Geniuses amaze us，impress us and make us all a little jealous. How do they differ from the average person？Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer. Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.
When Marc Yu was only two years old，he began to play the piano. After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven. Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight. He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears. He seems to be specially designed for music. In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies （神童） to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.
Geniuses didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh. His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain. After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and picture. So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art. Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine. Suffers of brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease. Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.
Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no sign of extraordinary intelligence. Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately. As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards. Make Me a Genius examines what is takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.
If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be done. Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky. Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain. In paragraph 2, Marc Yu’s story tells us_________________.
| A．a child prodigy can work easier than others. |
| B．a child prodigy is trained by family. |
| C．a child prodigy has an unbelievable listening skill. |
| D．a child prodigy always practise his skills. |
In paragraph 3, the sentence “Geniuses didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh.” means that ______________.
| A．Tommy McHugh could not be called a genius. |
| B．Tommy McHugh became a genius when he was young. |
| C．Tommy McHugh was a robot but not a real human being. |
| D．Tommy McHugh became a genius after a sudden accident. |
The writer provides different examples to _____________.
| A．show how people can be geniuses. | B．show becoming a genius is easy. |
| C．show geniuses are common. | D．show people know how to explain geniuses. |
The passage may come from_________.
| A．a report | B．a novel | C．a TV program | D．a newspaper |
Beijing opera or Peking opera （Pinyin: Jīngjù） is a form of Chinese opera which arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century．The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court and has come to be regarded as one of the cultural treasures of China．Major performance troupes （剧团，戏班子） are based in Beijing and Tianjin in the north，and Shanghai in the south．The art form is also enjoyed in Taiwan，and has spread to other countries such as the United States and Japan.
Beijing opera features four main types of performers．Performing troupes often have several of each variety，as well as numerous secondary and tertiary performers．With their elaborate （认真的，精心的） and colorful costumes，performers are the only focal points on Beijing opera's characteristically small stage．They make use of the skills of speech，song，dance，and combat in movements that are symbolic and suggestive，rather than realistic．Above all else，the skill of performers is evaluated according to the beauty of their movements．Performers also hold a variety of stylistic conventions that help audiences navigate the plot of the production．The layers of meaning within each movement must be expressed in time with music．The music of Beijing opera can be divided into the Xipi and Erhuang styles．Melodies include arias （唱腔），fixed-tune melodies，and percussion patterns．The repertoire of Beijing opera includes over 1,400 works，which are based on Chinese history，folklore，and，increasingly，contemporary life.
In recent years，Beijing opera has attempted numerous reforms in response to sagging audience numbers．These reforms，which include improving performance quality，adapting new performance elements，and performing new and original plays，have met with mixed success．Some Western works have been adopted as new plays，but a lack of funding and an adverse political climate have left Beijing opera's fate uncertain as the form enters the 21st century．How long has Beijing Opera become a popular art form?
| A．About one and a half centuries. |
| B．More than two centuries. |
| C．More than one century. |
| D．About half a century. |
How many art forms of Beijing Opera at present?
| A．Two including Beijing and Tianjin，and Shanghai in the south. |
| B．Two including Beijing and Tianjin in the north. |
| C．Three including Beijing and Tianjin，and Shanghai in the south and Taiwan. |
| D．Five including Beijing and Tianjin，and Shanghai in the south，Taiwan，US and |
What are the features of the performers’ movements of Beijing Opera?
| A．Elaborate. | B．Colourful. |
| C．Realistic . | D．Representative. |
Which of the followings is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．Performers can take different stylistic traditions in the plays. |
| B．The standard to estimate a performer is the amount of his/her movements. |
| C．It’s necessary to keep movements along the music in time. |
| D．The content of Beijing Opera is plentiful but much fixed. |
What will be the future of the Beijing Opera?
| A．Very bright. | B．Certainly good. |
| C．Much uncertain. | D．More popular. |
Each new school year brings fresh reminders of what educators call the summer learning gap．Some call it the summer learning setback．Simply speaking，it means the longer kids are out of 'school，the more they forget．The only thing they might gain is weight.
Most American schools follow a traditional nine-month calendar with winter and spring breaks and about ten weeks of summer vacation．Some schools follow a year-round calendar．They hold classes for about eight weeks at a time，with a few weeks off in between．The National Association for Year-Round Education says there were fewer than 3,000 such schools at last count．They were spread among forty-six of the fifty states.
But many experts point out that the number of class days in a year-round school is generally the same as in a traditional school．Lead researcher Paul von Hippel said，“Year-round schools don't really solve the problem of the summer learning setback．They simply spread it out across the year.
Across the country，research shows that students from poor families fall farther behind over the summer than other students．Experts say this can be prevented．They note that many schools and local governments offer programs that can help.
But calling them “summer school” could be a problem．The director of the summer learning center at Johns Hopkins，Ron Fairchild，said research with groups of different parents in Chicago and Baltimore found that almost all strongly disliked the term “summer school”．In American culture，the idea of summer vacation is connected to beliefs about freedom and the joys of childhood．The parents welcomed other terms like “summer camp,” “extra time” and “hands-on learning.”According to the first paragraph，the summer learning gap ____
| A．helps children to gain weight |
| B．leads children to work harder |
| C．improves children's memories |
| D．affects children's regular studies |
Compared to traditional schools，students in the year-round ones _____
| A．perform better and have more learning gains |
| B．have much less time for relaxation every year |
| C．have generally the same number of class days |
| D．hold more classes with more free weeks off |
Which of the following statements is true?
| A．Students from poor families often fall behind after the vocation. |
| B．Year-round schools can solve the problem of the learning gap. |
| C．There are schools in each state following a year-round calendar． |
| D．Nothing can help the students who fall behind after the vocation. |
Why did almost all parents dislike the term “summer school”?
| A．They cherish the children's rights of freedom very much. |
| B．They are worried about the quality of the “summer school”． |
| C．They want their children to be forced to make up the gap. |
| D．They can't afford to the further study during the vacation. |
What would be the best title of this passage?
| A．Opening Summer Camps |
| B．Forbidding Summer Schools |
| C．Spreading Year-Round Education |
| D．Minding the Summer Learning Cap |
Secondhand smoke isn’t just a health threat to people．It can also hurt dogs and cats，veterinarians say．
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention，more than 126 million Americans who don't smoke are exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes，vehicles，workplaces，and public places．This exposure causes thousands of lung cancer and heart disease deaths among nonsmokers every year，according to the California Environmental Protection Agency．
“Making the leap from the effects of secondhand smoke on humans to their effects on pets isn't a big one,” says veterinarian （兽医专家） Carolynn MacAllister of Oklahoma State University．
“There have been a number of scientific papers recently that have reported the significant health threat secondhand smoke poses to pets,” MacAllister said．“Secondhand smoke has been associated with oral cancer and lymphoma in cats，lung and nasal cancer in dogs，as well as lung cancer in birds.”
Studies have also shown that dogs living in a smoking household are susceptible to cancers of the nose and sinus area，particularly if they are a long-nosed breed，because their noses have a greater surface area that is exposed to carcinogens and a greater area for them to accumulate．Dogs affected with nasal cancer normally don't survive for more than one year．
“Short and medium-nosed dogs are more susceptible to lung cancer，because their shorter nasal passage aren't as effective at accumulating the inhaled secondhand smoke carcinogens,” MacAllister said．“This results in more carcinogens （致癌物质） reaching the lungs.”
Birds are also at risk for lung cancer，as well as pneumonia，because their respiratory systems are hypersensitive to any type of air pollutant．
To help prevent animals from being adversely affected by smoking，pet owners who smoke should have a designated smoking area that is separated from the home or stop smoking altogether，MacAllister said．From the passage，we can see secondhand smoke maybe not harmful to _______．
| A．smokers | B．non-smokers | C．pets | D．trees |
What can be suggested according to the passage?
| A．Smokers can smoke anywhere. |
| B．Smokers can smoke at any time. |
| C．Smokers should smoke in the designated place. |
| D．Smokers must give up smoking at once. |
What kind of dogs are likely to suffer from nasal cancer?
| A．Long-nosed dogs | B．Short-nosed dogs |
| C．Medium-nosed dogs | D．Dogs without noses |
The best title of the passage is __________.
| A．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in People |
| B．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Birds |
| C．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Pets |
| D．Secondhand Smoke Causes Cancer in Cats |
What is the meaning of the underlined phrase “are susceptible to”?
| A．are likely to be harmed by |
| B．are hard to be influenced by |
| C．are less to be effected by |
| D．are lucky to be caught by |
Three more cattle farms in Andong，North Gyeongsang Province，were found to have been infected with the deadly foot-and-mouth disease，Nov．2 2010，Thursday．People fear that livestock farms in other parts of the country could be hit by the virus soon．
On Monday，the disease was first detected on two pig farms in Andong，about half a year after the last disease broke out in Korea．A cattle farm in the area also fell victim to the animal disease the following day．
The Ministry for Food，Agriculture，Forestry and Fisheries made sure that three more cases of foot-and-mouth disease appeared on Thursday and decided to kill all the animals at the farms and others at nearby places to stop the spread of the virus to other regions．Over 800 cows and pigs within a 500 meter range of the infected farms were killed and buried underground．
“Three suspected cases were reported Wednesday，near the pig farms where the first outbreak was reported．The laboratory tests today showed that all three cattle farms were infected with the disease,” a ministry official said．Two newly infected cattle farms were less than 4 kilometers away from the two pig farms，while the third one was only 2．5 kilometers away．
The ministry also said another cattle farm in Andong reported suspected cases of foot-and-mouth disease on its livestock Thursday，indicating the disease will likely continue to spread across the city and possibly beyond．
The government has culled more than 33,000 animals near the affected farms Monday alone under its disease prevention program．Additionally，all 84 livestock markets across the nation were closed Wednesday for a period to prevent spread of the disease．
No suspected cases have been reported outside of Andong，but the government Thursday decided to destroy an additional 22,000 pigs at two farms in Boryeong，South Chungcheong Province．Last time foot and mouth disease．
| A．broke out in North cattle farms |
| B．was controlled as soon as possible |
| C．happened in June，2010 |
| D．destroyed almost all cattle in cattle farms |
How did the government deal with the disease?
| A．The government controlled only the two farms． |
| B．The government had more animals killed． |
| C．The government tried to cure the sick animals． |
| D．The government hated to kill animals． |
The underlined word “culled” has the same meaning as．
| A．treated | B．killed | C．bought | D．sold |
From the last paragraph we can know that．
| A．22,000 pigs have been infected with the disease |
| B．22,000 pigs will be moved to other farms |
| C．Boryeong is also an infected area |
| D．22,000 pigs will go down to their death |
In which part of a newspaper can you most probably read the passage?
| A．Today’s News | B．History and Culture |
| C．Entertainment | D．Science |
In the United States，train transportation is unpopular compared with cars and airplanes．Most people like traveling by car or by air.
Officials of the United States Department of Transportation made a study in 2001．The study is about how many miles Americans traveled by different means of transportation．They only studied trips longer than 50 miles．The study showed that fifty-six percent of all miles were traveled in personal vehicle．Forty-one percent were traveled in an airplane．Two percent were traveled in a bus．And less than one percent of miles were traveled in a train.
Amtrak is the national provider of train transportation in the United States．In the past ten years，the number of its passengers has increased by eighteen percent．Although the number of passengers has increased，it is still very small now．In countries such as France，Germany，or Japan，more people use trains．
There are several reasons why many people __________________________．
Firstly，Americans love to drive their own cars．On highways，cars can travel as fast as trains．These highways connect all major cities in America．Secondly，many travelers like to be independent．When they use their own cars they can decide when to travel．Thirdly，many buses travel between major cities．Bus travel is less costly than train travel.
In a huge country like the United States，cities are far away from each other．In some cases，travel from one city to another by train may take more than a day．Airplanes can carry passengers over long distances much faster．People who do not want to spend long time traveling by train decide to fly．For these people saving time is the most important thing.What is the best title of the passage? （Please answer within 10 words.）
Which sentence in the passage can be replaced by the following one?
It’s convenient for people to decide the start-off time when they travel in their own cars.Please fill in the blank in the fourth paragraph with proper words or phrases to complete the sentence.（Please answer within 10 words.）
What means of transportation do you like best when traveling，trains，cars，or planes? Why? （Please answer within 30 words）
Translate the underlined sentences in the last paragraph into Chinese.