Parents will do anything for their children. Whether it would be the food, clothes, or the place they live in, parents will always make sure their children have the best of everything. One of the biggest concerns that parents currently have is educating their children. They are faced with lots of difficulties when it comes to education for their young ones. Choices include private school, charter school, public school or homeschooling.
Fortunately for parents, there are a variety of different strategies that they can take in order to increase their child’s overall intelligence. According to Ross A. Thompson, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of California at Davis, a child’s brain will actually reach 90% of its full size by the time they start kindergarten.
Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago concluded that playing a musical instrument directly affected the brain stem, the lower section of the brain. Moreover, children that learn an instrument at an early age tend to continue it when they are older. And numerous studies show that a well-balanced meal is essential for a child’s mental as well as physical health. Some other researchers recommended that a second language should be taught when children are in preschool. They state that three to four years of age is the perfect time and that any age under four would work perfectly fine for a child’s brain development.
The average child will learn how to read between kindergarten and second grade. Many parents can give their children a jump start by teaching them to read before they start school. Children could have an adequate background of the alphabet and sounds of words before attending school. This can be done by simply reading to them whenever you want. The more comfortable they get, the easier the process will be.
1.From the first paragraph, we can infer that _________.
A. parents have more choices in offering education to their kids
B. parents find it hard to satisfy their kids’ various demands
C. parents meet many challenges when raising their kids
D. parents get actively involved in the process of their kids’ growth
2.What suggestion may the researchers in the passage make?
A. To train kids as early as possible.
B. To try as many means as possible.
C. To help kids develop as fully as possible.
D. To use as many available resources as possible.
3.What does the third paragraph mainly discuss?
A. The effective ways to help develop children’s brains.
B. The proper time to teach children to learn languages.
C. The vital factors to have a great effect on children’s health.
D. The practical steps to arouse children’s interest in study.
4.We can replace the words “jump start” in the last paragraph with _________.
A. Inspiration B. Introduction
C. Suggestion D. promotion
Bad news sells. If it bleeds, it leads. No news is good news, and good news is no news. Those are the classic rules for the evening broadcasts and the morning papers. But now that information is being spread and monitored in different ways, researchers are discovering new rules. By tracking people’s e-mails and online posts, scientists have found that good news can spread faster and farther than disasters and sob stories.
“The ‘if it bleeds’ rule works for mass media,” says Jonah Berger, a scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. “They want your eyeballs and don’t care how you’re feeling. But when you share a story with your friends, you care a lot more how they react. You don’t want them to think of you as a Debbie Downer.”
Researchers analyzing word-of-mouth communication—e-mails, Web posts and reviews, face-to-face conversations—found that it tended to be more positive than negative, but that didn’t necessarily mean people preferred positive news. Was positive news shared more often simply because people experienced more good things than bad things? To test for that possibility, Dr. Berger looked at how people spread a particular set of news stories: thousands of articles on The New York Times’ website. He and a Penn colleague analyzed the “most e-mailed” list for six months. One of his first findings was that articles in the science section were much more likely to make the list than non-science articles. He found that science amazed Times’ readers and made them want to share this positive feeling with others.
Readers also tended to share articles that were exciting or funny, or that inspired negative feelings like anger or anxiety, but not articles that left them merely sad. They needed to be aroused (激发) one way or the other, and they preferred good news to bad. The more positive an article, the more likely it was to be shared, as Dr. Berger explains in his new book, “Contagious: Why Things Catch On.”
1.What can we infer about people like Debbie Downer?
A. They’re socially inactive.
B. They’re good at telling stories.
C. They’re careful with their words.
D. They’re inconsiderate of others.
2.Which tend to be the most e-mailed according to Dr. Berger’s research?
A . Science articles. B. Sports news.
C. Personal accounts. D. Financial reviews.
3.What can be a suitable title for the text?
A. Sad Stories Travel Far and Wide
B .Online News Attracts More People
C. Reading Habits Change with the Times
D. Good News Beats Bad on Social Networks
针对部分学生乱花钱的现象，你们班级召开了“节省用钱”的主题班会。假设你是班长，请在结束时对班会内容进行总结，要点如下：
1．省钱的重要性；
2．省钱的建议；
3．提出倡议。
注意：1.短文的开头已给出，但不计入总词数;
2.词数120左右；
3.可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
We have just had a class meeting on the topic— saving money.
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有十处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线划掉（\）。
修改：在错的词下划一横___线，并在其下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1、每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2、只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I hardly remember my grandmother. She used to holding me on her knees and sing old songs. I was only four when she passes away. She is just a distant memory for me now.
I remember my grandfather very much. He was tall, with broad shoulder and a beard that turned from black toward gray over the years. He had a deep voice, which set himself apart from others in our small town, he was strong and powerful. In a fact, he even scared my classmates away during they came over to play or do homework with me. However, he was the gentlest man I have never known.
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容（1个单词）或括号内单词的正确形式。
One morning, I was waiting at the bus stop, worried about __1._ (be) late for school. There were many people waiting at the bus stop, _2._ some of them looked very anxious and __3.__ (disappoint). When the bus finally came, we all hurried on board. I got a place next __4.__ the window, so I had a good view of the sidewalk. A boy on a bike __5._ (catch) my attention. He was riding beside the bus and waving his arms. I heard a passenger behind me shouting to the driver, but he refused __6.__ (stop) until we reached the next stop. Still, the boy kept __7.__ (ride). He was carrying something over his shoulder and shouting. Finally, when we came to the next stop, the boy ran up the door of the bus. I heard an excited conversation. Then the driver stood up and asked, “__8.__ anyone lose a suitcase at the last stop?” A woman on the bus shouted, “Oh, dear! It’ s _9.__ (I)”. She pushed her way to the driver and took the suitcase thankfully, Five others on the bus began talking about what the boy had done and the crowd of strangers _10.__ (sudden) became friendly to one another.
阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项。
Four brothers left home for college, and they became successful doctors and lawyers.
Some years later, they got together again. While having dinner, they ____ for along time. They discussed the ____ they had given their elderly mother who lived far away in another city. The first said, "I had a ___ house built for Mama." The second said, "I had my Mercedes-Benz dealer (经销商) send a ____ to her.” The third said, "I built a beautiful ____ for Mama." The fourth said, "You know ____ Mama loved reading poems and you know she can't read anymore because she can't ____ very well. I met a businessman who had a parrot (鹦鹉) that can recite many ____. It took him 20 years to ____ it to speak and he earns his living by renting it out. I had to pay him $100,000 a year for twenty years, ____ it is worth it." On hearing that, the other brothers were ____ by his good thought.
After the holidays their mother ____ her thank-you notes. She wrote: "Milton, the house you built is so huge. I only live in one room, but I have to ____ the whole house. It's a tiring job. Thanks anyway."
"Marvin, I am too old to ____. I stay home and have my foods delivered, so I'll ___ use the car. The ____ was good, although not practical. Thanks."
"Michael, you gave me an expensive building for 50 people to ____ plays or watch movies in it, but all my friends are dead. I've almost ____ my hearing and I'm nearly blind. I won't use it. Thank you all the same."
"Dearest Melvin, you are the ____ son to have the good sense to give a little thought to your gift. The chicken tasted so ____. I liked it very much. Thank you.”
1.A. talked B. studied C. slept D. fought
2.A. chances B. wishes C. challenges D. gifts
3.A. big B safe C. lonely D. warm
4.A. bike B. car C. bag D. book
5.A. museum B. library C. theater D. station
6.A. how B. why C. when D. what
7.A. feel B. see C. walk D. listen
8.A. words B. poems C. lyrics D. stories
9.A. beat B. raise C. train D. protect
10.A. so B. unless C. although D. but
11.A. impressed B. frightened C.embarrassed D. interested
12.A. put up B. took out C. picked up D. sent out
13.A. borrow B. clean C. visit D. sell
14.A. work B. exercise C. travel D. learn
15.A. often B. regularly C. sometimes D. never
16.A. hobby B. idea C. program D. future
17.A. enjoy B. bring C. record D. create
18.A. admired B. remained C. discovered D. lost
19.A. last B. next C. only D. same
20.A. unpleasant B. terrible C. delicious D. strange
