What is the nature of the scientific attitude, the attitude of the man or woman who studies and applies physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, medicine or any other science?
We all know that science plays an important role in our societies. However, many people believe that our progress depends on two different aspects of science. The first aspect is the application of the machines, products and systems of knowledge that scientists and technologists develop. The second is the application of the special methods of thought and action that scientists use in their work.
What are these special methods of thinking and acting? First of all, it seems that a successful scientist is curious — he wants to find out how and why the universe works. He usually pays attention to problems which he notices have no satisfying explanation, and looks for relationships even if the data available seem to be unconnected. Moreover, he thinks he can improve the existing conditions and enjoys trying to solve the problems which this involves.
He is a good observer, accurate, patient and objective (客观的) and uses the facts he observes to the fullest. For example, trained observers obtain a very large amount of information about a star mainly from the accurate analysis of the simple lines that appear in a spectrum (光谱).
He does not accept statements which are not based on the most complete evidence available. He rejects authority as the only basis for truth. Scientists always check statements and make experiments carefully and objectively.
Furthermore, he does not readily accept his own idea, since he knows that man is the least reliable of scientific instruments and that a number of factors tend to disturb objective investigation.
Lastly, he is full of imagination since he often has to look for relationships in data which are not only complex but also frequently incomplete. Furthermore, he needs imagination if he wants to guess how processes work and how events take place.
These seem to be some of the ways in which a successful scientist or technologist thinks and acts. Which of the following statements about a curious scientist is TRUE?
| A．He doesn’t find confidence and pleasure in work. |
| B．He is interested in problems that are explained. |
| C．He makes efforts to investigate potential connections. |
| D．He looks for new ways of acting. |
Which word can be used to describe the data that a good scientist uses?
| A．Complete | B．Objective | C．Complicated | D．Accurate |
What does the passage mainly discuss?
| A．Application of technology. |
| B．Progress in modern society. |
| C．Scientists' ways of thinking and acting. |
| D．How to become a successful scientist. |
It's wonderful to go to another country, complete a volunteer project and feel that you really have a positive influence. But how can you become an international volunteer?
* Plan practically. Contact the organization a few months before leaving and find out if there are materials which are rare and hard to attain for the project. What you often consider plentiful here, such as nails or hammers, is in great need in other parts of the world.
* Do the project together, not on your own. You are a guest in the community. The most successful result is not that you build something and walk away, but that you and the community build something as a team. Share skills and build together.
* Be flexible. Not everything is going to happen as planned. Often the other country doesn't have the right tools, manpower, transportation or funds to get all the needed work done. In a word, they lack infrastructure(基础设施).
* Contact with the people in the community. Often you will have "downtime" outside of the range of the project. Rather than retreat to the group with whom you traveled, be sure to spend time with the people of the community. Listen to the things about their lives. If you can't speak the language, smiles work wonders. And you will be surprised ― you will find a way to community.
Volunteering is a special and life-long experience for everyone involved. Be prepared that the person who may be changed most is you. It's a joyful, often careful experience which will encourage you to view yourself, your neighbors and your world quite differently. When you volunteer to join in a project, you are advised to .
| A．build something and walk away |
| B．make good preparation in advance |
| C．avoid involving locals in activities |
| D．depend on yourself to solve problems |
According to the author, volunteer will .
| A．reduce challenge in the world |
| B．determine the future of a volunteer |
| C．change a person's opinion of the world |
| D．benefit volunteers most in their learning |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．What prepares you to become a volunteer. |
| B．Where volunteers are needed most in the world. |
| C．Why volunteering is popular with young people. |
| D．How volunteers develop a relationship with local people. |
Have you got some paper, a pair of scissors and, above all, a desire to decorate your house? Then, we have the perfect holiday artwork for you: Make Star Wars snowflakes (雪花). Remembered as a cherished form of work in classrooms before the holidays, paper snowflakes have drawn many people's attention again.
The designer, Anthony Herrera, just recently released his 2013 collection. "The Star Wars snowflake designs began as just doing designs of characters that I and my daughter wanted to make three years ago," Herrera told us in an email. "The second year I introduced vehicles, and this year I decided to push further by designing battle scenes."
Sometimes, he feels a bit bored with his job. With each year, the designs have got more detailed and various, but the process of creating them remained the same: sketching figures on paper with a pencil until a symmetrical (对称）pattern comes out, then scanning the designs and cut them with scissors. However, he says he has plenty of ideas for new flakes next year, so no two will ever be the same. Hopefully with Star Wars: Episode VII coming in 2015 he'll have even more work in the future.
Check out your favorite finished versions of Herrera’s flakes (from both 2013 and previous years) and download the pictures beneath them and then get down to creating your own work. A warning: Most designs aren't for the casual flake-maker, so patience you must have. Making paper snowflakes draws many people's attention probably because ______.
| A．it is a traditional form of decoration | B．it is a course of artwork in school |
| C．it is a way of killing time in holiday | D．it is designed by Anthony Herrera |
From the text, we know that Herrera ______.
| A．can make snowflakes with his daughter's help |
| B．made more complicated designs before 2013 |
| C．introduced paper vehicles in 2011 |
| D．will make a great variety of detailed paper flakes |
Herrera is fed up with the job sometimes because ______
| A．he has to design detailed and different patterns |
| B．he has to follow the fixed process of paper cutting |
| C．he spends much time designing, scanning and cutting |
| D．he has few ideas for what the next designs will be like |
By writing the last paragraph, the author tries to ______.
| A．offer us more information about Herrera’s paper cutting |
| B．tell us how to download picture of snowflakes |
| C．instruct people to be a real creative artist |
| D．remind us of being patient with Herrera’s designs |
Many people cannot start their day without first having a cup of coffee or tea．These drinks help them think clearly and feel more awake．This is because of caffeine，which helps to give a jump start to the nervous system．Now，a report says it may also boost long-term memory．
Mike Yassa is a neurobiology professor．He and other researchers wanted to know if caffeine could improve a person’s memory．He explains，“After you learn anything，it takes some time for that memory to strengthen．And over the first 24 hours is actually where most of the forgetting happens．So that is where we wanted to intervene with caffeine and see if we can help reduce this forgetting．”
They took 160 caffeine-free people and showed them pictures of everyday objects. These people were asked if the objects could be found inside the house， or outdoors．Then some of the subjects were given a caffeine pill．The others were given a placebo—a pill containing nothing. 24 hours later，the subjects were shown the exact same images from the day before．They were also shown images with slight differences，and some completely new images. Both groups correctly identified the exact same and completely new pictures．But those who took the caffeine pill were better at spottingthe pictures that were slightly different．
Professor Yassa says their answers helped to show the effects of caffeine on memory. And we find that if they are on caffeine they are much more likely to make the right decision．”
The amount of caffeine the researchers used in the study was similar to one cup of strong coffee．The researchers did not see any improvement to memory from smaller doses of caffeine or when it was given an hour before viewing the images．What is the focus of the text?
| A．Caffeine can make people addicted． |
| B．Caffeine can make people energetic. |
| C．Caffeine can improve long—term memory． |
| D．Caffeine can make people feel comfortable． |
What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．How the experiment was conducted． |
| B．Who took part in the experiment． |
| C．Which group of subjects did better． |
| D．What was used in the experiment． |
In which section of a magazine can we read this text?
| A．Culture． | B．Technology． | C．Health. | D．Education. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Most forgetting occurs within the first 24 hours． |
| B．Forgetting can be positively affected by caffeine． |
| C．The subjects were given different pills． |
| D．Yassa was disappointed with the result． |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．More caffeine means better memory． |
| B．Smaller doses of caffeine doesn’t work． |
| C．The time to take cafieine doesn’t matter． |
| D．Caffeine is taken before the experiment． |
This the best time and this the worst time；this is the time of great material richness and this is the time of desert of soul．Everyone seems to be rushing around for something but they have never fulfilled they dream．Everyone tries to seek happiness but it seems to be nowhere to be found．
When asked“what on earth can make you happy?”，most modern man would give similar replies such as becoming extremely wealthy，or getting promoted in work and then becoming very wealthy．When asked“what will you do with your wealth?”，they would make a long list of things they have been longing for．However haven’t you noticed the multibillionaires are not as happy as we common guys suppose them to be?Haven’t you noticed that the multibillionaire celebrities don’t even enjoy the fundamental freedom of going shopping with their own families without being followed by annoying paparazzi?
If we hinge our happiness on such big issues，we are bound to be unhappy all through our life, because those big issues might just occur to us once in a blue moon.
As Socrates once put it，“He is the richest who is content with the least，for content is the wealth of nature”．But how can we “be content with the least”?If you pay due attention，our life is loaded with little joys，sometime too little to be noticeable．Stop once in a while in your rush to your destination，look around and you will see that there are always little things worth cheering for. You got an“A”in a test．Good!You listened to all inspiring lecture．Great!You offered a helping hand to someone who had a flat tire! Amazing! Your dream girl／boy greeted you with a sweet smile!Fantastic!And so on and so forth!Let’s cheer for the little joys in life!
Please keep in mind that never should we wait to be happy!What is the best title of the text?
| A．Money means happiness． | B．Happiness is all around us． |
| C．Dreams make our life rich． | D．Satisfaction is unacceptable． |
According to the text，which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Money doesn’t necessarily bring happiness． |
| B．Desire for wealth makes people unhappy． |
| C．Great occasions are worth celebrating． |
| D．We should ignore little joys in our life． |
What does the underlined phrase in the third paragraph probably mean?
| A．Rarely． | B．Regularly． | C．Normally． | D．Frequently． |
According to Socrates，people who are“content with the least”are ___________.
| A．greedy | B．ambitious | C．optimistic | D．reliable |
In the fourth paragraph，the author suggests that we should ___________.
| A．set up great goals in life | B．make full use of opportunities |
| C．enjoy even moment in life | D．seek significant issues in life |
How to apologize properly is much more difficult than we think. Provided you want to teach your children to apologize, you must be good at saying sorry yourself, especially to your own children. But how you say it can be quite tricky.
If you say to your children “I’m sorry I got angry with you, but …” what follows that “but” can make the apology ineffective: “I had a bad day” or “your noise was giving me a headache ” leaves the person feeling that he should be apologizing for his bad behavior in expecting an apology.
Another method by which people appear to apologize without actually doing so is to say “I’m sorry you’re upset”; this suggests that you are somehow at fault for allowing yourself to get upset by what the other person has done.
Then there is the general, all covering apology, which avoids the necessity of identifying a specific act that was particularly hurtful or insulting, and which the person who is apologizing should promise never to do again. Saying “I’m useless as a parent” does not make any sense.
These false apologies are used by people who believe saying sorry shows weakness. Parents who wish to teach their children to apologize should see it as a sign of strength, and therefore not voice these false apologies.
But even when presented with examples of really being sorry, children still need help to become aware of the complexities of saying sorry. A three-year-old might need help in understanding that other children feel pain just as he does, and that hitting a playmate over the head with a heavy toy requires an apology. A six-year-old might need reminding that spoiling other children’s expectations can require an apology. A 12-year-old might need to be shown that taking the biscuit without asking permission is acceptable, but that borrowing a parent’s clothes without permission is not. If a mother adds “but” to an apology,________.
| A．the child may feel that he owes her an apology |
| B．she knows that the child has been hurt |
| C．the child may find the apology easier to accept |
| D．she feels that she should have apologized |
According to the author, saying “I’m sorry you’re upset” most probably means “_______”.
| A．You have good reason to get upset |
| B．I apologize for hurting your feelings |
| C．I’m aware you’re upset , but I’m not to blame |
| D．I’m at fault for making you upset |
We learn from the last paragraph that iiS teaching children to say sorry
A. the complexities involved should be ignored
B. parents need to set them a good example
C. their ages should be taken into account
D parents should be patient and tolerantIt can be inferred from the passage that apologizing properly is
| A． to say sorry in a general way |
| B． a way to improve your relationships |
| C． a sign of social progress and social harmony |
| D．not as simple as it seems |