Who’s in control of your life? Who’s pulling your strings(绳子)? For the majority of us, it’s other people—society, colleagues, friends, family or our religious community. We learned this way of operating when we were very young, of course. We were brainwashed. We discovered that feeling important and feeling accepted was a nice experience and so we learned to do everything we could to make other people like us. As Oscar Wilde puts it, “Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry(模仿), their passions a quotation.”
So when people tell us how wonderful we are, it makes us feel good. We long for this good feeling like a drug—we are addicted to it and seek it out wherever we can. Therefore, we are so eager for the approval of others that we live unhappy and limited lives, failing to do the things we really want to. Just as drug addicts and alcoholics live worsened lives to keep getting their fix(一剂毒品), we worsen our own existence to get our own constant fix of approval.
But, just as with any drug, there is a price to pay. The price of the approval drug is freedom—the freedom to be ourselves. The truth is that we cannot control what other people think. People have their own agenda(议程), and they come with their own baggage and, in the end, they’re more interested in themselves than in you. Furthermore, if we try to live by the opinions of others, we will build our life on sinking sand. Everyone has a different way of thinking, and people change their opinions all the time. The person who tries to please everyone will only end up getting exhausted and probably pleasing no one in the process.
So how can we take back control? I think there’s only one way—make a conscious decision to stop caring what other people think. We should guide ourselves by means of a set of values—not values imposed from the outside by others, but innate values which come from within. If we are driven by these values and not by the changing opinions and value systems of others, we will live a more authentic(真实的), effective, purposeful and happy life.What Oscar Wilde says implies that _____.
A.most people have a variety of thoughts. |
B.we have thoughts similar to those of others. |
C.other people’s thoughts are more important . |
D.most people’s thoughts are controlled by others. |
What does the author try to argue in the third paragraph?
A.We may lose ourselves to please others. |
B.The price of taking the drug is freedom. |
C.We need to pay for what we want to get. |
D.Changing opinions may cost us our freedom. |
It can be concluded from the passage that _____.
A.it’s better to do what we like |
B.we shouldn’t care what others think |
C.we shouldn’t change our own opinions |
D.it’s important to accept others’ opinions |
The author tries to persuade the readers to accept his arguments mainly by _____.
A.discussing questions |
B.making suggestions |
C.analyzing causes and effects |
D.providing examples and facts |
Instead of hitting the beach, fourteen high school students traded swimming suits for lab coats last summer and turned their attention to scientific experiments.
The High School Research Program offers high school students guidance with researchers in Texas A & M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Jennifer Funkhouser, academic adviser for the Department of Rangeland Ecology and Management, directs this four-week summer program designed to increase understanding of research and its career potential.
Several considerations go into selecting students, including grades, school involvement and interest in science and agriculture. And many students come from poorer school districts. Funkhouser says, “This is their chance to learn techniques and do experiments they would never have a chance to do in high school.” Warner Ervin of Houston is interested in animal science and learned how to tell male from female mosquitoes. His adviser, Craig Coates, studies the genes of mosquitoes that allow them to fight against malaria and yellow fever. Coates thought this experience would be fun and helpful to the high school students.
The agricultural research at A&M differs from stereotypes. It’s “molecular(分子)science on the cutting edge,” Funkhouser says. The program broadened students’ knowledge. Victor Garcia of Rarcia of Rio Grande City hopes to become a biology teacher and says he learned a lot about chemistry from the program.
At the end of the program, the students presented papers on their research. They’re also paid $600 for their work—another way this program differs from others, which often charge a fee.
Fourteen students got paid to learn that science is fun, that agriculture is a lot more than milking and plowing and that research can open many doors.
72. The research program is chiefly designed for ________.
A. high school advisers from Houston
B. college students majoring in agriculture
C. high school students from different places
D. researchers at the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
73. It can be inferred from the text that the students in poorer areas ____.
A. found the program useful to their future
B. could often take part in the program
C. had little chance to go to college
D. showed much interest in their high school experiments
74. When the program was over, the students ________.
A. entered that college B. wrote research reports
C. paid for their research D. found ways to make money
75. What would be the best title for the passage?
A. A program for Agricultural Science Students
B. A program for Animal Science Students
C. A program for Medical Science Lovers
D. A program for Future Science lovers
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,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Amanda took whatever pills she could get, largely because she was finding life hard to take. “There were a lot of problems,” she says. She had just found out that her parents were splitting(分开). It took her by surprise—and she was shocked. “I woke up one morning, and they told me.”
“On a few occasions during my two years of going to pharming parties(品药聚会), my heart would race so fast it felt like it was going to explode. I felt weak and confused sometimes and even passed out several times,” she recalls. “But I picked up from the ground because I had a lot of pride in my drinking and drugging. I was really crazy about it and proud of the fact that I could take more than a lot of people.”
Finally, though, things got out of control. “I couldn’t go a day without taking something,” she recalls, “and after a while, the pills upset my stomach; it hurt all the time, and I hardly ate. Finally, I couldn’t take it any more. I went to my parents and told them I needed help.”
Amanda entered a treatment program and has been calm since her release last January. “Detox(戒瘾) was the worst four days of my entire life,” she says. “I was throwing up all the food and had the shakes.”
She doesn’t care about drugs. “I’m so hurt from this,” says Amanda, who has ulcers(溃疡) and damaged kidneys from the drugs and alcohol. “I have to struggle daily to stay calm. But in some ways, I feel lucky I went through it, and I’m out of it now.” Amanda wrote a song called “Goodnight to the Moonlight”. Amanda says, “It’s about how it feels to be taking drugs and alcohol, how it hurts, how it makes you feel like you’re losing yourself.”
56. The purpose of writing this passage is to tell us that _______.
A. parents have a great influence on their children
B. drugs are a danger to our health and mind
C. once determined, you will face no difficulty
D. once formed, bad habits are hard to get rid of
57. From the second paragraph we can learn that Amanda_______.
A. was bored with her behavior
B. never felt frightened or ashamed of taking pills
C. took pride in taking much more drugs
D. was so strong in body that she never felt tired
58. After taking drugs, Amanda _______.
A. found out that her parents were splitting
B. found her lungs were damaged
C. was forced to enter a treatment program
D. She felt confused and almost broke down
59. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that _______.
A. Amanda had such a strong will that she didn’t lose herself
B. Amanda’s song expressed her thanks and delight
C. Detox was not really a success to Amanda
D. drugs and alcohol ruined Amanda’s health as well as her spirit
Sport is not only physically challenging,but it can also be mentally challenging. Criticism from coaches,parents,and other teammates,as well as pressure to win can create an excessive amount of anxiety or stress for young athletes. Stress can be physical,emotional,or psychological,and research has indicated that it can lead to burnout. Burnout has been described as dropping or quitting of an activity that was at one time enjoyable.
The early years of development are critical years for learning about oneself. The sport setting is one where valuable experiences can take place. Young athletes can,for example,learn how to cooperate with others,make friends,and gain other social skills that will be used throughout their lives. Coaches and parents should be aware,at all times,that their feedback to youngsters can greatly affect their children. Youngsters may take their parents’ and coaches’ criticisms to heart and find flaws(缺陷)in themselves.
Coaches and parents should also be cautious that youth sport participation does not become work for children. The outcome of the game should not be more important than the process of learning the sport and other life lessons. In today’s youth sport setting,young athletes may be worrying more about who will win instead of enjoying themselves and the sport. Following a game, many parents and coaches focus on the outcome and find fault with youngsters’ performances. Positive reinforcement(正面强化)should be provided regardless of the outcome. Research indicates that positive reinforcement motivates and has a greater effect on learning than criticism. Again,criticism can create high levels of stress, which can lead to burnout.
72.An effective way to prevent the burnout of young athletes is ____________.
A.to make sports less competitive
B.to make sports more challenging
C.to reduce their mental stress
D.to increase their sense of success
73.According to the passage sport is positive for young people in that____________.
A.it can help them learn more about society
B.it teaches them how to set realistic goals for themselves
C.it enables them to find flaws in themselves
D.it can provide them with valuable experience
74.Many coaches and parents are in the habit of criticizing young athletes ________.
A.without realizing criticism may destroy their self-confidence
B.in order to make them remember life lessons
C.believing that criticism is beneficial for their early development
D.so as to put more pressure on them
75.The author’s purpose in writing the passage is ____________.
A.to persuade athletes not to worry about criticism
B.to emphasize the importance of positive reinforcement to young athletes
C.to discuss the skill of combining criticism with encouragement
D.to teach young athletes how to avoid burnout
The largest earthquake (magnitude 里氏 9.5) of the 20th century happened on May 22,1960 off the coast of South Central Chile.
It generated(生成) one of the most destructive Pacific-wide tsunamis(海啸).Near the generating area, both the earthquake and the tsunami were very much destructive, particularly in the coastal area from Concepcion to the south end of Isia Chiloe.The largest tsunami damage occurred at Isia Chiloe—the coastal area closest to the epicenter(震中).Huge tsunami waves measuring as high as 25 meters arrived within 10 to 15 minutes after the earthquake, killing at least two hundred people, sinking all the boats, and flooding half a kilometer inland.
There was large damage and loss of life at Concepcion, Chile's top industrial city.Near the city of Valdivia, the earthquake and following aftershocks generated landslides which killed 18 people.At me port city of Valparaiso, a city of 200,000, many buildings collapsed.A total of 130,000 houses were destroyed —one in every three in the earthquake zone and nearly 2,000,000 people were left homeless.
Total damage losses, including to agriculture and to industry, were estimated to be over a half billion dollars .The total number of death related with both the tsunami and the earthquake was never found accurately for the region Estimates of deaths reached between 490 to 5,7002 with no distinction(差别) as to how many deaths were caused by the earthquake and how many were caused by the tsunami.However, it is believed that most of the deaths in Chile were caused by the tsunami.
68.Where did the largest tsunami damage occurred?
A.Concepcion B.Isia Chiloe C.Valdivia D.Valparaiso
69.What can we learn about the tsunami waves generated by the earthquake?
A.The tsunami waves as high as 25 meters arrived immediately after the earthquake.
B.The tsunami waves killed 200 people and sank all boats.
C.The tsunami waves were very destructive.
D.The tsunami waves flooded half of the inland.
70.What is generally thought the main cause of deaths in Chiloe?
A.landslides B.the tsunami
C.aftershocksD.the magnitude 9.5 earthquake
71.What does the underlined word "collapsed" probably mean ?
A.was destroyedB.caught fire
C.was flooded D.sank
Susan Sontag(1933—2004) was one of the most noticeable figures in the world of literature. For more than 40 years she made it morally necessary to know everything—to read every book worth reading, to see every movie worth seeing. When she was still in her early 30s,publishing essays in such important magazines as Partisan Review,she appeared as the symbol of American culture life,trying hard to follow every new development in literature,film and art. With great effort and serious judgment,Sontag walked at the latest edges of world culture.
Seriousness was one of Sontag’s lifelong watchwords(格言),but at a time when the barriers between the well-educated and the poor-educated were obvious, she argued for a true openness to the pleasure of pop culture. In “Notes Camp”, the 1964 essay that first made her name,she explained what was then a little—known set of difficult understandings,through which she could not have been more famous.“Notes on Camp”,she wrote,represents “a victory of ‘form’ over ‘content’, ‘beauty’ over ‘morals’ ”.
By conviction(信念)she was a sensualist(感觉论者),but by nature she was a moralist(伦理学者),and in the works she published in the 1970s and 1980s,it was the latter side of her that came forward. In “Illness as Metaphor”—published in 1978,after she suffered cancer—she argued against the idea that cancer was somehow a special problem of repressed personalities(被压抑的性格),a concept that effectively blamed the victim for the disease. In fact,re-examining old positions was her lifelong habit.
In America,her story of a 19th century Polish actress who set up a perfect society in California,won the National Book Award in 2000. But it was as a tireless,all-purpose cultural view that she made her lasting fame.
“Sometimes,” she once said,“I feel that,in the end,all I am really defending…is the idea of seriousness,of true seriousness.”And in the end,she made us take it seriously too.
64.The underlined sentence in paragraph l means Sontag ____________.
A.was a symbol of American cultural life
B.developed world literature,film and art
C.published many essays about world culture
D.kept pace with the newest development of world culture
65.She first won her name through____________.
A.her story of a Polish actress
B.her book Illness as Metaphor
C.publishing essays in magazines like Partisan Review
D.her explanation of a set of difficult understandings
66.Susan Sontag’s lasting fame was made upon____________.
A.a tireless,all-purpose cultural view
B.her lifelong watchword: seriousness
C.publishing books on morals
D.enjoying books worth reading and movies worth seeing
67.From the works Susan published in the 1970s and 1980s,we can learn that _____.
A.she was more a moralist than a sensualist
B.she was more a sensualist than a moralist
C.she believed repressed personalities mainly led to illness
D.she would like to re-examine old positions