1 . Once an old man rose early to read each morning. His grandson wanted to be just like his grandfather, so tried to emulate him every way he could.
One day the grandson asked, “Grandpa, I try to read just like you do, but I don’t understand most of it, and I forget whatever I do understand immediately I close the book. So what good is it for me to read?”
The grandfather, who was putting coal on the fire, said, “Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water.”
The boy did as told to, but the water leaked out before he could get the basket home.
The grandfather laughed, saying, “You’ll have to move a little faster.” This time he ran faster, but again the basket emptied. Out of breath, he decided it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket (桶). But the grandfather said, “I want a basket of water instead of a bucket of water. You’re just not trying hard enough.”
The boy knew what he was trying to accomplish was impossible. However, he decided to show his grandfather a third time.
The boy dipped the basket into the river and ran as hard as he could. With the empty basket, he gasped (喘气说), “See Grandpa? It’s useless!”
“So you think it useless?” the old man asked. ‘‘Then look at the basket.” To his surprise, the boy found it washed clean of the dirty coal stains and now clean inside and out.
“My child, that’s what happens when you read the book. You might not understand or remember everything, but the words will change you inside and out. That is the work of reading in our lives.”
1. Why did the man tell the boy to fetch a basket of water?| A．The work was too much for himself. |
| B．The work could test how fast the boy ran. |
| C．He intended to train the boy to run faster. |
| D．He meant to inspire the boy through an example. |
| A．Admire. | B．Encourage. |
| C．Challenge. | D．Copy. |
| A．Wise and diligent. | B．Healthy and smart. |
| C．Thoughtful and loving. | D．Serious and knowledgeable. |
| A．The Power of Reading | B．A Basket of Water |
| C．Old Man and His Grandson | D．On Reading Book |
2 . Nowadays, especially in China, everything seems to favor social intercourse(社交) , such as gatherings of friends, KTV, group travel, dining tighter, playing cards and Mahjong, plus the Chinese-style " street-crossing group. " Back home, discussions can still be boisterously carried on within the " circle of friends" of WeChat.
However, these scenes cannot always ease a sense of loneliness. Zhu Ziqing, a well-known professor of Tsinghua University, signed with emotion: "My loneliness increases as scene becomes much busier. " One popular song today is also called " A lonely man in crowds. " Actually, engaging in social intercourse requires ability, while being alone involves the whole character.
These days, it is not easy to calm down totally and return to one' s true self. Willpower, intellect and discipline are required. Einstein said: "It is not your working time but your spare time that determines the possibility of whether you will be successful or not. " The "spare time" he referred to could be taken as " spending time by yourself. "
Lonely life could be either dull, boring and tasteless or abundant, interesting and colorful, depending on one' s quality, ambition and inspiration.
Just as the body constantly requires energy, the mind and soul also demand never stopping inputs. However,information, processed and integrated (融入) into knowledge, thoughts and feelings, instead of bustle (忙碌) seems to be the right condition. Successful careers m all walks of life worldwide have proved that "the soul grows in peace and talent is nurtured in loneliness". In a sense, it may be reasonable to say that " Happiness tends to be shallow while loneliness involves depth".
Man, in fact, needs loneliness more than happy time, and only abundant loneliness can produce quality happiness.
1. Which of the following can replace the underlined the word "boisterously" in paragraph l?| A．surprisingly | B．sadly |
| C．busily | D．peacefully |
| A．Being alone marks people depressed. |
| B．Social intercourse improves our happiness. |
| C．One may feel lonely even when surrounded by people. |
| D．We should attend social intercourse to decrease our loneliness. |
| A．You should be successful if you spend all your time by yourself. |
| B．You should exercise more if you want to keep your minds healthy. |
| C．You will not become successful if you join in more social intercourse. |
| D．You will be more successful if you can make your lonely time meaningful. |
| A．Live on Your Own | B．Happiness and Loneliness |
| C．The Secret of Success | D．Practice Your Social Ability |
3 . Mark Twain tells a boy’s story in The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. Huck is a poor child, without a mother or home. His father drinks too much alcohol and always beats him.
Huck’s situation has freed him from the restriction of society. He explores in the woods and goes fishing. He stays out all night and does not go to school. He smokes.
Huck runs away from home. He meets Jim, a black man who has escaped from slavery(奴隶制). They travel together on a raft(木筏) made of wood down the Mississippi River.
Mark twain started writing “Huckleberry Finn” as a children’s story. But it soon became serious. The story tells about the social evil of slavery, seen through the eyes of an innocent child. Huck’s ideas about people were formed by the white society in which he lived. So, at first, he does not question slavery.Huck knows that important people believe slavery is natural, the law of God. So, he thinks it is his duty to tell Jim’s owners where to find him.
Later, Huck comes to understand that Jim is a good man. He finds he cannot carry out his plan to inform Jim’s owners of his whereabouts(下落). Instead, he decides to help Jim escape. He decides to do this, even if God punished him.
1. What is the passage mainly about?| A．The outline (概要) of The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn. |
| B．The childhood of Huckleberry. |
| C．The reason why Mark Twain wrote the story. |
| D．The effect of slavery. |
| A．something that you are expected to do. |
| B．something that you are not allowed to do. |
| C．something that you are able to do. |
| D．something that you look forward to. |
| A．he is sure about everything of slavery. |
| B．he has no question to ask the owner of the slaves. |
| C．he thinks that slavery is reasonable. |
| D．he believes that slavery is wrong. |
| A．Huck is a white boy. |
| B．Huck’s childhood is a reflection(反映) of that of Mark Twain’s. |
| C．It ’s Huck’s situation that makes him decide to travel with Jim. |
| D．Huck will be punished by God for what he does. |
| A．He has made friends with Jim. |
| B．He finds out the weakness of slavery. |
| C．God tells him to do so. |
| D．He finds that Jim is a good man. |
4 . A warm drink of milk before bed has long been the best choice for those wanting a good night’s sleep. But now a study has found it really does help people nod off（打瞌睡）—if it is milked from a cow at night.
Researchers have discovered that “night milk” contains more melatonin(褪黑激素), which has been proven to help people feel sleepy and reduce anxiety（焦虑）.The study, by researchers from Seoul, South Korea, involved mice being fed with dried milk powder（奶粉） made from cows milked both during the day and at night. Those given night milk, which contained 10 times the amount of melatonin, were less active and less anxious than those fed with the milk collected during daytime, according to the study published in The Journal of Medicinal Food.
Night milk quickened the start of sleep and caused the mice to sleep longer.
While the effect of cow milk harvested at different time has not been tested on humans up to now, taking melatonin drugs has been suggested to those who have trouble falling asleep at night.
Previous （以前的）studies have also showed that milk can be excellent for helping sleep because of the calcium content, which helps people to relax.
1. According to the text, the mice fed with daytime milk_______.| A．started sleep more easily | B．were more anxious |
| C．were less active | D．woke up later |
| A．It’s been tested on mice for ten years. |
| B．It can make people more energetic. |
| C．It exists in milk in great amount. |
| D．It’s used in sleeping drugs. |
| A．Night Milk and Sleep | B．Fat Sugar and Health |
| C．An Experiment on Mice | D．Milk Drinking and Health |
| A．By giving examples. |
| B．By stating arguments. |
| C．By explaining statistical data. |
| D．By providing research results. |
5 . As Internet users become more dependent on the Internet to store information, are people remember less? If you know your computer will save information, why store it in your own personal memory, your brain? Experts are wondering if the Internet is changing what we remember and how.
In a recent study, Professor Betsy Sparrow conducted some experiments. She and her research team wanted to know the Internet is changing memory. In the first experiment, they gave people 40 unimportant facts to type into a computer. The first group of people understood that the computer would save the information. The second group understood that the computer would not save it. Later, the second group remembered the information better. People in the first group knew they could find the information again, so they did not try to remember it.
In another experiment, the researchers gave people facts to remember, and told them where to find the information on the Internet. The information was in a specific computer folder (文件夹). Surprisingly, people later remember the folder location (位置) better than the facts. When people use the Internet, they do not remember the information. Rather, they remember how to find it. This is called “transactive memory (交互记忆)”
According to Sparrow, we are not becoming people with poor memories as a result of the Internet. Instead, computer users are developing stronger transactive memories; that is, people are learning how to organize huge quantities of information so that they are able to access it at a later date. This doesn’t mean we are becoming either more or less intelligent, but there is no doubt that the way we use memory is changing.
1. The passage begins with two questions to ________.| A．introduce the main topic | B．show the author’s attitude |
| C．describe how to use the Internet | D．explain how to store information |
| A．Sparrow’s team typed the information into a computer. |
| B．The two groups remembered the information equally well. |
| C．The first group did not try to remember the formation. |
| D．The second group did not understand the information. |
| A．keep the information in mind |
| B．change the quantity of information |
| C．organize information like a computer |
| D．remember how to find the information |
| A．We are using memory differently. |
| B．We are becoming more intelligent. |
| C．We have poorer memories than before. |
| D．We need a better way to access information. |
6 . Choose Your One-Day-Tours!
Tour A - Bath &Stonehenge including entrance fees to the ancient Roman bathrooms and Stonehenge -￡37 until 26 March and ￡39 thereafter. Visit the city with over 2,000 years of history and Bath Abbey, the Royal Crescent and the Costume Museum, Stonehenge is one of the world’s most famous prehistoric monuments dating back over 5,000 years.
Tour B - Oxford & Stratford including entrance fees to the University St Mary’s Church Tower and Anne Hathaway’s -￡32 until 12 March and ￡36 thereafter. Oxford: Includes a guided tour of England’s oldest university city and colleges. Look over the “city of dreaming spires(尖顶）” from St Mary‘s Church Tower. Stratford: Includes a guided tour exploring much of the Shakespeare wonder.
Tour C - Windsor Castle &Hampton Court: including entrance fees to Hampton Court Palace -￡34 until 11 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Windsor and Hampton Court, Henry VILL’s favorite palace. Free time to visit Windsor Castle(entrance fees not included).With 500 years of history, Hampton Court was once the home of four Kings and one Queen. Now this former royal palace is open to the public as a major tourist attraction. Visit the palace and its various historic gardens, which include the famous maze(迷宫) where it is easy to get lost!
Tour D –Cambridge including entrance fees to the Tower of Saint Mary the Great -￡33 until 18 March and ￡37 thereafter. Includes a guided tour of Cambridge, the famous university town, and the gardens of the 18th century.
1. Which tour will you choose if you want to see England’s oldest university city?| A．Tour A | B．Tour B |
| C．Tour C | D．Tour D |
| A．Windsor Castle & Hampton Court | B．Oxford & Stratford |
| C．Bath & Stonehenge | D．Cambridge |
| A．It used to be the home of royal families | B．It used to be a well-known maze |
| C．It is the oldest palace in Britain | D．It is a world-famous castle |
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater, the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals" who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
"Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language," said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),"he said. "You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas."
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.
1. The main subject talked about in this passage is ______.
| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| C．1anguage can help brain power |
| D．1anguage learning and maths study |
| A．say language is also a kind of physical labor |
| B．prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language |
| C．to show the importance of using the language when you learn the language |
| D．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well |
| A．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is |
| B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn't know a second language |
| C．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people's brain |
| D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time |
| A．a researcher on language learning |
| B．a person who is good at learning foreign languages |
| C．a person who can speak two languages |
| D．an active language learner |
This is Life, all right, but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演) and, unhappily, we do miss so many of its best moments.
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families, always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do. Then, at 60 or 65, we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for Real Life to come along were in fact real life.
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English：“Have a nice day!” They speak slowly and seriously in their shops, hotels and sandwich bars. I think it is a wonderful phrase, reminding us, in effect, to enjoy the moment: to value this very day.
How often do we say to ourselves, "I'll take up horse-riding (or golf, or sailing) as soon as I get a higher position," only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position.
When I first became a reporter, I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper. At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反常的) mental state. How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area？I wanted to know.
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser, I see the sense in it. In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure. He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his life sitting on Southern Region trains.
1. The first paragraph of the passage tells us that____________.
| A．we always try to find some time to write a book |
| B．we always make plans but seldom fulfill them |
| C．we always enjoy many of life's best moments |
| D．we always do what we really want to do |
| A．leave for | B．return to | C．give up | D．rely on |
| A．in an abnormal state | B．under too much pressure |
| C．not well paid | D．not respected |
| A．Provide Homes For Our Family | B．Take Up Horse-riding |
| C．Value This Very Day | D．Stay Alive |
For pet owners, the hundreds of pet food recalls taking place each year has raised a lot of alarm. “Most people are caring pet owners, and they want to do what helps protect their pet,” explains Will Post, founder and CEO, Hound & Gatos Pet Foods Corporation. “Yet the problem is that most are not sure what that means and how to go about it. The more they learn about pet food, the better able they will be to make an informed decision that will keep their pet healthier and safer.”
Here are several tips that consumers may want to keep in mind when it comes to choosing a pet food that will help reduce the risks.
Get to know the company. Most people may know a company name simply because they spend millions on advertising. But that doesn’t mean they know much about the company or their morals. Research companies to find one that offers high standards, quality products, and great customer service.
Ask questions. Don’t be afraid to get in touch with a pet food company and ask them where something was made, where ingredients(原料) came from, or any other questions. They should have no problem answering questions about their products, or with being able to provide proof of their quality standards.
Read reviews. Do some searches to read some reviews about various brands of pet food. Keep in mind that some reviews can be one-sided and even planted by the company itself, so look for fair third-party sources giving the review.
Investigate(调查) ingredients. The source of ingredients is of major concern when it comes to reducing the risks of pet food recalls and keeping pets healthy. Read the labels and ask questions to determine where the ingredients are coming from.
Understand pet foods. Cat and dog food should contain 100 percent protein, which will supply them with the nutrients their bodies require. The problem with many commercial pet foods is that it is full of numerous fillers, such as cheap fillers and grains.
1. How can people provide a safer and healthier environment for their pet?
| A．By giving more food to their pet. |
| B．By getting a better understanding about pet food. |
| C．By accompanying their pet more. |
| D．By knowing more about their pet. |
| A．Three. | B．Four. |
| C．Five. | D．Six. |
| A．Where the ingredients come from. |
| B．Whether the company has good reputation. |
| C．Whether the food supply enough nutrients. |
| D．Whether most people choose the food. |
| A．the increasingly serious problem about food safety |
| B．the ways to choose a safer pet food |
| C．the opinion about food safety |
| D．the advice on caring pets |
| A．People in general. |
| B．Food companies. |
| C．Pet shop owners. |
| D．Pet owners. |
With my hands and knees on the floor of the airplane, I was searching for an old lady’s missing hearing aid during the flight from Sydney to Los Angeles. It occurred to me that this may not be the most dignified posture for a Buddhist nun(尼姑).
I had seen the old lady from the seat in front of me as she walked up and down the passage with a flashlight. I asked a few times what was wrong, but she didn’t answer at first —– she couldn’t hear me. She was wearing a woolen coat. Judging from her accent, she came from Eastern Europe.
Do you know what hearing aids cost? Thousands, especially for the new tiny hidden-in-the-ear type she described. It takes a long time for an appointment to make a new one, and many doctor visits to get the thing adjusted right. Therefore, my dignity seemed less important than finding that hearing aid. But how does one find a tiny black object in a shadowy jet cabin（机舱）?
The lady wasn’t even sure where or when she had lost it. At one point, a couple of flight attendants did a random search around the lady’s seat; I wasn’t impressed. They left suggesting that she search the seat of her previous flight! My flashlight turned up all kinds of small objects, bits of plastic, broken pieces of headphones.
The old lady said that she gave up. Yet I couldn’t. After we landed, as passengers streamed past us, I insisted that the lady move aside while awaiting her wheelchair. Then I got into a real down and dirty search among the dust under her seat and on the floor.
Look! A little peanut-sized shiny black object caught the light of my flashlight in a floor crack near her seat.
What a rush. “I found it!”
With great astonishment and gratitude, the old lady responded, “I haven’t the words to express my thanks!”
1. Why did the author put her hands and knees on the floor?
| A．She is a religious Buddhist nun. |
| B．She fell down from her seat. |
| C．She helped the old lady look for her hearing aid. |
| D．She wanted to stand out among the passengers. |
| A．She ignored the author’s question on purpose. |
| B．She is an American. |
| C．She lost her hearing aid by accident. |
| D．It was not difficult for her to get the hearing aid at all. |
| A．On the previous flight. |
| B．Close to the old lady’ seat. |
| C．On the wheelchair. |
| D．In another jet cabin. |
| A．Respectful. | B．Doubtful. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Grateful. |
| A．To tell us a story about kind help. |
| B．To warn us to be more careful. |
| C．To teach us how to find the lost thing. |
| D．To present the love from all people on board. |
