C
Geniuses amaze us, impress us and make us all a little jealous．How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer．Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.
When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano．After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven．Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight．He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears．He seems to be specially designed for music．In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies (神童) to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.
Genius didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh．His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain．After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and pictures．So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art．Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine．Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease．Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.
Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence．Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately．As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards．Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.
If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one．Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky．Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.
51．My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.
A．a website           B．the radio               C．a magazine          D．a newspaper
52．The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is        .
A．a person who learns something easily
B．a child who is eager to learn new things
C．a student who practices an instrument a lot
D．a kid who works hard to do well in school
53．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．New things about the brain are still being discovered.
B．People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.
C．Some people naturally have more active brains.
D．People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.
54．From the passage, we know that ___________
A．scientists completely understand the brain
B．people can only be born as geniuses
C．there’s no such thing as a true genius
D．there are many factors in being a genius
55．The author develops the passage mainly by ___________.
A．providing typical examples
B．following the natural time order
C．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects
D．comparing opinions from different scientists

On August 5 at 10:31 p.m. PST, a rover（探测器）named Curiosity touched down safely on the surface of Mars, and I was lucky enough to have a front-row seat.

My name is Clara, and when I was in Grade 6, I won the essay contest NASA held to name its next Mars rover. The essay I wrote was not even 250 words long, but somehow it was enough to change my life.

I still remember that cold December day, sitting in a science class. I’d finished a worksheet early and decided to get a Time for Kids magazine off Mrs. Estevez’s bookshelf. It was the 2008 Invention Issue, but that wasn’t the only thing that caught my eye. In the magazine, there was an article about a girl who named the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The article also talked about the essay contest NASA was holding to name its next Mars rover. Before I even knew anything else about it, a single word flooded my 11-year-old mind: Curiosity.

I couldn’t wait for the bell to ring so I could get started on my essay. That afternoon, I raced home from the bus stop, sat down at the computer and typed until my fingers ached. It turned out that I was just in time. A few days later, and the contest would have closed.

Five months later, shortly after I had turned 12, I was watching a National Geographic special on mammoths when the phone rang. My mom answered, and immediately, a wide smile spread across her face. When she told me that I had won, I was happier than I could ever remember being, I screamed and ran up and down the stairs and all around the house. I completely forgot about the mammoths and did not even remember to turn off the TV until it was really late.

Curiosity is such an important part of who I am. I have always been fascinated by the stars, the planets, the sky and the universe. I remember as a little girl, my grandfather and I would sit together in the backyard for hours. He’d tell me stories and point out the stars.

My grandfather lived in China, thousands of miles away from my home in Kansas. I loved the stars because they kept us together even when we were apart. They were always there, yet there was so much I didn’t know about them. That’s what I love so much about space. No matter how much we learn, it will always possess some mystery.

In the past, space exploration may have been a competition to see who got somewhere first or the fastest. But now, it is one of the few things that bring people together. Science is a language that needs no translation. It doesn’t matter where you’re from or what you look like – you just have to have a thirst for knowledge and a passion for learning in order to succeed.

People often ask me why we go to faraway places like Mars. Why do we explore? My answer to that is simple: because we can; because we’re curious; because we as human beings do not just stay holed up in one place. We are constantly wondering and trying to find out what’s over the hill and beyond the horizon.

The curiosity rover is more than just a robot. It is more than just a titanium body and aluminum wheels. Curiosity represents the hard work, passion, love and commitment of thousands of people from all over the world who were brought together by science. Science is so awesome. It is breathtaking and mind-blowing; and sometimes, it’s just a little bit crazy. The discoveries we make about our world are incredibly humbling. They move us forward and have the potential to benefit all of mankind.

This December it will be four years of my life that have been tied to Curiosity in some way. I’ve met so many amazing people through this experience, from scientists to engineers to administrators to volunteers. Their devotion and enthusiasm inspire me greatly. My journey with Curiosity and the MSL mission team has shaped the person that I am today, as well as the person I would one day like to become.

I am deeply grateful to everyone who made it possible for me to have this amazing adventure.

And to you, I hope your curiosity takes you far.

1. The method the writer uses to begin the passage is _____.

A．telling a story                          B．giving an example

C．offering an explanation                   D．describing a scene

2.Why did the writer hurry home to finish the essay for the contest NASA held?

A．She had just gathered enough information from Time for Kids

B．She wanted to write down what flashed through her mind in time.

C．She knew from Mrs. Estevez the deadline for the contest was approaching.

D．She was afraid she might miss the chance to compete with the former winner.

3. The writer mentions her grandfather in order to show that ______.

A．she missed him very much.

B．he knew a great deal about space

C．he influenced her to love the stars

D．she treasured their happy moments

4.Which of the following serves as a summary of Paragraph 11?

A．The writer was inspired to be a volunteer by the people she met.

B．The writer owed her success to her team members’ encouragement.

C．The writer met many difficulties in her four-year life with Curiosity.

D．The writer has benefited a lot from her experience tied to Curiosity.

5.Which best describes the writer’s tone in the passage?

A．Sharp.            B．Proud.            C．Aggressive.        D．Enthusiastic.

6.What is conveyed in the passage?

A．Curiosity is important to human beings.

B．A thirst for knowledge helps one grow up.

C．Entering a contest is a way to achieve success.

D．Curiosity changes people’s attitude towards science.

Thanks to the Web, We’re Alone Together and Loving it

There's a professor, Barry Wellman, at the University of Toronto in Canada who has come up with a term to describe the way a lot of us North Americans interact these days. And now a big research study confirms it.

Barry Wellman's term is "networked individualism." It's not the easiest concept to grasp. In fact, the words seem to contradict each other. How can we be individualistic and networked at the same time? You need other people for networks.

Here's what he means. Until the Internet and e-mail came along, our social networks involved flesh-and-blood relatives, friends, neighbors, and colleagues at work. Some of the interaction was by phone, but it was still voice to voice, person to person, in real time.

But the latest study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project confirms that for a lot of people, electronic interaction through the computer has replaced a great deal of social interchange. A lot of folks Pew talked with say that's a good thing, because of concerns that the Internet was turning us into hermits who shut out other people in favor of a make-believe world on flickering computer screens.

To the contrary, the Pew study discovered the Internet has put us in touch with more real people than we'd have ever imagined. Helpful people, too. We're turning to an ever-growing list of cyber friends for advice on careers, medical crises, child-rearing, and choosing a school or college. About 60 million Americans told the Pew that the Internet plays an important or crucial role in helping them deal with major life decisions.

So we networked individuals are pretty tricky: We're keeping more to ourselves, while at the same time reaching out to more people, all with just the click of a computer mouse!

1.The Pew study was conducted in _____.

2.Which of the following has happened since the invention of the Internet and email?

3.Which of the following was NOT one of the discoveries of the Pew study?

4.What does the bolded words “reach out” in the last paragraph mean?

In the 1960s,medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They found out that any major change can be stressful. Negative events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some positive life-changing events, like marriage. When you take the Holmes-Rahe test you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress—it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events has a great effect on your chances of staying healthy.

By the early 1970s,hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow, the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women's magazines ran headlines like “Stress causes illnesses”.If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. ven if stressful events are dangerous, many—like the death of a loved one—are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription(处方) for staying away from opportunities as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be ?completely? free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move.?

The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of what we know about people. It is supposed that we're all weak and passive in the face of difficulty. But many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and mental damage.?

The result of Holmes-Rahe's medical research tells us _______.?

A. the way of dealing with major events may cause stress?

B. what should be done to avoid stress?

C. what kind of event would cause stress?

D. how to deal with sudden changes in life?

The studies on stress in the early 1970's led to_______.?

A. widespread worry over its harmful effects?

B. great fear about the mental problems it could cause?

C. a deep research into illnesses connected with stress?

D. popular avoidance of stressful jobs?

According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become_______.

A. discouraged when faced with difficulty

B. physically and mentally weak?

C. more experienced in the face of difficulty

D. uninterested in what happens to them?

What's the purpose of writing the text??

A. To tell people the discoveries about stress.?

B. To tell people how to keep healthy.?

C. To help people avoid stressful events.?

D. To help people view stress properly.

In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They found out that any major change can be stressful. Negative events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some positive life-changing events, like marriage. When you take the Holmes-Rahe test you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress—it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events has a great effect on your chances of staying healthy.

By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow, the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women's magazines ran headlines like “Stress causes illnesses”.If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. even if stressful events are dangerous, many—like the death of a loved one—are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription(处方) for staying away from opportunities as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move.?

The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of what we know about people. It is supposed that we're all weak and passive in the face of difficulty. But many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom, and physical and mental damage.

The result of Holmes-Rahe’s medical research tells us _______.?

A. what should be done to avoid stress?

B. the way of dealing with major events may cause stress?

C. what kind of event would cause stress?

D. how to deal with sudden changes in life?

The studies on stress in the early 1970's led to_______.?

A. great fear about the mental problems it could cause?

B. widespread worry over its harmful effects?

C. a deep research into illnesses connected with stress?

D. popular avoidance of stressful jobs?

According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become___.

A. discouraged when faced with difficulty       

B. physically and mentally weak?

C. more experienced in the face of difficulty    

D. uninterested in what happens to them

What’s the purpose of writing the text? ?

A. To tell people the discoveries about stress.? 

B. To tell people how to keep healthy.?

C. To help people avoid stressful events.?      

D. To help people view stress properly.