Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover
Ever since I was a little girl, I've loved reading crime and detective (侦探) novels, so I guess it was pretty normal that I started writing them when I was older. However, my family is very big on having a traditional career (职业) and so when I said that I wanted to go to college and study writing, my parents told me that I couldn't. They told me that I had to study for a degree so that I would achieve a career, and not something as risky as writing. I suppose I could have studied journalism (新闻) ,but I didn't want to lose interest in writing because it would be something I would do every day for work, not for pleasure. I thought that teaching looked like a pretty good compromise (妥协 ) , especially because of the long holidays. It was a good choice: by the time I was twenty﹣five,I'd already finished two novels and had an agent.
To be honest, I never meant to keep my being a crime writer a secret or anything, and my friends have always known. One of the reasons most people don't know is because my agent told me that my name Hazel sounded too much like a romance (浪漫) novelist for older women. She suggested Brooke Lane and I thought, "Well, if you think it'll make me successful, okay," I'd totally forgotten about it until I walked into school one day and saw one of my workmates reading my novel. I asked her some questions about it, and it was so clear that she had no idea that I'd written it ﹣ she even offered to lend it to me after she'd finished! Of course, sometimes I wonder what my students would think if they knew that their teacher was going home on the weekend to write about murders and dead bodies, but I think my parents probably did me a favor: my teaching job keeps me in touch with the real world.
(1)Hazel is probably .
A. an agent
B. a journalist
C. a teacher and artist
D. a teacher and writer
(2)The underlined words "is very big on " in the passage most probably mean .
A. to give no advice
B. to like something very much
C. to have more experiences
D. to misunderstand something
(3)It's clear that Hazel .
A. agreed to study journalism for a degree
B. accepted Brooke Lane as her pen name
C. would like to write something for teaching
D. told her workmates about her writing novels
(4)Hazel finally realized that her parents' advice on her career was .
A. helpful
B. exciting
C. disappointing
D. risky
(5)We can infer from the passage that .
A. Hazel likes showing off in public
B. Hazel's students all want to write novels
C. Hazel's agent has played a role in her success
D. older women prefer the name Brooke to Hazel
A team of US psychologists(心理学家) have found that talking to another person for ten minutes a day helps with memory.
“Socializing(交际) is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual(智力的) performance,” Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, said in a statement.
In one investigation, they analyzed data on 3610 people, aged 24 to 96.
They found that the higher their level of social interaction(交流), the better their cognitive(认知的) functioning. Social interaction includes getting together or having phone chats with relatives, friends and neighbors.
In another experiment, the researchers conducted laboratory tests on 76 college students, aged 18 to 21, to evaluate(评估) how social interactions and intellectual exercises affected the results of memory and mental performance tests.
The students were divided into three groups: the social interaction group had a discussion of a social issue for 10 minutes before taking the tests; the intellectual activities group completed three tasks (including a reading comprehension exercise and a crossword puzzle) before the tests; and a control group(对照组) watched a 10-minute clip(电影片段) of the Seinfeld television show.
“We found that short-term social interaction lasting for just 10 minutes improved participants’ (参与者) intellectual performance as much as engaging in (从事) so-called ‘intellectual’ activities for the same amount of time,” Ybarra said.
The study was expected to be published in the February issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.What does the underlined word “boosting” in the second paragraph probably mean?
A.Improving. | B.Reducing. |
C.Preventing. | D.Training. |
Which is not included in social interaction?
A.Having a talk with a neighbor. |
B.Attending a birthday party. |
C.Watching TV at home alone. |
D.Calling your classmates. |
What’s the purpose of the experiment on 76 college students?
A.To judge the effect of social interaction on memory and intelligence. |
B.To find out what is real social interaction. |
C.To learn how much time is needed for social interaction. |
D.To show the function of people's cognition. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
A.Intellectual exercises make your memory better. |
B.Different people have different ways of communication. |
C.Communicating with others keeps you healthy. |
D.Social interaction makes you smart. |
We see with our eyes and taste with our tongues. Ears are for hearing, skin is for feeling and noses are for smelling. Would anyone say that ears can smell, or that tongues can see? Actually, yes. Paul Bach-y-Rita, a scientist at the University of Wisconsin, believes that the senses can changeable. For example, a tongue can be used for seeing. The brain, as we know, is a complex organ(复杂的器官). Even when part of it is hurt, it will try to carry out the same function by sending the function to another area of the brain.
A college student was asked to take part in an experiment. In the experiment, his eyes were covered with a small video camera. The camera was connected to a long plastic line which went into his mouth. A computer would change the video’s picture. The picture would travel through the plastic line as an electric current(电流), reaching the electrodes(电极板) inside the student’s mouth. The scientist would roll a ball towards his right side, left side, or centre, and the student would have to catch it. When the scientist rolled the ball, pain passed over the student’s tongue. For the position of the pain on the tongue, the student reached out his hand and caught the ball.
If the brain can see a ball through a camera and a wet tongue, blindness and deafness can be overcame.How many senses are talked about in the first paragraph?
A.4. | B.5. | C.3. | D.2. |
What is the right order according to the experiment?
①The scientist rolled a ball.
② The student caught the ball.
③ The student felt pain on his tongue.
④The scientist connected the camera to a long plastic line.
A.①②③④ | B.②①④③ | C.④①③② | D.④③①② |
What could be the best title for the passage?
A.Senses Are Important | B.An Interesting Experiment |
C.A Famous Scientist | D.Senses Are Changeable |
Beauty: for fans of the arts. Beauty is a necessary magazine in your spare time. It brings you academic (学术的) articles written by internationally famous scholars, yet with easy-to-understand examples, as well as information on exhibitions and sales all over the world.
World weekly: it gives you a global view with articles from four of the world’s most famous newspapers. Read the news from different views and draw you own conclusions on the stories influencing our world. Try it for six months for just $30. Besides, you can get a free copy of World Weekly 2012.
New View: full of excellent writing and photography, it covers one key subject each month, from human rights to poverty(贫困) to environment. Reports from around the world provide you with all-sided world view. Besides, you can be told lots of fresh reports and the latest stories on world events and activities.
The Week: it is the only summary(摘要) giving you the best of British and foreign newspapers in just 35 pages. Designed to be read in just 1 hour. Try it now with 13 copies for just $25. if you decide it’s not for you, just tell us within 3 weeks and you can get your money back within 10 work days.___________ will probably provide you with articles about music and paintings.
A.New View | B.World Weekly |
C.Beauty | D.The Week |
Which of the following is NOT probably included in New View?
A.A short statement of the main points of the latest news in China Daily. |
B.A discussion on water pollution in India. |
C.An article about hungry children in Africa. |
D.A report on medical care in China. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the ads above?
A.Beauty is an English newspaper. |
B.It takes an hour to read a copy of The Week. |
C.There are not any pictures in New View. |
D.You can get a free copy of World Weekly 2012 if you like it. |
Robert had just moved into the street and he felt strange that he was not wanted. He knew that perhaps the other boys were trying to get an idea of what kind of boy he was. This did not help to make him less lonely. He was new and he had to be tested. Still, proving himself would not be all that easy. He did not want to run with bad boys or get into something against the law to prove that he was strong. No! He must show what he was made of in a more helpful way. That was when he got the idea. The next day was Saturday. He knew that most of the boys would be down on the playground and choose upsides for the Saturday game. Robert knew he could play well and what just might be enough to prove he was strong—and to make friends with them.
He arrived early and did his step exercises. He shot (投掷) the ball some times and did some other exercises—the most difficult and most wonderful in basketball. Then the boys came. Robert went through what he had done before the game and showed what he could do.
No one said a word. The boys just looked at each other, and thought about it. In the end, when it was all over, the biggest of the group just smiled and shook his head. Robert knew he had made it.What does “This did not help to make him less lonely” mean?
A.Robert felt more lonely because the other boys wanted to test him. |
B.Robert did not feel lonely in fact. |
C.Robert felt as lonely as before when the other boys tried to find out what kind of boy he was. |
D.The other boys did not want to make Robert feel less lonely. |
When did Robert decide to prove himself by playing basketball?
A.After he had thought about the two wrong ways. |
B.Long before he moved into the street. |
C.When the other boys came down to the playground. |
D.As soon as he showed what he was made of in front of the other boys. |
What did the biggest of the group mean by shaking his head?
A.He did not want to say anything about what Robert had done. |
B.He had not thought Robert could play so wonderfully. |
C.He did want to make friends with Robert. |
D.He did not think Robert played basketball well. |
I once had a hard time making a living in France. Three years ago, I moved to a new neighborhood and felt an intense(强烈的) need to meet people so I went to the cinema. Outside the cinema was a woman with long gray hair who had a strong smell and was asking for money. I reached for my wallet to give her a Euro and then something made me stop and enter into conversation with her. I said, “Look, all the women going to the cinema here on a Tuesday night are seeing a film that can change your life. I’d rather buy you a ticket than give you money.”
She hesitated(犹豫) for a moment and then came in with me. She hid behind me because, she said, the people running the theater didn’t like her. I got her a ticket and she sat next to me. There were about 80 women there; I noticed some of them were turning around and looking at me with expressions of surprise and curiosity(好奇心).
I encouraged the woman I had bought the ticket for to come the following night to an event where there would be many representatives(代表) of various social services. I thought they could be of some help to her. She did come and I was able to direct her to an agency that helped women in her situation. At the same time, a woman came toward me and said, “Are you the person who bought a ticket for the woman outside the theater asking for handouts?” When I said yes she said, “I want you to come to the community center where I work. I want the other employees there to meet you.”
This was the beginning of a deep friendship and colleague relationship. I now have a great job and have more work than I’ve ever had in my 20 years in France. And the woman I took to the cinema that night? I learned that she was not homeless and that she was a secretary.In what order did the following events happen?
a. Some of the women turned around and looked at the author in surprise.
b. The author went to the cinema to meet some people.
c. The woman accepted the ticket and sat next to the author in the cinema.
d. The author got a job in the community center.
e. A woman came to the author and asked her a question.
A.b, a, c, d, e | B.c, e, a, b, d |
C.b, c, a, e, d | D.b, c, d, a, e |
Why did the woman hide behind the author when going into the cinema?
A.She wanted to see a film without a ticket. |
B.Her body gave out a pleasant smell. |
C.She was afraid of being caught by the clerk on duty. |
D.She was not welcome to see the film there. |
The underlined word “handouts” in the third paragraph refers to something “_____”
A.that is given to a poor person |
B.that people use as a gift |
C.that people enjoy eating |
D.that is difficult to get |
What is the main idea of the text?
A.Why the author had a hard time in France. |
B.How the author changed a woman’s life and got a job. |
C.Kindness is necessary sometimes. |
D.Getting a job is not so easy. |