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. 1.

   By using “Tom continued painting and answered carelessly”, the author shows Tom ______ when he was talking to Ben.

   1. A.
      made mistakes
   2. B.
      damaged things
   3. C.
      was natural
   4. D.
      wasn’t concentrating
2. 2.

   The underlined word “alacrity” in the last but two paragraph most probable means “______”.

   1. A.
      kindness
   2. B.
      discouragement
   3. C.
      sympathy
   4. D.
      eagerness
3. 3.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage? ________

   1. A.
      Tom did not want to go swimming at all
   2. B.
      Tom was asked to help Aunt Polly paint the fence
   3. C.
      Tom did not get along well with his friends
   4. D.
      Tom was very busy that Saturday afternoon.
4. 4.

   We can draw a conclusion from the last paragraph that _______.

   1. A.
      forbidden fruit is sweet.
   2. B.
      a friend in need is a friend indeed.
   3. C.
      all good things must come to an end.
   4. D.
      a bad excuse is better than none.

 Next time a customer comes to your office, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you’re doing your holiday shopping online, make sure you’re holding a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation(感觉) of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a cold drink in hand prevents you from making unwise decisions—those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by psychologist John A. Bargh.
Psychologists have known that one person’s perception(感知) of another’s “warmth” is a powerful determiner in social relationships. Judging someone to be either “warm” or “cold” is a primary consideration, even trumping evidence that a “cold” person may be more capable. Much of this is rooted in very early childhood experiences, Bargh argues, when babies’ conceptual sense of the world around them is shaped by physical sensations, particularly warmth and coldness. Classic studies by Harry Harlow, published in 1958, showed monkeys preferred to stay close to a cloth “mother” rather than one made of wire, even when the wire “mother” carried a food bottle. Harlow’s work and later studies have led psychologists to stress the need for warm physical contact from caregivers to help young children grow into healthy adults with normal social skills.
Feelings of “warmth” and “coldness” in social judgments appear to be universal. Although no worldwide study has been done, Bargh says that describing people as “warm” or “cold” is common to many cultures, and studies have found those perceptions influence judgment in dozens of countries.
To test the relationship between physical and psychological warmth, Bargh conducted an experiment which involved 41 college students. A research assistant who was unaware of the study’s hypotheses(假设), handed the students either a hot cup of coffee, or a cold drink, to hold while the researcher filled out a short information form: The drink was then handed back. After that, the students were asked to rate the personality of “Person A” based on a particular description. Those who had briefly held the warm drink regarded Person A as warmer than those who had held the iced drink.
“We are grounded in our physical experiences even when we think abstractly,” says Bargh.

1. 1.

   According to Paragraph 1, a person’s emotion may be affected by ______.

   1. A.
      the visitors to his office
   2. B.
      the psychology lessons he has
   3. C.
      his physical feeling of coldness
   4. D.
      the things he has bought online
2. 2.

   The author mentions Harlow’s experiment to show that ______.

   1. A.
      adults should develop social skills
   2. B.
      babies need warm physical contact
   3. C.
      caregivers should be healthy adults
   4. D.
      monkeys have social relationships
3. 3.

   In Bargh’s experiment, the students were asked to ______.

   1. A.
      evaluate someone’s personality
   2. B.
      write down their hypotheses
   3. C.
      fill out a personal information form
   4. D.
      hold coffee and cold drink alternatively
4. 4.

   We can infer from the passage that ______.

   1. A.
      abstract thinking does not come from physical experiences
   2. B.
      feelings of warmth and coldness are studied worldwide
   3. C.
      physical temperature affects how we see others
   4. D.
      capable persons are often cold to others
5. 5.

   What would be the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      Drinking for Better Social Relationships.
   2. B.
      Experiments of Personality Evaluation.
   3. C.
      Developing Better Drinking Habits.
   4. D.
      Physical Sensations and Emotions.

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said that he planned to give away almost all of his vast^① fortune, largely to the cause of global health, during the course of his lifetime. With an estimated^②worth of more than $ 40 billion, according to Forbes, the project will be no small feat^③for Gates. Having already provided the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation with $ 24 billion to address global health issues, Gates said that eventually his entire fortune will be put towards the cause except “a few percent left for the kids.”
So what has made the richest man in the world to channel his resources so heavily into one interest? Gates believes that “the equality of opportunity” in which Americans take such pride needs to extend to other nations around the world. Improving the health of the populations, he says, has proven to be an essential method in helping poor countries to be financially^④ successful. “National borders allow inequalities,” said Gates, “We all need to take a more global view, rather than just saying my country is doing well. We have to step up these health issues, knowing how few resources are going into them.”
Gates said that both his parents set good examples to him as a child. His father, William H. Gates, was the head of the local Planned Parenthood, and his mother, Mary, volunteered for the United Way. As he gathered his fortune, Gates knew he would eventually want to give back as well, but he didn’t expect to devote himself whole-heartedly to one project until he was about 60.
However, Gates, 47, began to question his ability to wait that long. “It seemed there was a real time urgency,” Gates said, “I started to think, how many lives could I save before then?”
Notes:
①    vast  adj. 巨额的
②    estimate  v. 估计，估价
③    feat  n. 功绩，壮举
④    financially  adv. 财政上，金融上
Choose the best answers according to the above:

1. 1.

   Why will Bill Gates give away his vast fortune?

   1. A.
      to improve the health of population in America alone
   2. B.
      to improve the health of population all over the world
   3. C.
      to avoid leaving his children too much money
   4. D.
      to spare the American government the burden of health care
2. 2.

   According to the passage, which of the following is right?

   1. A.
      Americans should care about people in other countries
   2. B.
      Americans should treat fellow citizens well
   3. C.
      Americans should devote themselves to certain projects
   4. D.
      Americans can be world-famous by giving away vast fortune
3. 3.

   Bill Gates gave away his vast fortune earlier than he had expected because of       __.

   1. A.
      his weakening health condition
   2. B.
      his parents’ suggestions
   3. C.
      his great success in business
   4. D.
      his concerns for suffering people
4. 4.

   According to the passage, which word can be used to describe Bill Gates?

   1. A.
      brave
   2. B.
      kind-hearted
   3. C.
      strong-minded
   4. D.
      confident

Obama Still Smokes in Secret
US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers. He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products.
At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday.
Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit. Every now and then he still smokes in secret.
“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time. Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No.” Obama said at a news conference.
“I don' t do it in front of my lads.I don ?t do it in front of my family.I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said.
"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important.The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up.What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said.
Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases.

1. 1.

   The new law makes life difficult for             .

   1. A.
      Obama
   2. B.
      tobacco industry
   3. C.
      White House
   4. D.
      US Food and Drug Administration
2. 2.

   What do we know about Obama?

   1. A.
      He no longer smokes.
   2. B.
      He still smokes as usual.
   3. C.
      He began to smoke at eighteen.
   4. D.
      He is trying hard to give up smoking.
3. 3.

   According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about           .

   1. A.
      children
   2. B.
      officials
   3. C.
      his family
   4. D.
      Businessmen

Philo Farnsworth was a man who made it possible for one of the most important communication devices — television to be created. Philo was born on August 19th, 1906, near Indian Creek in the western state of Utah. He attended a very small school near his family’s farm. He did very well in school. He asked his teacher for special help in science. The teacher began helping Philo learn a great deal more than most young students could understand.

One night, Philo read a magazine story about the idea of sending pictures and sound through the air. Anyone with a device that could receive this electronic information could watch the pictures and hear the sound. The magazine story said some of the world’s best scientists were using special machines to try to make a kind of device to send pictures.

14-year-old Philo decided these famous scientists were wrong and that mechanical devices would never work. He decided that such a device would have to be electronic. Philo knew electrons could be made to move extremely fast. All he would have to do was to find a way to make electrons do the work.

Very quickly Philo had an idea for such a receiver. It would trap light in a container and send the light on a line of electrons. Philo called it “light in a bottle”.

Several days later, Philo told his teacher about a device that could capture pictures. He drew a plan for it, which he gave his teacher. Philo’s drawing seemed very simple, but it clearly showed the information needed to build a television. In fact, all television equipment today still uses Philo’s early idea.

Philo Farnsworth was only 14 years old then. He knew no one would listen to a child. In fact, experts say that probably only ten scientists in the world at that time could have understood his idea.

On September 7th, 1927, Philo turned on a device that was the first working television receiver. In another room was the first television camera. Philo had invented the special camera tube earlier that year.

The image produced on the receiver was not very clear, but the device worked. In1930, the United States government gave Philo patent documents. These would protect his invention from being copied by others.

56. Before he was 14 years old, _______________.

A. Philo had formed the idea of sending pictures and sound through the air

B. Philo had learned a great deal in science from his father

C. Philo had helped his parents on their family’s farm

D. Philo had had a very strong interest in science

57. How did Philo get the idea of inventing a television?

A. By learning from his science teacher.

B. By reading a story about the idea in a magazine.

C. By thinking hard himself.

D. By using his knowledge about electrons.

58. Philo referred to “ _________ ” when he called something “light in a bottle”.

A. a container sending pictures and sound through the air

B. a light box with a line of electrons in a bottle

C. a receiver that held light and sent it on a line of electrons

D. a way to make electrons send pictures

59. We can infer from the passage that _________________.

A. without his teacher’s help, he would never have become interested in science

B. he made the first working television receiver and the first television camera himself

C. Philo’s early ideas about the television could not be understood by most people of that time

D. his invention was recognized and protected immediately he made it

60. In the passage, the author mainly tells us _______________.

A. that Philo Farnsworth was a great inventor

B. when and where the television was invented

C. who made it possible to create television

D. how Philo Farnsworth invented the television