People have wondered for a long time how their personalities and behaviors are formed．It is not easy to explain why one person is intelligent and another is not, or why one is cooperative and another is competitive．

Social scientists are, of course, extremely interested in these types of questions．They want to explain why we possess certain characteristics and exhibit certain behaviors．There are no clear answers yet, but two distinct schools of thought on the matter have developed．As one might expect, the two approaches are very different from one another, and there is a great deal of debate between proponents of each theory．The controversy is often referred to as  “nature and nurture”．

Those who support the “nature” side of the conflict believe that our personalities and behavior patterns are largely determined by biological and genetic factors．That our environment has little, if anything, to do with our abilities, characteristics, and behavior is central to this theory．Taken to an extreme, this theory maintains that our behavior is predetermined to such a degree that we are almost completely governed by our instincts（本能）．

Proponents of the “nurture” theory, or, as they are often called, behaviorists, claimed that our environment is more important than our biologically based instincts in determining how we will act．A behaviorist, B．F．Skinner, sees humans as beings whose behavior is almost completely shaped by their surroundings．The behaviorists’ view of the human being is quite mechanistic; they maintain that, like machines, humans’ respond to environmental stimuli（刺激） as the basis of their behavior．

Socially and politically, the consequences of these two theories are far-reaching．In the US, for example, blacks often score below whites on standardized intelligence tests．This leads some “anature” proponents to conclude that blacks are genetically lower in status than whites．Behaviorists, on the contrary, say that the differences in scores are due to the fact that blacks are often robbed of many of the educational and other environmental advantages that whites enjoy, and that, as a result, they do not develop the same responses that whites do．

Either of these theories cannot yet fully explain human behavior．In fact, it is quite likely that the key to our behavior lies somewhere between these two extremes．That the controversy will continue for a long time is certain．

1.This passage is mainly concerned with              ．

    A．relation between personality and behavior

    B．relation between behavior and environment

    C．different accounts of patterns of human behavior

    D．different theories of the formation of human behavior

2.The underlined word " proponents'' in paragraph 2 means           ．

    A．creators         B．advisors         C．advocates        D．judges

3.In paragraph 5 , the author mainly writes about           ．

    A．the considerable influence of the two theories

    B．differences between the blacks and whites

    C．racial discrimination in the United States

    D．different responds to intelligence tests

4.What's the author's purpose in writing the passage?

    A．To call our attention to the changes of human behavior．

    B．To urge scientists to do more research in social science．

    C．To give us a detailed explanation of human behavior．

    D．To present an argument in the field of social science．

 

 

Beijing had its biggest snowfall since 1951. Britain is suffering through its longest cold snap (寒潮) since 1981. And freezing weather is hitting the Deep South, including Florida’s orange groves and beaches.

Whatever happened to global warming?

Such weather doesn’t seem to fit with warnings from scientists that the Earth is warming because of greenhouse gases. But experts say the cold snap doesn’t contradict global warming at all—it’s just a temporary phenomenon in the long-term heating trend. “It’s part of natural variability,” said Gerald Meehl, a senior scientist. With global warming, he said, “we’ll still have record cold temperatures. We’ll just have fewer of them.”

Scientists say man-made climate change does have the potential to cause more frequent and more severe weather extremes. But experts did not connect the current cold snap to climate change.

 So what is going on?

“We basically have seen just a big outbreak of Arctic air over populated areas of the Northern Hemisphere”, Arndt said.

In the atmosphere, large rivers of air travel roughly west to east around the globe between the Arctic and the tropics. This air flow acts like a fence to keep Arctic air restricted. But recently, this air flow has become bent into a zigzag (之字形) pattern, wandering north and south. If you live in a place where it brings air up from the south, you get warm weather. In fact, record highs were reported this week in Washington state and Alaska.

But in the eastern United States, like some other unlucky parts of the globe, Arctic air is coming from the north. And that’s how you get a temperature of 3 degrees in Beijing, a reading of minus-42 in mainland Norway, and 18 inches of snow in parts of Britain. The zigzag pattern arises naturally from time to time, but it is not clear why it’s so strong right now.

1.What is the best title of the text?

A. Freezing weather is hitting the Deep South.

B. We’ll still have record cold temperatures.

C. The air flow has become a zigzag pattern.

D. Cold snap doesn’t contradict global warming.

2.With global warming, we will ______.

A. also meet with severe cold snap

B. have more hot temperatures forever

C. never experience cold temperatures

D. have more cold temperatures

3.According to experts, the current cold snap ______.

A. suggests that the climate has changed greatly

B. is not related to the climate change

C. shows that the climate will turn cold

D. is affected by global warming

4.Beijing had its biggest snowfall since 1951 because of ______.

A. a fence from the Arctic                   B. a cooling trend in climate

C. a big outbreak of Arctic air              D. its large population

5.We can conclude that ______.

A. not all the parts of the Northern Hemisphere are cold in face of the cold snap

B. the zigzag pattern arises naturally accidentally

C. Beijing will get cold weather next year

D. Washington state and Alaska will not face cold weather next year

 

American cities are similar to other cities around the world. In every country, cities reflect the values of the culture. American cities are changing, just as American society is changing.

　　After World War II, the population of most large American cities decreased; however, the population in many Sun Belt cities increased. Los Angeles and Houston are cities where population shifts(转移) to and from the city reflect the changing values of American society. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, city residents (居民) became wealthier. They had more children so they needed more space. They moved out of their apartments in the city to buy their own homes. They bought houses in the suburbs(郊区).

Now things are changing. The children of the people who left the cities in 1950s are now adults. Many, unlike their parents, want to live in the cities. They continue to move to Sun Belt cities and older ones of the Northeast and Midwest. Many young professionals are moving back into the city. They prefer the city to the suburbs because their jobs are there; or they just enjoy the excitement and possibilities that the city offers.

This population shift is bringing problems as well as benefits. Countless poor people must leave their apartments in the city because the owners want to sell the buildings or make apartments for sale instead of for rent. In the 1950s, many poor people did not have enough money to move to the suburbs; now many of these people do not have enough money to stay in the cities.

     Only a few years ago, people thought that the older American cities were dying. Some city residents now see a bright, new future .Others see only problems and conflicts. One thing is sure：many dying cities are alive again.

1.What does the author think of cities all over the world ?

   A. They are alive .    B. They are hopeless.   C. They are similar      D. They are different.

2.Why did American city residents want to live in the suburbs after World War Ⅱ?

   A. Because older American cities were dying.

   B. Because they were richer and needed more space.

   C. Because cities contained the worst parts of society.

   D. Because they could hardly afford to live in the city.

3.According to the 4^th paragragh, a great many poor people in American cities ______. 

   A. are faced with housing problems       B. are faced to move to the suburbs

   C. want to sell their buildings            D. need more money for daily expenses

4.We can conclude from the text that ______.

   A. American cities are changing for the worse   B. people have different views on American cities

   C. many people are now moving from American cities D. the population is decreasing in older American cities

 

Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his  students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical ^problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．

Dr．: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．

    "Are you getting food you like?"

    The patient said nothing．

    "Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"

    The answer was no．

    The doctor put his hand on the man's shoulder and his voice was very soft．

    "If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"

    "Yes, yes," the patient said．

The change in the patient's appearance couldn't have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．

Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn't getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"

"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn't carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"

    "I would probably insist," the student said．

"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won't be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let's get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he'll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"

Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．

1.The patient had no desire to eat because

     A．he was not hungry               B．he was seriously ill

     C．he was given special meals      D．he was not satisfied with the food

2.According to the passage, we can conclude that        .

  A．the patient’s native language was Spanish

  B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger

  C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient

  D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient

3.Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?

  A．Cold.            B．Considerate.   C．Curious.       D．Careless.

4.What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?

  A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages.

  B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems.

  C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills.

    D．Doctors should have a good relationship ith their patients.

 

School violence is in the headlines again after recent shootings at schools in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Colorado. After hearing the news, it’s natural for students — no matter how old they are or where they go to school — to worry about whether this type of incident may someday happen to them.

So how safe are schools? It’s actually safer to be in a school than in a car. Twice as many 15-to-19-year-olds die in car accidents than in shootings (and that’s all shootings, not just the ones that happen in schools). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 1% of all homicides (杀人罪) among school-age children happen on school grounds or on the way to and from school. So the vast majority of students will never experience violence at school.

However, some schools have re-evaluated their safety needs in response to the concerns of families and communities. Some now require that guests check in at the office or have more guards on duty. Some schools have fixed metal detectors. Another thing that helps make schools safer is greater awareness of problems like bullying and discrimination. Many schools have practiced programs to fight these problems and to help teachers and administrators know more about protecting students from this type of violence.

The cause of school violence isn’t easy to understand. There is no single reason why students become violent. Some are just copying behavior they’ve seen at home, in the streets, or in video games, movies, or television. There’s one thing experts do agree on, though: Having access to guns or other weapons makes it easier for some people to lash out against the things or people they don’t like.

1.Which of the following statements can prove that schools are safe?

A．About 99% of 15- to-19-year-olds are safe at school.

B．Fewer students have died in car accidents than in shootings.

C．Students shot to death at school are half of all students.

D．Fatal shootings of students are less than 1% of all homicides.

2. After schools have re-evaluated their safety needs, ________.

A．families will be more concerned about schools

B．communities will be responsible for schools

C．teachers will pay more attention to shootings

D．administrators will arrange to have more guards on duty

3.From the last paragraph we can conclude that ______.

A．experts have found no reason for school violence

B．students with weapons are easily upset about things

C．school violence could be copied from violence in society

D．no single reason makes students violent

4.We could probably see this passage in ______.

A．an analysis report	B．a realistic novel
C．a case investigation	D．a news journal