选择知识点

A

Dear Alcohol,

      Youˈve been around forever. I can remember all the pain youˈve caused for me.

        Do you remember the night you almost took my fatherˈs life? I do. He loves you. Sometimes I think he loves you more than he loves me. Heˈs addicted to you, to the way you promise to rid him of his problems only to cause more of them. You just sat back and laughed as his car went spinning through the street, crashing into two other cars. He wasnˈt the only one hurt by you that night.

    Do you remember the night of my first high school party? You were there. My friends were intrigued by you. They treated you as if they were never going to see you again, drinking all of you that they could. I spent two hours that night helping my friends who had fallen completely. Two 15-year-old girls slept in hospital beds that night thanks to you.

   Do you remember the night when you took advantage of my 17-year-old neighbor who had to drive to pick up his sister from her dance lessons? Do you know how we all felt when he hit another car and killed the two people in the other car? He died the next morning too. His sister walked home from her dance lesson, and passed police cars and a crowd of people gathering on the sidewalk just two blocks away from the dance studio. She didnˈt realize her brother was in the middle of it all. She never saw him again. And itˈs all your fault.

       I wish youˈd walk out of my life forever. I donˈt want anything to do with you. Look at all the pain youˈve caused. Sure, youˈve made people happy too from time to time. But the damage youˈve caused in the lives of millions is inexcusable. Stop luring (引诱) in the people I love. Stop hurting me, please. 

                                                                                                                                                                 Sincerely,  

                                                                                                                                                               Anonymous

(1) What is authorˈs purpose in writing to Alcohol?

A. To introduce Mr. Alcohol to the readers

B. To describe the harm alcohol did to his family.

C. To show how much alcohol can hurt people.

D. To show the great fun that alcohol can bring to peopleˈs life.

(2) What did alcohol do to the authorˈs father?

A. It made him crash into two other cars and took his life.

B. It made him drink too much and he had to get his stomach pumped.

C. It made him kill two other people when driving.

D. It made him get into a car accident and badly injure himself.

(3) The underlined phrase "were intrigued by" is closest in meaning to ______.

A. were familiar with

B. were interested in

C. were disappointed with

D. were satisfied with

(4) What is the tone of the article?

  

A. Critical.	B. Doubtful.
C. Unconcerned.	D. Humorous.

C

      People with less education suffer fewer stressful days, according to a report in the current issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

      However, the study also found that when less-educated people did suffer stress it was more severe and had a stronger effect on their health.

       From this, researchers have concluded that the day-to-day factors that cause stress are regular. Where you are in society determines the kinds of problems that you have each day, and how well you will cope with them.

         The research team interviewed a national sample of 1,031 adults daily for eight days about their stress level and health. People without a high school diploma reported stress on 30 percent of the study days, people with a high school degree reported stress 38 percent of the time, and people with college degrees reported stress 44 percent of the time.

      “Less advantaged people are less healthy on a daily basis and are more likely to have downward turns in their health.” leading researcher, Dr. Joseph Grzywacz of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, said in a prepared statement. “The downward turns in health were connected with daily stressors (紧张刺激物), and the effect of daily stressors on their health is much more damaging for the less advantaged. ”

     “If something happens every day, maybe it’s not seen as a stressor.” Grzywacz says. “Maybe it is just life.”

(1) Stress level is closely related to           .

  

A. family size	B. work experience
C. body weight	D. social position

(2) Which group reported the biggest number of stressful days?

A. People without any education.

B. People without high school degrees.

C. People with high school degrees.

D. People with college degrees.

(3) The less advantaged people are, the greater            .

A. the effect of stress on their health is

B. the degree of their health concern is

C. the level of their education is

D. the effect of education on their health is

(4) Less-educated people report fewer days of stress possibly because          .

A. they don’t want to tell truth

B. they don’t want to face the truth

C. stress is too common a factor in their life

D. their stress is much greater

Most dog owners believe their dogs experience guilt，but animal behaviorists say the"guilty look"of a dog is simply a reaction toyou and that dogs lack the ability to feel shame．
Alexandra Horowitz，a psychology professor and principal investigator at the Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Columbia University once carried out a study on dog"guilt"．She videotaped 14dogs in a series of trials and observed how they reacted when their owners left the room after instructing them not to eat a treat．When the owner was gone，Horowitz gave some of the dogs the forbidden treat．Then she would tell the owners whether their dogs had eaten the treat or had behaved．However，Horowitz wasn't always honest with them．
Horowitz found that the dogs'"guilty looks"had little to do with whether they'd eaten the treat or not．In fact，dogs that hadn't eaten it but were scolded by misinformed owners tended to exhibit the most elements of the"guiltylook"．
Horowitz says this shows that the dogs'body language is actually a response to their owner's behavior---not an experience of shame for a misdeed．Why then，do dogs look so ashamed when we scold them？
Maybe tat look of guilt is the result of a learned association．When you scold your dog for chewing up a pair of slippers，he quickly learns that if he lowers his head and tucks his tail，the undesirable response---raised voice and angry expression---is more likely to disappear．

(1) According to Horowitz，the dogs'"guilty look"is ______ ．

A. the dogs'nature．

B. a reaction to people's behavior．

C. a direct result of copying people's behavior．

D. a response to a shameful behavior．

(2) How was Horowitz'study carried out？ ______

A. By giving examples．	B. By telling her experience．
C. By doing an experiment．	D. By reasoning．

(3) What might be the most suitable title for the passage？ ______

A. The"Guilty Look"of the Dog

B. Dog without the Sense of Guilt

C. Dogs'Ability to Feel Shame

D. The Study on Dogs

(4) It can be inferred from the last paragraph that dogs were ______ ．

A. born with the look of guilt

B. born with the ability to feel guilty

C. so smart to copy people's behavior

D. so smart to adjust its behavior．

No one likes to make mistakes．But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes,and keep that knowledge longer．

    One of the researchers was Vinit Desai,an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School．He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah．

    They did not find much long-term“organizational learning”from success．It is possible,they say．But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years．He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them．

    The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites and other space vehicles．Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights．In two thousand two,a piece of insulating (隔热的)material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis．Still the flight was considered a success．Then in early two thousand three,a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch．This time,the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died．NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes．

    Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded．He points to airlines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past．Headvises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided．He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information．The study appeared in the Academy of Management Journal．

    The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own．We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly．Fabricio Cmino wrote:Not long ago I wanted to watch TV,but it wouldn’t turn on,so I did everything I could to start it．Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and,passing by,said to me“Did you try plugging it?”“I’m just dusting．Mum!”So she wouldn’t notice how dumb I am sometimes!

    Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key．It was in his pocket．He wrote:I always promise I will never do it again,but after a few weeks,where is my wallet?For sure it will be in a very logical place．

(1) What we get from failure differs from that from success in that________．

A. what we learn from failure is more powerful

B. what we learn from success does no good to us

C. the knowledge gained from failure is important

D. the knowledge gained from failure lasts longer

(2) From the passage,we can infer that________．

A. the insulating material problem in 2002 didn’t arouse enough attention

B. there were no astronauts on Columbia

C. in spite of the problem,Atlantis was considered a success

D. Columbia exploded during its launch time

(3) The writer gives the last two paragraphs to show that________．

A. many people make mistakes in the world

B. mistakes were a very embarrassing thing when found by others

C. we can also draw a lesson from others’mistakes

D. making mistakes was a necessity

(4) Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. Only organizations can learn from mistakes．

B. We can also learn from failures that have been avoided．

C. Lessons from the shuttle flights are more important．

D. Leaders often lack an open mind and seldom share information．

Dear Mayor (市长) Lewis,

       As we know, the city budget for next year does not include enough money to maintain the playing fields and skating rink (溜冰场) in Center Park. We are aware that the storms that hit Lyndon last summer caused a great amount of damage, and the city’s budget should first be used to repair the high school, city hall, and airport. Don’t you realize, however, what a loss the park will be?

       Center Park is the best place in the city for sports, picnics, concerts, walking, and enjoying nature. It plays a vital role in the education of our children. Each year science teachers bring their classes to the park on field trips to study plants and animals. Small children use the playground equipment every day. There are no other parks nearby for these kids to enjoy themselves. Every day I see the park on my way to school. It is absolutely necessary to support Center Park.

       The Lyndon High School Ice Skating Club would like to offer the city some help. We are suggesting a Skatathon. Our members would ask family, friends, and businesses for help, and then skate all day. For every mile skated, we would raise money to be used to maintain the fields and rink. Also, some of our members are willing to help the park staff do simple repairs at the rink.

       While it appears that the city can no longer afford Center Park, other facts tell us we have to maintain this park as a place for the entire Lyndon community. It is a green, refreshing place to go in the middle of the city. We hope our idea is the first of many good ideas to keep Center Park green and clean.

Sincerely yours,

Cara Johnson

(1) What happened to Center Park last summer?

A. Lack of money made it almost closed.

B. A lot of equipment there was missing.

C. It was abandoned by local people.

D. It was badly damaged in the storms.

(2) In the author’s opinion, Center Park _____.

A. means a lot to those living in Lyndon

B. should be open to the public for free

C. is too small for people to have fun

D. is more important than the airport

(3) A Skatathon might be run to _____.

A. make skating more popular

B. collect money to maintain Center Park

C. improve people’s health

D. encourage people to join the skating club

(4) Cara Johnson wrote the letter mainly to _____.

A. express thanks

B. make an apology

C. make a suggestion

D. send her congratulations

Though great efforts have been ________on her study, Annie can’t still make any improvements, which makes her parents greatly________.

Professor James will give us a lecture on the Western culture, but when and where________ yet.

The most frightening words in the English language are, “Our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”

“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”

“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.”

I looked down on the computer and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do all you people do?”

“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”

“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”

“That’s good, sir.”

“How long will the computer be down?”I wanted to know.

“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There’s no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down it won’t answer us.”

After the girl told me they had no backup(备用) computer, I said. “Let”s forget the computer. What about your planes? They’re still flying, aren’t they?”

“I couldn’t tell without asking the computer.”

“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington,”I suggested.

“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”

“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”

“I wouldn’t know,”she said, pointing at the dark screen.“Only‘IT’knows.‘It’can’t tell me.”

By this time there were quite a few people standing in lines. The word soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went white, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.

(1) The best title for the article is _______.

A. When the Computer Is Down

B. The Most Frightening Words

C. The Computer of the Airport

D. Asking the Computer

(2) What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?

A. She could sell a ticket.

B. She could write out a ticket.

C. She could answer the passengers’ questions.

D. She could do nothing.

(3) The last paragraph suggests that _______.

A. a modern computer won’t be down.

B. computers can take the place of humans

C. sometimes a computer may bring suffering to people

D. there will be great changes in computers

It is natural that young people are often uncomfortable when they are with their parents. They say that their parents donˈt understand them. They often think that their parents are out of touch with modern ways, that they are too serious and too strict with their children, and that they seldom give their children a free hand.

It is true that parents often find it difficult to win their childrenˈs trust and they tend to forget how they themselves felt when young. For example, young people like to act on the spot without much thinking. It is one of their ways to show that they have grown up and they can face any difficult situation. Older people worry more easily. Most of them plan things ahead, at least in the back of their minds, and do not like their plans to be upset by something unexpected. When you want your parents to let you do something, you will have better success if you ask before you really start doing it.

     Young people often make their parents angry with their choice in clothes, in entertainment and in music. But they do not mean to cause any trouble; it is just that they feel cut off from the older peopleˈs world, into which they have not yet been accepted. Thatˈs why young people want to make a new culture of their own, and if their parents do not like their music or entertainment or clothes or their way of speech, this will make the young people extremely happy.

     Sometimes you are so proud of yourself that you do not want your parents to say,"Yes" to what you do. All you want is to be left alone and do what you like. It is natural enough, after being a child for so many years, when you were completely under your parentsˈ control. If you plan to control your life, youˈd better win your parents over and try to get them to understand you. If your parents see that you have a high sense of responsibility, they will certainly give you the right to do what you want to do.

(1) According to the passage, young people prefer to ________.

A. ask for advice before they really start to do anything

B. do things without thinking carefully ahead

C. think in the same way as their parents do

D. be very strict with themselves

(2) Young people like to have clothes, entertainment and music in their way, because ________.

A. they want to make their parents happy

B. they try to get their parents to believe them

C. they want to try on something new and look different from the older

D. they want to test whether they are cleverer than old people

(3) If a young man intends to control his own life, itˈs better for him to ________.

A. do everything according to his own wish

B. do everything the way his parents do

C. do everything beyond his parentsˈ control

D. hold himself responsible for everything he does

Difficulties strengthen the mind, ________ labor does the body.