C

A letter to Edward, a columnist(報刊專欄作家)

Dear Mr Expert,

I grew up in an unhappy and abusive home. I always promised myself that I’d get out as soon as possible. Now, at age 20, I have a good job and a nice house, and I’m really proud of the independence I’ve achieved.

Here’s the problem: several of my friends who still live with their parents wish they had places like mine so much so that they make mine theirs.

It started out with a couple of them spending the weekends with me. But now they seem to take it for granted that they can show up any time they like. They bring boyfriends over, talk on the phone and stay out forever.

I enjoy having my friends here sometimes? It makes the place feel comfortable and warm? But this is my home, not a party house. I was old enough to move out on my own, so why can’t I seem to ask my friends to respect my privacy(隱私)?

Joan

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Edward’s reply to Joan

Dear Joan,

If your family didn’t pay attention to your needs when you were a child, you probably have trouble letting others know your needs now.

And if you’ve gathered your friends around you to rebuild a happy family atmosphere(氣氛), you may fear that saying no will bring back the kind of conflict you grew up with or destroy the nice atmosphere you now enjoy. You need to understand that in true friendship it’s okay to put your own needs first from time to time.

Be clear about the message you want to send. For example, “I really love your company but I also need some privacy. So please call before you come over.”

Edward

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63. We can learn from the first letter that Joan Edward ______.

A. lives away from her parents B. takes pride in her friends

C. knows Mr Expert quite well D. hates her parents very much

64. We can infer from the first letter that ______.

A. Joan considers her friends more important than her privacy

B. Joan’s friends visit her more often than she can accept

C. Joan doesn’t like the parties at all

D. Joan dislikes the boyfriends her friends bring over

65. According to Mr Expert, why can’t Joan tell her friends her feelings?

A. She is afraid of hurting her friends.

B. She does not understand true friendship.

C. Her family experience stops her from doing so.

D. She does not put her needs first.

66. The underlined word “conflict in the second letter means .

A. dependent life B. fierce fight

C. bad manners D. painful feeling

67. The second letter suggests that Mr Expert ______.

A. is worried about Joan’s problem

B. warns Joan not to quarrel with her friends

C. advises Joan on how to refuse people

D. encourages Joan to be brave enough

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D

Have you ever had the strange feeling that you were being watched? You turned around and, sure enough, someone was looking right at you!

Parapsychologists(靈學(xué)家) say that humans have a natural ability to sense when someone is looking at them. To research whether such a “sixth sense” really exists, Robert Baker, a psychologist(心理學(xué)家) at the University of Kentucky, performed two experiments.

In the first one, Baker sat behind unknowing people in public places and stared at the backs of their heads for 5 to 15 minutes. The subjects(受試者) were eating, drinking, reading, studying, watching TV, or working at a computer. Baker made sure that the people could not tell that he was sitting behind them during those periods. Later, when he questioned the subjects, almost all of them said they had no sense that someone was staring at them.

For the second experiment, Baker told the subjects that they would be stared at from time to time from behind a two-way mirror in a laboratory setting. The people had to write down when they felt they were being stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were stared at and when they weren’t. Baker found that the subjects were no better at telling when they were started at than if they had just guessed.

Baker concludes that people do not have the ability to sense when they’re being stared at. If people doubt the outcome of his two experiments, said Baker, “I suggest they repeat the experiments and see for themselves.”

68. The purpose of the two experiments is to ______.

A. explain when people can have a sixth sense

B. show how people act while being watched in the lab

C. study whether humans can sense when they are stared at

D. prove why humans have a sixth sense

69. In the first experiment, the subjects ______.

A. were not told that they would be stared at

B. lost their sense when they were stared at

C. were not sure when they would be stared at

D. were uncomfortable when they were stared at

70. The underlined word “outcome” in the last paragraph most probably means .

A. value B. result C. performance D. connection

71. What can be learned from the passage?

A. People are born with a sixth sense.

B. The experiments support parapsychologists’ idea.

C. The subjects do not have a sixth sense in the experiments.

D. People have a sixth sense in public places.