Little Tommy was doing very badly in math. His parents had tried everything -- tutors, cards, special learning centers -- in short, everything they could think of. Finally they took Tommy to a catholic(天主教的) school.
After the first day, little Tommy came home with a very serious look on his face. He didn't kiss his mother hello. Instead, he went straight to his room and started studying. Books and paper were spread(铺开)out all over the room and little Tommy was hard at work. His mother was surprised. She called him down to dinner and as soon as he finished eating, he went back hitting the books as hard as before. This went on for some time, day after day while the mother tried to understand what was happening.
Finally, little Tommy brought home his report card. He quietly put it on the table and went up to his room and hit the books. His mother looked at it and to her surprise, little Tommy got an A in math. She could no longer hold her curiosity(好奇心). She went to his room and asked, "son, what was it? Was it the nuns(修女)?"
Little Tommy looked at her and shook his head(摇动), "No."
"Well then," she asked again. "What was it?"
Little Tommy looked at her and said, "Well, on the first day of school, when I saw that man nailed(钉) to the plus sign(加号), I knew they weren't joking." Why did Tommy's parents send him to a catholic school?
| A．Because he could eat well there. |
| B．Because he could learn more about nuns. |
| C．Because his parents wanted him to do better in his math. |
| D．Because his parents didn't want him to learn math any more. |
Tommy's mother felt surprised that his son _____.
| A．was still the same |
| B．ate so much at dinner |
| C．kissed her hello after school |
| D．worked so hard but said too little |
The phrase "hit the books" means “_____” in Chinese.
| A．用功 | B．捶书 | C．发泄 | D．振作 |
The last sentence in the passage shows that ______.
| A．Tommy felt sorry for the man |
| B．Tommy didn't like the plus sign |
| C．Tommy was afraid of being nailed |
| D．Tommy liked playing jokes on others |
That “Monday morning feeling” could be a crushing pain in the chest which leaves you sweating and gasping for breath. Recent research from Germany and Italy shows that heart attacks are more common on Monday mornings and doctors blame the stress of returning to work after the weekend break.
The risk of having a heart attack on any given day should be one in seven, but a six-year study helped by researchers at the Free University of Berlin of more than 2,600 Germans showed that the average person had a 20 per cent higher chance of having a heart attack on a Monday than on any other day.
Working Germans are particularly not protected against attack, with a 33 per cent higher risk at the beginning of the working week. Non-workers, by comparison, appear to be no more at risk on a Monday than any other day.
A study of 11,000 Italians proved 8 am on a Monday morning as the most stressful time for the heart, and both studies showed that Sunday is the least stressful day, with fewer heart attacks in both countries.
The findings could lead to a better understanding of what is the immediate cause of heart attacks, according to Dr Stefan Willich of the Free University. “We know a lot about long-term risk factors such as smoking and cholesterol（胆固醇）but we don’t know what actually causes heart attacks, so we can’t give clear advice on how to prevent them,” he said.
Monday mornings have a double helping of stress for the working body as it makes a rapid change from sleep to activity, and from the relaxing weekend to the pressures of work.
“When people get up, their blood pressure and heart rate go up and there are hormonal（内分泌）changes in their bodies,” Willich explained. “All these things can have an unfavourable effect in the blood system and increase the risk of a clot（血凝块）in the arteries（动脉）which will cause a heart attack.”
“When people return to work after a weekend off, the pace of their life changes. They have a higher workload, more stress, more anger and more physical activity,” said Willich.Monday morning feeling, as this passage shows, .
| A．is not so serious as people thought |
| B．is harmful to working people in developed countries. |
| C．is the first killer in Germany and Italy. |
| D．is created by researchers in Germany and Italy |
To protect people from suffering from heart attack, doctors have paid much attention to .
| A．people’s working time |
| B．people’s living place |
| C．people’s diet and lifestyle |
| D．people’s nationalities |
It can be learned from this passage that heart attack has nothing to do with .
| A．blood pressure | B．heart rate |
| C．hormonal changes | D．blood group |
If the researchers give us some advice to avoid Monday morning feeling, what might it be?
| A．Stop working on Monday |
| B．Create a pleasant working environment |
| C．Get up late on Monday morning |
| D．Go to work with a doctor |
Science is a dominant theme in our culture. Since it touches almost every aspect of our life, educated people need at least some idea of its structure and operation. They should also have an understanding of the subculture in which scientists live and the kinds of people they are. An understanding of general characteristics of science as well as specific scientific concepts is easier to obtain if one knows something about the things that excite and frustrate the scientist.
This book is written for the intelligent student or lay (外行) person whose knowledge of science is superficial; for the person who has been presented with science as a musty storehouse of dried facts; for the person who sees the chief objective of science as the production of small devices; and for the person who views the scientists as some sort of magician.
The book can be used to supplement a course in any science, to accompany any course that attempts to give an understanding of the modern world, or independently of any course, simply to provide a better understanding of science. We hope this book will lead readers to a broader perspective on scientific attitudes and a more realistic view of what science is, who scientists are, and what they do.
It will give them an awareness and understanding of the relationship between science and our culture and an appreciation of the roles science may play in our culture. In addition, readers may learn to appreciate the relationship between scientific views and some of the values and philosophies that are widespread in our culture.
We have tried to present in this book an accurate and up-to-date picture of the scientific community and the people who populate it. That population has in recent years come to consist of more and more women. This increasing role of women in the scientific subculture is not an unique incident but, rather, part of the trend evident in all parts of society as more women enter traditionally male-dominated fields and make significant contributions.
In discussing these changes and contribution, however, we are faced with a language that is somewhat sexist, one that uses male nouns or pronouns in referring to unspecified individuals. To balance this built-in bias (倾向), we have adopted the policy of using plural nouns and pronouns whenever possible and , when absolutely necessary, alternating him and her.
This policy is far from being ideal, but it is at least an acknowledgement of the inadequacy of our language in treating half of the human race equally.
We have also tried to make the book entertaining as well as informative. Our approach is usually informal. We feel, as many other scientists do, that we shouldn’t take ourselves too seriously. As the reader may observe, we see science as a delightful pastime rather than as a grim and dreary way to earn a living.According to the passage, ‘scientific subculture’ means __________.
| A．cultural groups that are formed by scientists. |
| B．people whose knowledge of science is very limited |
| C．the scientific community |
| D．people who make good contribution to science |
We need to know something about the structure and operation of science because_______.
| A．it is not easy to understand the things that excite and frustrate scientists. |
| B．science affects almost every aspect of our life. |
| C．scientists live in a specific subculture. |
| D．it is easier to understand general characteristics of science. |
The book mentioned in this passage is written for readers who __________.
| A．are intelligent college students and lay person who do not know much about science. |
| B．are good at producing various devices |
| C．work in a storehouse of dried facts |
| D．want to have a superficial understanding of science. |
According to this passage, ______________.
| A．English is a language full of sexual discrimination. |
| B．only in the scientific world is the role of women increasing rapidly. |
| C．women are making significant contributions to eliminating the inadequacy of our language. |
| D．male nouns or pronouns should not be used to refer to scientists. |
From the health point of view we are living in a marvelous age. We are immunized (被免疫) from birth against many of the most dangerous diseases. A large number of once fatal illnesses can now be cured by modern drugs and surgery. It is almost certain hat one day remedies will be found for the most stubborn remaining diseases. The expectation of life has increased enormously. But though the possibility of living a long and happy life is greater than ever before, every day we witness the incredible slaughter of men, women and children on the roads. Man versus the motorcar! It is a never-ending battle which man is losing. Thousands of people the world over are killed or horribly killed each year and we are quietly sitting back and letting it happen.
It has been rightly said that when a man is sitting behind a steering wheel, his car becomes the extension of his personality. There is no doubt that the motorcar often brings out a man’s very worst qualities. People who are normally quiet and pleasant may become unrecognizable when they are behind a steering-wheel. They are ill-mannered and aggressive, willful as two-years-olds and utterly selfish. All their hidden frustrations, disappointments and jealousies seem to be brought to the surface by the act of driving.
The surprising thing is that society smiles so kindly on the motorist and seems to forgive his behavior. Everything is done for his convenience. Cities are allowed to become almost uninhabitable because of heavy tragic; towns are made ugly by huge car parks; the countryside is desecrated (滥用) by road networks; and the mass annual slaughter becomes nothing more than a statistic, to be conveniently forgotten.
It is high time a world code were created to reduce this senseless waste of human life. With regard to driving, the laws of some countries are notoriously lax and even the strictest are not strict enough. A code which was universally accepted could only have a dramatically beneficial effect on the accident rate. Here are a few examples of some of the things that might be done. The driving test should be standardized and made far more difficult than it is; all the drivers should be made to take a test every three years or so, the age at which young people are allowed to drive any vehicle should be raised to at least 21; all vehicles should be put through strict annual tests for safety. Even the smallest amount of alcohol in the blood can weaken a person’s driving ability. Present drinking and drinking laws (where they exist) should be made much stricter. Maximum and minimum speed limits should be enforced on all roads. Governments should lay down safety specifications for manufacturers. All advertising stressing power and performance should be banned. These measures may sound extremely harsh. But surely nothing should be considered as too severe if it results in reducing the annual loss of human life. After all, the world is for human being, not motorcars.The main idea of this passage is that __________ .
| A．traffic accidents are mainly caused by motorists. |
| B．thousands of people the world over are killed each year. |
| C．the laws of some countries about driving are too lax. |
| D．only stricter traffic laws can prevent accidents. |
What does the author think of society toward motorists?
| A．Society smiles on motorists. |
| B．Huge car parks are built in cities and towns. |
| C．Victims of accidents are nothing. |
| D．Society forgives their rude driving. |
Why does the author say, ‘His car becomes the extension of his personality’.
| A．Driving can show his real self. |
| B．Driving can show the positive part of his personality. |
| C．Driving can bring out his character. |
| D．His can show his temper. |
The attitude of the author is _________.
| A．ironical | B．critical |
| C．appealing | D．aggressive |
The heat was intense as we moved down the long corridor. Not only was it a difficult blaze， but the July heat made things even worse as we struggled to get the best of the flames. As we finally made the turn into the apartment where the fire had started, the words of the young mother outside screamed in my brain, ‘Please help! My baby is in there!’
We moved into the bedroom and I started looking in the usual spots where a child might seek refuge: under the bed, in the corners. As I groped my way through the thick smoke, I suddenly fell forward, tripping over something on the floor. It was the child. Ripping off my mask to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, I grabbed the child and raced for the stairs. When we reached the waiting Rescue Squad members, I collapsed in a heap in the gutter. The ambulance sped off into the night, its siren wailing. Later that evening, we received word that the child had died in the hospital’s emergency room. Another small life lost in the city.
Why do little children such as that one have to pay the price for the neglect of others? During my career as a fire fighter, I have seen this happen many times. You would think that we would become hard and callous, but we don’t. We mourn each person who dies. What bothers me is that many senseless tragedies could have been prevented. An overwhelming number of deaths in fires can be prevented by just one thing – a smoke detector. It is estimated that fewer than 50 percent of all dwellings in the United States are protected by smoke detectors. Why are so many people ignorant about the need for smoke detectors? Smoke detectors save lives. They are easy to install. Their cost is reasonable, and they offer immediate protection.
People must persuade their communities to provide fire education for everyone. The money spent on fire education reaps a reward that cannot be measured. If you do not think so, then consider your reactions if the child I carried out of that flaming apartment had been a member of your own family. You would probably then be willing to do anything at all to undo that tragedy.The author’s main purpose in the passage is to __________.
| A．advertise a new brand of smoke detector. |
| B．persuade readers to become fire fighters. |
| C．plead for donations from the public. |
| D．encourage fire safety measures. |
In the Section About carrying the child from the building, the author is describing
_________.
| A．a scene the author saw in a movie |
| B．a tragedy in a fire fighter’s family |
| C．a personal experience |
| D．a training course in fire education |
According to this reading, which of the following opinions will the author most
agree with?
| A．People have received enough fire education provided by their communities. |
| B．Many deaths in Fires could have been prevented. |
| C．The fires in apartments are always caused by smoking. |
| D．Fire Fighters don’t have sympathy for those who die in fires. |
The author blames the lack of smoke detectors in households on the reason that________.
| A．smoke detectors are too expensive |
| B．smoke detectors often cannot work properly |
| C．smoke detectors are difficult to install |
| D．people are ignorant about the need for smoke detectors. |
You will spend hours at the gym training your body, but do you ever think about training your brain? Here are four ways to keep your brain mentally (脑力上地) active and healthy.
Play games
Your brain is a muscle just like the ones in the rest of your body. If you don’t use it, you will lose it. For example, doing a crossword puzzle (纵横填字游戏) once a day is a good way to give the brain the exercise it needs. This kind of puzzle is good at training different areas of the brain. But remember that when doing this puzzle, you should gradually increase the complexity (复杂度); otherwise, it will become repetitive (重复乏味的) and stop being mentally challenging.
Talk aloud
Although it might sound strange to you, talking aloud is a great way to boost your memory. A good exercise to try is counting to 99 in threes as fast as you can.
Be a team leader
If you find you can do your work very easily, you should find a new task. It is important that your job should be mentally challenging. Complex jobs are often more challenging and make the brain work a little harder.
Learn a language
A study found that, compared with those who could speak only one language, the people who could speak two languages had a slower rate of cognitive (认知能力) decrease. Learning a new language is very challenging and it makes sure that different areas of the brain have their lights on.What is the main idea of this passage?
| A．Why you should train your brain. |
| B．How to be a good team leader. |
| C．Training the brain is more important than training the body. |
| D．How to make your brain healthy and work actively. |
Which word can replace the word "boost" in the third paragraph?
| A．Change. | B．Promote. |
| C．Decrease. | D．Lose. |
We should gradually increase the complexity when doing crossword puzzles because ______.
| A．if we don’t use our brain, we will lose it |
| B．we should make our brain face different challenges |
| C．our brain is a muscle like other parts in our bodies |
| D．these puzzles can work on different areas of the brain. |
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