In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty. This was Stephen Hawking. I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree.
But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73. Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive. He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship.
Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study. Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University. He was said to be a “lazy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first-class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement.
Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair-bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well. But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began. In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32.
The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits. Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested. However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理论)has been to confirm and build on his idea. He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top-ten living theoretical physicists.What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?
| A．His brilliant research. |
| B．His defeating hardship. |
| C．His serious disease. |
| D．His bestselling books. |
What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?
| A．His death sentence. |
| B．His “lazy” attitude. |
| C．His above-average talent and ability. |
| D．His rich experience. |
It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born .
| A．in the early 1940s | B．in the late 1940s |
| C．in the early 1930s | D．in the late 1930s |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Hawking’s theory was proved years ago. |
| B．Hawking was not as successful as Newton. |
| C．Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others. |
| D．String theory built on Hawking’s idea. |
Generally speaking, government regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that. They plan to prohibit residents from dying early because the local cemetery(墓地) has reached full capacity.
There’s no more room to bury the dead, they can’t be cremated(火化) and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor has proposed a strange solution: outlaw death. Mayor Roberto Pereira says the bill is meant as a protest against federal regulations that prohibit new or expanded cemeteries in preservation areas. “They have not taken local demands into consideration”, he claims.
A 2003 decree(法令) by Brazil’s National Environment Council forbids burial grounds in protected areas. Mr. Pereira wants to build a new cemetery, but the project has been stopped because 98% of Biritiba Mirim is considered as a preservation area.
Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 inhabitants, not only wants to prohibit residents from passing away. The bill also calls on people to take care of their health in order to avoid death. “I haven’t got a job, nor am I healthy. And now they say I can’t die. That’s ridiculous,” Amarido do Prado, an unemployed resident said.
The city council is expected to vote on the regulation next week. “Of course the bill is laughable, illegal, and will never be approved,” said Gilson Soares de Campos, an assistant of the mayor. “But can you think of a better resolution to persuade the government to change the environmental decree that is prohibiting us from building a new cemetery?” The bill states that “offenders will be held responsible for their acts.” However, it does not say what the punishment will be.What is the bill to be proposed by the officials in Biritiba Mirim?
| A．Ban on building a new cemetery. |
| B．Ban on parking in certain zones. |
| C．Forbidding buried grounds in preservation. |
| D．Prohibiting residents from dying early. |
What can we infer from the phrase “have gone far beyond that” in the first paragraph?
| A．The officials in Biritiba Mirim have made these regulations. |
| B．The officials in Biritiba Mirim have been to many places around the world. |
| C．The bill to be proposed by officials in Biritiba Mirim is much too unexpected. |
| D．The officials in Biritiba Mirim have built too many cemeteries in their town. |
What’s the attitude of the mayor of Biritiba Mirim towards the federal regulations?
| A．He remains silent about them. |
| B．He gives strong backing to them. |
| C．He objects to them. |
| D．He asks the residents for advice on them. |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?
| A．The mayor of the town wants to build a new cemetery against federal regulation. |
| B．The residents of the town sing high praise for the bill. |
| C．No better resolution of the problems has been thought out. |
| D．The government is going to change the environmental decree. |
A survey suggests that people who have dropped out from high school just earn an average of $9,000 less per year than graduates. Now a new study removes a common belief why they quit. It’s much more basic than flunking out(不及格).
Society tends to think of high school dropouts as kids who just can’t cut it. They are lazy, and perhaps not too bright. So researchers were surprised when they asked more than 450 kids who quit school about why they left.
“The vast majority actually had passing grades and they were confident that they could have graduated from high school.” John Bridgeland, the executive researcher said. About one million teens leave school each year. Only about half of African-American and Hispanic(美籍西班牙的)students will receive a diploma(证书), and actually all dropouts come to regret their decision. So, if failing grades don’t explain why these kids quit, what does? Again, John Bridgeland: “The most dependable finding was that they were bored.” “They found classes uninteresting; they weren’t inspired or motivated. They didn’t see any direct connection between what they were learning in the classroom to their own lives, or to their career aspirations.”
The study found that most teens who do drop out wait until they turn sixteen, which happens to be the age at which most states allow students to quit. In the U.S., only one state, New Mexico, has a law requiring teenagers to stay in high school until they graduate. Only four states: California, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, plus the District of Columbia, require school attendance until age 18, no exceptions. Jeffrey Grin, another researcher, says raising the compulsory attendance age may be one way to keep more kids in school.
“As these dropouts look back, they realize they’ve made a mistake. And anything that sort of gives these people an extra push to stick it out and see it through to the end, is probably helpful measure.”
New Hampshire may be the next state to raise its school attendance age to 18. But critics say that forcing the students unwilling to continue their studies to stay in school misses the point—the need for reform. It’s been called for to reinvent high school education to make it more challenging and relevant, and to ensure that kids who do stick it out receive a diploma that actually means something.According to researchers’ study, most high school students drop out of school because____________.
| A．they have failing grades |
| B．they are lazy and not intelligent |
| C．they are discriminated against |
| D．they take no interest in classes |
According to the passage, which state has a law requiring school attendance until they graduate?
| A．New Hampshire. |
| B．Utah. |
| C．New Mexico. |
| D．The District of Columbia. |
In the last paragraph, the writer is trying to__________.
| A．suggest raising the compulsory attendance age |
| B．analyze the reason why students quit school |
| C．raise awareness of reforming high school dropouts |
| D．wish to make laws to guarantee no dropouts |
From the passage, we can infer the following EXCEPT that __________.
| A．the grades of most dropouts at school were acceptable |
| B．dropouts’ salary is not as satisfying as graduates’ |
| C．classes don’t appeal to dropouts |
| D．about 500,000 high school dropouts are black and Spanish |
The king was to pass by a beggar’s small poor house and the man was excited, not because he was about to see the king but because the king was known to part with expensive jewels and huge sums of money when moved by sympathy.
He saw the king’s carriage just when a kind man was filling his begging bowl with uncooked rice. Pushing the man aside, he ran into the street, shouting praises of the king and the royal family.
The carriage stopped and the king beckoned to the beggar.
“Who are you?” he asked. “One of the most unfortunate of your people,” said the beggar. “Poverty sits on my doorstep and follows me about like a dog. I haven’t eaten since yesterday afternoon!” “Have you nothing for your king except great sorrow?” said the ruler, putting out his hand. “Give me something.” The beggar, astonished, carefully picked up 5 grains of rice from his bowl and laid them on the king’s outstretched palm. The king drove away. The beggar’s disappointment was great. He complained and cursed the king again and again for his miserliness.
When he returned home in the evening he found a bag of rice on the floor. “Some generous soul has been here,” he thought and took out a handful of rice from the bag. To his astonishment, there was a small piece of gold in it. He realized then that the bag had been sent by the king. He emptied the rice on the floor, feeling sure there would be more gold pieces in it, and he was right. He found 5, one for each grain of rice he had given the king.
“It is not the king who has been miserly,” thought the man, sadly. “If I had been generous and given him the whole bowl of rice, I would have been a rich man today.”From the passage, we know that the king___________.
| A．was a kind man | B．was arrogant |
| C．was a miserly man | D．was very young |
Why did the king ask the beggar for something according to the text?
| A．Because he was poor than the beggar. |
| B．Because he wanted to make the beggar even poorer. |
| C．Because he had nothing to eat. |
| D．Because he wanted to give something to the beggar in return. |
The real reason why the beggar got only five gold pieces is that________.
| A．he complained and cursed the king again and again |
| B．the king was only generous to rich people |
| C．the king wanted to punish him severely |
| D．he himself was miserly |
I know what you're thinking: pizza? For breakfast? But the truth is that you can have last night's leftovers in the a.m. if you want to.
I know lots of women who skip breakfast(不吃早餐), and they have a ton of different excuses for doing it . Some say they don't have time. others think they're "saving" calories, still others just don't like breakfast food.
But the bottom line is that eating in the morning is very important when you're trying to lose weight. "Eating just about anything from 300 to 400 calories would be better than nothing at all," says Katherine Brooking, R.D., who developed the super-easy eating plan for this year's "SELF CHALLENGE". And even pizza can be healthy if it's loaded with vegetables, and you stick to one small piece.
Breakfast is one meal I never miss, and the same goes for most weight loss success stories. Research shows that eating breakfast keeps you from overeating later in the day. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that breakfast skippers have a bigger chance of gaining weight than those who regularly have a morning meal.
So eat something in the morning, anything. I know plenty of friends who end up having no breakfast altogether, and have just coffee or orange juice. I say, try heating up last night's leftovers -- it may sound crazy, but if it works for you, do it! I find if I tell myself, "You can always eat it tomorrow," I put away the leftovers instead of eating more that night. Try it... you may save yourself some pre-bedtime calories. And watch your body gain the fat-burning effects.The word "leftovers" in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.
| A．food remaining after a meal |
| B．things left undone |
| C．meals made of vegetables |
| D．pizza topped with fruit |
What can we infer from the text?
| A．Working women usually have breakfast in a hurry. |
| B．Many people have wrong ideas about breakfast. |
| C．There are some easy ways of cooking a meal. |
| D．Eating vegetables helps save energy. |
According to the last paragraph, it is important to ________.
| A．eat something for breakfast |
| B．be careful about what you eat |
| C．heat up food before eating it |
| D．eat calorie-controlled food |
Many people write to newspaper and magazines to express their opinions. Letters to the editor must carry the writer’s full name, address and telephone number, although the information is not necessary for publication. This requirement to provide personal particulars is a clear indication that writers are held responsible for what they say. When a writer wants his voice heard, he needs to claim ownership of his voice. Responsibility is the name of the game.
“People today prefer living together to putting their signatures on a marriage certificate because they refuse to accept responsibility for the relationship,” said social worker Ken Yip, “and this is what is causing a lot of family problems.” When we sign a paper, for example, a business contract or a bank document, the signature is a seal of consent, an agreement to take the matter seriously. Most governments and many organizations will not process written complaints if they do not bear the writer’s signature. The absence of a signature, they explain, tells us that the writer cannot be too serious and therefore does not deserve a reply.
There are people who wish to remain anonymous（匿名的）for various reasons. Multi-billionaire Mr. King donates generously to charity several times a year. He gives simply because he wants to help but not for the publicity his donations may bring, and he does not want his good deeds to make news. In other cases, people insist on anonymity because they are afraid of the consequences of revealing their identity. Crime witnesses may be willing to assist the police, but most are unwilling to give their names when reporting a crime.
Name or no name? The answer is very personal and lies in how much we want to get involved. We all have a name. It is a matter if responsibility to use it when we make a statement, a claim or an accusation. We all want to honor our own name, and it is only by stamping our expression of an opinion with our own name that we honor what we say.What does the writer mean by saying “Responsibility is the name of the game”?
| A．Writers need to provide their personal information in the game. |
| B．Publication must bear the writer’s full name, address and phone number. |
| C．Writers should be responsible for their names. |
| D．Names are required to indicate writers’ responsibility for what they say. |
The second paragraph suggests that a paper without a signature may _______.
| A．help to end a relationship |
| B．not get a reply |
| C．be accepted all the same |
| D．become a family problem |
Some people don’t want their names known because they are ________.
| A．hesitant to make a donation |
| B．unwilling to draw public attention |
| C．afraid of an accusation |
| D．ready for involvement |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．honor and writers |
| B．identity and signature |
| C．signature and responsibility |
| D．anonymity and signature |
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