The Small Goose Pagoda in Xi’an, one of the 22 Silk Road relics located in China, _______ back in 707 during the Tang Dynasty.

A. dated B. was dated

C. dates D. is dating

B

Some people think if you are happy, you are blind to reality. But when we research it, happiness actually every single business and educational outcome for the brain. Why do people have this social about happiness? Because we assumed you were average.

Many people think happiness is genetic. That’s only half the story. When we stop studying the average and begin positive outliers — people who are above average for a positive aspect like optimism or intelligence — a different picture appears. Our daily decisions and habits have a huge impact upon both our levels of happiness and success.

, happiness is a choice. It is a choice about where your single processor brain will devote its limited resources as you process the world. If you scan for the first, your brain really has no resources left over to see the things you are grateful for or the meaning embedded (嵌入) in your work. But if you scan it the other way round, you start to acquire an advantage.

1.A. rises B. arises C. arouses D. raises

2.A. faith B. concept C. misunderstanding D. tradition

3.A. discovering B. researching C. observing D. finding

4.A. wildly B. hardly C. mildly D. crazily

5.A. Fortunately B. Gradually C. Strangely D. Scientifically

6.A. positive B. negative C. active D. passive

7.A. annoying B. interesting C. amazing D. Embarrassing

A

As an old-fashioned explorer, Paul Salopek sets out on foot to circle the world. He is also a modern-day explorer. On top of a few clothes, a small first-aid kit and notebooks, he is carrying a recorder, a video camera, a small computer and a satellite phone — a telephone that connects to a satellite and can be used in many places where cell-phones don’t work.

The journey is long: 21,000 miles! It will take seven years to complete it.

Salopek was born in California and spent his childhood in Mexico. He says he has always liked to travel and doesn’t like to rush. At the age of fourteen, he climbed Mount Whitney in California and crossed the state’s Sierra Nevada Mountains alone. When he was fifteen years old, he walked the length of Death Valley. He once rode a mule 2,000 miles through mountains in Mexico.

A longtime reporter, Salopek has reported from Africa, Asia and Mexico. Now 51 years old, he plans to keep writing. As he travels around the world, he is writing stories about the people he meets and the way they live. He looks for how people find local solutions to big problems such as lack of food and water. He also records the sounds he hears and takes photos of the sky and the Earth’s surface.

The long walk started in the Rife Valley in Ethiopia in East Africa. Many consider East Africa to be home to the first humans, who lived 160,000 years ago.

Salopek is retracing the paths our ancestors took as they left Africa and settled in parts of the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas. As Salopek is walking, he is learning more about himself and all of humankind.

1.The underlined phrase “on top of” in the first paragraph can be replaced by _______.

A. on the top of B. in contrast to

C. in addition to D. on the basis of

2.The author develops the third paragraph mainly by ________.

A. providing examples

B. making comparisons

C. making a careful analysis

D. following the order of time

3.According to the passage, Paul Salopek is a ________.

A. doctor who likes carrying the small first-aid kit

B. journalist who likes traveling, exploring, writing and studying

C. writer who likes traveling, exploring and studying

D. photographer who is good at using satellite communication equipment

4.What’s the best title for the passage?

A. Paul Salopek: Following Man’s First Footsteps

B. Paul Salopek: Reflecting People’s Real Lives

C. Paul Salopek: Going for a Seven-year Study

D. Paul Salopek: Looking back upon the Childhood

D

My mom has eyes in the back of her head. She also taught me from an early age to be suspicious of strange men, especially when they give you presents. One day, a “nice man” bearing flowers managed to steal 20 euros from her purse, while she was holding it in her hands. “He said he was collecting for a church charity so I pulled out a euro,” she explains, “He said ‘no, no, that’s too much’ and offered to look in my purse to find a smaller coin. He must have slid out that 20 euro note at the same time. I did not even notice until an hour later. I felt so stupid.”

According to neuroscientists, the key requirement for a successful pickpocket is not having nifty (熟练的) fingers, it’s having a working knowledge of the loopholes (漏洞) in our brain. The most important of these loopholes is the fact that our brains are not set up to multi-task. Most of the time that is a good thing — it allows us to filter (过滤) out all but the most important features of the world around us. But a good trickster can use it to against you. This kind of trick involves capturing all of somebody’s attention with other movements. Street pickpockets often use this effect to their advantage by manufacturing a situation that can not help but overload your attention system. Other strategies are more psychological. Pickpockets tend to hang out a “beware of pickpockets” signs, because the first thing people do when they read it is check they still have their valuables, helpfully giving away where they are. And in my mom’s case, the thief’s best trick was not coming across like a pickpocket. “He was a very nice guy and very confident. Not someone that would cause you to suspect,” she says. Apollo Robbins, a stage pickpocket, said smart move, like moving your hand in an arc (弧) motion rather than a straight line, is another popular strategy employed by tricksters.

At last, it should be pointed out that most thefts are opportunistic. The skill level of most thieves is far less than you think. But they are opportunistic enough to keep up with new technology.

1.What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 2 refer to?

A. People’s brains are not designed to multi-task.

B. People’s brains can filter out all but the most important features.

C. Somebody’s attention can be distracted by a certain trick.

D. Somebody’s overload attention system.

2.According to the passage, all of the following are pickpocket strategies except _________.

A. having nifty fingers

B. hanging out “beware of pickpockets” sign

C. displaying confidence

D. moving hand in an arc motion

3.In the author’s opinion, _________.

A. people’s brains have many loopholes

B. thieves are more skillful than opportunistic

C. his mom’s losing money is nothing but a by-accident experience

D. signs reminding people of pickpockets can play a negative role in protecting valuables

4.What will the author probably talk about next?

A. Mom’s another suffering

B. Pickpockets concerning new technology

C. Pickpockets’ tricks

D. Apollo Robbins’ stage pickpockets

E

Is there clear boundary between science and the liberal arts as a major for college students? The question of whether our government should promote science and technology or the liberal arts in higher education is not an either / or proposition (命题), although the current emphasis on preparing young Americans for STEM (science, technology, engineering, maths) -related fields can make it seem that way.

The latest congressional report acknowledges the critical importance of technical training, but also stresses that the study of the humanities (人文学科) and social sciences must remain central elements of America’s educational system at all levels. Both are critical to producing citizens who can participate effectively in our democratic society, become innovative (创新的) leaders, and benefit from the spiritual enrichment that the reflection on the great ideas of mankind over time provides.

Parents and students who have invested heavily in higher education worry about graduates’ job prospects (前景) as technological advances and changes in domestic and global markets transform professions in ways that reduce wages and cut jobs. Under this circumstances, it’s natural to look for what may appear to be the most “practical” way out of the problem. “Major in a subject designed to get you a job” seems the obvious answer to some, though this ignores the fact that many disciplines in the humanities characterized as “soft” often, in fact, lead to employment and success in the long run. Indeed, according to surveys, employers have expressed a preference for students who have received a broadly-based education that has taught them to write well, think critically, research creatively, and communicate easily.

Moreover, students should be prepared not just for their first job, but for their 4th and 5th jobs, as there is little reason to doubt that people entering the workforce today will be called upon to play many different roles over the course of their careers. The ones who will do the best in this new environment will be those whose educations have prepared them to be flexible. The ability to draw upon every available tool and insight - picked up from science, arts, and technology - to solve the problems of the future, and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves, will be helpful to them and the United States.

1.What does the latest congressional report suggest?

A. Higher education should be adjusted to the practical needs of society.

B. The liberal arts in higher education help enrich students’ spiritual life.

C. STEM-related subjects help students find jobs in the information society.

D. The humanities and STEM subjects should be given equal importance.

2.What does the author say about the so called soft subjects?

A. They are essential to students’ healthy growth.

B. They improve students’ communication skills.

C. They broaden students’ range of interests.

D. They benefit students in their future life.

3.What is the main concern of students when they choose a major?

A. The academic value of the courses.

B. Their interest in relevant subjects.

C. Their chances of getting a good job.

D. The quality of education to receive.

4.What advice does the author give to college students?

A. Try to take a variety of practical courses.

B. Prepare themselves for different job options.

C. Adopt a flexible approach to solving problems.

D. Seize opportunities to tap their potential.

—I’m planning to go to Kingdom of Cambodia this summer vacation. I think the trip will be exciting.

—____, as it’s the rainy season then.

A. Yes, it will B. Of course not

C. You can say so D. It’s hard to say

The first time I ____ Todd, he ____ to some students at the English corner.

A. had seen; was talked B. saw; talked

C. had seen; talked D. saw; was talking

It’s an art to be parents. With children, if you say “no”, you have to mean_____.

A. that B. this

C. it D. one

—It is a mystery and a shock to all who knew him that he____ have taken his own life in this way.

—What a pity, indeed.

A. must B. may

C. can D. should

With many cities in China dreadfully blanketed by thick haze, the environment problem is _____ Chinese people concern most nowadays.

A. what B. which

C. where D. when