Sherlock Holmes was the greatest detective in history. His astonishing power of observation and analysis meant that he was able to solve cases which left the real police completely perplexed. As a problem solver in the law forced business, he was a knowledgeable person equal to Superman, the comic book hero.
Like Superman, of course, Holmes did not exist. He was the creation of a Scottish doctor and novelist Arthur Conan Doyle, and remains one of the most famous literary fiction characters of all time.
Holmes’ general rule when trying to solve a case was as follows: completely get rid of the impossible. Then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.
It’s said that Holmes’ powers of deduction (推断) were superhuman, particularly his ability to process information from what he observed. In a story called The Boscombe Valley Mystery, Holmes examines the area near a lake where a murder has been committed. The local police have already searched the area and found no clues. Holmes spends ten minutes in the area, and announces that the murderer “is a tall man, left-handed, limps with the right leg, wears thick-soled shooting boots and a gray coat, smokes Indian cigars, uses a cigar holder, and carries a penknife in his pocket. There are several other indications, but these may be enough to aid us in our search.” Needless to say, he has found evidence to support all of these statements.
The fictional Holmes lived in an apartment at 221 Baker Street, a real street in Central London. When Conan Doyle wrote about Holmes, there was no 221 Baker Street, but after the street was extended northwards, there was. There is currently a bank at that address.
The fact that Holmes didn’t actually exist doesn’t stop thousands of people writing to him for help every year.The bank kindly responds to every letter they receive with the following message: “Mr. Holmes thanks you for your letter. At the moment he is retired in Sussex, keeping bees, and does not undertake detective work nowadays.”In the first paragraph the underlined word “perplexed” suggests that the police were _______
| A．confident | B．worried | C．confused | D．sure |
How does the writer describe Holmes and Superman?
| A．Neither Superman nor Holmes was a real character. |
| B．Both Superman and Holmes used super intellect to solve problems. |
| C．Superman was a comic book figure, while Holmes was a real detective. |
| D．Superman and Holmes were equally intelligent and brave. |
How did Holmes use his powers of deduction in the fourth paragraph?
| A．He spent a long time thinking about possible solutions. |
| B．He found clues to help him create a full description of a suspect. |
| C．He observed the crime area and guessed what happened. |
| D．He searched the area with the police and discussed with them, |
When letters are written to Holmes, _______
| A．he answers letters when he receives them |
| B．his secretary answers them for him. |
| C．the bank at 221 Baker Street where he used to live sends the letters back |
| D．the bank at his address replies that Holmes is no longer working as a detective |
One day in the early March of 1993, Pauline and Tom Nichter and their 11-year-old son, Jason, were shopping for a toy in Buena Park, CA. Suddenly, Pauline saw a wallet lying on the floor. When she looked inside, she found $200. The family, homeless and without work, knew that could change their lives. But they took the wallet to the nearby police station and turned it in. The wallet was found to have some other pockets, and more money in them—over $2,000! The police called the man who lost the wallet to pick it up. The man thanked the Nichters and shook their hands, but did not reward them. Luckily for the family, a TV news reporter filmed the story. People from all over the world heard the story and sent them letters, money, and even offered them jobs. A businessman even let them live in his house for free for six months. So far, the family has received over $100,000. Now the Nichters’ future is bright.The best title for the passage would be “________”.
| A．Money Is Everything | B．A Lost Wallet and a Family |
| C．A Kind Businessman | D．A Lost Wallet and the Police |
Who found more money in the wallet?
| A．The police | B．Jason |
| C．Someone else in the shop | D．The man who lost the wallet |
The underlined words “reward them” mean “________”.
| A．speak to the Nichters | B．give something to the Nichters in return |
| C．pay the police | D．meet the news reporters |
People from all over the world help the Nichters do lots of things except _______
| A．offere them jobs | B．sent them letters |
| C．sent them money | D．offere them clothes |
Which of the following is TRUE about the Nichters?
| A．They got lots of money from a reporter |
| B．They made friends with the wallet loser |
| C．They posted letters to people all over the world |
| D．They became known to many people |
Guangzhou （Xinhua）——12 people were killed and 20 injured early yesterday morning when they jumped from a burning train car into the path of an oncoming goods train in Southern China. When No. 247 Wuchang——Guangzhou passenger train was passing the Dayaoshan Tunnel in Guangdong Province， South China at 00 ：17 hours yesterday， a fire caused by passengers' smoking broke out on No. 17 car. They wanted to extinguish fire. As the train stopped some frightened passengers jumped from windows. 12 people were crushed to death and 20 others injured by a northward passing goods train（No. 1766).In which direction did the passenger train travel？
| A．Northward. | B．Southward. | C．Eastward. | D．Westward. |
When did the accident happen？
| A．At 00：17 am. | B．At 00：17 pm. |
| C．At seventeen past one. | D．At seventeen to one. |
Where did the accident happen？
| A．In Wuchang. | B．In Guangzhou. |
| C．In Hubei. | D．In Guangdong. |
For what did the passenger train stop？
| A．To put out the fire. |
| B．To let the passengers jump out. |
| C．To let the other train pass. |
| D．To pick up some other passengers. |
What was the cause of the fire？
| A．A heavy rain. |
| B．High temperature. |
| C．Carelessness. |
| D．Fear. |
“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,” say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.
If Dick had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance: a new type of tape. Dick worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Dick improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas.
Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence. The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.
Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can’t recognize ways to use it in new situation. They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to Work out practical problems.
It is important to give children choices. From the earlier age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it’s choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble.What did the company where Dick once worked learn from its mistake?
| A．They encouraged people to work a longer time. |
| B．They discouraged people to think freely. |
| C．They asked people to spend all their work time developing new ideas. |
| D．They encouraged people to spend some of their work time considering and improving new ideas. |
Creativity is something __
| A．that people are born with |
| B．that depends on intelligence |
| C．that is a way of using what one has learnt to work out new problems |
| D．that is not important at all |
Why don’t schools try to encourage creativity?
| A．They don’t understand the importance of education. |
| B．They don’t want their students to make mistakes. |
| C．They pay too much attention to exam marks, language and mathematical skills. |
| D．They think it more important to remember some information. |
What should the parents do when their children decide how to spend their money?
| A．Try to help them as much as possible. | B．Take no notice of whatever they do. |
| C．Leave them as they are. | D．Help them if their decision is wrong, but not too much.. |
A Brown University sleep researcher has some advice for people who run high schools: Don’t start classes so early in the morning. It may not be that the students who nod off at their desks are lazy. And it may not be that their parents have failed to enforce (确保) bedtime. Instead, it may be that biologically these sleepyhead students aren’t used to the early hour.
“Maybe these kids are being asked to rise at the wrong time for their bodies,” says Mary Carskadon, a professor looking at problem of adolescent (青春期的) sleep at Brown’s School of Medicine.
Carskadon is trying to understand more about the effects of early school time in adolescents. And, at a more basic level. she and her team are trying to learn more about how the biological changes of adolescence affect sleep needs and patterns.
Carskadon says her work suggests that adolescents may need more sleep than they did at childhood, no less, as commonly thought.
Sleep patterns change during adolescence, as any parent of an adolescent can prove. Most adolescents prefer to stay up later at nigh and sleep later in the morning. But it’s not just a matter of choice –their bodies are going through a change of sleep patterns.
All of this makes the transfer from middle school to high school—which may start one hour earlier in the morning ---- all the more difficult , Carskadon says. With their increased need for sleep and their biological clocks set on the “sleep late, rise late” pattern, adolescent are up against difficulties when it comes to trying to be up by 5 or 6 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m. first bell. A short sleep on a desktop may be their body’s way of saying. “I need a timeout.” Carskadon suggests that high schools should not start classes so early in the morning because ________.
| A．it is really tough for parents to enforce bedtime |
| B．it is biologically difficult for students to rise early |
| C．students work so late at night that they can’t get up early |
| D．students are so lazy that they don’t like to go to school early |
The underlined phrase “nod off” most probably means “ _______”.
| A．turn around | B．agree with others | C．fall asleep | D．refuse to work |
What might be a reason for the hard transfer from middle school to high school?
| A．Adolescents depend more on their parents. |
| B．Adolescents have to choose their sleep patterns. |
| C．Adolescents sleep better than they did at childhood. |
| D．Adolescents need more sleep than they used to. |
What is the test mainly about?
| A．Adolescent heath care. | B．Problems in adolescent learning. |
| C．Adolescent sleep difficulties. | D．Changes in adolescent sleep needs and patterns. |
Massachusetts (美国一州名) became the first state in the nation to ban the dumping (倾倒;抛弃) of electronic equipment such as computer monitors and television sets. It means people there can no longer put computer monitors, TV sets and other devices containing glass picture tubes out on the street for pickup by garbage cleaners.
Official said much of this equipment is loaded with poisonous heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. These poisonous heavy metals could go into groundwater or be released (释放) into the air.
The Boston Globe reports the state has set up a system to recycle techno-garbage at state expense through community recycling centers.
Robin Ingenthron of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection said the state has been trying to get its electronics-recycling program in place ‘before the future wave of electronics hits’. The National Safety Council estimates some 300 million computers will enter the nation’s waste system in the next few years.
In addition, millions of people will be getting rid of their old television sets. New high-quality digital televisions and new rules will make old TV sets no longer in use over the next several years. The word ‘techno-garbage’ in the 3rd paragraph probably means ________.
| A．all kinds of dirty things | B．deserted TV sets |
| C．heavy metals | D．used electronic equipment |
The passage tells us chiefly about __________.
| A．forbidding of a certain type of garbage dumping |
| B．new problems of environmental protection |
| C．household problems raised by computers and TV sets |
| D．the handling of garbage |
Which is NOT a reason that the state enforces (强制执行) a ban on electronic equipment dumping?
| A．This kind of garbage is poisonous. |
| B．Recycling systems are not working well. |
| C．The poisonous heavy metals can go to the underground water and the air. |
| D．There will be much more electronic garbage soon. |
According to the last paragraph many people will be dumping their TV sets because ________.
| A．they are broken | B．they are poisonous |
| C．new TV standards have come out | D．people will be tired of them |