Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our mornings is exactly opposite to the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either. The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons (神經(jīng)細胞), making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done.
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office—after we get a cup of coffee—we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer. 
小題1:According to the author, we are more creative when we are _______.
A．focused
B．relaxed
C．a(chǎn)wake
D．busy
小題2:What does the author imply about newspapers?
A．They are solution providers.
B．They are a source of inspiration.
C．They are normally full of bad news.
D．They are more educational than websites.
小題3: By “tune into your wandering mind” (in Para. 2), the author means “_______”.
A．wander into the wild
B．listen to a beautiful tune
C．switch to the traffic channel
D．stop concentrating on anything
小題4:The author writes the last paragraph in order to _______.
A．offer practical suggestions
B．summarize past experiences
C．a(chǎn)dvocate diverse ways of life
D．establish a routine for the future

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:A
本文是一篇科普說明文。研究表明，放松心情更有利于提高工作效率，更有利于解決創(chuàng)造性的解決問題；壓力阻滯了神經(jīng)細胞信號的傳輸，只會導致工作效率下降。
小題1:細節(jié)理解題。難度中等。
【解題思路】根據(jù)第二段第三句中“…your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed.”以及下文對壓力阻滯了神經(jīng)細胞信號的傳輸可知，放松使我們更具有創(chuàng)造性，故B項正確。
小題2:細節(jié)理解題。難度中等。
【解題思路】根據(jù)第一段倒數(shù)第二句中“…the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disaters.”，可知報紙上總是充滿了負面新聞，故C項正確。
小題3:詞義猜測題。難度中等。
【解題思路】根據(jù)語境可知，若一味集中注意力而無暇放松，將錯失有創(chuàng)造性的解決問題的方法。D項意為“不將注意力故放在某事物上”，符合語境，故D項正確。
小題4:主旨大意題。難度中等。
【解題思路】通讀最后一段可知，該段主要講述對如何放松心情提出一些建議，如提早起身、洗熱水澡、做深呼吸等等，故A項正確。
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The Olympic Games
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

An increase in students applying to study economics (經(jīng)濟學) at university is being attributed to （歸因于）the global economic crisis (危機) awakening a public thirst for knowledge about how the financial system works.  
Applications for degree courses beginning this autumn were up by 15% this January, according to UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. A spokesman for the Royal Economic Society said applications to do economics at A-level were also up.  
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Zack Hocking, the head of Child Trust Funds, said: “It’s possible that one good thing to arise from the downturn will be a generation that’s financially wiser and better equipped (使…有能力) to manage their money through times of economic uncertainty.”
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A．given in a traditional way
B．connected with the present situation
C．open to both students and their parents
D．warmly received by economics
小題2: Careers in the public sector are more attractive because of their        .
A．greater stabilityB．higher pay
C．fewer applications D．better reputation
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A．economics should be the focus of school teaching
B．more students should be admitted to universities
C．the teaching of financial matters should be strengthened.
D．children should solve financial problems themselves
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A．wiser in money management
B．have access to better equipment
C．confident about their future careers
D．get jobs in Child Trust Funds
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A．Universities have received more applications.
B．Economics is attracting an increasing number of students
C．college students benefit a lot from economic uncertainty
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“I'm not in the mood to write when faced with a pen and paper.”
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To encourage students to handwrite more, many primary schools in Beijing have made writing classes compulsory (必修的) and in universities, some professors are asking students to turn in their homework and essays written by hand.
小題1:Which of the following can best serve as the title of the passage?
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B．To Type or To Hand Write
C．Writing By Computer Will Replace Writing By Hand
D．Practical and Aesthetic Value of Chinese Characters
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B．they can correct the mistakes they make quickly and conveniently
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B．The writer’s thinking and personality are shown in his or her handwriting.
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B．people use too many man-made materials
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With a tiresome report to write, I felt bothered at my desk. Suddenly, it occurred to me that my kids were at fault. A voice inside me insisted that I do something quickly.
“Ok, you two here, but what an awful thing you are attempting!” I was shouting angrily. I made for them, while it became evident that the boy wanted no part of me. “Get away from us!” he shouted back, there being an expression of support from his sister.
All of a sudden, I found the fault in myself. Quickly I shaped my hands into pincers and crawled towards them, “Crabby Daddy is here. Ha, Ha, Ha, he likes to yell at children, and then eat them!” My son continued to keep me away, but now he was laughing and crying at the same time. My mission to repair the damage caused by my yelling seemed to work well. Still, I regretted not having controlled myself first in a right way.
Need I let them know how badly they were acting by blaming? This is a lesson that serves myself. It only shows just how to get rid of something (ill-feelings, responsibility…) by blaming others. It’s not my “best self”.
We have to search for our “best self” when with our children. They don’t need perfect parents, but they do need parents who are always trying to get better. Here, I am reminded of the words of a great thinker. “When a man lives with God, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the book…” Then, in our lifetime, couldn’t we always speak to our kids in such a sweet voice since most of us consider them as the most precious in the world? And before we reach this level, what should we do when we come across various difficult cases with our children?
小題1:The author couldn’t help yelling at his kids this time probably because________.
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小題2:Which of the following made the author aware of his fault?
A．No obvious reason.
B．The boy’s yelling back.
C．His self-awareness.
D．The girl’s shouting back.
小題3:According to the passage, the author will _____ in another similar situation.
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B．a(chǎn)pologize to kids in a sincere way
C．a(chǎn)void blaming kids in a hurry
D．beat them up about such things
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B．How to play with our children in a more interesting way.
C．How to deal with the housework with children around us.
D．How to persuade children to do what they are told to.
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科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


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The most widespread fallacy(謬誤) of all is that colds are caused by cold. They are not. They are caused by viruses(病毒) passing on from person to person. You catch a cold by coming into contact, directly or indirectly, with someone who already has one. If cold causes colds, it would be reasonable to expect the Eskimos to suffer from them forever. But they do not. And in isolated arctic regions explorers have reported being free from colds until coming into contact again with infected people from the outside world by way of packages and mail dropped from airplanes.
During the First World War soldiers who spent long periods in the trenches(戰(zhàn)壕), cold and wet, showed no increased tendency to catch colds. In the Second World War prisoners at the Auschwitz Concentration Camp(奧斯維辛集中營), naked and starving, were astonished to find that they seldom had colds. At the Common Cold Research Unit in England, volunteers took part in experiments in which they gave themselves to the discomforts of being cold and wet for long stretches of time. After taking hot baths, they put on bathing suits, allowed themselves to be with cold water, and then stood about dripping wet（濕透）in drafty（通風的）room. Some wore wet socks all day while others exercised in the rain until close to exhaustion. Not one of the volunteers came down with a cold unless a cold virus was actually dropped in his nose.
If, then, cold and wet have nothing to do with catching colds, why are they more frequent in the winter? Despite the most pains-taking research, no one has yet found the answer. One explanation offered by scientists is that people tend to stay together indoors more in cold weather than at other time, and this makes it easier for cold viruses to be passed on.
No one has yet found a cure for the cold. There are drugs and pain suppressors(止痛片) such as aspirin, but all they do is relieve the symptoms.
小題1:The writer offered _______ examples to support his argument.
A．4B．5C．6D．3
小題2:Arctic explorers may catch colds when _______.
A．they are working in the isolated arctic regions
B．they are writing reports in terribly cold weather
C．they are free from work in the isolated arctic regions
D．they are coming into touch again with the outside world
小題3:Volunteers taking part in the experiments in the Common Cold Research Unit probably _______.
A．suffered a lotB．never caught colds
C．often caught coldsD．became very strong
小題4:The passage mainly discusses _______.
A．the experiments on the common cold
B．the fallacy about the common cold
C．the reason and the way people catch colds
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Have you ever heard of Paynes Prairie(大草原)？ It is one of the most important natural and historical areas in Florida. Paynes Prairie is located near Gainesville. It is large, 21,000 acres. This protected land is called a reserve, which is managed by the Florida Park Service.
The Paynes Prairie basin was formed when limestone(石灰石）broke down and the ground settled. It is covered by wet prairie plants. There are areas of open water. During brief periods it was flooded enough to be considered a lake. Except for that, the basin has changed little through time.
Man has lived on Paynes Prairie a very long time. He lived there as far back as 10,000 B.C.. At one time, the Seminoles lived there. The prairie is thought to have been named after King Payne, a Seminole chief. During the late 1600s, the largest farm where cattle are fed in Florida was on Paynes.
William Bartram who lived 200 years ago visited Paynes Praire in 1774. Bartram was the first person who described nature through personal experiences as well as scientific observations. At that time he called Paynes Prairie the “great Alachua Savannah". Most of the animal life, which Bartram described, is still here. A large number of animals live here in winter. The variety of animals is increased by the presence of pine flat woods, wetlands and ponds.
The Paynes Prairie Reserve State Park is open all year round. The Florida Park Service works hard so that the park will appear as it did in the past. It offers many opportunities for entertainment. In the park you can camp and picnic. You can hike and bike. You can boat and fish. You can ride on horses. And you can see Florida as it was in the early days.
小題1:The second paragraph is mainly about   _______.
A．how the present Paynes Prairie basin came into being
B．what the present Paynes Prairie basin is covered by
C．why the present Paynes Prairie basin is unchanged
D．when the present Paynes Prairie basin began to exist
小題2:All of the following statements are true EXCEPT that _______
A．the Florida Park Service manages Paynes Prairie
B．you can have fun in the Paynes Prairie Reserve State Park
C．there used to be a big cattle farm on Paynes Prairie
D．William Bartram was the first person to visit Paynes prairie
小題3:The purpose of the passage is to _______.
A．call on people to protect wildlife of Paynes Prairie
B．introduce Paynes Prairie to people
C．tell people the recorded history of Paynes Prairie
D．a(chǎn)ttract people to visit Paynes Prairie
小題4:What will the writer most probably talk about in the paragraph that follows?
A．The effect of tourism on Paynes Prairie.
B．The history and present of Florida.
C．The natural resources of Florida.
D．The future development of Paynes Prairie.

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