In December 2008, Caroline Kennedy — daughter of the late U.S. President John F. Kennedy—sat down, as a frontrunner for the Senate seat in New York, for a televised interview that helped decide the future of her campaign. The result was a disaster.
Her performance wasn’t well received, in part because her speech was full of filler words—“ums,” “ahs” and “you knows.” One listener counted 27 “ums” and 38 “you knows” in the space of five minutes. A few weeks after the interview, Kennedy ended her Senate campaign.
Filler words may seem natural in everyday speech, but they can be deadly in formal presentations. “Using excessive fillers is the most annoying speech habit,” said Susan Ward, a speech specialist. “They take your listener’s attention away often to the point that he doesn’t hear anything you say. Your message is entirely lost.”
Many speakers are afraid of pause. They believe their audience will think they are inarticulate (不善于表達(dá)) if they pause to think of what to say next, so they use filler words to avoid the silence. However, a pause is actually more impressive than a filler word. Listeners know that the speaker is thinking, trying to find the right word. Sometimes a pause can actually improve a speech, as when an actor uses a dramatic pause to hold the attention of his audience. A speaker shouldn’t be afraid to pause occasionally during a speech; it shows self-confidence.
It takes some work to cut out filler words. You can begin by taking a few seconds to think about what you want to say the next time you are asked a question. This pause will help you begin powerfully, and it will help you avoid using a filler word.
The same public speaking technique applies when you are shifting from one idea to another. While you may be tempted to fill the silence between ideas with a filler word, remember to allow yourself to pause and think about what you want to say next.
If you need help overcoming your “um” problem, consider asking a family member or a friend to point out when you use filler words. You also could record an upcoming presentation and then watch yourself in action. You may be amazed at how often you say “um” or “uh”!
Although we live in a fast-paced society that seemingly demands instant answers, we must use the pause to our advantage. Finally, we should only speak when we are ready.
【小題1】In the first two paragraphs of the article the writer intends to ______.

A．introduce Caroline Kennedy to readers
B．illustrate how deadly filler words can be in the public speech
C．explain what filler words are
D．remind readers that they should count filler words used in public speeches
【小題2】The reason why filler words are considered annoying by speech specialist is that   ______.
A．they prevent the listener from focusing on what the speaker is saying.
B．they convey the speaker’s superiority to the listener.
C．they mean the speaker is not articulate at all.
D．they make the speaker appear self-confident.
【小題3】When used properly, pauses in speeches can actually ______.
A．give the speaker more credibility
B．hold the attention of the audience
C．show the speaker’s deep insight
D．help the audience relax
【小題4】Which of the following is NOT suggested as a way to get rid of filler words?
A．To have mental training in order to think faster.
B．To ask someone else to point out when you use filler words.
C．To watch a recording of your own speech.
D．To practice thinking for a moment before answering a question.


【小題1】B
【小題2】A
【小題3】B
【小題4】A 

解析試題分析：文章大意：我們在講話過程中會經(jīng)常用“嗯”、“呃”、“那個”……，我們又怎么才能停止用太多填充詞呢？
【小題1】B細(xì)節(jié)理解題。文章第一、二兩段用美國已故總統(tǒng)肯尼迪女兒的事例說明了在公共演講中致命的填充詞。故B正確。
【小題2】A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從第三段的句子：They take your listener’s attention away often to the point that he doesn’t hear anything you say. Your message is entirely lost.可知其原因。故A正確。
【小題3】B細(xì)節(jié)理解題。從文章第四段：Sometimes a pause can actually improve a speech, as when an actor uses a dramatic pause to hold the attention of his audience.可知可知恰當(dāng)?shù)耐ｎD能夠吸引觀眾的注意力。故B正確。
【小題4】A細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)文章倒數(shù)四段可知作者建議去除填充詞的一些方法可以判斷出B、C、D符合。故A正確。
考點：考查社會類短文閱讀

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

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【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?
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D．Oxytocin improves our abilities to understand people's behavior differences.
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D．To test people's understanding of body language.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

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【小題2】Which of the following is NOT true about these creatures?
A．Bettas are active and rich in colors.
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D．Red­eared sliders need more care from the owner.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

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【小題1】What surprised the author when she received her nephew’s phone call?

A．An eagle remained in her nephew’ s backyard for a long time.
B．The sight of an eagle made her nephew so excited.
C．Her nephew regained his sight after he had been blind for several years.
D．Despite being blind, her nephew described the eagle as if he could really see it.
【小題2】By mentioning her nephew lending her amend when site visited his parents, the author intends to           .   
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C．something which is a danger to people.
D．something useless which slows progress.
【小題2】According to Paragraph 2, David and Hammond wanted to save the High Line because they_____.
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

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A．have much interest in reading
B．keep many books
C．go to libraries every day
D．buy expensive books in the bookstore
【小題2】According to the author we can broaden our knowledge by ________ ．
A．composing B．imagining C．communicating D．reading
【小題3】We can know from the third paragraph that ___________ ．
A．we can bring kings and queens back to life
B．it is very good for us to stay alone for some hours
C．what we read can be useful in our daily life
D．we can make friends with people in the stories
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【小題5】What is the author’s purpose by writing the passage?
A．To share his own reading experience．
B．To distinguish the true readers．
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Can you believe everything that you read? It seems as if every day, some new articles come out about a new discovery about this or that. For example, water is bad for you, or good for you. The answer depends on which scientific study has just come out. People cannot decide which food items are healthy, how pyramids were constructed, and why dinosaurs disappeared. When we look for answers we sometimes can believe persuasive researches and scientists. But how trustworthy are they really? Here are two examples of scientific hoaxes (騙局).
As far back as 1726, Johann Beringer was fooled by his fellow scientists into thinking he had made an amazing discovery. The fossils of spiders, lizards, and even birds with the name of God written on them in Hebrew were unlike anything that had been found before. He wrote several papers on them and was famous for those only to have it revealed that they were planted by jealous colleagues to ruin his reputation.
When an early human being was discovered in 1912, scientists at this time were wild with excitement over the meaning it had for the theory of evolution. There were hundreds of papers about this Piltdown man over the next fifty years until it was finally discovered to be a complex hoax. The skull (頭骨) of a man had been mixed with the jawbone of an orangutan (猩猩) to make the ape (猿) man.
The next time you read the exciting new findings of a study of the best scientist, do not automatically assume that it is true. Even qualified people can get it wrong. While we certainly should not ignore scientific research, we do need to take it with a grain of salt. Just because it is accepted as the truth today does not mean it will still be trustworthy tomorrow.
【小題1】What does Paragraph 1 want to say?

A．Researchers and scientists are not perfect.
B．Something that we read may not be true.
C．Researchers and scientists know everything.
D．People don’t know whether water is good or bad.
【小題2】What is the reason why Johann Beringer was fooled?
A．His fellow scientists wanted to make fun of him.
B．His workmates are eager to become famous too.
C．These scientists made a mistake because of carelessness.
D．His colleagues envied him and did so to destroy his fame.
【小題3】The excited scientists thought that this Piltdown man ______.
A．was in fact a complex hoax
B．was a great scientific invention
C．contributed to the theory of evolution
D．had the skull like that of an ape
【小題4】What does the underlined phrase “with a grain of salt” in Paragraph 4 mean?
A．Happily.B．Generally.C．Doubtfully.D．Completely.
【小題5】What can we learn from the passage?
A．Hebrew is probably a kind of language.
B．Truths of science will never be out of time.
C．People believe scientists because they are persuasive.
D．We are advised to believe famous scientists.

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Hacking our senses to boost learning power
Some schools are pumping music, noises and pleasant smells into the classroom to see if it improves exam results. Could it work? Why do songs stick in our heads? What does your school smell like? Is it noisy or peaceful?
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Many teachers all over the world already play music to students in class. Many are inspired by the belief that hearing music can boost IQ in later tasks, the so-called Mozart effect. While the evidence actually suggests it’s hard to say classical music boosts brainpower, researchers do think pleasant sounds before a task can sometimes lift your mood and help you perform well, says Perham, who has done his own studies on the phenomenon. The key appears to be that you enjoy what you’re hearing. “If you like the music or you like the sound — even listening to a Stephen King novel — then you do better. It doesn’t matter about the music,” he says.
So, it seems that schools that choose to prevent disturbing noises and create positive soundscapes could enhance the learning of their students, so long as they make careful choices. Yet this isn’t the only sense being used to affect learning. Special educational needs students at Sydenham high school in London are being encouraged to revise different subjects in the presence of different smells — grapefruit scents for maths, lavender for French and spearmint for history.
【小題1】The four questions in the first paragraph are meant to ________.

A．create some sense of humour to please the readers 
B．provide the most frequently asked questions in schools nowadays 
C．hold the readers’ attention and arouse their curiosity to go on reading 
D．declare the purpose of the article: to try to offer key to those questions 
【小題2】What does the conclusion of the studies of noise conducted by Bridget Shield and Julie Dockrell suggest?
A．Peaceful music plays an active role in students’ learning. 
B．Not all noises have a negative impact on children’s performance. 
C．We should create for school children a more peaceful environment. 
D．Children with special needs might be exposed to some particular sounds. 
【小題3】Ravi Mehta’s experiment indicates that ________.
A．students’ creativity improves in a quiet environment 
B．we may play some Mozart music while students are learning 
C．a(chǎn) proper volume of background noises does improve creativity 
D．noise of coffee-shop chatter is better than that of construction-site drilling 
【小題4】Towards the positive impact of appropriate background sound and smell on students’ learning and creativity, the author’s attitude is ________.
A．a(chǎn)mbiguous B．doubtful C．negative D．supportive 
【小題5】Which of the following is most likely to follow up the research findings?
A．Experts’ research into other senses that can improve students’ grades. 
B．More successful examples of boosting learning power by using music. 
C．Suggestions for pumping lots of pleasant smells into school campuses. 
D．Debates on whether noises can really have positive effect on students’ performance. 

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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解

Nelson Mandela was a figure of international fame, and many details of his life and career were public knowledge. But here are four things you may not have known about the late South African leader.
1. He was a boxing fan.
In his youth, Nelson Mandela enjoyed boxing and long-distance running. Even during the 27 years he spent in prison, he would exercise every morning. "I did not enjoy the violence of boxing so much as the science of it. I was curious by how one moved one's body to protect oneself, how one used a strategy both to attack and retreat, how one paced oneself over a match," he wrote in his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom.
2. His original name was not Nelson.
Rolihlahla Mandela was nine years old when a teacher at the primary Methodist school where he was studying in Qunu, South Africa, gave him an English name “Nelson” in accordance with the custom to give all school children Christian names.
3. He forgot his glasses when he was released from prison.
Mr. Mandela's release on 11 February 1990 followed years of political pressure against apartheid(種族隔離). Mr. Mandela's reading glasses stayed behind in prison.  Mr. Mandela and his then-wife Winnie were taken to the centre of Cape Town to address a huge and exciting crowd. But when he pulled out the text of his speech, he realized he had forgotten his glasses and had to borrow Winnie's.
4. He had his own law firm, but it took him years to get a law degree.
Mr. Mandela studied law on and off for 50 years from 1939, failing about half the courses he took. A two-year diploma(學(xué)位證書) in law on top of his university degree allowed him to practice, and in August 1952, he and Oliver Tambo set up South Africa's first black law firm, Mandela and Tambo, in Johannesburg. He kept on studying hard to finally secure a law degree while in prison in 1989.
【小題1】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Nelson Mandela’s life in the prison.
B．Unknown things about Nelson Mandela.
C．Nelson Mandela’s hobbies and career.
D．The achievements of Nelson Mandela.
【小題2】Why did Nelson Mandela love boxing?
A．Because he wanted to be a boxer.
B．Because he loved the science in boxing.
C．Because he enjoyed the violence of boxing.
D．Because he had nothing else to do in the prison.
【小題3】What happened to Mandela when he was about to give the speech?
A．He broke his glasses into pieces.
B．He left his own glasses at home.
C．He had to use his wife’s glasses.
D．His wife wanted to borrow his glasses.
【小題4】Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．Nelson Mandela was not his original name.
B．Nelson Mandela was the name given by his teacher.
C．Nelson Mandela had started his own law firm before he got a law degree.
D．Nelson Mandela had been studying the law nonstop for 50 years.

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