Joanne was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5：30 and at 6：30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club．At last，the traffic was moving．She swung quickly racing to her house. As she opened the door，she nearly tripped over Sheba．
“Hey，Sheba，”she said，“I've got no time for you now，but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from tennis club．”Then she noticed Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking .Obviously，she could hardly breathe．Immediately Joanne realized she would have to take her to the vet(兽医).
When she got there，the vet was just about to close for the day. Seeing the state of Sheba，Dr．Sterne brought her quickly into his office．
“Listen，doctor，I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting can I leave her with you，and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up，and then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?”
“Sure．”said the doctor
Joanne made the quick trip back to her house in a couple of minutes．As she was entering the hallway，the phone by the door began to ring．
“This is Dr．Sterne,” said an anxious voice,“I want you to get out of that house immediately，”said the doctor's voice．“I'm coming round fight away，and the police will be there any time now．Wait outside!”
At that moment，a police car screeched to a stop outside the house．Two policemen got out and ran into the house．Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened．Then the doctor arrived．
“Where’s Sheba? Is she OK?”shouted Joanne．
“She’s fine，Joanne．I took out the thing which was choking her，and she’s OK now．”
Just then，the two policemen reappeared from the house，half-carrying a white—faced man，who could hardly walk．There was blood all over him．
“My God，”said Joanne，“how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?”
“I think he must be a burglar．”said the doctor．“I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba’s throat：it turned out to be three human fingers”What was Joanne supposed to do at 6：30？
| A．To attend a club meeting． | B．To walk her dog |
| C．To see her doctor． | D．To play tennis with her friends． |
Joanne wanted to get back to her home again ．
| A．to phone the police station | B．to catch the badly hurt burglar |
| C．to dress up for the meeting | D．to wait for her dog to be cured |
From the passage，we can infer that ．
| A．Sheba fought against the burglar |
| B．Joanne had planned to take her dog to the meeting |
| C．the police found the burglar had broken in |
| D．the doctor performed a difficult operation on the dog |
In this passage，the writer intends to tell us that the dog is ．
| A．clever | B．devoted | C．friendly | D．frightening |
Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since researches have shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries—why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research. www..com
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
| A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s |
| B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter. |
| C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain. |
| D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter. |
What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
| A．Women prefer doing many things at a time. |
| B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time. |
| C．Women do not need to tell directions. |
| D．Men have weaker spatial abilities. |
Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?
| A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls. |
| B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills. |
| C．Women may have stronger feelings than men. |
| D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills. |
What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
| A．Defensive. | B．Persuasive. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Objective. |
It was a cold winter. The day my husband fell to his death, it started to snow, just like any November day. His body, when I found it, was lightly covered with snow. It snowed almost every day for the next four months, while I sat on the couch and watched it pile up. One morning, I shuffled downstairs and was surprised to see a snow remover clearing my driveway and the bent back of a woman shoveling(铲) my walk. I dropped to my knees, crawled through the living room. And back up stairs so those good people would not see me. I was embarrassed. My first thought was, how would I ever repay them? I didn’t have the strength to brush my hair let alone shovel someone’s walk.
Before John’s death, I felt proud that I rarely asked for favors. I identified myself by my competence and independence. So who was I if I was no longer capable and busy? How could I respect myself if I just sat on the couch every day and watched the snow fall?
Learning to receive the love and support from others wasn’t easy. Friends cooked for me and I cried because I couldn’t even help them set the table. Finally, my friend Kathy said, “Mary, cooking for you isn’t a burden for me; it makes me feel good to be able to do something for you.”
Over and over, I heard similar words from the people who supported me during those dark days. One wise man told me, “You aren’t doing nothing because being fully open to your sorrow may be the hardest work you will ever do.”
I am not the person I once was, but in many ways I have changed for the better. I’ve been surprised to learn that there is incredible freedom coming form facing one’s worst fear and walking away whole. I believe there is strength, for sure, in accepting a dark period of our life.
Which of the following is True according to the passage?
| A．The writer’s friend was unwilling to cook for her. |
| B．The writer had been busy with her life before |
| C．The writer recovered from her sorrow quickly with his friend’s help. |
| D．The day her husband died, it was snowing heavily. |
We can describe the writer before her husband died as the following EXCEPT __
| A．hard-working | B．independent |
| C．smart | D．capable |
We can infer from the passage that ____________.
| A．the writer found her husband immediately he fell off the roof |
| B．the writer became strong-willed immediately after John's death |
| C．the people around the writer were friendly and supported her |
| D．before John’s death, the writer never asked others for help |
The Truth Can Set You Free
I recently got pulled over for speeding not far from my new home in Virginia. I hadn’t been paying attention, and I had driven a few miles an hour over the speed limit.
“Can I see your license and registration?” the police officer asked me. I pulled both out for him, and he saw my Pittsburgh address on my Pennsylvania driver’s license.
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you with the army?”
“No, I’m not.” I answered. I explained that I had just moved to Virginia, and I hadn’t had time to re-register yet.
“So what brings you here?”
He had asked a direct question. Without thinking very hard, I gave him a direct answer. “Well, officer,” I said, “since you’ve asked, I have cancer. I have just months to live. We’ve moved down here to be close to my wife’s family.”
“So you’ve got cancer,” he said flatly. He was trying to figure me out. Was I really dying? Was I lying? He took a long look at me. “You know, for a guy who has only a few months to live, you sure look good.”
He was obviously thinking: “Either this guy is pulling one big fat line on me, or he’s telling the truth.” He was trying to question my honesty without directly calling me a liar. And so he had forced me to prove that I was being honest.
“Well, officer, I know that I look pretty healthy. I look great on the outside, but the tumors（肿瘤）are on the inside.” And then, I don’t know what possessed me, but I just did it. I pulled up my shirt, showing the operational scars.
He looked at my scars. He looked in my eyes. He now knew he was talking to a dying man. Well, he wasn’t taking this any further. He handed me back my license. “Do me a favor.” he said, “Slow down from now on.”
The awful truth had set me free. As he went back to his police car, I had a realization. I had been one of those gorgeous blondes (金发美女) who could bat her eyelashes and get out of tickets. I drove home under the speed limit, and I was smiling like a beauty queen.The author was stopped by the police officer because ______.
| A．he didn’t have a license |
| B．he forgot to re-register |
| C．he was seriously ill |
| D．he drove too fast |
The author moved to Virginia probably because ______.
| A．he was homesick |
| B．he served in the army there |
| C．Virginia had better hospitals |
| D．his family could be better cared for |
On hearing about the author’s cancer, the police officer ______.
| A．said it was an excuse |
| B．doubted his honesty |
| C．showed sympathy for him |
| D．asked him to show his scars |
It can be inferred from the passage that the author was ______.
| A．optimistic | B．adventurous |
| C．dishonest | D．romantic |
Going green seems to be fad(时尚)for a lot of people these days. Whether that is good or bad, we can’t really say, but for the two of us, going green is not a fad but a lifestyle.
On April 22, 2011, we decided to go green every single day for an entire year. This meant doing 365 different green things, and it also meant challenging ourselves to go green beyond easy things. Rather than recycle and reduce our energy, we had to thin
k of 365 different green things to do and this was no easy task.
With the idea of going green every single day for a year, Our Green Year started. My life and I decided to educate people about how they could go green in their lives and hoped we could show people all the green things that could be done to help the environment. We wanted to push the message that every little bit helps.
Over the course of Our Green Year, we completely changed our lifestyle. We now shop at organic(有机的)stores. We consume less meat, choosing green food. We have greatly reduced our buyin
g we don’t need. We have given away half of what we owned through websites. Our home is kept clean by vinegar and lemon juice, with no chemical cleaners. We make our own butter, enjoying the smell of home-made fresh bread. In our home office anyone caught doing something ungreen might be punished.
Our minds have been changed by Our Green Year. We are grateful for the chance to have been able to go green and educate others. We believe that we do have the power to change things and help our planet.What might be the best title for the passage?
| A．Going Green. | B．Protecting the Planet. |
| C．Keeping Open-Minded | D．Celebrating Our Green Year. |
It was difficult for the couple to live a green life for the whole year because_________.
| A．they were expected to follow the green fad |
| B．they didn’t know how to educate other people |
| C．they were unwilling to reduce their energy |
| D．they needed to perform unusual green tasks |
What did the couple do over the course of Our Green Year?
| A．They tried to get out of their ungreen habits. |
| B．They ignore others ungreen behavior. |
| C．They chose better chemical cleaners. |
| D．They sold their home-made food. |
What can we infer form the last paragraph?
| A．The government will give support to the green people. |
| B．The couple may continue their project in the future. |
| C．Some people disagree with the couple’s green ideas. |
| D．Our Green Year is becoming a national campaign. |
For good health, be sure to eat fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly and lie as seldom as possible. A researcher is hoping this advice will someday take hold, based on results of a "science of honesty" study she completed.
Half of 110 participants were told to stop telling major or minor ("white") lies for 10 weeks, while the other half (the control group) was given no special instructions about lying.
The 110 people ranged from ages 18 to 71 and came from both sexes and all income levels. All came to a laboratory each week to complete health and relationship questionnaires and to take a test showing the number of major and minor lies they had told that week.
When those in the no-lie group told three fewer white lies than in other weeks, they complained less of headaches, tenseness, anxiety and other problems than those in the control group. In addition, they reported that their close personal relationships had improved and their social interactions(交往) had gone more smoothly.
“The link was that clear," said study author Anita Kelly, a professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana. "Lying less was clearly associated with better health for those people."
Previous research indicates that Americans average 11 lies per week, from the little white lies to save face or falsely praise others to major lies about serious matters. Kelly said her study differs from former studies because it didn't focus on how to detect a liar, but on the potential health consequences of telling lies.
“People might recognize the more harmful effect lying can have on relationships, but probably don't recognize the extent to which it can cause a lot of stress," said Dr. Bryan Bruno at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City.
At the end of the study, some participants had created smart ways to avoid lying. Kelly noted that some realized they could simply tell the truth about their daily achievements rather than exaggerate(夸张), while others responded to a troubling question with another question to take the person’s attention away. They also stopped making false excuses for running late or failing to finish tasks.
“People usually think white lies are acceptable. In fact, white lies are trouble, not just major lies," Kelly said. "As long as you like, you can find effective ways to avoid lying in many cases. It depends on you.”
“But the goal doesn’t have to be the absolute absence of lies … the goal would be a reduction in lies,” she added.
According to the author, doing the following things is good for health EXCEPT .
| A．eating fruits and vegetables | B．exercising regularly |
| C．lying as seldom as possible | D．watching TV |
The “science of honesty” study by Anita Kelly focused on .
| A．the effect lifestyles have on health. |
| B．the link between lying and health. |
| C．how to improve relationships |
| D．how to discover a liar. |
Which of the following is TRUE about the research?
| A．All the participants were adults. |
| B．The control group was asked to stop lying. |
| C．The participants had ten physical examinations. |
| D．All the participants were of the same income level. |
The finding of the research is that .
| A．white lies help to improve relationships. |
| B．few people realize lying harms their health. |
| C．Americans tell 11 lies per week on average. |
| D．Lying less results in better health mentally and physically. |
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