My love affair with the sea began when I was no more than six years old, walking along the sandy beaches. I always wanted to make the first set of footprints in the wet sand.
Unlike many surfers who sought the perfect wave, my interests always lay beneath the sea’s surface in a world I could only imagine and dream of. Soon, wearing a snorkel and a mask, I made my first solo adventures in the deep.
Perhaps the greatest turning point in my life came when I was in high school and I wrote a letter to the famous Scripps Oceanographic Institution, in San Diego, asking how I might learn more about the sea.
A kind scientist answered my letter and told me how to apply to Scripps for a summer scholarship, which I received. During one of their cruises that summer, I met Dr. Robert Norris, a marine geologist. He loved the sea almost as much as I did. Soon he was asking me what my plans were and where I expected to attend college. I told him I didn’t know, so he suggested I consider his school, the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Now my love affair with the sea became a serious endeavor. If I wanted to be an undersea explorer, I needed to learn as much as I could about the laws of the physical world that controlled the environment I wanted to enter. The undersea world is not our natural world. It is unforgiving to those who make mistakes. At its greatest depths the water temperature is near freezing, the pressure is eight tons per square inch, and it is totally dark. It is easy to get lost in such a world. I needed to learn a lot about geography, navigation, meteorology, geology, biology, and many other things. While I was in school, I took a little of everything.
I decided another important thing for me to do was to join the U.S. Navy. If I was going to be an undersea explorer, I would have to lead men and women on dangerous adventures where they might get hurt, and I didn’t want that to happen. In the Navy I learned discipline, organization, and how to motivate and lead people on expeditions so that we could explore the wonders of the deep.
Finally, the time came to put all that I had learned to use, to go forth with a team of men and women and explore an adventure I am still on and hope to be on for many years to come. In Paragraph 5, the writer discusses “the laws of the physical world.”Which of the following is an example of one of the laws?
| A．Water pressure. |
| B．Various ocean animal life. |
| C．The appearance of the water. |
| D．The different colors of the ocean. |
In college, the writer took many different types of courses because he _____.
| A．was not sure what he wanted to study |
| B．was advised to take them by Dr. Robert Norris |
| C．believed it would help him succeed in the Navy |
| D．thought they were needed to fully understand the ocean |
The writer joined the Navy to _______.
| A．develop his leadership skills |
| B．get along with people under stress |
| C．learn about the dangers of the ocean |
| D．gather specific information about ocean life |
What would the writer recommend to students who want to be underwater explorers?
| A．Spend time examining your talents. |
| B．Join groups to learn to get along on a team. |
| C．Interview explorers to see if they are happy. |
| D．Study as many ocean-related topics as you can. |
Researchers at the University of Kansas say that people can accurately judge 90 percent of a stranger's personality simply by looking at the person's shoes．“Shoes convey a thin but useful slice of information about their wearers,” the authors wrote in the new study published in the Journal of Research in Personality．“Shoes serve a practical purpose, and also serve as nonverbal cues （线索） with symbolic messages．People tend to pay attention to the shoes they and others wear．”
Medical Daily notes that the number of detailed personality traits （特质） detected in the study include a person's general age, income, political tendency, and other personality traits, including someone's emotional stability．Lead researcher Omri Gillath said the judgments were based on the style, cost, color and condition of someone's shoes．In the study, 63 University of Kansas students looked at pictures showing 208 different pairs of shoes worn by the study's participants．Participants in the study were photographed in their most commonly worn shoes, and then filled out a personality questionnaire．
So, what do your shoes say about your personality? Some of the results were expected: People with higher incomes most commonly wore expensive shoes, and flashier footwear was typically worn by outgoing people．However, some of the more specific results are interesting．For example, “practical and functional” shoes were generally worn by more “friendly” people, while ankle boots were more closely connected with “aggressive” personalities．The strangest of all may be that those who wore “uncomfortable looking” shoes tend to have “calm” personalities．
And if you have several pairs of new shoes or take exceptional care of them, you may suffer from “attachment anxiety,” spending too much time worrying about what other people think of your appearance．There was even a political calculation in the mix with wearing “shabbier and less expensive” shoes．
The researchers noted that some people will choose shoe styles to mask their actual personality traits, but researchers pointed out that volunteers were also likely to be unaware that their footwear choices were revealing deep insights into their personalities．By looking at a person’s shoes, it’s possible for people to_____．
| A．know the wearer thoroughly and accurately |
| B．form an opinion about the wearer’s character |
| C．have exact cues about the wearer’s social status |
| D．judge the wearer’s educational background |
What can we know about the passage?
| A．Wealthy people tend to choose shiny shoes． |
| B．Calm people prefer shoes with uncomfortable appearance． |
| C．Friendly people are likely to wear ankle boots． |
| D．Outgoing people always wear shoes with practical functions． |
Takingexceptional care of new shoes shows that _____．
| A．the owners care much about others’ opinions on their appearance |
| B．the owners are in a relaxed state |
| C．the owners are particular about their appearance |
| D．the owners have too many shoes to choose from |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How To Choose Suitable Shoes |
| B．How To Judge People’s Personality Traits |
| C．People Are What They Wear |
| D．Shoes Reflect People’s Personalities |
Everywhere I look outside my home I see people busy on their high-tech devices, while driving, walking, shopping, even sitting in toilets．When connected electronically, they are away from physical reality．
People have been influenced to become technology addicted．One survey reported that “addicted” was the word most commonly used by people to describe their relationship to iPad and similar devices．One study found that people had a harder time resisting the allure of social media than they did for sleep, cigarettes and alcohol．
The main goal of technology companies is to get people to spend more money and time on their products, not to actually improve our quality of life．They have successfully created a cultural disease．Consumers willingly give up their freedom, money and time to catch up on the latest information, to keep pace with their peers or to appear modern．
I see people trapped in a pathological （病态的） relationship with time-sucking technology, where they serve technology more than technology serves them．I call this technology servitude．I am referring to a loss of personal freedom and independence because of uncontrolled consumption of many kinds of devices that eat up time and money．
What is a healthy use of technology devices? That is the vital question．Who is really in charge of my life? That is what people need to ask themselves if we are to have any chance of breaking up false beliefs about their use of technology．When we can live happily without using so much technology for a day or a week, then we can regain control and personal freedom, become the master of technology and discover what there is to enjoy in life free of technology．Mae West is famous for the wisdom that “too much of a good thing is wonderful．” But it’s time to discover that it does not work for technology．
Richard Fernandez, an executive coach at Google acknowledged that “we can be swept away by our technologies．” To break the grand digital connection people must consider how life long ago could be fantastic without today’s overused technology．The underlined word “allure” in Paragraph 2 probably means ______．
| A．advantage | B．attraction |
| C．adaption | D．attempt |
From the passage, technology companies aim to ______．
| A．attract people to buy their products |
| B．provide the latest information |
| C．improve people’s quality of life |
| D．deal with cultural diseases |
It can be inferred from this passage that people ______．
| A．consider too much technology wonderful |
| B．have realized the harm of high-tech devices |
| C．can regain freedom without high-tech devices |
| D．may enjoy life better without overused technology |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the overusing of high-tech devices?
| A．Neutral． | B．Skeptical． |
| C．Disapproving． | D．Sympathetic． |
Dear David,
I’m glad you would like to share your feelings with me．It’s hardly surprising that your feelings of not being “grown up” have come on strongly at this point in your life, just before you’re about to become a father．You are asking: will I make a good father? How will I cope? Should I have brought another little person into the world? Can I provide for it? Heeelp! I think nearly every sensitive about-to-be-parent must have these occasional feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy before the birth and it would be most unusual if you didn’t share them．
It’s difficult, honestly, to feel grown-up unless you have something less grown-up to relate to．The boss with a hen-pecking wife may feel like a seven-year-old when he’s at home．But as he walks through the office door, and knows he’s going to be surrounded by staff looking to him for advice, he grows into a fully mature man．And I think it’s a mistake to imagine that we all feel, as we age, a kind of progression of states, from the baby to the adult．Most people feel, on Tuesday, about three years old, and on a Wednesday, around 80．I remember feeling very grown-up at eight, a time when I was weighed down with responsibility．These days, much older, I can, in the company of people I feel at ease with, feel like a young girl．
There’s a common remark that “all men are little boys”, but it’s not true．It’s truer that men often behave like little boys．But nearly all people, at some moments in their lives, are capable of great maturity．
Once your baby arrives, you’ll soon feel less childlike, or rather, less often．When your child tries to put its fingers into the electric plug, the adult in you will rise up to prevent it．You’ll see you have very little in common with a needy child, particularly if it’s looking to you for comfort and support．
Comfort yourself, David, with two truths．One is that your friends laugh when they talk about this subject because they, like you, feel frightened．And remember that people who haven’t grown up don’t go around talking about the fact that they don’t feel grown-up．
Hope my advice will be helpful and good luck to you and your little one．
Sincerely Yours,
Miss AdviceAccording to the passage, Miss Advice thinks David’s self-doubt is _______．
| A．valuable | B．natural | C．unusual | D．bearable |
From Paragraph 2, we can learn that people’s sense of maturity _______．
| A．will increase with age |
| B．is obviously seen at home |
| C．changes with different situations |
| D．becomes stronger with familiar people |
Miss Advice holds the opinion that _______．
| A．all men behave like little boys |
| B．people tend to laugh at the subject |
| C．men with a baby feel more grown-up |
| D．people enjoy talking about their immaturity |
Miss Advice wrote the letter to _______．
| A．offer suggestions to a future father |
| B．teach people how to grow up |
| C．encourage people to be responsible |
| D．solve problems of the less grown-up |
“I want to be just like you．You are from uptown, aren’t you?” the young man asked in the local slang with a broad smile unaware of the burning tropical sun．Selling bags of potatoes at the roadside, his extra-large T shirt and faded blue jeans were a proof to the universal influence of American pop culture in Africa．I had accepted a seat at his potato stand to take a break before concluding business in Accra that afternoon．Between busy sales serving customers stuck in traffic, he asked numerous questions about life in America, convinced that having a visa to the United States was like winning the lottery （彩票）．How could I tell him that I envied his simple life and childish innocence when I was guilty of the silent culture that has helped to create a false image of Africans living abroad?
Outwardly, I looked like the poster boy for success visiting from the United States．My white designer shirt and matching pants were straight from the shopping malls in Detroit, where I worked as an engineer．Inwardly, I was caught in a web of ambition and cultural disappointment．My clothes suggested wealthy, yet I could not afford the numerous requests for money or to make gifts of my belongings．Uncles and aunties who were prepared to mortgage （作贷款抵押） their homes to help me leave 10 years ago now expected me to finance cousins hoping to make the same move to the United States．
America had helped me achieve my ambition for furthering my education and professional experience．I had arrived with a high-school diploma, and after 10 years, I hold a graduate degree and have a relatively successful professional career．Every inch of progress, however, had been achieved through exhausting battles．My college education had been financed partly through working multiple minimum-wage jobs．I was fortunate to secure a job upon graduation, but adjusting to corporate culture made me pay another high price．Initially, I found myself putting in twice the effort just to keep up．Scared by a wave of layoffs, I went to graduate school part time because it was the only way I knew that afforded me an edge in job security．It was as though I had run 10 continuous marathons, one for each year abroad, and my body screamed for rest．In the eyes of the young potato seller, the author seemed _____．
| A．to be a successful man |
| B．to have won a lottery |
| C．to represent American culture |
| D．to know a lot about the U．S． |
At the bottom of his heart, the author feels that _____．
| A．he wants to exchange places with the young seller |
| B．he is sorry for his cousins still living in Africa |
| C．his American dream has come true |
| D．he is torn between the two cultures |
The author managed to attend a graduate school because _____．
| A．studying graduate courses helped him adapt well to the life in the company |
| B．a graduate degree was the minimum requirement for his career |
| C．a graduate degree would give him an advantage over others in the job market |
| D．he wanted to settle permanently in the U．S |
Which of the following is closest to the main idea of the passage?
| A．An immigrant was accepted by the society after ten years of struggle． |
| B．An African American returned home with fame and fortune． |
| C．An immigrant returned home with an exhausted heart． |
| D．A young African was climbing to the top of his career． |
Sometimes just when we need the power of miracles to change our beliefs， they materialize in the places we’d least expect. They can come to us as a drastic alteration in our physical reality or as a simple synchronicity in our lives. Sometimes they’re big and can’t be missed Other times they’re so subtle that if we aren’t aware， we may miss them altogether. They can come from the lips of a stranger we suddenly and mysteriously encounter at just the right instant. If we listen carefully, we’ll always hear the right words，at the right time， to dazzle us into a realization of something that we may have failed to notice only moments before.
On a cold January afternoon in 1989，I was hiking up the trail that leads to the top of Egypt’s Mt. Horeb. I’d spent the day at St. Catherine’s Monastery and wanted to get to the peak by sunset to see the valley below. As I was winding up the narrow path，I’d occasionally see other hikers who were coming down from a day on the mountain. While they would generally pass with simply a nod or a greeting in another language，there was one man that day who did neither.
I saw him coming from the last switchback on the trail that led to the backside of the mountain. As he got closer，I could see that he was dressed differently from the other hikers I’d seen. Rather than the high-tech fabrics and styles that had been the norm，this man was wearing traditional Egyptian clothing. He wore a tattered， rust-colored galabia and obviously old and thick-soled sandals that were covered in dust. What made his appearance so odd，though，was that the man didn’t even appear to be Egyptian！ He was a small-framed Asian man, had very little hair，and was wearing round，wire-rimmed glasses.
As we neared one another，I was the first to speak.“Hello，”I said，stopping on the trail for a moment to catch my breath. Not a sound came from the man as he walked closer. I thought that maybe he hadn’t heard me or the wind had carried my voice away from him in another direction. Suddenly he stopped directly in front of me on the high side of the trail， looked up from the ground， and spoke a single sentence to me in English，“Sometimes you don’t know what you have lost until you’ve lost it.”As I took in what I had just heard，he simply stepped around me and continued his descent down the trail.
That moment in my life was a small miracle. The reason is less about what the man said and more about the timing and the context. The year was 1989，and the Cold War was drawing to a close. What the man on the trail couldn’t have known is that it was during my Egyptian pilgrimage， and specifically during my hike to the top of Moses’s mountain，that I’d set the time aside to make decisions that would affect my career in the defense industry，my friends，my family，and，ultimately，my life.
I had to ask myself what the chances were of an Asian man dressed in an Egyptian galabia coming down from the top of this historic mountain just when I was walking up，stopping before me，and offering his wisdom，seemingly from out of nowhere. My answer to my own question was easy： the odds were slim to none！ In an encounter that lasted less than two minutes on a mountain halfway around the world from my home， a total stranger had brought clarity， and the hint of a warning， regarding the huge changes that I would make within a matter of days. In my way of thinking，that’s a miracle.
I suspect that we all experience small miracles in our lives every day. Sometimes we have the wisdom and the courage to recognize them for what they are. In the moments when we don’t，that’s okay as well. It seems that our miracles have a way of coming back to us again and again. And each time they do，they become a little less subtle，until we can’t possibly miss the message that they bring to our lives！
The key is that they’re everywhere and occur every day for different reasons， in response to the different needs that we may have in the moment. Our job may be less about questioning the extraordinary things that happen in our daily lives and more about accepting the gifts they bring.Why did the author make a pilgrimage to Mt. Horeb in Egypt?
| A．He was in search of a miracle in his life. |
| B．It was a holy place for a religious person to head for. |
| C．He intended to make arrangements for his life in the future. |
| D．He waited patiently in expectation of meeting a wise person. |
What does the underlined part “my own question” refer to in Paragraph 6?
| A．For what reason did the man stop before me? |
| B．Why did the Asian man go to the mountain? |
| C．What change would I make within a matter of days? |
| D．What was the probability that others told us the right words? |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “subtle” in Paragraph 7?
| A．Apparent. | B．Delicate. |
| C．Precise. | D．Sufficient. |
The author viewed the encounter with the Asian man as a miracle in his life in that .
| A．the Asian man’s appearance had a deciding effect on his future life |
| B．his words were in perfect response to the need he had at that moment |
| C．what the Asian man said was abundant in the philosophy of life |
| D．the Asian man impressed on him the worth of what he had possessed |
What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Can you recognize a miracle? |
| B．Is a miracle significant to us? |
| C．When might a miracle occur? |
| D．Why do we need a miracle? |