Recently, a study was carried out to determine who was the greatest American president．Sixty-five presidential historians took part in it, and they judged the past forty-two American leaders based on ten leadership qualities, including public persuasiveness(信服), crisis leadership, management of the economy, moral leadership, and conduct of international relations．The historians also looked at administrative ability (管理能力), relations with Congress, ability to set goals, and the pursuit of equal justice for all．Finally, the experts took into consideration the historical period in which the president lived．
The historians chose Abraham Lincoln as American’s greatest president．He had also been named best president in a similar study in 2000．Abraham Lincoln was the president who led the nation through the Civil War in the 1860s, and was able to unite it in the end．He also took the first steps to abolish slavery in America．
Edna Medford, a professor of history at Howard University in Washington, D.C., was an adviser on this study and the earlier one．She says Abraham Lincoln is seen to represent the values the nation most honors, such as truthfulness, moderation, and respect for human rights．
The historians put American’s first president, George Washington, second on the list, while Franklin D．Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, and Harry Truman follow in that order．John F．Kennedy, the country’s first Roman Catholic president, is sixth on the list．Like Lincoln, Kennedy was murdered while in office．
Among recent presidents, Ronald Reagan was named the tenth best and Bill Clinton rated fifteenth, while the historians put former president George W．Bush at number thirty-six．His father, George H.W．Bush, did much better, being placed at number eighteen．
1.We learn from the text that ___________．
A．this is the second time that Abraham Lincoln has been chosen as America’s greatest
president
B．Edna Medford didn’t take part in the study conducted in 2000．
C．George H.W．Bush was thought to have done worse in office than George W．Bush
D．Harry Truman was rated the fourth-best president by the study
2.Which of the following belong to the ten leadership qualities considered?
a．Being able to persuade the public
b．Taking effective measures during a financial crisis．
c．Balancing home life and career．
d．Pursuing equal justice for all．
A．a,b,c B．b,c,d C．a,b,d D．a,c,d
3.Who is rated worst among the following four presidents?
A．John F．Kennedy B．George Washington
C．Bill Clinton D．George W．Bush
4.The text is mainly about ________．
A．the ten qualities a great president needs
B．a study of American presidents
C．the values the American nation honors most
D．how Abraham Lincoln improved the country
ACTeen ------ Acting for Teens
This is the nation’s first on-camera acting program developed for teens (aged 13-18)．We are celebrating our 30th year this year．June, July, and August summer academies offer both full and part-time curricula, including film & television acting, theater, Shakespeare, speech & voice, movement, and script writing．
Classes are small (at most 12 per workshop) and the location is safe and convenient．Out of town applicants may hand in a long-distance application．
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Cost/ Week: $500---$649
Indianhead Ranch
Sharpen your hunting skills over one or two weeks at the Indianhead Ranch in Del Rio, Texas．You will experience the outdoors, increase your knowledge of gun safety, and learn camping, hunting and survival skills．
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Cost/ Week: $1,000---$1,999
Vermont Adventure Camps
Six-day Adventure Camps: We offer 8 six-day adventure camps for teens aged 11-13．The kids stay in rural houses on our camp site in Andover, VT, and go on adventures each day．A discount of 10% will be given to groups larger than three．
Two-week Adventure Camps: We also offer 4 two-week adventure camps for teens aged 14-17．The teens will go on adventures each day, and come back to our adventure hotel．
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Cost/ Week: $650
American English Studies International ESL Summer Camp
The site is close to New York, Philadelphia, and Princeton University．Campers will receive three hours of English language instruction per day, and the full range of planned activities includes sports, arts and crafts, and weekly short trips．
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Cost/ Week: $650---$999
1.According to the text, in which camp can one learn hunting skills?
A．Acting for Teens.
B．Indianhead Ranch
C．Vermont Adventure Camps
D．American English Studies International ESL Summer Camp．
2.If Lucy is 24, how many camps can she take part in?
A．Four． B．One． C．Two D．Three
3.If Tom plans to send his 4 children to take part in one of the Six-day Adventure Camps, how much will he have to pay?
A．$2,340 B．$2,600 C．$3,510． D．$3,900
4.From the text we learn that ________．
A．the location of ACTeen is not convenient for the campers．
B．you needn’t be worried about gun safety at the Indianhead Ranch
C．you can spend 56 days at the Vermont Adventure Camps
D．if you want to improve your English, you should take part in the last camp
Teenagers’ acting selfishly could be down to the wiring in their brains, scientists said recently．
Teenagers hardly use the area of the brain that analyzes other’s emotions and thoughts when considering a course of action．They are also less likely to consider their own emotions than adults do, said scientist Dr Sarahjayne Blakemore, from University College London.
Many areas of the brain change dramatically during the teenage years, with one part ---- the medial prefrontal cortex(内侧前额叶皮层) ---- continuing to develop way beyond adolescence．This is an area at the front of the brain associated with higher-level thinking, empathy (同情), guilt and understanding other people’s motivations(动机)．
The researchers say they have now found that, when making decisions about what action to take, the medial prefrontal cortex is underused in teenagers．Instead, a back area of the brain involved in sensing and imagining actions, takes over．
Dr．Blakemore said: “Thinking methods change with age．As you get older you use more or less the same brain network to make decisions about your actions but the important difference is that the distribution of that brain activity shifts(改变方向) from the back of the brain to the front．
“We think that a teenager’s judgment of what they would do in a given situation is driven by the simple question: ‘What would I do?’．Adults, on the other hand, ask: ‘what would I do, given how I would feel and given how the people around me would feel as a result of my actions?”
In the study, teenagers and adults were asked questions about the actions they would take in a given situation while their brains were scanned using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging．A second piece of research showed teenagers were less likely to think about how they would feel in another person’s shoes.
Dr Blakemore concluded: “ It is clear that teenagers are dealing with, not only massive hormonal shifts(激素变化), but also important neural(神经系统的) changes.”
1.When teens decide to take action, they ________．
A．ask too many questions
B．hardly use the brain network
C．use the brain activity more than adults
D．hardly consider other people’s emotions
2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “underused”?
A．often used B．being developed C． wrongly used D．not used enough
3.The purpose of writing this passage is to ______________．
A．blame teenagers for their selfish behavior
B．advise teenagers not to be selfish
C．show how to change a selfish teenager
D．explain why teenagers act selfishly
A few years ago, I took a sightseeing trip to Washington, D.C．Standing outside the Ronald Reagan Center, I heard a voice say, “Can you help me?” When I turned around, I saw an elderly blind woman with her hand extended．In a natural reflex （反应）, I reached into my pocket, pulled out all of my loose change and placed it on her hand without even looking at her．I was annoyed at being bothered by a beggar．But the blind woman smiled and said, “I don’t want your money．I just need help finding the post office.”
In an instant, I realized what I had done．I judged another person simply for what I assumed she had to be．I hated what I saw in myself．This incident re-awakened my belief in humility(谦恭), even though I’d lost it for a moment．
The thing I had forgotten about myself is that I am an immigrant．I left Honduras and arrived in the U.S．at the age of 15．I started my new life with two suitcases, my brother and sister, and a strong, serious-minded mother．Through the years, I have been a dishwasher, mechanic and pizza delivery driver among many other humble jobs, and eventually I became a network engineer．
In my own life, I have experienced many open acts of prejudice (偏见)．I remember a time, at age 17 ----- I worked as a waiter, and I heard a father tell his little boy that if he did not do well in school, he would end up like me．I have also witnessed the same treatment of my family and friends, so I know what it’s like, and I should have known better．
But now, living in my American middle-class lifestyle, it is too easy to forget my past, to forget who I am and where I have been, and to lose sight of where I want to be going．That blind woman on the streets of Washington, D.C., cured me of my blindness．She reminded me of my belief in humility and to always keep my eyes and heart open．By the way, I helped that lady to the post office．And in writing this essay, I hope to thank her for the priceless lesson．
1.We can learn from the first two paragraphs that __________ ．
A．the author regretted his act of prejudice
B．the blind woman needed the money badly
C．the author was as poor as the blind woman
D．the author was a native American
2.According to Paragraph 4, hearing the father’s words, the author was probably _____ ．
A．rather hurt B．very excited C．deeply moved D．greatly inspired
3.According to the passage, the author probably agrees that one should ________ ．
A．be nice to the elderly and the disabled
B．try to experience different kinds of life
C．treat others equally with love and respect
D．think about one’s past as often as possible
4.Which of the following can be the best title for the passage?
A．Learn from your past
B．How my dream comes true
C．A belief that will never change
D．A priceless lesson in the street
通读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后在各题所给的A，B，C，D四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。
I was in the queue for the supermarket checkout(付款台) earlier today．All of the checkouts were 1, and the woman behind me was not happy! Every word that came from her mouth was a(n) 2! She wasn’t happy with the number of checkouts 3; she wasn’t happy with the amount of shopping some people had in their baskets; she wasn’t happy because this supermarket didn’t have a stand where she 4scan her own shopping.
I listened to her 5looking around as I loaded my stuff onto the conveyor belt (传送带)．I didn’t want 6to do with that kind of attitude, and if ever I’d felt like letting someone go 7of me, it wouldn’t be such a woman!
But then I 8back．Standing beside the woman was a five-year-old girl, 9her granddaughter．The girl’s part of the shopping 10of some comic books.
I couldn’t 11it．I pushed my shopping back to the end of the conveyor belt, 12a space．“After you,” I said to the woman and the girl, and 13them to a big 14．The woman was delighted, and even 15to complain ---- until she was walking away．
So, 16bother having helped? It was because that little girl was probably taking in her granny’s complaint like a sponge(海绵)．She was learning how to 17situations like that by listening to her granny．I’d seen that I could interrupt that complaining, and put a smile and some 18into the middle of it．
We can all complain; we can all react 19, but it doesn’t have to be like that．And, even if only for a few 20, I wanted to leave that little soul with just a glimpse of another way．
1.A．busy B．big C．free D．empty
2.A．quarrel B．argument C．praise D．complaint
3.A．opened B．closed C．left D．hired
4.A．would B．need C．could D．must
5.A．beyond B．without C．with D．by
6.A．something B．nothing C．everything D．anything
7.A．ahead B．behind C．beside D．back
8.A．went B．glanced C．focused D．jumped
9.A．merely B．surely C．possibly D．luckily
10.A．contained B．included C．consisted D．made
11.A．think B．help C．believe D．forget
12.A．taking B．leaving C．bringing D．occupying
13.A．returned B．pleased C．treated D．served
14.A．smile B．meal C．joke D．room
15.A．thanked B．paid C．checked D．forgot
16.A．how B．what C．why D．who
17.A．face with B．put with C．deal with D．do with
18.A．truth B．kindness C．courage D．money
19.A．actively B．correctly C．negatively D．patiently
20.A．hours B．chances C．years D．seconds
If only I _____ a few days ago！Then I wouldn’t have been feeling so worried now.
A．looked ahead B．could look ahead
C．were to look ahead D．had looked ahead
