Parents who feel disappointed at their teenagers’ failure to pay attention in class, and inability to sit quietly long enough to finish homework or plan ahead, should take solace. Their children are not being lazy or careless, according to new research.
The research has found that teenagers’ brains continue developing far longer into adulthood than we used to think. Teens may look like young adults but their brain structure is similar to that of much younger children.
“It is not always easy for teens to pay attention in class without letting their minds wander, or to ignore distractions from their younger brothers or sisters when trying to solve a maths problem,” said Dr Iroise Dumon-theil. “But it’s not the fault of teenagers that they can’t pay attention and are easily distracted. It’s to do with the structure of their brains. Teens simply can’t think as well as an adult.”
The research showed that the brain of a teenager works less effectively than that of an adult. “We knew that the front of the brain of teens functioned in a chaotic (混乱的) way but we didn’ t realize it continued until the late 20s or early 30s,” said Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, who led the research.
Chaotic thought patterns are a result of teenagers’ brains containing too much grey matter — the cell bodies and connections which carry messages within the brain. As we age, the amount of grey matter in our brain reduces.
“What our research has shown is that there is simply too much going on in the brains of teens,” said Blakemore. “The result is that their brain energy and resources are wasted and their decision-making process is badly influenced. Adults, on the other hand, have less grey matter. This means that the brain works far more effectively.”The underlined word “solace” in Paragraph 1 may mean _____.
| A． notice | B．medicine | C． comfort | D．action |
When making decisions, _____.
| A． teens’ brains continue to do much needless work |
| B． the grey matter in young children’s front brain becomes active |
| C． people are not likely to be distracted until their late 30s |
| D． adults are more independent than teens |
What is the effect of having too much grey matter?
| A． It makes us always feel disappointed. |
| B． It makes us more intelligent. |
| C． It had a bad effect on the growth of teens. |
| D． It had a bad effect on decision-making. |
What’s the text mainly about?
| A． Teens have different brains from those of children. |
| B． Adults work more effectively than teens. |
| C． Grey matter makes teens unable to pay attention. |
| D． Brain energy is wasted in the brain’s activity. |
D
When I saw a big handmade signboard “Welcome Yuxin” at the airport, I knew I had found a caring family at the other side of the world – the United States.
My host mom had already decorated (装饰) my room for me. There was a doll on one side of the room, and a bookcase full of books on the other – they had heard I loved reading. Mom had also prepared a keyboard for me, since she knew that I played the piano.
My life in the family did not go so well at first. Because I am the only child in my family in China, I was not used to having two younger kids – Zachary and Grace – running around me yelling (大喊大叫) all the time.
Mom had a serious talk with me about this problem on a Sunday afternoon. She told me: “You can’t just come home from school every day, go to your room and do your homework. You need to be part of this family. You need to play with my kids for at least an hour.” This rule was very annoying (烦人的) at first. I did not have much experience playing with children.
However, the more time I spent with the kids, the more I grew to love them. We played games and read books together. I even taught them Chinese. Thanks to Mom’s rule, I began to feel like I was really part of the family. 
Mom also inspired (启发) me to live a healthier life. She got up early every morning to go running. On weekends, she took the whole family to visit parks or go camping.
I did not like sports much when I was back home, but now I love to join all kinds of sports. I am healthier and more confident too.
With my American family, I found joy and laughter. I learned to live with energy and optimism (乐观) thanks to the care and responsibility of my loving American parents.
68. From Paragraph 2, we can see that _______.
A. the host mom was good at decorating rooms
B. Yuxin was fond of American dolls
C. the host mom tried hard to make Yuxin feel at home
D. Yuxin kept busy with a lot of hobbies
69. What led Yuxin to feel like she was really part of the family?
A. Yuxin’s talks with her host parents.
B. Having to join in sports with the family.
C. The host mom’s rule about playing with the kids.
D. Enjoying weekends with the host family.
70. What can we infer from the passage?
A. Yuxin’s life with her American host family went very smoothly from the beginning.
B. The host mom cared about Yuxin’s overall development.
C. The host family’s two children didn’t like Yuxin at all.
D. Yuxin didn’t notice what the host family did for her.
C
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64. Who are target learners of Rocket French Premium?
A. Students of the French language.
B. Language experts doing research into French.
C. Teachers who are eager to improve their students’ French.
D. Parents who want their children to learn French more quickly and easily.
65. Rocket French Premium describes itself as ______.
A. free and funny B. practical and interactive
C. slow but efficient D. suitable for everyone
66. Where can you probably find this article?
A. In a science magazine. B. In your textbook.
C. At the front page of the newspaper. D. In a French-learning magazine.
67. According to the text, which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. A complete Rocket French course lasts for 6 days.
B. Thousands of people worldwide have benefited from Rocket French Premium.
C. People will enroll in Rocket French Premium for different reasons, but everyone will be given a gift eventually.
D. Rocket French Premium mainly aims to introduce second-languagelearners to French culture.
B
Reading about history is nice, but finding ties to long-ago historical events in your own back yard is really exciting.
In their heavily populated area, neighbors Adam Giles, 13, and Derek Hann, 12, uncovered pieces of glass that looked quite different from what’s used today. “After digging about two feet down, I came across an interesting bottle,” Derek said. The bottle had a “scar” on the bottom, an indication that it was hand-blown rather than machine made. It also had the name “Fraser” on one side. Adam found remains of a green bottle and some very thick brown glass – again, far different from today’s.
After doing research on the computer, the boys contacted Aimee Wells of the county’s (县) Cultural Resources Office. She showed them a computer program that digitally puts old maps over modern satellite photographs.
Bingo! Their back yards were once part of a military (军事的) encampment (营地) called Camp Alger used by Ohio soldiers on their way to fight in the Spanish-American War in 1898.
So how do a few bottles get connected to a brief war that was more than a century ago? “We get there by good judgment,” Wells said. “We know the time period of the bottles and what happened in that area.” Anyone can dig a hole, but archaeologists(考古学家) seek a deeper understanding. How do the objects found relate to things around them?
When Derek and Adam realized that a soldier might have held that Fraser bottle 110 years ago, they wondered what he might have been thinking. What did he see as he looked around him? How did he pass the time waiting to go into battle? 
Historical records show that while waiting for orders, the soldiers in and around Camp Alger played baseball, played instruments and walked seven miles to the Potomac River once a week for baths. A spread of strange fever forced the closing of the camp, and there are no buildings to study. “What’s left is only what’s in the ground,” Wells said.
Derek’s and Adam’s back yards have joined the 3,400 places listed on the county’s register of archaeological sites. The boys were given tips on how to dig effectively and safely, and on how to document the location of items found.
The official record of their finds serves as another piece of the puzzle for historians seeking to form a more complete story of what happened.
“Not everybody is going to have historical objects in their own yard,” Wells said. “That’s okay. Make your own time capsule and bury it. What would you want people to know about your life years from now?”
60. What is the passage mainly about?
A. What Adam Giles and Derek Hann found in their back yard and its relationship with an encampment.
B. How Adam Giles and Derek Hann dug out the remains of an ancient military encampment.
C. The great contributions Adam Giles and Derek Hann made to the cause of archaeology.
D. The tips on how to dig out ancient objects buried under the ground safely and effectively.
61. From the passage, we can see that the boys’ discovery ______.
A. includes all kinds of hand-made and machine-made glass
B. couldn’t have been meaningful without Aimee Wells’ help
C. has helped historians find out what happened in 1898
D. has added the county to the list of archaeologist sites
62. When Wells said “We get there by good judgment.” (Paragraph 6), she meant that ______.
A. they have figured out how to get to the place where the brief war happened
B. they have established the ties to Camp Alger by finding out the time period of the bottles
C. they have managed to dig out the bottles in the back yard safely with common sense
D. they were able to locate the soldier who used the Fraser bottles 110 years ago
63. Which of the following fits the description of historical records?
A. The soldiers in and around Camp Alger delighted in playing basketball in their spare time.
B. When Camp Alger was forced to close, all the buildings there were destroyed.
C. The soldiers in and around Camp Alger often buried some bottles underground as time capsules.
D. Camp Alger was forced to close because of a spread of a strange fever.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，共40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出
最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
In the virtual (虚拟的) world, she is a popular Kungfu writer Ling Feng. At school, she is a quick-witted party emcee (主持人) and competent student union leader. She is always one of the top three scorers of her grade and the winner of various academic competitions. Last week she became the only student to be recommended by her school principal (校长) to Peking University.
She is 18-year-old Zhu Zhenhui of Haimen High School in Jiangsu, one of the 39 high schools from which Peking University will enroll students recommended by their principals next year.
Zhu stood out among more than 30 candidates(候选人), but not only for her excellent high school reports and test scores. More importantly, she has performed outstandingly in other areas, which the principal believes will not cause the least controversy (争议) among students and teachers.
Zhu loves public speaking, in both Chinese and English. Her eloquence (口才) and quick mind make her an obvious choice to introduce ceremonies and parties on campus. As a news reporter and broadcaster on her school's radio station, Zhu has a keen sense of current affairs. The young journalist interviewed Sophia Ming Ren Leung, the first female Chinese Canadian senator (议员), when the politician visited a Nanjing school where she once studied. In the same year, she won the opportunity to question Kaifu Lee when the former Google vice-president appeared at a talk show on a local TV station.
Every Sunday Zhu chairs a student union meeting, where she leads discussion on timetables, events and routine (例行) work for the following week. Under her are the ministers of the union's six departments. “The work has made me organized and decisive,” she said. On November 21, at the invitation of Zhu and other union members, the famous gymnast Huang Xu attended the opening ceremony of the school's Sports Festival.
Some girls dream of being a princess, but not Zhu. Her fantasy is to be a knight (侠士) in one of Louis Cha (Jin Yong)'s or Gu Long's works. Her online novel, in the Jianghu World, is a huge success under her pen name Ling Feng. In the 120,000-character story, a girl learns to be tolerant and positive after an accidental journey to the ancient world. A book of the same title came out in June. “I'm working on the sequel (续集),” she said.
56. Which of the following is NOT the correct description of Zhu Zhenhui?
A. An admired writer. B. An eloquent speaker.
C. A gifted dancer. D. A born leader.
57. As a leader of the student union, Zhu has done quite a lot of impressive work EXCEPT _______.
A. interviewing former vice-president of Google
B. leading discussion on routine work
C. helping organize major events in school
D. inviting gymnast Huang Xu to attend Sports Festival
58. What does the underlined word in the first paragraph mean?
A. quick in mind B. fast in action
C. speak quickly D. rapid in memorizing
59. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. Zhu learns to be tolerant and positive after leading the student union.
B. Zhu’s first novel which has 120,000 different characters has come out.
C. The school principal recommended Zhu to be enrolled in Peking University because it would cause the least controversy.
D. The first female Chinese Canadian senator is Zhu’s schoolmate.
About ten years ago, a young and very successful businessman named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his shiny, black, Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child came out, but a brick sailed out and — WHUMP! — it hit the Jag’s shiny black side door! SCREECH...!!!! Immediately Josh stopped the car, jumped out, seized the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new car. That brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please....I’m sorry! I didn’t know what else to do!" begged the boy. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were streaming down the boy’s face as he pointed around the parked car. "It’s my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled of the curb (路沿) and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up. "Sobbing, the boy asked the businessman," Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”
Moved beyond words, the young businessman tried hard to swallow (咽下) the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapers and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the black, shining Jaguar XKE — a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent (凹痕) to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. Feel for the bricks of life coming at you.The boy threw a brick at the businessman’s car because ____________.
| A．the businessman drove at a high speed | B．he envied the new car very much |
| C．he wanted to ask for some money | D．he wanted to get help from the driver |
Which of the following is the right order of the story?
a. The younger brother threw a brick at Josh’s car. b. The elder brother fell out of his wheelchair.
c. The younger brother begged Josh for help.
d. Josh lifted the elder brother back into his wheelchair. e. Josh shouted at the younger brother.
| A．b, a, e, c, d | B．a, c, d, b, e | C．b, a, c, e, d | D．a, c, b, e, d |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Josh would accept the money from the kids. | B．The two kids were Josh’s neighbors. |
| C．Josh was a kind-hearted man. | D．Josh’s new car broke down easily. |
According to the passage, the underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ____________.
| A．trying to get ready for the trouble in your future life |
| B．driving fast in a neighborhood street is dangerous |
| C．trying to be more understanding seeing others in trouble |
| D．protecting oneself from being hurt |