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(rèn)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

NOT all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly wipe out, the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are wiped out. They are not sure to what degree people’s memories are affected.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers' troubling memories after war.
They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
"Some memories can ruin people's lives. They come back to you when you don't want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that maybe the pills can change people’s memories and changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity. They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were terrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we want to wipe those memories out, "said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
【小題1】The passage is mainly about              .

A．a(chǎn) new medical invention

B．a(chǎn) new research on the pill

C．a(chǎn) way of wiping out painful memories

D．a(chǎn)n argument about the research on the pill

【小題2】The drug tested on people can           .

A．cause the brain to fix memories

B．stop people remembering bad experiences

C．prevent body producing certain chemicals

D．wipe out the emotional effects of memories

【小題3】We can infer from the passage that           .

A．people doubt the effects of the pills

B．the pill will certainly stop people's emotional memories

C．taking the pill will do harm to people's physical health

D．the pill has already been produced and used by the public in America

【小題4】Which of the following does Rebecca Dresser agree with in the last paragraph ?

A．some memories can ruin people's lives.

B．people want to get rid of bad memories.

C．experiencing bad events makes us different from others.

D．the pill will reduce people's sufferings from bad memories.

Scholars and researchers have tried to discover what personality characteristics go along with success in different cultural experiences. Their findings have often been unclear or incomplete. But three typical characteristics stand out in their reports: patience, a sense of humor, and the awareness of being unclear.
Patience, of course, is the ability to keep calm when things do not go as one wants them to, or as one hopes they would, or even as one was sure they would. Impatience sometimes brings improvements in relations with other people, but usually it does not.
A person with a sense of humor is less likely to take things too seriously and more ready to see the humor in his own reaction than a humorless person. The value of a sense of humor really needs to be paid more attention to.
  “The awareness of being unclear” is a more difficult concept to understand than patience and a sense of humor. Foreigners often find themselves in situations that are unclear as they are newcomers. That is, they do not know what is happening in a certain situation. Perhaps they do not understand the local language well enough, or they do not know how some system or organization works, or they can’t be sure of different people’s roles in what is going on. “It’s like that I just got here from the moon,” a Chinese graduate student who newly arrived in the United States said. “Things are just so different here.”
【小題1】The passage mainly tells us ______.

A．a(chǎn)bout some uneasy traveling experiences in foreign countries

B．a(chǎn)bout the three main ways to communicate with foreigners

C．a(chǎn)bout some typical characteristics in different cultural experiences

D．how to show your characters to foreigners

【小題2】According to the passage, which characteristic should be focused on most?

A．The ability to keep cool.	B．The sense of humor.
C．Patience.	D．The awareness of being unclear.

【小題3】“The awareness of being unclear” refers to “______” .

A．not knowing what is happening in a situation

B．not understanding the local language well enough

C．being aware that the situation is unclear

D．not knowing how some system or organization works

【小題4】By what the Chinese graduate student said, we can learn that ______.

A．he is not used to the culture of America

B．he went to the United States to study the moon

C．he is a person with a sense of humor

D．he has just returned from the moon

The home computer industry has been growing rapidly in the United States in the last ten years. Computers used to be large, expensive machines that were very difficult to use. But scientists and technicians have been making them smaller and cheaper while at the same time they have been made easier to use. As a result, their popularity has been increasing as more people have been buying computers for their homes and businesses.
Computers have been designed to store information and compute problems that are difficult for human beings to work out. Some have voices that speak to their operators. Stores use computers to keep records of their inventories and to send bills to their customers. Offices use computers to copy letters, record business and keep in touch with other offices. People also use computers in their homes to keep track of the money they spend.
One important new use of computers is for entertainment. Many new games have been designed to be played on computers. People of all ages play these games. People also buy home computers to watch movies and listen to concerts at home. They have become very popular indeed.
【小題1】Compared with those of today, computers used to ______.

A．work rapidly	B．be used for fun
C．be large and expensive	D．be easy to use

【小題2】In recent years, computers have become ______.

A．more and more difficult to use	B．slower and slower
C．more and more expensive	D．smaller and smaller

【小題3】Home computers can be used for ______.

A．doing business	B．writing letters
C．playing games	D．a(chǎn)ll of the above

【小題4】Salesmen use computers mainly to ______.

A．talk with their friends

B．write letters

C．check the list of goods and send bills

D．play games for pleasure

Why would an animal kill itself? It seems a strange question, and yet it is one that has made some scientists curious for a long time. For there is a kind of animal called lemming（旅鼠）, that periodically killed themselves together, and no one knows just why!
The small creatures which live in the Scandinavian mountains, feed on a diet of roots and special insects and live in nests they dig underground. When their food supply is large, the lemmings live a normal and undisturbed life. 
However, when the lemmings’ food supply becomes too low to support the population, a singular migration（遷徙）begins. The lemmings leave their nests in groups. Great numbers of them begin to travel across the Scandinavian plains, a journey that may last weeks. The lemmings eat everything in their path, continuing their long march until they reach the sea. 
The reason for what follows remains unbelievable to naturalists. Upon reaching the coast, the lemmings do not stop but swim by the thousands into the sea. Most stay afloat only a short time before they tire, sink and drown. 
A common theory for this mass self-killing is that the lemmings do not realize that the ocean is such a huge body of water in their cross-country journey, the animals must cross many smaller bodies of water, such as rivers and small lakes. They may think that the sea is just another such swimmable path to go through. But no final answer has been found to the strange happening. 
【小題1】The passage is mainly about______.

A．how lemmings find food

B．why animals kill themselves

C．the lemmings’ self-killing

D．the food supply in the Scandinavian mountains

【小題2】A reason for the lemmings’ self-killing might be that they______.

A．go mad from a lack of food

B．hope to find fish for food

C．decide to reduce the population

D．think they can cross the sea

【小題3】Why are scientists curious about the lemmings’ behavior?

A．Because they are the only animals that live in Scandinavia.

B．Because it is very unusual for animals to kill themselves.

C．Because of the amount of food they can eat on their march to the sea.

D．Because they can gather together in such huge numbers.

【小題4】The underlined word “singular” means______.

A．unusual

B．single

C．wonderful

D．common

Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Often it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries ---- in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus ---- obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have parts of their names to describe their shapes, like “ Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent (月牙) because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.
【小題1】We learn from Paragraph 1 that _____.

A．the government is usually the first to name a place

B．a(chǎn) ceremony will be held when a place is named

C．people prefer the place names given by the government

D．many places tend to have more than one name

【小題2】Which of the following places is named after a person?

A．Selector Airbase.	B．Raffles Place.
C．Piccadilly Circus.	D．Paya Lebar Crescent.

【小題3】What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Change suddenly.	B．Change greatly.
C．Disappear very slowly.	D．Disappear quickly.

【小題4】Bras Basah Road is named _______.

A．a(chǎn)fter a place	B．a(chǎn)fter an activity
C．a(chǎn)fter a person	D．by its shape

【小題5】What can be inferred from the passage?

A．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique.

B．Some places in Singapore are named for military（軍事） purposes.

C．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers.

D．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain.

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(zāi)）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(yù)測(cè)的）

B．Drought in Zimbabwe

C．Early Warning System

D．Weather in Africa

The practice of students endlessly copying letters and sentences from a blackboard is a thing of the past. With the coming of new technologies like computers and smartphones, writing by hand has become something of nostalgic(懷舊的)skill. However, while today’s educators are using more and more technology in their teaching,many believe basic handwriting skills are still necessary for students to be successful-----both in school and in life.
Virginia Berninger, professor of educational psychology at the University of Washington, says it’s important to continue teaching handwriting and help children acquire the skill of writing by hand.
Berninger and her colleagues conducted a study that looked at the ability of students to complete various writing tasks----both on a computer and by hand. The study, published in 2009, found that when writing with a pen and paper, participants wrote longer essays and more complete sentences and had a faster word production rate.
In a more recent study, Berninger looked at what role spelling plays in a student’s writing skills and found that how well children spell is tied to how well they can write. “Spelling makes some of the thinking parts of the brain active which helps us access our vocabulary, word meaning and concepts. It is allowing our written language to connect with ideas.” Berninger said.
Spelling helps students translate ideas into words in their mind first and then to transcribe (轉(zhuǎn)換) “those words in the mind written symbols on paper or keyboard and screen,” the study said. Seeing the words in the “mind’s eye” helps children not only to turn their ideas into words, says Berninger, but also to spot(發(fā)現(xiàn)) spelling mistakes when they write the words down and to correct them over time.
“In our computer age, some people believe that we don’t have to teach spelling because we have spell checks,” she said. “But until a child has a functional spelling ability of about a fifth grade level, they won’t have the knowledge to choose the correct spelling among the options given by the computer.”
【小題1】What makes writing by hand a thing of the past? 

A．Theabsenceofblackboardsinclassrooms.

B．Theuseofnewtechnologiesinteaching.

C．Thelackofpracticeinhandwriting.

D．Thepopularuseofsmartphones.

【小題2】Berninger’s study published in 2009 ___________. 

A．focusedonthedifferencebetweenwritingbyhandandonacomputer.

B．indicatedthatstudentsprefertowritewithapenandpaper.

C．foundthatgoodessaysaremadeupoflongsentences.

D．discussedtheimportanceofwritingspeed.

【小題3】Which of the following best shows the role of spelling? 

A．Spellingimprovesone’smemoryofwords.

B．Spellingabilityiscloselyrelatedtowritingability.

C．Spellingbenefitsthetranslationfromwordsintoideas.

D．Spellingslowsdownfindingexactwordstoexpressideas.

【小題4】What does “mind’s eye” in paragraph 5 mean? 

A． Window.

B．Soul

C．Picture.

D．Imagination.

【小題5】What conclusion could be drawn from the passage 

A．Computerscanhelppeoplewiththeirchoiceofwords.

B．Spellcheckscantaketheplaceofspellingteaching.

C．Handwritingstillhasaplaceintoday’sclassrooms.

D．Functionalspellingabilitydevelopsfastinthefifthgrade.

There has been a dramatic increase in the number of natural disasters over the past few years, and it is assumed that global warming and climate change could cause even more disasters in the future. Some of the world’s leading cities are facing disasters like floods and heat waves.
London
London’s flood defences are getting older. Since 1982, the Thames Barrier(水閘)has protected the city from the threat of flooding, but it was only designed to last until 2030 and close once every two or three years. About 26 years later the barrier now closes five or six times a year and according to Environment Agency predictions, by 2050 the barrier will be closed on almost every tide if the problem is not addressed.
There are 26 underground stations, 400 schools, 16 hospitals, an airport and 80 billion worth of property in London’s flood risk area, so large scale flooding would be disastrous.
Paris
Over a six week period in July and August 2003, more than 1 1,400—mainly elderly people—died in France from dehydration(脫水)and extremely high body temperature in a deadly heat wave. Heat waves of similar intensity(強(qiáng)度)are expected every seven years by 2050, so what can be done to make sure such a disaster does not happen again?
One solution is to have air-conditioners installed in elderly care homes. But this is considered a short-term solution, as the increase in demand for electricity also increases carbon emissions(排放).
In Paris the local authorities are encouraging architects to design new types of buildings such as the building “Flower Tower,” which uses a covering of bamboo to act as a natural air-conditioner.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the fastest growing city on Earth. It has a population of 18 million and is only 4 meters above sea level. Sea levels are predicted to rise by 20 cm within the next century.
An estimated 250，000 people move to Shanghai every year in search of work, placing extra demands on energy consumption. China relies heavily on coal—fired power stations, but these emissions increase temperatures and, in turn, warmer seas increase the risk of typhoons.
【小題1】What problem should be settled now in London?

A．How to protect the city’s property

B．Where to build its flood defences

C．How to use the Thames Barrier to protect the city

D．How to improve the function of the old flood defences

【小題2】Which of the following measures can’t solve the heat wave disaster in Paris?

A．Putting up new types of buildings with a covering of bamboo

B．Having air-conditioners installed in elderly care homes

C．Forbidding the city to build“Flower Tower”

D．Encouraging architects to design new types of buildings

【小題3】The major threats to Shanghai are          ．

A．increasing population and coal-fired power stations

B．rising sea levels and typhoons

C．extremely high temperature and rising sea levels

D．extra demands on energy consumption and typhoons

【小題4】The purpose of the passage is      ．

A．to tell us how to protect the big cities

B．to give advice on how to defend natural disasters

C．to explain what causes flood and heat waves

D．to warn us of the increasing natural disasters in big cities

【小題5】Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．Big Cities Facing Big Disasters

B．Big Disasters in the Future

C．The Increase of Natural Disasters

D．Solutions to Natural Disasters

Mark and his brother Jason both were looking at the shining new computer enviously. Jason was determined not to go against their father’s wishes but Mark was more adventurous than his brother. He loves experimenting and his aim was to become a scientist like his father.
“Dad will be really mad if he finds out you’ve been playing with his new computer” Jason said, “He told us not to touch it.”
“He won’t find out,” Mark said, “I’ll just have a quick look and shut it down.”
Mark had been scolded before for touching his father’s equipment. But his curiosity was difficult to control and this new computer really puzzled him.
It was a strange-looking machine — one his dad had brought home from the laboratory where he worked. “It’s an experimental model,” his father had explained, so don’t touch it under any circumstances.” But his father’s warning only served to make Mark more curious. Without any further thought, Mark turned on the power switch. The computer burst into life and seconds later, the screen turned into colours, shifting and changing, and then two big white words appeared in the centre of the screen: “SPACE TRANSPORTER.”
“Yes!” Mark cried excitedly, “It’s a computer game. I knew it! Dad’s only been pretending to work. He’s really been playing games instead!” A new message appeared on the screen:
“ENTER NAMES
VOYAGE　１
VOYAGE　２
Mark’s finger flew across the keyboard as he typed in both of their names.
“INPUT ACCEPTED.
START  TRANSPORT  PROGRAM.
AUTO-RETRIEVE  INITIATED(自動(dòng)回收程序已啟動(dòng)).”
The screen turn even brighter and a noise suddenly rose in volume.
“I think we’d better shut it off, Mark,” Jason yelled out in terror, reaching for the power switch. A beam(光束) of dazzling white light burst out of the computer screen, wrapping the boys in its glow(光芒)，until they themselves seemed to be glowing. Then it died down just as suddenly as it had burst into life. And the boys were no longer there. On the screen, the letters changed：
“TRANSPORT SUCCESSFUL．
DESTINATION:  MARS.
RETRIEVE DATE:  2025
【小題1】Why did Mark touch the computer against his father’s warning?

A．He wanted to take a voyage.

B．He wanted to practice his skills.

C．He was so much attracted by it.

D．He was eager to do an experiment.

【小題2】Where did the boy’s father most likely work?

A．In an electronic factory

B．In a computer company

C．In a scientific research center.

D．In an information processing center.

【小題3】Mark thought “SPACE TRANSPORTER” on the screen was the name of ________.

A．a(chǎn) computer game	B．a(chǎn) company website
C．a(chǎn) software producer	D．a(chǎn)n astronomy program

【小題4】Why did Jason want to shut off the computer?

A．He was afraid of being scolded.

B．He didn’t like the loud noise and light.

C．He didn’t want to play games.

D．He was afraid something dangerous might happen.

【小題5】What happened to the boys at the end of the story?

A．They were blown into the air.

B．They were sent to another planet.

C．They were hidden in the strong light.

D．They were carried away to another country.