I needed to buy a digital camera, one that was simply good at taking good snaps (快照), maybe occasionally for magazines. Being the cautious type, I fancied a reliable brand. So I went on the net, spent 15 minutes reading product reviews on good websites, wrote down the names of three top recommendations and headed for my nearest big friendly camera store. There in the cupboard was one of the cameras on my list. And it was on special offer. Oh joy. I pointed at it and asked an assistant, “Can I have one of those?” He looked perturbed (不安). “Do you want to try it first?” he said. It didn’t quite sound like a question. “Do I need to?” I replied ,“There is nothing wrong with it？” This made him look a bit insulted and I started to feel bad. “No, no. But you should try it,” he said encouragingly. “Compare it with the others.”
I looked across at the others: shelves of similar cameras placed along the wall, offering a wide range of slightly different prices and discounts, with each company selling a range of models based around the same basic box. With so many models to choose from, it seemed that I would have to spend hours weighing X against Y, always trying to take Z and possibly H into account at the same time. But when I had finished, I would still have only the same two certainties that I had entered the store with: first, soon after I carried my new camera out of the shop, it would be worth half what I paid for it; and second, my wonderful camera would very quickly be replaced by a new model.
But something in the human soul whispers that you can beat these traps by making the right choice, the clever choice, the wise choice. In the end, I agreed to try the model I had chosen. The assistant seemed a sincere man. So I let him take out of my chosen camera from cupboard, show how it took excellent pictures of my fellow shoppers… and when he started to introduce the special features, I interrupted to ask whether I needed to buy a carry-case and a memory card as well.
Why do we think that new options(选择) still offer us anything new? Perhaps it is because they offer an opportunity to avoid facing the fact that our real choices in this culture are far more limited than we would like to imagine.
1.The shop assistant insisted that the writer should
A. try the camera to see if there was anything wrong with it.
B. compare the camera he had chosen with the others.
C. get more information about different companies.
D. trust him and stop asking questions.
2.What does the writer mean by “it would be worth half what I paid for it ”(paragraph 2)
A. He should get a 50% discount.
B. The price of the camera was unreasonably high.
C. The quality of the camera was not good.
D. The camera would soon fall in value.
3.The writer decided to try the model he had chosen because he
A. knew very little about it.
B. didn’t trust the shop assistant.
C. wanted to make sure the one he chose would be the best.
D. had a special interest in taking pictures of his fellow shoppers.
4.I t can be inferred from the passage that in the writer’s opinion, .
A. people waste too much money on cameras
B. cameras have become an important part of our daily life
C. we don’t actually need so many choices when buying a product
D. famous companies care more about profit than quality
My family and I lived across the street from Southway Park since I was four years old. Then just last year they city put a chain link fence around the park and started bulldozing (用推土机推平) the trees and grass to make way for a new apartment complex. When I saw the fence and bulldozers, I asked myself, “Why don’t they just leave it alone?”
Looking back, I think what sentenced the part to oblivion (别遗忘) was the drought (旱灾) we had about four years ago. Up until then, Southway Park was a nice green park with plenty of trees and a public swimming pool. My friends and I rollerskated on the sidewalks, climbed the tress, and swam in the pool all the years I was growing up. The park was almost like my own yard. Then the summer I was fifteen the drought came and things changed.
There had been almost no rain at all that year. The city stopped watering the park grass. Within a few weeks I found myself living across the street from a huge brown desert. Leaves fell off the park tress, and pretty soon the trees started dying, too. Next, the park swimming pool was closed. The city cut down on the work force that kept the park, and pretty soon it just got too ugly and dirty to enjoy anymore.
As the drought lasted into the fall, the park got worse every month. The rubbish piled up or blew across the brown grass. Soon the only people in the park were beggars and other people down on their luck. People said drugs were being sold or traded there now. The park had gotten scary, and my mother told us kids not to go there anymore.
The drought finally ended and things seemed to get back to normal, that is, everything but the park. It had gotten into such bad shape that the city just let it stay that way. Then about six months ago I heard that the city was going to “redevelop” certain worn-out areas of the city. It turned out that the city had planned to get rid of the park, sell the land and let someone build rows of apartment buildings on it.
The chain-link fencing and the bulldozers did their work. Now we live across the street from six rows of apartment buildings. Each of them is three units high and stretches a block in each direction. The neighborhood has changed without the park. The streets I used to play in are jammed with cars now. Things will never be the same again. Sometimes I wonder, though, what changes another drought would make in the way things are today.
1.How did the writer feel when he saw the fence and bulldozers?
A. Scared. B. Confused. C. Upset. D. Curious.
2.Why was the writer told not to go to the park by his mother?
A. It was being rebuilt. B. It was dangerous.
C. It because crowded. D. It had turned into a desert.
3.According to the writer, what eventually brought about the disappearance of the park?
A. The drought. B. The crime.
C. The beggars and the rubbish. D. The decisions of the city.
4.The last sentence of the passage implies that if another drought came, ______.
A. the situation would be much worse
B. people would have to desert their homes
C. the city would be fully prepared in advance
D. the city would have to redevelop the neighborhood
The term “multitasking” originally referred to a computer’s ability to carry out several tasks at one time. For many people, multitasking has become a way of life and even a key to success. In fact, some excellent mental aerobic exercises (大脑训练) involve engaging the brain in two or more challenging activities at a time. Although checking e-mail while talking on a phone and reading the newspaper may be second nature for some people, many times multitasking can make us less productive, rather than more. And studies show that too much multitasking can lead to increased stress, anxiety and memory loss.
In order to multitask, the brain uses an area known as the prefrontal cortex (前额叶脑皮层). Brian scans of volunteers performing multiple tasks together show that as they shift 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 occurred is that between the dialing and the answering, your mind shifted to anther thought or task, and then took that “moment” to come back. Research has also shown that for many volunteers, job efficiency (效率) declines while multitasking, as compared to when they perform only one task at a time.
Multitasking is easiest when at least one of the tasks is habitual, or 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 attempted at one 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. Without mental focus, we may not pay enough attention to new information coming in, so it never makes it into our memory stores. That is one of the main reasons we forget people’s names---even sometimes right after they have introduced themselves. Multitasking can also affect our relationships. If someone checks their e-mail while on the phone with a friend, they may come off as absent-minded or disinterested. It can also cause that person to miss or overlook key information being passed on to them.
1.Why are some mental aerobic exercises designed to engage people in multitasking?
A. To make them more productive. B. To reduce their stress and anxiety.
C. To develop their communication skills. D. To help them perform daily tasks more easily.
2.According to Paragraph 2, why may a person suddenly forget who has called?
A. He may leave his prefrontal cortex temporarily damaged.
B. He is probably interrupted by another task.
C. He is probably not very familiar with the person he has called.
D. He may need a rest between dialing and speaking.
3.People tend to make mistake when ____.
A. they perform several challenging tasks at a time.
B. new messages are processed one after another
C. their relationships with others are affected
D. the tasks require little thought
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. Multitasking has become a way of life.
B. Multitasking often leads to efficiency decline.
C. Multitasking exercises need to be improved.
D. Multitasking enables people to remember things better.
Below is a housing guide for students going to London.
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1.What is the advantage of using Loot?
A. It has more offers from accommodation agencies than Renting.
B. It gives you personal information about other co-renters.
C. Their website is designed mainly for students.
D. There are some good bargains.
2.A good agent can help you ____.
A. know more people
B. find cheap accommodation
C. get the right accommodation quickly
D. get free information about most accommodations
3.The information passed on by word of mouth is important because____.
A. it is better than that found through any other source
B. it helps you find some of the best housing never advertised
C. the final year students always offer better information
D. the landlords have little valuable information
4.For students going to London for the first time, which of the following provides the most reliable information?
A. University accommodation offices. B. Loot and Renting
C. Noticeboards. D. Family.
When you are little, the whole world feels like a big playground. I was living in Conyers, Georgia the summer it all happened. I was a second grader, but my best friend Stephanie was only in the first grade. Both of our parents were at work and most of the time they let us go our own way.
It was a hot afternoon and we decided to have an adventure in Stephanie’s basement. As I opened the basement door, before us lay the biggest room, full of amazing things like guns, dolls, and old clothes. I ran downstairs, and spotted red steel can. It was paint. I looked beyond it and there lay even more paint in bright colors like purple, orange, blue and green.
“Stephanie, I just found us a project for the day. Get some paintbrushes. We are fixing to paint.” She screamed with excitement as I told her of my secret plans and immediately we got to work. We gathered all the brushes we could find and moved all of our materials to my yard. There on the road in front of my house, we painted bit stripes (条纹) of colors across the pavement (人行道). Stripe by stripe, our colors turned into a beautiful rainbow. It was fantastic!
The sun was starting to sink. I saw a car in the distance and jumped up as I recognized the car. It was my mother. I couldn’t wait to show her my masterpiece. The car pulled slowly into the driveway and from the look on my mother’s face, I could tell that I was in deep trouble.
My mother shut the car door and walked towards me. Her eyes glaring, she shouted, “What in the world were you thinking? I understood when you made castles out of leaves, and climbed the neighbors’ trees, but this! Come inside right now!” I stood there glaring hack at her for a minute, angry because she had insulted (侮辱) my art.
“Now go clean it up!” Mother and I began cleaning the road. Tears ran down my cheeks as I saw my beautiful rainbow turn into black cement.
Though years have now passed, I still wonder where my rainbow has gone. I wonder if, maybe when I get older, I can find my rainbow and never have to brush it away. I guess we all need sort of rainbow to brighten our lives from time to time and to keep our hopes and dreams colorful.
1.What did the writer want to do when his mother came home?
A. To introduce Stephanie to her.
B. To prevent her from seeing his painting.
C. To put the materials back in the yard.
D. To show his artwork to her.
2.In his mother’s eyes, the writer_______.
A. was a born artist
B. always caused trouble
C. was a problem solver
D. worked very hard
3.The underlined word “rainbow” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A. the rainbow in the sky
B. the stripes on the pavement
C. something imaginative and fun
D. important lessons learned in childhood
4.It can be learned from the passage that parents should ________.
A. encourage children to paint
B. value friendship among children
C. discover the hidden talent in children
D. protect rather than destroy children’s dreams
阅读下面短文，掌握其大意， 然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该选项标号涂黑.
I will never forget the year I was about twelve years old. My mother told us that we would not be _1_ Christmas gifts because there was not enough money. I felt sad and thought, “What would I say when the other kids asked what I’d 2?” Just when I started to 3that there would not be a Christmas that year, three women 4at our house with gifts for all of us. For me they brought a doll. I felt such a sense of 5that I would no longer have to be embarrassed when I returned to school. I wasn’t 6. Somebody had thought 7of me to bring me a gift.
Years later, when I stood in the kitchen of my new house, thinking how I wanted to make my 8Christmas there special and memorable, I 9remembered the women’s visit. I decided that I wanted to create that same feeling of 10for as many children as I could possibly reach.
So I 11a plan and gathered forty people from my company to help. We gathered about 125 orphans (孤儿) at the Christmas party. For every child, we wrapped colorful packages filled with toys, clothes, and school supplies, 12with a child’s name. We wanted all of them to know they were 13. Before I called out their names and handed them their gifts, I 14them that they couldn’t open their presents 15every child had come forward. Finally the 16they had been waiting for came as I called out, “One, two, three. Open your presents!” As the children opened their packages, their faces beamed and their bright smiles 17up the room. The 18in the room was obvious, and 19wasn’t just about toys. It was a feeling –the feeling I knew 20that Christmas so long ago when the women came to visit. I wasn’t forgotten. Somebody thought of me. I matter.
1.A. sending B. receiving C. making D. exchanging
2.A. found B. prepared C. got D. expected
3.A. doubt B. hope C. suggest D. accept
4.A. broke in .B. settled down C. turned up D. showed off
5.A. relief B. loss C. achievement D. justice
6.A. blamed B. loved C. forgotten D. affected
7.A. highly B. little C. poorly D. enough
8.A. present B. first C. recent D. previous
9.A. hardly B. instantly C. regularly D. occasionally
10.A. strength B. independence C. importance D. safety
11.A. kept up with B. caught up with C. came up with D. put up with
12.A. none B. few C. some D. each
13.A. fine B. special C. helpful D. normal
14.A. reminded B. guaranteed C. convinced D. promised
15.A. after B. until C. when D. since
16.A. chance B. gift C. moment D. reward
17.A. lit B. took C. burned D. cheered
18.A. atmosphere B. sympathy C. calmness D. joy
19.A. it B. such C. something D. everybody
20.A. by B. till C. for D. from
