If you don’t use a dictionary. What should you do instead? The first thing you can do is trying to guess what the word means. Often the surrounding context gives a very clear idea of the meaning of the word. Even if you can’t work out the meaning exactly, you may be able to get a vague idea, enough to enable you to continue reading.
Sometimes It is impossible to guess the meaning of a word from the context and then you will have to decide whether the word is important enough to make it worthwhile stopping and looking it up in a dictionary or whether you can just pass it by.
Many times in your reading, you will come across words which you don’t know, but which do not prevent you from understanding all the main points of the text. You can made your dictionary use much more efficient if you only look up the words which are necessary to understand the text. and this means that you must develop the skill to decide whether the words are worth looking up.The passage mainly tells us in our reading what we would do .
A.without knowledge of English |
B.when we look up words in a dictionary |
C.when we are guessing new words |
D.without using a dictionary |
What does the underlined word “vague” mean?
A.Mysterious. | B.Not clear. | C.Exact. | D.Important. |
In our reading some words we don’t know .
A.help us to understand the text well |
B.don’t prevent us from understanding the main points of the text |
C.will be remembered forever |
D.are borrowed from other languages |
In this passage the writer .
A.advised us to use the dictionary as much as possible |
B.told us not to be discouraged by the sight of a dictionary |
C.gave us some advice on how to deal with these unknown words |
D.introduced some ways to take notes in the course of reading |
My old digital camera broke down, so I wanted to buy a new one.Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand.So I went on the Net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store.There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list.And it was on special offer.Oh joy.I pointed at it and asked an assistant, "Can I have one of those? " He looked perturbed( 不安)."Do you want to try it first? "he said.It didn' t quite sound like a question."Do I need to?" I replied, "There's nothing wrong with it." This made him look a bit offended and I started to feel bad."No, no.But you should try it," he said encouragingly, "Compare it with the others.
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice.In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen.The assistant seemed a sincere man.So I let him take out my chosen camera from the cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers...and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well.Why do we think that new options still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine.The shop assistant insisted that the writer should ____.
A.trust him and stop asking questions |
B.try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it |
C.get more information about different companies. |
D.compare the camera he had chosen with the others |
What does the writer mean by "it would be worth half what I paid for it"( Paragraph 2)?
A.He should get a 50% discount. |
B.The price of the camera would soon fall. |
C.The quality of the camera was not good. |
D.The price of the camera was unreasonably high. |
The writer decided to try the model he had chosen because he ____.
A.knew very little about it |
B.wanted to make sure the one he chose would be the best |
C.didn' t trust the shop assistant |
D.had a special interest in taking pictures of his fellow shoppers |
It can be inferred from the passage that in the writer's opinion, __.
A.we waste too much money on cameras |
B.cameras have become an important part of our daily life |
C.we don' t actually need so many choices when buying a product |
D.famous companies care more about profit than quality |
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table. I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy --- who could not have been more than seven or eight years old ---replied, “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed” until we were in high school.
The evidence of a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to. Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it is certainly different. Children as they once were on longer exists. Why?
Human development is based not only on innate biological states, but also on patterns of access to social knowledge. Movement from one social route to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new status. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages: traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation machine has been installed in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information indiscriminately to all viewers alike, be they children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation, many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more vivid moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information to which children have access. Reading and writing involve a complex code of symbols that must be memorized and practiced. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
A.a sure sign of a psychological problem in children’s mental development |
B.something rarely expected in children’s mental development |
C.an inevitable thing in children’s mental development |
D.something usually experienced in children’s mental development |
What does the underlined word innate in Paragraph 4 mean ?
A.something a person is born with |
B.something a person is tired of |
C.something a person is expected of |
D.something a person is dreaming of |
What of the following statement is NOT true according to the last paragraph?
A.Communication through print helps children develop their reading skills. |
B.Communication through print helps children access more social information. |
C.Communication through print helps children command a complex code of symbols. |
D.Communication through print helps children read different materials at random. |
What is the attitude of the author about today’s children?
A.He feels shocked by their premature behavior. |
B.He thinks it is a phenomenon unworthy of note. |
C.He considers it a positive social development. |
D.He seems to be concerned about the tendency. |
Anger is good for you, as lon g as you control it, according to new psychology research. A new study from Carnegie Mellon University shows anger may help people reduce the negative impacts of stress and help you become healthier.
"Here getting emotional is not bad for you if you look at the case of anger," said Jennifer Lerner of Carnegie Mellon. "The more people display anger, the lower their stress responses."
Lerner studied 92 UCLA students by asking them to count back from 6,200. They must say out loud every thirteenth number. Researchers disturbed them by asking them to count faster or ask them other questions. If they made any mistakes, they had to restart from the very beginning. Many students felt depressed about making so many mistakes or got angry because the researchers were interrupting them.
Lerner used a hidden video camera and recorded all their facial expressions during the test. The researchers describe their reactions as fear, anger and disgust.
Other researchers recorded the students' blood pressure, pulse and production of a high-stress hormone (荷尔蒙) called cortisol. People whose faces showed more fear during th e experiment had higher blood pressure and higher levels of the hormone. Both can have lasting effects such as diabetes (糖尿病), heart disease, depression and extra weight gain.
When people feel fear, negative impacts increase, but when they get angry, those negatives go down, according to the study.
"Having that sense of anger leads people to actually feel some power in what otherwise is maddening (令人发狂的) situation,"
Lerner said. Lerner previously studied Americans' emotional response to the 911 terrorist attacks two months after the incident. She found people who reacted with anger were more optimistic. These people are healthier compared with those who were frightened during the event. So in maddening situations, anger is not a bad thing to have. It's a healthier response than fear.Which statement will Jennifer Lerner agree with?
A.It's better to be angry than to be frightened. |
B.Different reactions reflect different outlooks on life. |
C.Don't control your anger and it makes you powerful. |
D.Pessimistic people are generally healthier than opt imistic people. |
What does the underlined word "both" refer to according to the passage?
A.Fear and anger. |
B.Higher blood pressure and higher levels of the hormone. |
C.Blood pressure and pulse. |
D.Blood pressure and cortisone. |
The researchers made the experimented students angry by ______.
A.recording their performance secretly |
B.asking them to count to 6,200 again and again |
C.disturbing them and making them start all over again |
D.criticizing them when they made mistakes |
In what way can anger be beneficial to people?
A.By showing their optimistic side. |
B.By reducing their stress. |
C.By reducing high blood pressure. |
D.By taking the place of fear. |
What is the story mainly about?
A.The findings of new psychology research. |
B.What you can do with anger in certain cases. |
C.Different effects produced by anger and fear. |
D.Healthier responses in maddening situations. |
EDGEWOOD-Every morning at Dixie Heights High School, customers pour into a special experiment: the district's first coffee shop run mostly by students with special learning needs.
Well before classes start, students and teachers order Lattes, Cappuccinos and Hot Chocolates. Then, during the first period, teachers call in orders on their room phones, and students make deliveries. By closing time at 9.20 a.m., the shop usually sells 90 drinks.
"Whoever made the chi tea, Ms. Schatzman says it was good," Christy McKinley, a second year student, announced recently, after hanging up with the teacher.
The shop is called the Dixie PIT, which stands for Power in Transition. Although some of the students are not disabled, many are, and the PIT helps them prepare for life after high school.
They learn not only how to run a coffee shop but also how to deal with their affairs. They keep a timecard and receive paychecks, which they keep in check registers.
Special-education teachers Kim Chevalier and Sue Casey introduced the Dixie PIT from a similar program at Kennesaw Mountain High School in Georgia.
Not that it was easy. Chevalier's first problem to overcome was product-related. Should schools be selling coffee? What about sugar content?
Kenton County Food Service Director Ginger Gray helped. She made sure all the drinks, which use non-fat milk, fell within nutrition (营养) guidelines.
The whole school has joined in to help.
Teachers agreed to give up their l ounge (休息室) in the mornings. Art students painted the name of the shop on the wall. Business students designed the paychecks. The basketball team helped pay for cups.What is the text mainly about?
A.A best-selling coffee. |
B.A special educational program. |
C.Government support for schools. |
D.A new type of teacher-student relationship. |
The Dixie PIT program was introduced in order to _____.
A.raise money for school affairs |
B.do some research on nutrition |
C.develop students' practical skills |
D.supply teachers with drinks |
How did Christy McKinley know Ms. Schatzman's opinion of the chi tea?
A.She met her in the shop. |
B.She heard her telling others. |
C.She talked to her on the phone. |
D.She went to her office to deliver the tea. |
We know from the text that Ginger Gray _____.
A.manages the Dixie P1T program in Kenton County |
B.sees that the drinks meet health standards |
C.teaches at Dixie Heights High School |
D.owns the school's coffee shop |
Where can we usually read this passage?
A.In a novel. | B.In a newspaper. |
C.In an instant message. | D.In a school report. |
Why do men die earlier than women? The latest research makes it known that the reason could be that men’s hearts go into rapid decline when they reach middle age.
The largest study of the effects of ageing on the heart has found that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose their pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 18 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, David Goldspink of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK. “Within the heart there are millions of cells that enable it to beat. Between the age of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men,” said Goldspink. “This is part of the ageing process.”
What surprises scientists is that the female heart sees very little loss of these cells. A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could perform almost as well as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender difference might just explain why women live longer than men,” said Goldspink. They studied more than 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 18 and 80, focusing on healthy persons to remove the confusing influence of disease.
“The team has yet to find why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart,” said Goldspink. The good news is that men can improve the health of their heart with regular exercise. Goldspink stressed that women also need regular exercise to prevent their leg muscles becoming smaller and weaker as they age.The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph probably refers to “________”.
A.health | B.long life | C.ageing | D.effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
A.men’s heart cells | B.women’s ageing process |
C.the gender difference | D.hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
A.women have more cells than men when they are born |
B.women can replace the cells that enable the heart to beat |
C.the female heart loses few of the cells with age |
D.women never lose their pumping power with age |
If you want to live longer, you should ________.
A.enable your heart to beat much faster |
B.find out the reason for ageing |
C.exercise regularly to keep your heart healthy |
D.prevent your cells from being lost |
We can know from the passage that ________.
A.the rea son why ageing takes a greater loss on the male heart has been found out |
B.scientists are on the way to finding out why the male heart loses more o f the cells |
C.the team has done something to prevent the male from suffering the greater loss |
D.women over 70 could lose more heart cells than those at the age of 20 |