Science has a lot of uses. It can uncover laws of nature, cure diseases, make bombs, and help bridges to stand up. Indeed science is so good at what it does that there’s always a temptation(誘惑) to drag it into problems where it may not be helpful. David Brooks, author of The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources of Love, Character, and Achievement, appears to be the latest in a long line of writers who have failed to resist the temptation.

Brooks gained fame for several books. His latest book The Social Animal, however, is more ambitious and serious than his earlier books. It is an attempt to deal with a set of weighty topics. The book focuses on big questions: What has science revealed about human nature? What are the sources of character? And why are some people happy and successful while others aren’t?

To answer these questions, Brooks surveys a wide range of disciplines(學(xué)科). Considering this, you might expect the book to be a dry recitation of facts. But Brooks has structured his book in an unorthodox(非常規(guī)的), and perhaps unfortunate, way. Instead of introducing scientific theories, he tells a story, within which he tries to make his points, perhaps in order to keep the reader’s attention. So as Harold and Erica, the hero and heroine in his story, live through childhood, we hear about the science of child development, and as they begin to date we hear about the theory of sexual attraction. Brooks carries this through to the death of one of his characters.

On the whole, Brooks’s story is acceptable if uninspired. As one would expect, his writing is mostly clear and, to be fair, some chapters stand out above the rest. I enjoyed, for instance, the chapter in which Harold discovers how to think on his own. While Harold and Erica are certainly not strong or memorable characters, the more serious problems with The Social Animal lie elsewhere. These problems partly involve Brooks’s attempt to translate his tale into science.

1.The author mentions the functions of science at the beginning of the passage to __________.

A. illustrate where science can be applied

B. demonstrate the value of Brooks’s new book

C. remind the reader of the importance of science

D. explain why many writers use science in their works

2.According to the author, which of the following could be a strength of the book?

A. Its strong basis. B. Its convincing points.

C. Its clear writing. D. Its memorable characters.

3.What is the author’s general attitude towards the book?

A. Contradictory. B. Supportive.

C. Cautious. D. Critical.

4.What is the author likely to write about after the last paragraph?

A. Problems with the book. B. Brooks’s life experiences.

C. Death of the characters. D. Brooks’s translation skills.

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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2017屆廣西桂林市高三上第三次10月考英語(yǔ)試卷(解析版) 題型:閱讀理解

In today's world of smart phones and laptops, most people have at least one time-telling thing with them. Since these digital products are so common, is time running out for the 500-year-old watch? According to some consumers, the answer is yes. New Jersey teenager Charlie Wollman says a watch is “an extra piece of equipment with no necessary function.” Many young adults think so and use their smart phones to tell time. It is said that fewer young people wear watches today than ten years ago. As a result, some people say that the watch industry is at a crossroads.

However, watchmakers optimistically say that watches redeem(挽回) popularity when consumers reach their 20s and 30s. By then, they are willing to spend money on a quality watch that doesn’t just keep good time. Fifty years ago, watchmakers took pride in their products’ accuracy. But in recent years, the watch industry has changed itself into an accessory(配飾) business. And today, the image a watch conveys has become more important than the time it tells.

“Complications” — features that go beyond simple timekeeping — are an important part of a watch’s image. Today’s watches offer lots of features that meet almost any personality. These features include compasses, USB drivers, and even other functions that measure the effectiveness of golf swings!

Creativity also plays a key role in designing today’s watches. For example, Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash makes watches that don’t even look like watches. The company’s popular Shinshoku model uses different color lights to tell time. It looks more like a fashionable bracelet(手鐲) than a watch.

Whether a watch conveys fashion sense, creative talent or a love of sports, consumers want their watches to stand out. Nowadays, everyone has the same kind of little things in their bags, so people want to make a statement with what’s on their wrists. Will this interest in wrist fashion last? Only time will tell!

1.What can we know from the first paragraph?

A. As most people see, watches are out of fashion.

B. Some people feel that watches have been of no use.

C. The watch industry will close down sooner or later.

D. There are so many choices of watches for teenagers today.

2.According to the passage, what image does a watch convey nowadays?

A. It simply tells time.

B. It appeals to many teenagers.

C. It has many complex functions.

D. It has an impact on creativity and imagination.

3.Japanese watchmaker Tokyoflash is mentioned in Paragraph 4 to _________.

A. show why Shinshoku watches are popular

B. advertise Shinshoku watches made by Tokyoflash

C. make a comparison between watches and bracelets

D. tell that today’s watches need more imagination

4.What may be the best title for the passage?

A. Watches Tell More Than Time

B. Japanese Watches Stand Out

C. Watch Industry Is in a Bad Situation

D. Watches Are Becoming Less Popular

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單詞拼寫

根據(jù)下列句子及所給漢語(yǔ)注釋或首字母, 把單詞的正確形式完整地寫在相應(yīng)的橫線上。(每空只寫一詞)

1.My eyes slowly grew __________ (習(xí)慣于) to the dark.

2.They are m__________ girls for their age and not shy like the other middle-school girls.

3.We all have similar __________ (情感的) expressions like smiling and crying.

4.In the c__________ of this journey they are provided an experience in Kindergarten through Twelfth Grade.

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6.Is English a __________ (必修的) subject?

7.She has artistic __________ (潛能) as an artist.

8.Even in this village, you can find some __________ (典型的) British pubs.

9. How can the __________ (全體教員) improve their teaching so as to encourage creativity?

10.Up to 40% of teenagers leave school with no q__________ and the prospect of unemployment.

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科目:高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源:2016-2017學(xué)年吉林長(zhǎng)春外國(guó)語(yǔ)校高一上第一次月考英語(yǔ)卷(解析版) 題型:單項(xiàng)填空

I am looking forward to ________ your answer as soon as possible.

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Standing on the top of a church tower not far from our home in Rome, Father said to me, “Look down, Elsa. Be brave.” I gathered all my ________ and looked down. I saw the crossing of twisting, turning streets ________ to the square in the center of the village. “See, my dear,” Father said gently. “There is more than one way to the square. Life is like that. If you can’t get where you want to go by one road, try ________.”

Now I understood why I was there. Earlier that day I had begged Mother to do something about the ________ lunches that were served at school. But she ________ because she could not believe the lunches were so bad. When I turned to Father for help, he would not ________. Instead, he brought me to this high tower to give me a lesson. By the time we reached home, I had a(n) ________.

At school the next day, I secretly ________ my lunch soup into a bottle and brought it home. Then I talked the cook into serving it to Mother at dinner. The plan worked ________. She swallowed one spoonful, “The cook must have gone mad!” Having known what I had done, Mother stated firmly that she would ________ the matter of lunches at school the next day!

In the years that followed I often remembered what Father told me. And on the way to my first small success I found the road ________. As a fashion-design lover, I was busy getting ready to ________ my winter fashions. Then just 13 days before the presentation the sewing girls were called out on ________. I felt so depressed that I was ________ that we would have to cancel the presentation ________ show the clothes unfinished. Then it ________ on me. Why not show the clothes unfinished?

We worked hurriedly and the showing took place as ________. Some coats had no sleeves; others had only one. Many of our clothes were only ________ made of heavy cotton cloth. But on these we pinned sketches and pieces of material. In this way we were able to show what colors and textures (結(jié)構(gòu)) the clothes would have when they were finished. It was our ________ showing that caught the attention of the public, and ________ for the clothes poured in.

Father’s wise words had guided me again. There is always more than one way to the square.

1.A. strengthB. breathC. courageD. concentration

2.A. linkingB. appealingC. takingD. leading

3.A. eachB. anotherC. noneD. the other

4.A. awfulB. specialC. fascinatingD. delicious

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7.A. conclusionB. planC. restD. image

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11.A. occupiedB. smoothedC. blockedD. widened

12.A. showB. provideC. followD. lead

13.A. businessB. tripC. chanceD. strike

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15.A. apart fromB. or elseC. rather thanD. or rather

16.A. realizedB. lightedC. dawnedD. cleared

17.A. usualB. supposedC. scheduledD. unexpected

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As Rosalie Warren stood at the mailbox in the lobby of her apartment building in May 1980, she shared the anxiety of many other college seniors. In her hand was an envelope containing her final grades. As she nervously opened it, Warren wondered whether her hundreds of hours of studying had paid off.

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“I got five A’s,” she still recalls with elation. “I almost fell on the floor!”

Warren would graduate from Suffolk University with a Bachelor of Science degree in philosophy and history at age 80. Three years later, at age 83; she would receive her second degree from Suffolk, a master’s in education.

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Warren was born Rosalie Levey on Aug.29, 1900. Two years after she entered high school, her father died. Warren had to leave school for factory work to help support her family’s 10 children. Warren describes herself as a “person who always liked school,” and she says the move “broke my heart completely because I couldn’t finish high school.”

In the end, however, “I went to school nights,” she recalls. “Any place I could find an outlet of learning and teaching, I was there.”

A short time later, her mother became ill, and Warren had to care for her, once again putting her education on hold.

Finally, in 1921, her mother, now recovered, drew from her saving to send Warren to Boston University for two years to study typing, stenography, and office procedures.

Those courses helped Warren gain several long-term office positions over the next 60 years, but her great desire “to be in the academic field” continued.

In 1924, she married Eugene Warren, and seven years later, her daughter, Corinne, was born. In 1955, by then a widow and a grandmother, Warren took a bus tour across the United States that was to last nine months. She said she wanted to see “things you never see in the West End.”

When she returned home, she took a bookkeeping position and also enrolled in courses in philosophy, sociology and Chinese history.

In 1975, when she was 75, Warren learned from a neighbor about Suffolk University’s tuition-free program for senior citizens.” I was at the registrar’s office the very next day,” she recalls. At first, she took one or two courses at a time, but encouraged by her professors, she enrolled as a degree candidate.

“I had not studied for so many years,” she says, “but I was determined.” For the next four years, Warren, who calls herself a “student of philosophy,” worked toward her degree.

Nancy Stoll, dean of students at Suffolk, says Warren is “an interesting role model for our younger students—that learning is a lifetime activity...She is genuinely enthusiastic about being here, and that permeates (散發(fā)) her activities and is contagious (傳染的) to students and faculty.”

1.What does the word elation mean in the sentence “I got fives A’s”, she still recalls with elation”?

A. Great happiness.B. Great surprise.

C. Great pride.D. Great honor.

2.Which statement can be inferred from the underlined sentences?

A. Because Warren needn’t pay her tuition; she went to study at Suffolk University.

B. At first Warren had to pay for her courses at Suffolk University.

C. Most of the students at Suffolk University are older than 65.

D. Suffolk University encourages older people to take courses.

3.It can be inferred from this passage that Rosalie Warren _______.

A. came from a wealthy family

B. didn’t like working in an office

C. put her family before her education

D. didn’t like her family very much

4.What is the main topic of this passage?

A. Rosalie Warren’s family

B. Rosalie Warren’s life

C. Rosalie Warren’s education

D. Rosalie Warren’s studying at Suffolk University

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It is very ________ that she will ring me tonight.

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Nowadays, many teenagers spend too many time on computers. The number of students who come to school in the morning are already completely exhausting. The cause of this is staying late at night playing computer games and chat with their friends online. Most of them don’t realize just how damaging to their healthy this is, let alone the effect it has on their grades. I recently read an article about the damage that playing computer games are doing to kids. The article claimed for that lots of the games kids play are extremely harmful. It said that at best they are turning teens into dull people which have no social life and at worst into potential killer!

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Come and see me whenever ________.

A.it is convenient to you

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