Our brains work in complex and strange ways. There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years, but who cannot add two plus two. Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once, but they cannot read or write.
Dr．J．Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887．He called these people idiot savants. An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment （损伤） , such as in autism or retardation. At the same time, the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills, which are unusual for most people．The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics, or having a photographic memory.
One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr．Benjamin Rush, an American doctor．His patient, Thomas Fuller, was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724. It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds．Despite this ability, he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write．
Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s. Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words, but he played 5 ,000 musical pieces beautifully．
In the excellent movie Rain Man, made in 1988 and available on video cassette, Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise, with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly.
Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment．Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills．Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills. However,few people wish to participate in such experiments. There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain. The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate. Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots.What does the passage mainly talk about?
| A．Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities． |
| B．Human Beings have complicated thinking process． |
| C．The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired． |
| D．The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary． |
Which of the following can be done by Rain Man?
| A．He can play wonderful pieces of classical music． |
| B．He can guess out exactly the length of a man's life． |
| C．He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast． |
| D．He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly． |
What can you infer from the passage?
| A．Idiot savants have real talents for art and math． |
| B．Dr．Down is the first person who found idiot savants． |
| C．Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations． |
| D．Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants． |
The home of the future won’t be completely different and we will be living in houses and flats just as we do today. But people will want to shape their homes to match their dreams. No two homes will be the same. People will be able to buy “house kits” containing a basic house structure, with movable walls, doors and windows. They will put together the different parts to create the home they want.
Many jobs that we do today will disappear, others will still exist but will change and new jobs will be created. Skilled workers such as builders, gardeners and electricians won’t disappear because machines can’t replace them. Teachers will still exist because students need human contact. But they will be using modern technology in class more and students will be working more from home. The medical technology revolution and space travel will create new jobs which we can only imagine today.
Space holidays will develop in the future, but these holidays won’t be for everyone because they won’t be cheap. Short space trips will develop first, then space hotels will orbit the earth where it will be possible to have a longer vacation. By the end of the next century, there will be holiday centres on the moon with leisure facilities for families.
Paper won’t exist in the future. Instead, there will be e-paper which people will be able to use over and over again. This will develop in order to save natural resources. E-newspapers and e-magazines will replace traditional newspapers and magazines and we will download information and news articles from the Internet every day onto our reuseable paper.
The laws of physics tell us that the earth is going to disappear some time in the future. This isn’t going to happen tomorrow but scientists predict that it will happen in five billion years when our sun explodes（爆炸）.We will have to explore the universe and find another home. At some point in the distant future, either we stay on the earth and die with it, or we leave and move to another planet. There won’t be any other choice.
60．Homes of the future will ________.
A．be completely different from those of today.
B．be very similar to our homes
C．all be different form one another
D．be movable as you want
61．Space trips and staying in space hotels will _________.
A．become a very common way to spend a holiday
B．be the cheapest holiday option for families
C．attract a lot of people
D．still only be for very rich people
62．E-paper will replace traditional paper because _________.
A．we will use it again B．it won’t waste natural resource
C．it will be cheaper to produce D．it will be convenient to carry
63．We will have move to another planet ________.
A．if we want to save the human race B．when the sun explodes
C．when the earth disappears D．when the earth is too crowded to fill people on
Except for the sun, the moon looks like the biggest object in the sky. Actually it is one of the smallest, and only looks big because it is so near to us. Its diameter(直径) is only 2,160 miles (3,339 km) ,or a little more than a quarter of the diameter of the earth.
Once a month, or more exactly, once every 29.5 days, at the time we call “full moon”, its whole disc looks bright. At other times only part of it appears bright, and we always find that this is the part which faces towards the sun, while the part racing away from the sun appears dark. People could make their pictures better if they kept this in mind — only those parts of the moon which are lighted up by the sun are brighter. This shows that the moon gives no light of its own. It only throws back the light of the sun, like a huge mirror hung in the sky.
Yet the dark part of the moon’s surface is not completely black; usually it is just light enough for us to be able to see its shape, so that we speak of seeing “the old moon in the new moon’s arms”. The light by which we see the old moon does not come from the sun, but from the earth. We know well how the surface of the sea or of snow, or even of a wet road, may throw back uncomfortably much of the sun’s light on to our faces. In the same way the surface of the whole earth throws back enough of the sun’s light on to the face of the moon for us to be able to see the parts of it which would otherwise be dark.
72. Why is the dark part of the moon not completely black?
A. The sun shines on the moon’s surface.
B. The earth throws back sunlight on to the moon.
C. The moon throws back the light from the sun.
D. The moon has light of its own.
73. The underlined word “disc” in the second paragraph refers to _______.
A. a round plate B. a round record
C. the moon that reflects sunlight D. the moon which looks like a round plate
74. By saying “the old moon in the new moon’s arms” , we mean a time when ______.
A. the two moons are closely linked
B. the new moon is at its brightest
C. the moon is partly bright and partly dark
D. the new moon is hugging the old moon
75. Which of the following is true according to the text?
A. The moon which appears round at its brightest is called full moon.
B. The moon’s diameter is exactly one fourth of that of the earth.
C. The light by which we see the old moon comes from the sun
D. The part of the moon which is not lighted by the sun is completely dark.
Aboriginal is a term used to describe the people and animals that lived in a place from the earliest known times or before Europeans arrived. Examples are the Maori in New Zealand, the Aborigines in Australia and the Indians in South America.
Maori
The Maori were the first people to go to New Zealand about 1,000 years ago. They came from the islands of Polynesia in the Pacific. They brought dogs, rats and plants with them and settled mainly on the Northern Island. In 1769, Captain James Cook took possession of the Island, and from that time on British people started to settle. The Maori signed an agreement with these settlers, but in later years there were arguments and battles between them over land rights.
Aborigine
Native people of Australia came from somewhere in Asia more than 40,000 years ago. They lived by hunting and gathering. Their contact with British settlers began in 1788. By the 1940s almost all of them were mixed into Australian society as low-paid workers. Their rights were limited. In 1976 and 1993 the Australian government passed laws that returned some land to the Aborigines and recognized their property rights.
Indians
Long before the Europeans came to America in the 16th and 17th century, the American Indians, or Native Americans, lived there. It is believed that they came from Asia. Christopher Columbus mistook the land for India and so called the people there Indians. The white settlers and American Indians lived in peace at the beginning, but conflicts finally arose and led to the Indian Wars (1866 —1890). After the war the Indians were driven to the west of the country. Not until 1924 did they gain the right to vote.
68. What is the subject discussed in the passage?
A. European settlers.
B. Native people from three countries.
C. Lifestyles of aboriginals.
D. History of three groups of aboriginals.
69. Which of the following statements is an opinion instead of a fact?
A. The Maori were the first people to go to New Zealand.
B. The Europeans were greedy because they always fought for land.
C. Native people of Australia lived by hunting and gathering.
D. After the war the Indians were driven to the west of the country.
70. The native people in America were called Indians because ________.
A. they originated from India
B. their appearances are similar to those of Indians
C. the land was mistaken for India
D. their personalities are comparable to those of Indians
71. By saying “almost all of them were mixed into Australian society as low-paid workers”(in Paragraph 3), the author implies that _____.
A. natives in Australia led a different life from the settlers
B. most natives in Australia were unemployed
C. natives in Australia were separated from Australia
D. most natives in Australia earned a small salary
Having learned much about the War of Resistance against Japan, Mao Jingxin didn’t like the Japanese when she was a child. “I thought they were cruel and rude,” said the 18-year-old girl from Hebei Province. But she began to change her mind after she met some Japanese teenagers in a history museum six years ago. These fashionable high school students looked seriously at the history displays and talked to Mao in a friendly way. “I found that they are not bad as I thought,” she said.
Like Mao, many Chinese teenagers’ are caught up in this confusion. A survey by 21st Century Teens shows about 51 per cent of Chinese teenagers say they dislike Japan. But most of them still want to have a Japanese friend. Also, Japan lies third on their list of Asian countries that they want to visit, following Singapore and South Korea. Teens did a survey just before the 60th anniversary of the victory day of the War of Resistance against Japan, which fell on September 3. The survey aimed to encourage understanding and communication between young Chinese and Japanese.
Teens also wanted to understand Chinese teenagers’ attitudes towards Japan, and how much they actually know about the country. As Teens found, more than 60 per cent of Chinese teenagers learn about Japan through the media or books. Only 16 per cent have ever met a Japanese person.
“Most of my friends hate Japan for what it did to China during World War II. But people should not live in hatred. I think the best way to figure it out is to have contact with the Japanese people myself,” Zhang Yuyuan, a Senior 2 girl, told us in the survey.
Jin Xide, professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, says that China and Japan actually had a peaceful relationship during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the 1990s, the growth of Japan’ s right-wing forces has caused great difficulties. “We have to be strong against them. But we mustn’t ignore the fact that there are far more friendly Japanese,” added Jin.
“Japan has done wrong to Asian countries including China and it has caused pain to everyone,” said Hikaru, a 17-year-old girl in Kawasaki. Having visited China four times and learned much, she understands the importance of communication between the two peoples. She plans to join in an exchange programme with Chinese youth. “Welcome to Japan, my Chinese friends!” She says it with a smile.
64. Most teenagers hate Japanese because _______.
A. the Japanese they meet are cruel
B. the Japanese were cruel during the war
C. they look too fashionable
D. the Japanese don’t want to communicate with Chinese people
65. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the survey?
A. Only a small percentage of teenagers have met a Japanese.
B. More than half of the teenagers in the survey don’t like the Japanese.
C. Singapore is one of the most popular Asian tourist places for Chinese teenagers.
D. Most Chinese teenagers learn about Japan through exchange activities.
66. According to Professor Jin, _____ is the main reason for the worse relationship between Japan and China.
A. the War of Resistance against Japan
B. lack of communication
C. Japan’s increasing right-wing force
D. Japan’s rapidly-growing economy
67. The passage is written to ______.
A. encourage Chinese teenagers to meet the Japanese
B. report what Chinese teenagers think about Japan
C. provide information about Japanese teenagers
D. give a brief introduction to the history of the War of Resistance against Japan
Having learned much about the War of Resistance against Japan, Mao Jingxin didn’t like the Japanese when she was a child. “I thought they were cruel and rude,” said the 18-year-old girl from Hebei Province. But she began to change her mind after she met some Japanese teenagers in a history museum six years ago. These fashionable high school students looked seriously at the history displays and talked to Mao in a friendly way. “I found that they are not bad as I thought,” she said.
Like Mao, many Chinese teenagers’ are caught up in this confusion. A survey by 21st Century Teens shows about 51 per cent of Chinese teenagers say they dislike Japan. But most of them still want to have a Japanese friend. Also, Japan lies third on their list of Asian countries that they want to visit, following Singapore and South Korea. Teens did a survey just before the 60th anniversary of the victory day of the War of Resistance against Japan, which fell on September 3. The survey aimed to encourage understanding and communication between young Chinese and Japanese.
Teens also wanted to understand Chinese teenagers’ attitudes towards Japan, and how much they actually know about the country. As Teens found, more than 60 per cent of Chinese teenagers learn about Japan through the media or books. Only 16 per cent have ever met a Japanese person.
“Most of my friends hate Japan for what it did to China during World War II. But people should not live in hatred. I think the best way to figure it out is to have contact with the Japanese people myself,” Zhang Yuyuan, a Senior 2 girl, told us in the survey.
Jin Xide, professor of the Chinese Academy of Social Science, says that China and Japan actually had a peaceful relationship during the 1970s and 1980s. Since the 1990s, the growth of Japan’ s right-wing forces has caused great difficulties. “We have to be strong against them. But we mustn’t ignore the fact that there are far more friendly Japanese,” added Jin.
“Japan has done wrong to Asian countries including China and it has caused pain to everyone,” said Hikaru, a 17-year-old girl in Kawasaki. Having visited China four times and learned much, she understands the importance of communication between the two peoples. She plans to join in an exchange programme with Chinese youth. “Welcome to Japan, my Chinese friends!” She says it with a smile.
64. Most teenagers hate Japanese because _______.
A. the Japanese they meet are cruel
B. the Japanese were cruel during the war
C. they look too fashionable
D. the Japanese don’t want to communicate with Chinese people
65. Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the survey?
A. Only a small percentage of teenagers have met a Japanese.
B. More than half of the teenagers in the survey don’t like the Japanese.
C. Singapore is one of the most popular Asian tourist places for Chinese teenagers.
D. Most Chinese teenagers learn about Japan through exchange activities.
66. According to Professor Jin, _____ is the main reason for the worse relationship between Japan and China.
A. the War of Resistance against Japan
B. lack of communication
C. Japan’s increasing right-wing force
D. Japan’s rapidly-growing economy
67. The passage is written to ______.
A. encourage Chinese teenagers to meet the Japanese
B. report what Chinese teenagers think about Japan
C. provide information about Japanese teenagers
D. give a brief introduction to the history of the War of Resistance against Japan