Scientists in Mexico have just begun a new study of one of the world’s biggest pyramids: the Pyramid of the Sun, north of Mexico City. They’re putting lots of small, high-tech machines under the pyramid to try to unlock some of its secrets. For thousands of years, people have tried to uncover the secrets of the pyramids.

The people who built the pyramids made lots of secret doors and rooms to stop robbers from finding the treasures inside. However, there always have been some smart thieves in history. Now, almost all of Egypt’s pyramids have been robbed, including the Great Pyramid of Khufu, which is the largest pyramid in the world. It is the only one of the ancient wonders of the world that is still standing.

In AD 820, an Arab king named Abdullah AL Manum got a group of workers to dig their way into the Great Pyramid and have a look. Inside the pyramid, they found three rooms --- the Queen’s Chamber, the Grand Gallery and the King’s Chamber. But to their surprise, the men didn’t find the treasures they wanted. The Queen’s and King’s Chambers were both empty! Where were the King’s mummy and his treasures? Had someone already taken them away? The huge stone doors at the pyramid’s entrance were still closed when AL Manum’s men went inside. How had the thieves got in and out?

Since then, many people have gone inside the Great Pyramid to have a look or to try to take things. But still, no other chambers or walkways have been found.

In 2002, an American team made the most recent visit to the Great Pyramid. Scientists sent a robot into the pyramid, but they only found a mysterious locked stone door.

1.The first two paragraphs were written to show that ________.

A.the Pyramid of the Sun is an unusual historic building

B.ancient Egyptian emperors were cruel

C.construction workers led a hard life in ancient Egypt

D.the secrets of the pyramids remain to be uncovered

2.Which of the following is NOT true to the Great Pyramid of Khufu?

A.It is the largest pyramid in the world.

B.It is the only one of the ancient wonders that is still standing.

C.Abdullah AL Manum took the King’s mummy and his treasures away.

D.Scientists found a mysterious locked stone door to the Great Pyramid.

3. What would be the best title for the text?

A.The Pyramid of the Sun

B.The Great Pyramid of Khufu

C.A Mysterious Locked Stone Door

D.Unlocking the Doors of History

Do you have an emotional brain or a rational (理性的) one? Researchers at Australia’s Monash University have found actual difference in the brains of people who respond emotionally to others’ feelings compared with those who respond more rationally.

A study published in the journal NeuroImage has looked at whether people who have more brain cells in certain areas of the brain are better at certain types of empathy, according to Science Daily. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person, and the two types investigated were cognitive (认知的) empathy and affective (情感的) empathy.

“Every day people use empathy with, and without, their knowledge to get around in the social world,” said Robert Eres from Monash University’s School of Psychological Sciences. “We use it for communication, to build relationships, and to increase our understanding of others.”

“People who are high on affective empathy are often those who get quite fearful when watching a scary movie, or start crying during a sad scene. Those who have high cognitive empathy are those who are more rational, for example a psychologist helping someone,” explained Eres.

The results of the study showed that people with high scores for affective empathy had more gray matter in a part of the brain called the insula, found right in the “middle” of the brain. Those who scored higher for cognitive empathy had more in a part called the midcingulate cortex—an area above the corpus callosum, which connects the two halves of the brain.

The discovery “raises new questions—like whether people could train themselves to have more empathy, and whether those areas of the brain would become larger if they did, or whether we can lose our ability to empathize if we don’t use it enough”, according to Science Daily.

“In the future we want to investigate further by testing whether training people in empathy-related tasks can lead to changes in these brain areas. We also want to investigate if damage to these brain areas, as a result of a stroke (中风) for example, can lead to empathy problems.” said Eres.

Perhaps in the future we will all be able to empathize more with other people. Maybe you will cry at that sad movie after all!

1.Empathy can be used in the following situations EXCEPT that .

A. when a psychologist is helping a patient with his mental disease

B. when a teacher is comforting a student about his father’s death

C. when a mathematician is calculating the area of a farmland

D. when people are reading a story with a frightening ending

2.What does the research done by Monash University mainly show?

A. Differences in the brains of emotional and rational people.

B. Whether a rational brain works better than an emotional one.

C. What empathy is and how to improve people’s ability to empathize.

D. How to effectively train people to have more empathy cells in their brain.

3.Which of the following statements might Robert Eres disagree with?

A. People use empathy when they are or aren’t aware of it.

B. People tend to use empathy to build relationships or understand others.

C. People with higher affective empathy feel heart-broken when watching sad movies.

D. People who are more rational have been found to have more gray matter in their brains.

4.Which of the following will be one of the focuses of future investigations according to the article?

A. How to train people in empathy-related tasks.

B. Whether people can be trained to be more empathetic.

C. Whether empathy problems can lead to damage to areas of the brain.

D. Why people seem to lose their ability to empathize if they don’t use it enough.

完形填空

At the beginning of the new term, I was that I was going to teach math in a new class. Hearing that it was a class that several teachers had complained(抱怨) about, I became anxious. to know how I can this group, I asked the former teachers about the students. One teacher told me that the students were naughty and to obey the rules. One boy was especially lazy and he on purpose so that he would be allowed to move back to his father’s house in another state.

I met my new students, I to make my class lovely and was surprised and happy to see they did better than I had thought. As I was giving them problems to solve, something happened. The student who tried to fail was raising his hand. I nodded. He stood up and gave the correct answers. I praised him and smiled gratefully.

Later I told the student how I was proud of his and gave him a positive letter to let him take home. He said, “ I you had been my teacher last term. You are the first one to a positive letter home. I will try to do well in studies in the future.” He was so excited and that he was almost crying. At the end of the class he me again.

I believe that this student will this term. Sometimes teachers students without seeing their potential(潜力). Too often we the negative sides rather than the positive ones. It is possible for a teacher to change students’ with love and encouragement. The of making a difference in students is great!

1.A. learned B. organized C. designed D. told

2.A. Unwilling B. Eager C. Curious D. Excited

3.A. deal with B. agree with C. go with D. fight with

4.A. unwilling B. uncertain C. unhappy D. unable

5.A. quarreled B. shouted C. failed D. fell

6.A. While B. After C. Because D. Before

7.A. succeeded B. managed C. needed D. agreed

8.A. physics B. English C. chemistry D. math

9.A. exciting B. frightening C. amazing D. discouraging

10.A. exactly B. immediately C. suddenly D. hopefully

11.A. generosity B. guidance C. efforts D. effects

12.A. wish B. require C. advise D. realize

13.A. carry B. take C. send D. bring

14.A. careful B. encouraged C. interested D. worried

15.A. praised B. congratulated C. greeted D. thanked

16.A. improve B. forget C. teach D. accept

17.A. attack B. replace C. search D. evaluate

18.A. decide on B. depend on C. agree on D. focus on

19.A. future B. goal C. attitudes D. activity

20.A. award B. reward C. prize D. medal

Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams(阻塞) and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes(废气). So the city began a scheme(计划) to improve the situation.

Under the Velib scheme(‘Velib’ comes from velo liberte, or ‘bicycle freedom’) , people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it’s only ∈1 a day or ∈29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25 kg), and they are all grey and have baskets. There are about 20,000 of them in the city, and around 1,450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!

Paris is not the first city to have a scheme like this. But not everybody thinks it’s a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle — they’ll still use their cars.”

A city spokesman said, “The bicycle scheme won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren’t any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”

1.What can we learn about the Velib scheme?

A. Its bikes have no baskets.

B. Its bikes are light and colorful.

C. People must return the bike to the same place after using it.

D. It owns more stations than the subway.

2.If you use a Velib for 1 hour, you should pay _____.

A. ∈1 B. ∈30 C. ∈29 D. no money

3.Why do some people disagree with the Velib scheme?

A. The cost is rather high.

B. It’s hard to find a Velib station.

C. It’s not suitable for a long journey.

D. The distance between two Velib stations is long.

4.What’s the city spokesman’s attitude towards the bicycle scheme?

A. Doubtful B. Positive.

C. Uncaring. D. Worried.

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