You're riding in the car on this family vacation. Suddenly your dad slows down. And you may see the following：
1．Bubblegum Alley
San Luis Obispo, California
Some call it art; others call it just plain gross. Bubblegum Alley is covered from top to bottom with wads of chewed gum, a tradition that was started mysteriously by locals in the 1950s. Some artists even created images of funny faces and the American flag.
2．Blue Whale
Catoosa, Oklahoma
Not ready to dive the depths of the ocean to see a blue whale? No problem. Just visit this 80footlong cement beast, which even has a slide and diving board so visitors can take a dip in the pond. When the artist died, the whale fell into disrepair. Neighbors couldn't stand to see the grinning whale fall apart, so they fixed it and now keep it bright with gallons of blue paint.
3.Lonesome Legs
Amarillo, Texas
Just what are these large legs doing in a cow pasture? According to artist Lightnin' McDuff, they represent a poem about a traveler who finds a bodiless statue of an Egyptian pharaoh (法老) called Ozymandias.Using concrete over a steel frame, McDuff constructed the legs to appear as if they were made of weathered sandstone. And the socks? A prankster (恶作剧的人) keeps adding them—even though McDuff always removes the unwanted addition.
4.Giant Penguin
Cut Bank, Montana
Bundle up (使……穿暖)when you visit this statue, because temperatures here can get as low as 47 degrees below zero. As a nod to the frosty conditions, a local businessman built the 27foottall penguin out of 10,000 pounds of concrete. The creator left for warmer weather, but the statue—7 times the height of a real emperor penguin—still stands, welcoming visitors to its chilly home.How can you see the roadside attractions?
| A．By participating in tours. |
| B．By having a family vacation in a car. |
| C．By daydreaming. |
| D．By going to places of interest. |
The following are descriptions about these sites, which is TRUE?
①The Blue Whale has been ruined.
②Visitors can entertain in the whale.
③The socks were added by the designer.
④The legs were made of weathered sandstone.
⑤The penguin is located in a very cold area.
⑥The statue of penguin is 6 times higher than a real emperor penguin.
| A．①②③ | B．④⑤⑥ | C．①④⑤ | D．②⑤⑥ |
What led to the formation of the Bubblegum Alley?
| A．Artists made it by creating images of funny faces and the American flag. |
| B．It's covered with pieces of chewed gum. |
| C．It spread for some unknown reason. |
| D．Artists guided this trend. |
What impression of these sites does the author give you?
| A．Funny. | B．Strange. | C．Amazing. | D．Usual. |
As we grow old, we realize that we have so little time to read and there are so many great books that we’ve yet to get around to. Ye re-readers are everywhere around us. For certain fans, re-reading The Lord of the Rings is a conventional practice annually. One friend told me that Jane Austen’s Emma can still surprise him, despite his having read it over 50 times.
New sudden clear understandings can be gained from the process of re-reading. Journalist Rebacca Mead, a long-time Englishwoman in New York, first came across George Eliot’s Middlemarch at 17. Since then, she has read it again every five years. With each re-reading, it has opened up further; in each chapter of her life, it has resonated (引起共鸣) differently. Mead evidenced the large number of ways in which really good books not only stand the test of repeat reads, but also offer fresh gifts each time we crack their spines. These kinds of books grow with us.
Scientists have also recognized the mental health benefits of re-reading. Research conducted with readers in the US found that on our first reading, we are concerned with the “what” and the “why”. Second time round, we’re able to better appreciate the emotions that the plot continues to express. As researcher Cristel Russell of the American University explained, returning to a book “brings new or renewed appreciation of both the great book and its readers.”
It’s true that we often find former selves on the pages of old books (if we’re fond of making notes on the pages). These texts can carry us back to a time and place, and remind us of the kind of person that we were then. We’re changed not only by lived experience but also by read experience – by the books that we’ve discovered since last reading the one in our hand.
More so than the movie director or the musician, the writer calls upon our imaginations, using words to lead us to picture this declaration of love or that unfaithfulness in life. A book is a joint project between writers and readers, and we must pour so much of ourselves into reading that our own life story can become connected with the story in the book.
Perhaps what’s really strange is that we don’t re-read more often. After all, we watch our favourite films again and we wouldn’t think of listening to an album only once. We treasure messy old paintings as objects, yet of all art forms, literature alone is a largely one-time delight. A book, of course, takes up more time, but as Mead confirms, the rewards make it adequately worthwhile.The two books are mentioned in Paragraph 1 mainly to __________.
| A．attract the attention of readers |
| B．introduce the topic of the passage |
| C．provide some background information |
| D．show the similarity between re-readers |
The underlined expression “crack their spines” in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.
| A．recite them | B．re-read them |
| C．recall them | D．retell them |
It can be learned from the passage that __________.
| A．reading benefits people both mentally and physically |
| B．readers mainly focus on feelings on their first reading |
| C．we know ourselves better through re-reading experience |
| D．writers inspire the same imaginations as film directors do |
The purpose of the passage is to __________.
| A．call on different understandings of old books |
| B．focus on the mental health benefits of reading |
| C．bring awareness to the significance of re-reading |
| D．introduce the effective ways of re-reading old books |
Sports are the base of my life, next to my mother who raised me when my dad left us. I have been into sports since I was six years old. I have known many coaches and heard hundreds of their tips, but they usually focused on drills to develop my skills and reach the next level of play.
When I was in Senior Two, I met the new school basketball coach, Brian Pawloski. I thought I was certain to be selected for the school team since I had been in it the year before. I showed up to the tryouts and put out about 90% effort since I thought I’d make it with no problem. That was a big mistake.
Brian Pawloski is the hardest-working coach I have ever met. He didn’t expect 100% effort, he expected 200% effort. One example: he once made us do 40 suicide drills for the 40 lay-ups (投篮) we missed in a game. Some think this is crazy, but it isn’t. After this conditioning practice, as we were getting a cup of cold water to drink, I said, “coach, that was the best practice I ever had.” I was completely sincere. This man was and is the person who influenced me most at my high school. He expects us to be excellent not just on the court but in the classroom. If I am not working on basketball, I am reading a book that he thinks will help us better understand life’s challenges, including Wooden, Coach, and The Screwtape Letters.
In the first two years I slacked off, not putting forth my full potential. Now, unlike the coaches of my youth, this man was interested in how he did off the court. He always made sure I kept up with my studies and was able to be trusted. I can honestly say that on other coach has given me so much advice on how to succeed in basketball, but more importantly, in life. My school is lucky to have such a great person to teach, coach and influence their students. I will always remember my high-school basketball days as one of the hardest times I have ever worked in my life not only in basketball but in my growth as an individual.Different from other coaches, Coach Brian ________.
| A．concentrated on skill training |
| B．trained the team to the edge of death |
| C．expected the team to do well in their studies |
| D．asked the team to do more reading than training |
The underlined phrase “slacked off” in the last paragraph probably means ________.
| A．paid no attention |
| B．showed no interest |
| C．had less passion |
| D．made less effort |
In the author’s eye, Coach Brian is ________.
| A．strict and helpful |
| B．hardworking and honest |
| C．skilled and cruel |
| D．professional and serious |
What’s on Your Pet’s Mind?
In 1977, Irene Pepperberg of Harvard University began studying what was on another creature’s mind by talking to it. Her first experiments began with Alex. Alex was a one-year-old African grey parrot and Irene taught him to produce the sounds of the English language. “I thought if he learned to communicate, I could ask him questions about how he sees the world.”
At the time, most scientists didn’t believe animals had any thoughts. They thought animals were more like robots but didn’t have the ability to think or feel. Of course, if you own a pet you probably disagree. But it is the job of a scientist to prove this and nowadays more scientists accept that animals can think for themselves.
“That’s why I started my studies with Alex,” Irene said, “Some people actually called me crazy for trying this.”
Nowadays, we have more and more evidence that animals have all sorts of mental abilities. Sheep can recognize faces. Chimpanzees (黑猩猩) use a variety of tools and even use weapons to hunt. And Alex the parrot became a very good talker.
Thirty years after the Alex studies began. Irene was still giving him English lessons up until his recent death. For example, if Alex was hungry he could say “want grape”. Alex could count to six and was learning the sounds for seven and eight. “He has to hear the words over and over before he can correctly say them.” Irene said, after pronouncing “seven” for Alex a few times in a row. Alex could also tell the difference between colors, shapes, sizes, and materials (e.g. wood and metal). Before he finally died, Alex managed to say “seven”.
Another famous pet that proved some animals have greater mental skills was a dog called Rico. He appeared on a German TV game show in 2011. Rico knew the names of 200 different toys and easily learned the names of new ones. When Rico became famous, many other dog owners wanted to show how clever their pets were. Another dog called Betsy could understand 300 words.
One theory for dogs’ ability to learn a language is that they have been close companions to humans for many centuries and so their ability to understand us is constantly evolving (进化). While animals can’t do what humans do yet, some scientists believe that examples like Alex and Rico prove that evolution develops intelligence, as well as physical appearance.Irene wanted to find out __________.
| A．what a parrot thinks |
| B．why a parrot can speak |
| C．how parrots make sounds |
| D．if parrots speak English |
Alex learnt new words by __________.
| A．singing them |
| B．reading them |
| C．writing them |
| D．rehearing them |
The two dogs mentioned in the article could _______.
| A．understand some words |
| B．recognize strange voices |
| C．copy human gestures |
| D．tell different colors |
The article concludes that ___________.
| A．our pets understand what we say |
| B．dogs may speak to humans one day |
| C．humans are related to chimpanzees |
| D．mental ability can evolve in animals |
I watch documentaries, not movies．I read history books, not fiction．I use every free moment to accomplish one of the tasks on my never-ending checklist, and I am completely filled with thoughts of productivity．An hour sleeping is an hour wasted．And like the rest of 21st century America, I like it．But this fixation on productivity is increasingly destroying character and transforming men into robots.
New York Times columnist David Brooks warned American University students of this cultural decline in a speech．“We cut off all things spiritual and emotional in a competitive urge to stand out”, he said, “The pressure to succeed professionally, to acquire skills, to do the things you need to do to succeed in an information age economy really became the overwhelming（难以应付的） pressures, and it sort of eclipses the thinking about character and morality.”
Many students happily go to college, viewing it as a next step on their rise to professional achievement．Forcing as many success-building activities into their schedules as they can, they enjoy keeping busy with little sleep．“Today’s outstanding kids are likely to spend their afternoons and weekends shuttling from one skill-improving activity to the next,” Brooks wrote in an article, “We fear failure more than we desire success.”
A century ago, college was about character building．Today, our characters are in decline．We are experts on economics, material things and professional skills．We fail to discuss and understand relationships, emotions and all things spiritual．
Philosopher Karl Popper divided the world into two categories: Clocks and Clouds．Clock problems are those that can be taken apart, examined and solved through deductive reasoning（演绎推理）．Clouds cannot be taken apart．Cloud problems represent whole systems that need to be understood in a different way.
“When we have a Cloud problem, we try to turn it into a Clock problem,” Brooks said．And in a reason-centered culture, adding titles to one’s resume becomes a trend．At American University, 85 percent of seniors (and 89 percent of business majors) graduate with at least one practical experience which is often helpful to a student’s future career, but can sometimes draw focus away from academics.
To prevent the death of man’s character, Brooks urges rediscovering our human natures through falling in love．And by love he means love for a task, job, or another person．“Synchronicity is key to happiness,” he said．Rather than crazily increasing our long lists of accomplishments, we need to lose ourselves in what we do, and success will come on its own.From Paragraph 1, we can learn that people __________.
| A．are controlled by time |
| B．are keen on reading books |
| C．are changing their characters |
| D．are eager to achieve more |
In Paragraph 2, the underlined word “eclipses” means _________.
| A．deletes | B．weakens |
| C．worsens | D．emphasizes |
The last paragraph mainly tells us that __________．
| A．love is more important than focus |
| B．the focus on human natures counts |
| C．more work contributes to happiness |
| D．success comes from devotion to work |
The purpose of this passage is to __________.
| A．bring awareness to character building |
| B．stress the importance of productivity |
| C．warn about the pressure to seek success |
| D．criticize students’ desire for achievements |
Everyone procrastinates．We put things off because we don’t want to do them, or because wehave too many other things on our plates．Putting things off—big or small—is part of being human.
But procrastination does have consequences．When your procrastination leaves you feeling discouraged, it is time to take action, and one of the best ways to get rid of it is to make an un-schedule.
An un-schedule is a weekly calendar of all the ways in which your time is already accounted for．You consider not only your timed commitments such as classes and meetings, but also your untimed activities such as meals, exercise, time with friends, and the like．Once you have made your un-schedule, you may be able to see your time is often filled with more activities than you realize, for instance, that you really don’t have five hours to spend writing on the night before your paper is due．Procrastinators’ views of time tend to be unrealistic, and the un-schedule can help you outline a realistic plan．By planning accordingly, you will not only get a better night’s sleep, you may also end up with a better paper．
The un-schedule might also be a good way to get started on a larger project, such as a term paper or an honors paper．You may think that you have “all semester” to get the writing done, but if you really map out how much time you have available to write on a daily and weekly basis, you will see that you need to get started sooner, rather than later．In addition, the un-schedule may reveal especially busy weeks or months, which will help you budget time for long-term projects.
Perhaps most importantly, the un-schedule can help you examine how you spend your time．You may be surprised at how much time you spend watching television, and decide to make a change．It’s especially important that you build time for fun activities into your un-schedule．Otherwise, you will procrastinate in order to steal time for relaxation.
You can also use the un-schedule to record your progress towards your goal．Reward yourself for your small successes．Seeing what you’ve achieved will help reinforce（强化）the productive behavior, and you will feel more motivated in the following process.
As you explore ways to conquer procrastination, don’t expect overnight transformation．You developed the habit over a long time; you aren’t going to stop magically．But you can change the behavior, bit by bit．If you start to make an un-schedule now, you will eventually develop new habits．From Paragraph 2, we can know that procrastinators __________.
| A．usually have sleeping problems |
| B．tend to be unrealistic in daily life |
| C．spend more time in doing exercise |
| D．often fail to notice untimed activities |
Which of the following statements best reflects an un-schedule?
| A．“Now I have more time for fun.” |
| B．“I can start my big project later.” |
| C．“I’ll treat myself to a movie for my progress.” |
| D．“I’m going to have more time to finish my paper.” |
According to the writer, people need to make an un-schedule because of their __________．
| A．interests in doing things differently |
| B．determination to try out new things |
| C．inability to manage time properly |
| D．lack of concentration on a project |
The author writes the passage to __________.
| A．show concerns |
| B．offer suggestions |
| C．express dissatisfaction |
| D．make comments |