The first time I saw Carlos I would never have believed he was going to change my life. I had my arms full of books and I was tearing into the classroom when 1 ran into something solid. It was Carlos.
“My God, you’re tall,” he said.
Of course, the class began to laugh. Angry. I walked to my seat without a word.
I glanced back to see if Reed Harrington was laughing with the rest. That would be the last straw. But Reed was studying chemistry and did not seem to be aware of anything else. I didn’t know why I considered Reed my friend. Maybe just because he was a good two inches taller than I. Anyway, every time I blew out my birthday candles and made a wish, it was for a date with Reed Harrington.
“Take that seat，” Mr. McCarthy told the cocky newcomer Carlos，pointing to the only empty one，in the back of the room.
Carlos grinned,“But I need a couple of dictionaries.”Again the class laughed, but now they were laughing with Carlos，not at him. He had been here only 10 minutes and already he had them on his side.
It was the school elections that made me think of Carlos again. Reed Harrington was voted president and Carlos vice-president. “How come?”I kept asking myself,“How come this shrimp who’s only been in town for a little over a month gets to be so popular?”
So that morning，I stopped Carlos and said，“It doesn’t seem to bother you — being short.”He looked up at me , “Of course I mind being short. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. When I realized I was going to have to spend my life in this undersized skin，I just decided to make the best of it and concentrate on being myself.” “You seem to get along great,”I admitted, “But what about me? Nobody wants to date a girl taller than he is.” “The trouble with you is you’re afraid to be yourself. You’re smart. And you could be pretty. In fact, you might be more than pretty.” I felt myself turning red…
56．The author was angry because ________.
A．the class made fun of her                                                B．Carlos was too rude to her
C．she had to carry many books                                          D．Reed Harrington didn’t date her
57．Which of the following about Carlos is NOT TRUE?
A．He was popular.                                                                 B．He was new in the school.
C．He was shorter than the author.                                   D．He was chosen president in the school elections.
58．We can infer from the passage that ________.
A．Carlos and the author have become good friends
B．the author will be more confident
C．Carlos always encouraged the author
D．the author was tall
59．What’s the best title of the passage?
A．How to be popular                                                             B．A tall girl
C．Be yourself                                                                          D．Something about Carlos

    Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.

    So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation （创新）. But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

    Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

    But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

    “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,”says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind.“But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’．”She adds, however, that“to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

    “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,”she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively （合作地） and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

    The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.”This is where developing new habits comes in.

Brain researchers have discovered that      .

    A．the forming of new habits can be guided

    B．the development of habits can be predicted

    C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed

    D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

The underlined word“ruts”in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to       .

    A．zones    B．connections  C．situations   D．tracks

Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

    A．Decision makes no sense in choices.

    B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.

    C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.

    D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us       .

    A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately

    B．to create and develop new habits consciously

    C．to resist the application of standardized testing

    D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits

       Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.

So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously developnew habits, we create parallel paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

       Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

       But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

       “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’．” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

       “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,” she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

       The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system — that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will…and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters (促进，培养) commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.

Brain researchers have discovered that      .

       A．the forming of new habits can be guided

       B．the development of habits can be predicted

       C．the regulation of old habits can be transformed

       D．the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

The underlined word “ruts” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to       .

       A．zones              B．connections      C．situations       D．tracks

Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

       A．Decision makes no sense in choices.

       B．Curiosity makes creative minds active.

       C．Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.

       D．Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us       .

       A．to give up our traditional habits deliberately

       B．to create and develop new habits consciously

       C．to resist the application of standardized testing

       D．to believe that old habits conflict with new habits

One day when I was driving on the freeway, I noticed all the way there were large dividing walls, which had been built between it and the road running parallel to it, for noise reduction (减少) and a sense of separation. The purpose was to create a sense of privacy (隐私) for people on the other side.

This got me thinking: How often do we put up mental barriers that keep us distant from others? Lifting the artificial barriers that keep us apart can offer opportunities to express our goodwill and create better relationships. If we can do like this, maybe our life will be a little different.

There is a little post office in a nearby town, and since it is closer to me than the post office in my own town, I go there. One day, with many people jammed into the little building, a man came hurrying in to mail a letter, and the girl at the counter saw he had too little postage on it. She told him he needed 2 more cents. Obviously he was a little at a loss. He had hurried over from his office, and didn’t have any money on him or time to stand in line. He was going to run back to get the needed money and wait in line again, but he hurried to get the letter mailed in the first place.

As we were watching him, one woman volunteered a two-cent stamp, and the whole line became very quiet. It was a beautiful moment. The man hesitated for a little while and asked her if she was sure, and she assured him she was fine with giving him the stamp. He offered to go back to his office to get the two cents, and she told him not to bother.

It was a small thing, but it meant something to both of the people involved, and to the rest of us. We aren’t a yard that needs defining or a freeway that needs barriers. We are human beings who can contribute to each other’s wellbeing by taking time to pay attention and interact. After all, we are all parts of a whole living in society.

1.The purpose of the first paragraph is to __________.

A. summarize the main idea

B. give detailed information

C. tell readers the author’s opinion

D. introduce the topic

2.What happened after the man being told he needed two more cents?

A. The man went back to his office immediately.

B. The man turned to a lady for help.

C. A woman offered a stamp to the man.

D. The man waited in line patiently.

3.What can we learn about the author?

A. She pays too much attention to privacy.

B. She believes people should participate in the world around them.

C. She confuses real barriers with false ones.

D. She insists all small things always have the greatest meaning.

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

A. Artificial Barriers                                      B. Unnecessary Separation

C. An Unforgettable Experience                 D. The Kindness of People