Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1,500 B.C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world’s population is left-handed.
Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person’s two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the left hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain. The right side of the brain, which makes a person’s hands and eyes work together, controls the left hand. The left side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.
No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged when they are born. However, this doesn’t happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因) for right-handedness, he / she may become either right-handed or left-handed according to the chance and the people they work or live with.
Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don’t have to. What did the scientists find after studying works of art made at different times in history?
A. The art began from 1,500 B.C.
B. The works of art ended in the 1950s.
C. Most people shown in the works of art are right-handed.
D. Most people shown in the works of art are left-handed.How many people in the world are left-handed now?
| A．About 10%-15%. | B．About 50%. |
| C．About 40%. | D．The passage doesn’t tell us. |
What is the left hand for most people used to do?
| A．It’s used to work with things. |
| B．It’s used to find or hold things. |
| C．It’s used to make a person’s eyes work together. |
| D．It’s the centre for thinking and doing problems. |
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness. |
| B．Today children are not made to use their right hands only. |
| C．No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed. |
| D．Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed. |
The best TITLE for this passage is _______.
| A．Scientists’ New Inventions | B．Left-handed People |
| C．How Brains Control Hands | D．Which Hand |
任务型阅读（10小题*1=10分）
You must hear about earthquakes,but do you know what to do during and after an earthquake?Here is some advice for you:
Before an earthquake.It is necessary to prepare yourself and your family.All family members should know how to turn off gas,water and electricity and know useful telephone numbers（doctor,hospital,police,119,etc）.Never put heavy things over beds.
During the earthquake.It’s important to for each of you to stay calm.If you are indoors ,quickly move to a safe place in the room such as under a strong desk or a strong table.It can protect yourself from falling things.Stay away from windows ,large mirrors,heavy things and so on.If you are cooking,turn off the gas.
If you are outdoors,move to an open area like a playground.Move away from buildings,bridges and trees.If you are driving,stop the car as soon as possible .Stay in your car.
After an earthquake.Once the shaking stops,do not run out of the building at once.It’s better to wait and leave when it is safe.
Check around you and help the people in trouble.If your building is badly broken,you should leave it.If you smell or hear gas,get someone outside and open windows and doors.If you can do it safely,turn off the gas.Repeat it to the gas company.
| Some useful |
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Before an earthquade |
Don’t Remember some useful telephone numbers and not to |
Moving to a safe place in the room can protect yourself from falling things if you are Remmember to turn off the gas if you are cooking. Moving to an open area and away from builings is Remember to stop your car and stay in it if you are driving. |
|
After an earthquake |
Run out of the building Check around you and help the people in trouble. Leave your badly broken building. Keep everyone outside and ererything |
Thirty years ago, Lake Ponkapog in Hartwell, New Jersey, was full of life. Many birds and animals lived beside the water, which was full of fish. Now there are few birds, animals, and fish. The lake water is polluted. It is in a colour of dirty brown, and it is filled with strange plants.
How did this happen? First, we must think about how water gets into Lake Ponkapog. When it rains, water comes into the lake from all around. In the past, there were forests all round Lake Ponkapog, so the rainwater was clean.
Now there are many homes around the lake. People often use the chemicals (化学制品)in their gardens. They use other chemicals inside their houses for cleaning and killing insects. There are also many businesses. Businesses use chemicals in their machines of shops. Other chemicals fall onto the ground from cars or trucks. When it rains, the rainwater picks up all the chemicals from home and businesses and then carries them into the lake . They pollute the water and kill the animals.
Boats on the lake are also a problem. Lake Ponkapog is a popular place for motorboats（汽船）. But oil and gas from boats often get into the lake. So more bad chemicals go into the water this way.
People in Hartwell are worried . They love their lake and want to save it. Will it be possible? A clean lake must have clean rainwater going into it. Clean rainwater is possible only if people are more careful about chemicals at home and at other chemicals on the ground. And they mustn’t use motorboats any more on the lake. All these may change people’s lives. Only then can Lake Ponkapog be a beautiful, clean lake again. In the past, the water in Lake Ponkapog was made clean by ________.
| A．forests | B．rain | C．birds | D．fish |
Chemicals from homes and businesses _________.
| A．are always clean | B．can help the animals |
| C．are good for the lake | D．get into the rainwater |
Cleaner rainwater will mean _________ .
| A．more boats on the lake | B．more dirty things in the lake |
| C．a cleaner lake | D．a dirty lake |
To save Lake Ponkapog, people need to ________.
| A．be more careful about chemicals | B．use the water |
| C．grow fewer plants in the gardens | D．use more motorboats on the lake |
The passage is about ________.
| A．boats on the Lake Pankapog | B．why the water is dirty in Lake Ponkapog |
| C．clean rainwater | D．dirty lakes |
Everyone needs friends. Friends bring us happiness and hope in our lives. But the ability to make friends changes from person to person. To some people, making friends is easy, and to others it’s very difficult.
Making friends is a skill, and the first thing is to know how to get on with others.
If you have trouble in making friends, maybe I can tell you how to do it.
Realize your own good points. You have skills and talents(才能) that others will like.
Believe that you are a good person and have something nice to share with others.
Be humourous. Learn to laugh at yourself and your weakness. Remember to smile at others.
Respect the others. Everyone has his own idea. Learn how to listen to others’ ideas without trying to make them accept yours.
Be kind. If you are kind to others, they will usually be kind to you. There are hundreds of little things you can do to show your kindness. Open the door for someone. Wave to a friend and so on.
Don’t complain(抱怨). Learn to accept what you can’t change, and work hard to change what you can. No one is willing to hear your complaints all the time.
Never give up. Even if you are faced with some closed-minded people, never give up. And try to find someone who will understand you.Why do we need friends according to the passage?
| A．Friends can do everything for us. | B．Friends can bring us happiness. |
| C．Friends accept our ideas all the time. | D．Without friends, we could not live. |
What’s the first thing we should learn in order to make friends?
| A．To help others. | B．To smile to others. |
| C．To get on with others. | D．To listen to others’ complaints. |
Which of the following shows a sense of humour?
| A．Opening the door for someone. |
| B．Complaining to others all the time. |
| C．Laughing at ourselves and our weakness. |
| D．Finding someone wo will understand us. |
How many pieces of advice does the writer provide when we have trouble in making friends?
| A．Five. | B．Seven. | C．Nine. | D．Eleven. |
What should we do when we have trouble in making friends?
| A．Respect others. | B．Complain. | C．Give up. | D．Laugh at them |
People like to say：“The hand that rocks(摇动)the cradle(摇篮)rules the world．”Or theysay：“Behind every successful man，there is a woman．”
Now some women still like making their husbands and sons successful．But some women want more for themselves．They want to be successful as men．
Today the best jobs are still given to men．Even when women do the same work，they are often paid less than men．Some women want these things changed．They want to stand beside the men，with the same chances for success．
Now many American women are earning money outside their homes．More than half of the women at the age of eighteen to sixty-five have good jobs．In general，working women have more education than those who stay at home．
Among women with jobs，eight out of ten drive a car to work，and most of them often spend their holidays away from home．They like traveling by air．Women’s work has made several changes in women’s lives and in men’s lives，too．
But things are quite different from those in the Middle East countries．
In the Middle East countries，women have to stay at home．They look after their families and do all the housework．They can’t find work outside．When they go out in public．they cover their faces with something and walk behind their husbands．
For the past few years the women’s life has been changing in those countries．Many women want to play an active role in the society．Though working gives them few chances of getting married，many men still want to marry them in the old ways．More and more women want to get jobs because．
| A．they don’t want to stand behind their husbands in the street |
| B．they think they are more important than men |
| C．they think they are as important as men |
| D．housework troubles them too much |
Some women are still badly paid．
| A．because women want more money |
| B．because of the old ways of thinking |
| C．because women can’t do as well as men do |
| D．but we don’t know why |
If women have got higher education．
| A．they can get better jobs more easily | B．they don’t have to do any housework |
| C．they can travel by plane | D．they can be paid better than men |
Working gives women．
| A．the chance to receive more education than men |
| B．chances to play an important role in the society |
| C．more pay than men |
| D．fewer chances of getting married |
From this passage we know．
| A．women have the same rights as men today |
| B．women don’t want to work outside their homes |
| C．more and more women want to play an active role in their countries |
| D．in the Middle East countries all the women stay at home |
The world itself is becoming much smaller by using modern traffic and TV, telephone and so on. Life today is much easier than it was hundreds of years ago, but it has also brought new problems. One of the biggest is pollution. Pollution comes in many ways. We see it, smell it, drink it and even hear it.
The more people, the more pollution. Many years ago, the problem was not so serious because there were not so many people. Man is now slowly polluting the whole world..
Air pollution is still the most serious. It’s bad to all living things in the world. Water pollution kills our fish and pollutes our drinking water. Noise pollution makes us become angry more easily.
Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. They stop people from burning coal in houses and factories in the city.
The pollution of SO2 is now the most dangerous problem of air pollution. It is caused by heavy traffic. It is sure that if there are fewer people driving, there will be less air pollution.Our world is becoming much smaller _______.
| A．because the earth is being polluted day and night |
| B．thanks to science development |
| C．because of the rise in population |
| D．because the earth is blown away by the wind every year |
Thousands of years ago, life was _______it is today.
| A．much easier than | B．as easy as | C．as hard as | D．much harder than |
Pollution comes in many ways. We can even hear it. Here “it” means______.
| A．Water pollution | B．air pollution | C．noise pollution | D．rubbish |
Air pollution is the most serious kind of pollution because ________.
| A．it’s bad to all living things in the world | B．it makes much noise |
| C．it has made our rivers and lakes dirty | D．it makes us become angry more easily |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．Many countries are making rules to fight pollution. |
| B．The pollution of the earth grows as fast as the world’s population does. |
| C．From now on, maybe people should try to go to work by bus or bike instead of car ormotorbike. It is helpful to fight against the problem of SO2. |
| D．The problem of pollution is not so serious because there are so many people |