In a book called Magnificent Obsession, by Lloyd C. Douglas, a description is given of people helping others but doing it secretly. When difficult problems worried an individual, friends nearby would meet to discuss possible solutions without the individual knowing their actions. When a solution was agreed upon, one or two of the friends would carry out the plan and solve the problem secretly, to the great delight of the worried individual. The helpers would stand by privately, content with their success. No reward was given to the problem solvers, not even a sincere “thank you”, because they were never known.

This concept is popular today but in a different way. The phrase “pay it forward” is now used when one person helps another. However, the person helped may not be able to repay the person or group that helped them. So rather than return the favor to their helpers, they are supposed to help someone else in the future, which means they pay it forward. It is a sense of responsibility which makes us want to give back in equal measure to the one who has helped us. But, in this case, the responsibility turns to helping someone in the future.

Suppose your elderly grandmother pays part of your schooling. She may tell you there is no need to repay her because it is a gift from someone who loves you very much. Nothing would please her more than to have you use her money to get a good education.

You may never be able to repay her for such a gift. However, she not only gave you some money, but she provided you with an example that you should also help other people who need it.

People with serious needs are everywhere. Many are children who need better clothes, more books and even better schools. Some are elderly people who can’t afford their medicine or a doctor’s care. Consider how you can “pay it forward” rather than pay money back to your grandmother.

The helpers in the book “Magnificent Obsession” were not rewarded because ________.

A. they hadn’t solved the problems thoroughly

B. they had solved the problems secretly

C. they were friends of the worried individual

D. they expected to be paid back in the future

The underlined word “pay it forward” means ________.                    

A. to repay someone who has helped you  

B. to pay someone else who needs help

C. to help someone who has helped you

D. to help someone else who needs help

What does the writer suggest with the example of “your elderly grandmother”?

A. We should learn to respect our grandparents.

B. We should work hard to get a good education.

C. We should also lend a hand to other people in need of help.

D. We should never forget to repay people for their help.

From the passage we know ________.

A. everybody needs help

B. more children need help than elderly people

C. it costs a lot of money to “pay it forward”

D. nowadays many people help others without being repaid

By writing the passage, the author wishes people in the world to be ________.

A. unselfish                  B. mysterious                C. honest               D. unforgettable  

Once I went to a railway station near New York. I  36  to take the night train there.  37  of people were pushing into the  38  train. I found a railway official and asked him if I could get a place in a sleeping car,  39  he said sharply, “No, you can’t. The train is full. Don’t  40  me any more.”

I was very  41  indeed. I said to the friend who was with me, “ he talked to me like this  42 he doesn’t know that I am a famous writer. If he knew…But before I could 43  my sentence my friend said, “Don’t be  44 . How could that help you? Whoever you are, there are no  45  seats on the train.” I was  46  he was wrong, so I went up to the same official again and told him that I was Mark Twain. But all he said, “I told you not to trouble me any more.”

Just then I  47  a young porter in a sleeping car looking at me, He whispered something to the train conductor, and that conductor came over to me and said very  48 , “ Can I help you, sir?” “ I  49 do.” I answered.

The porter took out boxes and we got on to the train. When the porter saw we were comfortably  50  in our places, he said, “Now. Is there anything you want, sir? Because you can have whatever you  51 .”

After the porter had gone, my friend looked 52  . He said. “I am  53  sorry I said those things to you just now…” Just then the porter came again and said. “ Oh. Sir, I  54  you immediately”. “Really?” I said happily, “of course”, he said. “I recognized you the  55  I saw you and told the conductor that you are Mr Smith, the mayor of New York City.”

A. managed             B. failed                       C. used                  D. happened

A. Some                B. Most                    C. Crowds             D. Many

A. night                     B. busy                        C. full                   D. leaving

A. but                    B. and                          C. though                  D. where

A. ask                    B. trouble                         C. follow            D. strike

A. nervous              B. uneasy                         C. hurt                  D. busy

A. as if                   B. since                        C. suppose             D. because

A. complete            B. continue                   C. make                D. speak

A. upset                     B. sad                          C. foolish                  D. discouraged

A. more                     B. enough                     C. our                   D. empty

A. wondering          B. sure                         C. told                  D. thinking

A. met                    B. noticed                     C. remembered      D. knew

A. loudly                B. calmly                         C. politely             D. slowly

A. can                    B. shall                        C. certainly            D. must

A. seating               B. settled                   C. sleeping            D. drinking

A. take                   B. bring                       C. like                   D. buy

A. surprised            B. ashamed                   C. sorrowful          D. anxious

A. awfully              B. much                       C. more               D. too much

A. admired              B. realized                    C. recognized      D. respected

A. moments            B. while                       C. minute                  D. soon

It is common for older people to forget things. Now an American study has found that memory starts to fail when we are young adults. People younger than thirty years of age usually do not know that they are starting to forget information. But scientists from the University of Michigan say the loss of memory has usually already started.

    Researchers say people do not observe this slow reduction in mental ability until the loss affects their everyday activities.

    Denise Park led the new study. She directs the Centre for Aging and Cognition at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. Her team studied more than 350 men and women between the ages of twenty and ninety years. The study identified people in their middle twenties with memory problems.

    She says young adults do not know they are forgetting things because their brains have more information than they need.

    But she says that people in their twenties and thirties are losing memory at the same rate as people in their sixties and seventies.

    Ms. Park says people between the ages of sixty and seventy may note the decrease in their mental abilities. They begin to observe that they are having more trouble remembering and learning new information.

    The study found that older adults are more likely to remember false information as being true. For example, they remembered false medical claims as being true. Younger people remembered hearing the information. But they were more likely to remember that it was false.

    Ms. Park is now using modern imaging equipment to study what happens in the brains of people of different ages. She is studying what parts of the brain older adults use for different activities compared to younger adults. Ms. Park says mental performance is a direct result of brain activity and brain structure. She says keeping the brain active is important. She hopes future studies will identify ways to improve the operation of our aging minds.

The passage is meant to _____________.

A. emphasize the importance of exercising the brain

B. analyze the difference between different age groups on the loss of memory

C. reveal the decrease in mental ability of young adults as well as older adults

D. introduce effective ways to improve memory

According to the passage, young adults differ from older adults in that ________.

A. they lose their memory at a slower rate

B. they rarely realize they have memory problems

C. their brains can store much more information

D. all of the above

Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

A. Not until the loss of memory affects their daily activities, do people notice the decrease in their mental abilities.

B. People begin to lose memory in their twenties.

C. Older people tend to remember false information as being true.

D. Younger people find it easier to remember the information that is proven false.

It can be inferred from what Denis Park says that ______.

A. mental performance can be improved

B. mental ability is determined entirely by brain structure

C. people of different ages use different parts of the brain for memorizing

D. different parts of the brain are responsible for different mental activities

Which of the following is a suitable title for the passage?

A. The Mysterious Brain         B. The Ability to Forget

C. Memory Reduction           D. Mental Performance

假定英語課上老師要求同桌之間交換修改作文，請你修改你同桌寫的以下作文。文中共有10處語言錯誤，每句中最多有兩處。錯誤涉及一個單詞的增加、刪除或修改。

       增加：在缺詞處加一個漏字符號（∧），并在其下面寫出該加的詞。

       刪除：把多余的詞用斜線（\）劃掉。

       修改：在錯的詞下劃一橫線，并在該詞下面寫出修改后的詞。

注意：1．每處錯誤及其修改均僅限一詞。

       2．只允許修改10處，多者（從第11處起）不計(jì)分。

       Mark Twain liked to play jokes in his friends．One day one of his friends lost his wallet and asked Mark pay the train fare for him．"But I haven't got enough money to pay both your fare or mine," Mark said．Then he adds, "We can get on the train first and when the conductor comes to check ticket, you hide under my seat．" Late, however, when the conductor came to check tickets, Mark gave him two more tickets．Then he said in the loud voice, "My friend is a strange man．When he travels on a train, he prefers to lying on the floor under the seat．" Of course many passengers laughed at his poorly friend．

The driver was at ___ loss when _____ word came that he was forbidden to drive for speeding．

       A．a(chǎn); the              B．/; /                C．the; the    D．a(chǎn); /

We bought the house for its _____. It is very near the shop where I work.

     A. characteristic         B. value                   C. convenience    D. construction

From the way her sitting room is decorated, you can tell she has a wonderful ___ in art.

       A. taste   B. style   C. sense   D. fashion

Little Tony insisted that his mother _____ him to school.  

A. send   B. sent           C. sends                       D. sending 

Even plant can run a fever, especially when they’re under attack by insects or disease. But unlike human, plants can have their temperature taken from 3,000 feet away straight up. A decade ago, adopting the infrared （紅外線）scanning technology developed for military purposes and other satellites, physicist Stephen Paley came up with a quick way to take the temperature of crops to determine which ones are under stress. The goal was to let farmers precisely target pesticide (殺蟲劑)spraying rather than rain poison on a whole field, which invariably includes plants that don’t have pest(害蟲)problems.

Even better, Paley’s Remote Scanning Services Company could detect crop problems before they became visible to the eye. Mounted on a plane flown at 3,000 feet at night, an infrared scanner measured the heat sent out by crops. The data were transformed into a color-coded map showing where plants were running “fevers”. Farmers could then spot-spray, using 50 to 70 percent less pesticide that they otherwise would.

The bad news is that Paley’s company closed down in 1984, after only three years. Farmers resisted the new technology and long-term backers were hard to find. But with the renewed concern about pesticides on produce, and refinements（改進(jìn)）ininfrared scanning, Paley hopes to get back into operation. Agriculture experts have no doubt the technology works. “This technique can be used on 75 percent of agricultural land in the United States,” says George Oerther of Texas A& M, who recently retired from the Department of Agriculture, thinks remote infrared crop scanning could be adopted by the end of the decade. But only if Paley finds the financial backing which he failed to obtain 10 years ago.

In what situation will plants have a fever?(No more than 8 words)(2marks)

How can we apply pesticide spraying precisely?(No more than 10 words)(2 marks)

Why may infrared scanning technology by brought back into operation?(No more than 13 words)(3 marks)

What is the biggest problem that might prevent bringing infrared scanning technology back?(No more than 7 words)(3 marks)

Take great pains to read _____ you can or you won't have a better understanding of

life．

       A．a(chǎn)s much as                      B．books as much as

       C．books as many as                D．a(chǎn)s many books as