Cole Bettles had been rejected by a number of universities when he received an e-mail from the University of California, San Diego, last month, congratulating him on his admission and inviting him to tour the campus. His mother booked a hotel in San Diego, and the 18-year-old Ojai high school senior arranged for his grandfather, uncle and other family members to meet them at the campus for lunch during the Saturday tour.
“They were like ‘Oh my God, that’s so awesome （棒的）’， ” Bettles said. Right before he got in bed, he checked his e-mail one last time and found another message saying the school had made a mistake and his application had been denied.
In fact, all 28, 000 students turned away from UC San Diego, in one of the toughest college entrance seasons on record, had received the same incorrect message. The students’ hopes had been raised and then dashed （破灭） in a cruel twist that shows the danger of instant communications in the Internet age.
UCSD admissions director Mae Brown called it an “administrative error” but refused to say who had made the mistake, or if those responsible would be disciplined （受训）。
The e-mail, which began, “We’re thrilled that you’ve been admitted to UC San Diego, and we’re showcasing （展示） our beautiful campus on Admit Day, ” was sent to the full 46, 000 students who had applied, instead of just the 18, 000 who got in, Brown said.
The error was discovered almost immediately by her staff, who sent an apology within hours.
“It was really thrilling for a few hours; now he’s crushed （压垮）， ” said Cole’s mother, Tracy Bettles. “It’s really tough on them.”
The admissions director said she was in the office on Monday until midnight answering e-mails and phone calls from disappointed students and their parents. She said she took full responsibility for the error. “We accessed the wrong database. We recognize the incredible pain receiving this false encouragement caused. It was not our intent.”How many students received an admission e-mail from the University of California, San Diego （UCSD）？
A. 18, 000 B. 28, 000 C. 46, 000 D. 18 Which of the following statements is TRUE about the wrong e-mail message?
| A．The mistake was made on purpose to cause pain among the applicants. |
| B．It was UCSD admissions director Mae Brown who made the mistake. |
| C．UCSD admissions staff got information from the wrong database. |
| D．Staff did not discover the mistake until next Monday. |
The admissions director Mae Brown did what she could to __________.
| A．protect the person who made the mistake |
| B．punish herself for the mistake |
| C．make up for the mistake |
| D．help the disappointed students enter the university |
What does the passage mainly talk about?
A. Cole Bettles was admitted to the UCSD.
B. Cole Bettles was rejected y a famous university.
C. USCD admissions office often makes “administration errors”。
D. False admission information raised the students’ hopes and then dashed them.
Between the innocence of babyhood and seriousness of manhood we find a delightful creature called a “boy”. Boys come in different sizes, weights, and colors, but all boys have the same belief: to enjoy every second of every minute of every hour of every day and to fill the air with noise until the adult males pack them off to bed at night.
Boys are found everywhere –--- on top of, under, inside of, climbing on, swinging from, running around, or jumping to this and that! Mothers spoil them, little girls hate them, older sisters and brothers love them, and God protects them. A boy is TRUTH with dirt on its face, BEAUTY with a cut on its finger, WISDOM with chocolate in its hair, and HOPE of the future with a snake in its pocket.
When you are busy, a boy is a trouble-maker and a noise. When you want him to make a good impression, his brain turns to jelly or else he becomes a wild creature bent on destroying the world and himself with it.
A boy with mixture---he has the stomach of a horse, the digestion of stones and sand, the energy of an atomic bomb, the curiosity of a cat, the imagination of a superwoman, the shyness of a sweet girl, the brave nature of a bull, the violence of a firecracker, but when you ask him to make something, he has five thumbs on each hand.
He likes ice cream, knives, saws, Christmas, comic books, woods, water (in its natural habitat), large animals, Dad, trains, Saturday morning, and fire engines. He is not much for girls, overcoats, adults, or bedtime.
Nobody else is so early to rise, or so late to supper. Nobody else gets so much fun out of trees, dogs, and breezes. Nobody else can put into one pocket a rusty knife, a half eaten apple, a three-foot rope, six cents and some unknown things.
A boy is a magical creature----he is your headache but when you come home at night with only shattered pieces of your hopes and dreams, he can mend them like new with two magic words, “Hi, Dad!”The whole passage is in a tone of________.
| A．humor and love |
| B．respect and harmony |
| C．ambition and expectation |
| D．confidence and imagination |
What does the underlined sentence in Para.4 probably mean?
| A．He has altogether five fingers. |
| B．He is slow, foolish and clumsy. |
| C．He has become clever and smart. |
| D．He cuts his hand with a knife. |
What does the writer feel about boyhood?
| A．Curious. | B．Tiring. | C．Delightful. | D．Unsafe. |
The writer is probably ___________.
| A．A envious sister |
| B．A sharply observant father |
| C．A appreciative fond mother |
| D．A spoiled naughty kid |
It was a bitter cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man’s beard was glazed by winter’s frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind.
It was long before he heard the faint, steady rhythm of hooves (马蹄) along the frozen path. Anxiously watching several horsemen coming up, he let the first one pass by without any effort to get his attention, then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider drew near where the old man sat like a snow statue when old man caught his eyes and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side?”
Stopping his horse, the rider replied, “Sure! Jump aboard.” Seeing the old man unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman got down to help him. The horseman took him not just across the river, but to his destination just a few miles away.
As they approached the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman’s curiosity caused him to inquire, “Sir, I noticed you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I am curious why, on such a bitter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you here?”
The old man looked the rider straight in the eyes and replied, “I reckon I know people pretty good. I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately found no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need.”
Those heart-warming comments touched the horseman deeply. “I’m so grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man. “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.”
With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.Why didn’t the old man ask the previous riders for a ride?
| A．Because he was waiting for the last rider. |
| B．Because his efforts failed to get their attention. |
| C．Because he assumed they had no concern for him. |
| D．Because he was too numb to lift his half-frozen body. |
What caused the last rider to stop and help the old man?
| A．the old man’s poor situation |
| B．kindness and sympathy |
| C．his own affairs |
| D．The old man’s warm comments |
What do you know about the old man?
| A．He gave the last rider an opportunity to help. |
| B．He lived in a cozy cottage a few miles away. |
| C．He judged people by looking into their eyes. |
| D．He recognized the president at first sight. |
Which can be the best title of this text?
| A．look into your eyes | B．compassion of a great man |
| C．the last rider to help | D．return to the White House |
The intelligence times provide us much convenience，but at the same time，some of our abilities are being weakened gradually.
1. Memorizing phone numbers
It was annoying to remember numbers. Now we simply add them to our contacts list. That usually works well unless our device is lost，stolen，or damaged. No one can be expected to remember all their contact numbers. What we can do is memorize 5 of our most important contact numbers. This should include a mixture of family，friends and business. If you're really ambitious you can memorize 5 contacts for each category.
2. Map-reading skills
The convenience and effectiveness of GPS guidance systems and digital maps generated by search engines is unquestionable. They've definitely made our lives easier. What we don't get from using these devices and applications is the increased ability to understand spatial orientation（空间方向）and navigation.
To renew or acquire those skills，try using physical maps to plan your next trip. After a few trips，you'll be pleasantly surprised with how useful a physical map can be.
3. Photography
Even amateur photography requires a basic learning about lighting，depth，and composition. This is true for digital photography. Most smart cameras automatically make these adjustments. We no longer have to learn the art of photography. On most devices，this is easily changed by turning off the automatic settings. Experiment with setting by hand the scene modes，lighting，and zoom. You just may learn that you're a “true photographer”.
4. Reading comprehension
The primary cause is E-reader. They're convenient and can store thousands of books. But there's evidence that E-reader makes it more difficult for readers to keep and recall information they just read. Don't worry! What we should do is make an effort to read printed books. This will be especially helpful when seeking information we need for academic or career purposes.
5.Hand-written correspondence（通信）
Writing letters and notes include hand writing skills，organizational skills，and learning about the person or persons you correspond with. This is another easily regained skill. Send a letter to an old friend，relative or acquaintance.What's the disadvantage by adding all numbers to the contacts list?
| A．We may only have the ability to remember 5 numbers. |
| B．It's hard to find the number from the contacts list. |
| C．We might lose all our phone numbers accidentally. |
| D．Our device is more easily damaged or stolen. |
To make yourself a “true photographer”，you ______.
| A．must make it clear how the digital camera works itself |
| B．have to make your camera do the adjustments automatically |
| C．don't need to learn the art of photography |
| D．had better try to set the scene modes，lighting，and zoom by hand |
E-readers are thought to weaken our reading comprehension because ______.
| A．they are convenient and can store thousands of books |
| B．they make it more difficult for us to recall information |
| C．less people can afford to buy E-readers |
| D．people are not fond of reading printed books nowadays |
The author of the text seems to ______.
| A．be worried that we might lose some basic abilities in intelligence society |
| B．point out to us the abilities one should have for adapting to the modem society |
| C．be glad that people will regain these abilities by using them often in daily life |
| D．find out that these abilities will probably make modern people different from before |
LONDON, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- A four-year-old child’s ability to draw could be an indicator of intelligence at age 14, according to a study published on Tuesday in the British journal Psychological Science.
The researchers from King’s College London (KCL) studied 7,752 pairs of identical and non-identical twins, and found that the link between drawing and later intelligence was influenced by genes.
At the age of 4, children were asked by their parents to complete a ‘Draw-a-Child’ test. Their drawings were rated from 0 to 12, based on the presence and correct number of body-parts, like arms, legs, head, eyes and nose.
The children were also given verbal and non-verbal intelligence tests at ages 4 and 14. According to researchers, the test was devised in the 1920’s to assess children’s intelligence, so it’s not surprising that the test correlated with intelligence at age 4.However, they found that higher scores on the test were also moderately associated with higher scores of intelligence at 14.
The researchers also measured the heritability of figure drawing. Identical twins share all their genes, whereas non-identical twins only share about 50 percent. Overall, at age 4, drawings from identical twin pairs were more similar to one another than drawings from non-identical twin pairs.
Therefore, the researchers concluded that differences in children’s drawings have an important genetic link. They also found that drawing at age 4 and intelligence at age 14 had a strong genetic link.
“Drawing is an ancient behaviour, dating back beyond 15,000 years ago,” Dr. Rosalind Arden, lead author of the paper from KCL, said that: “This capacity to reproduce figures is a uniquely human ability and a sign of cognitive ability, in a similar way to writing, which transformed the human species’ ability to store information, and build a civilisation.”According to the passage, which of the following statement about ‘Draw-a-Child’ test is true?
| A．The test was devised in the 1920’s. |
| B．7,752 identical and non-identical twins took part in it. |
| C．The test was set to assess children’s intelligence. |
| D．The children took the test at four. |
Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “devised” in the 4th paragraph?
| A．changed | B．formed | C．taken | D．designed |
What do we know about the twins from the passage?
| A．Those who could draw better at 4 tend to be more intelligent at 14. |
| B．Twins who look similar to each other draw better pictures. |
| C．They were chosen to take the drawing test by the researchers. |
| D．They were tested on how smart they were once. |
From the last paragraph, we can infer that ___________.
| A．human society develops because of the ability to draw figures |
| B．drawing helps improve humans’ ability to study |
| C．one’s intelligence is related to his ability to draw pictures |
| D．only human beings are able to draw pictures |
To win an Oscar is an achievement at any age. To do so at 22, as Jennifer
Lawrence has, is just amazing. Recently, the American star won Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards for her role in the film The Silver Linings Playbook. According to Time magazine's Richard Corliss, Lawrence is that rare young actress who "lends a mature intelligence to any role".
Though Lawrence has found great success through her big screen work, Lawrence wasn't sure what she really liked doing before the age of 14. She thought she'd go to college and maybe find a career as a doctor or a travel agent.
Lawrence's two brothers were star athletes and one of them was a straight-A student. Unlike them, she suffered through school, never quite finding where she belonged. However, during a trip to New York, Lawrence suddenly realized that she wanted to be an actress. When she was enjoying the beautiful city, a model seeker asked if he could take her picture, and the next day he called her in for an audition (试镜).
"I read the script and it was the first time I had that feeling like I understand this," Lawrence said.
"Within 20 minutes, in the cab ride from the hotel room, I decided I didn't
want to be a model. In fact, I wanted to be an actress." Having appreciated
this young lady's performance, the agency was so impressed with her reading
that they signed her on the spot. But she insisted on finishing high school so
she could give her full attention to her acting career.
Lawrence burst onto the Hollywood scene last year with The Hunger Games,
which established her as the highest-grossing (票房最高的) female action hero of all time. Rolling Stone called her“the most talented young actress in America".What can we know about Jennifer Lawrence from Paragraph 3?
| A．Her parents were really strict with her. |
| B．She seemed not to fit in with her school days well. |
| C．Her school performance made her today's fame. |
| D．Her two brothers were doing well in all school subjects. |
Lawrence made up her mind to be an actress because of ______.
| A．a model interview |
| B．her brothers' examples |
| C．the taxi-ride to her hotel room |
| D．the beautiful scenery of New York |
From the text we can know that Lawrence is an actress of great ______.
| A．confidence | B．ambition | C．independence | D．talent |
What is the best title of the text?
| A．Choosing Right | B．Acting Wisely |
| C．Following Dreams | D．Winning Young |
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