and Space Administration（NASA） engineers and American astronomers. They say their plan could add another six billion years to the useful lifetime of our planet—effectively doubling its working life.
The plan put forward by Dr Laughlin, and his colleagues Don Korycansky and Fred Adams is designed to carefully direct a comet or asteroid（小行星） so that it passes close by our planet and sends some of its gravitational energy to Earth.
“Earth’s orbital speed would increase as a result and we would move to a higher orbit away from the Sun,” Laughlin said.
Engineers would then direct their comet so that it passed close to Jupiter or Saturn. The comet would pick up energy from one of these giant planets. Later its orbit would bring it back to Earth, and the process would be repeated.
In the short term, the plan provides an ideal way to global warming, although the team was actually concerned with a much greater danger. The sun is certain to heat up in about a billion years and so “seriously compromise” our biosphere（生物圈）by cooking us.
That’s why the group decided to try to save Earth.
The plan has one or two worrying aspects, however. For a start, space engineers would have to be very careful about how they directed their asteroid or comet towards Earth. The smallest miscalculation（误算）in orbit could fire it straight at Earth—with deadly consequences.
There is also the question of the Moon. As the current issue of Scientific American magazine points out, if Earth was pushed out of its current position, it is “most likely the Moon would be stripped(剥去) away from Earth,” it states. This would greatly change our planet’s climate.What makes the scientists plan to move Earth?
| A．A few comets are moving to the direction of Earth. |
| B．Earth’s working life is coming to an end soon. |
| C．Earth will become too hot for mankind to keep alive. |
| D．The moon is moving farther and farther away from Earth. |
If the plan is successful, Earth will have a working life of ______ years.
| A．12 billion | B．6 billion |
| C．18 billion | D．24 billion |
What serious problems might the plan cause according to the passage?
| A．The comet might hit Earth and man might lose the moon. |
| B．Earth might be moved too far away and man might be frozen to death. |
| C．The comet might hit Jupiter or Saturn and never return to Earth. |
| D．Earth’s working life might be greatly shortened. |
What does the underlined word “compromise” mean?
| A．provide | B．benefit |
| C．share | D．Endanger |
Carmen Arace Middle School is situated in the town of Bloomfield，but four years ago it faced many of the same challenges as inner—city schools nearby：low scores in standardized tests and dropping enrollment（入学率）of students．Then the hard-driving headmaster, Delore Bolton，persuaded her school to shake up the place by buying a laptop computer for each student and teacher to use in school and at home．For good measure，the board provided wireless Internet access at school．Total cost :$5 million．
Now an hour before classes start，every seat in the library is taken by students eager to get online．The teacher talks about rocks as students view them at a colorful website，after school students on buses pull laptops from backpacks to get started on homework．Since the computers arrived，scores in state tests are up 35％and the enrollment increases by 20％．
Indeed，school systems in rural areas are eager to follow Carmen Arace Middle School’s example．Angus King，the state governor, has proposed using$50 million from an unexpected budget to supply computers for students．
However, the school is seeking federal grant money to expand the laptop program．In the meantime，most of the problems have been worked out．Some students use computers to visit unauthorized websites，but teachers have the ability to track where students have been and restrict them．“That is the worst when they disable you” says a boy．The habit is rubbing off on parents．“I taught my mom to use e-mail．”says the honorable girl．“And now she is taking computer classes．I’m so proud of her!’’By introducing the laptop program, Delore Bolton has.
| A．shaken the belief of both teachers and students |
| B．witnessed a remarkable improvement in students’ test scores and enrollment |
| C．spent more time visiting unauthorized websites with the laptop program |
| D．changed class-room teaching in public schools |
Students are limited when they get online because．
| A．they view lessons at a colorful website |
| B．they will waste an awful lot of money |
| C．they visit unauthorized website sometimes |
| D．they are disabled students |
From the passage we learn that.
| A．the laptop program also has a positive influence on parents |
| B．the laptop program in urban schools is forbidden by parents |
| C．students only visit the school website in Carmen Arace Middle School |
| D．students generally like the idea of having their online activities tracked |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Middle schools are faced with challenges today. |
| B．A school with high enrollment can do well． |
| C．Computers are of importance in modern education． |
| D．Laptops can help improve students’ school performance． |