It is not a secret that these are turbulent times that put everyone on edge all the time and it makes people angry with their families, co-workers, friends and relatives, frustrated (沮丧的)and highly annoyed just for the noise of the neighbors or the music coming from the opposite house. Anger and negative energy have a strong influence on everyone’s life, even when they don’t realize it.
Being in a calm state of mind is simply wonderful. Results of this can be seen when parents no longer shout at their children over any small thing and when one can keep him cool when bad things happen and doesn’t let the situation become worse by his negative influence.
Also results can be seen on a larger scale. In 1993 a very interesting scientific experiment called The US Transcendental Meditation experiment was conducted in Washington. A company called TM got 4,000 calm and relaxed people to simply sit and meditate (冥想) in a central Washington convention center. The results of this experiment showed that during those particular 8 weeks, violent crimes, such as murder, rape, assaults, clearly decreased by as much as 23%.
This is evident proof that meditation can change the state of mind, bring back peace of mind and collective meditation is contagious (蔓延的), just as anything done collectively is contagious. For example, a person has the urge to become aggressive (while in normal circumstances that person is very calm and normal), just because he is sitting at a stadium watching a football game and everyone around is shouting and is aggressive.
Isn’t increasing the quality of life worth spending 20 minutes of time on meditation? Yes, very few people follow through with a meditation method that should be a joy to do. Many start and leave it after only a few sessions.
So if collective meditation has proven that meditation works, that it calms people down and that it brings their levels of stress down, why not employ it in everyday life?
【小题1】The underlined word “turbulent” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “     ”.

It is not a secret that these are turbulent times that put everyone on edge all the time and it makes people angry with their families, co-workers, friends and relatives, frustrated (沮丧的)and highly annoyed just for the noise of the neighbors or the music coming from the opposite house. Anger and negative energy have a strong influence on everyone’s life, even when they don’t realize it.

Being in a calm state of mind is simply wonderful. Results of this can be seen when parents no longer shout at their children over any small thing and when one can keep him cool when bad things happen and doesn’t let the situation become worse by his negative influence.

Also results can be seen on a larger scale. In 1993 a very interesting scientific experiment called The US Transcendental Meditation experiment was conducted in Washington. A company called TM got 4,000 calm and relaxed people to simply sit and meditate (冥想) in a central Washington convention center. The results of this experiment showed that during those particular 8 weeks, violent crimes, such as murder, rape, assaults, clearly decreased by as much as 23%.

This is evident proof that meditation can change the state of mind, bring back peace of mind and collective meditation is contagious (蔓延的), just as anything done collectively is contagious. For example, a person has the urge to become aggressive (while in normal circumstances that person is very calm and normal), just because he is sitting at a stadium watching a football game and everyone around is shouting and is aggressive.

Isn’t increasing the quality of life worth spending 20 minutes of time on meditation? Yes, very few people follow through with a meditation method that should be a joy to do. Many start and leave it after only a few sessions.

So if collective meditation has proven that meditation works, that it calms people down and that it brings their levels of stress down, why not employ it in everyday life?

1.The underlined word “turbulent” in Paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to “     ”.

A．changeless        B．disorderly         C．perfect           D．expected

2.According to Paragraph 3, the scientific experiment      .

A．was to test whether meditation is useful

B．was conducted throughout America

C．asked the participants to do a lot of sports

D．had no particular requirements on the participants

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A．Violent crimes are closely related to aggressive characters.

B．People are sometimes easily annoyed by small things.

C．Many people fail to carry out a meditation method.

D．Meditation can cure people of many illnesses.

As a teenager of the digital era, it is really hard to say no to fantastic electronic gadgets（电子产品）. Many of us can’t get through a day without using our mobile phones or checking our e-mails. No matter if we’re “@home”, “@school” or “@play”, living without technological toys seems more and more unthinkable.

       However, although gadgets bring convenience, many of us can start to feel stressed out by them. And, a lot of electronics are fairly expensive. Fashionable gadgets come and go in the digital age in the blink of any eye. So, think twice before you pulling out your wallet.

       Here are some of the most popular gadgets and their pros and cons:

       Pros: Laptops have made our lives much easier. You can take your books, movies, music and homework everywhere.

       Cons: They cost at least 4,000 yuan! If you only want to share photos or games with your friends, then a flash memory stick is a great cheap alternative.

       Pros: As well as carrying your favorite music, a video MP3 player can play up to 150 hours of movies and TV programmes.

       Cons: The price – sometimes more than 2,000 yuan – is the first concern. Secondly, though music is really important to young people, ask yourself if video is really necessary. A regular MP3 player is a lot cheaper. And remember, don’t let the loud volume damage your hearing.

       Pros: New mobile phones combine traditional functions with a digital camera, MP3 player and even a radio. Some can also send and receive e-mails.

       Cons: Always trying to keep up with the latest model can be a waste of money. There are always new, improved phones coming out. Don’t be a fool. Do you really need all these functions? Think twice before you buy.

1．According to the writer, which of the following statements is true?

       A．Teenagers can’t live through a day without fantastic electronic gadgets.

       B．Teenagers can hardly live happily without electronic gadgets.

       C．Teenagers’ life is full of expensive electronic gadget.

       D．It’s all but impossible for many teenagers to live without fantastic electronic gadgets.

2．What conclusion can we draw from the passage?

       A．Never buy the most updated gadgets.

       B．You should buy the gadgets with as many functions as possible.

       C．We needn’t always pay the most part to buy the most up-to-date gadgets with many functions.

       D．Never buy the latest model, it’s much too expensive.

3．Choose the statement most similar in meaning to the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2.

       A．Fashionable gadgets are updated in the digital times in a flash.

       B．Fashionable gadgets are transported everywhere in the digital age in the blink of any eye.

       C．People keep buying and throwing away expensive fashionable gadgets in the digital age in

the blink of any eye.

       D．People use all kinds of fashionable gadgets all the time in the digital age.

4．What do the words “pros and cons” mean in the selection.

       A．Agreements and disagreements.

       B．The views that are favored and not favored by people.

       C．Benefits and bads.

       D．Advantages and disadvantages.

One day not too long ago the employees of a large company in St .Louis, Missouri returned from their lunch break and were greeted with a sign on the front door. The sign said: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering(阻碍) your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to attend the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.”
At first everyone was sorry to hear that one of their colleagues had died, but after a while they started getting curious about who this person might be. The excitement grew as the employees arrived at the gym to pay their last respects. Everyone wondered: “Who is this person that was hindering my progress? Well, at least he’s no longer here! ”One by one the employees got closer to the coffin (棺材) and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood over the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is you.”
You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself. Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when you change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life.
【小题1】The underlined word “funeral” in the first paragraph means ________.

ROME: The legend of Leonardo da Vinci is covered in mystery: How did he die? Are the remains buried in a French castle really those of the master? Was the "Mona Lisa" a self-portrait in disguise (伪装)?
A group of Italian scientists believe the key to solving those puzzles lies with the remains, and they say they are seeking permission to dig up the body to conduct carbon and DNA testing.
If the skull is undamaged, the scientists can go to the heart of a question that has fascinated scholars and the public for centuries: the identity of the "Mona Lisa." Recreating a virtual and then physical reconstruction of Leonardo's face, they can compare it with the smiling face in the painting.
"We don't know what we'll find if the tomb is opened. We could even just find grains and dust," says Giorgio Gruppioni, an anthropologist who is participating in the project. "But if the remains are well kept, they are a biological record of events in a person's life, and sometimes in their death." Silvano Vinceti, the leader of the group, said that he plans to press his case with the French officials in charge of the said burial site at Amboise Castle early next week.
Leonardo moved to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who named him "first painter to the king." He spent the last three years of his life there, and died in 1519 at age 67. The artist's original burial place, the palace church of Saint Florentine, was destroyed during the French Revolution and remains that are believed to be his were eventually reburied in the Saint-Hubert Chapel near the castle.
"The Amboise tomb is a symbolic tomb; it's a big question mark," said Alessandro Vezzosi, the director of a museum dedicated to Leonardo in his hometown of Vinci. Vezzosi said that investigating the tomb could help identify the artist's bones with certainty and solve other questions, such as the cause of his death. He said he asked to open the tomb in 2004 to study the remains, but the Amboise Castle turned him down.
The group of 100 experts involved in the project, called the National Committee for Historical and Artistic Heritage, was created in 2003 with the aim of "solving the great mysteries of the past," said Vinceti, who has written books on art and literature.
Arguably the world's most famous painting, the "Mona Lisa" hangs in the Louvre in Paris, where it drew some 8.5 million visitors last year. Mystery has surrounded the identity of the painting's subject for centuries, with opinions ranging from the wife of a Florentine merchant to Leonardo's own mother.
That Leonardo intended the "Mona Lisa" as a self-portrait in disguise is a possibility that has interested and divided scholars. Theories have existed: Some think that Leonardo's taste for tricks and riddles might have led him to hide his own identity behind that puzzling smile; others have guessed that the painting hid an androgynous lover.
If granted access to the grave site, the Italian experts plan to use a tiny camera and radar to confirm the presence of bones. The scientists would then exhume (挖掘) the remains and attempt to date the bones with carbon testing.
At the heart of the proposed study is the effort to discover whether the remains are actually Leonardo's, including with DNA testing.
Vezzosi questions the DNA comparison, saying he is unaware of any direct descendants (后代) of Leonardo or of tombs that could be attributed with certainty to the artist's close relatives.
Gruppioni said that DNA from the bones could also eventually be compared to DNA found elsewhere. For example, Leonardo is thought to have rubbed colors on the canvas with his thumb, possibly using saliva (唾液), meaning DNA might be found on his paintings.
Even in the absence of DNA testing, other tests could provide useful information, including whether the bones belonged to a man or a woman, and whether the person died young or old.
Even within the committee, experts are divided over the identity of the "Mona Lisa."
Vinceti believes that a tradition of considering the self-portrait to be not just a faithful imitation of one's features but a representation of one's spiritual identity may have resonated (共鸣) with Leonardo.
Vezzosi, the museum director, dismissed as "baseless and senseless" the idea that the "Mona Lisa" could be a self-portrait of Leonardo. He said most researchers believe the woman may have been either a wife of the artist's sponsor, the Florentine nobleman Giuliano de Medici, or Lisa Gherardini, the wife of a rich silk merchant, Francesco del Giocondo. The traditional view is that the name "Mona Lisa" comes from the silk merchant's wife, as well as its Italian name: "La Gioconda."  
【小题1】Why does the author ask a couple of questions in the beginning?