1. Passage ThirtyThe Chinese have used a method called acupuncture (针灸)to help perform operations for about 4， 000 years without putting the patient to sleep.This involves inserting flexible needles into certain parts of the body.The needles are available in a number of stores in China and everyone may buy them.To learn how to use needles takes about one month of training.But to be skillful requires greater time.The person who performs the acupuncture knows how to put in the needles so the needles themselves are not painful.This person also knows where to place the needles so the patient feels no pain in the area where the operation is to be performed.In the past， a particular operation might require 25 or more needles placed in various parts of the body.But now this operation requires only 3 or 4 needles.Today， the Chinese doctors are trying to learn more about acupuncture.They are trying to develop a convincing theory to explain how the needles work in preventing pain， or why a needle in the wrist， for example， would prevent the pain in the area of the mouth.A patient who needs an operation is given a choice between having acupuncture or having one of the chemicals used for putting him to sleep.It has been estimated that over half of the patients choose acupuncture because there is no sickness after the operation whereas the chemical may make the patient sick for a few hours or a day.Acupuncture is ().

9.The director was critical ()the way we were doing the work.

A. 　at

B. 　in

C. 　of

D. 　with

1. Passage Twenty-SixToday just as technology changed the face of industry， farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution”.On the farm of today， machines provide all the power.One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer.A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently.The computers help them keep more accurate records， so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant， how much livestock to buy， when to sell their products， and how much profit they can expect.Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers.Programs are being written for hog (猪)producers， grain farmers， potato farmers， and dairy farmers.In the future， farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs.Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm， students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses.There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future.While the old-time farm depended on horse power， and modern farms depend on machine power， farms of the future will depend on computer power.Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot， a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and， in some ways， think like a human being.Agricultural engineers believe that computer-aided robots will make startling changes in farming before the end of the century.Unlike farmers of the present， farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them.Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear (修剪)sheep， drive tractors， and harvest fruit.Even complex jobs will be done by robots.For example， in order to milk their cows， farmers must first drive them into the special barn (畜棚)， then connect them to the milking machines， watch the machines， and disconnect them when they are finished.In the future， this will all be done by robots.In addition， when the milking is completed， the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure.The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future， but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.Which sentence is the main idea of the whole passage?

38. Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.Most of us in the entrepreneurial community are blessed — or cursed — with higher-than-average ambition.Ambitious people strongly desire accomplishments and are willing to take more risks and spend more effort to get them.Overall， this is a positive quality， especially for people trying to build their own businesses.Apparently， if you’re more naturally driven to set goals， you are more likely to succeed.Actually， this isn’t always the case.In fact， in some cases， extreme ambition may end up doing more harm than good.One major side effect of excessive ambition is the tendency to focus too determinedly on one particular vision or end goal.This is problematic because it hinders your ability to adapt to new circumstances， which is vital if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.If a new competitor emerges to threaten your business， you may need to change direction， even if that means straying from your original vision.If you have too much ambition， you’ll find this hard， if not impossible.Few people are successful when they try to build their first brand.Unfortunately， for the most ambitious entrepreneurs， a failure is seen as disastrous， and impossible to recover from.It’s a clear departure from the intended plan toward the intended goal.For people with limited ambition， however， failure is viewed as something closer to reality.Remember， failure is inevitable， and every failure you survive is a learning experience.Ambitious people tend to be more materialistically successful than their non-ambitious counterparts.However， they’re only slightly happier than their less-ambitious counterparts， and tend to live significantly shorter lives.This implies that even though ambitious people are more likely to achieve conventional “success，” such success means nothing for their health and happiness—and if you don’t have health and happiness， what else could possibly matter?Clearly， some amount of ambition is good for your motivation.Without any ambition， you wouldn＇t start your own business， set or achieve goals and get far in life.But an excess of ambition can also be dangerous， putting you at risk of burnout， stubbornness and even a shorter life.What does the author say is of extreme importance for one to become a successful entrepreneur?

A. 　Holding on to one’s original vision.

B. 　Being able to adapt to new situations.

C. 　Focusing determinedly on one particular goal.

D. 　Avoiding radical change in one＇s career direction.

4. Passage FifteenBig data can be defined as information that is too big or complex to be contained or processed by any one machine or person.As a student at the University of Sussex， Julian Dailly had two majors——English and philosophy.When he completed his studies， Dailly wondered how he would ever earn a living in a world filled with machines and technology.Now， he is part of the big data industry that includes Google and Facebook.Dailly’s research company， Monar Consulting， started three years ago with five employees.The company’s earnings have increased by 25% each year.It now employs 90 people.“What we do here is we try to discover what’s meaningful for people and link that to their economic behavior，” Dailly said.He noted the importance of working with people with different skills.“We have people from traditional research backgrounds， in addition to some in social sciences， economics， people from tech backgrounds， and sales people，” Dailly said.Companies like Dailly’s employ recent college graduates.The industry profits from the ideas of these young men and women.New forms of data also make it possible for some observers to predict the future.They are more valuable to companies than the traditional forms of data recording or reporting.“We have access to the core information inside people’s heads，” Dailly said， “They tell you what people are going to do as opposed to what they’ve done.That helps people take proper action in advance.This makes it much more useful for strategy.”Julian Dailly dismisses concerns that computers have finally taken control of our daily lives.“Some may worry that humans will be allowed to be replaced by machines.I think it’s a fantasy.”The company is aimed at making use of the information to help people ().

2. Passage SixteenJustin was always prepared.His motto was “Never throw anything out， you never know when it might come in handy.” His bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires， bent tennis rackets， deflated basketballs， and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door.His parents pleaded him to clean out his room.“What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked.But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto， “Never throw anything out， you never know when it might come in handy.”When Justin was away from home， he always carried his blue backpack.He liked to think of it as a smaller version of his bedroom——a place to store the many objects that he collected.It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.It was full of the kind of things that seemed unimportant， but when used with a little imagination， might come in handy.Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations.Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem.On the first day of school， his friend Kenny， came looking for Justin.“Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?” he asked.“I lost the paper it was written on.I have science class in two minutes and if I’m late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked genuinely worried.“Relax，” Justin said， taking his backpack off and opened it.“Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the code down? Well， I know how we can recover what you wrote.”He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag.The page that Kenny had written on had left faint indentations (旧凹痕)on another page in the notebook.Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the indentations.Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white， set off by the gray pencil rubbings.“That’s amazing!” Kenny said.“I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.In what way is Justin’s backpack a smaller version of his bedroom?

42.We should take an active part in community service， which can enrich our life.

3. Passage Thirty-OneAdam Smith was the first person to see the importance of the division of labor.He gave us an example of the process by which pins were made in England.“One man draws out the wire， another strengthens it， a third cuts it， a fourth points it， and a fifth gives it a head.Just to make the head requires two or three different operations.The work of making pins is divided into about eighteen different operations， which in some factories are all performed by different people， though in others the same man will sometimes perform two or three of them.”Ten men， Smith said， in this way， turned out twelve pounds of pins a day or about 4，800 pins a worker.But if all of them had worked separately and independently without division of labor， they certainly could not have made twenty pins in a day and not even one.There can be no doubt that division of labor is an efficient way of organizing work.Fewer people can make more pins.Adam Smith saw this， but he also took it for granted that division of labor is itself responsible for economic growth and development and it accounts for the difference between expanding economies and those that stand still.But division of labor adds nothing new， it only enables people to produce more of what they already have.Adam Smith mentioned the number 4，800 in order to ().

46.Very few people understood his lecture， the subject of ()was hard.

A. 　what

B. 　it

C. 　which

D. 　that

38. Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.Recognizing when a friend or colleague feels sad， angry or surprised is key to getting along with others.But a new study suggests that being sensitive to people’s feelings may sometimes come with an extra dose of stress.This and other research challenge the prevailing view that emotional intelligence is uniformly beneficial to its bearer.In a study， Psychologist Myriam Bechtoldt of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany asked 166 male university students a series of question to measure their emotional intelligence.For example， they showed the students photographs of people’s faces and ask them to what extent feelings such as happiness or disgust were being expressed.The students then had to give job talks in front of judges who displayed serious facial expressions.The scientists measured concentrations of stress hormones in the students’ saliva (唾液)before and after the talk.In students who were rated more emotionally intelligent， the stress measures increased more during the experiment and took longer to go back to baseline.The findings suggest that some people may be too emotionally clever for their own good， says Bechtoldt.“Sometimes you can be so good at something that it causes trouble，” she notes.Indeed， the study adds to previous research hinting at a dark side of emotional intelligence.A study published in 2002 in Personality and Individual Differences suggested that emotionally perceptive people might be particularly influenced by feelings of depression and hopelessness.Furthermore， several studies have implied that emotional intelligence can be used to manipulate others for personal gains.
More research is needed to see how exactly the relation between emotional intelligence and stress would play out in women and in people of different ages and education levels.Nevertheless， emotional intelligence is a useful skill to have， as long as you learn to also properly cope with emotions—both others’ and your own， says Bechtoldt.For example， some sensitive individuals may assume responsibility for other people’s sadness or anger， which ultimately stresses them out.Remember， as Bechtoldt says， “you are not responsible for how other people feel.”What does the finding of Myriam Bechtoldt’s study indicate?

A. 　Greater emotional cleverness means less trouble in one＇s life.

B. 　Emotional intelligence helps people succeed in job interviews.

C. 　People＇s psychological wellbeing is related to various factors.

D. 　People may suffer from having a high emotional intelligence.

34. Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage.To write his 2010 book， The 5-Factor World Diet， nutritionist Harley Pasternak traveled to the healthiest countries around the world to learn more about what made their meals extra nourishing.He noted that Japanese people ate a wonderful variety of seaweeds， and that Chinese people tried to include at least five different colors in every meal.Pasternak also came away with some valuable observations about how different the North American way of life was， compared with many other countries.For starters， Americans eat much bigger portions than people in other countries.“We don’t prioritize eating seasonally or locally， and we also add lots of salt， sugar and thickening agents to our foods，” explained Pasternak.Contrast that to the healthy Mediterranean， Nordic and Okinawan diets listed in Pasternak＇s book.They all seem to stick to the ethos (特质)of regional， seasonal produce.For example， a traditional Mediterranean diet includes fruits， vegetables， whole grains， nuts and olive oil as the main components of nutritional intake.Fish， chicken and red wine make moderate appearances， while red meat， salt and sugar are used much less often.The benefits of a traditional Mediterranean diet have been studied since the 1970s， and researchers have found that living that olive oil life can help people lose weight， lower their heart disease risk and reverse diabetes.Most other healthy eating cultures also make meals an event—say， multiple courses around the family table， or a glass or two of red wine at a long lunch—opposed to hastily wolfing down handfuls of cereal above the kitchen sink and calling it dinner.Each of the healthy eating cultures has its own unique feature.But Pasternak did take note of one unifying factor in all of the healthy societies he observed.“The only overlapping feature in most of these healthy countries is that they all walk way more than the average American，” said Pasternak.“So really， regardless of what you’re eating， if someone’s walking four miles more than you each day， they are going to be a lot thinner and live a lot longer than you.”What do people in most healthy eating cultures have in common?

A. 　They get the whole family to eat at a table.

B. 　They eat their meals regularly and punctually.

C. 　They consume plenty of cereal for breakfast.

D. 　They attach great importance to their meals.