閱讀理解。
     Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing
into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. "Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,"
William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the everchanging 21st century, even the word "habit"
carries a negative meaning.
     So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (創(chuàng)新). But brain
researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel paths, and
even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.
     Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own
change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we
become.
     But don't bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they're
there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can
bypass those old roads.
     "The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder," says Dawna Markova, author of The
Open Mind. "But we are taught instead to 'decide', just as our president calls himself 'the Decider'." She
adds, however, that "to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always
exploring the many other possibilities."
     "All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware," she says. Researchers in the late
1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways:
analytically, procedurally, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however,
the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most
valuable during the first decade or so of life.
     The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of
us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. "This breaks the major rule in the American belief
system-that anyone can do anything," explains M.J.Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will... and
Ms. Markova's business partner. "That's a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters commonness. Knowing
what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence. This is where developing new habits
comes in.
1. Brain researchers have discovered that _____.
[     ]
A. the forming of new habits can be guided
B. the development of habits can be predicted
C. the regulation of old habits can be transformed
D. the track of new habits can be created unconsciously
2. The underlined word "ruts" in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _____.
[     ]
A. zones
B. connections
C. situations
D. tracks
3. Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova's view?
[     ]
A. Decision makes no sense in choices.
B. Curiosity makes creative minds active.
C. Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.
D. Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.
4. The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us _____.
[     ]
A. to give up our traditional habits deliberately
B. to create and develop new habits consciously
C. to resist the application of standardized testing
D. to believe that old habits conflict with new habits
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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：黃岡重點(diǎn)作業(yè)　高三英語(yǔ)（下） 題型：050

閱讀理解

　　“Let's go down one more , push your enter key…” says a young man helping senior citizens work a web site on the Internet.

　　David Lansdale has found a way to light up the lives of the elder. He gets them wired to the Internet. “If you hit your enter key , it will bring up this particular e-mail….”

　　Pauline Allen is one of those who have started using the Internet. “I thought I was through with life; I was ready for a rocking chair, because I was 86 years old. And I haven't found the rocking chair yet. ” “You found the key-board?” asks the reporter. “That's right, I found the key-board.”

　　The average age of Lansdale's students is around 68. All are in nursing or assisted care homes. He used family relationships to introduce them to the World Wide Web.

　　David Lansdale says, “Here they are in California; the family are in New York. The chance to connect, to cross the time and space, is very good chance to them. ”

　　“I hear you are so beautiful. ” Lillian Shier writes an e-mail to a newborn great granddaughter. Working with one another, the seniors learn as a group. They learn to master the Internet and to overcome what Lansdale calls the maladies of the institutionalized: loneliness , helplessness , and loss of memory.

　　Mary Harvey says, “Bingo just doesn't interest me. But this does, believe me, this does. ”

　　Ninety-four-year-old Ruth Hyman is a star pupil and instructor. She says , “When I send a letter to my grandchildren , and great granddaughter , they hang it up in their offices , just as I used to hang their drawings on my refrigerator. Ha, ha!”

　　David Lansdale says , “There's a collective benefit （得益） . There is a way of treatment. Remember we started as a support group. ”

　　Dixon Moorehouse says , “I just wish I were 15 years old and getting to learn all this. ” The seniors call their weekly meeting Monday Night Live. And many say the meetings have given them new life.

　　Ruth Hyman says , “Three years ago , they told me I wasn't going to live. But I showed them , and got work, and I've worked ever since. ”

1．The purpose of David Lansdale's work is to ________.

[　　]

A．popularize the use of computers among the seniors

B．help the seniors connect with their families

C．organize the seniors as a group to work

D．keep the health of the mind of the seniors

2．The phrase “the maladies of the institutionalized ” in the sixth paragraph means “________”.

[　　]

A．the difficulties in learning

B．the problems of the old

C．the treatments of the old

D．the worries about getting old

3．How many examples does the writer give to prove the seniors enjoy the Internet?

[　　]

A．Four.
B．Five.
C．Six.
D．Seven.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：重慶市期末題 題型：閱讀理解

閱讀理解。
     Three young ladies were receiving trains to be qualified detectives (偵探) by a policeman. To test their
skills in recognizing a suspect (嫌疑人), the policeman showed the first lady a picture for five seconds and then asked how she could recognize him. She thought it easy, for the suspect had only one eye. The policeman felt disappointed at this funny answer. He showed the second lady the picture for five seconds and asked her how she would recognize him. The second girl smiled, flipped her hair, and said, "Ha! It's easy to
find the one-eared person!" Her answer also made the policeman angry. Turning to the third lady, he asked, "How would you recognize him?" He added quickly, "Think hard before giving a stupid answer. " The
third lady looked at the picture carefully for a moment and said, "HMMMM . . . he is wearing contact
 lenses (隱形眼鏡)." The policeman was surprised and speechless, because he really didn't know himself
if the man wore contacts or not. "Well, that is a good answer. Wait here for a few minutes while I check
his file. He left the room and went to his office, checked the suspect's file in his computer and returned
with a beaming smile. "Wow! I can't believe it . . . it's TRUE! The man does in fact wear contact lenses.
Good work! How were you able to make such a wise observation?" "That's easy," the girl replied, "He
can't wear glasses because he only has one eye and one ear!"
1. Which of the following cannot be concluded from the passage that detectives should have?
A. They must be humorous. 
B. They must have a strong ability of observation.. 
C. They must be good at memorizing. 
D. They must be good at thinking.
2. How did the third lady know the suspect was wearing contact lenses?
A. She sold contact lenses before.
B. She just had the same idea as the first two girls
C. She had been wearing contact lenses for a long time.
D. She wouldn't want to give the stupid answer.
3. According to the passage we can infer that ________.  
A. the suspect was easy to be recognized
B. the suspect was caught by the policeman
C. the suspect must be a disabled person
D. the picture was just a side of the suspect.
4. What will probably happen to the three ladies after this test? 

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：0113 期中題 題型：閱讀理解

閱讀理解。
     An unemployed man is desperate to support his family. His wife watches TV all day and his three teenage
kids have dropped out of high school to hang around with the local toughs. He applies for a cleaner's job at a
large firm and easily passes an aptitude test. The human resources manager tells him,"You will be hired at
minimum wage, $5.15 an hour. Let me have your e-mail address so that we can contact you easily. Our
system will automatically e-mail you all the forms and advise you when to start and where to report on your
first day." Greatly surprised, the man said that he has neither a computer nor an e-mail address. To this, the
manager replies,"You must understand that to a company like ours that means you virtually do not exist.
Without an e-mail address you can hardly expect to be employed by a high tech firm. Good day."
      Unable to believe what he hears, the man leaves. Not knowing where to turn and having $10 in his wallet,
he walks past a farmers' market and sees a stand selling beautiful tomatoes. He buys a crate (柳條箱), carries
it to a busy corner and displays the tomatoes. In less than two hours he sells all the tomatoes and makes 100%
profit. From that day on, he repeats the tomato business and becomes increasingly successful as time goes on.
By the end of the fifth year he owns a fleet of nice trucks and a warehouse. The tomato company has put
hundreds of homeless and jobless people to work and the business grossed a million dollars.
     Planning for the future, he decides to buy some life insurance. The insurance adviser asks him for his
e-mail address in order to send the final documents electronically. When the man replies that he doesn't have
time to mess with a computer and has no e-mail address, the insurance salesman is surprised," No computer?
No Internet? Just think where you would be if you'd had all of that five years ago!" "Ha! If I'd had all of that
five years ago, I would be sweeping floors at Microsoft and making $5.15 an hour!" the man replies.
1. The man's kids drop out of school because ____.
A. they want to hang around with the local toughs
B. their mother watches TV all day
C. their father is only a cleaner
D. their family is very poor
2. The man applies for a cleaner's job ____.
A. but he can't accept it because the pay is too low
B. and he gets it though the pay is only $5.15 an hour
C. but he is turned down because he doesn't have an e-mail address
D. but he misses the chance because they fail to contact him
3. The man's tomatoes sell well because ____.
A. the tomatoes look very beautiful
B. he has chosen the right place to sell them
C. many jobless people help him
D. the tomatoes are contained in beautiful crates
4. From the conversation between the man and the insurance salesman in the last paragraph we
    can infer that ____.
A. the man will buy a computer soon
B. it's very easy to do tomato business
C. one does not necessarily have an e-mail address to be successful
D. the man is not able to buy any life insurance without an e-mail address

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：湖南省高考真題 題型：閱讀理解

閱讀理解。
     We were on tour a few summers ago, driving through Chicago, when right outside of the city, we got
pulled over. A middle-aged policeman came up to the car and was really being troublesome at first. Lecturing
us, he said,"You were speeding. Where are you going in such a hurry?" Our guitarist, Tim, told him that we
were on our way to Wisconsin to play a show. His way towards us totally changed. He asked, "Oh, so you
boys are in a band (樂(lè)隊(duì))?" We told him that we were. He then asked all the usual broad questions about the
type of music we played, and how long we had been at it. Suddenly, he stopped and said, "Tim, you want to
get out of this ticket, don't you?" Tim said, "Yes." So the officer asked him to step out of the car. The rest
of us, inside the car, didn't know what to think as we watched the policeman talk to Tim. Next thing we
knew, the policeman was putting Tim in the back of the police car he had parked in front of us. With that, he
threw the car into reverse (倒車), stopping a few feet in back of our car. Now we suddenly felt frightened.
We didn't know if we were all going to prison, or if the policeman was going to sell Tim on the black market
or something. All of a sudden, the pollen's voice came over in a loudspeaker. He said, "Ladies and gentlemen,
for the first time ever, we have Tim here singing on Route 90." Turns out, the policeman had told Tim that
the only way he was getting out of the ticket was if he sang part of one of our songs over the loudspeaker in
the police car. Seconds later, Tim started screaming into the receiver. The policeman enjoyed the performance,
and sent us on our way without a ticket.
1. The policeman stopped the boys to _____.
A. put them into prison
B. give them a ticket
C. enjoy their performance
D. ask some band questions
2. The policeman became friendly to the boys when ha knew they ______.
 A. had long been at the band
B. played the music he loved
C. were driving for a show
D. promised into a performance
3. The boys probably felt ______ when they drove off.
A. joyful
B. calm
C. nervous
D. frightened

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：湖南省高考真題 題型：閱讀理解

閱讀理解。
     Collections were the inspiration (靈感) for a project at Thomas Tallis School, which formed part of the
Imagine Children's Literature Festival last autumn. Each child (aged 12-13) beatified a box and wrote a story
on the subject of collections to throw inside it. The boxes were spread within the Royal Festival Hall's
Ballroom. Some were left empty to encourage
     The subject chosen by Luren was an imaginative one. "It's a sort o f Cinderella (灰姑娘) story," she told
me, inspired by a collection of letters from her cousin, ha the story these become love letters, burned by a
creel stepmother. Lauren's best friend Charlotte is the stepmother. "I'm in Charlotte's story too," says Lauren,
"and I get run over." Charlotte's tale was inspired by the girls' coin collection."We've collected foreign coins
for years-since our families went on holiday to Tenerife." she explains."That was before the Euro, so we put
pesetas in." Lauren continues: "I fred a coin in the road, go to get it and get run over. I'm in hospital and then
I die." Charlotte adds: "Or she might not die. I haven't decided yet."
     Millie Murray, who is a tea-novel author, thinks that setting the subject of collections was a useful
inspiration to their creativity rather than a restriction (限制). "In the beginning I thought, 'Will the children be
able to do it?'" she says. "But it's been fruitful. Some have their own collection, some have parents who do,
and some have wlstten complete stories. It's made them think about something they wouldn't have otherwise,
winch can only be a good thing."
1. What were the children asked to do in the project?
A. To meet friends at Thomas Tallis School
B. To write stories on the subject of collections.
C. To encourage visitors to write their own stories.
D. To have their friends for characters in the stories.
2. The underlined word "pesetas" in Paragraph 2 is a kind of _____.
A. story
B. collection
C. inspiration
D. foreign coin
3. From the stories by Lauren and Charlotte, we know that _____.
A. Charlotte hurt herself when getting a coin
B. both of them developed their imagination
C. both of tram will die in each other's stories
D. Latwen's cousin posted her some love letters
4. Millie Murray thinks ______.
A. collections could inspire writing creativity
B. it was good for parents to have collections
C. inspirations were very useful in writing stories
D. setting collection subjects restricted inspirations

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