Here is an astonishing and significant fact：Mental work alone can't make us tire. It sounds absurd. But a few years ago，scientists tried to find out how long the human brain could labor without reaching a stage of fatigue (疲劳). To the amazement of these scientists，they discovered that blood passing through the brain，when it is active，shows no fatigue at all!
If we took a drop of blood from a day laborer, we would find it full of fatigue toxins at and fatigue products. But if we took blood from the brain of an Albert Einstein, it would show no fatigue toxins at the end of the day.
So far as the brain is concerned，it can work as well and swiftly at the end of eight or even twelve hours of effort as at the beginning. The brain is totally tireless.So what makes us tired? Some scientists declare that most of our fatigue comes from our mental and emotional attitudes.One of England’s most outstanding scientists，J.A.Hadfield，says，"The greater part of the fatigue from which we suffer is of mental origin. In fact，fatigue of purely physical origin is rare."Dr.Brill，a famous American scientist, goes even further，He declares，"One hundred percent of the fatigue of sitting worker in good health is due to emotional problems."
What kinds of emotions make sitting workers tired? Joy? Satisfaction? No! A feeling of being bored，anger, anxiety，tenseness，worry，a feeling of not being appreciated—those are the emotions that tire sitting workers. Hard work by itself seldom causes fatigue. We get tired because our emotions produce nervousness in the body.
1.What surprised the scientists a few years ago?
A. Fatigue toxins could hardly be found in a laborer's blood.
B. Albert Einstein didn’t feel worn after a day’s work.
C. The brain could work for many hours without fatigue.
D. A mental worker's blood was filled with fatigue toxins.
2.According to the author, which of the following can make sitting workers tired?
A. Challenging mental work B. Unpleasant emotions
C. Endless tasks D. Physical labor.
3.What's the author's attitude towards the scientists' idea?
A. He agrees with them.
B. He doubts them.
C. He argues against them.
D. He hesitates to accept them.
Sir Steven Redgrave
Winner of 5 Olympic Gold Medals
“In 1997 I was found to have developed diabetes(糖尿病) . Believing my career was over, I felt extremely low. Then one of the specialists said there was no reason why I should stop training and competing. That was it—the encouragement I needed. I could still be a winner if I believe in myself. I am not saying that it isn’t difficult sometimes. But I wanted to prove to myself that I wasn’t finished yet. Nothing is to stand in my way.”
Karen Pickering
Swimming World Champion
“I swim 4 hours a day, 6 days a week. I manage that sort of workload by putting it on top of my diary. This is the key to success—you can’t follow a career in any field without being well-organized. List what you believe you can achieve. Trust yourself, write down your goals for the day, however small they are, and you’ll be a step closer to achieving them.”
Kirsten Best
Poet & Writer
“When things are getting hard, a voice inside my head tells me that I can’t achieve something. Then, there are other distractions, such as family or hobbies. The key is to concentrate. When I feel tense, it helps a lot to repeat words such as ‘calm’, ‘peace’ or ‘focus’, either out loud or silently in my mind. It makes me feel more in control and increases my confidence. This is a habit that can become second nature quite easily and is a powerful psychological tool.”
1.What does Sir Steven Redgrave mainly talk about?
A. Difficulties influenced his career
B. Specialists offered him medical advice.
C. Training helped him defeat his disease.
D. He overcame the shadow of illness to win.
2.What does Karen Pickering put on top of her diary?
A. Her achievements B. Her daily happenings
C. Her training schedule D. Her sports career
3.What does the underlined word “distractions” probably refer to?
A. Ways that help one to focus.
B. Activities that turn one’s attention away.
C. Words that help one to feel less tense.
D. Habits that make it hard for one to relax.
4.According to the passage, what do the three people have in common?
A. Hard work. B. Devotion
C. Courage D. Self-confidence
Growing up in Philadelphia, Lieberman started cooking with his stay-at-home dad when he was seven. His food-loving family had two kitchens, and he quickly learned what was the best way to bake his cakes. Lieberman improved his kitchen skills greatly during a year abroad before college, learning from a cook in Italy and studying local specialties（地方特色菜）in Germany, Spain and France. At Yale, he was known for throwing dinner parties, single-handed frying and baking while mixing drinks for dozens of friends. Just for fun, he and some friends decided to tape a show named Campus Cuisine about his cooking. Lieberman was a real college student showing his classmates how to do things like making drinks out of dining-hall fruit. That helped the show become very popular among the students. They would stop Lieberman after classes to ask for his advice on cooking. Tapes of the show were passed around, with which his name went beyond the school and finally to the Food Network.
Food Network producer Flay hopes the young cook will find a place on the network television.He says Lieberman’s charisma is key.“Food TV isn’t about food any more,” says Flay. “It’s about your personality and finding a way to keep people’s eyeballs on your show.”
But Lieberman isn’t putting all his eggs in one basket. After taping the first season of the new show, Lieberman was back in his own small kitchen preparing sandwiches. An airline company was looking for someone to come up with a tasteful, inexpensive and easy-to-make menu to serve on its flights, Lieberman got the job.
1.We can learn from the text that Lieberman’s family __________.
A. love cooking at home B. have relatives in Europe
C. often hold parties D. own a restaurant
2.The Food Network got to know Lieberman __________.
A. at one of his parties B. from his teachers
C. on a television program D. through his taped show
3.What does the underlined word “charisma” in the text refer to?
A. A way to show one’s achievement.
B. A natural ability to attract others.
C. Lieberman’s after-class interest.
D. Lieberman’s fine cooking skill.
4.Why did the airline company give Lieberman the job?
A. He could prepare meals in a small kitchen.
B. He was famous for his shows on Food TV.
C. He could cook cheap, delicious and simple meals.
D. He was good at using eggs to make sandwiches.
书面表达
前不久，你校学生会向高三学生发出倡议；十八岁的生日时，请为你们的父母做一件有意义的事。同学们积极响应，纷纷表达自己的做法。请根据以上信息，以“Something Special For Parents”用英语写一篇短文。内容包括：
1．描述以上有关学生会倡议的信息和同学们的反应；
2．你的做法及理由。
注意：1．词数120左右，短文的标题和首句已给出(不计人总词数)；
2．可以适当增加内容；
3．不能使用真实姓名和学校名称。
Something Special For Parents
Not long ago Student Union in our school advocated that…
短文改错
假段定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号(
)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用(＼)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
One evening after work John drove his secretary home because she failed to start her car. Not want to bother his wife, Maureen, he decided not to mention it to him. Later at that night, John and Maureen were driving out to eat while John spotted a high-heeled shoe hid under the passenger seat. Pointing to anything out of the passenger window to distract the wife, he picked up the shoe and throw it out of his window. They arrived in the restaurant a short time later. When they were about to get out of car,
Maureen enquired, “John, have you seen my other shoes?”
语法填空：
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（不多于3个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
Many of us were raised with the saying “Waste not, want not.” None of us, however, can 1. (complete) avoid waste in our lives.
Any kind of waste is thoughtless. Whether we waste our potential talents, our own time, our limited 2. (nature) resource, our money, 3. other people’s time, each of us can become more aware and careful. The smallest good habits can make a big 4. (differ). It’s a good feeling to know in our hearts we are doing our best in a world 5. is in serious trouble. By being devoted to 6. (save) oil, water, paper, food, and clothing, we are playing 7.part in cutting down on waste.
We must keep reminding 8. (we)that it is easier to get into something than it is to get out of it. Actually, severe damage 9. (do) to our land is fairly recent in the history of our evolution. It’s time for us to say no to waste so that our grandchildren’s children 10. (be)able to develop well. We can’t solve all the problems of waste, but we can encourage mindfulness.
