One day I visited an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was expecting a quiet  36  of the splendid artwork.

A young  37  viewing the paintings ahead of me  38  nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided the lady was doing all the talking. I admired the man's  39  for putting up with her  40  stream of words.  41  by their noise, I moved on.

I met them several times as I moved  42  the various rooms of art. Each time I heard her continuous flow of words, I moved away  43   .

I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a  44  when the couple approached the    45   .Before they left, the man  46  into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He  47  it into a long stick and then  48  his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket.

“He's a  49  man.” the clerk at the counter said. “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn't change. So, as before, he and his wife come in  50  there is a new art show.”

“But what does he get out of the art?” I asked. “He can't see.”

“Can't see! You're  51  . He sees a lot. More than you and I do,” the clerk said. “His wife 52  each painting so he can see it in his head.”

I learned something about patience,   53  and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without  54  and the courage of a husband who would not  55  blindness to change his life. And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away, their arms intertwined.

1.A. view                              B. touch                                C. wander                   D. scenery

2.A. lady                               B. man                                   C. couple                              D. clerk

3.A. yelled                            B. argued                              C. screamed                         D. chatted

4.A. attempt                         B. patience                           C. wisdom                   D. independence

5.A. vivid                              B. constant                          C. casual                     D. exciting

6.A. Adopted                       B. Adapted                           C. Conducted                       D. Disturbed

7.A. towards                        B. to                                       C. through                            D. from

8.A. anxiously                      B. slowly                               C. quickly                    D. sensibly

9.A. comment                      B. decision                           C. purchase                          D. profit

10.A. entrance                    B. queue                               C. front                                 D. exit

11.A. plugged                      B. reached                           C. held                                  D. bent

12.A. lengthened                B. made                                C. brought                            D. broadened

13.A. led                               B. found                                C. forced                              D. tapped

14.A. brave                                   B. rough                                C. smart                                D. generous

15.A. wherever                            B. whatever                         C. whenever                        D. whichever

16.A. wrong                         B. silly                                    C. equal                                D. unique

17.A. describes                            B. draws                                C. shows                               D. decorates

18.A. kindness                     B. courage                            C. enthusiasm                      D. pride

19.A. support                      B. expectation                     C. sight                                  D. confidence

20.A. allow                                    B. hope                                 C. get                                     D. cause

One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the wonderful works..

A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted nonstop between themselves. I watched them a moment and decided she was doing all the talking. I admired his patience for tolerating her constant words. Disturbed by their noise, I moved on.

I encountered them several times as I moved through the various rooms of art. Each time I heard her constant talking, I moved away quickly.

I was standing at the counter of the museum gift store doing some shopping when the couple approached the exit. Before they left, the man reached into his pocket and pulled out a white object. He turned it into a long cane (手杖) and then tapped his way into the coatroom to get his wife’s jacket.

“He’s a brave man,” the clerk at the counter said, “Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age. During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn’t change. So, as before, he and his wife come in whenever there’s a new art show.”

“But what does he get out of the art?” I asked, “He can’t see.”

“Can’t see! You’re wrong. He sees a lot. More than you or I do,” the clerk said, “His wife describes each painting so he can see it in his head.”

I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without sight and the courage of a husband who would not allow blindness to change his life.

And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away arm in arm.

1.Which of the following statements is true?

A. The husband was doing all the talking when the couple viewed the works.                   

B. The husband tapped his way to the coatroom to get his jacket.   

C. The husband was considered a brave man by the clerk at the store.                

D. The husband allowed blindness to change his life.

2.The underlined word “encountered” in the passage means “________”.

A. saw     B. met      C. talked          D. argued

3.At first the author’s attitude towards the wife of the couple was _________.

A. positive       B. neutral             C. bored       D. admiring

4.What can be inferred from the passage is ___________. 

A. the man had his eyes blinded in a fight

B. the man must be a painter before

C. the woman was very devoted to his husband

D. the man often killed time by visiting exhibitions

Below is a selection from a popular science book.

If blood is red, why are veins (静脉) blue?

Actually, veins are not blue at all. They are more of a clear, yellowish color. Although blood looks red when it’s outside the body, when it’s sitting in a vein near the surface of the skin, it’s more of a dark reddish purple color. At the right depth, these blood-filled veins reflect less red light than the surrounding skin, making them look blue by comparison.

Which works harder, your heart or your brain?

That kind of depends on whether you’re busy thinking or busy exercising. Your heart works up to three times harder during exercise, and shifts enough blood over a lifetime to fill a supertanker. But, in the long run, your brain probably tips it, because even when you’re sitting still your brain is using twice as much energy as your heart, and it takes four to five times as much blood to feed it.

Why do teeth fall out, and why don’t they grow back in grown-ups?

Baby (or “milk”) teeth do not last long; they fall out to make bigger room for bigger, stronger adult teeth later on. Adult teeth fall out when they become damaged, decayed and infected by bacteria. Once this second set of teeth has grown in, you’re done. When they’re gone, they are gone. This is because nature figures you’re set for life, and what controls regrowth of your teeth switches off.

Do old people shrink as they age?

Yes and no. Many people do get shorter as they age. But, when they do, it isn’t because they’re shrinking all over. They simply lose height as their spine (脊柱) becomes shorter and more curved due to disuse and the effect of gravity (重力). Many (but not all) men and women do lose height as they get older. Men lose an average of 3-4 cm in height as they age, while women may lose 5 cm or more. If you live to be 200 years old, would you keep shrinking till you were, like 60 cm tall, like a little boy again? No, because old people don’t really shrink! It is not that they are growing backwards—their legs, arms and backbones getting shorter. When they do get shorter, it’s because the spine has shortened a little. Or, more often, become more bent and curved.

Why does spinning make you dizzy (眩晕的)?

Because your brain gets confused between what you’re seeing and what you’re feeling. The brain senses that you’re spinning using special gravity-and-motion-sensing organs in your inner ear, which work together with your eyes to keep your vision balance stable. But when you suddenly stop spinning the system goes out of control, and your brain thinks you’re moving while you’re not!

Where do feelings and emotions come from?

Mostly from an ancient part of the brain called the limbic system. All mammals （哺乳动物）have this brain area — from mice to dogs, cats, and humans. So all mammals feel basic emotions like fear, pain and pleasure. But since human feelings also involve other, newer bits of the brain, we feel more complex emotions than any other animal on the planet.

If exercise wears you out, how can it be good for you?

Because our bodies adapt to everything we do to them. And as far as your body is concerned, it’s “use it, or lose it”! It’s not that exercise makes you healthy; it’s more that a lack of exercise leaves your body weak and easily affected by disease.

1.What is the color of blood in a vein near the surface of the skin?

A. Blue      B. Light yellow

C. Red        D. Dark reddish purple

2.Why do some old people look a little shrunken as they age?

A. Because their spine is in active use.

B. Because they are more easily affected by gravity.

C. Because they keep growing backwards.

D. Because their spine becomes more bent.

3.Which of the following statements about our brain is true?

A. In the long run, our brain probably works harder than our heart

B. When our brain senses the spinning, we will feel dizzy.

C. The brains of the other mammals are as complex as those of humans.

D. Our feelings and emotions come from the most developed area in our brain.

One weekend afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting．I was looking forward to a quiet   36   of the splendid artwork．

         A young  37  viewing the paintings ahead of me  38  nonstop between themselves．I watched them a moment and decided the lady was doing all the talking．I admired the man's   39   for putting up with her  40   stream of words．  41   by their noise, I moved on．

         I met them several times as I moved   42   the various rooms of art．Each time I heard her continuous flow of words, I moved away  43   .

         I was standing at the counter of the museum gift shop making a   44   when the couple approached the   45  ．Before they left, the man   46   into his pocket and pulled out a white object．He   47   it into a long stick and then   48   his way into the coatroom to get his wife's jacket．

         "He's a   49   man, " the clerk at the counter said．" Most of us would give up if we were blinded at such a young age．During his recovery, he made a promise his life wouldn't change．So, as before, he and his wife come in   50   there is a new art show．"

         "But what does he get out of the art?" I asked．"He can't see．"

         "Can't see! You're   51  ．He sees a lot．More than you and I do," the clerk said．"His wife   52      each painting so he can see it in his head．"

         I learned something about patience,   53   and love that day．I saw the patience of a young wife describing paintings to a person without   54   and the courage of a'' husband who would not  55   blindness to change his life．And I saw the love shared by two people as I watched this couple walk away, their arms intertwined．

1.A．view        　　B．touch                     C．wander       　　　　D．stare

2.A．lady    　　 B．couple  　         C．man            　　　　D．clerk

3.A．yelled           B．argued    C．screamed    　　      D．chatted

4.A．attempt         B．independence   C．patience    　　        D．wisdom

5.A．constant        B．vivid         　　C．casual            D．vague

6.A．Adopted        B．Adapted           C．Disturbed   　　       D．Conducted

7.A．from            B．to             　　C．towards    　    D．through

8.A．anxiously       B．quickly    C．urgently    　　        D．sensibly

9.A．comment              B．purchase  C．decision  　　　        D．profit

10.A．exit          B．entrance    　　C．front   　　　 D．queue

11.A．plugged              B．reached    　　C．held    　　　           D．bent

12.A．lengthened          B．made          　　C．brought    　　          D．broadened

13.A．led           B．found         　　C．tapped    　　  D．forced

14.A．generous             B．rough     C．smart         　　　　D．brave

15.A．wherever 　 B．whatever 　　C．whenever         D．whichever

16.A．unique        B．silly    　　      C．equal            D．wrong

17.A．decorates   B．draws       C．shoves            　　D．describes

18.A．kindness      B．pride       C．courage         D．enthusiasm

19.A．sight          B．support             C．expectation    D．confidence

20.A．get        　　　　B．allow         　　C．hope 　　　　D．cause