Below is adapted from an English dictionary
| figure/fīg ə / noun, verb ●noun 1. [C, often pl.] a number representing particular amount, especially one given in official information: the trade /sales figures 2. [C] a symbol rather than a word representing one of the numbers between 0 and 9: a six-figure salary 3. [pl] (informal) the area of mathematics that deals with adding, multiplying, etc 4. a person of the type mentioned: Gandhi was both a political and a religious figure in Indian history. 5. the shape of a person seen from a distance or not clearly 6. a person or an animal as shown in art or a story: a wall with five carved figures in it 7. [C] the human shape, considered from the point of view of being attractively thin: doing exercise to improve one’s figure 8. [C] a pattern or series of movements performed on ice: figure-skating [IDM] be/become a figure of fun: be/become sb. that others laugh at cut a…figure: (of a person) to have a particular appearance He cut a striking figure in his dinner jacket. put a figure on sth.: to say the exact price or number of sth. |
a fine figure of man/woman: a tall, strong-looking and well-shaped person figure of speech: a word or phrase used in a different way from its usual meanings in order to create a particular mental image or effect figurehead: someone who is the head or chief in name only (with no real power or authority) ●verb 1. to think or decide that sth. will happen or is true: I figured that if I took the night train, I could be in Scotland by morning. 2. to be part of a process, situation, etc. especially an important part: My opinion of the matter didn’t seem to figure at all. 3. to calculate an amount or the cost of sth.: We figured that attendance at 150,000. [PHRV] 1. figure in: to include (in a sum): Have you figured in the cost of hotel? 2. figure on: to plan on; to expect sth. to happen: I haven’t figured on his getting home too late. 3. figure out: to work out; understand by thinking: Have you figured out how much the trip will cost? [IDM] It/That figures! (informal): That seems reasonable, logical and what I expect. |
I didn’t really mean my partner is a snake; it was just a ______.
| A．figure of eight | B．figure head | C．figure of speech | D．a fine figure |
—She was coming late again.
—______! That’s typical of her.
| A．It figures her out | B．It figures | C．It cuts a poor figure | D．She is a figure of fun |
What does “watch my figure” in the sentence “Don’t tempt me with chocolate; I am watching my figure.” mean?
| A．add the numbers | B．have sports | C．try not to get fat | D．watch games |
No one can figure out the reasons for the Poland president plane crash in 2010. Here figure out means:_________
| A．watch out | B．work out | C．understand well | D．break out |
—Promise you don’t wear this kind of clothes? People will play a joke on you.
—I don’t care whether I am________. I just want to keep warm.
| A．a figure of fun | B．a healthy figure | C．a figure head | D．a bad figure |
According to a new study by Israel researchers from University of Haifa, posting blogs to express feelings and emotions is therapeutic for children aged 13-17. Psychology professors Meyran Boniel-Nissim and Azy Barak have found that a teenager writing a publicly-viewed blog on the Internet is more effective for relieving stress rather than keeping a private diary. The study, published in the journal Psychological Services, supports that expressing oneself through writing can be therapeutic.
To conduct the research, Boniel-Nissim and Barak randomly selected Israeli high school students who displayed a certain degree of stress. The teenagers were then divided into six groups. Two groups were asked to post blogs twice a week about their social difficulties, but only one of them was asked to open the blogs for comments. The next set of groups were also asked to blog twice a week to post about whatever was going on in their mind, again with one group allowing comments. The two control groups were asked to keep an old-fashioned private diary.
The researchers then collected the blog posts and diaries to discuss the adolescents’ emotional and social position. From the research, they saw that the greatest improvement in mood was with the bloggers who wrote about their personal troubles and allowed people to interact with their posts. The research also noted that the comments were mostly positive and constructive. Boniel-Nissim and Barak said that the commentators’ interactions helped the bloggers while they were distressed. The conclusive research noted that expressing yourself on the Internet not only let others know what was personally going on with you, but also helped you figure out some things about yourself too.The underlined word “therapeutic” in Paragraph 1 can be best explained as “ ”.
| A．attractive to teens |
| B．addictive for children |
| C．making people feel calm and relaxed |
| D．able to be easily hurt |
______________were selected for the research.
| A．Those who blogged regularly. |
| B．Those who suffered from stress. |
| C．Those who had never blogged before. |
| D．Those who had poor social skills. |
The research shows that teens benefit most when .
| A．they blog and allow comments |
| B．they discuss their study on the blog |
| C．they keep a traditional diary |
| D．they comment on someone else’s blog |
We can infer from the last paragraph that blogging ___________.
| A．should not always be opened to comments |
| B．is most useful in improving one’s mood |
| C．is not an effective way to express one’s feelings |
| D．can help students see their problems better |
I have had the privilege of meeting some very interesting people over the years. Some of these people made a great impact on my life, my views and personal philosophy. Others I met had the opposite effect because they represented attitudes, behavior and beliefs that were directly opposed to my views on life and my feelings about the value of all people.
One such person I met was a woman in her late seventies. She had been an active woman, raised a family and had engaged in helping others, and developed her own crafts to sell at selected craft shows throughout the year.
When I met her for the first time, I couldn’t believe that she was in her late seventies — I would have placed her age more in her early sixties. After speaking with her for a short period, it was only then that the conversation seemed to turn to age. And, it wasn’t a conversation about the frailty (脆弱) of age, or the aches and pains, or about pleasures lost.
The conversation, instead, focused on her zest for life and all the things that she was in the planning stages of doing. And, what she was planning to do wasn’t about going to a seniors group so she and her husband could go on a bus tour. What she was planning was an excursion (旅行) to Europe, unaccompanied by any tour operator or taken around the usual sights by a local guide.
She really impressed me a lot because of her zest for life; for an uncompromising view of the future not in the least affected by her age; for the undying faith in knowing that there was a great deal of life yet to be discovered and experienced and yearning for each new image, discussion, smell, cultural uniqueness or experience. From the text we know_____________.
| A．the woman had much sight-seeing around the world. |
| B．the woman was willing to help others. |
| C．the woman made great wealth by selling crafts. |
| D．the woman talked a lot about her age. |
The old woman impressed the author because ______________.
| A．she kept young in spite of her age |
| B．she had experienced a lot in life |
| C．she never gave in to the aches and pains in life |
| D．she had a positive outlook on life |
What kind of tone does the author use to describe the woman?
A. Doubtful. C. Concerning. C. Sympathetic. D. Appreciative.The underlined word “zest” in the fourth paragraph probably means“_____________”.
| A．enthusiasm | B．concept | C．view | D．satisfaction |
阅读下列材料，从所给的六个选项（A、B、C、D、E和F）中选出符合各段落大意的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有一项是多余选项。
A. Mothers and Fathers Play Differently
B. Mothers and Fathers Parent Differently
C. Mothers and Fathers Solve Problems Differently
D. Mothers and Fathers regulate Differently
E. Mothers and Fathers Communicate Differently
F. Fathers Push Limits; Mothers Encourage Security
The following are some of the most compelling ways mother and father involvement make a positive
difference in a child’s life. Children need mom’s softness as well as dad’s roughhousing.________ This difference provides an important diversity of experiences for children. Stanford psychologist Eleanor Maccoby explains mothers and fathers respond differently to infants. Mothers are more likely to provide warm, nurturing care for a crying infant. This diversity in itself provides children with a broader, richer experience of contrasting relational interactions—more so than for children who are raised by only one gender. Whether they realize it or not, children are learning at earliest age that men and women are different and have different ways of dealing with life, other adults and their children.
________ While both mothers and fathers are physical, fathers are physical in different ways. Fathers tickle more, they wrestle, and throw their children in the air. Fathers chase their children sometimes as playful, scary “monsters”. Mothers cuddle babies, and fathers bounce them. Fathers roughhouse while mothers are gentle. One style encourages independence while the other security. One study found 70 percent of father-infant games were more physical and action oriented while only 4 percent of mother-infant ones were like this.
________ Go to any playground and listen to the parents. Who is encouraging their kids to swing or climb just a little higher, ride their bike just a little faster, throw just a little harder? Who is yelling, “slow down, not so high, not so hard!” Of course, fathers encourage children to take chances and mothers protect and are more cautious. This difference can cause disagreements between mom and dad on what is best for the child. Either of these guiding styles by themselves can be unhealthy. Joined together, they keep each other in balance and help children remain safe while expanding their experiences and confidence.
________ A major study showed that when speaking to children, mothers and fathers are different. What fathers express tends to be more brief, directive, and to the point. It also makes greater use of subtle body language and facial expressions. Mothers tend to be more descriptive, personal and verbally encouraging. Children who do not have daily exposure to both will not learn how to understand and use both styles of conversation as they grow. These boys and girls will be at a disadvantage because they will experience these different ways of exchanging ideas in relationships with teachers, bosses and other authority figures.
________ As a famous saying goes, nothingcanbeaccomplishedwithoutregulationsorstandards. Fathers stress justice fairness and duty (based on rules), while mothers emphasize sympathy, care and help (based on relationship). Fathers tend to observe and enforce rules systematically and sternly, which teach children the objectivity and consequences of right and wrong. Mothers tend toward grace and sympathy in the midst of disobedience, which provides a sense of hopefulness. Either of these by themselves is not good, but if together, they create a healthy, proper balance.
People who put a smiley face at the end of a message, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air.
I had some bad news this week. My manager informed me of this news via email. It was like hearing about the death of a loved one via pigeon. Bad news should only ever be delivered face to face or voice to voice.
We seem to celebrate our numerous methods of communication, but really there is no communication at all. I talk to my plants more than I talk to my neighbors, I get text messages that take me three hours to read because they’re written like this: “Hi, I ope you av a gr8 day. Call me La8tr.” I had an email from someone this week that read, “Da ut ov 2day are really annoying me!” Ut? I had to say this 20 times before I understood it. Youth has now become ut. Haven’t we taken enough from them—now we have to take their letters?
I had an email recently from a girl who used to live over the road from me as a child. She wrote, “Hi Shazia, howz u? Im sure u used 2 live across the road from me. We sumtimes played tennis 2 gever at the park and you was in your eliment. I am married now wif 3 daughters.” Then, to my horror, she ended the email with: “Im now teachin in Leeds. Luv Clare.”
Teaching? With English like this. It’s like saying you’re a train driver when you’ve never seen a train. It was like reading modern Morse code.
Getting bad news via email makes it seem so much worse than it actually is. Just a few lines, no emotion, no comfort, not really an explanation. Just a few cold hard words. It’s an excuse. Just write a few words and the problem of delivering it is no longer yours. A close friend recently told me she was very happy to announce she was getting married—and made the announcement by email. I don’t know how she didn’t fall off her chair with excitement while writing it. If you are really happy or really sad to announce something important, wouldn’t you like a human reaction? Some euphoria, elation, tears, a punch in the face?
I receive long text messages every day with information and explanations that I don’t bother reading. They’re boring, and annoy me. In the time it took someone to write me three laborious texts, they could have called, spoken to me, made some tea. People who put a smiley face at the end of a sentence, in an attempt to show feeling, show no feeling. I wish there was a symbol for two fingers in the air, because that’s the one I’d send back.
The telegram has been responsible for reporting world-shattering events when there were very few other options(选择权). Now we have options, and people opt for the least humane one. My mum, in an attempt to get down with the ut of today, asked me to teach her to text. Now she constantly texts me in block capitals, so it looks as if she is still angry and annoyed with me after all these years.
People don’t even write by hand any more. My doctor prints out prescriptions from his computer; even my mechanic prints out a receipt. I get typed Christmas cards and my friends send me emails. I get very excited when hand-written letters come through my door, only because they rarely do.
When I was at school, the girls used to write letters to each other, even though we sat side by side and spoke to one another all day. I think it was a way of expressing private things we were afraid to say when we were 14 and too shy. We used to write things like, “You are my best friend, can’t wait to sit next to you in math.”
I miss the personal method of communication. Once the pen was mightier than the sword, now it seems the keyboard is mightier than the pen.We can learn from paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 that the writer wants to say ________.
| A．the spelling mistakes in the messages make her very annoyed |
| B．only writing letters will bring friends and neighbors much closer |
| C．she talks to plants more because no one shares her joys and sorrows |
| D．gestures and the pen can express a lot more than the cold keyboard |
According to the writer, which of the following can support her opinion?
| A．She has been separated from all his classmates many years. |
| B．No doctors write prescriptions by hand because of computers. |
| C．In communication, we should write more letters than send messages. |
| D．Less shy than school girls, boys rarely write letters to their friends. |
According to the passage, we can conclude that ________.
| A．the writer is a person full of emotions and treasures friendship and affections |
| B．the writer becomes excited when she gets priceless gifts from other people |
| C．her classmates would write to each other because they couldn’t send messages |
| D．people put a smiley face at the end of a message just to show they are happy |
What message is conveyed in the passage?
| A．The writer wastes much time in reading many rubbish text messages every day. |
| B．Few people can write letters well in modern society owing to texting messages. |
| C．Now people are too busy to communicate with each other face to face often. |
| D．The writer prefers personal communication rather than electronic equipment. |
Why does the writer mention the telegram?
| A．Because she thinks the annoyance of reading text messages is originated from it. |
| B．Because we have more options to keep in touch with each other than ever before. |
| C．Because advanced technology partly takes the blame for lacking the human touch. |
| D．Because she thinks humans today become colder with the development of society. |
Which of the following best describe the tone of this passage?
| A．Optimistic. | B．Critic. | C．Sympathetic. | D．Pessimistic. |
My father is a smart man. He spent many years of his life listening to people’s arguments, first as assistant district lawyer and then as a judge. My dad knows rubbish rhetoric when he hears it.
One of his favorite phrases is: “If you don’t have anything smart to say, then don’t say it at all.” Yet, for all of his legal training and life experience, he can’t help but keep talking about the Mega Millions jackpot.
We all know the odds(几率)of winning the jackpot this evening with one ticket are extraordinarily low ... 1 in 175, 711, 536, to be exact. Still, people go out and buy hundreds of tickets with the hopes of becoming wealthier beyond their dreams. Why? There are two possible explanations for this “irrationality”(不理智).
One idea is that the way we calculate odds in our heads has nothing to do with mathematical odds in the traditional sense. We don’t go to the mathematical odds table and say, “Well, this would be a terrible investment. I think I’m better off putting my money in the bank!” Rather, it has everything with the ability to picture an event happening.
My father, for instance, watches the news every night and sees people winning the lottery(彩票). Therefore, he thinks the chance of him winning the lottery is much higher than they actually are.
The second thought is that the expected effect of playing cannot be represented merely by the odds. My father and, I’m sure, others get a thrill from the mere idea of winning. He loves imagining what it would be like to actually win and losing doesn’t really affect him. Sure, he’s disappointed, but it’s “better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” When you combine the utility of thinking you can win with the utility of actually winning (no matter how small the chance of that occurring), it’s worth it for many people to spend the one dollar on a ticket.
My analysis is that both factors are at play in taking a chance on the lottery. My father and others really do underestimate the odds of winning, but the thrill of participation is not denied by a realistic assessment of the odds. Still, I would probably put my finger on the scale for the first explanation.
All told, a review of the odds of other events happening confirms that there just aren’t many events that occur with less frequency than your winning the Mega Millions jackpot. Look at the graph below, you may understand some:
In many ways, it’s like the lottery, something that features often on television and about which people fantasize, but that rarely happens.
So, when you watch, along with my Pa, to see if your lucky number is drawn this evening, keep in mind three things: that your number almost certainly won’t come up; that you are still going to have fun; and that, finally, a lot of other things are more likely to happen—but getting eaten by a shark isn’t one of them. It can be learned from the article that ________.
| A．the Mega Millions jackpot is the last lottery to win in the world |
| B．a judge in that country can’t talk about lottery because it is illegal |
| C．the writer doesn’t buy lottery, for he never hopes to become rich |
| D．In spite of little possibility, a lot of people spend money on lottery |
The function of the graph is to ________.
| A．show chances that those things take place are fewer |
| B．support the writer’s arguments on the lottery tickets |
| C．indicate no one can win the Mega Millions jackpot |
| D．say shark attack death will seldom happen this year |
Which of the following do you think the writer would probably agree with?
| A．If one has mathematical odds, he can win the prize more easily. |
| B．Only those who have irrationality buy hundreds of lottery tickets. |
| C．The Mega Millions jackpot is very popular in the writer’s country. |
| D．Winning lottery is a shortcut to achieve the dream of being rich. |
The underlined phrase “at play” in the 7th paragraph most probably means ________.
| A．effective | B．ridiculous | C．contradictory | D．astonishing |
What do you think is the best title?
| A．The Popular Mega Millions Jackpot | B．Lottery is Merely a Trick |
| C．Mega Million is Like a Shark Attack | D．Be rich, Buy Lottery Soon |
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