1 . Americans are proud of their variety and individuality, yet they love and respect few things more than a uniform, whether it is the uniform of an elevator operator or the uniform of a five-star general. Why are uniforms so popular in the United States?

Among the arguments for uniforms, one of the first is that in the eyes of most people they look more professional than civilian( 百姓的) clothes. People have become conditioned to ( 习惯于) expect superior quality from a man who wears a uniform. The television repairman who wears uniform tends to inspire more trust than one who appears in civilian clothes. Faith in the skill of a garage mechanic is increased by a uniform. What easier way is there for a nurse a policeman, a barber, or a waiter to lose professional identity than to step out of uniform?

Uniforms also have many practical benefits. They save on other clothes. They save on laundry bills. They are tax-deductible (可减税的) . They are often more comfortable and more durable than civilian clothes.

Primary among the arguments against uniforms is their lack of variety and the consequent loss of individuality experienced by people who must wear them. Though there are many types of uniforms, the wearer of any particular type is generally stuck with it, without change, until retirement. When people look alike, they tend to think, speak, and act similarly, on the job at least.

Uniforms also give rise to some practical problems. Though they are long-lasting , often their initial expense is greater than the cost of civilian clothes. Some uniforms are also expensive to maintain, requiring professional dry cleaning rather than the home laundering possible with many types of civilian clothes.

1. It is surprising that Americans who worship variety and individuality ______.

A．still judge a man by his clothes

B．enjoy having a professional identity

C．hold the uniform in such high regard

D．will respect an elevator operator as much as a general in uniform

2. People are accustomed to think that a man in uniform ______.

A．suggests quality work

B．appears to be more practical

C．discards (丢弃;抛弃)his social identity

D．looks superior to a person in civilian clothes

3. The chief function of a uniform is to ______.

A．provide practical benefits to the wearer.

B．provide the wearer with a professional identity

C．inspire the wearer’s confidence in himself

D．make the wearer catch the public eye

4. According to the passage, people wearing uniforms ______.

A．are usually helpful

B．have little or no individual freedom

C．enjoy greater popularity

D．tend to lose their individuality

5. The best title for this passage would be ______.

A．Uniforms and Society

B．The Importance of Wearing a Uniform

C．Advantages and Disadvantages of Uniforms

D．Practical Benefits of Wearing a Uniform

2 . People who have got rhythm might have an advantage when it comes to language and reading skills. A new study shows the brains of people who can move to a musical beat react to speech on a more consistent basis than those who can't. Researchers also find that musical training can sharpen the brain’s response to language.

The researchers say their discovery provides the first biological link between the ability to   keep a beat and how the brain responds to speech, something that can have important value for reading skills. To gather materials for their research, the team got more than 100 teenagers who lived in Chicago, Illinois. The teens were given two tests. First, they were instructed to listen to and tap their fingers along to the beat. The researchers calculated low accurately their young volunteers were able to tap along to the musical timekeeper. Second, the teen subjects were linked to an EEG device, which measures electrical activity in the brain. The EEG device was focused on an area of the brain that not only processes sound, but is also connected to parts of the brain responsible for motor-movement. The researchers recorded the brainwaves as their teen subjects listened to the synthesized speech sound, which was repeated irregularly for half an hour. The researchers were able to find out how the nerve cells in that particular region of the brain responded every time the synthesized sound was played.“Across this population of adolescents, the more accurate they were at tapping along to the beat, the more consistent their brains' response to the letter unit was,” said Nina Kraus.

While past studies have showed the links between reading skills and a person’s ability to keep a beat, the researchers said their new findings show the hearing system is what provides a common basis for those links. “Rhythm is naturally a part of music and language.” Nina said.

1. According to the first paragraph, what can get the brain’s reaction to language more effectively?

A．Rhythm.	B．Reading skills.
C．Language.	D．Musical training.

2. What can we lean about “ the first biological link” mentioned in Paragraph 2?

A．It shows how the brain works.

B．It is very important for reading ability.

C．It shows how the brain reacts to speech.

D．It is helpful to researchers' findings.

3. The underlined word“subjects”in Paragraph 2 probably means “______”.

A．persons or animals that are studied in an experiment or a research

B．areas of knowledge studied in a school, college, and so on

C．things that are being discussed in a conversation or a book

D．persons or things that are the main features of works of art

4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A．reading skills may make language learners keep a beat

B．the hearing system may be useless while a person is learning to read

C．the hearing system may separate sound from meaning while a person is reading

D．the hearing system may be used while a person is reading or taking musical training

5. What can we conclude from this passage?

A．Moving to a musical beat is more popular.

B．Experts are expanding their studies on rhythm.

C．Rhythm might help us improve our reading skills.

D．Experts find the links between the hearing system and reading.

3 . Some thirty years ago, I was studying in a public school in New York city. One day, Mrs Nanette O’Neill gave an arithmetic test to our class. When the papers were ______ she discovered that twelve boys had made exactly the same mistakes throughout the test.

There is nothing really new about ______ in exams. Perhaps that was why Mrs O’Neill ______ even say a word about it. She only asked the twelve boys to______ after class. I was one of the twelve.

Mrs O’Neill asked______ questions, and she didn’t______ us either. Instead she wrote on the blackboard the______ words by Thomas Macaulay. “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out. ” She then ordered us to ______ these   words one hundred times.

I don’t______ about the other eleven boys. Speaking for ______ I can say: it was the most important single______ of my life. Thirty years after being ______ to Macaulay’s words, they ______ seem to me the best yardstick( 准 绳 ), because they gave us a ______ to measure ourselves rather than others.

______ of us are asked to make ______ decisions about nations going to war or armies going to battle. But all of us are called ______ daily to make a great many personal decisions.

______ the wallet, found in the street, be put into a pocket or turned over to the policeman? Should the______ change received at the store be forgotten or returned? Nobody will know except you.   But you have to live with yourself, and it is always ______ to live with someone you respect.

1.

A．examined

B．completed

C．marked

D．answered

2.

A．lying

B．cheating

C．guessing

D．discussing

3.

A．didn’t

B．did

C．would

D．wouldn’t

4.

A．come

B．leave

C．remain

D．apologize

5.

A．many

B．certain

C．more

D．no

6.

A．excuse

B．reject

C．help

D．scold

7.

A．above

B．common

C．following

D．unusual

8.

A．repeat

B．get

C．copy

D．put

9.

A．worry

B．know

C．hear

D．talk

10.

A．myself

B．ourselves

C．themselves

D．herself

11.

A．chance

B．incident

C．lesson

D．memory

12.

A．referred

B．showed

C．brought

D．introduced

13.

A．even

B．still

C．always

D．almost

14.

A．way

B．sentence

C．choice

D．reason

15.

A．All

B．None

C．Few

D．Some

16.

A．quick

B．wise

C．great

D．personal

17.

A．out

B．for

C．up

D．upon

18.

A．Should

B．Must

C．Would

D．Need

19.

A．extra

B．small

C．some

D．necessary

20.

A．easier

B．more natural

C．better

D．more peaceful

4 . 阅读下面短文，并按照题目要求用英语回答问题。

Cao Yuan proved he was special at age 14 when he was enrolled in the University of Science and Technology of   China’s   School   of   the   Gifted Young, which is a special   school   to   nurture

teenagers into world-class talents.

But Cao himself didn’t think he was special. He often stressed that he was just an ordinary kid who loved reading about science and doing experiments.

But there is other evidence that Cao is a bit different. On Dec 19，the now 22-year-old doctoral candidate in physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)，US，was named one of the 10 people who mattered this year by the journal Nature. It was for discovering a“magic angle”in graphene（石墨烯）sheets that he has opened up a new field of superconductor physics（超导体物理学）.

Graphene, first discovered in 2004, is a material made of a single layer of carbon atoms. It’s the thinnest and strongest material in the world. Cao’s work shows that when two layers of graphene are cooled to 1.7 C above absolute zero（-273 C）and rotated（旋转） to a “magic angle”of 1.1 degrees，the upper layer of graphene exhibits nonconducting behaviors.

However, Cao found that these electrons(电子) could flow in the graphene sandwich freely — as if they were traveling through a superconductor —when small amounts of electrons were added to the structure.

The discovery is exciting. “One can imagine making a superconducting transistor out of graphene, which you can switch on and off ， from superconducting to insulating” ， Pablo Jarillo-Herrero，Cao’s professor at MIT，told Science Daily.

But why was Cao able to make the discovery? Both his high school physics teacher Huang Jiatang and Jarillo-Herrero attribute it to Cao’s capacity for independent learning and interest in doing experiments.

Huang said that he remembered that as a young kid Cao had a strong ability to study on his own, a love for hands-on experiments and was unafraid to challenge teachers and ask difficult questions.

Cao seems to be a highly inquisitive young man. Jarillo-Herrero told Nature that   Cao’s hobbies include photographing the night sky using homemade cameras. “Every time I go in Cao's office, it’s a huge mess, with computers taken apart and pieces of telescope all over his desk,” he said.

But even with such convincing proof, Cao still sees himself as an ordinary college student. “After all, we are all humans, with flaws and emotions,” he said.

1. Why was Cao Yuan listed Person of the Year by the journal Nature? (within 20 words)
2. Is graphene a new metal? What is it? (within 15 words)
3. What are the factors that lead to Cao’s achievement? List two of them. (within 15 words)
4. What does the underlined word “inquisitive” mean? (within 2 words)
5. What’s the title of the article? (within 10 words)

5 . It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, career, and life itself got in   the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife   and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

“Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry. I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important… Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack said.

Busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time, which was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture… Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked. “The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was ‘the thing I value most’,” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

“Now, I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack said sadly.

Returning to his office the next day, he found a package on his desk. The return address caught his attention.

“Mr. Harold Belser” it read. Jack tore open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside.

“Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.” A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, and tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the fine cover, he opened it.

Inside he found these words carved: “Jack, thanks for your time! Harold Belser.” “Oh, My God! This is the thing he valued most…”

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his assistant and cleared his appointments for the next two days. “Why?” his assistant asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said.

1. Why did Jack think Mr. Belser died years ago?

A．College and career prevented him from remembering Mr. Bleser.

B．Jack was too busy with his business and family to think about Mr. Belser.

C．Jack was too busy realizing his dreams to think about Mr. Belser.

D．His present busy life washed away his childhood memories.

2. Jack’s mother told him on the phone about Mr. Belser EXCEPT that ______.

A．Mr. Belser often asked how Jack was doing

B．Mr. Belser’s funeral would take place on Wednesday

C．Mr. Belser had asked for Jack’s mailing address

D．Mr. Belser had pleasant memories of their time together

3. What does the underlined word “reminisce” mean in paragraph 5?

A．recover	B．reveal
C．recommend	D．recall

4. Why did Belser send Jack his gold watch?

A．Because he had no children or relatives.

B．Because he thought he had to keep his word.

C．Because he was grateful for Jack’s time with him.

D．Because Jack had always wanted it during his childhood.

5. Jack said he needed some time to spend with his son because ______.

A．he came to realize the importance of the time with his family

B．he had promised to spare more time to stay with his son

C．he had missed his son and his family for days

D．he was very tired of his work and wanted to have a good rest.

6. Which of the following is the most suitable title for this passage?

A．The Good Old Times	B．What He Valued Most
C．An Old Gold Watch	D．The Lost Childhood Days

6 . Matilda
By Roald Dahl
Price:＄10.25

Gifted and sweet, Matilda White goes largely unnoticed by her less-than-loving parents. Things only get worse when she goes to school. Luckily, her teacher, Miss Honey, helps Matilda discover how special she is and encourages her to create the life she dreams about.

Ivy & Bean
By Annie Barrows
Price:＄4.59

When Ivy moves in across the street, Bean is sure they won't be friends. They are just too different. However, when Ivy helps Bean get away from her sister, who is trying to get Bean in trouble, a friendship blossoms between the unlikely pair. Kids who enjoy this book can read the whole series over the summer.

Ordinary Mary's Extraordinary Deed
By Emily Pearson
Price:＄7.99

When Mary decides to give some fresh-picked wild blueberries to a neighbor, she starts a chain reaction of kindness. After Mrs. Bishop makes and shares newly-made cake, her recipients go on to spread kindness to others they meet. Mary might be a common little girl, but she learns that even children can help make the world a better place.

Frederick
By Leo Lionni
Price:＄14.39

Frederick is a mouse who lives with his family in a large field. During the summer, all of the mice begin to store food to prepare for the cold winter months.All of the mice except Frederick, that is. Instead, Frederick collects things such as rays of sun, rainbows and words.Although the others think he is stupid, they come to learn that everyone's contribution counts.

1. Whose book is mainly about friendship?

A．Roald Dahl’s	B．Leo Lionni’s
C．Emily Pearson’s	D．Annie Barrows’s

2. How much should you pay for a book of animals?

A．＄4.59	B．＄7.99
C．＄14.39	D．＄10.25

3. Where is the text most likely to have been taken from?

A．A story book.	B．A lesson plan.
C．A book review.	D．A kid's magazine.

7 . An earthquake hit Kashmir on Oct. 8. It took some 75,000 lives, _______ 130,000 and left nearly 3.5 million without food, jobs or homes. _______ overnight, scores of tent villages bloomed _______ the region, tended by international aid organizations, military ranks and aid groups _______ day and night to shelter the survivors before winter set _______.

Luckily, the season was mild. But with the _______ of spring the refugees will be moved again. Camps that _______ health care, food and shelter for 150,000 survivors have begun to close as they were _______ intended to be permanent.

For most of the refugees, the thought of going back brings _______ emotions. The past six months have been difficult. Families of __________ many as 10 people have had to shelter __________ a single tent and share cookstoves and bathing __________ with neighbors. “They are looking forward to the clean water of their rivers,” officials say. “They are __________ of free fresh fruit. They want to get back to their herds and start __________ again.” But most will be returning to __________ but heaps of ruins. In many villages, electrical __________ have not been repaired, nor have roads. Aid workers __________ that it will take years to rebuild what the earthquake took __________. And for the thousands of survivors, the __________ will never be complete.

Yet the survivors have to start somewhere. New homes can be built onto the stones, bricks and beams of old ones. Spring is coming and it is a good time to __________ again.

1.

A．injured

B．ruined

C．destroyed

D．damaged

2.

A．Altogether

B．Almost

C．Scarcely

D．Surely

3.

A．among

B．above

C．amid

D．across

4.

A．working

B．playing

C．fighting

D．climbing

5.

A．out

B．in

C．on

D．off

6.

A．falling

B．emergence

C．arrival

D．appearing

7.

A．strengthened

B．aided

C．transferred

D．provided

8.

A．never

B．once

C．ever

D．yet

9.

A．puzzled

B．contrasted

C．doubled

D．mixed

10.

A．like

B．as

C．too

D．so

11.

A．by

B．below

C．under

D．with

12.

A．facilities

B．instruments

C．implements

D．appliances

13.

A．seeking

B．dreaming

C．longing

D．searching

14.

A．producing

B．cultivating

C．farming

D．nourishing

15.

A．anything

B．something

C．everything

D．nothing

16.

A．lines

B．channels

C．paths

D．currents

17.

A．account

B．measure

C．estimate

D．value

18.

A．aside

B．away

C．up

D．out

19.

A．reservation

B．retreat

C．replacement

D．recovery

20.

A．start

B．remain

C．survive

D．end

8 . A review from the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) warns that the oceans are facing multiple threats. They are being heated by climate change, turning slowly less alkaline (碱性的) by absorbing CO2, and suffering from overfishing and pollution.

The report says, “We have been taking the ocean for granted. It has been shielding us from the worst effects of accelerating climate change by absorbing excess CO2 from the atmosphere.”

Although the temperature increases may be experiencing a pause, the ocean continues to warm regardless. For the most part, however, the public and policy makers are failing to recognize — or choosing to ignore — the severity of the situation. Coral reefs, for instance, are suffering from the higher temperatures.

IPSO, funded by charitable foundations, is publishing a set of five papers based on workshops in 2011 and 2012 in partnership with the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The reports call for governments all over the world to halt (暂停) CO2 increase at 450ppm, and also urge much more focused fisheries management and a priority list for tackling the key groups of chemicals that cause most harmful effects. They want the governments to negotiate a new agreement for the sustainable fishing in the high oceans to be monitored by a new global high seas enforcement agency.

The IUCN's Prof Dan Laffoley said, “What these latest reports make absolutely clear is that delaying action will increase costs in the future and lead to even greater, perhaps permanent losses. “The UN climate report confirmed that the ocean is bearing the pressure of human-induced changes to our planet. These discoveries give us not only more cause for alarm, but also a roadmap for action. We must use it.

1. According to the passage, _______ are NOT the reason why the oceans become slowly less alkaline.

A．various pollutions	B．higher temperatures
C．bad fishing practices	D．destroyed coral reefs

2. The underlined word “shielding” in Paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to “_______”.

A．warning	B．protecting
C．showing	D．cooling

3. Which of the following is NOT the purpose of the reports published by IPSO?

A．To appeal to world governments to halt CO2 increase at 450ppm.

B．To tell us that the ocean is bearing the pressure of human-induced changes to our planet.

C．To ask the governments to carry out new measures for the sustainable fishing in the high oceans.

D．To advise the governments to make a priority list for tackling the key groups of chemicals that cause most harm.

4. Which of the following can NOT be concluded from the passage?

A．The reports warn us that we need to take actions right now.

B．Coral reefs are weakened by bad fishing practices and pollution.

C．The global temperature is increasing and the ocean continues to warm as well.

D．It seems that the policymakers are trying to ignore the severity of the ocean situation.

5. What is the probable purpose of this passage?

A．To tell us that the oceans become less alkaline.

B．To advise us to negotiate a new agreement for the sustainable fishing.

C．To tell us that global warming has a great effect on the oceans’ temperature.

D．To warn us that the oceans are in danger and immediate measures should be taken.

9 . I stole your dog today. No, I didn’t set a foot on your house, but from the condition of your dog, I can imagine what it looks like…the word “rubbish” comes to mind.

I found her along a road, with a heavy chain wrapped around her neck, still attached to rotten boards from her doghouse. Not only did I know that most of the town people had already ignored her, judging by where I found her, but I knew that if she had gotten into the Woods, the “cross” that she dragged behind her would have wrapped around a tree until starvation or thirst killed her. She has a beautiful name now. Already in the first week she has come to look more like she should. Her eyes sparkle and she has learned to wag her tail in greeting. She has stopped flinching (畏缩) when I make a sudden movement, because she knows now that I won’t beat her, in fact, she rarely leaves my side. She’s even become brave enough to bark at a cat and today I watched from the window as she attempted to play with the other dogs. No, it’s clear she does not miss you or her former life on a chain.

It’s not clear yet whether she'll remain here or whether I’ll find her a loving home where she can count on more individual attention than I can give her, but one thing is certain, this is one bit of stolen “property” who is never returning to you. So sue me, accuse me, plead with the courts that she is rightfully yours ... I’m convinced this is the best “crime” I’ve ever committed. Hardly anything has pleased me more than the day I stole your dog. I need only look into her beautiful brown eyes to know that she’d defend my decision with her life. If we have one prayer, it is that you will not replace her, and if we have one special day to celebrate together, it is the day I stole your dog and the day she stole my heart.

1. What’s the author’s attitude towards the former owner of the dog?

A．Puzzled.	B．Angry.
C．Shocked.	D．Satisfied.

2. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．the dog is not lovely

B．the dog tried to find a kind master

C．the dog was treated badly by its former master

D．the author will be charged with stealing a dog

3. All the following statements showed us the dog’s recovery from her nature except _______.

A．playing with other dogs	B．barking at a cat
C．not missing her former master	D．waving her tail to make greetings

4. What did the author think of his theft?

A．He was afraid of being punished.

B．He thought he had to do it.

C．He believed that the law would allow him to do so.

D．He did it with pride.

10 . People from East Asia tend to have more difficulty than those from Europe in distinguishing facial expressions — and a new report published online in Current Biology explains why.

Rachael Jack, University of Glasgow researcher, said that rather than scanning evenly (均匀的) across a face as Westerners do, Easterners fix their attention on the eyes.

“We show that Easterners and Westerners look at different face features to read facial expressions,” Jack said. “Westerners look at the eyes and the mouth in equal measure, whereas Easterners favor the eyes and neglect (忽略) the mouth.”

According to Jack and her colleagues, the discovery shows that human communication of emotion is more complex than previously believed. As a result, facial expressions that had been considered universally recognizable cannot be used to reliably convey emotion in cross-cultural situations.

The researchers studied cultural differences in the recognition of facial expressions by recording the eye movements of 13 Western Caucasian and 13 East Asian people while they observed pictures of expressive faces and put them into categories: happy, sad, surprised, fearful, disgusted, angry, or neutral. They compared how accurately participants read those facial expressions using their particular eye movement strategies.

It turned out that Easterners focused much greater attention on the eyes and made significantly more errors than did Westerners. “The cultural difference in eye movements that they show is probably a reflection of cultural difference in facial expressions,” Jack said. “Our data suggest that whereas Westerners use the whole face to convey emotion, Easterners use the eyes more and mouth less.”

In short, the data show that facial expressions are not universal signals of human emotion. From here on, examining how cultural factors have diversified these basic social skills will help our understanding of human emotion. Otherwise, when it comes to communicating emotions across cultures, Easterners and Westerners will find themselves lost in translation.

1. The discovery shows that Westerners_______.

A．consider facial expressions universally reliable

B．pay equal attention to the eyes and the mouth

C．observe the eyes and the mouth in different ways

D．have more difficulty in recognizing facial expressions

2. What were the people asked to do in the study?

A．To classify some face pictures.	B．To get their faces impressive.
C．To make a face at each other.	D．To observe the researchers’ faces.

3. What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 6 refer to?

A．The researchers of the study.	B．The participants in the study.
C．The errors made during the study.	D．The data collected from the study.

4. In comparison with Westerners, Easterners are likely to_______.

A．do translation more successfully

B．study the mouth more frequently

C．examine the eyes more attentively

D．read facial expressions more correctly

5. According to the passage, we can infer that the researcher, Rachael Jack _______.

A．is a student in University of Glasgow

B．studies the fields related to biology or cultures

C．has published a new report on human rights

D．shows that facial expressions are universal signals of human emotion

6. What can be the best title for the passage?

A．The Eye as the Window to the Soul

B．Effective Methods to Develop Social Skills

C．How to Increase Cross-cultural Understanding

D．Cultural Differences in Reading Emotions