In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child’s acquisition（学会）of each new skill — the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is common that parents hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, and a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm（热情） for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.
Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters; others are severe over time of coming home at night or punctuality（准时）for meals. In general, the controls imposed（强加的）represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community（社区）as much as the child’s own happiness.
As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality. Also, parents should realize that “example is better than precept”. If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach（说教）, their children may grow confused, and emotionally insecure when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.
A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents’ principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills _____.
| A．should be avoided |
| B．is universal among parents |
| C．sets up dangerous states of worry in the child |
| D．will make him lose interest in learning new things |
When children are learning new skills, parents should _____.
| A．achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own |
| B．not expect too much of them |
| C．encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read |
| D．create as many learning opportunities as possible |
The second paragraph mainly tells us that _____.
| A．parental restrictions vary, and are not always enforced for the benefit of the children alone |
| B．parental controls satisfy only the needs of the parents and the values of the community |
| C．parents should be strict with their children |
| D．parents vary in their strictness towards their children according to the situation |
The underlined word “precept” （in Paragraph 3） probably means “_____”.
| A．idea | B．punishment | C．instruction | D．behaviour |
In moral matters, parents should _____.
| A．satisfy their children’s needs |
| B．be aware of the marked difference between adults and children |
| C．forbid things which have no foundation in morality |
| D．observe（遵守，奉行） the rules themselves |
Fear may be felt in the heart as well as in the head，according to a study that has found a link between the cycles of a beating heart and the chance of someone feeling fear.
Tests on healthy volunteers found that they were more likely to feel a sense of fear at the moment when their hearts are contracting and pumping blood around their bodies, compared with the point when the heartbeat is relaxed. Scientists say the results suggest that the heart is able to influence how the brain responds to a fearful event, depending on which point it is at in its regular cycle of contraction and relaxation.
Sarah Garfinkel at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School said：“Our study shows for the first time that the way in which we deal with fear is different depending on when we see fearful pictures in relation to our heart.”
The study tested 20 healthy volunteers on their reactions to fear as they were shown pictures of fearful faces. Dr Garfinkel said, “The study showed that fearful faces are better noticed when the heart is pumping than when it is relaxed.Thus, our hearts can also affect what we see and what we don't see—and guide whether we see fear.”
To further understand this relationship，the scientists also used a brain scanner(扫描仪)to show how the brain influences the way the heart changes a person's feeling of fear.
“We have found an important mechanism by which the heart and brain ‘speak’ to each other to change our feelings and reduce fear,”Dr Garfinkel said.
“We hope that by increasing our understanding about how fear is dealt with and ways that it could be reduced, we may be able to develop more successful treatments for anxiety disorders，and also for those who may be suffering from serious stress disorder.”What is the finding of the study? ________.
| A．Fear is a result of one's relaxed heartbeat. |
| B．One's heart affects how he feels fear. |
| C．Fear has something to do with one's health. |
| D．One's fast heartbeats are likely to cause fear. |
The study was carried out by analyzing ________.
| A．volunteers' heartbeats when they saw terrible pictures |
| B．the time volunteers saw fearful pictures and their health conditions |
| C．volunteers' reactions to horrible pictures and data from their brain scans |
| D．different pictures shown to volunteers and their heart－brain communication |
Which of the following is closest in meaning to “mechanism” in Paragraph 6?
| A．order | B．treatment | C．machine | D．system |
This study may contribute to ________．
| A．treating anxiety and stress better |
| B．explaining the cycle of fear and anxiety |
| C．finding the key to the heart－brain communication |
| D．understanding different fears in our hearts and heads |
Some time ago I discovered that one of my chairs had a broken leg. I didn't think there would be any difficulty in getting it mended, as there are a lot of antique (古董) shops near my home. So I left home one morning carrying the chair with me. I went into the first shop expecting a friendly reception. I was quite wrong. The man wouldn't even look at my chair.
The second shop, though slightly more polite, was just the same, and the third and the fourth - so I decided that my approach must be wrong. I entered the fifth shop with a plan in my mind. I placed the chair on the floor and said to the shopkeeper, "Would you like to buy a chair?" "Twenty pounds," I said. "OK,"he said. "I'll give you twenty pounds." "It's got a slightly broken leg," I said. "Yes, I saw that. It's nothing." Everything was going according to the plan and I was getting excited. "What will you do with it?" I asked. "Oh, it will be easy to sell once the repair is done. " "I'll buy it," I said. "What do you mean? You've just sold it to me," he said. "Yes, I know but I've changed my mind. I am sorry. I'll give you twenty-seven pounds for it." " You must be crazy," he said. Then, suddenly the penny dropped. "I know what you want. You want me to repair your chair." "You're right," I said. "And what would you have done if I had walked in and said, 'Would you mend this chair for me?'" "I wouldn't have agreed to do it," he said. "We don't do repairs, not enough money in it and too much trouble. But l'll mend this for you. Shall we say for five pounds?"
He was a very nice man and was greatly amused by the whole thing.We can learn from the text that in the first shop the writer_____.
| A．was rather impolite |
| B．asked the shopkeeper to repair his chair |
| C．asked the shopkeeper to buy his chair |
| D．was warmly received |
The underlined word "approach" in the second paragraph means_____.
| A．plan for dealing with things |
| B．decision to sell tings |
| C．way of doing things |
| D．idea of repairing things |
The expression "the penny dropped" means the shopkeeper______.
| A．changed his mind |
| B．accepted the offer |
| C．saw the writer's purpose |
| D．decided to help the writer |
From the text, we can learn that the writer was_____.
| A．honest | B．careful | C．funny | D．smart |
One Sunday, I took my daughter to the seaside. On arriving at the beach, I saw JoJo, a wealthy man in hotel business. We sat down to chat in an open air cafe while I watched my daughter enjoy herself on the swings (秋千) in front of us.
Suddenly, our conversation was interrupted by a stranger, who politely asked permission to speak to me privately. People often want to tell me something about my TV show.
We stood a bit away from my table. He said, “I’m James, the father of a 7-year-old girl who’s very sick. The doctors said that if she was treated in the UK, she would probably survive. But I’m poor, so can you help me, please?”
I stared into the man’s eyes full of tears and asked how I could help. After I went back, JoJo asked me, “What's wrong?” I told him about it and he was very sorry for that family.
All day I thought about James's family. I even thought about making a special TV show to raise money for the sick child.
On Monday morning, JoJo walked into my office. Actually, JoJo was very busy, and I never imagined he would have the time to come and see me.
“Please, call the man and tell him I’ll pay all the expenses for the girl’s treatment,” JoJo said with a cheque in his hand. “I've been married for 35 years; I wasn’t lucky enough to have a child. Sometimes I feel lonely. I want to help this child.” I picked up the phone to call James.
Now James’s daughter is well and JoJo sometimes goes to visit her. I’m so happy that there are so good people on this earth.According to the passage, the writer _____ .
| A．often go to the beach with his daughter |
| B．is often troubled by his audience |
| C．was unwilling to help James |
| D．met JoJo at the beach by accident |
James turned to the writer for help probably because he _____.
| A．guessed the writer was rich enough to help him |
| B．wanted the writer to ask JoJo for help |
| C．thought the writer could help him through TV |
| D．knew the writer was warm-hearted |
Why did JoJo make up his mind to help James? _____.
| A．To show his love for a child. |
| B．To remove his loneliness by doing something. |
| C．To show his warm heart and kindness. |
| D．To build a relationship with Jame's family. |
John Milton was born in 1606. His father expected him to enter the church of England, but Milton wanted to be a poet. At twenty-nine Milton set off for a travel on the continent. He traveled in France, Switzerland and Italy, winning the friendship of many artists and scientists, including Galileo, the famous Italian scientist who suffered for his discovery in prison. In 1639, he was planning to go on this journey when the news reached him of the break between the king and Parliament(国会). Milton returned to England immediately, and put himself into the struggle against the king, for which he had long been prepared. During the Civil war, Milton worked as the spokesman of the revolution. By the beginning of 1652, Milton had become completely blind, yet he didn’t stop fighting. After the Restoration(复辟), his books were burnt, and he himself avoided being killed because of his blindness.
John Milton was not only a brave revolutionary but also a great poet. His famous poem Paradise Lost(失乐园) was an immediate success. But, for its publication (being published), Milton received only 18 pounds. He died in 1671.The underlined word “continent” in the first paragraph means ________.
| A．Asia | B．Europe | C．America | D．Africa |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．In 1635 Milton made friends with many artists and poets. |
| B．Milton was put in prison for his discovery. |
| C．Paradise Lost was popular and was a hit at that time. |
| D．Milton was determined to be a poet because he didn’t like churches. |
Milton would have been killed if ________________.
| A．he had been the spokesman of the revolution |
| B．his books hadn’t been burnt |
| C．he hadn’t written the poem Paradise Lost |
| D．he hadn’t been completely blind |
Edda, a Little Valkyrie’s First Day of School
Written and illustrated(配图) by Adam Auerbach.
32 pp. Christy Ottaviano/Holt. $15.50.
Edda’s home is in Asgard, “a land full of magic and adventure.” But Edda, the littlest Valkyrie, doesn’t have quite enough to do, until her father flies her “all the way to Earth for the first day of school.”
The contrast between home and school is hard to get used to (in one, she can ride reindeer; in the other she gazes guinea pig(天竺鼠) through glass at the classroom). In his first picture book, Auerbach mixes the two worlds perfectly. Children are likely to appreciate the joke.
Planet Kindergarten
By Sue Ganz-Schmitt. Illustrated by Shane Prigmore.
32 pp. Chronicle. $14.99.
After careful preparations and a successful blastoff, a boy finds himself in a very unfamiliar environment. “We’re aliens from many galaxies(星系) on Planet Kindergarten,” he reflects as he sees his very varied classmates for the first time.
Prigmore, who designs for the movie industry, uses black backgrounds and bright colors to give this space adventure visual excitement and humor.
The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade
By Justin Roberts. Illustrated by Christian Robinson.
42 pp. Putnam. $18.99.
It makes sense that the author of the long, rhyming lines in “The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade” is a children’s music performer. The story is about the power of one small person to fight prejudice.
Sally, whom no one ever seems to notice, is “paying super extra special attention” to the “terrible stuff” happening around her. When she decides to take action, she’s not alone for long.
And Two Boys Booed
By Judith Viorst.
32 pp. Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. $16.59.
Ever felt quietly confident one minute, and a shaking mess the next? In Viorst’s story about determination, a little boy wakes up thinking about singing his song in the class talent show.Which of the following is true about the book Edda, a Little Valkyrie’s First Day of School?
| A．Edda found it easy to apply herself to the life on earth. |
| B．The book was Adam Auerbach’s first picture book. |
| C．The book was illustrated by Shane Prigmore. |
| D．The story of the book was about a little boy’s determination. |
If you are interested in space adventure, you would probably choose______.
| A．Edda, a Little Valkyrie’s First Day of School |
| B．Planet Kindergarten |
| C．The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade |
| D．And Two Boys Booed |
The book The Smallest Girl in the Smallest Grade was published by__________.
| A．Christy Ottaviano/Holt. |
| B．Chronicle. |
| C．Putnam |
| D．Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux. |
All of the four books mentioned_______________.
| A．are for children |
| B．have the same number of pages |
| C．have colorful pictures in them |
| D．need reading under parents’ guidance |