Dyslexia is a learning disorder, it interferes with the ability to recognize words, and for some readers to understand what they have read. Experts say dyslexia affects about five to ten percent of the population of the United States. Researchers have long known that people with dyslexia write or read words and lettersbackwards in the wrong order.
But a new study shows that people with dyslexia may have trouble redirecting their attention between senses, from seeing something to hearing something. The study suggests something that might help dyslexicpeople learn more quickly - play video games.
Vanessa Harrar of Britain’s University of Oxford led the study. She reported the findings in the journalCurrent Biology. The study suggests that dyslexic people may have trouble moving quickly from what they read to what they hear.
In the study, Doctor Harrar tested 17 people with dyslexia, and 19 others without reading problems. The volunteers were asked to push a button as quickly as possible when they heard a sound, saw a light or experienced both together. Doctor Harrar compared the speed of their reactions. She found that people with dyslexia were just as fast as the others when they saw only a picture or heard only a sound. But the Dyslexicshad a slower reaction time when they heard a sound and saw a picture at the same time, this may have an effect on how dyslexic children are taught how to read.
Doctor Harrar feels like playing video games could help dyslexic people shift from seeing to hearing more quickly. She adds that images in video games force the eyes to move and focus quickly. “Video game types of things pop out of here and there, they move your eyes around the screen quite quickly in response to things quite quickly, and the more you play a video game the faster you get that kind of thing. So, the video game is really training the attention system to move quickly,” said Harrar. When children learn the alphabet, they usually see the letter first and then hear the sound, or they see and hear the letter at the same time. The study shows that Dyslexics might learn more quickly if they hear the sound of a letter or word first before seeing it.According to Doctor Harrars study, the dyslexic people have difficulty in______.
| A．recognizing words |
| B．reading words backwards |
| C．writing letters in order |
| D．shifting from seeing to hearing |
Which factor affects the way dyslexic children are taught to read?
| A．They react more slowly to a single picture or sound |
| B．They react as fast as others to a single picture or sound |
| C．It takes them longer to react to sounds and pictures together |
| D．It is difficult for them to understand before seeing the word |
How does the author suggest Dyslexics are taught based on the research finding?
| A．by putting hearing previous to seeing |
| B．by training the attention on games |
| C．by seeing first and then hearing later |
| D．by moving the eyes around the screen |
What can be the best title of the passage?
| A．Video Games Might Help Dyslexics |
| B．Dyslexia Affects Attention between Senses |
| C．Video Games Can Train the Attention System |
| D．Dyslexics Might Learn Better through Sound |
Justin’s bedroom was so full of flat bicycle tires, bent tennis rackets, deflated（瘪掉的）basketballs, and games with missing pieces that you could barely get in the door. His parents pleaded with him to clean out his room.
“What use is a fish tank with a hole in the bottom?” his father asked. But Justin simply smiled and repeated his motto, “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”
When Justin was away from home, he always carried his blue backpack--a smaller version of his bedroom--a place to store the many objects that he collected. It was so worn and stretched that it hardly resembled a backpack anymore.
Justin had earned a reputation for figuring things out and getting people out of otherwise hopeless situations. Many of his classmates and neighbors sought him out when they needed help with a problem. On the first day of school, his friend Kenny, came looking for Justin.
“Do you think you have something in your bag that could help me remember my locker combination?” he asked. “I lost the piece of paper it was written on. I have a science class in two minutes and if I'm late on the first day it’ll make me look bad for the rest of the year.” Kenny looked really worried.
“Relax,” Justin said, taking his backpack off and unzipping the top. “Remember how you borrowed my notebook in homeroom to write the combination down? Well, I know how we can recover what you wrote.”
He took the notebook and a soft lead pencil out of his bag. The page that Kenny had written on had left faint marks on another page in the notebook. Justin held the pencil on its side and rubbed it lightly over the marks. Slowly but surely the numbers of the locker combination appeared in white, set off by the gray pencil rubbings.
“That's amazing!” Kenny said. “I owe you one.” And he dashed off to open his locker.
It was just another day in the life of the boy whose motto was “Never throw anything out, you never know when it might come in handy.”Why is Justin's room such a mess? WWW.K**S*858$$U.COM
| A．He always forgets to clean it. | B．He shares the room with his brother. |
| C．He has no time to clean it. | D．He never throws anything away. |
In what way is Justin’s backpack a smaller version of his bedroom?
| A．He uses it as a place to store objects. |
| B．He uses it to carry his books and sports equipment. |
| C．His parents tell him to clean it all the time. |
| D．He's had it for as long as he can remember. |
The underlined phrase "pleaded with" means
| A．ignored | B．asked | C．pushed | D．Ordered |
How does Kenny feel toward Justin?
| A．Annoyed. | B．Disinterested. | C．Grateful. | D．Angry. |
It was a Sunday morning, and I was in a terrible mood. Two of my friends had gone to the movies the night before and hadn’t invited me. I was in my room thinking of ways to make them sorry when my father came in. “Want to go for a ride, today, Beck? It’s a beautiful day.”
“No! Leave me alone!” Those were the last words I said to him that morning.
My friends called and invited me to go to the mall with them a few hours later. I forgot to be mad at them and went. I came home to find a note on the table. My mother put it where I would be sure to see it. “Dad has had an accident. Please meet us at Highland Park Hospital”.
When I reached the hospital, my mother came out and told me my father’s injuries were extensive. “Your father told the driver to leave him alone and just call 911, thank God! If he had moved Daddy, there’s no telling what might have happened. A broken rib (肋骨) might have pierced (穿透) a lung....”
My mother may have said more, but I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear anything except those terrible words: Leave me alone. My dad said them to save himself from being hurt more. How much had I hurt him when I hurled (愤慨地说出) those words at him earlier in the day?
It was several days later that he was finally able to have a conversation. I held his hand gently, afraid of hurting him.
“Daddy... I am so sorry....”
“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll be okay.”
“No,” I said, “I mean about what I said to you that day. You know, that morning?”
My father could no more tell a lie than he could fly. He looked at me and said, “Sweetheart, I don’t remember anything about that day, not before, during or after the accident. I remember kissing you goodnight the night before, though.” He managed a weak smile.
My English teacher once told me that words have immeasurable power. They can hurt or they can heal. And we all have the power to choose our words. I intend to do that very carefully from now on.The author was in bad mood that morning because ________.
| A．his father had a terrible accident |
| B．he couldn’t drive to the mall with his friends |
| C．his friends hadn’t invited him to the cinema |
| D．his father didn’t allow him to go out with his friends |
Why did the author say sorry to his father in the hospital?
| A．Because he didn’t go along with his father. |
| B．Because he was rude to his father that morning. |
| C．Because he failed to come earlier after the accident. |
| D．Because he couldn’t look after his father in the hospital. |
The reason why the author’s father said he forgot everything about that day is that ________.
| A．he had a poor memory |
| B．he didn’t want to forgive his son |
| C．he just wanted to comfort his son |
| D．he lost his memory after the accident |
What lesson did Beck learn from the matter?
| A．Don’t treat your parents badly. |
| B．Don’t hurt others with rude words. |
| C．Don’t move the injured in an accident. |
| D．Don’t be angry with friends at small things. |
Books for Children
| Fleabag and the Ring's EndBeth Webb More stories of Fleabag, the talking cat—star of this wonderful set of 3 books. Ages 8—13, 208 pages, paper-back07459 44116, ￡3.99 |
The little White HouseElizabeth GoudgeA fairy tale and winner of the Carnegie Medal.Ages 8—12, 240 pages, paper-back07459 45783, ￡4.99 |
| My Very First Christmas BookLois Rock and Alec AyliffeA big, bright book, which presents the story simply, and delightfully for very young children.Ages 0—3, 12 pages, 200mmx200mm, board07459 40560, ￡4.99 |
First Festival: ChristmasLois RockAn all-in-one book to help grown-ups and children prepare their Christmas celebration together. Presents, activities and customs.Ages 5—8, 48 pages, 290mmx250mm, hardback07459 39074, ￡8.99 |
| Star of WonderPat AlexanderA wonderful collection of Christmas stories and poems. Full of lively pages to read and enjoy.Ages 7—12, 224 pages, paperback07459 39323, ￡4.99 |
The Not-So-Wise Man Alan MacDonald and Andrew Rowland We all know about the 3 Wise Men who traveled to Bethlehem（伯利恒）and discovered the baby Jesus Christ. This is the tale of another one, who always missed the point. Ages 5—9, 32 pages, 270mm×210mm, hardback.07459 38922, ￡8.99 |
If you want to make a Christmas plan together with your children, which book do you prefer？
| A．Star of Wonder | B．The Not-So-Wise Man |
| C．First Festival: Christmas | D．My Very First Christmas Book |
Which number would you dial if you want to order a book for your 2-year-old child?
| A．07459 40560. | B．07459 38922. |
C．07459 45783. | D．07459 44116. |
If your child wants to read stories of animals, whose book will be your choice?
| A．Pat Alexander. | B．Beth Webb. |
| C．Lois Rock. | D．Elizabeth Goudge. |
In Britain today, is it possible to tell a person’s class just by looking at him? Physical details alone tell us about health, diet and the type of work a person does. A hundred years ago the working class often looked unhealthy, small and they were either too thin or too fat. The upper classes were often tall, sporting types who were used to a good diet and looked healthy. Today living and working conditions have improved, and such descriptions are no longer true. People are taller now than a hundred years ago. Everyone in Britain today is able to have free medicine, a good diet, acceptable working conditions and enough rest and leisure. WWW.K**S*858$$U.COM
The clothes people choose to wear, however, do provide information about their backgrounds. Expensive clothes look expensive and show their wearer is rich. Clothes can provide other clues as well. The upper classes appear to be less interested in fashion and wear good quality clothes in non-bright colours, made of natural material like wool, leather and cotton. Lower working-class people often choose clothes in bright colours, made of man-made materials. A sociological explanation for this would be that colour and interest are missing from their lives, and therefore any opportunity to produce this is taken.
Clothes are available at a price within most people’s reach. New clothes make the wearer feel good and show some degree of wealth to the outside world. Today it is the younger people who spend most money on clothes. Fashion is no longer for the upper classes and the rich. Young people from all social classes spend a lot of money on clothes. Some new fashions are started by working-class people who want to look different and feel important. They want people WWW.K**S*858$$U.COMto look at them. In the past, a person’s appearance could not tell other people about his ________.
| A．health | B．diet | C．occupation (职业) | D．habits |
The clothes people choose to wear tell us about their ________.
| A．education | B．richness | C．backgrounds | D．hobby |
A working-class person may start a new fashion because ________.
| A．she wants to draw the attention of other people |
| B．she wants to look different and healthy |
| C．she wants to show their wealth |
| D．she wants to show their taste |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Expensive clothes look expensive and show the wearer is rich. |
| B．Working-class people prefer clothes in bright colours because they lack colour in their lives. |
| C．Today, it is still the upper class people who spend most money on clothes. |
| D．Today, fashion is no longer for the upper classes and the rich. |
There is an endless supply of stories about sleepwalkers (梦游者). People have been said to climb on roofs, solve mathematical problems, write music, walk through windows, and do murder in their sleep.
In Revere, Massachusetts, a hundred policemen searched for a lost boy who left his home in his sleep and woke up five hours later on a strange sofa in a strange living room, with no idea how he had got there.
At the University of Lowa, WWW.K**S*858$$U.COMa student was reported to have the habit of getting up in the middle of the night and walking three-quarters of a mile to the Lowa River. He would take a swim and then go back to his room to bed.
An American expert on sleep claims (声称) that he has never seen a sleepwalker. He is said to know more about sleep than any other living man, and during the last thirty-five years he has lost a lot of sleep watching people sleep. He says, “Of course, I know that there are sleepwalkers because I have read about them in the newspapers. But none of my sleepers ever walked, and if I were to advertise for sleepwalkers for an experiment, I doubt whether I would get many takers (应征者).”
Sleepwalking, however, is a scientific reality. It is one of those strange things that sometimes look quite fantastic (怪诞的). Doctors say that sleepwalking is much more common than is generally supposed. Many sleepwalkers do not try to find help and their sleepwalking is never recorded. Generally speaking, sleepwalkers are people who ________.
| A．climb on roofs | B．walk through windows |
| C．do fantastic things during their sleep | D．walk in a half-awake state |
It was reported that a boy ________.
| A．was found on a strange sofa, telling how he had got there |
| B．slept in his own room but woke up in a strange room |
| C．lost his way five hours after he left home |
| D．was searched for by policemen when he lost his way |
There was a college student who got into the habit of ________.
| A．getting up in the middle of the night and walking down to the river |
| B．walking three-quarters of a mile every day |
| C．swimming in the Lowa River before going to bed |
| D．walking about before he went to bed |
Why do people think sleepwalking is nothing but a fantastic thing which doesn’t have any explanation?
| A．It is so common that it needn’t be recorded. |
| B．Scientists take no interest in it. |
| C．Most sleepwalkers do not seek help for their problem. |
| D．No records about it have been made. |