Bears and humans often meet in National Parks. Although campers and hikers are warned not to feed the bears, many people ignore these warnings and feed the beasts anyway. When bears are used to people’s food, problems soon arise.
Bears like to eat a large variety of things, both meat and vegetable. Without human assistance, bears live nicely on roots, twigs, leaves of trees, insects and small animals. With people around, the bears’ tastes quickly expand to include sandwiches, hot dogs, hamburgers, and anything else they can temp humans into giving up.
Bears often develop clever strategies for getting people to let go their food supplies. More often than not, an unsuspecting hiker has taken off his or her pack for a rest only to have a bear charge out of the woods, grab the pack and quickly disappear into the underbrush with it. Hanging the pack on a tree branch won’t help. Bears have been known to climb up, jump off, and catch the pack on the way down. One mother bear stretched up with her baby on her shoulders to reach a pack stored on a pole. Many bears threaten people into giving up their supplies. Although a bear is unlikely to attack a person and would probably run away if screamed at, few people are willing to do so. Most people drop the pack and run the other way. This, of course, delights the bear. In some places, the Park Service installed some metal barrels with lids to help campers keep their supplies safe from bears. Although the bears were unable to open these containers, the effort was less than successful. Most campers, unable to tell the metal drums from rubbish cans, never used them for the intended purpose.
【小题1】Feeding bears on people’s food         .

A.brings the people a lot of funB.can cause problems
C.often causes injuries and deathsD.helps bears survive
【小题2】If people had never fed bears, the bears        .
A.might be satisfied with what they had originally
B.would have starved long before
C.wouldn’t have enough food supply
D.would have hunted for other kind of food
【小题3】Which of the following is TRUE?
A.If fed on sandwiches and hot dogs, the bears would no longer eat roots, twigs and insects .
B.It’s likely that bears would hurt people if the people didn’t give up their food.
C.Most people would frighten away the bears that would temp their food.
D.Seeing a pack, the bear would quickly snatch it and run away with it.
【小题4】Bear-proof containers didn’t work because         .
A.bears were clever enough to get the food in them
B.they were left open in the open air
C.people were not sure of their use
D.they were once used as rubbish cans

I’m trying to be a writer, but I can’t even start. What should I do?

Abraham, Nebraska

There are many ways to come up with ideas, one of which is to write down a list of your experiences, as well as things from your imagination. When you want to write, look in the notebook for ideas.

Books for writers often have good suggestions, too. One we like is Spilling Ink: A Yong Writer’s Handbook by Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter. Perhaps your library has it.

My classmates keep asking about a new movie I’ve seen. But I don’t want to spoil it for them. What should I do?

Corinne (by e-mail)

You could ask your classmates whether they are sure they want to know and if they insist, go ahead and tell them. You may be able to give them a general idea of the movie without revealing details of the ending.

I’m going to a soccer camp for youth, but I’m not sure if I’m good at soccer or if I’ll make friends.

Louise, New Hampshire

Soccer camp is for people who share an interest in the sport. No matter what a person’s ability is at the beginning, it’s likely that everyone will leave camp with improved skills.

Sharing a common interest may make conversations easier. Smile, be friendly, and have a sense of humor. Before long, you may find that you’ve made some good friends.

Someone invited me to a birthday party. When I got there, kids were doing stuff I’m not interested in, like watching scary movies. I told them my mom would pick me up, so I just left. Was I rude for doing that?

Sam (by e-mail)

You just did the right thing and that isn’t being rude.

We hope you’ll talk with your parents about this. They’re probably proud of what you did. They may have other suggestions for you, too. Talk about different situations that might come up and what would be the best way to handle (处理) them.

1.Who is interested in Spilling Ink: A Yong Writer’s Handbook?

A.Corinne.          B.Louise.            C.Abraham.          D.Sam.

2.What can we learn about the soccer camp?

A.The practice is hard but interesting.

B.It is difficult to make friends in the camp.

C.The camp only wants people who are new to soccer.

D.One’s skills can be improved when leaving the camp.

3.The answer to Sam’s question shows what Sam did is _____.

A.funny            B.strange           C.foolish            D.smart

4.According to the passage, you can make friends by the following means EXCEPT _________.

A.keeping smiling                         B.Being humorous

C.Changing your habits                     D.Being friendly to others

5.This purpose of the text is to _____.

A.give advice        B.tell stories         C.find friends        D.share interests

 

Catch yourself daydreaming while washing the dishes again? If this happens often you probably have a pretty capable working memory and a sharper brain, new research suggests.

This mind wandering, it seems, actually gives your working memory a workout. Working memory is the mental work space that allows the brain to juggle multiple thoughts at the same time. The more working memory a person has, the more daydreaming they can do without forgetting the task at hand.

Researchers studied groups of people from the University of Wisconsin-Madison community, ranging in age from 18 to 65. The volunteers were asked to perform simple tasks, like pressing a button every time they took a breath or clicking in response to a letter popping up on a computer screen; these tasks were so easy that their minds were likely to wander, the researchers figured.

The researchers checked in periodically, asking the participants if their minds were on task or wandering. When the task was over, they measured each participant's working memory capacity by having them remember letters while doing math questions. Though all participants performed well on the task, the researchers noticed that the individuals who indicated their minds had wandered more than others also scored higher on the working memory test.

“What this study seems to suggest is that, when circumstances for the task aren't very difficult, people who have additional working memory resources allocate them to think about things other than what they're doing,” said Jonathan Smallwood, a study researcher of the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitve and Brain Science.

When our minds run out of working memory, these off-topic thoughts can take the main stage without us consciously meaning them to; for instance, arriving at home with no memory of the actual trip, or suddenly realizing that they've turned several pages in a book without understanding any of the words.

“It's almost like your attention was so absorbed in the mind wandering that there wasn't any left over to remember your goal to read,” study researcher Daniel Levinson, said in a statement.

People with overall higher working memory were better able to stay focused when the task at hand required it. Those who had low working memory often had their thoughts drift away from the task, and did less well at it.

The findings add to past research suggesting these mind drifts can be positive moments. For instance, daydreaming has often been associated with creativity—researchers think that our most creative and inventive moments come when daydreaming. It's likely that the most intelligent among us also have high levels of working memory, Levinson noted.

1.The word “juggle” in the second paragraph can be replaced by “________”.

A. handle  B. search  C. understand  D. distribute

2.What can be concluded from Jonathan Smallwood's words?

A. People who often have daydreams probably own a pretty capable working memory.

B. On the working memory test, people with wandering minds will get high score.

C. Absorbed in the mind wandering, your attention left no space for your goal.

D. Dealing with some easy jobs, people with higher working memory will daydream.

3.What is the best title of the passage?

A. Mind drifts are always positive.

B. Daydreaming is good for the mind.

C. Creative moments come with working memory.

D. The more daydreaming, the more effectively one works.

 

During the twentieth century, cars, electric lights, space travel and amazing advances in medicine changed people’s lives. So what might this new century bring? There are hundreds of predictions flying around — let’s have a light-hearted look at some of them.

In a recent UK survey, teenagers were asked to make predictions about the year 2020. One of the most common predictions was that school uniforms won’t be around. They also predicted that both girls and boys will wear make-up more often, and more than 75% of men will wear skirts regularly. My dad is 65 next Saturday — I think I’ll buy him a skirt as a birthday present and tell him he’ll soon be in fashion!

Other predictions involve changing roles of men and women. By 2017, some people say that single men of working age will form more than 10% of all families. It is also predicted that washing powder advertisements will include more men because more of them will do housework. I’ll tell that to my husband when he gets home and see how keen he is to wash the dishes!

Many predictions are about crime and safety problems. Some people think that crime will improve and the world will become a more peaceful place. Others believe that crime is going to worsen and that people will stay at home becoming completely dependent on the Internet for shopping and work. It is also predicted that you will need an electronic card to get into parks as parents demand safe play areas for their children. This is old news for me --- our local government is going to introduce one this summer.

Technology is predicted to play an even more important role in our lives in the future. Some parents might have cameras at home so they can keep an eye on their children while they are out. Quick, kids, turn off the TV and do your homework!

Here’s another prediction. Researchers have concluded that cultural activity may add years to your life. The cinema, theatre and concerts may give us a longer life because they encourage strong feelings. Well, we’re watching Bridget Jones’ Diary this Friday night. Will that help us live longer?

Let’s finish up with my favourite prediction. In the future, elderly people are going to make up a larger proportion of the world’s population than ever before. In Britain, an estimated 100,000 people now in their thirties may live to be 100. And that includes me! I’ll have a big, big party, I promise!

1. The writer’s father ________ .

   A. has just turned sixty-five

   B. wears skirts

   C. is very fashionable

   D. is about to turn sixty-five

2.Why might more men do housework in the future?

   A. Washing powder advertisements suggest it.

   B. Men won’t want to work in offices any more.

   C. Traditional roles of men and women will change.

   D. Women will refuse to wash the dishes.

3.According to the passage, people might ________ , if crime worsens.

   A. need electronic cards to get into their homes

   B. stay at home and depend on the Internet

   C. help to make the world a more peaceful place

   D. work harder and make more money

4.Which of the following is NOT true?

   A. It’s likely that the writer is to live to be 100.

   B. The writer promises that she is going to hold a big, big party soon.

   C. Without an electronic card, you can’t get into a park freely in the future.

   D. The writer holds a positive attitude towards the changes in the new century.

5.From the passage, we may infer that the writer is probably ____ .

   A. a professional news reporter.

   B. a young and attractive sales girl.

   C. a middle-aged British housewife.

   D. a responsible government official.

 

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