Choosing the Right Resolution (决定)
Millions of Americans began 2014 with the same resolution they started 2013 with, a goal of losing weight. However, setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake.
To reach our goal of losing weight --- the output, we need to control what we eat --- the input ( 输入). That is, we tend to care about the output but not to control the input. This is a bad way to construce goals. The alternative is to focus your resolution on the input. Instead of resolving to lose weight, try an actionable resolution: "I'll stop having desert for lunch," or "I'll walk every day for 20 minutes." Creating a goal that focuses on a well-specified input will likely be more effective than concentrating on the outcome.
Recently a new science behind incentives (激励) , including in education, has been discussed. For example, researcher Roland Fryer wanted to see what works best in motivating children to do better in school. In some cases, he gave students incentives based on input, like reading certain books, while in others, the incentives were based on output, like results on exams. His main finding was that incentives increased achievement when based on input but had no effect on output. Fryer's conclusion was that the intensives for inputs might be more effective because do not knoe how to do better on exam, aside from general rules like "study harder." Reading certain books, on the other hand, is a well-set task over which they have much more control.
As long as you have direct control over your goal, you have a much higher chance of success. And it's easier to start again if you fail, because you know exactly what you need to do.
If you want to cut down on your spending, a good goal would be making morning coffee at home instead of going to a cafe, for example. This is a well-specified action-based goal for which you can measure your success easily. Spending less money isn't a goal because it's too general. Similarly, if you want to spend more time with your family, don't stop with this general wish. Think bout an actionable habit that you could adopt and stick to, like a family movie night every Wednesday.
In the long run, these new goals could become a habit.
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The writer thinks that setting weight loss as a goal is a mistake because.
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| 2． |
In Roland Fryer's research, some students did better than the others because.
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| 3． |
According to the writer, which of the following statements is a good goal?
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| 4． |
The writer strongly believes that we should.
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Two new studies suggest that modern running shoes could increase the risk of injuries to runners.
One study involved sixty-eight healthy young women and men who ran at least twenty-four kilometers a week. The runners were observed on a treadmill machine. Sometimes they wore running shoes. Other times they ran barefoot.
Researchers from the JKM Technologies Company in Virginia, the University of Virginia and the University of Colorado did the study.
They found that running shoes create more stress that could damage knees, hips and ankle joints than running barefoot. They observed that the effect was even greater than the effect reported earlier for walking in high heels.
The study appeared in the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine.
The other study appeared in the journal Nature. It compared runners in the United States and Kenya. The researchers were from Harvard University in Massachusetts, Moi University in Kenya and the University of Glasgow in Scotland.
They divided the runners into three groups. One group had always run shoeless. Another group had always run with shoes. And the third group had changed to shoeless running.
Runners who wear shoes usually come down heel first. That puts great force on the back of the foot. But the study found that barefoot runners generally land on the front or middle of their foot. That way they ease into their landing and avoid striking their heel.
Harvard’s Daniel Lieberman led the study. He says the way most running shoes are designed may explain why those who wear them land on their heels. The heel of the shoe is bigger and heavier than other parts of the shoe, so it would seem more likely to come down first. Also, the heel generally has thick material under it to soften landings.
64. How many organizations are involved in the two studies?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.
65. Why do running shoes increase the risk of injuries to runners?
A. They create more stress.
B. They’re too big and heavy.
C. They can affect the way the runners run.
D. Their heels can soften landings.
66. What can we learn from the text?。
A. Most running shoes are designed improperly.
B. The design of high heels is better than that of running shoes.
C. No one will run with running shoes in the future.
D. Both of the studies are done in America.
67. How did the researchers do the two studies?
A. By practising. B. By comparing.
C. By questioning. D. By reasoning.
Only one of the ancient wonders of the world still survives — now history lovers are being invited to choose a new list of seven.
An original list of nearly 200 sites nominated by the public was narrowed to 21 by the organizers and experts, including the former director general of Unesco Professor Federico Mayor.
The vote is organized by a non-profit Swiss Foundation called New 7 Wonders which specializes in the preservation (保存), restoration and promotion of monuments (纪念碑), and the results will be announced on July 7, 2009, in Lisbon.
About 20 million votes have already been lodged (提出) including many from India, for the Tai Mahal; China, for the Great Wall; Britain, for the Stonehenge; the only British landmark and from Peru, for Machu Picchu, the fortress city of the Local.
The other original seven wonders of the ancient world were the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Statue of Zeus at Olympia; the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus; the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus; the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Tia Viering, spokeswoman for New 7 Wonders, said: “Apart from the Pyramids, the seven ancient wonders of the world no longer exist.”
The only standard for the new list is that the landmarks were built or discovered before 2000.
Votes can be made online, at www.new7wonders.com. To vote your favorite Natural site for the selection of New 7 Wonders of the World, you will need to be a member of New 7 Wonders Campaign. For
the membership form, simply go to http://www.new7wonders.com/nature/en/vote_on_nominees
and get registered with the required information and email address. After registration process is complete, you can vote your favorite sites.
60. Why does Swiss Foundation organized the vote?
A. Because they want to make money from it.
B. They want to protect the ancient landmarks.
C. They want to show their influence in the world.
D. The UN asked them to organize the vote.
61. The word “nominated” in paragraph 2 probably means _______.
A. officially selected B. carefully chose
C. finally decided D. formally suggested
62. Which is the only survivor of the original seven wonders?
A. The Great Wall. B. The Stonehenge.
C. The Pyramids. D. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
63. The passage most probably appears _________.
A. on the internet B. in a magazine
C. in a textbook C. in a diary
第三部分：阅读理解（共 20小题；每小题 2分，满分 40分）
阅读下列短文，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C 和 D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was unfeeling. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours.
Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast.
On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense that she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks came toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the cold water of the sea, she struggled on — hour after hour — while millions watched on national television.
Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much farther. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out.
Still warming her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue (疲劳) or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal.
Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith ready and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind that fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim across the Catalina Channel, eclipsing (让……黯然失色) the men’s record by two hours!
56. What can be the best title for the text？
A. Keep your goals in sight.
B. Woman can be better than men.
C. How to swim across the Catalina Channel.
D. Where there is a will, there is a way.
57. Why did Florence give up swimming across the Catalina Channel the first time?
A. She couldn’t swim with the dense fog.
B. She could hardly see her support boats.
C. She was all worn out.
D. She couldn’t see the land ahead.
58. It can be inferred from the text that_______.
A. weather has little effect on swimmers
B. knowing one’s goal is very important
C. Florence had great desire to break the men’s record
D. Florence was full of energy after two months’ rest
59. Which of the following is NOT true about Florence?
A. She didn’t know only a half mile left the first time.
B. She had long distant swimming experience before.
C. The TV audience felt unsatisfied because she quit on the half way.
D. It’s dangerous for her to swim across the Catalina Channel.
Win a trip to the OREGON COAST-Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. Build the biggest sand castle on the beach. Search tide pools for sea life. Watch the bright orange sunset over the ocean. Whether you’ve been to the Pacific Ocean before or have only closed your eyes and imagined it, we want to know how you would explore the Oregon Coast if you had the chance to go this summer.
JUDGING
1. Clear relationship between the Essay and the Drawing 40%
2. Creativity and skill in design and form of the Drawing 
40%
3. Expression of the passion to draw and explore 10%
4. Journalistic quality, tidy nature and overall quality of the Essay 10%
PRIZE
By entering, you will have the chance to win an all expense paid trip to the ORECON COAST. Activities will include: kite flying, studying beaut
iful sea creatures, searching for sea life in a boat, science exploration at a science center and roasting over a beach campfire.
Who may enter: The competition is 0pen to kids aged 6 - 14.
TERM : Entries(参赛作品) must be postmarked no later than July 31 ,2009.
How to enter
Surf travelogue. com/kids to download and print out an entry form.
Be sure to mark whether you have or have not been to the Pacific Ocean in山e form. Create a drawing of the Pacific Ocean on a piece of paper using a pen or paints.
Write an article of 100 words or less to explain why you want to go, what you think you would see and what you would explore if you have never been to the Pacific Ocean, or describe your favorite memories from your last visit.
Send to Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. NG1145 14th street NW. Washington D. C. 20036
72. What is the most important for the judging?
A. Whether your article is written in a neat way.
B. The article and the drawing should be closely related.
C. Whether you show your passion to draw and explore.
D. The skill in your drawing the map of the Atlantic Ocean.
73. If you win the competition, you may____
A. search the beach for sea plants
B. fly a kite on the beach
C. roast the sea creatures over a beach campfire
D. win an all expense paid trip to Washington D. C.
74. What information can you get from the passage?
A. Your article should be 8t least 100 words.
B. Every kid can rake part in the competition.
C. You must send the drawing before June 31, 2009.
D. Your entry form should be downloaded and printed out.
75. You can most probably read the passage in _ .
A．a textbook B．a travel guide
C．a newspaper D．a research book
As school starts again, there's so much more for an American parent to nag （唠叨）about, like homework，bedtime and lost hours on the Internet.
But in the age of digital childhood，Jacky Longwell, 45 , of McLean, Virginia, often text – messages what she once told her children by mouth: Be nice to your brother; walk the dog; remember your reading.
This is the world of the modern family, in which even reminding children to do something has become electronic.
There are changes in how parents nag and in what they nag about and in how often of their nagging.
With technology," you nag more, and you are a little bit more precise （其体的）with your nagging,” said Reginald Black, 46, of Woodbridge. Virginia.
For many young people electronic nagging is part of the experience of growing up.
Charles Flowers, 17, a senior at St. John’s College High School in Washington, says his mother reminds him about everything from laundry, being on time to baseball practice and mowing the lawn by text.
When she uses capitals he knows she’s serious: GET HOME!
Some say technology has made nagging less annoying. Jacky Longwell thinks texts are less emotional than spoken messages and less likely to be resisted by teenagers.
“It’s not as painful for them to hear it by text. It becomes grouped with the friendly communication.” she said. “They can’t hear the nagging.”
She thinks a good way to do it is to mix friendliness with nagging. A parent can always start by saying hello.
Not all parents like the new electronic nagging. Joyce Bouchard, 51, a mother of four in Fairfax, Virginia , texts her 14 - year - old son but says that for many things-chores, homework-the old - fashioned way works better. Nagging by text has risks. She notes: “I always think, if you’re texting them something and they’re with their friends, they are getting a big laugh out of it.”
68. The main idea of the article is .
A. what American parents like to nag about
B. why American parents like to nag their children
C. that electronic nagging is becoming common in the US
D. how American parents began to nag their children by text mess
ages
69. The example of Reginald Black is used to show readers .
A. that her nagging is thoughtful
B. that she likes nagging her children very much
C. the kind of skills a parent needs to nag effectively
D. how the amount and kind of nagging have changed with the arriva
l of the digital age
70. The underlined sentence “Nagging by text has risks.” most probably means“ ”
A. Electronic nagging costs too much
B. Nagging messages may he resisted
C. Receiving texts is harmful to teenagers’ health
D. Parents are likely to be addicted to nagging by text
71. We can infer from the article that .
A. it’s better for parents to nag in a friendly way
B. if nagging is electronic, it is not annoying
C. American parents generally don’t like to nag
D. American parents like to use capital letters in messages