It was Monday. Mrs. Smith's dog was hungry, but there was not any meat in the house.
　　Considering that there was no better way. Mrs. Smith took a piece of paper, and wrote the following words on it：“Give my dog half a pound of meat.” Then she gave the paper to her dog and said gently：“Take this to the butcher（* person whose job is selling meat）and he's going to give you your lunch today.”
　　Holding the piece of paper in its mouth, the dog ran to the butcher's. It gave the paper to the butcher. The butcher read it carefully, recognized that it was really the lady's handwriting and soon did it as he was asked to. The dog was very happy, and ate the meat up at once.
　　At noon, the dog came to the shop again. It gave the butcher a piece of paper again. After reading it, he gave it half a pound of meat once more.
　　The next day, the dog came again exactly at noon. And as usual, it brought a piece of paper in the mouth. This time, the butcher did not take a look at paper, and gave the dog its meat, for he had regarded the dog as one of his customers（*people who buy sth. from a shop）.
　　But, the dog came again at four o'clock. And the same thing happened once again. To the butcher's more surprise, it came for the third time at six o'clock, and brought with it a third piece of paper. The butcher felt a bit puzzled. He  said to himself, “This is a small dog. Why does Mrs. Smith give it so much meat to eat today?”
Looking at the piece of paper, he found that there were not any words on it！
【小题1】 It seemed that the dog knew well that the paper Mrs. Smith gave it ______ .

“Why do we shout in anger?” a saint (圣人) asked his disciples (门徒). “Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?”

His disciples thought for a while, and one of them said, “Because we    16    our calm, we shout for that.”

“But, why do you shout when the other person is    17    next to you?” asked the saint. “Isn’t it possible to speak to him or her with a soft    18   ? Why do you shout at a person when you’re angry?”

Disciples gave some other answers but none    19    the saint. Finally he explained, “When two people are angry at each other, their    20    distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the    21    they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.”

Then the saint asked, “What    22    when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close and the distance between them is very    23   .”

The saint continued, “When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak loudly, only whisper and they get    24    closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only    25    each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.”

The saint said finally, “When you argue, do not let your hearts get    26   , and do not say words that distance each other more, or there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not   27    the path to return!”

1.A. miss                               B. lose                                   C. avoid                                 D. refuse

2.A. already                         B. yet                                     C. just                                    D. well

3.A. voice                    B. sound                               C. attitude                            D. manner

4.A. excited                         B. satisfied                            C. surprised                         D. persuaded

5.A. heads                            B. brains                               C. backs                                D. hearts

6.A. faster                            B. slower                              C. louder                              D. earlier

7.A. happens                       B. matters                   C. decides                            D. concerns

8.A. short                             B. long                                   C. easy                                  D. hard

9.A. never                            B. ever                                  C. too                                    D. even

10.A. look at                        B. take over                         C. turn away                         D. rely on

11.A. empty                         B. distant                              C. cold                                   D. lonely

12.A. build                           B. repair                               C. follow                               D. find

Never argue with one's own understanding.

The whisper of intelligence is always there, whatever you do.

If you create a time lag (隔绝层) between the whisper of intelligence and understanding in you and your action, then you are preventing the brain from growing into a new size. When you argue with intelligence, when you postpone acting according to understanding then there is confusion, the brain gets confused.

The voice of understanding, the voice of intelligence has insecurity about it. How do you know that it is the right thing?

So we tend to ignore it. Instead we accept authority. We obey.

But the brain cannot be orderly, competent, accurate and precise if you do not listen to it, if you have no respect. We are so busy with the outside world and its force that the world that is inside us does not command that respect and reverence (敬重), that care and concern from us.

So one has to be a disciple (信徒) of one's own understanding, and look upon that understanding as the master.

Sometimes one may commit a mistake, it might be the whim (念头) of the ego and we might mistake the whim, the wish of the ego for the voice of silence and intelligence, but that we have to discover. Unless you commit mistakes, how do you learn to discriminate between the false and the true? In learning there is bound to be a little insecurity, a possibility of committing mistakes. Why should one be terribly afraid of committing mistakes?

So instead of accepting the authority of habits and conditionings, while one is moving one watches, and when there is a suggestion, do not neglect, ignore, or insult the whisper from within and from one's own intelligence.

1.What will happen if you refuse to follow your own understanding according to the above passage?

A．Your brain will become smaller.

B．You will never get help from authority.

C．You will hardly know the world.

D．Your own intelligence will stop growing.

2.What is the function of committing mistakes from the view of the author?

A．Mistakes can make one practical.

B．Mistakes can make one know the facts.

C．Mistakes can allow one more time to develop.

D．Mistakes can improve one’s judgment.

3. The whole passage is developed by ______.

A．facts and ideas                         B．reasoning and explaining

C．scientific experiments                    D．arguing and debating

4.The best title of the passage might be ______.

A．Never argue with your own understanding

B．Never believe any authority while arguing

C．Never neglect whispers from around you

D．Never stop training yourself.

So much to do, so little time．So much information, so little time to read．In this age there is more information than ever before．There is not enough time to read everything we want to read．However, you can take in and understand more information in shorter time through speed-reading．This article will not make you read 3,000 words per minute, but it will show you how to increase your speed greatly．You will also learn the basic techniques of speed reading, along with the dos and don’ts of speed-reading．
When you first learned to read, you would say the word out loud and sound it out．Then you might whisper the word because people can become annoyed when you read aloud．The stage you are now at is saying the word in your head．Most people tend to read this way．Saying the word in your head will cut your reading speed tremendously （极大的）．
How do you calculate your reading speed? The speed is measured by how many words per minute you can read．Get some reading material, preferably a book．Find out how many words are on the page．Time yourself one minute．Start your timer and start reading．When the timer sounds, stop at once．If you counted 500 words on the page and you read half of the page, then you are probably reading at 250 words per minute．
The first thing about speed-reading is looking at the word and recognizing it．Don’t say the word in your mind, just look at it and recognize its appearance．Later you will recognize groups of four words or more to increase your speed．This is the first and most important step in speed-reading．
The next step is technique．As with any other skill, speed-reading requires technique．You should first be sitting up straight with your book on a horizontal （水平的） surface, such as a table or desk．Next, should be able to see the entire page．This is necessary if you want to recognize clumps of words．Lastly, you should be focused．It’s hard to read with a lot of noise．Find a quiet place to read．This will help your understanding of the text．You need something to guide your eyes while reading．Then right, you should use your hand．Remember when you were little, you would read using your finger．That is a great technique, only now you’re using your hand to underline each line．Move your finger smoothly across page．No need to go rush, start out slow．Keep your eyes focused on words as you recognize them while using your hand as a guide．This will increase your speed．
The third step is practice．Practice makes perfect．Set time intervals．Read using different techniques,
but make sure you understand what you’re reading．
【小题1】Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

A Train Floating On Air
A train that floats on air? It's not magic―it's magnets (磁).And it's close to reality.
In Virginia USA the fall of 2002, a train with no wheels traveled on air and carried college students across their campus.In Japan, a whisper-quiet railway engine hovered and raced at 350 miles per hour using magnets and electricity as the power.And in China, a magnet train line linked Shanghai with nearby Pudong Airport.
These trains use magnetic levitation (悬浮) technology, “maglev” for short. They use the same rules as the magnets you pick up at home or school: opposite poles of magnets attract each other, and like poles repel each other.
How does it work?
Powerful magnets on the bottom of the train repel magnets on the track, which is actually just a magnet-filled guiding way. With a magnetic field of sufficient force, the train will go hovering on air, which seemed impossible to us in the past.
When an electrical current is sent through the track, the train moves. Turn the current backwards and the train slows down.
Maglev doesn't rely on the friction (摩擦力) of wheels on track, so it can climb a much steeper hill than a traditional train. And it can travel easily in snow and ice, something that could bring normal trains to a screaming stop.    
【小题1】This passage is about __________.

A．A maglev train can climb mountains without power while an ordinary one can’t.

B．A maglev train can travel in college campus while an ordinary train is not allowed.

C．Travelling without a track, a maglev train is safer and smoother than an ordinary one.

D．Floating on a track, a maglev train is faster, quieter than an ordinary railway train.