Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking right at you!
Parapsychologists (灵学家) say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a“sixth sense”really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist (心理学家) at the University of Kentucky, did two experiments.
In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared(盯着)at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects(受试者)were eating, drinking, reading, studying, watching TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them.
For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren’t.
Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they’re being stared at. If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker,“I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves.”
【小题1】The aim of the two experiments is to ________.
| A.explain when people can have a sixth sense |
| B.study how people act while being watched in the lab |
| C.study whether humans can sense when they are stared at |
| D.prove why humans have a sixth sense |
| A.value | B.result | C.performance | D.connection |
| A.could tell when they were stared at |
| B.could tell where they weren’t stared at |
| C.couldn’t tell who they were stared at or who they stared at |
| D.couldn’t tell when they were stared at or when they weren’t |
| A.People are born with a sixth sense. |
| B.The experiments support parapsychologists’ idea. |
| C.The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments. |
| D.People have a sixth sense in all places. |
Qi Haoran, a Junior 1 student at High School Attached to Harbin Institute of Technology, was quite busy over the past winter vacation—and not just with homework. Qi, together with 10 other classmates made a volunteer group to call on people to join the Clean Your Plate Campaign (光盘行动).
The 11 students went to many restaurants and told people the importance of saving food.“Excuse me, do you know that 950 million people around the world still haven’t got enough to eat? Could you please not waste food?”They would say this kind of thing hundreds of times every day.
China in recent years has experienced serious problems with wasted food. CCTV reported in January that the food Chinese people waste every year is enough to feed 200 million people for a year. It’s a tradition that Chinese people offer lots of food when they invite others to dinner. Many even feel that they will lose face if their guests have eaten all their food.
Luckily the campaign has got the support of many. In a restaurant in Xinjiang, the owner gives the guests who have eaten up all that they ordered a sticker. People can enjoy a free meal when they have 10 stickers. More than 750 restaurants in Beijing have begun to offer smaller dishes and encourage their guests to take leftovers(剩饭剩菜) home.
Wasting food is a serious problem around the world, not only in China. It’s said that 2 billion tons(吨) of food ends up as waste every year in our country. This is as much as half of all the food in the world. The UN Environment Program and the Food and Agriculture Organization held a“Think, Eat, Save” program on January 24 to help reduce food waste.
To reduce food waste is a big task, and it needs time. It’s important that everyone does their bit, just like Qi. Did you finish your meals today?
【小题1】The Clean Your Plate Campaign calls on people to __________.
| A.do volunteer work | B.work part time in restaurants |
| C.stop wasting food | D.wash their plates after dinner |
| A.The owner would have dinner with those who had eaten up their food. |
| B.It offered a free meal to the guests who had finished all their food ten times. |
| C.It gave stickers to the guests who ordered small dishes. |
| D.It encouraged customers to take leftovers home. |
| A.wasting food is a serious problem in China |
| B.Chinese people waste the most food in January |
| C.200 million Chinese people invite others to dinner every day |
| D.Chinese people usually don’t offer enough food to their guests |
| A.in a science book | B.in a newspaper |
| C.in a tourist guide | D.in an advertisement |
I used to live in Kobe in Japan. On my way home on the bus every evening I used to look for an old man who often played his saxophone (萨克斯管) near the river. I couldn’t hear his music because the windows were closed on the bus but I imagined it to be loud and clear. I wanted to be like that man.
One night I went to Himeji, a city not far from Kobe. As I walked with my family along the river I saw a statue. It was a young man who looked just like me. He was wearing a cap and smiling. Around his neck was a leather strap (皮带) and in his hands was a saxophone. He was lifting the saxophone to his lips and he was just about to play. I stayed there for a long time by the statue dreaming of playing a saxophone on TV.
Two weeks later it was my birthday. Imagine my joy when I opened my present from my parents and found that it was a saxophone! I put it to my lips to play, but it wouldn’t make a sound. Then Dad told me to read the instruction book to find out what to do. After about 15 minutes the saxophone was ready to play. I raised it slowly to my lips as my family watched. But still there was no sound. I blew and blew but I couldn’t get the saxophone to play. I was almost crying when suddenly the saxophone made the most beautiful sound—loud and clear like I imagined the music of the man by the river in Kobe. I blew again, I moved my fingers on the saxophone and I made more sounds. I was happy because I was playing very interesting sounds. But I wasn’t playing music yet.
Then came the lessons. Night after night, week after week my teacher made me practice. Slowly I started to improve and at last there came the magic day when I started to play music. Now I’m in the TV studio with my saxophone strapped to my neck and my cap on my head. I’m always thinking of the man by the river in Kobe and the statue smiling at me in Himeiji. I’m a happy man.
【小题1】On the bus, the writer couldn’t ________.
| A.find an old man with a saxophone | B.see a river |
| C.hear the old man’s music | D.imagine the sound |
| A.having a saxophone |
| B.the old man near the river |
| C.having a cap and a saxophone as the boy |
| D.playing the saxophone on TV |
| A.as soon as he got it |
| B.after he read the instruction |
| C.after he tried many times |
| D.after his father taught him |
| A.The magic day. | B.My birthday present. |
| C.The old man and the statue. | D.My dream of playing saxophone. |
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Thirty years ago, few Chinese knew about American TV series, though during the 1980s and 1990s, Chinese people got the chance to watch some U.S.A. TV series like Growing Pains.
Now, 【小题1】______,Chinese people have more chances to enjoy foreign TV series. Some American TV series such as Friends and Prison Break have become very popular among young Chinese English learners. In their opinion, watching American TV series is a good way to learn English and American culture. They have other reasons to support that point of view.
First, it’s easy and convenient for learners to manage their learning time. They don’t have to worry about the place and time to learn. 【小题2】 _________,they can start watching and learning. All they need to do is to turn on their computers and put on their earphones.
The stories in the TV series also play an important role in attracting more learners. Different cultures between China and the Western countries and exciting story lines get young people interested in watching and learning . 【小题3】_______.
Besides, watching American TV series can help learners improve their listening and speaking skills. English learners may find it hard to find a native speaker to talk with,【小题4】________, they can listen to native speakers and follow their conversations as much as they can.
| A. Any time they are free B. They also feel relaxed at the same time C. with the fast development of DVDs and the Internet D. but in the TV series |
【小题5】Which of the following is true according to the passage.
| A.Thirty years ago, a few Chinese knew about American TV series. |
| B.Learners can’t manage their learning time easily. |
| C.Only exciting story lines get young people interested in watching and learning |
| D.It may be difficult for English learners to find a a native speaker to talk with. |
He was struggling(费劲) to tie his shoes. I was struggling with whether I should help him.
I did, and he was grateful.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I’m glad I could help. I just thought it would be easier for me to reach,” I said.
He was a disabled man, and forced to look down most of the time. His arms and legs were twisted(扭曲的) terribly, and he couldn’t do what the rest of us would consider easy tasks. He always managed to look up to see how you reacted(反应) to his words, however. He had a big smile, making me feel comfortable.
I was still on my knees by his wheelchair.
“ Nice shoes,” he said.
“Thanks. No one ever complimented (赞美) me on them before,” I said.
“No one has the same view of the world as I do,” he replied.
“Tell me about the world as you see it,” I said smiling.
“Most people can see if someone is comfortable with them or not in their eyes. I see it in their feet.” he said. “If people keep moving their feet, I just let them go, because I know they’re impatient with me. I don’t want to make people uncomfortable.
“What about me? I asked.
“I could see your compassion. And then you came down to my level. I was the one who was nervous.” he said. “I don’t normally have someone look me in the eye.”
“They don’t know what they’re missing,” I told him.
“My old face is nothing to brag(自夸) about.” he said.
“But that smile is so big.”
Yes, and it’s not only a big smile but an attitude.
【小题1】The disabled man knew people were impatient mostly by their _________.
| A.words | B.eyes | C.feet | D.smile |
| A.注意 | B.同情 | C.信任 | D.职责 |
| A.had great difficulty looking after himself |
| B.always asked people for help |
| C.couldn’t have a big smile |
| D.liked to talk about people’s shoes |
| A.he had a nice talk to the man | B.the man looked him in the eye |
| C.he didn’t move his feet before the man | D.the man had a big smile on the face |
| A.the disable man had something wrong with his mind |
| B.not many people went down to the man’s level |
| C.the man was good at telling people about the world |
| D.the writer would not give the man more help |
My mother was a housewife. She thought that successful people spent a lot more time reading than watching TV. So she asked my brother and me not to watch too much TV, but to read two books every week in our free time. She would check them with marks, though she couldn’t read the book at all.
When I went to high school, I was an A-student, but not for long. I wanted cool clothes and hung out with friends. I became a C-student, but I didn’t care. One night I complained about not having enough Italian shirts. Then my mother gave me all the money and said I could get the money left to buy shirts if I finished buying all the things the family needed. I was pleased with that, but after I bought those things, there was no money left. I got to know how difficult it was for my mother to do all these. I went back to my studies and became an A-student again. Finally, my dream came true and I became a doctor.
My story is really my mother’s story----a woman with little education greatly changed my life as a parent. So I believe there is no job more important than parenting.
【小题1】What did the writer’s mother do?
| A.A worker. | B.A housewife | C.A teacher | D.A writer |
| A.Because she thought successful people spent more time reading. |
| B.Because she thought books were interesting. |
| C.Because she wanted her children to be happy. |
| D.Because she wanted her children to be doctors. |
| A.He only cared about clothes and didn’t study. |
| B.He spent more time hanging out with friends than studying. |
| C.He didn’t care that he went from being an A-student to a C-student. |
| D.He spent much time reading storybooks. |
| A.To be a doctor. | B.To be a teacher. |
| C.To be an A-student | D.To find a good job. |
| A.mothers with little education change their children more. |
| B.his mother is cruel and unhelpful |
| C.there is a job more important than parenting. |
| D.his mother has an important influence(影响)on him. |
Martin had just finished high school. He would go to college at the far end of the city. He didn’t want to live there, and he didn’t want to take the bus either. So his father agreed to buy him a car.
His father spent all his summer teaching him how to drive, from the ABC to the XYZ. Thinking of the great feeling of driving a new car, Martin learned very quickly, and received his driver’s license just before his eighteenth birthday.
The second day, all the family, and their dog, went to a car shop. Martin spent almost all the morning going from one car to another. Finally he saw a red Blue Bird. He had a test drive on the open ground, and called out, “This is what I want, Dad!” When everything was done, they were ready to leave.
Martin climbed into the front seat. He said excitedly, “It’s my first day driving alone. Dad, Mom, and Poo! Enjoy it!”
His dad immediately took the back seat, right behind the new driver. Martin wondered why his father chose that seat, for his father always enjoyed looking in front.
So he said, smiling, “I’m sure you’re back there to have a change after all those weeks of sitting in the front seat teaching me how to drive.”
“No,” Dad replied, “Do you remember what you did to me all those years when I took you to and from school? I am sitting here to hit and kick the back of your seat all the way!”
【小题1】Which of the following is NOT the reason why Martin’s father agreed to buy him a car?.
| A.Martin would go to college and it was far from home. |
| B.Martin preferred living at home to living at college. |
| C.Martin didn’t want to take the public transport. |
| D.Martin was able to learn how to drive very quickly. |
a. He finished his high school. b. He test-drove driving the new car.
c. He got his driver’s license. d. He decided to buy the Blue Bird.
e. He kicked the front seat while his father was driving.
| A.e—a—c—b—d | B.a—c—b—d—e | C.e—c—a—b—d | D.a—c—d—b—e |
| A.Angry | B.Sad | C.Cheerful | D.Shocked |
“Reading makes a full man” (Bacon, 1597). Novels written by the writers like Jane Austen, Victor Hugo and Ernest Hemingway help us to know more about our history, culture and many other things. Jane Austen was one of the most wellknown women writers of the world. She was born in England in 1775. Jane loved reading and writing. She wrote a number of famous novels in her life. Among them, Pride and Prejudice written in 1779 was the most popular. Victor Hugo, born in 1802 in France, was one of the best writers in the19th century. The talent in writing and hard work brought great success to Hugo at an early age. His most popular novel, the Hunchback of Notre-
Dame, was written in 1831. The book was so successful that it was quickly translated into many other languages across Europe. Ernest Hemingway, an outstanding American writer and reporter, was born in 1899. His life experience had a great influence on his writing style. Hemingway lived in France and Italy between the 1920s and 1950s. Most of his books such as The Sun Also Rises were written at that time. He won the Nobel Prize in 1954 mainly because of the novel The Old Man and the Sea.
任务:阅读上文,根据其内容填空。
| The numbers of writers are mentioned in the passage. | 【小题1】______________________ |
| Nationality | Jane Austen was from【小题2】_______ |
| Jane Austen’s famous novel | Pride and Prejudice |
| Victor Hugo’s famous novel | 【小题3】______________ |
| The winner of the Nobel Literature Prize in 1954 | 【小题4】__________________ |