Thinking
| ·Some scientists claim that we humans are the only living things that are conscious(有意识的)—we alone are aware that we are thinking. ·No one knows how consciousness works—it is one of science’s last great mysteries. ·All your thoughts take place in the cerebrum(大脑皮质),which is at the top of your brain,and different kinds of thought are linked to different areas,called association areas. ·Each half of the cerebrum has four rounded ends called lobes(脑叶)—two at the front(frontal and temporal lobes)and two at the back(occipital and parietal lobes). ·The frontal lobe is linked to your personality and it is where you have your bright ideas. ·The temporal lobe is where you hear and understand what people say to you. ·The occipital lobe is where you work out what your eyes see. ·The parietal lobe is where you record touch,heat and cold,and pain. ·The left half of the brain controls the right side of the body.The right half controls the left side. ·One half of the brain is always dominant(in charge).Usually,the left brain is dominant,which is why 90% of people are right-handed. |
Which part of your cerebrum is most active when you are making a telephone call?
| A．The frontal lobe. | B．The temporal lobe. |
| C．The occipital lobe. | D．The parietal lobe. |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．One’s personality has something to do with the frontal lobe. |
| B．Bright ideas come from the parietal lobe. |
| C．The occipital and temperal lobes are at the back of the cerebrum. |
| D．The occipital lobe is in charge of sound. |
From the passage,we know the reason why around 10% of people are left-handed is that_______.
| A．their frontal lobe is usually dominant |
| B．their temporal lobe is usually dominant |
| C．their right brain is usually dominant |
| D．their left brain is usually dominant |
We don’t know how different our future will be in the future. We can only try to imagine it.
At first we think about human relationship. In the year 2050, we will use computers almost every day. We will be making new friends through the Internet----even our husbands or wives will be met in this way. It will be much faster and easier for us. On the other hand, our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today----we will feel a little lonely.
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050. For example, they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier. In addition, there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers, like robots which will do the housework for us.
Spending holidays will also be completely different. Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone. Means of transport will, of course, change, too. We will be using solar-powered cars, which will be much more environmentally friendly.
We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment. But it isn’t true. We will pay more attention to protecting the environment. And, scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases, like cancer or AIDS. Therefore, our surroundings as well as our health will be in a better condition.
Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world, we often think about them. We worry about our and our children’s future; we have expectations, hopes as well as fears. But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future. We should be happy and believe good things will happen.Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050?
| A．Because the number of people will become much smaller. |
| B．Because people won’t communicate with each other much often. |
| C．Because people won’t like making friends with each other. |
| D．Because there will be less face-to-face communication. |
According to the passage, which of the following will happen in 2050?
| A．It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets. |
| B．The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today. |
| C．The relationship between people will be more important than today. |
| D．Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars. |
The underlined word “sanguine” in the last paragraph most probably means ______.
| A．disappointed | B．optimistic |
| C．curious | D．surprised |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．How people will communicate in the year 2050. |
| B．What high technology will appear in the year 2050. |
| C．How people will travel and spend their holiday in the year 2050. |
| D．What our life will be like in the year 2050. |
Gunman Adam Lanza shot and killed 20 children in two classes of Grade One in Sandy Hook Elementary School. The only survivor(幸存者) is a six-year-old girl. She escaped by lying on the floor pretending to be killed.
After the accident , she ran out of the school building covered from head to feet with blood (血). The first thing she said to her mother was, “ Mommy, I was OK, but all my friends were dead,” Pasrtor(牧师) Jim Solomon told the ABC news’s Lara Spencer this weekend , “I thought it was impossible for her to escape from being killed without others’ help. She could behave so calmly in such a dangerous and frightening situation. She has wisdom beyond her age, for sure.”
The girl, whose name is not being written out for special reasons, was the first student to run out of the accident place at Sandy Hook, Solomon said. He said the young girl described the gunman to her mother in a way that only a young child could. “Well, she saw someone who she felt was angry, and someone who she felt was mad,” Solomon said. “Somehow, at that moment, thank God, she was able to act as if she were already dead and saved herself. And that is very unusual and admirable (令人钦佩的) for so young a girl.” she said.
There were 20 students killed on Friday in Sandy Hook Elementary School, eight boys and 12 girls. Six teachers were also killed. “Her parents told me that they couldn’t stand the feeling of a survivor’s guilt（ 负罪）, because so many of their friends no longer have their children but they have theirs.” Solomon said.
“I think you can understand their feelings as well,” he said how the girl’s mother and father were feeling about the disaster. “I don’t know whether I would have the kind of feeling that they have if the same thing happened to me.”How did the six-year-old girl escape from being killed?
| A．By fighting against the killer |
| B．By pretending to be killed |
| C．By running away quickly |
| D．By getting protection from teachers |
According to the passage, which word can best show the quality of the girl?
| A．Strong | B．Friendly |
| C．Wise | D．Curious |
From the passage, we can know that___________________.
| A．all students in Sandy Hook were killed |
| B．Solomon didn’t remember the name of the girl |
| C．eight other children escaped the accident |
| D．people didn’t know the six-year-old girl’s name |
Why did the girl’s parents feel guilty?
| A．Because they had some relationship with the gunman. |
| B．Because they didn’t tell the skills of escaping to other children. |
| C．Because their daughter survived while their friends didn’t. |
| D．Because they didn’t report the terrible accident ahead of time. |
As computers become all the more popular in China, Chinese people are increasingly depending on computer keyboards to input Chinese characters. But if they use the computer too much, they may end up forgetting the exact strokes（笔画）of each Chinese character when writing on paper. Experts suggest people, especially students, write by hand more.
Do you write by hand more or type more? In Beijing, students start using a computer as early as primary school. And computer dependence is more wide-spread among university students. Almost all their homework and essays are typed on a computer.
All the students interviewed say they usually use a computer.
It’s faster and easier to correct if using a computer. And that’s why computers are being applied more and more often to modern education. But when people are taking stock in computers increasingly, problems appear.
“When I'm writing with a pen, I find I often can't remember how to write a character, though I feel I’m familiar with it.”
“I’m not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
Many students don't feel this is something to worry about. Now that it's more convenient and quick to write on a computer, why bother to handwrite?
Many educators think differently. Shi Liwei , the headmaster of a famous primary school in the capital said “Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic(审美的) value. But those characters typed with computer keyboards only have their practical value. All the artistic beauty of the characters is lost. And handwriting contains the writer’s emotion(情绪). Through one’s handwriting, people can get to know one's thinking and personality. Beautiful writing will give people a better first impression of them.”
To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory(必修的)and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.The students interviewed prefer to write using a computer mainly because______.
| A．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently |
| B．they are usually asked to e-mail their homework and essays |
| C．they find it not easy to remember how to write a character |
| D．computers have become popular in China |
Which of the following statements of the advantages of handwriting is NOT TRUE ?
| A．Chinese characters enjoy both practical and aesthetic value. |
| B．Handwriting can impress people well and build up one’s self-confidence. |
| C．Handwriting contains the writer’s emotion. |
| D．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting. |
The underlined expression “taking stock in”(Paragraph 4) probably means __________.
| A．getting bored with | B．getting curious about |
| C．becoming crazy about | D．getting dependent on |
We can infer from the passage that __________.
| A．writing by hand will give way to typing by computer one day |
| B．more and more students will give up writing on a computer |
| C．more and more students will pay attention to handwriting |
| D．the typed article better expresses one’s emotion and quality |
Many years ago, when I was fresh out of school and working in Denver, I was driving to my parents’ home in Missouri for Christmas. I stopped at a gas station about 50 miles from Oklahoma City, where I was planning to stop and visit a friend. While I was standing in line at the cash register I said hello to an older couple who were also paying for gas.
I took off, but had gone only a few miles when black smoke poured from the back of my car. I stopped and wondered what I should do. A car pulled up behind me. It was the couple I had spoken to at the gas station. They said they would take me to my friend’s. We chatted on the way into the city, and when I got out of the car, the husband gave me his business card.
I wrote him and his wife a thank-you note for helping me. Soon afterward, I received a Christmas present from them. Their note that came with it said that helping me had made their holiday meaningful.
Years later, I drove to a meeting in a nearby town in the morning. In late afternoon I returned to my car and found that I’d left the lights on all day, and the battery was dead. Then I noticed that the Friendly Ford dealership --- a shop selling cars --- was right next door. I walked over and found two salesmen in the show room.
“Just how friendly is Friendly Ford?” I asked and explained my trouble. They quickly drove a pickup truck to my car and started it. They would accept no payment, so when I got home, I wrote them a note to say thanks. I received a letter back from one of the salesmen. No one had ever taken the time to write him and say thank you, and it meant a lot, he said.
“Thank you”--- two powerful words. They’re easy to say and mean so much.The author planned to stop at Oklahoma City ________.
| A．to pay at the cash register |
| B．to see his parents |
| C．to visit a friend |
| D．to make a plan with his friend |
The words “took off” underlined in Paragraph 2 means “_________”.
| A．put up | B．turned off |
| C．moved off | D．set up |
What happened when the author found smoke coming out of his car?
| A．The couple offered to help him. |
| B．The couple sent him a business card |
| C．He had it pulled back to the gas station. |
| D．He called his friend for help. |
How does the author explain the importance of expressing thanks in the passage?
| A．By telling his own experiences |
| B．By doing an experiment |
| C．By explaining cause and effect |
| D．By using quotations(引语) |
For more than six million American children, coming home after school means coming home to an empty house. Some deal with the situation by watching TV. But all of them have something in common. They spend part of their time alone. They're called latchkey children, They're children who look after themselves while their parents work outside. Lynette Long was once the headmaster of an elementary school. She said, “We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. A lot of the kids bed chains around their necks with keys attached. 1 was often telling them to put them inside their shirts. There were so many keys that it never came to my mind what they meant.” Slowly , she learned they were house keys.
She and her husband began talking to the children who had them. They learned of the effect working parents had on their children. Fear is the biggest problem faced by the children at home alone. One in each three latchkey children the Longs talked to are reported to be scared. Many had nightmares and were worried about their own safety.
The most common way latchkey children deal with their fears is by hiding. It might be in a shower stall under a bed, in a closet. The second is TV. They’ll often play it at high volume.
It ‘s hard to get numbers on latchkey children and most patents are slow to admit they leave their children alone.
| A．are growing in numbers |
| B．suffer problems from being left alone |
| C．watch too much TV during the day |
| D．are also found in middle schools |
| A．tiredness | B．freedom |
| C．loneliness | D．fear |
| A．We had a school rule against wearing jewelry. |
| B．A lot of kids had chains around their necks. |
| C．I was often telling them to put their keys inside their shirts. |
| D．She learned the chains around their necks were house keys. |
| A．night suit | B．night habit |
| C．terrible dreams at night | D．staying up at night |
| A．latchkey children enjoy being left alone |
| B．latchkey children try to hide their feeling |
| C．latchkey children often watch TV with their parents |
| D．it's difficult to find out how many latchkey children there |
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