Grandparents might be known for spoiling grandchildren, but a new study says they might also be helping the kids improve their social skills and behavior.

Spending time with grandma and grandpa especially appears to help children from single-parent, divorced/separated or stepfamily households, according to the report, published in the February Journal of Family Psychology.

"Grandparents are a positive force for all families but play a significant role in families undergoing difficulties," the study's lead author, Shalhevet Attar-Schwartz, of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said in an American Psychological Association news release. "They can reduce the negative influence of parents separating and be a resource for children who are going through these family changes."

In interviewing 11- to 16-year olds from England and Wales, Attar-Schwartz and her team found that the more conversations the youths had with a grandparent, including asking for advice or even money, the better they got along with their peers and the fewer problems they had, such as hyperactivity and disruptive behavior.

"This was found across all three family structures," she said. "But adolescents in single-parent households and stepfamilies benefited the most. The effect of their grandparents' involvement was stronger compared to children from two biological parent families."

The study did not look at children who lived solely with their grandparents, though.

The findings have great implications for people in the United States, the authors said, because American grandparents are increasingly sharing living space with their grandchildren. A 2004 U.S. Census Bureau survey found that more than 5 million households include a grandparent and a grandchild under 18, up 30 percent since 1990, according to background information in the news release.

1. It is generally believed that a grandmother __________ .

A. can help a child through hard times

B. can help kids develop social skills

C. can spoil a child

D. is a positive force for all families

2.  According to the passage, grandparents will be of least benefit to a child __________ .

A. from two biological parent families

B. from a single—parent household

C. from a divorced household

D. from a stepfamily household

3. A child who asks his grandmother for money will __________ .

A. have difficulty in getting along with his peers

B. still get along well with his peers

C. be easier to be spoiled than his peers

D. not be popular with peers

4.  We can learn from the last paragraph that ___________ .

A. there are more families in America undergoing difficulties

B. American parents are much busier than those from other countries

C. American grandparents are much better at bringing up their grandchildren

D. American kids like to share more living space with their grandparents

5.  The passage implies that __________ .

A. children who live solely with their grandparents may benefit the most

B. grandparents are a source of comfort to children from families undergoing difficulties

C. grandparents play a more positive role than parents in children’s growth

D. all families should leave their children to be brought up by grandparents

Joe came to New York from the Middle West, dreaming about painting. Delia came to New York from the South, dreaming about music. Joe and Delia met in a studio. Before long they were good friends and got married.

They had only a small flat to live in , but they were happy. They loved each other, and they were both interested in art. Everything was fine until one day they found they had spent all their money.

Delia decided to give music lessons. One afternoon she said to her husband:

“Joe, I’ve found a pupil, a general’s daughter. She is a sweet girl. I’m to give three lessons a week and get $5 a lesson.”

But Joe was not glad.

“But how about me?” he said.” Do you think I’m going to watch you work while I play with my art? No, I want to earn some money too.”

“Joe, you are silly,” said Delia. “You must keep at your studies. We can live quite happily on $15 a week.”

“Well, perhaps I can sell some of my pictures,” said Joe.

Every day they parted in the morning and met in the evening. A week passed and Delia brought home fifteen dollars, but she looked a little tired.

“Clementina sometimes gets on my nerves. I’m afraid she doesn’t practice enough. But the general is the oldest man! I wish you could know him, Joe.”

And then Joe took eighteen dollars out of his pocket.

“I’ve sold one of my pictures to a man from Peoria,” he said, “and he has ordered another.”

“I’m so glad,” said Delia. “Thirty-three dollars! We never had so much to spend before. We’ll have a good supper tonight.”

Next week Joe came home and put another eighteen dollars on the table. In half an hour Delia came, her right hand in a bandage.

“What’s the matter with your hand?” said Joe. Delia laughed and said:

“Oh, a funny thing happened! Clemantina gave me a plate of soup and spilled some of it on my hand. She was very sorry for it. And so was the old general. But why are you looking at me like that, Joe?”

“What time this afternoon did you burn your hand, Delia?”

“Five o’clock, I think. The iron-I mean the soup-was ready about five, Why?”

“Delia, come and sit here,” said Joe. He drew her to the couch and sat beside her.

“What do you do every day, Delia? Do you really give music lesson? Tell me the truth.”

She began to cry.

“I couldn’t get any pupils,” she said, “So I got a place in a laundry ironing shirts. This afternoon a girl accidentally set down an iron on my hand and I got a bad burn. But tell me, Joe, how did you guess that I wasn’t giving music lessons?”

“It’s very simple,” said Joe. “I knew all about your bandages because I had to send them upstairs to a girl in the laundry who had an accident with a hot iron. You see, I work in the engine-room of the same laundry where you work.”

“And your pictures? Did you sell any to that man from Peoria?”

“Well, your general with his Clemantina is an invention, and so is my man from Peoria.”

And then they both laughed.

1.To support the family, Delia worked as             .

A. a tutor                            B. a music teacher

C. an artist                          D. a laundry assistant

2.It happened that             .

A. a man from Peoria liked Joe’s pictures              

B. Delia earned $15 dollars a week easily

C. the couple worked at the same laundry                

D. Clemantina and the general were kind

3.Who hurt Delia’s hand?

A. The general                 B. Clemantina    C. Herself        D. A girl

4.We can infer from the underlined sentence that             .

A. Clemantina was an invention of the general

B. Clemantina was an invention of the man from Peoria

C. there were no such men as the general, Clemantina and the man from Peoria

D. the general, Clemantina and the man from Peoria were the couple’s clients

5.The couple’s attitude towards each other is             .

A. faithful                              B. honest

C. ashamed                               D. heartbreaking

6.Which do you think is the best title of the story?

A. A service of love                  B. A story of Joe and Delia

C. Lies and truth                     D. Servants of love

Imagine this situation. You pass a group of people. The people are talking to each other. You cannot hear what they are saying. But suddenly they start laughing. What would you think? Would you think they were laughing at something funny that one of them said? Or -- be honest with yourself -- would you think they were laughing at you? Yes, you.

Being laughed at is a common fear. But a major study published in two thousand and nine found that this fear is not the same around the world. It differs from culture to culture.

People in Finland were the least likely to believe that people laughing in their presence were making fun of them. Less than ten percent of Finns in the study said they would think that, compared to eighty percent of people in Thailand.

Some people in the study said they felt unsure of themselves in social situations but hid their feelings of insecurity. Others said they avoided social situations where they had been laughed at before.

The study found that people in Turkmenistan and Cambodia were more likely to be in the first group. They would hide their feelings of insecurity if they were around other people's laughter. But people in Iraq, Egypt and Jordan were more likely to try to avoid such situations if they felt they had been laughed at before.

Shy people often avoid situations that would force them into close contact with other people. They worry that something they say or do will make other people laugh at them. But some people worry much more than others. They may have a disorder called gelotophobia. Gelos is a Greek word. It means laughter. Phobia means fear. This fear of laughter can be truly sad for those who live with it. It can affect how they lead their lives.

In the study, a team from the University of Zurich led more than ninety researchers from around the world. They wanted to understand the difference between normal shyness and true gelotophobia. Another purpose of the study was to compare the levels of fear of being laughed at in different cultures. The researchers surveyed more than twenty-two thousand people in forty-two different languages. The findings appeared in the scientific journal Humor.

1.People in Finland don’t believe other people are making fun of them if _________________.

2.What’s FALSE of the study led by a team from the University of Zurich?

3.The passage is likely to occur in _______________.

4.According to the passage, people who suffer from gelotophobia ______________________.

Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels(分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of 120 decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decible level of 195 would have the same effect.

Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of 120 decibles in oceans. They have observed that noises above that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises could seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing, which seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected(感染的).

Many researches whose work depends on ocean sounds disagree with a limit of 120 decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how many and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they previously believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1.The second paragraph mainly tells us that the noises on land and in water       .

A．are both from human activities.

B．both do harm to sea animals

C．are measured differently

D．have the same effect on humans

2.As to(依据) the effects of noises on whales, which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．They are deaf to noises.

B．Noises at a certain level may hurt them.

C．They are easily confused by noises.

D．Noises will limit their ability to reproduce.

3.Many researchers think that the noise limit of 120 decibels would        .

A．protect whales from noises

B．benefit them a lot in their research work

C．do good to their health

D．increase industrial output

4.What will scientists most probably do in the future?

A．Count the number of sea animals.

B．Stop their research on the ocean.

C．Study the effect of different noises.

D．Protect sea creatures from harmful noises.

My neighbor’s children love playing hide-and-seek (捉迷藏) as all children do, but no one   36   that a game they played last week would be reported in the local newspaper.

One afternoon, they were playing in the vacant lot (空地)down by the corner. Young Paul, who is only five years old, found the perfect place to   37  . His sister, Natalie, had   38   her eyes and was counting to ten when Paul noticed the mail box at the corner and that the metal door was standing open. The mailman had just   39   several bags of mail and had carried them to his truck which was standing a few feet away. Paul climbed   40   the mail box and pulled the door closed so hard that it   41  . Soon realizing what he had done, he became   42   and started crying. At that time, Natalie was looking for him everywhere but could not find him. It was   43   that she happened to stand at the corner for a minute and heard her brother’s cries. She   44   ran to tell the mailman who hurried back from his   45   to unlock the metal door. Paul was now   46  , but he had such a bad fright that he could not stop crying. The mailman, however, soon found a way of making him   47   again. He told him that the next time he wanted to hide in a mail box, he should remember to put a stamp on himself!

1.A. realized          B. warned          C. imagined         D. wondered

2.A. hide              B. watch           C. rest             D. sleep

3.A. opened            B. shut            C. raised           D. wiped

4.A. lost              B. found           C. taken out        D. put in

5.A. through           B. over            C. out of           D. into

6. A. broke            B. fell down       C. opened           D. locked

7. A. surprised        B. frightened      C. excited          D. angry

8.A. lucky             B. a pity          C. possible         D. strange

9.A. suddenly          B. slowly          C. immediately      D. carelessly

10. A. home            B. truck           C. mail box         D. post office

11. A. found           B. hidden          C. happy            D. free

12.A. laugh            B. cry             C. climb in         D. play