Sixteen years ago, Eileen Doyle’s husband, an engineer, took his four children up for an early morning cup of tea, packed a small case and was never seen or heard from again. Eileen was astonished and in a state of despair. They had been a happy family and, as far as she knew, there had been nothing wrong with their marriage.
Every day of the year a small group of men and women quietly pack a few belongings and, without so much as a note or a good-bye, close the front door for the last time, leaving their debts, their worries and their confused families behind them. Last year, more than 1,200 men and nearly as many women were reported missing from home — the highest in 15 years. Many did return home within a year, but others rejected the past completely and are now living a new life somewhere under a different identity.
To those left behind this form of desertion is a terrible blow to their pride and self-confidence. Even the finality of death might be preferable. At least it does not imply rejection or failure. Worse than that, people can be left with an unfinished marriage, not knowing whether they will have to wait seven years before they are free to start a fresh life.
Clinical psychologist Paul Brown believes most departures of this kind to be well planned rather than impulsive. “It’s typical of the kind of personality which seems able to ignore other people’s pain and difficulties. Running away, like killing yourself, is a highly aggressive act. By creating an absence the people left behind feel guilty, upset and empty.”Eileen Doyle reacted that way after her husband’s leaving, because she__________.
| A．failed to hear from him for a long time |
| B．had no idea what was wrong with their family life |
| C．blamed herself for something wrong she did |
| D．wondered why her husband took up all their children |
According to the passage, those people left their families behind for the following reasons except_________.
| A．they couldn’t bear their spouse (配偶) |
| B．they were afraid of the burden of debts |
| C．they wanted to forget the past completely |
| D．they wanted to start a new life somewhere else |
The man or woman left behind with an unfinished marriage usually ________.
| A．admits their responsibility for the situation |
| B．feels embarrassed and useless |
| C．will have no legal marriage life for seven years |
| D．wishes the person who has left were dead |
Some people would even prefer the death to the running away of their spouse because ________.
| A．their spouse would feel greatly relieved |
| B．their spouse would feel no pain during the death |
| C．their spouse’s death would contribute to them starting a fresh life |
| D．their spouse’s death would not bring a feeling of rejection or failure |
What’s the author’s attitude towards the departures of this kind?
| A．Objective. | B．Supportive. |
| C．Negative. | D．Positive. |
“Linda, if beating yourself up were an Olympic sport, you’d win a gold medal!”
Annabel, my close friend, stunned me with that frank observation after I told her how I had mishandled a situation with a student in a third-grade class where I was substituting.（代课） “I should never have let him go to the boy’s room without a pass! It was my fault he got into trouble with the hall monitor! I’m so stupid!”
My friend burst out laughing, and then made her “Olympic” comment. After a brief period of reflection（沉思） I had to admit that she was right. I did put myself down an awful lot. Why, just during the previous day I had called myself “a slob” for having some papers spread out on my desk, “ugly” when I left the house without makeup and “an idiot” when I left the house for an emergency substitute job without my emergency lesson plan.
In a more reflective tone, Annabel said, “I once took a workshop at church where the woman in charge had us list all the things we say about ourselves.”
“How many did you have on your list?” I asked.
“Fifteen,” she confessed. “But then the teacher said, ‘Now turn to the person next to you and say all the items on your list as if you were speaking to that person!’ ”
My jaw dropped. “What did you do?”
“Nothing. Nobody did. We all just sat there, until I said, ‘I could never say these things to anyone else!’ ”
“And our teacher replied, ‘Well, if you can’t say them to anyone else, then don’t ever say them to yourself!’ ”
My friend had a point. I would never insult a child of God---and I’m God’s child, too!
God, today let me be as kind to myself as I would be to another of Your children. What does Annabel mean by the first sentence of the passage?
| A．The writer is a good athlete. | B．The writer scolds herself too much. |
| C．She is encouraging the writer. | D．A gold medal is not a big deal. |
What does the writer intend to tell us through the second and third paragraphs?
| A．She has low self-esteem over some small things. |
| B．She often makes serious mistakes in daily life. |
| C．She is a third-grade teacher. |
| D．She cares too much about her appearance. |
We can infer that the underlined word “slob” might be _____.
| A．something untidy | B．someone dangerous | C．something dirty | D．someone lazy |
What does the writer mean by the last sentence of the passage?
| A．She is ready to turn to God for help. | B．She will be kind to all children. |
| C．She won’t insult herself as well as others. | D．She is willing to be a child of God. |
For centuries, the body’s blood has been linked closely with the emotions．People who show no human emotions or feelings, are said to be cold-blooded killer．For example, the police are searching for a cold-blooded killer．He seems to kill for no reason, and no emotion, as if taking someone’s life as nothing．
Cold can affect other parts of the body．The expression “get cold feet” has nothing to do with cold or your feet．The expression means being afraid to do something you have decided to do．For example, you agree to be president of an organization．But then you learn that all the other officers have resigned, and all the work of the organization will be your responsibility．You are likely to get cold feet about being president when you understand the situation.
The expression “give someone the cold shoulder” probably comes from the physical act of turning your back toward someone, instead of speaking to him face to face．You may give a cold shoulder to a friend who has not kept a promise he made to you．Or, to someone who has lied about you to others．
A cold fish is not a fish．It is a person．But it is a person who is unfriendly, unemotional and shows no love or warmth．A cold fish does not offer much of himself to anyone．Someone who is a cold fish could be cold-hearted．Now a cold-hearted person is someone who has no sympathy．Several popular songs in recent years were about cold-hearted men or cold-hearted women who, without feelings, broke the hearts of their lovers．
Out in the cold means not getting something that everybody else got．A person might say that everybody but him got a pay raise---he was left out in the cold．And it is not a pleasant place to be．When you refuse to speak to a man and treat him in a distant way, you may express by “_________”．
| A．I give him the cold shoulder | B．I think he is a cold-blooded man |
| C．I think he is a cold fish | D．I’m likely to get cold feet |
If Sue shows absolutely no reaction to those awful pictures of starving children in Africa, you will say _________．
| A．she is a cold-blooded killer | B．she gets cold feet |
| C．she is a cold fish | D．she is out in the cold |
We can use the expression “__________” to describe a man who abandons or hurts his lover without mercy．
| A．cold-blooded | B．cold shoulder | C．cold feet | D．cold-hearted |
The topic of this passage is about _________．
| A．the relationship between cold and our body |
| B．some expressions about friendship |
| C．some expressions connected with cold |
| D．how cold weather comes into being |
I promised Michael I wouldn’t mention this until the season was over．Now l think it's time．
Early last season, I wrote a column about an art of kindness I had seen Jordan do to a disabled child outside the stadium．After it ran，I got a call from a man in the western suburbs．He said，“I read what you wrote about Jordan．but I thought I should tell you another thing I saw．”
Here it comes, I thought. It always does. Write something nice about a person, and people call you up to say that the person is not so nice.
A few weeks later Jordan and I were talking about something else before a game, and I brought up what the man had said. Was the man right? Had Jordan really been talking to those two boys in that poor and dirty neighborhood?
"Not two boys," Jordan said. "But four."
And he named them. He said four names. And what did they talk about?
"Everything,” Jordan said. " Anything. I’ve asked to see their grades so that I can check to see if they're paying attention to their study. If it turns out that one or two of them may need teaching, I make sure they get it."
It's just one more part of Michael Jordan's life，one more thing that no one knows about, and one more thing Jordan does fight for. The NBA season is over now, and those boys have their memories. So do J! When the expert reviewers begin to turn against Jordan as they surely will, I'll think about those boys under the streetlight, waiting for the man they know to come. For someone they can depend on. The writer wrote this story about Jordan and his young friends because _______
| A．he thought highly of Jordan's deeds |
| B．he hated to see Jordan do something bad |
| C．he believed it was time to help the disabled |
| D．he felt sure he needn't keep the promise then |
A man in the western suburbs made a call to_______
| A．know why Jordan stopped in a bad area |
| B．get a chance to become famous himself |
| C．let the writer know Jordan was not that nice |
| D．offer an example to show how Jordan helped others |
Jordan talked with the boys because he _______.
| A．needed their support |
| B．had promised to do so |
| C．liked to teach them to play basketball |
| D．wanted to make sure they all studied well |
The text implies that Jordan is _______.
| A．an excellent basketball player |
| B．good at dealing with problems of life |
| C．always ready to make friends with young people |
| D．willing to do whatever he can for the good of society |
Violin prodigies (神童), I learned, have come in distinct waves from distinct regions. Most of the great performers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were born and brought up in Russia and Eastern Europe. I asked Isaac Stern, one of the world’s greatest violinists the reason for this phenomenon. “It is very clear,” he told me. “They were all Jews and Jews at the time were severely oppressed and ill-treated in that part of the world. They were not allowed into the professional fields, but they were allowed to achieve excellence on a concert stage.” As a result, every Jewish parent’s dream was to have a child in the music school because it was a passport to the West.
Another element in the emergence of prodigies, I found, is a society that values excellence in a certain field to nurture (培育) talent. Nowadays, the most nurturing societies seem to be in the Far East. “In Japan, a most competitive society, with stronger discipline than ours,” says Isaac Stern, children are ready to test their limits every day in many fields, including music. When Western music came to Japan after World War II, that music not only became part of their daily lives, but it became a discipline as well. The Koreans and Chinese as we know, are just as highly motivated as the Japanese.
That’s a good thing, because even prodigies must work hard. Next to hard work, biological inheritance（遗传） plays an important role in the making of a prodigy. J. S. Bach, for example, was the top of several generations of musicians, and four of his sons had significant careers in music. Jewish parents in Eastern Europe longed for their children to attend music school because ________.
| A．it would allow them access to a better life in the West |
| B．Jewish children are born with excellent musical talent |
| C．they wanted their children to enter into the professional field |
| D．it would enable the family to get better treatment in their own country |
Nurturing societies as mentioned in the passage refer to societies that ________.
| A．are highly motivated in the education of music |
| B．treasure talent and provide opportunities for its full development |
| C．encourage people to compete with each other |
| D．promise talented children high positions |
Which of the following contributes to the emergence of musical prodigies according to the passage?
| A．a natural gift. | B．extensive knowledge of music. |
| C．very early training. | D．a prejudice-free society. |
Which of the following titles best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
| A．Jewish Contribution to Music | B．Training of Musicians in the World |
| C．Music and Society | D．The Making of Music Prodigies |
Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain-computer interface(BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic school in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated（展示）a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right band. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
"our brain has billions of nerve ceils. These send signals through the spinal cord （脊髓）to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles," Tavella says. "Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices."
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp(头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. "The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair."
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit frotn. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.
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BCI is a technology that can
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| 2． |
How" did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?
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| 3． |
Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?
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| 4． |
The team will test with real patients to
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| 5． |
Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
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