Are some people born clever, and others born stupid? Or is intelligence (智力) developed by our environment and our experience? Strangely enough, the answer to these questions is yes. In some degree, our intelligence is given to us at birth, and no education can make a genius (天才) out of a child born with low intelligence. On the other hand, a child who lives in a boring environment will develop his intelligence less than one who lives in rich environment. Therefore, the limits of person’s intelligence are fixed at birth, whether or not he reaches those limits will depend on his environment. This point of view, now is held by most experts.
It is easy to show that intelligence is something that we are born with. The closer the blood relationship between two people, the closer they are likely to be intelligence. If we take two strangers by chance from the population, it seems that their degree of intelligence will be completely different. If, on the other hand, we compare two twins, they will very likely be as intelligent as each other. Relations like brothers and sisters, parents and children, usually have similar intelligence, and this clearly suggests that intelligence depends on birth.
Imagine now that we take two twins and put them in different environments. We might send one, for example, to a university and the other to a factory separately where the work is boring. We would soon find differences in intelligence developing, and this shows that environment as well as birth plays an important role. This conclusion is also suggested by the fact that people who live in close contact (接触) with each other, but who are not related at all are likely to have similar degree of intelligence.How is man’s intelligence given?
| A．At birth | B．Through education |
| C．Both at birth and through education | D．Neither at birth nor through education |
What does the underlined word mean in the first paragraph?
| A．稳固 | B．确定 | C．修理 | D．安排 |
According the passage, if a child is born with low intelligence, what might happen to him later?
| A．Become a genius. |
| B．Still become a genius if he should be given special education. |
| C．Reach his intelligence limits in rich environment. |
| D．Never reach his intelligence in his life. |
What can we learn from the example of the twins going to a university and to a factory?
| A．The importance of their intelligence. |
| B．The role of environment on intelligence. |
| C．The importance of their jobs |
| D．The part that birth plays |
What statement is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．No education can help make a genius. |
| B．Personality is important as intelligence which was given to people at birth. |
| C．People who have similar degree of intelligence must be relatives. |
| D．Environment influences people in intelligence developing. |
Survey: What were you scared of when you were a kid?
| I was scared of spiders but I didn’t let my friends know because all of them liked catching these spiders. I was terrified but I just acted cool. — Buding, still afraid of spiders |
| I was scared of the dark because I didn’t know if there was something scary inside the room. As a result, I always liked sleeping with my back facing the wall because it made me a little comfortable. — Gerard, not so afraid of the dark anymore, but still sleeps with his back facing the wall |
| Strange as it probably sounds, I was scared of shadows (影子). Not the shadows themselves, but what they formed (形成). Because I was near-sighted (近视的), the shadows I saw formed into the scariest things I saw in my mind. — Jean, no longer afraid of shadows |
| I was afraid of the old woman who lived alone right in front of us. Very large trees covered the front part of her small house. The few times I saw the old woman, it scared me because she looked like a witch (女巫). Once I was playing volleyball with my friends and the ball flew into her house. We all ran home quickly and decided that it was okay to lose the ball instead of seeing her come out of the house. — Mac, who has already moved to a different house |
Buding used to be afraid of .
| A．the dark | B．spiders |
| C．shadows | D．an old woman |
Gerard sleeps .
| A．with the light on |
| B．with his parents |
| C．with the window open |
| D．with his back facing the wall |
There is something wrong with Jean’s .
| A．legs | B．back | C．eyes | D．feet |
The old woman lived in a small house .
| A．by herself | B．with her daughter |
| C．with her husband | D．with her grandmother |
After the volleyball flew into the woman’s house, Mac and his friends .
| A．ran home quickly | B．asked her for it |
| C．broke into her house | D．waited for her to come out |
Holding doors open, picking up rubbish, thanking people … these acts of kindness seem very small. But students at Tibbett Middle School know that it’s the small acts that make the world a better place.
Eighth-graders from New Mexico, US, took part in the Random (随意) Acts of Kindness Week from Feb 10 to 14. During the week, they tried their best to do kind things for others, or for the environment.
Celeste Murray, an English teacher at the school, started the activity. “I believe the world is changed by little things,” she told the local newspaper. Over the week, Murray said she has seen changes in her class. Previously, she asked her students to push the chairs in after class. Now, the students do it by themselves. “The teachers will have less work,” said Elisa Castaneda, one of Murray’s students.
Jordan Marshall, another eighth-grader, spent the week giving out praise (赞扬). “It makes that person’s day (使那个人开心),” she said. “Besides helping others, the activity made students feel that they can make a difference,” Murray said.
Eighth-grader Haley Echols decided to continue to do at least one act of kindness every week. She believes her acts could encourage others.Random Acts of Kindness Week was started by .
| A．some eighth-graders | B．the school |
| C．a teacher | D．some parents |
What kind of act of kindness is not mentioned?
| A．Giving out praise. | B．Holding doors open. |
| C．Picking up rubbish. | D．Donating money. |
Elisa thinks if students push in chairs after class, .
| A．teachers’ work can be reduced |
| B．the environment will be better |
| C．other students’ time can be saved |
| D．no rubbish will be left |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Random Acts of Kindness Week made children feel they can make a difference. |
| B．Random Acts of Kindness Week lasted for seven days. |
| C．The teachers and students want to make the world a better place with small acts. |
| D．The activity encouraged many students. |
Good afternoon, everyone! This is Rose Garden Middle School Radio. John Smith speaking , with something new to share with you today. We all know that thinking green is sometimes the most difficult thing to do, but not impossible! Bed ZED, a new eco-friendly village (生态村） in the south of London, has done a great job of providing its villagers with a high level living while getting them to pay more attention to protecting the environment.
People in Bed ZED have done many things. They recycle their paper, plastic, glass and other daily things. They build many houses whose windows face south in order to get as much sunlight as possible. The rainwater is collected for use in the toilets. Also, the people there travel to work in shared cars or use public transportation if they work far away.
Now, you may think it’s not easy to live such a life, but let me tell you, it’s not! It’s a way of life! We just have to say no to what is bad for the environment, and begin working on ideas to protect it. Life would be much more pleasant if villages like Bed ZED existed （存在） all over the world! Thank you for listening!What people in Bed ZED often do is ______.
A. to build a lot of houses
B. to go to work in their own cars
C. to recycle the paper, plastic and glassThe expression”thinking green”might mean the same as ___.
A.building a green house
B.protecting the environment
C.keeping simple thoughtsThe writer’s opinion is that ___.
A.Bed ZED is a good example in protecting the environment
B.people should be against building eco-friendly illages
C.the idea of thinking green is hard to work on
MSF stands for Medicines Sans Frontiers. It’s also known as Doctors Without Borders (无国界医生). Medicines Sans Frontiers is French. This organization was set up by some French doctors in 1971. Since then, MSF has sent trained doctors all over the world to help people who have suffered from disasters, such as wars and illness.
Now, about 3,000 doctors and nurses work for MSF. And over 27,000 doctors have volunteered for MSF so far. The organization received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999. All kinds of doctors can volunteer for MSF. They need to be ready to go almost anywhere in the world and, of course, they should face difficulties. Most of MSF’s work is in Africa. When MSF chooses doctors for a task, they have to go for at least six months. When doctors have completed a few tasks and become experienced, they might be sent on an emergency (紧急的) task following a disaster, such as an earthquake.
But why would doctors leave a comfortable life and a good pay to join MSF? Some of them say the experience they have is a great help in their life. And they say that it’s great to give others a helping hand.
MSF needs support. They get donations from the government and businesses. But 80% of its donations come from doctors themselves.MSF is a famous ____.
| A．government | B．charity |
| C．business | D．training centre |
MSF gets most of its donations from ___.
| A．the government | B．businessrs |
| C．common people | D．doctors |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Some MSF doctors received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 |
| B．MSF has a history of over 40 years. |
| C．About 3,000 doctors and nurses work for MSF. |
| D．An MSF doctor usually goes for a task for at least half a year.. |
It’s important to learn things about protecting environment. Here’s a 5Rs rule for us.
·Reduce
If you want to reduce waste, you should use things wisely. A large number of trees are being cut down to make paper. If everyone uses paper carelessly and then throws it away, soon we would not have any trees left. Some other things are also being wasted, and people don’t know what to do with waste in big cities, so it’s necessary to reduce waste.
·Reuse
You should always think of reusing the usable things before throwing them away. Give your clothes or things you don’t use to the poor. In a family, you may pass such clothes on to your younger brothers or sisters.
·Recycle
Bottles, cans and paper can easily be recycled. By doing so we save lots of time and money, for example, cola cans are sent to a factory, where they’re smashed flat（压平）and smelted (熔化), and the metal things are made into new cola cans.
·Recover
When you buy a box of apples, there may be a few rotten apples, you have two choice: one is to throw the whole apples away, or you should cut off the rotten parts and use the good parts. In this way, you are recovering the eatable parts of food.
·Repair
If one of the legs of your table is broken, you can repair it instead of throwing the table away. If you want to change for better ones, it’s better for you to sell the old ones or give them to other people who can use them after doing some repair.The “Reduce” rule mainly requires us _____.
| A．to use things wisely | B．to cut down many trees |
| C．to use paper carelessly | D．to use more and more things |
What’s the right order of recycling cola cans?
a.smash them flat
b.collect the used cans
c.smelt them
d.send them to a factory
| A．a-b-c-d | B．d-c-b-a | C．b-d-a-c | D．b-d-c-a |
The “Reuse” rule mainly requires us _____.
| A．to throw away the old clothes |
| B．to collect waste paper and soft drink cans |
| C．to use both sides of paper |
| D．to give the old but usable things to the poor |
Which sentence is about the “Repair” rule?
| A．When you leave a room, turn off the lights. |
| B．Take a cloth bag when you go shopping. |
| C．Don’t use plastic bags. |
| D．If your chair is broken, you can repair it. |
The “Recover” rules mainly requires us ______
| A．to use the good parts of things |
| B．to cover waste things |
| C．to throw away the useful parts |
| D．to throw the whole things away |