A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

51. Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

52. People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

53. The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

54. According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

55. We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

D

    Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感觉) of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.

    Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知) of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.

    Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.

    To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses(假设), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.

    “We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.

According to Paragraph 1, a person’s emotion may be affected by ______.

    A. the visitors to his office         B. the psychology lessons he has

    C. his physical feeling of coldness   D. the things he has bought online

The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ______.

    A. adults should develop social skills     B. babies need warm physical contact

    C. caregivers should be healthy adults    D. monkeys have social relationships

In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to ______.

    A. evaluate someone’s personality        B. write down their hypotheses

C. fill out a personal information form

   D. hold coffee and cold drink alternatively

We can infer from the passage that ______.

    A. abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences

    B. feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide

    C. physical temperature affects how we see others

    D. capable persons are often cold to others

What would be the best title for the passage?

A. Drinking for Better Social Relationships.

 B. Experiments of Personality Evaluation.

    C. Developing Better Drinking Habits.

    D. Physical Sensations and Emotions.

A father sat at his desk poring over his monthly bills when his young son rushed in and announced, "Dad, because this is your birthday and you're 40 years old, I'm going to give you 40 kisses, one for each year!" When the boy started making good on his word, the father cried out suddenly, "Oh, Andrew, don't do it now; I'm too busy!"

The youngster immediately fell silent as tears welled up in his big blue eyes．Apologicaliy the father said, "You can finish later．"

The boy said nothing but quietly walked away, disappointment written over his face．That evening the father said, "Come and finish the kisses now, Andrew!" But the boy didn't respond．

Unfortunately, a few days later after this incident, the boy had an accident and was drowned．His heartbroken father wrote．．．

"If only I could tell him how much I regret my thoughtless words, and could be sure that he knows how much my heart is aching．"

Love is not only giving．Any loving act must be warmly accepted or it will be taken as rejection and can leave a scar．If we are too busy to give and receive love, we are too busy! Nothing is more important than responding with love to the cry for love from those who are near and precious to us, because there may be no chance at all as in the case of the little boy．

What does the underlined phrase "poring over" mean?

       A．looking in on                       B．looking out for

       C．looking through                     D．looking around

The boy is going to give his father 40 kisses because ______．

       A．his father is very busy

       B．this is the boy' birthday

       C．the boy wants to play with his father

       D．this is his father' birthday and he's 40 years old

What happened to the youngster later?

       A．His heart was broken．            B．．He died unexpectedly．

       C．He ran away from home．        D．He fell silent all the time．

Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

       A．A Love Story                    B．Love Your Son

       C．A Father and a Son                D．Love is a Two-way Street

Not many people know that U.S. President Calvin Coolidge did not always live in the White House. Sometimes he lived in the nearby Willard Hotel.

Once, in the middle of a night, the President awoke to see a thief searching his clothes. Coolidge calmy spoke up from the darkness, “I wish you wouldn’t take that watch.”

“Why?” asked the shocked man.

Coolidged answered, “Take it near the window and read what is engraved on the back of it.”

The man read, “Presented to Calvin Coolidged, Speaker of the House, by the Massachusetts General Court.” He was very surprised!

“Are you President Coolidge?” he asked. He had never thought he would find the president sleeping in a hotel!

“Yes, I am” Coolidge said. Then he asked, “Why are you doing this,Son?”

The young man explained that he and a friend traveled to Washington during their college vacation. They spent all of their money and had no money to pay the hotel bill and the train tickets back to school.

Coolidge added up those fees. It came to $32.  That may not sound like much now, but it was a big sum then. “I’ll give you the $32 as a loan,” the President said, “And I expect you to pay me back.”

The youth thanked him. Coolidge left him with this warning: “Son, you are a nice boy, you are better than you are acting. You are starting down the wrong road. Just remember who you are.”

It wasn’t until after the death of Mr.Coolidge that this story was allowed to come out. It was first published in the Los Angeles Times. And the most interesting of all is that the President’s notes show that the young man was indeed better than he was acting. He repaid the $32 loan in full.

.The president stopped the youth from stealing the watch because          

 A. It was his favorite watch.

 B. He wanted to give some money to the youth

 C. He wanted to help the young man from getting into trouble

D. He used it for work and daily life

It can be inferred from the passage that      

   A. the youth’s family was in financial difficulty

   B. hotel fees were rather expensive at that time

   C. the youth never connected with the president again

   D. the youth learned a lesson from his experience with the president

How did people first get to know the story of the president with the youth?

   A. From the president himself

   B. From a newspaper

   C. From the youth’s notes

   D. From the youth himself

We can learn from the passage that      

A. possessions can be given up when necessary

B. generosity should be encouraged in some cases

C. people can benefit from their unforgettable experiences

D. an act of kindness may change a person’s life

D

I grew up in a small town. I was only ten years old when my dad gave me the responsibility of feeding the chickens and cleaning up the stable (马厩). He believed it was important for me to have those jobs to learn responsibility. Then, when I was 22, I found a job in Natchbill at a country music club called the Natchbill Palace. I washed dishes and cooked from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm and then went on stage and sang until 2:00 in the morning. It wasn’t long before I became known as a singing cook. I had been rejected so many times by record companies that it was hard not to be discouraged.

One night, a woman executive (董事) from a company named Warner Brothers Records came to hear me sing. When the show was over, we sat down and talked and after she left, I said to myself it was one more rejection. A few weeks later, my manager received a phone call — Warner Brothers wanted to sign me to a record deal. Soon after, I had my first record in June 1986. It sold over 2 million copies. My best efforts had gone into every job I’ve ever held. It was the sense of responsibility that made me feel like a man.

68. Why was the writer once known as a singing cook?

A. He was a cook at a country music club.

B. He sang for guests while he worked as a cook.

C. He often sang while cooking.

D. He liked singing better than cooking.

69. Who first recognized the writer’s talents and helped make him successful?

A. His brother.      B. His manager.     C. His father.            D. A businesswoman.

70. It can be inferred from the passage that the ______.

A. writer’s success is partly due to his father     B. writer’s family was very poor

C. writer succeeded easily                   D. writer’s first record was a total failure