Thinking is something you choose to do as a fish chooses to live in water. To be human is to think. But thinking may come naturally without your knowing how you do it. Thinking about thinking is the key to critical(批判性的) thinking. When you think critically, you take control of your thinking processes（過(guò)程）. Otherwise, you might be controlled by the ideas of others. Indeed, critical thinking is at the heart of education.

    The word “critical” here has a special meaning. It does not mean taking one view against another view, as when someone criticizes another person for doing something wrong. The nature of critical thinking is thinking beyond the easily seen--beyond the pictures on TV, the untrue reports in the newspapers, and the faulty reasoning.

    Critical thinking is an attitude as much as an activity. If you are interested in life and want to dig deeper into it, you are a critical thinker. If you find pleasure in deep thinking about different ideas, characters, and facts, you are a critical thinker.

    Activities of the mind and higher-order reasoning（推理）are processes of deep and careful consideration. They take time, and do not go hand in hand with the fast speed in today’s world: fast foods, instant coffee, and self-developing film. If you are among the people who believe that speed is a measure（尺度）of intelligence（智慧）, you may learn something new from a story about Albert Einstein. The first time Banesh Hoffman, a scientist, was to discuss his work with Albert Einstein. Hoffman was too nervous to speak. But Einstein immediately made Hoffman feel comfortable by saying, “Please go slowly. I don’t understand things quickly.” 

1.Critical thinking is important to us because if we do not think critically, _______.

    A．it will be hard for us to think naturally and fast

    B．we might be controlled by other people’s ideas

    C．we will follow the ideas of others naturally

    D．we might be fooled by other people’s ideas

2.If you are a critical thinker, you will ________.

     A．take one view against another view           

B．trust the reports in the newspapers

     C．think deeply about different ideas           

D．criticize other people for their mistakes

3. In the last paragraph, “something new” suggests that ________.

A．speed can improve intelligence

B．intelligence is not decided by speed

C．the smarter you are, the faster you do things

D．the faster you do things, the smarter you become

Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? Normally the women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聰明的） than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain is made up of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the white matter, the amount（數(shù)量）of “thinking” brain is almost the same in both men and women.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes（性別）. As white matter is the key to spatial（空間的）tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎兒）are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
【小題1】Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 1?

I was waiting for the bus when I met the woman."You look36  Come and sit here,she  said. 37   are you going?"

"I don' t know. I just want to catch a 38          and see what it will be like at the

end."

"I' m afraid you' 11 see     39   there. Why don't you enjoy the sights on the way?"

“How can I do that while my heart’s  40  ?” I asked sadly. “My best friend had left me.”

The woman seemed to understand my feeling. "Don' t cry, little girl. Ive had a similar experience to you.Thirty- five     41    ago, my husband left our three children and me. I was deadly sad.I decided to kill myself and the children, so I took     42    to the sea.    43they seemed to know what would happen, so they    44   loudly. Their cry suddenly woke me 45     . How could I    46  my hope to live for one of life' s problems? Alter that,I worked hard to raise the children.Now They all live 47      and one of lthem has his own family.

Then the woman gave me a     48  ,” We should never wait for the door to 49       before us.We should find the key to the 50  or try to find another way.”

The bus came and I got on it with a smile.

1.A. tired              B. excited        C. happy

2.A. What       B. How          C. Where

3.A. train       B. bus           C. boat

4.A. nothing     B. everything     C. something

5.A. smiling     B. breaking       C. dancing

6.A. days        B. weeks         C. years

7.A. her         B. them          C. him 

8.A. So          B. Or            C. However

9.A. laughed     B. cried          C. spoke

10.A. in           B. out           C. up

11.A. give away    B. give up        C. get up

12.A. happily      B. sadly          C. badly

13.A. cry          B. shout         C. smile

14.A. open        B. close          C. lock

15.A. classroom   B. office          C. door

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容,完成下列表格,每空一詞。
Some people succeed, while others may not. This is because some people have certain qualities, which others do not.
The first thing you must remember is that in order to succeed, you must be optimistic（樂(lè)觀）. If you do not expect to win, you will not try as hard as people who do expect to win. You also need to have a clear aim and a reason for doing something because motivation（動(dòng)機(jī)） is a key to getting success. If you do not have an aim, then you won’t work hard and put your performance under the microscope（顯微鏡） to make sure that every detail is right.
Another quality that helps people succeed is creativity---thinking about things in a different way and wondering how others would do the same thing. Think about some successful people you know. They might be successful with a little creativity, but the most successful people are the most creative ones.
Reading is another to success, as it will help you learn about how other people have got success. If you want to learn how to set up a successful business, you should read books about people like Bill Gates and Jerry Yang, who have got amazing success in their areas of business.
Practicing is equally important if you want to be successful because practice makes perfect. Practise every day at whatever career you are in, and by doing so, you will see yourself, your business and your self-confidence begin to grow. If you feel confident about what you do, this confidence will make other people believe in you as well. Your workmates will be happy to work with you, and your boss will give you more responsibility（責(zé)任）. Finally if you are a successful person, you will be able to look people in the eye and smile confidently.
Success is yours for the taking! Cheers!
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