Several years ago, a student working on a research project in my laboratory approached me with concern.“I’m doing something wrong,”she exclaimed. I had seen her research results and knew she was making good progress, so I was surprised to hear that she was having a problem. Over the next several days we went through her experiment; yet I could not find a problem. Finally, I asked her,“Why do you think you’re doing something wrong?” “Because I’m not getting what you said I should get,”she replied with some confusion.
Her response shocked me. I had not told her what she“should get”, but we had discussed some published hypotheses(假说) several weeks earlier. On seeing the research data that did not fit these predictions, I recognized that she had a new finding and came to change my hypotheses. But she was interpreting her results as a mistake. With almost four years of a college science major behind her, this student still had the common misunderstanding that science is a boring exercise in proving something we already know to be true.
But how can this happen? Throughout school, science is often described in textbooks as a series of“known”facts and figures; for example, DNA is a double helix; earthquakes occur at plate boundaries, etc. Unfortunately, the process by which these discoveries were made and how they fit into scientific progress are often ignored in the classroom. These details help show the nature of scientific discoveries and the tails help show the nature of scientific discoveries and the skepticism(质疑) that goes with new discoveries before they are accepted.
Understanding science is more than memorizing that DNA is a double helix. It is to have the ability to take in new information on diet, exercise, or disease and apply it to our own lives. Understanding the process of science and scientific problem-solving can help us make better decisions every day.The student thought her research project had gone wrong because .
| A．she was not making progress |
| B．her teacher told her so |
| C．she couldn’t get enough data |
| D．she had some unexpected findings |
How did the writer feel when he found out the reason for the student’s confusion?
| A．Confused. | B．Surprised. | C．Excited. | D．Pleased. |
What is to blame for the student’s misunderstanding about science?
| A．Her own carelessness. |
| B．Her teacher’s lack of experience. |
| C．The method of science education. |
| D．The publication of some wrong hypotheses. |
What is the last paragraph mainly about?
| A．The meaning of understanding science. |
| B．How to use known facts. |
| C．The best way to make scientific discoveries. |
| D．How to use scientific knowledge in daily life. |
Dear Alice,
I heard from you three days ago. I’m all right.
Good news! We moved to a new flat yesterday! There are more rooms here than in our old one. You know, I shared a room with my sister in the old flat. But now I have my own bedroom! It is small but it’s my favorite room! I can be alone in it. I can read books, draw pictures, listen to my radio and play CDs. I can also play games on my computer and send e-mails to my friends.
I also love the new bigger kitchen. I love helping my mother with our meals. Mom cooks well. She always teaches me how to make different kinds of dishes. She lived in China when she was young, so she can cook Chinese food. It’s delicious.
Write to me soon and tell me about your home. Please get on the Internet so that we can chat with each other.
All good wishes!Lily and her family moved to a new flat __________.
| A．yesterday | B．last week |
| C．last month | D．three days ago |
Lily is very happy mainly because ________.
| A．she has just heard from Alice |
| B．she has got her own bedroom |
| C．she has a bigger bedroom now |
| D．she shares a room with her sister |
Lily ________ on her computer.
| A．reads books and draws pictures |
| B．learns to make different dishes |
| C．plays CDs and listens to the radio |
| D．plays games and sends e-mails |
From the letter we know all the following EXCEPT that ________.
| A．there is a computer in Lily’s room |
| B．Lily often helps her mother cook |
| C．Lily’s mother is good at cooking |
| D．Lily’s mother is Chinese |
It is a very common thing for a person to have a good friend. My good friend is Diana. She is a rich and proud girl. She often thinks that she is too good for anyone, so nobody wants to be her friend.
One day after school, I was waiting for Diana when Vivien came up to me. She gave me a biscuit. I accepted it. We talked and joked, and from then on, I began to spend more time with Vivien than with Diana. I felt a little uneasy.
After a few days, I went to see Diana with some snacks when Vinien came and sat with me. She offered me a sandwich. She also offered one to Diana, but Diana refused it. She walked away. I was angry with Diana for being so rude(无礼的).
“Never mind.” Vivien said, “I’m used to it.”
After school, I tried to catch up with Diana. While walking home, I tried to correct her attitude(态度), but she didn’t listen to me. She said, “Go and join your dear Vivien. I know you make a new friend and forget the old one.”
For the next few weeks, we didn’t talk to each other. Then one day, Diana came to Vivien and me, saying, “I’m really sorry about what I did. Would you please forgive me?” Vivien and I looked at each other and smiled. From then on, Diana, Vivien and I have been best friends.The writer was angry with Diana ___________.
| A．because she was too good for anyone |
| B．when Diana refused Vivien’s sandwich |
| C．though she asked the writer to forgive me |
| D．when she was waiting for Vivien |
Vivien’s words “I’m used to it.”show that __________.
| A．someone refused to give her things |
| B．Vivien used to be rude to others |
| C．she cared a lot about it |
| D．Diana had been rude to her before |
Diana asked Vivien and the writer to forgive her because ___________.
| A．they didn’t spend much time with her |
| B．she realized she was wrong |
| C．Vivien and the writer didn’t talk to her |
| D．she was rich and proud girl |
According to the passage, it is clear that ____________.
| A．Diana, Vivien and the writer became good friends at last |
| B．Diana didn’t like the sandwich |
| C．Vivien didn’t want to make new friends at all |
| D．the writer forgot her old friend after she had a new one |
We all know that if we want to keep our body in good shape we have to do physical exercise regularly as well as be careful with what we eat. What we tend to forget is that this goes for our eyes as well. Medical science confirms that a diet rich in carotenoids (类胡萝卜素) can help maintain good vision(维持好视力) and prevent against a number of eye diseases. Here's some advice about how to choose the right diet to keep your eyes healthy.
— Eat orange food. Fruits and vegetables with orange flesh are rich in carotenoids. In addition to carrots，oranges，pumpkins and sweet potatoes are also available. All of these contain high levels of carotenoids，which help to maintain good vision.
— Include dark green vegetables，such as spinach (菠菜) and broccoli (西兰花) in your diet, to act as natural sunglasses. Recent scientific studies have shown that these vegetables can help block (阻挡) the damaging UV radiation(紫外线辐射)from the sun's rays.
— Prevent some eye diseases with orange juice, yellow corn, whole milk, nuts and leafy vegetables. These foods are good sources of vitamins A, C, D and E. All of these are necessary to good eye health.
— Increase your intake of omega¬3 with some sea fish, and some other seafood. Omega-3 helps build cell walls and is especially beneficial to keeping eyes healthy .It also helps regulate the eye's internal pressure and helps the eye dry up excess fluid.
We can learn from the first paragraph that healthy food .
| A．keeps eyes healthy |
| B．means you don't need exercise |
| C．can help cure eye diseases efficiently(有效地) |
| D．means people don't have to wear glasses |
Which of the following can help block the damaging UV radiation from the sun's rays？
| A．Pumpkins. | B．Juice. |
| C．Nuts. | D．Broccoli. |
The purpose of the text is to tell people how to .
| A．keep their body in good shape |
| B．choose a healthy diet for their eyes |
| C．prevent serious eye diseases |
| D．get natural sunglasses from food |
When you grow up, could you imagine your parents choosing your husband or wife for you? Besides, can you imagine not setting eyes on him or her until your wedding day? This situation is common in India, the Middle East and many parts of Africa. Marriage customs around the world often differ from our own. We don’t realize that people in other places often get married in very different ways—and with different motives.
In many countries, marriage is a practical matter. A marriage provides a safe and stable home for the husband and wife. It also joins two families, which benefits the couple’s parents and makes them happy. Marriage also brings children, making sure the couple will be taken care of in old age. Because marriage is important for the whole family, some cultures don’t let young people choose whom to marry.
Just as there are many different reasons for marriage, there are also many different wedding rituals. Every culture has its own ways of bringing good luck to the happy couple. In a typical Western wedding, the bride seeks good luck by wearing “something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.” Something old represents the past. Something new represents success in the future. Something borrowed reminds the bride she can get help from her friends and family. And something blue reminds her to be true to her husband.
In Poland, one wedding tradition is not only lucky, but also very practical. The wedding guests pin money to the bride’s dress while she is dancing. The money is meant to bring luck and to help the young couple build their new life. In Bermuda, the young couple plant a tree in the yard of their new home. Once they move in, they take good care of the tree and make it grow. The planting of the tree is a good metaphor（比喻） for marriage. A truly good marriage is something that grows with care.Which of the following statements does NOT support the idea “marriage is a practical matter”?
| A．The husband or wife may have a safe and stable home. |
| B．A marriage brings children to take care of the couple when they are old. |
| C．A marriage benefits both the couple’s families. |
| D．Parents have no duty to help their children get married. |
The underlined word “ritual” means .
| A．methods | B．ceremonies |
| C．behaviors | D．performances |
What can be the subject of this passage?
| A．People across the world get married in different ways and for different reasons. |
| B．Every culture had its own ways of bringing good luck to the young couple. |
| C．A truly good marriage is something that grows with care. |
| D．In many countries, marriage is a practical matter. |
When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, they usually talk simultaneously（同时的）about a variety of subjects, including children, men, careers and what' s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen -- they can' t do both -- and they don' t understand that women can. Besides, women consider that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships -- not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the subtle body language signals that reveal how the characters are feeling emotionally. Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully in order to maintain relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to relate the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a means of bonding. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls' mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at, baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents respond to the brain bias of their children. Since a girl’s brain is better organized to send and receive speech，we therefore talk to them more. Consequently, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short grunts in reply.
After a vacation with her girlfriend, a woman would talk to her again on the phone for hours in order to .
| A．experience the happy time again |
| B．keep a close tie with her |
| C．recommend her a new scenic spot |
| D．remind her of something forgotten |
What does the author want to tell us most?
| A．Women' s brains are better organized for language and communication |
| B．Women love to talk because they are more sociable than men. |
| C．Men do not like talking because they rely more on facts. |
| D．Social conditioning is not the reason why women love talking. |
Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Women Are Socially Trained to Talk |
| B．Talking Maintains Relationships |
| C．Women Love to Talk |
| D．Men Talk Differently from Women |
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