阅读理解。阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
Love to sink into your chairs and relax when you get to school. Then you will not be happy to hear that schools all over the world are seriously considering exchanging traditional desks for ones with no seats at all — Yes, that means you will be encouraged to stand through those already too long math and science lessons! Why would anyone even think of putting kids to such cruelty. Experts say it improves their health and helps fight obesity. While that may seem a little far-fetched (牵强的) the officials at the few schools around the world seem to agree.
Among them are educators from the College Station Independent School District in Texas, who recently completed a week-long experiment involving 480 students across three elementary schools. The 374 kids that agreed to participate in the study were provided a device that helped record step count and calorie consumption over the entire period.
All 25 teachers involved in the study reported that students appeared to be more alert and concentrate better, when allowed to stand. The one thing that did surprise the researchers was that younger kids were more willing to stay standing than kids in higher grades. They believe this may have something to do with the fact that after years of being asked to “sit still”, older kids have a harder time adjusting to this unexpected freedom.
American schools are not the only ones reporting success with stand-up desks. Four Catholic schools in Perth, Australia, which have been testing them since October 2013, have seen similar results. In May 2014, Grove House Primary School in Bradford, West Yorkshire, became Europe’s first test one, with a seven-week trial that involved the use of desks made by Ergotron in their fifth-grade classrooms. While official results are not out yet, early reactions from both teachers and students, have been extremely encouraging.
The findings of these studies and others done previously, all seem to mean that allowing kids to move around in classrooms is a win-win for students and teachers — it helps kids get healthier and provides educators with a more engaged audience.According to the first paragraph, what may make the students at school unhappy is that _____.
| A．they have to exchange desks with each other |
| B．they have to exchange traditional desks for ones with no seats |
| C．there are no seats for them to sit in class |
| D．the officials show no sympathy to them at all |
According to the teachers, older students may not like stand-up desks because _____.
| A．they are cleverer than younger students |
| B．they are easily tired of standing long |
| C．they have formed the habit of sitting. |
| D．they do badly in class while standing |
What is most likely to be the result of the seven-week trial.
| A．The standing desks can’t be used at all. |
| B．It is good for students to use stand-up desks. |
| C．More tests should be done in other schools. |
| D．The students are different in personality. |
Why do the teachers like the standing desks.
| A．Because the educators can draw the students’ attention. |
| B．Because the teachers can keep the students healthy. |
| C．Because the students can have a walk in the classroom. |
| D．Because the standing desks can keep the students concentrated. |
During my high school years, the most important thing was what I was wearing to the Friday night dance and who I was taking．Although college was talked about, it was the least of my worries．
When I was graduating eighth grade and starting high school, my elder brother was graduating twelfth grade and going onto college．For my graduation, he gave me a card in which he wrote, “Enjoy your four years…they go by fast．” I remember not believing him then, but looking back…he was right．Those four years shaped who I was as a person, pushed me to my limit and encouraged me to become an adult．
However, I was so completely absorbed in my junior and senior years of high school, that when someone spoke of college I brushed it off．I wasn't ready to leave my comfort zone of having all of my closest friends together and knowing what every single day was going to be like．Studying was something I did only AFTER I nailed my half-time dance performance．I knew my parents wanted me to go to college, so I told them I would go to community college (社区学院) and I didn’t worry about my SAT（美国大学入学考试）scores．
When my senior year passed and everyone graduated and went off to their own college, I started to wish I had done the same．My friends were living away, meeting new people, discovering new places, and I was living at home and driving to and from class every day．It seemed exactly like high school．I hated it! I thought college was supposed to be different! Why didn’t I take more time to research colleges and do the same? I ended up loving college and wishing I had four years to enjoy the campus atmosphere instead of two．
My advice to anyone thinking about attending college is to think about it very seriously and look into all of your choices well ahead of time．Now I have graduate and I am working full time and I would do anything to 
go back to my high school days for a second chance!Why didn’t the author worry about his SAT scores?
| A．He wanted to go to community college． |
| B．He had been admitted for his gift in dance． |
| C．He was well prepared for the exam． |
D．He b elieved his brother would help him． |
When in high school, the author
| A．drove to and from class every day． |
| B．buried himself in his study all the time． |
| C．enjoyed talking about future college life． |
| D．lived in the school except on holidays． |
What did the author’s brother mean by “Enjoy your four years…they go by fast”?
| A．He wished the author to have more dance． |
| B．He advised the author to value the years． |
| C．He encouraged the author to leave his comfort zone． |
| D．He suggested the author aim at a community college． |
Talking of his high school years, the author feels．
| A．regretful | B．lonely | C．angry | D．pleased |
E
There are two basic ways to see growth: one as a product, the other as a process．People have generally viewed personal growth as an external（外在的）result or a product that can easily be identified and measured．The worker who gets a rise, the student whose grades improve, the foreigner who learns a new language—all these examples of people who have measurable results to show for their efforts．
By contrast（对照）, the process of personal growth is much more difficult to determine, since it is a journey and not the specific signpost or landmarks along the way．The process is not the road itself, but the attitudes, feelings people have, and their caution or courage, as they meet with new experiences and unexpected difficulties．In this process, the journey never really ends, there are always new ways to experience the world, new ideas to try, new challenges to accept．
In order to grow, to travel new roads, people need to have a willingness to take risks, to face the unknown, and to accept the possibility that they may“fail”at first．How we see ourselves as we try a new way of being is necessary for our ability to grow．Do we see ourselves as quick and curious? If so, we tend to take more chances and be more open to unfamiliar experiences．Do we think we’re shy and indecisive? Then our sense of fear can cause us to hesitate, to move slowy, and we think we are slow to adapt（适应）changes or that we’re not smart enough to deal with a new challenge．Then we are likely to take a more passive role or not try at all．
These feelings of insecurity（不安全）and self-doubt are both unavoidable and necessary if we are to change and grow．If we protect ourselves too much, then we stop growing．We become trapped inside a shell of our own making．
56．In the author’s eyes, one who views personal growth as a process would________．
A．succeed in climbing up the social ladder
B．grow up from his own achievement
C．face difficulties and take up challenges
D．aim high and reach his goal each 
time
57．Which of the following can be viewed as the process of personal growing?
A．Our manager was always willing to accept new challenges．
B．Jane won the first prize in the speech competition．
C．Jeny picked up French during his stay in Paris．
D．Father’s salary rose from 5,000 to 7,000．
58．For Personal growth, the author is in favor of all the following EXCEPT ________．
A．being curious about more changes
B．being quick in self-adapation
C．having an open mind to new experiences
D．staying away from failures and challenges
59．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．It is not so easy to measure personal growth．
B．To try and fail on the new road facing the unknown is unavoidable．
C．There are only two ways to see a person’s growth．
D．If you are too shy to take any risks in life, you cannot grow
60．The best title for this passase should be_____________．
A．Facing New Challenges B．Growth—Product or Process
C．Two Basic Ways of Growth D．Overcoming Internal Fears
D
It is hard to predict（预言）how science is going to turn out, and whether it is really good science, it is impossible to predict．If the things to be found are actually new, they must be unknown in advance．You cannot make choices on this matter．You either have science or you don’t and if you have it you have to accept the surprising and disturbing pieces of information, along with the neat and useful bits．
The only solid piece of scientific truth about which I feel totally confident is that we don’t know enough about nature．Indeed, I regard this as the major discovery of the past hundred years of biology．It is, in its way, a clear piece of news．It would have amazed the brightest minds of the 18th century to be told by any of us how little we know and how strange the way ahead seems．In earlier times, they either pretended to understand how things worked or simply made up stories to give answers．Now that we have begun exploring seriously, we are catching sight of how huge the questions are, and how far from being answered．Because of this, we are sorry．It is not so bad being ignorant（无知的）if you are totally ignorant; the hard thing is knowing in some details the reality of ignorance, the worst spots and here and there the not so bad spots, but no true light at the end of the tunnel nor even any tunnels that can yet be trusted．
But we are making a beginning, and there ought to be some satisfaction．There are probably no questions we can think up that can’t be answered, sooner or later．Within our limits, we should be able to work our way through to all our answers, if we keep at it long enough, and pay attention．
51．Acoording to the writer, really good science________．
A．would surprise the brightest minds of the 18th century．
B．will help people to make the right choice in advance
C．will produce results which cannot be predicted
D．will bring about disturbing results
52．It can be inferred from the passage that scientists of the 18th century________．
A．thought that they knew a great deal and could deal with most problems of science．
B．knew that they were ignorant and wanted to know more about nature
C．were afraid of facing up to the realities of scientific research
D．did more harm than good in man’s understanding of nature
53．Which of the following is NOT mentioned about scientists in earlier times?
A．They falsely declared to know all about nature．
B．They did not believe in results from scientific observation．
C．They paid little attention to the problems they didn’t understand．
D．They invented false rules to explain things they didn’t understand．
54．What is the writer’s attitude towards science?
A．He is sorry because of the ignorance of scientists．
B．He is delighted because of the latest scientific findings．
C．He is doubtful because of the great difficulties in scientific research．
D．He is confident though he knows well the great difficulties in scientific research．
55．The writer believes that sooner or later________．
A．man can’t deal with all the problems he can find because of the limits of human knowledge．
B．man can find solutions to whatever questions concerning nature he can think up
C．questions concerning nature are outsiede the field of scientific research
D．man can think up all the questions and answer them all．
C
The way people hold to the belief that a fun-filled, painfree life equals happiness actually reduces their chances of ever getting real happiness．If fun and pleasure are equal to happiness then pain must be equal to unhappiness．But in fact, the opposite is true: more often than not things that lead to happiness is connected with some pain．
As a result, many people avoid the very attempts（尝试）that are the source of true happiness They fear the pain brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment（承担的义务），self-improvement．
Ask a bachelor（单身汉）why he refuses marriages even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying, if he’s honest he will tell you afraid of making a commitment．For commitment is in fact painful．The single life is filled with fun, adventure, excitement．Marriage has such moments, but they are not its most unusual features．
Couples with baby children are lucky to get a whole night’s sleep or a three-day vacation．I don’t know any parent who would choose the word fun to describe raising children．But couples who decide not to have children never know the joys of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild．
Understanding and accepting that true happiness has noting to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations．It liberates（解放）time; now we can devote more hours to activities that can increase our happiness．It liberates money: buying that new car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless．And it liberates us from envy: we now understand that all those who are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all．
48．Raising children, in the author’s opinion, is________．
A．a duty we should have to perform B．a thankless job
C．a source of pain that can’t be avoided D．a rewarding task
49．To understand what true happiness is one must________．
A．have as much fun as possible during ones lifetime
B．make every effort to free oneself from pain
C．put up with pain in all conditions
D．be able to tell happiness from fun
50．What is the writer trying to tell us?
A．One must know how to get happiness
B．Happiness often goes hand in hand with pain
C．It is important to make commitments
D．Pain usually leads to happiness
B
HOW TO BOOK
Booking opens for Beckett Shorts on 8 September．
BY TELEPHONE
For credit card（信用卡）bookings．Calls are answered．
BOX OFFICE
01789 295623 9 a．m．— 8 p．m．（Mon—Sat）
0541 541051（24 hours, 7 days, no booking charge）
BY FAX
For credit card booking．Please allow least 48 hours for reply, if required．
BOX OFFICE
01789 261974 or 01862 387765
BY POST
Please enclose（附上）a cheque or credit card details together with an SAE or add 50p to the total amount（总额）to cover postage．Please send to the Box Office．RST．Startford-upon-Avoe, CV37 6BB．
Booking opens for all other plays on 19 September
IN PERSON
BOX OFFICE
RST hall, 9:30 a．m．—8 p．m．（Mon—Sat）（6p．m．when theatres are closed）
OVERSEAS BOOKING
The easiest method of payment is by credit card．You can also pay by Euro-cheque（up to ￡500）with your card number written on the back．
PSYING FOR YOUR TICKETS
CHEQUES
We accept Visa, Master Card, American Express and Diners Club, Please give the card number, name and address of cardholder．
Cheques and postal orders should be payable to: Royal Shakespeare Theatre．
45．In which of the following ways of booking does one probably have to pay extra money?
A．In person B．By telephone C．By fax D．By post
46．One has to wait for 2 days or longer for a reply if he/she pays________．
A．in person B．by telephone C．by fax D．by post
47．What is useful number to call at 11 a．m．Sunday?
A．01789 295623 B．0541 541051 C．01789 261974 D．01862 387765