Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish choose to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about thinking is the key to critical（判断性的） thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes(过程). Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.
The word “critical” here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen—beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning.
Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are curious about life and desire to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker. If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.
Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world: fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure of intelligence（智力）, you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein, Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately put Hoffman at ease by saying, “Please go slowly. I don’t understand things quickly.”
1.Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically, ______.
A. it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast
B. we might be controlled by other people’s ideas
C. we will follow the ideas of others naturally
D. we might be fooled by other people’s ideas
2.If you are a critical thinker, you will ______.
A. think deeply about different ideas
B. trust the reports in the newspapers
C. take one view against another view
D. criticize other people for their mistakes
3.In the last paragraph, “something new” suggests that ______
A. the smarter you are , the faster you do things
B. the faster you do things, the smarter you become
C. speed can improve intelligence
D. intelligence is not decided by speed
4.What would be the best title for the passage?
A. Thinking and Critical Thinking
B. Understanding Critical Thinking
C. Thinking is Natural and Human
D. Thinking Fast Means Intelligence
International Studies (BA)
Key features
Recognizes the “global community”(国际社会)
Has close connections with practical research
Much of the teaching is done in small discussion groups
About the course
The course gives you chances to know great power politics between nation states. It will provide more space to study particular issues such as relationship among countries in the European Union, third world debt, local and international disagreement, and the work of such international bodies as the United Nations, the European Union, NATO, and the World Bank.
The course puts theories into the working of the international system with close attention to particular countries. You will also have a better knowledge of methods of solving the international problems.
Related (相关的) courses
●BA (Hons) Community Management ● BA (Hons) Public Policy and Management
Employment possibilities
●International organizations ● International business
Earth Science (BSc)
Key features
Based on key courses and the latest research findings
Pays much attention to practical skills
Offers chances for fieldwork(实地考察)
About the course
The demand for natural resources is becoming an increasingly serious problem for the future of mankind. Graduates in Earth Science will play an important role in meeting this demand, and in knowing the meaning of using the natural resources.
The course covers geography and geology. You will carry out fieldwork in the UK and possibly overseas, and a research in an area of interest to you in the final year.
Related courses
BSc (Hons) Geography; BSc (Hons) Geology
Employment possibilities
Mineral , oil, water or other related engineering industries.
1.International Studies is a course in _______
A. international politics B. international business
C. international systems D. international bodies
2.After taking the course of International Studies, the students will _______.
A. become practical and open-minded
B. have a greater ability to discuss theories
C. know how to settle international problems
D. have good jobs in any international organizations
3.Earth Science, as described in the second text, ______.
A. is attractive because of the chances for fieldwork
B. pays more attention to practical skills than theories
C. is built on important courses and the results of recent studies
D. encourages students to play a role in using natural resources
4.It can be inferred that the above two texts are written for the students who _______.
A. enjoy research work
B. plan to choose courses
C. study in the UK
D. are interested in overseas fieldwork
Deserts are found where there is little rainfall or where rain for a whole year falls in only a few weeks' time. Ten inches of rain may be enough for many plants to survive (存活)if the rain is spread throughout the year, If it falls within one or two months and the rest of the year is dry, those plants may die and a desert may form.
Sand begins as tiny pieces of rock that get smaller and smaller as wind and weather wear them down. Sand dunes (沙丘) are formed as winds move the sand across the desert. Bit by bit, the dunes grow over the years, always moving with the winds and changing the shape. Most of them are only a few feet tall, but they can grow to be several hundred feet high.
There is, however, much more to a desert than sand. In the deserts of the southwestern United States, cliffs (悬崖) and deep valleys were formed from thick mud that once lay beneath a sea more than millions of years ago. Over the centuries, the water dried up. Wind, sand, rain, heat and cold all wore away at the remaining rocks. The faces of the desert mountains are always changing –-very, very slowly ---as these forces of nature continue to work on the rock.
Most deserts have a surprising variety of life. There are plants, animals and insects that have adapted to life in the desert. During the heat of the day a visitor may see very few signs of living things, but as the air begins to cool in the evening, the desert comes to life. As the sun begins to rise again in the sky, the desert once again becomes quiet and lonely.
1.Many plants may survive in deserts when__________________.
A. it is dry all the year round
B. the rain falls only in a few weeks
C. there is little rain in a year
D. the rain is spread out in a year
2.Sand dunes are formed when___________________.
A. sand piles up gradually
B. there is plenty of rain in a year
C. the sea has dried up over the years
D. pieces of rock get smaller
3.The underlined sentence in the third paragraph probably means that in a desert there is____________.
A. too much sand
B. more sand than before
C. nothing except sand
D. something else besides sand
4.It can be learned from the text that in a desert____________.
A. there is no rainfall throughout the year
B. life exists in rough conditions
C. all sand dunes are a few feet high
D. rocks are worn away only by wind and heat
Eating too much fatty food, exercising too little and smoking can raise your future risk of heart disease. But there is another factor that can cause your heart problems more immediately: the air you breathe.
Previous studies have linked high exposure (暴露）to environmental pollution to an increased risk of heart problem, but two analyses now show that poor air quality can lead to heart attack or stroke (中风）within as little as a few hours after exposure. In one review of the research, scientists found that people exposed to high levels of pollutants (污染物）were up to 5% more likely to suffer a heart attack within days of exposure than those with lower exposure. A separate study of stroke patients showed that even air that the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers to be of “moderate” (良好）quality and relatively safe for our health can raise the risk of stroke as much as 34% within 12 to 14 hours of exposure.
The authors of both studies stress that these risks are relatively small for healthy people and certainly modest compared with other risk factors such as smoking and high blood pressure. However, it is important to be aware of these dangers because everyone is exposed to air pollution regardless of lifestyle choices. So stricter regulation by the EPA of pollutants may not only improve environmental air quality but could also become necessary to protect public health.
1.The text mainly discusses the relationship between ______ .
A. heart problems and air quality
B. heart problems and exercising
C. heart problems and smoking
D. heart problems and fatty food
2.The underlined word “modest” in Paragraph 3 most probably means ______ .
A. relatively high B. extremely low
C. relatively low D. extremely high
3.The author’s purpose of writing the text is most likely to _______.
A.describe B. persuade C. inform D. entertain
书面表达
假如你是李华，刚刚升入高中，开学已经两个多月了，你认识了很多老师还交了一些新朋友，其中，同桌刘佳音是你最好的朋友。请你写信给你的老同学王琳，介绍一下你现在的情况，并希望大家在高中将来的三年里都努力学习。
注意： 1. 词数80左右。
2. 开头和结尾已经给出，不计入总词数。
Dear Wang Lin,
How time flies!
Long Live our friendship!
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。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），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. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从11处起）不计分。
Cherry, whom is about 5 or 6 years old, is my favorite pet. About three years before, Cherry showed up at our house. I have just lost my cat and was very sadly, so I didn’t plan to own another pet. At first, we ignored her. We were getting ready leave for a vacation. My two daughter kept wanting us to keep her and fed her behind my back. Finally I had to tell them if he was still here when we got back, we would keep her. I was sure a dog would move on. Guess what? When we got back from vacation, but the dog was still around. It seemed like an angel had send her to us.
