Jack is a twenty-year-old young man. Two years ago, when he finished middle school, he found work in a shop. Usually he works until ten o'clock in the evening. He is very tired when he gets home. After a quick supper he goes to bed and soon falls asleep. His grandma who lives downstairs is satisfied with (满意) him.

One day, on his way home, he met Mary. They were both happy. He asked the girl to his house, she agreed happily. He bought some fruit and drinks for her. And they talked about their school, teachers, classmates and their future . They talked for a long time.

“Have a look at your watch, please,” said the girl. “What time is it now?”

　　“Sorry, something is wrong with my watch,” said Jack. “Where's yours?”

　　“I left it at home.”

　　Jack thought for a moment and found a way. He began to stamp his foot on the floor, “Bang! Bang! Bang!”

　　The sound woke his grandma up. The old woman shouted downstairs, “It's twelve o'clock in the night, Jack. Why are you still jumping upstairs?”

1.Jack was ________ when he finished middle school.

　　A. sixteen　        B. eighteen　               C. twenty　         D. fifteen

2.The old woman is satisfied with Jack because ________.

　　A. he's her grandson　　                    B. he's clever

　　C. he can keep quiet　　                    D. he gets home on time

3.From the story, we can know that Mary is Jack's ________.

　　A. classmate　　        B. colleague (同事)　　 C. aunt      　　  D. wife

4.The word “stamp” in the story means ______ in Chinese.

　　A. 盖印　　         B. 跺　　               C. 贴邮票　　   D. 承认

5.Jack stamped his foot on the floor in order (为了) ________.

　　A. to wake his grandma up

　　B. to make his grandma angry

　　C. that his grandma was going to tell him the time

D. that his grandma was going to buy him a watch

　Sometimes I really doubt whether there is love between my parents. Every day they are very busy trying to earn money in order to pay the high tuition for my brother and me. They don’t act in the romantic ways that I read in books or I see on TV. In their opinion, “I love you” is too luxurious for them to say. Sending flowers to each other on Valentine’s Day is even more out of the question. Finally my father has a bad temper. When he’s very tired from the hard work, it is easy for him to lose his temper.　
　　One day, my mother was sewing a quilt. I silently sat down beside her and looked at her.　
　　“Mom, I have a question to ask you,” I said after a while.　
　　“What?” she replied, still doing her work.　
　　“Is there love between you and Dad?” I asked her in a very low voice.　
　　My mother stopped her work and raised her head with surprise in her eyes. She didn’t answer immediately. Then she bowed her head and continued to sew the quilt.　
　　I was very worried because I thought I had hurt her. I was in a great embarrassment and I didn't know what I should do. But at last I heard my mother say the following words:　
　　“Susan,” she said thoughtfully, “Look at this thread. Sometimes it appears, but most of it disappears in the quilt. The thread really makes the quilt strong and durable. If life is a quilt, then love should be a thread. It can hardly be seen anywhere or anytime, but it’s really there.”
　　I listened carefully but I couldn’t understand her until the next spring. At that time, my father suddenly got sick seriously. My mother had to stay with him in the hospital for a month. When they returned from the hospital, they both looked very pale. It seemed both of them had had a serious illness.
　　After they were back, every day in the morning and dusk, my mother helped my father walk slowly on the country road. My father had never been so gentle. It seemed they were the most harmonious couple. Along the country road, there were many beautiful flowers, green grass and trees. The sun gently glistened through the leaves. All of these made up the most beautiful picture in the world.
　　Once I thought love meant flowers, gifts and sweet kisses. But from this experience, I understand that love is just a thread in the quilt of our life, making life strong and warm.
　　thread: 线　　　 quilt: 被子
　　1. Why did the parents try to earn a lot of money?
　　A. To pay for the food.
　　B. To pay off the debt.
　　C. To pay for the hospital.
　　D. To pay the high tuition.

　　2. Which of the following is TRUE?
　　A. The parents sent flowers on Valentine’s day.
　　B. The parents liked to say “I love you.”
　　C. The father was too tired to have a good temper.
　　D. The mother had no job.

　　3. From the passage, we can know that _________.
　　A. the father made much money from his work
　　B. Susan couldn’t understand her mother
　　C. the parents always loved each other
　　D. the mother was worried about her husband

　　4. How did Susan feel towards her parents at last?
　　A. sad　　　　　 B. glad　　 　　C. worried　　　 D. easy

　　5. Which is the best title?
　　A. Love is inside.　　　　　　　　 B. Love is outside.
　　C. Love is seen everywhere.　　 　 D. Love is seen anytime.
　

Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?

Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists(心理学家)are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.

Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision making, but in fact they are a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional centre is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasio, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains , and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasia thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choice, which we use to help the present decision-making.

However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger, for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems that anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.

All emotions affect our thinking and motivation（动机），so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there is one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world.

51. According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?

　 A. To think about happy times.　　　　　

　 B. To make many decisions at a time.

　 C. To stop feeling regretful about the past.　　　　 　

　 D. To learn about the process of decision-making.

52. What does the underlined word “central” mean?

　 A. 中心的　　　 B.中央的　 　C.起决定作用的　 　 D.后悔的

53.Damasia’s study suggests that ________.

　 A. emotions are the enemy of decision making.

　 B. our brain has nothing to do with decision making.

　 C. people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds.

　 D. our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions.

54.Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?

　 A. They often forget their past choices.　　 　　　

　 B. They make decisions without much thinking.

　 C. They tend to save time when shopping.　　 　　　

　 D. They are too angry to bargain.

55. What do we learn from the text?

　 A. Emotions are a part of decision-making.

　 B. Sad people always make worse choices.

　 C. No emotion seems to help us make good choices.

　 D. Only sad feeling affect our thinking and motivation.

Decisions, decisions! Our lives are full of them, from the small ones to the life-changing. The right to choose is central to everyone. Yet sometimes we make bad decisions that leave us unhappy or full of regret. Can science help?

Most of us know little about the mental processes that lie behind our decisions. Luckily, what psychologists(心理学家)are finding may help us all make better choices. Here are some of their amazing discoveries to help you make up your mind.

Consider your emotions. You might think that emotions are the enemy of decision making, but in fact they are a part of it. Whenever you make up your mind, your brain’s emotional centre is active. University of Southern California scientist, Antonio Damasio, has studied people with damage to only the emotional parts of their brains , and found that they were unable to make basic choices about what to wear or eat. Damasia thinks this may be because our brains store emotional memories of past choice, which we use to help the present decision-making.

However, making choices under the influence of an emotion can greatly affect the result. Take anger, for example. A study by Nitika Garg of the University of Mississippi and other scientists found the angry shoppers were more likely to choose the first thing they were offered rather than considering other choices. It seems that anger can lead us to make quick decisions without much thinking.

All emotions affect our thinking and motivation（动机），so it may be best to avoid making important decisions under their influence. Yet strangely there is one emotion that seems to help us make good choices. The American researchers found that sad people took time to consider the various choices on offer, and ended up making the best choices. In fact many studies show that people who feel unhappy have the most reasonable view of the world.

51. According to the text, what may help us make better decisions?

　 A. To think about happy times.　　　　　　　　　　

B. To make many decisions at a time.

　 C. To stop feeling regretful about the past.　　　　 　

D. To learn about the process of decision-making.

52. What does the underlined word “central” mean?

　 A. 中心的　　　 B.中央的　　 C.起决定作用的　 D.后悔的

53.Damasia’s study suggests that ________.

　 A. emotions are the enemy of decision making.

　 B. our brain has nothing to do with decision making.

　 C. people with physical damage find it hard to make up their minds.

　 D. our emotional memories of past choices can affect present decisions.

54.Why are angry shoppers more likely to choose the first thing they are offered?

　 A. They often forget their past choices.　　 　　　　　

B. They make decisions without much thinking.

　 C. They tend to save time when shopping.　　 　　　

D. They are too angry to bargain.

55. What do we learn from the text?

　 A. Emotions are a part of decision-making.

　 B. Sad people always make worse choices.

　 C. No emotion seems to help us make good choices.

　 D. Only sad feeling affect our thinking and motivation.