I. 完形
Everyone hates to wait in lines. But it’s not always the length of the wait we find so ___1___ . Our behavior when waiting is only ___2___ defined by the length of the wait. “Often the psychology of queuing is more ___3___than the statistics of the wait itself,” said the MIT researcher Richard Larson, an expert on waiting lines.
One obvious ___4___of queuing psychology is that we get bored when we wait in line. This issue is ___5___ in many ways, from magazines in hospital waiting rooms to mirrors in elevators ___6___we can check our appearance.
We really ___7___ it when we expect a short wait and then get a long one. But studies show that we are much more ___8___when we are given an idea of how long we’ll be waiting. Walt Disney Co knows this __9____ than anyone else. It posts estimated waiting times for attractions in its theme parks. But according to Larson, these times are __10____so that visitors get to the front of the queue more quickly than they expect. It keeps them ___11___.
But perhaps the biggest influence on our feelings about waiting in a line has to do with our sense of __12____. When it comes to queues, the universally acknowledged ___13___ is first come, first served. Any deviation (违反) from this principle is regarded as unfair and can __14____violent queue rage (大怒). Sometimes, however, we are willing to make__15____. For example, we are fine with the priority given to those with a more critical condition in hospital. __16____in most situations, we demand fairness. You’ve probably __17____ mild queue rage yourself in fast food restaurants, watching people in the other line move faster than you, __18____yourself for having chosen the “wrong” line. In order to solve this problem, the serpentine (蛇形的) line was ___19___. Slate magazine’s website explains: “The serpentine line isn’t always faster than multi-lines. But it offers important relief: you absolutely ___20___have to see someone arrive after you and get served before you.” 1. A. unchangeable B. uninteresting 2. A. simply completely 3. A. necessary important 4. A. reason 5. A. solved discovered 6. A. in case
B. as if
C. so that
D. even if
B. aspect
C. disadvantage
D. result
D.
B. reflected
C. explained
B. different
C. reasonable
D.
B. partly
C. unbearable D. unbelievable
C. naturally
D.
7. A. hate 9. A. less
B. imagine
B. longer
C. understand D. consider
C. worried
D. polite D. worse
C. better
8. A. careful B. patient
10. A. incorrectly estimated
C. underestimated 11. A. happy 12. A. defeat disappointment 13. A. truth 14. A. lead to forward
15. A. differences preparations 16. A. Then
B. But
B. accurately estimated
D. surprised
D. overestimated C. busy
C. achievement D.
D. standard
D.
put
B. relaxed B. fairness
B. information B. result from B. changes
(A)
C. habit
C. relate to
D.
C. exceptions C. So
D. As
D. performed D. blaming D. forbidden
D. still
17. A. experienced 18. A. warning 19. A. changed 20. A. never II. 阅读
B. noticed
C. prevented C. excusing C. invented
C. even
B. reminding B. replaced
B. often
People have always been fascinated in celebrities. Even before the days of movies and TV, there were enthusiastic fans of famous regional actors and singers in every part of the world.
Nowadays, what with celebrities’ “official websites” and daily blogs, fandom has reached a whole new level. The distance between fans and celebrities has narrowed. Thanks to the Internet, you can enjoy Shang Wenjie’s blog and feel as if she is talking to you and you alone.
A true and loyal fan will tell you that it’s exciting to read about the comings and goings of these special people. He or she finds out what the celebrity has worn this week, who they’re going to dinner with, and what they ordered for dessert at that dinner. Oh, and they will tell you, “I’m not obsessed (着迷的).” Yeah, right. If you’re putting in more than 20 minutes a day in “fandom”, then it’s starting to get to be too much. Anything more is moving toward FAN-aticism.
Sure, it is distracting to take an interest in the world of the rich and famous. It’s normal to enjoy a little celebrity gossip. It’s fun going to live concerts and book signings. But at the end of the day, celebrity lives are not part of our own lives. When we identify with famous people to such extreme levels that we start
to see them as soul mates, we’re “over-identifying”. We’ve crossed the line. Psychologists have a name for this type of behavior. They call it “Celebrity Obsession Syndrome”. There is even a psychological test that measures the extent (程度) to which a person is involved in the details of a celebrity’s personal life. If, for example, I read about celebrities daily and chat occasionally on QQ with other fans, then this is behavior on the lower end of the scale. If, however, I display an unhealthy need to identify with a star’s every move and every emotion, then I am at the higher end of this scale.
Each of us has to decide whether our celebrity watching is healthy behavior. I for one think that there may be a lot of secret FAN-atics out there who are FAN-tasizing over their star. Perhaps they’re in denial about the hours and emotional energy they’re spending each day. Don’t believe me? Then take a look at this popular celebrity gossip website: www.imnotobssessed.com.
21. We can conclude from the first two paragraphs that, thanks to the Internet, ______.
A. fans can communicate with stars directly B. fans can follow celebrities much more closely C. people have become crazier about celebrities D. enthusiastic fans appear in every part of the world
22. What does the underlined phrase “cross the line” refer to in the article? A. Enjoying a little celebrity gossip. B. Claiming to be obsessed with stars. C. Considering stars as intimate friends. D. Reading about the details of stars’ lives. 23. The author seems to think that celebrities ______. A. take up too much of our time B. do not matter to our lives C. are not worth talking about D. are just trying to get attention
24. What is the author’s attitude toward fandom?
A. In today’s society it’s normal to be obsessed with stars. B. It’s simply silly to follow stars. C. You should control your interest in stars. D. You should hide your feelings about celebrities.
(B)
At 10 years old, Flynn McGarry became sick of the meals his mother cooked for him. So the Los Angeles native took matters into his own hands and started making his own dinners. One of his specialties? Trout with braised leeks (韭葱炖鲑鱼).
Now 13, the young chef is being praised as a “food prodigy”. He will spend his summer apprenticing with some of the best chefs at LA’s famous restaurants, MSNBC Nightly News reports.
McGarry began making a name for himself in the culinary world when John Sedlar, owner of the trendy Playa Restaurant, let McGarry take over the kitchen for a special nine-course meal. The meal sold out almost instantly.
“Flynn is a very unusual young man, and he’s very, very passionate,” owner John Sedlar told MSNBC.
By usual teenage boy standards, it’s true. So strong is his passion for cooking that the young man has turned his bedroom into an experimental kitchen laboratory. Instead of video game consoles, baseball trophies and movie posters, McGarry’s room is lined with mixers, pots and pans, cutting boards and a stainless steel worktable. It’s where McGarry cooks his monthly pop-up dinners, which are served from his family’s dining room, a monthly supper club he calls Eureka. McGarry is deft (灵巧的) and confident in the kitchen, with skills he’s been practicing since he was a child. What started out as a means of self-preservation from his mom’s unsatisfactory cooking has turned into a passion that the teen hopes to develop into a career.
“My goal? Michelin three stars, a restaurant in the top 50 list,” he told MSNBC. “Hopefully the top five.” Meanwhile, McGarry’s 13-year-old résumé is already richer and more impressive than most cooks many times his age. McGarry isn’t the only talented young prodigy to surprise experts in his field in recent years. At just 17 years old, physicist Taylor Wilson is already teaching graduate-level courses in physics and has built a functioning nuclear reactor. 25. The underlined word “passionate” in Paragraph 4 probably means ______. A. enthusiastic
B. focused
C. gifted
D. unique
26. Compared with many adult chefs, McGarry ______. A. has the best cooking equipment in his kitchen B. is inventive and has many new specialties to his name C. has much and impressive cooking experience for his young age D. wants to open his own Michelin three-star restaurant
27. The author mentions Taylor Wilson in the last paragraph to ______. A. prove that Flynn’s success is not a rare case B. compare his talent to that of Flynn McGarry C. introduce a young talent in a different field D. suggest experts should be trained at a young age 28. Where does this text probably come from? A. A recipe book.
B. A restaurant introduction. C. A career guide. D.
A news report.
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While Lumosity.com exercises are easy to learn, they can also be difficult to master. Don’t worry, though, we did this on purpose. Studies have found time and time again that the human brain needs constant challenge. Lumosity.com provides this challenge with the help of proprietary (有专利的) algorithms (运算法则) that adapt the difficulty level to match the needs of each and every subscriber. As you improve, our games get more and more difficult, forcing your brain to improve even more.
29. What medium is the text describing?
A. A website. B. A textbook. C. A brochure. D. A newspaper.
30. According to the ad, the program focuses on improving people’s ______. A. memory and language skills B. creative and analytical skills
C. speed, attention and problem solving D. memory, attention and creative skills
31. How does the program train people’s brains? A. Using carefully-designed maths problems.
B. Using challenging and entertaining exercises. C. Using exclusive computer games. D. Using extensive research tests.
(D)
In the UK, we like a good bargain. People flock to the sales in January, when stores slash their prices to get rid of all their winter stock. But surprisingly, the British hate haggling.
In markets you might see the odd British person battling with a stall owner to bring down the price of a pair of trousers or some furniture. Generally, though, people from the UK are too reserved to haggle. If we think the price of something we want is too high, we’ll simply move on and try somewhere else.
The act of bargaining with someone is very theatrical, in my opinion. It’s a test to see who can stand their ground for the longest. But it’s not in British people’s nature to “perform” in public, especially around strangers. However, in the US, people are generally more willing to haggle. And if you wander into a market, you’re likely to hear a number of phrases that Americans reserve for such occasions.
First, “you drive a hard bargain” is commonly said by the customer to indicate they think the stall holder is working very hard, probably a little too hard, to get the price he wants.
Or you might hear the buyer telling a stall holder that “the kid’s gotta have braces”, which means they don’t have enough spare money lying around to afford the price being offered.
If the customer is really shocked at the price suggested by the seller, they also might say “you’re killing me” to indicate that they think the price is far too high.
In Britain, it’s difficult to imagine anyone saying anything along these lines. If I were forced to bargain, I’d probably say, very simply: “I’m going to make you an offer.” If that offer were refused, I think I’d just walk away. 32. The underlined word “haggling” can be replaced by __________. A. arguing B. bargaining C. performing D. insisting 33. Why don’t the British haggle generally? A. They don’t think it is polite behavior. B. They have sales every January.
C. They can always get a better price somewhere else. D. They dislike openly expressing feelings or opinions.
34. What’s the author’s attitude toward bargaining?
A. Negative B. Careless C. Positive D. Critical 35. How does the passage mainly develop?
A. By providing examples. B. By making comparison
C. By analyzing causes and effects. D. By following the order of importance. Keys: 1-5 CBDBA 6-10 CABCD 11-15 ABDAC 16-20 BADCA
1. C。第一句话讲到大家都讨厌排队，这里话锋一转，但是我们发现并不是等待的时间长
短如此_____。unchangeable无法改变的；uninteresting 无趣的；unbearable 让人难以忍受的；unbelievable 难以置信的。根据语境可知答案为C。
2. B。由下文补充的心理因素可知，此处指的是等待时间的长短只是影响人们排队时行为
的部分因素，故选B。
3. D。既然上句提到等待时间的长短只是影响人们排队时行为的部分因素，那么Larson
提到的等待时的心理状态应该是一个更重要的因素，故选D。reasonable 合理的。 4. B。人们排队等待时感到无聊这是排队心理学的一个显而易见的方面，而不是原因、缺
点或者例子。
5. A。下文列举的看杂志、照镜子都是解决排队时感到无聊这一问题的方法，而非反映
（reflected）、解释（explained）或者发现（discovered）这一问题的方式。 6. C。当我们等电梯感到无聊时，电梯里有镜子，所以我们能整理仪容以打发等待时间。
In case 以防万一；as if 好像；so that 所以，以便；even though 即使。根据语境可知C为正确答案。
7. A。实际等待的时间比期望的长，当然让人讨厌。
8. B。根据常识可知我们排队时最大的问题是不耐烦，结合下面的例子可知，在知道明确
的等待时间时人们会更加有耐心（patient）。 9. C。正是因为比其他人更了解这一现象，迪士尼公司在景点前公布预计的等待时间，know
better更了解。
10. D。由下文的“get to the front of the queue more quickly than they expect”
可知这些时间是高估的。
11. A。等待时间比预计的要短，当然令人高兴了。
12. B。这里对应下文的“Any deviation from this principle is regarded as unfair”。 13. D。Standard 标准，准则，与下文的“principle”相对应，故选D。
14. A。任何违背这条原则的行为都被视为不公平之举，从而引发（lead to）排队骚乱。
result from 由……引起；relate to 与……相关；put forward 提出。
15. C。上面强调了排队的公平原则，先来先服务，但有时我们也容许一些特例
（exceptions）。make differences 很重要，有影响；make arrangements 安排。 16. B。允许个别特例，但是多数情况下我们仍然要求公平。 17. A。这里描述的是你亲身经历的并不严重的排队怨气。
18. D。看着其他队列的速度快过自己，便会责怪自己选错了队列。注意其它选项的意思
以及搭配：warn sb against doing sth 警告某人不做某事；remind sb of doing sth 提醒某人做某事；excuse sb for doing sth 原谅某人做了某事。
19. C。根据上下文可知，蛇形队列是被发明以帮助解决插队的问题，所以不是去改变
（changed）、替代（replaced）、或者禁止（forbidden）它。 20. A。根据转折词“But it offers…”可知这里要说的是蛇形队列相比并列队形的优点：
来得晚的人____排到你的前面。只有never（绝对不会）符合语境。
21. B。从文章第二段“The distance between fan and celebrity has narrowed. Thanks
to the Internet, you can enjoy Shang Wenjie’s blog and feel as if she is talking to you and you alone”可判断粉丝们能更接近明星，B正确。Feel as if…说明A不准确，并不是真的和明星直接交流；C项人们变得更疯狂，文中没有提到，从“Even before the days of movies and TV, there were enthusiastic fans”可知D错误，在网络时代之前，狂热的粉丝就无处不在。
22. C。从上文“When we identify with famous people to such an extent that we start
to see them as intimate soul mates, we’re ‘over-identifying’”可推测cross the line指的是considering stars as intimate friends。
23. B。作者在文中指明了自己的态度“But at the end of the day, celebrity lives are
not part of our own lives”，事实上明星对人们的生活一点也不重要。
24. C。从最后一段“Each of us has to decide whether our ‘star-gazing’ is healthy
behavior”可判断作者认为应当适当控制对明星的热情。
25. A。根据后文的内容By usual teenage boy standards, it's true. So strong is his
passion for cooking that the young man has turned his bedroom into an experimental kitchen laboratory.可知McGarry甚至把卧室都变成了厨房和烹饪实验室，可见他对烹调的热情程度。
26. C。作为一名神童烹饪厨师，McGarry特有的优势就是他的年龄。文中也提到了这一点：
Meanwhile, McGarry’s 13-year-old résumé is already richer and more impressive than most cooks many times his age.
27. C。最后一段提到McGarry isn’t the only talented young prodigy to surprise
experts in his field in recent years.作者想要说的是像McGarry这样的神童实际上在各个领域都是有的，于是接下来便举了Taylor Wilson做例子。 28. D。文章主要介绍了神童厨师McGarry的事迹，是一篇新闻特写报道。 29. A。从Lumosity.com看判断这是一个网站的介绍。 30. D。从“our games enhance the brain's ability to remember details, solve problems,
pay attention, multitask”可判断D正确。
31. B。从“design entertaining exercises”和“Lumosity.com provides this
challenge with the help of…”可判断B正确。 32. B。根据第二段的“In markets you might see the odd British person battling with
a stall owner to bring down the price of a pair of trousers or some furniture. Generally, though, people from the UK are too reserved to haggle”的这个语境，可以猜测数haggle应该是“讨价还价”的意思。
33. D。由第三段的“But it’s not in British people’s nature to “perform” in
public, especially around strangers”可知英国人性格内敛，不愿意在公众场合表达自己。
34. A。由最后一段可以得此答案。
35. B。文章主要对比英美对待还价的不同态度。
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