Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either. The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons (神经细胞), making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done.
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer. According to the author, we are more creative when we are _______.
| A．focused |
| B．relaxed |
| C．awake |
| D．busy |
What does the author imply about newspapers?
| A．They are solution providers. |
| B．They are a source of inspiration. |
| C．They are normally full of bad news. |
| D．They are more educational than websites. |
By “tune into your wandering mind” (in Para. 2), the author means “_______”.
| A．wander into the wild |
| B．listen to a beautiful tune |
| C．switch to the traffic channel |
| D．stop concentrating on anything |
The author writes the last paragraph in order to _______.
| A．offer practical suggestions |
| B．summarize past experiences |
| C．advocate diverse ways of life |
| D．establish a routine for the future |
Miss Maynell and I grew to know each other through the mail. When World War II ended, I returned from Europe. We planned our first meeting at the Grand Central Station in New York.
At seven, I was in the station and waited for the girl whose heart I loved but whose face I’d never seen.
Suddenly a girl in a green suit was coming toward me. I stood up from the bench and started toward her, completely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose.
“Going my way, sailor?” the girl murmured, walking away quickly. I made one step closer to her and then I saw Miss Maynell, who was well past 40, standing almost directly behind her with a red rose. I felt something even better than love. I didn’t hesitate and walked to her. “I’m John Blanchard, and you must be Miss Maynell,” I said, feeling shocked by the bitterness of disappointment. “I’m glad you could meet me. May I take you to dinner?”
The woman smiled. “I don’t know what this is about, son,” she answered. “But the young lady in the green suit begged me to wear this rose. And she said if you were to invited me to dinner, I should tell you that she is waiting for you in a big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!”
54What did John Blanchard go to the station for?
A. To see the middle-aged woman
B. To wait for a girl from Europe.
C. To invite the woman with a rose to dinner.
D. To meet his lover as planned.
55.How could John Blanchard recognize the girl?
A. By her green suit B. By her red rose
C. By her beautiful face D. By her pictures
56 Why did John feel disappointed? Because _______.
A. he realized that it was not love
B. he found the girl was going away
C. he failed to find the girl with a rose
D. he knew that the girl would test him.
Henry Ford was the first person to build cars which were cheap，strong and fast．He was able to se11 millions of models because be could produce them in large numbers at a time；that is，he made a great many cars of exactly the same kind．Ford’s father hoped that his son would become a farmer，but the young man did not like the idea and he went to Detroit（底特律）where he worked as a mechanic（机械师）．By the age of 29，in 1892，he had built his first car．However，the car made in this way，the famous “Model T” did not appear until 1908-five years after Ford bad started his great motor car factory．This car showed to be well-known that it remained unchanged for twenty year．Since Ford’s time，this way of producing cars in large numbers has be come common in industry and has reduced the price of many goods which would otherwise be very expensive．
50．Henry Ford was the man to built _____ cars．
A．cheap and strong B．cheap and long
C．fast and expensive D．strong and slow
51．Ford was able to sell millions of cars，because_____．
A．he made many greet cars B．his cars are many
C．he made lots of cars of the same kind D．both A and B
52．The “Model T” was very famous_____．
A．before 1908 B．between 1982 and 1908 C．before 1892 D．after 1908
53．Ford built his own car factory
A．in 1903 B．in 1908 C．in 1913 D．in 1897
第二部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。
Alice always wanted to be a singer. Music was the most important thing in her life and, to tell you the truth, she took lessons for years, and practised every day, but in spite of all this, her voice didn’t improve. Honestly, it didn’t get better, it just got louder.
Her teacher finally gave up and stopped the lessons, but Alice refused（拒绝）to give in, and one day she decided to give a concert and invited her teacher to attend.
The teacher was very worried about what to say after the concert. She knew it would be terrible and it was. She didn’t want to tell a lie, but she didn’t want to hurt Alice’s feelings, either. Finally, she got an idea and went backstage (后台) to greet her pupil.
“Well,” said Alice, “what did you think of my singing?”
“My dear,” said the teacher, “you’ll never be better than you were tonight.”
46. Alice wanted to be a singer because she .
A. was good at singing
B. could do nothing but sing
C. had a good teacher
D. was most interested in music
47. Alice’s teacher stopped the lessons because .
A. Alice didn’t make any improvement in singing
B. Alice’s voice became louder and louder
C. Alice didn’t work hard enough
D. Alice was so proud and wouldn’t listen to her
48. What made Alice decide to give a concert?
A. She wanted to prove that her teacher was wrong.
B. She wanted to please her teacher.
C. She was sure that she could sing beautifully.
D. Somebody else wanted her to do so.
49. What is really meant by saying “You’ll never be better than you were tonight.”?
A. You gave a wonderful concert tonight.
B. You won’t make any improvement in future.
C. You have never sung so well before.
D. You did much better before than tonight.
It was reported that Michael Jackson, died of a cardiac arrest(心脏骤停) in a Los Angeles hospital last night, just weeks before he hoped to resurrect(复活) his four-decade long career with a series of sold-out shows in London. The pop superstar was taken to the University of California at Los Angeles medical centre last night, and doctors tried resuscitation（使苏醒，使复活） in the ambulance. He did not regain consciousness and was reported dead about three hours later.
"My brother, the legendary King of Pop, passed away on Thursday 25 June at 2.26pm," his brother Jermaine said, "We believe he suffered a cardiac arrest at his home, however the cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy(验尸) are known. The personal physician who was with him at the time attempted to resuscitated him."
A spokesman for the UCLA medical centre said, "When he arrived at hospital at approximately 1.14pm, a team of doctors attempted to resuscitate him for a pe
riod of more than one hour, they were unsuccessful." Police said they were investigating, which is standard procedure in such cases.
Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long decline from his peak in the 1980s when he was music's greatest all-around performer, a uniter of black
and white music who shattered the race barri
er on MTV. His 1982 album Thriller, which included the blockbuster hits, Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller is still the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50m copies sold worldwide.
The wo
rld famous entertainer had planned a series of 50 concerts in London from 12 July. Although in the last two decades his reputation was destroyed by charges of child molestation(骚扰) and his fantastic public behavior, all tickets were sold within hours, proving the King of Pop had enduring appeal.
68. Where did Michael Jackson die?
A. At home in Los Angeles. B. On the
stage in London.
C. In a Los Angeles hospital. D. In an ambulance to hospital.
69. What caused Michael Jackson to die according to Jermaine?
A. Heart disease. B. It’s unknown before the results of the autopsy.
C. Working too hard. D. His personal physician’s improper treatment.
70. Why were the police involved in investigating the death of Michael Jackson?
A. Because they believed he was murdered.
B. Because Michael Jackson died suddenly.
C. Because it was standard procedure in such cases.
D. Because his brother was suspicious of the truth of his death.
New computers are tested out to make shopping carts more intelligent in supermarkets. They will help shoppers find paper cups or toilet soap, and keep a record of the bill.
The touch-screen devices(触摸屏装置) are on show at the Food Marketing Institute’s exhibition here this week, “These devices are able to create value and get you around the store quicker,” said Michael Alexander, manager of Springboard Retail Networks Inc., which makes a smart cart computer called the Concierge.
Canadian stores will test the Concierge in July. A similar device, IBM’s “Shopping Buddy”, has recently been test-marketed at Stop & Shop stores in Massachusetts.
Neither device tells you how many fat grams or calories are in your cart, but they will flash you with items on sale. The idea is to make it easier for people to buy, not to have s
econd thoughts that maybe you should put something back on the shelf.
“The whole model is driven by advertisers’ need to get in front of shoppers,” said Alexander. “They’re not watching 30-second TV ads anymore.”
People can use a home computer to make their shopping lists. Once at the store, a shopper can use a preferred customer card to start a system(系统) that will organize the trip around the store. If you’re looking for toothpicks, you type in the word or pick it from a list, and a map will appear on the screen showing where you are and where you can find them. The device also keeps a record of what you buy. When you’ve finished, the device figures out your bill. Then you go to the checker or place your card into a self-checkout stand and pay.
The new computerized shopping assistants don’t come cheap. The Buddy devices will cost the average store about $160,000, and the Concierge will cost stores about $500 for each device.
64. The underlined word “they” (paragraph 1) refers to ______.
A. supermarkets B. shopping carts C. shop assistants D. shop managers
65. Which of the following is the correct order of shopping with computerized shopping carts?
a. Start the system.
b. Make a shopping list.
c. Find the things you want.
d. Go to a self-checkout stand.
A. abdc B. bacd C. acbd D. bcad
66. We can learn from the last paragraph that ______.
A. intelligent shopping carts cost a large sum of money
B. the Concierge is cheaper than the Buddy devices
C. shop assistants with computer knowledge are well paid
D. average stores prefer the Concierge to the Buddy devices
67. What might be the most suitable title for the text?
A. New age for supermarkets
B. Concierge and Shopping Buddy
C. New computers make shopping carts smarter
D. Touch-screen devices make shopping enjoyable
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