Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.
Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy. The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.
Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.
Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because .
| A．baby boys are much more active |
| B．baby girls like bright colors more |
| C．their parents treat them differently |
| D．there is a natural difference between them |
What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?
| A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all. |
| B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls. |
| C．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is. |
| D．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys. |
What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?
| A．Adults purposely influence their babies preference. |
| B．Babies’ preference isn’t affected by social surroundings. |
| C．Baby boys preferring to moving toys will be good at hunting. |
| D．Baby girls preferring warmer colors will be warm-hearted. |
We may read this article in a section of a newspaper.
| A．science | B．health | C．education | D．entertainment |
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A. The Arts B. The Dining In,Dining Out
C. The House & Home D. Weekend
3. The advertisement tells us The Times is ______.
A. of great benefit B. of little use
C. paid D. priceless
4. The main idea of this advertisement is ______.
A. many opportunities will be provided just to those who order home delivery
B. several new sections have been printed separately from now on
C. readers can be well informed of the latest news and sports results
D. people can pick up all the information they are interested in
第二部分阅读理解（共25小题。第一节每小题2分，第二节每小题1分；满分45分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
When a consumer (消费者) finds that something he or she bought is faulty or in some other way does not live up to what the producer says for it, the first step is to present the warranty（保单），or any other records that might help, at the store of buying. In most cases, this action will produce results. However, if it does not, there are various means the consumer may use to gain satisfaction.
A simple and common method used by many consumers is to complain（投诉）directly to the store manager. In general, the“higher up” the consumer takes his or her complaint, the faster he or she can expect it to be settled. In such a case, it is usually settled in the consumer’s favour taking it as true that he or she has a just right.
Consumers should complain in person whenever possible, but if they cannot get to the place of buying, it is acceptable to phone or write the complaint in a letter.
Complaining is usually most effective when it is done politely but firmly and especially when the consumer can show clearly what is wrong with what was bought in question. If this cannot be done, the consumer will succeed best by presenting specific information as to what is wrong, rather than by making general statements. For example, “The left speaker does not work at all and the sound coming out of the right one is unclear” is better than “This stereo（立体音响）does not work.”
The store manager may advise the consumer to write to the producer, if so, the consumer should do this, stating the complaint as politely and as firmly as possible. But if a polite complaint does not achieve the expected result, the consumer can go a step further. He or she can threaten (恐吓) to take the seller to court or report the seller to a public organization responsible for protecting consumers’ rights.
1. When a consumer finds what he bought has a fault in it , he should first .
A. complain personally to the manager
B. show something provable in written form to the store
C. threaten to take the matter to court
D. write a firm letter of complaint to the store
2. If a consumer wants a quick settlement of his problem, it’s better to complain to .
A. a shop assistant B. the producer
C. a public or ganization D. a store manager
3. The most effective complaint about what was bought can be made by .
A. showing the fault of it to the producer
B. saying firmly it is of poor quality
C. asking politely to change it
D. explaining exactly what is wrong with it
4. The passage tells us .
A. how to make the complaint have a good effect
B. how to settle a consumer’s complaint
C. how to avoid buying something wrong
D. how to deal with complaints from consumers
5. According to the passage, the last way a consumer has to use is .
A. to write to the producer
B. to quarrel with the manager
C. to warn the seller that he or she will turn to the court or a consumers’ organization for help
D. to collect several fighters to threaten the seller
Second Life is a 3D, online world in which computer users can create a new self and live a different life. Second Life is one of the most popular new online games.
But unlike other games, Second Life is not about winning or losing. Second Life is technically a computer game. But people involved in it do not consider it a game because the players create everything. Second Life is more for socializing and creating communities.
Users of Second Life are called residents. To take part, they must create an avatar, or an electronic image of themselves. Some avatars look like humans, while others look li
ke animals or imaginary creatures.
Inside the Second Life world, residents live in different versions of themselves. They build homes, run businesses, buy and sell things, work, play, and attend school. They even have relationships and get married.
Second Life was created in 2003 by Linden Lab in San Francisco, California. Linden Lab controls the Website where the ever-changing world is being created. There are now about one million people around the world who are active in Second Life. The number has grown quickly since the beginning of the year when there were about one hundred thousand users.
The average age of people involved with Second Life is about thirty. However, Linden Lab recently created Teen Second Life for younger users. Second Life has its own economy and its own money, called Linden dollars.
Millions of dollars are made and spent each month in Second Life. Users can enter Second Life for free. But they must pay for a membership if they want to own land or buy and sell goods and services.
Recently, several major companies have become involved with Second Life. They wanted to be part of the growing business world that exists within the made-up reality.
1. What’s special about the game “Second Life”?
A. It’s a game about losing and winning.
B. It creates everything in life.
C. It benefits one’s abilities to socialize and create.
D. It is simply a popular game to kill time.
2. What does the underlined word “avatar” mean?
A. An instrument someone uses. B. A picture someone takes.
C. An imaginary identity of someone. D. A weapon used in Second Life.
3. Which is NOT true about the game “Second Life”?
A. A resident in Second Life lives a life somewhat like that of real life.
B. The number of users of Second Life is about ten times as large as that of 2003.
C. You can’t enter Second Life until you pay for the entrance fee.
D. To own possessions, a resident has to pay to be a member of Second Life.
4. Why do some big companies want to join in Second Life?
A. They want to experience life in the made-up reality.
B. They want to promote their products more widely.
C. The want to be a member of Second Life.
D. They want to build agencies in Second Life.
A pair of twin-brother ligers, a rare lion-tiger hybrid(杂种), have become superstars in China's southernmost island province of Hainan after becoming the first ligers in the country to reach their first birthday.
Tens of thousands of tourists visited the liger brothers at Hainan Tropical Wildlife Park during the week-long May Day holiday that ended on Sunday, hoping to catch a glimpse of the rare animals. At least 10,000 people signed a red banner when the park celebrated the liger's birthday on May 2. People expressed the hope that the twins would be strong and healthy, the Hainan Daily reports. Zookeepers even made the twins a special birthday cake out of beef and eggs.
The ligers, born on May 2, 2005 , are named 'Ping Ping' and 'An An', which together translate as 'safe and sound'. Their mother Huan Huan is a six-year-old tigress and their father is a four-year – old lion named Xiao Erhei. The couple first gave birth to a liger in June 2004 but the cub (幼兽) died of respiratory(呼吸的）failure 72 hours later.
The pregnancy (怀孕) rate for lion-tiger couples is only between one and two percent and the cubs normally have a short life expectancy due to the differences in their chromosomes(染色体). Zoologists say only six to eight ligers are living in the world. China's first tiger-lion hybrid cub was born at Hongshan Zoo in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, in 2002. But it died a week later.
Ping Ping and An An have broken the survival record set by a liger who lived for 113 days at Hongshan Zoo.
1. Why can Ping Ping and An An become superstars?
A. Because they are the most beautiful ligers.
B. Because they are the cleverest ligers.
C. Because they are the most attractive ligers.
D. Because they are the first ligers to live for a year.
2. Why can't ligers live long ?
A. Because their chromosomes are different.
B. Because they are too small when they are born.
C. Because their parents don't live long.
D. Because they are short of food.
3. How many ligers did the passage mention?
A. Three. B. Four. C. Five. D. Six.
4. What is the best title of this passage?
A. China's longest living twin ligers celebrate their lst birthday
B. Why can't ligers in the world live long
C. How to raise ligers safely
D. The story behind the ligers
The Fourth "21th Century Cup" National English Speaking Competition is to be held in Shanghai.
Organizers: China Daily and Shanghai Broadcasting Network.
Co-ordinater: China University English Speaking Association ( CUESA).
Co-sponsors (联办单位): English Speaking Union (ESU), Lotus Software (China) Co. LtD.,Times Publishing Group of Singapore, Hilton Shanghai, Pearson Education, Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press.
Date: March 26 ( Friday), 2011
Place: Hilton Shanghai.
Competition Format (形式): Each student will present a prepared speech on the given topic, followed by a three-minute off-hand speech and a three-minute question and answer period with the judges.
Prepared speech period: six minutes.
Q & A period: three minutes.
Speech topic: People and Nature: In search of harmony (和谐）in a new age + your personal opinion. (Topics for the off hand speech will be given on the day of competition).
Prizes: Besides books and certificates (证书), the top two winners will be offered scholarships to travel to the annual international English-speaking competition which will be held by the English Speaking Union in London in May, 2011. The third and fourth place winners will be offered a study trip to Singapore, sponsored by the Times Publishing Group. The fifth through 10th place winners will be offered cash prizes. All the competitors will receive certificates from the English Speaking Union and book prizes provided by Pearson Education and Foreign Language Teaching & Research Press. The teachers of the top winners will also receive a one-year membership to the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL).
1. The main purpose of this passage is ________________________ .
A. to invite you to take part in the competition
B. to tell you some information of the competition
C. to help to improve your spoken English
D. to show you how to win the competition
2. Which of the following is NOT mentioned about the Shanghai English Speaking Competition?
A. Where and when it will take place.B. Its program.
C. What each winner will be offered. D. The number of its competitors.
3. Suppose you get the sixth place, you'll________________________ .
A. travel to London for free. B. become a one-year member of IATEFL
C. get some money, some books and a certificate D. get a chance to study in Singapore
4. An "off-hand speech" is________________________ .
A. a speech not longer than three minutes B. a speech with a piece of paper in hand
C. a speech without preparation D. a speech which is well prepared