The Greatest Gift One day, I was telling my mother about a new girl in school. Suddenly sh

第1题

The Greatest Gift One day, I was telling my mother...

The Greatest Gift One day, I was telling my mother about a new girl in school. Suddenly she asked, "Who are your two best friends, Helen？" "Jill and Jaime." "Well, what about Karen and Cindy？" "I don't know who their best friends are." "No," she said. "I mean, why aren't they your best friends？" She seemed upset and hurt. "But they're my sisters." "Yes, but they can still be your best friends. Friends may come and go, but your sisters will always be there for you." At the time, the idea of my sisters being my closest friends seemed strange to me. We used to fight over toys, food, attention and what to watch on television. But my mother never let the three of us forget it: sisters are lifelong friends. Her wish was to give us something that she had never had. When she gave birth to three daughters, the fulfillment（实现）of her dream had only just begun. She had given us each a gift—our sisters—and she wanted to make sure we did not take that gift for granted. She would frequently tell us how lucky we were, constantly take us to places together so we grew closer, and would even punish us equally, giving us yet another bonding（亲密关系）experience. It was somewhere in between Mom's lectures, the family vacations and the shared memories that we realized that Mom was right. Today I share things with my sisters that I share with no one else. My sister Cindy and I ran the New York City Marathon together, side by side, holding hands when crossing the finishing line. When Karen got married, I was her maid of honor. The three of us trust each other with our greatest secrets. It was twenty-three years ago that my mother first asked me who my two best friends were. Today she doesn't have t. She already knows. One day, one of Hele's sisters asked her to be her best friend.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Mom believed that sisters should be the best friends to each other.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Helen's sisters were the greatest gift that Mom gave Helen.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Mom punished the sisters equally to make them understand they were connected by blood tie.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Helen and Cindy's friendship was shown by their running the New York Marathon together.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

The three sisters seldom share their secrets.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Helen fund it easy to accept the idea of having her sisters as her best friends.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Helen's sister Cindy was not married.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

To help her daughters become best friends, Mom sent them to the same school.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

Helen and her sisters never argued and fought.A.True

B.False

C.Not Given

点击查看答案

第2题

The whole atmosphere of the world in which we live is affected by science, as is shown mos

t immediately and strikingly by our modern conveniences and material resources. A little deeper thinking shows that the influence of science goes much farther and colors the entire mental outlook of the modern civilized man on the world about him. Perhaps one of the most telling evidences of this is his growing freedom from superstition(迷信). Freedom from superstition is the result of the belief that the world is not governed by caprice, but that it is a world of order and can be understood by man if he will only try hard enough and be clever enough. This conviction that the world is understandable is, doubtlessly, the most important gift of science to civilization. The widespread acceptance of this view can be dated to the discovery by Newton of the law of gravitation; and for this reason Newton may be justly regarded as the most important single contributor to modern life.

The greatest benefit of science has been ______.

A．the rapid growth of everyday conveniences

B．the encouragement of deep thinking

C．the work of reconstruction

D．an understanding that the world has order

点击查看答案

第3题

Task 2Directions: This task is the same as Task 1.The 5 questions or unfinished statements

Task 2

Directions: This task is the same as Task 1. The 5 questions or unfinished statements are numbered 41 through 45.

The whole atmosphere of the world in which we live is affected by science, as is shown most immediately and strikingly by our modern conveniences and material resources. A little deeper thinking shows that the influence of science goes much farther and colors the entire mental outlook of the modern civilized man on the world about him. Perhaps one of the most telling evidences of this is his growing freedom from superstition(迷信). Freedom from superstition is the result of the belief that the world is not governed by caprice, but that it is a world of order and can be understood by man if he will only try hard enough and be clever enough. This conviction that the world is understandable is, doubtlessly, the most important gift of science to civilization. The widespread acceptance of this view can be dated to the discovery by Newton of the law of gravitation; and for this reason Newton may be justly regarded as the most important single contributor to modern life.

The greatest benefit of science has been ______.

A．the rapid growth of everyday conveniences

B．the encouragement of deep thinking

C．the work of reconstruction

D．an understanding that the world has order

点击查看答案

第4题

When I turned 40, my husband staged a surprise party for me. I should never forget my emot

ion as I entered the restaurant and saw loving friends amid flowers and music and a large display of photographs that spanned my life. I hurried from one table to the next, greeting each guest. Then suddenly at the rear of the room I spotted a gentle, smiling man with snow-white hair and a blue-eyed woman on his side.

"Mom, Dad," I gasped. They had flown to Los Angeles from Chicago just hours before. I burst into tears at the sight of these two who, more than anyone else, had taught me that being there for another person is the greatest gift we can give.

A year later, my husband and I were invited to an unusual wedding. Our friends had been married years before in a civil ceremony, and now they wanted to declare again their commitment to one another in a church service. The morning before the wedding, I decided to call my friend and beg off. "Kathe, this is Karen," I began hesitantly.

"You're coming, aren't you？" She broke in. Her voice was urgent. I paused and in that instant recalled the sight of my parents at my 40th-birthday party.

"Yes, of course," I said, "We'll be there."

So we went. And I was grateful we did. We weren't in our seats a minute before Kathe came up behind us, radiant but with tears in her eyes. She told us how much our presence meant to her, with many of her beloved ones absent.

I see now that one's presence can be a duty in the highest sense. It is, in fact, something that we owe one another, whatever the cost. In gifts of the self, self is renewed.

"Being there" is indeed at the very core of civility.

Which of the following might be the best title for the passage？

A．People's High Sense of Responsibility

B．Presence, the Best Gift We Can Give

C．Peopie's Attitude toward Responsibility

D．How to Show One's Gentle Love

点击查看答案

第5题

There are 10 blanks in the following passage, For each bland there are four choices mark

ed A, B, C and D. You should choose the ONE answer that best completes the passage. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center.

He has been proclaimed “the finest mind alive”, “the greatest genius of the late 20th century”, and “Einstein’s heir (继承人)”. Known to millions, ___46__, for his book A brief History of Time (《时间简史》), Stephen Hawking is a star scientist in more ways than one. His gift ___47___ revealing the mysteries of the universe in a style. that non-scientists can enjoy ___48___ Hawking an instant celebrity (名人) and his book a bestseller in both Britain and America. It has ___49___ in the Guinness Book of Records for spending 184 weeks in The Sunday Times “top-ten” lists, and has sold more than five million copies worldwide --- virtually unheard – of success for a science book.

How did all this happen？ How has a man ___50___ is almost completely paralysed (瘫痪) and unable to speak ___51__ through a computer overcome these ___52___ obstacles and achieved far more than most people ever dream of？

Hawking says: “I soon realized that the rest of the world won’t want to know you if you’re bitter or angry. You have to be ___53__ if you’re to get much sympathy or help.” He goes on: “Nowadays, muscle power is obsolete (无用). What we need ___54___ mind power --- and disabled people are ___55___ good at that ___55__anyone else.” (2005 words)

46. A. far and wide B. by far C. far and away D. so far

47. A. of B. to C. for D. at

48. A. is made B. has been made C. was made D. made

49. A. earned a place B. achieved a fame C. made a name D.gained reputation

50. A. whose B. who C. where D. which

51. A. besides B. despite C. except D. aside from

52. A. difficult B. incredible C. very D. surprising

53. A. negative B. positive C. sensitive D. aggressive

54. A. is B. is to C. are D. are to

55. A. not so…as B. as…as C. the same…as D. so…than

点击查看答案

第6题

It is generally believed that the greatest damage of old age is the loss of mental faculti

es. With the near doubling of life expectancy in the past century has come a mixed blessing. A few great thinkers and artists remained productive in their later years—Galileo, Monet, Shaw, Stravinsky, Tolstoy but even they were not what they had been in their primes. In sciences, the boom falls sooner still: "A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of 30 will never do so," said Einstein.

Imagine if we could transplant old brains into younger bodies: would our minds stay young, or would we be senile teenagers, scaling mountains and skateboarding at 120, but forgetting where we put the car's keys ①. Is the brain uniquely vulnerable to the ravages of time？ Can anything be done？

Indisputable evidence from many studies shows that a higher level of education and greater mental activity throughout life correlated with lower cognitive losses in old age. These benefits apply to all sorts of cognitive losses, including those associated with dementia. Some researchers believe that mental application in early life produces complex neural connections that provide a reserve later on; others argue that education merely gives people the means to cope with and compensate for their losses. K. Warner Shay, a professor of human development and psychology at Pennsylvania State University, has studied age-related change in more than 5,000 people, some for more than 40 years. Comparing earlier with later recruits, Mr. Shay concludes that the rate of mental decline is slowing, a change he attributes to better education, healthier diet, lessened exposure to serious disease, and more mental activity. "You've got to practise," Mr. Shay says. "If you don't solve problems, you no longer can solve problems. ' Retirement can be particularly hard, he adds, because for many people, work is their most challenging activity. "Retirement is good for people who've had routine jobs—they may find something more stimulating. But it's disadvantageous for people in high-level jobs, who are less likely to find something as stimulating as the job they had."

K. Anders Ericsson, a psychology professor at Florida State University, confirms Mr. Shay's emphasis on the 'virtue of practice. Initially interested in expert performance like musicians, he found that many geniuses aren't really so different from everyone else—they just practise harder and longer, benefiting from sheer labor, rather than from some special gift②. Professional musicians who continue to practise assiduous ly as they age continue to play well, while amateurs who just play for pleasure show age-related declines.

Mr. Ericsson's studies failed to show significant generalized fitness from mental exercise. If you play tennis, you improve your general fitness, but the greatest improvement is specific to tennis, not to other sports. It's the same with cognitive exercise. You have to look at your life and pick what you want to improve.

According to the context, "a mixed blessing" (Para. 1 ) most probably means ______.

A．living longer and losing more

B．living shorter and getting more

C．having a long life and making great contributions

D．achieving success both in young age and in old age

点击查看答案

第7题

[A] Defining genius. [B] Bias attacked. [C] Truly great mind is born, not made. [D] The li

[A] Defining genius.

[B] Bias attacked.

[C] Truly great mind is born, not made.

[D] The line between the exceptional and the ordinary blurs.

[E] Brain steers, labor facilitates.

[F] Great lesson from a great character.

The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, and the exercise of ordinary qualities. The common life of every day, with its cares, necessities, and duties, afford ample opportunity for acquiring experience of the best kind; and its most beaten paths provide the true worker with abundant scope for effort and room for self-improvement. The road of human welfare lies along the old highway of steadfast well-doing; and they who are the most persistent, and work in the truest spirit, will usually be the most successful.

1. ______

Fortune has often been blamed for her blindness; but fortune is not so blind as men are. Those who look into practical life will find that fortune is usually on the side of the industrious, as the winds and waves are on the side of the best navigators. In the pursuit of even the highest branches of human inquiry, the commoner qualities are found the most useful--such as common sense, attention, application, and perseverance.

2. ______

Genius may not be necessary, though even genius of the highest sort does not disdain the use of these ordinary qualities; the very greatest men have been among the least believers in the power of genius, and as worldly wise and persevering as successful men of the commoner sort. Some have even defined genius to be only common sense intensified. A distinguished teacher and president of a college spoken of it as the power of making efforts. John Foster held it to be the power of lighting one's own fire. Buffon said of genius "it is patience".

3. ______

Newton's was unquestionably a mind of the very highest order, and yet, when asked by what means he had worked out his extraordinary discoveries, he modestly answered, "By always thinking unto them." At another time he thus expressed his method of study: "I keep the subject continually before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly by little and little into a full and clear light." It was in Newton's case, as in every other, only by diligent application and perseverance that his great reputation was achieved. Even his recreation consisted in change of study, laying down one subject to take up another. To Dr. Bentley, he said: "If I have done the public any service, it is due to nothing but industry and patient thought."

4. ______

The extraordinary results effected by dint of sheer industry and perseverance, have led many distinguished men to doubt whether the gift of genius be so exceptional an endowment as it is usually supposed to be. Thus Voltaire held that it is only a very slight line of separation that divides the man of genius from the man of ordinary mould. Beccaria was even of opinion that all men might be poets and orators, and Reynolds that they might be painters and sculptors. If this were really so, that stolid Englishman might not have been so very far wrong after all, who, on Canova's death, inquired of his brother whether it was "his intention to carry on the business!"

5. ______

Locked, Helvetius, and Diderot believed that all men have an equal aptitude for genius. But while admitting to the fullest extent the wonderful achievements of labor, and recognizing the fact that men of the most distinguished genius have invariably been found the most indefatigable workers, it must nevertheless be sufficiently obvious that, without the original endowment of heart and brain, no amount of labor, however well applied, could have produced a Shakespeare, a Newton, a Beethoven, or a Michelangelo.

(1)

点击查看答案

第8题

The holiday shopping season got off to a flying start over the thanksgiving weekend in

the u.s.retailers(零售商) attracted discount-hungry consumers with specials(特价商品) of television, dvd players and other gift. discounters like wal-mart and target had the greatest success, offering customers early bird specials, while major department stores and clothing chains only met modest sales goals. online sales were also strong.

“it was as expected. it wasn’t source of great prosperity, but it was a good start,” said nevill, a man in a us retail consulting firm. he said, “one thing we often heard was that only things marked down(降价) were selling. consumers want a bargain, especially around the holiday.” shoppers did seem to like the many markdowns. a lady in the state of Connecticut said, “i’ve never seen so many sales. i feel like a kid in a candy store.”

Nevill estimated that discounters had a 4% gain over last year’s thanksgiving figure, while sales at department stores and mall-based clothing chains were up 2% for the weekend. however, the thanksgiving weekend is not necessarily a good way to judge how retailers will be successful for the season. over the past few years, the weekend accounted for less than 10% of sales.

online merchants also had a good weekend. sales were up 61% last Friday, compared to the day after thanksgiving a year ago.

46、Over the Thanksgiving weekend, people bought a lot more than usual because.()

A.wal-mart and target offered birds as gift

B.shopping was the major weekend activity

C.people had time to go shopping online

D.they were allowed special discounts

47、Retailers have the experience that consumers seem to.()

A.feel eager to buy discounted goods

B.be hungry for special kinds of goods

C.like to buy new DVD players as gifts

D.be interested in major department stores

48、From the context we know that Wal-Mart and Target are the names of two.()

A.food stores

B.large retailers

C.online services

D.clothing chains

49、By saying “I feel like a kid in a candy store,” the lady in Connecticut probably means that ().

A.she has difficulty choosing from such a wide variety of goods

B.she cannot decide whether she should buy some candy

C.she is quite interested in buying candy

D.she recalls her happy childhood days

50、Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage？()

A.Online sales were 61% higher than retailers

B.Online merchants had an average weekend sale

C.Retailers lost much profit because of the discounts they offered

D.Retailers had an increase in sales in the Thanksgiving weekend

点击查看答案

第9题

The greatest results in life are usually attained by simple means, and the exercise of ord

inary qualities. 1. The common life of every day, with its cares, necessities, and duties, affords ample opportunity for acquiring experience of the best kind; and its most beaten paths provide the true worker with abundant scope for effort and room for self-improvement. The road of human welfare lies along the old highway of steadfast well-doing; and they who are the most persistent, and Work in the truest spirit, will usually be the most successful.

Fortune has often been blamed for her blindness; but fortune is not so blind as men are. Those who look into practical life will find that fortune is usually on the side of the industrious, as the winds and waves are on the side of the best navigators. In the pursuit of even the highest branches of human inquiry, the commoner qualities are found the most useful—such as common sense, attention, application, and perseverance.

2. Genius may not be necessary, though even genius of the highest sort does not disdain the use of these ordinary qualities. The very greatest men have been among the least believers in the power of genius, and as worldly wise and persevering as successful men of the commoner sort. Some have even defined genius to be only common sense intensified. A distinguished teacher and president of a college spoke of it as the power of making efforts. John Foster held it to be the power of lighting one's own fire. Buffon said of genius "it is patience".

Newton's was unquestionably a mind of the very highest order, and yet, when asked by what means he had worked out his extraordinary discoveries, he modestly answered, "By always thinking unto them." At another time he thus expressed his method of study: "I keep the subject continually before me, and wait till the first dawnings open slowly by little and little into a full and clear light." 3. It was in Newton's case, as in every other, only by diligent application and perseverance that his great reputation was achieved. Even his recreation consisted in change of study, laying down one subject to take up another. To Dr. Bentley he said, "If I have done the public any service, it is due to nothing but industry and patient thought."

4. The extraordinary results effected by dint of sheer industry and perseverance, have led many distinguished men to doubt whether the gift of genius be so exceptional an endowment as it is usually supposed to be. Thus Voltaire held that it is only a very slight line of separation that divides the man of genius from the man of ordinary mould. Beccaria was even of opinion that all men might be poets and orators, and Reynolds that they might be painters and sculptors. If this were really so, that stolid Englishman might not have been so very far wrong after all, who, on Canova's death, inquired of his brother whether it was "his intention to carry on the business".

Locke, Helvetius, and Diderot believed that all men have an equal aptitude for genius, and that what some are able to effect, under the laws which regulate the operations of the intellect, must also be within the reach of others who, under like circumstances, apply themselves to like pursuits. 5. But while admitting to the fullest extent the wonderful achievements of labor, and recognizing the fact that men of the most distinguished genius have invariably been found the most indefatigable workers, it must nevertheless be sufficiently obvious that, without the original endowment of heart and brain, no amount of labor, however well applied, could have produced a Shakespeare, a Newton, a Beethoven, or a Michelangelo.

Dalton, the chemist, repudiated the notion of his being "a genius", attributing everything which he had accomplished to simple industry and accumulation. John Hunter said of himself, "My mind is like a beeh

点击查看答案