NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain, So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out. They are not sure to what degree people's memories are affected.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war. They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
“Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,” said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School.“This could relieve a lot of that suffering.”
But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people's memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
“All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out,” said Rebecca Dresser ,a medical ethicist.
1.The passage is mainly about .
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A．a new medical invention |
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B．a new research on the pill |
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C．a way of wiping out painful memories |
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D．an argument about the research on the pill |
2.We can infer from the passage that .
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A．experts are not sure about the effects of the pills. |
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B．the pill will certainly stop people's emotional memories |
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C．taking the pill will do harm to people's physical health |
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D．the pill has already been produced and used by the public in America |
3.Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with in the last paragraph?
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A．some memories can ruin people's lives. |
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B．people want to get rid of bad memories. |
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C．experiencing bad events makes us different from others. |
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D．the pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories. |
4.You may probably read the passage in
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A．a guidebook |
B．a textbook |
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C．a medical magazine |
D．a science fiction |
“Tomorrow is another day”---- this line has impressed various people at various times. It's now 70 years after it appeared in the film, but it still seems to hold its power especially during an economic downturn.
The phrase comes from a film adaptation of Margaret Mitchell's successful 1936 novel Gone With the Wind. It's set in the American South and tells the story of a strong heroine, Scarlett O' Hara, who struggles to find love during the Civil War and, afterwards, of her strength in surviving the war and its hardships.
Love story
In a moment of despair, Scarlett finally realizes that her love belongs to Rhett Butler. For many audiences, it is the theme of love and struggle that has kept the movie alive. While the burning of Atlanta might seem irrelevant to today's viewers, the timeless theme of love keeps its ability to touch people.
With a promise to her lover still in her mind, Scarlett chooses to stay in the midst of war and take care of Melanie. But her heart is broken when Rhett just walks away, leaving the woman that he once loved with cruel words, "Frankly, dear, I don' t give a damn."
Great epic
The film shows the love-hate relationship of these characters, but also American history, the fall of the Confederacy and the following period of Reconstruction in the South. The background made this film a true classic in the epic genre.
When the film opened after World War II, French viewers loved it, and it reminded them of their fight against the Nazis. In 1940 Shanghai, during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, people stood in line for hours to watch this film, and saw the same suffering they were having as well as the hope and possibility of building a new homeland from the ruins.
Each nationality could identify with the story and see it as a victory. In fact, Gone With the Wind never lost its charm and ability to inspire and amaze.
Biggest of all time
The film had five directors, 15-plus screenwriters, and an unexpected $3.9 million budget. The film brought in $ 200 million, which makes it the biggest selling film of all times in North America. It also won 10 Academy awards in 1940.
1.The underlined "it" in the first paragraph refers to _______.
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A．the novel Gone with the Wind |
B．"tomorrow is another day" |
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C．the movie Gone with the Wind |
D．the Academy Award |
2.The text is written mainly to _______.
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A．celebrate the anniversary of Margaret Mitchell |
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B．introduce how the film was directed and filmed |
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C．throw light on the charm of the movie "Gone with the Wind" |
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D．inspire people to struggle the economic downturn |
3.It can be concluded that Scarlett O' Hara is _______.
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A．optimistic and lucky |
B．childish and realistic |
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C．caring and stubborn |
D．strong-minded and persistent |
4.The passage mentions Shanghai in order to _______.
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A．prove that the background of the movie touched viewers |
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B．describe how popular the movie was at that time |
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C．point out that Shanghai was a center of entertainment |
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D．tell us that Chinese were suffering the War then. |
BERLIN — With the crisis in Japan raising fears about nuclear power, Germany and Switzerland said on Monday that they would reassess the safety of their own reactors.
Doris Leuthard, the Swiss energy minister, said Switzerland would put off plans to build nuclear plants. She said no new ones would be permitted until experts had reviewed safety standards.
Germany will put off “the recently decided extension of the running time of German nuclear plants,” Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. “This moratorium（延缓）will run for three months and it will allow for a thorough examination of the safety standards of the county’s 17 nuclear power plants.
The European Union called for a meeting on Tuesday of nuclear safety authorities to assess Europe’s preparedness.
Germany’s foreign minister, Guido Westerwelle, called for a new risk analysis of the country’s nuclear plants, particularly regarding their cooling systems. He is the leader of the Free Democratic Party, which strongly supports nuclear power.
A previous government, led by the Social Democrats, passed a law in 2001 to close all the country’s nuclear plants by 2021. But Mrs. Merkel’s government changed that decision last year to extend the lives of the plants by an average of 12 years.
In Switzerland, Doris Leuthard said she had already asked to analyze the exact cause of the problems in Japan and draw up new or tougher safety standards “particularly in terms of seismic(地震的) safety and cooling.”
In Russia, the Prime Minister said his government would “draw conclusions from what’s going on in Japan.”
1.Where can you most likely read this passage?
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A．In a newspaper. |
B．In a magazine. |
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C．In a science report. |
D．In a diary. |
2.How will Germany react to Japan’s nuclear crisis?
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A．Germany will close all the country’s nuclear plants. |
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B．Germany will hold a meeting of nuclear safety authorities. |
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C．Germany will change the decision made last year. |
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D．Germany will delay the extension of nuclear plants running time. |
3.The author mentions all the following EXCEPT ______.
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A．The moratorium in Germany will give time to examine the nuclear plants safety standards. |
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B．Switzerland will not build new nuclear plants unless they meet the experts’ safety standards. |
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C．The Social Democrats in Germany shares the same view with the Free Democratic Party. |
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D．Russia will try to learn something from the nuclear power crisis in Japan. |
4.What is the best title of the passage?
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A．Watch Out for the Danger of Nuclear Power |
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B．Europe Is against Building Nuclear Plants |
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C．Nuclear Plants in Europe Are Delayed |
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D．Opinions on Nuclear Power Are Opposite. |
A woman was in a hurry to go to the airport. She told the cab driver to drive quickly. She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she was not aware they were going by a different route.
Suddenly, a man got inside the cab. He took her handbag where she had placed her visa, passport, and all her money for the trip.
The driver, who was in cahoots with the robber, left her in the middle of that dark street. She cursed the world for being so mean to her, and thought how unlucky she was in that situation.
That very same night, she heard some shocking news．Tears flowed down her face．Flight 230,which was the plane that she was supposed to have boarded, had crashed．If she had not lost her precious belongings, she could have lost something far more important—her life．
Sometimes bad things really happen．We lose money, fail our exams, or are rejected by others．There are times when nothing seems to go our way．
So what should we do about it? Should we be disappointed? The answer is a resounding “No!" We must get rid of all these frustrations and start all over again in the consistent faith that we will get what we deserve．
Don't waste your time and energy on things that can't be changed．Continuous worrying will only affect your health and you'll be doing much more damage than what was previously done．
What if it was the other way round? What if we never ran out of good luck?
There was a man who won the lottery．He thought he was the luckiest person in the world．He became greedy and wasted all his money on everything he could get his hands on．
One day, he made it to the front page of the newspaper again．But this time, it was a different story．He had been killed because of his riches．
If you attain good luck, you can never be too secure about it．Hope for protection and guidance．Life is so unpredictable．You never know what will happen next．
Live one day at a time．we sometimes subject ourselves to unnecessary emotional trouble．We ask ourselves: "What if I don't get this done in time?" or "What if my family leaves me and I've got no one else to turn to?"
Live for the moment．Do what must be done for the present and the future will turn out just fine． Believe me．And believe in yourself．As Captain Planet always says: "The power is yours!"
1.The underlined phrase "in cahoots with" in Paragraph 3 probably means "____"．
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A．was forced by |
B．was fighting bravely with |
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C．had cooperated with |
D．was trying to beg |
2.From the passage, we learn that___．
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A．the woman was lucky to miss her flight |
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B．some people just never run out of good luck |
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C．robbers will get what they deserve |
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D．if you feel yourself lucky, you will continue to be so |
3.According to the author, which of the following is the right attitude to adopt towards life?
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A．Don't waste your time and energy because time is limited． |
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B．There's no need to worry or get frustrated．Just believe in yourself． |
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C．Even when everything seems to be going well, we should keep fully alert． |
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D．Worrying about what you don't have means you miss out on opportunities for other things． |
4.The stories are intended to tell us___．
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A．fortune only favors the prepared mind |
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B．gains and losses go hand in hand |
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C．misfortune might be a blessing |
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D．we should save up for a rainy day |
Most worthwhile careers require some kind of specialized training. Therefore, the choice of an __36__ should be made even before choice of a curriculum in high school. Actually, __37__, most people make several job choices during their working lives, __38__ because of economic and industrial changes and partly to improve __39__ position. The "one perfect job" does not exist. Young people should __40__ enter into a broad flexible training program that will __41__ them for a field of work rather than for a single __42__ .
Unfortunately many young people have to make career plans __43__ benefit of help from a competent vocational counselor or psychologist. Knowing __44__ about the occupational world, or themselves for that matter, they choose their lifework on a hit-or-miss __45__. Some drift from job to job. Others __46__ to work in which they are unhappy and for which they are not fitted.
One common mistake is choosing an occupation for __47__ real or imagined prestige .
Too many high-school students - or their parents for them - choose the professional field, __48__ both the relatively small percentage of workers in the professions and the extremely high educational and personal __49__. The imagined or real prestige of a profession or a White-collar job is __50__ good reason for choosing it as life's work. __51__, these occupations are not always well paid. Since a large percentage of jobs are in mechanical and manual work, the __52__ of young people should take serious __53__ into these fields.
Before making an occupational choice, a person should have a general idea of what he wants __54__ life and how hard he is willing to work to get it. Some people desire social prestige, others intellectual satisfaction. Some want security; others are willing to take __55__ for financial gain. Each occupational choice has its demands as well as its rewards.
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-- You look so upset, Jane． _____?
-- I have been told my father has got skin cancer．
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A．What’s for |
B．What’s up |
C．So what |
D．How’s up |
