When you make a mistake，big or small，cherish it as it’s the most precious thing in the world.
Most of us feel bad when we make mistakes，beat ourselves up about it，feel like failures，and get mad at ourselves.
And that’s only natural：Most of us have been taught from a young age that mistakes are bad，and we should try to avoid mistakes.We’ve been scolded when we make mistakes—at home，school and work.Maybe not always，but probably enough times to make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.
Yet without mistakes，we could not learn or grow.If you think about it that way，mistakes should be cherished and celebrated for being one of the most amazing things in the  world：They  make  learning  possible；they make growth  and improvement possible.
By trial and error—trying things，making mistakes，and learning from those mistakes—we have figured out how to make electric lights，to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel，and to fly.
Mistakes make walking possible for the smallest toddler，make speech possible，and make works of genius possible.
Think about how we learn：We don’t just consume information about something and instantly know it or know how to do it.You don’t just read about painting，or writing，or computer programming，or baking，or playing the piano，and know how to do them fight away.Instead，you get information about something，from reading or from another person or from observing usually...then you construct a model in your mind...then you test it out by trying it in the real world...then you make mistakes...then you revise the model based on the results of your real world experimentation...and repeat，making mistakes，learning from those mistakes，until you’ve pretty much learned how to do something.
That’s how we learn as babies and toddlers，and how we learn as adults.Mistakes are how we learn to do something new—because if you succeed in something，it’s probably something you already knew how to do.You haven’t really grown much from that success—at most it’s the last step on your journey，not the whole journey.Most of the journey is made up of mistakes，if it’s a good journey.
So if you value learning，if you value growing and improving，then you should value mistakes.They are amazing things that make a world of brilliance possible.
【小題1】Why do most of us feel bad about making mistakes?

A．Because mistakes make us suffer a lot.

B．Because it’s a natural part in our life.

C．Because we’ve been taught so from a young age.

D．Because mistakes have ruined many people’s careers.

【小題2】According to the passage，what is the right attitude to mistakes?

A．We should try to avoid making mistakes.

B．We should owe great inventions mainly to mistakes.

C．We should treat mistakes as good chances to learn.

D．We should make feeling bad about mistakes an unconscious reaction.

【小題3】The underlined word “toddler” in Paragraph 6 probably means________.

A．a(chǎn) small child learning to walk

B．a(chǎn) kindergarten child learning to draw

C．a(chǎn) primary pupil learning to read

D．a(chǎn) school teenager learning to write

【小題4】We can learn from the passage that________.

A．most of us can really grow from success

B．growing and improving are based on mistakes

C．we learn to make mistakes by trial and error

D．we read about something and know how to do it right away

【小題5】The author wants to tell us________.

A．what you should do when meeting with difficulties

B．where you can find your mistakes

C．how you can avoid making mistakes

D．why you should celebrate your mistakes

Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy(策略). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.
Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. I f you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax, you will have your trip money.
When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year’s Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to put something in it.
Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters(制陶工) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay(黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars.The Middle English word
for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as “pug”, eventually the two words changed into the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy. As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.
Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money--- college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely. 
【小題1】What is the piggy bank strategy?

A．Paying 1% income tax at a time.

B．Setting a goal before making a travel plan.

C．Aiming high even when doing small things.

D．Putting aside a little money regularly for future use.

【小題2】Why did the writer’s parents give him a piggy bank as a gift?

A．To delight him with the latest fashion.

B．To encourage him to climb mountains.

C．To help him form the habit of saving.

D．To teach him English pronunciation.

【小題3】What does then underlined word “something”(Paragraph 3) most probably refer to?

A．Money	B．Gifts
C．Financial success	D．Good luck

【小題4】The piggy ban originally was _________.

A．a(chǎn) potter’s instrument

B．a(chǎn) cheap clay container

C．a(chǎn)n animal-shaped dish

D．a(chǎn) pig-like toy for children

【小題5】The last paragraph talks about ________.

A．the seriousness of educating children

B．the enjoyment of taking a great trip

C．the importance of managing money

D．the difficulty of starting a business

Since the first Earth Day in 1970,American have gotten a lot “greener” toward the environment . “We didn’t know at that time there even was an environment ,let alone that there was a problem with it,” says Bruce Anderson, president of Earth Day USA.
But what began as nothing important in public affairs has grown into a social movement .Business people, political leaders, university professors, and especially millions of grass-roots Americans are taking part in the movement. “The understanding has increased many ,many times,” says Gaylord Nelson, the former  governor from Wisconsin, who thought up the first According to US government reports , emissions (排放)from cars and trucks have dropped from 10.3 million tons a year to 5.5 tons .The number of cities producing CO beyond the standard has been reduced from 40 to 9 .Although serious problems still remain and need to be dealt with , the world is a safer and healthier place .A kind of “Green thinking ” has become part of practices .
Great improvement has been achieved .In 1988 there were only 600 recycling programs ,; today in 1995 there are about 6,600 .Advanced lights ,motors , and building designs have helped save a lot of energy and therefore prevented pollution .
Twenty –five years ago , there were hardly any education programs for environment .Today , it’s hard to find a public school , university , or law school that does not have such a kind of program .” Until we do that , nothing else will change! ” say Bruce Anderson .
【小題1】According to Anderson , before 1970, Americans had little idea about ___

A．the social movement

B．recycling techniques

C．environmental problems

D．the importance of Earth Day

【小題2】Where does the support for environmental protection mainly come from?

A．The grass –roots level

B．The business circle

C．Government officials

D．University professors

【小題3】What have Americans achieved in environmental protection ?

A．They have cut car emissions to the lowest

B．They have settled their environmental problems

C．They have lowered their CO levels in forty cities.

D．They have reduced pollution through effective measures .

【小題4】What is especially important for environmental protection according to the last paragraph ?

A．Education

B．Planning

C．Green living

D．CO reduction

People aren’t walking any more---if they can figure out a way to avoid it.
I felt superior about this matter until  the other day I took my car to mail a small parcel. The journey is a matter of 281 steps. But I used the car. And I wasn’t in ay hurry, either, I had merely become one more victim of a national sickness: motorosis.
It is an illness to which I had thought myself immune(), for I was bred in the tradition of going to places on my own two legs. At that time, we regarded 25 miles as good day’s walk and the ability to cover such a distance in ten hours as sign of strength and skill. It did not occur to us that walking was a hardship. And the effect was lasting. When I was 45 years old I raced –and beat—a teenage football player the 168 steps up the Stature of Liberty.
Such enterprises today are regarded by many middle-aged persons as bad for the heart. But a well-known British physician, Sir Adolphe Abrhams, pointed out recently that hearts and bodies need proper…… is more likely to have illnesses than one who exercises regularly. And wlaking is an ideal form of exercise--- the most familiar and natural of all.
It was Henry Thoreau who showed mankind the richness of going on foot. The man walking can learn the  trees, flower, insects, birds and animals, the significance of seasons, the very feel of himself as a living creature in a living world, He cannot learn in a car.
The car is a convenient means of transport, but we have made it our way of life. Many people don’t dare to approach Nature any more; to them the world they were born to enjoy is all threat. To them security is a steel river thundering on a concrete road. And much of their thinking takes place while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.
I say that the green of forests is the mind’s best light. And none but the man on foot can evaluate what is basic and everlasting.
【小題1】What is the national sickness?

A．Walking too much

B．Traveling too much

C．Driving cars too much

D．Climbing stairs too much.

【小題2】What was life like when the author was young?

A．People usually went around on foot.

B．people often walked 25 miles a day

C．People used to climb the Statue of Liberty.

D．people considered a ten-j\hour walk as a hardship.

【小題3】The author mentions Henry Thoreau to prove that

A．middle-aged people like getting back to nature

B．walking in nature helps enrich one’s mind

C．people need regular exercise to keep fit

D．going on foot prevents heart disease

【小題4】What is compared to “a steel river” in Paragraph6?

A． A queue of cars

B．A ray of traffic light

C．A flash of lightning

D．A stream of people

【小題5】What is the author’s intention of writing this passage?

A．To tell people to reflect more non life.

B．To recommend people to give up driving

C．To advise people to do outdoor activities

D．To encourage people to return to walking

Women are friendly. But men are more competitive. Why? Researchers have found it's all down to the hormone oxytocin (荷爾蒙催生素). Although known as the love hormone, it affects the sexes differently.
"Women tend to be social in their behavior. They often share with others. But men lend to be competitive. They are trying to improve their social status," said Professor Ryan.
Generally, people believe that the hormone oxytocin is let out in our body in various social situations and
our body creates a large amount of it during positive social interactions (互動) such as falling in love or giving birth.
But in a previous experiment Professor Ryan found that the hormone is also let out in our body during negative social interactions such as envy.
Further researches showed that in men the hormone oxytocin improves the ability to recognize competitive relationships, but in women it raises the ability to recognize friendship. Professor Ryan's recent experiment used 62 men and women aged 20 to 37. Half of the participants（參與者）received oxytocin. The other half received placebo (安慰劑).
After a week, the two groups switched with participants. They went tlirough the same procedure with the other material.
Following each treatment, they were shown some video pictures with different social interactions. Then they were asked to analyze the relationships by answering some questions. The questions were about telling friendship from competition. And their answers should be based on gestures, body language and facial expressions.
The results indicated that, after treatment with oxytocin, men's ability to correctly recognize competitive relationships improved, but in women it was the ability to correctly recognize friendship that got better.
Professor Ryan thus concluded: "Our experiment proves that the hormone oxytocin can raise people's abilities to better distinguish different social interactions. And the behavior differences between men and women are caused by biological factors (因素) that are mainly hormonal."
【小題1】What causes men and women to behave differently according to the text?

A．Placebo.	B．Oxytocin.
C．The gesture.	D．The social status.

【小題2】What can we learn from Professor Ryan's previous experiment?

A．Oxytocin affects our behavior in a different way.

B．Our body lets out oxytocin when we are deep in love.

C．Our body produces oxytocin when we feel unhappy about others' success.

D．Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people's behavior differences.

【小題3】Why did Professor Ryan conduct the recent experiment?

A．To test the effect of oxytocin on the ability to recognize social interactions.

B．To know the differences between friendship and competition.

C．To know people's different abilities to answer questions.

D．To test people's understanding of body language.

【小題4】The author develops the text by______.

A．explaining people's behaviors

B．describing his own experiences

C．distinguishing sexual differences

D．discussing research experiments

Willi around 100 students scheduled to be in that 9 am Monday morning lecture, it is no surprise that almost 20 people actually make it to the class and only 10 of them arc still awake after the first IS minutes; it is not even a surprise that most of them are still in their pyjamas (睡衣). Obviously, students are terrible at adjusting their sleep cycles to their daily schedule.
All human beings possess a body clock. Along with other alerting (警報) systems, this governs the sleep/wake cycle and is therefore one of the main processes which govern sleep behaviour. Typically, the preferred sleep/wake cycle is delayed in adolescents, which leads to many students not feeling sleepy until much later in the evenings. This typical sleep pattern is usually referred to as the "night owl" schedule of sleep.
This is opposed to the "early bird" schedule, and is a kind of disorder where the individual tends to stay up much past midnight. Such a person has great difficulty in waking up in the mornings. Research suggests that night owls feel most alert and function best in the evenings and at night. Research findings have shown that about 20 percent of people can be classified as "night owls" and only 10 percent can be classified as "early birds" - the other 70 percent are in the middle. Although this is clearly not true for all students, for the ones who are true night owls this gives them an excellent excuse for missing their lectures which unfortunately fall before midday.
【小題1】What docs the author stress in Paragraph I?

A．Many students are absent from class.

B．Students are very tired on Monday mornings.

C．Students do not adjust their sleep patterns well.

D．Students are not well prepared for class on Mondays.

【小題2】Which of the following is true according to Paragraph 2?

A．Most students prefer to get up late in the morning.

B．Students don't sleep well because of alerting systems.

C．One's body clock governs the sleep/wake cycle independently.

D．Adolescents' delayed sleep/wake cycle isn't the preferred pattern.

【小題3】Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word "classified"?

A．Criticised.

B．Grouped.

C．Organised.

D．Named.

【小題4】What docs the text mainly talk about?

A．Functions of the body clock.

B．The "night owl" phenomenon.

C．Human beings' sleep behaviour.

D．The school schedule of "early birds".

Let's say you want to hit the gym more regularly this year. How do you make that happen? Consider putting the habit loop to use.
Here's how it works:
A habit is a 3-step process. First, there's a cue, something that tells your brain to operate automatically. Then there's a routine. And finally, a reward, which helps your brain learn to desire the behavior. It's what you can use to create-or break-habits of your own.
Here's how to apply it:
Choose a cue, like leaving your running shoes by the door, then pick. a reward-say, a piece of chocolate when you get home from the gym. That way, the cue and the reward become interconnected. Finally, when you see the shoes, your brain will start longing for the reward, which will make it easier to work out day after day. The best part? In a couple of weeks, you won't need the chocolate at all. Your brain will come to see the workout itself as the reward. Which is the whole point, right?
【小題1】Which of the following best fits in the box with a “?” in THE HABIT LOOP?

A．Pick a new cue.	B．Form a new habit.
C．Choose a new reward.	D．Design a new resolution.

【小題2】According to THE HABIT LOOP, you can stick to your plan most effectively by______.

A．changing the routine	B．trying it for a week
C．a(chǎn)djusting your goal	D．writing it down

【小題3】What's the purpose of putting the habit loop to use?

A．To test out different kinds of cues.

B．To do something as a habit even without rewards.

C．To work out the best New Year's resolution.

D．To motivate yourself with satisfactory rewards.

【小題4】“This year when I see the Harry Potter poster, I will read 30 pages of an English novel or an English newspaper in order to watch TV for half an hour." What is the cue in this resolution?

A．The Harry Potter poster.

B．Reading 30 pages of an English novel.

C．An English newspaper.

D．Watching TV for half an hour.

(Q =" Question;" A = Answer)
Situation I
Q: If someone sits right next to me in an empty movie theater, is it rude to move?
A: Maybe, but nobody will fault you for it. Chances are that close sitter doesn't realize he disturbs you, so he may miss your annoyance. You undoubtedly aren't the first person he's met who needs enough room. Forgive his bad judgment, move quietly and enjoy the show.
Situation II
Q: If I use the bathroom at a store, do I need to buy something?
A: Consider frequency and urgency. Is this a one-time or an emergency? If so, you don't have to buy anything, but it would be kind if you did. However, if you regularly use the bathroom at this place, then you are a customer, and you should act like one.
Situation III
Q: If someone is talking loudly on the bus, is there a nice way to ask him to keep it down?
A: No. Try other means.1) Stare at him until he gets aware of it and quiets down. 2) Lift your finger in a silence motion(動作)and smile. 3) Put on earphones and ignore him.
Situation IV
Q: If I remember my friend's birthday a day late, should I apologize or just wish her a happy birthday like nothing happened?
A: This is the reason why the word belated was invented. "Happy belated birthday!" is short for: "Well, I know I forgot, but then I remembered. Forgive me and happy birthday."
Situation V
Q: Can I lie about seeing a text because I was too busy or lazy to respond(回復(fù)) to it?
A: Don't lie. Receiving a text does not mean you need to respond to it. Why waste a perfectly good lie when the truth will serve? "Yes," you can say if ever asked, "I saw it." No explanation is needed as to why you don't respond.
【小題1】You will get annoyed in a theater when         .

A．a(chǎn) person is too active

B．a(chǎn) person is too rude to you

C．a(chǎn) person talks too loudly

D．a(chǎn) person sits too close to you

【小題2】How will you quiet someone down in a public place?

A．By making fun of him continuously.

B．By looking purposefully at him.

C．By talking to him directly.

D．By pointing angrily at him.

【小題3】The underlined word "belated" in Situation IV probably means      .

A．predicted

B．returned

C．cancelled

D．delayed

【小題4】What is the passage mainly about?

A．Modern ways to mind your manners.

B．Different ways to change others' manners.

C．Proper manners to offer help to others.

D．Good manners to talk to people.

【小題1】Why is June 6, 1990 a special day for Mommy?

A．Her dream of being a mother came true.

B．She found her origin from her Chinese mother.

C．She wrote the letter to her daughter.

D．Her female line was well linked.

【小題2】How does Mommy feel about her being given away?

A．It is bitter and disappointing.

B．It is painful but understandable.

C．She feels sorry but sympathetic.

D．She feels hurt and angry.

【小題3】What does “I stood out like a sore thumb” in Paragraph 5 mean?

A．I walked clumsily out of pains.

B．I was not easy to love due to jealousy.

C．I was impatient out of fear.

D．I looked different from others.

【小題4】What can be inferred from Mommy’s Anglo family life?

A．She used to experience an identity crisis.

B．She fought against her American identity.

C．She forgot the pains of her early years.

D．She kept her love for Asia from childhood.

【小題5】Why did Mommy name her daughter “Shao-ming?”

A．To match her own birth-name.

B．To brighten the lives of the family.

C．To identify her with Chinese origin.

D．To justify her pride in Chinese culture.

【小題6】By “Your past is more complete than mine,” Mommy means ________.

A．her past was completed earlier than Shao-ming’s

B．Shao-ming has got motherly care and a sense of roots

C．her mother didn’t comfort her the way she did Shao-ming

D．her past was spent brokenly, first in Asia, then in the US

For most city people, the elevator is an unremarkable machine that inspires none of the enthusiasm or interest that Americans afford trains, jets，and even bicycles. Dr. Christopher Wilk is a member of a small group of elevator experts who consider this a misunderstanding. Without the elevator, they point out, there could be no downtown skyscrapers or tall buildings, and city life as we know it would be impossible. In that sense, they argue，the elevator’s role in American history has been no less significant than that of cars. In fact, according to Wilk_? the car and the elevator have been locked in a “secret war” for over a century, with cars making it possible for people to spread horizontally (水平地)，and elevators pushing them toward life in close groups of towering vertical (垂直的)columns.
If we tend to ignore the significance of elevators, it might be because riding in them tends to be such a brief, boring, and even awkward experience^one that can involve unexpectedly meeting people with whom we have nothing in common, and an unpleasant awareness of the fact that we’re hanging from a cable in a long passage.
In a new book, Lifted, German journalist and cultural studies professor Andreas Bernard directed all his attention to this experience, studying the origins of elevator and its relationship to humankind and finding that riding in an elevator has never been a totally comfortable experience. “After 150 years, we are still not used to it”， Bernard said. “We still have not exactly learned to cope with the mixture of closeness and displeasure.” That mixture, according to Bernard, sets the elevator ride apart from just about every other situation we find ourselves in as we go about our lives.
Today，as the world’s urban population explodes，and cities become more crowded, taller, and more crowded, America’s total number of elevators—900,000 at last count, according to Elevator World magazine’s “2012 Vertical Transportation Industry”一are a force that’s becoming more important than ever. And for the people who really, really love them, it seems like high time that we looked seriously at just what kind of force they are.
【小題1】What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．The general view of elevators.

B．The particular interests of experts.

C．The desire for a remarkable machine.

D．The enthusiasm for transport vehicles.

【小題2】The author’s purpose in mentioning cars is    .

A．to contrast their functions with elevators,

B．to emphasize the importance of elevators

C．to reveal their secret war against elevators

D．to explain people’s preference for elevators

【小題3】According to Prof. Bernard, what has made the elevator ride different from other life experiences?

A．Vertical direction.

B．Lack of excitement.

C．Little physical space.

D．Uncomfortable conditions.

【小題4】The author urges readers to consider   .

A．the exact number of elevator lovers

B．the serious future situation of elevators

C．the role of elevators in city development

D．the relationship between cars and elevators