Flowers only bloom(开花) when they are planted in the right soil. That is also true for me.
I first moved to Foxboro, Massachusetts, as a single mother with my baby daughter, Darcy. I was drawn to its New England beauty, friendly people and rich history. It happened that there were a lot of forsythia(连翘) bushes around the house in which I lived just like my childhood home. I joined St. Mark’s Episcopal Church where I taught the Sunday school. At church, I met my second husband, Dean. For more than 25 years, I bloomed in Foxboro, and I had another two children.
Then, when Darcy was a few years out of college, she moved to Alameda, California, to be near friends. I missed her badly. A year later my beloved husband Dean had deadly cancer. He only made it eight months. My heart was broken. Later I moved to Alameda with my children. It was a beautiful Victorian island, and I was grateful to spend more time with Darcy. I even attended a church and made a few friends there. Still, I couldn’t help but miss Foxboro. It had everything and everyone I loved.
One spring day, when I was walking by a school, something yellow caught my eyes. Forsythia bushes! They made me homesick and I kept back my tears. “I miss you, Foxboro,” I whispered. Then I went into a shop and looked at some ceramic(陶瓷的) pots lined up on a shelf. A large white one seemed to catch my attention. “That’ll be perfect in my living room,” I thought.
I turned it over to look at the price. Instead I found these words: “New England Pottery, Foxboro, Massachusetts.” A piece of artwork, from my second hometown, was right here. It was able to spread across the country and so were forsythia bushes. I took it as a sign that I can bloom, right where I am.From the text we learn that the author ____.
| A．gave birth to three children in Foxboro |
| B．planted forsythia bushes around her house |
| C．got to know her second husband at church |
| D．worked as a middle school teacher in Foxboro |
The author moved to Alameda so that she could ____.
| A．have more time together with Darcy |
| B．forget the sorrow at her husband’s death |
| C．visit her children at Alameda College frequently |
| D．enjoy the beautiful scenery on the Victorian island |
When the author saw forsythia bushes at a school she _____.
| A．wanted to buy a ceramic pot to put them in |
| B．thought of her life in Foxboro |
| C．felt they would look great in her living room |
| D．believed they were real art work |
Why does the author compare herself to flowers?
| A．Because she wanted to show she likes flowers. |
| B．Because she can live in any place that is right like flowers. |
| C．Because she moved across the country just like flowers. |
| D．Because girls are like flowers that are blooming. |
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。
Next time a customer comes to your office，offer him a cup of coffee. And when you're doing your holiday shopping online，make sure you're holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感觉) of warmth encourages emotional warmth，while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions－those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person's perception(感知) of another's “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration，even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences，Bargh argues，when babies' conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations，particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow，published in 1958，showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire，even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow's work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done，Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures，and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth，Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study's hypotheses(假设)，handed the students either a hot cup of coffee，or a cold drink，to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form：The drink was then handed back. After that，the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly.” says Bargh.According to Paragraph 1，a person's emotion may be affected by ________.
| A．the visitors to his office |
| B．the psychology lessons he has |
| C．his physical feeling of coldness |
| D．the things he has bought online |
The author mentions Harlow's experiment to show that ________.
| A．adults should develop social skills |
| B．babies need warm physical contact |
| C．caregivers should be healthy adults |
| D．monkeys have social relationships |
In Bargh's experiment，the students were asked to ________.
| A．evaluate someone's personality |
| B．write down their hypotheses |
| C．fill out a personal information form |
| D．hold coffee and cold drink alternatively |
We can infer from the passage that ________.
| A．abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences |
| B．feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide |
| C．physical temperature affects how we see others |
| D．capable persons are often cold to others |
What would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Drinking for Better Social Relationships |
| B．Experiments of Personality Evaluation |
| C．Developing Better Drinking Habits |
| D．Physical Sensations and Emotions |
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。
That our students rarely get the opportunity to use their imagination was an open secret among Chinese people. Now，a global survey has brought it to the notice of the rest of the world.
The survey covering 21 countries，conducted by International Educational Progress Evaluation Organization，showed Chinese students excelled at math，beating their peers from other countries. But when it came to using their imagination，they were tied for the last place. And in creativity，they were fifth from the bottom.
The survey results are not shocking，given the way our children are taught in schools and at home. But they are a severe reminder to our educators and parents to improve their ways.
Chinese students rarely get the time or chance to use their imagination. Right from the day they enter school they are pushed into a culture of exams and more exams. Teachers and parents teach them that education is all about passing these exams with flying colors. And to pass those exams，they are made to learn by fixed standard answers.
Teachers dare not encourage students to think outside the box. Teachers don't like students questioning them，killing the curiosity of the young minds. For children，there's hardly any room for bright ideas either in class or at home.
Israel shares the values of education with China. But there is a world of difference between the way Israeli parents treat their children and we do. Israeli parents do not mollycoddle their children. Instead，they encourage them to learn how to live independently. In contrast，Chinese parents go to extremes，allowing their children to do whatever they like to do and punishing them severely the next for committing a “mistake”．
The global study should make us swing into action and help our students to throw open their young minds to imagination and creativity. It is time our education officials and educators asked themselves what they should do to let our children's imagination and creativity blossom.Based on the passage，the creativity of the Chinese students ranks ________ among the 21 countries.
| A．the 5th |
| B．the 17th |
| C．the 21st |
| D．the 1st |
Why is the imagination of the Chinese students so poor?
| A．Their parents often improve their educational ways. |
| B．They are thought to be lacking in curiosity. |
| C．Their teachers are afraid of being questioned. |
| D．They are not encouraged to imagine both at home and in class. |
What does the underlined word “mollycoddle” probably mean in Paragraph 6?
| A．spoil |
| B．motivate |
| C．appreciate |
| D．scold |
It can be learned from the passage Israeli parents ________.
| A．lay much more emphasis on education than Chinese ones |
| B．allow their children to live in whatever way they like |
| C．focus more attention on developing their children's living ability |
| D．encourage their children to commit mistakes in lives |
Israel is introduced in the passage mainly ________.
| A．to enrich the content of the text |
| B．to support and advocate Israel education |
| C．to illustrate the disadvantages of Chinese education |
| D．to criticize the wrong behavior of Chinese parents |
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。
(2012年湖南卷，B)Still seeking a destination for your weekend break? There are some places which are probably a mere walk away from your college.
King's Art Centre
A day at the Centre could mean a visit to an exhibition of the work of one of the most interesting contemporary artists on show anywhere. This weekend sees the opening of an exhibition of four local artists.
You could attend a class teaching you how to ‘learn from the master' or get more creative with paint—free of charge.
The Centre also runs two life drawing classes for which there is a small fee.
The Botanic Garden
The Garden has over 8,000 plant species，it holds the research and teaching collection of living plants for Cambridge University.
The multi-branched Torch Aloe here is impressive. The African plant produces red flowers above blue-green leaves, and is not one to miss.
Get to the display house to see Dionaea muscipula, a plant more commonly known as the Venus Flytrap that feeds on insects and other small animals.
The Garden is also a place for wildlife-enthusiasts. Look for grass snakes in the lake. A snake called ‘Hissing Sid' is regularly seen lying in the heat of the warm sun.
Byron's Pool
Many stories surround Lord Byron's time as a student of Cambridge University. Arriving in 1805, he wrote a letter complaining that it was a place of “mess and drunkenness”. However, it seems as though Byron did manage to pass the time pleasantly enough. I'm not just talking about the pet bear he kept in his rooms. He spent a great deal of time walking in the village.
It is also said that on occasion Byron swam naked by moonlight in the lake, which is now known as Byron's Pool. A couple of miles past Grant Chester in the south Cambridge shire countryside, the pool is surrounded by beautiful circular paths around the fields. The cries of invisible birds make the trip a lovely experience and on the way home you can drop into the village for afternoon tea. If you don't trust me, then perhaps you'll take it from Virginia Woolf—over a century after Byron, she reportedly took a trip to swim in the same pool.As mentioned in the passage, there is a small charge for________.
| A．attending the masters' class |
| B．working with local artists |
| C．learning life drawing |
| D．seeing an exhibition |
“Torch Aloe” and “Venus Flytrap” are ________.
| A．common insects |
| B．impressive plants |
| C．rarely-seen snakes |
| D．wildlife-enthusiasts |
We can infer from the passage that Byron seemed ________.
| A．to fear pet bears |
| B．to like walking |
| C．to be a heavy drinker |
| D．to finish university in 1805 |
In the passage Byron's Pool is described as a lake________.
| A．surrounded by fields |
| B．owned by Lord Byron |
| C．located in Grant Chester |
| D．discovered by Virginia Woolf |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Some places for weekend break. |
| B．A way to become creative in art. |
| C．The colorful life in the countryside. |
| D．Unknown stories of Cambridge University. |
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。
It was graduation day at the university where I worked a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago，as we watched the students walking into the hall，one of my colleagues turned to me and said，“Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the saddest times of your life.”At my inquiry，he answered，“Because the students you have gotten to know have to leave.”
As years went by，my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed. When I come across naughty students，I have to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn't the money. Once a former computer science student of mine called me，asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one，though I have more education and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills，he said he could get me hired. I thanked him，but declined his kind offer.
A few days before this current graduation，while working on final grades，I found a note a student had slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in my class－not about math，but about life－would be things she would remember long after the math skills had faded away. As I finished reading，I remembered why I had become a teacher.
Now，on this sunny graduation day，as I again observed the sea of blue_hats_and_gowns，I did so with renewed dedication(奉献) and a deeper sense of satisfaction－I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time，the author ______.
| A．quite agreed with his colleague |
| B．thought it very funny |
| C．was very puzzled |
| D．was very sad |
The computer science student called up the author because he ________.
| A．wanted to inform the author of his present job |
| B．tried to persuade the author to work with him |
| C．wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction |
| D．thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher |
The underlined part “blue hats and gowns” refers to ________.
| A．university colleagues |
| B．life memories |
| C．graduates' clothes |
| D．decorations in the hall |
The author wrote this passage to ________.
| A．express his devotion to being a teacher |
| B．compare two different graduation ceremonies |
| C．talk about the meaning of graduation |
| D．give advice on how to be a good teacher |
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。
There's no better place to be than beside the seaside in the summer. And even in Britain you can still find beaches away from the crowds with golden sand.
COMPTON BAY，ISLE OF WIGHT
This wide sandy beach is on the south west coast，between Freshwater and Brook and is part of the Tennyson Heritage Coast. There are striking views of the white cliffs further along the coast. A coastal path passes behind the beach，and you can enjoy scenic cliff top walks in either direction.
Accommodation：Sandpipers Hotel (01983 758500，www.sandpipershotel.com) with doubles from ￡10pp.
KINGSGATE BAY，KENT
Around the beach round a bend in the coastal road from Ramsgate is white cliffs with Kingsgate Castle dominating the whole landscape. It is fairly isolated，with few facilities，but is perfect for summer bathing or for bracing winter walks.
Accommodation：Fayreness Hotel (01843868641，www.fayreness.com) with doubles with breakfast from ￡69.15pp.
RINGSTEAD BAY，DORSET
A picturesque 210ft crescent(弦月状的) of pebbles with clean water 
that's a perfect escape from some of the busier beaches around Weymouth. You reach it by passing through the village of Upton，then along a narrow country road. Next to the car park is a well stocked shop. The cliffs behind Ringstead Bay are an excellent place for fossil hunting.
Accommodation：Glenburn Hotel (01305 832318，www.glenburnhotel.com) with doubles from ￡79 including breakfast.
BRANSCOMBE，DEVON
Lying on the East Devon Heritage Coast，Branscombe has good facilities with toilets and a car park close to the beach，as well as a small picnic area. A well stocked shop sells the most attractive dairy ice cream. Next to the shop is the Sea Shanty restaurant－open every day until 5 p．m. during the summer.
Accommodation：The Mason's Arms，Branscombe Village (01297 680300，www.masonsarms.co.uk) with doubles from ￡65 pp with breakfast.Which beach is the best wonderful place for summer bathing?
| A．COMPTON BAY. |
| B．BRANSCOMBE. |
| C．KINGSGATE BAY. |
| D．RINGSTEAD BAY. |
In which of the following beaches will you enjoy ice cream?
| A．COMPTON BAY. |
| B．BRANSCOMBE. |
| C．KINGSGATE BAY. |
| D．RINGSTEAD BAY. |
If you want to know more information about Fayreness Hotel，you'd better refer to the following web site ______.
| A．www.masonsarms.co.uk |
| B．www.fayreness.com |
| C．www.glenburnhotel.com |
| D．www.sandpipershotel.com |
What's the purpose of the passage?
| A．To attract more tourists. |
| B．To describe some beautiful beaches. |
| C．To tell us the most beautiful places in UK are beaches. |
| D．To tell us where to spend summer. |
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