“Time is a problem for children,” states a news report for a new Swiss watch. Children in some countries “learn time slowly” because “they don’t wear watches” and “parents don’t really know how to teach them time.” The children grow up with this handicap and become adults-and then can’t get to work on time. Is there an answer to this problem? Of course-it’s the Flick Flak, made by a famous Swiss watch company.

The Flick Flak is being marketed as something teaching watch for children aged 4 to 10. The watch itself does not teach children how to tell time, of course; it merely “takes their imagination” by presenting the “hour” hand as a beautiful red girl named Flak and the “minute” hand as a tall blue boy named Flick. Flick points to related “blue” minutes on the dial, while Flak points to “red” hour numbers. The characters and colors combined with parental help, are supposed to teach young children how to tell time.

The watch comes equipped with a standard battery and a nylon band (尼龙表带). Peter Lipkin, the United States sales manager for the Flick Flak, calls it “childproof: if it gets dirty you can throw the whole watch in the washing machine.” The product is being sold in select department stores in Europe, Asia and the United States for a suggested price of $25. Parents who buy the watch may discover that it is one thing to tell time; it’s quite another for them to be on time.

1.From the news report we know that ______.

A．parents are patient when teaching children time

B．parents have little idea of how to teach children time

C．children are likely to learn time quickly

D．children enjoy wearing the Flick Flak watch

2.The author doesn’t seem to believe ______.

A．children will be on time if they have not learnt how to tell time

B．a Flick Flak can help parents teach their children how to tell time

C．the Flick Flak can take children’s imagination

D．children usually have trouble telling time if they don’t wear watches

3.The underlined word handicap (Para. 1) means ______.

A．displeasure        B．discouragement     C．disappointment     D．disadvantage

4.The United State sales manager calls the new watch “childproof” because ______.

A．it is designed to teach children to be on time

B．it proves to be effective in teaching children time

C．it is made so as not to be easily damaged by children

D．it is the children’s favorite watch

Our spiritual intelligence quotient（精神智商）,or SQ, helps us understand ourselves, and live fuller, happier lives.

Though we're all born with SQ, most of us don't even realize that we have it. Fortunately, you don't have to sign up for classes to learn how to improve your SQ. Here are some simple steps that can lead you to this new level of understanding.

Sit Quietly. The process of developing spiritual intelligence begins with solitude（独处）and silence. To tune in to your spirit, you have to turn down the volume（强度）in your busy, noisy, complicated life and force yourself to do nothing at all. Start small by creating islands for silence in your day. In the car, instead of listening to the music, use the time to think. At work, shut the door to your office between meetings, take a few breaths and let them out very, very slowly. Enjoy the stillness in your home after the kids are finally in bed.

Step Outside. For many people, nature sets their spirit free. Go outside to watch a beautiful sunset. If you are walking with the dog, take the time to admire flowers in bloom; follow the flight of a bird and watch clouds float overhead.

Ask Questions of Yourself. Ask open-ended questions, such as "What am I Feeling? What are my choices? Where am I heading?"

But don't expect an answer to arrive through some supernatural forms of e-mail. “Rarely do I get an immediate answer to my question,” says Reverend Joan Carter, a Presbyterian minister in Sausalito, California. “But later that day I suddenly find myself thinking about a problem in a perspective（角度） I never considered before.”

Trust Your Spirit. While most of us rely on gut（本能的）feeling to realize danger, spiritual intelligence pushes us, not away from, but towards some action that will lead to a greater good.

1.The passage is mainly about______.

A. what your SQ is and in what way it can benefit our life

B. what your SQ is and in what way it can be improved

C. the relationship between your SQ and your life

D. advantages and disadvantages of SQ

2.The underlined phrase "to tune in to your spirit" in the third paragraph probably

means to_________

A. get your spirit relaxed                  B. keep up your spirit

C. keep seated quietly                  D. change your spirit

3.From the passage, we can know that the most important thing to improve your SQ is______

A. a peaceful mind                      B. deep thought

C. spare time and hobbies               D. good spirits

4.According to the passage, which of the following is True?

A. Not everyone has SQ.

B. You have to go to classes to learn how to improve your SQ.

C. SQ leads us to take wrong actions.

D. SQ can benefit our life.

Mr Smith, looking ______, started to work out a        problem.

A．puzzled, puzzling                        B．puzzling, puzzled

C．puzzled, puzzled                        D．puzzling, puzzling

Tired of living in the same location but don’t want to leave the house you love? That wouldn’t be a problem if architect Felipe Campolina had his way.

The Brazilian architect has designed a concept for a home tower consisting of portable, stackable (可叠起堆放的) apartment units, which he says opens up new possibilities for ways of living in the city.

His design would allow owners to take their home with them when they travel — whether for a weekend away or for longer periods, he said.

The mobile home tower project is at the concept stage, and it could be years before it is built, if ever at all.

But if it is realized, it would offer an eco-friendly solution to living in urban areas, Campolina said.

“We have enough technology to build with fewer materials and minimize (使减至最小) the impact on nature,” he said.

His vision would call for units with a green roof and walls and a system for recycling water.

The tower, whose first floor would be built nine meters above ground, would also make it possible to save space in thickly populated areas.

“It is designed to facilitate (使便利) its application in dense urban centers, where space is very limited,” he said.

Still just a concept, Campolina — who designed the building for architecture journal eVolo’s Skyscraper Competition — said with enough public interest, it just might become a reality one day.

1.We can learn from the first four paragraphs that the tower _____.

A．is now being built

B．is intended for people in the countryside

C．will be made up of mobile living units

D．was designed by a US architect

2.Which of the following is TRUE about the home tower?

A．All its walls will be painted blue.

B．It will have a waste paper recycling system.

C．It will be made of recycled rubbish.

D．It will do little harm to the environment.

3.The building’s first floor would be built high above ground _____.

A．to save space in crowded cities             B．to make the building attractive

C．to build the house solidly                 D．to fix its units more easily

Since ancient times, people have known about its ability to reduce pain and high body temperature. More than 2000 years ago, the Greek doctor Hippocrates advised his patients to chew on the bark and leaves of the willow.

    The tree contains a chemical called salicin（柳醇）. From salicin, researchers in the 1800s discovered how to make salicylic acid（酸）. And in 1897, a chemist named Felix Hoffmann at Friedrich Bayer and Company in Germany created acetyl salicylic acid. Later it became the active substance in a new medicine that Bayer called aspirin. The "a" came from acetyl. The "spir" came from the spirea plant, which also produces salicin. And the "in" Well, that is a common way to end medicine names.

In 1982, a British scientist shared the Nobel Prize in Medicine in part for discovering how aspirin works. Sir John Vane found that aspirin blocks the body from making natural substances called prostaglandins（前列腺素）.Prostaglandins have several effects on the body. Some cause pain and the expansion, or swelling（ 肿瘤; 膨胀）, of damaged tissue. Others protect the lining of the stomach and small intestine. Prostaglandins also make the heart, kidneys and blood vessels （血管）work well. But there is a problem. Aspirin works against all prostaglandins, good and bad. Scientists learned how aspirin interferes with an enzyme（酶）. One form of this enzyme makes the prostaglandin that causes pain and swelling. Another form of the enzyme creates a protective effect. So aspirin can reduce pain and swelling in damaged tissues. But it can also harm the inside of the stomach and small intestine（肠）.

1.What sickness can the medicine from the willow deal with according to the passage?

A. Cold        B. Toothache         C. Cancer        D. Skin disease

2.What can we know about Prostaglandin according to the passage?

A. It results from pain.   

B. It prevents the lining of the stomach and small intestine.

C. It causes blood vessels to work wrongly.

D. It is sometimes good but sometimes bad.

3.What can we know about aspirin according to the passage?

A. Aspirin can treat almost diseases.

B. Aspirin can create the protective enzyme.

C. Aspirin can harm the inside of the stomach and small intestine.

D. Aspirin can protect the inside of the stomach and small intestine.