B

If you exhibit positive characteristics such as honesty and helpfulness, the chances are that you will be thought as a good-looking person, for a new study has found that the perception(认知)of physical attractiveness is influenced by a person’s personality.

The study, led by Gary W. Lewandowski, has found that people who exhibit negative characteristics, such as unfairness and rudeness, appear to be less physically attractive to observers. In the study, the participants viewed photographs of opposite-sex individuals and rated(评分)them for attractiveness before and after being provided with information about their personalities.

After personality information was received, participants also rated the probability of each individual’s becoming a friend and a dating partner. Information on personality was found to significantly change the probability, showing that cognitive(认知的)processes modify(修改)judgments of attractiveness.

“Thinking a person as having a desirable personality makes the person more suitable in general as a close relationship partner of any kind,” said Lewandowski.

The findings show that a positive personality leads to greater expectation of becoming friends, which leads to greater expectation of becoming romantic partners and, finally, to being viewed as more physically attractive. The findings remained consistent regardless of how “attractive” the individual was formerly thought to be or of the participants’ current relationship status.

“This research provides a positive outcome by reminding people that personality goes a long way toward determining your attractiveness; it can even change people’s impressions of how good looking you are,” said Lewandowski.

60. What did participants do in the study?

A. They exhibited negative characters such as unfairness and rudeness.

B. They rated people’s attractiveness through photographs before and after knowing their personalities.

C. They tried to make friends with each other.

D. They tried to prove that positive characters make people more attractive.

61. What’s the CORRECT order of how cognitive processes modify judgments of attractiveness?

a. find a person having a positive personality

b. view him / her more physically attractive

c. want to make friends with him / her

d. want to be his / her romantic partner

A. a → b → c → d        B. a → c → d → b

C. a → c → b → d        D. a → d → c → d

62. Which of the following is WRONG?

A. Personality can change people’s impressions of how good-looking you are.

B. Positive personality may lead to more friends.

C. The judgment of attractiveness remains unchanged after two people have become close friends.

D. According to Lewandowski, the research reminds people to pay more attention to their personality.

63. The passage is written in a(n) tone.

A. subjective       B. humorous       C. doubtful       D. objective

C

Jenny Bowen, an American living in Beijing, has been selected as the only American to carry the 2008 Beijing Olympic torch on Chinese soil. She and seven other non-Chinese winners were chosen from a pool of 262 applicants(申请者)from 47 countries in a contest organized by Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group and the official English-language newspaper, China Daily. When Bowen runs with the Olympic torch, she will not only be representing the United States, but also be representing thousands of Chinese orphans(孤儿).

Bowen, a mother of two adopted Chinese daughters, is the executive director of Half the Sky Foundation, an organization which was founded in 1998 and aims to enrich the lives and improve the prospects for orphaned children in China. In nearly 10 years, Bowen and Half the Sky have touched the lives of over 13,000 children. Half the Sky is now present in 36 welfare(福利)institutions in 28 Chinese cities. About 4,000 children are active in the program, which provides trained staff, educational tools, medical support and nurturing love for orphans.

Bowen hopes that running with the Olympic torch would help draw attention to the children in China. She will be among 19,400 runners who will carry the flame along an 85,000-mile, 130-day route across five continents. Beijing organizers say it will be the longest torch relay in Olympic history.

Like Bowen, the seven other non-Chinese winners, including a German engineer and a Venezuelan graphic designer, live in China. Other countries represented will be the Philippines, Colombia, India, Japan and Russia.

According to Olympic organizers, candidates(候选人)were selected based on an online vote, committee selection, their “love of Chinese culture and history” and devotion to “communicating information of a real China to their native countries”. Each runner will carry the torch for 200 meters on Chinese soil.

64. According to the text, Jenny Bowen ____.

A. is interested in Chinese sports

B. founded Half the Sky, an organization which aims to help Chinese orphans

C. has adopted 13,000 children during 10 years

D. loves Chinese culture and history

65. Bowen hopes that being a torch runner would help ____.

A. collect educational tools, medical support, etc, for orphans

B. make Half the Sky Foundation well known

C. communicate information of America

D. draw attention to orphans in China

66. Which of the following about the 2008 torch relay is WRONG?

A. The contest for its runners is organized by Lenovo Group and China Daily.

B. It has eight foreign runners, including an American, a German and a Venezuelan.

C. It will be the longest relay with the most runners in Olympic history.

D. It will be an opportunity to communicate information of a real China to the world.

67. What’s the best title for the passage?

A. A US WOMAN TO CARRY 2008 OLYMPIC TORCH IN CHINA.

B. HAPPY LIFE OF A US WOMAN IN CHINA.

C. DEVELOPMENT OF CHINESE WELFARE INSTITUTIONS.

D. THE LONGEST TORCH RELAY IN OLYMPIC HISTORY.

68. The text is a(n)____.

A. biography    B. argument    C. news report   D. advertisement

D

Several European countries rang in the New Year in new ways.

The smoke-filled cafe became a thing of memory in France. Cigarettes were forbidden in all indoor locations such as dance clubs, restaurants, hotels, casinos(赌场)and cafés from Jan. 1, 2008. President Nicolas Sarkozy gave the first traditional New Year’s greeting of his presidency, with a “message of hope, faith in life and in the future”.

In Russia, Vladimir Putin delivered the last New Year’s Eve address of his eight-year presidency, boasting of(夸耀)economic improvements and claiming to have restored a sense of unity among Russians, who are likely to see him stay in power as Prime Minister after he steps down in a few months. In Moscow, thousands gathered in Red Square, watching a concert beneath the onion domes(圆顶)of St Basil’s Cathedral, and fireworks above.

Along with the innovations, old traditions were maintained.

More than a million people in New York’s Times Square cheered at the 100th drop of a giant ball. A century ago the tradition began with a 700-pound ball of wood and iron, lit with 100 25-watt bulbs. This year’s event featured an energy-efficient ball clothed in Waterford crystals(水晶), with 9,576 light-shining diodes(二极管)that generated a lot of colors.

In London, people gathered in Trafalgar Square and along the banks of the River Thames to watch a firework display and hear Big Ben welcome the New Year with 12 resounding bongs.

In Sydney — one of the first cities to celebrate the New Year — one million people cheered as fireworks were launched from the Harbor Bridge on New Year’s Eve.

69. How many countries are mentioned in this passage?

A. Four.   B. Five.   C. Six.    D. Seven.

70. The word “innovations” here means      .

A. strange ideas         B. new ways

C. scientific ideas         D. traditional ways

71. According to the passage, which of the following New Year celebrations can be TRUE?

A. Tom and Tony enjoyed themselves in a café in Paris on Jan. 1, drinking and smoking.

B. Jenny watched concert and colorful crystal balls in Red Square.

C. Cindy and Polly walked along the bank of the River Thames and enjoyed fireworks.

D. Kate stayed at home, watching Australian president’s New Year address through TV.

72. We can infer from the passage that   .

A. cigarettes will be forbidden in all places in France in the future

B. Valdimir Putin will stay in power as Prime Minister after he ends his presidency

C. In New York’s Times Square, high-tech played an important role in the celebration

D. Sydney is one of the first cities to celebrate the New Year