We live in a culture that sends out very mixed messages about mistakes: We're told we learn by making them, but we work hard to avoid them. So the result is that most of us know that we are going to make mistakes, but deep down, we feel we shouldn't.

Experiments with schoolchildren who did well on a given test show that those who were praised for being smart and then offered a more challenging or less challenging task afterward usually chose the easier one. On the other hand, children praised for trying hard— rather than being smart—far more often selected the more difficult task.

If we try hard to avoid mistakes, we aren't open to getting the information we need in order to do better. In a writing study, experiments showed that those who are so scared to make mistakes perform worse in writing tasks than those who aren't as worried about being perfect. They fear receiving any kind of negative feedback, so they don't learn where they went wrong and how to get better.

We don't just learn more when we're open to mistakes, we learn deeper. Research tells us that if we're only concerned about getting the right answer, we don't always learn the underlying concepts that help us truly understand whatever we're trying to figure out. Mistakes need to be seen not as a failure to learn, but as a guide to what still needs to be learned. As Thomas Edison said, “I am not discouraged, because every abandoned wrong attempt is another step forward."

Furthermore, we often make mistakes because we try new things—we wander away from accepted paths. Teflon, penicillin—these are examples of great discoveries made by mistake. Take a page from Albert Einstein, who said, "Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. "

1. What will happen to students praised for being smart in face of choosing tasks compared to students praised for working hard?

A. He will ask his teachers for advice.

B. He will hide his mistakes from his teachers.

C. He will work harder to avoid mistakes.

D. He will choose a less challenging task.

2.Which of the following statements is NOT acceptable according to the passage?

A. The more mistakes we make, the more we learn.

B. Mistakes can be used as a positive factor for success.

C. Being open to mistakes help you understand the truth.

D. A step forward may come from mistakes you've made.

3. What does the last paragraph want to tell us?

A. One must follow a correct path to avoid mistakes.

B. To become an Einstein, you should make mistakes.

C. Making mistakes is not a disadvantage in a way.

D. You can't make mistakes unless you try new things.

4. What's the main idea of the passage?

A. We can never avoid making mistakes when we work.

B. Success can't be achieved without making mistakes.

C. Try every means to avoid mistakes in our daily life.

D. Mistakes should be treated with a correct attitude.

In summer, millions of people will head for the beach．And while the ocean can be a great place to swim and play, it may also be useful in another way. Some scientists think that waves could help make electricity．

“Have you ever been on a surfboard or boat and felt yourself being lifted up by a wave? Or have you jumped in the water and felt the energy as waves crashed over you?” asked Jamie Taylor of the Wave Energy Group at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland．“There is certainly a lot of energy in waves．”

Scientists are working on using that energy to make electricity．Most waves are created when winds blow across the ocean．“The winds start out by making little ripples (波纹) in the water, but if they keep on blowing , those ripples get bigger and bigger and turn into waves, ” Taylor said．“Waves are one of nature’s ways of picking up energy and then sending it off on a journey．”

When waves come towards the shore, people can set up dams or other barricades to block the water and send it through a large wheel called a turbine (涡轮) ．The turbine can then power an electrical generator (发电机) ．

The United States and a few other countries have started doing research on wave energy , and it is already being used in Scotland．

The resource is huge．We will never run out of wave power, besides, wave energy does not create the same pollution as other energy sources, such as oil and coal．

Oceans cover three quarters of the earth’s surface．That would make wave power seem perfect for creating energy around the world．There are some drawbacks, however．

Jamie Taylor said that wave power still cost too much money．He said that its effects on animals in the sea were still unknown．Plus, wave power would get in the way of fishing and boat traffic．

With more research, however, “many of these problems might be overcome,” Taylor said．“Demand for energy to power our TVs and computers, drive our cars, and heat and cool our homes is growing quickly throughout the world．Finding more energy sources is very important, for traditional sources of energy like oil and gas may run out some day．”

In the future, when you turn on a light switch, an ocean wave could be providing the electricity!

1.Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Wave power costs too much money．

B．Wave energy creates the same amount of pollution as other energy sources．

C．Wave power affects fishing and boat traffic．

D．Wave power may affect marine animals．

2.We can infer from the passage that ______．

A．finding new energy sources like wave energy is important

B．wave energy is a resource that will never run out and is used all over the world

C．wave power is perfect for creating energy around the world

D．wave power doesn’t create any pollution

3.The underlined word “drawbacks” in the seventh paragraph probably means______．

A．regrets B．adventures

C．disadvantages D．difficulties

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

A．How to Get Electricity by Waves．

B．A Huge Resource of Energy．

C．Can Waves Make Electricity?

D．The Disadvantages of Wave Energy．

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

1. We achieve it actively by direct experience, by testing and proving an idea, or by reasoning. We achieve knowledge passively by being told by someone else. Most of the learning that takes place in the classroom and the kind that happens when we watch TV or read newspapers or magazines is passive. Conditioned as we are to passive learning, it’s not surprising that we depend on it in our everyday communication with friends and co-workers. 2. It makes us tend to accept what we are told even when it is little more than hearsay and rumor.

Did you ever play the game Rumor? It begins when one person writes down a message but doesn’t show it to anyone. Then the person whispers it, word for word, to another person. That person, in turn, whispers it to still another, and so on, through all the people playing the game. The last person writes down the message word for word as he or she hears it. Then the two written statements are compared. 3.

4. The simple fact that people repeat a story in their own words changes the story. Then, too, most people listen imperfectly. And many enjoy adding their own creative touch to a story, trying to improve on it, stamping it with their own personal style. Yet those who hear it think they know.

5. A statement of opinion by one writer may be restated as a fact by another, who may in turn be quoted by yet another; and this process may continue, unless it occurs to someone to question the facts on which the original writer based his opinion or to challenge the interpretation he placed upon those facts.

A. Typically, the original message has changed.

B. Finally everybody gets the meaning.

C. Unfortunately, passive learning has a serious problem.

D. Knowledge is passed down from generation to generation.

E. That’s what happens in daily life.

F. This process is also found among scholars and authors.

G. We can achieve knowledge either actively or passively.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑

Value Now No Longer Missed

John, a famous musician, took his priceless antique zither(齐特琴)and played it in the crowded subway station. The music emanating from the zither was delicately streaming the whole station. However, during the one-hour play, only six or seven people were truly the charming music. John only got 52 dollars for his work that day.

However, in normal days, when John is about to hold a , one ticket can be sold at more than 100 dollars and it is extremely to buy a ticket even at such a high price. Therefore, later, many passers-by in the station that day felt deeply for not recognizing the famous musician and missing such a valuable but music feast.

I have a very friend who had totally changed after knowing that his wife an acute illness. He cooked by himself for the family and took a walk with his wife every day. Nonetheless, his wife still did not manage to the illness and passed away after three months. After that, he often sighed that due to his past busy life, he had missed a lot of beautiful time with his wife. But now, it is to make up for it.

It is no use crying over spilt milk. We have a lot of precious things in our life without knowing how to them. Actually, I also missed something before. The reason is simple: we had thought that we could still own them tomorrow.

Nevertheless, tomorrow is actually reliable. There was a famous Buddhist monk saying that in many people’s lives, they have only done two things: waiting and . The result is that they were always too late to cherish they had before they lost it. We would often claim to do something when we , or when we have money or when we become old, etc. However, when we reach the , we could no longer realize our , because we have lost it by then.

1.A. beforeB. throughoutC. aboveD. for

2.A. appreciating B. listeningC. creating D. discussing

3.A. meetingB. partyC. debateD. concert

4.A. easyB. convenientC. possibleD. difficult

5.A. excitedB. disappointedC. regretfulD. worried

6.A. specialB. cheapC. deliciousD. wonderful

7.A. lazyB. socialC. busyD. optimistic

8.A. put up withB. came down withC. came up withD. end up with

9.A. cureB. diagnoseC. attackD. conquer

10.A. miserably B. helplessly C. deliberatelyD. slightly

11.A. necessaryB. absoluteC. impossibleD. beneficial

12.A. missedB. madeC. inventedD. contributed

13.A. valueB. applyC. conserveD. convey

14.A. importantB. preciousC. positiveD. negative

15.A. to some degreeB. on the wayC. at all timesD. by no means

16.A. regrettingB. rewardingC. demandingD. expecting

17.A. whichB. thatC. whatD. when

18.A. get upB. set upC. grow upD. make up

19.A. goalB. conditionC. agreementD. destination

20.A. dangerB. mistakeC. purposeD. wish

阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式(不超过3个单词)。

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar. Halfway 1. his talk, the speaker stopped and decided 2.(create) a group activity. He went around the hall and gave each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his or her name on the balloon3.(use) a marker pen. Then all the balloons 4.(collect) and put in another room.

The speaker then led the group to the room full of balloons and asked them to find the balloon that had their name 5. (write) on within five minutes. Everyone was 6. (hurry) searching for their name, bumping into each other, pushing each other around. It was chaos. At the end of the five minutes no one could find their own balloon.

Now each person was asked to randomly collect 7. balloon and give it to the person whose name was on it. Within two minutes everyone had their own balloon. When everyone quieted down, the speaker began to talk, saying that this is exactly 8.was happening in our lives.

We may like to think of 9.(us) more important than others, but our happiness sometimes lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness 10. you will get your own happiness.

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。作文中共有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（从第11处起）不计分。

Yesterday our club held an English speech contest, which theme was “Challenge Myself”. A large number of students attended to the contest and showed their wonderful performances. In the stage, though face great pressure, the speakers bravely overcame it and challenged them to achieve great success. Moreover, they impressed us deep with their unusual confidences and performances.

Through such activity, we know a lot more about our students but we have gained much, such as self-confidence and bravery. Besides, our club was growing stronger.

请你写一篇文章，介绍我校为学生创立的校刊 “Xinghai Stones”，并谈谈自己的感想。内容包括：

1.开设目的：缓解压力，确保健康。

2.校刊优势：专业的心理指导 。

3.校刊内容：专业的建议，学生的心声, 你的感想。

注意：1.字数100 左右。

2.开头已给，不计入总数。

Our school has set up a school magazine called “Xinghai Stones” for us students.

How can we reduce the risk?

There are four general approaches to dealing with volcanic dangers. We can try to keep the danger from occurring - often an impossible task. We can try to change its path or reduce its impact on existing development. We can take steps to protect future development. We can also do our best to have disaster response plans in place before they are needed.

Removing the Threat

Clearly, there is no way to stop an eruption. We can, however, attempt to reduce the eruption’s effects by strengthening structures, for example, building protective works such as walls to make lava(熔岩) flow away from developed areas. Such efforts can be and have been successful, but are of limited use in a large-scale eruption.

Planning for the Future

Protecting future development from volcanic dangers is a simple task. Before building houses, we should judge the risk. If the risk seems too great, a safer location should be found. This type of planning is very effective, but all too often, people are drawn to the lush(葱郁的)，rolling land of a quiet volcano.

Disaster Preparedness

When a volcano comes to life, a few weeks may not be enough time to avoid a tragedy. Planning is the key to saving lives. Well before the warning signs occur, people must be educated about volcanic dangers. Escape plans must be in place. Communication between scientists, officials, the media, and the general public should be practiced. Emergency measures must be thought out and agreed upon.

If you doubt the importance of these efforts, take another look at past volcanic tragedies, such as the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz. Communication failures left the town of Armero unprepared for escape. When a deadly mudflow came down the slope(斜坡), 21,000 people--90 percent of the town’s people--died.

1.The passage is intended for ________.

A. the general public B. architects

C. adventurers D. geographers

2.When building houses, people tend to ________.

A. judge volcanic dangers carefully

B. take volcanic dangers seriously

C. live near a quiet volcano

D. find a safer place far away from a volcano

3.The writer mentioned Nevado del Ruiz to prove ________.

A. The failure to keep volcanic dangers from happening

B. The importance of preparing for a volcanic eruption

C. The bravery of the people in Armero Town

D. The uncertainty of volcano’s damage

When someone is happy, can you smell it?

You can usually tell when someone is happy based on seeing them smile, hearing them laugh or perhaps from receiving a big hug. But can you also smell their happiness? Surprising new research suggests that happiness does indeed have a scent, and that the experience of happiness can be transmitted through smell, reports Phys.org.

For the study, 12 young men were shown videos meant to bring about a variety of emotions while researchers gathered sweat samples from them. All of the men were healthy and none of them were drug users or smokers, and all were asked to abstain from drinking or eating smelly foods during the study period.

Those sweat samples were then given to 36 equally healthy young women to smell, while researchers monitored their reactions. Only women were selected to smell the samples, apparently because previous research has shown that women have a better sense of smell than men and are also more sensitive to emotional signaling—though it's unclear why only men were chosen to produce the scents.

Researchers found that the behavior of the women after smelling the scents—particularly their facial expressions—indicated a relationship between the emotional states of the men who produced the sweat and the women who sniffed them.

“Human sweat produced when a person is happy brings about a state similar to happiness in somebody who breathes this smell,” said study co-author Gun Semin, a professor at Koc University in Turkey.

This is a fascinating finding because it not only means that happiness does have a scent, but that the scent is capable of transmitting the emotion to others. The study also found that other emotions, such as fear, seem to carry a scent too. This ensures previous research suggesting that some negative emotions have a smell, but it is the first time this has proved to be true of positive feelings.

Researchers have yet to isolate(分离) exactly what the chemical compound for the happiness smell is, but you might imagine what the potential applications for such a finding could be. Happiness perfumes, for instance, could be invented. Scent therapies（香味疗法）could also be developed to help people through depression or anxiety.

Perhaps the most surprising result of the study, however, is our broadened understanding of how emotions get communicated, and also how our own emotions are potentially managed through our social context and the emotional states of those around us.

1.What is the main finding of the new research?

A. Pleasant feelings can be smelt out.

B. Negative emotions have a smell.

C. Men produce more sweats.

D. Women have a better sense of smell.

2.The underlined part “abstain from” in Paragraph 3 probably means _________.

A. continue B. practice C. avoid D. try

3.What is the application value of the new research?

A. Perfumes could help people understand each other.

B. Some smells could be created to improve our appearance.

C. Perfumes could be produced to cure physical diseases.

D. Some smells could be developed to better our mood.

4. We can learn from the last paragraph that .

A. happiness comes from a scent of sweat

B. social surroundings can influence our emotions

C. people need more emotional communication

D. positive energy can deepen understanding

New Orleans, Louisiana, was established as part of the French Empire in 1718.

Its location on the east bank of the Mississippi River gave it control of the American hinerland and it became strategically important to many nations. It was transferred from France to Spain, returned to France, and finally sold by Napoleon to the United States in 1803. The city was the site of a famous battle fought in 1815 between the British, who hoped to control it, and the Americans under General Andrew Jackson.

The riverbed of the Mississippi is constantly silting（淤积）and the river is now actually higher than the city. Levees hold back the river and giant pumps are used to move water from the city into the river.

Although New Orleans has been a part of the United States for almost two centuries, its population takes great pride in its French heritage. Louisiana still retains parts of the Code Napoleon which, for many years, was its only law.

New Orleans is carefree city and it boasts its hot, spicy Creole seafood and its native Dixieland Jazz. The Jackson Square neighborhood maintains its French colonial homes and in other sections are pre-Civil War mansions. Visitors are surprised to find that behind this interesting surface of yesteryear is a busy industrial and port city. Grain and coal come from the Midwest and foreign goods are unloaded here. New Orleans is no longer a sleepy Southern town----but it's still fun to visit.

1. The battle of New Orleans was fought by Jackson against______.

A. France B. Britain C. Spain D. The North

2.According to the passage, the Code Napoleon was _______.

A. an agreement to sell Louisiana

B. a body of laws

C. a city plan

D. a military code for the army

3.Which of the following elements does not apply to the attitude of the citizens of New Orleans?

A. Pride in their French heritage.

B. A desire to retain colonial buildings.

C. A refusal to engage in trade and commerce

D. A praising of Dixieland Jazz.

4. Tourists visiting New Orleans are surprised to encounter _____.

A. Creole food B. Dixieland jazz

C. a busy city D. authentic colonial homes