Here is an astonishing and significant fact：Mental work alone can’t make us tired.It sounds absurd.But a few years ago，scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (疲勞)．To the amazement of these scientists，they discovered that blood passing through the brain，when it is active，shows no fatigue at all! If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer，we would find it full of fatigue toxins(毒素) and fatigue products.But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein，it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.

So far as the brain is concerned，it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning.The brain is totally tireless.So what makes us tired?

Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional(情感的) attitudes.One of England’s most outstanding scientists，J.A.Hadfield，says，“The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin.In fact，fatigue of purely physical origin is rare.”Dr.Brill，a famous American scientist，goes even further.He declares，“One hundred percent of the fatigue of a sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems.”

What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored，anger，anxiety，tenseness，worry，a feeling of not being appreciated－those are the emotions that tire sitting workers.Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue.We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.

1.What surprised the scientists a few years ago?

A．Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer’s blood.

B．Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn out after a day’s work.

C．The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.

D．A mental worker’s blood was filled with fatigue toxins.

2.According to the author，which of the following can make sitting workers tired?

A．Challenging mental work.

B．Unpleasant emotions.

C．Endless tasks.

D．Physical labor.

3.What’s the author’s attitude towards the scientists’ ideas?

A．He agrees with them.

B．He doubts them.

C．He argues against them.

D．He hesitates to accept them.

4.We can infer from the passage that in order to stay energetic，sitting workers need to ________.

A．have some good food

B．enjoy their work

C．exercise regularly

D．discover fatigue toxins

Mark Twain has been called the inventor of the American novel.And he surely deserves additional praise：the man who popularized the clever literary attack on racism.

I say clever because anti?slavery fiction had been the important part of the literature in the years before the Civil War.H.B.Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin is only the most famous example.These early stories dealt directly with slavery.With minor exceptions，Twain planted his attacks on slavery and prejudice into tales that were on the surface about something else entirely.He drew his readers into the argument by drawing them into the story.

Again and again，in the postwar years，Twain seemed forced to deal with the challenge of race.Consider the most controversial，at least today，of Twain’s novels，Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Only a few books have been kicked off the shelves as often as Huckleberry Finn，Twain’s most widely read tale.Once upon a time，people hated the book because it struck them as rude.Twain himself wrote that those who banned the book considered the novel“trash and suitable only for the slums(貧民窟)．”More recently the book has been attacked because of the character Jim，the escaped slave，and many occurrences of the word nigger.(The term Nigger Jim，for which the novel is often severely criticized，never appears in it.)

But the attacks were and are silly—and miss the point.The novel is strongly anti?slavery.Jim’s search through the slave states for the family from whom he has been forcibly parted is heroic.As J．Chadwick has pointed out，the character of Jim was a first in American fiction—a recognition that the slave had two personalities，“the voice of survival within a white slave culture and the voice of the individual：Jim，the father and the man.”

There is much more.Twain’s mystery novel Pudd’nhead Wilson stood as a challenge to the racial beliefs of even many of the liberals of his day.Written at a time when the accepted wisdom held Negroes to be inferior (低等的) to whites，especially in intelligence，Twain’s tale centered in part around two babies switched at birth.A slave gave birth to her master’s baby and，for fear that the child should be sold South，switched him for the master’s baby by his wife.The slave’s light?skinned child was taken to be white and grew up with both the attitudes and the education of the slave?holding class.The master’s wife’s baby was taken for black and grew up with the attitudes and intonations of the slave.

The point was difficult to miss：nurture (養(yǎng)育)，not nature，was the key to social status.The features of the black man that provided the stuff of prejudice—manner of speech，for example—were，to Twain，indicative of nothing other than the conditioning that slavery forced on its victims.

Twain’s racial tone was not perfect.One is left uneasy，for example，by the lengthy passage in his autobiography (自傳) about how much he loved what were called“nigger shows”in his youth—mostly with white men performing in black?face—and his delight in getting his mother to laugh at them.Yet there is no reason to think Twain saw the shows as representing reality.His frequent attacks on slavery and prejudice suggest his keen awareness that they did not.

Was Twain a racist? Asking the questioning the 21st century is as wise as asking the same of Lincoln.If we read the words and attitudes of the past through the“wisdom”of the considered moral judgments of the present，we will find nothing but error.Lincoln，who believed the black man the inferior of the white，fought and won a war to free him.And Twain，raised in a slave state，briefly a soldier，and inventor of Jim，may have done more to anger the nation over racial injustice and awaken its collective conscience than any other novelist in the past century.

1.How do Twain’s novels on slavery differ from Stowe’s?

A．Twain was more willing to deal with racism.

B．Twain’s attack on racism was much less open.

C．Twain’s themes seemed to agree with plots.

D．Twain was openly concerned with racism.

2.Recent criticism of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn arose partly from its________.

A．target readers at the bottom

B．anti?slavery attitude

C．rather impolite language

D．frequent use of“nigger”

3.What best proves Twain’s anti?slavery stand according to the author?

A．Jim’s search for his family was described in detail.

B．The slave’s voice was first heard in American novels.

C．Jim grew up into a man and a father in the white culture.

D．Twain suspected that the slaves were less intelligent.

4.The story of two babies switched mainly indicates that________.

A．slaves were forced to give up their babies to their masters

B．slaves’ babies could pick up slave?holders’ way of speaking

C．blacks’social position was shaped by how they were brought up

D．blacks were born with certain features of prejudice

5.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 7 refer to?

A．The attacks.

B．Slavery and prejudice.

C．White men.

D．The shows.

6.What does the author mainly argue for?

A．Twain had done more than his contemporary writers to attack racism.

B．Twain was an admirable figure comparable to Abraham Lincoln.

C．Twain’s works had been banned on unreasonable grounds.

D．Twain’s works should be read from a historical point of view.

“People are ruder today because they are rushed and more ‘time poor’ than ever before，”says Patsy Rowe，“ Manners_have_fallen_off_the_radar(雷達)．”Due to our strong attraction to electronic equipment it is a wonder more people don’t wake up each morning and greet the singing birds with a complaint(抱怨)about the noise.Here are some examples of rudeness.

Some people prefer to do almost everything over the internet.To them，dealing with an actual human is like an evolutionary step backward.It feels very slow because humans don’t work at 4G speeds.When you have dinner with friends，you will often notice someone paying more attention to his mobile phone.We have programmed ourselves to think that every new message brings life?changing news，so taking calls and checking our texts are more important than talking to the people we are with.What is worse，some people even tend to send anonymous(匿名的) rude messages by email.

However，rudeness is never acceptable.Don’t assume it is OK to be rude if the person you’re in touch with won’t recognize you.If you have something awful to say，have the courage to face the person and say it，write a letter or email and sign it，or forget it.Upsetting people with unsigned messages is cruel and disgusting.

We shouldn’t blame technology for our shortcomings.Technology is here to help us，but we should not allow it to take over our lives.An important step ia acknowledging our shortcomings.People spend a lot of time pointing out bad manners but it would be even more helpful if we’d publicly acknowledge good manners when we see them.

1.What can be inferred from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 1?

A．People can tell good from bad behavior.

B．Radar is able to observe human behavior.

C．People care little about their behavior.

D．Radar can be used to predict human behavior.

2.Some people are less willing to deal with humans because________.

A．they are becoming less patient

B．they are growing too independent

C．they have to handle many important messages

D．they have to follow an evolutionary step backward.

3.The author thinks sending unsigned awful messages is________.

A．ridiculous　　　　　 B．disgusting

C．acceptable D．reasonable

4.What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A．We should applaud good behavior.

B．Technology can never be blamed.

C．We should keep pointing out mistakes.

D．Technology will take over our lives one day.

Home to me means a sense of familiarity and nostalgia(懷舊)．It’s fun to come home.It looks the same.It smells the same.You’ll realize what’s changed is you.Home is where we can remember pain，love，and some other experiences：We parted here；My parents met here；I won three championships here.

If I close my eyes，I can still have a clear picture in mind of my first home.I walk in the door and see a brown sofa surrounding a low glass?top wooden table.To the right of the living room is my first bedroom.It’s empty，but it’s where my earliest memories are.

There is the dining room table where I celebrated birthdays，and where I cried on Halloween－when I didn’t want to wear the skirt my mother made for me.I always liked standing on that table because it made me feel tall and strong.If I sit at this table，I can see my favorite room in the house，my parents’ room.It is simple：a brown wooden dresser lines the right side of the wall next to a television and a couple of photos of my grandparents on each side.Their bed is my safe zone.I can jump on it anytime－waking up my parents if I am scared or if I have an important announcement that cannot wait until the morning.

I’m lucky because I know my first home still exists.It exists in my mind and heart，on a physical property(住宅) on West 64th street on the western edge of Los Angeles.It is proof I lived，I grew，and I learned.

Sometimes when I feel lost，I lie down and shut my eyes，and I go home.I know it’s where I’ll find my family，my dogs，and my belongings.I purposely leave the window open at night because I know I’ll be blamed by Mom.But I don’t mind，because I want to hear her say my name，which reminds me I’m home.

1.Why does the author call her parents’ bed her “safe zone”(Paragraph 3)?

A．It is her favorite place to play.

B．Her needs can be satisfied there.

C．Her grandparents’ photos are lined on each side.

D．Her parents always play together with her there.

2.What can be learned from the passage?

A．The old furniture is still in the author’s first bedroom.

B．The author can still visit her first physical home in Los Angeles.

C．The author’s favorite room in her first home is the dining room.

D．Many people of the author’s age can still find their first physical homes.

3.Sometimes when she feels lost，the author will________.

A．open the window at night

B．lie down in bed to have a dream

C．try to bring back a sense of home

D．go to Los Angeles to visit her mom

4.What is the author’s purpose of writing this passage?

A．To express how much she is attached to her home.

B．To declare how much she loves her first house.

C．To describe the state of her family.

D．To look back on her childhood.

One might expect that the ever?growing demands of the tourist trade would bring nothing but good for the countries that receive the holiday?makers.Indeed，a rosy picture is painted for the long?term future of the holiday industry.Every month sees the building of a new hotel somewhere.And every month another rock?bound Pacific island is advertised as the ‘last paradise(天堂) on earth’．

However，the scale and speed of this growth seem set to destroy the very things tourists want to enjoy.In those countries where there was a rush to make quick money out of sea?side holidays，over?crowded beaches and the concrete jungles of endless hotels have begun to lose their appeal.

Those countries with little experience of tourism can suffer most.In recent years，Nepal set out to attract foreign visitors to fund developments in health and education.Its forests，full of wildlife and rare flowers，were offered to tourists as one more untouched paradise.In fact，the nature all too soon felt the effects of thousands of holiday?makers traveling through the forest land.Ancient tracks became major routes for the walkers，with the consequent exploitation of precious trees and plants.

Not only can the environment of a country suffer from the sudden growth of tourism.The people as well rapidly feel its effects.Farmland makes way for hotels，roads and airports；the old way of life goes.The one?time farmer is now the servant of some multi?national organization；he is no longer his own master.Once it was his back that bore the pain；now it is his smile that is exploited.No doubt he wonders whether he wasn’t happier in his village working his own land.

Thankfully，the tourist industry is waking up to the responsibilities it has towards those countries that receive its customers.The protection of wildlife and the creation of national parks go hand in hand with tourist development and in fact obtain financial support from tourist companies.At the same time，tourists are being encouraged to respect not only the countryside they visit but also its people.

The way tourism is handled in the next ten years will decide its fate and that of the countries we all want to visit.Their needs and problems are more important than those of the tourist companies.Increased understanding in planning world?wide tourism can preserve the market for these companies.If not，in a few years’ time the very things that attract tourists now may well have been destroyed.

1.What does the author indicate in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?

A．The Pacific island is a paradise.

B．The Pacific island is worth visiting.

C．The advertisement is not convincing.

D．The advertisement is not impressive.

2.The example of Nepal is used to suggest________.

A．its natural resources are untouched

B．its forests are exploited for farmland

C．it develops well in health and education

D．it suffers from the heavy flow of tourists

3.What can we learn about the farmers from Paragraph 4?

A．They are happy to work their own lands.

B．They have to please the tourists for a living.

C．They have to struggle for their independence.

D．They are proud of working in multi?national organizations.

4.Which of the following determines the future of tourism ?

A．The number of tourists.

B．The improvement of services.

C．The promotion of new products.

D．The management of tourism.

5.The author’s attitude towards the development of the tourist industry is________.

A．optimistic B．doubtful

C．objective D．negative

(2013·高考新課標全國卷Ⅰ，B)The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital.She is quiet but alert (警覺)．Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it.She stares at it carefully.A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another，this time with the spots differently spaced.As the cards change from one to the other，her gaze(凝視) starts to lose its focus—until a third，with three black spots，is presented.Her gaze returns：she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card.Can she tell that the number two is different from three，just 24 hours after coming into the world?

Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment，but with three spots shown before two，shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes.Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb，a key，an orange and so on)，changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves.Could it be the pattern that two things make，as opposed to three? No again.Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three，or three to two.The effect even crosses between senses.Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two；likewise (同樣地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.

1.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s________.

A．sense of hearing B．sense of sight

C．sense of touch D．sense of smell

2.Babies are sensitive to the change in________.

A．the size of cards B．the colour of pictures

C．the shape of patterns D．the number of objects

3.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?

A．To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.

B．To see how babies recognize sounds.

C．To carry their experiment further.

D．To keep the babies’ interest.

4.Where does this text probably come from?

A．Science fiction.

B．Children’s literature.

C．An advertisement.

D．A science report.

(2013·高考新課標全國卷Ⅱ，B)In 1947 a group of famous people from the art world headed by an Austrian conductor decided to hold an international festival of music，dance and theatre in Edinburgh.The idea was to reunite Europe after the Second World War.

It quickly attracted famous names such as Alec Guinness，Richard Burton，Dame Margot Fonteyn and Marlene Dietrich as well as the big symphony orchestras(交響樂團)．It became a fixed event every August and now attracts 400,000 people yearly.

At the same time，the “Fringe” appeared as a challenge to the official festival.Eight theatre groups turned up uninvited in 1947，in the belief that everyone should have the right to perform，and they did so in a public house disused for years.

Soon，groups of students firstly from Edinburgh University，and later from the universities of Oxford and Cambridge，Durham and Birmingham were making the journey to the Scottish capital each summer to perform theatre by little?known writers of plays in small church halls to the people of Edinburgh.

Today the“Fringe”，once less recognized，has far outgrown the festival with around 1,500 performances of theatre，music and dance on every one of the 21 days it lasts.And yet as early as 1959，with only 19 theatre groups performing，some said it was getting too big.

A paid administrator was first employed only in 1971，and today there are eight administrators working all year round and the number rises to 150 during August itself.In 2004 there were 200 places housing 1,695 shows by over 600 different groups from 50 different countries.More than 1.25 million tickets were sold.

1.What was the purpose of Edinburgh Festival at the beginning?

A．To bring Europe together again.

B．To honor heroes of World War Ⅱ.

C．To introduce young theatre groups.

D．To attract great artists from Europe.

2.Why did some uninvited theatre groups come to Edinburgh in 1947?

A．They owned a public house there.

B．They came to take up a challenge.

C．They thought they were also famous.

D．They wanted to take part in the festival.

3.Who joined the“Fringe”after it appeared?

A．Popular writers.

B．University students.

C．Artists from around the world.

D．Performers of music and dance.

4.We may learn from the text that Edinburgh Festival________.

A．has become a non?official event

B．has gone beyond an art festival

C．gives shows all year round

D．keeps growing rapidly

(2013·高考北京卷，B)Two dolphins race around in a big pool in the Ocean Park.The smaller dolphin，Grace，shows off a few of her tricks，turning around and waving hello to the crowd.The most amazing thing about her，however，is that she’s even swimming at all.She doesn’t have a tail.

Grace lost her tail as a baby when she got caught up in a fish trap.When the dolphin arrived at the Ocean Park in December 2005，she was fighting for her life.“Is she going to make it？”Her trainer，Abbey Stone，feared the worst.Grace did make it—but her tail didn’t.She ended up losing her flukes and the lower part of her peduncle.

Over the past six years，she has learned to swim without her tail.Dolphins swim by moving their flukes and peduncle up and down.Grace taught herself to move another way—like a fish! She pushed herself forward through the water by moving her peduncle from side to side.

The movements put harmful pressure on Grace’s backbone.So a company offered to create a man?made tail for her.The tail had to be strong enough to stay on Grace as she swam but soft enough that it wouldn’t hurt her.

The first time Grace wore the artificial tail，she soon shook it off and let it sink to the bottom of the pool.Now，she is still learning to use the tail.Some days she wears it for an hour at a time，others not at all.“The new tail isn’t necessary for her to feel comfortable，”says Stone，“but it helps to keep that range of motion (動作) and build muscles (肌肉)．”

Now，the dolphin is about to get an even happier ending.This month，Grace will star in Dolphin Tale，a film that focuses on her rescue and recovery.Her progress has inspired more than just a new movie.Many people travel from near and far to meet her.Seeing Grace swim with her man?made tail gives people so much courage.

1.When Grace first arrived at the Ocean Park，her trainer worried about her________.

A．physical build

B．potential ability

C．chance of survival

D．adaptation to the surroundings.

2.A man?made tail is created for Grace to________.

A．let her recover faster

B．make her comfortable

C．adjust her way of swimming

D．help her perform better tricks

3.The story of Grace inspires people to________.

A．stick to their dreams

B．treat animals friendly

C．treasure what they have

D．face difficulties bravely

Guide to Stockholm University Library

Our library offers different types of studying places and provides a good studying environment.

Zones

The library is divided into different zones.The upper floor is a quiet zone with over a thousand places for silent reading，and places where you can sit and work with your own computer.The reading places consist mostly of tables and chairs.The ground floor is the zone where you can talk.Here you can find sofas and armchairs for group work.

Computers

You can use your own computer to connect to the wi?fi specially prepared for notebook computers；your can also use library computers；which contain the most commonly used applications，such as Microsoft Office.They are situated in the area known as the Experimental Field on the ground floor.

Group?study Places

If you want to discuss freely without disturbing others，you can book a study room or sit at a table on the ground floor.Some study rooms are for 2?3 people and others can hold up to 6?8 people.All rooms are marked on the library maps.

There are 40 group?study rooms that must be booked via the website.To book，you need an active University account and a valid University card.You can use a room three hours per day，nine hours at most per week.

Storage of Study Material

The library has lockers for students to store course literature.When you have obtained at least 40 credits (學(xué)分)，you may rent a locker and pay 400 SEK for a year’s rental period.

Rules to be Followed

Mobile phone conversations are not permitted anywhere in the library.Keep your phone on silent as if you were in a lecture and exit the library if you need to receive calls.

Please note that food and fruit are forbidden in the library，but you are allowed to have drinks and sweets with you.

1.The library’s upper floor is mainly for students to________.

A．read in a quiet place

B．have group discussions

C．take comfortable seats

D．get their computers fixed

2.Library computers on the ground floor________.

A．help students with their field experiments

B．contain software essential for schoolwork

C．are for those who want to access the wi?fi

D．are mostly used for filling out application forms

3.What condition should be met to book a group?study room?

A．A group must consist of 8 people.

B．Three?hour use per day is the minimum.

C．One should first register at the university.

D．Applicants must mark the room on the map.

4.A student can rent a locker in the library if he________.

A．can afford the rental fee

B．attends certain courses

C．has nowhere to put his books

D．has earned the required credits

5.What should NOT be brought into the library?

A．Mobile phones. B．Orange juice.

C．Candy. D．Sandwiches.

(2013·高考天津卷，D)When asked about happiness，we usually think of something extraordinary，an absolute delight，which seems to get rarer the older we get.

For kids，happiness has a magical quality.Their delight at winning a race or getting a new bike is unreserved (毫不掩飾的)．

In the teenage years the concept of happiness changes.Suddenly it’s conditional on such things as excitement，love and popularity.I can still recall the excitement of being invited to dance with the most attractive boy at the school party.

In adulthood the things that bring deep joy－love，marriage，birth－also bring responsibility and the risk of loss.For adults，happiness is complicated (復(fù)雜的)．

My definition of happiness is “the capacity for enjoyment”．The more we can enjoy what we have，the happier we are.It’s easy to overlook the pleasure we get from the company of friends，the freedom to live where we please，and even good health.

I experienced my little moments of pleasure yesterday.First I was overjoyed when I shut the last lunch?box and had the house to myself.Then I spent an uninterrupted morning writing，which I love.When the kids and my husband came home，I enjoyed their noise after the quiet of the day.

Psychologists tell us that to be happy we need a mix of enjoyable leisure time and satisfying work.I don’t think that my grandmother，who raised 14 children，had much of either.She did have a network of close friends and family，and maybe this is what satisfied her.

We，however，with so many choices and such pressure to succeed in every area，have turned happiness into one more thing we’ve got to have.We’re so self?conscious about our “right” to it that it’s making us miserable.So we chase it and equal it with wealth and success，without noticing that the people who have those things aren’t necessarily happier.

Happiness isn’t about what happens to us－it’s about how we see what happens to us.It’s the skillful way of finding a positive for every negative.It’s not wishing for what we don’t have，but enjoying what we do possess.

1.As people grow older，they________.

A．feel it harder to experience happiness

B．associate their happiness less with others

C．will take fewer risks in pursuing happiness

D．tend to believe responsibility means happiness

2.What can we learn about the author from Paragraph 5 and 6?

A．She cares little about her own health.

B．She enjoys the freedom of traveling.

C．She is easily pleased by things in daily life.

D．She prefers getting pleasure from housework.

3.What can be inferred from Paragraph 7?

A．Psychologists think satisfying work is key to happiness.

B．Psychologists’ opinion is well proved by Grandma’ case.

C．Grandma often found time for social gatherings.

D．Grandma’s happiness came from modest expectations of life.

4.People who equal happiness with wealth and success________.

A．consider pressure something blocking their way

B．stress their right to happiness too much

C．are at a loss to make correct choices

D．are more likely to be happy

5.What can be concluded from the passage?

A．Happiness lies between the positive and the negative.

B．Each man is the master of his own fate.

C．Success leads to happiness.

D．Happy is he who is content.