Can you believe your eyes? A recent experiment suggests that the answer to that question may depend on your age.
Martin Doherty, a psychologist at the University of Stirling in Scotland, led the team of scientists. In this experiment, Doherty and his team tested the perception(观察力) of some people, using pictures of some orange circles. The researchers showed the same pictures to two groups of people. The first group included 151 children aged 4 to 10, and the second group included 24 adults aged 18 to 25.
The first group of pictures showed two circles alone on a white background. One of the circles was larger than the other, and these people were asked to identify the larger one. Four-year-olds identified the correct circle 79 percent of the time. Adults identified the correct circle 95 percent of the time.
Next, both groups were shown a picture where the orange circles, again of different sizes, were surrounded by gray circles. Here's where the trick lies in. In some of the pictures, the smaller orange circle was surrounded by even smaller gray circles —making the orange circle appear larger than the other orange circle, which was the real larger one. And the larger orange circle was surrounded by even bigger gray circles—so it appeared to be smaller than the real smaller orange circle.
When young children aged 4 to 6 looked at these tricky pictures, they weren't fooled—they were still able to find the bigger circle with roughly the same accuracy(准确性) as before. Older children and adults, on the other hand, did not do as well. Older children often identified the smaller circle as the larger one, and adults got it wrong most of the time.
As children get older, Doherty said, their brains may develop the ability to identify visual context. In other words, they will begin to process the whole picture at once: the tricky gray circles, as well as the orange circle in the middle. As a result, they're more likely to fall for this kind of visual trick.
1.Doherty and his team of scientists did an experiment to evaluate_____________.
A. children's and adults' eye-sight
B. people's ability to see accurately
C. children's and adults' brains
D. the influence of people's age
2.When asked to find the larger circle,_____________.
A. children at 6 got it wrong 79 % of the time with no gray ones around
B. only adults over 18 got it right 95% of the time with gray ones around
C. children at 4 got it right about 79 % of the time with gray ones around
D. adults got it right most of the time with gray ones around
3.According to the passage, we can know that_____________.
A. a smaller orange circle appears bigger on a white background
B. an orange circle appears bigger than a gray one of the same size
C. a circle surrounded by other circles looks bigger than its real size
D. a circle surrounded by bigger ones looks smaller than its real size
4.Why are younger children not fooled?_____________.
A. Because their brain can hardly notice related things together.
B. Because older people are influenced by their experience.
C. Because people's eyes become weaker as they grow older.
D. Because they are smarter than older children and adults.
American culture is unique because it is formed and developed under certain conditions. The major factors contributing to the making of this new nation and the forming of a new culture are the hard environment, ethnic diversity (多样性；差异) and plural religion, which is quite different from other nations in the world. What is more, these elements are still influencing the American culture.
The early immigrants（移民）who were English Puritans settled down in northeast part of America from 1607 to 1892. Frontiers were pushed further west. The frontiersmen looked for a land of rich resources and a land of promise, opportunity and freedom. Actually they looked for a better life. So individualism(个人主义), self-reliance, and equality of opportunity have perhaps been the values most closely associated with the frontier heritage（遗产）of America.
In history, people from different countries in the world rushed to America three times. They brought their own culture to America and later on, different cultures were mixed together. Thus the unique American culture was formed, a common cultural life with commonly shared values.
The fundamental American belief in individual freedom and the fight of individuals to practice their own religion is at the center of religious experience in the United States. The great diversity of ethnic backgrounds has produced religious pluralism(多元化); almost all of the religions of the world are now practiced in the United States.
Nowadays, we can see the continual influence of the three elements in the current American society. American family is typically parents and their unmarried children. Middle-aged and elderly people generally do not live with their married children. The people in America have a very strong desire to start a new life in a new place. Quite a number of people change residences every year. The average American moves fourteen times in his lifetime.
1. We can learn from this article that ________.
A. the population of the United States includes a large variety of ethnic groups
B. the early immigrants brought about the unique American culture
C. people in the world once rushed to America because of its unique culture
D. the American family members don't get along well with each other
2. What's the author's attitude towards American culture?
A. He is critical of it.
B. He admires it very much.
C. He just states the facts.
D. He looks down upon it.
3.The last paragraph is about________.
A．the family structure in American society
B．the influence of the three elements in the current American society
C．the new life style of American family
D．the reason why American people like to change residences
4.What might be the most suitable title of this article?
A．The Immigrants in America
B．Why American Culture Is Unique
C．The Influence of American Culture
D．Plural Religion and American Culture
You're in a department store and you see a couple of attractive young women looking at a sweater. You listen to their conversation:
"I can't believe it-----a Lorenzo Bertolla! They are almost impossible to find. Isn't it beautiful? And it's a lot cheaper than the one Sara bought in Rome."
They leave and you go over to see this incredible sweater. It's nice and the price is right. You've never heard of Lorenzo Bertolla, but those girls looked really stylish. They must know. So, you buy it. You never realize that those young women are employees of an advertising agency. They are actually paid to go from store to store, talking loudly about Lorenzo Bertolla clothes.
Every day we notice what people are wearing, driving and eating. If the person looks cool, the product seems cool, too. This is the secret of undercover marketing. Companies from Ford to Nike are starting to use it.
Undercover marketing is important because it reaches people that don't pay attention to traditional advertising. This is particularly true of the MTV generation ---- consumers between the age of 18 and 34. It is a golden group. They have a lot of money to spend, but they don't trust ads.
So advertising agencies hire young actors to "perform" in bars and other places where young adults go. Some people might call this practice deceptive (骗人的), but marketing executive Jonathan Ressler calls it creative. "Look at traditional advertising. Its effectiveness is decreasing." However, one might ask what exactly is "real" of young women pretending to be enthusiastic about a sweater? Advertising executives would say it's no less real than an ad. The difference is that you know an ad is trying to persuade you to buy something. You don' t know when a conversation you overhear is just a performance.
1.The two attractive young women were talking so that they could _____.
A. get the sweater at a lower price
B. decide on buying the sweater
C. be admired by other shoppers
D. be heard by people around
2. Lorenzo Bertolla is _____.
A. a very popular male singer
B. an advertising agency
C. the brand name of a sweater
D. a clothing company in Rome
3.Which of the following can be inferred from the passage?
A. Traditional advertising will soon disappear in the market.
B. The MTV generation tend to be more easily influenced by ads.
C. Undercover marketing will surely be banned soon by the government.
D. Traditional advertising is becoming less effective because it's too direct.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the text?
A. Two Attractive Shoppers
B. Lorenzo Bertolla Sweaters
C. Undercover Marketing
D. Ways of Advertising
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to ￡200 or ￡300 a week. Put an advertisement for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent（出租）a room
Spare room Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax on the first ￡4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommateeasy.
Make money during special events
Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money. Grashpadder can advertise your space
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment (around ￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.
1.If you earn ￡5000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on______.
A. ￡800 B. ￡500 C. ￡4500 D. ￡5000
2.If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
A. sign an agreement with the government
B. pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment
C. sell the roof to some energy companies
D. keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years
3.For whom the text most probably written？
A. Lodgers. B. Advertisers.
C. House owners. D. Online companies
假设你是晨光中学高二(1)班的班长李津，得知美国学生Chris 作为交换生，下学期将到你班学习。请你根据以下提示，给他写封邮件：
1．介绍与本地生活相关的信息(如天气，饮食等)
2．介绍本班情况
3．希望Chris做哪些事情，以增进中美学生之间的了解和友谊
注意：1.请勿提及与考生相关的真实信息。
2．可适当加入细节，使内容充实、行文连贯。
3．词数不少于100；开头已给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Chris,
I'm Li Jin，monitor of Class One，Grade Eleven. I'm glad to hear that you will come to our school as an exchange student. You're welcome to stay with us.
Sincerely yours,
Li Hua
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏词符号(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线( \ )划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线(__)，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及修改均仅限一词；2. 只允许修改10处，多者(从第11处起)不计分。
I was taking a train to London's Victoria Station. I had noticed that the carriage was noise and filled with people.
Before long, a train inspector comes to check our tickets. A passenger realized he couldn't find his ticket but became quite upset. Then everyone in the carriage began searching the ticket，which was eventually found under a seat several rows from his owner. The person who found a ticket smiled with pleasure at his success.
No one in the carriage had previous spoken to or even noticed the ticket-owner before. Yet they had so quickly offered the strangers their help. If we could show our concern to others on need，the world would be a better place to live in.
