We Americans are wasteful people, not used to saving. Early settlers, our forefathers set us an example of wasting everything, for they thought nature’s resources were so plentiful that none of them ever imagined that natural materials would be used up in time. Within a few years of the first Virginia settlement, for example, pioneers burned down their houses when they were ready to move west. They burned down their houses with only one aim to get the nails（钉子）for future use. No one ever gave a thought to the priceless hardwoods that went up in smoke. As a people we destroy many valuable things that other people save. I noticed this when I was living in Britain. I received a letter from one England’s largest banks. It was enclosed in a used envelope（信封）that had been readdressed to me. Such a practice would be unthinkable in the United States. American banks, even the smallest, always use expensive stationery（信笺）with the names of all twenty - eight vice – presidents lists on side of the page. According to the passage, we know the writer is ________ .
| A．a Chinese | B．a Japanese | C．an Englishman | D．an American |
The writer thought their forefathers ________ .
| A．set a good example |
| B．wasted many natural resources |
| C．knew natural resources would be used up in time |
| D．made the best use of natural materials |
Which of the following statements is wrong?
| A．The writer lives in Britain now. |
| B．American banks use expensive stationery. |
| C．Americans are not used to saving. |
| D．The writer’s forefathers burned down their houses in order to get the nails. |
The purpose of the passage is to ________ .
| A．wish Americans not to waste | B．tell us the English are a good people |
| C．warn Americans against saving | D．encourage people to work hard. |
B
Showering typically sends water down the drain, but a new space-age shower could change that. The design, inspired by NASA, saves water and money.
Astronauts have no choice but to recycle the water they use in space. Now theOrbital Systems Shower of the Futurebrings that concept down to Earth. This futuristic shower comes from Orbital Systems, a Swedish advanced technology company. Its CEO, Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, invented the product.
"The shower of the future is a water-recycling shower, thus enabling water savings up to 90 percent, energy savings up to 80 percent, at the same time increasing comfort and hygiene. The water is being collected in the drain, it's being analyzed, purified and then pumped back up to the shower head. So what is so special about the purification technology? Well, it's based on a patented purification capsule system that makes sure that the water is always crystal clear," he explained.
Mahdjoubi was inspired by a project between NASA and Sweden's Lund University to come up with designs for a mission to Mars. He adapted the closed-loop system that allows astronauts to re-use shower water again and again.
The product already has been tested in Sweden, where it saved up to 100,000 liters of water over four months. Based on those results, Mahdjoubi is confident his company can distribute the shower system worldwide.
"Our market is anyone who takes a shower, actually, and the biggest benefit it gives is to the market segment where the water consumption is the highest, such as bathing establishments, gyms, sports centers. Also, private households where the water consumption and the prices are high," said Mahdjoubi.
The "out of this world" design has won several business and innovationWhat does the underlined sentence mean in paragraph 2?
| A．Astronauts bring the space water to the earth. |
| B．There’s need for the astronauts to save water any more. |
| C．People on the earth can do the same like the astronauts. |
| D．People have to recycle water on the earth. |
What’s the order of working procedure of the new shower?
①collect the water; ② purify the water;
③analyze the water; ④pump back the water
| A．①②③④ | B．①③②④ |
| C．①④②③ | D．①②④③ |
What’s Mahdjoubi’s attitude towards the new product?
| A．Optimistic | B．Uncertain |
| C．Negative | D．Indifferent |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．To introduce a new technology |
| B．To find a way to save energy |
| C．To promote a new product |
| D．To seek for investment |
A
Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment—to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.
Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art. And they were.
But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.
Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.
His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be？One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. And so the discussion went—until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.
When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was. The little boy looked away and murmured, “It’s yours, teacher.”
She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here and there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, “Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside.” Or, “Let me show you how to hold your pencil.” Or, “Let’s do this together.” Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.
Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.
In fact, people might not always say “thanks”. But they’ll remember the hand that reaches out.What’s the purpose of the assignment the teacher gave her students?
| A．To celebrate Thanksgiving Day. |
| B．To show gratitude for others. |
| C．To improve students’ art level. |
| D．To make the festival fun. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．The teacher thought students couldn’t focus their art on turkey and other traditional goodies. |
| B．Douglas would often join in his classmates and played with them happily. |
| C．The picture was really different for there was nothing but a hand. |
| D．The boy told his teacher the content of the picture actively. |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “capture”?
| A．affect | B．reflect | C．conquer | D．arouse |
What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?
| A．Words speak louder than actions. |
| B．Lost time is never found again. |
| C．Time tries all. |
| D．Love me, love my dog. |
D
I was no different from any other mother.
When my little boy, Skyler, was born, I longed for the day he would talk to me. My husband and I dreamed about the first sweet “Mama” or “Dada.” Every cry or coo was a small glimpse into my son’s mind.
My baby’s noises were even more precious to me because Skyler had been born with several health problems.
At first, the problems had delayed his development, but once they were safely behind us. I looked forward to my son’s first words. They didn’t come.
At age three, Skyler was diagnosed autistic, a developmental disability destined to affect his social and emotional well-being in his entire life. Skyler couldn’t talk and wouldn’t talk. I would probably never hear any words from him at all. In a store, I would hear a child calling “Mommy,” and I would wonder if that were what my little boy might sound like. I wondered how it would feel to hear my child call out for me.
But I could have learned to live with his silence if it weren’t for another hallmark characteristic of autism: Skyler formed no attachments. He didn’t want to be held, much preferring to lie in his bed or sit in his car seat. He wouldn’t look at me; sometimes, he even looked through me.
Once, when I took him to the doctor, we talked to a specialist who was my size, age and who had the same hair color. When it was time to go, Skyler went to her instead of me—he couldn’t tell us apart. When Skyler was three, he spent three days at Camp Courageous for disabled children in Iowa, and when he returned he didn’t even recognize me.
The pain was almost unbearable. My own son didn’t even know I was his mother.
I hid the pain, and we did the best we could for Skyler. We enrolled him in our local area educational agency preschool, where the teachers and speech pathologist worked hard to help Skyler connect with the world around him. They used pictures and computer voice-machines that spoke for him, and sign language. These devices gave me little glimpses of who Skyler was, even if he didn’t understand who I was. “He will talk,” the speech pathologist insisted, but inside, I had given up hope.
The one dream I couldn’t let go was to have Skyler understand that I was his mom. Even if I never heard him say, “Mom,” I wanted to see the recognition in his eyes.
The summer of Skyler’s fourth year was when it started. A smoldering ember of understanding in him sparked, and fanned by our efforts, steadily flamed. His first words were hardly recognizable, often out of context, never spontaneous. Then, slowly, he could point to an item and say a word. Then two words together as a request. Then spontaneous words. Each day, he added more and more recognizable words, using them to identify pictures and ask questions. We could see his understanding increase, till his eyes would seek out mine, wanting to comprehend.
“You Mom?” he said one day.
“Yes, Skyler, I’m Mom.”
He asked his teachers and caregivers: “You Mom?”
“No, Skyler, not Mom.”（原作者：陈德琪）“You my Mom?” he said back to me.
“Yes, Skyler, I’m your Mom.”
And finally, a rush of understanding in his eyes: “You my Mom.”
“Yes, Skyler, I’m your Mom.”
If those had been Skyler’s only words ever, they would have been enough for me: My son knew I was his mother.
But Skyler wasn’t done.
One evening I leaned against the headboard on Skyler’s bed, my arms wrapped around him. He was cozily tucked between my legs, our bodies warm and snug as I read to him from one of his favorite books—a typical affectionate scene between mother and son, but because of Skyler’s autism, one that I could never take for granted.
I stopped reading. Skyler had interrupted me, leaning back his head so he could look me in the eye.
“Yes, Skyler?”
And then the voice of an angel, the voice of my son: “I love you, Mom.”According to the description of the author, we can learn that Skyler .
| A．could easily have a cold |
| B．usually preferred to stay alone |
| C．could only recognize his doctor |
| D．frequently lost temper |
The author felt the most heartbroken when .
| A．Skyler was diagnosed with autism |
| B．a child in a store called her “Mommy” |
| C．she realized Skyler didn’t know who she was |
| D．she found Skyler was born with several health problems |
What does the underlined sentence mean?
| A．The author had little hope that Skyler would talk. |
| B．The author decided to give up the treatments for Skyler. |
| C．The author was disappointed with the speech pathologist. |
| D．The author strongly believed that Skyler would make progress. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．Skyler traveled around the world with his teachers. |
| B．The family was so frustrated that they lost hope. |
| C．The author never heard Skyler say “Mum”. |
| D．Skyler’s language ablity grew little by little. |
From the last few paragraphs, we can infer that .
| A．the author was grateful that her efforts paid off |
| B．Skyler could not only talk but also read |
| C．mom was the only word Skyler could say |
| D．the author had high expectations for Skyler |
What’s the best title for the passage?
| A．Road to Speaking | B．What is Autism? |
| C．A Caring Mother | D．Talk to Kids |
C
It’s been called the “hardest word,” but some women seem to use the word “sorry” as everything from a way to interject their thoughts into a conversation to a way of prefacing any request for help. Yesterday, Pantene even released a video about how often women apologize in everyday situations.
Apologizing unnecessarily puts women in a subservient（恭顺的） position and makes people lose respect for them, says executive coach and radio host Bonnie Marcus. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, founder of the Manhattan-based think tank, Center for Talent Innovation and author of Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Talent and Success, says using “sorry” frequently undermines our gravitas and makes them appear unfit for leadership.
It’s not like women don’t know it’s a bad habit. So, why do they do it?
Business consultant Kathryn D. Cramer, author of Lead Positive: What Highly Effective Leaders See, Say, and Do, says women are socialized from an early age to focus on relationships and nurturing. Any sign of strength can be off-putting, so they’re conditioned to soften communication that can be construed as assertive or aggressive. Apologizing before speaking—or in any situation where women must show strength or where there is potential for conflict—is one way of doing so.
She adds that workplace culture contributes to its use, too. In many cases, strong women need to find ways to temper（使温和） their personalities or risk being called “rude,” “abrasive,” or even risk their jobs if they don’t find ways to soften others’ perception, she says. But saying “sorry” too often can be more career-killing than being disliked. So, it’s time to purge the word unless you really have something to be sorry about.
Marcus suggests keeping a log（日志） of when you “sorry,” what the situation was, and how you felt. Sometimes, “sorry” is just a verbal tic（言语抽搐）, but some usage patterns may indicate a situation or person who makes you feel insecure, she says. Being aware of those triggers and how they influence your language can help you be more vigilant in “changing your communication so you’re coming from a position of strength and equality,” she says.
Trusted friends can help you break the habit by quietly letting you know when you’re using “sorry” inappropriately, Cramer says. Knowing that you’re under another watchful eye is also going to make you more aware of your speech, she says.
Sometimes, saying “sorry” is easier than thinking about the word you really want to say, or becomes a way of softening your words or opinion before they’re even out of your mouth, Cramer says. If either is the case, be more careful to choose the word or phrase you really mean to say. “Start your statement with, ‘Let me say this…’ or some other word or phrase that reflects your meaning better than saying ‘sorry,’” she says.
Sometimes, instead of saying “sorry,” it’s best to not say anything at all. Hewlett encourages women to embrace the power of silence. Using silence deliberately makes people uncomfortable, but not in an aggressive way,” she says.According to the passage, women’s habitual apologies .
| A．make it hard for them to start a new conversation |
| B．are a barrier to displaying their hidden talents |
| C．prove it is brave of them to admit mistakes |
| D．show they are in socially inferior positions |
What does the underlined word “so” in Paragraph 4 probably refer to?
| A．Making statements less aggressive. |
| B．Following workplace culture. |
| C．Realizing full potential. |
| D．Voicing complaints. |
The author uses the last three paragraphs mainly to .
| A．provide typical examples |
| B．make comparisons |
| C．offer suggestions |
| D．analyze effects |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Why are women always apologizing? |
| B．What are the techniques for apologizing? |
| C．Women should have a place in the modern world |
| D．I’m sorry, but women really need to stop apologizing |
B
A new study, led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History, shows that living sharks are actually quite advanced in evolutionary terms, despite having retained their basic "sharkiness" over millions of years. The research is published today in the journal Nature.
"Sharks are traditionally thought to be one of the most primitive surviving jawed vertebrates（脊椎动物）. And most textbooks in schools today say that the internal jaw structures of modern sharks should look very similar to those in primitive shark-like fishes," said Alan Pradel, a postdoctoral researcher at the Museum and the lead author of the study. "But we've found that is not the case. "
The new study is based on an extremely well-preserved shark fossil collected by Ohio University professors Royal Mapes and Gene Mapes in Arkansas, where an ocean basin once was home to a diverse marine ecosystem. The fossilized skull of the new species, named Ozarcus mapesae. The heads of all fishes -- sharks included -- are segmented into the jaws and a series of arches that support the jaw and the gills（鳃）. These arches are thought to have given rise to jaws early in the tree of life.
Because shark skeletons are made of cartilage（软骨）, not bone, their fossils are very fragile and are usually found in flattened parts, making it impossible to study the shape of these internal structures. But the Ozarcus mapesae specimen（标本）was preserved in a nearly three-dimensional state, giving researchers a rare glimpse at the organization of the arches in a prehistoric animal.
"This beautiful fossil offers one of the first complete looks at all of the gill arches and associated structures in an early shark. There are other shark fossils like this in existence, but this is the oldest one in which you can see everything," said John Maisey, a curator in the Museum's Division of Paleontology and one of the authors on the study. "There's enough depth in this fossil to allow us to scan it and digitally dissect out the cartilage skeleton."
Working with scientists at the European Synchrotron, the ESRF, Pradel imaged the specimen with high-resolution x-rays to get a detailed view of each individual arch shape and organization. "We discovered that the arrangement of the arches is not like anything you'd see in a modern shark or shark-like fish," said Pradel. "Instead, the arrangement is fundamentally the same as bony fishes."
The authors say it's not unexpected that sharks -- which have existed for about 420 million years -- would undergo evolution of these structures. But the new work, especially when considered alongside other recent developments about early jawed vertebrates, has significant implications for the future of evolutionary studies of this group. "Bony fishes might have more to tell us about our first jawed ancestors than do living sharks," Maisey said.What does the underlined word “that” in Paragraph 1 refer to?
| A．Living sharks are quite advanced in evolutionary terms. |
| B．Sharks have kept their basic “sharkiness” over millions of years. |
| C．The jaw structures of modern sharks are similar to those in fishes. |
| D．Shark’s jaws have remained almost the same over millions of years. |
It is hard to study the internal jaw structures of ancient sharks because .
| A．there are only a few shark fossils |
| B．shark skeletons are made of bones |
| C．their fossils are often in poor condition |
| D．their fossils are found in a nearly three-dimensional state |
According to Paragraph 4, the shark fossil used in the study is .
| A．the only complete shark fossil |
| B．the oldest complete shark fossil |
| C．the only Ozarcus mapesae specimen |
| D．the biggest Ozarcus mapesae specimen |
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