The latest research suggests a more prosaic, democratic, even puritanical view of the world. The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft. If you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average verbal ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar biographical traits. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same ethnic background, or, shared the same birthday.

This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would give her some idea of a fascinating circle she might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fueling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’d be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly perceive its inner workings.

Then she would practice writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practicing in this way, she delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious, automatically performed skills. By practicing slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance from the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems―how do I get characters into a room―dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.

The primary trait she possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine. The latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behavior.

 

76. The passage mainly deals with _____.

A. the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer

B. the relationship between genius and success

C. the decisive factor in making a genius

D. the way of gaining some sense of distinction

77. By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could ______.

A. come to understand the inner structure of writing

B. join a fascinating circle of writers someday

C. share with a novelist her likes and dislikes

D. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security

78. In the girl’s long painstaking training process, _____.

A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success

B. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance

C. she acquires the magic of some great achievements

D. she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write

79. What can be concluded from the passage?

A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success.

B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.

C. As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. doesn’t matter, but just his/her efforts.

D. What really matters is what you do rather than who you are.

根据短文内容,从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项,并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。选项中有两项为多余选项。

Q&A

Question: I come from a poor family, and my parents do what they can to pay for my education. What I want to do is let my parents live a happy and comfortable life. Where can I find riches? Do I need to leave school and find a well-paid job?

Answer: You are a considerate child.   1  An African farmer heard tales about other farmers who discovered diamond mines. These tales excited the farmer so much that he could hardly wait to sell his farm and hunt for diamonds himself.

So he sold the farm and spent the rest of his life wandering the African continent, searching unsuccessfully for the gleaming (闪烁的)stones.   2  

Meanwhile, back on the farm, the man who had bought his farm happened to be crossing a small stream on the farm one day.   3  He picked it up. It was a sparkling stone — a good size stone — and, admiring it, he later put it on his mantel(壁炉架).

Several weeks later, a visitor looked closely at it, then he nearly became unconscious. He told the farmer it was one of the largest diamonds ever discovered. The farmer said that the stream was full of these brilliant stones, and his farmland was covered with them.   4  

If the first farmer had taken time to study and prepare himself — to learn what diamonds looked like in their rough state w and to thoroughly explore the farm he had before looking elsewhere, his wildest dreams would have come true.   5  

A.I’d like to give you some advice on how to find the riches.

B.Now do you have any idea of what you should do to find the riches?

C.Finally, he threw himself into a river and drowned.

D.However, something special he was carrying dropped into the stream.

E. Needless to say, the farm turned out to be the most productive diamond mine.

F. Before I answer your questions, I want to tell you a story.

G. Suddenly he saw something gleaming at the bottom of the stream.

 

第Ⅱ卷(共35分)

第四部分:写作部分(共2节)

第一节 对话填空。阅读下面对话,掌握其大意,并根据所给首字母的提示,在标有题号的右边横线上写出一个英语单词的完整、正确形式,使对话通顺。

W: What do you hope to do after graduating?

M: I’d like to go into management. I’ve (76)a_______ for several jobs

already. How about you?

W: After I finish (77)u_______, I have to do some more studies to pass

exams to become a lawyer. I think I’ve got a good chance of passing.

There’s a possibility of (78)g_______ a job with a firm in London,

provided that I do well.

M: We both have to (79)o_______ many difficulties if we are to achieve

our ambitions.

W: If life were easy, then we would achieve our ambition (80)q_______

and then get bored.

M: Unfortunately, some people are going to(81)w_______ hard yet not succeed.

W: You can’t achieve something that’s totally unrealistic.

That’s (82)w_______ ambition needs to be realistic.

M: As long as you plan carefully, most things are possible. It’s always

good to have a backup plan in (83)c       things go wrong.

W: I think it’s important to be successful in a field you are truly

(84)i_______ in, not something that other people force you to do.

M: My father wanted me to become a doctor, but I knew it would be

impossible for me.

W: I hope my (85)p_______ don’t try to interfere in my choice of career.

 

(76) ___________

(77) ___________

(78) ___________

(79) ___________

(80) ___________

(81) ___________

(82) ___________

(83) ___________

(84) ___________

(85) ___________

 

 

CANYOUIMAGINEHOWHARDITWOULDBETOREADSENTENCESLIKETHIS? The ancient Greeks wrote this way. The lack of punctuation marks(标点符号) probably didn’t bother good readers, though. As they read, they just put pauses where they fit best. Also at this time, sentences switched directions. A sentence read from left to right. The next one read right to left, and then left to right again, etc.

The ancient Romans sometimes punctuated like this: They·put·a·point·between·each·word·in·a·sentence. The word punctuation actually comes from this idea and the Latin word punctum, which means a prick(刺).

         When the 5th century arrived, there were just two punctuation marks: spaces and points. The space separated words and while the points showed pauses in reading. Then in the 13th century, a printer named Aldus Manutius tried to standardize punctuation. He always used a period for a complete stop at the end of a sentence. He used a slash (/) to indicate a short pause. Over time, that slash was shortened and curled, and it became the modern comma.

         Since that time, other marks have enlarged the punctuation family. The exclamation mark comes form the Latin word xt. It was originally formed by putting an upper-case(大写字母) I on the lower-case xt. The Latin word xt means “exclamation of joy.” The question mark originally started out as the Latin word question, meaning question. Eventually, scholars put it at the end of a sentence to show a question. Over time, it became a symbol formed by putting a lower-case q on an o.

           Punctuation is still changing today. New marks are coming into existence, and old punctuation marks are used in new ways. Take for example, the “interrobang.” This 1962 invention combines the question mark and exclamation mark for times when writers want both. For example, “She did what‽” or “How much did you pay for that dress‽” Obviously, the interrobang is not widely used or recognized – yet. But its invention shows that English is not yet finished with its punctuation.

1.Which of the following is a comma?

A. ,                              B. :                               C.    ;                           D. !

2.What’s the first paragraph mainly about?

A. The history of punctuation.

B. The introduction of punctuation.

C. The very beginning of punctuation.

D. The ancient Greek way of writing without punctuation.

3.Please put the following events in the order they happened.

a. The exclamation mark and question mark came into the punctuation family.

b. Comma came into existence.

c. Romans put a dot between words to separate words.

d. A period was used to end a sentence.

e. The “interrobang” was invented.

A. cbdae                     B. dcbae                     C. dbcea                     D. cdbae

4.What is the most possible situation for “She did what‽”?

A. You are told she gave her baby boy a good beat.

B. You are wondering what she did to save the poor boy.

C. You want to know what she did for a living after fleeing to a foreign country.

D. You demand someone else tell you what in the world happened to her.

5. According to the article, we learn ________.

A. punctuation didn’t come into being until the 5th century.

B. no one can really tell what new marks we may have in the future.

C. the invention of “interrobang” is a failure since it is not widely used.

D. both the exclamation mark and the question mark come from Greek words.

 

 

The latest research suggests that the key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success. Instead, it’s purposeful practice. Top performers spend more hours practising their craft. It you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average language ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar qualities. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same family background, or shared the same birthday.

This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would hive her some idea of a fascinating circle who might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fuelling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’s be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly understand its inner workings.

Then she would practise writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practising in this way, he delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious. Automatically performed skills. By practising slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance form the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems—how do I get characters into a room—dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.

The primary quality our young writer possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine; the latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behaviour.

1.The passage mainly deals with          .

A. the function of I.Q. in cultivating a writer

B. the relationship between genius and success

C. the decisive factor in making a genius

D. the way of gaining some sense of distinction

2.By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could         .

A. come to understand the inner structure of writing

B. join a fascinating circle of writers someday

C. share with a novelist her likes and dislikes

D. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security

3.In the girl’s long painstaking training process, ________.

A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success.

B. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance

C. she acquires the magic of some great achievement

D. she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write

4.What can be concluded from the passage?

A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success

B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.

C. As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. Doesn’t matter, but just his/her effort.

D. What really matters is what you do rather then who you are.

 

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