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New research shows how kids’ brains reorganize as they learn math.
All the time you spent memorizing multiplication tables(乘法表)may have made you a better mathematician, according to a new study. A team of scientists from Stanford University, in California, have shown how the brain reorganizes itself as kids learn math.
After a certain amount of time spent practicing math, kids can put away the calculator(计算器). They don’t even need to count on their fingers. They simply know the answers to subtraction(减法), addition, and multiplication facts. The quicker kids can recall basic math facts, the easier it is for them to solve more complicated math problems.
The Stanford University researchers observed the brain activity of 28 students aged 7to 9 for the study. They took scans of the students’ brains as the students solved math calculations without the help of a calculator, pen or paper. A calculation—three plus four equals seven, for example—flashed on a screen. The students pushed a button to say if the answer was right or wrong. The scientists also recorded the response speed, and what parts of the brain became active as the kids pushed the button.
These observations showed a process called fact retrieval(事实检索). Rather than using their fingers to count, or writing out answers on a piece of paper, the students pulled the answers from memory. It’s as if the answers to basic math problems are kept in a long-term storage area in the brain, which was built from repetition. “Experience really does matter,” said Dr. Kathy Mann Koepeke.
Children make the shift(转换)from counting to fact retrieval when they are 8 to 9 years old, the study shows. This is the time when most students are learning basic addition and subtraction. When kids have basic math facts memorized, the brain has more free space to learn more complicated math.
This process has benefits for the future. The study shows as kids grow older, their answers rely more on memory and become quicker and more accurate. Less brain activity is devoted to counting. Some children make this shift quicker than others.
What did the researchers do when students worked out the given problems?

A．They recorded the students’ brain activities.

B．They pushed a button linked to the students.

C．They noticed whether they used a calculator.

D．They found out who responded most quickly.

Fact retrieval is a process when the students________.

A．calculate answers using pens

B．use their fingers to count out

C．repeat the answers they remember

D．find the answers from their memory

What plays a key role in solving a math problem?

A．Intelligence	B．Experience
C．Learning method	D．Constant practice

What happens to kids when they are 8 to 9 years old?

A．Their brains are more active than before.

B．They depend on fact retrieval for answers.

C．They become more interested in learning math.

D．They work out complicated problems more quickly.

Last Saturday on the way to the mall, two children, a boy and a girl, came running towards me with bottles on their hands, asking if I wanted bottled water. It was a surprising gesture. I was wondering if they were doing fund-raising. I knelt and asked them where their parents were and how much a bottle of water cost. Then two adult women came up to me explaining what the children were doing. “We are teaching the children to give without anything in return. We are teaching people to accept without giving in return. ”
Two mothers had bought bottled water and placed a sticker(小贴纸)on all bottles with five different quotes(引述):
1. Smile at everyone. You’ll never know when someone may need it.
2. If Plan A does not work, there are 25 more letters in the alphabets.
3. Have a thirst for life. Every day is filled with possibilities.
4. In your thirst for knowledge, be sure you don’t drown in all the information.
5. Dig your well before you’re thirsty.
The bottle I have has quoted No.5. A sudden change of attitude opened up between me, the mothers and the children. We are no longer strangers to each other. We were having such a great time chatting and I ended up helping them give away the rest of the bottled water.
One young lady was so thankful that she happily accepted the water and said it was the best thing that happened to her all day since she had a bad day at work. A man refused and walked away saying “no thanks”. A couple kept on bowing to us in gratitude. When it was all done, the children and I were giving each other high-five. It was so much fun. I think I had more fun doing this than the mothers and the children.
How did the author feel when he was offered bottled water?

A．Embarrassed	B．Surprised
C．Excited	D．Disappointed

Different quotes were placed on the bottles to ________.

A．inspire others to think positively.

B．show how rich and colorful our life is.

C．encourage people to get more bottled water.

D．explain why at times abandonment is necessary facing trouble.

What did the author do after chatting with them?

A．Buy the rest of the bottled water.

B．Give away some money for charity.

C．Decide to meet with them regularly.

D．Join them in being kind to strangers.

What do we know from the last paragraph?

A．Children had more fun from this than adults.

B．This random act of kindness is warmly welcomed.

C．People responded quite differently to this activity.

D．The author learned a lot from this random act of kindness.

What would you do if you were a fifth grader facing a huge homework load every night，and you found out that there was a machine that would do all the work for you? That’s the situation presented to Sam，Kelsey，Judy and Brenton in Dan Gunman’s entertaining new book for young readers，The Homework Machine．
The four children．all fifth graders in Miss Rasmussen’s class at Grand Canyon School，are as different as any other 11 year-old children could be，but they have one thing in common--all are somewhat separated from their classmates. Sam is a newcomer and has had his share of school trouble before; Kelsey quietly carries her pain at losing her father；Judy’s sense of justice always annoys others；and Brenton---well，he is another story entirely．Brenton is the smartest child in the school, so smart that even his parents and teachers have trouble keeping up with him．When Brenton and his three classmates are put into the same study group by their teacher，the others discover that Brenton has made a time-saving gadget(装置)to do his homework for him．While the boy is perfectly able to do the homework himself，Sam，Kelsey and Judy could use the help．
Having perfect grades is something new for these three，and as they meet every day to “do homework”，they find that they’re learning a lot about each other．Such a good thing can't last though，and when a secret man starts trying to get in touch with them，the children begin to get nervous. Soon there’s an even more frightening problem--why can’t the Homework Machine be turned off?
Gunman is a gifted writer who has written dozens of children’s books，each with a funny and impressing tale that should be equally liked by boys and girls．
What type of text is it?

A．A book review．	B．A school report．
C．A science story．	D．A student’s diary．

What is one common thing that all four children have to deal with at school?

A．Getting along with classmates．

B．Overcoming sad feelings．

C．Following school rules．

D．Keeping good grades．

What can we learn about Brenton?

A．He is strange and nervous.

B．He is clever and helpful.

C．He is brave and special.

D．He is quiet and smart.

Why did the children get frightened?

A．They had no idea how to stop the machine．

B．They lost the connection with each other．

C．They were questioned by a strange man．

D．They were tracked down by the police．

A city child's summer is spent in the street in front of his home’, and all through the long summer vacations I sat on the edge of the street and watched enviously the other boys on the block play baseball. I was never asked to take part even when one team had a member missing—not out of special cruelty, but because they took it for granted, I would be no good at it. They were right, of course.
I would never forget the wonderful evening when something changed. The baseball ended about eight or eight thirty when it grew dark. Then it was the custom of the boys to retire to a little stoop(门廊) that stuck out from the candy store on the corner and that somehow had become theirs. No grownup ever sat there or attempted to. There the boys would sit，mostly talking about the games played during the day and of the game to be played tomorrow. Then long silences would fall and the boys would wander off one by one. It was just after one of those long silences that my life as an outsider changed. I can no longer remember which boy it was that summer evening who broke the silence with a question；but whoever he was, I nod to him gratefully now. “What's in those books you're always reading?” he asked casually. “Stories,” I answered. “What kind?” asked somebody else without much interest.
Nor do I know what drove me to behave as I did, for usually I just sat there in silence, glad enough to be allowed to remain among them; but instead of answering his question, I told them for two hours the story I was reading at the moment. The book was Sister Carrie. They listened bugeyed and breathless. I must have told it well, but I think there was another and deeper reason that made them so keen an audience. Listening to a tale being told in the dark is one of the most ancient of man's entertainments, but I was offering them as well, without being aware of doing it, a new and exciting experience.
The books they themselves read were the Rover Boys or Tom Swift or G．A. Henry. I had read them too, but at thirteen I had long since left them behind. Since I was much alone I had become an enthusiastic reader and I had gone through the booksforboys series. In those days there was no reading material between children's and grownups' books，or I could find none. I had gone right from Tom Swift and His Flying Machine to Theodore Dreiser and Sister Carrie. Dreiser had hit my young mind，and they listened to me tell the story with some of the wonder that I had in reading it.
The next night and many nights thereafter，a kind of unspoken ritual(仪式) took place. As it grew dark, I would take my place in the centre of the stoop and begin the evening's tale. Some nights, in order to taste my victory more completely, I cheated. I would stop at the most exciting part of a story by Jack London or Bret Harte, and without warning tell them that was as far as I had gone in the book and it would have to be continued the following evening. It was not true, of course; but I had to make certain of my newfound power and position. I enjoyed the long summer evenings until school began in the fall. Other words of mine have been listened to by larger and more fashionable audiences, but for that tough and athletic one that sat close on the stoop outside the candy store, I have an unreasoning love that will last forever.
Watching the boys playing baseball, the writer must have felt ________.

A．bitter and lonely	B．special and different
C．pleased and excited	D．disturbed and annoyed

The writer feels grateful even now to the boy who asked the question because the boy ________.

A．invited him to join in their game

B．liked the book that he was reading

C．broke the long silence of that summer evening

D．offered him an opportunity that changed his life

According to Paragraph 3, storytelling was popular among the boys basically because ________.

A．the story was from a children's book

B．listening to tales was an ageold practice

C．the boys had few entertainments after dark

D．the boys didn't read books by themselves

Sometimes the writer stopped at the most exciting part of a story to ________.

A．play a mean trick on the boys

B．add his own imagination to the story

C．experience more joy of achievement

D．help the boys understand the story better

What is the message conveyed in the story?

A．One can find his position in life in his own way.

B．Friendship is built upon respect for each other.

C．Reading is more important than playing games.

D．Adult habits are developed from childhood.

Today just as technology changed the face of industry, farmers have undergone an “agricultural revolution”. On the farm of today, machines provide all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much livestock to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being written for hog(猪) producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real “mechanized hired hand” that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Unlike farmers of the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists are now developing robots that will be able to shear(修剪) sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit. Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must first drive them into the special barn(畜棚), then connect them to the milking machines, watch the machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots. In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that some robots will be used before long.
Which sentence carries the main idea of the whole passage?

A．The first sentence of the first paragraph.

B．The first sentence of the second paragraph.

C．The first sentence of the third paragraph.

D．The last sentence of the second paragraph.

According to the passage, computers can not help farmers decide _____________.

A．how much money they can earn from their products

B．whether to plant a certain kind of crop

C．whom to sell their livestock to

D．when to sell their products

Which of the following statements is true?

A．Farmers in the future will depend totally on computers.

B．Both computers and robots have been in use on today's farms.

C．Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.

D．Farmers can do nothing without the help of computers on today's farms.

What is the best title for the passage?

A．Computer—Farmers' Best Friend

B．Farmers in the Future

C．Robots in the future

D．Revolution on the farm

A．The young.	B．Adults over 50.
C．The older people.	D．High-technology devices.