In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition (学会) of each new skill: the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
    Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe (严格的) over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness.
    As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach (说教), their children may grow confused when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.
    A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.

1. Eagerly watching the child's acquisition of new skills _____. 

A. should be avoided        
B. is universal among parents
C. sets up dangerous states of worry in the child
D. will make the child lose interest in learning new things

2. In the process of children's learning new skills, parents ________.

A. should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read
B. should expect a lot of the children
C. should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own
D. should create as many learning opportunities as possible

3. The second paragraph mainly tells us that _______.

A. parents should be strict with their children
B. parental controls reflect only the values of the community
C. parental restrictions vary, and are not always for the benefit of the children alone
D. it's parents' and society's duty to control the children

4. The word "precept" in Paragraph 3 probably means "_______".  

A. opinion        
B. punishment     
C. behavior        
D. instruction

5. In terms of moral matters, parents should _________.

A. follow the rules themselves
B. be aware of the huge difference between adults and children
C. forbid their children to follow hook teachings
D. always ensure the security of their children

     Space is a dangerous place, not only because of meteors (流星) but also because of rays from the
sun and other stars. The atmosphere again acts as our protective blanket on earth. Light gets through,
and this is essential (不可缺少的) for plants to make the food which we eat. Heat, too, makes our
environment endurable. Various kinds of rays come through the air from outer space, but enormous
quantities of radiation from the sun are screened off (用屏幕隔开). As soon as men leave the
atmosphere, they areexposed to this radiation but their spacesuit or the walls of their spacecraft, if they
are inside, do prevent a lot of radiation damage.
    Radiation is the greatest known danger to explorers in space. The unit of radiation is called "rem".
Scientists have reason to think that a man can put up with far more than 0.1 rem without being damaged;
the figure of 60 rems has been agreed on. The trouble is that it is extremely difficult to be sure about
radiation damage - a person may feel perfectly well, but the cells of his or her sex organs may be
damaged, and this will not be discovered until the birth of deformed (畸形的) children or even
grandchildren. Missions of the Apollo flights have had to cross belts of high radiation and, during the
outward and return journeys, the Apollo crew accumulated (积累) a large amount of rems. So far, no
dangerous amounts of radiation have been reported, but the Apollo missions have been quite short. We
simply don't know yet how men are going to get on when they spent weeks and months outside the
protection of the atmosphere, working in a space laboratory. Drugs might help to decrease the damage
done by radiation, but no really effective ones have been found so far.

1.  According to the first paragraph, the atmosphere is essential to man in that ________. 

A. it protects him against the harmful rays from space
B. it provides sufficient (充分的) light for plant growth
C. it supplies the heat necessary for human survival
D. it screens off the falling meteors

2. The harm radiation had done to the Apollo crew members ________.

A. is insignificant (不重要的)        
B. seems overestimated
C. is enormous                      
D. remains unknown

3. It can be inferred from the passage that _________.  

A. the Apollo mission was very successful  
B. protection from space radiation is no easy job
C. astronauts will have deformed children or grandchildren
D. radiation is not a threat to well-protected space explorers

4. The best title for this passage would be ______. 

A. The atmosphere and Our Environment  
B. Research on Radiation              
C. Effects of Space Radiation            
D. Importance of Protection Against Radiation

     A small piece of fish each day may keep the heart doctor away. That's the finding of a study of Dutch
men in which deaths from heart disease were more than 50 percent lower among those who consumed at
least an ounce of salt water fish per day compared to those who never ate fish.
     The Dutch research is one of three human studies that give strong scientific support to the long held
belief that eating fish can provide health benefits, particularly to the heart.
     Heart disease is the number-one killer in the United States, with more than 550,000 deaths occurring
from heart attacks each year. But researchers previously have noticed that the incidence (发生率) of
heart disease is lower in cultures that consume more fish than Americans do. There are fewer heart
disease deaths, for example, among the Eskimos of Greenland, who consume about 14 ounces of fish a
day, and among the Japanese, whose daily fish consumption averages more than 3 ounces.
     For 20 years, the Dutch study followed 852 middle-aged men, 20 percent of whom ate no fish.
At the start of the study, average fish consumption was about two-thirds of an ounce each day, with more men eating lean fish than fatty fish.
     During the next two decades, 78 of the men died from heart disease. The fewest deaths were among
the group who regularly ate fish, even at levels far lower than those of the Japanese or Eskimos. This
relationship was true regardless of other factors such as age, high blood pressure, or blood cholesterol
(胆固醇) levels.

1. The passage is mainly about ________.

A. the high incidence of heart disease in some countries
B. the changes in people's diet
C. the effect of fish eating on people's health    
D. the daily fish consumption of people in different cultures

2. We can infer from the passage that there are fewer heart disease deaths ______.

A. in the countries with high consumption of fish  
B. in highly-developed countries
C. in countries of the yellow-skin race  
D. in the countries with good production of fish

3. The phrase "this relationship" in paragraph 6 refers to the connection between ______ and 
    the incidence of heart disease.

A. the amount of fish eaten
B. regular fish-eating
C. the kind of fish eaten
D. people of different areas

     Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months
old. Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.
     Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile
if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to
please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other
human beings.
      One study shows that babies can learn before they are born. The researchers placed a tape recorder
on the stomach of a pregnant woman. Then, they played a recording of a short story.  On the day the
baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in
his mother. They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the newborn baby.
     The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way. If the baby moved his mouth the
other way, he would hear a different story. The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard
before he was born. They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again.
Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their
children.
     Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. The researchers attempted
to measure the sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their
children's activities and did not interfere unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language
development when they were three years old. Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of
depression.
The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer
from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.
     These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people. The
researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their
children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the factor that influences intelligence
    development in babies?

A. The environment.
B. Mother's sensitivity.
C. Their peers (同龄人)  
D. Education before birth.

2. What is the purpose of the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories?

A. To prove that babies can learn before they are born.
B. To prove that babies can learn on the first day they are born.
C. To show mothers can strongly influence intelligence development in their babies.
D. To indicate early education has a deep effect on the babies' language skills.

3.Which group of children did the worst in tests of language skills?

A. The children of depressed mothers who cared little for their children.
B. The children of women who did not suffer from depression.
C. The children of depressed but caring mothers.
D. Children with high communication abilities.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Scientific findings about how babies develop before birth.
B. Scientific findings about how the environment has an effect on babies' intelligence.
C. A study shows babies are not able to learn things until they are rice or six months old.
D. Scientific findings about how intelligence develops in babies.

     Scientists who discovered a new way of generating electricity from water say they may have come
across an alternative source of clean energy to rival wind and solar power.
     The breakthrough, which scientists say is the first new way to generate electricity in 160 years, could
lead to batteries that use water instead of poisonous substances.
     The scientists made the discovery when they were investigating what happens when tap water is
forced through extremely narrow glass tubes. Water squeezed down the tubes, each of which was
narrower than a tenth the thickness of a human hair, generating a small electric current that ran the length
of the tube. To produce a larger electric current, the team tried forcing water through a glass water filte
r(滤水器) that contained thousands of narrow channels lined up side by side. "When we took a syringe (注射器) of water and squeezed it through the filter, we got enough power to light a light bulb," said
Larry Kostiuk of the University of Alberta in Canada. "The harder you push the syringe, the more electric
current you get."
     The current is produced because of an effect in the glass tubes. When they are filled with water,
positively charged ions (阳离子) fixed in the tubes are washed away, leaving a slight negative charge on
the glass surface. When water is then forced along the tube, the surface repels negatively charged ions in
the water while positively charged ions are attracted down the tube. The result is a net flow of positively
charged ions that sets up an electric current.
      According to Dr Kostiuk, no one has ever thought to use water to produce electricity in this way.
"The last time someone came up with a way of generating electricity was Michael Faraday in 1839," he
said. "So this is the first new way of generating electricity in 160 years, which is why we are so excited
about it."
     Dr Kostiuk says water batteries might one day be used to power mobile phones and calculators, but
admitted that the engineering challenges might make other applications more realistic. "You'd need to be
sure it wouldn't leak, and you'd need to make sure it wouldn't freeze," he said.
     More likely would be to install the electricity-generating devices where water is already being pumped, such as at city water filtration sites, he said. "It could compete with wind and solar power," he added.

1. What does the passage mainly want to tell us about?

A. A kind of solar power discovered by scientists.
B. A kind of new energy source found in tap water.
C. The breakthrough to generate electricity 160 yeas ago.
D. A kind of new battery invented without poisonous substances.

2. The underlined word "repels" in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to _________.

A. rejects      
B. identifies        
C. attracts        
D. rebels

3. Why were the scientists extremely happy about their new discovery?

A. They were the first to find a new way to produce electricity.
B. They could make an electric current to light a light bulb.
C. Their discovery could be used to invent water batteries.
D. Their discovery was made 160 years earlier than Faraday's.

4. What can we infer about potential water batteries?

A. They must be used to power mobile phones and calculators.
B. They have some possible disadvantages like water leaking.
C. They would be needed greatly at city water filtration sites.
D. They would be better than wind and solar power.

     Suppose we built a robot to explore the planet, Mars.We provide the robot with seeing detector (探
测器) to keep it away from danger. It is powered entirely by the sun. Should we program the robot to
be equally active at all time? No.The robot would be using up energy at a time when it was not receiving
any. So we would probably program it to stop its activity at night and to wake up at dawn the next
morning.
     According to the evolutionary (进化的) theory of sleep, evolution equipped us with a regular pattern
of sleeping and waking for the same reason.The theory doesn't deny that
sleep provides some important restorative functions. It merely says that evolution has programmed us to
perform those functions at a time when activity would be inefficient and possibly dangerous. However,
sleep protects us only from the sort of trouble we might walk into; it doesn't protect us from trouble that
comes looking for us. So we sleep well when we are in a familiar and safe place, but we sleep lightly, if at
all,when we fear that bears will nose into the tent.
     The evolutionary theory explains the differences in sleep among creatures.Why do cats,for instance,
sleep so much,while horses sleep so little? Surely cats do not need five times as much repair and
restoration as horses do.But cats can afford to have long periods of inactivity because they spend little
time eating and unlikely to be attacked while they sleep. Horses must spend almost all their waking hours
eating, because what they eat is very low in energy value. Moreover,they cannot afford to sleep too long
or too deeply, because their survival depends on their ability to run away from attackers.

1.The author used the example of the robot in space exploration to tell us _____.

A. the differences between robots and men
B.the reason why men need to sleep
C.about the need for robots to save energy
D.about the danger of men working at night

2. Evolution has programmed man to sleep at night mainly to help him _____.

A. avoid danger and ineffective labor
B. restore his bodily functions 
C. prevent trouble that comes looking for him
D. keep up a regular pattern of life

3. Cats sleep much more than horses do partly because they  _____.

A. are more active than horses when they're awake
B. need more time for restoration
C. spend less time eating to get enough energy
D. are unlikely to be attackers

4.Which of the following is the main idea of the passage?

A. The study of sleep is an important part of the evolutionary theory.
B. The sleeping pattern of a living creature is determined by the food it eats.
C. Sleeping patterns must be taken into consideration in the designing of robots.
D. Evolution has equipped all creatures with a regular pattern of sleeping against waking.

       Andreea,18, from Romania, sent a photograph of the view from her window and included a brief
apology, "Sorry, this picture is plain and boring. No one would like it."
      At home in New Jersey, US, Coreen Burke,16, clicked on the same image on the internet. She saw a
village with its rooftops and walls painted in reds and yellows, a distant chimney (烟囱) giving off smoke.
"Isn't this amazingly different from my country?" She thought to herself.
      Burke, a teenager with a skill for computers, saw beauty in that photo. She posted it to her blog,
Outside My Window, which features a daily snapshot (快照) of someone's window view around the
world.
      The concept is simple: We can all relate to the act of staring through a piece of glass, onto the scene
on the other side. "Maybe if we understood the way people from all over the world live," she explained,
"we would all get along better than we have been lately."
      With a click of a mouse, you can see Frederic's window in the south of France, looking out on
sailboats anchored (抛锚) in a peaceful harbor. Or Virginia's view in Canada, a winter scene with trees
laced in white.
      Like most high school students, Burke has traveled the world. But she says someday she hopes to
collect stamps in her passport, starting with Greece and India. Her recent break was devoted to launching
the site with a blogger account and recruiting (招募) contributors from deviant ART, an online art
community. She posted the first window view from Switzerland, a sunset photographed by an 18-year-old.
Then others came flowing in by email, up to seven a day, from as far as Kazakhstan and Indonesia.
      Contributors are marked on maps pinned on her bedroom wall: a blue dot indicates their country and
a pink dot shows their city, if they provide it. The most responses have come from Europe-Estonia,
Poland, Italy, Germany and Sweden, to name a few. She is crossing her fingers, thinking that she'll receive
a photo from Africa or Antarctica, which are unrepresented so far.
      While she's become a cyber crusader (网络革新者) for appreciating the beauty outside our own
windows, get this: She has no windows in her bedroom. She has a nice skylight (天窗), though.

1. What does Burke think of the picture she received from Andreea?

A. Boring
B. Charming
C. Strange
D. Plain

2. Outside My Window is a blog intended to show ______.

A. the view from Burke's window
B. pictures of rural New Jersey
C. photos of window views taken by people all over the world
D. beautiful scenes of famous places of interest

3. We can conclude from the article that Burke ______.

A. believes we should reach out to people of different cultures
B. has traveled around the world and taken many pictures
C. is a member of an online art community
D. has made a lot of money by selling beautiful pictures

4. Which of the following is not true?

A. Burke is likely to receive a photo from Africa or Antarctica.
B. Burke is a junior middle school student.
C. Burke has photos from many countries in the world, including Kazakhstan.
D. Burke wants a photo of window view from Africa or Antarctica.

5. What is the best title of this passage?

A. World Windows
B. Beautiful Pictures
C. Pictures on the Internet
D. Windows in Bedrooms

     Mental and health experts believe personality plays an important part in how we experience stress.
Personality is the way a person acts, feels and thinks.
     Some people are aggressive and always in a hurry. They often become angry when things do not
happen the way they planned. They are called "Type A" personalities. Studies suggest that these people
often get stress-related disorders. The "Type B" personality is calmer. These people are able to deal with
all kinds of situations more easily. As a result, they are less affected by stress.
     Studies have also shown that men and women deal with stress differently. Women seem to be better
able to deal with stress than men are. However, experts say women are three times more likely to develop
depression in reaction to the stress in their lives. American writer John Gray became famous for his book,
"Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." He notes that men and women have Opposite ways of
dealing with stress. For a man, the best way is to rest and forget about daily problems. But a woman
suffering from stress needs to talk about her problems.
     Experts say there are several ways to deal with stress, including deep breathing, exercise, eating healthy
foods, getting enough rest and balancing the time spent in working and playing. Exercise is one of the most
effective stress-reduction measures, as physical changes from exercise make you feel better. In addition,
exercise can also improve the body's defense system against disease.
     Keeping stress to yourself can make problems worse. Experts say that expressing emotions to friends
or family members or writing down your feelings can help reduce stress. And they also suggest that people
should attempt to accept or change stressful situations whenever possible.

1. According to the experts, _____.

A. people respond to stress quite differently
B. people make the same response to stress
C. unlike women, men tend to feel depressed more easily
D. personality has nothing to do with how we experience stress

2. Compared with "Type A" personalities, "Type B" personalities _____.

A. cause more troubles
B. are less able to cope with different situations
C. are more easily affected by stress
D. tend to solve problems more peacefully

3. By saying "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus", John Gray means that they _____.

A. experience emotions in a different way
B. cope with stress in a different way
C. suffer from stress in the similar way
D. develop stress in the opposite way

4. If you want to reduce your stress, you can _____.

A. take some exercise
B. keep it to yourself
C. remain silent
D. ignore the stressful situation

     Will Nanfang University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen announce a new beginning for China's
higher education reform? It's too early to answer. But its presence is challenging the Ministry of Education.
Even without the approval of the ministry it seems that the school is determined to move forward and enroll
50 students, so called child prodigies (奇才), to begin classes on March l, 2011. On graduating in 2015, these
students will receive a diploma unauthorized by the Ministry of Education-unlike the students of their age from
the state-run universities.
     The school is committed to modeling itself on Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, but if the
government will not approve the school, the situation could cause a lot of trouble for those 50 students if they
want to do graduate studies at other higher learning institutions. Other schools could turn their applications
down for their unauthorized diplomas.
     The difficulties, however, have not frightened students and their parents away. On Dec. 18, 2010 more
than l,000 students and their parents visited the Nanfang University of Science and Technology for interviews.
     Private investment marks the school out from other higher learning institutions in the nation. Not a penny
comes from the government. So the government will have no voice in how the school will be run.
     The Ministry of Education has published a comprehensive plan for education reform and development
between 2011 and 2020. The goal is to make China's higher education internationally competitive. To
accomplish this goal, the government should have the courage to let the educators who have big ideas try them
out. The ministry should have applauded the independence the school in Shenzhen has shown and encouraged
more to do likewise.
     Education reform in China has reached a new and crucial stage. Nanfang University of Science and
Technology has a long way to go to prove itself competitive rather than a diploma mill.

1. What will make those 50 students different from others?

A. They are all child prodigies.
B. They will study much longer time.
C. They are willing to challenge the Ministry of Education.
D. They will receive an unauthorized diploma.

2. The trouble the students in the school may have is that ____.

A. the government will have no voice in the school
B. they won't receive any diploma when graduating from the school
C. other schools are unlikely to accept their diploma from the school
D. they will not learn how to be competitive

3. What does the author think of Nanfang University of Science and Technology?

A. It is another kind of diploma mill.
B. It's impossible for the school to be competitive.
C. It will never get the approval from the Ministry of Education.
D. Its independence from the government may benefit the education reform.

4. What is the best title of the passage?

A. University of New Style
B. China's Education Reform
C. Modeling Hong Kong University
D. Authorized or Not?

     Liu Jiaoyang, 16, carefully winds a bobbin (绕线筒) with thread, places it on her sewing machine (缝纫机)
and then presses her foot down to begin sewing. While she's doing this, she pretends to guide fabric (布料)
through the machine. Liu looks forward to the class when she can work on a piece of real cloth, and make a
beautiful dress.
     Each Tuesday afternoon, after the bell rings for the fourth period, Liu becomes a fashion designer. At the
same time, the rest of the students at the High School Attached to Yunnan Normal University in Kunming are
also having classes a little bit different from the usual ones. Some students dance, others create robots, and still
others review films. These are just a few of the other 27 elective (选修的) courses besides Liu's sewing class
that the school began to offer last month.
     "The fashion design class has become the bright point of my week. I learn how to choose colors and fabrics
(织物) as well as sewing and sketching (素描) skills. It's all helping me to realize the dream of becoming a
fashion designer I've had since I was a little girl," Liu said.
     Design is Liu's favorite, but for other students the electives are interesting lessons which relieve (舒缓) the
pressures of schoolwork. Some students, for example, are learning how to play bridge. Chen Xi, 15, is one of
them. She said, "Many people think that playing a card game like this in class is a waste of time. But in fact,
bridge is a very challenging game that helps develop memory and math skills."

1. How often do the students have elective classes?

A. Once a week
B. Once a month
C. Once a term
D. Once a year

2. How often do the students have elective classes?

A. Once a week
B. Once a month
C. Once a term
D. Once a year

3. Why did the students like to have elective classes?

A. Because the elective classes are easier.
B. Because they needn't do any homework in the elective classes.
C. Because they can get an opportunity to relieve their pressures.
D. Because they want to be fashion designers in the future.

4. According to the passage many people think _____ in class is a waste of time.

A. dancing
B. creating robots
C. playing a card game
D. reviewing films