Pigs are always considered dirty animals because they roll in mud．But in fact they prefer being quite clean．They cover themselves with mud to help stay cool．During cooler weather, they prefer to stay clean．So do elephants, who also cover themselves in dust or mud to keep cool．When they find a place with clean water they will take a bath，using their long noses to give themselves—or each other—a nice shower
Some animals use dust to get clean．Chinchillas (南美洲栗鼠) have very fine fur． They don’t like to take water baths because water is not warm enough for them．So, instead, they roll around in fine dust．The dust helps to keep their fur and skin dry．This protects them from disease
Usually, a small bird is a light meal for a crocodile．But when a crocodile wants its teeth cleaned．it lies on the ground with its mouth open．The crocodile bird goes in and picks out any parasites(寄生虫)between the crocodile’s teeth or under its tongue．The crocodile gets its mouth cleaned，and the crocodile bird gets dinner．
You wouldn’t think fish would need baths．But some undersea parasites live under the fish’s skin．“Cleaner” fish，like the wrasse(隆头鱼)，help take them away．The wrasse stands on its head and dances to signal a big fish that it is ready to go into the cleaning business．The big fish will stop moving and open its mouth wide so the wrasse can swim inside and pick out parasites and bits of food．The passage is mainly about how animals __________．
| A．stay clean | B．help each other | C．get their food | D．take baths |
What can we learn from the first paragraph about pigs?
| A．They can help each other take baths． |
| B．They are dirtier during cooler weather． |
| C．They prefer taking baths to rolling in mud． |
| D．They like to stay cool and clean． |
Chinchillas use dust to get clean for the following reasons EXCEPT that ________．
| A．dust can dry their fur and skin | B．They are not good at swimming |
| C．Water is too cold for them | D．Dust is good for their health |
From Paragraphs 3 and 4，we can know that __________．
| A．Some animals can get clean from others’ help |
| B．Most animals are friendly to each other |
| C．Small animals couldn’t get food from big ones |
| D．All of the animals prefer to stay clean |
Life gets noisier every day and very few people can be free from noise of some sort or another. It doesn’t matter where you live-in the middle of a modern city, or a faraway village-the chances that you will be disturbed by jet aeroplanes, transistor radios, oil-powered engines, etc. are almost everywhere .We seem to be getting used to noise, too. Some people feel quite lonely without background music while they are working.
Scientific tests have shown that total silence can be very frightening experience for human beings. However, some people enjoy listening to pop music which is very loud, and this can do harm to their eardrums(耳鼓).The noise level in some disco is far above the usual safety level for heavy industrial areas.
A recent report about noise and concentration(专心) suggested that although a lot of people say that any noise disturbs their concentration, what really affects their ability to concentrate is a change in the level of noise. It goes on to say that a background noise, which doesn’t change too much (music, for example) may even help people to concentrate.The best title for this passage is _______________.
| A．Noisy Life | B．Background Noise |
| C．Disturbed Concentration | D．Changeable Noise |
From this passage, the pollution of noise _______________.
| A．doesn’t matter much | B．has become worse everywhere |
| C．has become better in big cities | D．has become better in villages |
“Background music” in the passage means _______________.
| A．music played in the concert | B．a kind of noise coming into your ears |
| C．music helps people to concentrate | D．music played while people are working |
Some people may have their hearing hurt _______________.
| A．while they are in completely silence | B．while they are dancing violently |
| C．while they are listening to loud pop music | D．while they are listening to soft music |
Scientists have discovered that what prevents people from concentrating is _____.
| A．any kind of noise | B．great changes in level of noise |
| C．background noise | D．various background music |
Goals can help you do, be and experience everything you want in life. Instead of just letting life happen to you, goals allow you to make your life happen.
Successful and happy people have an idea of how their life should be and they set lots of goals to help them succeed. By setting goals you are taking control of your life. It’s like having a map to show you where you want to go. Think of it this way. There are two drivers. One has a destination in mind which is laid out for her on a map. She can drive straight there without any wasted time or wrong turns. The other driver has no goal or destination or map. She starts off at the same time from the same place as the first driver, but she drives without an aim around, never getting anywhere, just using up gas and oil. Which driver do you want to be？
Winners in life set goals and follow through on them. Winners decide what they want in life and then get there by making plans and setting goals. Unsuccessful people just let life happen by accident. Goals aren’t difficult to set―and they aren’t difficult to reach. It’s up to you to find out what your goals and ideals（理想）really are.
Research tells us that when we write a goal down, we are more likely to achieve. Written goals can be reviewed regularly，and have more power. Like a contract with yourself, they are harder to neglect（忽视）or forget. Also when you write your goals in a particular way, you are able to make yourself be continuously alert（警觉）to situations that will further your goals.The writer gave the example of two drivers to show .
| A．how stupid the first driver was | B．the importance of having a map and right direction |
| C．how stupid the second driver was | D．the importance of setting goals |
According to the passage, successful people are different from unsuccessful ones because .
| A．the successful people set goals for everything and can get help from others |
| B．the unsuccessful people always set unrealistic plans for themselves |
| C．the successful people set goals in their lives and make plans to carry it out |
| D．the unsuccessful people make plans for everything but can not work hard |
According to the passage, the most important thing in realizing one’s ideal is to .
| A．try to be realistic about one’s ability |
| B．let others help him or her to make his or her dream come true |
| C．let others understand him or her first，then work together with them |
| D．have a clear mind of what he or she wants in life |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
| A．Goals can make you gain everything you want in life |
| B．Only successful people can be happy |
| C．If you want to succeed，you need a set long-term goals instead of short-term Goals |
| D．When we put our goal down on papers, we are more likely to succeed |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Goals help you succeed | B．How to succeed |
| C．Why we always failed | D．A research on setting goals |
Forty-two of the fifty American states offered some kind of public online learning this past school year．One state，Michigan，now requires all students to have an online learning experience before they finish high school．Even the idea of a school has changed since the rise ofthe Internet in the 1990s．
A new report from the Center for Evaluation and Education Policy at Indiana University says eighteen states have full-time virtual schools．There are no buildings．All classes are online．
Florida started the first statewide public virtual school in the United States in 1997．Today，the Florida Virtual School offers more man ninety courses．56,000 students were enrolled as of December．Almost sixty percent were female．The school's website says each student was enrolled in an average of two classes．
Florida Virtual School has now opened the Florida Virtual Global School．Students in other countries pay for classes．Janet Heiking teaches an English class．She lives in Indianapolis, Indiana．Her students live as far away as Africa and Japan．She says they are taking her Advanced Placement class to prepare for attending an American college．They can earn college credits by passing the AP test．
So how good are virtual schools? Studies have shown mixed results, as a new report from Indiana University notes．For example, students at Florida Virtual School earned higher grades than those taking the same courses the traditional way．And they scored higher on a statewide
test．But virtual school students in Kansas and Colorado had lower test scores or performed at a lower level than traditional learners．Studies also find that virtual schools may not save much in operating costs．
Education experts say the mixed results suggest the need for more research to find the best ways to teach in virtual schools．A1so, they say schools of education need to train more teachers to work in both real and virtual classrooms．A virtual school is one that___________．
| A．is set up after the rise of the Internet |
| B．uses textbooks as a main teaching resource |
| C．uses computer-based resources and has no teachers |
| D．has online classes and no real classrooms |
The first statewide public virtual school in the USA was started in ________ ．
| A．Florida | B．Indiana | C．Michigan | D．Colorado |
Florida Virtual School is open to ________．
| A．students in Indiana |
| B．students only around the USA |
| C．students across the world |
| D．only foreign students |
Foreign students take Advanced Placement classes for the eventual purpose of __________ ．
| A．earning college credits |
| B．entering an American college |
| C．learning advanced science |
D．passin g the AP test |
From the passage we learn that________．
| A．the majority of virtual school students in Florida are male |
| B．all senior students m Michigan have an online learning experience |
| C．virtual schools are better than traditional schools |
| D．both real and virtual classrooms need more trained teachers |
Who cares if money can’t buy you love? But it can still be your best friend forever．That’s one of the surprising findings in a new research paper, “The Power of Money”，published in me journal Psychological Science．
Like any best friend forever，money demonstrated to researchers its ability to soothe us，reduce our sense of social exclusion and even reduce life’s painful moments．
“I was surprised” says Katherine Vohs，one of the researchers and professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management．“The findings were surprising because no one had connected the meaning of money to pain．The money wasn’t buying the subjects more friends；it was only psychologically helpful.”
In the research ,students were told they would be participating in a test of finger dexterity(敏捷度)．One group was given some paper money to count，while the other group was given blank pieces of paper．Once the counting was complete, all the test subjects were asked to dip their fingers into bowls of water heated to 122 degrees—roughly the temperature of a very hot bath．
Result? Those who had been counting money reported less pain than those who had not．Subjects also were asked about their feelings．Those who handled actual money reported feeling stronger even 10 minutes after they put down the cash．
Combined with previous experiments，the findings confirmed what researchers have long doubted，that money acts as a general panacea(万能药)in the brain，giving us social self-confidence and reducing physical pain without having to spend a dime on aspirin．
But can we get the same effect by using credit cards? “No，credit cards do not have the same effect，” Vohs says．“They are scary for most people，and they in fact represent debt m many ways．”The findings could have an interesting effect in the business world, where recent trends have been to issue non-monetary rewards and bonuses instead of what was thought of as “cold, hard cash”．The underlined word “soothe” in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to“____________” .
| A．encourage | B．remind | C．calm | D．trust |
What’s Katherine Vohs’s attitude towards the result of the study?
| A．He found it totally unexpected． |
| B．He had no doubt about it． |
| C．He thought it needed further experiments． |
| D．He thought it was not convincing． |
What do we know about the students involved in the study?
| A．They were divided into two groups according to their ages． |
| B．One group was given paper money while the other was given coins． |
C．They were holding the money while dipping fingers into hot wat er． |
| D．Both groups were asked to dip fingers into hot water． |
We can 1earn from the passage that_________．
| A．the effect of money can only last until we put it down |
| B．money is both psychologically and socially helpful to us |
| C．the result of the research hasn’t been confirmed（证实） by experts |
| D．credit cards have the same effect on us as money |
The last paragraph suggests that___________．
| A．the recent trend in the business world is to give cash as rewards |
| B．employers should give non-monetary rewards to employees |
| C．cash is a better way to reward employees than credit cards |
| D．more and more employees prefer non-monetary rewards to cash |
To many Americans，Labor Day marks the end of the summer，a day off from work and school，and one last chance to relax．But Labor Day is much more than just a day off . It represents a very important victory for laborers everywhere．The holiday is a celebration of the social and economic achievements of American workers．
More than a century ago，workers were forced to deal with harsh conditions．They were paid very little, and they often worked 10-to l2-hour days．Men, women and even small children were forced to work even when they were sick．Tired of long hours and dangerous conditions，workers began organizing themselves into labor unions．On top of fighting for higher pay and shorter workday
s，they also fought for the rights of children．The workers wanted employers to place limits on the age of their workers so that small children were not overworked or hurt in factories．
A New York City carpenter named Peter McGuire is credited for coming up with the idea for Labor Day．In 1872，after working many hours under poor conditions, McGuire rallied 100,000 workers to go on strike．The workers marched through the streets of New York City，demanding a better work environment．McGuire spent a decade fighting for workers’ rights．In 1882，he proposed
the idea to create a special holiday for workers．On Tuesday，September 5，1882．more than 10,000 workers hit the streets of New York City for the first ever Labor Day parade．Two years later the celebration was moved to the first Monday in September．And in 1894，Congress passed a law making Labor Day a national holiday．
Americans celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade，picnics and fireworks．Today，many people hit the road to enjoy the last of their summer vacation．Others enjoy the long weekend with picnics，backyard barbecues or just rest and relaxation．However you spend Labor Day，remember that the holiday is a time to pay tribute (致敬)to the workers who have made America what it is today．What do we know from Paragraph 1 ?
| A．Americans have more than a day off on Labor Day． |
| B．Many countries in the world celebrate Labor Day． |
| C．Labor Day has a deep meaning for American laborers． |
| D．Labor Day shows the social and economic power of America． |
What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?
| A．American workers’ fighting against their employers． |
| B．The bad life that American workers 1ed． |
| C．How American employers treated their workers． |
| D．The life that American workers ever expected． |
The underlined word “rallied” in Paragraph 3 can be replaced by“___________”．
| A．persuaded | B．supported | C．rewarded | D．gathered |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．There were about 100,000 workers in New York City in 1872． |
| B．Labor Day became a national holiday in 1884． |
| C．In 1872 Labor Day was first put forward by McGuire． |
| D．The first ever Labor Day parade was held in 1882． |
According to the author，while spending Labor Day，Americans should feel _________ ．
A．su rprised |
B．thankful |
| C．dissatisfied | D．superior |
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