About seven years ago, whenever I notice someone looked nice, I started telling them they looked nice. Shortly afterwards, I came up with an observation: If you tell five people during the day that they look nice, at the end of the day, six people feel great. Here are some fruitful experiences I have with this.
One day, I was riding with a friend when we rolled to a stop at the traffic light. As we waited for the light to turn green, a man walked across the crosswalk. He looked very together, so I called out, “Hey, you look sharp today!” Pointing towards a building, he said, “Thanks, but I was sharper there.” His comment puzzled me. But before I could ask about it, the light turned green, and we drove on. I asked my friend what he meant. My friend informed me that we were at the corner of a radio station and the man was the voice on the radio. Then I understood. But no matter who he was the biggest thing for me was that he was smiling when he accepted my compliment (赞扬).
Later that day, there was a woman standing on the corner where we were turning, and I yelled (大喊) the compliment again, “You look nice!” She was just taking a sip of a bottle of water and started to laugh. I felt good to get a laugh.
Another day, while seated in a restaurant, there was a lady sitting near me. I really did not care for her skirt, but she did look nice in it, so I told her, “You look nice today.” She looked at me and rolled her eyes a little. Well, her friend sitting next to her told her, “He just gave you a compliment. Say thank you.” I don’t remember whether she said “thank you” or not, but what I did notice was that her friend was smiling at my “You look nice today” compliment.The underlined word “sharp” in Paragraph 2 probably means_________.
| A．attractive | B．sudden |
| C．strict | D．mild |
Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The first man the author praised accepted his compliment. |
| B．The first man the author praised worked at a radio station. |
| C．The woman standing on the corner didn’t like the compliment |
| D．The friend of the lady in the restaurant felt happy about the compliment. |
What would be the best title of the passage?
| A．Fruitful Experiences |
| B．Help Others, Help Yourself |
| C．Learn to compliment. |
| D．“You Look Nice Today” |
I’m afraid to grow old—we’re all afraid. In fact, the fear of growing old is so great that every aged person is an insult and a threat to the society. They remind us of our own death, that our body won’t always remain smooth and responsive, but will someday betray(背叛) us by aging. The ideal way to age would be to grow slowly invisible, gradually disappearing, without causing worry or discomfort to the young. In some ways that does happen. Sitting in a small park across from a nursing home one day, I noticed that the young mothers and their children gathered on one side, and the old people from the home on the other.
Whenever a youngster would run over to the “wrong” side, chasing a ball or just trying to cover all the available space, the old people would lean forward and smile. But before any communication could be established, the mother would come over, murmuring embarrassed apologies, and take her child back to the “young” side.
Now, it seemed to me that the children didn’t feel any particular fear and the old people didn’t seem to be threatened by the children. The division of space was drawn by the mothers. And the mothers never looked at the old people who lined the other side of the park. These well-dressed young women had a way of sliding their eyes over, around, through the old people; they never looked at them directly. The old people may as well have been invisible; they offended the aesthetic eye of the mothers.
My early experiences were somewhat different; since I grew up in a small town, my children had more of a nineteenth-century flavor. I knew a lot of old people, and considered some of them friends.People are afraid of growing old because it is usually associated with ______.
| A．insult | B．threat | C．death | D．betrayal |
In the author’s opinion, it is a perfect way to ______.
| A．grow old slowly and then die unnoticed |
| B．grow old suddenly and then die |
| C．shut oneself up from others when growing old |
| D．remain young all one’s life and then die suddenly |
It can be inferred that young mothers would try to keep their children away from the old because ______.
| A．they feared their children might hurt the old |
| B．they didn’t like their children to take up the space belonging to the old |
| C．they felt it was wrong to play balls near where the old stayed |
| D．they didn’t want their children to have anything to do with the old |
The author believes the division between the old and the young is _____.
| A．made by people | B．understandable |
| C．formed naturally | D．traditional |
From the passage, we learn that the author ______.
| A．used to have the same experience as the young have today |
| B．has never been afraid of getting old |
| C．was quite free to know and befriend old people in his childhood |
| D．both B and C |
Inland waters may be grouped into two general classes: standing waters and flowing waters. As is often the case, the boundary between these two classes is not sharp and clear. A pond is an example of standing water. But most ponds are fed by springs or brooks and most have an outlet. Thus some current of changing water flows through them. On the other hand, a river is an example of flowing water. In some places, however, a river may have such a slow current that it is very difficult to detect.
Standing inland waters differ in size, in age, and in many abiotic environmental characteristics. They range in size from roadside puddles to the Caspian Sea. Puddles may last for only a few days or weeks; ponds, for a few hundred to a thousand years. In general, lakes are older, though the waters of some tropical “lakes” disappear completely during each dry season. Standing waters vary from very shallow to very deep, from clear to muddy, from fresh to salty.
In flowing waters we roughly distinguish between brooks, creeks, and rivers. The size and age of flowing waters are unimportant. Speed of flow, clearness, oxygen content, and other chemical characteristics are used by scientists in studying flowing-water ecosystems.According to the passage, which of the following characteristics of flowing waters is unimportant?
| A．Clarity. | B．Size. | C．Speed of flow. | D．Oxygen content. |
The word “abiotic” in paragraph 2 can best be replaced by ______.
| A．nonliving | B．living | C．coastal | D．inland |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Usually the water in a river flows into a pond. |
| B．Scientists only study flowing-water ecosystems. |
| C．Usually ponds last much longer than puddles. |
| D．The Caspian Sea is considered as an example of flowing water. |
From this passage we may know that the distinction between standing waters and flowing waters ______.
| A．depends on how people name the waters |
| B．is clear |
| C．depends on the seasons |
| D．is hard to make |
This passage mainly tells us that ______.
| A．there are two major classes of inland waters |
| B．lakes and rivers are flowing waters |
| C．age and size of flowing waters are important |
| D．ponds and brooks are standing waters |
During the 1800s, African Americans worked long days in the fields of the American South．To ease their labor, they sang "field hollers" that they had brought from Africa．One person sang a line．Then a group of workers repeated it．The songs' words told of the hardships that people suffered．African Americans sang "shout spirituals", or joyous religious songs．They clapped their hands and stomped their feet to the music．
After the Civil War, the music changed dramatically．African American music, from ballads to church music, took new forms．It also adapted dance music, called "jump-ups"．which had great rhythm． Banjos became popular．A blues singer usually played a call and response with the banjo．By the early 1900s, the guitar had replaced the banjo as the main blues instrument．
Northern Mississippi - called the Delta - was the center of the blues tradition．By the 1920s, the Delta had many clubs, so-called juke joints．African Americans listened and danced to music in these clubs．Some of the greatest blues men and women performed there．
Blues have a soulful sound that is easy to recognize．The musical notes are often "bent"．That is, they are changed slightly to give a song more strength．Whatever their origin, these bent notes most often define the blues．
Lyrics are the words of a song．Blues lyrics describe everyday life．The lyrics, often about relationships between men and women, are often very intense and personal．They tell about sorrow and overwork．They tell about finding or losing love, having money or being broke, being happy or sad and lonely．The lyrics may use humor to describe life's trials and joys．They almost always use the rhythms of everyday speech．A typical blues stanza, or group of lyrics, has three lines．The second line repeats the first line．The third line has different words．
By the 1940s, large numbers of African Americans had left the Delta and moved north to work． Many settled in Chicago．There, a new kind of "electric", or "Chicago" blues began．Many of its themes were the same, but these blues had "wailing" electric guitars and harmonicas．The music had a steady, strong drumbeat．The loud, driving Chicago blues was excellent dance music．Chicago blues led to the birth of a new music style-rock and roll．The "field holler" is a kind of music that came from ___．
| A．the American South． | B．Africa． |
| C．Chicago． | D．Asia． |
"Shout spirituals" and "field hollers" are similar in that both_____．
| A．used banjos． | B．were sung in church． |
| C．included call and response singing． | D．expressed sadness． |
A typical blues Stanza is made up of____．
| A．three lines． | B．a harmonica． |
| C．a driving beat． | D．four lines． |
One can conclude from the passage that the blues ___．
| A．would have widespread without the juke joints of the Mississippi． |
| B．served as a form of communication and self-expression． |
| C．was successful only in the American South． |
| D．there were only greatest blues man performed in these clubs． |
African Americans probably moved to Chicago because ____．
| A．the South was too hot in summer． |
| B．they liked the Chicago blues． |
| C．there were more jobs there． |
| D．they wanted to create a new music style． |
Cloud seeding is a method of artificially causing clouds to produce precipitation （降水） in the form of rain or snow．Cloud seeding has also been used in attempts to modify the severity of hail storms and hurricanes．The effectiveness of cloud seeding remains controversial （有争议的）．but it continues to be used in some regions to try to increase rainfall for agriculture and to build snow packs for water supplies and power production．
Cloud seeding was developed by American scientists Irving Langmuir and Vincent Joseph Schaefer during and after World War II．Their work began as an effort to learn more about the buildup of ice on airplane wings, and eventually led them to attempt to create rainfall by releasing several pounds of crushed frozen carbon dioxide into a cloud from an airplane．In this form, the carbon dioxide is called dry ice．On November 13, 1946, the technique appeared to produce snow directly under the cloud; the snow then turned to rain as it fell to the ground．
For their experiment, Langmuir and Schaefer selected a supercooled cloud, one in which the water droplets remain liquid in subfreezing temperatures．Their theory was that small grains of dry ice falling through the cloud would cause tiny droplets of water vapor in the cloud to freeze into crystals that attracted more water vapor．Their theory proved to be correct and eventually the crystals became heavy enough to fall from the cloud as snow．As the snow reached the warmer temperatures closer to the ground, it melted and became rain．
Another scientist, Bernard Vonnegut, produced a method of cloud seeding using silver iodide （碘化银）．He used particles of silver iodide because its crystal structure resembled that of ice in clouds．Silver
iodide also had practical advantages over frozen carbon dioxide It could be stored at room temperature
and did not require an airplane as a delivery mechanism．Instead, silver iodide crystals could be fired by
cannons （大炮） high into the air, where wind carried them into the clouds．According to the text, Langmuir and Schaefer had intended to deal with__
A．how to freeze carbon dioxide
B．how to remove ice on plane wings
C．how to make weather forecast for the war
D how to hide planes in clouds at warWhat is the CORRECT order of the course for cloud seeding with dry ice?
a．snow becoming rain in wanner temperatures b．crystals attracting more water vapor
c．crystals falling in the form of snow d．crystals becoming very heavy
e．freezing tiny droplets of water vapor into crystals
f．putting small grains of dry ice in the cloud
| A．a-c-f-d-b-e | B．b-f-e-a-c-d |
| C．f-e-b-d-c-a | D．e-a-d-c-b-f |
Bernard chose silver iodide as a method of cloud seeding because___．
| A．it is much cheaper than dry ice | B．it can be stored at any rooms |
| C．it can be sent into clouds by wind | D．it is similar |
The best title for the passage may be "____"．
| A．Cloud Seeding |
| B．Artificial Raining |
| C．Weather Changing |
| D．Cloud Gathering |
How many methods of cloud seeding are mentioned in the passage?
| A．three | B．two | C．one | D．four |
A study suggests that although most students at UK universities are happy with their courses, dissatisfaction has grown as fees rise．The study highlights a big variation in teaching time, and lists different ideas about the value of getting university degrees．
Katharine Collins, a second-year college student
The course has been very interesting, but I was expecting a little more one-to-one time with my teacher．
We do about four assignments （作业） each term, each of which is about 3,000 words．However, sometimes they are not that helpful．We hope to be given the right to write feedback （反馈） after every assignment, but we had no feedback at all throughout the first year．We are given grades about three weeks after we hand the assignments in．There is no feedback on where we have gone wrong or how we might improve．
Lee Millington, a creative-writing student
I choose the courses because of its reputation．There is a lack of one-to-one teaching．I would like personalized feedback from an expert in my field of writing．Some of the lectures have been quite helpful but they try to use too many different styles of writing．For example, if you want to be a poet, you might find that the lectures focus too much on novels．
I think there is too much attention paid to sharing our work in workshops and giving each other feedback．I think there should be more time given to actual teaching, rather than to feedback from people who are at a similar level to me．
Reporters from Hounsdown Secondary School, Ella, 16
When I work independently, I feel I have more freedom to develop my ideas and come up with more original viewpoints．The price of university will still be worth it to get the qualifications （资格证书）necessary for better jobs．
Tyier, 16
Although the cost of university is very high now, I think university is required for gaining a good and well-paid job．
AgenciesWe can learn from the beginning of the article that .
| A．Most of the university students at UK are dissatisfied with their courses. |
| B．The higher and higher pay for their courses accounts for the rise of the UK students’ dissatisfaction. |
| C．All the students at UK universities hold a similar attitude towards the value of getting university degrees. |
| D．The student’s purpose is to highlight the importance of gaining a university diploma. |
According to Katharine Collins in Paragraph 2, we can infer that .
| A．She is content with the assignments given in each term. |
| B．She has never been given one-to-one time with her teacher before. |
| C．She didn’t think highly of the value of the assignments at the university. |
| D．She benefits from the assignments a lot because they are helpful. |
Why does Lee Millington choose the course-- writing?
| A．Because he wants to be a great writer in the future. |
| B．Because he is interested in it from his heart. |
| C．Because he hope to make a better living before long． |
| D．Because the course has a high reputation in society． |
Who will most tend to be a professional novelist among the students mentioned in the passage?
| A．Ella． | B．Tyler． | C．Lee． | D．Katharine． |
What does the author mainly tell us at UK in this passage?
| A．The value for university degrees． |
| B．The higher pay for courses at university． |
| C．The terrible assignments at university． |
| D．The puzzle of the students at university． |
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