When we talk about intelligence, we do not mean the ability to get good scores in certain kinds of tests or even the ability to do well in school. By intelligence we mean a way of living and behaving, especially in a new or anxious situation. If we want to test intelligence, we need to find out how a person acts instead of how much he knows what to do.

For example, when in a new situation, an intelligent person thinks about the situation, not about himself or what might happen to him. He tries to find out all he can, and then he acts immediately and tries to do something about it. He probably isn't sure how it will all work out, but at least he tries. And, if he can't make things work out right, he doesn't feel ashamed that he fails; he just tries to learn from his mistakes. An intelligent person, even if he is very young, has a special outlook(人生观) on life, special feeling about life, and knows how he fits into it.

If you look at children, you'll see great difference between what we call “bright” children and “not bright” children. They are actually two different kinds of people, not just the same kind with different amounts of intelligence. For example, the bright child really wants to find out more about life—he tries to get in touch with everything around him. But the unintelligent child keeps more to himself and his own dream－world; he seems to have a wall between him and life in general.

1. According to this passage, intelligence is the ability ________.

A. to behave immediately        B. to do well in school

C. to deal with life              D. to know what to do

2. In a new situation, an intelligent person ________.

A. knows more about what might happen to him

B. is sure of the result he will get

C. concentrates on the situation

D. cares more about himself

3. According to the passage the biggest difference between “bright” children and “not bright” children lies in ________.

A. the amount of intelligence

B. the different situations they face

C. the different attitudes to life

D. the background of life

4. What's the main idea of the passage?

A. What's real meaning of intelligence?

B. What's the “bright” children's behaviour?

C. What's a special outlook on life?

D. How to live and behave in a new situation?

5. In the next part of the passage, the author might continue to talk about ________.

A. how to determine what intelligence is

B. how education should be changed

C. how to judge whether a person is intelligent

D. how an unintelligent person should be taught

When I come across a good essay in reading newspapers,I am often inclined to cut and keep it.But just as I am about to do so I find the article on the opposite side is as much interesting.It may be a discussion of the way to keep in good health,or advice about how to behave and conduct oneself in society.If I cut the front essay,the opposite one is bound to suffer damage,leaving out half of it or keeping the text without the subject.As a result,the scissors would stay before they start,or halfway done when I find out the regretful consequence that inevitably causes my repentance.

Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time,both deserving your attention.You can only take up one of them,the other has to wait or be given up.But you know the future is unpredictable—the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left behind.Thus you are caught in a fix and feel sad.How come that nice opportunities and brilliant ideas should gather around all at once? It may happen that your life changes dramatically on your preference of one alternative to the other.

In fact that is what life is like:we are often faced with the two opposite aspects of a thing which are both desirable like newspaper cutting.It often occurs that our attention is drawn to one thing only after we are engaged in another.The former may be more important than the latter and give rise to a divided mind.I still remember a philosopher’s remarks:“When one door shuts,another opens in life.”So a casual or passive choice may not be a bad one.

Whatever we do in our lifetime,wherever life’s storm tosses us,there must be something we can achieve,some shore we can land,that opens up new vistas to us.Don’t forget God always keeps an alternative door open for every one.While the front door is closed,there must be another open for you.

When the writer finds a good article in reading newspapers,_________.

A.he is always glad to cut and keep it

B.he is always hesitant to cut and keep it

C.he often has a desire to cut and keep it

D.he often finds it difficult to decide which side to cut and keep

The writer feels regretful because_________.

A.he fails to choose a good essay

B.he fails to cut the two essays on both sides well

C.he finds the essay on the opposite side is better

D.he finds that he just keeps the text without the subject

What’s the meaning of the underlined part in Paragraph 2?

A.You’re trapped in a trouble.

B.You find it difficult to fix something.

C.You are trapped in a situation where you can’t decide which choice is better.

D.You have so many opportunities that you don’t know which to choose.

Which one do you think is the best title of this passage?

A.Paper Cutting                                               B.Two Opposite Sides

C.Difficult Choices                                           D.Another Door

A Battery’s Nightmare

Portable electronics that can be carried about easily are only as good as their batteries (电池) and, let’s face it, batteries aren’t very good, especially when compared with, say, petrol, which packs 100 times a battery’s energy into an equal space. That’s why a large group of mechanical engineers (centered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but with partners at other universities and companies) are hard at work in an effort to replace batteries with a tiny engine that runs on fuel. Imagine a battery-free life! When the fuel runs out in your mobile phone, you just fill up and go.

The engine---about the size of a ten-cent coin---starts with a combustion chamber (燃烧室) that burns hydrogen. Its tiny parts are etched (蚀刻) onto silicon wafers (硅片) in the same manner that computer parts are etched onto integrated circuits (集成电路). The first engine is made up of five wafers. And since these wafers could be produced in much the same way as computer chips, they could probably be produced quite cheaply.

But the devil in all this nice detail is efficiency. Tiny engine parts don’t always behave like the bigger parts of the first engine. Something between the parts can slow down the works, according to Columbia University Professor LucFrechette, one of the engine’s designers. Extreme heat from the combustion chamber is also a problem, often leaking to other parts of the engine.

The scientists’ goal is to create an engine that will operate 10 times better than batteries operate. Frechette says that a complete system, with all parts in place and working, will be set up in the next couple of years, but commercial models aren’t likely until at least the end of the next ten years.

1.According to the passage, the title suggests that _______ .

A. batteries should be greatly improved

B. petrol will be used instead of batteries

C. the time of batteries will be gone forever

D. pollution problems caused by batteries must be solved

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined word “devil” in paragraph 3?

A. Problem     B. Advantage     C. Invention     D. Technique

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A. The new invention doesn’t need any fuel.

B. The new engine has been produced in large quantities.

C. The new invention is much cheaper than the battery.

D. The new engine needs to be improved before it’s on sale.

 

What does it mean to say that we live in a world of persuasion? It means that we live among competing interests. Your roommate’s need to study for an exam may take priority（优先）over pizza. Your instructor may have good reasons not to change your grade. And the object of your romantic interest may have other choices.
　　In such a world, persuasion is the art of getting others to give fair and favorable consideration to our point of view. When we persuade, we want to influence how others believe and behave. We may not always prevail— other points of view may be more persuasive, depending on the listener, the situation, and the merits of the case. But when we practice the art of persuasion, we try to ensure that our position receives the attention it deserves.
　　Some people, however, object to the very idea of persuasion. They may regard it as an unwelcome interruption into their lives. Just the opposite, we believe that persuasion is unavoidable — to live is to persuade. Persuasion may be ethical（合乎道义的）or unethical, selfless or selfish, inspiring or degrading. Persuaders may enlighten our minds or catch our vulnerability(弱点). Ethical persuasion, however, calls on sound reasoning and is sensitive to the feelings and needs of listeners. Such persuasion can help us apply the wisdom of the past to the decisions we now must make. Therefore, the most basic part of education is learning to resist the one kind of persuasion and to encourage and practice the other.
　　Beyond its personal importance to us, persuasion is necessary to society. The right to persuade and be persuaded is the bedrock of the American political system, guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution（美国宪法）.
【小题1】According to the passage, persuasion means ________.

A．changing others’ point of view

B．exercising power over other people

C．getting other people to consider your point of view

D．getting people to agree with you and do what you want

【小题2】The underlined word in the second paragraph “prevail” means“________”.

A．win

B．fail

C．speak

D．listen

【小题3】The passage states that some people object to persuasion because they think it is ________.

A．a danger to society	B．difficult to do well
C．unwelcome behavior	D．never successful

【小题4】The passage mainly discusses ________.

A．people’s different opinions towards persuasion

B．the reasons why people persuade

C．that persuasion is both good and bad

D．that persuasion is important and it is all around us

Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.
Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it，whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further： mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions _y they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.
Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to ( for example ："The hand took hold of the ball" ) , the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).
Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much researeh suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.
Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with ever more information concerning how humans behave and interact(互动）.Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物）for ncurosciencc of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does--well，perhaps you'll understand why.
【小题1】Mirror neurons can explain         .

A．why we cry when we are hurt

B．why we cough when we suffer from a cold

C．why we smile when we see someone else smile

D．why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late

【小题2】The underlined word "triggered" in the third paragraph probably means “  ”

A．set off

B．cut off

C．built up

D．broken up

【小题3】We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons  .

A．relate to human behavior and interaction

B．control human physical actions and feelings

C．result in bad behavior and social disorders

D．determine our knowledge and language abilities

【小题4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Ways to find mirror neurons.

B．Problems of mirror neurons.

C．Existence of mirror neurons.

D．Functions of mirror neurons.