Why does everything else seem so interesting when you have to study? Let's find out how to stay focused．Follow each piece of advice that is given below．

Switch Off Your Cell phone

Nothing's worse for a teenager to stay without their cell phone even for a minute．However，if you can't find yourself focused for a long time，you know that it's the continual sound in your cell phone that isn't letting you learn．Stop sending text massages to your friends saying‘I can't study’or‘how much have you finished’．Remember，you don't have enough time to kill，do you?

Soothing Music(舒緩的音樂)Helps

Bizarre (離奇的)as it may sound，while things such as TVs，PCs，or MP3 players are not acceptable while studying，researchers claim(斷言)that listening to soothing music actually helps you stay focused．Try it．It might work for you．

A New Timetable Every Day

One of my personal techniques，tried and tested，is creating a new timetable every day. You don't really need to draw one．Instead，just stare at the clock，and divide your hours．Suppose．2 hours of continuous study require a 30-minute break after that．Relax and then go back to study for another two hours．Just be true to yourself, and try not to get distracted(注意力分散的)in those two hours．

Try Different Places to Study

The idea is，looking for a place that doesn't have much to focus upon is the best way of staying organized while studying．A lonely corner in your house is perfect in this case．Hey! Why don't you go to your school library，if things get worse? It has the perfect atmosphere，silence，and a librarian，every time! Now this will work for sure，trust me．

56．What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．Cell phones are not useful to teenagers at present．

B．Teenagers should by no means have cell phones．

C．Cell phones are good for teenagers in their study．

D．Keeping phones on while studying affects teenagers．

57．According to Paragraph 3，         ．

A．quiet and gentle music benefits your study

B．listening to music is harmful to your study

C．MP3 players help you focus on your study

D．music is not acceptable while studying

58．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Two hours a day is perfect for teenagers to study．

B．You shouldn't listen to any music while studying．

C．It is easier for adults to stay focused than teenagers．

D．Teenagers are advised to make different plans for study every day．

59．It can be concluded from the last paragraph that        .

A．teenagers had better study at home

B．a(chǎn) school library is the best place to study

C．silence plays an important role in teenagers’study

D．places full of interesting things are good for study

60．What's the text mainly about?

A．The advantages of staying focused．

B．How to stay focused while studying．

C．How to follow your teacher's instructions．

D．Advice on how to make progress in study．

Why does everything else seem so interesting when you have to study? Let's find out how to stay focused．Follow each piece of advice that is given below．

Switch Off Your Cell phone

Nothing's worse for a teenager to stay without their cell phone even for a minute．However，if you can't find yourself focused for a long time，you know that it's the continual sound in your cell phone that isn't letting you learn．Stop sending text massages to your friends saying‘I can't study’or‘how much have you finished’．Remember，you don't have enough time to kill，do you?

Soothing Music(舒緩的音樂)Helps

Bizarre (離奇的)as it may sound，while things such as TVs，PCs，or MP3 players are not acceptable while studying，researchers claim(斷言)that listening to soothing music actually helps you stay focused．Try it．It might work for you．

A New Timetable Every Day

One of my personal techniques，tried and tested，is creating a new timetable every day. You don't really need to draw one．Instead，just stare at the clock，and divide your hours．Suppose．2 hours of continuous study require a 30-minute break after that．Relax and then go back to study for another two hours．Just be true to yourself, and try not to get distracted(注意力分散的)in those two hours．

Try Different Places to Study

The idea is，looking for a place that doesn't have much to focus upon is the best way of staying organized while studying．A lonely corner in your house is perfect in this case．Hey! Why don't you go to your school library，if things get worse? It has the perfect atmosphere，silence，and a librarian，every time! Now this will work for sure，trust me．

56．What can we infer from the second paragraph?

A．Cell phones are not useful to teenagers at present．

B．Teenagers should by no means have cell phones．

C．Cell phones are good for teenagers in their study．

D．Keeping phones on while studying affects teenagers．

57．According to Paragraph 3，         ．

A．quiet and gentle music benefits your study

B．listening to music is harmful to your study

C．MP3 players help you focus on your study

D．music is not acceptable while studying

58．Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

A．Two hours a day is perfect for teenagers to study．

B．You shouldn't listen to any music while studying．

C．It is easier for adults to stay focused than teenagers．

D．Teenagers are advised to make different plans for study every day．

59．It can be concluded from the last paragraph that        .

A．teenagers had better study at home

B．a(chǎn) school library is the best place to study

C．silence plays an important role in teenagers’study

D．places full of interesting things are good for study

60．What's the text mainly about?

A．The advantages of staying focused．

B．How to stay focused while studying．

C．How to follow your teacher's instructions．

D．Advice on how to make progress in study．

Read the passage carefully and then translate the underlined sentences into English or Chinese. Write your answer on your answer sheet.

Howard Carter is one of the most famous explorers the world has ever known. He was brave and loved to visit and explore new places. During his life, he discovered many amazing things.1.他天資聰穎，對(duì)家鄉(xiāng)之外的世界充滿了好奇心when he was very young.

Howard Carter never went to school, but learnt to draw from his father. 2.By the 1920s, he had become an explorer, searching for the tombs of the Egyptian kings. He discovered a great fortune in jewels and gold, along with the preserved bodies of dead kings. 3.這些經(jīng)過處理的遺體就是為人所知的木乃伊. In 1922, Howard Carter made his most amazing discovery of all, in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt, where he found the tomb of King Tutankhamun.

However, not long after the tomb had been opened, people in Carter’s team began to fall ill and die strangely.4.Within seven years, 21 people who had something to do with the opening of the tomb died.

Some people say the deaths were just coincidence. 5.Others believe that they were in connection with a mummy’s curse. However, still others believe that there is a scientific explanation, because inside the tombs there are many viruses.

 

New York is one of the last large American cities to have some of its policemen on horseback. The New York police have 170 horses that they use in certain parts of the city. The horses are expensive to feed, but it is even more expensive to take care of them. Because the horses must walk on the streets, they need special horseshoes. In fact, they need more than 8,000 of them each year. Every police horse in New York gets new shoes every month. Keeping these shoes in good repair is the job of six blacksmiths. There are only about thirty-five of these blacksmiths in the whole Unite States.

The cost of shoeing a horse is between twenty dollars and thirty--five dollars, and it takes a good blacksmith two to three hours to do the job.  

A blacksmith’s job is not an easy one. He must be able to shape a shoe from a piece of metal and then fit it to the horse’s foot. The blacksmith must bend over all the time when he is fitting the shoe and must hold the weight of the horse’s leg while he works. But even more important, he must be able to deal with horses ------ for before the blacksmith can begin his work, he has to get the horse to lift its leg.

One of the blacksmiths in New York is James Corbin. He came to the country form Ireland in 1948.He not only makes horseshoes for the police but also works for a group of horse owners near the city. Corbin became interested in blacksmithing because his father did it, and, as he puts it, “It’s a good way to make a living.”

1.According to the reading passage, a blacksmith must be likely a         man.

    A. clever               B. rich             C. strong               D. tall

2. James Corbin became a blacksmith because he        .

    A. was interested in horses.                    B. was needed by the policemen

    C. drew a picture of the horses                 D. had to make a living

3. In the reading passage “to shape a shoe” is to       .

    A. fit it on the horse’s foot                          B. use it for two or three hours

    C. make the form of a horseshoe from a piece of metal   D. draw a picture of the shoe

4.The best title for the passage is          .

    A. Policemen on Horseback               B. Blacksmiths and Horseshoeing

    C. James Corbin, a Blacksmith           D. Horseshoeing Is a Good Way to Make a Living

5. Which of the following is true?

    A. Only a few large American cities have some policemen on horseback.

    B. New York is the only city in America to have some policemen on horseback.

    C. Policemen on horseback enjoy traveling around the United States.

    D. Policemen on horseback are less expensive than those in cars.

 

 

A few years ago I had an “aha!” moment regarding handwriting.

I had in my hand a sheet of paper with handwritten instructions on it for some sort of editorial task. It occurred at first that I did not recognize the handwriting，and then I realized whose it must be. I finally became aware of the fact that I had been working with this colleague for at least a year，maybe two，and yet I did not recognize her handwriting at that point.

It was a very important event in the computerization of life—a sign that the informal. Friendly communication of people working together in an office had changed from notes in pen to instant messages and emails. There was a time when our workdays were filled with little letters，and we recognized one another's handwriting the way we knew voices or faces.

As a child visiting my father’s office，1 was pleased to recognize，in little notes on the desks of his staff，the same handwriting 1 would see at home in the notes he would leave on the fridge—except that those notes were signed “dad” instead of “RFW”.

All this has been on my mind because of the talk about The Rise and Fall of Handwriting，a book by Florey. Sire shows in her book a deep concern about the fall of handwriting and the failure of schools to teach children to write well，but many others argue that people in a digital age can’t be expected to learn to hold a pen.

I don’t buy it.

I don’t want to see anyone cut off from the expressive，personal associations that a pen still promotes better than a digital keyboard does. For many a biographer，part of really getting to know their subjects is learning to read their handwriting.

What some people advocate is teaching one of the many attractive handwritings based on the handwriting of 16^th-century Italy. That may sound impossibly grand—as if they want kids to learn to draw by copying classical paintings. However，they have worked in many school systems.

1.Why was the author surprised at not recognizing his colleague’s handwriting?

A. He had worked with his colleague long enough.

B. His colleague’s handwriting was SO beautiful.

C. His colleague’s handwriting was SO terrible.

D. He still had a 1ot of Work to do.

2.People working together in an office used to ____________.

A. talk more about handwriting

B. take more notes on workdays

C. know better one another's handwriting

D. communicate better with one another

3.The author’s father wrote notes in pen _________.

A. to both his family and his staff

B. to his family in small letters

C. to his family on the fridge

D. to his staff on the desk

4.According to the author，handwritten notes _______.

A. are harder to teach in schools

B. attract more attention

C. are used only between friends

D. carry more message

5.We can learn from the passage that the author __________.

A. thinks it impossible to teach handwriting

B. does not want to lose handwriting

C. puts the blame on the computer

D. does not agree with Florey

本文是一篇夾敘夾議的文章，通過一時(shí)辨認(rèn)不出一位老同事的字跡及其回顧，對(duì)在電腦沖擊下，書法受忽視感到惋惜，并認(rèn)為中小學(xué)應(yīng)當(dāng)加強(qiáng)書法教學(xué)。