What makes a person a person a scientist? Does he have ways or tools of learning that are different from
those of others? The answer is NO. It is not the tools a scientist uses but how he uses the tools that make
difference. You will probably agree that knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter. You will
probably agree that knowing how to investigate and how to discover information is important to anyone. The
scientist goes one step further than that; he must be sure that he has a reasonable answer to his questions and
that his answer can be confirmed by other persons. He also works to fit the answers he gets to many questions
into a large set of ideas about how the world works.
     The scientist's knowledge must be exact. He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit. What works
under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times. If the conditions
are different, any change the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by the change in the
conditions. This is one reason that investigations are important in science. Albert Einstein, who developed the
theory of relativity, arrived at this theory through mathematics. The accuracy of his mathematics was later
tested through investigations, Einstein's ideas were shown to be correct.

1. What's the passage mainly about?

A. Scientists are ordinary people
B. The theory of relativity
C. What makes a scientist
D. What's important to a scientist

2. Which won't the author agree to?

A. Knowing how to use a power is important to a carpenter
B. A scientist must know how to investigate and how to discover information
C. A scientist must be sure that he has an exact and reasonable answer to his questions
D. A scientist must be a good runner, because he must go a step further than others

3. Why is investigation important?

A. The scientist's knowledge must be exact
B. He must be as nearly right as the conditions permit
C. What works under one set of conditions at one time must work under the same conditions at other times
D. If the conditions are different, any changes the scientist observes in a demonstration must be explained by
     the changes in the conditions

4. What does "investigate" mean in the passage?

A. Put some money
B. Make a careful study
C. Develop
D. Find information

5. What's correct about relativity?

A. Relativity is a theory that needs developing
B. Relativity is the accuracy of mathematics
C. Relativity is developed through investigation and tested through mathematics
D. Relativity is a theory developed through mathematics and tested through investigation

     No one could have failed to be moved had he watched the live televised volleyball game between the
Chinese and Cuban women's teams. As we sat before the television set, with our eyes fixed on the screen,
we experienced every kind of feeling. When the two teams played neck and neck, we were on pins and
needles, anxious as to what would come next, and when our team fell behind our hearts were in our mouths.
Watching the game between those two teams is not only a matter of great joy. For more than that it provides
food for thought. Just see how the Chinese women won the game ──by their co ──operation (合作), by
their excellent skill, their effort and strong will. A Chinese saying goes, "When two competent opponents (比
赛的双方) meet, the strong ──minded one will win." This is the spirit of the Chinese Women's Volleyball
Team. If every Chinese showed some of the spirit, never losing heart in times of difficulty and remaining clear
──minded in times of advantage (优势), then our nation would stand in the vanguard (前列) of the world
family of nations, just as the Chinese Women's Volleyball Team has done, is doing and will do.

1. While watching the game, we _____.

A. had feelings of different kind
B. enjoyed a friendly and wonderful game
C. clapped and cheered only for the Chinese Women's Volleyball Team
D. were eager to know what would happen later on

2. The wonderful game _____.

A. brought us great joy
B. provided us with food for our thoughts
C. gave us not only great joy but also food for thoughts
D. give us a valuable amusement

3. The author believed that _____.

A. the Chinese Women's Volleyball Team was the strongest
B. China was sure to become stronger and stronger if only we have that spirit of the Chinese Women's
    Volleyball Team
C. The Chinese must remain clear-minded in time of advantage
D. The Chinese Women's Volleyball Team never lost heart in times of difficulty

4. The best title of the passage might be _____.

A. Watching a Close Volleyball Game
B. The Spirit of the Chinese Women's Volleyball Team
C. Learn from the Members of the Volleyball Team
D. The Strong ──Minded Are the Winners

     Each of us fails from time to time. If we are wise, we accept these failures as a necessary part of the
learning process. But all too often 1______ parents and teachers we do not allow our children to have the
right. We convey either by words 2______ by actions that failure is something to be ashamed 3______,
and that nothing but top 4______ (perform) meets with our approval.
     When I see a child under this kind of pressure, I think of Donnie. He was 5______ shy, nervous
perfectionist. His fear of failure 6______ (keep) him from classroom games that other children played
delightedly. He seldom answered questions for fear 7______ he might be wrong. He seldom finished
his work because he repeatedly checked with me to be sure he hadn't made a mistake. I tried my best
to build up 8______ self-confidence. But nothing changed until midterm, 9______ Mary Anne, a student
teacher, was appointed to our classroom. She was young and pretty, and she loved children. My pupils,
Donnie 10______ (include), adored her. With her frequent encouragement, Donnie became confident.

     The following passage is a healthy prescription (处方) of how we can approach life. It is not about being
famous or being wealthy or about our good looks. Truly, it is all about love. There are times when we feel as
if we are separated from the rest. This feeling creates a mental prison. Therefore, we should try to work hard
to internally (内在地) liberate ourselves by widening our circle of pity to accept all living things. 

     "Open your heart to others and try to understand,
     When someone reaches for you, hold out to them your hand.
     Follow your heart, no matter what other people say,
     Do things that make you able to smile throughout your day,
     Treat other people, the way you would like them to treat you,
     Do what you know is right and to your heart and self stay true,

     Remember what life is all about, it is how you make people feel,
     What you do, where you go, and making dreams become real,
     Helping people through, in hard times of pain and strife, 
     What you do for others, is what is important in this life. 
   
     Look deeper and don't judge people by what is on the outside,
     It is what is inside that counts and what people often hide,
     Care, help, love, be honest, and be kind,
     With purity and goodness within yourself, it is happiness you will find.
    
     Do all you can in the time you have, you won't always be around,
     Recapture the joy of little things, that once were easily found,
     And if you can do all this and live a life of love,
     You will be helped through life, by all those up above."
     
     I will leave you with the inspiring words of our late genius, Albert Einstein:
     "There are two ways to live life. One is as though nothing is a miracle (奇迹). The other is as though
everything is a miracle."

1. The passage is mainly about _____.

A. living a life of love
B. helping those in need
C. taking back the joy of life
D. separating ourselves from others

2. According to the passage, which statement is true?

A. Treating others the way others treat you is right for your life.
B. Making your dream become real is selfish in your life.
C. Judging people by what is inside counts.
D. Doing what you can makes yourself happy.

3. The underlined sentence in the last paragraph probably means _____.

A. Different ways of life lead to completely different results
B. Life is not always full of miracles
C. There are two kinds of miracles in life
D. Looking for miracles in life helps people find happiness

     If there is one thing that matters in high school-and for your whole life-it is friendships.
     My latest novel, THE UNWRITTEN RULE, is about a girl, Sarah, who falls for her best friend Brianna's
boyfriend, Ryan, but it's more about wrestling with feelings for a guy that you know you shouldn't have. A
lot of the book deals with friendship, the kind of lifelong friendship that means the world to you and what
happens when you realize that maybe it isn't what you think it is.
     Maybe your best friend isn't your best friend. Maybe she isn't even a friend at all.
     Friendships are tricky things. You can be sure everything is fine, and that your friendship is going to last
forever... and it can just end. No explanation, no anything. And it is not easy. In fact, I think losing a friend
is worse than losing a boyfriend, especially when it is a friend you've had in your life for a long time.
     One of the things that Sarah struggles with in THE UNWRITTEN RULE, beyond her feelings for Ryan,
is her friendship with Brianna-how long they've been friends, how she understands Brianna in a way no one
else does, and what to do when a crack appears in their friendship, not because of Sarah's feelings for Ryan,
but because Sarah begins to wonder if maybe Brianna isn't her best friend after all.
     Having a friendship end is incredibly painful and one of the things I hated when I was younger-and that I
still hate now-is how people say, "Oh, it'll be Okay. You'll move on, you'll be fine."
     It is true that you will eventually move on and that you will be fine. But you will also always carry that lost
friendship with you. It may not take up all of your heart like it does at first, but it will take part of it.
     And that, I think, is something no one ever talks about and that I wish we could-and would.
     What do you do when someone you are friends with decides your friendship is over? How do you deal with
it?
     Maybe my latest novel can provide something for you.

1. From the passage we can infer that _____.

A. it may takes Sarah a long time to recover after she lost Brianna's friendship
B. Sarah and Brianna are still best friends after a long period of time
C. Sarah does not value Brianna's friendship at all
D. Ryan would feel puzzled about his real love

2. What do you think the book THE UNWRITTEN RULE is mainly about?

A. Friendship.
B. School life.
C. Love.
D. Wrestling with feelings.

3. What's the writer's attitude towards friendship?

A. We will all lose some friends in our life.
B. Ending a friendship is worse than losing a boyfriend.
C. It's usual when a crack appears.
D. You will eventually move on after you lose a friendship.

4. What do you think is the best title for the passage above?

A. My Latest Novel.
B. Tricky Friends.
C. Sarah and Brianna .
D. Unforgettable Friendship.

     Canadian scientists have found that the more emotional or mental challenges a person faces in a day,
the less determined they become to work out physically.
     However, the findings should not stop us from keeping fit. Experts believe that willpower (意志力)
is like a muscle, and needs to be exercised to help one avoid the temptation (诱惑) spending a night on
the couch instead.
     Kathleen Martin-Ginis, a professor of kinesiology-the science of movement-who led the study, says
everyone' has a limited amount of willpower, and that it will be reduced by stress. Miss Martin-Ginis, of
Canada's McMaster University, explains, "Cognitive(认知的) tasks, as well as tasks such as regulating
(调整) one's emotions, can reduce one's capacity to force oneself to exercise."
     Her team of scientists performed a so-called "Stroop" test on volunteers to reach their conclusions.
The experiment involved showing participants words associated with colors but printed in different colors-
for example, the word "blue" written in red ink Participants were divided into two groups. One group was
asked to name the color of the ink, instead to say the printed word, while the other wasn't Martin-Ginis
says, "After we used this cognitive task to use up their self-regulatory capacity, the participants didn't
exercise as hard as those who had not performed the task." The more people concentrated on the cognitive
task, the more likely they were to skip exercise sessions (活动时间) over the next eight week You only
have so much willpower.
     However, there are ways to strengthen willpower. The study found the listening to music before going
to the gym can help, as well as making a commitment to work out with friends. It also concluded that
willpower can be stretched by constantly cake, or forcing oneself to study an extra hour each night.
     Martin-Ginis adds, "There are strategies people can use to help revitalize (复活动) themselves after they've
used up their self-regulation. Willpower is like a muscle:it needs to be used to stay strong."

1. According to the experts, human willpower _____.

A. can be exercised through muscle movement
B. can regulate itself to resist temptations
C. is weakened by stressful cognitive or emotional tasks
D. is reduced by lack of physical exercise

2. We learn from Paragraph 4 that the experiment _____.

A. made use of the Stroop test B asked one group of participants to name the words
C. required researchers to write the word "blue" in red ink to make it easily recognizable
D. showed that those who hadn't performed the task were smarter than those who had

3. All the following are ways to strengthen one's willpower EXCEPT _____.

A. listening to music before doing exercise
B. promising to work out with friends
C. training oneself repeatedly to resist temptations
D. forcing oneself to do the same thing each day

4. Which of the following is in agreement with Miss Martin-Ginis' idea?

A. Human's willpower is limited to a certain level.
B. The cognitive tasks could make people ignore exercise.
C. Challenging tasks could make people ignore exercise.
D. Exercise is an important way to strengthen one's willpower.

5. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Willpower can be challenged to become powerful.
B. McMaster University is famous for its kinesiology.
C. Effective ways to resist temptations have been found.
D. The study has an impact on the science of movement.

     It was graduation day at the university where I work and a beautiful day quite unlike the first graduation
I attended as a young professor. On that cold day years ago, as we watched the students walking into the
hall, one of my colleagues turned to me and said, "Graduation will be one of the happiest and one of the
saddest time of your life." At my inquiry, he answered, "Because the students you have gotten to know have
to leave."
     As years went by, my previous confusion about my colleague's words no longer existed. When I came
across naughty students, I have had to rethink why I chose to be a teacher. It obviously isn't the money.
Once a former computer science student of mine called me, asking me if I wanted to have a change. He was
working at Nintendo Corporation. His salary was higher than my current one, though I have more education
and have worked for over a decade. With my programming skills, he said he could get me hired I thanked
him, but declined his kind offer.
     A few days before this current graduation, while working on final grades, I found a note a student had
slipped in with her homework. She thanked me for being her teacher and said the things she had learned in
my class-not about math, but about life-would be things she would remember long after the math skills had
faded away. As I finished reading, I remembered why I had become a teacher.
     Now, on this sunny graduation day, as I again observed the sea of blue hats and gowns, I did so with
renewed dedication (奉献) and a deeper sense of satisfaction-I will always be grateful that I am a teacher.

1. Hearing his colleague's description of graduation for the first time, the author _____.

A. quite agreed with his colleague 
B. thought it very funny
C. was very puzzled
D. was very sad

2. The computer science student called up the author because he _____.

A. wanted to inform the author of his present job 
B. tried to persuade the author to work with him
C. wanted the author to share his joy and satisfaction
D. thought the author wasn't fit to be a teacher

3. The underlined part blue hats and gowns refers to _____.

A. university colleagues 
B. life memories
C. graduates' clothes
D. decorations in the hall

4. The author wrote this passage to _____.

A. express his devotion to being a teacher
B. compare two different graduation ceremonies
C. talk about the meaning of graduation
D. give advice on how to be a good teacher

5. The reason why he earns less than the computer science student is that _____.

A. he was only a young professor
B. he didn't do well in his work
C. he taught his students more about life than math
D. salaries for different careers are different

     When you are little, it's not hard to believe you can change the world. I remember my enthusiasm when,
at the age of 12, I addressed the people at the Rio Earth Summit. "'I am only a child," I told them. "Yet I know
that if all the money spent on war was spent on ending poverty and finding environmental answers, what a
wonderful place this world would be. At school you teach us not to fight with others, to work things out, to
respect others, to clean up our mess, not to hurt other creatures, to share, not to be greedy. Then why do you
go out and do the things you tell us not to do. You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you, please, to
make our actions reflect your words."
     I spoke for six minutes and received a standing ovation. Some of the people even cried. I thought that
maybe I had reached some of them, that my speech might actually spur (刺激) action. Now, ten years from
Rio, after I've sat through many more conferences, I'm not sure what has been achieved. My confidence in
the people in power and in the power of an individual' s voice to reach them has been deeply shaken.
     When I was little, the world was simple. But as a young adult, I'm learning that as we have to make choices-
education, career, lifestyle-life gets more and more complicated. We are beginning to feel pressure to produce
and be successful. We are taught that economic growth is progress, but we aren't taught how to seek a happy,
healthy way of living. And we are learning that what we wanted for the future when we were 12 was idealistic
and naive (天真).
     Today I'm no longer a child, but I'm worried about what kind of environment my children will grow up in.
I know change is possible, because I am changing, still figuring out what I think. I am still deciding how to live
my life. The challenges are great, but if we accept individual responsibility and make choices, we will rise to
the challenges, and we will become part of the positive tide of the change. I hope this goal will be met through
our common efforts. Thank you all.

1. The purpose of what the speaker said at the age of 12 was to _____.

A. end poverty and make school beautiful
B. find environmental answers and show off
C. focus people's attention on some social problems
D. find a wonderful place and clean it up

2. What does the underlined word "ovation" in the second paragraph refer to?

A. A long period of laughing.
B. A cold and unfriendly welcome.
C. An expression used for greeting.
D. Great applause or cheering.

3. The information in the text is presented mainly through _____.

A. question and answer
B. a personal lecture
C. cause and effect
D. listing steps in a process

4. Which of the following best describes the speaker?

A. He is an experienced educator.
B. He is an'impolite man.
C. He is a man of great worries.
D. He is a man of social responsibility.