1 . When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices(装置)tell the time—which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.

But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others—apparently including some distinguished men of our time—are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £250.000 for a piece.

This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions—but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?

If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.

Watches are now classified as“investments”(投资). A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly £350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from £15, 000 to £30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It's a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that £350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.

1. It seems ridiculous to the writer that_______________.

A．people dive 300 metres into the sea

B．expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones

C．cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones

D．expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell

2. What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?

A．It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors.

B．It targets rich people as its potential customers.

C．It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising.

D．It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches.

3. Which would be the best title for the passage?

A．Watches? Not for Me!

B．My Childhood Timex

C．Timex or Rolex?

D．Watches—a Valuable Collection

2 . 根据短文内容，从短文后的七个选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。 EmpathyLast year, researchers from the University of Michigan reported that empathy, the ability to understand other people, among college students had dropped sharply over the past 10 years.    1    Today, people spend more time alone and are less likely to join groups and clubs.Jennifer Freed, a co-director of a teen program, has another explanation. Turn on the TV, and you’re showered with news and reality shows full of people fighting, competing, and generally treating one another with no respect.    2    There are good reasons not to follow those bad examples. Humans are socially related by nature.    3    Researchers have also found that empathetic teenagers are more likely to have high self-respect. Besides, empathy can be a cure for loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and fear.Empathy is also an indication of a good leader. In fact, Freed says, many top companies report that empathy is one of the most important things they look for in new managers.    4    “Academics are important. But if you don’t have emotional (情感的) intelligence, you won’t be as successful in work or in your love life,” she says.What’s the best way to up your EQ (情商）? For starters, let down your guard and really listen to others.    5    To really develop empathy, you’d better volunteer at a nursing home or a hospital, join a club or a team that has a diverse membership, have a “sharing circle” with your family, or spend time caring for pets at an animal shelter.

A．Everyone is different, and levels of empathy differ from person to person.

B．That could be because so many people have replaced face time with screen time, the researchers said.

C．“One doesn’t develop empathy by having a lot of opinions and doing a lot of talking,” Freed says.

D．Humans learn by example—and most of the examples on it are anything but empathetic.

E．Empathy is a matter of learning how to understand someone else—both what they think and how they feel.

F．Good social skills—including empathy—are a kind of “emotional intelligence” that will help you succeed in many areas of life.

G．Having relationships with other people is an important part of being human—and having empathy is decisive to those relationships.

3 . The average computer user has between 5 and 15 username/password combinations to log in different kinds of accounts. Some demand you use a specific number of symbols and digits, while others require you to change your password every 60 days. The feeling of confusion resulting from memorizing these login information has grown so common that it actually has a name: password fatigue(疲劳).

Having to remember so many different passwords is annoying, but it can also be dangerous. Because it is virtually impossible to remember a unique password for each of these accounts, many people leave handwritten lists of usernames and passwords on or next to their computers.

    1     While these practices make it easier to remember login information, they also make it easier for thieves to hack into accounts.

Single Sign-On (SSO) confirmation and password management software can help solve this problem. With SSO, users only need to remember one password to log in to the main system.

    2     SSO software is typically used by large companies, schools, or libraries.

    3     If a user loses or forgets the password required to log in to SSO software, the user will then lose access to all of the applications linked to the SSO account. Users who rely on password management software face the same problems.

Although most websites or network systems allow users to recover or change lost passwords by providing email addresses or answering a prompt(提示), this process can waste time and cause further frustration. What is more, recovering a forgotten password is only a temporary solution.     4    

Some computer scientists have suggested computers rely on biometrics(生物测定学).     5     The use of biometrics raises questions concerning privacy and can also be expensive to practice.

Software engineers and computer security experts are still searching for the cure to password fatigue. Until they find the perfect solution, however, everyone will simply have to rely on the password system currently in place.

A．It does not address the larger problem of password fatigue.

B．These software programs have been built into many major web browsers.

C．The problem with password management software makes users feel powerless.

D．The SSO software then automatically logs the user in to other accounts within the system.

E．However, SSO confirmation and password management software also have drawbacks.

F．This is a method of recognizing human users based on unique traits, such as fingerprints, voice, or DNA.

G．Others solve this problem by using the same password for every account or using extremely simple passwords.

4 . The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphones, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic (怀旧的) skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching, many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful—both in school and in life.

Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.

Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks—both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.

In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active, which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.

Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe (转换) “those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “_______” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.

“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”

1. What makes writing by hand a thing of the past?

A．The popular use of smartphones.

B．The absence of blackboard in classrooms.

C．The lack of practice in handwriting.

D．The use of new technologies in teaching.

2. Berninger’s study published in 2009 _________.

A．discussed the importance of writing speed

B．found that good essays are made up of long sentences

C．indicated that students prefer to write with a pen and paper

D．focused on the difference between writing by hand and on a computer

3. What does “mind’s eye” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．Imagination.

B．Soul.

C．Picture.

D．Window.

4. What conclusion could be drawn from the passage?

A．Handwriting still has a place in today’s classrooms.

B．Spell checks can take the place of spelling teaching.

C．Computers can help people with their choice of words.

D．Functional spelling ability develops fast in the fifth grade.

5 . In a room at Texas Children Cancer Center in Houston, eight-year-old Simran Jatar lay in bed with a drip (点滴) above her to fight her bone cancer. Over her bald (秃的) head, she wore a pink hat that matched her clothes. But the third grader’s cheery dressing didn’t mask her pain and weary eyes.
Then a visitor showed up. “Do you want to write a song?” asked Anita Kruse, 49, rolling a cart equipped with an electronic keyboard, a microphone and speakers. Simran stared. “Have you ever written a poem?” Anita Kruse continued. “Well, yes,” Simran said.
Within minutes, Simran was reading her poem into the microphone. “Some bird soaring through the sky,” she said softly. “Imagination in its head…” Anita Kruse added piano music, a few warbling (鸣, 唱) birds, and finally the girl’s voice. Thirty minutes later, she presented Simran with a CD of her first recorded song.
That was the beginning of Anita Kruse’s project, Purple Songs Can Fly, one that has helped more than 125 young patients write and record songs. As a composer and pianist who had performed at the hospital, Kruse said that the idea of how she could help “came in one flash”.
The effect on the kids has been great. One teenage girl, curling (蜷缩) in pain in her wheelchair, stood unaided to dance to a hip-hop song she had written. A 12-year-old boy with Hodgkin’s disease who rarely spoke surprised his doctors with a song he called I Can Make It.
“My time with the kids is heartbreaking because of the severity of their illnesses,” says Anita Kruse. “But they also make you happy, when the children are smiling, excited to share their CD with their families.”
Simran is now an active sixth grader and cancer-free. From time to time, she and her mother listen to her song, Always Remembering, and they always remember the “really sweet and nice and loving” lady who gave them a shining moment in the dark hour.
1. Simran Jatar lay in bed in hospital because ________.

A．most of her hair had fallen out

B．she was receiving treatment for cancer

C．she felt depressed and quit from school

D．she was suffering from a pain in her back

2. What do we know about Anita Kruse’s project?

A．It helps young patients record songs.

B．It is supported by singers and patients.

C．It aims to replace the medical treatment.

D．It offers patients chances to realize their dreams.

3. What does the case of a 12-year-old boy suggest?

A．Most children are naturally fond of music.

B．He was brave enough to put up performance.

C．The project has positive effect on young patients.

D．Singing is the best way to treat some illnesses.

4. What is probably the best title for the passage?

A．Purple Songs Can Fly

B．Singing Can Improve Health

C．A Shining Moment in Life

D．A Kind Woman—Anita Kruse