I am Peter Hodes, a volunteer stem cell courier. Since March 2012, I’ve done 89 trips ---- of those, 51 have been abroad, I have 42 hours to carry stem cells (干细胞) in my little box because I’ve got two ice packs and that’s how long they last. In all, from the time the stem cells are harvested from a donor to the time they can be implanted in the patient, we’ve got 72 hours at most. So I am always conscious of time.

I had one trip last year where I was caught by a hurricane in America. I picked up the stem cells in Providence, Rhode Island, and was meant to fly to Washington then back to London. But when I arrived at the check-in desk at Providence, the lady on the desk said: “Well, I’m really sorry, I’ve got some bad news for you ---- there are no flights from Washington.” So I took my box and put it on the desk and I said: “In this box are some stem cells that are urgently needed for a patient ---- please, please, you’ve got to get me back to the United Kingdom.” She just dropped everything. She arranged for a flight on a small plane to be held for me, re-routed (改道) me through Newark and got me back to the UK even earlier than originally scheduled.

For this courier job, you’re consciously aware that in that box you’ve got something that is potentially going to save somebody’s life.

1. Which of the following can replace the underlined word “courier” in Paragraph 1?

A. provider                                   B. collector          

C. delivery man                               D. medical doctor

2. Why does Peter have to complete his trip within 42 hours?

A. The ice won’t last any longer.

B. The donor can only wait for that long.

C. The operation needs that much time.

D. He cannot stay away from his job too long.

3. Which fight did the woman put Peter on first?

A. To Newark.                                 B. To London.    

C. To Providence.                         D. To Washington.

A survey has shown that what you do on a plane can be determined by which nationality is listed on your passport.

According to the results of an international passenger survey, Australians are the biggest drinkers on board with 36 percent choosing to down the hatch, compared to 35 percent of Americans and 33 percent of Brits.

The Airline Passenger Experience Association(APEX) spoke to around 1,500 people, aged 18 and older, who have travelled by plane at least once during the last three months and were living in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, China, Singapore, Australia and Brazil.

The results found Chinese travelers are most likely to nod off once the seat-belt sign switches off. They are also the first to take out their credit card for some in-flight shopping and the biggest fans of gaming. Americans on the other hand like to use their time in the air more productively---- when not drinking---- choosing to work while flying at 35,000 feet.

Meanwhile, Brits and Germans are the best at making chat with random strangers----spending 50 percent more time than any other nationality. Comparatively, Brazilians conduct their conversations online via email, messaging apps or social media.

Despite plane food having a bad reputation, seven out of ten interviewees said they were happy to eat up on the selection of in-flight snacks and meals. In-flight magazines were also popular with four out of five passengers.

The international flyers did however express their desire for better in-flight entertainment. “The industry has greatly improved the comfort, entertainment and onboard service, and passengers are accepting those improvements” said Russell Lemieux, APEX executive director. “At the same time, passengers are demanding more from their air travel experiences which will drive more improvements touching all aspects of the journey. ” he added. 

4. What can you probably see in the flight according to the passage?

A. Brazilians choose to drink.             

B. Americans do in-flight shopping.

C. Germans chat to kill the time.

D. The Chinese switch off the seat-belt sign.

5. When on board the plane, ______.

A. passengers from one nation have little in common

   B. most passengers like to read in-flight magazines

   C. more than half of the passengers don’t enjoy plane food 

   D. most people tend to use in-flight time to have a good sleep.

6. What can we learn from the last paragraph?

A. Flyers care little about entertainment.             

B. Flyers are not satisfied with the improvements.

C. Flyers are expecting better flight experiences.

D. Flyers have more and more demands from airlines.

7. What’s the purpose of the passage?

   A.To entertain readers with interesting stories.

   B. To encourage people to behave well in public.

   C.To criticize impolite behaviors on the plane.

   D.To inform readers of the results of a survey.

Need for closure is a psychological term that describes a person's desire for a firm answer to a question. Our need for closure is our natural preference for definite answers over confusion and uncertainty. Every person has their own baseline level of need for closure. It likely evolved via natural selection.

What I find really fascinating is how our need for closure is affected by the situation we're in. Our need for closure rises when we have to act rather than just observe, and it matters much more when we're rushed, or bored,

or tired. Any stress can make our discomfort with uncertainty increase, and a high need for closure negatively influences some of our most important decisions: who we decide to trust, whether we admit we're wrong and even how creative we are.

In hiring, for instance, a high need for closure leads people to put far too much weight on their first impression. It's called the Urgency Effect. In one experiment, psychologists tried to lower people's need for closure by telling them, right before participants are about to make various judgments of a job candidate, that they'll be responsible in some way for them, or that their judgments have serious consequences.

In making any big decision, it's not enough just to know that we should take our time. We all know that important decisions shouldn't be rushed. The problem is that we don't keep that advice in mind when it matters. So, one of the best solutions is to formalize the reminders. Before making important decisions, write down not just advantages and disadvantages but what the consequences could be. Also, think about how much pressure you're under. If your need for closure is particularly high that day, it's even more important to think twice.

8.How does "need for closure" probably come into being?

A. By accident.       B. By nature.           C. By acquiring.            D. By imitating.

9.It can be inferred that a high need for closure ______.

A. brings about more stress                   B. leads to not so good decisions

C. causes discomfort and uncertainty          D. promotes one's creativity

10.In the experiment the psychologists reduced participants’ need for closure by telling them to ______.

A. value their first impression                   B. be responsible for their boss

C. be cautious about their judgments              D. pay little attention to the consequences

11.What would the author probably discuss in the paragraph that follows?

A. More helpful solutions to high need for closure.

B. Some serious consequences of making decisions.

C. Other approaches to making important decisions.

D. Another strategy to escape the pressures of modern life.

Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.

“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”

Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative, but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.

Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused (激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”

12 .What do the classic rules mentioned in the text apply to?

A. Private e-mails.                         

B. Research papers.   

C. News reports.                        

D. Daily conversations．

13.What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?

A. They’re socially inactive.

B. They’re good at telling stories.

C. They’re careful with their words.

D. They’re inconsiderate of others.

14.Which tended to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research?

A . Science articles.                      

B. Sports news.  

C. Personal accounts.                       

D. Financial reviews.

15 .What can be a suitable title for the text?

A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide

B .Online News Attracts More People

C. Reading Habits Change with the Times

D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks

A garden that’s just right for you

Have you ever visited a garden that seemed just right for you, where the atmosphere of the garden appeared to total more than the sum of its parts?     16     . But it doesn’t happen by accident. It starts with looking inside yourself and understanding who you are with respect to the natural world and how you approach the gardening process.

●    17    

Some people may think that a garden is no more than plants, flowers, patterns and masses of color. Others are concerned about using gardening methods that require less water and fewer fertilizers.

    18     . However, there are a number of other reasons that might explain why you want to garden. One of them comes from our earliest years.

●Recall your childhood memories

Our model of what a garden should be often goes back to childhood. Grandma’s rose garden and Dad’s vegetable garden might be good or bad, but that’s not what’s important.     19     .  —how being in those gardens made us feel. If you’d like to build a powerful bond with your garden, start by taking some time to recall the gardens of your youth.     20     . Then go outside and work out a plan to translate your childhood memories into your grown-up garden. Have fun.

A. Know why you garden

B. Find a good place for your own garden

C. It’s delightful to see so many beautiful flowers

D. It’s our experience of the garden that matters

E. Still others may simply enjoy being outdoors and close to plants

F. You can produce that kind of magical quality in your own garden, too

G. For each of those gardens, writer down the strongest memory you have