Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence developed by our environment and our experiences? Strangely enough，the answer to both these questions is yes. To some extent（程度）our intelligence is given to us at birth，and special education can never make a genius(天才) out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich and varied surroundings. Thus the limits of a person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, but whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This view, now held by most experts can be supported in a number of ways.
It is easy to say that intelligence is to some extent something we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be in intelligence. Thus if we take two unrelated people at random from the population, it is likely that their degrees of intelligence will be completely different. If on the other hand we take two identical twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters，parents and children，usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine that now we take two identical twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this indicates that environment as well as birth plays a part. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact with each other, but who are not related at all, are likely to have similar degrees of intelligence. By using the example that two people closer in blood relationship are closer in intelligence that writer wants to prove _ .
| A．intelligence can be developed by environment |
| B．intelligence is given at birth |
| C．intelligence can be developed by experience |
| D．education plays an important part in the development of education |
A child who lives in rich and varied surroundings turns out higher in intelligence because ________.
| A．his family is rich and therefore can afford to develop his intelligence |
| B．he can break the limits of intelligence fixed at birth |
| C．his family is rich and provides him with various healthy food |
| D．these surroundings are likely to help him reach the limits of their intelligence |
In the second paragraph “if we take two unrelated people at random from the population．．．” means “if we ____．”
| A．choose two persons who are relative |
| B．take out two different persons |
| C．choose two persons with different intelligence |
| D．pick any two persons |
The best title for this passage might be __________.
| A．Birth and Environment | B．Intelligence |
| C．The Answer to a Question | D．Intelligence and Education |
That cold January night, I was growing sick of my life in San Francisco. There I was, walking home at one in the morning after a tiring practice at the theatre. With opening night only a week ago, I was still learning my lines. I was having trouble dealing with my part-time job at the bank and my acting at night at the same time. As I walked, I thought seriously about giving up both acting and San Francisco. City life had become too much for me.
As I walked down empty streets under tall buildings, I felt very small and cold. I began running, both to keep warm and to keep away from any possible robbers (抢劫犯). Very few people were still out except a few sad-looking homeless people under blankets.
About a block from my apartment (公寓房间), I heard a sound behind me. I turned quickly, half expecting to see someone with a knife or a gun. The street was empty. All I saw was a shining streetlight. Still, the noise had made me nervous, so I started to run faster. Not until I reached my apartment building and unlocked the door did I realize what the noise had been. It had been my wallet falling to the sidewalk.
Suddenly I wasn’t cold or tired anymore. I ran out of the door and back to where I’d heard the noise. Although I searched the sidewalk anxiously for fifteen minutes, my wallet was nowhere to be found.
Just as I was about to give up the search, I heard the garbage truck (垃圾车) pull up to the sidewalk next to me. When a voice called from the inside, “ Alisa Camacho?” I thought I was dreaming. How could this man know my name? the door opened, and out jumped a small red-haired man with an amused look in his eye. “Is this what you’re looking for?” he asked, holding up a small square shape.
It was nearly 3 A.M. by the time I got into bed. I wouldn’t get much sleep that night, but I had gotten my wallet back. I also had gotten back some enjoyment of city life. I realized that the city couldn’t be a bad place as long as people were wiling to help each other.How did the write feel when she was walking home after work?
| A．Cold and sick |
| B．Fortunate and helpful |
| C．Satisfied and cheerful |
| D．Disappointed and helpless |
From the first paragraph, we learn that the write was busy ______.
| A．solving her problem at the bank |
| B．taking part in various city activities |
| C．learning acting in an evening school |
| D．preparing for the first night show |
On her way home the writer _______.
| A．lost her wallet unknowingly |
| B．was stopped by a garbage truck driver |
| C．was robbed of her wallet by an armed man |
| D．found some homeless people following her |
In the fifth paragraph, why did the writer say she was dreaming?
| A．Someone offered to take her back home. |
| B．A red-haired man came to see her. |
| C．She heard someone call her name |
| D．Her wallet was found in a garbage truck. |
From the text, we can infer that the writer _________.
| A．would stop working at night |
| B．would stay on in San Francisco |
| C．would make friends with cleaners |
| D．would give up her job at the bank. |
Research by sociologists Scott Coltrance Michele Adams looked at national survey data and found that when men increase their share of housework and childcare, their children are happier, healthier and do better at school．What’s more, when school-aged children do housework with their fathers, they get along better with their peers and have more friends．And they show more positive behaviors than if they do the same work with their mothers．“Because fewer men do housework than women,” said Adams, “when they share the work，it has more influence on children．” Fathers model “co-operative family partnerships”．
When men share housework and childcare, it turns out, their partners are happier．Wives of egalitarian（主张人人平等的）husbands, regardless of class, report the highest levels of marital（婚姻的）satisfaction and lowest rates of depression，and are less likely to see therapists（治疗专家）．They are also more likely to stay fit, since they probably have more time on their hands．
And the benefits for men are even greater．Men who share housework and childcare are healthier--physically and psychologically．They smoke less, drink less, and take recreational drugs less often．They are more likely to stay in shape and more likely to go to doctors for routine screenings, but less likely to use emergency rooms or miss work due to illness．
In both Europe and the United States，Dad is becoming the “fun parent”．He takes the kids to the park and plays soccer with the kids; she stays home．“What a great time we had with Dad!” the kids announce as they burst through the kitchen door to a lunch mum prepared．We can infer from the first paragraph that ．
| A．fathers usually have greater influence on their children |
| B．it's better for school-aged children to do housework with their mothers |
| C．few boys would like to do housework |
| D．children benefit more from doing housework with their fathers |
Which of the following is NOT true of a woman whose husband shares housework?
| A．She enjoys a high level of satisfaction at home． |
| B．She is less likely to develop depression． |
| C．She will have more free time． |
| D．She is more likely to gain weight． |
Men who share housework and childcare ．
| A．benefit physically more than psychologically |
| B．will take the place of women |
| C．are less likely to develop bad habits |
| D．don’t perform well at work |
The passage is mainly about ．
| A．the new pattern of family relations in Europe and the US |
| B．the benefits of men’s participation in housework and childcare |
| C．the problems of men’s participation in childcare |
| D．the important role husbands play in the family |
If your boss asks you to work in Moscow this year, he’d better offer you more money to do so — or even double that depending on where you live now．That’s because Moscow has just been found to be the world’s most expensive city for the second year in a row by Mercer Human Resources Consulting．
Using the cost of living in New York as a base, Mercer determined Moscow is 34．4 percent more expensive including the cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment．
A two-bedroom flat in Moscow now costs $4,000 a month; a CD $24．83, and an international newspaper $6．30, according to Mercer．By comparison, a fast food meal with a hamburger （汉堡包） is a steal at $4．80．
London takes the No．2 place, up from No．5 a year ago, thanks to higher cost of housing and a stronger British pound relative to the dollar．Mercer estimates （估算） London is 26 percent more expensive than New York these days．Following London closely are Seoul and Tokyo, both of which are 22 percent more expensive than New York, while No．5 Hong Kong is 19 percent more costly．
Among North American cities, New York and Los Angeles are the most expensive and are the only two listed in the top 50 of the world’s most expensive cities．But both have fallen since last year’s study — New York came in 15th, down from 10th place, while Los Angeles fell to 42nd from 29th place a year ago．San Francisco came in a distant third at No．54, down 20 places from a year earlier．
Toronto, meanwhile, is Canada’s most expensive city but fell 35 places to take 82nd place worldwide．In Australia, Sydney is the priciest place to live in and No．21 worldwide．What do the underlined words “a steal” in Paragraph 3 mean?
| A．an act of stealing | B．something delicious |
| C．something very cheap | D．an act of buying |
London has become the second most expensive city because of ______．
| A．the high cost of clothing |
| B．the stronger pound against the dollar |
| C．its expensive transportation |
| D．the high prices of fast food meals |
Which city is the third most expensive on the list?
| A．Tokyo． | B．Hong Kong． | C．Moscow． | D．Sydney． |
Which city has dropped most on the list in North America?
| A．New York． | B．Los Angeles． | C．San Francisco． | D．Toronto． |
Vending machines （投币式自动售货机） are found in 16% of U．S．elementary schools, 52% of middle schools and 88% of high schools．About 22% of students in grades 1 through 12 buy food in vending machines each day—and those purchases added an average of 253 calories to their diets, according to a new study in the September issue of the Journal of School Health．
Just to be clear, those were not 253 calories' worth of tofu, yogurt or carrot．The most popular vending machine items included soft drinks, candy, chips, crackers, cookies, cakes and ice cream．On the plus side （好的方面）, kids also bought low-fat milk, fruit juice and even fruit, the study found．
But the eventual effect on kids' diets was not good．Those who bought from vending machines ate an average of 156 grams of sugar per day, compared with 146 grams for those who abstained （节制）．They also consumed less fiber, iron and vitamin B．
One silver lining: Vending machine customers ate 4% less sodium （钠） than other students--an average of 3,287 milligrams per day compared with 3,436 mg for those who didn't buy from vending machines．That's probably because the extra snacks made kids too full to eat as much at mealtimes, when dishes are especially Salty．In any event, kids should eat no more than 1,200 to 1,500 mg of sodium each day, according to the Mayo Clinic．Even for adults, the government recommends a daily limit of 2,300 mg．
Overall, vending machines in school appear to be a threat to children's health．The researchers calculated that all that snacking adds up to about14 extra pounds per child per school year．For some students this might be a serious contributor to weight issues．The study was based on data collected from 2,309 children nationwide for the third School Nutrition Dietary Assessment Study, which was
conducted by the U．S．Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service．The students using vending machines take in less of all the following EXCEPT ．
| A．sugar | B．fiber | C．vitamin | D．iron |
The underlined words “One silver lining” mean “ ”．
| A．a discouraging condition at present |
| B．a bright side of a difficult situation |
| C．an urgent warning from health experts |
| D．an increasing concern from the public |
Why do kids buying food from vending machines take less salt probably?
| A．They prefer less salty food． |
| B．They have formed healthy eating habits． |
| C．They eat less food at mealtimes． |
| D．They take less junk food as snacks． |
What's the purpose of the text?
| A．To teach children a balanced diet． |
| B．To introduce the finding of a new study． |
| C．To remind parents of children's health． |
| D．To tell the history of vending machines． |
A simple piece of clothesline hangs between some environmentally friendly Americans and their neighbors．
On one side stand those who see clothes dryers （干衣机） as a waste of energy and a major polluter of the environment．As a result, they are turning to clotheslines as part of the “what-I-can-do environmentalism．”
On the other side are people who are against drying clothes outside, arguing that clotheslines are unpleasant to look at．They have persuaded Homeowners Associations （HOAs） access the U．S．to ban outdoor clotheslines, because clothesline drying also tends to lower home value in the neighborhood．
This has led to a Right-to-Dry Movement that is calling for laws to be passed to protect people’s right to use clotheslines．So far, only three states have laws to protect clothesline．Right-to-Dry supporters argue that there should be more．
Matt Reck, 37, is the kind of eco-conscious（有生态意识的）person who feeds his trees with bathwater and reuses water drops from his air conditioners to water plants．His family also uses a clothesline．But on July 9, 2007, the HOA in Wake Forest, North Carolina, told him that a dissatisfied neighbor had telephoned them about his clothesline．The Recks paid no attention to the warning and still dried their clothes on a line in the yard．“Many people say they are environmentally friendly but they don’t take matters into their own hands,” says Reck．The local HOA has decided not to take any action, unless more neighbors come to them．
North Carolina lawmakers are saying that banning clotheslines is not the right thing to do．But HOAs and housing businesses believe that clothesline drying reminds people of poor neighborhoods．They worry that if buyers think their future neighbors can’t even afford dryers, housing prices will fall．
Environmentalists say such worries are not necessary, and in view of global warming, that idea needs to change．As they say, “The clothesline is beautiful．Hanging clothes outside should be encouraged．We all have to do at least something to slow down the process of global warming．” One of the reasons why supporters of clothes dryers are trying to ban clothesline drying is that ______．
| A．clothes dryers are more efficient |
| B．clothesline drying reduces home value |
| C．clothes dryers are energy-saving |
| D．clothesline drying is not allowed in most U．S．states |
Who are in favor of clothesline drying?
| A．Housing businesses. |
| B．Environmentalists． |
| C．Homeowners Associations． |
| D．Reck’s dissatisfied neighbors． |
What is mainly discussed in the text?
| A．Clothesline drying: a way to save energy and money． |
| B．Clothesline drying: a lost art rediscovered． |
| C．Opposite opinions on clothesline drying． |
| D．Different varieties of clotheslines． |
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