Whenwetalkaboutsuperstitious（迷

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更新 2022-09-03
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When we talk about superstitious（迷信的）beliefs , the beliefs associated with Friday the 13th , no doubt , deserve a special mention . In fact , such is the fear associated with this date that people just can’t seem to stick to their daily routine on this day . The data from Stress Management Center and Phobia Institute suggests that somewhere around 17 to 21 million Americans are affected by the fear associated with this day , i.e. the combination of Friday and 13 . Even worse , the financial losses caused on this day amounts to as much as US$800 million every year .
As we flipped through the pages of history , we realized that Friday the 13th bears the brunt of bad luck associated with number 13 , the unluckiest number , and Friday , the unluckiest day of the week . Number 13 has always been considered unlucky , mainly as a result of it being associated with various occurrences in mythology . While some associate it with the instance of Norse mythology , in which the god of joy and gladness – Balter , was killed in a dishonest manner by Loki – the god of discord and mischief , who was the 13th guest , others associate it with the Last Supper , in which the 13th guest was Judas , who betrayed Jesus to his enemies for 30 pieces of silver .
Similarly , Friday has also been a sign of bad luck to many people , with incidents like Jesus being crucified（在十字架上钉死）on this unfaithful day , contributing to this belief . It is also widely believed that Cain killed Able on this very day of the week . The fear of Friday the 13th is known as friggatriskaidekaphobia and paraskevidekatriaphobia , the former combining the words frigga , meaning Friday , and triskaidekaphobia , meaning the phobia of number 13 . Over the period , the belief that Friday the 13th is an unlucky day has just become one of the most widely accepted superstitions , which consequently causes much blind panic and unreasonable fear in the world .
What does Friday the 13th refer to according to passage ?

A．The 13th Friday of a year .

B．The fear of the number 13 on Fridays .

C．A fixed date of a year that can bring bad luck .

D．The 13th day of a month falling on a Friday .

We can learn from the passage that __________ .

A．superstition is more popular among the uneducated

B．religion is an important contributing factor to superstition

C．Numbers are believed to bring people bad luck in history

D．The belief of Friday the 13th is based on folk stories

What will the author most probably talk about next ?

A．Arguments for and against the belief of Friday the 13^th

B．Reasons why Friday the 13^th is widely accepted

C．Stories about the bad luck brought by Friday the 13^th

D．Appropriate attitude towards Friday the 13th

What is the passage mainly about?

A．The psychology of superstition

B．The history of a common superstition

C．The origins of Friday the 13^th

D．Influences of Friday the 13^th

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Challenging work that requires lots of analytical thinking，planning and other managerial skills might help your brain stay sharp as you age，a study published Wednesday in the journal Neurology suggests．

Researchers from the University of Leipzig in Germany gathered more than 1，000 retired workers who were over age 75 and assessed the volunteers' memory and thinking skills through a battery of tests．Then，for eight years，the scientists asked the same group to come back to the lab every 18 months to take the same sorts of tests．

Those who had held mentally stimulating（刺激），demanding jobs before retirement tended to do the best on the tests．And they tended to lose cognitive（认知）function at a much slower rate than those with the least mentally challenging jobs．The results held true even after the scientists accounted for the participants' overall health status．

"This works just like physical exercise，" says Francisca Then，who led the study．"After a long run，you may feel like you're in pain，you may feel tired．But it makes you fit．After a long day at work﹣sure，you will feel tired，but it can help your brain stay healthy．"

It's not just corporate jobs，or even paid work that can help keep your brain fit．Then points out．A waiter's job，for example，that requires multitasking，teamwork and decision﹣making could be just as stimulating as any high﹣level office work．And "running a family household requires high﹣level planning and coordinating（协调），" she says．"You have to organize the activities of the children and take care of the bills and groceries．"

Of course，our brains can decline as we grow older for lots of reasons﹣including other environmental influences or genetic factors．Still，continuing to challenge yourself mentally and keeping your mind busy can only help．

（1）Why did the scientists ask the volunteers to take the tests？　　

A．	To assess their health status．
B．	To evaluate their work habits．
C．	To analyze their personality．
D．	To measure their mental ability．

（2）How does Francisca Then explain her findings in paragraph 4？　　

A．	By using an expert's words．
B．	By making a comparison．
C．	By referring to another study．
D．	By introducing a concept．

（3）Which of the following is the best title for the text？　　

A．	Retired Workers Can Pick Up New Skills
B．	Old People Should Take Challenging Jobs
C．	Your Tough Job Might Help Keep You Sharp
D．	Cognitive Function May Decline As You Age

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The traffic signals along Factoria Boulevard in Bellevue，Washington，generally don't flash the same length of green twice in a row，especially at rush hour．At 9：30am，the full red/yellow/green signal cycle might be 140 seconds．By 9：33am，a burst of additional traffic might push it to 145 seconds．Less traffic at 9：37am could push it down to 135．Just like the traffic itself，the timing of the signals changes．

Thatis by design．Bellevue，a fast﹣growing city just east of Seattle，uses a system that is gaining popularity around the US：intersection（十字路口）signals that can adjust in real time to traffic conditions．These lights，known as adaptive signals，have led to significant declines in both the trouble and cost of travels between work and home．

"Adaptive signals can make sure that the traffic demand that is there is being addressed，" says Alex Stevanovic，a researcher at Florida Atlantic University．

For all of Bellevue's success，adaptive signals are not a cure﹣all for jammed roadways．Kevin Balke，a research engineer at the Texas A&M University Transportation Institute，says that while smart lights can be particularly beneficial for some cities，others are so jammed that only a sharp reduction in the number of cars on the road will make a meaningful difference．"It's not going to fix everything，but adaptive signals have some benefits for smaller cities，" he says．

In Bellevue，the switch to adaptive signals has been a lesson in the value of welcoming new approaches．In the past，there was often an automatic reaction to increased traffic：just widen the roads，says Mark Poch，the Bellevue Transportation Department's traffic engineering manager．Now he hopes that other cities will consider making their streets run smarter instead of just making them bigger．

（1）What does the underlined word "that" in paragraph 2 refer to？　　

A．	Increased length of green lights．
B．	Shortened traffic signal cycle．
C．	Flexible timing of traffic signals．
D．	Smooth traffic flow on the road．

（2）What does Kevin Balke say about adaptive signals？　　

A．	They work better on broad roads．
B．	They should be used in other cities．
C．	They have greatly reduced traffic on the road．
D．	They are less helpful in cities seriously jammed．

（3）What can we learn from Bellevue's success？　　

A．	It is rewarding to try new things．
B．	The old methods still work today．
C．	It pays to put theory into practice．
D．	The simplest way is the best way．

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I am an active playgoer and play﹣reader，and perhaps my best reason for editing this book is a hope of sharing my enthusiasm for the theater with others．To do this I have searched through dozens of plays to find the ones that I think best show the power and purpose of the short play．

Each play has a theme or central idea which the playwright（剧作家）hopes to get across through dialogue and action．A few characters are used to create a single impression growing out of the theme．It is not my intention to point out the central theme of each of the plays in this collection，for that would，indeed，ruin the pleasure of reading，discussing，and thinking about the plays and the effectiveness of the playwright．However，a variety of types is represented here．These include comedy，satire，poignant drama，historical and regional drama．To show the versatility（多面性）of the short play，I have included a guidance play，a radio play and a television play．

Among the writers of the plays in this collection，Paul Green，Susan Glaspell，Maxwell Anderson，Thornton Wilder，William Saroyan，and Tennessee Williams have all received Pulitzer Prizes for their contributions to the theater．More information about the playwrights will be found at the end of this book．

To get the most out of reading these plays，try to picture the play on stage，with you，the reader，in the audience．The houselights dim（变暗）．The curtains are about to open，and in a few minutes the action and dialogue will tell you the story．

（1）What do we know about the author from the first paragraph？　　

A．	He has written dozens of plays．
B．	He has a deep love for the theater．
C．	He is a professional stage actor．
D．	He likes reading short plays to others．

（2）What does the author avoid doing in his work？　　

A．	Stating the plays' central ideas．
B．	Selecting works by famous playwrights．
C．	Including various types of plays．
D．	Offering information on the playwrights．

（3）What does the author suggest readers do while reading the plays？　　

A．	Control their feelings．
B．	Apply their acting skills．
C．	Use their imagination．
D．	Keep their audience in mind．

（4）What is this text？　　

A．	A short story．
B．	An introduction to a book．
C．	A play review．
D．	An advertisement for a theater．

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I remember the day shyness took over my life．I was 14 and having a French lesson．The teacher told us to record ourselves speaking about a holiday．Perfect! I recorded myself with confidence．Then，I pressed "play" to listen back．All I heard was a little kid talking．My immediate reaction was to assume I was listening to someone else's recording．But that was my voice．I realised there was something strange about me．

My little voice has made me feel really shy．And my shyness has caused me to avoid attending events，not make important connections，and keep my ideas to myself．As a shy person，working from home，hiding behind my computer was brilliant．But the more time I spent hidden away，the more my comfort zone shrank（缩小）．Everyday interactions，like ordering a coffee，became increasingly awkward and uncomfortable．

And then，one day I was at a big conference and it suddenly hit me like lightning．All speakers were confident，comfortable with being seen．There were no quieter voices．But the trouble is，if the loud voices are the only ones you hear，we quiet people feel even more alienated（疏远的）．The world needs a mixture of personalities．Success is not just about who can shout the loudest．The world needs quieter people，too．That day I chose to stop hiding and embrace my shyness．No more feeling like I needed to change who I am in order to succeed．No more living a small life．

Then I created the Shy and Mighty Society，a space for shy people like me to shine，and in the process of helping others，I could also push myself forward，bit by bit．Now，I'm happy to tell people I feel shy．I'm not ashamed any more．And I know that I'm not alone．

（1）Why did the author feel strange about herself after listening to the recording？（no more than 10 words）　　

（2）What is the main idea of Para．2？（no more than 10 words）　　

（3）What does the underlined word in Para．3 mean？（1 word）　　

（4）Why did the author create the Shy and Mighty Society？（no more than 10 words）　　

（5）Suppose you are in charge of the Shy and Mighty Society，what will you do to help other shy people？ And why？（no more than 20 words）　　

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Studying a subject that you feel pointless is never a fun or easy task．If you're studying history，asking yourself the question "why is history important" is a very good first step．History is an essential part of human civilization．You will find something here that will arouse your interest，or get you thinking about the significance of history．

History grounds us in our roots．History is an important and interesting field of study，and learning the history of our home country can give us a deeper，more meaningful glimpse（一瞥） into our ancestral pasts，and how we got to where we are today．Many people feel like they need a sense of cultural belonging，which is something that studying your roots and being open﹣minded to the evolution of your culture can provide．

History enriches our experience．Reading history is an amazing experience because it enables us to reflect on the social and economic life of the people living long time ago．According to the experts， problems faced by people regardless of the past and present are the same．With the information about the ancestors，one can become more experienced in handling challenges of life．

History makes us more empathetic （具有共情能力的）．Studying history can give us insight（洞察力） into why our culture does certain things，and how the past has shaped it into what we know now．It also provides a rather strong foundation for empathy across cultures．Fear and hate for others is usually caused by ignorance（无知）．We're scared of the things that we don't understand．History has the potential to break down those boundaries by offering us insight into entire worlds that would otherwise be foreign to us．

History can inspire us to learn more．What's fantastic about history is the way it broadens our horizons．It's almost impossible to learn about one historical period without having dozens of questions about related concepts．Study the 19th century England，and you might catch a glimpse of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist．Look up Charles Dickens，and you might learn a thing or two about realism．Or maybe you end up switching your attention away from novels，and discover the history of romantic poets in England．It can go anywhere，and there is something in there for absolutely anybody．

The value of history cannot be underestimated．We don't have to live in the past，but we can definitely do better by learning from it and using the lessons learnt to lead more meaningful lives．

（1）The underlined part "where we are today" in Para.2 probably means　　．

A．the turning point in our history

B．the present state of our nation

C．the location of our homeland

D．the total area of our country

（2）According to the experts，why is history useful for people to handle challenges of life？　　

A．The problems at present are similar to those in the past．

B．Ancient people laid economic foundations for people today．

C．The current challenges of life were predicted by the ancestors．

D．People living long time ago knew more about how to solve problems．

（3）What can be concluded from Para.4？　　

A．It is difficult to get rid of cultural barriers．

B．People are willing to accept foreign cultures．

C．Cultural conflicts in history are difficult to ignore．

D．History helps us improve our cross﹣cultural awareness．

（4）With the example in Para.5，the writer intends to show that　　．

A．Charles Dickens contributes much to British literature

B．Oliver Twist can satisfy our curiosity for romantic poets

C．reading novels is a way to learn about a historical period

D．studying history can arouse people's interest in other fields

（5）What could be the best title for the passage？　　

A．How to Build Cultural Identity

B．Why Studying History Matters

C．Know the Past，Know the Present

D．History：a Way to Broaden Horizons

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