To a teenager, nothing __________ (要紧) more than parents’ support and understanding.
Have a cup of tea — __________ (除非) you’d prefer a cold drink.
However, on the other side of the __________ (硬币), finance risk is the new problem that Chinese banks must face now.
Don’t act hurriedly before you’ve __________ (考虑) every detail carefully.
The term “multitasking” was firstly used to describe a computer’s ability to do several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. Although checking e-mails while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, multitasking can sometimes make us less productive(富有成效的), rather than more. Studies show that too much multitasking may bring anxiety and memory loss.
In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex(前额叶脑皮层). A research from volunteers performing multiple tasks shows that as they move from task to task, this front part of the brain actually takes a moment of rest between tasks. You may have experienced a prefrontal cortex “moment of rest” yourself if you’ve ever dialed(拨电话) a phone number and suddenly forgotten who you dialed when the line is answered. What probably happened is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind moved to another thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. The research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency(效率) drops while multitasking, compared to when they perform only one task at a time.
Multitasking is easy when at least one of the tasks requires little thought. Most people don’t find it difficult to eat and read the newspaper at the same time. However, when two or more attention-requiring tasks are tried at the same time, people sometimes make mistakes.
We often don’t remember things as well when we’re trying to manage several details at the same time. We may not notice new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory. That is one of the main reasons we forget people’s names – even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect(影响) our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may appear absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss key information being passed on to them.
1.Which of the following words has the closest meaning to “anxiety”?
A.Stress B.Development C.Death D.Confidence
2.The writing purpose of this passage is to________.
A.describe the problems of multitasking B.discover the secrets of multitasking
C.tell the stories about multitasking D.explain the importance of multitasking
3.What can we learn about multitasking?
A.It is a way of life and the only key to success. B.It can be done easily by smart people.
C.It helps build a better relationship between friends. D.It has a close connection to our brain.
4.What can we infer(推断) from the passage?
A.Multitasking helps people remember things better.
B.More mistakes are made when tasks require little thought.
C.People get low job efficiency while managing several details at the same time.
D.People forgetting who to dial need to have a good rest.
The clock pointed at a quarter before nine when he appeared at the Reform Club. Phileas Fogg had finished the journey round the world in eighty days! Phileas Fogg had won his wager (打赌) of twenty thousand pounds!
How could such an exact man make this mistake of a day? Why did he think that he had arrived in London on Saturday, the twenty-first day of December, when it was really Friday, the twentieth, the seventy-ninth day only from the day he left?
The cause of the mistake was very simple.
Phileas Fogg had gained one day on his journey, because he had travelled eastward. During travelling eastward, he had gone towards the sun, and the days therefore diminished(缩短) as many times 4 minutes as he crossed degrees(经度) in this direction. There are 360 degrees on the circumference (周长) of the earth; and these 360 degrees, multiplied (乘) by 4 minutes, gives 24 hours, the day gained. In other words, while Phileas Fogg, going eastward, saw the sun pass 80 times, his friends in London only saw it 79 times. This is why they waited for him at the Club on Saturday, and not Sunday, as Mr. Fogg thought.
Phileas Fogg, then, had won the twenty thousand pounds; but as he had spent nearly nineteen thousand on the way, the gain was small. His aim was, however, not to win money. He divided the one thousand pounds between Passepartout and Fix. From Passepartout’s share, he deducted(扣除) the cost of the gas which had burned in his room for nineteen hundred and twenty hours.
The next day just after the wedding party, as soon as it was light, Passepartout knocked on his master’s door. Phileas opened it, and asked, “What’s the matter, Passepartout?”
“What is it, sir? Why, I’ve just found out —”
“What?”
“That we might have made the tour of the world in only seventy-eight days.”
“No doubt,” said Mr. Fogg, “by not crossing India. But if I had not crossed India, I should not have saved Aouda out of danger and fell in love with her afterwards, and she would not have been my wife.”
Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days.
Would you make the tour around the world for less than eighty days?
1.How did Fogg most probably feel after he finished the journey around the world?
A.Proud but a bit afraid. B.Excited but a bit angry.
C.Curious but a bit worried. D.Satisfied but a bit sorry.
2.Which of the following shows the right order of the whole trip?
a. Fogg got married to Aouda. b. Fogg’s friends gathered at the Club.
c. Fogg started the trip around the world. d. The group travelled across India.
A.c-b-d-a B.b-d-a-c C.c-d-b-a D.b-c-a-d
3.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Phileas Fogg had gained one day on his journey, because he had travelled westward.
B.Phileas Fogg didn’t gain a lot though he had won the twenty thousand pounds at last.
C.Phileas Fogg paid for the cost of the gas which had burned in his room for 1920 hours.
D.Phileas Fogg’s friends in London saw the sun pass more times than Fogg.
