When I was a kid in the 1960s. my parents had a country store in the small town of Frankfort, Maine. No neighboring houses could be seen From our place， and new salesmen were always amazed at the amount of business we did. Dad's motto was, “We sell everything.” If he didn't have something in store, he would pick it up for customers on his weekly trip to Bangor.
One time Dad was in Bangor getting shoes for someone at a shoe factory, He saw big boxes full of shoes and asked about them. They were the mates(一双鞋中的一只) to faulty shoes that had been thrown away. He looked through the boxes and realized that there were usable brand-new shoes in there. He offered the manager five cents a shoe, Dad made the deal and got the manager to reserve any future boxes for him.
Of course Mon, his business partner, was more practical, and her first reaction was, “But what are you going to do with them?” Dad bought an old school bus. He cleaned it up, removed the seats and placed big containers down both sites of the aisle(通道). When all was ready, the whole Family helped to put the shoes in place. At first， it looked like we had plenty of room on the bus, but Dad kept bringing home more boxes.
There was no sign on the Shoe Bus. 'The only advertising Dad did was to place a piece of paper beside the store exit that read “Shoes $1 a pair. "When folks asked about the deal. they learned it wasn’t that easy because they had to find their own pairs. The attraction was a combination of getting a good deal on a quality pair of shoes and the thrill of the hunt.
To this day I still run into people who talk about the fun they had searching for pairs in Dad's Shoe Bus.
1.The author's parents ran their store well because
A. they always had enough supplies in store
B. they won the great support of new salesmen
C. they opened it in a very crowded neighborhood
D. they did all they could to meet their customers' need
2.Why did the customers think it fun shaping in the Shoe Bus?
A. There were free bus rides offered on them.
B. 'They could receive better customer service.
C. They could match pairs of shoes by themselves.
D. There was a wide variety of shoes to choose from.
3.What can we learn about the author's father from the text?
A. He had a good nose for business.
B. He was clever at transforming a store.
C. He was patient with customers
D. He had a strong preference for bargains.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
New Year' s resolutions(决心)have been around long enough that we all scent to stick to the same ones--hit the gym, lay off the candy, read more books, call your mother-regardless of whether we follow through with our intentions.
While January 1st seems like the perfect time to have a new start again, exactly when people developed that mindset(思维模式)isn’t common knowledge. It turns out that the modern belief of' a New Year’s resolution isn’t as old as you thought. According to many historians, the ancient Babylonians were the first group of people to make New Year’s resolutions. However, instead of making a commitment to self improvement, they made a commitment to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.
An ancient Roman tradition from 46 B. C, bears even more likeness to modern resolutions. Emperor Julius Caesar declared January the month of Janus. Romans believed Janus looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future. In his honor, they made sacrifices to the god and promises of good behavior for the coining year.
But the modern New Year's resolution didn’t fully form until centuries later. The practice was common enough by the early 1800s. An article in 1802 states, "Statesmen have sworn to have no other objet in view than the good of their country.. the physicians have determined to advise the use of medicine no more than is necessary, and to he very reasonable in their fees.”
The first time “New Year's resolution" appeared as a phrase was in the January 1st issue of a Boston newspaper in 1813. “I believe there are a lot of people," the article goes, “with a serious determination of beginning the New Year with new resolutions and new behavior, and with the full belief that they shall accept punishment for all their former
faults and wipe them away.
So as you make (and possibly fail at) your New year's resolutions, know that you're in good company.
1.Whose New Years resolutions were most different from the present common practice?
A. Ancient Babylonians’ B. Ancient Romans’
C. Statesmen's in the 1800s. D. Boston people's in 1813
2.According to Paragraph 4, the physicians focused their resolutions on_______
A. annual incomes B. personal ambitions
C. professional honesty D. academic improvement
3.What is the author's purpose in writing the text?
A. To encourage people to make New year's resolutions
B. To give advice on how to make New Year’s resolutions.
C. To compare different New year's resolutions in history.
D. To introduce the development of New Year's resolutions
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
When Carson Palmer, a professional American football player, hurt his arm a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palmer practiced every day. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his life.
For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers proved by experiment that when you're imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles(肌肉) which are too weak to tighten the muscles but might help train the body to perform. In other words, mental practice might create a pattern in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.
Sports psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies comparing imagined and physical practice for actions. On the whole, the research shows that mental training works. A 2012 study, for example, compared 32 amateur golfers who practiced hitting the balls to another 32 who merely held a golf club in their hands and visualized（想象）their swings. Under the same training rules, both groups improved their skills by getting the ball about 4 inches closer to the hole.
Visualization has advantages over the real thing: You can do it anywhere, even when injured. It is safe-a major plus for high-risk performers such as gymnasts and surgeons. And you can practice for longer periods of time because you're not restricted by physical tiredness, That’s not to say it's easy, we've had Olympic-level athletes sitting in our lab, visualizing the movements for two hours," says Tadhg Macintyre, a sports psychologist at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “When we're done, they’re absolutely tired.”
It doesn’t work for everyone, though. "If you're a novice, the effect can be harmful,” warns Macintyre. If you're trying to visualize a free throw, and you don't even know the proper movement, then you're probably going to mentally practice the wrong skill.”
1.The author introduces the topic of the text by______.
A. giving an example B. presenting an argument
C. explaining a phenomenon D. making an assumption
2.What happens when one is visualizing an action?
A. A special skill is quickly acquired.
B. A certain model is formed in the head
C. The muscles grow increasingly tense.
D. The brain sends strong messages to the body.
3.What does the underlined word "novice " in the last paragraph mean?
A. Coach B. Specialist
C. Beginner D. Judge
4.What is the main idea of the text?
A. Athletes are likely to win games through imagined practice.
B. Practicing a shill properly in mind can produce intended effect.
C. Practice whether mental or physical ha its own characteristics.
D. Scientists have found a sale way for athletes to practice their skills.
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
I was really nervous this year because I was in a new class. It _______ me that I didn't know anyone in the class, But _______I didn't know anyone. I had the _______to do something I love- people watching.
The girl sitting behind me was always laughing and talking happily. She was one of the very few people who made any_______ to acknowledge me.
At the end of the year, we were_______ to do a big open-ended project where the_______were basically to read something, then watch something related to it, and then _______ a presentation based on what we learned.
On the presentation day, that girl_______ in front of the class, and told everyone how she had read about eating disorders, because she herself had_______with one. As it was too difficult for her to talk about it__________, she had made a movie, where she had__________some people about their eating disorders and how they had felt and __________them eventually. After the presentation, almost__________ was in tears. Several people commented on how __________she was to stand up and talk about it, and how strong she was to have got over the disorder.
I never__________she would have a problem like that because she always seemed __________. Her courage to talk about something so__________in public and her strength to get through her difficulties have__________me. I’ve also learned how difficult it is to__________people. You never know what type of person someone is just by__________for a term.
1.A. pleased B. confused C. interested D. scared
2.A. since B. if C. before D. unless
3.A. honor B. right C. chance D. duty
4.A. discovery B. progress C. remark D. attempt
5.A. forced B. required C. allowed D. reminded
6.A. instructions B. purposes C. catalogues D. references
7.A. try out for B. make use of C. come up with D. look forward to
8.A. turned away B. got up C. looked down D. came back
9.A. stayed B. begun C. struggled D. mixed
10.A. directly B. swiftly C. randomly D. seriously
11.A. informed B. consulted C. supported D. interviewed
12.A. ignored B. overcome C. improved D. developed
13.A. somebody B. anybody C. everybody D. nobody
14.A. reliable B. brave C. patient D. generous
15.A. expected B. admitted C. suspected D. concluded
16.A. cheerful B. honest C. curious D. independent
17.A. specific B. professional C. complex D. personal
18.A. comforted B. inspired C. persuaded D. relaxed
19.A. amuse B. impress C. judge D. satisfy
20.A. thinking B. listening C. communicating D. observing
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
There was a man who had four sons. He hoped his sons could learn not to judge things too quickly. So he gave them a task in turn, 1.(ask) them to go to see a pear tree at a distance2.(separate).
The first son set out in winter, the second in spring, the third in summer, and the 3.young)in autumn.
When all of them returned home, they were called together4.(describe) what they had seen. The first son complained the tree was5. (bend) and ugly. The second son said the tree was covered with buds(花蕾)and full of hope. The third son said it was full of flowers6.smelled so sweet and that he had7.seen such beautiful scenery. The last son disagreed8.all or them, saying it was filled with fruits, full of life and content.
The man told his four sons that they were all correct, but they only saw the tree in9. season, He taught them that the value of a person could only be measure when all the seasons were over.
If you give up in winter, you 10.(miss) the hope of spring, the beauty of summer, and the harvest of autumn in your life.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定你是李华，你班来自美国的交换生Peter生病住院了。请给他发封邮件，内容包括：
1.表示关心
2.提供帮助
3.祝愿康复。
注意1.词数80左右；
2.可适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Why do people like what they like? Scientists have taken on the task of solving this mystery(奥秘)for ages. In the 1960s, psychologist Robert Zajonc conducted a series of experiments where he showed people nonsense words and random shapes. Afterward he asked his subjects which they preferred out of ever thing they had been shown. In study
after study, people always chose the words and shapes they had seen the most. Their preference was for familiarity.
This discovery was one of the most important findings in modern psychology. But the preference for familiarity has clear limits. People get tired of even their favorite songs and movies. On one hand, humans seek familiarity, because it makes then feel safe. On the other hand, people love the thrill of something new. This change between familiarity and discovery affects ns all the time- not just our preferences for pictures and songs, but also our preferences for ideas and even people.
For that reason, the power of familiarity seems to be strongest when a person isn’t expecting it. The opposite is also true: A surprise seems to work best when it contains some familiarity. Nobody knows this better than Raymond Loews, who is considered to be the "father of industrial design. He had a theory that he said could help artists sell anything to anyone. He called it MAYA --"Most Advanced Yet Acceptable""To sell something surprising, make it familiar; and to sell something familiar, make it surprising," he said.
One of Loewy’s final tasks was too add an element(要素)of familiarity to a truly new invention: NASA’s first space station. Loewy’s biggest contribution to the space station was that he insisted NASA install a window with a view of Earth. Today, tens of millions of people have seen this small detail in films about astronauts. It is hard to imagine a more perfect example of MAYA: a window to a new world can also show you home.
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析