It is official: Jim Parsons is the new poster child for geekdom.

   The actor, who recently won his first Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Sheldon Cooper on the hit television show The Big Bang Theory, is the hotness right now.

   Parsons is a big hit on the Web as a trending topic on Twitter and has a devoted fan base who spread their adoration via Facebook and fan sites.

   Parsons is considered by many to be a central part of the sleeper success that has been The Big Bang Theory. The sitcom about two brilliant physicists and their group of friends started out slowly building buzz when it first appeared on CBS in 2007.

   Since then, the show has grown into a big success for the network, even raking in fans abroad with its international distribution. In May, The New York Times reported that Warner Bros., which produces and distributes the show, had entered into “what is believed to be one of the most profitable TV deals ever” with TBS and local Fox stations.

   Audiences just can’t seem to get enough of the character of Sheldon Cooper, who is as socially dysfunctional as he is bright. Admirers take to Facebook fan pages to post their favorite Sheldon quotes, including: “I’m not insane (crazy), my mother had me tested!” and “They were threatened by my intelligence and too stupid to know that’s why they hated me.”

   Fans can visit Jim Parsons Online, and there is even a site, SheldonShirts.com, dedicated to the many shirts worn by the character, complete with links to where to buy them. Mary Waring created the site because of her husband’s interest in Sheldon Cooper’s shirts. And with his character’s nerdy character and addiction to all things “Star Trek,” Parsons is also a hit with  fan boys and fan girls.

1.The underlined phrase “raking in” means ___________.

A. earning the support of

B. making fun of

C. classifying

D. comforting

2.Where are you most likely to find this passage?

A. In a biography.

B. In a magazine.

C. In a talk-show program.

D. In a textbook.

3.What we can infer from the passage?

A. Parsons was dreaming about the success before the comedy.

B. Mary Waring was interested in Sheldon Cooper’s shirts so she set up a website.

C. Before The Big Bang Theory, Parsons was not very popular.

D. Sheldon Cooper is a character who is intelligent as well as sociable.

4.What is the suitable title of the passage?

A. The Big Bang Theory Catching our Eyes

B. Sheldon Cooper Adored by Vast Audiences

C. Jim Parsons: Hot on Web

D. “Star Trek” loved by boys and girls

I read a letter of a mother of a gifted child to an expert with gifted children stating that her son was always complaining that he doesn’t like his teacher for she talks in baby language and she lets them sing baby songs. Having an insufficient（不足够的） understanding of being different from their normally developing classmates, gifted children may find themselves wanting to learn more than being boxed with other kids of their age. They want to quench（解渴） their thirst for knowledge. However, in the process, they tend to develop negative（负面的） thoughts about school and teachers. Thus, they tend to exhibit behavioral problems.
Behavioral problems of gifted children could be mainly correlated（相关的） to their asynchronous（不同步的） development. This development means that the child has uneven（不均衡的） development in their mind, body and emotions. To explain further, a gifted child may live in different ages at once. He may show high intellectual（智力的） capabilities at some point but the time his emotions rule, he would go back to his true age going through tantrums（脾气发作） and endless sobbing（哭泣）. He maybe find it happy playing with kids his age but the next day, he would be bored with that and he would find conversing with older kids to be more challenging.
Because of high intellectual level, a gifted child often acts differently in his own classroom. He has the thinking of being above from the rest of his classmates when it comes to grades, academic awards and school recognitions. In classroom discussions, the child may be very cooperative（合作的） having advanced knowledge in the lessons but it is mostly that he will suffer from boredom as he is not challenged by the lessons and he would feel no improvement with them.
【小题1】Which of the following best explains the asynchronous development?
A A child has good development both in mind and body.
B A child cannot get along well with his classmates.
C A child is intellectually developed but not equal with emotionally.
D A child doesn’t feel happy with his school and teachers.
【小题2】What is most likely to be talked about in the paragraph following the passage?
A How a gifted child gets along with his classmates.
B How to get a gifted child involved（被卷入） in a classroom discussion.
C What can arouse（激发） a gifted child’s interest.
D How a teacher should handle a gifted child in class.
【小题3】We can infer from the passage that ______.
A we needn’t pay special attention to gifted children
B a gifted child is well above others in every way
C it’s best to teach a gifted child separately
D teaching a gifted child can be challenging

Part two: Cloze (20 items, 20 pts.)

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to find one more person in our world who is kind and caring. It was about 11:00 p.m.   21   my telephone rang. The caller ID showed the number of a Best Western Hotel.   22  , I would ignore this type of call. For some reason,   23  , I went ahead and answered.

The man on the other end asked if I knew Samual K. I   24  , as he is my 91 – year – old grandfather. Still not   25   why I was the one that had been called, the caller went on to tell me that I was the only   26   listed in the phone book. He said his name was Mason and that he was the   27   at the Best Western Hotel. The   28   was that grandpa had no money with him, and that he couldn’t   29   any phone numbers, so Mason called all over the state trying to get help.

Grandpa told me that he just wanted me to tell Mason that he is a (n)   30   guy and would pay the money once he got home. But the man  in charge there was  31   because my grandfather seemed to be   32  . He had been going somewhere else when he got on the wrong bus and   33   100 miles from home.

Not wanting to turn him away and not wanting the police to   34   him to the police station, Mason,   35   any normal duty, not only took the time to   36   me, but also charged just $ 39 so that grandpa could   37   safely and comfortably overnight. (The rooms normally rent for about $ 140!) Besides, he had the staff of that hotel all   38   him until my uncle was able to drive the 100 miles to pick him up!

So, it’s just one more piece of   39   that proves that there are still good people out there; wherever you go, there is always one who   40  .

21．A．while       B．when C．after        D．before

22．A．Obviously B．Personally C．Actually   D．Generally

23．A．however   B．besides     C．otherwise  D．therefore

24．A．was   B．did    C．had   D．would

25．A．admitting  B．accepting  C．understanding   D．recognizing

26．A．neighbor   B．relative     C．colleague  D．friend

27．A．manager   B．waiter       C．leader       D．guest

28．A．disadvantage    B．question    C．problem    D．pity

29．A．write B．remember C．repeat       D．keep

30．A．easy – going    B．generous   C．forgettable       D．okay

31．A．concerned B．disappointed     C．convinced D．surprised

32．A．hurt  B．moved      C．annoyed    D．lost

33．A．went up    B．added up   C．ended up   D．sent up

34．A．take  B．bring C．invite       D．carry

35．A．except      B．against      C．beyond     D．from

36．A．contact     B．persuade   C．warn D．approach

37．A．leave B．live   C．adapt D．stay

38．A．look for    B．watch over       C．care about D．adjust to

39．A．news B．information      C．advice      D．evidence

40．A．minds       B．cares C．sees   D．matters

_____, he’s honest.

A. As he is poor        B. Poor is he         C. Poor as he is       D. Poor as is he

_________, he is still as modest as before, which always moves all the people who know him.

A. As he is a scientist                   B. A scientist as he is

C. Scientist as he is                   D. As is he a scientist