Looking back on my childhood. I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental maths.     

Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a crystal clear memory of dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and above all, the insects.  

I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm has led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people’s observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle. Because it all seems to fit together .This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books. Which some may light honor, with the title of scientific research.  

But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist? One of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist can be made a naturalist. If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds. 

1.According to the author, a born naturalist should first of all be _____           

A. full of ambition               B. self-disciplined

C. full of enthusiasm           D. knowledgeable 

2.The first paragraph tells us that the author _____

A. lost his hearing when he was a child

B. didn’t like his brothers and sisters

C. was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood

D. was born to a naturalist’s family

3.The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he __     . 

A. just reads about other people observations and discoveries.

B. Lacks some of the qualities required of scientist.

C. Has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic.

D. Come up with solutions in most natural ways.

4.The author can’t remember him relatives clearly because__

A. He didn’t live very long with them

B. He was too young when he lived with them.

C. The family was extremely large.

D. He was fully occupied with observing nature.

5.Which of the following statements is true?

A. The author believes that a born naturalist cannot be scientist. 

B. The author read a lot of books about the natural world and oil industry

C. The author’s brothers and sisters were good at music and languages.

D. The author spent a lot of time working on riddles.

 

A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate on politics, economics and war. But art history focuses on much more than this because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors can be provided by art. In short, art expresses the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offers us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.

In history books, objective (客觀的) information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand, is subjective: it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May, 1808, he criticized the Spanish government for its abuse of power over people.

In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art had been almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings that described people and stories from the Bible. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand the Bible stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast (對(duì)比), one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) its absence of human and animal images. This reflects the Islamic belief that statues are not holy.

Which of the following statements has the closest meaning to the underlined sentence?

A. General history only focuses on politics.

B. Art history shows us nothing but the political values.

C. General history concerns only religious beliefs, emotions and psychology.

D. Art history gives us an insight (洞察力) into the essential qualities of a time and a place.

Art is subjective in that __________. 

A. it can easily arouse people’s anger about their government

B. it only reflects people’s anger or sadness about social problems.

C. a personal and emotional view of history is presented through it.

D. artists were or are religious, who reflect only the religious aspect of the society.

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage? 

A. Francisco Goya expressed his religious belief in his painting.

B. In history books political views of people are entirely presented.

C. For centuries in Europe, painters had only painted on walls of churches.

D. In the Middle East, you can hardly find animal or human figures on church walls.

What’s the main topic of the passage?   

A. The development of art history.   

B. What we can learn from art.

C. The influence of artists on art history.

D. The difference between general history and art history.

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1.If you like to enjoy the most sunshine of the year, you’ll probably book the ticket to     ．

A．San Francisco      B．New York          C．Chinatown         D．Los Angeles

2.What is special about San Francisco is that you can_________.

A．enjoy wonderful nights                   B．visit famous squares

C．see famous plays                        D．ride a horse-drawn carriage

3.How can you book the flight tickets?

A．By phone.         B．On the Internet     C．With a personal visit. D．Through a hotel.

4.What is the main purpose of the passage?

A．To introduce three famous cities.           B．To attract tourists to book flights.

C．To introduce some travel experts.           D．To recommend tourist activities.

 

Looking back on my childhood. I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon  abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental arithmetic.    

   Before Word War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large  family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a crystal clear memory of dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and above all, the insects.  

   I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm has led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people’s observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle. Because it all seems to fit together .This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books. Which some may light honor, with the title of scientific research.  

    But curiosity a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist? One of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist can be made a naturalist. If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds. 

1.According to the author, a born naturalist should first of all be _____

A.full of ambition        B. self-disciplined

C. full of enthusiasm     D. knowledgeable

2.The first paragraph tells us that the author _____

A.lost his hearing when he was a child

B. didn’t like his brothers and sisters

C. was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood

D. was born to a naturalist’s family

3.The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he ____.

A.just rends about other peoples observations and discoveries.

B.Lacks some of the qualities required of scientist.

C.Has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic.

D.Come up with solutions in most natural ways.

4.The author can’t remember him relatives clearly because__

A.He didn’t live very long with them

B.He was too young when he lived with them.

C.The family was extremely large

D.He was fully occupied with observing nature.

5.Which of the following statements is true?

A. The author believes that a born naturalist can not be scientist.

B. The author read a lot of books about the natural world and oil industry

C. The author’s brothers and sisters were good at music and languages.

D. The author spent a lot of time working on riddles.

 

Directions: Complete the following passage by using the words in the box. Each word can only be used once.   Note that there is one word more than you need.

A. essential                   B. endangered              C. going                          D. performance           E. crises

F. supposed                   G. consequence           H. material                    I. exposed                     J. involves

As the pace of life continues to increase, we are fast losing the art of relaxation. Once you are in the habit of rushing through life, being on the   1.   from morning till night, it is hard to slow down. But relaxation is   2.   for a healthy mind and body.

Stress is a natural part of everyday life and there is no way to avoid it. In fact, it is not the bad thing as is often   3.   to be. A certain amount of stress is vital to provide motivation and give purpose to life. It is only when the stress gets out of control that it can lead to poor   4.  and ill health.

The amount of stress a person can stand depends very much on the individual. Some people are not afraid of stress, and such characters are obviously prime   5.   for managerial responsibilities; others lose heart at the first sign of unusual difficulties. When   6.   to stress, in whatever form, we react both chemically and physically. In fact we make choice between “flight or fight” and in more primitive (遠(yuǎn)古的) days the choices made the difference between life or death. The   7.   we meet today are unlikely to be so extreme, but however little the stress, it   8.   the same response. It is when such a reaction lasts long, through continued exposure to stress, that health becomes   9.  . Since we can’t remove stress from our lives (it would be unwise to do so even if we could), we need to find ways to deal with it.