It was Mother's Day，but the young mother was a little unhappy，because she was 800 miles away from her parents．In the morning she phoned her mother to wish her a happy Mother's Day，and her mother told her about the beautiful lilacs（丁香）in the garden．

Later that day，when she told her husband about the lilacs，he said，“I know where we can find all that you want．Get the children and come on．”So they went，driving down the country roads．

There on a small hill，they saw a lot of beautiful purple(紫色的) lilacs．The young woman ran quickly to enjoy the flowers．Carefully，she picked a few here and a few there．On their way home there was a smile on her face．

When they were passing a nursing home（养老院），the young woman saw an old granny sitting in a chair．She had no children with her．They stopped the car and the young woman walked to the old woman，put the flowers in her hands，and smiled at her．The old granny thanked her again and again．She smiled happily，too．

When the young mother came back to her car，her children asked her，“Who is that old granny？Why did you give our flowers to her？”

“I don't know her，”their mother said．“But it's Mother's Day，and she has no children．I have all of you，and I still have my mother．Just think how much those flowers meant to her．”

56. The young woman was a little unhappy on Mother's Day because        ．

A．she didn't have a present            B．she was a long way from her mother

C．she didn't know it was Mother's Day  D．she wanted to see her father

57. The young woman had        ．

A．one child                      B．no child 

C．more than one child            D．a boy and a girl

58.The young woman gave the flowers to the old granny because        ．

A．she was her mother           B．she didn't like those flowers

C．her mother asked her to do so D．she wanted the old granny to be happy，too

59. Which of the following is NOT true？

A．The young woman was kind．     B．The young woman was understanding．

C．The young woman was friendly． D．The young woman was surprised．

根据句意及所给首字母，填入一个合适的单词。（共10小题，每小题0.5分，满分5分）
【小题1】At last he was p____________ to take his brother’s advice.
【小题2】A stay in the country will be b______________ to his health.
【小题3】They decided to buy some new e_____________ for the lab.
【小题4】A customer was talking with the manager, with their hands c_________.
【小题5】You don’t seem very e______________ about the suggestion.
【小题6】They are looking forward to a___________ that old play to their needs.
【小题7】She is not generous at all. She is always m_________ with her money.
【小题8】D___________ to his research, he always forgets to have dinner.
【小题9】The lack of rain could s__________ disaster for farmers.
【小题10】Speech and writing are man’s most important methods of c____________.

—Let me help you cross the street.

   —        ! I’m not that old.

    A．Take your time B．No way         C．Come on        D．Of course

Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine.“Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,”William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word“habit”carries a negative meaning.

       So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

       Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

       But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

       “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,”says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind.“But we are taught instead to‘decide’, just as our president calls himself‘the Decider’．”She adds, however, that“to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

       “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,”she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

       The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought.“This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,”explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner.“That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.”This is where developing new habits comes in.

1.Brain researchers have discovered that      .

       A．the forming of new habits can be guided

       B．the development of habits can be predicted

       C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed

       D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

2.The underlined word “ruts”in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to       .

       A．zones                     B．connections             C．situations                D．tracks

3.Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

       A．Decision makes no sense in choices.

       B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.

       C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.

       D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

4.he purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us       .

       A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately

       B．to create and develop new habits consciously

       C．to resist the application of standardized testing

       D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits

The long speech given by that old professor seemed _____ and endless. He felt so _____ that he nearly fell asleep.