Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain consists of “grey matter” and  “white matter”. While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources（来源）at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.

There are other important differences between two sexes. As white matter is the key to spatial (空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: Why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses (胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t. “The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it,” says a biologist.

1.Which of the following is TRUE according to the first paragraph?

2.What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

3.Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

4.What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

请选出与所给句子或划线部分意思最接近的答案：（共20小题，每小题1分，满分20分）

1.

Was it by accident or by design?

  A. Was it on purpose or not?           B. Was it designed by somebody?

  C. Was it an accident?             D. Did it happen accidently?

2.

 Did I really hear a voice or was it only my fancy? 

  A. Did I really hear a voice or was it only my image？

  B. Did I really hear a voice or was it only what I like?

  C. Did I hear a voice or someone crying in my dream?

  D. Did I notice a voice or it is not the really one?

3.

 He is above stealing.

  A. He is good at stealing.                 B. He never steals.   

C. He likes stealing.                  D. He is forced to steal.

4.

 He is a bad actor.                    

  A. He is not good at performance.            B. He is a little good at performance.

  C. He is a very dangerous person to do anything.   D. He is not fit for being an actor.

5.

 He is lacking animal force.             

  A. His energy is not full enough.              B. He is as strong as an animal.

  C. He can do something with his own force.    D. He has enough energy.

6.

 He is anything but a doctor.

  A. He is only a doctor.                B. He is not a doctor.

  C. He is somebody else.                D. What he does isn’t like a doctor.

7.

 Anything is at your service.

  A. Your work is to serve everything.  B. You can serve everybody with your own effort.

   C. We all want to get your service.   D. You can use everything you need as you like.

68. You’ve tried three times. Tony’s been standing for two hours; let the dog see the rabbit!

  A. let the dog run after a rabbit          B. ask the dog to watch rabbits

  C. it’s Tony’s turn to do something      D. it’s your turn to do something.

8.

What price going for a walk?

  A. What about going for a walk?        B. How much do you need for going for a walk?

  C. How much could I get for a walk?   D. What is the price you’ll pay for a walking?

9.

 He talked and talked but never came to the point.

   A. He talked a lot on the key point.  B. He talked a lot but didn’t focus on the key point.

   C. He talked less than he need to.    D. He talked more than he really needed to.

10.

 He began to smell a rat in the matter.

   A. feel that there was a rat near him         B. feel something not going so good

   C. feel a rat would make something wrong  D. smell a rat’s smell in the matter

11.

 John is always reasonable.               

   A. John is open-minded and easy to get along with.

   B. John always has a reason to do what he wants.

   C. John is always good at reasoning in some case.

   D. John can reason something others couldn’t.

12.

 I must pop off now.                   

   A. I must go now.                 B. My pop music life is ended now.

   C. I am not popular.                  D. I must make my corn pop.

13.

 He doesn’t care a pin for her.           

   A. He doesn’t like a needle for her.     B. He wasn’t a pin to her.

   C. He doesn’t care about her.            D. He doesn’t want to throw a pin on her.

14.

 You mustn’t take everything so personally.

   A. You mustn’t want to take everything as his own.  

B. You may not think of everything as yours.

C. You couldn’t gain everything which doesn’t belong to you.

D. You mustn’t think that somebody is criticizing you when he is not.

15.

 What a peach of a room!

   A. What a wonderful room which holds so many peaches!

   B. What a big peach in the room!

   C. What a big peach room it is!

   D. What a nice room it is!

16.

 Your number comes up.

   A. Your number becomes larger and larger.         B. Your number keeps going up.

   C. You are lucky.                             D. You are unfortunate.

17.

 Somebody’s number is up / goes up.

   A. Somebody’s number is end.         B. Somebody’s number may keeps going up.

   C. It’s time for somebody to go west.    D. It’s time for somebody to add up his number.

18.

It feels nice and soft.   

   A. It is nice and soft.               B. It is nice but soft.    

C. It is soft except nice.           D. It feels very soft.

19.We see more of Blair these days.  

   A. These days we can watch more about Blair.

B. We know more about Blair these days.

   C. We have seen Blair more times these times.

D. These days found we could see Blair.

       Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about drinking is the key to critical（判断性的）thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes（过程）. Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.

       The word “critical” here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen-beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning.

       Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker. If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.

       Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world: fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence（智力）, you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein. Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, “Please go slowly. I don’t understand things quickly.”

72．Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically, _______.

       A．it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast

       B．we might be controlled by other people’s ideas

       C．we will follow the ideas of others naturally

       D．we might be footed by other people’s ideas

73．If you are a critical thinker, you will ________.

       A．think deeply about different ideas   B．trust the reports in the newspapers

       C．take one view against another view D．criticize other people for their mistakes

74．In the last paragraph, “something new” suggests that ________.

       A．the smarter you are, the faster you do things

B．the faster you do things, the smarter you become

C．speed can improve intelligence

D．intelligence is not decided by speed

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

       A．Thinking and Critical Thinking.     B．Understanding Critical Thinking.

       C．Thinking Is Natural and Human.    D．Thinking Fast Means Intelligence.

Mr. Brown’s horse was stolen at night. All of his friends were very sorry about it and came to see him together. After they had been told about it, one of them said, “Why did not you lock the door of your stable (马房)that night? I think it is your fault.”

“You aren’t deaf, are you?” the second man said, “Didn’t you hear anything at that moment? The thief must have driven the beast out of the gate, and couldn’t have carried it on his back.”

“I agree with them!” Blamed the third, “How careless you are! Every evening before I go to bed, I lock my stable first and hide the key in my box. Why didn’t you do so?”

The more they said, the more excited they became. At last Mr. Brown couldn’t bear it any more and said, “I am glad that you have come to see me. But none of you would help me either look for my horse or catch the thief. Do you think that it’s all my fault? Why don’t you blame the thief?

The first man thought it’s Mr. Brown’s fault because _______.

A. let the door open                    B. locked the door

C. had the door unlocked                D. had the horse locked up

The second man thought Mr. Brown _________________.

was a deaf                         

B. was very careful

C. must hear something when the thief stole the horse     

D. couldn’t hear anything at that time

The third man thought ________________.

A. the horse must be driven out   B. Mr. Brown did hide his key in his box

C. Mr. Brown wasn’t blamed by the third    D. Mr. Brown wasn’t careful.

The more his friends said the more Mr. Brown ______________.

A. became excited    B got angry    C could bear       D blamed them

____________ should be blamed.

A. Mr. Brown      B his friends       C The thief      D All of them

I don't think there is anything wrong with your blood. The key to your problem is that long nap（打盹,小睡）after dinner. If you didn't sleep for hours during the early part of the evening, you would be more ready to sleep at bedtime. If you didn't nap after dinner, you would not want to stay up so late, and you would not feel the need to take a sleeping pill. The pill is still working in your system when you get up in the morning. This helps account for the fact that you feel tired all day. You should get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening. Right after your evening meal, engage in some sort of physical activity - a sport such as bowling, perhaps. Or get together with friends for an evening of cards and conversation. Then go to bed at your usual time or a little earlier, and you should be able to get a good nights rest without taking a pill.

　　If you can get into the habit of spending your evenings this way, I am sure you will feel less tired during the day. At first it may be hard for you to go to sleep without taking a pill. If so, get up and watch television or do some jobs around your house until you feel sleepy. If you fall asleep and then wake up a few hours later, get up but do not take a sleeping pill. Read a while or listen to the radio, and make yourself a few hours'sleep that night, you will feel better in the morning than you usually feel after taking a pill. The next night you will be ready to sleep at an earlier hour.

　　The most important thing is to avoid taking that nap right after dinner and avoid taking pills.

1. According to the writer, it is difficult for you to go to sleep because　　　　　.

　　A. you get the habit of staying up late      B. you haven't taken sleeping pills

　　C. you sleep for hours after dinner         D. you fail to do some exercises

2. Which of the following is NOT true if you want to get out of the habit of sleeping during the evening?

A. Go to bed earlier than usual. 　　　B. Talk with friends after dinner.

C. Stay with friends after dinner. 　　 D. Do some physical labor. 

3. You feel tired all day probably because　　　　　.

A. you stay up too late 　　　B. you get up too early in the morning

C. you take sleeping pills 　　D. you wake up too frequently at night

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

A. You mustn't take sleeping pills in order to get a good night's sleep.

B. You should stay up if you want to sleep effectively.

C. Food is necessary at night if you fail to go to sleep.

D. It is very important to get out of the habit of taking a nap after dinner.

5. We may infer that the author is most probably a　　　　　.

A. doctor　　　B. scientist 　　C.  reporter　　 D. professor