一、阅读理解(共8小题，每小题2.5分，满分20分)
A
At times my mom has been uncomfortable seeing these qualities in me. For example, when I was 12, I went to Puerto Rico all by myself to stay with my grandmother for the summer. My mom was extremely nervous about it. She kept telling me how things were different in Puerto Rico, to always put on sun cream, not to wander away from my grandmother, and other warnings. She helped me pack and did not leave the airport until she saw my plane take off.
But despite her worries, she let me go on my own. As I moved into my teens, she continued to give me space to grow and learn, even when it might have been difficult for her. When I reached my senior year, I decided to move away for college. Once again I found that I differed from my peers. While many of them wanted to stay close to home, I couldn’t wait to be out in the world on my own. I had been looking forward to this chance for longer than I could remember. And once again, while my mom may not have been happy at the thought of me going away, she was supportive and excited for me. Sure, there were times when she’d nag(不断地唠叨) me about certain choices I made, but for the most part she did not stand in my way.
One big thing I realized during my senior year was that she actually believes in me and trusts me. That means a lot. Most of my life, and especially when I was little, the main person I tried to impress was my mother. I knew she expected nothing but the best for me. Sometimes it was hard to live up to her standards; getting a single B on my report card would make me feel bad because I knew she wanted me to have A’s.
I know that her high standards have helped me stay focused on what’s important, like education, and made me who I am. I am thankful for her support and involvement in my life. Most of all I respect her; she is the strongest woman I know and that’s why I have turned out so strong and independent.
21. The author decided to move away for college to ________.
A. be different from his peers B. go against his mother’s will
C. keep away from his mother D. be independent in the outside world.
22. We can learn from the third paragraph that the author’s mother ________.
A. was too strict with him B. was never content with his performance
C. had high expectations of him D. cared little about his learning
23. In this passage, the author mainly wants to tell us ________.
A. his long way to become independent B. his appreciation for his mother’s trust and support
C. his good relationship with his mother D. his mother’s deep love for him
B
Brrriiinnng. The alarm clock announces the start of another busy weekday in the morning. You jump out of bed, rush into the shower, into your clothes and out the door with hardly a moment to think. A stressful journey to work gets your blood pressure climbing. Once at the office, you glance through the newspaper with depressing stories or reports of disasters. In that sort of mood, who can get down to work, particularly some creative, original problem-solving work?
The way most of us spend our morning is exactly opposite the conditions that promote flexible, open-minded thinking. Imaginative ideas are most likely to come to us when we’re unfocused. If you are one of those energetic morning people, your most inventive time comes in the early evening when you are relaxed. Sleepy people’s lack of focus leads to an increase in creative problem solving. By not giving yourself time to tune into your wandering mind, you’re missing out on the surprising solutions it may offer.
The trip you take to work doesn’t help, either. The stress slows down the speed with which signals travel between neurons(神经细胞)，making inspirations less likely to occur. And while we all should read a lot about what’s going on in the world, it would not make you feel good for sure, so put that news website or newspaper aside until after the day’s work is done.
So what would our mornings look like if we wanted to start them with a full capacity for creative problem solving? We’d set the alarm a few minutes early and lie awake in bed, following our thoughts where they lead. We’d stand a little longer under the warm water of the shower, stopping thinking about tasks in favor of a few more minutes of relaxation. We’d take some deep breaths on our way to work, instead of complaining about heavy traffic. And once in the office---After we get a cup of coffee---we’d click on links not to the news of the day but to the funniest videos the web has to offer.
24. According to the author, we are more creative when we are ________.
A. relaxed B. focus C. awake D. busy
25. By “tune into your wandering mind” (in Paragraph 2), the author means “________”.
A. wander into the world B. stop concentrating on anything
C. switch to the traffic channel D. listen to a beautiful tune
26. The author writes the last paragraph in order to ________.
A. summarize past experiences B. suggest various ways of life
C. offer practical suggestions D. set a routine for future
C
Some people are so rude!
Who sends an e-mail or a text message that just says “Thank you”? Who leaves a voice mail message rather than texts you? Who asks for a fact easily found on Google? Don’t these people realize that they’re wasting your time?
Maybe I’m the rude one for not appreciating life’s little politeness. But many social agreed standards just don’t make sense to people drowning in digital communication.
In texts, you don’t have to declare who you are or even say hello; E-mail, too, is slower than a text; Voice mail is now impolite way of trying to connect.
My father learned this lesson after leaving me a dozen voice mail message, none of which I listened to. Exasperated, he called my sister to express his dissatisfaction that I never returned his phone calls. “Why are you leaving him voice mails?” my sister asked. “Just text him.”
In the age of the smartphone, there is no reason to ask once-acceptable questions about: The weather forecast, a business’s phone number, or directions to a house, a restaurant, which can be easily found on Google Maps. But people still ask these things. And when you answer, they respond with a thank-you e-mail.
How to handle these differing standards? Easy: Consider your audience. Some people, especially older ones, appreciate a thank-you message. Others, like me, want no reply.
The anthropologist(人类学家) Margaret Mead once said that in traditional societies, the young learn from the old. But in modern societies, the old can also learn from the young. Here’s hoping that politeness never goes out of fashion but that time-wasting forms of communication do.
27. What does the underlined word “Exasperated” mean in the fifth paragraph?
A. Tired B. Surprised C. Worried D. Annoyed
28. Why didn’t the writer reply to his father?
A. He didn’t receive any voice mail message.
B. He enjoyed checking his voice mails.
C. He liked text message better.
D. He didn’t want to talk with his father.
29. Which of the following does the writer agree to?
A. Dealing with voice mail should vary with each individual.
B. Declaring who they are or saying hello in texts is necessary.
C. People needn’t learn from one another in traditional societies.
D. People needn’t turn to Google for help when in trouble.
30. What’s the best title of this passage?
A. Nowadays: Do you need a thank-you message
B. Nowadays: Do you like leaving others a voice message
C. Nowadays: What should we do with text messages.
D. Nowadays: What means should we use in communication
