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.Afer 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.
1.My Brilliant Brains is most probably from_________.
A.a website B.the radio C.a magazine D.a newspaper
2.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
3.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.
4.From the passage,we know that_________.
A.scientists completely understand the brain B.people can only be born as geniuses
C.there’s no such thing as a true genius D.there are many factors in being a genius
5.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
In 1971 a young man who grew up very poor was travelling across the country, trying to make a new start for himself.Along the way he had completely run out of（用光） money and was forced to spend the night in his car.This continued until one morning, after a week of sleeping in his car, he walked nervously into a restaurant and ordered a big breakfast.
After eating his first good meal in weeks, he found himself lying to the waiter, telling him he had lost his wallet.The waiter, who was also the owner, walked behind the chair where the young man had been sitting.He bent down, and came up with a $20 bill that looked as if it had fallen on the floor and said, “Son, you must have dropped this,” the owner said.The young man couldn’t believe his luck! He quickly paid for the breakfast, left a tip, bought gas with the change, and headed West.
On the way out of town, he began to understand what the owner did.Maybe nobody dropped the money at all.“Maybe that fellow just knew I was in trouble and he helped me in a way that didn’t embarrass(使尴尬)me.So I just made a promise to help other people if I can.”
Later, he worked very hard and became a rich man.Now he lives near Kansas City.Each year he gives away thousands of dollars.He is known as the “Secret Santa” because at Christmas time each year, he personally hands money out to those on the street and at restaurants.Last year, he gave more than $50,000 away in Kansas City.The young man was travelling cross the country in 1971 to______.
| A．look for a good restaurant | B．improve his life |
| C．show his new car to others | D．hand out dollars |
The underlined sentence implies(暗示) that the young man got to know that______.
| A．it was vey lucky of him to get his lost money back |
| B．it was very honest of the owner to return his money |
| C．the owner helped him in a way that didn’t hurt his feelings |
| D．another person who had breakfast in the restaurant lost the money |
From the end of the passage we can learn that ______.
| A．the man did carry out his promise |
| B．the man was not successful in the end |
| C．the owner was paid back the money |
| D．Santa gives the man money each year |
The message of the story is “______”.
| A．One good turn deserves another |
| B．Where there is a will there is a way |
| C．He who travels far knows much |
| D．Give love wings (翅膀) and it may fly higher |
Why do men live a shorter life than women? The latest research indicates that men’s hearts going into a rapid decline when they reach middle age could be the cause.
The research of ageing on the heart has shown that women’s longevity may be linked to the fact that their hearts do not lose much pumping power with age.
“We have found that the power of the male heart falls by 20-25 percent between 20 and 70 years of age,” said the head of the study, Samantha of Liverpool John Moores University in the UK.
“Within the heart there are millions of cells which make it beat.Between the ages of 20 and 70, one-third of those cells die and are not replaced in men ,” said Samantha.“This is part of the ageing process.”
What amazes scientists is that the female heart suffers very little loss of these cells.A healthy 70-year-old woman’s heart could work almost as perfectly as a 20-year-old one’s.
“This gender （性别）difference might give the reason why men live shorter than women,”said Samantha.They studied over 250 healthy men and women between the ages of 17 and 80, who are mainly healthy persons so as to reduce the influence of disease.“The team has yet to think about why ageing suffers a greater loss on the male heart,” said Samantha.
But there is also good news -- men can enjoy the health of their hearts with regular exercise.Samantha stressed that women should also take regular exercise to stop their leg muscles getting weaker as they age.The underlined word “longevity” in the second paragraph means “________”.
| A．health | B．long life | C．ageing | D．effect |
The text mainly talks about ________.
| A．men’s heart cells | B．women’s ageing process |
| C．the gender difference | D．hearts and long life |
According to the text, the UK scientists have known that ________.
| A．men have fewer cells than women when they are born |
| B．women can produce the cells that make the heart beat |
| C．the female heart suffers less loss of the cells with age |
| D．women will never suffer the loss of pumping power with age |
If you want to live a long life, you should ________.
| A．enable your heart to beat much faster |
| B．think about the reason for ageing |
| C．take regular exercise to keep your heart healthy |
| D．stop your cells from being lost |
The United States has about 475,000 school buses ---all painted yellow.Each day they carry more than 25,000,000 children, half of all schoolchildren in the country.But these buses, on average, use four liters of diesel (柴油) fuel to travel less than sixteen kilometers.When the school year began last fall, diesel averaged 55 cents a liter nationally.The price nearly doubled, to a dollar and 8 cents, by the end of school in June.
Bob Riley speaks for the American School Bus Council.He says fuel prices for schools are not much lower than others have to pay.As a result, schools are looking for ways to reduce transportation costs.Bus routes are being redrawn or, in some cases, canceled (取消).Some areas are buying buses that use natural gas or other alternative fuels.Other steps include fewer field trips and less travel by sports teams.And some school districts (地区) may end any bus service not required by law.
Studies show that school buses are the safest form of transportation to and from school.The American School Bus Council says cuts in bus service are bad for children and possibly the environment.It says removing buses from the road will mean an increase in other vehicles transporting students.Spokesman Bob Riley says another concern is that reducing bus services might reduce attendance.
But it could also get more children to walk or bicycle to school.And that would surely make people happy at the National Center for Safe Routes to School.More kids walking or biking safely to school is the aim of a three-year-old federal program, part of an international movement.The goal is to increase physical activity and reduce air pollution.The United States will celebrate Walk to School Day on October the eighth this year.But for some students, high fuel prices could make every day a walk-to-school day.What does this passage mainly tell us?
| A．High fuel prices’ influences on school buses. |
| B．New measures to transport school students. |
| C．The safest form of student transportation. |
| D．The origin of Walk to School Day. |
Which of the following information is implied in the first paragraph?
| A．There are too many school buses in the United States. |
| B．There are too many students in the US. |
| C．Diesel prices are going up too rapidly in the US. |
| D．School buses consume too much diesel in the US. |
What can we learn from Paragraph 3?
| A．Cuts in bus service will have negative results. |
| B．The US government is encouraging cuts in bus services. |
| C．The US schools are searching for the safest transportation means. |
| D．Reducing bus service will do a lot of good to the environment. |
The National Center for Safe Routes to school encourages more children to walk or bike to school in order to ____.
A.save more fuels and diesel for the country
B.keep the children safe on their way to school
D.keep the children healthy and the environment clean.
Here is some information about several famous local bakeries(面包烤房) in Indiana, the US.They serve as a social gathering place for locals.
Maple Lane Bakery
At 8260 S.State Rd.Claypool, IN.(574) 566-2917, it offers a variety of cooked pies, cookies, and bread.With 20 years’ experience Maple Lane Bakery has specialized in the making of pies.The menu includes peach pie $7.19, berry pie $7.70, apple pie $7.19 and banana pie $6.99.Feel free to place an order at least 24 hours in advance.
Betty’s Cakes & Candy Shop
At 816 E.Winona Avenue Warsaw, IN.(574) 269-1231, it specializes in cakes and offers cookies and candies.The chocolate cookies are sold at $8.99 a dozen.Betty’s Cakes & Candy Shop, started half a century ago, specializes in wedding cakes and birthday cakes.Buying a cake from Betty’s will not disappoint you as they are always excellent.
Crepes’ Quality Bakery
At 217 S.Cavin Street Ligonier, IN.(260) 894-3024, this third generation bakery is located downtown Ligonier.It offers cookies and cupcakes, and specializes in rolls and bread.If you plan to buy cookies for the office or work area, you had better get there early as the building workers arrive just before 5:00 am waiting for the doors to open.
Olympia Candy Kitchen
At 136 N.Main Street Goshen, IN.(574) 533-5040, it has been welcoming visitors for almost a century in its unchanged location in downtown Goshen, Indiana.Its tradition began in 1912 when Greek Nicholas began making his own chocolates.Today this family-owned operation offers all kinds candies and boxed candies.
If you need an order, you should call ahead of time to see if they can meet your request.Which of the following pies is the most expensive?
| A．Peach pie. | B．Banana pie. | C．Apple pie. | D．Berry pie. |
If you want to order a birthday cake, you are advised to call _________.
| A．(574) 533-5040 | B．(574) 269-1231 |
| C．(260) 894-3024 | D．(574) 566-2917 |
Which of the following bakeries has the shortest history?
| A．Crepes’ Quality Bakery | B．Betty’s Cakes & Candy Shop |
| C．Olympia Candy Kitchen | D．Maple Lane Bakery |
The author wrote this passage mainly to __________.
| A．tell readers some travel information |
| B．persuade more people to eat pies |
| C．make the bakeries better known to readers |
| D．warn customers to order bakeries in advance |
Ralph and Norton can grow to be 40 feet long and live in a tank as large as a football field.What are they? They’re the only two whale sharks at a North American aquarium .
You can see Ralph and Norton at the world’s largest aquarium, the new Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.
The aquarium’s giant tanks hold eight million gallons of water and will be home to about 100,000 fish!
The aquarium was designed to look like a giant ship breaking through the waves.It has 60 different habitats from the sea and five galleries (展馆), each with a different theme.About 2.4 million visitors are expected to come each year.“We want to be the world’s most engaging aquarium.” Said Jeff Swanagan, the aquarium’s executive director.
Ralph and Norton arrived in June, 2005 from Taiwan.They were only 15 and 13 feet long, but they may grow to be more than 40 feet long! Whale sharks are the world’s largest fish.Three full-time vets will work there to make sure that Ralph, Norton, and all of the aquarium’s sea life stay healthy.Students from the University of Georgia will help run the aquarium and conduct research at the animal hospital.
The aquarium was paid for almost completely by a $ 200 million gift from Bemie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot Inc, and his wife, Billi.“It’s going to be the most unique aquarium in the world,” said Marcus.Marcus said the aquarium was a “thank you” note to the city of Atlanta and the State of Georgia, where the Home Depot first opened for business.According to this passage, Ralph and Norton are ______.
| A．polar bears | B．penguins | C．whale sharks | D．dolphins |
The world’s largest aquarium is located in ____.
| A．Los Angeles | B．Atlanta | C．New York | D．Miami |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Marcus helped to build the aquarium to show his thanks to Atlanta. |
| B．The aquarium’s giant tanks can hold eighteen million gallons of water. |
| C．Ralph and Norton arrived in June, 2005 from Japan. |
| D．The aquarium was designed to look like a giant shark. |
By saying “We want to be the world’s most engaging aquarium” Jeff Swanagan means ___.
| A．the aquarium will be the largest habitat for sea life |
| B．the aquarium will be home to very special sea animals |
| C．the aquarium will be rebuilt and will be made even larger |
| D．the aquarium will attract a large number of visitors |
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