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Passage 1Researchers have established that when people are mentally engaged, biochemical changes occur in the brain that allow it to act more effectively in cognitive（认知的）areas such as attention and memory. This is true regardless of age.People will be alert (警觉的) and receptive (接受能力强的) if they are faced with information that gets them to think about things they are interested in. And someone with a history of doing more rather than less will go into old age more cognitively sound than someone who has not had an active mind.Many experts are so convinced of the benefits of challenging the brain that they are putting the theory to work in their own lives. “The idea is not necessarily to learn to memorize enormous amounts of information,” says James Fozard, associate director of the National Institute on Aging. “Most of us dont need that kind of skill. Such specific training is of less interest than being able to maintain mental alertness.” Fozard and others say they challenge their brains with different mental skills, both because they enjoy them and because they are sure that their range of activities will help the way their brains work.Gene Cohen, acting director of the same institute, suggests that people in their old age should engage in mental and physical activities individually as well as in groups. Cohen says that we are frequently advised to keep physically active as we age, but older people need to keep mentally active as well. Those who do are more likely to maintain their intellectual abilities and to be generally happier and better adjusted. The point is, you need to do both, Cohen says, “intellectual activity actually influences brain-cell health and size.”1. People who are cognitively healthy are those _ . A) who can remember large amounts of information B) who are highly intelligent C) whose minds are alert and receptive D) who are good at recognizing different sounds2. According to Fozards argument, people can make their brains work more efficiently by . A) constantly doing memory work B) taking part in various mental activities C) going through specific training D) making frequent adjustments3. The findings of James and other scientists in their work _ . A) remain a theory to be further proved B) have been challenged by many other experts C) have been generally accepted D) are practised by the researchers themselves4. Older people are generally advised to _ . A) keep fit by going in for physical activities B) keep mentally active by challenging their brains C) maintain mental alertness through specific training D) maintain a balance between individual and group activities5. What is the passage mainly about? A) How biochemical changes occur in the human brain. B) Why people should keep active not only physically but also mentally. C) How intellectual activities influence brain-cell health. D) Why people should receive special mental training as they age.Passage 2People can be addicted to different things - e.g., alcohol, drugs, certain foods, or even television. People who have such an addiction (癖好; 瘾) are compulsive (难以抑制的) ; i.e., they have a very powerful psychological need that they feel they must satisfy. According to psychologists, many people are compulsive spenders. They feel that they must spend money. This compulsion, like most others, is irrational - impossible to explain reasonably. For compulsive spenders who buy on credit (赊购), charge accounts (赊购帐户) are even more exciting than money. In other words, compulsive spenders feel that with credit, they can do anything. Their pleasure in spending enormous amounts is actually greater than the pleasure that they get from the things they buy.There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting. To save money, of course, most people look for sales, low prices, and discounts. Compulsive bargain hunters, however, often buy things that they dont need just because they are cheap. They want to believe that they are helping their budgets, but they are really playing an exciting game. When they can buy something for less than other people, they feel that they are winning. Most people, experts claim, have two reasons for their behavior: a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason.It is not only scientists, of course, who understand the psychology of spending habits, but also businesspeople. Stores, companies, and advertisers use psychology to increase business: They consider peoples needs for love, power, or influence, their basic values, their beliefs and opinions, and so on in their advertising and sales methods.Psychologists often use a method called behavior therapy (疗法) to help individuals solve their personality problems. In the same way, they can help people who feel that they have problems with money.1. According to the psychologists, a compulsive spender is one who spends large amounts ofmoney . A) and takes great pleasure from what he or she buys B) in order to satisfy his or her basic needs in life C) just to meet his or her strong psychological need D) entirely with an irrational eagerness2. According to the writer, compulsive bargain hunters are in constant search of the lowestpossible prices . A) because they want to save money to help their budgets B) because they can openly boast of their triumph over others in getting things for less C) and will not have money problems if they can keep to their budgets D) but they seldom admit they feel satisfied if they can get things for less than others3. Which of the following is true? A) All people spend money for exactly the same reason that they need to buy things. B) Businesspeople and advertisers can use the psychology of money to increase sales. C) Businesspeople understand the psychology of compulsive buying better than scientists do. D) compulsive bargain hunters do not have problems with money.4. The article is mainly about . A) the psychology of money-spending habits B) the purchasing habits of compulsive spenders C) a special psychology of bargain hunting D) the use of the psychology of spending habits in business5. From the passage we may safely conclude that compulsive spenders or compulsive bargain hunters . A) are really unreasonable B) need special treatment C) are really beyond remedies D) can never get any help to solve their problems with moneyPassage 3 There is no doubt that a common language used throughout the world would do much to bring countries closer to each other. Though it is becoming increasingly easy to move from place to place, our inability to communicate with one another gives rise to numerous misunderstandings and makes real contact between people of differing nationalities impossible. Many attempts have been made to overcome this problem and they have all failed. The fear of foreign influence and domination rules out the universal acceptance of any one of the existing major languages. Aware of this difficulty, many linguists have constructed artificial languages which could have no possible political overtones. They have argued that a language of this sort would perform much the same service as Latin did in the Middle Ages.Although linguists succeeded in making their artificial languages extremely simple so that they would be easy to learn, their efforts seemed doomed from the start. The reason for this is that there is no real incentive to learn an artificial language. There is nothing to guarantee that everybody is willing to make the effort; there is no assurance that the learner will have any adequate return for his toil. When people today undertake to learn a foreign language, they are not interested only in speaking it. Mastery of a language makes available to the learner a great deal of worthwhile literature and many current publications. This is the biggest stumbling-block of all for the artificially-constructed tongue. Having no literature of its own, all it can offer is a limited of translations, which are valueless in themselves. Nor can it acquire any literature; for it would have to be used for a great many generations before this could become possible. Moreover, constant use over a long period would bring into being many national dialects and the language would thus defeat its own purpose.Another serious objection is the fact that a language is shaped by use and not by design. It is a living thing which is forever growing and changing. It takes hundreds of years before it can acquire richness and depth. In an artificial language, however, the meanings of words are rigidly defined. Inflexibility makes for an absence of subtlety, so that no really fine meaning can be conveyed. Though this quality might be admirable for scientific publications, it greatly impedes the formation of any significant literature. Latin was ideal in this respect, for it was a dead language with a literature; an artificial one is dead from the start. This makes it likely that existing language barriers will remain with us for a very long time.1. What would be the best title for this passage? A) Language Barriers In Communication B) Latin, A Dead But Ideal Language C) Artificial Language, A Solution to Language Barrier D) Problems With Artificial Languages2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is not true?A) Although it is easy to travel around the world now, real contact is impossible as a result of our inability to communicate. B) To overcome the language barrier, people all over the world welcome one of the major languages to be universal.C) People are afraid of losing their own languages as a result of the domination of major foreign languages. D) There are numerous misunderstandings in peoples contacts.3. The word doomed (Para 2, Line2) in this passage means . A) welcomed B) acclaimed C) disliked D) defeated4. According to the passage, artificial languages havent succeeded in overcoming language barriers mainly because . A) they are designed but not shaped in use. B) they lack incentives to learners. C) they will be mixed with national dialects. D) they have no literature of their own.5. According to the passage, the authors attitude towards artificial languages can be best described as . A) optimistic B) sarcastic C) negative D) positivePassage 4 In 1838 the polical economist Malthous predicted that in time mankind would face starvation, having outgrown the available food supplies. Today, a century and a half later, there are still experts who forecast the same global disasterunless urgent measures are taken to prevent it. By the end of the present century there may well be over five thousand million people living on this globe, an increase of over fifty percent of today 5 figure. In order to keep pace with this increase in mankind the farmers of the world would have to step up their production of food by at least two percent every year. Such a rate of increase has never been maintained in any country by conventional methods of agriculture, despite modern mechanization and the widespread use of fertilizer. There are no large worthwhile reserves of potential farmland remaining, and good fertile land is continually being diverted to industrial use. Moreover, erosion of the soil takes a constant toll. Intensive research, carried out over many years in all manners of climatic conditions, has produced a revolutionary method of growing crops without using any soil at all. Hydroponics, as this technique is called, may well be the answer to all our food worries. Already it has accomplished wonders in producing huge crops. Hydroponics was once a complicatied and expensive business; now it is well out of the experimental stage. Labour costs are far lower than when methods of agriculture are employed. In fact, it is a completely automatic system. There is no hard manual work, no digging or ploughing, and no weeding to speak of. Yields can be far higher than they are in soil.1. Which of the following best sums up the whole passage? A) Malthus prediction has been proved to be correct by modern experts. B) Hydroponics may be the answer to the world food shortage in the future. C) Hydroponics is a new development in agriculture. D) Conventional methods of agriculture should be improved so as to step up food production by two percent every year.2. The phrase having outgrown the available food supplies in the first paragraph implies that . A) the available food supplies will be enough to feed world population B) the earth is too exhausted to support its increasing population C) world population will grow at a rate faster than food production D) food supplies will be too much available for would population.3 According to the author, what is the main reason why an increase in the production of food is not be achieved？ A) Conventional methods of agriculture are still prevailing all over the world. B) Modern mechanization and the use of fertilizers are not well popularized in the world. C) There are not enough potential farmaland reserves left. D) Land is being lost through erosion and industrialization.4. Which of the follwoing statements is not true of hydroponics? A) Hydroponics is considered a revolutionary method of agriculture. B) Hydroponics is still too complicated and expensive for practical use. C) Hydroponics had created wonders in agriculture. D) Hydroponics had already been employed in food production.5. Judging from the passage, the most important advantage of hydroponics should be _ . A) higher yield B) lower labour costs C) more automation D) less hard manual workPassage 5In what seems like the prehistoric times of computer history, the earths postwar era, there was quite a wide-spread concern that computers would take over the world from man one day. Already today, less than forty years later, as computers are relieving us of more and more of the routine tasks in business and in our personal lives, we are faced with a less dramatic but also less foreseen problem. People tend to be over-trusting of computers and are reluctant to challenge their authority. Indeed, they behave as if they were hardly aware that wrong buttons may be pushed, or that a computer may simply malfunction (失误).Obviously, there would be no point in investing in a computer if you had to check all its answers, but people should also rely on their own internal computers and check the machine when they have the feeling that something has gone wrong.Questioning and routine double-checks must continue to be as much a part of good business as they were in pre-computer days. Maybe each computer should come with the warning: for all the help this computer may provide, it should not be seen as a substitute for fundamental thinking and reasoning skills.1. What is the main purpose of this passage? A) To look back to the early days of computers. B) To explain what technical problems may occur with computers. C) To discourage unnecessary investment in computers. D) To warn against a mentally lazy attitude towards computers.2. According to the passage, the initial concern about computers was that they might . A) change our personal lives B) take control of the world C) create unforeseen problems D) affect our businesses3. The passage recommends those dealing with computers to _ . A) be reasonably doubtful about them B) check all their answers C) substitute them for basic thinking D) use them for business purposes only4. The passage suggests that the present-day problem with regard to computers is _ . A) challengingB) psychological C) dramatic D) fundamental5. It can be inferred from the passage that the author would disapprove of _ . A) investment in computers B) the use of ones internal computer C) double-check on computers D) complete dependence on computers for decision-makingPassage 6Attention to detail is something everyone can and should do - especially in a tight job market. Bob Crossley, a human-resources expert notices this in the job applications that come cross his desk every day. “Its amazing how many candidates eliminate themselves,” he says.“Rsums (简历) arrive with stains. Some candidates dont bother to spell the companys name correctly. Once I see a mistake, I eliminate the candidate, Crossley concludes. If they cannot take care of these details, why should we trust them with a job?Can we pay too much attention to details? Absolutely. Perfectionists struggle over little things at the cost of something larger they work toward. To keep from losing the forest for the trees, says Charles Garfield, associate professor at the University of Califomia, San Francisco, we must constantly ask ourselves how the details were working on fit into the larger picture. If they dont, we should drop them and move to something else.Garfield compares this process to his work as a computer scientist at NASA. The Apollo II moon launch was slightly off-course 90 percent of the time, says Garfield. But a successful landing was still likely because we knew the exact coordinates of our goal. This allowed us to make adjustments as necessary. Knowing where we want to go helps us judge the importance of every task we undertake.Too often we believe what accounts for others success is some special secret or a lucky break (机遇). But rarely is success so mysterious. Again and again, we see that by doing little things within our grasp well, large rewards follow.1. According to the passage, some job applicants were rejected . A) because of their carelessness as shown in their failure to present a clean copy of a resume B) because of their inadequate education as shown in their poor spelling in writing a resume C) because they failed to give a detailed description of their background in their applications D) because they eliminated their names from the applicants list themselves2. The word “perfectionists” (Line 1, para. 3) refers to those who _ . A) demand others to get everything absolutely right B) know how to adjust their goals according to the circumstances C) pay too much attention to details only to lose their major objectives D) are capable of achieving perfect results in whatever they do3. Which of the following is the authors advice to the reader? A) Although too much attention to details may be costly, they should not be overlooked. B) Dont forget details when drawing pictures. C) Be aware of the importance of a task before undertaking it. D) Careless applicants are not to be trusted.4. The example of the Apollo II moon launch is given to illustrate that _ . A) minor mistakes can be ignored in achieving major objectives B) failure is the mother of success C) adjustments are the key to the successful completion of any work D) keeping ones goal in mind helps in deciding which details can be overlooked5. The best title for this passage would be . A) Dont Be a Perfectionist B) Importance of Adjustments C) Details and Major Objectives D) Hard Work Plus Good LuckPassage 7 The names of Galen, Andress Vesalius, and William figure prominently in the history of man”s study of his own body. Galen, a Greek who practiced medicine in Rome in the second century A. D., contributed immeasurably to the understanding of anatomy (解剖学). His dissections (解剖) were limited to ap
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