Instead of staying at home to care for the kids, many mothers work to help support their families. But what does a mother do when her child is sick?
Sophia Fowkes worked as a computer programmer before, but she was fired for taking too much time off to care for her very sick child. Although she lost her job, she took an opportunity to turn her hobby into a business: creating “baby cakes”, a combination of diapers (尿布) and baby products artfully arranged to look like a cake. Inside, it contains blankets, towels, bottles and toys — things that can be used for babies. They are perfect gifts.
However, the idea of making “baby cakes” came from one of her experiences. When her child was born, she received a gift called diaper cake. It was made of diapers, but it was small and unusable. So she decided to create her own style of it to give her friends as a gift. Her friends liked these gifts very much and advised her to make and sell “baby cakes”.
She thought that it would be turned into a full-time business. In 1998, she started Baby-Cakes.com. After several years, her business grew and expanded in a way that even she had never expected. She sold her products online at first. Three years after her own website was created, demand for her products was so great that in August, 2001 she opened a real store. She is ready to combine the online store with the traditional store. Sophia was out of work because .
| A．she wanted to start her own business |
| B．she lost interest in computer programming |
| C．she failed to design computer programs |
| D．she couldn’t balance her work and family |
What made Sophia decide to create “baby cakes” for sale?
| A．Her unemployment. | B．Her family’s support. |
| C．Her friends’ suggestion. | D．Her market research. |
Which of the following is the right order for Sophia’s events?
a. She set up her first real store.
b. She turned her hobby into a business.
c. She used both traditional and online selling.
d. She set up her own website for her products.
| A．b, c, d, a. | B．b, d, a, c. | C．a, c, b, d. | D．a, d, c, b. |
Three years ago I listened to a lecture on cognition that changed the way I think about intelligence. There are two types of cognition, and the first is normal cognition the ability to regain knowledge from memory. The second type of cognition is metacognition(元认知) the ability to know whether or not you know.
Does this affect intelligence? In traditional education, intelligence is measured by cognitive ability. Some people can easily produce everything they know on a test. But others are awarded with poor grades and considered inferior (not as good as). But does this inability make them any less intelligent? If the question came up on a task, they could refer to a book or a quick Google search. In reality they’re just as effective as the people that ace a test. They just can’t prove it as easily.
Metacognition is more important to success than cognition. A person with poor cognitive ability, but great metacognitive ability might do poorly in school, but when faced with a challenge, they understand their abilities and take the best course of action. For example, when faced with a question, a person with strong metacognitive ability will deal with it like this. If he knows the answer, but can’t come up with it, he can always do a bit of research. If he knows for sure that he doesn’t know, then he can start educating himself. Because he’s aware of his ignorance, he doesn’t act with foolish confidence. These people might not seem intelligent at first glance, but because they know what they know, they make better decisions and learn the most important things.
However, people with great cognitive ability but poor metacognitive ability may be considered excellent at a young age for acing every test and getting great SAT scores. Unfortunately, they’ve been ruined by poor metacognition they think they know everything but they really don’t. They are arrogant (overconfident), fail to learn from mistakes, and don’t understand the slight differences of personal relationships, showing disregard for persons with lower cognitive ability. They may make the worst decisions.
The most important mental power is the ability to know what you don’t know .The recognition of a fault is the first step to improvement. Don’t try to hide a lack of knowledge. For intelligent people this is the toughest lesson to learn.People with great cognitive ability tend to ______________.
| A．do well in tests |
| B．be considered inferior |
| C．be more effective than others |
| D．do research when faced with a task |
The underlined phrase “take the best course of action,” probably means______.
| A．starting educating himself |
| B．taking action during the course |
| C．making the right decision |
| D．coming up with many ideas |
People with poor metacognition may not succeed because they ________.
| A．lack basic moral values |
| B．have improper self evaluation |
| C．fail to communicate with others |
| D．show little respect for others |
The author probably supports the idea that ___________.
| A．intelligence is measured by cognitive ability |
| B．cognition is the most important mental power |
| C．the toughest lesson is to distinguish the two types of cognition |
| D．the awareness of one’s ignorance contributes to one’s improvement |
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.
According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities—famous people—worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villarreal says, “they feel separated and alone.”
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.It can be learned from the passage that stars today___________.
| A．are often misunderstood by the public |
| B．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| C．spend too much on their public appearance |
| D．care little about how they have come into fame |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired. |
| B．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| C．Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Availability of modern media. |
| B．Inadequate social recognition. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere. | B．Skeptical. | C．Disapproving. | D．Sympathetic. |
NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out, the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out. They are not sure to what degree people’s memories are affected.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
"Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people’s memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.The passage is mainly about.
| A．a new medical invention |
| B．a new research on the pill |
| C．a way of wiping out painful memories |
| D．an argument about the research on the pill |
The drug tested on people can.
| A．cause the brain to fix memories |
| B．stop people remembering bad experiences |
| C．prevent body producing certain chemicals |
| D．wipe out the emotional effects of memories |
We can infer from the passage that.
| A．people doubt the effects of the pills |
| B．the pill will certainly stop people's emotional memories |
| C．taking the pill will do harm to people's physical health |
| D．the pill has already been produced and used by the public in America |
Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with in the last paragraph ?
| A．some memories can ruin people's lives. |
| B．people want to get rid of bad memories. |
| C．experiencing bad events makes us different from others. |
| D．the pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories. |
The national assistance system for poor college students is getting more effective as proved by fewer phone calls to the hotline of the National Center for Student Assistance Administration.
"Poor college students and their parents are getting more satisfied with the national assistance system," said Ma Wenhua, deputy director of the administration, on Saturday. Over the past three years, the hotline received 8,488 calls. Statistics show 62 percent of the calls were made to ask about the funding policy, while 38 percent (3,200 calls) complained local colleges had failed to abide by the rules to support the students.
Complaints were seen a year-on-year decrease from 2006 to 2008. Ma said some poor families might still overlook what they should do to get support for their child. To ensure education equality, the government has introduced a set of favorable policies to help poor students, such as scholarships, grants, student loans, tuition waivers(学费全免) and the work-study programs under which poor students are helped out in libraries, teachers' offices or service departments to earn money.
Statistics show the government spent 29.3 billion yuan last year to aid college students, up 7.6 percent from the previous year. Around 40 million persons of college students received the national aid.
The Ministry of Education of the government would ensure that no students drop out of colleges or universities because of poverty.
Among the 20 million students in the country's public and private universities and colleges last year, about 20 percent came from poor backgrounds, official figures show.The national assistance system is set up ___.
| A．for parents and students to complain |
| B．to help poor college students |
| C．for poor students to get free education |
| D．to help students find jobs |
The underlined phrase "abide by" in the second paragraph probably means ____.
| A．follow | B．break | C．bear | D．agree to |
From the passage, we know that ____.
| A．students will drop out of university because of poverty |
| B．Chinese poor college students are more satisfied with national assistance system |
| C．more and more parents are complaining about their local colleges |
| D．college students are suffering from great economic pressure |
To protect you and your fellow passengers, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is required by law to inspect all checked baggage. As part of this process, some bags are opened and inspected. Your bag was among those selected for inspection.
During the inspection, your bag and its contents may have been searched for items forbidden by law such as fireworks, fuels, gunpowder, etc. At the completion of the inspection, the contents were returned to your bag, which was resealed (重新封口) with a “special” lock.
If the TSA screener was unable to open your bag for inspection because it was locked, the screener may have been forced to break the locks on your bag. TSA sincerely regrets having to do this, and has taken care to reseal your bag upon completion of inspection. However, TSA is not liable for damage to your locks resulting from necessary precaution.
For packing tips and other suggestions that may assist you during your next trip, visit: www.tsatraveltips.us.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation .If you have questions, comment,or concerns , please feel free to contact the Transportation Security Administration Consumer Response Centre:
Phone: toll-free at (866)289-9673
Email:telltsa@tas.dot.gov
Section 110(b)of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act of 2001,49
USC&44901(c)-(e)The leaflet(宣传单) is trying to __________.
| A．introduce one of the security acts |
| B．persuade people to contact TSA |
| C．warn against the damage of locking the baggage |
| D．inform people of baggage inspection |
The leaflet is most probably provided by TSA to those who __________.
| A．had their baggage selected for inspection |
| B．refused to have their baggage checked |
| C．kept some damaged items in their baggage |
| D．left their baggage unlocked |
The underlined word “liable” means ___________.
| A．suitable by law | B．permitted by law |
| C．responsible by law | D．prepared by law |
For packing tips and other suggestions, visit __________.
| A．telltsa@tas.dot.gov | B．www.tsatraveltips.us |
| C．toll-free at (866)289-9673 | D．TSA Consumer Response Centre |