I grew up in Jamaica Plain, an urban community located on the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts. In the 1940's it was a wholesome, specific little community. It was my home and I loved it there; back then I thought I would never leave. My best friend Rose and I used to collectively dream about raising a family of our own someday. We had it all planned out to live next door to one another.
Our dream remained alive through grade school, high school, and even beyond. Rose was my maid of honor when I got married in 1953 to the love of my life, Dick. Even then she joked that she was just one perfect guy short of being married, thus bringing us closer to our dream. Meanwhile, Dick aspired to be an officer in the Marines（海军）and I fully supported his ambitions. I realized that he might be stationed far away from Jamaica Plain, but I told him I would relocate and adjust. The idea of experiencing new places together seemed somewhat romantic to me.
So, in 1955, Dick was stationed in Alaska and we relocated. Rose was sad to see me leave, but wished me the best of luck. Rose and I remained in touch for a few years by regular phone call but after a while we lost track of one another. Back in the 1950's it was a lot more difficult to stay in touch with someone over a long distance, especially if you were relocating every few years. There were no email addresses or transferable phone number and directory lookup services were available at best.
I thought of her several times over the years. Once in the mid 1960's ,when I was visiting the Greater Boston area, I tried to determine her whereabouts but my search turned up empty-handed. Jamaica Plain had changed drastically in the 10 years I was gone. A pretty obvious shift in income demographics was affecting my old neighborhood. My family had moved out of the area, as did many of the people I used to know. Rose was nowhere to be found.
52 years passed and we never spoke. I've since raised a family of five, all of whom now have families of their own, and Dick passed away a few years ago. Basically, a lifetime has passed. Now here I am at the doorstep to my 80th birthday and I receive a random phone call on an idle Wednesday afternoon. "Hello?" I said. "Hi Natalie, it's Rose," the voice on the other end replied. "It's been so long. I don't know if you remember me, but we used to be best friends in Jamaica Plain when we were kid" she said.
We haven't seen each other yet, but we have spent countless hours on the phone catching up on 52 years of our lives. The interesting thing is that even after 52 years of separation our personalities and interests are still extremely similar. We both share a passion for several hobbies that we each picked up independently several years after we lost touch with one another. It almost feels like we are picking up right where we left off, which is really strange considering the circumstances.
Her husband passed away a few years ago as well, but she mailed me several photographs of her family that were taken over the years. It's so crazy, just looking at the photos and listening to her describe her family reminds me of my own; a reasonably large, healthy family. Part of me feels like we led fairly similar lives.
I don't think the numerous similarities between our two lives are a coincidence either. I think it shows that we didn't just call each other best friend we truly were best friend and even now we can be best friends again. Real friends have two things in common: a compatible personality and a strong-willed character. The compatible personality is what initiates the connection between two people and a strong-willed character at both ends is what maintains the connection. If those two ingredients are present in a friendship, the friendship is for real, and can thus sustain the tests of time and prolonged absence without faltering.What was the dream of the writer and Rose when young except that_____?
| A．They could have a family of their own |
| B．They could marry a promising husband |
| C．They planned to become neighbors |
| D．They could go to the same school |
Why did they become apart when going older?
| A．Because the writer got married ,so Rose was sad |
| B．They held a different opinion on their life |
| C．The writer’s husband had to move from one place to another |
| D．Their community had to be rebuilt |
Which was not the reason for their loss in touch?
| A．At that time ,there were no advanced communication methods |
| B．The job of the writer’s husband was changeable |
| C．There were no such services for them to keep the same number when moving |
| D．They hadn’t written to each for a long time |
The writer failed to find Rose in the mid of 1960’s, because ____?
| A．Rose left her homeland. |
| B．Rose wouldn’t like to see her |
| C．the surroundings there had changed a lot. |
| D．they lost in touch for a long time |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Rose had been making every effort to look for the writer |
| B．Compared with the writer, Rose lived an unhappy life. |
| C．Both of the husbands died before their wives. |
| D．It is a coincidence that there were a lot of similarities between them |
We can learn from the passage that ____________.
| A．a friend in need is a friend indeed |
| B．life without a friend is a life without sun |
| C．friendship is a love without wings |
| D．the world is but a little place after all. |
Do you find getting up in the morning so difficult that it's painful ? This might be called laziness, but Dr. Kleitman has a new explanation. He has proved that everyone has a daily energy cycle.
During the hours when you labour through your work you may say that you're "hot". That's true. The time of day when you feel most energetic is when your cycle of body temperature is at its peak . For some people the peak comes during the forenoon. For others it comes in the afternoon or evening No one has discovered why this is so , but it leads to such familiar monologues（自言自语） as : "Get up, John! You'll be late for work again !" The possible explanation to the trouble is that John is at his temperature-and -energy peak in the evening. Much family quarrelling ends when husbands and wives realize what these energy cycles mean, and which cycle each member of the family has.
You can't change your energy cycle, but you can learn to make your life fit it better. Habit can help, Dr. Kleitman believes . Maybe you're sleepy in the evening but feel you must stay up late anyway . Counteract（对抗/抵消）your cycle to some extent by habitually staying up later than you want to .If your energy is low in the morning but you have an important job to do early in the day, rise before your usual hour. This won't change your cycle, but you'll get up steam and work better at your low point.
Get off to a slow start which saves your energy. Get up with a leisurely yawn and stretch . Sit on the edge of the bed a minute before putting your feet on the floor . Avoid the troublesome search for clean clothes by laying them out the night before. Whenever possible, do routine work in the afternoon and save tasks requiring more energy or concentration for your sharper hours.If you wants to work more efficiently at your how point in the morning, you should _____.
| A．change his energy cycle | B．overcome his laziness |
| C．get up earlier than usual | D．go to bed earlier |
You are advised to rise with a yawn and stretch because it will _____.
| A．help to keep your energy for the day's work |
| B．help you to control your temper early in the day |
| C．enable you to concentrate on your routine work |
| D．keep your energy cycle under control all day |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Change Your Habits | B．Save Your Energy |
| C．Daily Energy Cycle | D．Temperature- and-Energy Peak |
The text is probably taken from a _________.
| A．news report | B．research paper | C．medical textbook | D．fashion journal |
Twenty-three-year old Rio Safiyanto sells face masks, or coverings, for about 30 cents each in central Jakarta, Indonesia. He makes enough money to buy a cell phone that permits him to visit websites. He says every average person has a cellphone. He likes having one because he can talk to his family when he is away from home. And, he is especially pleased that he can use it to listen to music. It is known as a feature phone 。That is because it is cheaper and cannot perform as many actions as more advanced phones like the Apple iPhone.
These devices make up the majority of cell phones sold around the world. They have proven more successful in places like Indonesia, where some smartphones cost 700 dollars or more. Although many lower-income users are new to smartphones, they are quickly learning to use the technology.
Cell manufacturer Nokia offers a service called Life Tools. For a small monthly payment, the company sends text messages to farmers. The messages tell of weather conditions, crop prices, agricultural news and give other advice.
Local businessman Aldi Haryopratomo has developed a way for small store owners to sell things like prepaid cellphone minutes and life insurance through text messages. Ruma is the company that developed the technology. The company is working on a system that will notify people about jobs in their area.
At a recent digital technology show in Jakarta, banks offered no-interest financing for credit card purchases. Marina Luthfiani manages a mobile shop in the area. She said almost everyone can buy a smartphone because of competitive financing and credit choices. She says Indonesians like to buy the latest devices.
A report last June by Semiocast, a French internet research company, said Jakarta was the world's top tweeting（发微博）city, ahead of Tokyo and London.Why are feature phones popular in Indonesia?
| A．It has fewer functions. |
| B．It can be used to enjoy music. |
| C．It is less expensive. |
| D．It is more attractive. |
What is true of the service Life Tools?
| A．It can sell agricultural products |
| B．It provides useful information to farmers |
| C．It is free of charge mainly for farmers. |
| D．It helps farmers to make production plan. |
What does the underlined word “notify’ in Paragraph 4 mean?
| A． Inform | B．Ask | C．Direct. | D．Help. |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Indonesians like services on the Internet |
| B．The Internet is widely used in Indonesia. |
| C．Feature phones are the only choices in Indonesia. |
| D．More and more Indonesians use smartphones. |
We all know that the normal human daily cycle of activity is of some 7-8 hours' sleep alternating(交替) with some 16-17 hours' wakefulness and that the sleep normally coincides with the hours of darkness. Our present concern is with how easily and to what extent this cycle can be modified.
The question is no mere academic one. The ease, for example, with which people can change from working in the day to working at night is a question of growing importance in industry where automation calls for round-the-clock working of machines. It normally takes from five days to one week for a person to adapt to a reversed（颠倒的） routine of sleep and wakefulness, sleeping during the day and working at night. Unfortunately, it is often the case in industry that shifts(轮班) are changed every week; a person may work from 12 midnight to 8 a.m. one week, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. the next, and 4 p.m. to 12 midnight the third and so on. This means that no sooner has he got used to one routine than he has to change to another, so that much of his time is spent neither working nor sleeping very efficiently.
The only real solution appears to be to hand over the night shift to a number of permanent night workers. An interesting study of the domestic life and health of night-shift workers was carried out by Brown in 1957. She found a high incidence (发生率) of disturbed sleep and other disorders among those on alternating day and night shifts, but no abnormal occurrence of these phenomena among those on permanent night work.
This latter system then appears to be the best long-term policy, but meanwhile something may be done to relieve the pressure of alternate day and night work by selecting those people who can adapt most quickly to the changes of routine. One way of knowing when a person has adapted is by measuring his body temperature. People occupied in normal daytime work will have a high temperature during the hours of wakefulness and a low one at night; when they change to night work the pattern will only gradually go back to match the new routine and the speed with which it does so parallels, broadly speaking, the adaptation of the body as a whole, particularly in terms of performance. Therefore, by taking body temperature at two-hour intervals(间隔时间) throughout the period of wakefulness, it can be seen how quickly a person can adapt to a reversed routine, and this could be used as a basis for selection. So far, however, such a form of selection does not seem to have been applied in practice.The main problem of the round-the-clock working system lies in.
| A．the inconveniences brought about to the workers by the introduction of automation |
| B．the disturbance of the daily life cycle of workers who have to change shifts too frequently |
| C．the fact that people working at night are often less effective |
| D．the fact that it is difficult to find a number of good night workers |
The best solution for implementing the 24-hour working system seems to be.
| A．to change shifts at longer intervals. |
| B．to have longer shifts |
| C．to arrange for some people to work on night shifts only |
| D．to create better living conditions for night workers |
It is possible to find out if a person has adapted to the changes of routine by measuring his body temperature because.
| A．body temperature is higher when the cycle of sleep and wakefulness alternates |
| B．body temperature changes when he changes to night shift or back |
| C．the temperature reverses when the routine is changed |
| D．people have higher temperatures when they are working efficiently |
Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
| A．Body temperature may serve as an indication of a worker's performance. |
| B．The selection of a number of permanent night shift workers has proved to be the best solution to problems of the round-the- clock working system. |
| C．Taking body temperature at regular intervals can show how a person adapts to the changes of routine. |
| D．Disturbed sleep occurs less frequently among those on permanent night or day shifts. |
If you think English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the earlier people learn a second language, the greater the effect is.
A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London(UCL), took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of“early bilinguals(通两种语言的人)”, who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference was.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,”said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills.
“Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,”he said,“You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading, writing and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the earlier they started to learn, the better.“Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,”explained the scientists.What does the underlined part“grey matter”(in paragraph 2) refer to?
| A．Grey hair. | B．Material of the brain. |
| C．Intelligence. | D．Difficult situations. |
The experience of learning a second language can.
| A．change one’s brain completely |
| B．improve one’s maths skills |
| C．make one smarter than others |
| D．increase the ability to learn |
We can learn from the passage that.
| A．the researchers from UCL did another study in Italy |
| B．a similar study was done on native Italian speakers who learn English as a second language |
| C．the research done on the Italians showed a totally different result |
| D．it will be easier for one to travel around the world by learning a second language |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Learning a second language can help improve your brain power. |
| B．You should learn a second language in English that is not your native language. |
| C．If you want to learn a second language, you should do it at a certain age. |
| D．The research done by the researchers from UCL is very successful. |
Events in New Jersey （From April 11th-23rd）
Bloomfield Public Library, 90 Broad Street．（973）566-6200．
“Catch Me if You Can”, starring Leonardo DiCaprio．Monday, April 11th
“The Invention of Lying”, comedy．Thursday, April 14th, 8 p．m．
“Sideways”, starring Paul Giamatti．April 18
“Phone Call From a Stranger”, with Bette Davis．April 21
All are Free．
Studio Montclair, 33 Plymouth Street．（973）744-1818．
“Sustainability and the Artistic Vision”, group show featuring artists who use sustainable materials．
Through April 23．
Mondays through Saturdays, 9 a．m．to 5 p．m．, or by appointment．
The Community Theater, 100 South Street．（973）539-8008．
Russian National Ballet Theatre presents “Chopiniana” and “Romeo and Juliet”．
April 15, at 8 p．m．
$27 to $57．
Essex County Environmental Center, 621 Eagle Rock Avenue．（973）228-8776．
“New Jersey Wood-turners”, adults learn to create art from pieces of wood found in nature．
April 18 at 7 p．m．
$8; members, free．
Monmouth Museum, 765 Newman Springs Road．（732）747-2266．
“Give Peace a Chance: John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s Bed-in for Peace Exhibition”, featuring more than 40 large-format images by the photojournalist Gerry Deiter．
Through April 22．
$7; children under 2, free．
Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a．m．to 4:30 p．m．
William Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road．（877）978-3923．
“The African Impact on the American Experience: Between Race and Culture”, panel discussion moderated by Prof．Lawrence Mbogoni．
Tuesday, April 12 at 12:30 p．m．
American Labor Museum, 83 Norwood Street．（973）595-7953．
“The Line That Divides: NAFTA Trade Corridor”, exhibition of photographs, paintings and video by Pamela Calore．
Through April 23．
Wednesdays through Saturdays, 1 to 4 p．m．, or by appointment．
$3 to $5; members and children under 12, free．Which of the following number can offer you more information if you show interest in John Lennon and his wife?
| A．（973）595-7953 | B．（877）978-3923 |
| C．（732）747-2266 | D．（973）566-6200 |
How many events can you choose to enjoy yourself on Saturdays during April 11-23?
| A．2 | B．3 | C．4 | D．5 |
What can we know about “The Line That Divides: NAFTA Trade Corridor” according to the text?
| A．Free admission is offered to certain groups of people． |
| B．The photos exhibited are about Pamela Calore． |
| C．It is accessible all day till April 23． |
| D．Arrangements in advance are required． |
Who is the most likely one to satisfy a student majoring in African history?
| A．Bette Davis | B．Lawrence Mbogoni |
| C．Gerry Deiter | D．Yoko Ono |