What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.
Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”
1.The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.
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A．bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding |
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B．pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking |
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C．great and important; common |
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D．hopeful and helpful; careless |
2.According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.
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A．a normal person; a funny person |
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B．a strong person; a weak person |
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C．a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person |
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D．a famous person; an ordinary person |
3.A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.
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A．whose parents are clever |
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B．often thinking about difficult problems |
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C．often helped by his parents and teachers |
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D．born with a good brain and putting it into active use |
What would life be like without rich, creamy, mouthwatering, melt-in-your-mouth chocolate?
Life would be bitter for most Americans. They spend about $13 billion a year buying all sorts of chocolate treats.
However, for the African children who toil under slavelike conditions on cacao plantations, life is not sweet. The cacao bean is the main ingredient in the chocolate. According to a 2002 survey by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the US Agency for International Development, about 284,000 children work in dangerous conditions on cacao farms in western Africa.
More than half those children are younger than 14. Many were sold into forced labor to work 12 hours or more a day on the cacao plantations.
A number of international organizations, including several African governments, recently began a program to eliminate(消除) child labor on cacao plantations. Under the program, government officials will remove children from abusive working situations while teaching farmers about child labor issues.
The program will also make borrowing money easier for cacao farmers. Officials hope farmers will use the money to invest in their farms and hire paid laborers.
1.The cacao bean is the main ingredient in _______.
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A．treats |
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B．coffee |
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C．chocolate |
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D．cigarettes |
2.How many children under 14 work on cacao farms in western Africa?
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A．About 284,000. |
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B．About 142,000. |
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C．About 467,000. |
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D．About 876,000. |
3.From the passage, you can reasonably conclude that _______.
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A．cacao farms in western Africa rely heavily on child labor |
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B．children in Africa know how to make the best chocolate |
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C．candy bars sold in the United States are made on plantations in Africa |
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D．eating too much chocolate is bad for your health |
Americans love dogs, all types of dogs: small dogs, big dogs, lapdogs (供玩赏的小狗). Each year, people spend billions of dollars on their four-legged pals, making sure the lovable dogs have enough food to eat and lots of toys to play with.
Dogs love people, too. They lick their faces, protect their homes. Where did these four-legged companions come from? Some scientists believe that they have found the answer.
Scientists have long known that dogs evolved from（演化） wolves. Exactly when the transformation from wolf to dog actually took place, however, remains a mystery.
Some said dogs evolved as a separate species 135,000 years ago in two parts of the world. One group of dogs developed in Europe and Asia from Asian wolves. The other group evolved in North, Central, and South America from American wolves.
Now researchers say those theories are wrong. New studies suggest that domesticated dogs first appeared 15,000 years ago in eastern Asia. Scientists also say that every modern dog descended from approximately five female Asian wolves, the mother of all modern dogs.
Scientists suspect dogs first set paws in North America by following settlers across a land bridge that once linked northern Asia and North America.
1.According to recent studies, all modern dogs came from female wolves in ______.
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A．Asia |
B．Africa |
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C．Europe |
D．South America |
2.From this story, we can conclude that _______.
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A．dogs are scientists’ best friends |
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B．dogs are more like wolves than they are like any other animal |
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C．most dogs are from Africa |
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D．scientists have no idea how dogs evolved |
3.The underlined word “domesticated” means “_______”.
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A．tamed |
B．indoor |
C．intelligent |
D．friendly |
4.The best title for this story might be ______.
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A．Why Cats Don’t Like Dogs |
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B．Barking up the Wrong Tree |
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C．Love Me, Love My Dog |
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D．Going from Wolf to Dog |
The sun was shining when I got on No. 151 bus. We passengers sat jammed in heavy clothes. No one spoke. That’s one of the 36 rules. Although we see the same faces every day, we prefer to 37 behind our newspapers. People who sit so close together are using those thin sheets of newsprint to keep their 38.
As the bus came near the Mile, a 39 suddenly rang out, “40! This is your driver speaking.” We 41 the back of the driver’s head. “Put your papers down. All of you.” The 42 came down. “Now, turn and face the person next to you. Go 43.”
Surprisingly we all did it. Still no one smiled. I faced an older woman, her head wrapped in a red scarf. I saw her 44 every day. Our eyes met. We waited for the next 45 from the driver. “Now repeat after me. Good morning, neighbor!”
Our voices were 46. For many of us, these were the 47 words we had spoken that day. But we said them together, like 48, to the strangers beside us. We couldn’t help 49. There was the feeling of relief(解脱) that we were not being robbed. Moreover, there was the sense of ice being 50. “Good morning, neighbor.” It was not so 51 after all. Some of us repeated it, others shook hands, and many laughed.
The bus driver said nothing more. He didn’t 52 to. Not a single newspaper went back up. I heard laughter, a warm sound I had 53 heard before in bus No. 151.
When I 54 my stop, I said goodbye to my seatmate, and then jumped off the bus. That day I was 55 off happily.
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The book has been well received, but _________ actual sales, it hasn’t been very successful.
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A．in terms of |
B．in need of |
C．in favour of |
D．in honor of |
Though they are very busy every day, they manage to get tighter_______.
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A．by and by |
B．now and then |
C． all the time |
D．more or less |
