After a long absence, I went back to college, ______ to pick up where I’d left off.

A. hoping              B. hope                 C. to hope             D. hoped

—Miss Smith is in hospital.

—Oh, really? I ______ know. I will go and visit her.

A . don’t　　　　　　　 B. didn’t　　　　　　　 C. do　　　　　　　　　 D. did

 I am afraid Mr. Wang ______ see you now. He is on a business trip.

A. can’t                 B. mustn’t             C. needn’t             D. shouldn’t

 The sign reads “In case of ______ fire, break the glass and push ______ red button.”

A. 不填; a             B. 不填; the          C. the; the             D. a; a

In golf, we talk about handicaps. The lower the handicap, the better the golfer. A golfer with a handicap of 12 tends to play better than one with a handicap of 20. It means that for a golf course that normally takes a professional 72 strokes (擊球) over 18 holes to play, a 12-handicap golfer would complete his full game with a score of 84 strokes.

When it comes to creative thinking, is there such a handicap system? Can we describe a person as a 12-handicap in his creative thinking ability? Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no such system yet for creative thinking. But we all suffer from a handicap when it comes to creative thinking. Some of us are better players at such an activity, with ideas flowing freely. Some of us are average or green hands at such thinking, failing often and feeling very frustrated. But don’t fear. Creative thinkers can be like golfers striving to reduce their handicaps. It takes learning and practice, and re-learning and re-practice until you become better at it.

How do you learn to be a creative thinker? Just like the game of golf, you need to have an interest. Is your interest purely social, business or personal? Do you have a desire to improve?

Most golfers challenge themselves to reduce their handicaps for personal satisfaction and enjoyment, so do you have this burning desire to be a better creative thinker?

Next comes the learning process. Some golfers are self-taught. They learn from watching golf tournaments live or on TV. They watch videotapes of golf professionals. They read golf books.

To self-teach yourself in creative thinking, you can buy books on the subject or borrow books from community and university libraries. Some creative books list a bibliography (書目) of other useful reference books on the same subject. If you are resourceful, you can visit as many schools, colleges, universities, or community libraries as possible.

You need to think about what you read. Study the different creative thinking processes and methods, and experiment with them on your own or among friends. Practice makes you remember better. Practice also makes perfect, as the saying goes.

Many golfers take up lessons from teaching professionals rather than learning from friends who might not teach correctly. If you can, sign up for creative-thinking lessons offered by famous companies.

Don’t just attend the creative-thinking courses. Be a committed student, always following up on what you have learned and exploring more. Although I train teams in creativity and innovation, I am still reading widely on the subject, reflecting on my company’s methods, improving on the teaching of methods, and experimenting with and adapting to new techniques.

The greatest handicap is yourself, your own mind. If you have been brought up to believe that you are not creative and you keep telling yourself or people that you are not creative, then you are not helping yourself. A golfer who has a negative self-image is also ruining himself and his game. Cancel the negative self-image from your mind. Each time the negative thought flashes in your mind, replace it with a positive self-image, such as "I have the capacity to be very creative. I can be a creative thinker." Then affirm (肯定) this new image daily, several times a day. It might help if you write down such affirmative statements and paste them in places to remind you several times each day.

Focus on this creative image of yourself daily. Twice a day if possible, even if it is only 10 minutes each time. Focus and imagine yourself being creative in your studies, work, meetings, at home, and in different situations.

　 Then train yourself to succeed as you have imagined. It means actually thinking and experimenting with different creative techniques on practical cases. It also means reading to enrich your mind daily, even if it is but half an hour a day. Keep on learning, practicing, reviewing, re-learning and re-practicing, and I am confident that you can bring down your creative thinking handicap.

72. Creative thinking is different from golf in that ______.

A. there is no handicap system for creative thinking　 B.creative thinkers suffer from no handicap

C. creative thinkers have to deal with more obstacles D. creative thinking has nothing to do with personal satisfaction

73. The underlined word "handicap" (Para. 4) can best be replaced by ______.

A. disadvantage　　　　 B. uncertainty 　　　　　　　C. inconvenience 　　　　　 D. Discomfort

74. According to the passage, ______ is the greatest barrier for creative thinking.

A. lack of the interest in exploring more　　　　　

B. lack of self-confidence

C. not attending the creative thinking course　　　

D. having no interest in reading books on creativity

75. What kind of writing technique is employed by the author to make his point clear?

A. Description. 　　　　　　 B. Definition. 　　　　　 C. Comparison.　　　 D. Explanation.

Disease, poverty, hate, love－Charles Dickens’ stories opened his readers eyes to the most important themes of his age. Two hundred years on, his stories still speak volumes across the world, proving that Dickens’ legacy（遺產(chǎn)） was far greater that just “great-literature”. February 7 marks the 200th anniversary of the writer’s birthday. To mark this date, BBC writer Alex Hudson listed six things Dickens gave the modern world. Let’s take a look at two of them.

A White Christmas

Dickens is described as “the man who invented Christmas” － not the religious festival, but the cultural aspects that we associate with the festive season today. In the early 19th century, Christmas was barely worth mentioning, according to critic and writer Leigh Hunt. The committee which ran the Conservative Party even held ordinary business meetings on Christmas Day－unthinkable in the West nowadays, when everyone but the most necessary workers takes at least three days off. Many people believe that Dickens’ popular descriptions of the festive period became a blueprint for generations to come. In his classic novel, A Christmas Carol, he not only put forward the idea of snow at Christmas, but also painted a picture of glowing warmth－“home enjoyments, affections and hopes”. In his biography of Dickens, Peter Ackroyd wrote: “Dickens can be said to have almost single-handedly created the modern idea of Christmas.”

“Dickens” poverty

Dickens was one of the first to take an honest look at the underclass and the poor of Victorian London. He helped popularize the term “red tape” to describe situations where people in power use needless amounts of bureaucracy(官僚作風(fēng)) in a way that particularly hurts the weaker and poorer members of society.

“Dickensian” has now become a powerful word for describing an unacceptable level of poverty. In 2009, when the president of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers in the UK wanted to talk about poverty in some areas of Britain, she did not use words like “terrible” or “horrific”, but rather described it as “l(fā)ife mirroring the times of Dickens”.

68. The article is mainly about　　　　　 .

A. a brief introduction to Charles Dickens’　　　　　　

B. the characters in Charles Dickens’ stories

C. Charles Dickens’ achievements in literature　　　　　

D. Charles Dickens’ impact on the world

69. Why is Dickens’ called “the man who invented Christmas”?

A. Because he created both religious and culture festival.

B. Because his novels have something to do with Christmas.

C.Because one of his novels helped to shape Christmas celebrations.

D. Because he was the first man to have proposed celebrating Christmas.

70. We can learn from the passage that　　　　　 .

A. Dickensian is widely used to describe the Christmas

B. Charles Dickens’ novels reflect(反映) the true life at his age

C. Every person can take three days off for Christmas

D. The theme of Charles Dickens’ stories is about poverty

71. What can we infer from the passage?

A. Dickens gave the modern world six things.　　　

B. Dickens is still popular today in Britain.

C. Dickens invented Christmas　　　　　　　 　　

D. Agreements are made by the underclass of society

Many women write to me perplexed (困惑的)about why they,can’t form close friendships. They try new approaches, put themselves in all the right places, see therapists, and read relevant self-help books. They consider themselves interesting, loyal, kind, and friend-worthy people. But for reasons unknown to them, they have a tough time forming intimate relationships. Many admit to not having even one close friend.
    A recent study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology offers some clues as to how both nature (personality) and nurture (experience) impact our friendships. Researchers at the University of Virginia and University of Toronto,Mississauga studied more than 7,000 American adults between the ages of 20 and 75 over a period of ten years , looking at the number of times these adults moved during childhood. Their study, like prior ones, showed a link between residential mobility and adult well-being: The more times participants moved as children, the poorer the quality of their adult social relationships.
    But digging deeper, the researchers found that personality — specifically being introverted (內(nèi)向的)or extroverted (外向的) — could either intensify or buffer (緩沖) the effect of moving to a new town or neighborhood during childhood. The negative impact of more moves during childhood was far greater for introverts compared to extroverts.
    "Moving a lot makes it difficult for people to maintain long-term close relationships," stated Dr. Shigehiro Oishi, the first author of the study, in a press release from the American Psychological Association, "This might not be a serious problem for outgoing people who can make friends quickly and easily. Less outgoing people have a harder time making new friends. "
   Families often have to relocate -- across town, across the country, or across the globe. Yet, in many cases, their kids and young adolescents haven’t yet built up a bank of friendships. So the conventional wisdom is to try to minimize moves for the sake of your child, whenever possible, and to move at the end of the academic year.

64The passage is written mainly to            .
 A. offer advice to women on how to form intimate relationships

 B. tell us how to help children make friends
 C. explain how moves during childhood affect children
 D. explain how nature and nurture impact our friendships
65. Which of the following is true according to the second paragraph?
 A.The more people moved during childhood, the better they adjust to society.

 B. The more people moved during childhood, the more friends they have.
 C. People who moved less during childhood have better social relationships.
 D. There is no link between residential mobility and adult well-being.
66. We learn from the fourth paragraph that moves during childhood           .

 A. are a big problem for both introverts and extroverts

 B. have no impact on an outgoing person

 C. have a bigger impact on an introverted person compared to extroverts

 D. help children better adapt to new environment

67. We can infer from the passage that             .      
 A.there is some way to minimize the impact of moves during childhood on children 

 B. we can move when children have made a lot of friends
 C. the impact of moves will disappear when one reaches adulthood
 D. our friendships are mainly affected by our nurture

　 Men can be beautiful too, right?

CHINA is going to host the 18th World University Student Beauty Contest in Guangzhou this December. This year for the first time the contest will include a male section. Students from over 130 countries will compete for Mr. and Miss Beauty. The contest is one of the most respected beauty contests in the world. It was copied by the United Nations University (an international university belonging to the United Nations) in 1986.

Stick to studying

LI Yining, an economics professor at Peking University, said that he would not encourage students to try their luck in the stock market (股市). “They should stress study,” Li said, in his speech at Beijing Foreign Studies University. When asked, the professor said he expected house prices in Beijing to continue to rise. Li thinks the government should provide more affordable houses for low-level income people.

Campus cinema

Students at over 100 universities will have a digital cinema on campus after the National Day holiday. The 21st Century Digital Film on Campus Project was launched at the end of September. The ticket will cost 3-8 yuan, rather than 30-40 yuan at cinemas in town. Students often download movies online or watch DVDs. Now they can enjoy original films in the digital cinema. The digital cinema will show a variety of films other than Hollywood blockbusters (好萊塢大片).

Getting practical

All 12,000 graduates from vocational school in Shanxi Province have landed a job, according to the provincial government. In the past five years, it is estimated that over 95 percent of the professional school graduates have found　

jobs. However, the number for university graduates is 70 percent. Some employers said that they prefer professional school graduates who learned something more practical in school and expected lower salaries than university students.

60. Where can the material be chosen from?

A. A novel. 　　　　　B. A fashion magazine. 　　　C. An advertisement　　 D. A newspaper.

61. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the passage?

A. More than 130 countries will take part in the 18th World University Student Beauty Contest.

B. In the past five years, over 95 percent of the university graduates have found jobs in Shanxi.

C. The ticket for digital film will cost 3-8 yuan

D. Over 100 universities took part in the 21st Century Digital Film on Campus Project.

62.Professor Li thinks that ______.

A. the government can do nothing about housing problem.　　　　

B. the students should try their luck in the stock market.

C. The house prices in Beijing will keep going up.

D. the students should not only pay attention to study.

63. What can we infer from the passage?

A. In Shanxi, the professional school graduates are less popular with employers than university graduates recently.

B. The digital cinema will only show Hollywood blockbusters.

C. The graduates from universities can put what they learned into practice more easily.

D. No men competed in the World University Students Beauty Contest before this year.

　 While reading a story on 20-somethings complaining about how the economy was ruining their life plans, I couldn’t help but think the 20-somethings sounded like a bunch of spoiled who grew up expecting everything to be easy for them. As a 20-something myself, certainly share their disappointment : my husband and I probably won’t be able to buy a house until we’re in our 40s, and we two are burdened by student loans(貸款). But why should it be any different? Being young persons in America, shouldn’t they take up all of the challenges and opportunities that this country offers?

Consider some of these views shared in the story: Jennifer, 29, owner of a two-bedroom apartment with her husband, worries that she won’t be able to have children for at least a decade because they can’t afford to buy a house yet. I read that, and I thought what planet she is living on where you need to own a house in order to have kids? Has she ever visited a developing country, or even downtown areas in this one? Home ownership is a luxury(奢華), not a fertility requirement.

A 26-year-old in the story is disappointed that he can’t afford to get a Ph. D in literature. Well, that sounds a bit like expressing disappointment that no one will pay you to write poetry on the beach in Thailand for five years.

Yes, it’s sad that these young people feel so lost. But I think the problem is their extremely high expectations, not economic reality. Beth Kobliner, author of Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties, says that she thinks people’s expectations grew up at a time when everyone’s wealth appeared to be increasing, Their parents probably saw their home values rise along with their investments. “So you have people who have grown up in an environment where people had great expectations of what living well means,” says Kobliner.

This recession(經(jīng)濟(jì)衰退) will certainly play a role in forcing those expectations into more realistic group. In the meantime, it seems a lot better for our mental health to focus on being grateful---for our one-bedroom apartments, for living in modern cities, or perhaps just for being able to eat three meals a day---than on longing for some kind of luxury life.

56. What makes the author think the 20-somethings sound like a bunch of spoiled children?

A.They expect everything to be easy for them. 　　　　

B. They are burdened by student loans.

C. They are unwilling to face all of the challenges. 　　

D. They complain that the economy is spoiling their life plans.

57. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the complaints of the 20-somethings?

A. They can’t have children for at least a decade a decade to buy a house.

B.They despair at not being able to afford a PH. D in literature.

C. They can’t buy a house until 40 and are burdened by student loans.

D. They have only a one-bedroom apartment to live in.

58. What’s the Kobliner’s attitude towards the 20-somethings with high expectations?

A.Unbearable 　　　　 B. Understanding 　　　　 C. Doubtful　　　　 D. Opposite

59. What is the best title for this passage?

A. Young people’s high hopes create despair　　　　　　　　　　

B. Young people can’t afford to buy a house

C. Young people afford to continue their study 　　　　　　　　

D. The 20-somethings’ high expectations

John chose his food carefully in Walmart. He estimated he had 36　 80 cents today. He was pleased he had got good 37　 for his money again.

At the exit, the freezing wind 38　 him of his gloves. He was sure he was wearing them when entering the

39　 . He made a search of his pockets. Then he thought they must have been　 40　 somewhere in the store. John had bought the black gloves for $35 ten years ago. They were leather, soft and durable. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material that never lasted long. His　 41　 to buy the gloves turned out to be good, which even 42　 his position on the bus, as poorer passengers stared at him 43　 .

　 take long to be 　 46　 that the gloves were not there. His 47　 grew heavier. “People have changed”, he 48　 . “Years ago, if somebody　 49 something lost, they would give it back.”

　 Yet he did not give up. This time he focused on the gloves on other shoppers’　 50　 . Suddenly he　 51　 a lady nearby wearing a black pair of gloves. He said, “Hi!” But when the surprised lady returned his　 52　 , his eyes dropped to the floor, for the fingers of her gloves were too small for him.

　 Without gloves, he had to　 53　 his hands into his sleeves. Back home, John was　 54　 . He could not do without gloves. John decided to buy another leather pair. But before that, he stepped into Walmart again to see if by any

　 55 his gloves had been returned to the lost and found office. The girl looked into her drawer and took out a pair of men’s leather gloves. “Are they?”

　 “Yes! Mine!” John shouted with joy.