BThesonofazookeeper,16yearoldP-优题课

I wasn’t surprised when I read that actress Helen Hunt recently stated that she would never allow her young daughter to become a child star. Ms. Hunt is the daughter of a Hollywood technical director, and grew up in Hollywood. Now in her late 40s, she started acting and modeling when she was eight and has probably seen a lot over those years in show business.
She has had a successful career. She earned four Golden Globes and four Emmys. She also attained the top honor of her profession when she won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role in the 1992 movie, As Good As It Gets. Given those accolades, Ms. Hunt is successful. There is no doubt that her early experiences as a child star prepared her for what has been an outstanding adult career. Given those achievements, why would this star declare she’ll never allow her daughter, now at the age of six, to follow in her footsteps?
Everyone familiar with the entertainment scene is aware of the reasons for her attitude. Recent tabloid (小报) news headlines featuring the troubles of former child stars, among them Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and the late Gary Coleman, may answer the question. Although Ms. Hunt managed to become a successful grown-up star, she apparently believes she’s an exception.
What Ms. Hunt may be suggesting is that many very young stars go through unnatural childhoods on movie and TV sets. While they’re earning big incomes, they’re so pampered (纵容) by directors and praised by fans; they may get false impressions that their lives will always be that way. Then, within a few years, when faced with reality, they’re hurt and confused. After all the overwhelming affection, they find they can’t deal with the problems. That’s often when drugs and alcohol take over their lives.
Helen Hunt has some other reasons why she doesn’t want her daughter to be in the entertainment business. Many child stars can never make a successful transition to meaningful adulthood. However, as with many Hollywood movies, I believe there are both good and bad scenes about how it can be played out in real life.
According to the passage, Ms. Hunt _________.

A．started acting and modeling when she was a little girl

B．has been acting for about 30 years

C．is the daughter of a famous actor

D．started singing when she was eight

27. The underlined word “accolades” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_________”.

A．difficulties

B．awards

C．salaries

D．opinions

The author thinks Helen Hunt’s success is mainly due to _________.

A．her hard work

B．the help of a technical director

C．her experiences as a child star

D．her talent and good luck

Helen Hunt wouldn’t allow her daughter to become a child star because she thinks _________.

A．child stars often take drugs and alcohol

B．being a child star may ruin her future

C．child stars aren’t able to solve their problems

D．it is difficult to succeed as a child actor

From the passage we can conclude that _________.

A．few child stars will succeed in the future

B．there is no way to save the entertainment business

C．the author has a different opinion about child stars

D．meaningful adulthood only belongs to non-child stars

Communicating with Gestures
When travelling, you may think that if you don't know the language, you can communicate using gestures. However, very few gestures are universally understood and interpreted. What is perfectly acceptable in this country may be rude in other cultures.
1. Pointing at something using the index finger. It is impolite to point with the index finger in the Middle and Far East. Use an open hand or your thumb in Indonesia.
2. Making a "V" sign. This means "victory" in most parts of Europe when you make the sign with your palm facing away from you. But if you face your palm in, the gesture is very rude.
3. Smiling. This facial expression is universally understood. However, cultures can provide different reasons for smiling. The Japanese may smile when they are confused or angry while in other parts of Asia people smile when they are embarrassed. People in some cultures only smile to friends. It is important not to judge people for not smiling, or for smiling at what we would consider "inappropriate" times.
4. Waving one's hand with the palm facing outward to greet someone. In parts of Europe, waving the hand back and forth can mean "No". To wave "goodbye", raise the palm outward and wave the fingers together; but this is rude in Nigeria if the hand is too close to another person's face.
5. Forming a circle with one's fingers to mean "OK". Although this means "OK" in the U. S. and many other countries, there are some notable exceptions. In Brazil and Germany the gesture is obscene(猥亵的), while in Japan it means "money". In France, it has the additional meaning of "zero" or "worthless".
According to the text, when we travel to other countries________.

A．many gestures are universally recognized

B．the same gesture can have different meanings

C．a smile always suggests friendliness

D．we can still communicate without knowing the languages

What does the word "inappropriate" in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Unsuitable.

B．Impolite.

C．Uncomfortable.

D．Ordinary.

When you talk to people from Brazil, you should remember not to ________.

A．smile at them

B．make a "V"sign

C．point at objects around you

D．make the "OK" gesture

The text is mainly to __________.

A．show that gestures are universally accepted

B．warn readers of impolite gestures

C．show the different meanings of gestures in different countries

D．teach readers how to understand gestures in other countries

Yawning is so contagious(具有传染性) that chimpanzees can “catch” it from cartoons, according to research. 
Scientists from Emory University in Atlanta, US, have discovered that a cartoon of a yawning chimp will stimulate(刺激) real chimps to yawn. They describe in the Royal Society journal, Proceedings B, how this could assist in the future study of empathy(移情作用). The work could also help explain if and how computer games might cause children to imitate what they see on screen.
Previous studies have already shown contagious yawning in chimpanzees—stimulated by video-recorded footage of yawns. 
“We wanted to expand on that, “explained Matthew Campbell, a researcher from Emory University’s Yerkes National Primate Research Center and lead author of the study. “We’re interested in using cartoon for presenting stimuli to animals, because we can control all the features of what we show them,” he continued.  
Although Dr. Campbell doesn’t think the chips were “fooled” by the cartoons into thinking they were looking at real chimps, he explained that there was evidence that chimpanzees “process animated (动画的) faces the same way they process photographs of faces”. 
He said: “It’s not a real chimpanzee, but it kind of looks like a chimpanzee, and they’re responding to that.” 
He and his team, including Devyn Carter who designed the cartoons, showed the animals the yawning sequences. 
“We also had the cartoons doing other movements with their mouths that the chimps often do,’’ he said. “The chimps showed a lot more yawning during the yawn video when the control videos were playing.” 
He told BBC News that the only way he and his colleagues could explain the “very strong difference” they saw was that seeing the yawns was making the animals yawn.
According to the passage, the scientists have found that________.

A．yawning is a contagious facial expression among chimps  

B．chimps will imitate a cartoon chimp who is yawning 

C．chimps are able to understand cartoons very well 

D．chimps like watching cartoons very much

According to the passage we can learn that_______.  

A．yawning on both cartoon videos and pictures can make chimps yawn 

B．Devyn Carte led the study about contagious yawning[ 

C．children will also be stimulated to yawn by the videos of chimps 

D．people can control all the features of animals through cartoon

By studying the action of chimps, the scientists hope to ________. 

A．teach them more body language of human beings  

B．learn how chimps use their brains to study 

C．control the actions and behaviors of animals  

D．create more charming cartoon characters

The passage is mainly talking about________.

A．a serious research about chimps’ body language  

B．those contagious gestures of animals 

C．why children imitate what they see on TV

D．a study about chimps’ ability of imitating

October 15th is Global Handwashing Day. Activities are planned in more than twenty countries to get millions of people in the developing world to wash their hands with soap.
Experts say people around the world wash their hands but very few use soap at socalled critical moments. These include after using the toilet，after cleaning a baby and before touching food.
Global Handwashing Day is the idea of the Public Private Partnership for handwashing with soap. The goal，they say，is to create a culture of handwashing with soap. The organizers say all soaps are equally effective at removing diseasecausing germs (细菌)．They say the correct way to wash is to wet your hands with a small amount of water and cover them with soap. Rub it into all areas，including under the fingernails. Then，wash well under running water. Finally，dry your hands with a clean cloth.
The Partnership says soap is important because it increases the time that people spend washing. Soap also helps to break up the dirt that holds most of the germs. And it usually leaves a pleasant smell，which increases the chances that people will wash again.
It also says that washing hands with soap before eating and after using the toilet could save more lives than any medicine. It could help reduce cases of diarrhea (痢疾)，which is the second leading cause of child deaths，killing more than one and a half million children a year，by almost half.
What does the author intend to tell us in the passage?

A．To keep healthy by washing hands.

B．To wash hands with soap.

C．To take action to wash hands.

D．To wash hands often.

Which of the following is the right way to wash hands?
a．Washing hands well under running water.
b．Covering hands with soap.
c．Drying hands.
d．Rubbing hands with soap.
e．Wetting hands.

A．a－c－b－e－d	B．e－d－a－b－c
C．a－c－b－d－e	D．e－b－d－a－c

Which fact can’t explain why soap is important?

A．It gives people a longer handwashing time.

B．It helps to remove a lot of germs from hands.

C．It attracts people to do more handwashing.

D．It gets all people into the habit of washing hands.

According to the last paragraph，diarrhea is a disease that________．

A．kills half of the kids in the developing countries a year

B．causes the greatest number of child deaths

C．can be prevented to some degree by washing hands with soap

D．can’t be cured without washing hands

Stuart Little Slipcase Gift Set a children’s book written by the famous author E. B. White. Stuart Little, the main character of the book, is no ordinary mouse. Born to a family of humans, he lives in New York City with his parents, his older brother George, and Snowbell the cat. Though he’s shy and thoughtful, he’s also a true lover of adventure.
He is a great help around the house, and everybody except Snowbell the cat likes him a great deal. Though he is very small, Stuart gets around in the world, riding a Fifth Avenue bus, racing (and winning in) a sailboat in Central Park, teaching school for a day, and so on. His size — just over two inches — does give him some trouble now and then, like the time he was rolled up in the window shade, or when he got dumped into a garbage scow. But on the whole, his life is a happy one.
His great adventure comes when, at the age of seven, he sets out in the world to seek his dearest friend, Margalo, a beautiful little bird who stayed for a few days in the Littles’ Boston house. It is on this search that we leave with Stuart, going north in his little car.
In this special gift-book edition of a beloved classic, renowned artist Rosemary Wells has lovingly added watercolor to the original black-and-white drawings by Garth Williams. Stuart Little, small in size only, has the spirit of a heroic figure, and his story, funny and tender and exciting by turns, will be read, reread, and loved by young and old.
Stuart Little Slipcase Gift Set is a book mainly about _____.

A．a special cat

B．a special family

C．a special bird

D．a special mouse

The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 shows that Stuart Little _____.

A．is too self-confident

B．is not really that small

C．likes taking adventures

D．doesn’t like being with his family

According to Paragrpah 3, why does Stuart Little leave home?

A．Because he is tired of his life at home.

B．Because a friend asks him to go with her.

C．Because he wants to find his friend Margalo.

D．Because he no longer wants to stay with the cat.

What’s the difference between the old edition and the new edition of the book?

A．The new edition has more drawings in it.

B．The new edition is a little shorter than the old one.

C．Some details have been added to the new edition.

D．The drawings in the new edition have been colored.

We can most probably read this passage on a website _____.

A．about kids’ health

B．selling books

C．about adventures

D．selling drawings

A．the existence of Heaven	B．the mystery of death
C．human's future life	D．the true meaning of life

	The son of a zookeeper, 16-year-old Pi Patel is raised in Pondicherry, India. Planning a move to Canada, his family takes a ride on an enormous ship. After a shipwreck. Pi finds himself in the Pacific Ocean, trapped on a 26-foot lifeboat with a wounded zebra, a hyena（鬣狗）, an orangutan（猩猩）, and a tiger named Richard Parker. It sounds like a colorful setup. But these wild animals don’t burst into song as in the Disney cartoons. All want to survive, however, Pi finds himself the weakest one of all. After much infighting, Pi and Richard Parker remain the boat’s only passengers. Pi is left to survive for 227 days through waters with his large dangerous companion, using all his knowledge, wits and faith.
	Five People You Meet in Heaven When a lonely and elderly man dies in an accident, he awakens in an unfamiliar place called Heaven where five people, some strangers, some loved ones, take him on a clear journey through his life. Each soul has a story to tell, a secret to reveal, and a lesson to share. Through them Eddie learns “lessons”, finds out why certain events happened in his physical life, and understands the meaning of his own life. The book explores the unexpected mysteries of the afterlife by reminding us what really matters here on earth.
	Marley＆Me：Life and love with the world’s worst dog John and Jenny were just beginning their life together. They brought home Marley, a yellow fur-ball of a dog. Life would never be the same. Marley crashed through doors, and ate nearly everything he could get his mouth around. However, just as he refused any limits on his behavior, his love and loyalty were boundless, too. He shared the couple’s joy and heartbreak. He was there whenever the couple needs help. Marley＆Me is so much more than the story of a lovable dog; it’s the story of a family. Toward the end of book, Grogan speaks of the life lessons—loyalty, courage, devotion, simplicity, joy—that Marley taught him.