第二节  完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，共30分)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，从每题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

In some cities, workaholism （废寝忘食工作） is so common that people don’t consider it unusual. They accept the lifestyle as   36  . Government workers in Washington, D. C.,   37  , frequently work sixty to seventy hours a week. They don’t do this because they have to; they do it because they  38  . Workaholism can be a   39    problem. Because true workaholics would rather work than do anything else, they   40   have no idea of how to relax ; that is, they might not   41  movies, sports, or other types of entertainment. Most of all, they   42   to sit and do nothing. The lives of workaholics are usually stressful , and the tension（紧张）and worry can cause   43    problems such as heart attacks and stomach diseases.   44  , typical workaholics don’t pay much attention to their families. Their marriages may end in   45   as they spend little time with their families. 

Most students hate their endless homework. The students from Class 2, Senior 2 of the High School Affiliated to Peking University certainly did before they published their own collection of English novels at home.

Their small book contains stories about a holy (神圣的) war, the happy life of a self-taught artist and the story of a laid-off worker who devoted his last breath to playing his beloved accordion (手风琴). The book becomes an instant hit on campus. About 3,000 copies have been sold and the class is already working on the second volume.

"We're up to our ears in homework. Exercises and exams make us out of breath. But to do something creative and full of imagination is such a great achievement," said Yu Xiaoxiao, 16.

"I took the writing as an ordinary homework at the beginning, but after I finished the first part of my story, I could not help but let it flow," said Wang An, who wrote "Accordion".

Inspired by "Lord of the Rings", Jiang Lu wrote his story about magic wars between angels from the light and the dark side. "The main message of the story was to look at the balance of the world. Both dark and light angels fight with love as their weapons. I want to tell people that selfish love might bring hate," Jiang said.

"I was shocked by their work and felt so proud to be the editor of my students' book," said Nathaniel Timmermann, the oral English teacher at the school. Liu Xiuqin, an English teacher, started the project by asking students to write whatever was in their mind every week. "They have performed beyond expectation," Liu said. "They wrote interesting stories and their English has improved after they started to express their real minds."

"We never imagined that our homework would be so popular and profitable (盈利的). We sell the novels at five yuan, but many teachers pay more to encourage us," said Yuan Mengyao.

1. After Wang An finished the first part of his story, he _________.

A. couldn't go on                 B. had to put it aside   

C. just wanted to express it freely   D. lost it

2.What was not the outcome of the students' homework of writing whatever was in their mind?

A. Being popular.            B. Being profitable. 

C. Improving their English.    D. Winning prize.

3.What is the reason for the students' liking to write interesting stories?

A. It is creative and imaginative.             

B. It is profitable.

C. Interesting stories are sure to be popular.   

D. Interesting stories can be well sold.

4.What is the best title of this passage?

A. Creative homework leads to a popular book      

B. Writing interesting stories

C. Students' new book           

D. A popular book

I once had my Chinese MBA students brainstorming on “two-hour business plans”. I separated them into six groups and gave them an example: a restaurant chain. The more original their idea, the better, I said. Finally, five of the six groups presented plans for restaurant chains. The sixth proposed a catering(餐饮) service. Though I admitted the time limit had been difficult, I expressed my disappointment.

My students were middle managers, financial analysts and financiers from state-owned enterprises and global companies. They were not without talent or opinions, but they had been shaped by an educational system that rarely stressed or rewarded critical thinking or inventiveness. The scene I just described came in different forms during my two years’ teaching at the school. Papers were often copied from the Web and the Harvard Business Review. Case study debates were written up and just memorized. Students frequently said that copying is a superior business strategy, better than inventing and creating.

In China, every product you can imagine has been made and sold. But so few well-developed marketing and management minds have been raised that it will be a long time before most people in the world can name a Chinese brand.

With this problem in mind, partnerships with institutions like Yale and MIT have been established. And then there’s the “thousand-talent scheme”: this new government program is intended to improve technological modernization by attracting top foreign-trained scientists to the mainland with big money. But there are worries about China’s research environment. It's hardly known for producing independent thinking and openness, and even big salary offers may not be attractive enough to overcome this.

At last, for China, becoming a major world creator is not just about setting up partnerships with top Western universities. Nor is it about gathering a group of well-educated people and telling them to think creatively. It’s about establishing a rich learning environment for young minds. It’s not that simple.

1.Why does the author feel disappointed at his students?

2.Which of the following scenes is NOT considered as lack of creation?

3.The underlined word “scheme” in the forth paragraph means__________.

4.We can infer from the passage that ___________.

5.Which is the best title of the passage?

  uChildren start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children’s curiosity. Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said, “Now that we’ve finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”

After a long pause, a boy raised his hand,” Have you ever seen a grasshopper（蚱蜢） eat? When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”

This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours. 

Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical（符合逻辑的）,complete and creative answers. 

Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right” or “Very good”. These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior. But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying, “That’s interesting” or “I’d never thought of it that way before”, or coming up with more questions or ideas. 

Never push a child to “Think”. It doesn’t make sense, children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, in as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target for your disagreement. 

Lastly, show doesn’t tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass（放大镜）, and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates （蒸发）,set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop. 

1. According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is__________

A. to share the children’s curiosity

B. to let them see the world around        

C. to explain difficult phrases about science  

D. to supply the children with lab equipment

2. In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word “lists” could best be replaced by_______ 

A. any questions                  B. textbook questions     

C. questions about science          D. questions seven-year-olds are curious about

3. According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adult____________. 

A. wait at least for three seconds after a question

 B. tell them to answer the next day 

C. ask them to answer quickly       

D. wait for one or two seconds after a question

4. In which of the following paragraph（s） does the author tell us what to say to encourage children in a science discussion?

A. The second and third.      B. The fourth and fifth. 

C. The fifth and sixth.          D. The seventh. 

C

The day before the deadline for this article,I had no clue what I was going to write about. I took my problem to the editor-in-chief, and.he said to me:“Don’t worry; you’re creative. ”

I’m not sure where the editor-in-chief reached the conclusion that I was “creative”. Maybe it was through the poems I wrote. Personally, I simply enjoy writing because it’s fun. There’s also the fact that I can’t draw or do anything else creatively, I’m equally sure that there are people in the boat on the other side who can make things look excellent, but can’t write a poem.

At this point you probably want to ask me what poetry and art have to do with engineering.  For one, it makes you a more rounded person, making you a better engineer. More importantly, as an engineer, you will be faced with many problems every day. There are some that can be solved by consulting a textbook, but more often than not, you will need that thing in your brain to put together things in a completely original combination to solve the problem at hand.

Think of the wonderful things that creative engineers have done. Civil engineers have made the road more long-lasting so we don’t have to close them for repairs as often. Coming up with a new innovation (创新) is similar to writing a good poem. It’s not some-thing you plan to do. The critical moment comes unexpectedly in the middle of nowhere. You don’t think about what you’re doing, you simply do. After some mad struggling you take a look at the end product and say to yourself, “This is a masterpiece. ” This is perhaps the greatest personal satisfaction one can

experience.

So all you engineers out there get out and do something creative. I don’t care if it’s writing a poem or a computer program, just be natural and do something creative.

66. This passage mainly deals with_______.

A. the creativity of engineers                             B.the power of editor-in-chief

C. engineering in general                                  D. a way of thinking

67. In the author’s opinion, writing poems can_______.

A.show one is creative                                      B. make him happy

C. bring him in lots of money                                   D. have an effect on one’s mental health

68. According to the author, art can help an engineer to_______.

A.find the solutions to problems                        B. learn to write poetry

C. be courageous in face of challenges                D. get along well with others

69. Coming up with a new innovation is similar to writing a good poem in that both are_______.

A. logically developed                                      B. strictly planned

C.experience- based                                          D. naturally creative

70. The greatest personal satisfaction of an engineer comes from_______.

A.planning his work successfully                       B. building things quickly

C. finishing his work innovatively                      D.writing good poems naturally