Empathy(同情心) lets us feel another person’s pain and drives us to help. Do any other animals feel empathy? Scientists recently found that rats(老鼠) do, too.
Most people don’t like rats. In many people’s eyes, rats are only bad. But Jean Decety and his partners at the University of Chicago did an experiment. It showed that rats are kind, warm-hearted animals. They can feel each other’s pain.
Scientists placed pairs of rats in plastic cages(籠子) for two weeks. During this time they got to know each other. Then they put one of the rats from each pair into a small container(容器) in the cages. The small container had a door. It was so designed as to fall to the side when the free rat touched it. Many of the trapped(困住的) rats squeaked(吱吱叫) to show their discomfort. The other rats of the pairs could see their suffering(受苦的) friends clearly.
In most pairs, the free rats would become very worried about their friends. They kept trying to save their friends again and again throughout the month. Scientists put the rats’ favorite chocolate in the cages, but the rats didn’t eat it until they had saved their friends successfully. Scientists also found that female rats seemed to act more empathetic than male rats.
“The results are the first to show that rats take action in response to another’s trouble,” Decety said. “Monkeys and chimpanzees have similar behavior. But unlike those animals, rats can be ready used in laboratory studies. They will help us to learn which parts of the brain lead to empathy and helping behavior and whether empathy is natural.”
小題1:A person with empathy is often _____.

A．kind-hearted

B．clever

C．active

D．strong

小題2:Why didn’t the free rats eat the chocolate at first?

A．Because they were not hungry at that time.

B．Because chocolate was not their favorite food.

C．Because they wanted to save the trapped rats first.

D．Because they were afraid that the chocolate was bad.

小題3:Which of the following animals were NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Monkeys.

B．Chimpanzees.

C．Rats.

D．Cats.

小題4:What does the passage mainly tell us?

A．Rats can feel other animals’ pain.

B．Chocolate is rats’ favorite food.

C．Rats are empathetic and can feel each other’s pain.

D．Female rats are more empathetic than male rats.

It is true that people with better education are usually able to get better paying jobs. In other words, they have more chances to choose a good job while people with little or no education don’t. It seems that the purpose of education is to make people get jobs. But this isn’t accepted by all people.
Some people may think that a person should spend the best years of his life to get education only for a way of living. This was probably one of the earliest reasons of education. In fact, if education is just a way of making a living, people don’t need to spend so much time in school. People can get education for a living in a short time. Subjects like history and geography need not be taught to everyone. Even language and mathematics need not be taught in detail(詳細地), either. Here it is clear that education is much more than teaching a man to get a way of living.
Education is well-rounded and it is mainly for improving a man. It is not only to teach him to speak, read and write, but also to develop his creative thinking and other abilities. After that, it is to make him a wise man and thankfully enjoy the achievements of human. Education is to make a man lead a better life. Educated people are expected to be able to listen to good music, read good books, watch plays and most of them take an interest in the world.
I would agree that making a good living is an important reason for education, but certainly not the most important or the main reason.
小題1:People with little education usually ____.

A．spend a long time in school

B．have a good chance to get a job

C．spend the best years to choose jobs

D．have fewer chances to get a good job

小題2:The earliest education was probably to ______.

A．make a man lead a better life

B．teach a man to write and think

C．make people get a way of living

D．teach people to read good books

小題3:It is expected that educated people will be able to _____.

A．accept education as a way of living

B．take an interest in the whole world

C．develop their abilities to make plays

D．learn subjects like language and math

Scientists around the world have been studying the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean known as El Nino （厄爾尼諾）. The appearance of El Nino is known to affect the weather around the world. Scientists still do not completely understand it. Yet they now find they can use it to tell about the future in different areas of the world.
One example is the work of two scientists at Columbia University in New York, Mark Cane and Gordon Eshel. A scientist of Zimbabwe（津巴布韋）, Roger Buckland worked with them. They have found that when El Nino appears, Zimbabwe has little or no rain. This means corn crops in Zimbabwe are poor. The last El Nino was in 1991 to 1993. That was when southeastern Africa suffered a serious lack of rain.
The scientists wrote about their recent work in the publication（出版物）Nature. Their computer program can tell when an El Nino will develop up to a year before it does. They suggest that this could provide an effective early warning system for southern Africa, and could prevent many people from starving.
小題1:El Nino is known as ___.

A．the changing of the weather in southern Africa

B．the warming of waters in the Pacific Ocean

C．the weather which brings drought（旱災）to Africa

D．the weather phenomenon（現(xiàn)象）that brings heavy rains to Africa

小題2:Scientists study El Nino in order that ___.

A．they can provide a kind of early warning to the place that will suffer from drought

B．they can tell why Zimbabwe has little or no rain

C．they can do some research work in this field.

D．they can put all this information into their computers.

小題3:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Scientists come to understand how El Nino appears.

B．Three scientists from the USA work on this subject.

C．Southern Africa suffered a serious drought and many people died from hunger.

D．El Nino has something to do with Zimbabwe’s poor crops.

小題4:Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A．The computer is used in this research work.

B．Scientists know when an El Nino appears by means of the computer program.

C．The scientists published their results of the research work.

D．Nature is the name of the article written recently by the scientists.

小題5:What’s the best title for this passage?

A．Appearance of El Nino is Predictable（可預測的）

B．Drought in Zimbabwe

C．Early Warning System

D．Weather in Africa

Three years ago I listened to a lecture on cognition that changed the way I think about intelligence. There are two types of cognition, and the first is normal cognition the ability to regain knowledge from memory. The second type of cognition is metacognition(元認知) the ability to know whether or not you know.
Does this affect intelligence? In traditional education, intelligence is measured by cognitive ability. Some people can easily produce everything they know on a test. But others are awarded with poor grades and considered inferior (not as good as). But does this inability make them any less intelligent? If the question came up on a task, they could refer to a book or a quick Google search. In reality they’re just as effective as the people that ace a test. They just can’t prove it as easily.
Metacognition is more important to success than cognition. A person with poor cognitive ability, but great metacognitive ability might do poorly in school, but when faced with a challenge, they understand their abilities and take the best course of action. For example, when faced with a question, a person with strong metacognitive ability will deal with it like this. If he knows the answer, but can’t come up with it, he can always do a bit of research. If he knows for sure that he doesn’t know, then he can start educating himself. Because he’s aware of his ignorance, he doesn’t act with foolish confidence. These people might not seem intelligent at first glance, but because they know what they know, they make better decisions and learn the most important things.
However, people with great cognitive ability but poor metacognitive ability may be considered excellent at a young age for acing every test and getting great SAT scores. Unfortunately, they’ve been ruined by poor metacognition they think they know everything but they really don’t. They are arrogant (overconfident), fail to learn from mistakes, and don’t understand the slight differences of personal relationships, showing disregard for persons with lower cognitive ability. They may make the worst decisions.
The most important mental power is the ability to know what you don’t know .The recognition of a fault is the first step to improvement. Don’t try to hide a lack of knowledge. For intelligent people this is the toughest lesson to learn.
小題1:People with great cognitive ability tend to ______________.       

A．do well in tests

B．be considered inferior

C．be more effective than others

D．do research when faced with a task

小題2:The underlined phrase “take the best course of action,” probably means______.

A．starting educating himself

B．taking action during the course

C．making the right decision

D．coming up with many ideas

小題3:People with poor metacognition may not succeed because they ________.

A．lack basic moral values

B．have improper self evaluation

C．fail to communicate with others

D．show little respect for others

小題4:The author probably supports the idea that ___________.

A．intelligence is measured by cognitive ability

B．cognition is the most important mental power

C．the toughest lesson is to distinguish the two types of cognition

D．the awareness of one’s ignorance contributes to one’s improvement

To master a language one must be able to speak and understand the spoken language as well as to read and write．Lenin and his wife Krupskaya translated a long English book into Russian．But when they went to England in 1980, English people couldn’t understand what was said to them．These days more foreigners are coming to China and more and more Chinese are going out to foreign countries to work or study．So the spoken language is becoming more and more important．Speaking, of course, can’t go without listening．If you want to pronounce a word correctly, first you must hear it correctly．The sounds of the Chinese and English language are not exactly the same．If you don’t listen carefully, you’ll find it difficult or even impossible to understand the native speakers．
Well, what about writing? Like speaking, it’s to exchange ideas．People generally use shorter words and shorter sentences in their writing．The important thing is to make your idea in your head and then to write it in clear lively language
Chinese students read far too slowly．If you read fast, you understand better．If you read too slowly, by the time you have reached the end of a page you have forgotten what the beginning is about．When you meet with new words, don’t look them up in the dictionary．Guess the meaning from the context．You may not guess quite correctly the first time, but as new words come up again and again in different contexts, their meaning will become clearer and clearer．If you look up every word, you’ll never finish a book．
Students of a foreign language need a particular knowledge, the knowledge of the life, history and geography of the people whose language they’re studying．They should study these subjects in the foreign language, not only in translation．In this way one can kill two birds with one stone: learn a foreign language and get some knowledge of the foreign country at the same time．
小題1:How many points are there in the passage?

A．Two

B．Three

C．Four

D．Five

小題2:In his first point the writer told us

A．how to speak English

B．how to read and write

C．why spoken English is important

D．why English people couldn’t understand Lenin

小題3:In his last point the writer advised us

A．to kill two birds with one stone

B．to learn two languages at a time

C．to study all the subjects in a foreign language

D．to get some knowledge of the foreign country whose language you are studying．

小題4:“To kill two birds with one stone” means

A．to get some particular knowledge

B．to get more than what one pays

C．the stone is too big

D．the birds are blind enough

閱讀下面短文，從短文后各題所給的四個選項（A，B，C，D）中，選出可以填入空白處的最佳選項，并在答題卡上將該項涂黑。
For centuries, magicians have used various ways to shock the audience. We all have seen how a   36  performer carefully steps   37  a bed of burning coals -- barefoot. Then he walks across   38  a single burn on his feet. Is it mind over matter, or is it just physics? As it turns   __39 , walking on burning coals isn’t that hot as   40 . “The coals are hot enough to   41__  you, but if you walk quickly across them you   42  being burned.” says Jonathan Hall, a physician at Penn State University in Eric Pennsylvania.
That’s because some coals are made   43   burning wood chips. Wood has two   44__   properties（特性）for fire-walking, explains Hall. First, wood is an insulator（絕緣體）--it doesn’t   __45  heat very well. “It   46 _ time for heat to travel   47  the wood to your feet.” Hall says. If the performer walked across red-hot metal   48 , that would truly be   49 , because metal conducts, or transmits, heat very well. The metal would   50  burn a performer’s feet.
Second, wood has a low specific heat-- it doesn’t take much heat to   51  its temperature. Heat is a form of   52 . Temperature is a   53  of heat, in units of degrees. So   54  the coals are hot, the value（數(shù)值）of heat energy they contain is low. Thus, a well-trained performer can   55  such an amazing result.
Still, you don’t want to walk on burning coals, do you?

小題1:	A．daring B．dare C．rough D．fearful

小題2:	A．at B．over C．on D．above

小題3:	A．with B．within C．without D．over

小題4:	A．out B．on C．off D．in

小題5:	A．imagine B．imagined C．imagining D．to imagine

小題6:	A．fire B．burn C．light D．flame

小題7:	A．prevent B．keep C．ignore D．avoid

小題8:	A．off B．from C．of D．in

小題9:	A．ideal B．classic C．favorite D．standard

小題10:

A．transmit B．communicate C．bring D．send

小題11:

A．gathers B．takes C．gains D．stands

小題12:

A．through B．into C．over D．pass

小題13:

A．unhappy B．unharmed C．unhealthy D．unprepared

小題14:

A．charming B．magical C．tricky D．fashionable

小題15:

A．instantly B．constantly C．frequently D．lately

小題16:

A．produce B．raise C．construct D．create

小題17:

A．power B．source C．energy D．strength

小題18:

A．measure B．rank C．estimate D．rate

小題19:

A．what if B．however C．as if D．even though

小題20:

A．achieve B．arrive C．draw D．take

Do you long for lasting camp memories? Sure we can guarantee it.
Shadow Ridge Summer Camps offer so many exciting things for campers to do. Unlike other camp programs that include horses as a small part of their program, at Shadow Ridge horses ARE the program ! We are 100% horse from stable（馬廄）management, nature walks, and track rides to bedroom furnishings.
Horses help us achieve many of our aims. Girls can learn to develop responsibility, self-confidence and personal connections in their lives while having fun. Using horses as a wonderful tool for education, our camps offer an interesting place for growth and learning:
Imagine each girl having her very own horse to spend time with and a best friend to love and take care of. Each camper is responsible for a horse for the week. Our riding program provides a lot of riding and lesson time. Campers will learn how to take care of the horse and the tack（馬具）, as well as how to ride. Days are filled with horse-related activities to strengthen the connection between each girl and horse, as the girls learn to work safely around the horses.
At Shadow Ridge we try to create a loving, caring family atmosphere for our campers. We have “The Bunkhouse”（4 girls）, the “Wranglers Roost”（4 girls）, and “The Hideout”（2 girls）in our comfortable 177-year-old farm house. All meals are home cooked, offering delicious and healthy food for the hungry rider.
Our excellent activities create personalized memories of your child’s vacation. Each child will receive a camp T-shirt and a photo album （usually 300-500 pictures） of their stay at camp.
Our camps are offered during June, July and August 2013, for small groups of girls aged13-16 years, not only from Canada but also other parts of the world.
We will send you full program descriptions at your request.
小題1:What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To attract people to the camps.

B．To talk about camping experiences.

C．To describe the programs of the camps.

D．To explain the aims of the camps.

小題2:What do we know about the camp programs at Shadow Ridge?

A．Campers are required to wear camp T-shirts.

B．Horses play a central role in the activities.

C．Campers learn to cook food for themselves.

D．Horse lessons are offered all the year round.

小題3:The programs at Shadow Ridge mainly aim to help people ________.

A．understand horses better	B．enjoy a family atmosphere
C．have fun above other things	D．achieve an educational purpose

小題4:The passage is written mainly for ________.

A．horse riders	B．teenage girls
C．Canadian parents	D．international travelers

If you are planning to study in the United States, you need to consider several factors. Everyone has different opinions about where is the best place to live in. Also, the best places to live in are not always home to the best schools. Finally, many schools specialize in different areas of study. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, is a great school for computer science and technology-related fields of study. However, if you want to study oceanography（海洋學）, your interests may be better served by attending school in a place that is on a coastline or near the ocean.
Now I am sure that you know which schools are considered the best in the country. So I will tell you about which states I believe are the best to live in.
California is a nice state. Northern California specifically has very good weather. Los Angeles in southern California is another story, though. Life in LA is full of excitement and fast, and sometimes dangerous. As for me, I enjoyed the time I spent in Massachusetts, Virginia and Maryland and these states have a lot of history and culture. The weather is not as perfect as Northern California, but it is still quite nice. My favorite area of America is the Mid-west. Middle America, I think, is home to the true American sense of values. In addition, there are many good universities there.
Also, you need to think about your likes and dislikes and then research the various states. You like sunshine and hate snow? Then you probably won’t like the Midwest or even the Northeast. Open space, nature and peace? Then you probably should stay away from America’s large cities. Are you interested in government? Then Washington D. C. is the only place for you. Whatever you decide, put some thought into it. The place you live in could be the difference between a great study-abroad experience and a state of great suffering on earth.
小題1:What, according to the author, should be considered first if you want to study in the USA?

A．The climate	B．The scenery
C．The study condition	D．The living condition

小題2:What is California like?

A．California is the best place to live in.

B．California is the worst place to live in.

C．California is a state with the largest city.

D．California is a state with different climates.

小題3: If you study in Middle America, you can probably _______.

A．find the best universities

B．feel the real character of the nation

C．meet the most famous professors there

D．face more difficulties

小題4: What can we conclude from the text?
A.All American famous universities lie in nice places.
B. Los Angeles is the most dangerous city in the USA.
C. Washington D.C. is the political centre of the USA.
D. It is always raining in the Midwest of the USA.

In a recent study, researchers have estimated the energy required to produce bottled water, including the energy required to manufacture plastic, make the plastic into bottles, process the water, fill and seal the bottles, transport the bottles, and chill the bottles for use. Combining all the energy input totals for treatment and distribution, researchers found that producing bottled water requires between 5.6 and 10.2 million joules(焦耳) of energy per liter, depending on transportation factors. That's up to 2, 000 times the energy required to produce tap water.
To break down the energy requirements, researchers found that producing the plastic bottles and transporting the bottles greatly dominated(控制) the energy input. Although some companies are experimenting with producing lightweight bottles or using recycled materials, the researchers calculated that the manufacturing cost is about 4 million joules of energy per plastic bottle weighing 38 grams, and the cap weighing 2 grams.
“Our previous work had suggested that bottled water production was an energy­ intensive process, but we were surprised to see the results, ” the researchers said.
Transportation costs vary depending on the distance and mode of transport and both factors depend on the type of bottled water. There are two main kinds of bottled water in the US:^” spring water” which comes from an underground spring and “purified water”,which is city tap water that has received further treatment. For purified water distributed locally by truck within Los Angeles, the total transportation energy is about 1.4 million joules per liter. In the second situation, spring water shipped from Fiji (such as Fiji Spring Water) across the Pacific to Los Angeles, and then delivered locally by truck requires about 4 million joules per liter for transportation. For the spring water, the transportation energy equaled (in the case of Fiji) the energy required to produce the bottle.
With this data, the researchers hope that future studies will have the ability to make specific estimates for different situations, and possibly find ways to cut energy costs.
小題1:From the first Paragraph we can know that the energy required to ______.

A．produce bottled water includes the energy required to drink it

B．distribute bottled water includes the energy for producing the bottles

C．distribute bottled water is much smaller than the energy for treating it

D．produce bottled water is much smaller than the energy for producing tap water

小題2:To reduce the energy required to produce bottled water, some companies are trying ______.

A．to fill tap water into the plastic bottles directly

B．to replace the plastic bottles with metal containers

C．to produce lightweight bottles with recycled materials

D．to use bicycles to transport and deliver bottled water locally

小題3:What's Paragraph 4 mainly talking about?

A．Treatment of bottled water needs no energy input at all.

B．Bottled water production is an energy­ intensive process.

C．Transportation of bottled water takes up the most energy input.

D．Production of the plastic bottles greatly dominated the energy input.

小題4: We can infer from the passage that ______.

A．there are two main kinds of bottled water in the US

B．world consumption of bottled water has been increasing

C．transportation costs have something to do with the mode of transport

D．bottled water produced in Spring is more expensive than purified water

小題5: What's the main purpose of the passage?

A．To help consumers themselves make more environmentally sustainable choices.

B．To advise the government to take severe measures to stop producing bottled water.

C．To urge the consumers to drink tap water instead of bottled water for the sake of the earth.

D．To try the best to find ways to produce bottled water cheaply and quickly for the companies.

Scientists Alan M．Goldberg and Thomas Hartung describe recent advances in replacing the use of animals in toxicology(毒物學)testing．Improvements in cell and tissue culture technologies，for example，allow a growing number of tests to be performed on human cells alone．Computer models are becoming increasingly complex and many could one day become more accurate than trials in living animals．
Since the late 1990s，Huntingdon Life Sciences--a company that conducts testing of substances on animals conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration—has become a proving ground for aggressive strategies by animal-rights militants （好戰(zhàn)分子）．At a hearing，a Senate．committee listened to testimony（證詞） against Huntingdon employees and financial institutions providing services to the company．One experimentation witness at the hearing insisted that any means necessary were justified（辯護） to spare animals’ lives；he has previously accepted the idea of murder to that end．
Use of animals in testing and in biomedical research continues to be necessary in many instances and is ethically（倫理道德地）preferable to experimenting on humans or giving up cures that could save human lives．But for the sake of people and animals alike，the development and acceptance of animal substitutes deserve enthusiastic support．
In some instances, substitutes are already thought as good or better than animals，but supervising agencies（監(jiān)督機構）have yet to catch up．In both the European Union and the U．S．，scientists and companies wanting to use the new alternative tests complain that regulatory standards for proving a drug or chemical to be safe for humans force the continued use of animals．Thus，animal-loving Americans might turn to persuading the EPA and the FDA to speed validation（確認）of new methods so that they can be more widely employed．And animal advocates（保護者） who want to influence business could consider investing in the small biotech’s and large pharmaceutical（藥品的） companies that are working to develop alternatives to animals in research．
小題1:_____ plays a leading role in replacing the use of animals in testing．

A．Huntingdon Life Sciences	B．Improvement in technologies
C．Animal-fights militants	D．Scientists Alan and Thomas

小題2:Accordingly, the animal-rights militants hold the view that_____．

A．animals shouldn’t be used in toxicology testing

B．animals should enjoy equal rights with human beings

C．animals should live wildly and freely

D．we should protect animals from being killed casually

小題3:From the passage，we can find _____．

A．the use of animals in testing has been stopped abruptly

B．animal substitutes are not preferable

C．supervising standards contribute to the continued use of animals in testing

D．only Huntingdon Life Sciences is accused

小題4:What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Saving animals and people．

B．The new trend in toxicology testing

C．The use of animals in testing is against human nature

D．New technology changes the fate of animals

小題5:The writer’s attitude towards replacing the use of animals in toxicology is____．

A．arbitrary（武斷的，隨意的）	B．pessimistic
C．indifferent（不關心的 ）	D．optimistic