.
Geniuses amaze us, impress us and make us all a little jealous．How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer．Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.
When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano．After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven．Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight．He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears．He seems to be specially designed for music．In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies (神童) to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.
Genius didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh．His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain．After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and pictures．So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art．Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine．Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease．Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.
Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence．Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately．As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards．Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.
If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one．Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky．Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.
57．My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.
A．a website B．the radio C．a magazine D．a newspaper
58．The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is .
A．a person who learns something easily
B．a child who is eager to learn new things
C．a student who practices an instrument a lot
D．a kid who works hard to do well in school
59．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A．New things about the brain are still being discovered.
B．People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.
C．Some people naturally have more active brains.
D．People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.
60．The author develops the passage mainly by .
A．providing typical examples
B．following the natural time order
C．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects
D．comparing opinions from different scientists
Arriving in Sydney on his own from India, my husband, Rashid, stayed in a hotel for a short time while looking for a house for me and our children.
During the first week of his stay, he went out one day to do some shopping. He came back in the late afternoon to discover that his suitcase was gone. He was extremely worried as the suitcase had all his important papers, including his passport.
He reported the case to the police and then sat there, lost and lonely in a strange city, thinking of the terrible troubles of getting all the paperwork organized again from a distant country while trying to settle down in a new one.
Late in the evening, the phone rang. It was a stranger. He was trying to pronounce my husband's name and was asking him a lot of questions. Then he said they had found a pile of papers in their trash can(垃圾桶) that had been left out on the footpath.
My husband rushed to their home to find a kind family holding all his papers and documents. Their young daughter had gone to the trash can and found a pile of unfamiliar papers. Her parents had carefully sorted them out, although they had found mainly foreign addresses on most of the documents. At last they had seen a halfwritten letter in the pile in which my husband had given his new telephone number to a friend.
That family not only restored the important documents to us that day but also restored our faith and trust in people. We still remember their kindness and often send a warm wish their way.What did Rashid plan to do after his arrival in Sydney?
| A．Go shopping. | B．Find a house. |
| C．Join his family. | D．Take a vacation. |
The girl's parents got Rashid's phone number from________.
| A．a friend of his family | B．a Sydney policeman |
| C．a letter in his papers | D．a stranger in Sydney |
What does the underlined word “restored” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．Showed. | B．Sent out. |
| C．Delivered. | D．Gave back. |
Critical thinking is an important skill that can increase students’ ability to learn in any situation. This can be applied to traditional education, or directly in a career related role. Many teachers find it such a valuable skill that they give their students a critical thinking question every day. Developing this ability can mean the difference between “just passing a course” and “understanding the material well enough” so that what students learn from it will follow them throughout their life.
Some characteristics of a critical thinker that teachers should encourage are;
-asking questions as a reaction to something read or discussed;
-determining the “deeper meaning” of a particular passage or topic;
-providing input and opinions to topics as a direct result of analysis and research;
-reasoning in an effort to develop an argument of your own opinion.
It is important for a student to understand more than definition（定义）. One way to truly understand an idea is to have hands-on practice, and to apply concepts learned in a textbook. Such “mini-examples” will interest a student and improve their understanding of a topic. This is how life-long skills can be developed.
Teachers that use critical thinking practices in the classroom can “go above and beyond” by asking questions that promote a greater comprehension of the material. Instructors should be able to challenge students and create an environment where they are analyzing material and gaining a better understanding. This will make the classroom move in a direction for learning. It can also help students to stay interested in the course material, as they always have a new concept to consider.
At the same time, students benefit greatly from developing critical thinking skills. When learned early on, these skills can be used throughout their college education. Students can understand how to consider a topic, analyze it, and discuss it from different points of view. These are skills that will benefit them when they are part of the workforce as well.Who are the intended readers of the passage?
| A．Teachers. | B．Parents. |
| C．Examines. | D．Headmasters. |
Critical thinking can best be described as .
| A．a system to improve people’s memory |
| B．a method to expand people’s knowledge |
| C．a way to increase people’s ability to understand |
| D．a process to make people more critical of others |
The underlined word “it” in Paragraph 1 refers to .
| A．the ability | B．the difference |
| C．the course | D．the material |
The author thinks “mini-examples” are useful because they .
| A．assist students to better remember definitions |
| B．give students hands-on practice |
| C．help to keep students interested |
| D．help students develop concepts |
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Zeo Personal Sleep Coach is neither a medical device nor a medical program and is not intended for the treatment of sleep disorders.Zeo is a revolution in the science of sleep mainly because it _____.
| A．can record one’s sleep process |
| B．is the first product to manage one’s sleep |
| C．is free of medical risks |
| D．provides access to sleep fitness websites |
What is the most remarkable(杰出的) feature of Zeo?
| A．Its direct contact with sleep scientists. |
| B．Its individualized coaching program. |
| C．Its effectiveness in curing sleep disorders. |
| D．Its immediate analysis of sleep data. |
What customer service does Zeo provide?
| A．Cheap online tools. |
| B．A 30-day action plan. |
| C．Personalized bedside display. |
| D．Free delivery of the product. |
The passage is primarily written to _____.
| A．encourage people to try the new product |
| B．instruct people how to use a new tool |
| C．provide the latest health information |
| D．illustrate（说明） the importance of good sleep habit |
Although being famous might sound like a dream come true, today’s star, feeling like zoo animals, face pressures that few of us can imagine. They are at the center of much of the world’s attention. Paparazzi（狗仔队）camp outside their homes, cameras ready. Tabloids (小报) publish thrilling stories about their personal lives. Just imagine not being able to do anything without being photographed or interrupted for a signature.
According to psychologist Christina Villarreal, celebrities (famous people) worry constantly about their public appearance. Eventually, they start to lose track of who they really are, seeing themselves the way their fans imagine them, not as the people they were before everyone knew their names. “Over time,” Villarreal says, “they feel separated and alone.”
The phenomenon of tracking celebrities has been around for ages. In the 4th century B.C., painters followed Alexander the Great into battle, hoping to picture his victories for his admirers. When Charles Dickens visited America in the 19th century, his sold-out readings attracted thousands of fans, leading him to complain about his lack of privacy. Tabloids of the 1920s and 1930s ran articles about film-stars in much the same way that modern tabloids and websites do.
Being a public figure today, however, is a lot more difficult than it used to be. Superstars cannot move about without worrying about photographers with modern cameras. When they say something silly or do something ridiculous, there is always the Internet to spread the news in minutes and keep their “story” alive forever.
If fame is so troublesome, why aren’t all celebrities running away from it? The answer is there are still ways to deal with it. Some stars stay calm by surrounding themselves with trusted friends and family or by escaping to remote places away from big cities. They focus not on how famous they are but on what they love to do or whatever made them famous in the first place.
Sometimes a few celebrities can get a little justice. Still, even stars who enjoy full justice often complain about how hard their lives are. They are tired of being famous already.It can be learned from the passage that stars today__________.
| A．can no longer have their privacy protected |
| B．are often misunderstood by the public |
| C．spend too much on their public appearance |
| D．care little about how they have come into fame |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 3?
| A．Great heroes of the past were generally admired. |
| B．Well-known actors are usually targets of tabloids. |
| C．The problem faced by celebrities has a long history. |
| D．Works of popular writers often have a lot of readers. |
What makes it much harder to be a celebrity today?
| A．Inadequate social recognition. |
| B．Availability of modern media. |
| C．Lack of favorable chances. |
| D．Huge population of fans. |
What is the author’s attitude toward modern celebrity?
| A．Sincere | B．Skeptical(怀疑的) |
| C．Sympathetic | D．Disapproving |
The dirty, homeless man sat on the pavement, staring at the stones. He thought back more than twenty years to when he was a boy living in a small red brick house on this very street. He recalled the flower garden, the swing his dad made, and the bike he had saved up for months to buy.
The man shrugged impatiently, for the brightness of those pictures hurt him, and his memory travelled on another ten years. He had a job by then, plenty of friends and started to come home less. He did not really want to remember those years, nor the day when, because of debts, he had gone home planning to ask for money. He felt embarrassed, but he knew exactly where his dad kept the money. When his parents stepped out of the room, he took what he wanted and left.
That was the last time he had seen them. Ashamed, he went abroad, and his parents knew nothing about the years of wandering or time in prison. But locked in his cell he often thought of home. Once free, he would love to see his parents again, if they were still alive, and still wanted to see him.
When his prison time was up, he found a job, but couldn't settle. Something was drawing him home. He did not want to arrive penniless, so he hitchhiked most of the long journey back. But less than a mile from his destination he started to feel sick with doubt. Could they ever accept this man who had so bitterly disappointed them?
He spent most of that day sitting under a tree. That evening he posted a letter which, although short, had taken him hours to write. It ended with:
I know it is unreasonable of me to suppose you want to see me ... so it's up to you. I'll come early Thursday morning. If you want me home, hang a white handkerchief in the window of my old bedroom. If it's there, I'll come in; if not, I'll wave good-bye and go.
And now it was Thursday morning and he was sitting on the pavement at the end of the street. Finally he got up and walked slowly toward the old house. He drew a long breath and looked.
His parents were taking no risks. Every inch of the house was covered in white. Sheets, pillowcases and table clothes had been placed on every window and door, making it look like a snow house.
The man threw his head back, gave a cry of relief and ran straight through the open front door.Why did the man shrug impatiently (Paragraph 2) while he was thinking of his childhood?
| A．The thoughts made him angry. |
| B．He felt he had wasted time. |
| C．He was anxious to go home. |
| D．The sweet memory caused him much pain. |
Why did it take him hours to write the letter?
| A．He doubted if his parents still lived in that house. |
| B．He had much news to tell his parents. |
| C．He felt ashamed to ask for forgiveness. |
| D．He was longing to return home and felt excited. |
The best title of the passage is _______.
| A．Sweet Memory | B．White Handkerchief |
| C．Abandoned Son | D．Leaving Home |
Which of the following is Not true?
| A．The man asked his parents to lend money |
| B．His parents welcomed him home. |
| C．The man became homeless when he got out of prison. |
| D．He felt sorry for hurting his parents. |
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