When Mary was in her 50s, a sick Mother Amadeus called her West. So Mary made her way to the small town of Cascade, Montana, to nurse Amadeus to health. She did this and more, running supplies and visitors to St. Peter‘s Mission where Amadeus lived. Once when her wagon(四轮马车) overturned, she guarded the delivery from wolves through the night.
But Mary's rough edges caused the local bishop (主教) to prohibit her from working at the mission. Mother Amadeus then set her up as the first African-American female employee of the U.S. Postal Service. Though in her 60s, Mary was such a dependable mail carrier that she earned the name ―tagecoach‖ Mary. She became a beloved figure in Cascade. She was the only woman allowed in the saloon (酒馆), was the baseball team‘s biggest fan and was given free meals in the town hotel.
Nearly 70, Mary quit delivering the mail but remained in Cascade. The town‘s school closed to celebrate her unknown birthday twice a year. When she passed away in 1914, a simple cross was placed to mark her grave and her legend in the Wild West. 56. What about Mary Fields impressed people most?
A. Her tall and fat figure. B. Her reputation as an educated slave. C. Her friendliness and responsibility. D. Her habit of carrying a gun and smoking. 57. Which of the following shows Mary‘s life experience in the order of time? ①Mary began to deliver mail in Cascade.②Mary worked in a school in Montana. ③Mary was taught to read and write.④Mary took care of sick Amadeus.
⑤Mary worked on a steamed boat. A.⑤①③②④ B?⑤④②①③ C.②④⑤③① D.③⑤②④① 58. Mary became a mail carrier because . , A. people in Cascade loved her B. she once worked at St. Peter‘s Mission C. Mother Amadeus recommended her D. the US Postal Service needed a female employee
59. In the last paragraph, t4her legend\most probably refers to _____ .
A. her high social status B. her unusual life as a pioneer C. her friendship with Amadeus. D. her role in the liberation of slaves 56. 57. D58. C59. B
(B)
JENISON PUBLIC SCHOOLS __________________
Part Time Enrollment
(Home School Elective Courses)
Grades 1-12
Jenison International Academy is excited to offer online, nonessential courses to international students. Kindly view the online elective options, as well as the enrollment process, below. The application window for part time enrollments will close on Friday, December 30, 2016.
Online Courses Offered Grades 1-12 Elective Opportunities Please click to view our Elective Course Offerings. Part Time Enrollment at JIA Students participating in the program are allowed to enroll in up to 4 elective courses each
semester, and have the option to take 100% of their courses online or create a schedule combination of online and on-campus courses at Jenison Public Schools, which may also include Tech Center, Co-op, and other qualified programs. Student Application Process STEP 1: Online Preparation
Please review the following Interactive Online Readiness Criteria. Please keep this form for your own records. Online Readiness Criteria STEP 2: Submit Forms & Documentation
By completing the Part Time Enrollment Application, applicants are fulfilling the Virtual Learning and District-Required Documentation. Printed Application
Parents or guardians can download, print, and complete the JIA Enrollment paperwork & JPS District Application. Mail, scan or fax all completed paperwork using the contact information provided on the first page. Printed Application Additional Required Documentation can be found within the enrollment packet .
An email will be sent to the parent or guardian email account when a completed application has been received. Upon review and approval, a welcome message and course selection email will be issued to the same address.
60. The courses are designed for _____ .
A. high-level students who are studying in Jenison Public Schools
B. international students whose parents work in Jenison Public Schools
C. foreign students who can‘t study full time in Jenison International Academy D. graduate students who want a part-time job in Jenison International Academy 61. To get enrolled, one should ______ . A. prepare both online and offline B. print the Online Readiness Criteria
C. contact JIA in person beforehand D. email the J1A Enrollment paperwork 62. What can be learned from the webpage?
A. The enrollment should be applied on December 30, 2016. B. The parent or guardian needs to have an email account. C. The students need to study at least 8 courses each year. D. The courses can only be learned online. 60. C 61. A 62. B
(C)
Two heads are better than one, according to the old saying. So why are groups with lots of ―heads‖ known for making bad decisions? Why does ―groupthink‖ immediately mean ineffectiveness and mistakes?
These questions are answered in a fascinating new book called Wiser: Getting Beyond Groupthink to Make Groups Smarter, written by Cass R. Sunstein, a former White House official, and Reid Hastie, an academic specialized in the psychology of decision making. Building on their combined experiences and research, Sunstein and Hastie analyze what goes wrong in group decision-making, and then offer clear-out solutions to overcome these problems.
Group decision-making involves discussions among members of a group, each with their own skills, experience, ideas and information. Unfortunately, as the authors explain, there are two types of influence on group members—informational signals and social pressures—which skew
(扭曲）the discussions. Informational signals cause people to keep information to themselves when it disagrees with information from others, especially leaders. Social pressures cause people to keep information to themselves to avoid punishment from leaders who are denied.
These influences lead to four problems, the authors write: Instead of correcting the errors of their members, groups actually expand those errors; cascade effects (联级效应）take over when the group follows whomever spoke first or loudest; groups become more extreme in their ideas, as the internal discussions strengthen their predisposed（预先有倾向的）thoughts; and groups focus on shared information instead of unshared information.
Having laid out the core problems, the authors offer solutions. They begin with a list of methods aimed at handling the four core problems, such as:
Leaders have to keep quiet and convince group members that they sincerely want to hear all ideas.
Group success should be rewarded. Group members must understand that if the group is right, everyone benefits; this will encourage them to ensure that they find the right answer instead of pushing their own ideas.
Group members should be assigned specific roles, thus ensuring that everyone contributes. Either individuals or assigned teams should be tasked with acting as devil’s advocates (唱反调的人).
Groups also fail, the author writes, because they don‘t distinguish between the early rounds of discussions, in which all ideas must be allowed on the table, and the final rounds of discussions, in which groups must be tight and analytical as they seek the accurate solution. Successful groups will deliberately separate the two processes.
In another approach, the authors demonstrate that the wisdom of crowds will often lead to the right answer if a majority of crowd members know their material. Decision-makers often prefer to rely on one single expert, but ―chasing the expert‖ significantly reduces the probability of getting the decision right.
Wiser is a quick, engaging and thoughtful read that convincingly argues that, with a few simple steps and open-minded leadership, group discussions can, indeed, lead to wiser decisions. 63. The passage is mainly written to _____ .
A. make an advertisement for a new book B. introduce the main points of a new book C. prove that two heads are better than one D. show how to make groupthink more effective 64. According to the passage, groups sometimes make bad decisions because some members _____ . A. are critical of others B. are punished by the leader
C. disagree with the leader D. do not share different ideas 65. Which of the following can help improve the effectiveness of groupthink?
A. An expert helps to make the final decision.
B. Team success is advocated with positive measures. C. No one is allowed to put forward their disagreement. D. Leaders don‘t express their own opinions in the process. 66. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Wiser may be welcomed by decision-makers.
B. Wiser can change decision-makers‘ attitude towards work. C. The more people in the group, the better decision will be made.
D. The final rounds of discussions are the most important in decision-making.
63. B 64. D 65. B 66. A
2017年上海奉贤区高考一模阅读理解
A
They say a cat has nine lives, and I think that possible since I am now living my third life and Pm not even a cat. My father died when T was 15, and we had a hard struggle to make a living. And my mother, who was seriously ill in her last years, died while still in her 60s. My sister married soon after, and I followed her example within the year.
This was when I began to enjoy my first life. T was very happy, in excellent health. I had a good job in San Jose and a beautiful home up the peninsula in San Carlos. Life was a pleasant dream. Then the dream ended. I became afflicted（使苦恼） with a slowly progressive disease of the motor
nerves, affecting first my right arm and leg, and then my other side. Thus began my second life....
In spite of my disease I still drove to and from work each day, with the aid of special equipment installed in my car. And I managed to keep my health and optimism, to a degree, because of 14 steps. Crazy? Not at all. Our home was an affair with 14 steps leading up from the garage to the kitchen door. Those steps were a standard measure of life. They were my yardstick, my challenge to continue living. I felt that if the day arrived when I was unable to lift one foot up one step and then drag the other painfully after it ---repeating the process 14 times, I would be through---1 could then admit defeat and lie down and die.
Then on a dark night in August, 1971, I began my third life. It was raining when I started home that night; strong winds and slashing rain beat down on the car as I drove slowly down one of the less-traveled roads. Suddenly the steering wheel jerked（猝然一动） . In the same instant I heard the
bang of a blowout. It was impossible for me to change that tire! Utterly impossible!
I started the engine and thumped slowly along until I came to the dirt road, where I turned in and where I found lighted windows welcomed me to a house and pulled into the driveway and blared the horn.
The door opened and a little girl stood there. When she knew what happened to me, she went into the house and a moment later came out, followed by a man who called a cheerful greeting. I sat there comfortable and dry, and felt a bit sorry for the man and the little girl working so hard in the storm.
About an hour later, the man's voice was heard, ―This is a bad night for car trouble, but you're all set now. ‖ ―Thanks，‖ I said. ―How much do I owe you?‖ He shook his head, ―Nothing. Cynthia told me you were a cripple. Glad to be of help. 1 know you'd do the same for me. There‘s no charge, friend.‖ I held out a five-dollar b川，―No! I like to pay my way.‖ He made no effort to take it and the little girl stepped closer to the window and said quietly, ―Grandpa can‘t see it. ‖ 56. '\1 here means __ _____ .
A. a cat can live nine times longer than any other animal B. a cat can die ninth
C. a lucky man cannot die easily D. the writer will live nine times
57. What do you think of the man who helped change the tire? __________ .
A. Warm-hearted but pitiable B. Warm-hearted and happy