“Who does the cooking in your home?” I’m often asked by my colleagues. “My wife and I share it 50/50,” I usually say without hesitation.
It’s a lie, of course. We’re pretty much even（相等的）when it comes to the children and the elderly. But the paying of bills isn’t 50/50-my wife pays all sorts of household expenses, so I never even have to set eyes on them. And the cooking isn’t 50/50, either.
The truth is that I am the cook. On my recent 40th birthday, I received the following gifts from my children: a new pot, two mini bottles of truffle oil, a decorative salad-dressing pourer, and a juice-making machine. For a moment I longed for something more manly, a cricket bat, perhaps, and then had to admit that all these things would be useful for me.
It’s not that my wife can’t or doesn’t like to cook (she makes delicious Welsh cakes). Nor has it always been this way. In the early years of our marriage I’d be relaxing with a glass of wine while my wife prepared for dinner after work.
But at some point that changed and I became the cook. Ten years with my wife gave me the rewards-I can throw together a roast, and I can make much foreign food. But I have truly become a monster（怪物）in the kitchen, unable to keep myself away from cooking. “You have to add Dijon to the sauce; it brings out the taste of the cheese,” I volunteer, as my wife is cooking. “Quick, stir in the butter so the dish becomes delicious.”
Is it any wonder that my wife has given up coming into the kitchen while I find the whole process of chopping, mixing, and adding things deeply satisfying?
What do the writer and his wife probably share evenly at home?
a．Cooking in the kitchen.
b．Taking care of the children.
c．Paying household expenses.
d．Taking care of the elderly at home.
| A．ab | B．bd | C．bc | D．ac |
The gifts that the writer received on his 40th birthday show that .
| A．he is in charge of the cooking at home |
| B．his children don’t know him at all |
| C．he doesn’t get along well with his children |
| D．his children have made wrong choices |
What do we know about the writer’s wife?
| A．She can’t cook. |
| B．She doesn’t like cooking. |
| C．She only knows how to make Welsh cakes |
| D．She used to cook for the family. |
From Paragraph 5 we learn that the writer .
| A．likes sticking his nose into other people’s business |
| B．doesn’t think his wife is good at cooking |
| C．studies very hard in order to cook well |
| D．enjoys cooking in the kitchen |
You’ve probably heard of the expression “A leopard can’t change its spots.” This, of course, is true of leopards. But isn’t it true of people? Can people change themselves? Are we humans just creatures of habits? Do we not have any control over our actions and habits?
One guy said, “Bad habits are like a comfortable bed. They’re easy to get into, but hard to get out of.” Someone else said, “The chains of habits are too small to feel until they’re too strong to break.” So breaking the mould of our bad habits takes effort.
Habits are like the roads we take through our life every day. The problem is that not every road takes us where we need to go. Actually, our routes through life often become our ruts (惯例) in life. We end up stuck in them and find it hard to dig ourselves out. That’s why we must change our bad habits as soon as possible before they become our second nature. You see, our habits become our character and our character becomes our life. As one wise person said, “First we make our habits, and then our habits make us.”
But we humans don’t like to change. So we come up with excuses, like “I can’t be different; that’s just the way I am.” And the good excuse is “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” But that’s just it: we’re not dogs or animals. In fact, we’re the only creatures who have the freedom and power to change and choose the kind of person we want to become.
We can learn from Paragraph 2 that .
| A．getting rid of bad habits is very hard |
| B．people can’t find their bad habits themselves |
| C．entering bad habits is hard |
| D．people don’t have the courage to change their bad habits |
What’s mainly talked about in Paragraph 3?
| A．What bad habits are. |
| B．How bad habits are formed. |
| C．How to change our bad habits. |
| D．Why we should change our bad habits. |
The author’s attitude towards changing one’s bad habits is .
| A．doubtful | B．optimistic |
| C．negative | D．indifferent |
My 11-year-old son and I rides bikes to and from his school every day. I accompany him on the 20-minute ride through Manhattan, drop him off and return at the end of day to pick him up. We always ride together; sometimes he leads; sometimes I do. And as we ride, we communicate the ways to minimize (使减少或缩小到最低限度) the dangers: Don’t go too fast, and watch out for doors suddenly swinging out from parked cars and jaywalking pedestrians, etc. Some friends worry about the risk of riding in traffic, but is there a better way to let my son know how to deal with traffic dangers?
But recently he requested me to start hanging back a half block or so. This way he could enjoy the feeling of riding on his own, with the security of knowing that I was nearby in case he needed me. This is healthy, of course, as my son needs space to develop independence in preparation for his inevitable (不可避免的，必然发生的) departure from home. However, that means soon he will want to ride to school on his own, and I will no longer have this wonderful routine. “Let your children go if you want to keep them.” I understand this and am trying to let my son go in age-appropriate phases, but I still suffer. It’s one of the most troubling experiences of parenthood — recognizing that your presence is becoming less welcome.
My dilemma as a husband mirrors the concern I feel as a parent. My wife has just left on a six-month mission to cover the situation in Libya. In the days leading up to her departure, we spoke openly about the possibility, however unlikely, that she might be killed. But while I influence her decisions, I do not control them. Finally, it was her decision. I know that letting go is the wisest path in this case too.
As we travel through life’s phases, we must let go of so much. And I don’t think it gets easier with practice. But maybe just accepting that eventually we will have to let go is the secret to living a full life.Why does the writer accompany his son on his daily ride to school?
| A．To build up his strength. |
| B．To teach his son to ride in traffic. |
| C．To tell his son the way to school. |
| D．To communicate more with his son. |
Although he thinks his son’s request understandable, the writer ________.
| A．is worried about his son’s safety |
| B．is angry for his son’s leaving alone |
| C．feels upset for being rejected by his son |
| D．feels sorry for not giving his son enough space |
What does the writer’s wife do?
| A．She is a soldier. | B．She is a politician. |
| C．She is a media person. | D．She is a businesswoman. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Letting go. | B．Father’s love. |
| C．Living a full life. | D．Lessons from riding. |
There are times when nothing seems to be working in our favor. We may use complaining as a coping mechanism (办法，途经) when we are truly unhappy. However, there are many times when we don’t try our best and just want things to work our way. We may try to cover our faults by complaining about the unfairness of it all. These are expressive complaints where the complainer just wants to let out his/her anger or frustration, with no real intention of solving the problem. The complainer expects pity and recognition from the listeners although the results often disappoint him/her.
Sometimes, we use complaints as a conversation starter. Conversations that start with a complaint often have a domino effect. It may cause the listener to include his/her complaints in the conversation as well, which makes you think that you are not the only one facing problems. However, your good feeling won’t last long as long as you are always focusing on the negative.
When complaining becomes a habit, you complain to anyone that comes around. Negativity that comes from complaining kills creativity and innovation (创新). Habitual complainers are less likely to come up with new ideas, as they are busy finding faults and discourage others from trying new things by making them feel that they won’t work. When you spend time with people who constantly complain, you are likely to view things in a negative light. This will make things worse. This can affect the way you perceive your own situation, and even the people around you.
Though expressing your feelings may momentarily improve your state of mind, it could sometimes have a bad effect on the listener’s state of mind. A recent study has shown that at social gatherings while people who are unhappy may join you when you play the victim at the beginning, the majority would start avoiding you because of your negativity.Why do people who don’t try their best often complain?
| A．They want to get others’ pity. |
| B．It is the best way to let out their anger. |
| C．They try to find an excuse for their faults. |
| D．They hope to get a solution to their problems. |
According to Paragraph 2, complaints in conversations ________.
| A．are easy to deal with |
| B．can spread to others |
| C．may help you make friends |
| D．help focus on the similar unfairness |
What do we know about habitual complainers?
| A．They can hardly influence others in their negative way. |
| B．They can get momentary comfort by complaining. |
| C．They have a better understanding of their faults. |
| D．They are more likely to put forward new ideas. |
According to the author, complaining at social gatherings is ________.
| A．unusual | B．acceptable |
| C．unwelcome | D．frustrating |
A few weeks ago, while I was reading the morning paper, I turned the radio up to listen to a Saturday morning talk show and I heard an old sounding gentleman, with a golden voice. He was telling whoever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles”.
I was intrigued and stopped to listen to what he had to say …
“Let me tell you something, Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities (优先考虑的事).”
He continued, “You see, I sat down one day and did a little math. The average person lives for about seventy-five years. Now then, I multiplied 75 by 52 and I came up with 3,900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with (继续倾听……的话) me, Tom. I’m getting to the important part.”
“It wasn’t until I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays that I started thinking about all this in any detail,” he went on. “I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy. So I went to a toy store and bought 1,000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large, clear plastic container. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.
“I found that by watching the marbles diminish (变少), I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.
“It was nice to meet you, Tom. I hope you spend time with your family, and I hope to meet you again.”
You could have heard a pin drop on the radio when the old man signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had panned to work that morning. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “Come on, honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast. And can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”The underlines word “intrigued” in Paragraph 2 probably means “ ________”.
| A．encouraged | B．moved | C．worried | D．attracted |
The old man started practicing the theory of “a thousand marbles” ________.
| A．in his twenties | B．in his fifties |
| C．in his seventies | D．in his eighties |
What life lesson does this text teach us?
| A．Spending more time with our family. |
| B．Enriching our life with marble games. |
| C．It’s never too late to love our family. |
| D．Learning to live life to the fullest. |
It is common and usual to see people freak out when they face challenges in their life. We all pass in different life problems and challenges. No one is free of life problems. Only a dead man faces no problem. As long as you are alive, challenges are everywhere.
How do you face problems and challenges in your life? Problems and challenges are the building blocks of your personality. They make you who you are. Besides, whether what happened in your life builds or destructs（破坏、毁灭）you depends on how you look at it. If you take your problems as troubles, they will be troubles and may cause destruction. If you take them as constructive (有建设性的）tools, you are going to be built up on them.
Problems are everywhere. No one can avoid them. And they are good too. They open up a different look and opportunity if you are willing to see. When you face troubles, do not frustrate or freak out. Just cool yourself to think in a different direction. Think in a positive way. Every problem has its own good as well as bad sides. Focus on the good one. Look at the bright side.
Besides, there is always a good person, perhaps your mom or dad, or one of your friends, right beside you who can turn everything into your best if you are willing to turn to them. No matter what happens, they will be there to help you. Trust them and they will never let you down. All you need to know is that you are loved wherever you are.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase “freak out” in Paragraph 1?
| A．Feel shy. | B．Stay calm. |
| C．Keep silent. | D．Feel upset. |
In Paragraph 2, the writer implies that ______.
| A．problems cause troubles |
| B．attitude is everything |
| C．challenges can be avoided |
| D．personalities are built on failures |
What’s the writer’s purpose to write the passage?
| A．To encourage. | B．To compare. |
| C．To prove. | D．To explain. |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．How to Avoid Problems |
| B．Challenges Are Everywhere |
| C．Face Your Challenges Bravely |
| D．You Are Loved Wherever You Are |
Today is Sarah’s birthday. She is seventy-five. We asked a few old friends to dinner.
Like most elderly people, I suppose, we spent most of the evening talking about old times. Thirty years ago, the village used to be a quiet place. Now it has changed. Every Sunday hundreds of cars pass through the village at what I think a dangerous speed. They make the village almost as noisy as the streets of a large town. As a boy I enjoyed riding on the backs of the farm horses. Things are different now. Today there are very few horses working on the farms. The farm workers today drive tractors, not horses. A man is not of much use on a farm unless he knows all about machines. Now almost every house in the village has a TV set. Is it a good thing for children to spend the evening sitting in front of a TV set? When I was young I did not waste my time indoors. I would spend the long summer evenings outdoors. I would play with my friends, go fishing or walk by the river. When my grandchildren asked me the reason why I haven’t bought a TV set, I tell them there are many books I still want to read. I can’t find time for both reading and watching TV.The old like to talk about _______.
| A．themselves | B．others | C．the past | D．nothing |
When I was a boy, I _______ riding on farm horses.
| A．used to see people | B．disliked |
| C．was fond of | D．saw some elderly people |
Which is NOT right according to the passage?
| A．In the past the village was a quiet place. |
| B．It is a good time for children to watch TV all evening. |
| C．On Sundays many cars pass through the village at a dangerous speed. |
| D．When I was young I didn’t waste my time indoors. |
I would rather _______ than _______.
| A．watch TV; do some reading |
| B．play with friends; go fishing |
| C．do some reading; watch TV |
| D．go fishing; play with friends |
I really love my job because I enjoy working with small children and like the challenges and awards from the job. I also think my work is important. There was a time when I thought I would never have that sort of career(职业).
I wasn’t an excellent student because I didn’t do much schoolwork. In my final term I started thinking what I might do and found I didn’t have much to offer. I just accepted that I wasn’t the type to have a career.
I then found myself a job. Looking after two little girls, it wasn’t too bad at first. But the problems began when I agreed to live in, so that I would be there if my boss had to go out for business in the evening. We agreed that if I had to work extra hours one week, she’d give me time off the next. But unfortunately, it didn’t often work out. I was getting extremely tired and fed up, because I had too many late nights and early mornings with the children.
One Sunday, I was in the park with the children, and met Megan who used to go to school with me. I told her about my situation. She suggested that I should do a course and get a qualification (资格证书)if I wanted to work with children. I didn’t think I would be accepted because I didn’t take many exams in school. She persuaded me to phone the local college and they were really helpful. My experience counted for a lot and I got on a part-time course. I had to leave my job with the family, and got work helping out at a kindergarten.
Now I’ve got a full-time job there. I shall always be thankful to Megan. I wish I had known earlier that you could have a career, even if you aren’t top of the class at school.What is the author’s present job?
| A．Working part-time in a college. |
| B．Taking care of children for a family. |
| C．Helping children with their schoolwork. |
| D．Looking after children at a kindergarten. |
When staying with the two girl’s family, the author_________.
| A．was paid for extra work. |
| B．often worked long hours. |
| C．got much help from her boss. |
| D．took a day off every other week. |
Why did the author leave her first job?
| A．She found a full-time job. |
| B．She was fed up with children. |
| C．She decided to attend a part-time course. |
| D．She needed a rest after working extra hours. |
What has the author learned from her own experiences?
| A．Less successful students can still have a career. |
| B．Qualifications are necessary for a career. |
| C．Hard work makes an excellent student. |
| D．One must choose the job she likes. |
The evidence for harmony may not be obvious in some families. But it seems that four out of five young people now get on well with their parents, which is the opposite of the popularly held image of unhappy teenagers locked in their room after endless family quarrels.
An important new study into teenage attitudes surprisingly shows that their family life is happier than it has ever been in the past. “We were surprised by just how positive today’s young people seem to be about their families,” said one member of the research team. “They’re expected to be rebellious（叛逆的）and selfish but actually they have other things on their minds; they want a car and material goods, and they worry about whether school is serving them well. There’s discussion between parents and children, and children expect to take part in the family decision-making process. They don’t want to rock the boat.”
So it seems that these parents are much more likely than parents of 30 years ago to treat their children as friends. “My parents are happy to discuss things with me and willing to listen to me,” says 17-year-old Daniel LaSalle. “I always tell them when I'm going out clubbing. When they know what I'm doing, they’re fine with it.” Susan Cromer, who is now 21, agrees. “Looking back on the last 10 years, there was a lot of what you could call talk or discussion. For example, when I’d done all my homework, I could go out on a Saturday night. But I think my grandparents were a lot stricter with my parents than that.”
Maybe this positive view of family life should not be unexpected. It is possible that the idea of teenage rebellion is not based on real facts. A researcher explains, “Teenagers were thought to be different from others in a part of time in our social history. But to our surprise, they say they are getting on well with their parents. But that idea of rebelling and breaking away from their parents really only happened during that one time in the 1960s when everyone rebelled.”The study shows that teenagers don't want to ______________________.
| A．share family duties |
| B．cause trouble in their families |
| C．go boating with their family |
| D．make family decisions |
Compared with parents of 30 years ago, today’s parents ___________________.
| A．go to clubs more often with their children |
| B．are much stricter with their children |
| C．care less about their children’s life |
| D．give their children more freedom |
According to the writer, teenage rebellion ____________________.
| A．may be a wrong opinion |
| B．is common at present |
| C．always happened in the 1960s |
| D．was caused by changes in families |
Which title best gives the main idea of the passage?
| A．Discussion in family |
| B．Teenage education in family |
| C．Teenage trouble in family |
| D．Harmony in family |
When the evening is coming, my dear son and I are preparing for the tape time. “Shoes on,” I remind 9-year-old Sam. “Snakes are always waiting for the chance to kiss you. But with our feet stepped into my car, we are safe.” We take blankets and cups of milk and head out to the shelter that serves as our garage. This has become our bedtime habit.
I press “play.” A motherly voice fills the car. My mother and my aunt send us books on tape obtained from secondhand shops or rescued from the back of drawer. Maybe no one in England lays cassettes anymore, but I still love them.
Sam rests on his seat. He’s sitting in the front seat. I am listening to the cassette. But I am also thinking. In a month’s time, my boy will be 10. Next year, he will be 11. And so it will go on, until he leaves me and his father and his sister to live out his own stories---as it is only right and proper he should.
Will he think back to the times when he sat in the dark in a car in Africa, listening to tales of Wales in World War Ⅱ, the finest lady detective of Botswana, or a country he has visited, and tells me he finds them “very interesting”? Will he think , when he is grown-up, the poor mum always makes the ancient tape player which is out of date work?
I like to believe that he will recall those wonderful moments. By then, perhaps, my child will realize a deep love of sharing and understanding by listening to the old tape player. I hope Sam will think that these evenings we spend in the car are a story themselves. It is his own first chapter. In time my boy will ease off the hand brake and roll out into the world. Until then, I’ll keep pressing “play”.What habit did the writer and her son develop?
| A．To play outside in the evening |
| B．To listen to tapes in a car |
| C．To drive in the evening |
| D．To read books together at night |
How does the author think about Sam’s leaving the family in the future?
| A．Interesting. | B．Common and natural. |
| C．Absurd. | D．Unbearable. |
In paragraph4, the two questions can prove that ________.
| A．playing with children is fun for parents |
| B．listening to stories is a good way to enjoy life |
| C．children need to ask questions in reading |
| D．Listening experiences will be part of Sam’s life |
The best title for the passage may be “_______”.
| A．A gift of a story player |
| B．A childhood full of love and story |
| C．Deep love for the tape player |
| D．The future life of our children |
You may not pay much attention to your daily elevator ride. Many of us use a lift several times during the day without really thinking about it. But Lee Gray, PhD, of the University of North Carolina, US, has made it his business to examine this overlooked form of public transport. He is known as the “Elevator Guy”.
“The lift becomes this interesting social space where etiquette (礼仪) is sort of odd (奇怪的),” Gray told the BBC. “They (elevators) are socially very interesting but often very awkward places.”
We walk in and usually turn around to face the door. If someone else comes in, we may have to move. And here, according to Gray, lift users unthinkingly go through a set pattern of movements. He told the BBC what he had observed.
He explained that when you are the only one inside a lift, you can do whatever you want – it’s your own little box.If there are two of you, you go into different corners, standing diagonally (对角线地) across from each other to create distance.When a third person enters, you will unconsciously form a triangle. And when there is a fourth person it becomes a square, with someone in every corner. A fifth person is probably going to have to stand in the middle.
New entrants to the lift will need to size up the situation when the doors slide open and then act decisively. Once in, for most people the rule is simple – look down, or look at your phone.
Why are we so awkward in lifts?
“You don’t have enough space,” Professor Babette Renneberg, a clinical psychologist at the Free University of Berlin, told the BBC. “Usually when we meet other people we have about an arm’s length of distance between us. And that’s not possible in most elevators.”
In such a small, enclosed space it becomes very important to act in a way that cannot be construed (理解) as threatening or odd. “The easiest way to do this is to avoid eye contact,” she said.The main purpose of the article is to _____.
| A．remind us to enjoy ourselves in the elevator |
| B．tell us some unwritten rules of elevator etiquette |
| C．share an interesting but awkward elevator ride |
| D．analyze what makes people feel awkward in an elevator |
According to Gray, when people enter an elevator, they usually _____.
| A．turn around and greet one another |
| B．look around or examine their phone |
| C．make eye contact with those in the elevator |
| D．try to keep a distance from other people |
Which of the following describes how people usually stand when there are at least two people in an elevator?
The writer wrote the passage in a tone of ___________.
| A．disapproved | B．objective |
| C．negative | D．supportive |
What is an Oyster card?
Oyster is the easiest way to pay for journeys on the bus ，Tube ，tram，Docklands light Railway (DLR)，London Overground and National Rail journeys in London You can store your travel cards, Bus & Tram Pass，season tickets and credit to pay for journeys as you go.
Where to get an Oyster card?
There are a number of ways for you to get an Oyster card ：
• At over 3,900 Oyster Ticket stops
• At Tube and London Overground station ticket offices
• At some National Rail stations
• At London Travel information Centres
• Online at tfl. gov. uk/oyster
How to use an Oyster card?
To pay the correct fare on the Tube ，DLR，London Overground and National Rail services，you must always touch in on the yellow Oyster card reader at the start of your journey，and touch out at the end. if you don’t, a maximum cash Oyster fare will be changed When using the bus or tram, you must only touch in at the start, but not at the end of your journey.
What happens if I don’t visit London very often?
Don’t worry. Any pay as you go credit on your card will not expire (过期)，so you can keep it for your next visit or lend it to a friend.
Fares
Traveling by Tube from Central London (Zone l)to Heathrow (Zone 6)
Adult Oyster single fare
£ 4. 20 Monday to Friday 06:30 - 09:30 and 16:00一19:00
£ 2. 70 at all other times including public holidays
Adult single cash fare £ 5.00
For further information，visit tfL.gov. uk /fares.
You can get an Oyster card at the following places EXCEPT_____
| A．at a post office | B．at an Oyster Ticket stop |
| C．on the website | D．at a Tube station |
If a person with an Oyster card takes the 7 o’clock Tube from Central London to Heathrow for a week (no public holiday in between)，he should pay_____.
| A．£ 18.90 | B．£ 29.40 | C．£ 26.40 | D．£ 21.90 |
The passage is probably taken from a_______
| A．journal | B．travel brochure | C．textbook | D．novel |
Most people I meet want to develop more harmonious and satisfying relationships. But we may not realize that this can only be achieved by partnering with two new and strange allies(盟友)：uncertainty and confusion. Most of us aren’t trained to like confusion or to admit we feel hesitant and uncertain. In our schools and organizations, we place value on sounding certain and confident.
As life continues to speed up, I believe our changing world requires less certainty and far more curiosity. I’m not suggesting we let go of our beliefs, but that we become curious about what someone else believes. As we become open to the disturbing differences, sometimes we discover that another’s way of interpreting the world is actually essential to our survival.
For me, the first step in becoming curious is to admit that I’m not succeeding in figuring things out by myself. If my solutions don’t work as well as I’d like, I take these as signs that it’s time to begin asking others what they think. I try to become a conscious listener, actively listening for differences.
There are many ways to listen for differences. Lately, I’ve been listening for what surprises me. This isn’t easy — I’m accustomed to sitting there, nodding my head as someone voices his opinions. But when I notice what surprises me, I’m able to see my own views more clearly, including my assumptions.
If you’re willing to be disturbed and confused, I recommend you begin a conversation with someone who thinks differently from you. Listen for what’s different and what surprises you. Try to stop the voice of judgement or opinion and just listen. At the end, notice whether you’ve learned something new.
We have the opportunity many times a day to be the one who listens to others and the one who is curious rather than certain. When we listen with fewer judgements, we always develop better relationships with each other. It’s not differences that divide us. It’s our judgements that do. Curiosity and good listening bring us back together.
As I consider partnering with confusion and uncertainty, I’m learning that we don’t have to agree with each other in order to think well together. There is no need for us to be joined at the head. We are already joined by our hearts.According to the passage, when communicating with others, most of us try to behave____.
| A．hesitantly and confusedly |
| B．honestly and harmoniously |
| C．responsibly and actively |
| D．confidently and convincingly |
According to the author, in order to cope with our changing world, we should ______.
| A．reconsider traditional beliefs before accepting them. |
| B．learn to interpret other people’s behavior. |
| C．become more curious about other people’s opinions. |
| D．try to develop more harmonious relationships with others. |
What does the passage advise you to do when you hear different ideas?
| A．We should let go of our beliefs. |
| B．We should admit that we are not succeeding in figuring out things. |
| C．We should be accustomed to sitting there and listening. |
| D．We should listen and find out the valuable points |
69. What do the underlined sentences in the passage imply?
| A．We should listen more and judge less. |
| B．We should make decisions based on sound judgement. |
| C．Differences among people separate them. |
| D．It is important to seek common ground and reserve differences. |
Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude to uncertainty and confusion?
| A．Favorable. | B．Resistant. | C．Curious. | D．Doubtful. |
Catch yourself daydreaming while washing the dishes again?If this happens often you probably have a pretty capable working memory and a sharper brain, new research suggests.
This mind wandering, it seems, actually gives your working memory a workout. Working memory is the mental work space that allows the brain to juggle multiple thoughts at the same time. The more working memory a person has, the more daydreaming they can do without forgetting the task at hand.
Researchers studied groups of people from the University of Wisconsin－Madison community, ranging in age from 18 to 65. The volunteers were asked to perform simple tasks, like pressing a button every time they took a breath or clicking in response to a letter popping up on a computer screen; these tasks were so easy that their minds were likely to wander, the researchers figured.
The researchers checked in periodically, asking the participants if their minds were on task or wandering. When the task was over, they measured each participant's working memory capacity by having them remember letters while doing math questions. Though all participants performed well on the task, the researchers noticed that the individuals who indicated their minds had wandered more than others also scored higher on the working memory test.
“What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren't very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources allocate them to think about things other than what they're doing，” said Jonathan Smallwood, a study researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Science.
When our minds run out of working memory, these off－topic thoughts can take the main stage without us consciously meaning them to; for instance, arriving at home with no memory of the actual trip, or suddenly realizing that they've turned several pages in a book without understanding any of the words.
“It's almost like your attention was so absorbed in the mind wandering that there wasn't any left over to remember your goal to read，” study researcher Daniel Levinson, said in a statement. People with overall higher working memory were better able to stay focused when the task at hand required it. Those who had low working memory often had their thoughts drift away from the task, and did less well at it.
The findings add to past research suggesting these mind drifts can be positive moments. For instance, daydreaming has often been associated with creativity—researchers think that our most creative and inventive moments come when daydreaming. It's likely that the most intelligent among us also have high levels of working memory, Levinson noted.The word “juggle” in the second paragraph can be replaced by “________”．
| A．search | B．understand | C．handle | D．foresee |
What can be concluded from Jonathan Smallwood's words?
| A．Absorbed in the mind wandering, your attention left no space for your goal. |
| B．On the working memory test, people with wandering minds will get high score. |
| C．Dealing with some easy jobs, people with higher working memory will daydream. |
| D．People who often have daydreams probably own a pretty capable working memory. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．Mind drifts are always positive. |
| B．Daydreaming is good for the mind. |
| C．Creative moments come with working memory. |
| D．The more daydreaming, the more effectively one works. |
阅读理解
阅读下列四篇短文，从每小题后所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项涂黑。
How much do you hate waiting for another beer in a crowded bar? Josh Goodman invented a pretty obvious solution —self-service beer taps. Goodman, 36, recalled the exact moment in late 2008 when his frustration boiled over. "I was hanging out with my friends at a Baltimore sports bar before an Orioles(金莺队) game," he said. "We just couldn't get another beer served to us quickly."
Even more than annoyed, Goodman was struck by how much money the bar must be losing. Almost immediately, he got to work on a self-service beer concept. Within a few months, Goodman had launched Pour My Beer in Chicago (where he'd relocated to be with his wife).
He invested （投资）$20,000 of his own funds and partnered with a U.S. manufacturer to make beer tables with two to four self-service taps. In February 2009, Goodman landed his first client（客户）: A Baltimore tavern. He spent the next two years growing the business and adding more bars and restaurants. In 2011, Pour My Beer introduced self-service "beer walls," which let people pour their own beer from taps on a wall.
Pour My Beer has expanded to over 200 restaurants and bars in 28 states and Canada. The concept will roll out in Chicago's O'Hare International Airport this week and in Italy and Brazil later this year. The tables start at $4,000 and the beer walls cost as much as $16,000. It generated more than $400,000 in sales in 2013 and doubled that in 2014. Goodman expects to take in close to $2 million in revenue this year(2015) —which would make it the company's first profitable（赚钱的）year. "Our business customers tell us that they've cut down on waste and they're selling twice as much beer on average," said Goodman.The underlined phrase “boiled over” in Paragraph 1 probably means__________.
| A．came to an end | B．was extremely unbearable |
| C．threw up | D．was too hot |
Josh Goodman decided to invent the self-service beer taps when__________.
| A．His friends advised him to do so. |
| B．He realized the loss in waiting for beers. |
| C．He set up Pour My Beer in Chicago. |
| D．His company started to make profits. |
What can we infer from the passage?
| A．Goodman was a businessman before he invented the self-service beer taps. |
| B．Pour My Beer has expanded to over 200 restaurants in 28 states and Australia. |
| C．Goodman did his business all by himself at first. |
| D．Goodman’s company will make more profits in the future. |
Which of the following can best describe Josh Goodman?
| A．far-sighted | B．strong-willed |
| C．kind-hearted | D．bad-tempered |
试题篮
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