One of our biggest fears nowadays is that our kids might some day get lost in a “sea of technology” rather than experiencing the natural world. Fear-producing TV and computer games are leading to serious disconnect between kids and the great outdoors, which will change the wild places of the world, its creatures and human health for the worse, unless adults get working on child’s play.
Each of us has a place in nature we go sometimes, even if it was torn down. We cannot be the last generation to have that place. At this rate, kids who miss the sense of wonder outdoors will not grow up to be protectors of natural landscapes. “If the decline in park use continues across North America, who will defend parks against encroachment（蚕食）?”asks Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the woods.
Without having a nature experience, kids can turn out just fine, but they are missing out a huge enrichment to their lives. Experts predict modern kids will have poorer health than their parents—and they say a lack of outside play is surely part of it; research suggests that kids do better academically in schools with a nature component and that play in nature fosters（培养）leadership by the smartest, not by the toughest, Even a tiny outdoor experience can create wonder in a child. The three-year-old turning over his first rock realizes he is not alone in the world. A clump of trees on the roadside can be the whole universe in his eyes. We really need to value that more. Kids are not to blame. They are over-protected and frightened. It is dangerous out there from time to time but repetitive stress from computers is replacing breaking an arm as a childhood rite（仪式）of passage.
Everyone, from developers, to schools and outdoorsy citizens, should help regain for our kids some of the freedom and joy of exploring, taking friendship in fields and woods that strengthen love, respect and need for the landscapes. As parents, we should devote some of our energy to taking our kids into nature. This could yet be our greatest cause.According to the passage, children without experiencing nature will______
| A．keep a high sense of wonder |
| B．be over-protected by their parents |
| C．be less healthy both physically and mentally |
| D．change wild places and creatures for the better |
According to the author, children’s breaking an arm is_____
| A．the fault on the part of their parents |
| B．the natural experience in their growing up |
| C．the result of their own carelessness in play |
| D．the effect of their repetitive stress from computers |
In writing this passage, the author mainly intends to______
| A．blame children for getting lost in computer games |
| B．encourage children to protect parks from encroachment |
| C．show his concern about children’s lack of experience in nature |
| D．inspire children to keep the sense of wonder about things around |
Today, roller skating is easy and fun. But a long time ago, it wasn’t easy at all. Before 1750, the idea of skating didn’t exist. That changed because of a man named Joseph Merlin. Merlin was a person who liked playing the violin and was full of ideas and dreams. People called him a dreamer.
One day Merlin received an invitation to a fancy dress ball (化装舞会). He was very pleased and a little excited. As the day of the party came near, Merlin began to think how to make a grand entrance at the party. He came up with an idea. He thought everyone would be attracted by him if he could skate into the room.
Merlin tried different ways to make himself roll. Finally, he decided to put two, wheels under each shoe. These were the first rolled skates. Merlin was very proud of his invention and dreamed of arriving at the party on wheels while playing the violin.
On the night of the party Merlin rolled into the room, playing the violin. Everyone was amazed to see this. There was just one problem. Merlin had no way to stop his roller skates. Suddenly he ran into a huge mirror hanging on the wall. It fell down and broke into pieces. Nobody forgot Merlin's entrance for a long time.
60．The passage is mainly about_______.
A．a strange man
B．an unusual party
C．how roller skating started
D．how people held parties in the 18th century
61．People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he________.
A．often gave others surprises B．was a gifted musician
C．invented the roller skates D．was full of imagination
62．Merlin put wheels under his shoes to_________.
A．impress the party guests B．arrive at the party sooner
C．test his invention D．show his skill in walking on wheels
63．What is main point the writer is trying to make in the last paragraph?
A．The roller skates needed further improvement.
B．The party guests took Merlin for a fool.
C．Merlin succeeded beyond expectation.
D．Merlin got himself into trouble.
Aria Ricardo was a beautiful, slim young woman with dark hair, dark eyes, and dark skin. She used to work as a model and earn as much as $ 2,000 in one day in front of the camera. She modeled for top magazines in Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and throughout the United States.
Aria’s father, now retired because of a disability, was a police officer who really loved his work. Aria would rather follow in her father’s footsteps than pursue her modeling career. S
he remembered listening to her father tell stories when he came home after a day on the beat. The excitement, tensions and risks of police work appealed to her.
Aria got started in the modeling business quite by accident. She accompanied a friend to an interview at a modeling agency. Her friend wanted the job, while Aria didn’t. The people at the agency were impressed with Aria’s appearance and poise. They knew she’d be brilliant in front of the camera. So they sent her on her first modeling job—for Seventeen magazine—right away.
While she was successful as a model, Aria never gave up her dream of being a police officer. She passed the written exam for the New York Police Department. She planned to enter the Police Academy as quickly as possible. Her family and friends thought she was out of her mind even to consider such a thing. Police work was dangerous and the pay couldn’t compare to a top model’s income. But Aria knew what she wanted, and she went for it. She had never really intended to be a model anyway. Finally she hooked her fish.
56．Aria’s success as a model resulted from _______.
A．her desire to succeed in it B．her looks and shape
C．the help of her father D．the competition with her friend
57．Aria went into modeling because _______.
A．she wanted to earn more money
B．she wanted to accompany her friend
C．she was given an unexpected opportunity
D．she was very beautiful
58．Aria’s family would like her to _______.
A．remain a model B．do whatever she liked
C．find something chall
enging D． follow her father’s footsteps
59．Aria Ricardo probably is a ______ now.
A．photographer working for a magazine B．student of the Police Academy
C．top model of a world company D．woman police officer
How Room Designs Affect Our Work and Feeling
Architects have long had the feeling that the place we live in can affect our thoughts, feeling and behaviors. But now scientists are giving this feeling an empirical（经验的，实证的）basis. They are discovering how to design spaces that promote creativity, keep people focused, and lead to relaxation.
Researches show that aspects of the physical environment can influence creativity. In 2009, Joan Meyers-Levy at the University of Minnesota, reported that the height of a room’s ceiling affects how people think. Her research indicates that higher ceilings encourage people to think more freely, which may lead them to make more abstract connections. Low ceilings, on the other hand, may inspire a more detailed outlook.
In addition to ceiling height, the view afforded by a building may influence an occupant’s ability to concentrate. Nancy Wells and her colleagues at Cornell University result of a family move made the most gains on a standard test of attention.
Using nature to improve focus of attention ought to pay off academically, and it seems to, according to a study led by C. Kenneth Tanner, head of the School Design & Planning Laboratory at the University of Georgia. Tanner and his team found that h
igher scores on tests of vocabulary, language arts and maths than did students whose classrooms primarily overlooked roads and parking lots.
Recent study on room lighting design suggests that dim（暗淡的）light helps people to loosen up. If that is true generally, keeping the light low during dinner, or at parties could increase relaxation. Researchers of Harvard Medical School also discovered that furniture with rounded edges could help visitors relax.
So far scientists have focused mainly on public buildings. “We have a very limited number of studies, so we are almost looking at the problem through a straw（吸管）” architect David Allison says; “How do you take answers to very specific questions and make broad ,generalize use of them?” That is what we are all struggling with”
57. What does Joan Meyers-Levy focus on in her research?
A. Light B. Ceilings. C. Windows.
D. Furniture
58．The passage tells us that____________.
A．the shape of furniture may affect people’s feelings
B．lower ceilin
gs may help improve students’creativity
C．children in a dim classroom may improve their grades
D．students in rooms with unblocked views may feel relaxed
59．The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably mean that_______.
A．the problem is not approached step by step
B．the researches so far have faults in themselves
C．the problem is too difficult for researchers to detect
D．research in this area is not enough to make generalized pattems
60．Which of the following shows the organization of the passage?
CP ：Central Point P:point SP:： Sub-point（次要点） C：Conclusion
The producers of instant coffee found their product strongly resisted in the market places despite their manifest advantages. Furthermore, the advertising cost for instant coffee was far greater than that for regular coffee. Efforts were made to find the cause of the consumers “seemingly unreasonable resistance to the product”. The reason given by most people was dislike for the taste. The producers suspected that there might be deeper reasons. However, this was confirmed by one of motivation research's classic studies, one often cited（引用）in the trade.
Mason Haire, professor of the University of California, constructed two shopping lists that were the same except for one item. There were six items common to both lists: hamburger, carrots, baking powder, bread, canned peaches and potatoes, with the bands or amounts specified. The seventh item, in the fifth place on both lists, read “1 Ib. Maxwell House coffee” on one list and “Nescafe instant coffee” on the other. One list was given to each person in a group of fifty women, and the other list to those in another group of the same size. The women were asked to study their lists and then to describe, as far as they could, the kind of woman（“personality and character”）who would draw up（制定）that shopping list. Nearly half of those who had received the list including instant coffee described a housewife who was lazy and a poor planner. On the other hand, only one woman in the other group described the housewife, who had included regular coffee on her list, as lazy; only six of that group suggested that she was a poor planner. Eight women felt that the instant-coffee user was probably not a good wife. No one in the other group drew such a conclusion about the house-wife who intended to buy regular coffee.
53. In this instance, the purpose of motivation research was to discover .
why people drink coffee
B. why instant coffee was successful
C. why regular coffee was successful
D. the real reason why people would not buy instant coffee
54. This investigation indicates that .
50 percent of housewives are lazy
B. housewives who use instant coffee are lazy
C. many women believe that wives who use instant coffee are lazy
D. wives who use regular coffee are good planners
55. On the results of this test, the producers probably revised their advertising to show a .
lazy housewife using regular coffee
B. hard-working housewife using instant coffee
C. lazy housewife using instant coffee
D. man obviously enjoying the taste of instant coffee
56. It is implied but not stated that .
A. Despite its advantages, most people dislike instant coffee because of its taste.
B. The advertising cost for instant coffee was greater than for regular coffee.
C. Very often we do not know the real reasons for doing things.
D. Taste is the principal factor in determining what we buy.
It’s the Year of the Rat!
Millions of people crowded onto trains and buses across China on Wednesday. They were hurrying home to be with their families for the country’s most important holiday, the Lunar New Year, or the Spring Festival. Thursday marked the end of the Year of the Pig, and the beginning of the Year of the Rat. But for a while, it looked as if severe winter weather in some regions of China would put a deep freeze on the celebrations. Due to dangerous conditions, airlines, railways and highways across the country were forced to shut down for the past few weeks. Many travelers were worried that they would not make it home for the holidays. Luckily, the crisis started winding down just in time for some roads and railways to reopen on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
More than one billion people worldwide celebrate the Lunar New Year. In China, people from Beijing to Guangzhou enjoy a holiday. Businesses and government offices are closed. Many people go to temples to pray for good fortune for the future. The Lunar New Year is celebrated at the second new moon after the winter solstice（冬至）.
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, the Chinese celebrate with fireworks, family gatherings, and festivals. One of t
he most popular ways to celebrate the holiday is with the lion dance. The lion is considered a holy animal. During celebrations, dancers dressed as lions（or holding up elaborate paper lions in the air）perform to bring good luck to the people they visit at their homes or businesses. People often wear red, which symbolizes fire. Legend has it that fire can drive away bad luck. The 15-day New Year season is celebrated with firecrackers, dragon dances and visits to friends and families. The celebrations end with the Lantern Festival, when brightly colored lamps are hung in parks around China.
49. When the Spring Festival comes, trains and buses are usually crowed because________.
A. millions of people hurried to go abroad for travelling
B. millions of people are hurrying home to get together with their folks
C. at this time the transportation cost is at the lowest point
D. million of people hurried to send firecrackers to their home
50. Why were many travellers worried whether they would go home for the Year of the Rat?
A. Because a deep freeze hit some regions of China.
B. Because many transportation companies have a holiday
C. Because some roads and railways won’t reopen in a long time.
D. Because businesses and government offices are closed.
51. Where do people usually go to beg for their good luck?
A. Government offices B. Business offices
C. Temples D. Beijing
52. In order to bring good luck to the people they visit, dancers dress themselves________.
A. as lions to have a dance B. as tigers to have a dance
C. as rats to have a dance D. as cats to have a dance