1 . One summer during high school, my mom volunteered me to help Grandpa research our family tree. Great, I thought, imagining hours spent pawing through dusty, rotting boxes and listening to boring stories about people I didn't know. "You'll be surprised," my mom promised, "Family histories can be very interesting."
In truth, Grandpa didn't want to limit my work to just research, hoping to also preserve our family memories. He'd discovered a computer program that helps digitally scan old pictures and letters to preserve their contents before they crumble from old age. Grandpa wanted me to help him connect the scanner and set up the computer program. He could type documents and send emails, but had never used a scanner.
Soon after, I became fascinated with my relatives' lives. I asked Grandpa to tell the story behind every picture and letter we scanned. The stories, which turned out not to be boring at all, helped me not only understand but also relate to my relatives. I became so hungry for more information that Grandpa needed additional props to keep me satisfied. He showed me a chest filled with random stuff, all covered in dust.
Perusing through their belongings, I felt I was opening a window into the world of my relatives, a world long since gone. Grandpa showed me a bundle of letters he had sent to Grandma from the front lines of World War II and I could almost smell the gunpowder. I turned the pages of my great-grandmother's recipe book and could picture her cooking in her kitchen. All of the people who had been merely names to me now had faces to match.
Later, Grandpa admitted, "I probably could have done this project myself. I just wanted someone to share it with." I can't thank him enough for sharing the experience and making me appreciate the family members who have made me the person I am. I will cherish family memories and hope that someday will be able to pass them down to my own grandchildren.
1. Which of the following can best describe the author's first impression of research?| A．Delightful. | B．Tiresome. |
| C．Surprising. | D．Interesting |
| A．Come to life. | B．Tear apart. |
| C．Fall to pieces. | D．Break through. |
| A．To show him a bundle of letters. | B．To keep him away from boredom. |
| C．To give him something to sort out. | D．To fulfill his desire to know more. |
| A．He used to serve in the army. | B．He knew nothing about computer. |
| C．He buried the letters under gunpowder. | D．He loved sharing what he had with others. |
| A．Precious family memories | B．My grandpa and his belongings |
| C．My grandpa and his family tree | D．Helping my grandpa in summer |
2 . These beautiful reading spots are best enjoyed with no one for company but the inhabitants of your favorite fictional worlds ...
---By Anna Walker Women's Library, Glasgow
Rows of books on women's issues throughout history line the shelves of the only official museum in the UK dedicated to women's lives, histories and achievements and a number of events across the year transform this library into a living social hub, with creative writing classes, performance groups, craft sessions and more.
The library's key aim is to support women, with services teaching literacy, calculations, and handling a range of issues including poverty, and surviving violence.
Visit womenslibyaryore.ukSir Duncan Rice Library, Aberdeen
The outside of the modern facility is a huge glass structure - made of 760 glass panels and 2,200 tons of steel.
The Sir Duncan Rice is also conscious of its carbon footprint; designed to collect rainwater which is reused to flush its toilets, harvesting power through solar cells on the roof and using timers to control the use of its fluorescent lighting.
Visit abdn.ac.uk/libraryJohn Ryland, Manchester
Created over 100 years ago as a gift to Manchester and its people, the John Ryland welcomes over 250,000 visitors through its doors each year. The project began as a honor by Enriqueta Ryland to her late husband John Ryland, and has grown to become the third largest academic library in the UK, home to over a million manuscripts （手稿）
Modern extensions to the building added since the 2000s create a breath-taking collision （冲突）of historic and modern architecture. Regular events planned with the whole family in mind make this library one to visit time and time again.
Visit library.manchesterac. uk/rylmdsWellcome Reading Room, Lo
Spend an afternoon studying in the Reading Room of London's Wellcome Museum and you may just find yourself enjoying a side of people-watching with your literature. With drawing classes, pop-up exhibitions and artistic displays accompanying rows of educational books, it's an enjoyable spot to visit, revisit and declare your number one study spot. The impressive stairway and desks are allowing you the perfect spot to pause and reflect, whatever your library mission.
Visit wellcomecollection.org/visit-us1. What do we know about Women's Library in the passage?
| A．It is a good place for women to survive violence. |
| B．People can learn how to earn a better life in classes. |
| C．Women can promote their relationship and education in the library. |
| D．Only books on women's issues in modern times can be found in the library. |
| A．It has environmental-friendly design. |
| B．The library is only made of 760 glass panels. |
| C．People can take writing courses in the library. |
| D．The outside of the modern facility is a huge steel structure. |
| A．The library has been rebuilt since the 2000s. |
| B．The library was built in memory of John Ryland. |
| C．Over a million manuscripts were donated from homes in the UK. |
| D．It was the third largest academic library in the UK when it was built. |
| A．It is hardly worth revisiting. |
| B．People can buy artworks by attending drawing classes. |
| C．Those coming with different purposes are also admitted to it. |
| D．Visitors can extend their understanding of the benefit of reading. |
| A．John Ryland |
| B．Women's Library |
| C．Sir Duncan Rice Library |
| D．Wellcome Reading Room |
3 . The mind is a wonderful thing.It’s also excuse-making machine that frequently tries to convince us not to take action we know are good for us.If we hadn't learned about these excuses, or how to overcome them, we would never have succeeded in making these positive changes.
So why does the mind mess with us and make unreasonable excuses? Because the mind wants comfort, that's the reason.It’s afraid of discomfort, pressure and change.The mind is absorbed in its comfort zone, and anytime we try to stretch that zone too far, for too long, the mind tries desperately to get back to "ground zero" at any cost.These damaging excuses, such as "I can't do it", "It is too hard for me", "It’s too late now" and so on, are no strangers to our minds.
It seems too difficult at first, so you think you can't stick to the positive change you're making.This excuse can be countered (对抗）by looking at the fact that other people were no more capable than you thought you were.For example, my 60-year-old next-door neighbor finished running a marathon, so I told myself, "If she can do it, so can I !" Truth be told, the only person who tells you "I can't" is yourself.If you hear those words echoing in the back of your mind, tune them out.
I've witnessed people reinventing themselves at all ages 48-year-olds starting families, 57-year-olds graduating from college for the first time, 71-year-olds starting successful businesses, and so forth.
Another common excuse is that "I've already failed too much." If you break down, it's fine, because you are only human.Just don't stay down; take a rest, and then pick yourself up so you can go to where you'd rather be.As Winston Churchill said, "Success is never final; failure is never fatal .It is courage to continue that counts."
Some people feel like quitting when they have almost reached their goal, while others attain goals through their efforts until the last second.So make some necessary adjustments to get rid of the bad habit of making excuses.Keep going! No excuses! Think, work, and climb, that's how you'll move your life forward.
1. Why does our mind make excuses?| A．It tends to seek comforts rather than suffering. |
| B．It needs rest and relaxation . |
| C．It is preparing for the difficult times. |
| D．It is the way it tries to find a solution. |
| A．The lowest spot. | B．The safest place |
| C．The original place | D．The proper position |
| A．completing a marathon was not too difficult |
| B．people often neglect their abilities |
| C．looking down upon the others is wrong |
| D．people shouldn't let negative thoughts step in their way |
| A．learn from those good examples |
| B．stop for a while and examine himself |
| C．try to adjust himself, and get back on his feet |
| D．look for new directions and keep trying |
| A．To tell readers how to make a change. |
| B．To help readers develop a new view of life. |
| C．To encourage readers to leave their comfortable zone. |
| D．To tell readers to stop making excuses and keep fighting. |
4 . After years of observing human nature, I have decided that two qualities make the difference between men of great achievement and men of average performance curiosity and discontent. I have never known an outstanding man who lacked either. And I have never known an average man who had both. The two belong together.
Together, these deep human urges (驱策力) count for much more that ambition. Galileo was not merely ambitious when he dropped objects of varying weights from the Leaning Tower at Pisa and timed their fall to the ground. Like Galileo, all the great names in history were curious and asked in discontent, “Why? Why? Why?”
Fortunately, curiosity and discontent don’t have to be learned. We are born with them and need only recapture them.
“The great man,” said Mencius (孟子), “is he who does not lose his child’s heart.” Yet most of us do lose it. We stop asking questions. We stop challenging custom. We just follow the crowd. And the crowd desires restful average. It encourages us to occupy our own little corner, to avoid foolish leaps into the dark, to be satisfied.
Most of us meet new people, and new ideas, with hesitation. But once having met and liked them, we think how terrible it would have been, had we missed the chance. We will probably have to force ourselves to waken our curiosity and discontent and keep them awake.
How should you start? Modestly, so as not to become discouraged. I think of one friend who couldn’t arrange flowers to satisfy herself. She was curious about how the experts did it. How she is one of the experts, writing books on flower arrangement.
One way to begin is to answer your own excuses. You haven’t any special ability? Most people don’t; there are only a few geniuses. You haven’t any time? That’s good, because it’s always the people with no time who get things done. Harriet Stowe, mother of six, wrote parts ofUncle Tom’s Cabinwhile cooking. You’re too old? Remember that Thomas Costain was 57 when he published his first novel, and that Grandma Moses showed her first pictures when she was 78.
However you start, remember there is no better time to start than right now, for you’ll never be more alive than you are at this moment.
1. In writing Paragraph 1, the author aims to ________.| A．propose a definition |
| B．make a comparison |
| C．reach a conclusion |
| D．present an argument |
| A．Trial and error leads to the finding of truth. |
| B．Scientists tend to be curious and ambitious. |
| C．Creativity results from challenging authority. |
| D．Greatness comes from a lasting desire to explore. |
| A．Observe the unknown around you. |
| B．Develop a questioning mind. |
| C．Lead a life of adventure. |
| D．Follow the fashion. |
| A．Gaining success helps you become an expert. |
| B．The genius tends to get things done creatively. |
| C．Lack of talent and time is no reason for taking no action. |
| D．You should remain modest when approaching perfection. |
| A．Curious Minds Never Feel Contented |
| B．Reflections on Human Nature |
| C．The Keys to Achievement |
| D．Never Too Late to Learn |
5 . That morning, I dropped our eldest at kindergarten and returned home to let our two younger children play while I worked on my medical report. It was wonderful, but it hit me that my career in hospital wasn't making a difference in anyone's life. I needed something that would stretch my limits and push me to grow. My career enabled me to work from home. I could work from home, and become a foster (领养) mother, providing safety for a child who needed it desperately.
On Monday morning, I picked up the phone and dialed the number I had googled for the nearest Department of Children's Services. The man on the other end was receptive to my questions and explained the next step of training, involving eight weeks of classes designed to prepare and educate foster parents. We continued through all the classes, the home visits, background checks, and seemingly endless steps.
Five long months after we were approved, the phone rang. In the middle of the night, I woke my husband and rushed to East Tennessee Children's' Hospital. Our placement was waiting for us in the emergency room, sick and lack of nutrition. It didn't take long for us to realize the full depth of her suffering. Six months later, her half-brother came to us by our request. We now had five children under our care.
On August 12, 2016, our family of seven walked into a small courtroom. The children's lawyer and social worker were there. With just a few words, our adoption was finalized. These two amazing children weren't going home, because they were already home. We are their forever family, and they are our forever children. We may not be able to change the entire world, but we have changed the world entirely for our new children.
1. How did the author feel about her hospital work?| A．Unusually demanding. | B．Lacking in motivation. |
| C．Filled with challenges. | D．Packed with chances. |
| A．She wanted to make a difference in other people. |
| B．She felt sympathetic for abused children she knew. |
| C．She felt confident about her ability to raise children. |
| D．She experienced training to raise children properly. |
| A．The foster parents must be healthy and well-educated. |
| B．It was impossible to go through all the endless process. |
| C．The man on the phone was nice and gave clear instructions. |
| D．The home visits and background checks would take eight weeks. |
| A．The child to be adopted. | B．The need to get trained. |
| C．The approval of adoption. | D．The official at the hospital. |
| A．To put the adopted kids elsewhere. | B．To receive another adopted child. |
| C．To begin the kids' adoption in her home. | D．To make the adoption officially legal. |
6 . What makes babies laugh? It sounds like one of the most fun questions a researcher could investigate, but there’s a serious scientific reason why Caspar Addyman wants to find out.
He’s not the first to ask this question. The great psychologist(心理学家) of human development, Jean Piaget, thought that babies laughter could be used to see into their minds. Studying when babies laugh might therefore be a great way of gaining insight into how they understand the world, he reasoned. But although he suggested this in the 1940s, this idea remains to be properly tested. Despite the fact that some very famous investigators have studied the topic, it hasn’t been given enough attention by modern psychology.
Addyman, of Birkbeck, University of London, is out to change that. He believes we can use laughter to get at exactly how babies understand the world. He’s completed the world’s largest and most comprehensive survey of what makes babies laugh, presenting his initial results at the International Conference on Infant Studies, Berlin, last year. Via his website he surveyed more than 1,000 parents from around the world, asking them questions about when, where and why their babies laugh.
The results are heart-warming. A baby’s first smile comes at about six weeks, their first laugh at about three and a half months. Peekaboo(躲猫猫) is a sure-fire favourite for making babies laugh, but tickling(挠痒痒) is the single most reported reason why babies laugh.
Importantly, from the very first chuckle(低声轻笑), the survey responses show that babies are laughing with other people, and at what they do. The mere physical sensation of something being ticklish isn’t enough. Nor is it enough to see something disappear or appear suddenly. It’s only funny when an adult makes these things happen for the baby. This shows that way before babies walk, or talk, they – and their laughter – are social. If you tickle a baby they apparently laugh because you are tickling them, not just because they are tickled.
What’s more, babies don’t tend to laugh at people falling over. They are far more likely to laugh when they fall over, rather than someone else, or when other people are happy, rather than when they are sad or unpleasantly surprised. Although parents report that boy babies laugh slightly more than girl babies, both genders (性别) find mummy and daddy equally funny.
In spite of the scientific potential, baby laughter is “strangely ignored”, according to Addyman. Part of the reason is the difficulty of making babies laugh reliably in the lab, although he plans to deal with this in the next stage of the project. But partly the topic has been ignored, he says, because it isn’t viewed as a subject for “proper” science to look into. This is a prejudice Addyman hopes to overturn – for him, the study of laughter is certainly no joke.
1. The psychologist Jean Piaget held the belief that ________.| A．even a good joke could not be got across to babies |
| B．his theory about laughter would be proved in the end |
| C．studying babies’ laughter helped to know how they understand the world |
| D．babies’ laughter could be used to find out whether their brains functioned well |
| A．the present situation of Birkbeck | B．the study conducted by Jean Padget |
| C．thinking little of modern psychology | D．ignoring the research into babies’ laughter |
| A．babies are likely to laugh at people falling over |
| B．babies are very fond of being tickled |
| C．babies’ first laugh comes at six weeks |
| D．babies and their laughter are social in a way |
| A．babies’ laughter is well worth studying |
| B．nobody should play jokes on babies |
| C．babies’ laughter is not a real science subject |
| D．scientists can get reliable information only in the lab |
| A．Admiring | B．Fact-based |
| C．Doubtful | D．One-sided |
