Samuel Osmond is a 19-year-old law student from Cornwall, England. He never studied the piano. However, he can play very difficult musical pieces by musicians such as Chopin and Beethoven just a few minutes after he hears them. He learns a piece of music by listening to it in parts. Then he thinks about the notes in his head. Two years ago, he played his first piece Moonlight Sonata(奏鸣曲)by Beethoven. He surprised everyone around him.
Amazed that he remembered this long and difficult piece of music and played it perfectly, his teachers say Samuel is unbelievable .They say his ability is very rare, but Samuel doesn’t even realize that what he can do is special. Samuel wanted to become a lawyer as it was the wish of his parents, but music teachers told him he should study music instead. Now, he studies law and music.
Samuel can’t understand why everyone is so surprised. “I grew up with music. My mother played the piano and my father played the guitar. About two years ago, I suddenly decided to start playing the piano, without being able to read music and without having any lessons. It comes easily to me ---I hear the notes and can bear them in mind---each and every note,” says Samuel.
Recently, Samuel performed a piece during a special event at his college. The piece had more than a thousand notes. The audience was impressed by his amazing performance. He is now learning a piece that is so difficult that many professional pianists can’t play it. Samuel says confidently,” It’s all about super memory---I guess I have that gift.”
However, Samuel’s ability to remember things doesn’t stop with music. His family says that even when he was a young boy, Samuel heard someone read a story, and then he could retell the story word for word.
Samuel is still only a teenager. He doesn’t know what he wants to do in the future. For now, he is just happy to play beautiful music and continue his studies.What is special about Samuel Osmond?
A.He has a gift for writing music. |
B.He can write down the note he hears. |
C.He is a top student at the law school. |
D.He can play the musical piece he hears. |
What can we learn from Paragraph 2?
A.Samuel chose law against the wish of his parents. |
B.Samuel planned to be a lawyer rather than a musician. |
C.Samuel thinks of himself as a man of great musical ability. |
D.Samuel studies law and music on the advice of his teachers. |
Everyone around Samuel was surprised because he _________.
A.received a good early education in music |
B.played the guitar and the piano perfectly |
C.could play the piano without reading music |
D.could play the guitar better than his father |
What can we infer about Samuel in Paragraph 4?
A.He became famous during a special event at his college. |
B.He is proud of his ability to remember things accurately. |
C.He plays the piano better than many professional pianists. |
D.He impressed the audience by playing all the musical pieces. |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.The Qualities of a Musician |
B.The Story of a Musical Talent |
C.The Importance of Early Education |
D.The Relationship between Memory and Music. |
阅读下面短文,并根据短文后的要求答题(请注意问题后的字数要求)。
(1)Hello. It's one of the first words we learn as babies, yet it's one of the last ones we think to use as adults. That's unfortunate, because saying hello is more than just saying hello-it is recognition of another's worth. How might the world change-how might we change-if we mastered this word? To find out, I spent one month saying hello to every person I met. Here's what I've learned.
(2)It can boost (促进) productivity. In one of the few studies ever done on this subject, AllanAllday, an assistant professor of special education at Oklahoma State University, had middle school teachers greet their students individually each morning. This exchange of greetings raised the kids' productivity. School went from impersonal to personal, and that resulted in more class participation and better grades.
(3)Environments influence friendliness, One study found that people in the city were kiss likely to one hands with a stranger than those in the countryside. And researchers say, pleasure environments generally encourage more smiles and hellos than unpleasant ones. My experience was similarly. Whatever the reason, my urban hellos were answered far less often than my rural one. Similarly, people in vacation spots, like the Jersey Shore, were far friendlier than those hurrying work downtown.
(4)It's a form of universal health insurance. It's impossible to say hello without smiling. And smiling has been shown to lower blood pressure, relieve stress and boost happiness. Apparently, a smile creates a similar effect in the recipient (接受者)。
(5)So maybe we can make the world a better place by____________. After a month of doing it. I feel lighter and more connected and I have a better sense of well-being.
1. |
What does the author say about the adults according to Paragraph 1? (within 8 words) |
2. |
Which sentence in the text is the closest in meaning to the following one? |
3. |
Fill in the blank in Paragraph 5 with proper words. (within 5 words) |
4. |
List three effects of smiling on health according to the text. (within 8 words) |
5. |
Translate the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 Chinese. |
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出最佳选项。
As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the go from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is essential for a healthy mind and body.
Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing it is often supposed to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor performance and ill health.
The amount of stress a person can withstand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime material for managerial responsibilities, others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When exposed to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between "flight or fight" and in more primitive days the choices made the difference between life or death. The crises we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it involves the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes endangered. Since we can't remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.
60.People are finding less and less time for relaxing themselves because _____.
A.they regard working as their greatest enjoyment
B.they believe that work is superior to relaxation
C.they are traveling fast all the time
D.they are becoming busier with their work than ever before
61.According to the author, the most important character for a good manager is his _____.
A.strong will to hold out stress
B.knowing the art of relaxation
C.high sense of responsibility
D.having control over performance
62.Which of the following statements is TRUE, according to the passage?
A.We can find quite a few ways to avoid stress.
B.Stress is always harmful to people's health
C.It's easy to change the habit of keeping oneself busy with work.
D.Different people can bear different amount of stress.
63.In the last sentence of the passage, "do so" refers to _____.
A."expose ourselves to stress"
B."find ways to deal with stress"
C."remove stress from our lives"
D."establish links between diseases and stress"
阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中,选出最佳选项。
Get a reward for every bug you bring to live in new science museum exhibit.
In a city with trillions of American cockroaches(蟑螂), the Houston Museum of Natural Science has agreed to pay a quarter per bug-up to 1,000-as it seeks to populate a new insect exhibit alongside its Cockrell Butterfly Center.
Nancy Greig, the museum’s director insists the public payday for roaches isn’t just a marketing ploy(炒作).
“Absolutely, this wasn’t devised as a joke,” Greig said. “We needed more roaches for the exhibit, so I sent this message out to everyone in the museum asking people to bring them in. Well, someone decided to tell the press, and all hell has broken loose.”
“But we really do need cockroaches.”
“One might be forgiven for never considering how to catch a live cockroach. But it’s simple enough to fool them,” Greig said, “and even easier to catch them.” American cockroaches are the most common kind in Texas, measuring up to 2 inches long and invading homes.
Despite their less-than-attractive reputation, cockroaches actually aren’t that dirty. Greig even went so far as to call them “fastidious” saying they don’t enjoy rooting(用嘴拱食) in waste. They’re only dirty if, say, they used a sewer(下水道)line to gain access into a home.
The roaches collected by the museum will become part of a display in a new exhibit that showcases insects such as cockroaches, dung beetles and termites.
There’s more to like about roaches, too. They don’t bite, and they don’t carry diseases like a mosquito, so they’re generally safe to handle.
56.For what does the museum pay for cockroaches?
A.For a marketing ploy. B. It’s devised to make fun.
C.People really need them. D. For a new exhibit.
57.The underlined word “fastidious” probably means extremely ________.
A.clean B.dirty C.unpleasant D.fast
58.What do we know about American roaches?
A.It’s not easy for people in Houston to collect roaches.
B.They all measure 2 inches and are often found in homes
C.They don’t bite and they are free of disease.
D.We have reasons to like them.
59.Which of the following can serve as the best title for the passage?
A.The Houston Museum of Natural Science
B.A new exhibit
C.Quarters for cockroaches
D.A cockroach is lovely
Jeremy Wirick, 9, has been back in school for less than two months, but he has already had several asthma(哮喘)attacks. A recent attack happened on October 2, after he pushed himself too hard in gym class. Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll. When Jeremy got home an hour or two later, he was out of breath. He needed to use a nebulizer, a machine that helps send medicine quickly to the lungs, to get his breathing back to normal.
Asthma attacks like Jeremy increase in September and October. More than six times as many asthma sufferers who are elementary-school age need hospital treatment in the fall as in the summer.
Experts believe many factors can contribute to back-to-school asthma. Kids get together in close spaces, they start passing viruses around. A viral infection can cause an asthma attack. There are also certain fall allergies(过敏症)that can cause attacks. Exercise is another common cause of an attack. Besides, the stress of school can make asthma worse.
Parents can play a big role in helping kids with asthma start the school year right. Dawne Gee’s10-year-old son, Alexander, has had asthma since he was a baby. Before the school year starts, she tells school workers in writing about her son’s asthma.
The Gees live in Kentucky, which has passed laws allowing students to carry their asthma medication(药物治疗)with them at school. Alexander’s mom makes sure he has his inhaler(人工呼吸器)with him when he goes to school and that he keeps it on hand at all times. In Delaware, where Jeremy lives, kids are allowed to carry their inhalers at school.
The American Lung Association says that about 6.2 million American children suffer from asthma. Asthma is the chronic (慢性) illness that causes students to miss the most days of school. There are many things that schools can do to help students control their asthma
1. The passage mainly deals with _______.
A. how to prevent and treat Asthma. what Asthma is and its symptoms
C. the side-effects Asthma has on kids
D. the causes of Asthma and its treatment
2. By saying “Running, power walking, jogging and push-ups took their toll.”, the writer means that_____.
A. physical exercise affected their health
B. physical exercise gave them a deep thought
C. asthma attacks made them like physical exercise
D. asthma attacks could be cured through physical exercise
3. Which of the following statements is NOT supported by the passage?
A. Kids are likely to suffer asthma attacks in the fall
B. Stress can add to the risk of asthma attacks
C. Medical officials should be blamed for asthma attacks
D. Asthma attacks will need necessary medical treatment
4. The passage lists many factors that cause asthma attacks except_____.
A. A viral infection B. unhealthy habits
C. certain fall allergies D. physical exercise
5. The following paragraph is probably going to talk about______.
A. tips on asthma for schools B. a survey on students with asthma
C. the effects asthma has on students D. further understanding of Asthma
Over 70 percent of the "double single-child couples" in China need help from their parents in taking care of their own kids, according to a recent survey.
"Women of China" magazine and a consulting company carried out a survey recently on young couples of the "single-child" generation, the Morning Post reports. The couples surveyed were around 29 and have been married for three years on average, with university education and monthly income of 4.000 yuan ($531). Among them, 43.5 percent have kids.
Results show that 71.9 percent of the young couples have help from their parents in taking care of their kids.
Grown up as the "single-child", the only child in a family since the family planning policy was adopted in 1979, this generation depends much on their parents.
The parents of the "single-child" generation focused more on their children's physical well-being rather than their attitudes and values, according to some psychologists.
The research also found that the "double single-child couples" follow a rather traditional value system.
Survey shows that 27.5 percent of them got married after dating for one to two years, 25.2 percent two to five years, and 20 percent didn't tie the knot until dating for five years. Also, 30 percent of the couples were schoolmates, while 43.8 percent were introduced by someone.
Since their marriage are based on enduring relationships, 65.2 percent of the husbands and 62.9 percent of the wives think that compromise(妥协)and tolerance(宽容)are necessary in their marriage. Meanwhile, 21.7 percent of the husbands and 37.1 percent of the wives support the idea that happiness is the key standard for a marriage.The best title for the passage should be_______.
A.Mom and Dad, Take Care of My Kid Please | B.Double Single-child Couples |
C.The Problem of the Single Child | D.A Recent Survey By Woman of China" |
Which of the following is NOT supported by the passage?
A.The majority of the "double single-child couples" in China depend much on their parents. |
B.The parents of the “single-child” generation more care about their study and education. |
C.One-fifth of the couples surveyed didn't get married until dating for five years. |
D.All the couples surveyed have university education and 30 percent of them were schoolmates |
Which of the following descriptions about “double single-child couples” is True ?
A.They are single child in either family and independent of their parents |
B.They are single child in either family and they are dependent on their parents |
C.They have at least two children and can afford to support themselves |
D.They, who were introduced by someone, follow a rather traditional value system |
According to the passage, we can learn that ______ is necessary in marriage.
A.wealth | B.health | C.understanding | D.education |