We all do more speaking _____, even when we have a break after class.?

A. more or less      B. by and by?    C. step by step       D. now and then

       Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine.“Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,”William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word“habit”carries a negative meaning.

       So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

       Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

       But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

       “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,”says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind.“But we are taught instead to‘decide’, just as our president calls himself‘the Decider’．”She adds, however, that“to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

       “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,”she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

       The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought.“This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,”explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner.“That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.”This is where developing new habits comes in.

67．Brain researchers have discovered that__________.

       A．the forming of new habits can be guided

       B．the development of habits can be predicted

       C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed

       D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

68．The underlined word“ruts”in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to __________

       A．zones                     B．connections             C．situations                D．tracks

69．Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

       A．Decision makes no sense in choices.

       B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.

       C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.

       D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

70．The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us____________.

       A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately

       B．to create and develop new habits consciously

       C．to resist the application of standardized testing

       D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits

六、假如你是某公司的产品推销员，请用英语介绍下面的产品：

产品名称：NOAH-DICT

产地：中国深圳

厂家：Chengxin Company Ltd．

产品特点：电子词典，储存百万单词和短语，实现中英互译，仿真人发音，提供电子书籍下载功能。采用20年的研究成果，由高级电脑科技控制，轻金属制成，体积小，易携带，易操作，价格合理。

注意：词数100左右。

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

---“What do you think of the service here?”

---“Oh,  _________ ．We couldn’t have found a better place．”

       A．too bad                  B．sorry                     C．wonderful              D．impossible

 – I lost the game today.

– Well, _________ luck next time.

A. well 　            B. good               C. better              D. best

 More important, perhaps, education teaches us to see the connections between things, as well as ______ beyond our immediate needs.

A. to be seen           B. to see           C. seeing          D. having seen

Sarah had her purse stolen the day before yesterday when she was knocking about in a park, ______________?

A. wasn’t she      B. weren’t they          C. hadn’t she     D. didn’t they

III．阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节：阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）

    阅读下面短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A serious problem for today's society is who should be responsible for our elderly and how to improve their lives．It is not only a financial problem but also a question of the system we want for our society．I would like to suggest several possible solutions to this problem．

     First, employers should take the responsibility for their retired employees．To make this possible, a percentage of profits should be set aside for this purpose．But when a company must take life-long responsibility for its employees, it may suffer from a commercial disadvantage due to higher employee costs．

Another way of solving the problem is to return the responsibility to the individual．This means each person must save during his working years to pay for his years of retirement．This does not seem a very fair model since some people have enough trouble paying for their daily life without trying to earn extra to cover their retirement years． This means the government might have to step in to care for the poor．

In addition, the government could take responsibility for the care of the elderly．This could be financed through government taxes to increase the level of pensions．Furthermore, some institutions should be created for senior citizens, which can help provide a comfortable life for them．Unfortunately, as the present situation in our country shows, this is not a truly viable answer．The government can seldom afford to care for the elderly, particularly when it is busy trying to care for the young．

One further solution is that the government or social organizations establish some working places especially for the elderly where they are independent．

     To sum up, all these options have advantages and disadvantages．Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that some combination of these options may be needed to provide the care we hope to give to our elderly generations．

41．What is the passage mainly about?

     A．The problems faced by the old in society．

     B．Why we should take responsibility for the old．

     C．How we can improve the lives of the old．

     D．Where the old can go to get their pensions．

42．According to the passage, how can the government help to improve the lives of retired people?

     A．Set aside some profits to help people with problems after they retire．

     B．Increase savings levels of people during their working years．

     C．Increase the discounts for food and transport for the old．

     D．Make available pensions for those who have retired．

43．The underlined word "viable" most probably means"______________"．

     A．impossible      B．practical           C．useful                 D．important

44．What can be concluded from the passage?

     A．Taking care of the old is mainly an issue of money．

     B．Employers should allow their workers to retire at a later age．

     C．Becoming independent should be the goal of most old people．

     D．There is no single solution to the problems of the old．

45．What is the writer's main purpose in writing this article?

      A．To point out the need for government support for old people．

     B．To make general readers aware of the problems of retired people．

     C．To discuss some possible solutions to an important social problem．

     D．To instruct retired people on how they can have a happier life．

The children were not ________ for the accident.

   A. blamed        B. to be blamed    C. being blamed  D. to blame

Now science and technology have made _____ possible for the earth to support more people.

A. that              B. what             C. it               D. this