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Read the following passage and men answer ne questons.
For a More Creative Brain, Travel
There are plenty of things to be gained from going abroad: new friends, new experiences, new stories. But living in another country may come with a less noticeable benefit, too: Some scientists say it can also make you more creative.
6 Writers and thinkers have long felt the creative benefits of international travel. Ernest Hemingway, for example, drew inspiration for much of his work from his time in Spain and France. Aldous Huxley, the author of Brave New World, moved from the U. K. to the U.S. in his 40s to branch out into screenwriting. Mark Twain, who sailed around the coast of the Mediterranean in 1869, wrote in his travelogue Innocents broad that travel is "fatal to prejudice and narrow-mindedness."
In recent years, psychologists and neuroscientists have begun examining the potential traveling abroad has to affect mental change. In general, creativity is related to how the brain is wired. Neural pathways are influenced by environment and habit, meaning they're also sensitive to change: New sounds,smells, languages, tastes, sensations, and sights spark different synapses(突触)in the brain and may have the potential to refresh the mind.
"Foreign experiences increase cognitive flexibility," says Adam Galinsky, an author of numerous studies on the connection between creativity and international travel. Cognitive flexibility is the mind's ability to jump between different ideas, a key component of creativity. But it's not just about being abroad, Galinsky says: "The key, critical process is multicultural engagement (参与), immersion, and adaptation. Someone who lives abroad and doesn't engage with the local culture will likely get less of a creative boost (促进)than someone who travels abroad and really engages in the local environment.
The researchers also found that the more countries CEOS had lived in, the more creative the products tended to be--but only up to a point. Those who had lived and worked in more than three countries, the study found, still tended to show higher levels of creativity than those who hadn't worked abroad at all. but less creativity than their peers who had worked in a smaller number of foreign countries. The authors assumed that those who had lived in too many countries hadn't been able to properly immerse themselves culturally; they were bouncing around too much. "It gets back to this idea of a deeper level of learning that's necessary for these effects to occur," Galinsky says.
Cultural distance, or how different a foreign culture is from ones own, may also play a role: Surprisingly, Galinsky and his colleagues found that living someplace with a larger cultural distance was often associated with lower creativity than living in a more familiar culture. The reason for that, they hypothesized, was that an especially different culture might come with a bigger intimidation factor, which may discourage people from immersing themselves in it—and no immersion, they explained, could mean none of the cognitive changes associated with living in another country.
Of course, although a new country is an easy way to leave a "social comfort zone," the cultural engagement associated with cognitive change doesn't have to happen abroad. If a plane ticket isn't an option, maybe try taking the subway to a new neighborhood. Sometimes, the research suggests, all that's needed for a creative boost is a fresh cultural scene.
Questions 11 to 15. Judge if the following statements agree with the information given in the passage. Choose A for TRUE if the statements agree with it, choose B for FALSE if the statements don't agree with it, choose C for NOT GIVEN if the information the statements carry is not mentioned anywhere in the passage.
Questions 16 to 19. Match the following words with their meanings in the passage. Note that there are four choices more than you need.
1.New environment may influence people's mind.
2.The more foreign experiences one has. the more flexible one's mind will be.
3.People who have lived and worked in two countries show the highest level of creativity.
4.A place of completely different culture contributes more to one's creativity than a familiar one.
5.A neighborhood of fresh culture is not necessarily a bad choice to boost creativity.
6.branch
7.fatal
8.wired
9.immersing
10.What is the purpose of the passage?
A. To show the advantages of traveling.
B. To share research findings on traveling.
C. To advocate traveling benefits for creativity.
D. To suggest an alternative to traveling abroad.
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SECTION B (10 points)
Direction: Read the following passage and answer the questions according to the information you get in the passage and the required words limit.
Several years ago, Masaru Ibuka, the chairman of Sony, was at a company planning a meeting. Suddenly he had a brilliant idea. He stopped the meeting and asked everyone present what would happen if Sony removed the recording function and speaker and sold headphones(耳机) with a tape player instead. Almost everyone thought he was crazy. Still, Ibuka kept thinking about his idea and worked at refining it. The result, of course, turned out to be the wildly successful Sony Walkman.
Good ideas often start with a really silly question. Bill Bowerman was making breakfast one day. As he stood there making waffles(蛋奶烙饼)for his son, he wondered what would happen if he poured rubber into his waffle iron(蛋奶烙饼烤模).So, he tried and the result looked something like the bottom of most sports shoes we see today. Still, when he took this idea to several existing shoe companies he was literally(确实地)laughed at. In fact, every single company turned him down. Though rather disappointed, Bowerman was determined and went on to form his own company, making NIKE athletic shoes.
Sometimes good ideas grow out of frustration(挫败). When Fred Smith was a student at Yale University, he had some paperwork that he needed to have delivered across the country the next day. Smith was amazed to find out that overnight delivery(隔夜送货) was impossible. He sat for a long while wondering why. Why couldn’t there be reliable overnight mail delivery service? He decided to design one. Smith did just that and turned his design into a class project. His business professor thought it was not a good class project and gave him only a C. However, Smith refined the idea in that class project and eventually turned it into one of the first and most successful overnight mail services in the world——FedEx.
81. What did Masaru Ibuka’s idea turn out to be? （no more than 2 words）
______________________________________________________________________________
82. What did Fred Smith’s teacher think of his class project? （no more than 8 words）
______________________________________________________________________________
83. Nike athletic shoes came from Bill Bowerman’s idea of____________. （no more than 6 words）
______________________________________________________________________________
84. What is the main idea of the passage? （no more than 12 words）
______________________________________________________________________________
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Section C
Directions: Read the following passage and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
（D）
A. Value of rare skills
B. Dangerous jobs paid more
C. Social demand decides reward
D. Developing skills
E. Women’s skills rewarded
F. Reason for taking low-paying jobs
1. _________________________
The rewards of a skill that is in strictly limited supply depend upon the demand for that skill. Men’s professional basketball is extremely popular, and the top NBA players make millions of dollars per year. There are some great women basketball players, too, but because women’s professional basketball has not become popular, these women’s skills go comparatively unrewarded.
2. _________________________
Some people with very rare skills can make enormous salaries in a free market economy. Paula Abdel has a voice that millions of people are willing to pay to hear in person, and on tapes, CDs, records, and videos. Before Pablo Picasso died, he could sell small sketches for vast sums of money. Were they worth it? They were worth exactly what the highest bidder (出价人) was willing to pay.
3. _________________________
Not all skills are inborn, however. Some people have invested in training and schooling to improve their knowledge and skills. When we go to school, we are investing in human capital that we expect to yield dividends, partly in the form of higher wages, later on. Human capital is also produced through on-the-job training.
4. _________________________
Some jobs are more desirable than others. Entry-level positions in attractive industries such as publishing and television tend to be low-paying. Since talented people are willing to take entry-level jobs in these industries at salaries below what they could earn in other occupations, there must be other, non-wage rewards. It may be that the job itself is more personally rewarding, or that a low-paying apprenticeship is the only way to acquire the human capital necessary to advance.
5. _________________________
On the other hand, compensating differentials are required when an occupation is very dangerous. Workers on skyscrapers and bridges command additional wages. Fire fighters in cities that have many old, run-down buildings are usually paid more than those in relatively tranquil rural or suburban areas.
SectionＤ
Directions: Read the passage carefully. Then answer the questions or complete the statements in the fewest possible words.
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Directions: Read the following passage and choose the most suitable heading from A-F for each paragraph. There is one extra heading which you do not need.
A. Illegal hunting has caused a decrease in the number of sea turtles.
B. Most turtles are eaten by Mexicans and Mexican Americans.
C. A campaign to protect sea turtles.
D. Many people kill and eat turtles in a religious observance.
E. Government should prevent sea turtle being hunted to increase the number of the species.
F. A letter was written to Pope to save endangered sea turtles.
1. ___________
Environmental groups in the United States are leading a campaign to save thousands of endangered sea turtles. They have asked Pope John Paul the Second to ban turtle meat during the Christian religious observance known as Lent. Christians observe Lent in preparation for the holiday of Easter.
2. ___________
Environmental groups say illegal turtle hunting is one of the major threats to endangered sea turtles in southern California and Mexico. It has been illegal to harvest and eat sea turtle meat in Mexico for more than ten years. However, demand for sea turtle meat is widespread in both Southern California and Mexico. Biologists believe that illegal hunting is one of the main reasons for the sharp drop in sea turtle populations during the past thirty years.
3. ___________
The week before Easter Sunday is an especially deadly time for the turtles. As many as 5,000 turtles are killed during this time each year. Many Mexicans and Mexican Americans eat turtle meat during the days before Easter. Many people do not eat meat during this holy time in order to obey the rules of Lent. Because sea turtles swim, many people consider them to be fish. Fish is permitted during Lent.
4. ___________
The Sea Turtle Conservation Network is a union of fishermen, environmental activists and researchers. They sent a letter to Pope John Paul, urging the Roman Catholic Church leader to officially declare that sea turtle flesh is meat, not fish or seafood. They say thousands of these endangered animals would be saved if people did not eat them during this religious period. The letter also asked members of the Catholic Church to obey laws banning the capture of turtles in Mexico and the United States.
5.___________
About 35,000 endangered sea turtles are killed illegally near the coasts of Baja, California each year. Studies have shown a sharp drop in the numbers of females. They travel from as far away as Japan to lay their eggs on local beaches. Environmental activists say hunting sea turtles for their meat is the main barrier to the recovery of the species. They have urged the governments of the United States and Mexico to improve enforcement of the ban on sea turtle harvesting.
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Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.
The worst US economic recession (萧条) in 70 years is forcing senior citizens out of retirement, leaving them fighting for jobs in a weak labor market or risking homelessness.
A study by Experience Works, released on Tuesday, showed 46 percent of the 2,000 low income people over 55 years who participated needed to find work to keep their homes. Nearly half of them had been searching for work for more than a year.
“These people are at the age where they understandably thought their job-searching years were behind them,” said Cynthia Metzler, president and CEO of Experience Works.
“But here they are, many in their 60s, 70s and beyond, desperate to find work so they can keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.”
According to the study, many of the participants had no intention of working past their 60th birthday, but had to change plans after being dismissed or following the death of the partner. Over a third of the participants had retired.
Ninety percent of respondents 76 years and older planned to continue working for the next five years.
Huge medical bills due to a personal illness or that of a spouse(配偶) were also reasons for coming out of retirement, the survey found. The longest and deepest economic slump since the 1930s is making finding a job for the low-income elderly workers a difficult challenge.
The Experience Works study found that 46 percent of the elderly jobseekers were sometimes forced to choose between paying rent, buying food or medication. Almost three-quarters believed their age made it harder to compete for jobs with younger workers.
“This study underscores calls for the need to create policies that remove barriers to employment for older workers and provide additional programs and services specifically aimed at helping older people re-enter the work force or remain working,” said Metzler.
1. What has caused the American retired senior citizens back to work? (No more than 8 words)
2. Why is it hard for the elderly job seekers to find a job? (No more than 13 words)
3. Use several words to describe the possible feelings of the elderly job seekers? (No more than 4 words)
4. What might be the solution to the problem according to the study? (No more than 15 words)
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Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage.
Bicycle rental companies in Beijing are going broken, because nobody wants to hire their services. Major rental operators have invested about 100 million yuan ($14.7 million) in almost 20,000 bicycles but are now struggling to survive.
A spokesman from the Bird of Freedom Bicycle Rental said the company had already sold most of the 400 bicycles.“This is a difficult business, especially when it is cold.The cold weather almost killed the business.” he said.
Bigger rental companies are also facing challenges.Beijing Bicycle Rental Co. Ltd. which owns 8,000 bicycles, has invested more than 30 million yuan over the past year.Wang Yong, chairman of the group, said his company had not made a profit since it began in 2005.
Almost all bicycle rental companies in Beijing require deposits of 300 to 400 yuan and then customers need to pay 10 yuan or more per hour.“I don't want to pay 400 yuan to rent a bike.It's too dear,” said Zhang Yu, a student in Communication University of China, who does not own a bike and often takes motorized rickshaws.“If renting for one day will cost 20 yuan and I rent a bike for five days, I can use the money to buy a new one.”
Although facing economic ruin, some enterprises are still hoping that conditions will improve.
IbikeMedia, one of the biggest bicycle rental companies in China, also invested tens of millions yuan in Beijing and has more than 10,000 bicycles.Li Weiwei, general manager of IbikeMedia Beijing, said his company has a policy of no deposit and no payment.He said the company tried to put advertisements on the bicycles and in this way, they could make profits.But they had not made a profit yet because of its small scale.However, customers must pay 20 yuan per card and also show proof of good personal credit.
In early July, the Beijing municipal government announced plans to develop a 50,000bicycle rental operation across the city.“The bigger network we have, the more citizens will rent bikes，” Li said.“This will make rental easier to citizens and we strongly need help from the government.”
1.In which season is the bicycle rental business the most difficult in Beijing? (No more than 2 words)
_____________________________________________________________
2.List the reasons why Zhang Yu is not willing to rent a bike.(No more than 6 words)
____________________________________________________________
3.How can IbikeMedia possibly make a profit according to Li Weiwei? (No more than 6 words)
_____________________________________________________________
4.What is the main idea of the passage ？(No more than 10 words)
______________________________________________________________
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Read the following passage. Answer the questions according to the information given in the passage and the required words limit. Write your answers on your answer sheet.
Almost everybody in America will spend a part of his or her life behind a shopping cart(购物手推车). They will, in a lifetime, push the chrome-plated contraptions many miles. But few will know—or even think to ask—who it was that invented them.
Sylvan N. Goldman invented the shopping cart in 1937. At that time he was in the supermarket business. Every day he would see shoppers lugging(吃力地携带) groceries around in baskets they had to carry.
One day Goldman suddenly had the idea of putting baskets on wheels. The wheeled baskets would make shopping much easier for his customers, and would help to attract more business.
On June 4, 1937, Goldman’s first carts were ready for use in his market. He was terribly excited on the morning of that day as customers began arriving. He couldn’t wait to see them using his invention.
But Goldman was disappointed. Most shoppers gave the carts a long look, but hardly anybody would give them a try.
After a while, Goldman decided to ask customers why they weren’t using his carts. “Don’t you think this arm is strong enough to carry a shopping basket?” one shopper replied.
But Goldman wasn’t beaten yet. He knew his carts would be a great success if only he could persuade people to give them a try. To end this, Goldman hired a group of people to push carts around his market and pretend they were shopping! Seeing this, the real customers gradually began copying the phony(假冒的)customers.
As Goldman had hoped, the carts were soon attracting larger and larger numbers of customers to his market. But not only did more people come—those who came bought more. With larger, easier-to-handle baskets, customers unconsciously bought a greater number of items than before.
Today’s shopping carts are five times larger than Goldman’s original model. Perhaps that’s one reason Americans today spend more than five times as much money on food each year as they did before 1937—before the coming of the shopping cart.
1.What do the underlined words “chrome-plate contraptions” in Paragraph 1 refer to ? ( no more than 3 words)
2.What was the purpose of Goldman’s invention? (no more than 8 words)
3.Why was Goldman disappointed at first? (no more than 6 words)
4.Why did Goldman hire people to push carts around his market? (no more than 10 words)
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Read the following reviews for movies that are showing at the moment. And then answer questions.
Happiness (Romance) ★★★★
Happiness tells the story of two people (Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy) who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and don't like each other. But then they correspond by e-mail and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music.
I Scream (Thriller) ★★
In I Scream, Paul (Colin Jacks) is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It doesn't make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers.
Paul's Heroes (Comedy) ★★★
This is a very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers (including Sammy Turblow) have to get to Italy to take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie, they dress up as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending, but it's great fun getting there.
______ (Drama) ★★★★
This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who plays a hard-working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr. Lloyd (Phil Driver) who has found the cure for the illness, but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie, which is very exciting.
1.Which of the four movies is the least popular with people?
A. The 1st one. B. The 2nd one.
C. The 3rd one. D. The 4th one.
2.The underlined word "correspond" can be replaced by______.
A. date B. exchange C. communicate D. write
3.A thriller is most probably a film which tells something ______.
A. instructive B. frightening
C. humorous D. interesting
4.Which of the following is the best title for the fourth film?
A. A Hard-working Trick Driver B. Medicine
C. A Strange Illness D. Twelve Hours
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Read the following reviews for movies that are showing at the moment. And then answer questions.
Happiness(Romance) ★★★★
Happiness tells the story of two people (Lisa Turbot and Danny Roy) who work for different advertising companies. They talk on the phone all the time and don't like each other. But then they correspond by email and fall in love. This movie will be very popular with teenagers and people who like romances. It also has beautiful music.
I Scream (Thriller) ★★
In I Scream, Paul (Colin Jacks) is a young man who joins a thriller club. Each of the members tries to frighten the others. Paul is told to stay in an old house for the night. Everyone who has tried to stay in the house before has died. This movie is very frightening but also quite silly. It doesn't make sense for Paul to stay in the house when things start to go wrong. Only for people who like thrillers.
Paul's Heroes (Comedy) ★★★
This is a very funny war movie set in World War Two. Six soldiers (including Sammy Turblow) have to get to Italy to take secret messages to the American army there. During the movie, they dress up as women and fight with Italian workers. You can guess the ending, but it's great fun getting there.
______________ (Drama) ★★★★
This is a very good drama with Jack Ross, who pays a hard-working truck driver. His wife becomes ill and he has to find a doctor who can help her. In his travels he meets Dr. Lloyd (Phil Driver) who has found the cure for the illness, but Jack Ross has only twelve hours to get the medicine back to his wife on the other side of America. This is an excellent movie, which is very exciting.
1..Which of the four movies is the least popular with people?
A. The 1st one. B. The 2nd one. C. The 3rd one. D. The 4th one.
2.. The underlined word "correspond" can be replaced by ______________.
A. date B. exchange C. write D. communicate
3..A thriller is most probably a film which tells something _______________.
A. frightening B. instructive C. humorous D. interesting
4.. Which of the following is the best title for the fourth film?
A. A Hard-working Truck Driver. B. Medicine.
C. A Strange Illness. D. Twelve Hours.
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Directions: Read the following passage．Answer the questions according to the information
given in the passage.
Why should you keep exercising even when cold temperatures make you want to hide under the covers? With the temperatures dropping at this time of year, many of us tend to hibernate (冬眠) inside our homes. But, hibernating is for bears. As humans it’s important to stay active through all four seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the winter months.
Just because it is cold outside it is no excuse not to exercise. There are many exercise choices one can choose to take part in regardless of the cold weather. Depending on your location and likes, you can choose to exercise inside or outside.
All that is required for winter-time exercise is some planning and the following of some safety tips. If you prefer to exercise outside, keep the following tips in mind.
Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are easier to be injured. So, it’s important to get them warm-up before intense (激烈的) physical activity.
No sweat. Don’t assume that you have to sweat in order to get a good workout. You should avoid sweating that causes the clothing layer closest to your skin to get wet and cause you to be cold.
Don’t undress when you get inside. While you may want to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, you should give your body time to adjust.
Drink up. It’s just as important to stay hydrated (含水的) when exercising in winter as it is in summer, even though you might not feel as thirsty.
Be seen. If possible, it’s best to exercise outdoors during daylight areas. If you exercise outdoors when it is dark, wear reflective (反光的) materials to ensure that you can be seen.
By staying fit during winter, you’ll be able to avoid gaining weight and losing strength caused from inactivity.
1. Why is it important to get your muscles warmed-up before intense physical activity? (no more than 16 words)
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.What are needed for exercising in winter? (no more than 6 words)
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.What are the advantages of staying fit during winter? (no more than 9 words)
_____________________________________________________________________________
4.What’s the main idea of the text? (no more than 4 words)
_____________________________________________________________________________