The morning had been a disaster.My tooth was aching，and I’d been in an argument with a friend.Her words still hurt：“The trouble with you is that you won’t put yourself in my place.Can’t you see things from my point of view？”I shook my head stubbornly－and felt the ache in my tooth.I’d thought I could hold out till my dentist came back from holiday，but the pain was really unbearable.I started calling the dentists in the phone book，but no one could see me immediately.Finally，at about lunchtime，I got lucky.
“If you come by right now，”the receptionist said，“the dentist will fit you in.”
I took my purse and keys and rushed to my car.But suddenly I began to doubt about the dentist.What kind of dentist would be so eager to treat someone at such short notice？Why wasn’t he as busy as the others?
In the dentist’s office，I sat down and looked around.I saw nothing but the bare walls and I became even more worried.The assistant noticed my nervousness and placed her warm hand over my icecold one.
When I told her my fears，she laughed and said，“Don’t worry.The dentist is very good.”
“How long do I have to wait for him？”I asked impatiently.
“Come on，he is coming.Just lie down and relax.And enjoy the artwork，”the assistant said.
“The artwork？”I was puzzled.
The chair went back.Suddenly I smiled.There was a beautiful picture，right where I could enjoy it：on the ceiling.How considerate the dentist was！At that moment，I began to understand what my friend meant by her words.
What a relief!Which of the following best describes the author’s feeling that morning?
| A．Cheerful. | B．Nervous. |
| C．Satisfied. | D．Upset. |
What made the author begin to doubt about the dentist?
| A．The dentist’s agreeing to treat her at very short notice. |
| B．The dentist’s being as busy as the other dentists. |
| C．The surroundings of the dentist’s office. |
| D．The laughing assistant of the dentist. |
Why did the author suddenly smile?
| A．Because the dentist came at last. |
| B．Because she saw a picture on the ceiling. |
| C．Because she could relax in the chair. |
| D．Because the assistant kept comforting her. |
What did the author learn from her experience most probably?
| A．Strike while the iron is hot. |
| B．Have a good word for one’s friend. |
| C．Put oneself in other’s shoes. |
| D．A friend in need is a friend indeed. |
Once upon a time, there was a lovely vegetable field, on which grew a very thick tree. Both the vegetables and the tree gave the place a wonderful appearance, which was the joy of the garden’s owner. What no one knew was that the vegetables in the field and the tree couldn’t stand each other. The vegetables hated the tree’s shadow, because it left them only just enough light to survive. The tree, on the other hand, hated the vegetables because they drank nearly all the water before it could get to him, leaving him with just enough to survive.
The situation became so extreme that the vegetables got totally fed up and decided to use up all the water in the ground so that the tree would dry up. The tree answered back by refusing to give the vegetables shadow from the hot midday sun, so they both began to dry up. Before long, the vegetables were really thin and the tree’s branches were drying up.
Neither of them thought that the gardener, on seeing his vegetable field becoming worse, would stop watering it. When he did that, both the tree and the vegetables really learned what thirst was. There seemed to be no solution, but one of the vegetables, a small courgette（小胡瓜）, understood what was going on, and decided to deal with it. Despite the little water and the unbearable heat, the little courgette did all he could to grow, grow...He managed to grow so big that the gardener started watering the field again. The gardener wanted to enter that beautiful big courgette in some gardening contest.
And so the vegetables and the tree realized that it was better to help each other than to fight. They should really learn how to live in harmony with those around them, doing the best they could. So they decided to work together, using both the shadow and the water in the best combination to grow good vegetables. Seeing how well they were doing, the gardener now gave the best of care to his vegetable field, watering it better than any other field for miles around.What is the problem between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They looked down upon each other. |
| B．They didn’t leave water to each other. |
| C．They couldn’t stand each other. |
| D．They didn’t know how to protect themselves. |
What is the result of the fight between the tree and the vegetables?
| A．They grew taller and stronger. |
| B．They were both drying up. |
| C．The tree defeated the vegetables. |
| D．The vegetables defeated the tree. |
The courgette thought of ways to solve the conflict by .
| A．making peace with the tree |
| B．working together with other vegetables |
| C．entering the gardening contests |
| D．growing big enough |
What can we learn from this passage?
| A．We ought to live in harmony with others. |
| B．We ought to save as much water as possible. |
| C．We ought to learn from each other in some ways. |
| D．We ought to learn to respect each other. |
Which boy hasn’t dreamed of being a cool secret agent(特工)? The wonderful fighting and the world-saving adventures are much more colourful than most people’s everyday lives. Well, Cody Banks is just like any other boy, except that he is not just dreaming. He has a big secret his friends never know about. He was trained to be a spy(间谍) by a special CIA programme, which was made to look like a summer camp. He learned high-speed driving, hand-to-hand fighting and the use of high-tech tools.
After proving he could become a young hero by saving a baby from a runaway car, Banks gets his first real task. He must make friends with a popular girl at school, Natalie Connors. Then, he must spy on her father, a scientist who has developed a dangerous technology(技术). Banks must stop a group of bad people from forcing Natalie’s father into using the technology to endanger the world.
The CIA may have taught him first-class self-defence moves, but they didn’t show him how to talk to girls. Banks has zero ability when it comes to dealing with girls. How can he get around his problem and get an invitation to the girl’s upcoming birthday party? Will he finally become Natalie’s boyfriend and find out whatever he can do about her father’s work?
Agent Cody Banks has everything that young people are interested in: big explosions, breath-taking performances and funny girl-dating experiences. It was listed in No.2 in the American box office last week.
“This story is interesting and fun for the whole family to enjoy, and especially cool for young boys.” said Paul Perkins, a film reviewer in the US.What is Banks’s first real task?
| A．To test a high-tech tool |
| B．To watch a scientist secretly |
| C．To study a new technology |
| D．To save a baby from a car |
Banks wanted to go to Natalie’s birthday party to ______.
| A．meet her father |
| B．know more people |
| C．make friends with her |
| D．steal some information |
What is considered as a great danger in the text?
| A．The technology developed by Natalie’s father |
| B．An explosion set off by some bad people |
| C．The CIA’s training of boys for its task |
| D．Secret agents spying on scientists |
What is the purpose of the text?
A. Making known the work of the CIA.
B. Introducing a new film.
C. Showing the dark side of science.
D. Telling the story about a cool boy.
Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to stay thin? Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV show is over.
According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers’ markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women Don’t Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity--or extreme overweight--among adults is only 6%. However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17%--and is growing.In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola?
| A．They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently. |
| B．They squeeze eating between the other daily activities. |
| C．They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles. |
| D．They usually eat too much canned and frozen food. |
This text is mainly the relationship between _________.
| A．life style and obesity |
| B． Americans and the French |
| C．children and adults |
| D． fast food and overweight |
The text is mainly developed __________.
| A．by space | B．by contrast |
| C．by process | D．by classification |
Where does this text probably come from?
| A．A TV interview | B．A food advertisement |
| C．A health report | D．A book review |
A new study shows students who write notes by hand during lectures perform better on exams than those who use laptops(笔记本电脑).
Students are increasingly using laptops for note-taking because of speed and legibility(清晰度). But the research has found laptop users are less able to remember and apply the concepts they have been taught.
Researchers performed experiments that aimed to find out whether using a laptop increased the tendency to make notes "mindlessly" by taking down word for word what the professors said.
In the first experiment, students were given either a laptop or pen and paper. They listened to the same lectures and were told to use their usual note-taking skills. Thirty minutes after the talk, they were examined on their ability to remember facts and on how well they understood concepts.
The researchers found that laptop users took twice as many notes as those who wrote by hand. However, the typists performed worse at remembering and applying the concepts. Both groups scored similarly when it came to memorizing facts.
The researchers' report said, "While more notes are beneficial, if the notes are taken mindlessly, as is more likely the case on a laptop, the benefit disappears."
In another experiment aimed at testing long-term memory, students took notes as before but were tested a week after the lecture. This time, the students who wrote notes by hand performed significantly better on the exam.
These two experiments suggest that handwritten notes are not only better for immediate learning and understanding, but that they also lead to superior revision in the future.More and more students favor laptops for note-taking because they can.
| A．write more notes | B．digest concepts better |
| C．get higher scores | D．understand lectures better |
While taking notes, laptop users tend to be.
| A．mindless | B．skillful |
| C．thoughtful | D．tireless |
The author of the passage aims to .
| A．examine the importance of long-term memory |
| B．promote the use of laptops |
| C．explain the process of taking notes |
| D．stress the benefit of taking notes by hand |
The passage is likely to appear in .
| A．a newspaper advertisement | B．a computer textbook |
| C．a science magazine | D．a finance report |
Most damagingly, anger weakens a person’s ability to think clearly and keep control over his behaviour. The angry person loses objectivity in evaluating the emotional significance of the person or situation that arouses his anger.
Not everyone experiences anger in the same way; what angers one person may amuse another. The specific expression of anger also differs from person to person based on biological and cultural forces. In contemporary culture, physical expressions of anger are generally considered too socially harmful to be tolerated. We no longer regard duels (决斗) as an appropriate expression of anger resulting from one person’s awareness of insulting behaviour on the part of another.
Anger can be identified in the brain, where the electrical activity changes. Under most conditions EEG (脑电图) measures of electrical activity show balanced activity between the right and left prefrontal (额叶前部) areas. Behaviourally this corresponds to the general even-handed disposition (意向) that most of us possess most of the time. But when we are angry the EEG of the right and left prefrontal areas aren’t balanced and, as a result of this, we’re likely to react. And our behavioural response to anger is different from our response to other emotions, whether positive or negative.
Most positive emotions are associated with approach behaviour: we move closer to people we like. Most negative emotions, in contrast, are associated with avoidance behaviour: we move away from people and things that we dislike or that make us anxious. But anger is an exception to this pattern. The angrier we are, the more likely we are to move towards the object of our anger. This corresponds to what psychologists refer to as offensive anger: the angry person moves closer in order to influence and control the person or situation causing his anger. This approach-and-confront behaviour is accompanied by a leftward prefrontal asymmetry (不对称) of EEG activity. Interestingly, this asymmetry lessens if the angry person can experience empathy (同感) towards the individual who is bringing forth the angry response. In defensive anger, in contrast, the EEG asymmetry is directed to the right and the angry person feels helpless in the face of the anger-inspiring situation.The “duels” example in Paragraph 2 proves that the expression of anger ________.
| A．usually has a biological basis |
| B．varies among people |
| C．influences one’s thinking and evaluation |
| D．is socially and culturally shaped |
What changes can be found in an angry brain?
| A．Balanced electrical activity can be spotted. |
| B．Unbalanced patterns are found in prefrontal areas. |
| C．Electrical activity corresponds to one’s behaviour. |
| D．Electrical activity agrees with one’s disposition. |
Which of the following is typical of offensive anger?
| A．Approaching the source of anger. |
| B．Trying to control what is disliked. |
| C．Moving away from what is disliked. |
| D．Feeling helpless in the face of anger. |
What is the key message of the last paragraph?
| A．How anger differs from other emotions. |
| B．How anger relates to other emotions. |
| C．Behavioural patterns of anger. |
| D．Behavioural responses to anger. |