Eat healthier. Exercise twice a week. Read more books. Lose weight. We make the same resolutions(决心) every year, but most of us fail, dying out after only a few days or , at best, weeks. Even the most successful among us crash and burn when it comes to personal change. President-elect Barack Obama struggles to remove his cigarette habit.
Professionals who help people make changes in their lives suggest the change is determined not by one's surroundings, but one's mind. Beginning with small goals or steps usually leads to a bigger payoff later, they say. But they caution that the experience is different for everyone.
"People are more likely to make positive changes in their lives not only when their friends do, but when their friends of friends do, and when their friends of friends of friends do," said Nicholas Christakis, a professor of medical sociology at Harvard University. "People are better able to make changes in their lives - lose weight, quit smoking, become happy - when they do this with a large number of other people, and so taking advantage of your social network ties can result in a magnification of your own efforts."
Jhonny Augustin understands that well. His resolution for 2008 was to shed 30 pounds from his 237-pound frame. But the change didn't come easily. He said,"I'm a huge procrastinator, I kept putting it off until tomorrow. I didn't get to do it until the summer." However , Augustin got inspired when he saw his older brother working out. Today, Augustin weighs 190 pounds.
“Of course, change can happen only if people don't set their expectations too high or try to tackle too many changes at once; one of the biggest mistakes we make is setting unrealistic goals, ”said Dalia Llera, a psychologist and associate professor of counseling and psychology at Lesley University. "You can't accomplish in a few weeks what you haven't accomplished in a few years," said Llera.
46.From the first paragraph we can infer that      .
A.change for a person is challenging
B.famous people have great determination
C.most people don’t want to change themselves
D.personal change is beyond belief
47.It is known from Nicholas christkis that      .
A. making a change is easier with support from a cheerful group of friends
B. social networks have great effect on one’s change
C. people who have the same attitude often get together
D. people’s mood can contribute to their efforts
48.The word “procrastinator” in Paragraph 4 refers to those who      .
A. have great determination to make a change
B. have no desire to do something great
C. put off work especially because of laziness
D. have habitual carelessness and laziness
49.According to the passage, Dalia Liera suggested that      .
A. people should understand their goals well
B. people should try their best to change themselves
C. people should have confidence and positive habits
D. people should start with setting small goals to meet
50.The passage is mainly about      .
A. the reason why losing weight is so hard
B. the effect of the positive change
C. the attitudes towards change in life
D. the ways of making a change

Electric cars are dirty.In fact，not only are they dirty，they might even be more dirty than their gasoline?powered cousins.

People in California love to talk about “zero?emissions vehicles”，but_people_in_California_seem_to_be_clueless_about_where_electricity_comes_from.Power plants mostly use fire to make it.Aside from the new folks who have their roofs covered with solar cells，we get our electricity from generators.Generators are fueled by something—usually coal，oil，but also by heat generated in nuclear power plants.There are a few wind farms and geothermal(地热的) plants as well，but by far we get electricity mainly by burning something.

In other words，those “zero?emissions” cars are likely coal?burning cars.It’s just because the coal is burned somewhere else that it looks clean.It is not.It’s as if the California Greens are covering their eyes—“If I can’t see it，it’s not happening.” Gasoline is an incredibly efficient way to power a vehicle；a gallon of gas has a lot of energy in it.But when you take that gas(or another fuel) and first use it to make electricity，you waste a nice part of that energy，mostly in the form of wasted heat—at the generator，through the transmission(传送) lines，etc.

A gallon of gas may propel your car 25 miles.But the electricity you get from that gallon of gas won’t get you nearly as far—so electric cars burn more fuel than gas?powered ones.If our electricity came mostly from nukes；or geothermal，or hydro，or solar，or wind，then an electric car truly would be clean.But for political，technical，and economic reasons，we don’t use much of those energy sources.

In addition，electric cars’ batteries which are poisonous for a long time will eventually end up in a landfill.And finally，when cars are the polluters，the pollution is spread across all the roads.When it’s a power plant，though，all the junk is in one place.Nature is very good at cleaning up when things are too concentrated，but it takes a lot longer when all the garbage is in one spot.

1. What does the underlined part mean in Paragraph 2?

A．People see the California Greens everywhere.

B．People in California love to talk about zero?emissions vehicles.

C．People in California love to have their roofs covered with solar cells.

D．People in California have no idea that so far electricity mainly comes from burning coal，oil，etc.

2. What is the main idea of the text?

A．Electric cars are not clean at all.

B．Electric cars are better than gasoline?powered ones.

C．People cast doubts on electric cars’ batteries.

D．Gasoline is an efficient way to power a vehicle.

3. The electricity we get from a gallon of gas may make our car run ________.

A．not less than 25 miles

B．as far as 50 miles

C．as far as 25 miles

D．not more than 25 miles

4. It can be inferred from the text that ________.

A．being green is good and should be encouraged in communication

B．electric cars are not clean in that we get electricity mainly by burning something

C．zero?emissions vehicles should be chosen to protect our environment

D．electric cars are now the dominant vehicle compared with gasoline?powered cousins

The $11 billion self-help industry is built on the idea that you should turn negative thoughts like “I never do anything right” into positive ones like “I can succeed.” But was positive thinking advocate Norman Vincent Peale right? Is there power in positive thinking?
　　Researchers in Canada just published a study in the journal Psychological Science that says trying to get people to think more positively can actually have the opposite effect: it can simply highlight how unhappy they are.
　　The study’s authors, Joanne Wood and John Lee of the University of Waterloo and Elaine Perunovic of the University of New Brunswick, begin by citing older research showing that when people get feedback which they believe is very positive, they actually feel worse, not better. If you tell your stupid friend that he has the potential of an Einstein, you’re just underlining his faults. In one 1990s experiment, a team including psychologist Joel Cooper of Princeton asked participants to write essays opposing funding for the disabled. When the essayists were later praised for their sympathy, they felt even worse about what they had written.
　　In this experiment, Wood, Lee and Perunovic measured 68 students’ self-esteem. The participants were then asked to write down their thoughts and feelings for four minutes. Every 15 seconds, one group of students heard a bell. When it rang, they were supposed to tell themselves, “I am lovable.”
　　Those with low self-esteem didn’t feel better after the forced self-affirmation. In fact, their moods turned significantly darker than those of members of the control group, who weren’t urged to think positive thoughts.
　　The paper provides support for newer forms of psychotherapy (心理治疗) that urge people to accept their negative thoughts and feelings rather than fight them. In the fighting, we not only often fail but can make things worse. Meditation techniques, in contrast, can teach people to put their shortcomings into a larger, more realistic perspective. Call it the power of negative thinking.
【小题1】What do we learn from the first paragraph about the self-help industry?

Violent gangs. Bar fights. Broken bones. No, we aren’t talking about a late night in Downtown Chico; we’re talking about the things that come to many people’s minds when the word, motorcycle, is mentioned.
Many Chico State students have learned of the convenience of small motorcycles and scooters when it comes to parking on or near campus. Motorcycle parking is something that is available when compared to the amount of vacant automotive parking—something especially valuable when running a bit late for class. Motorcycle-riding students have also learned to appreciate the 50 to 80 average miles per gallon, especially today when it seems as if gasoline prices are shooting up faster and more often than a back alley addict.
Still, some people are reluctant to ride the steel horse. Marc Lewis, a 24-year-old Chico State anthropology student, is one of those people. “I’ve had motorcycles in the past. I know what they’re about. I want another one, for recreational purposes,” Lewis said. The only things holding Lewis back are insurance costs and what he refers to as “unsafe drivers”. Safety and insurance costs certainly are important factors.
Chris Kelley, employee of Cost-U-Less Insurance Center at 166 Cohasset Road, Suite 3, admits that motorcycle insurance can get pricey. The average price per month for Chico State students in their 20s is about $100, Kelley said. “The most expensive rate I’ve ever charged was something like $32,000 a year,” Kelley said. “The guy had a horrible record.”
If a motorcycle is something that you’ve always been curious about but have been frightened by the dangerous image it is often given, try rethinking your position. Motorcycling is one of the most diverse activities in existence. Consider the information you find here a brief introduction to several of the more popular aspects of motorcycle riding.
44. When it comes to motorcycles, one tends to think of ____.
A. a late night in Downtown Chico           B. the horse made of steel
C. the money paid for insurance               D. a horrible image motorcycles give
45. According to the second paragraph, which of the following is NOT true?
A. It is very convenient for students to ride motorcycles.
B. The campus has enough parking place for motorcycles.
C. Students are often late for class riding motorcycles.
D. Motorcycles consume less gasoline.
46. Why are some people unwilling to ride the steel horse?
A. Because they often have their bones broken.
B. Because they are worried about the costly insurance and safety problems.
C. Because they have to pay for the pricey gasoline.
D. Because they don’t want to ride it for entertainment.
47. The writer intends to tell us in the last paragraph that ____.
A. we shouldn’t buy a motorcycle due to the danger it causes
B. many people are frightened by the dangerous image
C. we shouldn’t be curious about the motorcycle any more
D. motorcycles are still popular regardless of the disadvantages

.
In the 19th century, Americans from the eastern states moved out west to settle in the rich new lands along the Pacific Coast. The most difficult part of their trip was crossing “the Great American Desert” in the western part of the United States by horse and wagon.
The western desert can be very dangerous. There is little water and there are few trees. But the desert also has scenery of great beauty. Tall towers of red and yellow stone rise sharply from the flat, sandy valley floor. The scene has been photographed many times and appears in movies and on TV.
In Arizona, man-made dams across the Colorado River have made two large lakes in the middle of the dry desert country. At Lake Powell, the red stone arch of Rainbow Bridge rises high above the blue lake.
There are few roads. Many areas of Lake Powell’s shore can only be reached by boat or on foot. But hikers in this empty desert land sometimes find very old native American pictures, painted on the rocks.
In Death Valley, California, the summer temperature rises to 130°F—165°F. There is less than inches of rain each year. Death Valley is the lowest place in America---925 meters below sea level. In the 1800s, many travelers died when they tried to cross this waterless valley in the terrible heat.
Although the desert is dry and seems empty, there is plenty of life if you look closely. Snakes and rats have learned how to live in the desert heat. They live underground and come out at night, when it is cool. Plants such as cacti need very little water. When it does rain in the desert (sometimes only once or twice a year), plants grow quickly, and flowers open in a single day. For a short time, the desert is covered with brilliant (very bright) colors.
67．In the 19th century, Americans moved from east to west because they            .
A．enjoyed the trip                     B．wanted to make their home there
C．wanted to find new grassland there      D．had no water to drink
68．From this passage. we can conclude that         .
A．the western desert is a good place for people to live in
B．there is little water but there are many trees in the desert
C．the desert is dangerous but it is full of beauty
D．till now, people know little about the desert
69．In the 1800s, many travelers died in Death Valley because of            .
A．illness             B．high temperature
C．cold weather           D．poisonous water
70．In the desert, animals will die           .
A．if they move about                 B．if they can’t make holes underground
C．if they come out at night            D．if they drink much water