Playing with toy blocks (积木) may lead to improved language development in young children, a new study reported.
Early childhood is an important period in the development of young minds. The newborn brain grows three times in size between birth and age 2. Scientists have said that certain activities during this important period may promote (促进) healthy development while others may hold it back, and development of memory and language may especially be helped by imaginative play.
After six months, language scores among half of the 175 children aged 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 who were sent plastic blocks were 15 percent higher than a matched group that did not receive the free blocks, according to the study by researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle.
Parents were given ideas about how to help their children play with the blocks, then were told 
to keep diaries of their children’s activities over four days. Finally, all the parents filled out questionnaires that judged their children’s vocabulary, grammar, and other language abilities. Study author Dimitri Christakis said unstructured play with blocks motivated children’s thinking, memory and physical skills at a time when a child’s brain is growing rapidly. “They are the foundation of thought and language,” he wrote of the skills learned from building blocks. “Older children begin to make up stories for these objects .”
Such play may also take the place of less helpful activities such as watching TV, he said, adding parents ought to have doubts about some toy-makers’ words. “An increasing number of media-based products are making ungrounded (无根据的) claims that they can make children smarter, more literate, and more musical,” Christakis said.What can we learn from the second paragraph?
| A．Parents should allow their children to play as long as they want. |
| B．The brains of kids develop very quickly before they are two years old. |
| C．Playing blocks can help children do well in sports at school. |
| D．Activities, like imaginative play, may delay the development of the brain. |
According to the study, about ________ children’s language scores were 15 percent higher than those of children who didn’t play with blocks.
| A．87 | B．55 | C．23 | D．157 |
Building blocks helps kids gain language skills because _________.
| A．young children always talk to themselves while building blocks |
| B．their parents can teach them when they are playing with blocks |
| C．their parents are given ideas on how to develop their brains |
| D．it can help them improve thinking, memory and physical skills |
The aim of the passage is probably to _______.
| A．raise the present level of children’s language ability |
| B．encourage parents to let their babies play with blocks |
| C．improve parents’ knowledge of raising children |
| D．encourage makers of blocks to develop more toys |
We can infer from what Mr Christakis said that _____.
| A．television will be definitely replaced by blocks |
| B．the market will be full of media-based toys |
| C．we can’t always believe what toy makers say |
| D．toy makers care about kids’ development very much |
Before you argue with your boss, check with the boss’s secretary to determine his mood. If he ate nails for breakfast, it is not a good idea to ask him for something. Even without the boss’s secretary, there are keys to timing: don’t approach the boss when he’s on deadline; don’t go in right before lunch, when he is apt to be distracted and rushed; don’t go in just before or after he has taken a vacation.
If you’re mad, that will only make your boss mad. Calm down first. And don’t let a particular concern open the floodgates for all your accumulated frustration. The boss will feel that you think negatively about the company and it is hopeless trying to change your mind. Then, maybe he will dismiss you.
Terrible disputes can result when neither the employer nor the employee knows what is the problem the other wants to discuss. Sometimes the fight will go away when the issues are made clear. The employee has to get his point across clearly in order to make the boss understand it.
Your boss has enough on his mind without your adding more. If you can’t put forward an immediate solution, at least suggest how to approach the problem. People who frequently present problems without solutions to their boss may soon find they can’t get past the secretary.
To deal effectively with a boss, it’s important to consider his goals and pressures. If you can put yourself in the position of being a partner to the boss, then he will be naturally more inclined to work with you to achieve your goals.What is the main idea of the fourth paragraph?
| A．Present problems. |
| B．Propose your solution. |
| C．Put yourself in the boss’s position. |
| D．Make the issue clear. |
If you want to ask the boss for anything, it is important to find out first _________.
| A．how he is feeling. |
| B．whether the boss had breakfast. |
| C．whether he is on deadline. |
| D．whether he had taken a vacation. |
What is the best title of the passage?
| A．How to Propose Your Solution. |
| B．Never Give in to Your Boss. |
| C．How to Argue with Your Boss. |
| D．Learn to Understand Your Boss. |
From the passage, we can infer that_____________.
| A．you don’t go into the boss’s office when you are angry |
| B．you can present the boss with a problem only. |
| C．when you offer advice to your boss, don’t think of the troubles he may have. |
| D．when you go into the boss’s office, keep your voice all the time. |
It is necessary to make clear to the boss ___________.
| A．what problems he has. |
| B．why you are mad. |
| C．what position you are in the company. |
| D．what you really want to talk to him about |
You might think that Western students are less shy when it comes to mingling with the opposite sex, but the truth is that pupils in the UK can feel just as awkward. Britons are actually quite reserved and being at university can make them feel out of their comfort zone. Everyone finds it difficult to talk to the other gender on campus.
However, there is a way of dealing with this shyness in Britain, and it is called “Freshers Week”. Freshers Week is designed to help people socialize and lose their inhibitions(顾虑； 抑制力). It is a one-week long party for first year students to welcome them before lectures and coursework begin.
I remember my first week at university - it was terrifying. I looked at the schedule for Freshers Week and was amazed at how much was planned. Every hall of residence organizes its own events to help students become friends with the people they live with. My hall was called “Goldney Hall” and the week ahead included a talent show, a comedy night, and themed parties, including one for which we had to dress up as golfers.
The first event I went to was a school kids party at which everyone dressed up as if they were in school. This party encouraged me to talk to all the people on my floor. One boy, who lived opposite my room, was very handsome and I felt nervous speaking to him at first. But when we met at the party dressed in silly school outfits, I remember feeling a lot more relaxed speaking to him.
It sounds strange, but drinking and dressing up seems to be how Britons overcome their shyness at university. My Freshers Week was hectic, but I managed to forget how scared I was.
One thing’s for sure: nothing helps you lose your inhibitions(顾虑； 抑制力) quite like dressing up as a golfer – complete with a golf club, checked hat and tweed jacket!What does the underlined phrase mean in the fifthparagraph?
| A．scared | B．disappointed | C．happy | D．very busy |
In Britain, universities organize the “Freshers Week”to__________.
| A．help the first year students to get rid of the shyness. |
| B．help the first year students to know about the campus. |
| C．intruduce the teachers to the first year students. |
| D．help the first year students to adapt to the campus life as soon as possible. |
Which of the following statements is true according to the paragraph?
| A．My first week life at university was happy. |
| B．The Western students also don’t know what to do when they meet the opposite sex. |
| C．Drinking and dressing up is how Britons overcome their scare at university. |
| D．Dressing up as a golfer can’t help you overcome the shyness. |
What is the main idea of the paragraph?
| A．My first year in the university. |
| B．What is the “Freshers Week”? |
| C．My busy first week campus life. |
| D．How to get rid of the first year students’ shyness. |
Why did the school kids dressed up as if they were in school in the party?
| A．because they felt a lot more relaxed speaking to others. |
| B．because they felt shy speaking to others. |
| C．because they felt nevous speaking to others. |
| D．because they felt frightened speaking to others. |
I have a friend named John Roberts who owns a horse ranch （牧马场）in San Ysidro.The last time I was there he shared a story with me. “It is a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer. When he was a senior，he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.”
That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch， showing the location of all the buildings，the stables and the track.
“The next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, ‘See me after class.’”
“The boy went to see the teacher after class and asked, ‘Why did I receive an F？’”
“The teacher said, ‘This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added， ‘If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’”
“The boy went home and asked his father what he should do. His father said, ‘Look, son， you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’”
“Finally，after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, ‘You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream.‘”
John continued, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “If I had changed my paper at that time, maybe we would not have the chance to be here talking about the dreams .”What was the boy’s goal described in his seven-page paper?
| A．to own a horse ranch | B．to be a senior trainer |
| C．to build many buildings | D．to buy many horses. |
The teacher give the young boy an F because____________.
| A．he thought he didn’t have money. |
| B．he thought he came from an itinerant family. |
| C．he thought he didn’t have land. |
| D．he thought it was an unrealistic dream for a young boy. |
John’s father respond to his son’s puzzlement by__________.
| A．By criticizing his decision. |
| B．By helping him make the decision. |
| C．By encouraging him to make decision himself. |
| D．By praising him brave. |
What can we learn from the article?
| A．Make decision by yourself. |
| B．Never give up dreams easily. |
| C．Praise makes a difference. |
| D．Success needs other’s help. |
Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Keep My Deam |
| B．My Horse Rnch |
| C．Father’s Lve |
| D．My Goal |
If your dog looks pleased to see you – it is probably because it loves the particular way you smell.
The odour of a familiar human apparently lingers like perfume in the animal’s brain – where it triggers an instinctive emotional response, research published yesterday reveals.
Our scent acts on a part of the canine brain associated with reward and the strongest reactions are produced by humans that pets know best, say scientists in America.
Gregory Berns, of Emory University in Atlanta, said: ‘While we might expect that dogs should be highly tuned to the smell of other dogs, it seems that the “reward response” is reserved for their humans.
'When humans smell the perfume or cologne of someone they love, they may have an immediate, emotional reaction that's not necessarily cognitive.
'Our experiment may be showing the same process in dogs. But since dogs are so much more olfactory(嗅觉的) than humans, their responses would likely be even more powerful than the ones we might have.
'It's one thing when you come home and your dog sees you and jumps on you and licks you and knows that good things are about to happen.
'In our experiment, however, the scent donors were not physically present.
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'That means the canine brain responses were being triggered by something distant in space and time. It shows that dogs' brains have these mental representations of us that persist when we're not there.'
The university’s experiment - the first of its type - involved 12 dogs of various breeds who underwent brain scans while five different scents were placed in front of them.
The scent samples came from the subject itself, a dog the subject had never met, a dog that lived in the subject's household, a human the dog had never met, and a human that lived in the subject's household.
The familiar human scent samples were taken from someone else from the house other than the handlers during the experiment, so that none of the scent donors were physically present.
The results showed that all five scents elicited a similar response in parts of the dogs' brains involved in detecting smells. Responses were significantly stronger for the scents of familiar humans, followed by that of familiar dogs.
The findings, which were published in the journal Behavioural Processes, showed that dogs reacted strongest to the scent of a familiar human even when they were not there.
Pets trained as help or therapy dogs showed greater brain activity than the other dogs in the test.
Researchers say the findings could improve the way animals who assist wounded veterans or disabled people are selected.Why does your dog look pleased to see you ?
| A．because your dog wants to play with you |
| B．because your dog is hungry |
| C．because your dog wants to attract your attention |
| D．because your dog loves the particular way you smell. |
What’s the purpose of Emory university’s experiment ?
| A．To study dog’s reaction while five different scents were placed in front of them. |
| B．To learn how to get along well with dogs |
| C．To know how to tell the difference between dogs |
| D．To improve the way animals who assist wounded veterans or disabled people are selected. |
According to the passage, a dog will be most interested in____.
| A．familiar dogs |
| B．a human the dog had never met |
| C．a dog the dog had never met |
| D．familiar humans |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The dog’s olfactory responses would likely be even more powerful than the ones we might have. |
| B．In our experiment, the scent donors were physically present. |
| C．Dogs reacted strongest to the scent of a familiar human even when they were there. |
| D．Dog’s brain responses were not being triggered(引发) by something distant in space and time. |
Three-point-four billion riders on New York City subways and buses a year. This amazing number equals one-third of all mass transit trips in the United States. Ridership is at its highest in almost 60 years in almost every American city.
A commuter advocacy group, “Straphangers Campaign,” attributes it to younger Americans, said Gene Russianoff.
“Millenials（千禧一代）, those people born around the turn of the past century are much less car-oriented," he said. "They are urban. They like not owning cars, they like less responsibility and there are a lot of them."
In addition to millenials, many people believe public transit is economical and eco-friendly. In 2012 across America, people took 10.7 billion trips.
“When we talk about insurance rates going up, price of automobiles going up, then people are waking up and realizing: wait, here’s this huge asset(优点)that has been underutilized," said Richard Rudolph, chairman of the Rail Users Network. "Why not take advantage of this particular opportunity. It certainly makes more sense to get people out of automobiles into subways and into commuter and passenger railroads.”
New York is not standing still -- as passenger demand requires several major expansion projects. A new $4.5 billion subway line on New York’s Second Avenue -- which was recently excavated underneath businesses and apartment houses -- will take an overload of passengers off of other subway lines. Its first phase completion is scheduled in 2016.
People who work in New York’s financial district will soon be using a new transit subway transfer center. Almost all lines converge in lower Manhattan and the new center will give riders an easier way to get around the city and into New Jersey.
And, probably the most controversial and costly project is a $7 billion tunnel connection from Long Island into Manhattan’s Grand Central Terminal. Trains from there will have access to New York’s midtown business district.
Andrew Albert, a board member of the Metropolitan Transit Authority, said there were many other reasons the public was riding in increasing numbers.
“The system has gotten a lot more dependable. We have new cars. We have countdown clocks to tell you when the next train is coming. We have expanded facilities in places," he said.
New York’s 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, transit system costs a $1.5 billion a year to maintain. It is one of the world’s oldest, with its first subway line having opened in 1904. Who is more likely to use public transmit?
A.People living in suburb B.American young people
B.People living in the countryside D.American old people.What does the underlined word in the 5th paragragh “underutilized” mean?
| A．Not be put forward | B．not be noticed |
| C．not be made full use of | D．not be thought of |
What does the underlined sentence in the 6th paragragh “New York is not standing still” mean?
| A．New York is taking action to expand public transmit. |
| B．New York will encourage more people to use public transmit. |
| C．New York will make public transmit faster. |
| D．New York is waking up and realizing the importance of public transmit. |
Which is Not the reason why the public is riding subways and buses in increasing numbers.
| A．Public transport facilities are better than before. |
| B．Many people believe public transit is economical and eco-friendly. |
| C．The system has gotten a lot more dependable. |
| D．It is more convenient to ride city subways and buses. |
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