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 very 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 inability 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.”
1.Which of the following is true of amusic?
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.
2.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
3.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
4.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.
In modern society loneliness can be seen as a social phenomenon and people can experience loneliness for many reasons. It is a very common, though normally temporary, _______ of a breakup, divorce, or loss of any important long-term relationship. In these cases, loneliness may result both from the loss of a specific person and from the _______ from social circles. The loss of a significant person in one’s life will typically initiate a grief response; in this situation, one might feel lonely, even while in the company of others.
Loneliness may also result from any socially disruptive (破裂的) event, such as moving from one’s home town into _______ communities leading to homesickness. Loneliness can also occur in places with low population densities in which there are comparatively few people to _______.
There are many different ways used to _______ loneliness. The first step that most doctors recommend to patients is therapy. Short term therapy typically occurs over a period of ten to twenty weeks. During therapy, emphasis is put on understanding the cause of the problem, _______ the negative thoughts, feelings, and attitudes resulting from the problem, and exploring ways to help the patient feel connected. Some doctors also recommend _______ therapy as a means to connect with other sufferers and establish a support system. It may take several attempts before a suitable anti-depressant medication is found. Some patients may also develop a resistance to a certain type of medication and need to _______ periodically.
Another treatment is animal-assisted therapy. Studies and surveys indicate that the presence of animal companions such as dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs can _______ feelings of loneliness or depression among some sufferers. Beyond the companionship the animal itself provides there may also be increased opportunities for ________ with other pet owners. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention there are a number of other health benefits associated with pet ownership, such as lowered blood pressure. In addition, some other alternative approaches may include exercise, dieting, etc, which many patients find have a ________ effect on relieving symptoms. Results of a study also suggest that correcting maladaptive social cognition (认知) offers the best chance of ________loneliness.
Nevertheless, loneliness can sometimes play an important role in the ________ process. In some people, temporary or prolonged loneliness can lead to notable artistic and creative expression, for example, as was the case with poet Emily Dickinson, and numerous musicians. This is not to imply that loneliness itself ensures this creativity, ________, it may have an influence on the subject matter of the artist and more likely be present in individuals ________creative activities.
1.A.type B.concern C.consequence D.evidence
2.A.withdrawal B.absence C.disappearance D.presence
3.A.informal B.uncertain C.relevant D.unfamiliar
4.A.turn to B.interact with C.long for D.share with
5.A.release B.observe C.monitor D.treat
6.A.reversing B.directing C.measuring D.pursuing
7.A.long-term B.sightseeing C.patient D.group
8.A.quit B.evolve C.switch D.exercise
9.A.confirm B.protest C.enhance D.ease
10.A.socializing B.interfering C.comparing D.coping
11.A.historic B.restorative C.decisive D.permanent
12.A.promoting B.enhancing C.reducing D.striving
13.A.creative B.musical C.artistic D.poetic
14.A.however B.therefore C.rather D.otherwise
15.A.restricted to B.engaged in C.concerned about D.altered by
Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.
Nook’s arrival, Good or Bad?
Booklovers, most of them, will tell you 1. a pleasure it is to lend a favorite read to a friend – the novel you stayed up all night to get to the end of; the travel book that made you feel 2. you yourself were on a train ride through India. For a while it seemed that e-book users were to be denied this pleasure of lending to friends. You could buy a book or magazine for your reading device, but you couldn’t lend it out.
But now, with the Nook, the US book chain Barnes and Noble’s response to Amazon’s Kindle, electronic readers will be able to have their latest literary enthusiasm 3.(press) on their friends, just like readers of physical books can. You simply email the book from your Nook and your friend can read it for two weeks, 4.(use) any device with the Barnes & Noble e-book reader software. It’s a big improvement from previous e-book readers.
The Nook offers other features too. You read in black and white on the main screen, just like with Kindle. The difference is 5. on the lower part of the device there’s a color touch screen, 6. allows you to browse through a book or magazine, but goes black when you’re not using it so that you save power.
7. exciting thing about the Nook is that it offers Wi-Fi, arguably a big advance on previous e-book readers. Customers in the United States can use the Internet connection 8.(read) whole e-books at Barnes and Noble’s hundreds of bookstores for free. None of Barnes and Noble’s competitors can come close to this.
But the Nook, ironically, 9.(turn out) to be a money-loser for Barnes and Noble, or at least a job-loser for Barnes and Noble’s employees. According to Marian Maneker at The Big Money Website, 10. the Nook is successful it might take sales from the company’s bookstores, eventually forcing their closure and the loss of thousands of jobs.
请阅读下面文字，并按照要求用英语写一篇150词左右的文章。
Li Jiang: Have you heard this? Our school will set up a selective course, teaching students basic techniques for making a kite.
Su Hua:Yes, I have.The course is meant to inherit (传承) the kite-making craft.
Li Jiang: It's really exciting. I've always been interested in making kites. I want to enroll（报名）in the course.
Su Hua: I want to attend kite-making classes too. But I'm afraid the craft is too difficult for me.
Li Jiang: Don't worry about it.We can learn together.
Su Hua: There is another problem. My parents won't permit me to take part in such activities.They want me to spend more time on my subjects.
Li Jiang: By making kites we can be innovative, which is good for our study. I think they will support you.
Su Hua:Yes, that's right. I'll think about it.
（写作内容）
1.用约30个词概括上述信息的主要内容；
2.如果你是该校学生，你会报名参加风筝制作课程吗？请说明理由（不少于两点）。
（写作要求）
1.写作过程中不能直接引用原文语句；
2.作文中不能出现真实姓名和学校名称；
3.不必写标题。
（评分标准）
内容完整，语言规范，语篇连贯，词数适当。
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填1个单词。请将答案写在答题卡上相应题号的横线上。
In the course of researching my book, I asked people on five continents, “Who listens to you?” and the response was usually a long, awkward pause. Even those who were married and claimed vast networks of friends struggled to come up with someone who they felt truly listened to them.
It's fueling what public health officials are calling a worldwide epidemic of loneliness, which increases the risk of dying young. Indeed, studies link loneliness with heart disease, stroke, dementia and poor immune function.
To fight loneliness people are told to “Get out there! Join a club, take up a sport, volunteer, or invite people to dinner.” How do you connect with people once you're “out there” and “face-to-face”? Truly listening to someone is a skill many seem to have forgotten or perhaps never learned in the first place.
Listening goes beyond hearing what people say. It's also paying attention to how they say it and what they do while they are saying it, in what context, and how what they say resonates within you.
Listening is not about simply holding your peace while someone else holds forth. Quite the opposite. A lot of listening has to do with how you respond-the degree to which you elicit clear expression of another 's thoughts and, in the process, express your own clearly. It starts with an openness and willingness to follow another person's story without presumption or getting sidetracked by what's going on in your own head.
Good listeners ask good questions. Everyone is interesting if you ask the right questions. If someone seems dull or uninteresting, it's on you. Good questions don't have a hidden agenda of fixing, saving, advising, convincing or correcting. They don't begin with “Don't you think...?”or “Wouldn't you agree…?” and they definitely don't end with "Right?" The idea is to find out more about the speaker's point of view, not to influence it.
Also avoid asking appraising questions like “What do you do for a living?” and “What part of town do you live in?” and “Are you married?” These are not honest attempts to get to know people so much as rank them in the social hierarchy. It makes people strongly defensive and is likely to reduce the conversation to a CV recitation.
Instead, ask expansive questions such as, “What's the best gift you ever received?” and “If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live?” Listening to people in this way is also essential to reaching compromise. You might not agree with them, but you gain understanding about their background and influences.
Listening is a skill and, like any skill, it degrades if you don't do it enough. The more people you listen to, the more aspects of humanity you will recognize and the better your judgments. To listen poorly, selectively, or not at all, will stop you from having a better understanding of the world.
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Introduction | ◇People today find it hard to have a true1.. ◇ It can increase loneliness,which probably causes an2.death. ◇People are advised to be actively3.in various social activities and truly listen to each other. |
How to listen | ◇4.on the speaker as well as what is being said. ◇Follow another person's story5.without presumption and distraction. ◇Ask good questions meant to6.the speaker's point of view. ◇Avoid asking appraising questions that will make people quite7.to have an open and deep conversation. ◇Listen to people by asking expansive questions to8.gaps and find common ground. |
Summary | ◇Listening is a skill that needs constant9. ◇Good listening will improve our judgments,while poor listening will 10. our understanding of the world. |
I'm Dina Asher-Smith. Growing in Orpington, southeast London, I love being the hunter. The one in pursuit. In training, I'll latch on to the boys and chase them down. Even when I was younger, I tended to race girls who were older than me-at 17 I was racing 30-year-olds. It's where I'm comfortable. But the hunter can go on to become the hunted. And this year at the World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar, I won gold in the 200m. At 23, I became the first British woman to win a world championship sprinting (短跑) title.The morning after the race, I was in the media tent and was told that I'd been mentioned in the Parliament.
Track and field is a mental game.You're in your own little world, competing to be the person who can run the fastest in a straight line. My job is to take my body to a place where I think it can't do any more and then keep going. To do that, I need to know my strengths and weaknesses. People get caught up in embarrassment or shame when they're not good at something, but I just don't have that in me. I do have a voice in my head that tells me if I'm not good at things, but it doesn't make me feel negative about myself. I use it to identify where I can improve and then I just keep going to training every day.
I've inherited personality traits from my parents that help me in my career. My mum is excitable and when I'm on the track, I have her fire-wanting to go for everything. I always know when I finish a race that I can turn around and find her in the front row, jumping up and down. My dad is more reserved. He has a cool exterior and that's useful for me when I need calmness. I know to look for him a few rows behind my mum. They gave me opportunities to try whatever I was interested in. When I wanted to try golf, my dad bought me cut-down clubs and had me attempting to putt balls (推球入洞）in the back garden. My mum used to play hockey with me outside the house. They took me to so many clubs and classes.
I started training with my coach, John Blackie, in my mid-teens. We met when I was eight as he ran the kids academy at my running club. Along with my parents, the three of them always emphasized that they just wanted me to be happy. They never pushed me too early. And, as I've got older, I've realized that's unique.When running became serious, I knew that if it all stopped being fun for me, I could stop doing it. They put Dina the person before Dina the runner. Yes, the public might be disappointed and the newspapers might have a pop (抨击), but my parents and friends are still going to love me, and my coach is still going to be there. That knowledge allows me to stay relaxed under pressure.
Being as prepared as I can be is crucial as it keeps me calm and able to deliver in the moment.When I was studying history at university, I'd choose exams over coursework because I knew I could put the work in and perform under pressure. I was studying heavy things every day, like people facing prejudice because of their skin,or women sacrificing their lives for others to have the right to vote. It made me realize how lucky I am that the thing that gets me most frustrated is somebody beating me on the track.While, yes, I make sacrifices-some easy, such as not drinking and going out, and some harder, like restricting the food that I eat-ultimately, what I do is entertainment.
Everyone's asking me about Tokyo Olympics, but I'm more focused on today. It's important for me to keep my hopes and dreams separate from other people's. I'm grateful everybody wants me to do well, but my next step has to be for me, not anyone else.
1.What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
A.Asher-Smith is the victim of the sprinting world.
B.Asher-Smith becomes the focus of media coverage.
C.Asher-Smith now runs faster than those she chased.
D.Asher-Smith is no match for older racers in competitions.
2.How does Asher-Smith deal with her weakness?
A.She keeps reminding herself of it.
B.She keeps training to overcome it.
C.She chooses to ignore it completely.
D.She often gets caught in a dilemma.
3.In Asher-Smith's growth, her parents .
A.changed their personalities
B.coached her in various sports
C.strengthened their family status
D.helped her explore her interests
4.The underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 indicates that Asher-Smith's parents and coach .
A.prioritize her personal well-being
B.justify her failure to continue running
C.put her interests above the other runners
D.shelter her from the criticism of the media
5.What impact does her university life have on her?
A.It makes her lead a cosy life today.
B.It allows her to face prejudice bravely.
C.It enables her to be better prepared as an athlete.
D.It inspires her to fight for women' s human rights.
6.What does the passage mainly talk about?
A.What it takes to be a gold medal sprinter.
B.Why it is hard to rise to fame in sprinting.
C.Who one can turn to in pursuit of the dream.
D.How parents discipline a sprinting champion.
