A few years back I worked in a university bui...

A few years back I worked in a university building that also housed an entire department full of psychologists, all of whom seemed to see us as perfect guinea pigs(实验对象） for their latest studies. I learned to be cautious about answering seemingly casual　 questions in the elevator. If one of them showed up in my office bearing a plate of snacks and asked me to pick some, I'd cast a doubtful glance and ask "Why?" before grabbing the apple fritter.

So one day, when someone from the Psychology Department posted instructions in the bathroom advising us to think about five things you're grateful for every day for a week, my response was frankly suspicious. I did the math. Five things a day for seven days is a lot of brainpower to consume without so much as the promise of an apple fritter.

I wandered into the office of Zetzer, the director of our school's Psychological Services Clinic. That was when I first heard the term" positive psychology" and discovered that "the gratitude thing", as Heidi had explained it. "It's only a week, "she urged. "Try it. ” So I did.

I started looking for my five moments of gratitude in each day. By the end of that　 week, I found myself slowing down a little and taking time to notice things I might have walked past before, including a bunch of young students laughing together, They are so smart and optimistic, giving me so much hope for the future!

I couldn't be more grateful to my wonderful husband. He's a great cook. He always puts our family first. My oldest son took his vacation to come and help out at home. He took me to all my medical appointments, and made me laugh by titling his spring break "Driving Miss Leslie. "The kindness of a colleague with a green thumb made sure my plants stayed alive until I could care for them again.

Life will never be perfect, I still see news stories that distress me. But with just one simple exercise, I'm rediscovering the deep meaning of old sayings: accepting the things I cannot change, working to change what I can, and being wise enough to know the difference.

And all it took was a little gratitude.

1.Why did the author hesitate about the snacks offered by psychologists?

A.She had no appetite for snacks.

B.She didn't think snacks could show gratitude.

C.She disliked those psychologists.

D.She cared about what to be paid for them.

2.What can we infer from the second paragraph of the passage?

A.The instructions seemed to make sense to Leslie.

B.No one would behave as the instructions suggested.

C.Leslie had no intention of following the instructions.

D.The psychologists were actually playing a joke.

3.What did Leslie achieve at last?

A.She overcame her psychological problem.

B.She realized how hard it was to be grateful.

C.She found Heidi was really a reliable doctor.

D.She learned to be positive and show gratitude.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

I’m a student in my third year at Robert Gordon University, but I also work 35 hours a week at Sainsbury’s to make ends meet.

I constantly have to force myself to stay awake, and to be alert, whatever it takes. The work I do at Sainsbury’s is very physical like stacking shelves. I am lucky because the amount I lift at work is nothing compared with the weight I lift in the gym. I know I have the strength to bear it.

I am originally from Nigeria. I came here when I was seven. Money was always tight. My parents gave me everything I needed, but there was no money for luxuries. I worked hard at school though and, with the help of professors, I got the best A-level grades in my class.

Unfortunately, though I had applied for “settled” British residential status the Home Office waited until I was in sixth form to approve my application. That meant I was not eligible for a student loan. The only way I could afford to go to university was that I got a job that would pay for all my living costs and my parents paid for my tuition fees.

I don’t have much time to socialize because of my job. Ideally, Id like to have more time to study so I can excel at my course. Yes, I have a lot on my plate, but working hard isnt new for me. Growing up, my parents cultivated in me the importance of working hard for what I want in life.

My dream is to get a job in the NHS. But now, Im just focused on trying to get the best grades I can. Whenever I find life hard, I tell myself this is about my future.

1.Why does the author work long hours and sometimes overtime every week?

A.To pay for his own living expenses B.To pay for his tuition fees

C.To prove his ability to earn money D.To help his parents pay off the debts

2.What does the underlined word “eligible” in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A.Responsible. B.Anxious.

C.Qualified. D.Accessible.

3.Which of the following can NOT be used to describe the author?

A.Persistent. B.Diligent.

C.Sociable. D.Ambitious.

4.Which proverb can best summarize the passage?

A.Actions speak louder than words. B.God help those who help themselves.

C.A penny saved is a penny earned. D.Where there is life, there is hope.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

I’m a student in my third year at Robert Gordon University, but I also work 35 hours a week at Sainsbury's to make ends meet.

I constantly have to force myself to stay awake, and to be alert, whatever it takes. The work I do at Sainsbury's is very physical like stacking(fi3 ik)shelves. I am lucky because the amount I lift at work is nothing compared with the weight I lift in the gym. I know I have the strength to bear it.

I am originally from Nigeria. I came here when I was seven. Money was always tight. My parents gave me everything I needed, but there was no money for luxuries. I worked hard at school though and, with the help of professors, I got the best A-level grades in my class.

Unfortunately, though I had applied for "settled "British residential status the Home Office waited until I was in sixth form to approve my application. That meant I was not eligible for a student loan. The only way I could afford to go to university was that I got a job that would pay for all my living costs and my parents paid for my tuition fees.

I don’t have much time to socialize because of my job. Ideally, Id like to have more time to study so I can excel at my course. Yes, I have a lot on my plate, but working hard isnt new for me. Growing up, my parents cultivated in me the importance of working hard for what I want in life.

My dream is to get a job in the NHS. But now, Im just focused on trying to get the best grades I can. Whenever I find life hard, I tell myself this is about my future.

1.Why does the author work long hours and sometimes overtime every week?

A. To pay for his own living expenses　　 B. To pay for his tuition fees

C. To prove his ability to earn money　　 D. To help his parents pay off the debts

2.What does the underlined word "eligible "in Paragraph 4 refer to?

A. Responsible　　 B. Anxious

C. Qualified　　 D. Accessible

3.Which of the following can NOT be used to describe the author?

A. Persistent　　 B. Diligent

C. Sociable　　 D. Ambitious

4.Which proverb can best summarize the passage?

A. Actions speak louder than words　　 B. God help those who help the themselves

C. A penny saved is a penny earned　　 D. Where there is life, there is hope

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Long years of hard work made _____ possible for him to enter a key university in Beijing.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The new building _____ at the end of this year _____ to that university.

A. be completed; belongs                 B.being completed; is belonging

C. to be completed; belongs               D. completed; is belonged

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

The new building _____ at the end of this year _____ to that university.

A. be completed; belongs                 B being completed; is belonging

C. to be completed; belongs               D. completed; is belonged

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Years ago, I lived in a building in a large city. The building next door was only a few feet away from mine. There was a woman who lived there, whom I had never met, yet I could see her seated by her window each afternoon, sewing or reading.

After several months had gone by, I began to notice that her window was dirty. Everything was unclear through the dirty window .I would say to myself, “I wonder why that woman doesn’t wash her window .It really looks terrible.”

One bright morning I decided to clean my flat, including washing the window on the inside.

Late in the afternoon when I finished the cleaning, I sat down by the window with a cup of coffee for a rest. What a surprise! Across the way, the woman sitting by her window was clearly visible. Her window was clean!

Then it dawned on me. I had been criticizing(批评) her dirty window, but all the time I was watching hers through my own dirty window.

That was quite an important lesson for me. How often had I looked at and criticized others through the dirty window of my heart, through my own shortcomings?

Since then, whenever I wanted to judge(评判) someone, I asked myself first ,“Am I looking at him through my own dirty window?” Then I try to clean the window of my own world so that I may see the world about me more clearly.

1.The writer couldn’t see everything clearly through the window because_____.

2.The writer was surprised that ________.

3.“ It dawned on me” probably means “______”.

4. It’s clear that________.

5. From the passage, we can learn_________.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

A few years ago, in one experiment in behavioural psychology, Stanley Milgram of Yale University tested 40 subjects for their willingness to obey instructions given by a “leader” in a situation in which the subjects might feel a personal dislike of the actions they were called upon to perform. Specifically, Milgram told each volunteer “teacher-subject” that the experiment was in the noble cause of education, and was designed to test whether or not punishing pupils for their mistakes would have a positive effect on the pupils’ ability to learn.

The teacher-subjects were placed before a panel of thirty switches with labels ranging from “15 volts of electricity (slight shock)” to “450 volts (danger — severe shock)” in steps of 15 volts each. The teacher-subject was told that whenever the pupil gave the wrong answer to a question, a shock was to be administered. The supposed “pupil” was in reality an actor hired by Milgram to pretend to receive the shocks by giving out cries and screams. Milgram told the teacher-subject to ignore the reactions of the pupil, and to administer whatever level of shock was called for.

As the experiment unfolded, the “pupil” would deliberately give the wrong answers to questions, thereby bringing on various electrical punishments, even up to the danger level of 300 volts and beyond. Many of the teacher-subjects balked at administering the higher levels of punishment, and turned to Milgram. In these situations, Milgram calmly explained that the teacher-subject was to carry on with the experiment and that it was important for the sake of the experiment that the procedure be followed through to the end. What Milgram was trying to discover was the number of teacher-subjects who would be willing to administer the highest levels of shock, even in the face of strong personal and moral revulsion(反感) against the rules and conditions of the experiment.

Before carrying out the experiment, Milgram explained his idea to a group of 39 psychiatrists and asked them to predict the average percentage of people who would be willing to administer the highest shock level of 450 volts. The overwhelming consensus was that basically all the teacher-subjects would refuse to obey the experimenter. The psychiatrists felt that “most subjects would not go beyond 150 volts” and only a small percentage of about one in 1,000 would give the highest shock of 450 volts.

What were the actual results? Well, over 60 per cent of the teacher-subjects continued to obey Milgram up to the 450-volt limit! In repetitions of the experiment in other countries, the percentage was even higher, reaching 85 per cent in one country. How can we possibly account for this result?

One might firstly argue that there must be some sort of built-in animal aggression instinct(本能) that was activated by the experiment. A modem sociobiologist might even go so far as to claim that this aggressive instinct was of survival value to our ancestors in their struggle against the hardships of life on the plains and in the caves, finally finding its way into our genetic make-up.

Another explanation is to see the teacher-subjects’ actions as a result of the social context in which the experiment was carried out. As Milgram himself pointed out, “Most subjects in the experiment see their behaviour in a larger context that is good and useful to society — the pursuit of scientific troth. The psychological laboratory has a strong claim to legitimacy(合法性) and gains trust and confidence in those who perform there. An action such as shocking a victim, which in isolation(单独看来) appears evil, acquires a completely different meaning when placed in this setting”.

Here we have two different explanations. The problem for us is to sort out which of these two polar explanations is more reasonable. This is the problem of modern sociobiology — to discover how hard-wired genetic programming decides the interaction of animals and humans with their environment, that is, their behaviour. Put another way, sociobiology is concerned with explaining the biological basis of all behaviour.

1.Why did Milgram do the experiment?

A. To discover people’s willingness for orders from leaders.

B. To display the power of punishment on ability to learn.

C. To test people’s willingness to sacrifice for science.

D. To explore the biological basis of social behavior.

2.Which of the following is right about the experiment?

A. The actor’s performance was vital to its success.

B. Its subjects were informed of its real purpose beforehand.

C. The electrical shock made the “pupil” give more wrong answers.

D. Its subjects were convinced of the effects of punishment on ability to learn.

3.What does the underlined phrase “balked at” most probably mean?

A. commented on　 B. hesitated in

C. got rid of　 　 D. looked down upon

4.Before the experiment took place the psychiatrists _________ .

A. believed that a shock of 150 volts was unbearable

B. failed to agree on how the teacher-subjects would respond to instructions

C. under-predicted the teacher-subjects’ willingness to follow experimental procedure

D. thought that many of the teacher-subjects would administer a shock of 450 volts

5.Which of the following is mentioned as one possible factor that explains the teacher-subjects’ behaviour?

A. Economic factor. B. Biological factor.

C. Cultural factor.　 D. Historical factor.

6.What’s the author’s purpose with this article?

A. To introduce a problem sociobiology deals with.

B. To explain a scientific phenomenon.

C. To report an experiment that focuses on education.

D. To argue against a scientific view.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

— What great changes have taken place in our city in the last few years!

— Indeed, many high buildings have _______all over the city.

A. wound up    B. sprung up       C. held up          D. made up

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

In a university library, a student is writing an essay on his laptop. But that’s not all. He’s also reading instant messages online, listening to his music with headphones, and checking text messages on his cell phone. In today’s world, people use a wide variety of electronic media to multitask, doing several things at the same time. Neuroscientists are studying the brain to see what happens during multitasking and to see if multitasking affects the quality of what we do.

In a multitasking study conducted by French scientists Eienne Koechlin and Sylvain Charron, people were given one task requiring concentration. Brain images showed that both the left and right prefrontal cortex (前额叶皮质) were active as people worked. However, when the person is given a second task to do at the same time, the left prefrontal cortex look on task, and the right look the other. When doing two tasks, MRI (磁共振成像) images showed that the brain was rapidly switching between the first and the second task. The brain was not working on both tasks at the same time. It is concentrating on one task and then switching to the other.

In order to switch attention from one task to another, the brain must use its working memory. This is the brain’s ability to temporarily hold information while it does something else. When you multitask, the first task is stored in your working memory. Then your brain goes to the second task but when it returns to the first task, it must restart it, using working memory.

Although we think we are getting more done by multitasking, evidence shows that we do not. Researchers have found that people take longer to complete tasks and make more mistakes. When the French researchers expanded their experiment to include three tasks, surprisingly, the brain seemed to completely drop on task and only focus on two tasks. The French team concluded that the brain could not focus on more than two tasks at a time. Therefore, for a task that requires your concentration, it’s better to just focus on that one task until you are done.

1.Why does the author mention a student in paragraph 1?

A.To explain what happens during multitasking.

B.To serve an example of high-tech multitasking.

C.To show how to be skillful at high-tech multitasking.

D.To-present the applications of high-tech media.

2.What does the underlined “it”in paragraph 3 refer to?

A.The brain. B.The MRI image.

C.The first task. D.The second task .

3.What can we learn about multitasking?

A.Electronic media improve its quality.

B.Three tasks can be well managed at a time.

C.It can damage the brain’s working memory.

D.It may result in the loss of speed and accuracy.

4.What can be the best title for the passage?

A.How does the brain multitask?

B.Why do we need to multitask?

C.Multitasking: a hew discovery of neuroscience

D.Multitasking: a way to expand the brain' s function

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析