Dear Editor,
I’m the only daughter of my parents. So they worried about everything I do. For example,
when I ride my bike, my parents won’t let me to ride by myself. They are afraid I might
fall off my bike and hurt myself. They are taking great trouble to support a bike, with
my mother even carried a first-aid box. I’m not free to ride and I often say angry, “Why not
let me ride alone?”Now, most family have one child. Parents want to do everything
for his children. This does no good on them. Too many love from parents may prevent
children from independent. In my opinion, parents should let their children do that they
should do alone.
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
Empathy
Last year, researchers from the University of Michigan reported that empathy, the ability to understand other people, among college students had dropped sharply over the past 10 years. __1.__ Today, people spend more time alone and are less likely to join groups and clubs.
Jennifer Freed, a co-director of a teen program, has another explanation. Turn on the TV, and you’re showered with news and reality shows full of people fighting, competing, and generally treating one another with no respect. __2.__
There are good reasons not to follow those bad examples. Humans are socially related by nature. __3.__ Researchers have also found that empathetic teenagers are more likely to have high self-respect. Besides, empathy can be a cure for loneliness, sadness, anxiety, and fear.
Empathy is also an indication of a good leader. In fact, Freed says, many top companies report that empathy is one of the most important things they look for in new managers. __4.__ “Academics are important. But if you don’t have emotional (情感的) intelligence, you won’t be as successful in work or in your love life,” she says.
What’s the best way to up your EQ (情商）? For starters, let down your guard and really listen to others. __5.__
To really develop empathy, you’d better volunteer at a nursing home or a hospital, join a club or a team that has a diverse membership, have a “sharing circle” with your family, or spend time caring for pets at an animal shelter.
A. Having relationships with other people is an important part of being human—and having empathy is decisive to those relationships.
B. Everyone is different, and levels of empathy differ from person to person.
C. That could be because so many people have replaced face time with screen time, the researchers said.
D. “One doesn’t develop empathy by having a lot of opinions and doing a lot of talking,” Freed says.
E. Humans learn by example—and most of the examples on it are anything but empathetic.
F. Empathy is a matter of learning how to understand someone else—both what they think and how they feel.
G. Good social skills—including empathy—are a kind of “emotional intelligence” that will help you succeed in many areas of life.
I left university with a good degree in English Literature, but no sense of what I wanted to do. Over the next six years, I was treading(在...上面走) water, just trying to earn an income. I tried journalism, but I didn’t think I was any good, then finance, which I hated. Finally, I got a job as a rights assistant at a famous publisher. I loved working with books, although the job that I did was dull.
I had enough savings to take a year off work, and I decided to try to satisfy a deep-down wish to write a novel. Attending a Novel Writing MA course gave me the structure I needed to write my first 55,000 words.
It takes confidence to make a new start — here’s a dark period in-between where you’re neither one thing nor the other. You’re out for dinner and people ask what you do, and you’re too ashamed to say, “Well, I’m writing a novel, but I’m not quite sure if I’m going to get there.” My confidence dived. Believing my novel could not be published, I put it aside.
Then I met an agent（代理商）who said I should send my novel out to agents. So, I did and, to my surprise, got some wonderful feedback. I felt a little hope that I might actually become a published writer and, after signing with an agent, I finished the second half of the novel.
The next problem was finding a publisher. After two-and-a-half years of no income, just waiting and wondering, a publisher offered me a book deal — that publisher turned out to be the one I once worked for.
It feels like an unbelievable stroke of luck — of fate, really. When you set out to do something different, there’s no end in sight, so to find myself in a position where I now have my own name on a contract（合同）of the publisher — to be a published writer — is unbelievably rewarding.
1.The author decided to write a novel ______ .
A. to finish the writing course B. to realize her own dream
C. to satisfy readers’ wish D. to earn more money
2.How did the writer feel halfway with the novel?
A. Disturbed. B. Ashamed. C. Confident. D. Uncertain.
3.What does the author mainly want to tell readers in the last paragraph?
A. It pays off to stick to one’s goal.
B. Hard work can lead to success.
C. She feels like being unexpectedly lucky.
D. There is no end in sight when starting to do something.
How would you like to sleep with one half your brain asleep and the other half awake? Dolphins sleep this way. Recently, scientists at Indiana State University have discovered that ducks sleep this way too. They found that ducks sleep half awake so they can rest and watch for danger at the same time.
After putting their ducks in a row and videotaping them, some researchers found ducks on the end of each row spent more time asleep with one eye open, apparently looking for predators.
“The more the ducks felt threatened, the more they slept with one eye open,” said lead author Niels C. Rattenborg, a graduate student at Indiana State University, Terre Haute. “The unique aspect is not that they do it, but that they control it. When they sleep at the edge of a group, they tend to realize greater danger, so they spend more time sleeping with one half of their brain.” Ducks with one eye open were still awake enough to detect predators, said the authors of the study, which appears today in the journal Nature.
The researchers studied four groups of four ducks held in plastic boxes, which were arranged in a row. Ducks on the end were found to sleep with one eye open 31.8 per cent of the time, compared to 12.4 percent of the time for ducks in the central position.
Also, ducks in the central position did not open one eye more than the others, while ducks on each end kept the eye facing away from the group open 86.2 per cent of the time. Brain wave readings of the ducks showed that the half of the brain receiving signals from the closed eye indicated that half of the brain was sleeping. Signals from the half of the brain receiving signals from the open eye showed a state between fully awake and asleep.
1.The under lined word “predator” is most likely to mean .
A. an animal that is likely to be friends with ducks
B. a human being who looks after and feeds ducks
C. a scientist who does research work on animals
D. an animal that hunts, kills and eats other animals
2.Ducks at the end of each row sleep with one eye open because .
A. they are looking for food
B. they are watching out for danger
C. they want to enjoy the scenery
D. they are unique in their sleeping habit
3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A. Ducks with one eye open at the edge can still enjoy a certain degree of sleep.
B. Ducks with less sense of duty usually choose to stay in the center of a row.
C. Ducks on the northern end of a row would keep their eye facing the south open.
D. A video tape recorder was the only electronic device used in the experiment.
Once upon a time, on an isolated island in the Java sea, lived short people who dominated(支配, 占优势) the food chain. Standing no more than three and a half feet tall, these human ancestors hunted giant rats, lumbering lizards（笨拙的蜥蜴), and miniature elephants.
It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, but it's true. Unearthed relics on the island uncovered the remains of a race of tiny human ancestors. Homo floresiensis, as the newly discovered species has been named, apparently could date back to 13,000 years ago. This means they have a lot in common with modern humans.
So how and why did these people get so small? Scientists suspect that it's due to the fact that this race lived on an isolated island with limited resources. Take the miniature elephants for example. When elephants first came to the island either by swimming or by some kind of natural land raft, they were probably close to full size. But since there wasn't much to eat, over time smaller elephants lived longer and better. The smaller the elephant was, the less it had to eat to stay strong and healthy.
Scientists call this the "island role", and it can apply to humans as well as animals. Given the island's sparse(稀少) food supply, it makes sense that the early humans living there would have evolved (进化) a body size requiring less food to survive. So bigger isn't always better. In the floresiensis, at least, getting smaller was the way to go.
1.According to the passage, the fact Homo floresiensis are very small is based on________.
A. the islanders in the Java Sea B. the human ancestors
C. a newspaper report D. the unearthed relics
2.The underlined word "miniature" in the first paragraph most probably means______.
A. tiny B. active C. rare D. wild
3.People on the island got so small because____________.
A. they gradually developed for lack of food.
B. they did not have enough food to eat.
C. they shared less food with elephants.
D. they remained alive as the elephants.
4.What might be the most suitable title of the passage?
A. The history of short people B. Short people on an isolated island
C. The proofs on short people D. Short people from a fairy tale
5.According to the passage, getting smaller can make people and animals ____
A. run quickly B. live weaker C. live longer D. run slowly
Bicycle Safety
Operation Always ride your bike in a safe, controlled manner on campus(校园). Obey rules and regulations. Watch out for walkers and other bicyclists, and always use your lights in dark conditions.
Theft Prevention Always securely lock your bicycle to a bicycle rack---even if you are only away for a minute. Register your bike with the University Department of Public Safety. It’s fast, easy, and free. Registration permanently records your serial number, which is useful in the possible recovery of the bike stolen.
Equipment
Brakes Make sure that they are in good working order and adjusted properly.
Helmet A necessity, make sure your helmet meets current safety standards and fit properly.
Lights Always have a front headlight---visible at least 500 feet in front of the bike. A taillight is a good idea.
Rules of the Road
Riding on Campus As a bicycle rider, you have a responsibility to ride only on streets and posted bicycle paths. Riding on sidewalks or other walkways can lead to a fine. The speed limit for bicycles on campus is 15km/h, unless otherwise posted. Always give the right of ways to walkers. If you are involved in an accident, you are required to offer appropriate aid, call the Department of Public Safety and remain at the scene until the officer lets you go.
Bicycle Parking Only park in areas reserved for bikes. Trees, handrails, hallways, and sign posts are not for bicycle parking, and parking in such posts can result in a fine.
If Things Go Wrong
If you break the rules, you will be fined. Besides violating rules while riding bicycles on campus, you could be fined for:
No bicycle registration---------------------------------------------------$25
Bicycle parking
banned--------------------------------------------------$30
Blocking path with bicycle
---------------------------------------------$40
Violation of bicycle equipment requirement
-------------------------$35
1.Registration of your bicycle may help you _____________.
A. get your serial number B. find your stolen bicycle
C. receive free repair services D. settle conflicts with walkers
2.According to the passage, what bike equipment is a free choice for bicycle riders?
A. Brakes. B. A helmet. C. A taillight. D. A headlight.
3.If you lock your bicycle to a tree on the campus, you could be fined _________.
A. $25 B. $30 C. $35 D. $40
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. Directions for bicycle tour on campus.
B. A guide for safe bicycling on campus.
C. Regulations of bicycle race on campus.
D. Rules for riding motor vehicles on campus.
