选择知识点

For some people，music is no fun at all． About four percent of the population is what scientists call "amusic"．People who are amusic are born without the ability to recognize or reproduce musical notes（音调）．Amusic people often cannot tell the difference between two songs． Amusics can only hear the difference between two notes if they are far apart on the musical scale．
As a result，songs sound like noise to an amusic． Many amusics compare the sound of music to pieces of metal hitting each other． Life can be hard for amusics． Their ability to enjoy music sets them apart from others． It can be difficult for other people to identify with their condition． In fact，most people cannot begin to grasp what it feels like to be amusic． Just going to a restaurant or a shopping mall can be uncomfortable or even painful． That is why many amusics intentionally stay away from places where there is music． However，this can result in withdrawal and social isolation． "I used to hate parties，" says Margaret，a seventy-year-old woman who only recently discovered that she was amusic． By studying people like Margaret，scientists are finally learning how to identify this unusual condition．
Scientists say that the brains of amusics are different from the brains of people who can appreciate music． The difference is complex，and it doesn't involve defective hearing． Amusics can understand other nonmusical sounds well． They also have no problems understanding ordinary speech． Scientists compare amusics to people who just can't see certain colors．
Many amusics are happy when their condition is finally diagnosed（诊断）．For years，Margaret felt embarrassed about her problem with music． Now she knows that she is not alone． There is a name for her condition． That makes it easier for her to explain． "When people invite me to a concert I just say，‘No thanks． I'm amusic，""says Margaret． "I just wish I had learned to say that when I was seventeen and not seventy．"



Which of the following is TRUE of amusics？ ______

A. Listening to music is far from enjoyable for them．
B. They love places where they are likely to hear music．
C. They can easily tell two different songs apart．
D. Their situation is well understood by musicians．

According to Paragraph 3，a person with "defective hearing" is probably one who ______ ．

A. dislikes listening to speeches
B. can hear anything nonmusical
C. has a hearing problem
D. lacks a complex hearing system

In the last paragraph，Margaret expressed her wish that ______ ．

A. her problem with music had been diagnosed earlier
B. she were seventeen years old rather than seventy
C. her problem could be easily explained
D. she were able to meet other amusics

What is the passage mainly concerned with？ ______

A. Amusics" strange behaviours．
B. Some people's inability to enjoy music．
C. Musical talent and brain structure．
D. Identification and treatment of amusics．

Chicago twins Deprice and Shaprice Hunt were accepted into 56 colleges and have earned about ＄1.6 million in scholarships．
Of the 56schools， Shaprice has been accepted into 35 colleges， two of which have offered her a full-ride scholarship． She said that she earned ＄1.3 million in scholarships． Shaprice wants to choose either Illinois State University or Eastern Illinois University and major in Education and Psychology．
Deprice， who is a youth activist in Chicago， has been accepted into 27 schools． He earned ＄300.000 in scholarship and received two full scholarships offers． "My motivation was to make sure my mom didn't have to be out of pocket，" Deprice said． His top choice is HBCU Morehouse College， which he said is his dream school． He also said that he wants to study Performing Arts and Political Science．
In addition to their acceptance letters and scholarships， the twins are proud of their perfect attendance and a total of 48 awards throughout their high school years．
The Hunt twins praise their family and teachers for their successes． They said that it is easy， especially in Chicago， to let negative beliefs about black youth get the best of someone．
Deprcie decided to tell their story in the hope of inspiring others． "A lot of people say you can't do it because of where you are from" Deprice said． "Don't listen to them．" The twins said they know financial problems held a lot of teens back． But it is important to be persistent． " Never give up，" Shaprice said， "Picture your future． Not only to make yourself proud but make your family proud too．"
The twins said their hope is for every child， no matter what their race or background is， to have an opportunity to go to college． Deprice said it is important for him and his sister to continue to use their voices to encourage other teens， even after they go off to college．



How much more scholarship does Shaprice earn than Deprice？ ______

A. ＄1.3 million
B. ＄ 300.000
C. ＄1.6 million
D. ＄1 million

Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage？ ______

A. Both of the twins got full scholarships．
B. The twins got 48 awards in total throughout their school years．
C. The twins owe their success to their family and teachers and their persistence．
D. In Chicago， most black youth don't believe in themselves．

Why did Deprice plan to tell their experience to others？ ______

A. Because he is so proud of himself and his sister．
B. Because there are always many difficulties in teens" schoollife．
C. Because he wants to encourage the black youth to fight for their dream．
D. Because it is easy in Chicago to get the best of everyone．

Which of the following words can best describe the twins？ ______

A. determined and grateful
B. brave and warm-hearted
C. kind and proud
D. polite and easy-going

Around the world young people are spending unbelievable sums of money listening to rock music． Forbes reports that at least fifty rock stars have incomes between two million and six million dollars per year．
"It doesn't make sense， " says Johnny Mathis， one of the older music millionaires， who made a million dollars a year when he was most popular， in the 1950s． "Performers aren't worth this kind of money． In fact， nobody is． "
But the rock stars "admirers seem to disagree． Those who love rock music spend about two billion dollars a year for records． They pay 150 million to see rock stars in person．
Luck is a key word for explaining the success of many． In 1972， one of the luckiest was Kon McLean， who wrote and sang "American Pie"． McLean writes his own music， so he earns an additional two cents on every single record of the song．
Nell Young， who performs in torn blue jeans， sometimes sings to an audience of 10 000， each of whom has paid at least five dollars for a ticket． After paying expenses， Young leaves with about ﹩18 000 in his blue jeans at the end of an evening．
How do the rock stars use their money？ What do they do when the money starts pouring in like water？ Most of the young stars simply throw the money around． England's Elton John gave someone a ﹩ 38 000 Rolls Royce car and bought himself 5，000 pair of eyeglasses， then lighted up and spelt： E-L-T-O--N． He also bought himself two cars， "one for each foot"．
Many rock stars live like Grace Slick and the Jefferson Airplane． Those performers return from a tour， pay their bills， and buy new toys． Then when they need money again， they do another tour． They save no money and live from hand to mouth．
In the end the rock star's life is unrewarding． After two or three years， riches and fame are gone． Left with his memories and his tax problems， the lonely person spends his remaining years trying to attract strangers． New stars have arrived to take his place．



This passage is mainly about ______ ．

A. the success of a rock star
B. the way rock stars live
C. rich rock stars
D. the admirers of rock stars

How much expense does Neil Young pay for a performance？ ______

A. ﹩ 10，000
B. ﹩ 33，000
C. ﹩ 32，000
D. ﹩ 38，000

According to the passage， the underlined phrase "from hand to mouth" means ______ ．

A. they have to earn money by hand
B. they know how to spend money in a reasonable way
C. they earn money only for their immediate enjoyment
D. they steal to feed their mouth when they need money

What do we know about Johnny Mathis？ ______

A. He thinks rock stars shouldn't make much money．
B. His admires disagree with him totally．
C. He was once popular in the twentieth century．
D. He never spends any money on a rock star's performance．

Until recently， voice cloning - or voice banking， as it was then known - was a customized industry which served those at risk of losing the power of speech to cancer or surgery． Synthesizing（合成） a voice was a long and expensive process． It meant recording many phrases， each spoken many times， with different emotional emphases（重音） and in different contexts （statement， question， command and so forth）， in order to cover all possible pronunciations．
Not any more． Software exists that can store pieces of recorded speech which is merely five milliseconds long， each marked with a precise pitch（音高）． These can be put together to make new words， and adjusted individually so that they fit harmoniously into their new sonic homes． This is much cheaper than conventional voice banking， and permits novel uses to be developed．
This year Vivo Text plans to release an app that lets users select the emphasis， speed and level of happiness or sadness with which individual words and phrases are produced． Mr． Silbert refers to the emotive quality of the human voice as "the ultimate instrument"． Yet this power also troubles him． Vivo Text licenses its software to Hasbro， an American toymaker keen to sell increasingly interactive playthings． Hasbro is aware， Mr． Silbert notes， that without safeguards a naughty child might， for example， type impolite words on his mother's smartphone in order to see a younger sibling burst into tears on hearing them spoken by a toy using mum's voice．
More troubling， when tested against voice-biometrics software like that used by many banks to block unauthorized access to accounts， more than 80% of the fake voices tricked the computer． Alan Black， one of Festvox's developers， thinks systems that rely on voice-ID software are now "deeply， fundamentally insecure"．
Dr． Saxena and his colleagues asked volunteers if a voice sample belonged to a person whose real speech they had just listened to for about 90 seconds． The volunteers recognized cloned speech as such only half the time （ie， no better than chance）． The outcome， according to George Papcun， an expert witness paid to detect fake recordings produced as evidence in court， is the appearance of a technology with "enormous potential value for disinformation"．
As might be expected， countermeasures to recognize such deception（欺骗） are being developed． Nuance Communications， a maker of voice-activated software， is working on algorithms（算法） that detect tiny skips in frequency at the points where slices of speech are stuck together． Adobe， best known as the marker of Photoshop， an image-editing software suite， says that it may add digital watermarks to speech synthesized by a voice-cloning software called VoCo it is developing． Such technology may help computers recognize suspicious speech． Even so， it is easy to imagine the chaos that might be created in a world which makes it easy to put authentic-sounding words into the mouths of opponents - be they colleagues or heads of state．



Paragraphs 1 and 2 are mainly about ______ ．

A. significant elements influencing voice cloning
B. possible applications of voice cloning in reality
C. complexities of creating a synthetic copy of a voice
D. differences between traditional and existing voice banking

What's Hasbro's attitude towards Vivo Test's new app？ ______

A. Optimistic．
B. Conservative．
C. Unconcerned．
D. Subjective．

The experiment carried out by Dr． Saxena and his colleagues shows that volunteers ______ ．

A. identified cloned speech in about 45 seconds
B. preferred a real speech to a voice sample
C. proved only a little harder to fool than software
D. found it hard to use the software to record their voices

What can we infer from the last paragraph？ ______

A. Investments should be increased to advance voice cloning．
B. Long-term measures should be taken to popularize the idea of voice cloning．
C. Disagreements among firms about the way to treat voice cloning are getting serious．
D. Problems of voice cloning are unavoidable despite the efforts that have been made．

This is my son Matthew's last night at home before college． I know that this is good news． I feel proud that Matthew will go to a great school． I know that this is the finest hour． But looking at the suitcases on his bed sends me out of the room to a hidden corner where I can't stop crying．
Through the sorrow， I feel a rising embarrassment． " Pull yourself together!" I tell myself． There are parents sending their kids off to battle zones． How dare I feel so shocked and upset？
One of the great gifts of my life has been having my boys， Matthew and John． Through them， I have explored the mysterious， complicated bond between fathers and sons． As My wife and I raised them， I have discovered the love and loss between my father and me． After my parents" divorce，I spent weekends with my dad in Ohio． By the time Sunday came around， I was unable to enjoy the day's activities because I was already afraid of the goodbye of the evening．
Now， standing among Matthew's accumulation of possessions， I realize it's me who has become a boy again． All my sadness and longing to hold on to things are back， sweeping over me as they did when I was a child．
His bed is tidy and spare． It already has the feel of a guest bed． In my mind I replay wrapping him in his favorite blanket． That was our nightly routine until one evening he said，"Daddy，I don't think I need a blanket tonight．"I think of all the times we lay among the covers reading． I look at the bed and think of all the recent times I was annoyed at how late he was sleeping． I'll never have to worry about that again， I realize．
For his part， Matthew has been a rock． He is treating his leaving as just another day at the office． And I'm glad． After all， someone's got to be strong． I'm proud that he is charging into the first chapter of his adult life with such confidence．



What does the writer mean by "Pull yourself together!"？ ______

A. Cheer up．
B. Get up．
C. Pull up．
D. Wake up．

We can infer from the passage that ______ ．

A. the writer is used to sleeping early
B. Matthew is ready for his new life
C. Matthew doesn't get on well with his father
D. the writer wasn't brave enough to face his parents" divorce

How does the writer feel about his son's leaving for college？ ______

A. Bittersweet．
B. Grateful．
C. Pleasant．
D. Worried．

Two of the saddest words in the English language are "if only（要是……就好了）"． I live my life with the goal of never having to say those words， because they convey regret， lost opportunities， mistakes， and disappointment．
My father is famous in our family for saying "Take the extra minute to do it right．" I always try to live by the "extra minute" rule． When my children were young and likely to cause accidents， I always thought about what I could do to avoid an "if only" moment， whether it was something minor like moving a cup full of hot coffee away from the edge of a counter， or something that required a little more work such as taping padding （衬垫） onto the sharp corners of a glass coffee table．
I don't only avoid those "if only" moments when it comes to safety． It's equally important to avoid "if only" in our personal relationships． We all know people who lost a loved one and regretted that they had foregone an opportunity to say "I love you" or "I forgive you．" When my father announced he was going to the eye doctor across from my office on Good Friday， I told him that it was a holiday for my company and I wouldn't be here． But then I thought about the fact that he was 84years old and I realized that I shouldn't give up an opportunity to see him． I called him and told him I had decided to go to work on my day off after all．
I know there will still be occasions when I have to say "if only" about something， but my life is definitely better because of my policy of doing everything possible to avoid that eventuality． And even though it takes an extra minute to do something right， or it occasionally takes an hour or two in my busy schedule to make a personal connection， I know that I'm doing the right thing． I'm buying myself peace of mind and that's the best kind of insurance for my emotional well-being．



Which of the following is an example of the "extra minute" rule？ ______

A. Start the car the moment everyone is seated．
B. Leave the room for a minute with the iron working．
C. Wait for an extra minute so that the steak tastes better．
D. Move an object out of the way before it trips someone．

The underlined word "foregone" in Paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______ ．

A. take up
B. stay away
C. run out of
D. give up

The author decided to go to her office on Good Friday to ______ ．

A. keep her appointment with the eye doctor
B. meet her father who was already an old man
C. join in the holiday celebration of the company
D. finish her work before the deadline approached

What is the best title for the passage？ ______

A. The Peace of Mind
B. The Most Useful Rule
C. The Two Saddest Words
D. The Emotional Well-being

In Canada you can find dogs， cats， horses， etc． In almost every family， These are their pets． People love these pets and have them as their good friends． Before they keep them in their houses， they take them to animal hospitals to give them injections（ 注 射 ） so that they won't carry diseases． They have special animal food stores， though they can get animal food in almost every kind of stores． Some people spend around two hundred Canadian dollars a month on animal food．
When you visit people's houses， they would be very glad to show you their pets and they are very proud of them． You will also find that almost every family has a bird feeder in their garden． All kinds of birds are welcomed to come and have a good meal． They are free to come and go and nobody is allowed to kill any animal in Canada． They have a law against killing wild animals． If you killed an animal， You would be punished． If an animal happened to get run over by a car， people would be very sad about it．
People in Canada have many reasons to like animals． One of them might be： Their family ties are not as close as ours． When children grow up， they leave their parents and start their own life． Then the old will feel lonely． But pets can solve this problem． They can be good friends and never leave them alone．



The passage mainly talks about ______ ．

A. how to keep diseases from pets
B. Canadians have pets as friends
C. how to take good care of pets
D. life of the old in Canada

Pets are given injections in animal hospitals ______ ．

A. in order to keep them safe
B. after being taken home
C. because they are homeless
D. because they are sick

In Canada， children leave their parents when they grow up because ______ ．

A. they don't love their parents any more
B. they can only find jobs far from their parents
C. their parents" houses are too small
D. they wouldn't depend on their parents any more

Which of the following is True？ ______

A. People buy animal food only at the animal food stores．
B. Pets eat better than people．
C. every family has a birdcage in his house．
D. Any bird can come to the bird feeders to eat．

One of the most striking findings of a newly research in the UK is that of the people interviewed， one in two believes that it is becoming more difficult to meet someone to start a family with．
Why are many finding it increasingly difficult to start close relationships？ Does modern life really make it harder to fall in love？ Or are we making it harder for ourselves？ It is certainly the case today that contemporary couples benefit in different ways from relationships． Women no longer rely upon partners for money or status． A man doesn't expect his wife to be in sole （唯一的） charge of running his household and raising his children．
But perhaps the knowledge that we can live perfectly well without a partnership means that it takes much more to persuade people to abandon their independence．
In theory， finding a partner should be much simpler these days． Only a few generations ago， your choice of soul mate was limited by geography， social convention and family tradition． Although it was never clear， many marriages were essentially arranged． Now those barriers have been broken down． You can approach a builder or a brain surgeon in any bar in any city on any given evening． When the world is your oyster （牡蛎）， you surely have a better chance of finding a pearl．
But it seems that the old conventions have been replaced by the limitation of choice． The expectations of partners are raised to an unmanageable degree： good looks， impressive salary， kind to grandmother， and right socks． There is no room for error in the first impression．
We think that a relationship can be perfect． If it isn't， it should be ended． We work to protect ourselves against future heartache and don't put in the hard emotional labor needed to build a strong relationship． Twelve-hour work at the office makes relaxed after-hours dating difficult． The cost of housing and child-raising creates pressure to have a stable income and career before a life partnership．



What is a contemporary family like in the UK today？ ______

A. Women are responsible for housework．
B. Men begin to depend on women．
C. Couples share the burdens．
D. It is difficult to take care of a family．

Why do people want to preserve their independence？ ______

A. To ignore traditions．
B. To have more choices．
C. To avoid marriages．
D. To live alone happily．

What makes it hard for people to date？ ______

A. Mental headache in dating．
B. Bad luck in finding a partner．
C. The pressure to survive．
D. The disbelief in life partners．

What is the author trying to inform us in this text？ ______

A. Expectations and reality stand in the way of relationships．
B. People should spend more money on marriages．
C. Perfect marriages conflict with individual independence．
D. Independence is much more important than love．

Should the eve of the Lunar New Year be declared a public holiday？ "Holiday for Spring Festival's Eve" has become a popular call on several forums（论坛）and social media platforms， with supporters emphasizing（强调））the importance of the annual family reunion dinner．
The family reunion dinner on Lanar New Year's Eve has always been important for Chinese people． From 2008 to 2013， the eve of Lunar New Year was part of the Spring Festival public holiday． But a new rule this year excluded （排除 ）it from the list of public holidays and added the Lunar Jan 3into the Spring Festival holiday
An increasing number of people ---about 300million ---forced to work away from their villages and towns owing to the rapid pace of urbanization（ 城市化）， need hours or even a couple of days to reach home for the most important Chinese festival
However， not all of the about 300 million migrant workers， need a holiday on Lunar New Year's Eve． Official data show that about 269 million of them are farmers-turned-migrant workers who can go home10 to20 days before Spring Festival． That the annual（一年一次的） travel rush begins almost a month before Spring Festival shows that the majority of migrant workers return home days or even weeks in advance and thus it's not a trouble for them to enjoy the Lunar New Year's Eve dinner with their families．
So the call for a public holiday on the eve of Lunar New Year comes mainly from people with higher educational qualifications in better-paying but tight-schedule jobs． In fact， this is the group that is the most active on the Internet in voicing its opinion． That means despite the high-pitched online call to declare Lunar New Year's Eve a public holiday， it is not necessarily the majority opinion of society．
From another point of view， however， the online plea（请求）for a holiday on Lunar New Year's Eve shows that people working far away from home need more holidays for family reunions， which calls for a change in the public holiday list．
The problem is that the lack of long holidays in China prevents migrant workers from visiting their families at regular intervals． But the solution to the problem is not whether Lunar New Year Eve or Lunar Jan 3 should be added into the public holiday， but simply to have an extra day off during Spring Festival． And if possible， the decision makers should increase the number of holidays in other months as well， so that workers can get more weeklong breaks for family reunions．



The Eve of Lunar New Year doesn't belong to public holidays in the year of ______ ．

A. 2008
B. 2013
C. 2014
D. 2018

Who call for a public holiday on the eve of Lunar New Year badly？ ______

A. The people who has a higher education and good salary， but limited time．
B. About 300 million migrant workers．
C. About 269 million farmers-turned-migrant workers．
D. 150 million migrant workers．

The solution may be ______ ．

A. Adding the Eve of the Lunar New Year into the public holiday
B. Adding Lunar Jan 3into the public holiday．
C. Having another day off
D. Working 4 days a week

The writer's opinion on the call for a public holiday on the Eve of Lunar New Year is ______ ．

A. Supportive
B. Negative
C. Not mentioned
D. Neutral（中立的）

British shoppers will take home about 6billion fewer single-use plastic bags this year because the government introduced a 5p charge， according to data published July 30． The 5p charge has resulted in donations of more than ￡29 million from retailers toward charities（慈善机构） and community groups．
About 8 million tons of plastic pollutes the oceans each year， and experts judge the plastic is swallowed by 31 species of marine（海生的） mammals and some 100 species of seabirds．
"Taking six billion plastic bags out of circulation is fantastic news for all of us - it will mean our precious marine life is safer， our communities are cleaner， and future generations won't suffer from mountains of plastic taking hundreds of years to break down in landfill sites，" UK Environment Minister Therese Coffey said． "The 5p charge has clearly been a huge success - not only for our environment but for good causes across the country that have benefited from an impressive ￡29 million raised． It shows small actions can make the biggest difference， but we must not be complacent as there is always more we can all do to reduce waste and recycle what we use．"
More than 7 billion carrier bags were issued by seven leading retailers in 2014， but that number has fallen to slightly more than 500 million in the first six months of the 5p charge for single-use carrier bags introduced in October 2015．
"We are delighted to see that the bag charge in England is showing positive results． This is a significant reduction that will benefit the environment as a whole， and our sea life in particular，" said Dr． Sue Kinsey， a technical specialist． "There is always more that we can do， and we encourage everyone to join in our Great British Beach Clean to help keep our coastlines clean．"



According to the passage， which will charities directly benefit from ______ ．

A. Donations from supermarket．
B. Less use of plastic bags．
C. Cleaner communities
D. Thee improved environment．

What does the underlined word "complacent" in Paragraph 3 mean？ ______

A. Disappointed．
B. Worried．
C. Confident
D. Content．

What did Therese Coffey and Dr． Sue Kinsey both agree with？ ______

A. Everyone should join environment-protecting organizations．
B. The 5p charge is far from a success．
C. Future generations can enjoy a plastic-free life．
D. Paying for plastic bags is multi-beneficial．

Which may be the best title of the passage？ ______

A. 5p Charge Sees Great Reduction of Plastic Bags
B. Measures Taken to Reduce Use of Plastic Bags
C. Plastic Bags Harm the Environment a Lot
D. Benefits from Less Use of Plastic Bags