2 . Poetry is one of mankind’s oldest art forms. Since first analyzed by Aristotle, poetry has been part of every major art movement, and some say it captures emotion better than any other forms. Reading peotry is necessary to gain a full understanding of the world and has many additional benefits .

The immediate benefits of reading poetry are improvements to vocabulary. Poetry makes the reader familiar with new terms and encourages verbal analysis. This presents reading as a creative act in its own right. The common practice of memorizing poems also improves long-term brain health. Studies have shown that people who memorize and recall poems are less susceptible (受影响) to Alzheimer’s.

Poetry also improves critical thinking by forcing a reader to think. In great poetry, meaning is not obvious or one-dimensional (维度). Understanding poetry is an active practice, rather than the passive engagement encouraged with prose (散文). Readers of poetry are more likely than nonreaders to analyze information for viewpoints. This skill benefits students, but also anyone who wants to form their own opinions of news items or gain a better perspective upon documents like contracts. The critical thinking skills developed through reading poetry give greater control language itself.

The most remarkable power of literature is its ability to unite reader and writer across time and cultural boundaries. As condensed(浓缩的) literature, poetry offers these benefits in a powerful way. Poetry triggers memories and emotions in its readers. This connection between universal emotions and personal experience encourages the development of empathy. A reader might have no practical conception of what life was like during the Elizabethan-era in England. However, Shakespeare’s Sonnets with their universal themes of love and longing, can bridge the gap of centuries and help us gain an insight into peopled feelings in the 17th century.

1. Which of the following shows the benefit memorizing poetry brings to the brain?

A．It improves peopled long-term memory.

B．It improve s one’s ability of analysing issues.

C．It makes one less likely to catch Alzheimer’s

D．It makes one act more creatively.

2. In what way does poetry improve critical thinking?

A．Readers have to analyze information to form viewpoints.

B．Readers must understand the obvious meaning of poetry.

C．Readers have to gain a better perspective upon documents.

D．Readers have to have a good control over language.

3. Why does the author mention Shakespeare’s Sonnets?

A．To show poetry motivates us learn different cultures.

B．To show poetry helps develop our empathy.

C．To show the universal themes of poetry.

D．To show Shakespeare’s understanding of life.

4. What is the purpose of the text?

A．To ask us to read poems.

B．To show how to appreciate poems.

C．To tell the importance of poetry in history.

D．To explain the benefits of reading poetry.

3 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Why does the wise author write the fable?

A．To earn more money.

B．To tell a lesson.

C．To sell animals.

2. What’s wrong with the hare in the fable The Tortoise and the Hare?

A．It shows off.

B．It runs too fast.

C．It shouldn’t attend the match.

3. Where can animals talk according to the passage?

A．In real life.

B．In the fables.

C．On the farm.

4. What can you learn from the fable about the crow?

A．One should show off.

B．One should work hard.

C．One should be careful.

4 . Henry Ford was born on a farm on July 30th, 1863. The farm was near the city of Detroit.
Henry was always interested in machines. He enjoyed fixing clocks.And he helped repair farm equipment. When Henry was sixteen years old, he left the family farm and went to Detroit to learn more about machines. Henry used what he learned from work to develop engines. In 1903, he was ready to start building cars for the public. On July 15th, 1903, a man named Doctor Pfenning bought the first car from the Ford Motor Company.
The sale to Doctor Pfenning was the beginning of a huge number of requests for Ford cars.By the end of March, 1904, almost 600 Ford cars had been sold. At the start of 1905, the Ford Motor Company was producing 25 cars each day.
Henry Ford was sure the future of the automobile industry was in a low-priced car for the general public. He said then, and many times after,“I want to make a car that anybody can buy.”
In 1907, Henry Ford said: "I will build a motor car for the great mass of people. 1t will be large enough for the family, but small enough for one person to operate and care for. It will be built of the best materials. It will be built by the best men to be employed. And it will be built with the simplest plans that modern engineering can produce. It will be so low in price that no man making good money will be unable to own one.
1. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Henry Ford was born in the city of Detroit.

B．Doctor Pfenning developed the first car.

C．The Ford Motor Company was founded in 1905.

D．Ford aimed to build cars for the general public.

2. What can we infer from the underlined sentence in the last paragraph?

A．No one was making good money in the 1900s.

B．The Ford cars will be at low prices.

C．Henry Ford had made much money.

D．Nobody will own a Ford car in the future.