Do you believe that only boys do well in science? Does it seem to you that girls have better language skills than boys? In your opinion, are boys better at building things? If your answer to each of those questions is “Yes,” you are right, according to an article in Current Science." There are exceptions(例外), but here are the facts.
Usually, boys score higher on tests about math, while girls do better in tests about words, spelling and memory. But these differences may not always be true. In the future, a person’s abilities may not be decided by sex. As one scientist says, “Nothing is impossible for a person to be or do.”
A recent study by Jerome Kagan, a scientist at Harvard University is studying the watching ability of children 10 months old. Baby boys and baby girls are watching a “show” while seated on their mothers’ laps. In Act One of the show, an orange-colored ball is lifted from a blue box and moved slowly. Then it is returned to the box. This is repeated six times. Act Six is almost the same, except that the orange ball is smaller.
Baby boys do not seem to notice the difference in the size of the ball, but girls immediately become excited and begin to make noises that sound like language.
It’s also known that baby girls usually talk at an earlier age than baby boys do. Scientists believe that the left side of the brain develops faster in girls than in boys. As a result, by the time they start to school, little girls have an advantage that boys don’t have, but what have the boys been doing in the year before starting school? They have been developing something called aggression. An aggressive person feels strong and independent. He is often the first one to start a fight. It is said that aggression is caused by hormones (荷尔蒙). Scientists believe that hormones are not the only cause. They say aggression in boys is also caused by mothers.
1.According to the article in Current Science, what are girls better at?
A.Finding facts B.Using language C.Learning science D.Building things
2.Which is right about Jerome Kagan’s study?
A.Girls don’t like the show.
B.Boys are strong enough to lift a blue box.
C.Boys and girls have the same watching abilities.
D.Girls quickly notice the difference in the size of the ball.
3.Why do girls have an advantage when they start to school?.
A.Girls become independent earlier. B.Mothers teach girls more patiently.
C.Girls’ hormones develop more completely. D.The left side of the brain develops faster in girls.
4.What does the underlined word “aggression” in Paragraph 5 mean?
A.An angry feeling. B.A good habit. C.A friendly action. D.A strong person.
5.What is the passage mainly about?
A.The research on girls’ advantages. B.The result of school education.
C.The differences between boys and girls. D.The children’s abilities to memorize.
Self- reflection (反省) means stopping the mad rush of activity and keeping yourself and your mind cool, so your brain can evaluate (评价) the input that it has already received. Some people prefer to do their self-reflection in the way of thinking, while others do it in the way of writing something, like keeping a diary or writing notes of some kind.
School textbooks are often divided into units of study. This can make self-reflection easier for someone who wants to do it. Self-reflection can be done in any of the subjects you are learning: math, art or others. Sometimes you are reminded that the unit is over because there is some kind of test. Using those natural breaks above as chances to reflect is a good way.
As a student, you can do self-reflection at school. First, you can write down some notes on things that you learned in this unit that you did not know before you began. Let your mind think over the notes and make some connections with what you have learned. Next, think about the things that you still wonder about. For example, you learned a new way to solve a math problem, but you are not sure when to use it. Writing down your questions will help you remember to seek answers when you meet the same topic again.
Self-reflection is an important skill for a successful student. If you have never taken the time to reflect, try it now.
1.If you keep a reflection diary, that means you are doing self-reflection by the form of___________.
A.speaking B.action C.writing D.thinking
2.___________is a natural break chance to reflect.
A.Taking some kind of rest when school is over B.That school textbooks are divided into units
C.Keeping a diary or writing notes of some kind D.Letting your mind think over the notes
3.When taking notes or keeping a reflection diary, you should___________first.
A.make some connections to solve a problem
B.let your mind think over the notes or diary you have written
C.write down some notes you don’t know before you began
D.seek answers next time you meet the same topic
4.The underlined word “seek” in the passage means___________.
A.find out B.ask for C.put out D.take down
5.This passage mainly tells us___________.
A.the ways to do self-reflection
B.how to be a successful student
C.that self-reflection is an important skill
D.doing self-reflection can evaluate the input your brain has already received
Some Cool Inventions | |
Selfie Stick(自拍杆)
| How to take a perfect selfie? Luckily, a selfie stick is helpful! When using a selfie stick, you position your phone on one end and your hands hold the other end. Then, you connect the stick with your phone through Bluetooth. Press the button on the stick and say cheese. Your selfie is made! |
Apple Watch
| Apple Watch is a computer and phone on your wrist. Besides telling the time, the watch can send messages and make phone calls. To make your life easy, the watch can also show you a map on the screen. If you want to find the nearest cafe, you just need to speak to your watch. Then, it will show you the direction. Apple Watch also comes with many health and fitness features. The watch is not just smart. It is also fashionable, with six different styles and colors. |
3-D Printers
| Is there a machine that can build almost anything? Thanks to 3-D printers, theyhave been used to make many different things. People have made candies and cars. Doctors have even used a 3-D printer for human organs. What else will the 3-Dprinter bring us？ |
Wireless Electricity
| We can turn on lights and televisions because electricity travels through wires. But Witricity, a US-based company is working on this technology---wireless electricity. The technology tries to create a magnetic(有磁性的) field in your room. This way, smartphones will charge in your pocket as you wander around and lights will glow with no wires attched. |
1.How can we take a perfect selfie?
A.By using a selfie stick. B.By using Bluetooth.
C.By saying cheese. D.By using a better phone.
2.What can anApple Watch do?
A.It can tell the time and create a magnetic field. B.It can send messages and cure illnesses.
C.It is with different styles and colors. D.It can tell the time and show you the way.
3.Which statement is NOT true according to the passage?
A.Apple watch can show maps on the screen. B.A US-based company is working on wireless electricity.
C.3-D printers can build almost everything. D.Wireless electricity has already been widely used.
4.How can wireless electricity work?
A.By traveling through wires. B.By creating a magnetic field in the room.
C.By using smartphones. D.By wandering around in the room.
5.Where can you find the passage?
A.In newspapers. B.In a magazine on science and technology.
C.In a tour guide. D.In textbooks.
There was once a little boy with a bad temper (脾气). He often had fights with his friends. One day, his father gave him a bag of nails (钉子) and told him to hammer (敲) a nail into the fence every time he lost his temper. The boy listened to his father and did what his father told him to do.
The first day, the boy drove 17 nails into the fence. Then the number of nails became less and less in the following days. The boy found that it was easier to keep his temper than to drive the nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and his father asked him to pull out one nail each time he was able to keep his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same as it was before. When you say some words in anger, your bad temper will leave a scar just like the hole. Even if you say you’re sorry, the wound is still there. If you hurt a person with words, the wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are rare jewels (稀有珍宝). They make you smile and feel happy. So never hurt your friends.”
Since then the boy had never fought with his friends. He learned how to get on with others and he never lost his temper again.
1.What did the father ask the little boy to do each time he lost his temper?
A.To have fights with his friends. B.To hammer a nail into the fence.
C.To listen to light music. D.To eat much chocolate.
2.What did the father ask him to do each time he was able to keep his temper?
A.Pull out one nail. B.Drive one nail into the fence.
C.Lose his temper. D.Tell his father about it.
3.What does the story tell us?
A.We need to buy a bag of nails. B.Friends are not important at all.
C.Lose your temper when you are angry. D.We should keep our temper and get on well with others.
The word “plastic” comes from the Greek word “Platicos” and is used to describe something that can be easily shaped.
The history of plastics is longer than you might___________ . In fact the first man-made plastic ever to appear on the market was made over a hundred years ago. It was called “celluloid（赛璐璐）”. It was discovered by ___________an English man and an American in the same year.___________ it was the Americans who first produced it on a large scale（规模）during the year 1860. Everybody was ___________by this new material which could be moulded（用模子做）into shapes and was so cheap to buy.
Poor young men working in cities with lots of smoke and dirt were ___________ to buy white celluloid collars （领子）. The collars were hard and uncomfortable but they did not have to be sent to wash. The poor young men could rub them clean every evening with soap and water! Poor mothers, who had not been able to afford toys for their children, were now able to buy them toys___________ of celluloid.
But celluloid had one very serious fault. It caught fire very easily. In fact it burned even more quickly than wood or cloth. There were many terrible accidents, particularly___________ children. For years scientists worked hard to find a better plastic material than celluloid. They had _________ success. Then in 1932 an American scientist called Baekeland produced a hard plastic material which did not burn. It became known as bakelite（酚醛塑料）. Other plastic materials like bakelite were also produced. They were used to make electrical fittings （配件）and plates and cups. Poor people liked them because they were both cheap and___________, but rich people disliked them because they were cheap, and because they could only be made ___________dark colors.
1.A.wish B.think C.want D.hope
2.A.both B.neither C.either D.between
3.A.So B.But C.And D.As
4.A.surprised B.excited C.told D.frightened
5.A.worried B.sure C.afraid D.able
6.A.done B.produced C.worked D.made
7.A.between B.on C.among D.about
8.A.much B.great C.never D.little
9.A.hard B.soft C.safe D.dangerous
10.A.in B.by C.from D.of
The Hong Kong—Zhuhai—Macao Bridge in 2018. We are proud of it.
A.is completed B.is completing C.was completed D.completes
