It was Saturday when the entire summer world was bright and fresh. Tom looked at the fence, which was long and high, feeling all enthusiasm leaving him. He dipped his brush into the whitewash before moving it along the top board of the fence. He knew other boys would arrive soon with all minds of interesting plans for this day. As walking past him, they would tease him for having to work on a beautiful Saturday—which burnt him like fire. He, putting his hands into his pockets and taking out all he owned with the expectation of letting someone paint, found nothing that could buy half an hour of freedom. At this dark and hopeless moment, a wonderful idea occurred to him, pouring a great bright light into his mind. He took up his brush and continued to work pleasantly with calm and quietness. Presently, Ben Rogers came in sight—munching an apple and making joyful noises like the sound of a riverboat as he walked along. Tom went on whitewashing, paying no attention to the steamboat. “Hello!” Ben said, “I’m going swimming, but you can’t go, can you?” No answer. Tom moved his brush gently along the fence and surveyed the result. Ben came nearer. Tom’s mouth watered for Ben’s apple while he kept painting the fence. Ben said, “That’s a lot of work, isn’t it?” Tom turned suddenly saying “Here you are! Ben! I didn’t notice you.” “I’m going swimming,” Ben said. “Don’t you wish you could go? Or would you rather work?” Tom said, “Work? What do you mean ‘work’?” “Isn’t that work?” Tom continued painting and answered carelessly, “Maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t. All I know is it suits Tom Sawyer.” “Do you mean that you enjoy it?” “I don’t see why I oughtn’t to enjoy it.” “Does a boy have a chance to paint a fence frequently” said Tom. Ben stopped munching his apple. Tom moved his brush back and forth—stepped back to note the effect—added a little paint here and there. Ben watched every move, getting more and more interested, more and more absorbed1. After a short time, he said, “Tom, let me whitewash a little.” Tom seemed to be thinking for a moment before he said, “No, Aunt Polly wants this fence to be perfect. If it was the back fence, maybe you could do it. But this fence beside the street is where everybody can see it. It has to be done right.” “Oh, come on, let me try. I’ll be careful. Listen, Tom. I’ll give you part of my apple if you let me paint.” “No, Ben, I’m afraid—” “I’ll give you all the apple!” Tom handed the brush to Ben with unwillingness on his face but alacrity in his heart. While the riverboat worked and sweated in the hot sun, Tom, an artist sat in the shade close by, munching his apple, and planning how he could trick more of the boys. Before long there were enough boys each of whom came along the street; stopped to laugh but soon begged to be allowed to paint. By the middle of the afternoon, Tom had got many treasures while the fence had had three layers of whitewash on it. If he hadn’t run out of whitewash, he would have owned everything belonging to the boys in the village. Tom said to himself that the world was not so depressing after all. He had discovered a great law of human action: in order to make a man cover a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.
1.
By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.
A.
made mistakes
B.
damaged things
C.
was natural
D.
wasn’t concentrating
2.
The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.
A.
kindness
B.
discouragement
C.
sympathy
D.
eagerness
3.
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________
A.
Tom did not want to go swimming at all
B.
Tom was asked to help Aunt Polly paint the fence
C.
Tom did not get along well with his friends
D.
Tom was very busy that Saturday afternoon.
4.
We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.
Listening to music can help me focus better. Since I discovered it two years ago, I’ve used music to get through boring work or to focus creatively. I’ve found that it can make even the dullest jobs enjoyable and help clear mental blocks to creativity. I first noticed the good effects of music while playing video games. It was a few days before Christmas in 2005 and I was playing online video games. My parents had just given me a new MP3, so I decided to listen to music through the headphones while I played. After a few minutes I noticed a great change in my style of play. I was playing more naturally. The music relaxed me, and, to a certain extent, distracted me from the game, allowing my subconscious (潜意识的) talent to come through. The music also helped me block out the outside world. With those headphones on I was like a machine, moving from one task to the next without unnecessary thoughts or actions. Music can also have a great effect on mood. If I’m in a bad mood at work, I’ll listen to some of Bob Marley’s and get down to business. It always takes my mind off what I’m doing and makes me a happier person. The same is true for classic rock. One summer, I did a boring job collecting bottle openers by hand. Without a radio playing classic rock in the background, I would have hated life. Listening to music with relaxing rhythms and a positive message helps you forget your work and think happy thoughts. But the results you see will depend heavily on your personal tastes. Experiment with the types of music you listen to during certain tasks. By trial and error you’ll finally discover your best choice. I’m always looking for new concentration aids, so I’d love to know what type of music works best for me.
1.
We can infer that the passage was written in __________.
A.
2005
B.
2006
C.
2007
D.
2008
2.
The author first discovered the effects of music __________.
A.
from his parents
B.
by chance
C.
at work
D.
when he was a child
3.
Which of the following statements is NOT an effect of music for the author?
A.
It helps him block out the outside world.
B.
It arouses his subconscious talent.
C.
It helps his mind relax.
D.
It makes him work without any thought.
4.
The author mentions the experience of collecting bottle openers in Paragraph 3 to ________.
A.
tell us that life is dull
B.
prove that music affects mood
C.
tell us how to seek happiness
D.
tell us bad mood can affect work
5.
In order to get the greatest effect of music, you are advised to ________.
If your recurring(经常性的)dreams are worrying you，you can rest assured and needn’t worry.Psychologists say in the vast majority of these cases，this is just the mind’s way of dealing with stress and conflicts，problems and concerns.It’s a good thing. They call be surprisingly vivid and real，or fragmented and weird.They can be comforting or frightening.Our dreams can tell us a lot about what we are really thinking.Dreams give us an x-ray of our unconsciousness(潜意识).They tell us，particularly when we are at life’s passages or turning points. Lisa Oppenheim had the same dream whenever she was about to move to a new home or a new city.It’s always just a feeling of needing to stay safe.Experts say disturbing dreams often occur around major life events.For Lisa，it was moving.For others，it can be marriage or divorce，the death of a loved one or pressure at work. Doctor Siegel has studied the meaning of dream for nearly 30 years.He believes stressful or upsetting dreams can be a sign of what’s buried deep inside our minds. He said.“Dreams are important to survival.They are crucial to the balance of our psyche(心灵).They help us work out problems that we’re having every single day.They go to the cutting edge of what’s stressful，what’s bothering us and what we’re working out in our lives.Dreams can guide us and in order to find that guidance，to find that deep source of wisdom that’s in our dreams every night，we need to pay attention to our dreams.” But many dreams are scary and horrible.How can we understand these nightmares? Doctor Siegel says they are reflecting especially intense emotion or unresolved conflict.The stronger the emotion in the dream，whether it’s pleasure or fear，the likelier the dream is to be important. Knowing what your recurring dreams or nightmares mean can be liberating.Some nightmares can be a sign of serious psychological problems，such as post-dramatic stress disorder.If they are extremely disturbing or violent or the cause of severe anxiety，you should see a professional therapist(治疗专家).
1.
By saying “Dreams give US an x-ray of our unconsciousness,” the author means that dreams
A.
do harm to our mind
B.
show us our real mind
C.
solve our stress in mind
D.
give us a turning point in mind
2.
People will have recurring dreams when they_______________.
A.
1ive with great pressure or have great events
B.
do the same things all their lives
C.
move to a new home or a new city
D.
are comforted or frightened
3.
Which of the following is true according to Doctor Siegel?
A.
Dreams play a very important role in the world’s balance.
B.
Dreams help us find out the problems we need to solve.
C.
We should pay attention to every dream we have.
D.
Only the dreams with pleasure are important to us.
4.
How should we deal with the recurring nightmares?
A.
We should remember them because they are important to us.
B.
We can ignore them since they are just reflecting our emotions.
C.
We need to take some sleeping pills to stop this serious problem.
D.
We should see a psychological doctor if they are seriously disturbing
