Knots are the kind of stuff that even myths are made of.In the Greek legend of the Gordian knot, for example, Alexander the Great used his sword to slice through a knot that had failed all previous attempts to unite it. Knots, enjoy a long history of tales and fanciful names such as “Englishman’s tie, ” “and “cat’s paw. ” Knots became the subject of serious scientific investigation when in the 1860s the English physicist William Thomson (known today as Lord Kelvin) proposed that atoms were in fact knotted tubes of ether（醚）. In order to be able to develop the equivalent of a periodic table of the elements, Thomson had to be able to classify knots — find out which different knots were possible. This sparked a great interest in the mathematical theory of knots.
A mathematical knot looks very much like a familiar knot in a string, only with the string’s ends joined. In Thomson’s theory, knots could, in principle at least, model atoms of increasing complexity, such as the hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen atoms, respectively. For knots to be truly useful in a mathematical theory, however, mathematicians searched for some precise way of proving that what appeared to be different knots were really different — the couldn’t be transformed one into the other by some simple manipulation（操作）. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, the Scottish mathematician Peter Guthrie Tait and the University of Nebraska professor Charles Newton Little published complete tables of knots with up to ten crossings. Unfortunately, by the time that this heroic effort was completed, Kelvin’s theory had already been totally discarded as a model for atomic structure. Nevertheless, even without any other application in sight, the mathematical interest in knot theory continued at that point for its own sake. In fact, mathematical became even more fascinated by knots. The only difference was that, as the British mathematician Sir Michael Atiyah has put it, “the study of knots became a special branch of pure mathematics. ”
Two major breakthroughs in knot theory occurred in 1928 and in 1984. In 1928, the American mathematician James Waddell Alexander discovered an algebraic expression that uses the arrangement of crossings to label the knot. For example, t2-t+1 or t2-3t+1, or else. Decades of work in the theory of knots finally produced the second breakthrough in 1984. The New Zealander-American mathematician Vaughan Jones noticed an unexpected relation between knots and another abstract branch of mathematics, which led to the discovery of a more sensitive invariant known as the Jones polynomial.What is surprising about knots?
| A．They originated from ancient Greek legend. |
| B．The study of knots is a branch of mathematics. |
| C．Knots led to the discovery of atom structure. |
| D．Alexander the Great made knots well known. |
What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．No other application found except tables of knots. |
| B．The study of knots meeting a seemingly dead end. |
| C．Few scientist showing interest in knots. |
| D．The publication of complete tables of knots. |
According to the passage, ______ shows the most updated study about knots.
| A．t2-t+1 | B．t2-3t+1 |
| C．Alexander polynomial | D．Jones polynomial |
Which one would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Mathematicians VS Physicians |
| B．To be or Knot to be |
| C．Knot or Atom |
| D．Knot VS Mathematics |
When something goes wrong，it can be very satisfying to say，“Well, it’s so-and-so’s fault.” or “I know I’m late，but it’s not my fault；the car broke down.” It is probably not your fault，but once you form the habit of blaming somebody or something else for a bad situation，you are a loser. You have no power and could do nothing that helps change the situation. However, you can have great power over what happens to you if you stop focusing on whom to blame and start focusing on how to remedy the situation. This is the winner’s key to success.
Winners are great at overcoming problems. For example, if you were late because your car broke down, maybe you need to have your car examined more regularly. Or, you might start to carry along with you the useful phone numbers, so you could call for help when in need. For another example, if your colleague causes you problems on the job for lack of responsibility or ability, find ways of dealing with his irresponsibility or inability rather than simply blame the person. Ask to work with a different person, or don’t rely on this person. You should accept that the person is not reliable and find creative ways to work successfully regardless of how your colleague fails to do his job well.
This is what being a winner is all about—creatively using your skills and talents so that you are successful no matter what happens. Winners don’t have fewer problems in their lives; they have just as many difficult situations to face as anybody else. They are just better at seeing those problems as challenges and opportunities to develop their own talents. So, stop focusing on “whose fault it is.” Once you are confident about your power over bad situations, problems are just stepping stop on for success.According to the passage, winners .
| A．deal with problems rather than blame others |
| B．meet with fewer difficulties in their lives |
| C．have responsible and able colleagues |
| D．blame themselves rather that others |
When your colleague brings about a problem, you should .
| A．ask a more able colleague for help |
| B．blame him for his lack of responsibility |
| C．tell him to find the cause of the problem |
| D．find a better way to handle the problem |
When problems occur, winners take them as .
| A．excuses for their failures | B．barriers to greater power |
| C．challenges to their colleagues | D．chances for self-development |
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
| A．A Winner’s Problem. | B．A Winner’s Secret. |
| C．A Winner’s Opportunity. | D．A Winner’s Achievement. |
“If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you’re a woman.” Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster.
The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to them instead of male.
Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice was the most “inspiring” for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous botanist(植物学家) Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant of the best male gardener.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch（音高） and tone（音调） which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant. “Sound waves are an environmental effect just like rain or light ,”said Mr Grosbie.
The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with open auditions(听力) for the people who were asked to record passages from John Wyndham's The Day of the Triffids, Shakespeare’s A Midsummer's Night Dream and Darwin's The Origin of Species.
Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones（耳机） connected to it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that plants that “listened” to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to plants that heard male voices.
Miss Darwin said, “I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London.”What does the passage talk about?
| A．Plants enjoy men’s voices than women’s. |
| B．A botanical experiment in a museum. |
| C．Voice’s influence on plant growing. |
| D．Strange phenomenon（现象） at Royal Horticultural Society. |
What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?
| A．Plants need sound as well as rain and light. |
| B．Sound is basic for the plant to grow. |
| C．Sound has a good effect as rain or light does. |
| D．Plants can’t live without sound, rain or light. |
Sarah Darwin is most likely a (an)_____.
| A．botanist | B．gardener | C．astronomer | D．environmentalist |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The experiment ended in May. |
| B．Scientist can explain the findings clearly. |
| C．Plants enjoy listening to the passages from masterpieces. |
| D．The findings are of great importance to human beings. |
I still remember my first day at school in London and I was half-excited and half-frightened. On my way to school I wondered what sort of questions the other boys would ask me and practiced all the answers: “I am nine years old. I was born here but I haven’t lived here since I was two. I was living in Farley. It’s about thirty miles away. I came back to London two months ago.” I also wondered if it was the custom for boys to fight strangers like me, but I was tall for my age. I hoped they would decide not to risk it.
No one took any notice of me before school. I stood in the center of the playground, expecting someone to say “hello”, but no one spoke to me. When a teacher called my name and told me where my classroom was, one or two boys looked at me but that was all.
My teacher was called Mr. Jones. There were 42 boys in the class, so I didn’t stand out there, either, until the first lesson of the afternoon. Mr. Jones was very fond of Charles Dickens and he had decided to read aloud to us from David Copperfield, but first he asked several boys if they knew Dickens’ birthplace, but no one guessed right. A boy called Brian, the biggest in the class, said: “Timbuktu”, and Mr. Jones went red in the face. Then he asked me. I said: “Portsmouth”, and everyone stared at me because Mr. Jones said I was right. This didn’t make me very popular, of course.
“He thinks he’s clever,” I heard Brian say.
After that, we went out to the playground to play football. I was in Brian’s team, and he obviously had Dickens in mind because he told me to go in goal. No one ever wanted to be the goalkeeper.
“He’s big enough and useless enough.” Brian said when someone asked him why he had chosen me.
I suppose Mr. Jones, who served as the judge, remembered Dickens, too, because when the game was nearly over, Brian pushed one of the players on the other team, and he gave them a penalty (惩罚). As the boy kicked the ball to my right, I threw myself down instinctively (本能地) and saved it. All my team crowded round me. My bare knees were injured and bleeding. Brian took out a handkerchief and offered it to me.
“Do you want to join my gang (帮派)?” he said.
At the end of the day, I was no longer a stranger.The writer prepared to answer all of the following questions EXCEPT “ ”.
| A．How old are you? |
| B．Where are you from? |
| C．Do you want to join my gang? |
| D．When did you come back to London? |
We can learn from the passage that .
| A．boys were usually unfriendly to new students |
| B．the writer was not greeted as he expected |
| C．Brian praised the writer for his cleverness |
| D．the writer was glad to be a goalkeeper |
The underlined part “I didn’t stand out” in paragraph 3 means that the writer was not .
| A．noticeable | B．welcome | C．important | D．foolish |
The writer was offered a handkerchief because .
| A．he threw himself down and saved the goal |
| B．he pushed a player on the other team |
| C．he was beginning to be accepted |
| D．he was no longer a newcomer |
Fun is, in fact , a word heard far more frequently in families today than in the past , when “duty”and “responsibility ”were often the words used.Parents today are more youthful in appearance and attitudes. Their clothes and hair-styles are more casual, helping to bridge the divide. Those who are athletically inclined also enjoy Rollerblading, snowboarding, and rock-climbing with their children.
For the past three years, Kathy and Phil Dalby have spent at least one evening a week at a climbing gym with their three children. "It's great to be able to work together," Mrs Dalby says. "We discuss various climbs and where the hard parts are. Sometimes that leads to other Conversations. We're definitely closer."
A popular movement of parent effectiveness training in the 1970s has helped to reshape generational roles. The philosophy encourages children to describe their feelings about various situations. As a result, says Robert Billingham, a family-studies professor at Indiana University, "Parents and children began talking to each other in ways they had not before."
On the plus side, he adds, these conversations made parents realize that children may have important thoughts or feelings that adults need to be aware of.
But Professor Billingham also sees a downside: Many parents started making decisions based on what their child wanted. "The power shifted to children. Parents said, 'I have to focus on making my child happy', as opposed to 'I have to act as a parent most appropriately'."
Other changes are occurring as the ranks of working mothers grow. Time-short parents encourage children's independence, making them more responsible for themselves. "They'll say, 'We trust you to make the right decisions' (whether they're ready to assume the responsibility or not) ,"says Billingham.
The self-esteem movement of the past quarter-century has also affected the family dynamics (原动力). Some parents worry that if they tell their child no, it will hurt the child's self-esteem.What's the trend in parent-child relationship mentioned in the passage?
| A．Parents are chasing after fashion and ignoring the feelings of their children. |
| B．More parents and children are sharing the same enthusiasm for a certain sport. |
| C．Parents are taking more responsibility and setting more limits for their children. |
| D．The generation gap is narrowing and parents are respecting their children's thoughts more. |
Which of the following has NOT contributed to the change in the parent-child relationship?
| A．Younger parents. | B．Parent effectiveness training. |
| C．More working mothers. | D．The self-esteem movement. |
What's the best title for the text?
| A．Parents and Children as Friends. |
| B．Parents and Professors as Debaters. |
| C．Growing Mutual Understanding. |
| D．Disappearing Responsibility. |
| RESUME(履历) DOUGLAS V. FERNETTI Address: 636 Rugar StreetJoliet, Illinois60451 Date of Birth: June 5, 1960 Height: 6' Weight: 195 lbs. Health: Excellent Phone: 309 876 –0012 Married: Helen Son: Jim (2) EXPERIENCE 1978 to 1983:Joliet Bridge Company, Joliet, Illinois. Began as an learner and became accomplished journey-man pattern maker. 1983 to Present:Joliet Bridge Company, Joliet, Illinois. Promoted to Forman, Pattern Division. Responsibilities include the supervision of fourteen personnel, maintaining work schedules and making assignments, maintaining stock inventories, and supervising two learners. PERSONAL ACTIVITIES From 1979 to 1983 attended evening school in order to complete high school education. Received H.S. Diploma from the State University of Illinois in 1983. Since 1983 have attended evening classes at Joliet Community College. Have completed eighteen semester hours credit with nine hours in personnel management. Other activities include regular church attendance, member of ELKS, and help with Little League. PERSONAL STATEMENT Although I have been very happy at Joliet Bridge and have had excellent opportunity, it is necessary that I move my family due to my son's allergies (过敏症). In this respect, desire a position in the Southwest United States. Am willing to consider a position as a pattern maker, tool and die maker, or as a supervisor. My major attributes are my reliability and loyalty to my company and my ability to work with others. REFERENCES References are available upon request. |
What does Douglas do at present in Joliet Bridge Company?
| A．Pattern maker | B．Leader of Pattern Division |
| C．Member of ELKS | D．Learner |
What was Douglas doing in 1982?
| A．Working in Joliet Bridge Company |
| B．Studying at Joliet Community College |
| C．Helping with Little League |
| D．A, B and C |
Why does Douglas want to leave Joliet Bridge Company?
| A．Because he is not satisfied with his present job. |
| B．Because he has not been successful in the company. |
| C．Because he does not get along well with his colleagues. |
| D．Because his son is not used to the weather in Illinois. |
If you want to know the age of Douglas' son, what can you do?
| A．Write to 636 Rugar Street. | B．Telephone 309 876-0012. |
| C．Ask his wife Helen. | D．Find it in the resume. |