During the Christmas break from college, a young man wanted to borrow his father’s car. He was going to a New Year’s Eve   21  to be held in Vermont. The father was   22  about the son hitting one of the roadblocks that people set up all over the place on New Year’s Eve. However, a(n)   23  reached was that the son would be allowed to use the car, but he would not drink at all.

So he drove to Vermont, got completely   24 , and attempted to drive home. On the way home he hit a roadblock. He was told to   25  the car and stand in a line of people that were being given the sobriety (not drunk)   26 . However, the policeman   27  him out. He was   1. standing off to the side while the others were   29  the police officer how well they could walk a   30  line, etc.

At 7:00 am the next morning, his father got up to answer the   31 . There were   32  policemen there. They asked him if he was the   33  of that red FIAT. He replied, “Yes, I am.” One of the policemen asked him if he was driving the car the evening before and he said that his son had been the driver.

When the young man   34  himself in front of the policemen, he knew he was in some sort of   35 . Upon questioning, he   36  that he was driving the car. But when asked if he had been   37 , he said, “NO!” When the policemen asked if they could see his car, he was unable to remember the   38 . He said that it was in the garage.

And when the four of them walked out to look at the car, instead of looking at the car he had driven the   39  before, they saw a   40  car parked there.

   The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer’s ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.

   In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brian scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you’ve ever dialed (拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you dialed when the line is answered. What probably occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to anther thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.

   Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or requires little thought. Most people don’t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are attempted at one time, people sometimes make mistakes.

   We often don’t remember things as well when we’re trying to manage several details at the same time. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people’s names---even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them.

1.Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?

    A. To make them more productive.         B. To reduce their stress and anxiety.

C. To develop their communication skills.  D. To help them perform daily tasks more easily.    

2.According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who has called?

 A. He may leave his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged.

 B. He is probably interrupted by another task.

 C. He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called.

 D. He may need a rest between dialing and speaking.

3.People tend to make mistake when ____.

   A. they perform several challenging tasks at a time.

   B. new messages are processed one after another

   C. their relationships with others are affected

   D. the tasks require little thought

4.What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Multitasking has become a way of life.

B. Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline.

C. Multitasking exercises need to be improved.

D. Multitasking enables people to remember things better.

Some houses are designed to be smart. Others have smart designs. An example of the second type of house won the Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects.

Located on the shore of Sullivan’s Island off the coast of South Carolina, the award-winning cube-shaped beach house was built to replace one damaged by Hurricane Hugo years ago. In September 1989, Hugo struck South Carolina, killing 18 people and damaging or destroying 36,000 homes in the state.

Before Hugo, many new houses built along South Carolina’s shoreline were poorly constructed, according to architect Ray Huff, who created the cleverly-designed beach house. Now all new shoreline houses are required to meet stricter, better-enforced codes. The new beach house on Sullivan’s Island should be strong enough not to be damaged by a Category 3 hurricane with peak winds of 179 to 209 kilometres per hour.

At first sight, the house on Sullivan’s Island looks anything but(根本不) hurricane-proof. Its redwood shell makes it look like “a large party lantern” at night. But looks can be deceiving. The house’s wooden frame is strengthened with long steel rods(杆) to give it extra strength.

To further protect the house from hurricane damage, Huff raised it 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings(木桩) buried deep in the sand. Pilings might appear insecure, but they are strong enough to support the weight of the house. They also raise the house above storm waves. The pilings allow the waves to run under the house instead of running into it. “The waves of water come ashore at tremendous speeds and cause most of the damage done to beach-front buildings,” said Huff.

Huff designed the timber pilings to be partially concealed(隐藏) by the house’s ground-to-roof shell. “The shell masks the pilings so that the house doesn’t look like it’s standing with its legs pulled up,” said Huff. In the event of storm, the shell should break apart and let the waves rush under the house, the architect explained.

1.After Hurricane Hugo, new houses built along South Carolina’s shore line are required

to        .

A. be easily pulled down                B. look smarter in design 

C. meet stricter building standards        D. be designed to be cube-shaped

2.The award-winning beach house is quite strong because     .

A. it is strengthened by steel rods        B. it is made of redwood

C. it is in the shape of a shell         D. it is built with timber and concrete

3.Huff raised the house 2.7 meters off the ground on timber pilings in order to     .

A. avoid peak winds of about 200 km/h

B. bury stronger pilings deep in the sand

C. break huge sea waves into smaller ones

D. prevent the waves from running into it

4.It can be inferred from the passage that the house’s shell should be     .

A. smooth     B. waterproof    C. easily broken    D. extremely hard

It is difficult for doctors to help a person with a damaged brain. Without enough blood, the brain lives for only three to five minutes. More often the doctors can’t fix the damage. Sometimes they are afraid to try something to help because it is dangerous to work on the brain. The doctors might make the person worse if he operates on the brain.

Dr. Robert White, a famous professor and doctor, thinks he knows a way to help. He thinks doctors should make the brain very cold. If it is very cold, the brain can live without blood for 30 minutes. This gives the doctor a longer time to do something for the brain.

Dr. White tried his idea on 13 monkeys. First he taught them to do different jobs, then he operated on them. He made the monkeys’ blood back to the monkeys’ brains. When the brain’s temperature was 10℃, Dr. White stopped the blood to the brain. After 30 minutes he turned the blood back on. He warmed the blood again. After their operations the monkeys were like they had been before. They were healthy and busy. Each one could still do the jobs the doctor had taught them.

1..The biggest difficulty in operating on the damaged brain is that ____.

A. the time is too short for doctors       

B. the patients are often too nervous

C. the damage is extremely hard to fix  

D. the blood-cooling machine might break down

2..The brain operation was made possible mainly by ____.

A. taking the blood out of the brain 

B. trying the operation on monkeys first

C. having the blood go through a machine

D. lowering the brain’s temperature

3..With Dr. White’s new idea, the operation on the damaged brain ____.

A. can last as long as 30 minutes     

B. can keep the brain’s blood warm

C. can keep the patient’s brain healthy

D. can help monkeys do different jobs

4.. What is the right order of the steps in the operations?

a. send the cooled back to the brain      b. stop the blood to the brain

c. have the blood cooled down          d. operate on the brain

A. a, b, c, d       B. c, a, b, d       C. c, b, d, a       D. b, c, d, a

Once upon a time there was a great man who married the woman of his dreams. With their love, they created a little girl. She was a bright and cheerful little girl and the great man loved her very much.

  When the little girl was growing up, the great man would hug her and tell her, “ I love you, little girl.” The little girl would shout and say, “ I’m not a little girls anymore.” Then the man would laugh and say, “ But to me, you’ll always be my little girl.”

  The little girl who- was- not- little- anymore left her home and went into the world. As she learned more about herself, she learned more about the man. She saw that he truly was great and strong, for now she recognized his strengths. One of his strengths was his ability to express his love to his family. It didn’t matter where she went in the world, the man would call her and say, “ I love you, little girl.”

  The day came when the little girl who-was- not- little-anymore received a phone call. The great man was damaged. He had had a stroke(中风 ). He couldn’t talk anymore and they weren’t sure that he could understand the words spoken to him.

  And so she went to the side of the great man. When she walked into the room and saw him, he looked small and not strong at all. He looked at her and tried to speak, but he could not.

  The little girl did the only thing she could do. She climbed up on the bed next to the great man. Tears ran from both of their eyes and she drew her arms around the useless shoulders of her father.

  Her head on his chest, she thought of many things. She remembered the wonderful times together and how she has always felt protected. And then she heard from within the man, the beat of his heart. The heart where the musid and the words had always lived. The heart beat on, steadily unconcerned about damage to the rest of the body. And while she rested there, the magic happened. She heard what she needed to hear.

  His hear beat out the words that his mouth could no longer say…

   I love you

   I love you

   I love you

   Little girl

   Little girl

   Little girl

   And she was comforted.

1. In the 2^nd paragraph, the little girl showed her ____ by pouting.

 A. displeasure   B. disappointment   C. agreement   D. excitement

2. The following except ____ can be inferred as the consequences of the father’s stoke.

 A. the loss of speaking ability   B. the inability to move around

 C. that his arms could no longer function properly  D. the beat of his heart

3. The girl felt _____ when she returned home and saw her father in bed.

 A. she was protected just as before   B. she could never have left home

 C. the difficulty of being old and sick  D. the need to show him her love

4. Which statement is true according to the story?

A.  The daughter left her home because she had a fight with her father.

B.  The girl returned home when she got a letter from his father about his illness.

C.  The father recovered as if by magic soon after the daughter’s return.

D．From the father’s example, the daughter learned how to express her love.