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 ( 孤独症，自闭症) 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 in1724．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are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain．The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate．Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots．What does the passage mainly talk about?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． |
Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?
Scientists are trying to make the deserts into good land again. They want to bring water to the deserts， so people can live and grow food. They are learning a lot about the deserts. But more and more of the earth is becoming desert all the time. Scientists may not be able to change the desert in time.
Why is more and more land becoming desert？ Scientists think that people make deserts. People are doing bad things to the earth.
Some places on the earth don’t get much rain. But they still don’t become deserts. This is because some green plants are growing there. Small green plants and grass are very important to dry places. Plants don’t let the sun make the earth even drier. Plants do not let the wind blow(吹) the dirt away. When a bit of rain falls， the plants hold the water. Without plants， the land can become desert more easily. Deserts ________.
| A．never have any plants or animals in them |
| B．can all be turned into good land before long |
| C．are becoming smaller and smaller |
| D．get very little rain |
Smallgreenplantsareveryimportanttodryplaces because __________.
| A．they don’t let the sun make the earth even drier |
| B．they don’t let the wind blow the soil away |
| C．they hold water |
| D．All of the above. |
After reading this passage, we learn that __________.
| A．plants can keep dry land from becoming desert |
| B．it is good to get rid of the grass in the deserts |
| C．all places without much rain will become deserts |
| D．it is better to grow crops on dry land than to cut them |
Bill Javis took over our village news-agency at a time of life when most of us only want to relax. He just thought he would like something but not too much to do, and the news-agency was ready-made. The business produced little enough for him, but Bill was a man who only wanted the simplicity (简单)and order (秩序) and regularity (规律) of the job. He had been a long-serving sailor, and all his life had done everything by the clock.
Every day he opened his shop at six a.m. to catch the early trade (买卖); the papers arrived on his door-step before that. Many of Bill’s customers were city workers, and the shop was convenient for the station（邮局）. Business was tailing off by 10 o’clock, so at eleven sharp Bill closed for lunch. It was hard luck on anybody who wanted a paper or magazine in the afternoon, for most likely Bill would be down on the river bank, fishing, and his nearest competitor was five kilometers away. Sometime in the afternoon, the evening paper landed on the doormat, and at 4 o’clock Bill reopened. The evening rush lasted till seven, and it was worthwhile.
He lived in a flat above the shop, alone. Except in the very bad weather, you always knew where to find him in the afternoon, as I have said. Once, on a sunny afternoon, I walked home along the river bank from a shopping trip to the village. By my watch it was three minutes past four, so I was astonished to see Bill sitting there on his little chair with a line in the water. He had had no luck, I could see, but he was making no effort to move.
“What’s wrong, Bill?” I called out from the path.
For answer, he put a hand in his jacket and took out a big, golden object. For a moment I had no ide
a what it could be, and then it suddenly went off with a noise like a fire engine. Stopping the bell, Bill held the thing up and called back, “Ten to four, you see, and this is dead right.” I had never known anyone carrying a brass alarm clock (闹表) round with him before.Bill opened the shop so early in the day because _______．
| A．he liked to do as much as possible before he went to work |
| B．the shop had to be open when the morning papers came |
C．he was never sure of  the time |
| D．it was then that he did a lot of business |
You might say “hard luck” to someone who _______．
| A．has just heard some very good news |
| B．is less fortunate than he or she ought to be |
| C．puts great effort into whatever he or she tries |
| D．fails through his or her own fault entirely |
On that sunny afternoon, the writer was surprised when he saw Bill because _______．
| A．he thought it was late for Bill to be still fishing |
| B．he thought Bill was ill, since he was not moving at all |
| C．Bill had not caught anything, and that seemed strange |
| D．Bill stayed in his flat |
From the information given in the passage, who or what do you think was wrong?
| A．The bell was; it must have gone off at the wrong time. |
| B．Bill was; he had dropped off to sleep. |
| C．The writer’s watch was fast. |
D．Bill’s clock was wrong; it was very old. |
Animals seem to have the sense (本能) to eat when they are hungry and they do not eat more than their bodies need．It has been demonstrated that rats will, when given a choice over a period of time, prefer water with vitamins to water without vitamins even though there is no difference in taste or smell between the two water bottles. When a fragrant（香的） flavor (味道) was added to the vitamin-enriched water, the rats did seem to prefer it and kept drinking it ,even after the vitamins were switched to the clear water．In time, however, they broke the habit and went back to where the necessary vitamins were．
In a classic experiment, babies of 6 to 12 months old were placed in a cafeteria（自助） feeding arrangement, with a wide selection of baby food before them．They were given whatever food they pointed to or appeared interested in．We are told that at first they showed some unusual eating patterns, but that over a period of time they managed to select well-balanced diet．
So, in selecting food, rats and babies do seem to know and act on what's best for them．Apparently, there is a kind of “body wisdom”, which humans soon lose. Most of us do not eat as wisely as we could．Many of our food preferences are culturally determined and influenced by long-established（长期养成的）habits．Some people eat foxes, dogs and blackbirds, while we eat cows and pigs．So what people eat and how much they eat seems to be greatly influenced by what is going on around them．
53．The expression “the habit” in paragraph 1 refers to drinking water which _______．
A. has no smell B. is tasteless C. has vitamins D. is flavored (有味道的) According to the passage, adults eating habits differ from those of babies because _______．
| A．adults know better than babies what kind of food are good for their health |
| B．adults usually cannot resist (抵制) the temptation (诱惑) of various delicious foods |
| C．adults' eating habits are closely related to the social and cultural customs |
| D．adults have more choices of food than babies in eating patterns |
The author implied in the passage that most of us _______．
| A．eat a balanced diet |
| B．choose the food that is of nutrition |
| C．have the habits influenced by the surroundings |
| D．like to eat the food with a fragrant flavor． |
As far as their eating habits are concerned, babies and rats are similar in that _______．
| A．both have the wisdom to choose a balanced diet |
| B．both prefer flavored food and drink |
| C．both have the same eating patterns |
| D．both develop a taste for the same kinds of flavors |
Over many years, there has been an increase in the population of towns in many countries, as millions of people have moved from the villages in search of better jobs and facilities (设施), in the hope of getting a higher standard of living. This development has led to huge expansions of towns both upwards into the sky and outwards into the surrounding countryside. In spite of all the efforts of governments and private businesses, many areas still suffer from a serious shortage of housing.
Now, a new idea has been put forward which will utilize (利用 vt.) areas which have no other obvious commercial potential (商业潜能). These are the ponds, small lakes, disused docks (码头), and other areas of water, many of which can be found near, or even in the suburbs (郊区) of big towns.
A new style of construction has been designed which will provide a house for less than half the cost of the normal building. The main saving is, of course, the land, because the new houses will float on water. There will be no need for foundations; instead the house will be built on a frame (框架) made of steel which is expected to cost about ￡5,000. Above this the builders will make a house with two, three, or four bedrooms and all the usual modern conveniences, as well as a roof garden. Each house will be joined to the main services supplying water, g
as, and electricity and they will have a vacuum sewage disposal (真空污水处理) system. All the servic
e links will have enough flexibility (灵活性) to allow for small differences in the water level caused by wet a
nd dry periods of weather.
The first houses to be built are expected to cost between ￡20,000 and ￡30,000 according to size and it is already clear that there is a very good potential market for the new system. As the cost is comparatively low, young people and common citizens would like to buy. So many people have moved into towns because _______．
| A．they enjoy the facilities |
| B．they expect to live a better life |
| C．they expect to get better jobs |
| D．there is a shortage of jobs in villages |
What is the main advantage of the new idea?
| A．It will help relieve（缓解）the housing shortage. |
| B．It will utilize disused areas of water. |
| C．It will provide jobs. |
| D．It will help the suburbs. |
The new houses will be built on_______．
| A．waterside areas | B．a stone foundation |
| C．lakes and rivers | D．a steel frame |
The price of the new houses will _______．
| A．encourage private and government builders |
| B．attract ordinary people in the towns to buy |
| C．vary in different areas according to the policy |
| D．help the housing market in the countryside |
Sydney 2005-01-01 08:33 --- mother of two, Jillian Searle, had to choose between her children when she made a life-or-death decision.
Swept up by mountainous tsunami（海啸）waves at a Thai resort ( 旅游胜地), she couldn't hold on to both her young sons and survive. Fighting to stay above the waters, she had to choose which one would have to take his chances in the swirling torrent ( 漩流 ).
“I knew I had to let go of one of them and I just thought I’d better let go of the one that's the older,” she told Sky News Television in a report broadcast on Thursday. She said she was accompanied by the two boys, Lachie, 5, and two-year-old Blake, and their father, Brad, who had watched the drama helplessly from their first-floor hotel room, when the waves struck. “and I was screaming, trying to find him, and we thought he was dead,” she told reporters on arrival back in Australia.
Lachie was found alive about 2 hours later clinging (扳住) to a door and, looked uninjured as his mother spoke to reporters.
British surfer ( 冲浪运动员) Martin Markwell is also a lucky man. He had always dreamed of catching that perfect wave-- but when it finally came along, it was a nightmare (噩梦). He was on his surfboard when he was swept up by a tsunami wave.
“It was really terrible because I was surfing. I was really surfing on a wave I wasn't supposed to be on.” he said. “As an experienced surfer, when I saw the wave come, I realized something was wrong, but I couldn't escape because my surfboard was tied to my ankle（脚踝）.”
His wife Vicki and son Jake looked on in horror from a hotel balcony (阳台) as he crashed towards the shore. Luckily, he stayed atop his board until he reached the hotel, jumped off and got to safety as the ocean rolled back to feed a much larger tsunami wave on its way. The family regrouped and ran to safety just minutes before a giant tsunami wave 10 meters high. When the waves struck, the father Brad _______.
| A．reported the disaster to Sky News Television |
| B．was watching a drama on TV in the hotel |
| C．tried to find his son lost in the waters |
| D．watched things going on, unable to do anything |
The underlined word “him” in the third paragraphrefers to _______.
| A．an old man | B．Lachie | C．Brad | D．Blake |
It's not true that Lachie and Martin _______.
| A．were both accompanied by their family when the disaster happened |
| B．both survived from the high waves when tsunami struck |
| C．were both travelers from Europe on holiday in Thailand |
| D．were both alive owing to their proper judgment and determination |
The best title of this news story would be_______.
| A．Narrow escape | B．Disaster caused by tsunami |
| C．Exciting surfing experience | D．Struggle against tsunami |