Everything that humans hear is in the form of waves(波). Just as the eye sees light waves in the form of colors, the ear hears sound waves in the form of noises. The ear and the eye turn these different waves into signals that the brain(大脑) can make sense of.
The ears and brain have an amazing ability to recognize(识别) particular sounds. For example, a mother often can tell when her baby is crying even if there are other crying babies in the same room. This is because the sound of her baby’s cry has special meaning to her and the brain has recorded its importance.
The ability to recognize sounds improves with experiences. As the brain receives information about sounds from day to day, it stores the information in its memory. When the brain hears new sounds, it gives meaning to them based on the information already in the memory. This is why certain words or songs can make a person happy. Often it is not the words or songs themselves that cause this feeling. The sounds are connected to happy memories for that person.
Another hearing process controlled by the brain is to decide where a sound is coming from. One ear is usually closer to the source(来源) of a sound than the other ear is. Sound waves are stronger when they reach the ear that is closer. They also reach the closer ear first. The brain recognizes these differences and uses them to decide the location of the source of the sound.
1.Which of the following shows the normal hearing process of a mother hearing her baby crying?
a. The ears receive the sound waves.
b. The mother recognizes her baby’s cry.
c. The baby’s turn the sound waves into signals.
d. The baby’s cry travels in the form of sound waves.
e. The brain connects the signals to the information in the memory.
A. d-a-c-b-eB. d-a-c-e-b
C. a-d-c-b-eD. a-d-c-e-b
2.Certain words or songs can change a person’s moods mainly because of his _____.
A. lifestyleB. personality
C. experiencesD. hobbies
3. Why does a person feel happy when they hear some songs?
A. Because certain words or songs can make a person happy.
B. Because a person has the ability to recognize the sounds
C. Because the certain sounds are connected to happy memories for that person.
D. Because the person feel the song is special
4.According to the last paragraph, it will be the most difficult for a person who has lost the hearing in one ear to tell ______.
A. where the source of a sound is
B. how loud a sound is
C. when a sound starts to appear
D. what makes a sound
5.What is the best title for this passage ?
A. Human Brain’s Amazing Facts
B. Human Hearing Characteristics
C. How To Improve Hearing
D. How Do Humans Hear
(Renee-a beautiful princess; Broo-a blue bear; Nahloo-a magical place)
When the Princess Renee heard about Broo, she came down from her castle. She found Broo while he was busy eating honey.
“Mr. Bear,” the Princess said, “you are welcome in Nahloo. Here we share with each other. We don’t take things from each other.”
Broo thought about it for a moment and realized that he had made a mistake. “Well,” he said, “maybe drinking all that milk wasn’t the best idea.”
The Princess continued, “Mr. Bear, you can drink and eat, but you won’t feel good because you have never made any contribution to anyone else. I think you’ll find that it is better to be full in your heart, not just in your stomach.” After saying this, the Princess went back to the castle, leaving Broo alone.
One day, Broo was going to take lots of cookies from the rabbits, then he remembered what the Princess said to him. So Broo decided not to eat the cookies. The rabbits were surprised and said, “Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Bear. Now these cookies will taste sweeter because they are given by you, my friend. If you like, come back tomorrow and we can have the cookies together.”
Broo was filled with joy and went through the land. He gave back everything he had taken. In return, he received a promise from everyone to share their food with him. Broo was so delighted that he started dancing in the moonlight with the Princess as his partner.
1.When the Princess Renee came down, Broo was _________.
A. dancing with rabbitsB. eating honey
C. giving everything backD. having cookies
2.In Nahloo, ___________.
A. the Princess Renee stayed with Broo all the time
B. everyone was happy to share with each other
C. Broo took a lot of cookies from rabbits
D. Broo never realized his mistake
3. Broo felt _________ after he gave the cookies back to the rabbits.
A. sadB. surprised
C. happyD. hungry
4.The passage is probably from _______.
A. an advertisementB. a tour guide
C. an applicationD. a story book
5.What can we learn from the passage ?
A. It’s better to give than to receive.
B. Every dog has its day.
C. The early bird catches the worm.
D. Many hands make light work.
In Lynch, an American businessman, had been going on vacation to a small Mexican fishing village for a number of years. One morning while going for a walk along the beach, he saw his friend Pablo Perez, a local fisherman. Martin watched Pablo unload his boat and pack the fish in a box.
Martin noticed Pablo was smiling and looked very happy. He could also see several large fish in the boat. Martin greeted Pablo and asked how long it took to catch the fish. “Just a new hours,” replied Pablo. Martin asked, “Why didn’t you stay longer and catch more fish?” “I have enough for my family,” Pablo said. “And what do you do with the rest of your day ?” asked Martin. “I take a nap, play with my children, spend time with my wife, and go into the village to see my friends and play cards. I have a full and busy life.” Martin explained that if Pablo worked longer hours and caught more fish, he could make more money. With the extra money, Pablo could buy more boats and catch many more fish. By selling the fish, Pablo could open his own factory and sell direct to supermarkets.
“Then what?” asked Pablo. “Well, you would probably have to move to Mexico City to run the business. Finally, you would be able to sell your business and make millions of dollars,” replied Martin. “How long will that take ?” asked Pablo.
Martin thought for a while and said it would probably take at least 15 years.
“And then what?” asked Pablo.
“Well, that’s the best part,” Martin said. “You will be able to retire, buy a house near the ocean, sleep longer, play with your children, spend more time with your wife, see your friends, and play cards.”
1.What is the story mainly about ?
A. A businessman and a fisherman have become friends.
B. A businessman learns how to fish form a fisherman.
C. A fisherman wants to become a businessman.
D. A businessman gives advice to a fisherman.
2.What makes the Mexican fisherman happy is _________.
A. many friends to visit him
B. a full and busy life
C. more boats and more fish
D. the house near the ocean
3.How can the fisherman make more money in the businessman’s view ?
A. By buying a supermarket.
B. To move to Mexico City.
C. By selling his own business.
D. To work longer and catch more fish.
4. The underlined word “unload” in the passage means _________.
A. put…into…B. take…away from
C. break downD. set off
5.We can infer from the passage that _______.
A. the fisherman will stay the same with his life
B. the fisherman will leave the village for Mexico City
C. the businessman will buy the fisherman’s boat
D. it takes all day for the fisherman to catch large fish
There was once a young man who began to feel self-satisfied after some small achievements.
One day, the young man took a walk with a ____ man from the town. On the way the young man was bragging(吹嘘) about himself, ____ the wise man didn’t say a word. When they ____ a peak(山峰), the wise man asked, “Look down. What do you see ?”
“I see trees, farmland, houses and people as ____ as ants working in the fields,” the young man said.
“What do you feel?” the wise man asked.
“Everything is ___ me. I feel I rule the world,” the young man answered.
The wise man said ____. After a minute, he asked the young man to look ____ “What do you see this time?” the wise man asked.
“I see ____ flying around high mountains, the white clouds on the mountains and the ____ sky above the white clouds,” the young man answered.
Then he asked the wise man’s ___.
“I feel small and powerless,” the wise man answered . ”A person who knows to look upward can ____ understand his position(位置). When a person knows the blue sky is always overhead, he won’t be so ____ as to believe he rules over the world or other people.”
The young man felt foolish(愚蠢的) for his ____. From then on , ____ he began to feel as if the world owed(亏欠) him something, he looked up at the sky and remembered ____ small he really was. Try to look upward when you feel too good about yourself.
1.A. busyB. lazyC. wiseD. hard-working
2.A. ifB. butC. soD. or
3.A. got toB. got offC. arrived inD. got up
4.A. fatB. lightC. smallD. strong
5.A. belowB. aboveC. betweenD. against
6.A. everythingB. anythingC. somethingD. nothing
7.A. upB. downC. outD. after
8.A. monkeys B. tigersC. chicksD. birds
9.A. redB. blueC. greenD. black
10.A. waysB. nameC. feelingsD. address
11.A. badlyB. angrilyC. hardlyD. clearly
12.A. cleverB. smartC. sillyD. useful
13.A. prideB. successC. luckD. smell
14.A. whateverB. wheneverC. whereverD. however
15.A. whyB. whereC. howD. what
----Could you tell me __________?
----Quite well, thank you.
A. what do you do
B. are you good at maths
C. what you think of the film
D. how you are getting on with classmates
The main job of the supporting team is to ___________the runner ______drinking water and food.
A. provide; with B. protect; with
C. prevent; from D. prefer; to
