1 . People on a college campus were more likely to give money to the March of Dimes if they were asked for a donation by a disabled woman in a wheelchair than if asked by a non-disabled woman. In another
In some situations, those who are physically attractive are more likely to receive aid.
The degree of
For example, people are more likely to help a stranger who is from the same country rather than a foreigner. In one study, shoppers on a busy street in Scotland were more likely to help a person wearing a(n)
Whether a person receives help depends in part on the “worth” of the case. For example, shoppers in a supermarket were more likely to give someone
| A．study | B．way | C．word | D．college |
| A．hand | B．arm | C．face | D．back |
| A．refuse | B．beg | C．lose | D．receive |
| A．challenging | B．recording | C．understanding | D．publishing |
| A．important | B．possible | C．amusing | D．missing |
| A．seek | B．deserve | C．require | D．accept |
| A．At first | B．Above all | C．In addition | D．For example |
| A．printed | B．mailed | C．rewritten | D．signed |
| A．talented | B．good-looking | C．helpful | D．hard-working |
| A．send in | B．throw away | C．fill out | D．turn down |
| A．similarity | B．friendship | C．cooperation | D．contact |
| A．expensive | B．plain | C．cheap | D．strange |
| A．time | B．instructions | C．money | D．chances |
| A．shoppers | B．research | C．children | D．health |
| A．talkative | B．handsome | C．calm | D．sick |
2 . Do you ever pull your phone out of your pocket, thinking it is vibrating (振动), only to find that it isn’t?
This phenomenon, which scientists call “phantom ( 幻 觉 的 ) phone vibration”, is very common. Around 80% of people surveyed say they have imagined their phones vibrating when they were actually still.
So, what leads to this universal behavior? According to the BBC, the explanation lies in your brain's ability to discover signals from the outside world.
When your phone is in your pocket, there are two possible states: It is either vibrating or not. Meanwhile, you also have two possible states of mind: the judgment that the phone is vibrating, or that it isn't. Ideally, you match the four states correctly. However, sometimes your braindecides that the consequences of missing a call are more serious than a "false alarm". Therefore, you become more sensitive to vibrations so that you don't miss anything.
This is just like the fire alarm in your home—it can be annoying when it goes off in response to just a tiny bit of smoke. But that's a small price to pay compared to a fire really breaking out because the alarm fails to alert( 警 醒 ) you. Now, you might still ask: why can't our brains just make every judgment correctly without being too sensitive to false signals? The answer is that your brain bears a heavy burden every day. "You get a large amount of sensory information that's coining from your eyes, ears and skin, and you can't deal with all that information all the time, " Michael Rothberg, a researcher at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, US, told Live Science.
For example, the rustling（沙沙声）of clothing or the growling (咕咕声) of your stomach may both lead your brain to believe that they come from the vibration of your phone——it is like trying to hear your name being called in a noisy room.
So, perhaps you should just check your phone whenever you think it's vibrating. It isn't too much trouble to do that, is it?
1. According to this passage, phantom phone vibration .| A．is common among people with mental problems |
| B．happens when we become more sensitive to vibrations so that we don't miss anything |
| C．can measure people's ability to collect information |
| D．helps our brains to make decisions quickly and accurately |
| A．To help us understand the cause of phantom phone vibration better. |
| B．To tell us the phone vibration usually happens when a fire breaks out. |
| C．To show us the fire alarm is as sensitive as the phone vibration. |
| D．To convince us it's important to check our phones like checking a fire alarm. |
| A．A lack of much attention. | B．A noisy background. |
| C．A large amount of sensory information. | D．A heavy burden every day. |
| A．We should always fully believe our own sense of hearing. |
| B．We should just check our phones when we think they're vibrating. |
| C．We should ignore the vibration bothering when our phones are actually still. |
| D．We should think of the vibration carefully before we make correct judgments. |
Confidence is important to the healthy
4 . You probably know who Marie Curie was, but you may not have heard of Rachel Carson. Of the outstanding ladies listed below, who do you think was the most important woman of the past 100 years?
Jane Addams (1860-1935)Anyone who has ever been helped by a social worker has Jane Addams to thank. Addams helped the poor and worked for peace. She encouraged a sense of community (社区) by creating shelters and promoting education and services for people in need. In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Rachel Carson (1907-1964)If it weren’t for Rachel Carson, the environmental movement might not exist today. Her popular 1962 book Silent Spring raised awareness(意识) of the dangers of pollution and the harmful effects of chemicals on humans and on the world’s lakes and oceans.
Sandra Day O’Connor (1930-present)When Sandra Day O’Connor finished third in her class at Stanford Law School, in 1952, she could not find work at a law firm because she was a woman. She became an Arizona state senator (参议员) and in 1981, the first woman to join the U. S. Supreme Court (最高法院). O’Connor gave the deciding vote in many important cases during her 24 years on the top court.
Rosa Parks(1913-2005)On December 1,1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rasa Parks would not give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger. Her simple act landed Parks in prison. But it also set off the Montgomery bus boycott (抵制). It lasted for more than a year, and kicked off the civil-rights movement. “The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,” said Parks.
1. What is Jane Addams famous for in history?| A．Her social work. | B．Her teaching skills. |
| C．Her efforts to win a prize. | D．Her community background. |
| A．Not having training in law. | B．Her little work experience in court. |
| C．Her identity as a woman. | D．Her poor financial conditions. |
| A．Jane Addams. | B．Rachel Carson. |
| C．Sandra Day O’Connor. | D．Rosa Parks. |
| A．They are highly educated. | B．They are truly creative. |
| C．They are pioneers. | D．They are peace-lovers. |
Studying abroad is the realization of the dream, which might have been in your heart since you were kid. You are not alone. In recent years, studying abroad is getting more and more popular in China.
Of course, studying abroad provides a whole new opportunity to explore a completely new culture. You will experience new climate, new food and new customs, thus broadening your horizons. You can also learn a new language, so that you will become fluent in the language at last. Staying in a different country far from your parents makes you absolutely free to do whatever you like, and you have to learn to depend on yourself.
But, like all the other things under the sun, studying abroad also has certain disadvantages. People from different cultural backgrounds have different habits. So you will have to change many of your habits and adapt yourself to new culture. Furthermore, you may feel lonely and homesick. In addition, the living costs and tuition fees will be high, which will become a heavy burden upon your parents.
Whatever you do, both new opportunities and challenges will present themselves. Of course, you can’t be afraid of facing challenges. The most important thing is that you should take all the challenges into consideration before you make a decision to study abroad. My advice is: look before you leap.
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6 . Girls that eat with their families are less likely to develop eating disorders, a study says.
New research shows girls who regularly have family meals are much less likely to adopt extreme weight control
A study
The research,
Experts say doctors should
Belinda Dalton, director of eating disorders clinic The Oak House, said eating with family helped “normalize” young people's relationship with food.
“When the young are feeling that they're not treated properly or when they are feeling completely depressed, they
An eating disorders expert, Kristy Greenwood, said meal times were often difficult for sufferers. “It's typical that they feel very
| A．behaviors | B．therapies | C．progress | D．development |
| A．promoting | B．surveying | C．impressing | D．delivering |
| A．relationship | B．terms | C．company | D．communication |
| A．spread | B．proposed | C．published | D．emerged |
| A．in terms of | B．because of | C．regardless of | D．in honor of |
| A．tempt | B．stimulate | C．encourage | D．attract |
| A．apart from | B．more than | C．other than | D．rather than |
| A．turn down | B．turn to | C．turn over | D．turn up |
| A．available | B．reliable | C．reasonable | D．responsible |
| A．Similarly | B．Consequently | C．Clearly | D．Regularly |
| A．emphasis | B．control | C．response | D．relation |
| A．engaged in | B．confined to | C．connected with | D．based on |
| A．cost | B．expense | C．delight | D．worth |
| A．ashamed | B．proud | C．confident | D．ignorant |
| A．experienced | B．accepted | C．profited | D．benefited |
7 . Most drinks stating that they are fruit-flavoredcontain no fruit at all, while most of the rest contain only a small quantity of fruit,according to a study carried by the British Food Commission.
"Shoppers need to check the labels before buying drinks,though sometimes the actual content can be non-existent,"said Food Commission spokesperson Lan Tokelove. "Food production is highly competitive.
Flavorings are focused on the flavors of natural food products such as fruits,meats and vegetables, or creating flavor for food products that do not have the desired flavors. Researchers analyzed the contents of28 strawberry-flavored products sold in stores.
The Food Commission suggested all flavors used in a product should be listed on the packaging.
Consumers have the rights to know clearly about what they have bought.Under current UK law, Food packages do no not have to distinguish between natural and artificial flavoring. “Describing a product as strawberry flavor and covering the surface of the packed with pictures of strawberries is misleading.
| A．The products which contain real fruit are popular with people. |
| B．Even products advertised as more natural often contained no fruit. |
| C．They found that about 60 percent of them didn't contain any fruit at all. |
| D．If companies can cut their costs by using flavoring,they are likely to do so. |
| E．It is important and necessary to demand a small amount of flavoring in the products. |
| F．Actually the product contains just a tiny percentage of strawberry or even no fruit at all. |
8 . In Mark Turin’s article “Protecting Our Public Spaces” in Issue 14, he claims that “all graffiti (涂鸦) is vandalism (故意破坏财物), pure and simple, and offers no benefit to our public spaces.” I would like to point out that many people believe that graffiti is an art form that can benefit our public spaces just as much as sculptures, fountains, or other more accepted art forms.
People who object to graffiti usually do so more because of where it is, not what it is. They argue that posting graffiti in public places is considered an illegal act of property damage. But the location of such graffiti should not prevent the images themselves from being considered real art.
I would argue that graffiti is the most important public art form. Spray paint is a medium unlike any other. Through graffiti, the entire world has become a canvas (画布). These works of art dotting the urban landscape are available, free of charge, to everyone who passes by.
To be clear, I do not consider random words or names sprayed on stop signs to be art. Plenty of graffiti is just vandalism, pure and simple. However, there is also graffiti that is breathtaking in its complex detail, its realism, or its creativity. It takes great talent to create such involved designs with spray paint. Are these creators not artists just because they use a can of spray paint instead of a paintbrush?
To declare that all graffiti is vandalism, and nothing more, is a too simplistic statement. Furthermore, graffiti is not going anywhere, so we might as well find a way to live with it and enjoy its benefits. One choice could be to make a percentage of public space open to graffiti artists. By doing this, the public might feel like part owners of these works of art, rather than just the victims of a crime.
1. Mark Turin apparently believes that graffiti ________.| A．is not an art form |
| B．is too simple to be considered art |
| C．can only sometimes be considered a work of art |
| D．should be restricted to places where it is allowed |
| A．is the only art form that is free |
| B．is best viewed on public walls rather than a canvas |
| C．provides more public benefits than sculptures do |
| D．should be judged on artistic qualities rather than places |
| A．restating his position | B．questioning the magazine |
| C．offering an answer to the matter | D．identifying the benefits of graffiti |
9 . Around the world, 62 million girls are not in school. The White House's Let Girls Learn effort aims to change that.
At 13, Hawa Abdulai Yorke left her family's home, in Ghana, Africa, to live with an aunt who promised to send her to school. Instead, the aunt put Yorke to work as her maid. Determined to go to school, Yorke returned home and began selling water in a nearby city to raise money for her education. She did that for three years. What hurt most was that her father had the money to pay the school fees. But he chose to spend the money on a motorcycle.
Yorke's story is familiar to girls growing up in Ghana. There, a girl's place is in the home. Educating girls is considered a waste of money.
"It happens more than it should, where parents have money to send their girls to school but choose not to," says Ryan Roach, a Peace Corps volunteer in Ghana, where nearly 55% of girls are not enrolled in secondary school. "Cultural beliefs say education is not a wise investment".
The White House's Let Girls Learn is working to change this view of girls' education, in Ghana and in countries worldwide. First Lady Michelle Obama says parents have to be persuaded that girls' education is a better investment than marriage or household labor. A World Bank study backs that up. It shows that for every year of secondary-school education, a girl's earning power increases by 18%.
Today, Let Girls Learn works in 13 countries, and there are plans to expand the program. Recently, Let Girls Learn hosted a 24-hour event at which girls in different parts of Ghana joined Peace Corps volunteers, tech experts, and university students to brainstorm creative solutions for the barriers to girls' education. Yorke's team came up with an idea for an app that sends a recorded message to parents' phones from a Ghanian celebrity about the benefits of girls attending school.
Yorke, now 22, is about to finish high school. Thanks to Let Girls Learn, she plans to attend college and study computer science. She says working alongside women college students at the Let Girls Learn event strengthened her determination. "I'm focused on my books," says Yorke. "I know if I study hard, I, too, can go to the university and live a happy life."
1. What was the attitude of Yorke's aunt towards girls attending school?| A．She was against it. |
| B．She had no idea of it. |
| C．She was in favor of it. |
| D．She considered it hard work. |
| A．they are too busy to go to school |
| B．their families are too poor to afford it |
| C．there are few secondary schools for girls |
| D．cultural beliefs prevent from attending school |
| A．It has spread all over the world. |
| B．It is a Ghana-based organization. |
| C．It aims to offer free education to girls. |
| D．It has got support from Michelle Obama. |
| A．To further her studies. |
| B．To join in Let Girls Learn. |
| C．To write some books for girls. |
| D．To get a computer-related job. |
10 . Norwood, a junior High School student, was driving three friends home in St. Petersburg, when another driver crashed into her from her left and made her car hit the tree. The impact jammed shut the driver’s side door, so Norwood climbed out the front window. Two of her friends managed to get out of the car unharmed, but her 16-year-old friend Zarria didn’t. She run back to the car only to find Zarria was just sitting there reactionless.
A lot of people started to gather around to see what was happening. Norwood started yelling, “Back up, back up, she needs space.” Norwood pulled Zarria out of the back seat, avoiding broken glass from the window. “That’s when I checked her pulse on her neck. I put my head against her chest, and I didn’t really hear nothing. So that’s when I just started doing CPR on her.” Norwood told the reporter. After the 30 compressions and two rescue breaths, Zarria regained consciousness. Ambulance quickly arrived and rushed her to the hospital to receive medical help.
When Miller, Norwood’s high school teacher, learned that Norwood saved a friend just one day after completing CPR training, she was at a loss of words and so proud. Norwood participates in the school’s Athletic Lifestyle Management Academy (ALMA). The program prepares students for various careers in health science. “We do vital signs and they learn how to take blood pressure and check pulse.” Miller introduced. And another one of the skills learned is CPR. “There are two components, a hands-on skills component where they have to demonstrate that they’re able to do CPR well, and then there’s a written test component, showing that they remember that knowledge.”
Thanks to Norwood’s quick thinking, Zarria is recovering well. She also isn’t surprised by her friend’s actions. “She will always help any way she can, so I wasn’t really shocked about that.”
1. What happened to Norwood and her friends on their way home?| A．They lost their way. | B．They suffered a car accident. |
| C．They crashed into another car. | D．They were stuck in a traffic jam. |
| A．To give her first aid. | B．To ask people for help. |
| C．To call ambulance at once. | D．To send her to hospital immediately. |
| A．It normally lasts for one day. |
| B．It is for medical students only. |
| C．It focuses on both theory and practice. |
| D．It trains students to live a healthy lifestyle. |
| A．Considerate and flexible. | B．Kind and ambitious. |
| C．Hardworking and clever. | D．Brave and calm. |
