The city can seem a cold, mean place. In the middle of so many people hurrying about their own business, a person can feel alone among the millions of others.

    There is a popular view that in cities, strangers are less likely to help an elderly person cross a street or call the police when they see a bike being stolen. Recently, a New Yorker named Casey Neistat did an experiment. He chained up his bike in several public places, then "stole" it in a number of obvious ways, such as using a hacksaw (钢锯). He filmed everything to see whether other New Yorkers would try to stop a shameless bike theft. The result? People just walked on by.

    Is this evidence of an immoral, selfish urban society? Not necessarily. According to another recent study, the way city people mind their own business is about other factors besides morality (道德).

This is called the Bystander Effect, the theory that city people do not react because of the urban enviromnent they live in.

Psychologist Dr. Harold explained why people did not involve themselves in Neistat's bike theft experiment with the Bystander Effect.

    First, people who live in cities are surrounded by so much activity that they stop noticing what is going on around them. Second, they are less easy to surprise and assume every activity has a logical explanation.

    "The third is that people notice it, but they don't know what to do," he continued. "And the fourth is fear — they know they should do something, but they're afraid to challenge someone with a hacksaw."

A lack of concern is only a small reason why people don't take action, concludes Dr. Harold.

     Despite the results of Neistat's experiment, there is also evidence of a sense of team spirit that connects people in cities. All it takes is a funny joke or a shared interest to start a conversation with someone at a bus stop. When city folk are in trouble, they come together for support — famously in New York on September 11, 2001.

City society is different, but that doesn't mean it's cold or mean — it just means it's busy!

1.Casey Neistat fihned everything in the experiment with the purpose of        .

    A. proving that he was not the thief

    B. telling people that bike theft was immoral

    C. finding out who had a sense of right and wrong

    D. making his experiment well-known to the public

2.We can infer from the third paragraph that morality       .

    A. can partly explain a selfish urban society

    B. is what our society should pay special attention to

    C. is the only factor that leads to a selfish urban society

    D. is the root of the Bystander Effect mentioned in the passage

3.The underlined part September 11, 2001 in Paragraph 9 serves as       .

    A. a reminder of the sad memories

    B. a way to prove Dr Harold's Bystander effect

    C. evidence that city life can be really dangerous

    D. an example to show team spirit connecting city people

4.As can be inferred from the passage, the writer probably       .

    A. criticizes the loss of morality in urban society

    B. feels sad about the result of Neistat's experiment

    C. thinks city people are too busy to care about others

D. disagrees that city life sometimes can be cold and mean

Do you sometimes argue about what seems to you to be simple fact? Do you argue whether it’s cold outdoors or whether the car in front of you is going faster than the speed limit?

If you get into such arguments, try to think about the story about the six blind men and the elephant. The first blind man who felt the elephant’s trunk said it was like a snake. The second who felt the elephant’s side said it was like a wall, while the third said it was like a spear as he touched the animal’s tusk. The fourth, who got hold of the elephant’s tail insisted that it was like a rope. The fifth man said it looked like a tree as he put his arms around one of the elephant’s legs. The sixth, who was tall and got hold of the elephant’s ears, said it was like a huge fan.

Each man’s idea of the animal came from his own experience. So if someone disagrees with you about a“simple fact”, it’s often because his experience in the matter is different from yours.

To see how hard it is for even one person to make up his mind about a“simple fact”, try this simple experiment. Get three large bowls. Put ice water in one. Put hot water in the second. Put lukewarm water in the third. Now put your left hand in the ice water. Put your right hand in the hot water. After thirty seconds, put both hands in the lukewarm water. Your right hand will tell you the water is cold. Your left hand will tell you it’s hot!

What makes people think about simple facts differently?

A. The fact that simple facts differ from one another.

B. The fact that people have different experience in the same simple fact.

C. The fact that people often disagree with one another.

D. The fact that it’s hard to make up one’s mind about simple facts.

Which of the following temperatures can the word “lukewarm” be applied to?

A. Around 1℃        B. Above 60℃    C. Around 25℃      D. Below 0℃

After reading the last paragraph, we may think of        .

A. Newton’s law                   B. Gallileo’s theory of falling objects

C. Einstein’s theory of relativity      D. Marx’s On Capital

The main idea of this passage is         .

A. people often judge something according to his own experience

B. people often agree about simple facts

C. it’s hard for a person to make up his mind about a simple fact

D. don’t care too much about simple facts

完形填空（共20小题；每小题1分，满分20分）

The winter skies are grey and it’s cold outside. The nights come early and we spend a lot more time  16   and alone. Many people   17   winter: so cold, so dark, so boring. But I like winter because I have more time to read.

For many students reading means school; it means   18  . Reading is something your teacher assigns and it’s something you’re   19  . Reading is something you have to do, not something you want to do. But for me and many other people, reading is the most   20   thing we can imagine. Getting lost in a good book can   21   a cold winter evening disappear. Dull grey skies are no   22  for the fantastic adventures of Frodo in The Lord of the Rings《指环王》，or for romantic trouble-making of Jane Austen’s Emma《爱玛》, or for the youthful problems of Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye《麦田守望者》.

All of those books are studied in North American high schools. They are interesting and well written books that   23   young people.   24  , even there, many high school students don’t enjoy reading the books because they are   25   their school work: “Oh, my God! Two hundred pages! I’ll never be able to read   26   much.” But sometimes a funny thing happens. They begin to read and they begin to follow the   27  . Suddenly, the world inside the book becomes more exciting and more wonderful than the world they   28  . At the moment the thought   29   reading is work disappears and reading becomes   30  .

Reading anything is   31   but reading good books is a terrific way to improve your English. Good writers write English very well and   32   you with good examples to follow. And good books will tell you more about English   33  : what people think, how they talk, how they interact with each other. But don’t let me  34   it by telling you that reading is good for you. Just think of it as a good way to   35   on a cold winter evening.

16. A. indoors                   B. indoor                            C. outdoors              D. outside

17. A. like                           B. prefer                                      C. hate                      D. love

18. A. job                            B. worry                                       C. try                          D. work

19. A. tested                     B. tested on                      C. examined             D. examined on

20. A. enjoyable            B. reasonable                             C. comfortable      D. considerable

21. A. want                        B. cause                                       C. make                     D. force

22. A. contest                   B. challenge                      C. competition        D. match

23. A. appeal to                B. respond to                             C. react to                D. reply to

24. A. Fortunately B. Luckily                            C. Unfortunately      D. Accidentally

25. A. free from                B. part of                            C. in place of            D. far from

26. A. not                           B. very                                C. those                    D. that

27. A. story                        B. subject                           C. instruction            D. theme

28. A. leave for                 B. care about                             C. flee from              D. live in

29. A. what                        B. that                                C. this                        D. which

30. A. a comfort               B. a failure                         C. a success             D. a pleasure

31. A. bad                          B. mean                              C. great                     D. grand

32. A. provide                   B. offer                               C. give                       D. award

33 A. custom                     B. language                       C. culture                  D. art

34. A. break                       B. spoil                                C. make                     D. develop

35. A. keep warm            B. stand still                      C. stay calm             D. stay cool

One warm day when I was walking in my backyard, I saw a pinecone(松球) on the ground. I picked it up, and some seeds fell out of it. Those seeds would be a tasty treat for a squirrel (松鼠).

I realized that pinecones were not always open like this one. Sometimes cones were tightly closed. I decided to find out why.

I gathered pinecones from my backyard. I watched them for over a year. Here’s what I learned.

Pinecones open and close slowly as the weather changes. When it’s cold or wet, cones are tightly closed. This protects the seeds inside from rain and snow.

When the weather becomes warm and dry, pinecones open. On a hot day, you might even hear the sound of cones popping open. The seeds inside may then fall to the ground. The wind may blow the seeds to places where they can grow into new pine trees. A seed has a better chance of taking root and growing when the weather is warm.

“Pine seeds are an important source of food for many animals,” says Monty Maldonado. He is a pinecone expert with the United States Forest Service. He says squirrels depend on pinecone seeds for most of their meals. They spend lots of time gathering and storing the cones. Maldonado says some animals eat only the seeds from a pinecone. But red squirrels and gray squirrels will eat the whole thing.

Small animals aren’t the only creatures that eat pine seeds. Maldonado says big grizzly bears (灰熊) and people eat them, too.

Seeds inside a pinecone are important for the growth of new trees and as food for animals. It is the pinecone’s job to protect them. So take note of the pinecones you see on the ground. They hold treasures inside.

45．According to the passage, when it is rainy, cones          .

A．are open   B．are usually shut       C．grow quickly    D．stop growing

46．According to Monty Maldonado,        .

A．not all squirrels eat the whole pinecone        

B．pine seeds are difficult to find for many animals

C．people in the forest are sometimes attacked by grizzly bears

D．most small animals depend on pinecone seeds for their meals

47．We can learn from the passage that on sunny days         .

A．seeds may fall out of the cones      

B．squirrels stay still in their nests      

C．it’s difficult for a seed to take root

D．the wind will put the pine trees in danger

48．In the last paragraph, the author points out that         .

A．more and more new trees need to be planted in future 

B．people should be responsible for protecting animals

C．people should be careful not to damage the pinecones  

D．squirrels now have few seeds to feed themselves

49．Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．The author learned why pinecones are not always open in the forest.  

B．The author gathered pinecones and observed them for a month.  

C．The author is fond of gathering and storing the cones. 

D．Pine trees are precious to animals and people.

Getting away for a short time always seems like a great idea—until you have to pack. 1.The rule is: pack light. Here are some tips to help you pack.

1. Make a list. Think of what you need from your head to your toes. 2.When you’ve done this once, it’ll be easier next time.

2. Consider buying small-size samples of shampoo, toothpaste, and other items at your local drugstore. You can reuse the plastic containers next time you go away too.

3. Choosing which clothes to bring is probably the hardest packing decision to make. Think once again from head to toe — hat, shirts, jeans, sneakers, etc. Once you’ve picked out what you want to bring, think carefully. Do you really need that extra pair of jeans? If so, fine.3.Don’t try to fool yourself. You are the one who will be left holding the bag.

4. Weather is an important factor in your packing. If it’s cold, you could wear a jacket, a - sweater, a regular shirt, and a T-shirt. Putting them on will keep you warm. 4.Remember how much easier it will be to carry your bag! As for shoes, you may want to call ahead to see if dress shoes are necessary. If so, one pair will be enough, along with one pair of comfortable shoes.

Remember that it is you who have been invited somewhere, not your things.5.So, do it right—pack light.

A. Mixing and matching is a smart and easy way to lighten your load.

B. But packing won’t be a problem if you remember one simple rule.

C. You will have an easier time if you’re weighed down.

D. But make sure they’re really worth the extra weight.

E. It’s best to bring these things with you.

F. And it’ll leave more room in your bag.

G. Keep the list for future reference.