阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　An “apple polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment．It is not exactly a bribe(贿赂),but is close to it．

　　All sorts of people are apple polishers, including politicians and people in high offices－just about everybody．Oliver Cromwell, the great English leader, offered many gifts to win the support of George Fox and his party, but failed．

　　There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”－“soft-soaping” or “butter-up”．A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”．Another that is just as effective is flattery, giving someone high praise－telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how talented and wise he is．

　　Endless are the ways of flattery．Who does not love or hear it ? Only an unusual man can resist the thrill of being told how wonderful he is．In truth, flattery is good medicine for most of us, who gets so little of it．

　　We need it to be more sure of ourselves．It cannot hurt unless we get carried away by it．But we just lap it up for its food value and nourishment, as a cat laps up milk, then we can still remain true to ourselves．

　　Sometimes, however, flattery will get you nothing from one who has had too much of it．A good example is the famous 12 th century legend of King Canute of Denmark and England．The king got tired of listening to the endless sickening flattery of his courtiers(朝臣)．They overpraised him to the skies, as a man of limitless power．

　　He decided to teach them a lesson．He took them to the seashore and sat down．Then he ordered the waves to stop coming in．The tide was too busy to listen to him．The king was satisfied．This might show his followers how weak his power was and how empty their flattery．

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阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　On October 23, 2011, David Pologruto, a high school physics teacher, was stabbed (刺) by his smart student Jason Haffizulla．Jason got straight A's and was determined to study medicine at Harvard, yet this was his downfall．His physics teacher gave Jason a B, a mark Jason believed would undermine (损害) his entrance to Harvard．After receiving his B, Jason took a butcher knife to school and stabbed his physics teacher．

　　How can someone as smart as Jason do something so dumb? Studies show there is little or no correlation between IQ and emotional intelligence．

　　During my early university years, I regarded myself as an intelligent guy．I got good marks in mathematics, physics, and other subjects．I thought such skills would surely give me a bright future．After one year of study with decent marks, I began to see two major classes of students．The first category of students turned up to few lectures, partied every weekend, enjoyed a great social life, and did minimal work to pass courses．The second category of students were intelligent and hard workers who got good grades and were very focused on their studies．Surely would these intelligent and hard-working students find the great jobs before the other lazier class of students?

　　Not so．Students are often shocked upon graduation that their qualifications are not as important as they once thought．Graduates enter the workforce only to realize that co-workers hate them and less intelligent people are the ones receiving promotions．

　　Educational skills are useless in some industries when interpersonal skills are absent．You can have great ideas, theories, and solve complex problems, but if you cannot effectively communicate in a persuasive and exciting manner by relating to your fellow humans, you will face an uphill battle in whatever challenges you encounter．It's not that people dislike you because of your intelligence; it's that people dislike you because you're rude and not understanding．The intelligent person with poor communication skills is insensitive or unaware of others' emotions．

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阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　According to a new study by Israel researchers from University of Haifa, posting blogs to express feelings and emotions is therapeutic for children aged 13-17．Psychology professors Meyran Boniel-Nissim and Azy Barak have found that a teenager writing a publicly-viewed blog on the Internet is more effective for relieving stress rather than keeping a private diary．The study, published in the journal Psychological Services, supports that expressing oneself through writing can be therapeutic．

　　To conduct the research, Boniel-Nissim and Barak randomly selected Israeli high school students who displayed a certain degree of stress．The teenagers were then divided into six groups．Two groups were asked to post blogs twice a week about their social difficulties, but only one of them was asked to open the blogs for comments．The next set of groups were also asked to blog twice a week to post about whatever was going on in their mind, again with one group allowing comments．The two control groups were asked to keep an old-fashioned private diary．

　　The researchers then collected the blog posts and diaries to discuss the adolescents' emotional and social position．From the research, they saw that the greatest improvement in mood was with the bloggers who wrote about their personal troubles and allowed people to interact with their posts．The research also noted that the comments were mostly positive and constructive．Boniel-Nissim and Barak said that the commentators' interactions helped the bloggers while they were distressed．The conclusive research noted that expressing yourself on the Internet not only let others know what was personally going on with you, but also helped you figure out some things about yourself too．

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阅读理解

阅读下列短文，从每篇短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　I have had the privilege of meeting some very interesting people over the years．Some of these people made a great impact on my life, my views and personal philosophy．Others I met had the opposite effect because they represented attitudes, behavior and beliefs that were directly opposed to my views on life and my feelings about the value of all people．

　　One such person I met was a woman in her late seventies．She had been an active woman, raised a family and had engaged in helping others, and developed her own crafts to sell at selected craft shows throughout the year．

　　When I met her for the first time, I couldn't believe that she was in her late seventies － I would have placed her age more in her early sixties．After speaking with her for a short period, it was only then that the conversation seemed to turn to age．And, it wasn't a conversation about the frailty (脆弱) of age, or the aches and pains, or about pleasures lost．

　　The conversation, instead, focused on her zest for life and all the things that she was in the planning stages of doing．And, what she was planning to do wasn't about going to a seniors group so she and her husband could go on a bus tour．What she was planning was an excursion (旅行) to Europe, unaccompanied by any tour operator or taken around the usual sights by a local guide．

　　She really impressed me a lot because of her zest for life; for an uncompromising view of the future not in the least affected by her age; for the undying faith in knowing that there was a great deal of life yet to be discovered and experienced and yearning for each new image, discussion, smell, cultural uniqueness or experience．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country．The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid-2012．As a result, the student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit(押金)required to study in Australia has been reduced．Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased．Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be granted a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement．"This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas, " says Wang Lan, a consultant from Education International Cooperation Group(EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas．However, in the past few years, many of Wang's student clients(客户)could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were tough．The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says．A 22-year-old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago．"According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550, 000 yuan(＄86, 850)．Now we only need to prepare 410, 000 yuan．This is a relief for my parents, " Li says．

　　She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans．"I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China, " she says．Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Going on a date can be a nightmare for the best of us．But now a pair of 'social X-Ray' glasses promises to tell you exactly what the other person is thinking-and when you should stop talking．

　　The glasses have a built-in camera which monitors the other person's facial expressions and matches them up with 24 known features which convey emotions．It will then tell the individual via an earpiece and lights on the glasses what their date is thinking．In a traffic light-style system, a red light means negative, yellow means they are a bit interested and green means your date is happy．The glasses are under development at present by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab．

　　They say that wearing them during a conversation with another person is like having an 'extra sense' that they are bored or losing interest．

　　The eyewear was developed for people suffering from autism(孤独症)who have much difficulty interacting with others, but now the team behind it has seen wider applications．It works thanks to a camera the size of a grain of rice which is put into the glasses frame and connected via a wire to a small computer which can be attached to the user's body．The camera monitors how long and how often 24 'feature points' appear on the subject's faces which are then analyzed by software developed by the MIT team．

　　This data is then compared with a bank of expressions and the computer tells the wearer what is going on via the earpiece and the traffic light system．

　　So far the glasses are still a job in progress and have been accurate just 64 per cent of the time, a figure which is expected to improve with further tests．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　When we say older people shrink, we don't mean they become tiny enough to fit in your pocket! We just mean that it's common for older people to become a little shorter over time．This kind of shrinking can't be reversed, although people can slow or stop this process．But why does shrinking happen at all?

　　Because of gravity(that force that keeps your feet on the ground), cushions between the bones in the spine(脊骨), get compressed(压缩, which makes a person lose a little height and become shorter．

　　Another reason why some older people shrink is because of osteoporosis(骨质疏松)．Osteoporosis occurs when bone is broken down and not enough new bone material is made．Over time, bone is said to be lost because it's not being replaced．Bones become smaller and weaker and can easily break if someone with osteoporosis is injured．

　　Older people-especially women, who generally have smaller and lighter bones to begin with-are more likely to develop osteoporosis．As years go by, a person with osteoporosis can get small breaks in bones that are called compression fractures．These breaks cause collapse of the spine and over time the person with osteoporosis can become hunched over(驼背)．

　　Did you know that every day you shrink a little, too? You aren't as tall at the end of the day as you are at the beginning．That's because as the day goes on, water in the disks of the spine gets compressed due to gravity, making you just a tiny bit shorter．Don't worry, though．Once you get a good night's rest, your body recovers, and the next morning, you're standing tall again!

　　Smoking and drinking alcohol can make this problem worse．Want to do something right now to build strong bones? I believe what I will say will help you．

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项。

　　Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl．She had one big ambition-to play the drums in a band．But one big obstacle lay in her way．To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people．Many of them are sick．She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves．So, she had tried playing in the strangest places：a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower．But there was always someone it would annoy．

　　One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air．At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut．

　　With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble．This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside．All that would be left inside was a drum kit(成套设备)and a chair．Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child．

　　It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous．Many people came to see her play in her space bubble．Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts．Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey．Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band．

　　Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said：''If those old people next-door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened．''

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

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阅读理解，阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出最佳选项。

　　Each child has his individual(个人的)pattern of social, as well as physical, development．Some of it depends on his home life and his relationships with the people who love him．Children in large families learn how to get along with others through normal brother-sister play and tussles(打斗)．An only child, on the other hand, may have to learn his lessons in social living through hard experiences on the playground or in the classroom．Twins who always have one another to lean on may be slow in responding to others because they do not need anyone else．

　　A child who is constantly scolded and made to feel he does everything wrong may have a difficult time developing socially．He may be so afraid of displeasing the adults around him that he keeps to himself(where he can't get into trouble)or he may take the opposite route and go out of his way to create trouble．Like the deserted child, he too may return to infantile(幼稚的)pleasures, developing habits that will satisfy him, but create barriers(障碍)toward social contact．

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