阅读理解 阅读下列短文，然后根据短文内容选择最佳答案（本大题共15分，每小题1.5分）
Karen Finley was born in the U.S. in 1956. When she was only fourteen, she became interested in performing. She graduated from a performing arts school in 1981 and then began to perform in theaters. In her performances, she showed people some of the problems in the world.
Karen’s The Constant State of Desire was first performed at The Kitchen in New York City in 1986. In this performance she wanted people to notice some of the difficult experienced women have because of men. It soon because controversial(备受争议的). Many people did not feel comfortable with the performance. They thought that Karen hated men to much and was out of control. She was strongly criticized by the newspapers. But some other people thought differently and spoke for her. They said that they felt the experiences Karen showed in this performance were true to life.
Karen hoped that people would think about the sad stories that happen every day. She believed people would understand her and learn some lessons if they could “read”her performances more carefully.According to the reading, what might “The Kitchen”be_____________?
| A．a theatre. | B．a restaurant. |
| C．a newspaper. | D．a performance. |
Why would The Constant State of Desire be controversial?
| A．It seriously criticized men. |
| B．Karen was not well prepared. |
| C．The women who performed with Karen were our of control. |
| D．Karen said something bad about newspapers during the performance. |
What did Karen Finley want to do by performing?
| A．To make more friends. | B．To become a superstar. |
| C．To show people her ideas. | D．To make money for poor women. |
Blue Lightning
Sally loved cars more than anything else． This spring she thought of building a go﹣kart to enter for the Go﹣Go Race． So she asked her dad for help．
"Well，" he said． "How about this： you do some research first and then come back to me with a design．"
A week later， Sally brought her notes and drawings to Dad． She named her go﹣kart "Blue Lightning"． Dad looked over her work， thinking． "Well， that's interesting，" he said． "Have a try． Just build Blue Lightning as you've designed．"
Over three weekends of hard work， Sally turned her design into a real， working go﹣kart and painted it light blue． Dad asked her to take it for a test drive． Sally agreed．
After she did that， Sally drove back to Dad． "Well，" she said． "Now I know why you wanted me to have a test drive．"
"Oh， do you？" he said． "Please share．"
"When I drove fast， there was a lot of pushback，" she said． "I think it's because of the lightning bolt （闪电） shape．"
"Very good!" Dad said．
"So， why didn't you tell me about that problem in the first place？" Sally asked．
Dad laughed． "Where's the fun in that？ If you give a man a fish， he'll eat for a day． But if you teach a man to fish， he'll eat for a lifetime．"
Sally said， "I see． Anyway， designing is half the fun !"
Dad smiled． "Good． Sometimes， learning happens during the process． We learn how to do something right by doing it a few times first and making mistakes along the way．"
That encouraged Sally and she worked even harder． When she showed Dad her new go﹣kart， he nodded with pride．
Finally came the race． Sally wasn't worried about whether she would win﹣in her mind， she had already won， by building something better than ever before．
（1）Sally thought of building a go﹣kart to ．
A． practice driving
B． enter for a race
C． play with friends
D． do some research
（2）What did Sally's dad ask her to do after she built the go﹣kart？
A． To have a test drive．
B． To take a good rest．
C． To give it a cool name．
D． To paint it light blue．
（3）Sally's story mainly tells us that ．
A． winning a race is important
B． fishing brings us a lot of fun
C． driving experience is necessary
D． learning happens during the process
Experiencing China
| Mike， Canada I spent three months with my host family（接待家庭） in China． It was a lifetime experience． I was able to experience Chinese living and culture，from basic Tai Chi to Beijing Opera． I even visited a famous traditional Chinese medicine hospital． Now I have a better understanding of Chinese culture． |
| Joanna， Australia I stayed with my host family for five months． My host mother is a Chinese teacher and she is really warm﹣hearted． With her help，my Chinese has improved a lot． And I have got used to a new culture． My favorite part of the experience was sharing my feelings in China with her． |
| Bill， America My host mother is a wonderful cook! She makes me all kinds of traditional Chinese dishes． They are tasty and I like them very much． Just like me，my host parents love to learn about different cultures． They often ask me questions about life in America． |
| Cindy， Germany Recently I took part in a program to study Chinese． I lived with a host family in China for six months． My host sister is a really hardworking student． It was amazing to see how she made progress in English． And a close relationship has developed between us． |
（1）Who visited a traditional Chinese medicine hospital？
A．Mike．
B．Joanna．
C．Bill．
D．Cindy．
（2）How long did Joanna stay with her host family in China？
A． Three months．
B． Four months．
C． Five months．
D． Six months．
（3）Cindy thinks her host sister is ．
A． a wonderful cook
B． a responsible doctor
C． a warm﹣hearted teacher
D． a hardworking student
When it comes to the letter grade on your test or homework， you might notice that there is no letter E． Have you ever thought about why that is so？
In the A， B， C， D and F grading system， the first four letters are typically considered passing grades． An F in this system simply stands for"fail"．The word"fail"happens to start with the letter F， which seems to leave out the letter E． The fact of the matter is that any letter can mean "not﹣passing" or "fail"．Some schools have U grade for"unsatisfactory"，or I grade for "incomplete"．
Even with all this said， we should also point out that E grade actually has been used pretty commonly throughout the history of letter grades in the US．
The first college in the US to use a letter grading system like the ones we use today is Mount Holyoke College． In 1897，they began to use the following grading scale：
A： 95﹣100%（excellent）
B： 85﹣94%（good）
C： 76﹣84%（fair）
D： 75%（barely passed）
E： below 75%（failed）
We can see the inclusion of E instead of F．
Gradually，the letter grading system became more popular throughout the US． However， many schools decided to drop the E grade and go straight to F．There is no evidence（证据） to really support this，but one possible explanation is that teachers were worried that some students and parents might mistake E for "excellent"．
Why do we have letter grades？ Well，part of the reason is that they made grading simpler during a time of great change for schools． As the 20th century began，growing cities and an increase in immigration led to larger school classrooms． Most teachers at that time thought this new letter grading system was an easy，fair and clear way to grade students．
Today，more and more people argue that letter grades don't fully reflect（反映） student learning．However，as teachers try to improve grading methods，many parents continue to favor the letter grades they got as kids．They are familiar（熟悉） and easy for parents to understand． So while they might not be perfect， the letter grades probably aren't going away any time soon．
（1）what does an F stand for in the A、B、C、D and F grading system？
（2）when was the letter grading system first used in the US college？
（3）what is one possible explanation for dropping the E grade？
（4）what did most teachers think of the letter grading system in the 20th century？
（5）why do many parents still prefer the letter grades today？
We often reach a point in our life when we should be ready for change that will help us unlock our self﹣improvement power． However， there's always something staring at us right under our nose but we don't see it． The only time we think of unlocking our self﹣improvement power is when everything gets worst．
When do we realize that we need to change diets？ When none of our shirts and jeans would fit us． When do we stop eating candies and chocolates？ When all of our teeth have fallen off． When do we realize that we need to stop smoking？ When our lungs have gone bad． We see the warning signs and signals when things get rough and difficult．
The only time most of us ever learn about unlocking our self﹣improvement power is when the whole world is falling apart． We think and feel this way because it is not easy to change， but change becomes more painful when we ignore（忽视） it．
Change will happen， like it or hate it． At one point or another． we are all going to finally unlock our self﹣improvement power not because the world says so，but because we realize it's for our own good．
Happy people don't just accept change； they embrace （拥抱）it． Unlocking our self﹣improvement power means unlocking ourselves out of the box of thought that is just the way we are． It is such a poor excuse for people who fear change．
Jane always tells everyone that she doesn't have the courage to be around groups of people． She heard her family tell the same things about her to other people． Over the years， that is what Jane has believed． Every time a great crowd come， she steps back and locks herself up in a room． Jane not only believes in her story， but lives it!
Self﹣improvement may not be everybody's favorite word， but if we look at things in a different way， we might have greater chances of enjoying the whole process instead of counting the days until we are fully improved． Three sessions in a week at the gym would result in a healthier life． Reading books every day would build up knowledge． And only when we are enjoying the whole process of unlocking our self﹣improvement power will we realize that we're beginning to take things light and become happy．
（1）The writer mentions the three questions in Paragraph 2 to show that ．
A． we learn our lessons when we experience pain．
B． we are responsible for the problems we meet．
C． life fails us when we get into the wrong way．
D． life is a long journey full of ups and downs．
（2）What is the key to solving Jane's problem？
A． She needs to remember why she started．
B． She has to know how to get on with people．
C． She has to realize she is not what she is in her story．
D． She needs to understand the importance of confidence．
（3）The writer probably agrees that ．
A． the world tells us how to improve ourselves．
B． people change when they find it easy to do that．
C． welcoming change in life is a drive to become better．
D． enjoying the process of self﹣improvement makes life simpler．
（4）Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？
A． Is it important to take things light？
B． Is it necessary to embrace challenges？
C． To hold on to the last moment or to give up？
D． To free ourselves out of the box or to stay in it？
Some primary schoolchildren have been raised in homes with more green space around． They are likely to come with larger volumes of white and grey matter in certain areas of the brain． These differences are associated（关联） with beneficial effects on cognitive function （认知功能）． This is the main conclusion of a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health．
The study was performed among 253 schoolchildren in Spain．Lifelong exposure（接触） to green space in the living places was recorded﹣using the information on the children's addresses from birth up through to the time of the study． Brain structure was studied using 3D magnetic resonance imaging （MRI）． Working memory and inattentiveness（注意力不集中）were graded with computers．
"This is the first study that shows the association between long﹣term exposure to green space and brain structure．" Says Dr． Payam Dadvand， the leading researcher of the study． "Our findings suggest that exposure to green space early in life could result in beneficial structural changes in the brain．"
The findings show that long﹣term exposure to greenness is positively associated with white and grey matter volumes in several parts of the brain． Some of them are related to higher scores on cognitive tests． Moreover， larger volumes of white and grey matter in those parts might lead to better working memory and less inattentiveness．
Exposure to nature has been thought to be necessary for brain development in children． Another study of 2，593 children shows that children in school with more green space have a greater increase in working memory and a greater decrease in inattentiveness．
Humans are believed to be tied to nature． Playing in greener areas offers children opportunities to search and learn． Accordingly， green space is thought to promptimportant exercises in discovery， creativity and risk taking． These exercises in turn positively influence brain development．
Dr． Dadvand's study suggests how such structural changes could bring about the beneficial effects of green spaces on cognitive development． It also adds to the proof that suggests the lasting effects of early life exposure to greenness on our health and the benefits of increasing greenness in cities．
Further studies are needed to prove the findings in other populations， settings and climates． And researchers need to examine differences according to the nature and quality of green space．
（1）The second paragraph is mainly about ．
A． how the study was performed
B． what was recorded in the study
C． how long the study lasted
D． who took part in the study
（2）The word "prompt" in paragraph 6 probably means " "．
A． control
B． encourage
C． balance
D． change
（3）What can we learn from the passage？
A． Working memory influences white and grey matter in the brain．
B． Dr． Dadvand stressed the importance of changing the environment．
C． Studies proved the influence of greenness on populations outs of Spain．
D． Living in greener neighborhoods benefits children in brain development．
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