You wake up in the morning, the day is beautiful and the plans for the day are what you have been looking forward to for a long time. Then the telephone rings, you say hello, and the drama starts. The person on the other end has a depressing (令人沮丧的) tone in his voice as he starts to tell you how terrible his morning is and that there is nothing to look forward to. You are still in a wonderful mood? Impossible!
Communicating with negative (消极的) people can wash out your happiness. It may not change what you think, but communicating long enough with them will make you feel depressed for a moment or a long time.
Life brings ups and downs, but some people are stuck in the wrong idea that life has no happiness to offer. They only feel glad when they make others feel bad. No wonder they can hardly win others’ pity or respect.
When you communicate with positive (积极的) people, your spirit stays happy and therefore more positive things are attracted. When the dagger (匕首) of a negative person is put in you, you feel the heavy feeling that, all in all, brings you down.
Sometimes we have no choice but to communicate with negative people. This could be a co-worker, or relative. In this case, say what needs to be said as little as possible. Sometimes it feels good to let out your anger back to a negative person, but all this is to lower you to that same negative level and they won’t feel ashamed of themselves about that.
Negativity often affects happiness without even being realized. The negative words of another at the start of the day can cling to (附着) you throughout the rest of your day, which makes you feel bad and steals your happiness. Life is too short to feel negative. Stay positive and avoid negativity as much as possible.How can negative people have effect on us?
| A．By telling US the nature of life. |
| B．By influencing our emotion. |
| C．By comparing their attitude to life with ours. |
| D．By changing our way of thinking. |
Some negative people base their happiness on ____________.
| A．other people’s pity for them |
| B．building up a positive attitude |
| C．making other people unhappy |
| D．other people’s respect for them |
According to the passage, to reduce negative people’s influence on us, we are advised __________.
| A．to change negative people’s attitude to life |
| B．to show our dissatisfaction to negative people |
| C．to communicate with negative people as little as possible |
| D．to make negative people feel ashamed of themselves |
What can we learn about negativity?
| A．Its effect can be completely avoided. |
| B．Its effect can last. |
| C．It hardly happens among family members. |
| D．Its effect is smaller than the effect created by a positive person. |
We all remember seeing hitchhikers, standing by the side of the road, thumb, sticking out, waiting for a lift. But it is getting rare nowadays. What killed hitchhiking? Safety is often mentioned as a reason. Movies about murderous hitchhikers and real-life crime have put many drivers off picking up hitchhikers. That no single women picked me up on my journey to Manchester no doubt reflects the safety fear: a large, strangely dressed man is seen as dangerous.
But the reason may be more complex: hitchhiking happens where people don’t have cars and transport services are poor. Plenty of people still hitchhike in Poland and Romania. Perhaps the rising level of car ownership in the UK means the few people lift hitchhiking are usually considered strange. Why can’t they afford cars? Why can’t they take the coach or the train?
Three-quarters of the UK population have access to a car; many of the remainder will be quite old. The potential hitchhiking population is therefore small. Yet my trip proves it’s still possible to hitchhike. The people who picked me up were very interesting-lawyer, retired surgeon, tank commander, carpenter, man who live in an isolated farmhouse and a couple living up in the mountains. My conclusion is that only really interesting people are mad enough to pick up fat blokes in red, spotted scarves. Most just wanted to do someone a good turn; a few said they were so surprised to see a hitchhiker that they couldn’t help stopping.
The future of hitchhiking most likely lies with car-sharing organized over the Internet, via sites such as hitchhikers.org. But for now, you can still stick your thumb out (actually, I didn’t do much of that, preferring just to hold up my destination sign) and people-wonderful, caring, sharing, unafraid people-will stop.
In the UK, with its cheap coaches and reasonable rail service, I don’t think I’ll make a habit of it. But having enjoyed it so much, I’m ready now to do a big trip across Europe and beyond. In the 1970s a female friend of my wife’s hitchhiked to India. How wonderful it would be to have another go, though Afghanistan might be a challenge. I wish I’d got that tank commander’s mobile number.The author tried to hitchhike but was rejected by single women drivers because.
| A．they were not heading towards Manchester |
| B．they thought most hitchhikers were dangerous |
| C．hitchhiking had been handed and they didn’t want to break the law |
| D．he was a strong man in strange clothes who seemed dangerous |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Movies have discouraged people from hitchhiking |
| B．Car ownership levels are lower in Romania than in the UK. |
| C．25% of UK people don’t have access to cars. |
| D．Increased car ownership has reduced the need for hitchhiking. |
The “fat blokes in red, spotted scarves” in Paragraph 3 most likely means.
| A．murderous hitchhikers | B．friendly and talkative hitchhikers |
| C．typical hitchhikers | D．strange hitchhikers like the author |
According to the author, future hitchhikers are more likely to.
| A．visit websites and find people to share cars with |
| B．stand by roads with their thumbs sticking out |
| C．stick out signs with their destinations written on |
| D．wait for some kind people to pick them up |
From the last paragraph, we know that the author.
| A．frequently hitchhikes in Britain |
| B．plans to hitchhike across Europe |
| C．thinks public transport is safer for travel |
| D．is going to contact the tank commander |
Afederal agency on Tuesday called for a ban on all cellphone use by drivers -- the most far-reaching recommendation up to now — saying its decision was based on a decade of investigations into distraction-related(与分散注意力有关的) accidents, as well as growing concerns that powerful mobile devices are giving drivers even more reasons to look away from the road.
As part of its recommendation, the National Transportation Safety Board is urging states to ban drivers from using hands-free devices, including wireless headsets. No state now has made laws to ban such activity, but the Board said that drivers faced serious risks from talking on wireless headsets, just as they do by taking a hand off the wheel to hold a phone to their ears.
However,the concern was heightened by increasingly powerful phones that people can use to send e-mails, watch movies and play games.
"Everyyear, new devices are being on sale." she said. "People are attracted to update their Facebook page, to play music with cellphone, as if sitting ata desk. But they are driving acar."
Theagency based its recommendation on evidence from its investigation of numerous crashes in which electronic distraction was a major contributing factor.
Ms.Hersman said she understood that this recommendation would be unwelcome in some circles, given the number of drivers who talk and text. But she compared distracted driving to drunken driving and even smoking, which required wholesale cultural shifts to change behavior.
"It'sgoing to be very unpopular with some people." she said. "We're not here to win apopularity contest. We're here to do the right thing. This is a difficult recommendation, but it's the right recommendation and it is time."
Theagency's recommendation is not required for states to adopt such a ban. And it won't likely be agreed upon by state lawmakers who are unwillingly to anger those who have grown accustomed to using their device behind the wheel.
Theban also deserves attention because it is the first call by a federal agency to end the practice completely, rather than the partial ban that some lawmakers have put in place by allowing hands-free talking.The ban on all cellphone use by drivers was put forward______.
| A．after a long discussion and recommendation |
| B．after about ten years' investigation in it |
| C．because of the most powerful mobile devices |
| D．for the reason of heading away from the road |
From the second paragraph we know that now______.
| A．it is legal to use wireless headsets while driving |
| B．wireless headsets are illegal in some states |
| C．it is safe to talk on wireless headsets while driving |
| D．hands-free devices can be used in some states |
We can know from the passage that______.
| A．electronic distraction resulted in numerous crashes |
| B．numerous crashes were caused by drunk driving |
| C．electronic distraction contributed much to the ban |
| D．the recommendation was based on electronic distraction |
Ms Hersman thinks that distracted driving, drunken driving and smoking______.
| A．are just common behaviors | B．can be shifted to behaviors |
| C．are behaviors to be changed | D．are just cultural behaviors |
Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
| A．Cellphone Ban inCars | B．Valuable Ban for Cellphones |
| C．Drivers Ban Cellphones | D．Cellphone Ban while Driving |
We now think of chocolate as sweet, but once it was bitter. We think of it as a candy, but once it was a medicine. Today, chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or just a snack. Sometimes it’s an ingredient(配料) in the main course of a meal. Mexicans make a hot chocolate sauce called mole and pour it over chicken. The Mexicans also eat chocolate with spices like chili peppers.
Chocolate is a product of the tropical cacao tree. The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys say “Ugh!” and run away. Workers must first dry and then roast the beans. This removes the bitter taste.
The word “chocolate” comes from a Mayan word. The Mayas were an ancient people who once lived in Mexico. They valued the cacao tree. Some used the beans for money, while others crushed them to make a drink.
When the Spaniards came to Mexico in the sixteenth century, they started drinking cacao too. Because the drink was strong and bitter, they thought it was a medicine. No one had the idea of adding sugar. The Spaniards took some beans back to Europe and opened cafes. Wealthy people drank cacao and said it was good for the digestion.
In the 1800s, the owner of a chocolate factory in England discovered that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao. It quickly became a cheap and popular drink. Soon afterwards, a factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate. Later on, another factory mixed milk and chocolate together. People liked the taste of milk chocolate even better.
Besides the chocolate candy bar, one of the most popular American snacks is the chocolate chip cookie. Favorite desserts are chocolate cream pie and, of course, an ice cream sundae with hot fudge sauce. It was ________that discovered sugar could remove the bitter taste of cacao.
| A．The workers in the chocolate factory | B．The Spaniards |
| C．The people in England | D．The owner of a chocolate factory |
According to the passage which of the following statements is true?
| A．Nobody had the idea of adding sugar until the sixteenth century. |
| B．The word “chocolate” comes from a Mexican word. |
| C．The beans taste so bitter that even the monkeys like them. |
| D．Workers must dry and roast the beans to remove the bitter taste. |
The Spaniards think that cacao was a medicine because________
| A．it was strong and bitter. | B．it was good for digestion. |
| C．it cured man’s diseases. | D．it was a kind of drink for good health. |
Which is the right time order of the events regarding chocolate?
a. Chocolate became a cheap and popular drink in England.
b. A factory made the first solid block of sweetened chocolate.
c. The Spaniards started drinking cacao.
d. It was found that sugar removed the bitter taste of cacao.
e. A factory mixed milk and chocolate together.
| A．a-b-c-d-e | B．c-d-e-b-a | C．c-d-a-b-e | D．c-d-b-e-a |
It can be inferred from the passage that ________.
| A．chocolate can be a hot drink, a frozen dessert, or a candy bar |
| B．Mexicans like chocolate very much |
| C．chocolate is a product of the cacao tree |
| D．people liked the taste of chocolate mixed with milk |
In the last years of the Warring States period, the State of Qin attacked the State of Wei on a large scale repeatedly and occupied large areas of land, for the State of Wei was too weak to defend itself. In 273 B.C., the Qin army launched a more serious attack upon the State of Wei than ever. The king of the State of Wei gathered his officials, and asked with a worried look if anyone could propose a way to defeat the Qin army. After years of chaos caused by the wars, the officials trembled when fighting was mentioned, and no one dared to speak of resistance.
At the critical moment when a large enemy force was bearing down upon the border, most of the officials persuaded the king to sue for peace, at the cost of giving away to the State of Qin the large area of land north of the Huanghe River and south of the Taihang Mountain. However Su Dai, a counselor, did not agree. He hurried up to the king and said, "Your Majesty, they don't think about the interests of the country at all. It is just because they are afraid of death that they ask you to sue for peace by betraying the country. Of course you can temporarily satisfy the ambition of Qin, but it will never stop attacking us until our land is totally given away."
He added,“Once there was a man whose house was on fire. People told him to put out the fire with water, but he would not listen. Instead, he carried a faggot to put out the fire, only to make the fire fiercer. Isn't it similar to carrying faggots to put out a fire if you agree to sue for peace at the cost of the land of the State of Wei?”
Though Su Dai's argument was very convincing, the king accepted the suggestion of those officials and gave away to the State of Qin a large area of the land of the State of Wei. As might be expected, the Qin army attacked the State of Wei in 225 B.C. again, surrounding the capital city Daliang and flooding it by digging open the dykes (堤防) of the Huanghe River. The State of Wei was finally destroyed.When asked how to defeat the Qin army, most officials _______.
| A．were scared and at a loss what to do |
| B．looked worried and turned to Su Dai for help |
| C．asked a large enemy force to bear down upon the border |
| D．were extremely frightened and decided to give up fighting back |
The underlined phrase“sue for”in Paragraph 2 probably means _______.
| A．demand | B．beg for | C．search for | D．negotiate for |
Su Dai used the example of“carrying faggots to put out a fire”to show _______.
| A．the ambition of the State of Qin | B．the serious results of giving in |
| C．the loss of the land of the State of Wei | D．the trembling consequences of defense |
The story is mainly developed by _______.
| A．time | B．logic | C．making comparison | D．cause and effect |
The attitude of the writer towards Su Dai is _______.
| A．approval | B．praise | C．neutral | D．disapproval |
Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.
Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further： mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions y they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.
Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to (for example: “The hand took hold of the ball”), the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).
Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.
Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动）.Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物）for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does---well, perhaps you'll understand why.Mirror neurons can explain.
| A． why we cry when we are hurt |
| B．why we cough when we suffer from a cold |
| C． why we smile when we see someone else smile |
| D． why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late |
The underlined word "triggered" in the third paragraph probably means “’’
| A．set off | B．cut off | C．built up | D．broken up |
We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons ________.
| A． relate to human behavior and interaction |
| B．control human physical actions and feelings |
| C． result in bad behavior and social disorders |
| D． determine our knowledge and language abilities |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A． Ways to find mirror neurons. |
| B．Problems of mirror neurons. |
| C．Existence of mirror neurons. |
| D． Functions of mirror neurons. |