Boredom and Creativity
Most of us think of being bored at work as a negative experience, but a new study suggests it can have positive results including an increase in creativity because it gives us time to daydream.
That is the finding of Dr. Sandi Mann from the University of Central Lancashire. Dr. Mann conducted two studies. In the first experiment, 40 people were asked to carry out a boring task. They were told to copy numbers out of a telephone directory for 15 minutes. After that they were asked to complete another task. A pair of cups were given to each of them. Everyone tried to come up with different uses of the cups, and was given a chance to display their creativity. Meanwhile, another group of 40 people were just asked to come up with uses for the cups without doing any boring tasks before. It turned out that the 40 people who had first copied out the telephone numbers were more creative than the control group(對(duì)照組).
To see if daydreaming was a factor in this effect, a second boring task was introduced that allowed even more daydreaming than the boring writing task. This second study saw 30 people copying out the numbers as before, but also included a second group of 30 reading rather than writing them.
Again the researchers found that the people in the control group were least creative, but the people who had just read the names were more creative than those who had to write them out. This suggests that more passive boring activities, like reading or perhaps attending meetings, can lead to more creativity. Compared with reading, writing reduced the scope（范圍） for daydreaming. As a result, it reduces the  effects of boredom on creativity.
Dr. Mann says: “Boredom at work has always been seen as something to be avoided, but perhaps we should accept it in order to promote our creativity. What we want to do next is to see what the practical implications of this finding are. Do people who are bored at work become more creative in other areas of their work -- or do they go home and write novels?”  
小題1:Who proved to be the most creative in the two studies?

A．The people who attended meetings.

B．The people who did the reading task.

C．The people who invented uses for cups.

D．The people who copied telephone numbers.

小題2:The studies conducted by Dr. Mann indicate that creativity results from _______.

A．creative tasks

B．controlled activities

C．the range of daydreaming

D．reading and writing ability

小題3:What is Dr. Mann’s attitude towards boredom at work?

A．Positive.

B．Skeptical.

C．Subjective.

D．Disapproving.

小題4:What will Dr. Mann probably continue to research in their study?

A．The real causes of creativity.

B．The actual use of boredom.

C．The practical reasons of boredom.

D．The writing ability improved by boredom.

Even while in a deep sleep, people can still learn brand new information. Sleepers soak in new associations between smells and sounds, knowledge that lingers(逗留）into the next waking day, researchers report online August 26 in Nature Neuroscience.
The new study is the first to show that entirely new information can get into the sleeping mind, says Anat Arzi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. "The brain is not passive while you sleep. It's quite active. You can do quite a lot of things while you are asleep."
But the results don't mean that Spanish vocabulary tapes now have a place on the nightstand. L, Researchers have tried but largely failed to find evidence that complicated information, such as new pairs of words, can make its way into the brain during sleep.
Instead of trying to teach people something complicated like a new language, Arzi and her colleagues relied on the sense of smell and hearing. As anyone who has walked by a dumpster（垃圾車）in July knows, smells can cause a nose-jerk reaction. Catching a bad smell automatically makes people inhale(吸氣)less, reducing the size of the inhale. But scent of fresh bread causes a long, deep inhale.、rzi and her team took advantage of this reaction for their experiment.
As people slept in the laboratory, the researchers delivered pleasant scent, such as shampoo. As this nice smell got into the sleepers' noses, the researchers played a particular music. Later, a disgusting smell, such as rotten fish or meat, was paired with a different music. Neither the smell nor the sound woke people up. After just four exposures to the smell-music pair during a single night, the sleepers started to automatically respond to the tones without the accompanying smells, taking in bigger breaths when the shampoo-associated tone played and smaller breaths when played the sound linked to the rotten fish smell.
This new learned association lingered into the next waking day, too. Even though the sleepers had no idea they had been exposed to smells or sounds, their behavior proved that their brain had actually learned something during sleep. As before, the shampoo sound stimulated a long, deep inhale, while the rotten fish tone caused more shallow breaths.
小題1:We can infer from the passage that

A．while sleeping, we can learn whatever we want to learn

B．we will increase the size of inhale if we catch a pleasant smell

C．the knowledge we learned while sleeping will be forgotten in the next waken day

D．when walking by a bakery, the fresh bread will cause a nose-jerk reaction

小題2:What is Paragraph 3 mainly about?

A．One can’t acquire complicated knowledge during the sleeping hours.

B．Spanish vocabulary tapes now have a place on the nightstand

C．Researchers have tried to find evidence that the new words can be learned during sleep.

D．Complicated information can make its way into the brain during sleep

小題3:How do Arzi and her team do their research? By

A．giving instructions	B．a(chǎn)nalyzing human brains
C．following the guides of others	D．doing experiments

小題4:In which part of a website may this passage most likely appear?

A．Culture.

B．Science.

C．History.

D．Economy.

When times get tough，we all look for ways to cut back.When we're hungry，we eat at home instead of going out.We take buses instead of taxis.And we wear our old designer jeans just a few months longer.With college expenses at all?time highs，high school students are eager to do anything to cut the cost of a university education.

One cost?cutting proposal is to allow college students to get a bachelor's degree in three years instead of four.Educational institutions have been actively exploring ways to make the learning process more efficient.But there's a question：Would the quality of undergraduate(本科生)education suffer？ Few US universities have formally approved a “three?year degree”model.
I doubt that mainstream North American colleges will carry out a three?year curriculum(課程)any time soon.For one thing，most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early by testing out of certain classes and obtaining a number of college credits(學(xué)分)．In addition，at famous universities，the committee who determine which courses are required and which courses are electives are unlikely to suddenly “throw out”one quarter of the required credits.Professors will resist “diluting(稀釋)”the quality of the education they offer.
In my opinion，a quality four?year education is always superior to a quality three?year education.A college education requires sufficient time for a student to become skilled in their major and do coursework in fields outside their major.It is not a good idea to water down education，any more than it's not a good idea to water down medicine.If we want to help students find their way through university，we should help them understand early on what knowledge and skills they need to have upon graduation.We should allow students to test out of as many courses as possible.We should give them a chance to earn money as interns(實(shí)習(xí)生)in meaningful part?time jobs that relate to their university studies，such as the five?year co?op program at Northeastern University.
小題1:The first paragraph serves as a(n) ________.

A．explanation	B．definition
C．introduction	D．comment

小題2:In most US universities，________.

A．college students are offered the co?op program

B．electives' credits make up one quarter of the required credits

C．a(chǎn)ll students are required to finish four?year education before graduation

D．some excellent students can graduate ahead of time

小題3:We can infer that ________.

A．the author is a college professor

B．the author thinks the cost of a university education is too high for people to afford

C．the author considers the university education quality very important

D．the author pays special attention to the all?round development of college students

小題4:Which of the following can be the best title?

A．It's time to shorten the learning process

B．Best learning takes place over time

C．University education should be watered down

D．College education calls for reform

According to body language expert Robert Phipps，the way people sleep at night actually determines a lot about the type of personality they have.Phipps has identified four sleeping positions that affect personality.
Phipps found that worriers，those who stress the most，tend to sleep in the fetal(胎兒的)position.He found that this is the most common bedtime position，with nearly 58 percent of people sleeping on their side with knees up and head down.The more we curl up(蜷曲)，the more comfort we are seeking，according to Phipps.
The second most common position is the log.Sleeping with a straight body，with arms at each side，as if they are standing guard at Buckingham Palace，indicates stubbornness，and these people(the 28 percent who sleep this way)often wake up stiffer than when they went to sleep.
“The longer you sleep like this，the more rigid your thinking is and you can become inflexible，which means you make things harder for yourself，”according to Phipps.
Yearner(向往型)sleepers are next on the list.About 25 percent of people sleep in this style—on their side with arms stretched out in front，looking as if they are either chasing a dream or perhaps being chased themselves.Yearners are typically their own worst critics，always expecting the best results，explained Phipps.These people often wake up refreshed and eager to face the challenges of the day ahead.
Perhaps the most peculiar(奇怪的)of sleep styles is the freefaller position.This sleep style makes up 17 percent of the population.They sleep face down with arms stretched out.These people，according to Phipps，feel like they have little control over their life.Not only is this the strangest of sleep styles，but also the least comfortable，and people may wake up feeling tired and have no energy.
In conclusion，Phipps has only one more thing to add：“A good night's sleep sets you up for the following day and our sleeping positions can determine how we feel when we wake.”
小題1:Which of the following is the best title of the passage?

A．A Good Night's Sleep Sets You Up for the Following Day

B．Your Personality Depends a Lot on How You Sleep at Night

C．How You Sleep at Night Affects What You Do the Next Day

D．Which Sleeping Position Helps You Sleep Comfortably

小題2:Which of the following pictures is the fetal position?

小題3:The underlined word“rigid”is closest in meaning to “________”．

A．stubborn	B．flexible
C．comfortable	D．strange

小題4:Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
CP：Central 　P：Point　Sp：Sub?point
C：Conclusion

You know how wonderful you are，and you know that others know how wonderful you are，but what do you do when admiration crosses over the line into jealousy？For most teens there will come a day when you realize that one of your friends is jealous and that this jealousy is hurting your friendship.When this happens it can seem like there is nothing that you can do，but the good news is that there is.Don't let jealousy spoil your relationships.Tackle it head on and you might be back to normal much sooner than you think.

It can be hard to walk up to a friend and ask them what the problem is，but if you want to save your friendship you'll have to do just that.Don't approach them and ask why they are jealous of you (unless of course you want to appear totally conceited)，just take some time alone with them and let them know that you've been feeling like there's been something coming between you.If they refuse to respond，then use the opportunity to explain how you have been feeling.Chances are that something you say will strike a nerve and your friend will open up as well.
When you figure out what is annoying your friend，ask him or her what (s)he thinks would make the situation better.If，for example，(s)he says that (s)he feels like (s)he doesn't get to spend any time with you because of your being off with your new friends from the swim team then maybe you could invite her along the next time or block off one day a week for just the two of you.Remember，though，that whatever solution you decide on should be a compromise.Don't limit your own talents or opportunities simply because your friend is unhappy.Try instead to include him or her in your new life and see how that works out.
Even the best of friendships can be tinged by jealousy.This destructive emotion is rarely productive and can turn best friends into worst enemies.Before taking extreme action，chat with your jealous friend to see if the two of you can work out a compromise.If you can't，be prepared to know exactly how far you will go to keep your friend and how far you won't.
小題1:According to the author，the jealousy emotion is ________.

A．normal	B．productive
C．destructive	D．extreme

小題2:Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a way to confront your friend when jealousy happens?

A．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her why he/she is jealous of you.

B．Walking up to him/her and asking him/her what the problem is.

C．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know how you feel.

D．Spending some time with him/her and letting him/her know you think there's something coming between you.

小題3:The purpose of the passage is ________.

A．to explain what causes jealousy

B．to offer some advice on making friends

C．to introduce the way to cope with a jealous friend

D．to explain how destructive the jealous emotion is

小題4:What can be inferred from the last two paragraphs?

A．There's always a solution to solve the problem of jealousy.

B．Jealousy can turn best friends into worst enemies.

C．You may lose a friend to keep your own gifts，chances or self?development.

D．You should go a long way with your friend to work out a solution

Nowadays robots can not only talk and dance，but also answer your questions in English.They are “____”．The following is the first China­made “beauty”____.
A new 168­cm high “beauty” robot who has not yet been____looks wonderful in a red wedding____.She can act as a tour guide，a receptionist，____a hostess.
Her face____the beautiful facial characteristics of many girls.And her eyes can move.
“The robot is the first human simulation(仿真)____in China，and she is____with the most advanced voice and movement control technologies and____communicate with humans，” said Li Chengrong，chief____of the robot，who works for the Chinese Academy of Science Institute of Automation.“She replies ‘____’ if you praise her by saying ‘You are so____’．”
The sentences that the robot can understand and say are____at present.“We will improve her in the future，to make her talk___with human beings，” Li said.
___the “beauty” will work as a receptionist and tour guide in Sichuan Science Museum，she has been programmed to____the southwestern dialect that is popular in inland Sichuan Province.
Li said the lab____for designing and making the robot was 300,000 yuan (37,500 U．S.dollars)．The robot is equipped with interactive technologies.It is____to most advanced robot in the world—Asimo，____by Japanese auto­maker Honda.Asimo，____can walk at a speed of one mile per hour and climb up and down stairs，costs about one million U．S.dollars.

小題1:	A．receptionists B．hostesses C．beauties D．guides

小題2:	A．robot B．cushion C．carpet D．fingernail

小題3:	A．invented B．designed C．made D．named

小題4:	A．dress B．clothes C．shoes D．skirt

小題5:	A．or B．a(chǎn)nd C．but D．so

小題6:	A．contains B．includes C．connects D．combines

小題7:	A．one B．this C．that D．it

小題8:	A．desired B．piled C．equipped D．scanned

小題9:	A．must B．can C．should D．may

小題10:

A．designer B．declarer C．junior D．haircutter

小題11:

A．Go ahead B．Thank you C．Sorry D．With pleasure

小題12:

A．holy B．pretty C．elegant D．outgoing

小題13:

A．developed B．complicated C．limited D．improved

小題14:

A．happily B．slowly C．particularly D．freely

小題15:

A．Since B．If C．Unless D．When

小題16:

A．study B．speak C．ignore D．understand

小題17:

A．pay B．price C．cost D．work

小題18:

A．familiar B．similar C．opposite D．reasonable

小題19:

A．produced B．obeyed C．envied D．tested

小題20:

A．which B．where C．when D．who

The Allendale Cultural Center has expanded its arts program to include classes for young adults.Director Leah Martin announced Monday that beginning in September，three new classes will be offered to the Allendale community.The course titles will be Yoga(瑜伽) for Teenagers；Hip Hop Dance：Learning the Latest Moves；and Creative_Journaling_for_Teens：Discovering_the_Writer_Within.The latter course will not be held at the Allendale Cultural Center but instead will meet at the Allendale Public Library.
Staff member Tricia Cousins will teach the yoga and hip hop classes.Ms.Cousins is a skilled choreographer (舞蹈指導(dǎo)) as well as an experienced dance educator.She is a Master of Arts in dance education from Teachers College，Columbia University.The journaling class will be taught by Betsy Milford.Ms.Milford is the head librarian at the Allendale Public Library as well as a columnist(專欄作家) for the professional journal Library Focus.
The courses are part of the Allendale Cultural Center’s Project Teen，which was organized by Leah Martin，Director of the Cultural Center.According to Martin，this project is a direct result of her efforts to make the center a more necessary part of the Allendale community.Over the last several years，the number of people who have visited the cultural center for classes or events has steadily declined.Project Teen is primarily funded by the McGee Arts Foundation，an organization devoted to bringing arts programs to young adults.The other members of Project Teen are two students at Allendale’s Brookdale High School and three adults with backgrounds in education and the arts.
The creative journaling class will be cosponsored by Brookdale High School，and students who complete the class will be given the opportunity to publish one of their journal works in Pulse，Brookdale’s student literary magazine.Students who complete the hip hop class will be qualified to participate in the Allendale Review，an annual concert sponsored by the cultural center that features local actors，musicians，and dancers.
All classes are scheduled to begin immediately after school，and transportation will be available from Brookdale High School to the Allendale Cultural Center and the Allendale Public Library.For more information about Project Teen，contact the cultural center’s programming office at 988­0099 or drop by the office after June 1 to pick up a fall course catalog.The office is located on the third floor of the Allendale Town Hall.
小題1:The underlined title of the course in Paragraph 1 implies that ________.

A．teenagers do not have enough hobbies

B．a(chǎn)ll young people should write in a journal daily

C．teenagers are in need of guidance and direction

D．writing in a journal can help teenagers become creative writers

小題2:What is the cause of setting up Project Teen?

A．More and more people are coming to the center.

B．Tricia Cousins is available to teach courses in the fall.

C．Community organizations were ignoring local teenagers.

D．Leah Martin wants to make the center more important for the community.

小題3:What does the text mainly tell us?

A．The needs of young adults in Allendale.

B．Leah Martin’s personal ideas about Project Teen.

C．The center adds three new classes for young adults.

D．The center is granted by the McGee Arts Foundation.

小題4:Which of the following ways is the text organized?

A．In order of space，from the near to the far.

B．In order of time，from the past to the future.

C．The most important information first，followed by background and details.

D．The background first，followed by the most important information and details.

Life in space will certainly take some getting used to！But the space station has been designed to keep the astronauts as comfortable as possible—the modules(艙) are roomy，bright，and kept at a constant 70 degrees Fahrenheit.It’s important the crew members are comfortable because they’ll be busy aboard the station.In a typical workday，crew members will spend 14 hours working and exercising,1.5 hours preparing and eating meals，and 8.5 hours sleeping.Here are some other fun facts about life aboard the station：
Food
Come mealtime，astronauts will have a special dining kitchen.Space food just keeps getting better—and more like food we enjoy here on Earth.In early space missions，astronauts could eat only freeze­dried food that didn’t require any preparation.But the space station is equipped with water，microwave ovens，and refrigerators，allowing the folks on board to eat more “normal” types of food，including fruit，vegetables，and ice cream!
Sleep
Each crew member has a private room.With no gravity，they’ll need to tie themselves to their beds，or they will float away！That might sound like a strange way to sleep，but astronauts from past space missions report that sleeping in space is actually pretty great!
Exercise
You might not think it，but exercise is even more important on the station than it is on Earth.There is not much gravity in space.Astronauts don’t stand up，sit down or walk in space，so their muscles and bones don’t have to work much—and this muscle and bone loss can be dangerous back on Earth.To fight this，astronauts on the station will exercise on bikes，rowing machines，and other equipment about two hours every day.
Clothing
Astronauts will have to wear special space suits while traveling aboard the U．S.shuttle or Russian rockets.But once they’re safe inside the space station，crew members can wear regular clothing.Of course，a specially designed，pressurized space suit is required for space walks.It has to withstand(經(jīng)受住) flying pieces and protect the astronauts from dramatic temperature changes.It can range from 120 degrees below Fahrenheit in the shadow of the station to 250 degrees in the hot sun.
Personal Cleanliness
Simple tasks like brushing your teeth can be challenging in a weightless environment.A little water doesn’t flow in a stream—it suspends in a bubble！Astronauts will use a freshwater hose(軟管) to take showers，shampoo，and wash off—then a second vacuum hose to suction(吸) off the dirty water.And how do you go to the bathroom in space？With a special “air toilet” that uses flowing air instead of water to dispose of waste.
小題1:The facts about life in space are all mentioned EXCEPT ________.

A．clothing	B．entertainment
C．sleep	D．exercise

小題2:What can be learned from the paragraph “Clothing”？

A．The temperature is quite different in different places in space.

B．Astronauts must wear special space suits all the time in space.

C．Astronauts can wear regular clothing for space walks now.

D．Astronauts wear pressurized space suits just to keep warm.

小題3:Why is exercise more important in space than on earth?

A．It can make astronauts feel relaxed in space.

B．It can help astronauts spend their spare time happily.

C．Astronauts’ lives are more important in space than on earth.

D．It can prevent astronauts from causing muscle and bone loss.

小題4:What do we know about space food from the text?

A．Astronauts could eat apples in space in the past.

B．Astronauts eat only fruit，vegetables and ice cream now.

C．Fresh food isn’t available to astronauts in space.

D．Space food is getting better now than before.

When author Nicholas Carr began researching his book on whether the Internet is ruining our minds，he restricted his online access and e­mail.His new book argues the latest technology renders us less capable of deep thinking.Carr found himself so distracted(分心的) that he couldn’t work on the book while staying as connected.After first feeling confused by his sudden lack of online connection，he was able to stay focused on one task for a long period within several weeks.
Reading on the Internet has changed how we use our brains.Facing a lot of texts，video，music and links to other web pages and blogs，our minds have become used to skimming and scanning information.As a result，we have developed sharper skills at making fast decisions，particularly visual ones，Carr wrote.
But now most of us seldom read books or long articles that would help us focus.We are becoming more like librarians—able to find information quickly and see clearly the best nuggets(有價(jià)值的資料)．That lack of focus hinders(阻礙) our long­term memory，leading many of us to feel distracted，he wrote.
“What we are losing is a whole other set of mental skills，which require not the shifting of our focus but the maintaining of our focus，” Carr said，adding that for centuries books protected our brains from distraction and focused our minds on one topic at a time.
But with devices such as Apple’s iPad becoming common，Carr predicts books also will change.“New forms of reading always require new forms of writing，” he said.Carr has a suggestion for those who feel web surfing has left them incapable of concentration—slow down，turn off the Internet and practice the skills of contemplation(沉思) and reflection.“It is pretty clear from the brain science that if you don’t exercise particular cognitive skills，you are going to lose them，” he said.“If you are constantly distracted，you are not going to think in the same way that you would think if you paid attention.”
小題1:What topic is Nicholas Carr’s new book mainly concentrating on?

A．Whether there is any need for us to surf the Internet.

B．How the Internet changes our way of thinking.

C．What we should do when we are surfing the Internet.

D．Whether our minds are being influenced by the Internet.

小題2:How did Nicholas Carr feel after he limited his time online several weeks later?

A．Anxious.	B．Relaxed.
C．Concentrated.	D．Puzzled.

小題3:The underlined word renders in Paragraph 1 probably means ________.

A．prevents	B．causes
C．protects	D．sharpens

小題4:What’s Nicholas Carr’s suggestion for people who are often distracted by the Internet?

A．They should read more books besides surfing the Internet.

B．They should often slow down their pace of modern living.

C．They should often get away from the disturbing of the Internet.

D．They should spend more time thinking while surfing the Internet.

A book review tells not only what a book is about，but also how successful it is at what it is trying to do.Professors often assign book reviews as practice in careful analytical(分析的) reading.
As a reviewer，you bring together the two strands of accurate，analytical reading and strong，personal response when you indicate(指出) what the book is about and what it might mean to a reader(by explaining what it meant to you)．In other words，reviewers answer not only the WHAT but the SO WHAT question about a book.Thus，in writing a review，you combine the skills of describing what is on the page，analyzing how the book tried to achieve its purpose，and expressing your own reactions.
Most book reviews start with a heading that includes all the basic information about the book，like：
Title.
Author.
Place of publication，publisher，date of publication.
Number of pages.
Like most pieces of writing，the review usually begins with an introduction that lets your readers know what the review will say.The first paragraph usually includes the author and title again，so your readers don’t have to look up to find this information.You should also include a very brief description of the contents of the book，the purpose or audience for the book，and your reaction and evaluation.
Then you move into a section of background information that helps place the book in context and discusses how to judge the book.Next，you should give a summary of the main points，quoting(引用) and explaining key phrases from the author.Finally，you get to the heart of your review—your evaluation of the book.In this section，you might discuss some of the following issues：
?How well the book has achieved its goal.
?What possibilities are suggested by the book.
?What the book has left out.
?How the book compares with others on the subject.
?What specific points are not convincing.
?What personal experiences you’ve had related to the subject.
It is important to use labels to carefully distinguish your views from the author’s，so that you don’t confuse your readers.
Then，like other essays，you can end with a direct comment on the book，and tie together issues raised in the review in a conclusion.
There is，of course，no set form，but a general rule is that the first one­half to two­thirds of the review should summarize the author’s main ideas and at least one­third should evaluate the book.
小題1:According to the text，personal response of a book reviewer refers to “________”．

A．a(chǎn)ccurate and analytical reading

B．the reviewer’s indication of what the book is

C．the reviewer’s indication of what the book meant to a reader

D．skills of describing what is on the page

小題2:What is the most important part of a book review?

A．The heading.	B．The evaluation.
C．The conclusion.	D．The introduction.

小題3:Readers will get puzzled if ________.

A．there is no heading in a book review

B．the book review is not complex enough

C．the reviewer’s point of view is mixed with the author’s

D．there are some different issues listed in the book review

小題4:What does the text mainly tell us?

A．Steps to read a book.

B．Tips for writing a book review.

C．The way to develop your idea.

D．Things not to be avoided in a book review.