Remind children that bad things don’t last. It may sound simple, but the message is extremely important. “Children often don’t have the experience to know that when something bad happens---they lose an important game or their best friend lets them down---it’s not the end of the world,” explains Nancy Leffert, a senior research scientist with the Research Institute, an American adolescents(青少年) and children’s research group. “They think their bad feelings will last for ever, or that one failure will ruin everything.”
Unfortunately, that kind of thinking discourages motivation(动机). “If a child believes that the cause of her upset is lasting, or that nothing she does will make a difference, it decreases her ability to keep on trying.” says Dorothy Rich, president of the MegaSkills Education Center of the Home and School Institute, based in Washington. Any time you can help your child see that a situation is not lasting, that a result can be changed, or that one opinion does not reflect reality, you give her reason to hope.
Case in point: “When my daughter Kathy was eight, art was one of her favorite subjects,” says Beth, a mother of two. “Then she got an art teacher who gave a great deal of praise to one student and barely noticed the rest. Kathy was ready to give up until I explained to her, “Never stop doing your best just because one person doesn’t give you praise.” Beth had to repeat the advice often, and finally her daughter got the message. “Kathy is 12 now, and art is still one of her strongest subjects.”According to the passage we know many children__________.
| A．know how to face a failure |
B．try their best  to avoid a situation of failure |
| C．don’t want to stay in bad feelings for ever |
| D．tend to take a failure as the end of the world |
Which of the following is RIGHT about Nancy Leffert?
| A．She is concerned about children’s attitudes towards failure. |
| B．She is the president of the Education Center. |
| C．She strongly believes that bad things won’t last long. |
| D．She is the director of the Research Institute. |
Which of the following can a parent say to his children to show that one’s opinion does not reflect reality?
| A．“If you call your friend and apologize, he won’t stay mad at you.” |
| B．“Go ahead. Don’t care what other people think.” |
| C．“You have lost today, but you can try again tomorrow.” |
| D．“That may be what your teacher thinks, but I see it differently.” |
The best title of the passage is__________.
| A．Help Children Promote Problem Solving Ability |
| B．Tell Children Not to Let Failure Ruin Them |
| C．Set Reasonable Hopes for Your Children |
| D．Teach Your Children to Be Happy |
Rainforests are home to a rich variety of medicinal plants， food， birds and animals. Can you believe that a single bush （灌木丛） in the Amazon may have more species of ants than the whole of Britain! About 480 varieties of trees may be found in just one hectare of rainforest.
Rainforests are the lungs of the planet ﹣ storing vast quantities of carbon dioxide and producing a significant amount of the world's oxygen. Rainforests have their own perfect system for ensuring their own survival；the tall trees make a canopy（树冠层） of branches and leaves which protect themselves， smaller plants， and the forest animals from heavy rain，intense dry heat from the sun and strong winds.
Amazingly， the trees grow in such a way that their leaves and branches， although close together， never actually touch those of another tree. Scientists think this is the plants' way to prevent the spread of any tree diseases and make life more difficult for leaf﹣eating insects like caterpillars. To survive in the forest， animals must climb， jump or fly across the gaps. The ground floor of the forest is not all tangled leaves and bushes， like in films， but is actually fairly clear. It is where dead leaves turn into food for the trees and other forest life.
They are not called rainforests for nothing! Rainforests can generate 75% of their own rain. At least 80 inches of rain a year is normal ﹣ and in some areas there may be as much as 430 inches of rain annually. This is real rain ﹣ your umbrella may protect you in a shower， but it won't keep you dry if there is a full rainstorm. In just two hours， streams can rise ten to twenty feet. The humidity（湿气）of large rainforests contributes to the formation of rainclouds that may travel to other countries in need of rain.
（1）What can we learn about rainforests from the first paragraph？
| A． |
They produce oxygen. |
| B． |
They cover a vast area. |
| C． |
They are well managed. |
| D． |
They are rich in wildlife. |
（2）Which of the following contributes most to the survival of rainforests？
| A． |
Heavy rains. |
| B． |
Big trees. |
| C． |
Small plants. |
| D． |
Forest animals. |
（3）Why do the leaves and branches of different trees avoid touching each other？
| A． |
For more sunlight. |
| B． |
For more growing space. |
| C． |
For self﹣protection. |
| D． |
For the detection of insects. |
（4）What can be a suitable title for the text？
| A． |
Life﹣Giving Rainforests |
| B． |
The Law of the Jungle |
| C． |
Animals in the Amazon |
| D． |
Weather in Rainforests |
In May 1987 the Golden Gate Bridge had a 50th birthday party. The bridge was closed to motor traffic so people could enjoy a walk across it. Organizers expected perhaps 50，000 people to show up. Instead， as many as 800，000 crowded the roads to the bridge. By the time 250，000 were on the bridge， engineers noticed something terrible： the roadway was flattening under what turned out to be the heaviest load it had ever been asked to carry. Worse， it was beginning to sway（晃动）. The authorities closed access to the bridge and tens of thousands of people made their way back to land. A disaster was avoided.
The story is one of scores in To Forgive Design： Understanding Failure， a book that is at once a love letter to engineering and a paean （赞歌） to its breakdowns. Its author， Dr. Henry Petroski， has long been writing about disasters. In this book， he includes the loss of the space shuttles （航天飞机） Challenger and Columbia， and the sinking of the Titanic.
Though he acknowledges that engineering works can fail because the person who thought them up or engineered them simply got things wrong， in this book Dr. Petroski widens his view to consider the larger context in which such failures occur. Sometimes devices fail because a good design is constructed with low quality materials incompetently applied. Or perhaps a design works so well it is adopted elsewhere again and again， with seemingly harmless improvements， until， suddenly， it does not work at all anymore.
Readers will encounter not only stories they have heard before， but some new stories and a moving discussion of the responsibility of the engineer to the public and the ways young engineers can be helped to grasp them.
"Success is success but that is all that it is，" Dr. Petroski writes. It is failure that brings improvement.
（1）What happened to the Golden Gate Bridge on its 50th birthday？
| A． |
It carried more weight than it could. |
| B． |
It swayed violently in a strong wind. |
| C． |
Its roadway was damaged by vehicles. |
| D． |
Its access was blocked by many people. |
（2）Which of the following is Dr. Petroski's idea according to paragraph 3？
| A． |
No design is well received everywhere. |
| B． |
Construction is more important than design. |
| C． |
Not all disasters are caused by engineering design. |
| D． |
Improvements on engineering works are necessary. |
（3）What does the last paragraph suggest？
| A． |
Failure can lead to progress. |
| B． |
Success results in overconfidence. |
| C． |
Failure should be avoided. |
| D． |
Success comes from joint efforts. |
（4）What is the text？
| A． |
A news report. |
| B． |
A short story. |
| C． |
A book review. |
| D． |
A research article. |
The end of the school year was in sight and spirits were high. I was back teaching after an absence of 15 years， dealing with the various kinds of "forbidden fruit" that come out of book bags. Now was the spring of the water pistol （手枪）.
I decided to think up a method of dealing with forbidden fruit.
"Please bring that pistol to me，" I said."I'm going to put it in my Grandma's Box."
"What's that？" they asked.
"It's a large wooden chest full of toys for my grandchildren，" I replied.
"You don't have grandchildren，" someone said.
"I don't now，" I replied. "But someday I will. When I do，my box will be full of wonderful things for them."
My imaginary Grandma's Box worked like magic that spring， and later. Sometimes students would ask me to describe all the things I had in it. Then I would try to remember the different possessions I supposedly had taken away ﹣ since I seldom actually kept them. Usually the offenderwould appear at the end of the day，and I would return the belonging.
The years went by， and my first grandchild Gordon was born. I shared my joy with that year's class. Then someone said， "Now you can use your Grandma's Box." From then on，instead of coming to ask their possessions back， the students would say，"That's okay. Put it in your Grandma's Box for Gordon."
I loved talking about the imaginary box， not only with my students but also with my own children. They enjoyed hearing about all the forbidden fruit I had collected. Then one Christmas I received a surprise gift ﹣ a large， beautifully made wooden chest. My son Bruce had made my Grandma's Box a reality.
（1）What was the author's purpose in having the conversation with the students？
| A． |
To collect the water pistol. |
| B． |
To talk about her grandchildren. |
| C． |
To recommend some toys. |
| D． |
To explain her teaching method. |
（2）What do the underlined words"the offender" in paragraph 8 refer to？
| A． |
The student's parent. |
| B． |
The maker of the Grandma's Box. |
| C． |
The author's grandchild. |
| D． |
The owner of the forbidden fruit. |
（3）What did the students do after they learned about the birth of Gordon？
| A． |
They went to play with the baby. |
| B． |
They asked to see the Grandma's Box. |
| C． |
They made a present for Gordon. |
| D． |
They stopped asking their toys back. |
（4）What can we infer about the author？
| A． |
She enjoys telling jokes. |
| B． |
She is a strict and smart teacher. |
| C． |
She loves doing woodwork. |
| D． |
She is a responsible grandmother. |
Pali Overnight Adventures offers children and teens exciting experiences this summer. From broadcasting to street art， these are just 4 of the 17 highly unique camps being offered.
Broadcasting Camp
Become the next star reporter， news writer， director or producer. While running every aspect of our own news station， kids and their follow campers will create and host a broadcast airing each night at dinner for the entire camp. Every night it goes on the web， keeping parents and the world informed of the happenings at Pali.
Secret Agent Camp
In the movie Mission Impossible， Tom Cruise made being a secret agent seem like the coolest job ever. Campers who sign up for the 2﹣week secret agent camp can get to know about the life of real secret agents by learning strategies and military skills on the paintball field.
Culinary Camp
If your child enjoys being in the kitchen，then the culinary camp is definitely the right fit. Campers learn technical skills of roasting， frying and cutting， as well as some recipes that they can take home and share with their families.
Street Art Camp
This camp takes creative license to an entirely new level. Campers will share their colorful ideas and imagination with each other and work together to visualize， sketch and paint with non﹣traditional techniques to create the coolest mural（壁画）which will be displayed in public for all to see.
（1）How many camps does Pali Overnight Adventures offer this summer？
| A． |
2. |
| B． |
4. |
| C． |
17. |
| D． |
21. |
（2）What will campers do at the Broadcasting Camp？
| A． |
Create a website. |
| B． |
Run a news station. |
| C． |
Meet a star reporter. |
| D． |
Hold a dinner party. |
（3）Which camp will attract children who are interested in cooking？
| A． |
Broadcasting Camp. |
| B． |
Secret Agent Camp. |
| C． |
Culinary Camp. |
| D． |
Street Art Camp. |
Certain forms of AI are indeed becoming ubiquitous. For example， algorithms （算法） carry out huge volumes of trading on our financial markets， self﹣driving cars are appearing on city streets， and our smartphones are translating from one language into another. These systems are sometimes faster and more perceptive than we humans are. But so far that is only true for the specific tasks for which the systems have been designed. That is something that some AI developers are now eager to change.
Some of today's AI pioneers want to move on from today's world of "weak" or "narrow" AI， to create "strong" or "full" AI， or what is often called artificial general intelligence （AGI）. In some respects， today's powerful computing machines already make our brains look weak. AGI could， its advocates say， work for us around the clock， and drawing on all available data， could suggest solutions to many problems. DM， a company focused on the development of AGI， has an ambition to "solve intelligence". "If we're successful，" their mission statement reads， "we believe this will be one of the most important and widely beneficial scientific advances ever made."
Since the early days of AI， imagination has outpaced what is possible or even probable. In 1965， an imaginative mathematician called Irving Good predicted the eventual creation of an "ultra﹣intelligent machine …that can far surpass all the intellectual （智力的） activities of any man， however clever." Good went on to suggest that "the first ultra﹣intelligent machine" could be "the last invention that man need ever make."
Fears about the appearance of bad， powerful， man﹣made intelligent machines have been reinforced （强化） by many works of fiction﹣Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and the Terminator film series， for example. But if A I does eventually prove to be our downfall， it is unlikely to be at the hands of human﹣shaped forms like these， with recognisably human motivations such as aggression （敌对行为）. Instead， I agree with Oxford University philosopher Nick Bostrom， who believes that the heaviest risks from AGI do not come from a decision to turn against mankind but rather from a dogged pursuit of set objectives at the expense of everything else.
The promise and danger of true AGI are great. But all of today's excited discussion about these possibilities presupposes the fact that we will be able to build these systems. And， having spoken to many of the world's foremost A I researchers， I believe there is good reason to doubt that we will see AGI any time soon， if ever.
（1）What does the underlined word "ubiquitous" in Paragraph 1 probably mean？
| A． |
Enormous in quantity. |
| B． |
Changeable daily. |
| C． |
Stable in quality. |
| D． |
Present everywhere. |
（2）What could AGI do for us， according to its supporters？
| A． |
Help to tackle problems. |
| B． |
Make brains more active. |
| C． |
Benefit ambitious people. |
| D． |
Set up powerful databases. |
（3）As for Irving Good's opinion on ultra﹣intelligent machines， the author is .
| A． |
supportive |
| B． |
disapproving |
| C． |
fearful |
| D． |
uncertain |
（4）What can be inferred about AGI from the passage？
| A． |
It may be only a dream. |
| B． |
It will come into being soon. |
| C． |
It will be controlled by humans. |
| D． |
It may be more dangerous than ever. |