Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological（生物学的） basis to their preferences（偏爱）.

Psychologists Dr. Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants(婴儿) aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy.  The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.

Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization(社会化). Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colours such as pink, the colour of a newborn baby.”

1.Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because__________.    

A．baby boys are much more active

B．baby girls like bright colours more

C．there is a natural difference between them

D．their parents treat them differently

2.What can we infer from Paragraph 3?

A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all.

B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls.

C．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys.

D．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is.

3.What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?

A．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings.

B．Adults purposely（故意地） influence their babies preference.

C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting.

D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted.

4.We may read this article in a_________ section of a newspaper.

A．health            B．science           C．education         D．entertainment

 

If Confucius(孔子)were still alive today and could celebrate his September 28 birthday with a big cake, there would be a lot of candles. He’d need a fan or a strong wind to help him put them out.

While many people in China will remember Confucius on his special day ,few people in the United States will give him a passing thought. It’s nothing personal. Most Americans don’t even remember the birthdays of their own national heroes.

But this doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about Confucius. In many ways he has become a bridge that foreigners must cross if they want to reach a deeper understanding of China.

In the past two decades, the Chinese studies programs have gained huge popularity in Western universities. More recently, the Chinese government has set up Confucius Institutes in more than 80 countries. These schools teach both Chinese language and culture. The main courses of Chinese culture usually include Chinese art, history and philosophy(哲学).Some social scientists suggest that Westerners should take advantage of the ancient Chinese wisdom to make up for the drawbacks of Western philosophy. Students in the United States, at the same time, are racing to learn Chinese. So they will be ready for life in a world where China is an equal power with the United States. Businessmen who hope to make money in China are reading books about Confucius to understand their Chinese customers.

So the old thinker’s ideas are still alive and well.

Today China attracts the West more than ever, and it will need more teachers to introduce Confucius and Chinese culture to the West.

As for the old thinker, he will not soon be forgotten by people in the West, even if his birthday is.

1.The opening paragraph is mainly intended to　　　.

A．provide some key facts about Confucius

B．attract the readers’ interest in the subject

C．show great respect for the ancient thinker

D．prove the popularity of modern birthday celebrations

2.We can learn from Paragraph 4 that American students　　　.

A．have a great interest in studying Chinese

B．take an active part in Chinese competitions

C．try to get high scores in Chinese exams

D．fight for a chance to learn Chinese

3.What is the best title for the passage?

A．Forgotten Wisdom in America

B．Huge Fans of the Chinese Language

C．Chinese Culture for Westerners

D．Old Thinker with a Big Future

4.The passage is likely to appear in　　　.

A．a biography                            B．a history paper

C．a newspaper                           D．a philosophy textbook

 

 Most glasses help people see better, but a new invention from Japan may soon improve language skills and    language barriers instead.

         High-tech Company NEC has    a device that it says will    users to communicate with people of different    .

         Shaped like a pair of eyeglasses    without the lenses(镜片), the computer-assisted Tele Scouter would    a picture-forming device to present almost real-time translations directly onto the    retina（视网膜）. The text, provided instantly      voice recognition and    programs, would effectively provide movie-like “subtitles” （字幕） during a conversation between two people    the glasses.

         “You can keep the    flowing,” NEC market development official Takayuki Omino told reporters at Tokyo exposition (展览会)    the device was on display. “This could also be used for talks     with secret information,” says Omino, stating that there would be no      for translators.

         Each user’s    words would be    by microphone, translated, and be instantly    for conversation partners in    visual text and as audio delivered through headphones.

         Users can still see their conversation partner’s face because the text is    onto only part of the retina—the first time such technology is used in a commercial product, according to NEC.

         The company plans to put the Tele Scouter in Japan in November next year,     at the beginning without the translation mode.

1.A. cut off            B. cut down                  C. cut in                                D. cut up

2.A. come up with     B. come across C. come through                 D. come down

3.A. force          B. promise                  C. allow                                 D. leave

4.A. backgrounds      B. cultures                  C. customs                            D. languages

5.A. so                         B. but                           C. or                             D. while

6.A. adopt                   B. admit                       C. agree                                D. adapt

7.A. designer’s  B. translator’s             C. user’s                          D. producer’s

8.A. through               B. during                     C. within                          D. beyond

9.A. inventiong         B. invitation                C. preparation                D. translation

10.A. bearing             B. wearing                   C. carrying                            D. taking

11.A. discussion         B. argument                C. conversation                   D. translation

12.A. which                B. where                     C. why                              D. how

13.A. connected        B. satisfied                  C. joined                               D. covered

14.A. hope                  B. doubt                      C. need                                 D. wonder

15.A. expected   B. imagined      C. written                               D. spoken

16.A. picked up         B. made up                 C. turned up                        D. brought up

17.A. agreeable         B. acceptable             C. believable                        D. available

18.A. either                B. neither                    C. both                                  D. none

19.A. placed               B. passed               C. got                             D. knocked

20.A. therefore         B. while                       C. however                          D. although

 

Columbus returned home with the news of his discovery of “Indian” 36 Columbus called it. Then he was considered as the hero who had given a new world to Spain. Never had so great __37__ been shown to any __38__man.But there were some who were jealous of the __39__.”Who is this Columbus?” they asked, “and what has he done? Isn’t he a poor sailor from Italy？And could __40__ other seamen sail across the ocean just as he has done?”

One day Columbus was at 41 and several of these fellows were __42__ too. They tried to make Columbus __43__.”You have discovered strange lands __44__ the sea,”they said.“But we don’t see why there __45__ be so much said about it. Anybody can sail across the ocean and anybody can coast along the islands __46__ ,just as you have done. It is the __47__ thing in the world.”

Columbus made no answer, but after a while he took an egg from a dish and said to the people at the table, “Who __48__ you, gentlemen, can make the egg stand __49__ ?” One by one they tried the __50__．When the egg had gone __51__　around and everyone had failed, all said that it could not be done, Then Columbus took the egg and __52__the shell of the egg’s small end a little upon the table. After that there was no trouble in making it stand __53__.“Gentlemen,”said he, “what is easy than to do this __54__ you said was impossible ? It is simplest thing in the world. Anybody can do it-----AFTER HE HAD BEEN SHOWN __55__.”

1.A. so         B. when     C as        D. that

2.                A．respect         B．response        C．reward   D．request

 

3.                A．great          B．common        C．usual D．noble

 

4.                A．discovery       B．inventor        C．discover  D．bravery

 

5.                A．some          B．any            C．no   D．every

 

6.                A．palace         B．hotel           C．counter  D．dinner

 

7.                A．friendly        B．present         C．rude D．angry

 

8.                A．uncomfortable   B．happy          C．satisfied  D．disappointed

 

9.                A．beyond         B．in             C．along D．on

 

10.               A．could          B．would          C．should    D．might

 

11.                                A．on another side  B．on other side

C．on the other side                  D．on one side

 

12.               A．easiest         B．simplest        C．content   D．convenient

 

13.               A．besides        B．among         C．including  D．except

 

14.               A．on end         B．in end          C．by end    D．to end

 

15.               A．egg            B．experiment     C．method   D．way

 

16.               A．entirely        B．eventually      C．fluently   D．frequently

 

17.               A．supported      B．hit            C．broke D．stuck

 

18.               A．downward      B．upward         C．backward  D．inward

 

19.               A．that           B．what           C．how  D．why

 

20.               A．WHAT          B．WHEN          C．WHY  D．HOW

 

 

I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.

I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows(誓约) mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.

So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion(提升), the bigger paycheck, the larger house.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure(空闲), it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me, something that changed my life in ways that, if I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.

I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned. By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.

1.The best title of this passage probably is________.

A．Love your friends                       B．Live a real life

C．Don't waste time                        D．Be a good mother and wife

2.The underlined sentence "It is so easy to exist instead of to live" in the fifth paragraph probably has the same meaning as________.

A．it is so easy to keep alive but not to live a real life

B．it is very hard to live a real life

C．it is so easy to make a living

D．it is more difficult to exist than to live a happy life

3.What's the author's attitude toward work?

A．Do it well to serve others.

B．To earn enough money to make life better.

C．Try your best to get higher position and pay.

D．Don't let it affect your real life.

4.It can be inferred from the passage that_________.

A．the author is a success in personal life

B．the author didn't try her best to work well

C．the author spent all her time caring for her children

D．the author likes traveling very much