E

Many people believe that teaching children music makes them smarter, better able to learn new things. 80 percent of American adults think music lessons improve children’s ability to learn or their performance in school. They say that the satisfaction for learning to play a new song helps a child express creativity.　　　　

Researchers at Harvard University, however, have found that there’s one thing musical training does not do. They say it does not make children more intelligent.

Samuel Mehr is a graduate student at Harvard’s School of Education. He says the evidence comes from studies that measured the mental ability of two groups of 4-year-olds and their parents. One group attended the music class; the other went to a class that places importance on the visual arts—arts that can be seen. “We found no evidence for any advantage on any of these tests for the kids attending these music classes,” said Mehr.

Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter. He says only one study seems to show a small percentage increase in IQ—intellectual scores—among students after one year of music lessons. He does not believe that IQ is a good measure of a child’s intelligence. He says researchers in his study compared how well children in the musical training group did on mental processing tasks or projects, and then the results were compared to those of children who did not take music lessons. There was no evidence that the musical training group did much better on the mental tasks than the other group. The researchers confirmed the results with a larger group of children and their parents.

Mr Mehr says music lessons may not offer children a fast easy way to gain entry to the best schools later of their life. But he says the training is still important for cultural reasons.

51. Which of the following is TRUE according to the text?

　　 A. Samuel studies at Harvard’s School of Education.

　　 B. Samuel’s research confirmed most American adults’ opinion.

　　 C. One study proved musical training can improve one’s intelligence.

　　 D. Samuel got the results from only two groups of children and their parents.

52. How did Samuel Mehr carry out the studies?

　　 A. By listing figures.　　　 　　　　 　　 B. By giving examples.

　　 C. By his own experience .　　 　　　 D. By making comparisons.

53. Samuel Mehr might agree that 　　.

　 　 A. IQ is a good measure of one’s intelligence

　 　 B. musical training is not important for children

　 　 C. intelligence means more than IQ

　 　 D. children who have attended music lessons will go to the best schools

54. What’s Samuel Mehr’s attitude to children’s attending music lessons?

　 　 A. Critical. 　　 B. Supportive. 　　　 C. Worried.　 　　　 D. Disapproving.　　

55. What is the best title for the text?

　　 A. How to make children more intelligent

　　 B. Teaching children music makes them cleverer

　　 C. Studies find music lessons do not make children smarter

　　 D. Early musical training affects the intelligence of young people

D

Honeybee populations have been mysteriously decreasing all over the world. However, what is actually causing the bees to die out? This, considering honeybees are responsible for pollinating (授粉) well over 100 different fruits and vegetables, would be absolutely devastating for humankind. Are humans actually any closer to finding a solution that will stop the species from becoming extinct?

In 2013, as many scientists believe that the use of pesticides (杀虫剂) and chemicals on crops is one of the reasons for the decline in bees, many countries in Europe have banned the use of many dangerous chemicals and pesticides on crops that honeybees are attracted to.

A March 2013 report stated that scientific studies had shown that many pesticides could affect the memory of honeybees, which means that when exposed to pesticides, they will simply forget where their nest is and never return home again and die out in the open. This would explain the lack of dead bodies. If a honeybee was to forget the location of its nest, fly away into a forest and die of confusing exposure, it is only natural that the bee owner would never see that bee again.

Another danger to the species actually isn’t made by humans. Known as a “Zombie Fly Parasite (僵尸蝇寄生虫)”, this infectious strain is passed onto the bodies of honeybees by flies. This infection takes control of the bee, “turning it into a zombie”, and while being controlled from within, the parasite fly and its larvae (幼虫) will then infect other hosts, effectively turning them into mindless zombies.

With new studies showing possible causes of the dying honeybee population, will mankind now take action to prevent the endangered species from completely dying out?

47. The underlined word in the passage probably means “　　　 ”.

　　 A. beneficial　　　　 B. important　　　　 C. damaging　　　 D. necessary

48. Why did bee owners not find the dead bodies of bees?

　　 A. Because the bees lived their new lives in a forest.

　　 B. Because pesticides dissolved the dead bodies.

　　 C. Because the bees lost memories and died in the wild.

　　 D. Because the Zombie Fly Parasites killed the bees.

49. Zombie Fly Parasites 　　　.

　　 A. are carried by plants　　　　　　　　　　 B. are mindless bees

　　 C. can infect other parasites　　　　　　　 D. can control bees

50. What is the best title of the passage?

　　 A. The honeybee population is decreasing

　　 B. What’s killing off the honeybees?

　　 C. How to stop the decrease of bee　　

　　 D. Take action to protect the honeybees

C

Here are some crazy festivals around the world.

Monkey Buffet (自助餐) Festival

Celebrated on the last Sunday in November, this festival is like “Thanksgiving” for the 2,000 monkeys that live in Lopburi, Thailand. It is a day of one year when they can enjoy their favorite foods in peace and to their heart’s content, without being driven away. Started twenty years ago, the buffet has developed into a famous festival and attracts a lot of tourists, which was the purpose of the man who started it!

South Korea’s Mud Festival

The Boryeong Mud Festival started as a fun beach event in 1998. Today, it attracts over 1.5 million visitors who go to Boryeong, South Korea, every July for the nine-day event. If you like the idea of mud-slides, mud massages (按摩), mud football, etc, this is the one festival you will surely not want to miss!

Roswell UFO Festival

While they may look like the real deal, they are just participants of the UFO Festival that takes place every July in Roswell, New Mexico. The four-day event includes many guest speakers and “Space” entertainment. While enthusiasts do not have to attend the UFO programs, they do have to dress like an alien, and most are happy to do that.

Wife Carrying World Championships

What started as a joke in Sonkajarvi, Finland about 19 years ago has become a festival that is held in many cities around the world. The crazy festival requires running around a 253-meter track that has been set up with many obstacles, all the while carrying a wife behind. The wife has to weigh at least 110lbs. The reward for all this work? — beer of the wife’s weight!

43. We learn that the Monkey Buffet Festival was started to 　　　.

　 　 A. thank monkeys　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. attract more tourists

　 　 C. show respect to monkeys　　　　　　　 D. thank Nature for providing food

44. Where should you go to take part in a festival if you like rolling in mud?

　 　 A. Lopburi.　　　　　 B. Boryeong. 　　　 C. Roswell.　　　 D. Sonkajarvi.

45. The underlined word “they” in Paragraph 4 refers to “ 　　　”.

　 　 A. some spaceships　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. some American astronauts

　 　 C. activities in the UFO Festival　　　　 D. people who are dressed like aliens

46. Who most probably want to take part in the last festival mentioned in the passage?

　 　 A. Women who can run fast.　　　　　　 B. People who are crazy about UFOs.

　 　 C. Married men who want to win beer.　　　　　　　　　　

　　 D. Single men who want to attract girls.

B

Do you want to be a journalist in the future? If you do, here are some things you should remember.

As a journalist, it is your job to show true information to the public. The “truth” was the password to get into the computer system of the first journalism job that I had. You have to write the truth of what you see and hear and let the public form an opinion. You should write articles from a third person’s point of view.

Don’t be surprised if your editor rewrites your first article. Don’t feel hurt if an editor doesn’t like a phrase in your article, or he makes some changes. Editors must do their jobs. You will soon get to know the editors and they will soon get to know your writing style.

As a journalist, you need to examine the news to find if it is true or not. You will quickly learn that the more you look into a story, the better it will be. Sometimes you have time to do this, while other times you are working on a tight deadline.

You should be able to work on a tight deadline as a journalist. Not only is this important if you are writing news stories, but it is also a great training for any writer. The more you write, the better quality you can get in a limited time period.

If you are interested in being a journalist, sit down and start reading. The following is a connection to an e-book. Click it and download this e-book to read. It will tell you everything you need to know about becoming a journalist and making a living through writing—both online and offline.

39. In Paragraph 2, the author suggests that journalists should 　　　.

　 　 A. rely on their own knowledge

　 　 B. be as modest as possible

　 　 C. try their best to help the public accept their opinions

　 　 D. avoid showing their own feelings in their writing

40. What’s the author’s attitude toward editors’ making changes to articles?

　 　 A. He thinks it’s unnecessary.　　　　　　 B. He thinks it’s reasonable.

　 　 C. He thinks it really hurts him.　 　　 D. He thinks it’s the most important.

41. What do journalists need to do according to Paragraph 4?

　 　 A. Make the story perfect.　　　　　　　　 B. Doubt everything they hear.

　 　 C. Spare enough time for writing.　　　 D. Find out if the story is true or not.

42. The passage may be taken from a(n) 　　　.

　 　 A. newspaper　　　　 B. magazine　　　　　 C. website　　 D. e-book

第二节 完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

A man had been on a long flight. When the sign on the airplane flashed, a calm voice said, “　 16　 　your seat belts, please. We are 　　17　 　a little turbulence (湍流).”

As the man looked around, it became 　　18　 　that many of the passengers were becoming upset. Later, the voice said, “We are so sorry that we are unable to 　　19　 　the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.”

And then the 　　20　 　broke. Lightning lit up the darkening skies and within moments that great plane was like a small boat tossed (颠簸) around on an angry 　　21　 . One moment the airplane was 　　22　 ; the next, it dropped as if it were about to 　　23　 .

Some passengers were praying. The 　　24　 　seemed hopeless and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. And then, the man 　　25　 　saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She 　　26　 　her seat and was reading a book. Everything within her small world was 　　27　 　and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again, but 　　28　 　and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being tossed by the terrible storm, when all the adults were 　29　 　half to death, that child was completely unafraid.

The man could 　　30　 　believe his eyes. It was not 　　31　 , therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination and all the passengers were hurrying to 　　32　 , he spoke to the girl whom he had 　33 　　for such a long time. Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been 　　34　 . The sweet child replied, “Sir, my dad is the 　　35　 　and he is taking me home.”

16. A. Fasten 　　　　 B. Repair　　　　　 C. Fold　　　　　　　 D. Connect

17. A. experiencing　 B. clearing 　　　 C. expecting　　　　 D. escaping

18. A. suitable　　　　 B. strange　　　　　 C. obvious　　　　　 D. possible

19. A. sell　　　　　　　 B. cook　　　　　　　 C. finish　　　　　　 D. serve

20. A. earthquake　　 B. storm　　　　　　 C. fire　　　　　　　　 D. flood

21. A. ocean　　　　　　 B. desert　　　　　　 C. lake　　　　　　　 D. road

22. A. pushed　　　　　 B. lifted　　　　　　 C. delivered　　　　 D. broken

23. A. fly　　　　　　　　 B. land　　　　　　　 C. crash　　　　　　　 D. settle

24. A. development　 B. performance　 C. purpose　　　　　 D. future

25. A. finally　　　　　 B. suddenly　　　　 C. regularly　　　　 D. immediately

26. A. sat on　　　　　 B. stood on　　　　 C. lay on　　　　　　 D. leant on

27. A. calm　　　　　　 B. great　　　　　　 C. extra　　　　　　　 D. equal

28. A. courage　　　　 B. patience　　　　 C. worry　　　　　　 D. pity

29. A. excited　　　　　 B. moved　　　　　 C. beaten　　　　　　 D. scared

30. A. almost　　　　　 B. hardly　　　　　 C. already　　　　　 D. eventually

31. A. disappointing B. interesting　　　 C. frightening　　 D. surprising

32. A. get off　　　　　 B. jump up　　　　 C. make up　　　　 D. sit down

33. A. helped　　　　　 B. guided　　　　　 C. watched　　　　　 D. raised

34. A. angry　　　　　　 B. cheerful　　　　 C. alone　　　　　　　 D. afraid

35. A. passenger　　　 B. pilot　　　　　　　 C. professor　　　　 D. master

15. — Tom, is there still anything that you can’t understand?

　　 — Yes, 　　　. Could you explain the conclusion sentence once again?

　　 A. that’s right　　　 　　　　　　　　　 B. just one thing　　

　　 C. that’s all right　　 　　　　　　　　　　 D. you hit the point

14. Never before have I found 　　　　a real challenge working in the field in the hot sun all day.

　　 A. that　　　　 B. this　　　　 　 C. it　　　　 　 D. one

13. The whole hall cheered up 　　　　the famous scientist appeared on the platform.

　　 A. until　　　　 B. before　　　 C. by the time 　 D. the instant