1 . Research has shown that playing music to keep your mind busy while showering, taking a walk or travelling to school could affect your ability to think outside the box and come up with artistic or inventive things to do. By comparison, experts say being bored can lead to daydreaming plus the birth of new ideas.

Listening to music while taking a shower or going for a walk takes away from time that could be spent thinking about yourself and your life — the perfect time to let your creative juices flow, happiness expert Gretchen Rubin said. “You need this open-searching time for new ideas to bubble up,” she said. “This is why people get ideas in the shower or in the middle of the night — it’s a downtime (休息) where then the brain creates its own fun,” Ms Rubin added.

A recent study by psychologists showed the same process at work. In the research, groups of people were given a dull writing or reading task. They were then asked to complete a creative task. Researchers found the boring writing and reading activities led to increased creativity — meaning being bored made the mind entertain itself with something creative and fun.

So, is it best to get rid of the bath-time playlist? A lot of people said the research was a real mood killer. One said, “Sometimes I need the music to drown (淹没) out all the thoughts I don’t want to think.” Another commented, “Many people have too much going on in their heads. That’s why they listen to music in the shower, so they can actually relax. What do we have to have ideas about? Why can’t we just enjoy the things we love?” But other listeners said they liked having quiet time while travelling home at the end of the day.

1. What negative effect might listening to music during routine activities have?

A．Limiting creativity.	B．Causing forgetfulness.
C．Decreasing happiness.	D．Reducing awareness.

2. Which of the following can replace the underlined part “bubble up” in the second paragraph?

A．give up

B．come out

C．get up

D．cheer up

3. What did the study find about boring tasks?

A．They can destroy interest.	B．They can lead to more pressure.
C．They can delay action.	D．They can promote new ideas.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．The Benefits of Music for Relaxation	B．The Role of Boredom in Boosting Creativity
C．The Debate over Music’s Role in Relaxation	D．Finding Creativity While Showering

3 . On New Year’s Eve a teenager escaped from a house fire, all thanks to the heroic actions of the family dog, Macho.

Nicole Evans, a mom, received a sad call while out of town, learning that her house was on a big fire. Macho, sensing danger, took action and woke up Nicole’s teenage son. Griffin, around 5: 30 a. m. , warning him of the fire.

       “He just kept going at him and then he just gave him a light bite, a couple of them, and woke him up. And Griffin said, ‘What’s happening?’ And as soon as he turned around, there was just no doubt he had to go. He had to go quickly, ” Nicole told WFLA News. “It was probably the worst experience of my life not to be with the person you love the most while something’s happening to them that you can’t do something about,” she added.

While the cause of the fire is still under investigation(调查), the family has completely lost their home. Although they lost a lot, Nicole praised the value of Macho’s quick thinking. “All those things are just things, and some of those things do matter. They do. but in the end, it’s all replaceable(可替代的). Griffin’s not replaceable, and my dog is not replaceable. There are no better results than this,” she expressed.

1. Where was Nicole Evans when the fire started?

A．At home.

B．At work.

C．At the store.

D．Out of the town.

2. How did Macho warn Griffin of the fire?

A．By barking outside.	B．By calling the police.
C．By biting lightly.	D．By pulling him out.

3. What was Nicole’s reaction to the fire incident?

A．She was relieved about being saved.	B．She regretted. being careless.
C．She was thankful for her saved house.	D．She valued lives over things.

4. What is unknown about the fire?

A．Macho’s awareness.	B．The fire cause.
C．Time of the incident.	D．The effect of the fire.

4 . Some people say they “never forget a face.” But what does that saying mean? Is there really no limit to the number of faces a person can remember? A new study from a group of researchers at the University of York in England has found that, on average, people can remember as many as 5,000 faces. They published their findings on facial recognition this month in the Proceedings of The Royal Society B, Biological Sciences.

Rob Jenkins works in the psychology department at the University of York. He said the researchers’ study centered on “the number of faces people actually know”. The study suggests our facial recognition abilities help us to deal with the many different faces we see on the screens, as well as those we know, like family and friends.

For the human study, people spent one hour writing down as many faces from their personal lives as possible. Some examples may include people they went to school with, people they work with and family members. Then, they wrote down famous faces they know, such as actors, politicians and other public people.

The results showed that the participants knew between 1,000 and 10,000 faces. Jenkins said one explanation may be that some people have a natural ability for remembering faces. “There are differences in how much attention people pay to faces and how well they process the information,” he said. Jenkins also said it could be because of different social environments. Some people may have grown up in more populated places. So, they may have had more social contact throughout their lives.

The people in the study included 25 men and women students from two universities. They were between 18 and 61 years old. Researchers think age may be an interesting area for further research. Jenkins said it is possible that we gather more faces throughout our lifetime. But, he added, there also may be an age at which we start to find it harder to remember all of those faces.

1. What was the new study mainly about?

A．How long people can remember faces.

B．When people will forget faces.

C．Why people can deal with different faces.

D．How many faces people can know.

2. On average, how many faces can a man remember according to the study?

A．About 5,000.	B．No more than 1,000.
C．Fewer than 25.	D．Around 10,000.

3. What do we know about the participants in the study?

A．They are good at recognizing faces.

B．They remember more famous people.

C．They have different social backgrounds.

D．They try their best to avoid social contact.

4. What can we learn about the last paragraph?

A．We are sure to gather more faces as we age.

B．The future research may focus more on age.

C．The participants in the study are in their youth.

D．It may be harder to remember faces of different ages.

5. What did Jenkins think would affect people’s ability to remember faces?

A．Attention.

B．Personal lives.

C．Age.

D．Sex.

5 . When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.

It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted a red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.

“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted big stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement. Strip e by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!

The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.

My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring back at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.

“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.

Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need some sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.

1. What did the writer do with his friend in that afternoon?

A．They counted the toys in the house.

B．They painted a picture on the road.

C．They made a project in the room.

D．They moved the paints to the basement.

2. What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?

A．To show his artwork to her.

B．To introduce Stephanie to her.

C．To put the materials back in the yard.

D．To prevent her from seeing his painting.

3. In the mother’s eyes, what was the writer like?

A．He was a born artist.	B．He worked very hard.
C．He was a problem solver.	D．He always caused trouble.

4. What does the underlined word “rainbow” in the last paragraph mean?

A．The beautiful rainbow in the sky.

B．The stripes painted on the pavement.

C．Something imaginative and fun.

D．Important lessons learned in childhood.

5. What should parents do according to the writer?

A．They should protect children’s dreams.

B．They should encourage children to paint.

C．They should value friendship among children.

D．They should discover the hidden talent in children.

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1. The text is mainly written to ______.

A．introduce fantastic tour places	B．invite readers to join in the tours
C．compare boat tours with bike tours	D．encourage readers to have adventures

2. Which countries have been added to “Bike Europe and Beyond”?

A．Vietnam & America.	B．China & Vietnam.
C．America & New Zealand.	D．New Zealand & China.

3. Which of the following require(s) certain cycling experience?

A．Bike &Boat Trips.	B．Road Bike Tours.
C．Luxury Boat Tours.	D．Bike Europe and Beyond.

4. What may satisfy the tourists most?

A．The travelling places.	B．The cycling adventures.
C．The price and service.	D．The scenery along the way.

5. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A newspaper.

B．A textbook.

C．A magazine.

D．A website.

7 . I was in my early 30s, seeking a creative outlet unrelated to boring housework and raising little kids. At 65, George had recently retired and was seeking a rewarding hobby for his golden years. For both of us, painting was “it” and we met at a local painting class. Thus we began a friendship until the day he died.

George took to painting with an awe-inspiring (令人惊叹的) level of passion and commitment, even changing the spare bedroom of his home into a studio. How I envied him, as in my own home and I had neither the space nor the funds for such a luxury. His painting equipment was comprehensive. George housed many of these items in a red metal tool box. For about six years George and I studied together through various units until we finished the course.

Some years passed and George was about 80 years old. One day, he rang and told me that he was giving up painting and giving away all his “stuff”. “I can’t paint, I don’t know why I ever thought I could,” he said. He was mistaken about his painting ability because he had turned out some wonderful works. However, George had decided he was through with painting, and no amount of talking could persuade him otherwise. “You have the best talent and are most likely to use it,” he said. That was why George left all his painting equipment to me. After considerable persuasion, I accepted this precious gift on condition that he could get it back at any time. He never did, of course.

I still use much of his equipment today. As I paint, I often remember George, his big personality, generous spirit and unfailing encouragement. The most treasured item is the red tool box, still in good shape.

1. What does the underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．A desire to create.	B．A hobby to kill time.
C．An escape from chores.	D．A chance to make fortune.

2. What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

A．George once created some fine paintings.

B．George didn’t like his painting equipment.

C．George always wanted to give up painting.

D．George misunderstood the author’s painting ability.

3. Why did George call the author?

A．To admit his own failure.	B．To give his painting tools to the author.
C．To ask the author a favor.	D．To make an explanation.

4. What is the best title for this passage?

A．A lesson from My Old Friend

B．Inspiration for Art from My Partner

C．Nice George: An Artist with Great Passion

D．A Red Tool Box: A Bond Between Two Friends

9 . Do you know what to do when there is an emergency? By calling the police, you can protect yourself and those around you.

Call the police in all of the following emergencies:

◆A crime, such as a theft, especially if it is still in progress.

◆A car accident, especially if someone is injured.

◆Domestic violence (家庭暴力), such as a child being mistreated.

◆Anything else that seems like an emergency.

◆What should you do when you call the police?

◆Dial 110 (the emergency number in China; the number varies from one country to another—in the U. S., you dial 911 to call the police). Stay calm when calling and give your name, address and phone number. Then, tell the person why you are calling (What happened? Where did it happen? When did it happen? Is it still in progress?). Follow any instructions you are given. For example, the dispatcher (调度员) might say, “Stay on the line” or “Leave the building”.

◆If you dial the emergency number by mistake, do not hang up. Doing so could make the dispatcher think an emergency really exists. Instead, just tell the person that you called by mistake. Most police departments have a communication center. The communication center staff reach police officers by radio. Police officers carry headsets, like earphones, to stay in touch with the communication center.

1. When calling the police, you DON’T need to give ________ to the dispatcher.

A．your name	B．your phone number
C．your ID card number	D．some details of the emergency

2. What should you do if you dial the emergency number by mistake?

A．Power off your phone.	B．Tell the dispatcher you called by mistake.
C．Hang up your phone at once.	D．Go to a police station to explain.

3. What do the communication center staff in police departments do?

A．Monitor police officers.	B．Answer emergency calls.
C．Tell people what to do in an emergency.	D．Reach police officers when there is an emergency.

4. What is the aim of the passage?

A．To tell people when and how to call the police.	B．To introduce a police officer’s duties.
C．To share the author’s experience.	D．To thank the police.