Blind imitation(模仿）is destroying yourself. To common people, imitation appears attractive; to creative people ,imitation is misleading.
In the early stages of skill or character(性格）development, imitation is helpful, When I first learned to cook, I used recipes and really cooked some tasty dishes. But soon I grew bored. Why did I have to follow someone else’s way of cooking when I could create my own? Imitating role models(榜样） is like using training wheels on a child’s bicycle. They help you get going, but once you find your own balance, you fly faster and farther without depending on them.
In daily life, imitation can hurt us if we hold poor role models. As a child, if you watched people whose lives pain as normal and gone on to follow what they did. If you do not make strong choices for yourself, you’ll get the results of the weak choices of others.
In the field of entertainment, our culture appreciates famous people. Those stars look great on screen. But when they step off screen, their personal lives may be awful. If you are going to follow someone, concentrate on their talent, not their bad character or behaviors.
People like the person who is willing to act on their sudden inspiration to create something particular. Think of the things and people that have affected you most deeply. They moved you because their creations were caused by inspiration, not desperation(绝望）. The world is changed not by those who do similar work before them but by those who do creative work. Creative people are full of new ideas. The problem a creator faces is not running out of material; It is what to do with the material to knock at the door of imagination.
Study your role models, accept the gifts they have given and leave behind what does not serve you. Then you can say, “If I have announced my success, it’s by learning lessons from my ancestors’ failure.”Imitation is useful when you
| A．know you are common |
| B．lose the balance of life |
| C．begin to learn something new |
| D．get tired of daily life |
In order not to get the bad result of imitation, we should
| A．Forget daily fear and pain |
| B．choose the right example |
| C．ask others for decisions |
| D．stay away from stars |
The author thinks the world moves on because of those who
| A．turn their original ideas into real things |
| B．influence others with their knowledge |
| C．discover what their ancestors did |
| D．put different materials to good use |
The trouble a creator faces is
| A．what to learn from other people |
| B．how to affect other people deeply |
| C．how to search for more materials |
| D．how to use imagination creatively |
What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?
| A．To compare imitation with creation. |
| B．To criticize the characters of role models. |
| C．To sow the importance of creativity. |
| D．To explain the ways of achieving success. |
阅读理解。阅读下列内容，从每小题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出一个最佳答案。
If visitors cannot see the animals, the animals may be______.
| A．playing | B．eating | C．acting | D．sleeping |
Jack is eight years old. He goes to the zoo with his 58-year-old grandfather．How much should they pay for visiting the zoo?
| A．$18. | B．$22. | C．$28. | D．$32. |
What should we do in order not to frighten the animals?
| A．We should ride bikes. |
| B．We should keep quiet. |
| C．Ｗe should feed the animals. |
| D．We should keep the zoo clean. |
If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.
| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| C．that language can help brain power |
| D．language learning and maths study |
The underlined word “bilingual” probably means _______.
| A．a researcher on language learning |
| B．a second language learner |
| C．an active language learner |
| D．a person who can speak two languages |
We may know from the scientific findings that ________.
| A．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is |
| B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language |
| C．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain |
| D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time |
In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that _________.
| A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths |
| B．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects |
| C．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language |
| D．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language |
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you.” he said, “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
| A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me. |
| B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer. |
| C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on. |
| D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious. |
Why did her father listen to her quietly?
| A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true. |
| B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while. |
| C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment. |
| D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth. |
Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend |
| B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had |
| C．My Father |
| D．My Childhood |
I have a neighbor we call “Happy”. I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh (苛刻) word to anyone or about anyone.
Happy and her husband Ben, 70, have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbors watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben’s beans, we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market, Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard.
Last month, Happy and Ben invited most of the neighborhood over for an “all-day food fest”. We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn’t know what was about to take place.
By 9:00 am, there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes, beans, okra, and squash. By 10:00 am, there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o’clock, everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner, we played games. As we were leaving, Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty（收成）of the day, already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift!
Well, the point wasn’t so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another’s company. None of it would have happened if it had been for Happy and Ben’s garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decided to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants!According to paragraph 2, people wish they also had a garden so that_______.
| A．they could grow vegetables and sell at the market |
| B．they didn’t have to spend so much money on food |
| C．they could invite their neighbors and hold parties in it |
| D．they could spend happy times together with their family in it |
For what purpose did Happy and Ben invite the neighbors to their garden?
| A．To ask them to attend a birthday party. |
| B．To help them get to know each other. |
| C．To ask them to share some interesting stories. |
| D．To let them enjoy what they grew in the garden. |
What did the writer most probably think of the time he spent in the garden?
| A．It was too long. | B．It was not as good as he thought. |
| C．It was wonderful. | D．It was too terrible. |
阅读理解。阅读下面的短文，然后根据短文内容，在每小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
Why does the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!
That’s an old joke in the west, but it came to my mind again when I saw people crossing the road at the intersection of Shanxi Road and Huaihai Road in Shanghai.
When the traffic light was red, a group of people were waiting for the light to change. Suddenly one man began rushing to the other side of the road. Soon others followed him at the crossing and more people did the same. Just like chickens, they didn’t mind the honking horns(喇叭声) and kept crossing the road in a mess.
Every year several thousand people are either killed or hurt on the roads in Shanghai. And at least one third of them were jaywalking(乱穿马路). Jaywalking is very common in Shanghai. It seems that jaywalkers are not afraid of the danger to themselves.
Traffic laws are to keep people safe. So we should obey them, and have good road-crossing habits. When someone starts to jaywalk, we should stop him, and never follow him. That way we can avoid the traffic accidents.The underlined word “intersection” here probably means “ ”.
| A．road | B．bridge | C．crossing | D．traffic |
The writer saw people in Shanghai that day.
| A．crossing the road in a mess |
| B．waiting for the green light patiently |
| C．crossing the road with chickens |
| D．hurting each other in the street |
How does the writer like what he saw in Shanghai that day?
| A．He thinks it’s OK. |
| B．He thinks it’s wrong. |
| C．He has no idea of it. |
| D．He doesn’t mention it. |