第二部分 阅读理解
（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节 阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
One night, Mrs. Riley, an elderly woman, was walking along a dark London street. She was carrying her handbag in one hand and a plastic carrier bag in the other. There was nobody else in the street except two youths. They were standing in a dark shop doorway. One of them was very tall with fail hair, the other was short and fat with a beard.
The youths waited for a few moments, and then ran quickly and quietly towards Mrs. Riley. The tall youth held her from behind while the other youth tried to seize her handbag.
Suddenly, Mrs. Riley threw the tall youth over her shoulder. He crashed into the other youth and they both landed on the ground. Without speaking, Mrs. Riley struck both of them on the head with her handbag and walked calmly away.
The two surprised youths were still sitting on the ground when Mrs. Riley crossed the street towards a door with a lighted sign above it. Mrs. Riley paused, turned round, smiled at the youths and walked into the South West London Judo（柔道）Club.The two youths stood in a dark shop doorway because _____.
| A．they had nothing to do |
| B．they were homeless |
| C．they meant to rob somebody |
| D．they were guarding the shop |
What did Mrs. Riley do to the two youths?
| A．She hurt them seriously. |
| B．She taught them a lesson. |
| C．She reported them to the police. |
| D．She sent them to a judo club. |
The story tells about an elderly woman who _____.
| A．often went shopping at night |
| B．was brave and wise |
| C．worked in a shopping center |
| D．had a skill of self–defense |
Batteries can power anything from small sensors to large systems. While scientists are finding ways to make them smaller but even more powerful, problems can arise when these batteries are much larger and heavier than the devices themselves. University of Missouri(MU) researchers are developing a nuclear energy source that is smaller, lighter and more efficient.
“To provide enough power, we need certain methods with high energy density(密度)”，said Jae Kwon, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at MU. “The radioisotope(放射性同位素) battery can provide power density that is much higher than chemical batteries.”
Kwon and his research team have been working on building a small nuclear battery, presently the size and thickness of a penny, intended to power various micro/nanoelectromechanreal systems (M/NEMS). Although nuclear batteries can cause concerns, Kwon said they are safe.
“People hear the word ‘nuclear’ and think of something very dangerous,” he said, “However, nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pace-makers, space satellites and underwater systems.”
His new idea is not only in the battery’s size, but also in its semiconductor(半导体). Kwon’s battery uses a liquid semiconductor rather than a solid semiconductor.
“The key part of using a radioactive battery is that when you harvest the energy, part of the radiation energy can damage the lattice structure(晶体结构) of the solid semiconductor,” Kwon said, “By using a liquid semiconductor, we believe we can minimize that problem.”
Together with J. David Robertson, chemistry professor and associate director of the MU Research Reactor, Kwon is working to build and test the battery. In the future, they hope to increase the battery’s power, shrink its size and try with various other materials. Kwon said that battery could be thinner than the thickness of human hair.Which of the following is true of Jae Kwon?
| A．He teaches chemistry at MU. |
| B．He developed a chemical battery. |
| C．He is working on a nuclear energy source. |
| D．He made a breakthrough in computer engineering. |
Jae Kwon gave examples in Paragraph 4_________.
| A．to show chemical batteries are widely applied. |
| B．to introduce nuclear batteries can be safely used. |
| C．to describe a nuclear-powered system. |
| D．to introduce various energy sources. |
Liquid semiconductor is used to _________.
| A．get rid of the radioactive waste | B．test the power of nuclear batteries. |
| C．decrease the size of nuclear batteries | D．reduce the damage to lattice structure. |
According to Jae Kwon, his nuclear battery _______.
| A．uses a solid semiconductor | B．will soon replace the present ones. |
| C．could be extremely thin | D．has passed the final test. |
The text is most probably a ________.
| A．science news report | B．book review |
| C．newspaper ad | D．science fiction story |
How to improve our life? Many people think that they have to accept whatever life throws at them. They'll say, "This is my destiny(命运).I cannot change it."
Of course not! You don't have to suffer needlessly. Your life depends on you, not on any other external(外部的)factor.
I know a woman who says she just accepts what life gives her because she has done everything she can to improve it. Guess what her lifestyle is? She wakes up in the morning, goes to work, comes back home, relaxes, chats with people, watches TV, and then goes to sleep. Next day, the same routine cycle follows.
Huh! Is this what she calls "doing her best"? She believes she has tried her best and just accepts it in her heart that this is the life that has been intended for her and that her luck can only change if God wills it. She hasn't realized that we have to do our share of making the effort to live the life of our dreams.
Remember that you harvest what you sow. You have to get off the sofa, get your eyes off the TV screen, get your hands off the phone(unless it contributes to your success),and get your mind and body to work! Don't expect your luck to change, unless you do something about it. If something goes wrong, don't just regard it as a temporary setback; instead, learn your lesson, make the most of the situation, and do something to solve the problem. It's not enough to think positively; you also have to act positively.
If someone's life is in trouble, do you just hope and pray that things will turn out fine? Of course not! You get to do anything you can to save the person. So it is with your own life. It is not enough to hope for the best, but you have to do your best. In other words, don't just stand(or sit)there, do something to improve your life.According to the woman mentioned in Para. 3, her life_________________.
| A．doesn't need improving | B．couldn't be improved |
| C．will be better some day | D．will be worse in the future |
What does the author think of the woman's life?
| A．Positive | B．Passive | C．Colorful | D．Disturbing |
Which of the following statements is the author's opinion?
| A．Your temporary problem is not discouraging. |
| B．Your luck can be changed by your own efforts. |
| C．You can only achieve success when God wills it. |
| D．You should treat yourself in the way you treat friends. |
In Para. 5, the author emphasized the importance of _______________.
| A．positive thinking | B．positive action |
| C．hope for the best | D．intention to succeed |
The text is mainly written to advise you to _________________.
| A．understand yourself | B．improve your life |
| C．believe in yourself | D．change your normal way |
Bad moods can actually be good for you, with an Australian study finding that being sad makes people less gullible（轻信的）, improves their ability to judge others and also boosts memory.
The study, authored by psychology professor Joseph Forgas at the University of New South Wales, showed that people in a negative mood were more critical of, and paid more attention to, their surroundings than happier people, who were more likely to believe anything they were told.
"Although positive mood seems to promote creativity, flexibility, cooperation, and reliance on mental shortcuts, negative moods trigger（引发）more attentive, careful thinking, paying greater attention to the external world," Forgas wrote.
"Our research suggests that sadness … promotes information processing strategies best suited to dealing with more demanding situations."
For the study, Forgas and his team conducted several experiments that started with inducing happy or sad moods in their subjects through watching films and recalling positive or negative events.
In one of the experiments, happy and sad participants were asked to judge the truth of urban myths and rumors and found that people in a negative mood were less likely to believe these statements.
People in a bad mood were also less likely to make snap decisions based on racial or religious prejudices, and they were less likely to make mistakes when asked to recall an event that they witnessed.
The study also found that sad people were better at stating their case through written arguments, which Forgas said showed that a "mildly negative mood may actually promote a more concrete, accommodative and ultimately more successful communication style."
"Positive mood is not universally desirable: people in a negative mood are less prone to judgmental errors, are more resistant to eyewitness distortions（扭曲）and are better at producing high-quality, effective persuasive messages," Forgas wrote.
The study was published in the November/December edition of the Australian Science journal. The study suggests that when someone is in a bad mood, he ________.
| A．cares more about his surroundings | B．shows less concern about others |
| C．is willing to believe what he hears | D．is particular about everything |
Which of the following is connected with positive mood?
| A．Being careful. | B．New ideas. |
| C．Being stubborn. | D．Concentration. |
How did the researchers put the subjects in good or bad moods?
| A．By watching sports programs. |
| B．By thinking back on their past experience. |
| C．By listening to happy or sad stories. |
| D．By dealing with demanding situations. |
Which of the following statements is TURE according to the text?
| A．Positive mood contributes to better judgment. |
| B．Cheerful people were less likely to believe rumors. |
| C．People in a bad mood tend to make quick decisions. |
| D．Sad people remembered what they saw precisely. |
The author intends to convince us that __________.
| A．we should think positively and negatively |
| B．the Australian study is of practical value |
| C．Joseph Forgas made a great discovery |
| D．bad moods can actually be good for us |
There were smiling children all the way. Clearly they knew at what time the train passed their homes and they made it their business to stand along the railway, wave to complete strangers and cheer them up as they rushed towards Penang. Often whole families stood outside their homes and waved and smiled as if those on the trains were their favorite relatives. This is the simple village people of Malaysia. I was moved.
I had always traveled to Malaysia by plane or car, so this was the first time I was on a train. I did not particularly relish the long train journey and had brought along a dozen magazines to read and reread. I looked about the train. There was not one familiar face. I sighed and sat down to read my Economics.
It was not long before the train was across the Causeway and in Malaysia. Johore Baru was just another city like Singapore, so I was tired of looking at the crowds of people as they hurried past. As we went beyond the city, I watched the straight rows of rubber trees and miles and miles of green. Then the first village came into sight. Immediately I came alive; I decided to wave back.
From then on my journey became interesting. I threw my magazines into the waste basket and decided to join in Malaysian life. Then everything came alive. The mountains seemed to speak to me. Even the trees were smiling. I stared at everything as if I was looking at it for the first time.
The day passed fast and I even forgot to have my lunch until I felt hungry. I looked at my watch and was surprised that it was 3:00 pm. Soon the train pulled up at Butterworth. I looked at the people all around me. They all looked beautiful. When my uncle arrived with a smile, I threw my arms around him to give him a warm hug (拥抱). I had never done this before. He seemed surprised and then his weather-beaten face warmed up with a huge smile. We walked arm in arm to his car.
I looked forward to the return journey. The author expected the train trip to be________ .
| A．adventurous | B．pleasant | C．exciting | D．dull |
What did the author remember most fondly of her train trip?
| A．The friendly country people. | B．The mountains along the way. |
| C．The crowds of people in the streets. | D．The simple lunch served on the train. |
Which of the following words can best take the place of the word "relish" in the second paragraph?
| A．choose | B．enjoy | C．prepare for | D．carry on |
Where was the writer going?
| A．Johore Baru | B．The Causeway. | C．Butterworth | D．Singapore |
What can we learn from the story?
| A．Comfort in traveling by train. | B．Pleasure of living in the country. |
| C．Reading gives people delight. | D．Smiles brighten people up. |
In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive(认知的) skills didn't get any smarter.
More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week. They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q test before and after the experiment.
Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher than those playing the games.
"If you're (playing these games) because they're fun, that's absolutely fine," said Adrian Owen, the study's lead author. "But if you're expecting (these games) to improve your I.Q., our data suggests this isn't the case," he said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
One maker of brain games said the company's games have been proven to boost brain power.
"Their conclusion would be like saying, 'I cannot run a mile in under 4 minutes and therefore it is impossible to do so," Aldrich said in a statement.
"There is precious little evidence to suggest the skills used in these games transfer to the real world," said Art Kramer, who was not linked to the study and has no ties to any companies that make brain training games.
Instead of playing brain games, Kramer said people would be better off getting some exercise. He said physical activity can spark(激发) new connections between nerves and produce new brain cells. "Fitness changes the building blocks of the brain's structure," he said.. It can be inferred that the online brain games mentioned in the text are_____________.
| A．costly | B．unreliable | C．illegal | D．effective |
. Which of the following statements is true about the experiment in the second paragraph?
| A．The experiment lasted for a week. |
| B．Age didn’t affect the result of the research. |
| C．Every person played online brain games three times a day. |
| D．People who didn’t play online brain games did better in I.Q test |
. What can we learn from the text?
| A．Playing games which are fun can improve your I.Q. |
| B．There is a lot of evidence to suggest skills can transfer to the real world. |
| C．Do physical activity can boost your brain power. |
| D．Playing online games can spark new brain cells |
The underlined sentence suggests that ___________.
| A．The research was not linked to the study |
| B．Those playing the games can score higher in the test |
| C．playing the games can spark new connections between nerves |
| D．This isn’t the case that these games can improve your I.Q. |
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