It takes courage to stand up at work．Now more and more people are standing up when they are working on something important．Standing up is in fashion．Medical researchers have found that people who stand at work tend to be much healthier than those who sit．But I wasn't just looking for better health — standing would also improve how I work and relax my body．
In recent years, many office supply companies have begun to sell adjustable desks．These so-called "sit / stand" models are equipped with an electric motor that lets them shift from chair height to person height at the push of a button．Unfortunately, sit / stand desks tend to be expensive, hard to find and not very easy to test in person．
I discovered that when I worked standing up, my mind was clearer and new ideas kept coming to me．I suspect that this is because when you're standing, you feel a bit unchained from your desk．If I got stuck on a word or sentence as I wrote it, I found myself shaking my arms, bouncing （跳） on my feet or stepping away from the desk for a bit — things I couldn't do in a chair．Often, standing up seemed to relax my mind enough for me to get over creative barriers．
There's another thing about standing for a long time: I tend to get hungrier than I do when I sit on a chair．That feels like confirmation（证实） of the stand-up advocates’ belief that you burn more calories when you stand than when you sit．For this reason alone, I' m hoping that one day mass-market furniture companies can make many low-priced versions of sit / stand desks．We could all work with a bit more standing up．The author likes standing up while working because __________．
| A．he wants to show that he has a lot of courage |
| B．researchers say standing makes one healthier |
| C．he intends to catch up the fashion trend |
| D．he hopes to improve his work and relax himself |
It can be inferred from the text that ________．
| A．adjustable desks are mass-produced now |
| B．adjustable desks are easy to operate |
| C．cheaper adjustable desks will soon be available |
| D．adjustable desks can be tried out easily |
What is the main idea of the text?
| A．Standing up at work is a better choice． |
| B．Standing up at work takes courage． |
| C．Standing up at work burns more calories． |
| D．Standing up at work will replace traditional sitting． |
“BANG”the door caused a reverberation．“Never set foot in this house again!”shouted father．With tears weiling(涌出)up in my eyes，I rushed out ofthe hofase and ran along the street．
A young father who held a child in his arlzis walked past rile．I felt as if I saw my childhood from another space：happy and harmonious(和谐)
But now I don’t know whether it is b
ecause I have grown up or because Dad is getting old．We are just like two people coming from two different worlds．Itfeels like there is an iron door between us that can never be opened．
1 wandered the street，without a destination in my n'nnd．My heart was frozen oil this hot summer night．As I walked on there were fewer and fewer people m the streets，until I had only streets to keep me company When I finally reached the high rise apartment block in which I livegt，I saw that the light was still on．
I thought to myself，“Is father waiting for rile．or is he still angry with me?”
In fact，it was nothing．Perhaps，Dad was throwing some of his old stamps．Perhaps he thought they were useless．I never had th,e courage to tell him that Iliked collecting stamps．
All the lights were off except father’S
Dad was always 1ike this．Maybe he didn’t know bow to express himself．After shouting at me，he never showed any mercy or regret After an argumenthe will creep(蹑手蹑脚)up in my sleep and then tuck rile underneath the covers
This was how he always was．Fie has been a leader for So long that telling everyone else what to do has become his second nature．
The fight was still oil With the key in hand，1 was as nervous as 1 had ever been．At last，I decided to open the door．As soon as I opened the door tears ran down my cheeks．I suddenly realized that the iron door that l had imagined between us did not exist at all Love－it is second to none．
The underlined word“reverberation”refers to ．
| A．an earthquake | B．a heavy Mow． |
| C．a shake | D．a sound forced back |
When seeing a young father with a child in his arras．the writer might have
the following feelings EXCEPT
A．She／He admired them very much
B．She／He wished that the relation between him／her and his／her father could
also be so harmonious
C．She／He felt that happiness had been far away from him／her
D
．She／He felt disappointed with his／her father
Why do you think the father often shouts at his child?
| A．The father is getting older and older． |
| B．The child had already grown up． |
| C．They never agree with each other． |
| D．The father has got used to doing that． |
What conclusion can you draw after reading the text?
| A．The father treats his child in an unfair wav． |
| B．The father is actually kind to his child |
| C．The father is neither kind nor cruel to his child |
| D．The father is always finding fault with his child． |
The meaning of the word “volunteer” may be a little different in different countries, but it usually means “one who offers his or her services．” There are many different ways in which people can volunteer, such as taking care of sick people, working in homes for homeless children, and picking up garbage from beaches and parks．Volunteers may work within their own countries or in other countries．They are often people with a strong wish to help those who are less fortunate than themselves．Volunteers don’t expect any kind of pay．
At the root of volunteering is the idea that one person may have the ability to offer services that can help other people．Tracy, a good friend of mine, however, recently came back from India with a new idea of what being a volunteer means．She worked for two and a half weeks in one of Mother Teresa’s homes in Calcutta．The following is her story．
“I first heard about Mother Teresa in my high school．We watched a video about her work in India and all over the world．I was so moved by her spirit to help others and her endless love for every human being that after I graduated from high school, I too wanted to try her kind of work．So with two friends I flew to Calcutta for a few weeks．”
“I was asked to work in a home for sick people．I helped wash clothes and sheets, and pass out lunch．I also fed the people who were too weak to feed themselves and tried to cheer them up．I felt it was better to share with them than to think that I have helped them．To be honest, I don’t think I was helping very much．It was then that I realized that I had not really come to help, but to learn about and experience another culture that helped improve my own understanding of life and the world．”According to the text, a volunteer refers to a person who ______．
| A．is willing to help those in need without pay |
| B．can afford to travel to different places |
| C．has a strong wish to be successful |
| D．has made a big fortune in life |
Tracy started her work as a volunteer _______．
| A．after she met Mother Teresa |
| B．after she finished high school |
| C．when she was touring Calcutta |
| D．when she was working in a hospital |
Why did Tracy choose to be a volunteer?
| A．She liked to work with Mother Teresa． |
| B．She had already had some experience． |
| C．She was asked by Mother Teresa’s example．k.s.5.u |
| D．She wanted to follow Mother Teresa’s example． |
Runners in a relay（接力） race pass a stick in one direction．However, merchants passed silk, gold, fruit, and glass along the Silk Road in more than one direction．They earned their living by traveling the famous Silk Road．
The Silk Road was not a simple trading network．It passed through thousands of cities and towns．It started from eastern China, across Central Asia and the Middle East, and ended in the Mediterranean Sea．It was used from about 200 B．C．to about 1300 A．D．, when sea travel offered new routes（路线）．It was sometimes called the world’s longest highway．However, the Silk Road was made up of many routes, not one smooth path．They passed through what are now 18 countries．The routes crossed mountains and deserts and had many dangers of hot sun, deep snow and even battles．Only experienced traders could return safe．
The Silk Road got its name from its most prized product．Silk could be used like money to pay taxes or buy goods．But the traders carried more than just silk．Gold, silver, and glass from Europe were much found in the Middle East and Asia．Horses traded from other areas changed farming practices in China．Indian merchants traded salt and other valuable goods．Chinese merchants traded paper, which produced an immediate effect on the West．Apples traveled from central Asia to Rome．The Chinese had learned to graft（嫁接） different trees together to make new kinds of fruit．They passed this science on to others, including the Romans．The Romans used grafting to grow the apple．Trading along the Silk Road led to world-wide business 2,000 years before the World Wide Web．
The people along the Silk Road did not share just goods．They also shared their beliefs．The Silk Road provided pathways for learning, diplomacy（外交）, and religion （宗教）．
It’s probable that traders along the Silk Road needed ．
| A．to remember the entire trade route | B．to know the making of products |
| C．to receive certain special training | D．to deal with a lot of difficulties |
The Silk Road became less important because ．
| A．it was made up of different routes | B．silk trading became less popular |
| C．sea travel provided easier routes | D．people needed fewer foreign goods |
What does the underlined part in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．Silk． | B．A trading network． |
| C．The world’s longest highway． | D．Goods．k.s.5.u |
Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．
There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的） tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿） are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．The passage mainly tells us ________．
| A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains |
| B．the changes in brain throughout our lives |
| C．that men are better at spatial tasks |
| D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors |
Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
| A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s |
| B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．k.s.5.u |
| C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain． |
| D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter． |
What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
| A．Women prefer doing many things at a time． |
| B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time． |
| C．Women do not need to tell directions． |
| D．Men have weaker spatial abilities． |
What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
| A．Defensive． | B．Persuasive． | C．Supportive． | D．Objective． |
Among various programs, TV talk shows have covered every inch of space on daytime television. And anyone who watches them regularly knows that each one is different in style. But no two shows are more opposite in content, while at the same time standing out above the rest, than the Jerry Springer and Oprah Winfrey shows.Jerry Springer could easily be considered the king of "rubbish talk". The topics on his show are as surprising as can be. For example, the show takes the ever-common talk show titles of love, sex, cheating, and hate, to a different level. Clearly, the Jerry Springer show is about the dark side of society, yet people are willing to eat up the troubles of other people's lives.
Like Jerry Springer, Oprah Winfrey takes the TV talk show to its top. But Oprah goes in the opposite direction. The show is mainly about the improvement of society and different quality of life. Contents are from teaching your children lessons, managing your work week, to getting to know your neighbors.
Compared to Oprah, the Jerry Springer show looks like poisonous waste being poured into society. Jerry ends every show with a "final word". He makes a small speech about the entire idea of the show. Hopefully, this is the part where most people will learn something very valuable.
Clean as it is, the Oprah show is not for everyone. The show's main audience are middle-class Americans. Most of the people have the time, money and ability to deal with life's tough problems. Jerry Springer, on the other hand, has more of a connection with the young adults of society. These are 18-to 21year-olds whose main troubles in life include love, relationship, sex, money and drug. They are the ones who see some value and lessons to be learned through the show's exploitation.Compared with other TV talk shows, both the Jerry Springer and the Oprah Winfrey shows are____.
| A．more interesting | B．unusually poplar | C．more detailed | D．more formal |
Though the social problems Jerry Springer talks about appear unpleasant, people who watch the shows ______.
| A．show disbelief in them | B．are ready to face up to them |
| C．remain cold to them | D．are willing to get away from them |
Which of the following is likely to be a topic of the Oprah Winfrey show?
| A．A new type of robot. | B．National hatred. |
| C．Family income planning. | D．Street accident. |
We can learn from the passage that the two talk shows ____.
| A．have become the only ones of its kind | B．exploit the weaknesses in human nature |
| C．appear at different times of the day | D．attract different people |
What is the advantage of the Jerry Springer show?
| A．The show exposes the dark sides of society. | B．The show pours poisonous waste into society. |
| C．Jerry sums up the whole idea of the show. | D．Jerry talks abou the improvement of society. |
粤公网安备 44130202000953号