The teacher together with the students ________ discussing Reading Skills that ________ newly published in America. ks5u

A. are; were      B. is; were    C. are; was        D. is; was ks5u

Once upon a time, on an isolated island in the Java sea, lived short people who dominated(支配, 占优势) the food chain. Standing no more than three and a half feet tall, these human ancestors hunted giant rats, lumbering lizards（笨拙的蜥蜴), and miniature elephants.  

   It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, but it's true. Unearthed relics on the island uncovered the remains of a race of tiny human ancestors. Homo floresiensis, as the newly discovered species has been named, apparently could date back to 13,000 years ago. This means they have a lot in common with modern humans.

  So how and why did these people get so small? Scientists suspect that it's due to the fact that this race lived on an isolated island with limited resources. Take the miniature elephants for example. When elephants first came to the island either by swimming or by some kind of natural land raft, they were probably close to full size. But since there wasn't much to eat, over time smaller elephants lived longer and better. The smaller the elephant was, the less it had to eat to stay strong and healthy.

  Scientists call this the "island role", and it can apply to humans as well as animals. Given the island's sparse(稀少) food supply, it makes sense that the early humans living there would have evolved (进化) a body size requiring less food to survive. So bigger isn't always better.

In the floresiensis, at least, getting smaller was the way to go.

1.According to the passage, the fact Homo floresiensis are very small is based on________.

A. the islanders in the Java Sea B. the human ancestors

C. the unearthed relics      D. a newspaper report

2. The underlined word "miniature" in the first paragraph most probably means______.

A. tiny       B. active    C. rare       D. wild

3.People on the island got so small because____________.

A. they did not have enough food to eat.

B. they gradually developed for lack of food.

C. they shared less food with elephants.

D. they remained alive as the elephants.

4. What might be the most suitable title of the passage?

A. The history of short people

B. Short people from a fairy tale

C. The proofs on short people

D. Short people on an isolated island

5.According to the passage, getting smaller can make people and animals ____

A. run quickly   B. live longer     C. live weaker   D. run slowly

Australian Flag Designs by Readers of the Sun-Herald

We received dozens of responses after inviting readers to send in their designs for a new flag. The designs we received include:

James Anthony, Drummoyne

James reduces the Union Jack down in size and changes its shape to become a reminder of the British tradition rather than canceling it altogether. At the same time he suggests enlarging the stars of the Southern Cross. His design attempts to use the best of both worlds in a newly designed flag.

As he says, “the British part of the Australian Flag is too big and the Australian bits are too small. When you make the stars bigger the Australian flag can look impressive.”

Joe Bollen, Turranmurra

Joe’s flag has the main elements of a risen sun, white horizon(地平线), red earth at the base and the Southern Cross. He intends to make the risen sun a special Australian symbol on the flag. He believes it represents life. The Southern Cross shows that we live in the Southern Hemisphere. (半球)

Maria Ieraci, Sydney

Maria deleted the Union Jack but otherwise kept the flag as is with the Southern Cross and Federation Star. She says, ‘There is only one correct way to change the Australian flag” and that is “to drop the Union Jack ---- when Australia becomes a Republic”, which she hopes will be before 2010.

Ron Bennett, Sydney

Ron recommends using the Aboriginal colors but replacing their image of the sun with the map of Australia. He says, “Australia is unique being an island continent with an instantly recognizable outline at that” and “this will leave no doubt as to which country the flag belongs.”

1.Which of the four designs can remind you of the past of the country?

2.The Southern Cross in some of the designs represents _________.

3.What does the Union Jack refer to?

The latest research suggests a more prosaic, democratic, even puritanical view of the world. The key factor separating geniuses from the merely accomplished is not a divine spark. It’s not I.Q., a generally bad predictor of success, even in realms like chess. Instead, it’s deliberate practice. Top performers spend more hours (many more hours) rigorously practicing their craft. If you wanted to picture how a typical genius might develop, you’d take a girl who possessed a slightly above average verbal ability. It wouldn’t have to be a big talent, just enough so that she might gain some sense of distinction. Then you would want her to meet, say, a novelist, who coincidentally shared some similar biographical traits. Maybe the writer was from the same town, had the same ethnic background, or, shared the same birthday.

This contact would give the girl a vision of her future self. It would give her some idea of a fascinating circle she might someday join. It would also help if one of her parents died when she was 12, giving her a strong sense of insecurity and fueling a desperate need for success. Armed with this ambition, she would read novels and life stories of writers without end. This would give her a primary knowledge of her field. She’d be able to see new writing in deeper ways and quickly perceive its inner workings.

Then she would practice writing. Her practice would be slow, painstaking and error-focused. By practicing in this way, she delays the automatizing process. Her mind wants to turn conscious, newly learned skills into unconscious, automatically performed skills. By practicing slowly, by breaking skills down into tiny parts and repeating, she forces the brain to internalize a better pattern of performance. Then she would find an adviser who would provide a constant stream of feedback, viewing her performance from the outside, correcting the smallest errors, pushing her to take on tougher challenges. By now she is redoing problems―how do I get characters into a room―dozens and dozens of times. She is establishing habits of thought she can call upon in order to understand or solve future problems.

The primary trait she possesses is not some mysterious genius. It’s the ability to develop a purposeful, laborious and boring practice routine. The latest research takes some of the magic out of great achievement. But it underlines a fact that is often neglected. Public discussion is affected by genetics and what we’re “hard-wired” to do. And it’s true that genes play a role in our capabilities. But the brain is also very plastic. We construct ourselves through behavior.

76. The passage mainly deals with _____.

77. By reading novels and writers’ stories, the girl could ______.

A. come to understand the inner structure of writing

B. join a fascinating circle of writers someday

C. share with a novelist her likes and dislikes

D. learn from the living examples to establish a sense of security

78. In the girl’s long painstaking training process, _____.

A. her adviser forms a primary challenging force to her success

B. her writing turns into an automatic pattern of performance

C. she acquires the magic of some great achievements

D. she comes to realize she is “hard-wired” to write

79. What can be concluded from the passage?

A. A fuelling ambition plays a leading role in one’s success.

B. A responsible adviser is more important than the knowledge of writing.

C. As to the growth of a genius, I.Q. doesn’t matter, but just his/her efforts.

Hi, everybody !

Welcome to our newly-opened Richards Cinema Bookstore!

Now let me introduce to you some of the new film books in our store.

Are you Chinese film fans? OK, here comes the latest 25 New Takes about Chinese films. It is a collection of 25 fresh readings of different Chinese films from the 1930s to the present. In recent years, Chinese films are very popular in the States, such as Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Flowers of Shanghai.

 Do you like French films? Well, here is The French Cinema Book. It covers French films from the 1890s to the beginning of the 21st century. It is written for all lovers of French cinema: students and teachers, specialists and fans, and so on.

 Maybe you are Indian film fans and star-chasers. Then here is Encyclopedia ( 百科全书 ) of Indian Cinema. The book is a complete introduction to all the best Indian films. It also offers a full list of names of the famous and successful film stars in the past ten years. You know, the Indian film industry is the largest in the world after our Hollywood.

 If you like British films, we have The British Cinema Book. It is a good review of British cinema. This book contains a good many nice pictures.

In our bookstore, you can also find books about Mexican, Japanese, Australian, German and Italian films..

Well, please help yourselves to some coffee or tea, and have a good time here!

60. The speaker of the passage is most probably _______.

A. the author of 25 New Takes

B. a tourist in the cinema bookstore

C. the manager of the cinema bookstore

D. a reader of Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema

61. How many Asian countries does the speaker refer to when he talks about the film books?

A. Two.             B. Three.            C. Four.              D. Nine.

62. Which of the following statements is NOT mentioned in the passage？

A. Indian cinema is second only to Hollywood.

B. The British Cinema Book includes a complete list of names of stars.

C. Crouching Tiger and Hidden Dragon is well received in the States.

D. The French Cinema Book covers over a century's French films.

63. The purpose of the speaker is_______.

A. to satisfy the customers' various tastes

B. to keep the authors in the cinema bookstore

C. to offer the tourists chances to meet the film stars

D. to mm the readers into film producers