Why do people drink too much, eat too much, smoke cigarettes or take drugs? What’s to blame for all the bad behavior? Most people would say that, while these self-destructive acts can have many root causes, they all have one obvious thing in common: they are all examples of failures of self-control, lacking the will power to resist them.

According to a recent study, however, if you really think about it, something about that simple answer doesn’t quite make sense. In fact, it turns out that sometimes it’s having will power that really gets you into trouble.

Think back to the time you took your very first sip (啜饮) of beer. Disgusting, wasn’t it? When my father gave me my first taste of beer as a teenager, I wondered why anyone would voluntarily drink it. And smoking? No one enjoys their first cigarette — it tastes awful. So even though smoking, and drinking alcohol or coffee, can become temptation (诱惑) you need will power to resist, they never, ever start out that way.

Just getting past those first horrible experiences actually requires a lot of self-control. Ironically (讽刺的是), only those who can control themselves well, rather than give in to them, can ever come to someday develop a “taste” for Budweiser beer, Marlboro cigarettes, or dark-roasted Starbucks coffee. We do it for social acceptance. We force ourselves to consume alcohol, cigarettes, coffee and even illegal drugs, in order to seem experienced, grown-up, and cool.

These bad habits aren’t self-control failures — far from it. They are voluntary choices, and they are in fact self-control successes. Self-control is simply a tool to be put to some use, helpful or harmful. To live happy and productive lives, we need to develop not only our self-control, but also the wisdom to make good decisions about when and where to apply it.

1.What do most people think causes bad behavior?

A．Being forced by others.

B．Not having enough will power.

C．Enjoying their first experiences.

D．Following the examples of their friends.

2.The author mentions his experience in the third paragraph to prove ____.

A．will power helps develop bad habits sometimes

B．drinking beer is harmful to the health of teenagers

C．self-control should be developed when one is young

D．everyone can be challenged by different temptations

3.In the last paragraph, the author stresses that ____.

A．without self-control, no one can succeed

B．bad habits don’t always lead to bad results

C．applying self-control correctly is important

D．people can develop wisdom from bad behavior

4.What would be the best title for the passage?

A．My First Sip of Beer                      B．Do You Have Will Power ?

C．Does Will Power Benefit Us?               D．Dark Side of Self-control

The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.

This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.

Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, he delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.

The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.

1.The passage mainly deals with          .

2.By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could         .

3.In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.

4.What can be concluded from the passage?

The First Americans

There was a time long ago when a land bridge connected Asia and North America. The first settlers in North America crossed this land bridge from what is now Siberia to Alaska. The people who made this initial(最初的) crossing were probably following the animals they used for food. Eventually, the oceans rose and the land bridge between the continents disappeared. The settlers, who I shall call the “First Americans”， could not return to their homeland. _1.__

For the next few thousand years, the First Americans migrated（迁徙） south and east throughout North and South America. They made the journey all the way from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, a distance of more than 10, 000 miles. __2.__In the far north, above the Arctic Circle, the First Americans became hunters of the ocean.  __3.__ In the brief summer，they gathered berries and other plants. In the winter, they stayed in lodges much of the time preparing for the next summer. It was a hard life，but they learned to survive in these harsh conditions.

Farther south, in what is now Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico, the First Americans became cliff dwellers(悬崖居民). They began by living in caves that already existed in the cliffs.__ 4.__ The dwellings(住处) they constructed in many ways resembled today's apartment buildings.__ 5.__ They built a system of dams and canals so they could store and use water almost any time of the year. They were so successful that they could raise fruits and vegetables that were not found naturally in the desert. In Mexico and South America, the First Americans founded civilizations that were among the greatest in the world. They built huge pyramids, lived in fabulous cities, and made great advances in science and mathematics long before the Europeans arrived.

A. They also discovered foods like corn and potatoes.

B. Along the way，they established（建立） many different civilizations.

C. The First Americans of the Southwest learned to irrigate（灌溉） the desert.

D. They would have to survive in the New World they had discovered.

E. They built boats of animal skins and hunted or fished for their food.

F. People living near each other tended to share similar environments and customs.

G. They discovered how to add to the caves by building structures of wood and stone.

Howard Dill is a giant among giant pumpkin growers. He grew world champion pumpkins for four years running，from 1979 to 1982，and missed winning the fifth year by a mere 5 pounds. Today，his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds are sold worldwide to more than 50 seed companies. The pumpkins grown from his Dill Atlantic Giant seeds commonly weigh in at over 1,000 pounds.“I don’t have any training in genetics ；it was all trial and error，”Dill says. He inherited his love of pumpkins from his father and has enjoyed growing them for years.

Dill still grows giant pumpkins, but not for competition. In the fall, visitors come to enjoy the pumpkin patch on his 90-acre farm in Nova Scotia，Canada. He plants ten acres of pumpkins for Halloween and two acres of giant pumpkins. One of giant pumpkins was recently baked into 442 pumpkin pies and sold at $ 5 each for charity.

It you want to try growing a giant pumpkin, Dill recommends starting with a soil test and then adding fertilizer as needed. Plant the giant pumpkin seed. A giant pumpkin can gain 15 to 20 pounds a day， so careful watering—every day or two—is essential. You should wait about 130 days until the pumpkin matures and then you can harvest it.

Dill’s favorite pumpkin set the Guinness Book record in 1981. It weighted 493.5 pounds. “I’ve grown them larger since， but that one meant a lot,” he remembers. “I never would have predicted ten years ago that there would be a 1,000-pounder，but there are many of them now，”says Dill。The 2006 world record holder is Larry Checkon of Pennsylvania. He grew a 1,469 pounder. Dill says, “These world champions are grown from my seeds， so I feel like a winner right along with them.”

1.What can we learn about the world champion pumpkin of 1983?

A．It weighed over 1,000 pounds.

B．It was missing after the competition.

C．It was 5 pounds heavier than that of 1982.

D．It was 5 pounds heavier than Dill’s biggest one that year.

2.One of Dill’s giant pumpkins earned         .

A．$2210            B．$442             C．$1000            D．$1469

3.In the third paragraph Dill mainly tells about        .

A．how to do a soil test                     B．how to plant the giant pumpkin seed

C．when to water the pumpkin               D．how to grow a giant pumpkin

4.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Howard Dill is well trained in genetics.

B．Howard Dill grows pumpkins just for competiton.

C．Dill felt proud of Larry Checkon’s champion pumpkin.

D．Dill’s favorite pumpkin is the heaviest of all those he has ever grown.

5.Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Gardening Giant: Howard Dill              B．World Champion Pumpkin

C．Dill Atlantic Giant Seeds                   D．How to Grow Giant Pumpkins

阅读下面的短文，根据短文后的要求答题（请注意问题后的字数要求）。

[1] When I was in primary school , I got into an argument with a boy in my class . I have forgotten what the argument was about , but I have never forgotten the lesson learned that day .

[2] I was convinced that “ I ” was right and “ he ” was wrong－and he was just as convinced that      and “ he ” was right . The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson . She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other .

[3] In the middle of her desk was a large , round object . I could clearly see that it was black . She asked the boy what color the object was . “ White , ” he answered .

[4] I couldn’t believe he said the object was white , when it was obviously black ! Another argument started between my classmate and me , this time about the color of the object .

[5] The teacher told me to go to stand where the boy was standing and told him to come to stand where I had been . We changed places , and now she asked me what the color of the object was . I had to answer , “ White .” it was an object with two differently colored sides , and from his viewpoint it was white . Only from my side was it black .

[6] My teacher taught me a very important lesson that day : You must stand in the other persons’ shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their perspective（看法）.

1.What is the main idea of the text ? ( no more than 8 words )

2.Complete the following statement with proper words . ( no more than 4 words )

                 was unbelievable , for the object was obviously black .

3.What did the teacher ask the students while changing positions ? ( no more than 6 words )

4.Fill in the blank in Paragraph 2 with proper words . ( no more than 3 words )

5.What does the word “ it ”(the underlined word in Paragraph 5) probably refer to ? ( no more than 3 words )