For some people, music is no fun at all. About 4% of the population is what scientists call “amusic”. People who are amusic are born without the ability to enjoy musical notes. Amusic people often cannot tell the differences between two songs.
As a result, songs sound like noise to an amusic. Many amuics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other. Life can be hard for amusics. In fact, most people cannot understand what it feel like be amusic. Just going to a restaurant or a shopping center can be uncomfortable or even painful. That is why many amusics have to stay away from places where there is music. However, this can result in social loneliness. “I used to hate parties,” says Margaret, a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic. By studying people like Margaret, scientists are finally learning how to identify(辨别) this unusual condition.
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different for those of people who can enjoy music. The difference is complex(复杂的), and it is not connected with poor hearing. Amusics can understand other non-musical sounds well. They also have no problems understanding common speech. Scientists compare amusics to people who just can’t see certain colors.
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed(诊断). For years, Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem music. Now she knows that she is not alone. That makes it easier for her to explain. “When people invite me to a concert, I just say ”No, thanks. I’m amusic.’” says Margret.Amusics are the people who _________.
| A．like music | B．have poor listening |
| C．don’t like music | D．are born unable to enjoy music |
Life is hard for amusics mainly because _________.
| A．music seems noise for them. |
| B．people don’t understand amusics |
| C．amusics try to stay at places full of music |
| D．amusics hate parties, restaurants or shopping center. |
Scientists identify amusics by _________.
| A．studying different kinds of music |
| B．going to parties regularly |
| C．studying amusic people |
| D．comparing music to colors |
What causes amusics different from most people according to scientists?
| A．Their brains. |
| B．Their poor hearing. |
| C．Their lack of colors. |
| D．Their problems with speech. |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Amusics’ strange behaviors. |
| B．Musical ability. |
| C．Some people’s inability to enjoy music. |
| D．Identification and treatment of amusic. |
I am 22. I used to work in a hotel. It was boring.
One day a guest and I had a conversation. She asked me, 6/Do you like your job?" I was sad because I knew the answer. “No".
She was 74 and gave me the most beautiful advice that I remember in all my life:
You are too young to hate your job, young man. Go to get your passport and start your adventure(冒险 ). "
So I did.
Since I was a little kid I was dreaming to know Europe. So next day I had my passport. And one week later, my plane tickets.
It was impossible to have a long holiday. So I resigned(辞职). My boss said I was crazy. My friends said that I was not responsible. I just paid no attention to those voices.
It was Europe in winter. Not the best time to travel there. But Europe in winter is really cheap.
I packed some books, a camera, 4 shirts, 2 pants, a coat, gloves, 2 pairs of walking shoes, candies and music to give away.
I had little money. I just walked and walked. I went to high mountains and big cities.
saw some beautiful sunsets(日落). I heard some of the best musicians (for free). I discovered that there was still love in the world. I realized that sunrises are not always blue or yellow. Sometimes they mix.
I spent 22 days and $1,500 (including the plane tickets). What I did to save money:
1. Used Couch, Surfing'(沙发客 ).
2. Ate 20-cents bread.
3. Went to Burger King to get free potato chips and water.
4. Learned to cook.
5. Talked with local(当地的) people. They always know where to do cool and cheap
6. Only went to free museums (only in England).
Until this point in my life, I never had a clear idea of how to deal with my life. Now I do. I want to be a photographer so that I can inspire(激励) people with my pictures.
Thanks to this travel. Thanks to that lady.Why did the old lady advise the man to have an adventure? Because .
| A．he was poor | B．she was old |
| C．he didn't like his job | D．he wanted to know Europe |
After the man resigned, what possibly did his friend say to him?
| A．Are you crazy? |
| B．Guy, you should be responsible. |
| C．A wise decision. Have a good time. |
| D．It's not a best time to travel in winter. |
What didn't the man take with him? .
| A．Money or books | B．Clothes or music |
| C．Camera or passport | D．Food or mobile phone |
In order to save money, he .
| A．lived in hotels |
| B．ate bread and hamburgers |
| C．worked as a cook |
| D．tried to find places to do cool and cheap stuff |
Why did he say 6/Thanks to this travel. Thanks to that lady. "? Because the travel and the lady .
| A．inspired him |
| B．let him know how to deal with his life |
| C．let him hear some of the best musicians |
| D．let him discover that there was still love in the world |
Here is a dog with a lantern (捉灯)in his mouth, he is looking for his master(主人).
Carlo, a lovely dog, had been taught to be useful. The roads, in the place where his master lived, were often so bad that it was not safe for any person to go out without a light on dark nights.
So Carlo's master taught him to carry a lantern for him at night; and he did it as steadily(稳固地) as any boy could have done.
Carlo never trotted(小跑) too far before his master so that the bright light of the lantern might guide his master's steps.
When he came to a deep rut(车辙)or hole in the road, he would turn round to his master, seemed to say, /Take care, there is a hole here. "
The dog's master lived about a mile from the town; and when he could not get home before dark, Carlo used to be sent to him with the lantern. Carlo knew where to go. He also knew the road which his master would take.
But Carlo didn't always find his master right away. When he reached the town, he would run off to a house where his master often was. Still holding his lantern, he would scratch at the street-door with his feet and bark(吠叫); as much as to say, 6/Here am I,
Master, with the lantern, are you ready for home? "
Someone would perhaps come to the door and sa 6/Your master is not here. " Carlo
would growl(嘟哝), seemed to say, "Then he is somewhere else, and I must find him. "
He would then run off to one house after another, until he found his master, then the two went home together.The roads in the place where Carlo's master lived were .
| A．bad |
| B．dark |
| C．dangerous for people to go out |
| D．full of deep ruts and holes |
The master taught Carlo .
| A．to speak |
| B．where to go to look for him |
| C．to know the road which he would take |
| D．to carry the lantern to guide his steps at night |
When Carlo came to the bad part of the road, he .
| A．barked |
| B．growled |
| C．turned round to his master |
| D．scratched at the ground |
The meaning of the underlined word “scratch ,' is .
| A．咬 | B．敲 | C．撞 | D．扒,抓 |
The best title for the story is .
| A．A dog and his master |
| B．The dog with the lantern |
| C．How a dog guide his master's step |
| D．How a dog found his master |
One day Frank was walking with his mother when they came to a pretty garden.
Frank looked in, and saw that it had clean gravel（碎石）walks and beautiful flowers.
He called to his mother and said, Mum, come and look at this pretty garden.1 wish I might open the gate, and walk in.”
The gardener（园丁）heard what Frank said, and kindly invited him and his mother to come into the garden.
Frank's mother thanked the man. Then she said to her son, “Frank, if I take you to walk in this garden, you must take care not to meddle(乱动)with anything in it．”
Frank walked along the tidy gravel walks, and looked at everything, but touched nothing that he saw.
He did not step on any of the borders（草坪边的狭长花坛），and was careful that his clothes should not brush the tops of the flowers so that he might not break them.
The gardener was much pleased（满意的）with Frank, because he was so careful to behave well. He showed him the seeds, and told him the name of many of the flowers and plants.
While Frank was admiring the beauty of a flower, a little boy came to the gate, and finding it locked, he shook it hard. But it would not open. Then he said, “Let me in. Let me in. Will you not let me in this garden?"
“No," said the gardener,“1 will not let you in, Tom. When I let you in yesterday, you meddled with my flowers, and pulled some of my fruit. I do not choose to let a boy into my garden who meddles with the plants."
Tom looked ashamed, and when he found that the gardener would not let him in, he went slowly away.
Frank saw and felt how much happier a boy may be by not meddling with what does not belong to him.
He and his mother then continued their walk in the garden, and enjoyed the day very much. Before they left, the gardener gave each of them some pretty flowers.Frank couldn't see in the garden.
| A．seeds | B．fruit |
| C．flowers | D．animals |
Tom did everything except .
| A．meddling with the flowers | B．pulling some fruit |
| C．admiring the beauty of plants | D．shaking the door hard |
Which is NOT true about Frank? .
| A．He touched nothing in the garden |
| B．He didn't step on the borders of the garden |
| C．He didn't have a good time in the garden |
| D．He tried not to brush the top of the flowers with his clothes |
The gardener didn't .
| A．show Frank any seeds |
| B．let Tom in the garden a second time |
| C．give Frank and his mother any flowers |
| D．tell Frank the names of many of the flowers |
We can learn from the story that .
| A．it is bad manners to break flowers |
| B．you'll be happy if you're friendly to others |
| C．no one wants to make friends with selfish.(自私的) people |
| D．you may be happy if you don't meddle with the things of others |
On May 23, Shenzhen introduced tough new rules in order to discourage the “Chinese style of crossing the road”. “Chinese people cross roads without thinking about traffic lights, so long as they are part of a crowd,” said a post on Sina Weibo.
A CCTV news program showed that in only an hour, more than 600 people jumped red lights when crossing a road in Shijiazhuang, Hebei.
Many people say that they jaywalk(乱穿马路) because the red light lasts too long. Such an opinion is supported by a research team at Tongji University. The team did research on people’s waiting times at different road crossings for three years. They found that Chinese people would wait for 70 to 90 seconds(秒) before they lost their patience. “People are likely to ignore(忽视) the light when the waiting time is longer than they can bear,” said Ni Ying, a member of the research team.
However, a survey on Sina Weibo suggested that people jaywalk mainly because they ignore rules. “I always obey traffic rules. Time is important but safety should come first,” someone wrote on his Weibo.
Many countries give out punishments to jaywalkers. In Singapore, the maximum can be three months in prison. Some Chinese cities have started taking some actions, too. For example, the first three people in a jaywalking group will be fined 50 yuan in Shijiazhuang.
But calling on people to respect rules is more important. To completely solve the problem, everyone should realize the importance of obeying the traffic rules.Which of the following is the “Chinese style road crossing”?
| A．To cross a road slowly. |
| B．To follow the basic traffic rules. |
| C．To wait for the traffic light to turn green. |
| D．To cross roads without looking at traffic lights. |
What does the phrase “the team” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．A CCTV news program. |
| B．A research group at Tongji University. |
| C．A post on Sina Weibo. |
| D．A daily newspaper. |
How long will Chinese people wait for to cross the road before they lose patience?
| A．About five minutes. |
| B．Less than one minute. |
| C．Less than one and a half minutes. |
| D．More than ten minutes. |
Why do people jaywalk according to the survey on Sina Weibo?
| A．Because people don’t pay much attention to rules. |
| B．Because there are too many people on the road. |
| C．Because the red light lasts too long. |
| D．Because people have less patience. |
The writer suggests that we should __________ to solve the problem of jaywalking.
| A．punish the jaywalkers |
| B．reduce (减少) the time of red lights |
| C．ignore the traffic rules |
| D．call on people to obey the traffic rules |
Once a small boy lived on a farm which seemed so far away from everywhere.
He needed to get up before sunrise every morning to help his father on the farm. During sunrise he would take a break and climb up on the fence(篱笆) along the side of the farm. He could see a house with golden windows. “If they could afford golden windows, then there must be other nice things inside the house.” He imagined how great it would be to live there. Then he promised himself, “Some day I will go there and see this wonderful place.”
One morning, his father would go to the town and told him to stay at home for a rest. Knowing that this was his chance, he took a sandwich and headed across the field towards the house with the golden windows.
As the afternoon went on, he began to realize how wrong he was. The house was much farther than he had expected. As he went near the house, he saw no golden windows but instead a place in bad need of painting. A small girl very close to his age came out of the poor house and stood by the broken fence. He asked her if she had seen the house with the golden windows.
The girl said, “Sure, I know.” and invited him to sit on the porch(门廊). As he sat there, he looked back from where he just came. There he saw the sunset(夕阳) turned the windows of his house to gold! Now he understood that everyone had his own house with golden windows.During his break every morning, the small boy would __________.
| A．fix the fence | B．climb up on the fence |
| C．eat sandwiches | D．walk around the farm |
One morning, when knowing he would stay alone, the boy thought it was a chance for him to __________.
| A．go to the town | B．play on the field |
| C．go to see the house | D．make the golden windows |
What did the boy find when he got there?
| A．Nobody lived in the poor house. |
| B．The house was as old as he expected. |
| C．No golden windows were in the house. |
| D．The house was nearer than he thought. |
The story tells us that people sometimes may have the thought __________.
| A．Like father, like son |
| B．Love me, love my dog |
| C．Every dog has its day |
| D．The grass is greener somewhere else |
Which is the best title for the passage?
| A．Golden Windows | B．A Wonderful Place |
| C．Father and Son | D．A Boy’s Promise |
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