1 . Jack London, one of America's great writers of adventure stories, was born in California in 1876. During his life, London did many jobs. His broad life experiences would become the background for his writing.
London loved to read. As a teenager, he spent many hours educating himself at the Oakland Public Library. He attended college at the University of California at Berkeley in 1896, but he stayed for only six months. He thought Berkeley was "not lively enough" and wanted to do something more exciting.
London wrote stories about working people and the hard times they had making a living. He knew their problems at first hand. He worked as a sailor, factory worker, and gold rusher, to name but a few of his many jobs.
Like many people of the time, London caught the Klondike Gold Rush Fever. In 1897, he headed for Alaska. He didn't find gold, but he discovered something even more valuable. He discovered that people enjoyed listening to the stories he made up. London entertained (使……快乐) the miners with story after story. Later, using his experiences during the Gold Rush, he created many more colorful stories. London decided to live a full, exciting life. Each day, he pushed himself. Once London made up his mind to be a writer, nothing could stop him. His goal was to write at least one thousand words every day. He refused to stop even when he was sick. In eighteen years, the writer published fifty-one books and hundreds of articles. He was the best-selling and highest-paid author of his day. Many people also considered him to be the best writer.
White Fang and The Call of the Wild are his must famous stories and are about surviving in the Alaskan wilderness.
Readers can enjoy Jack London's talent for telling wonderful stories each time they open one of his novels.
1. Which statement is true about Jack London?| A．He is famous for his learning ability. | B．He studied in many universities. |
| C．He was taught by the librarians. | D．His life experiences benefited him. |
| A．It was not very easy. | B．It was not very busy. |
| C．It was not very interesting. | D．It was not very comfortable. |
| A．When he was a teenager. | B．When he was in Alaska. |
| C．When he went to college. | D．When he worked as a sailor. |
| A．Strong-minded. | B．Big-mouthed. | C．Well-educated. | D．Sort-hearted. |
| A．To describe Jack London's life during the gold rush. |
| B．To introduce several books written by Jack London. |
| C．To show how Jack London became a great writer. |
| D．To require readers to read Jack London's books. |
2 . Most humans are able to recognize about 1 million different colors, but some people can't recognize this many because of something called colorblindness(色盲). In rare cases, some people can't see any colors at all.
There are three cone-shaped(锥形的)cells at the back of our eyes that allow us to see colors. These cells absorb tight waves and send a message to the brain, where the image is processed.
If something is wrong with these cone-shaped cells, this can result in colorblindness.
Thankfully, special color-correcting glasses have already been made to help fix some types or colorblindness. Now, according to research published in Optics Letters, scientists have provided another choice.
Sharon Karepov and Tal Ellenbogen, engineers from Tel Aviv University in Israel, have found a way to apply this technology to contact lenses(隐形眼镜). This is good news for the millions of people worldwide who suffer from colorblindness.
One of the most common types of colorblindness is red-green colorblindness. People who have this specific type have difficulty telling the colors red and green apart. "Problems with distinguishing red from green stop simple daily routines such as deciding whether a banana is ripe," Karepov explained.
Karepov also stressed the importance of applying this finding to create special contact lenses instead of relying on color-correcting glasses.
"Glasses based on this correction concept are commercially available. However, they are too big than contact lenses." Karepov said. "Our contact lenses create a customized, compact and durable(耐用的)way to deal with these shortcomings."
This new research is groundbreaking. In addition to offering those who are colorblind another option, it may lead to solutions for other visual damage.
1. What can cause colorblindness, according to the article?| A．Only one type of cone-shaped cell exists in the eyes. |
| B．Cone-shaped cells cannot process images received. |
| C．The brain fails to absorb and process light waves. |
| D．Cone-shaped cells probably don't work properly. |
| A．They can recognize 1 million different colors. |
| B．They are not interested in colorful stuff. |
| C．They may find daily tasks more difficult. |
| D．They have fewer cone-shaped cells than other people. |
| A．Three cone-shaped cells. | B．Special color-correcting glasses. |
| C．Processed image. | D．Red-green colorblindness type. |
| A．They are much smaller. | B．They are easier to make. |
| C．They are much cheaper. | D．They can help correct colorblindness. |
| A．It has led to a cure for colorblindness. |
| B．It has found causes of visual damage. |
| C．It could lead to solutions for other visual damage. |
| D．It has helped to develop glasses to fix visual damage. |
3 . Students are sitting in a classroom at P.S.54, a public elementary school in Brooklyn, New York. When their teacher, Adrienne Heim, strikes a bell, they take a deep breath.
The kids are practicing mindfulness. That means they are learning to pay attention to the present moment. Why?
Being mindful can help people stay calm and focused, according to Heim. She is the founder of Green Generations. The organization brings mindfulness classes to eight schools in New York City.
Isafye Lewis, 10, has been taking in the class at P.S.54 for two years. "Mindfulness teaches me to relax, " he told TFK. "It really helps me feel better when I'm sad or angry."
At P.S.54, students practice mindfulness through deep breathing, movement, and relaxation exercises. But Heim says that mindfulness is about more than just staying calm. It also boosts confidence. "It helps children have a right attitude, " She says, "so they can make healthy decisions."
Recent research published in Developmental Psychology supports this view. The study also found that mindfulness training can help kids succeed in school. That's because it trains the brain to pay attention and manage stress.
"It doesn't solve math equations for kids," Mariam Gates, author of This Moment Is Your Life, told TFK. "But what mindfulness does for all of us is help us focus on the moment we're in, which is the only place we can learn, change, or grow."
But you don't have to be in a classroom to practice mindfulness. Gates says, "You can always bring your attention to this moment and change how you experience it."
1. Why do the students take a deep breath when the teacher strikes a bell?| A．They are afraid of the teacher. | B．They are practising mindfullness. |
| C．They are taking an exam. | D．They are having singing class. |
| A．How to take it easy. | B．How to stay focused. |
| C．How to stop being sad. | D．How to get high grades. |
| A．shakes. | B．studies. | C．raises. | D．requires. |
| A．It does little to help kids' studies. | B．It helps kids make decisions. |
| C．It makes kids less stressful. | D．It helps kids pay attention. |
| A．An organization centered on mindfulness. | B．A new study on mindfulness. |
| C．An introduction to mindfulness. | D．The influences of mindfulness. |
4 . Those with closed minds refused to consider any contradictory facts, and they proceed with their planned course of action, full speed ahead, with their “minds made up” and tightly shut. As an illustration, consider the situation in 1986, prior to the space shuttle Challenger’s disatrous launch that killed all seven astronauts aboard, there was a heated telephone debate between two engineers from the company that produced the shuttle booster rockets and the top officials of NASA (the federal government’s space agency). The engineers insisted that the flight was too risky because of freezing temperature at the Florida launch site. They explained that some of the seals on the fuel tanks were not designed to withstand such low temperatures and might leak under pressure, thus endangering the craft and crew.
Despite the pleas to stop the flight, officials at NASA overruled the engineers, who were best qualified to make judgments about the complex technical problems of space flight. What caused the officials to ignore the engineers? Several flights had already been postponed, and it would not look good to postpone another. It would be bad public relations to disappoint the crowds of people and news reporters waiting for the launch. Top government officials were ready to appear on the national television and take the credit for another safe flight. As a result, with their minds absolutely closed to the facts presented by the engineers, NASA officials ordered the Challenger to take off. Seventy-three seconds later, the spacecraft was enveloped in flame.
Incredibly, seventeen years later, the lesson of the Challenger disaster was repeated. In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart while re-entering the earth’s atmosphere, killing another crew of seven. During the shuttle’s liftoff, a piece of foam insulation(泡沫隔热材料) had broken off, hitting the shuttle's wing at five hundred miles per hour. Lower-level engineers at NASA begged for photographs of the Columbia in orbit, which might have shown the extent of the damage, but their closed-minded superiors ignored their requests. It was the damage caused by the 1.7 pound chunk of insulation that doomed the Columbia.
There is no virtue in ignoring contradictory facts and “sticking to your guns” when the course taken shows all the signs of being the wrong one. Closed minds are especially noticeable in political campaigns and debates. Many people line up to support one candidate or another and won’t listen to any facts presented by the opposing candidate.
All those with an open mind say is this: “I don’t know everything, so I’d better keep my mind, eyes, and ears open to any new facts that may come along.” The world would be a much better and safer place if everyone had this attitude.
1. Which of the following brought about the disastrous launch of the Challenger?| A．Its crew | B．The engineers |
| C．The fuel tanks’ seals | D．The size of its rocket |
| A．postponed the flight at once. |
| B．made judgments about the complex technical problems. |
| C．announced the news on national television. |
| D．ordered to launch the Challenger as scheduled. |
| A．The Columbia disaster was impossible to foresee. |
| B．Engineers were to blame for the Columbia’s explosion. |
| C．The Columbia disaster could have been avoided. |
| D．The Columbia was deliberately damaged. |
| A．Holding firm to your own opinion. |
| B．Remaining and firing your gun at enemies. |
| C．Strengthening your status. |
| D．Keeping an open mind. |
| A．To inform readers about what an open mind is. |
| B．To entertain readers with two stories of tragedies in space. |
| C．To persuade readers to keep an open mind. |
| D．To criticize what NASA officials had done in aerospace history. |
| A．By stating arguments. | B．By giving examples. |
| C．By explaining statistical data. | D．By providing research result. |
5 . Sleeping in on Saturday after a few weeks of too little shuteye may feel refreshing, but it can give a false sense of security.
New research shows long-term sleep loss cannot be cured that easily.
Scientists researched the effects of short-and long-term sleep loss and found that those who suffer long-term sleep loss may function normally soon after waking up, but experience steadily slower reaction times as the day goes by, even if they had tried to catch up the previous night.
The research has important safety significances in an increasingly busy society, not just for shift-workers but for the roughly one in six Americans who regularly get six hours or less of sleep a night.
“We know that staying awake 24 hours without sleep will affect your performance to do all sorts of things, and this effect equals to drinking too much when driving,” said lead researcher Dr. Daniel Cohen of Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. But when those who suffer long-term sleep loss become all-nighters, “the harm is increased ten times,” Cohen said.
The National Institutes of Health says adults need seven hours to nine hours of sleep for good health. Regularly getting too little sleep increases the risk of health problems, including memory impairment(受损) and a weakened immune system.
More immediately, too little sleep affects reaction times; sleepiness is to blame for car crashes and other accidents.
It has critically important complicated and unexpected results for anyone who works “crazy hours” and thinks they are performing fine with a few hours of weeknight sleep, said Harris, director at New York’s Montefiore Medical Center. “Don’t think you can just bank up your sleep on the weekend, because it doesn’t work that way,” he warned.
1. The text mainly advises people _____.| A．to sleep more time | B．to sleep in on Saturday |
| C．to sleep scientifically | D．to sleep little on weekend |
| A．are quicker in thinking |
| B．may feel refreshed soon after waking up |
| C．are surely energetic |
| D．can have a strong sense of security |
| A．Most of the Americans get six hours or less of sleep a night. |
| B．Staying up is worse for those who suffer long-term sleep loss. |
| C．Traffic accidents have little to do with sleepiness. |
| D．One in six Americans are all-nighters. |
| A．pile up | B．pick up | C．add up | D．build up |
6 . At Blossom End Railroad Station, 22-year-old Stanley Vine sat, waiting for his new employer. The surrounding green fields were so unlike the muddy landscape of war-torn France. After four horrible years as an army private ( 列 兵 ) fighting in Europe, Stanley had returned to England in February 1946. Armed now with some savings and with no prospects for a job in England, he answered a newspaper ad for farm help in Canada. Two months later he was on his way.
When the old car rumbled toward the tiny station, Stanley rose to his feet, trying to make the most of his five foot, four inch frame. The farmer, Alphonse Lapine, shook his head and complained, “You’re a skinny thing.” On the way to his dairy farm, Alphonse explained that he had a wife and seven kids. “Money’s tight. You’ll get room and board. You’ll get up at dawn for milking, and then help me around the farm until evening milking time again. Ten dollars a week. Sundays off.” Stanley nodded. He had never been on a farm before, but he took the job.
From the beginning Stanley was treated horribly by the whole family. They made fun of the way he dressed and talked. The humourless farmer frequently lost his temper, criticizing Stanley for the slightest mistake. The oldest son, 13-year-old Armand, constantly played nasty tricks on him. But the kind-hearted Stanley never responded.
Stanley never became part of the Lapine family. After work, they ignored him. He spent his nights alone in a tiny bedroom. However, each evening before retiring, he lovingly cared for the farmer’s horses, eagerly awaiting him at the field gate. He called them his gentle giants.
Early one November morning Alphonse Lapine discovered that Stanley had disappeared, after only six months at his farmhand. In fact no one in the community ever heard of him again. That is, until one evening, almost 20 years later, when Armand, opened an American sports magazine and came across a shocking headline, “Millionaire jockey, Stanley Vine, ex-British soldier and 5-time horse riding champion, began life in North America as a farmhand in Canada.”
1. Stanley Vine decided to go to Canada because _____.| A．he wanted to escape from war-torn France |
| B．he wanted to serve in the Canadian army |
| C．he couldn’t find a job in England |
| D．he loved working as a farmhand |
| A．Stanley joined the French army when he was 18 years old. |
| B．On the farm Stanley had to milk the cows 14 times a week. |
| C．The Lapine family were rich but cruel to Stanley. |
| D．Stanley read about the job offer in a newspaper. |
| A．When Stanley first met his employer, he tried to impress him but failed. |
| B．Stanley had never worked on a farm, so he made a lot of mistakes. |
| C．Stanley’s weekly salary was not enough for him to live on. |
| D．Stanley left the farm by train, without telling anyone why he did so. |
| A．He didn’t know Stanley had been a British soldier. |
| B．He had no idea Stanley had always been a wealthy man. |
| C．He didn’t know his father paid Stanley so little money. |
| D．He didn’t expect Stanley to become such a success. |
7 . Jeremy Fox, a retired businessman in a small city in England, recently bought an old farmhouse with a yard and a small field, some five miles out of the town. There he planned to lead a simple life with his wife, Amelia.
It was while clearing out the old barn on the far side of the yard that he made an interesting discovery. In a corner, under some old sacks, he found some large fragments (碎片) of an antique (古董) bowl. Out of curiosity, he took them into the kitchen and, much to the anger of his wife, washed the mud off them. That evening he spread newspapers over the kitchen table and carefully stuck the fragments together. However, two pieces were found missing.
Two days later, having pulled down the barn, Mr. Fox was digging over the ground in preparation for the installation (安装) of a greenhouse, when he discovered the two missing pieces. When he had stuck them in position, the bowl looked so fine that Amelia agreed to its being placed on a table in the living room, in front of the window.
“We might have something a bit special here,” he said to his wife. A few days later, Jeremy took several photographs of the bowl, which he sent off to Sotheby’s in London.
Unexpectedly, Sotheby’s was extremely interested in the bowl and sent an expert to inspect it. It turned out that it was a Chinese Ming fish bowl, dating back to around 1500, and might be expected to get a five-figure sum at an auction.
A week later still more unexpectedly, two police officers called and told the Foxes the bowl was stolen property.
So the bowl never reached the auction room, and Mr. Fox never received the five-figure sum that had been mentioned. However, he framed one of the photographs he had taken and hung it on the wall.
1. At first Mrs. Fox seemed to be ________.| A．greatly annoyed at Mr. Fox’s enthusiasm |
| B．very much interested in the discovery |
| C．uncertain of Mr. Fox’s enthusiasm |
| D．curious about Mr. Fox’s findings |
| A．in the kitchen | B．in a greenhouse |
| C．out of the old barn | D．under the ground |
| A．an antique shop | B．a friend of Mr. Fox’s |
| C．an artist | D．a china store |
| A．five thousand pounds |
| B．less than ten thousand pounds |
| C．one thousand, five hundred and ninety pounds |
| D．at least ten thousand pounds |
| A．Most probably Sotheby’s purchased the bowl in the end. |
| B．It turned out that Mr. Fox got neither the money nor the bowl. |
| C．Mr. Fox preferred country life to city life after his retirement. |
| D．Mr. Fox was fond of gardening. |
8 . Science fiction writers create imaginary worlds. The way things work in your imaginary worlds will be based on actual science. So it’s important for you to be familiar with the scientific principles and inventions that are related to your creation. For example, if you’re writing about humans living on a planet with zero gravity, then you need to know the effects of zero gravity on the human body.
Then you have to figure out the exact rules of your imaginary worlds. And you have to follow them. If humans have evolved (进化) to breathe underwater in Chapter 1, your character can’t drown in a swimming pool in Chapter 3. If your robots write poetry but not fiction, then you can’t throw a novelist robot into Chapter 8. The issue here is maintaining your readers’ trust. That means the reader is willing to pretend along with you. If you start out with an ordinary detective novel (侦探小说) and then throw in someone breathing underwater in the 6th chapter, your readers’ reaction might be, “What the h……?” The imaginative spell is broken. You’ve pulled the readers out of their imagination. The same thing happens if you change the rules halfway.
Part of your preparation work for the novel is to map out its worlds for yourself in great detail. Decide: the history of the world, the geography, what possibilities it offers, how everything works in this new reality, and how all of these factors affect the way your characters think, feel, and react to things. You don’t have to tell your readers all the rules in the first chapter. But you have to let your readers know enough to understand what’s going on. This also allows you to work out logical problems and contradictions (矛盾) before you start writing.
When you are writing, remember to make it feel real. You are inviting readers to visit a new world. They will want to be able to see, hear, feel, smell, and even taste what it’s like. Whether your novel is about a world without disease or an undiscovered planet, help your readers feel like they’re actually there.
1. What’s the relationship between actual science and science fiction?| A．Science fiction promotes the development of actual science. |
| B．Science fiction often reflects the development of actual science. |
| C．Actual science limits the imagination described in science fiction. |
| D．Actual science provides basic principles for science fiction. |
| A．making comparisons | B．giving examples |
| C．following the time order | D．analyzing causes |
| A．It is necessary to do some scientific experiments before writing science fiction. |
| B．It is more difficult to write science fiction than ordinary detective novels. |
| C．Readers of science fiction actually pretend the writers’ rules are true. |
| D．It is great to leave some contradictions in your science fiction. |
| A．young scientists | B．science fiction writers |
| C．college students | D．professional journalists |
| A．how to do scientific research | B．how to raise interest in science |
| C．what to expect from science fiction | D．how to write science fiction |
9 . In 1989, an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened America, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes. In the middle of complete damage and disorder, a father rushed to the school where his son was
After the unforgettable shock, he
As he was digging, other helpless parents arrived,
Courageously he went on alone because he needed to know
“What’s going on in there?” the father asked.
“There are 14 of us
“Come out, boy!”
“No Dad! Let the other kids out first,
| A．asked | B．supposed | C．ordered | D．left |
| A．damaged | B．disappeared | C．protected | D．guarded |
| A．memorized | B．kept | C．forgot | D．remembered |
| A．how | B．what | C．which | D．who |
| A．fill | B．cover | C．come | D．burst |
| A．encouraging | B．hopeless | C．lovely | D．disappointed |
| A．digging from | B．digging through | C．digging out | D．digging into |
| A．to say | B．said | C．and saying | D．saying |
| A．Come out | B．Come again | C．Come on | D．Come off |
| A．responded | B．told | C．asked | D．answered |
| A．for himself | B．of himself | C．in himself | D．to himself |
| A．live | B．living | C．alive | D．lively |
| A．38 | B．the 38 | C．38th | D．the 38th |
| A．sound | B．voice | C．noise | D．tone |
| A．would have saved | B．would save | C．save | D．will save |
| A．when | B．because | C．even if | D．though |
| A．remained | B．missing | C．left | D．gone |
| A．regrettable | B．hopeful | C．thankful | D．unbelievable |
| A．a promise | B．a triangle (三角) | C．space | D．room |
| A．because | B．though | C．when | D．even though |
10 . I can still remember when I met my best friend. She had just moved into the neighborhood and her grandmother brought her down to
In the 7th grade, I first lost touch with her. She was
It was last year when I noticed the problem. I guess I was
She then was diagnosed with clinical depression(抑郁症). At first, I was very
Yesterday she came to me and said, “I never knew what a best friend was
We both cried. And I guess a kind of
| A．follow | B．meet | C．join | D．support |
| A．scared | B．annoyed | C．worried | D．excited |
| A．temper | B．trait | C．confidence | D．shyness |
| A．taking up | B．getting through | C．going through | D．making up |
| A．happier | B．cooler | C．individual | D．cleverer |
| A．problems | B．shortcomings | C．partners | D．disabilities |
| A．should | B．could | C．would | D．might |
| A．much | B．too | C．only | D．just |
| A．admit | B．rebel | C．consider | D．realize |
| A．but | B．for | C．or | D．so |
| A．calm | B．considerate | C．upset | D．helpful |
| A．place | B．touch | C．control | D．mood |
| A．confused | B．bothered | C．reminded | D．deserted |
| A．crazy | B．bitter | C．amazing | D．sincere |
| A．unless | B．as | C．until | D．that |
| A．grieve | B．appreciate | C．influence | D．demand |
| A．urging | B．blaming | C．helping | D．hurting |
| A．honor | B．favor | C．submission | D．lesson |
| A．someone | B．something | C．anyone | D．everything |
| A．As if | B．Although | C．If | D．Unless |
