Violent gangs. Bar fights. Broken bones. No, we aren’t talking about a late night in Downtown Chico; we’re talking about the things that come to many people’s minds when the word, motorcycle, is mentioned.
Many Chico State students have learned of the convenience of small motorcycles and scooters when it comes to parking on or near campus. Motorcycle parking is something that is available when compared to the amount of vacant automotive parking—something especially valuable when running a bit late for class. Motorcycle-riding students have also learned to appreciate the 50 to 80 average miles per gallon, especially today when it seems as if gasoline prices are shooting up faster and more often than a back alley addict.
Still, some people are reluctant to ride the steel horse. Marc Lewis, a 24-year-old Chico State anthropology student, is one of those people. “I’ve had motorcycles in the past. I know what they’re about. I want another one, for recreational purposes,” Lewis said. The only things holding Lewis back are insurance costs and what he refers to as “unsafe drivers”. Safety and insurance costs certainly are important factors.
Chris Kelley, employee of Cost-U-Less Insurance Center at 166 Cohasset Road, Suite 3, admits that motorcycle insurance can get pricey. The average price per month for Chico State students in their 20s is about $100, Kelley said. “The most expensive rate I’ve ever charged was something like $32,000 a year,” Kelley said. “The guy had a horrible record.”
If a motorcycle is something that you’ve always been curious about but have been frightened by the dangerous image it is often given, try rethinking your position. Motorcycling is one of the most diverse activities in existence. Consider the information you find here a brief introduction to several of the more popular aspects of motorcycle riding.
44. When it comes to motorcycles, one tends to think of ____.
A. a late night in Downtown Chico B. the horse made of steel
C. the money paid for insurance D. a horrible image motorcycles give
45. According to the second paragraph, which of the following is NOT true?
A. It is very convenient for students to ride motorcycles.
B. The campus has enough parking place for motorcycles.
C. Students are often late for class riding motorcycles.
D. Motorcycles consume less gasoline.
46. Why are some people unwilling to ride the steel horse?
A. Because they often have their bones broken.
B. Because they are worried about the costly insurance and safety problems.
C. Because they have to pay for the pricey gasoline.
D. Because they don’t want to ride it for entertainment.
47. The writer intends to tell us in the last paragraph that ____.
A. we shouldn’t buy a motorcycle due to the danger it causes
B. many people are frightened by the dangerous image
C. we shouldn’t be curious about the motorcycle any more
D. motorcycles are still popular regardless of the disadvantages
Everyone knows that the Frenchmen are romantic, the Italians are fashionable and the Germans are serious. Are these just stereotypes or is there really such a thing as national character? And if there is, can it affect how a nation succeed or fail?
At least one group of people is certain that it can. A recent survey of the top 500 entrepreneurs in the UK found that 70% felt that their efforts were not appreciated by the British public. Britain is hostile to success, they said. It has a culture of jealousy. As a result, the survey said, entrepreneurs were “unloved, unwanted and misunderstood.” Jealousy is sometimes known as the “green – eyed monster” and the UK is its home.
Scientists at Warwich University in the UK recently tested this idea. They gathered a group of people together and gave each an imaginary amount of money. Some were given a little, others a great deal. Those given a little were given the chance to destroy the large amount of money given to others – but at the cost of losing their own. Two thirds of the people tested agreed to do this.
This seems to prove that the entrepreneurs were right to complain. But there is also conflicting evidence. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development recently reported that the UK is now the world’s fourth largest economy. That is not bad for people who are supposed to hate success. People in the UK also work longer hours than anyone else in Europe. So the British people are not lazy, either.
“It is not really success that the British dislike,” says Carey Cooper, a professor of management at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. “It’s people using their success in a way that seems proud or unfair or which separates them from their roots.”
Perhaps it is the entrepreneurs who are the problem. They set out to do things in their way. They work long hours. By their own efforts they become millionaires. But instead of being happy they complain that nobody loves them. It hardly seems worth following their example. If they were more friendly, people would like them more. And more people want to be like them.Most entrepreneurs surveyed believe that .
| A．the British people hate success |
| B．the British people are hardworking |
| C．love of success is Britain’s national character |
| D．they are considered as “green – eyed monsters” |
What does the result of the Warwich University’s test show.
| A．Two thirds of the people tested didn’t love money. |
| B．Most people would rather fail than see others succeed. |
| C．An imaginary amount of money does not attract people. |
| D．Most people are willing to enjoy success with others. |
The writer of the passage seems to suggest that .
| A．jealousy is Britain’s national character |
| B．British entrepreneurs are not fairly treated |
| C．the scientists at Warwich University did a successful test |
| D．the entrepreneurs in the UK do not behave properly |
The best title for this article can be .
| A．Be More Modest and We Will Love You More |
| B．Proud Entrepreneurs |
| C．The Frenchmen are Romantic While The British are Hostile |
| D．Only Pains but No Gains |
Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.
Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.
Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.
“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”
The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.
The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”
The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says. The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.
| A．name and unconsciousness | B．name and characteristics |
| C．name and success | D．sports and school achievements |
Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?
| A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer. | B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers. |
| C．Mr. Watt living in Washington | D．Paula Snow fond of the color white. |
Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?
| A．Difference． | B．Conclusion． |
| C．Funny side． | D．Shared part． |
The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.
| A．isn’t believed in by many people | B．doesn’t work with certain names |
| C．may not really exist | D．is often too small to show |
Babies are born yogis. Once we were all able to pull our toes up by our ears and laugh about it. Then we aged, got injured, and began carrying stress in our shoulders and back. In short, we lost our balance.
Yoga（瑜伽） is an ancient practice that helps create a sense of union in body, mind, and spirit. It brings us balance. I was seriously out of balance when I started practicing yoga in 1999. I had plantar facilities in both feet, and my doctor had warned me against all the things I loved to do: walking, hiking, and playing tennis. I was desperate for exercise. Yoga became my salvation and even enhanced my other fitness activities. I practice yoga at least twice a week, but I consider yoga to be part of my daily life because after a while you no longer just practice yoga—you love it.
Yoga becomes part of your physical life. Your body grows stronger, more toned, and more flexible as you move from one pose to the other. I spent a week in Mexico at a yoga retreat, and it was the first vacation on which I lost weight. “Rather than building muscle, yoga builds muscle tone,” says Shakta Kaur Khalsa, author of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Yoga. “Because yoga helps maintain a balanced metabolism (新陈代谢), it also helps to regulate weight. Additionally, yoga stretches muscles lengthwise, causing fat to be removed around the cells.” I do yoga poses throughout the day. After hours at my computer, I stretch my stiff shoulders and arms. When I need a boost of energy, I do energizing poses. When I am feeling exhausted at the end of the day, I do restorative poses.
Yoga becomes part of your mental life. Yoga teaches you to focus on breathing while you hold the poses. This attention to breath is calming; it dissolves stress and anxiety. I use yogic breathing on the tennis courts, in the dentist’s chair, and in traffic jams. You should always leave a yoga practice feeling energized, not tired. If you feel tired after yoga, it means you spent the time “fighting” yourself, trying to force yourself into poses. In yoga, you “surrender” to the pose by letting go of the tension.
Yoga becomes part of your spiritual life. Yoga is practiced by people from all religions; it is not restricted to any religious group. Yoga teaches “right” living in how we deal with ourselves and others. As I work on a difficult pose, I learn patience, forgiveness, and the value of gentleness. Yoga advocates proper eating, but you don’t have to be a vegetarian to practice yoga.What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．What’s Yoga? | B．How I Do Yoga Poses |
| C．The Benefits of Yoga | D．The Varieties of Yoga |
According to the third paragraph, yoga can help people __________.
| A．grow taller | B．lose weight |
| C．become flexible in thinking | D．make more friends |
People feel tired after yoga because __________.
| A．they consume energy in practicing yoga |
| B．they respond well to yoga poses |
| C．they spend too much time on yoga |
| D．they force themselves into yoga poses |
If this passage continues, what will the writer most probably write about in the next paragraph?
| A．Yoga as a means to keep fit. | B．Who may like yoga |
| C．Popularity of yoga all over the world. | D．Encouraging people to do yoga. |
You can tell a lot about a person from the clothes they wear, but you can also tell a lot about a person simply from the handbags they carry. It's hard to believe, but you can find out a number of things about a woman's personality just by looking at the type of handbag she carries. Below you will find a number of handbag styles and colors as well as what each specific type of handbag says about the owner.
Styles:
Under-the Shoulder – handbags which are smaller and fit tightly underneath the shoulder indicate class and sophistication. A women working in an upscale office or someone of high status would choose this form of handbag.
Big and Bulky – Big, bulky and oversized bags are casual and are often associated with younger individuals. These are used for individuals who carry a number of things (binders, books etc) and require a lot of space. Down-to-earth, lower-maintenance women would carry this type of handbag.
Designer – Designer handbags often cost an arm and a leg and therefore are usually associated with high-maintenance females. Females who are confident and require top of the line accessories will settle for nothing less than a name-brand designer purse. Guys watch out for these girls, they tend to be a handful.
Cigar Box Purses – A women who carries a cigar box purse likes to be unique and stand out from the crowd. These women have minds of their own and cannot be told what to do. They are comfortable in their own skin and tend to be very independent.
Leather with Buckles and Zippers – women who choose leather purses with lots of buckles and zippers are leashing out their wild sides. These women tend to act before they think and are always ready for a good time. The extra buckles and zippers tend to signify a "bad girl" image.
Colors:
Bright Colors – Bright colored handbags like pink, purple, bright blue and green indicate that the woman is fun, friendly and approachable. Women who are out-going and sociable will tend to choose these colors. This is the type of woman who will strike up a conversation with a complete stranger.
Black and Brown – women who choose black or brown handbags tend to be more formal in manners and are often mistaken as being snobby or restricted. These types of handbags are often associated with down-to-earth women, who are shy at first, but open up after a while. They tend to exude a shy confidence, which is sometimes mistaken as someone who thinks she's better than others.
The style and color of your handbag says a lot about you. Choose your handbag very carefully and remember you can choose more than one style. You may feel like being reserved one day and the center of attention another…it's natural to want different things in life. Who is likely to start a conversation with a complete stranger according to the passage?
| A．A woman with her handbag carried under the shoulder. |
| B．A woman carrying an oversized handbag. |
| C．A woman carrying a bright colored handbag. |
| D．A woman who chooses a black or brown handbag. |
Women who choose leather purses with lots of buckles and zippers probably ______.
| A．make careful decisions | B．enjoy having fun |
| C．act in bad manners | D．become bad girls |
A woman who carries a cigar box purse likes to ______.
| A．follow others’ steps | B．live a simple life | C．act to their own mind | D．work with |
Forget famous goal celebration such as “The Robot” by Peter Crouch and “The Dive” by Juergen Klinsmann, here comes the South African “Diski dance”, which is performed through heading and kicking an imaginary ball, may be a goal celebration to watch in the following matches.
South Africa's Siphiwe Tshabalala and his team mates performed this different dance when they celebrated his goal against Mexico in the opening World Cup game on Friday. The dance is already popular on YouTube and many soccer fans may want to learn the moves.
Even South Africa's President Jacob Zuma has learnt the Diski dance which could surpass Cameroon Roger Milla's corner flag dance celebration in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. U.S. actor John Travolta performed the dance shortly after landing his Boeing 707 at Lanseria airport, north of Johannesburg, on Wednesday morning.
Goal celebrations are now part of the biggest sporting event and players plan them in advance just in case they find the back of the net. In football, a goal celebration is the practice of celebrating the scoring of a goal. The celebration may be performed by the goal- scorer, his or her teammates, the manager or coaches and the supporters of the team.
The Robot goal celebration was so popular that England fans were surprised when Crouch , an English international footballer, said that he “wouldn’t be doing it any more unless England won the World Cup.”
The word Diski is a word used by the local people for soccer and may also describe the local style of football which focuses on dribbling（带球）and other tricks.Besides “Diski Dance”, how many types of goal celebrations are mentioned in this passage?
| A．2. | B．3. | C．4. | D．5. |
The underlined part “find the back of the net” in Paragraph 4 means .
| A．score a goal | B．win the match |
| C．take a rest | D．take part in a match |
What do we learn about the word “Diski”?
| A．It has become the most popular sports word in the world now. |
| B．It was used to show how people were good at dribbling. |
| C．It was used to describe a football which was imagined by footballers. |
| D．It was mainly used in South Africa before the South Africa World Cup. |
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