A little stream flowed down from a high mountain far, far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through countless obstacles. I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But when she decided to start her journey, she found herself gradually disappearing into the mud and sand. After numerous tries, she found it was all in vain and was very upset. “Maybe it’s my destiny(命运) ! I’m not destined to reach the vast ocean in the legend, ” she murmured sadly to herself.
At this time, a deep voice came, saying, “If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river.”
It was the voice of the desert. Unconvinced, the little stream replied, “That’s because a breeze can fly, but I can’t.”
“That’s because you stick to what you are. If you’re willing to give it up, and let yourself evaporate （蒸发） into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach your destination,” said the desert in its deep voice.
The little stream had never heard of such a thing. “Give up what I am now and disappear into the breeze? No! No!” She could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be self-destruction to give up what she was now?
“How do I know if this is true?” asked the little stream.
“The breeze can carry the vapor across the desert and release it as rain at an appropriate site. The rain will form a river again to continue its course,” answered the desert very patiently.
“Will I still be what I am now?” asked the little stream.
“Yes, and no. Whether you’re a river or invisible vapor, your inner nature never changes. You stick to the fact that you’re a river because you don’t know your inner nature,” answered the desert.
Deep down, the stream vaguely remembered that before she became a river, it was perhaps also the breeze that carried her halfway up a high mountain, where she turned into rain and fell onto the ground and became what she was now. Finally the little stream gathered her courage and rushed into the open arms of the breeze, which carried her to the next stage of her life.
Perhaps you can try asking yourself these questions: What is my inner nature? What is it that I cling （紧抓） to? And what is it that I really want?When reaching the desert at first, the little stream was ________ to cross it.
| A．upset | B．confident | C．pessimistic | D．hesitant |
The desert suggests that the stream ________ in order to cross the desert.
| A．change its form | B．disappear into the desert |
| C．stick to what it is | D．turn to another stream for help |
Finally the stream successfully crossed the desert with the help of ________.
| A．the rain | B．the desert | C．the breeze | D．the mountain |
In the text the writer compares the stream to ________.
| A．the Truth | B．the courage | C．the course of life | D．the obstacles in life |
The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like "I never do anything right" into positive ones like "I can succeed." But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
The study’s authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is overly positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your dim friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, "I am lovable."
Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts.
The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation (静思) techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?
| A．It is a highly profitable industry. |
| B．It is based on the concept of positive thinking. |
| C．It was established by Norman Vincent Peale. |
| D．It has yielded positive results. |
What is the finding of the Canadian researchers?
| A．Encouraging positive thinking many do more harm than good. |
| B．There can be no simple therapy for psychological problems. |
| C．Unhappy people cannot think positively. |
| D．The power of positive thinking is limited. |
What does the author mean by "… you’re just underlining his faults" (Line 4, Para. 3)?
| A．You are not taking his mistakes seriously enough. |
| B．You are pointing out the errors he has committed. |
| C．You are emphasizing the fact that he is not intelligent. |
| D．You are trying to make him feel better about his faults. |
What do we learn from the experiment of Wood, Lee and Perunovic?
A. It is important for people to continually boost their self-esteem.
B. Self-affirmation can bring a positive change to one’s mood.
C. Forcing a person to think positive thoughts may lower their self-esteem.
D. People with low self-esteem seldom write down their true feelings.
Section C.
Directions: Read the following text and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading that you do not need. （请注意题号，将答案填涂在答题卡相应的位置）
Events Calendar
TUESDAY
Landscape Pests (害虫)
Learn to identify, control and prevent seasonal landscape-disease and landscape-pest problems at the workshop, 3:30 pm. – 5 pm. Tuesday at the US National Arboretum, 3501 New York Ave NE, Washington. $15; registration required.
202-245-4521 or www.usna.usda.gov.
THROUGH AUGUST 3
Horticultural(园艺的) Art
Watercolors, pen-and-ink drawings and colored-pencil pieces by the Brookside Gardens School of Botanical (植物学的) Art and Illustration will be on display at the exhibit Botanic 2007: The Art and Science of Plants at Brookside Gardens Visitors Center, 1800 Glenallan Ave, Wheaton, through Aug. 3. Free. 301-962-1400 or www.brooksidegardens.org.
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 9
Botanical Art
Visit Patterns in Nature, an exhibit by Amy Lamb featuring photographs of flowers, leaves and other botanical life, at the US Botanic Garden Conservatory （温室），West Orangerie, 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington, through Sept. 9. The conservatory is open 10 am. – 5 pm. Daily. Free. 202-225-8333.
THROUGH OCTOBER 8
Botanic Garden Exhibit
Celebrating America’s Public Gardens is on view through Oct. 8 at the US Botanic Garden, 100 Maryland Ave SW, Washington. The exhibit, on the Conservatory Terrace and in the National Garden, features displays of 20 public botanic gardens across the country. Hours are 10 am. – 5 pm. Daily. Free. 202-200-8956.If you want to record your name for an event in advance, you may call _____.
| A．202-225-8333 | B．202-245-4521 | C．301-962-1400 | D．202-200-8956 |
If you go to Botanic Garden Exhibit, you _____.
| A．can enjoy drawings and coloured-pencil pieces |
| B．can learn how to kill pests living on the plants |
| C．can find displays of 20 botanic gardens across the country |
| D．will enjoy the photographs of flowers and leaves |
From the advertisement, we learn _____.
| A．the first event is about growing healthy plants |
| B．all of the events are free of charge |
| C．there is no time limit to all the events |
| D．you can find the information of all the events either by phone or by e-mail |
TV talk shows dominate daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style. But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest than the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows.
Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of “rubbish talk”. The contents on his show are as surprising as possible. For example, the show takes the forever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people’s lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes TV talk show to its top, but Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and the quality of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared with Oprah, the Jerry Springer looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a “final word”. He makes a small speech about the main idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clear as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show’s main viewers are middle-class Americans. Most of these people have the time, money, and ability to deal with life’s tougher problems. The Jerry Springer show, on the other hand, has more of connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to-21-year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drugs. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show’s exploitation (开发，挖掘).Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows are _____.
| A．more popular | B．less interesting | C．more uninviting | D．more informal |
What is the audience’s reaction to the social problems that Jerry Springer talks about?
| A．They are interested in them. | B．They are not ready to face them. |
| C．They are cold to them. | D．They want to get away from them. |
Which of the following topics is the most suitable one for the Oprah show?
| A．Cheating. | B．A love story. | C．Mental health. | D．Sex. |
From the passage we can learn that the two talk shows _____.
| A．are the only ones of their kind | B．exploit weaknesses in human nature |
| C．appear at different times of the day | D．have their own specific viewers |
Builders have known for many years that white roofs reflect(反射) sunlight and lower the cost of air conditioning (空调设备). But now scientists say they have found a new advantage: slowing global warming.
Hashem Akbari believes that whitening 100 of the world’s largest cities could make the influence of the expected emissions (排放物) smaller over the next ten years.
White buildings and surfaces reflect far more sunlight than dark ones. Reflected sunlight does not increase the greenhouse effect (温室效应), unlike the heat energy sent out by dark surfaces heated by the sun.
Dr Akbari, of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, California, also argues that If built-up areas were made white, less heat would stay within them, allowing people to use their air conditioners less, which use a lot of power.
Dr Akbari has found out that making 100 of the largest cities white would increase the sunlight reflected by Earth by 0.03%. He believes it would cancel out (抵消) the warming caused by 44 billion tons of carbon (碳) emissions.
“Roofs are going to have to be changed one by one and to make that effort at a very local level, we need to have an organization to make it happen,”says Dr Akbari.
He argues that while the action would not solve the problem of climate change. it would slow it.
“We can give the environment time to breathe,” he says. “I just don’t see a disadvantage of this idea. It gives everybody advantages and you don’t have to make hard efforts to make it happen. ”
Akbari and his partners say they will try to persuade the United Nations to organize big cities to change the materials of their roofs.How do white roofs slow down global warming?
| A．They reflect sunlight, which makes people use no air conditioner. |
| B．They reflect sunlight, which doesn’t increase the greenhouse effect. |
| C．They keep the heat energy within them. |
| D．They send out no carbon emissions. |
We know from Dr Akbari that he .
| A．has changed some roofs into white ones |
| B．doesn’t use air conditioners himself |
| C．has built an organization to make cities white |
| D．believes his idea will help slow the climate change |
What do Akbari and his partners want to do?
A. They hope the UN will put their idea into action.
B. They want to become members of the UN.
C They want to change the materials of their own roofs.
D. They want to teach people how to change roofsThe passags is written mainly to .
| A．persuade people to paint their roofs white |
| B．introduce environment friendly paint |
| C．show white roofs do good to the environment |
| D．discuss how to slow down global warming |
Manage your time well for each module(单元), but also make sure you get a good balance(平衡) between work and social life. That is vital for life in general.
Set aside time specifically for each subject. Try to study one subject a day. You need to balance time. If you are bad at balancing things, make a personal timetable. Even if you do not stick to it, you will have an idea what you should be doing each day. This is better than trying to do everything each day and, at the end of the week, not achieve anything. Also, try to keep your weekends free of studying. Only study at the weekend if you really have to.
I had to learn to balance work, study and family when I was at college. I was a retail assistant working part-time and had at least four modules to complete at the same time at college. I also had to help around the house doing household cleaning and shopping at times. I managed to finish my college work on time, which was very difficult and hard, and still hold down a job.
Why was it possible? Because I only thought about my part-time work when I was at work on the weekends and my college work had to be done from Mondays to Fridays before the weekends. This was hard—but you need to set a timetable for yourself. It was an achievement when I finally realized that things have to be done in order, and need to be organized as well.
Balancing study and other aspects(方面) of your life can be a problem if you have a job or a family, but planning in advance is helpful. Use the time you have well. Do not leave anything until the last minute, as this will only cause problems.The underlined word“vital”(in Paragraph 1) means_____________.
| A．common | B．necessary | C．easy | D．difficult |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the advice the writer gives?
| A．Try to study many subjects in a day. | B．Try not to study on the weekends. |
| C．Plan in advance. | D．Try to set a timetable. |
It could be inferred from the passage that__________.
| A．the writer has a part-time job as an assistant when he was at college |
| B．you need to set a timetable for yourself |
| C．you should make a personal timetable if you are bad at balancing your time |
| D．the writer can arrange（安排） his time well when he was at college |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．I had a good time during my college. | B．How to study well at college. |
| C．Balance time between study and other aspects of your life. | D．How to plan your things in advance. |