Thoughts claim our attention continuously, and waste our time and energy on unimportant and useless matters. They actually rule our life. We have become so used to this slavery, that we take it for granted, and have become unconscious of this habit, except on certain occasions.
While breathing, we do not need to pay attention to each inhalation and exhalation. We become conscious of the process of breathing only when we have some difficulty with breathing, such as when our nose is blocked, due to a cold, or when we are in an unventilated(不通风的) room.
It is the same with thinking. We become conscious of the constant onslaught of our thoughts, and of our inability to calm them down, only when we need to concentrate, solve a problem or study. We are also aware of them when we have worries or fears.
Look at the following familiar situation. You need to study something for an exam. You sit comfortably on the sofa with the book in your hands and start reading. After a while you feel hungry and go to the kitchen to eat something.
You return to read, and then hear your people talking outside. You listen to them for several moments and then bring your attention back to the book.
After a while you feel restless and switch on the radio to listen to some music. You continue to read for a little while, and then remember something that happened yesterday, and you start thinking about it.
When you look at your watch, you are amazed to find out that one complete hour has passed and you have hardly read anything. And at this time, you feel you’re thinking.
This is what happens when one lacks concentration. Imagine what you could have accomplished if you could control your attention and focus your mind!When can you feel you are thinking?
| A．While breathing. |
| B．While not reading. |
| C．When you need to concentrate. |
| D．When you waste your time. |
Why does the author put forward the exam situation?
| A．To explain the course of thinking awareness. |
| B．To show how to get ready for an exam. |
| C．To present an example of concentration. |
| D．To emphasize the importance of reading. |
Where can you most probably find the above passage?
| A．In a guidebook of natural science. |
| B．In the front page of a newspaper. |
| C．In an advertisement part of a magazine. |
| D．In the section of psychology of a magazine. |
This passage is mainly about _______.
| A．the relationship between thoughts and breathing |
| B．how people’s thought and mind work |
| C．what happens when one wants to think |
| D．the ways to increase your thought |
第三部分阅读理解（共两节，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题：每小题2分，满分30分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
My sister and I shared a typical sisterly relationship: we couldn’t stand each other．Or, to be honest, she couldn’t stand me．I took her as a hero．My clothes mysteriously looked like hers, and even my words tended to copy those I heard from her．Any sort of talk we had usually became a fighting, and try as I might, my sister had an extra six years worth of rude vocabulary．
After a while, I stopped trying to impress her and learned to be totally indifferent（冷漠的）；we soon fell into a sad pattern — I avoided her, she paid no attention to me, and deep inside, it hurt．She was only a sister in name．I truly believed that we would forever be apart, two housemates without conversation, two strangers without warmth．
I still remember the day I learned to ride a bike．I had received the bike that Christmas, which was great, until I realized I had no idea how to ride it．My mom had long since abandoned any attempt to teach me; I had proved to be a frustrating student．I had to learn by myself, a little bit each day, but unsuccessfully．On that day I was so disappointed that I threw my bike aside and began to cry, I guess that was what caused my sister to come outside．At first I was nervous, as I thought she would begin to laugh at me．She did not．She gently picked my bike up．That was the beginning．She fearlessly held my hand while the tears dried on my cheeks．She never once let me fall．And for three hours — three wonderful hours — we learned to ride my bike．No shouting．No fighting．No arguing．
That day I learned that my sister was human — how else could she have been my teacher? It was a life-changing experience．We still occasionally have our quarrels, but since that day, it’s been easier to get along because we have an unspoken respect for each other．
56．From the first paragraph, we can infer that _____．
A．the writer’s sister usually won the fighting
B．the writer was not always honest with her sister
C．the writer showed little respect for her sister
D．the writer’s sister had a good memory
57．When the writer failed to impress her sister, she _____．
A．felt hurt and treated her sister as a stranger
B．decided to be indifferent to her sister
C．didn’t talk with any member of the family
D．kept apart from her sister for a long time
58．What caused the writer to cry when she learned to ride a bike?
A．She fell off the bike and hurt herself seriously．
B．Her mother refused to buy her a bike．
C．She couldn’t learn how to ride a bike by herself．
D．Her sister laughed at her old bike．
E
Having one of those days or weeks—when everything seems to trouble you? Even if you do nothing about it, your bad mood will probably go away after some time. But with a little effort, you can forget it much faster—often within a day or two.
Walk it off
Exercise is the most popular bad-mood buster（破坏者）. A person who's in a bad mood has low energy and high tension. Taking a fast ten-minute walk, or doing some quick exercises can do wonders towards changing that bad mood.
Tune it out
Listening to your favorite music for a while can also make tension go away quickly, because music starts associations with past positive experiences we've had.
Give yourself a pep talk
Stop and listen to what's on your mind. Bad moods are often started by too many negative thoughts. Write them all down on paper; the pessimistic (悲观的) messages you've been giving yourself and then give optimistic answers. (“I still don't have a job. “vs” I have two interviews next week. ”)
Reduce your stress
Relaxation techniques are wonderful mood-lifters. These include deep breathing, stretching and visualizing (想象), all of which sound complicated but aren't. One easy way to visualize: close your eyes and picture a favorite place, such as the beach. Another simple way to clear up worries is to make a to-do list. One reason for being in a bad mood is feeling you have no options (选择权). By taking control over certain areas, you realize you're not helpless. You can make changes in your mood and life.
Avoid things that won't improve your mood
TV may not help much: You need to increase your energy level and stimulate something in your mind—that the TV show “Neighbors” won't do. And before you reach for that piece of cake and coffee, think about how mood and food are linked. Sugar and caffeine contribute to depressed moods. The better choice? Research shows that carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, produce a calming effect in people who have a desire for them.
72. We learn from the passage that it might help rid us of a bad mood_______.
A. to do nothing about it
B. to take a slow walk on the beach
C. to do some exercises with light music
D. to talk it to neighbours
73. Why is it suggested that you close your eyes and picture the beach?
A. It is not complicated to do so.
B. It is an area to be easily controlled.
C. It helps beat a bad mood.
D. It brings us a new technique.
74. TV may not improve your mood because_______.
A. it sometimes shows what happens around you
B. it keeps you stay unmoved
C. it reminds you of eating and drinking
D. it produces a calming effect
75. This passage most probably appears in_______.
A. a book on physical exercisesB. a doctor's handbook
C. a notice about amusement D. a magazine on health
D
It is common to consider learning as something that takes place in school, but much of human learning occurs outside the classroom, even from birth and people continue to learn throughout their lives.
Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to use toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments. They learn how to communicate with their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children learn basic academic subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. They also continue to learn a great deal outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for communicating with other children. After they finish school, people must learn to deal with many major changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.
Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children. Psychologists, social workers, criminologists, and other humanservice workers need to understand how certain experiences change people's behaviors. Employers, politicians, and advertisers make use of the principles of learning to affect the behaviors of workers, voters, and consumers.
Learning is closely related to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain. Psychologists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place, and how the brain later outputs knowledge when we need it. In contrast, psychologists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person's experiences.
68. The underlined "siblings" in the second paragraph probably means_______.
A. teachers B. classmates C. doctors D. brothers or sisters
69. Which period of children's life does they begin to know to behave well according to the passage?
A. After they go into society B. Before they enter school
C. When they are at schoolD. Before they are born
70. Which of the following is WRONG according to the passage?
A. As a matter of fact, learning begins with formal school education.
B. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate their students.
C. People need to understand how certain experiences change their behaviors.
D. Employers should study the principles of learning to manage their workers well.
71. The author mainly tries to tell us_______in the last paragraph.
A. learning is only related to memory and experiences
B. psychologists are interested in how the brain stores knowledge
C. psychologists are more interested in a person's behavior
D. how the relationship between learning, brain and behavior works
C
Disposing (处理) of waste has been a problem since humans started producing it. As more and more people choose to live close together in cities, the waste disposal problem becomes increasingly difficult.
During the eighteenth century, it was usual for several neighboring towns to get together to select a faraway spot as a dump site. Residents or trash haulers (垃圾拖运者) would transport household rubbish, rotted wood, and old possessions to the site. Periodically some of the trash was burned and the rest was buried. The unpleasant sights and smells caused no problem because nobody lived close by. Factories, mills, and other industrial sites also had waste to be disposed of. Those located on rivers often just dumped the unwanted remains into the water. Others built huge burners with chimneys to deal with the problem.
Several facts make these choices unacceptable to modern society. The first problem is space. Dumps, which are now called landfills, are most needed in heavily populated areas. Such areas rarely have empty land suitable for this purpose. Property is either too expensive or too close to residential neighborhoods. Long distance trash hauling has been a common practice, but once farm areas are refusing to accept rubbish from elsewhere, cheap land within trucking distance of major city areas is nonexistent. Awareness (意识) of pollution dangers has resulted in more strict rules of waste disposal. Pollution of rivers, ground water, land and air is a price people cannot longer pay to get rid of waste. The amount of waste, however, continues to grow.
Recycling efforts have become common place, and many towns require their people to take part. Even the most efficient recycling programs, however, can hope to deal with only about 50 percent of a city's reusable waste.
64. The most suitable title for this passage would be_______.
A. Places for Disposing Waste B. Waste Pollution Dangers
C. Ways of Getting Rid of Waste D. Waste Disposal Problem
65. During the 18th century, people disposed their waste in many ways except for_______.
A. burying it B. recycling it C. burning it D. throwing it into rivers
66. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
A. Farm areas will continue accepting waste from the city in modern society.
B. There is cheap land to bury waste in modern society.
C. It is difficult to find space to bury waste in modern society.
D. Ways to deal with waste in modern society stay the same.
67. The main purpose of writing this article is to_______.
A. draw people's attention to waste management
B. warn people of the pollution dangers we are facing
C. call on people to take part in recycling programs
D. tell people a better way to get rid of the waste
B
Wild animals seem to have escaped the Indian Ocean tsunami (海啸), adding weight to ideas they possess a “sixth sense” for disasters, experts said on Thursday. Sri Lanka wildlife officials have said the giant waves that killed over 24,000 people along the Indian Ocean Island's coast seemingly missed wild beasts, with no dead animals found.
“No elephants are dead, not even a dead hare or rabbit. I think animals can sense disaster. They have a sixth sense. They know when things are happening,” H. D. Ratnayake, deputy director of Sri Lanka’s Wildlife Department said on Wednesday.
The waves washed floodwaters up to 3 km (2 miles) inland at Yala National Park in the southeast, Sri Lanka's biggest wildlife reserve (自然保护区) and home to hundreds of wild elephants. “There has been a lot of evidence about dogs barking or birds migrating before volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. But it has not been proved,” said Matthew van Lierop, an animal behaviour specialist at Johannesburg Zoo. “There have been no specific studies because you can't really test it in a lab or field setting,” he said.
Other authorities agreed with this conclusion. “Wildlife seems to be able to pick up certain phenomenon, especially birds. There are many reports of birds detecting coming disasters,” said Clive Walker, who has written several books on African wildlife.
Animals certainly rely on the known senses such as smell or hearing to avoid danger such as predators(食肉动物). The idea of an animal “sixth sense” is a lasting one that the evidence on Sri Lanka's damaged coast is likely to add to.
60. This passage is mainly about_______.
A. the damage that was caused in the Indian Ocean tsunami
B. why animals can save themselves from natural disasters
C. how to protect the wildlife when disaster happens
D. the different opinions about animals’ natural power
61. Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. It has been proved that animals have a sixth sense.
B. Research has been made on the special movements of animals before disasters.
C. It's generally considered that animals can sense the coming of disasters.
D. It can be tested that animals have the known sense to escape from the disasters.
62. What does the term “sixth sense” in the passage mean?
A. It is the natural ability of animals that can't save them from danger.
B. It is the animal's imagination in the brain.
C. It is some hidden power to say in advance that something will happen.
D. It is a kind of sense that is the same as smell or hearing.
63. Which section does the passage most probably appear in a newspaper?
A. Entertainment. B. Discovery. C. Future. D. Culture.