Published March 30, 2011）Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity might have a few mistakes—and Jake Barnett has set out to prove it．Between attending college classes at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and tutoring his fellow students, Jake is also working on a new theory about the creation of the universe．He happens to be 12 years old．
From an early age, Jake showed an extraordinary interest in stars．When he was 3, his parents took him to a space observatory．He tried to learn as much as he could about astronomy．Jake’s IQ measured remarkably high at 170．
As a baby, Jake was found out with Asperser’s syndrome, a form of autism (孤独症)．Autism causes difficulties in communication and social abilities．People with autism may also have strong interests—like Jake’s interest in the stars at a young age．
The symptoms of autism can range from mild to extremely severe．Asperser’s is one of the milder forms of autism．Sometimes people with Asperser’s, like Jake, develop extremely advanced skills in science, music or art．
When Jake was in elementary school, his parents worried that the effects of his Asperser’s were worsening．He became quiet．And he was withdrawing from people．So a doctor recommended that Jake’s parents let him study more advanced subjects, like math and physics．
Jake’s mother asked an astronomy professor to let Jake sit in on his class．Now, Jake studies advanced sciences like electromagnetic physics at IUPUI．
But Jake thinks it’s important to have a normal life too．He likes to play Guitar Hero with his friends and watch science fiction movies．He also enjoys playing classical music on the piano．But for Jake, studying physics is the most important thing．Jake’s professor, John Ross, is working on getting a large sum of money for him to do research at the university．
Doctors have said Jake’s autism symptoms have lessened over time．Still, Jake proudly refers to himself as an “Aspy”, or someone with Asperser’s．In an interview with his university student newspaper, he said, “I think the autism is the reason I’m even at IUPUI．”What did Jake want to do at IUPUI?
| A．Get a degree in astronomy． |
| B．Put forward his own theory in physics． |
| C．Become an Albert Einstein in the future． |
| D．Teach his fellow students Theory of Relativity． |
Which of the following is the correct order of the events that happened to Jake?
a．He set out to disprove Einstein’s theory．
b．He began to study math and physics．
d．He was found out with a mild form of autism．
| A．b-d-c-a |
| B．d-b-c-a |
| C．b-a-c-d |
| D．d-c-b-a |
The underlined sentence in the passage means ______．
| A．he was unable to help others |
| B．he was impolite to other people |
| C．he was afraid of seeing other people |
| D．he was only concerned about learning |
In the eyes of Jake, autism is something ______．
| A．not worth worrying about |
| B．annoying |
| C．not necessary to know about |
| D．embarrassing |
Maupassant（居·莫泊桑）was born in 1850 in northern France. His early life was not happy. His parents separated when he was 11. Most of his education came informally from Gustave Flaubert—his mother’s friend and his godfather, a journalist and novelist. Often Flaubert would let him take a walk and then ask him to write 100 lines about what he saw. This type of training developed in Maupassant a sense of observation, which he later put to use in his writing. Flaubert also allowed Maupassant to attend his Sunday gatherings with others in his literary circle
For a few years, Maupassant was connected with the Ministry of Public Instruction. It is interesting to note that Monsieur Loisel, a poor man character in The Necklace, worked there. He also served in the French army during the Franco-Prussian War. His favorite writing subjects were peasants, servants, in the city, and the Francd-Prussian War.
At an early age, Maupassant started writing short stories. In 1880, some of his works were published and he received a wide reputation for Boule de Suif (Ball of Tallow). With this success, he began to work full-time on writing. During the next ten years, he wrote over 300 stories, including six novels, three travel books, and a book of verse. Through them, he earn a lot of money.
His writing was classical and simple, avoiding social comments and dirty details. His works often showed a real world and an accurate knowledge of the subject. Although Maupassant wrote in many forms, he received widest recognition for his short stories. By 1890, Maupassant was suffering from the latter staged of syphilis（梅毒）. He died in 1893 in Paris. Which of the following is TRUE about Gustave Flaubert?
| A．He often went out for a walk with Maupassant. |
| B．He was a journalist and novelist working for church. |
| C．He had a great influence on Maupassant’s writing.. |
| D．He often helped Maupassant with his writing homework. |
From text we know Monsieur Loisel is _______.
| A．a man selling necklaces |
| B．a character in one of Maupassant’s works. |
C．a short story  written by Maupassant |
| D．a friend of Maupassant the Ministry of Public Instruction |
What are the characteristics of Maupassant’s stories?
| A．They have few social comments. |
| B．They are simple and humorous. |
| C．They only focus on the lives of peasants. |
| D．They are full of imagination. |
What can we learn about Maupassant from the text?
| A．Only in his 30s did he begin to write stories. |
| B．He did not received any formal education. |
| C．He spent his last years happily. |
| D．Boule de Suif was his first success. |
Life is too short to waste a moment, so while you still have time, let your hair down, remove that “boring” tag in your so-called life and start making it worthwhile. Below are some tips that will help you live a wonderful life.
1. Keep a Positive Attitude. Enjoy what you have and work on getting the things you desire. Psychologists believe that optimism (乐观主义) is a good defense against unhappiness, so it is better to keep your optimism alive. Feeling sad about your life will only make you sadder, so be happy.
2. Don’t Be Afraid to Take Risks. Life is all about taking risks, and that’s the exciting part of it. Challenges and failure are part of life. Once you learn how to take risks, you’ll soon realize how good it feels not to let moments pass you by.
3. ... You only have one life, so make it worthwhile. Being unwilling to let the past go just keeps you away from the things you should be enjoying at the present.
4. List the Things You Want to Do. Stop lazing around and give yourself something to be busy with. Write down a list of all the things you want to do and make a timeline, not to stress you out, but to remind you of your goals. So don’t put limits to yourself because you’ll never know what may happen.]
5. Try Out Something New. Getting into something or trying something unfamiliar to you may seem scary, but nothing can make you feel happier than being able to overcome your fear. Who knows? You might enjoy it! The world is a big place and there are still lots of things waiting to be explored by you. Go to a foreign place where you know no one. From Tip One we know that we should .
| A．never be afraid to take risks |
| B．try something new every day |
| C．focus on the good things in life |
| D．get rid of all our former habits |
What’s the best title for the third tip?
| A．Enjoy Today and Let Go of the Past. |
| B．Never Think of Tomorrow. |
| C．Remember You Are the Best. |
| D．Never Change Your Mind. |
The writer may NOT agree that .
| A．feeling sad about your life does you no good |
B．it’s good to keep yourself busy doing something |
| C．you shouldn’t go to a new place where you have no friends |
| D．you should enjoy the present instead of always thinking of the past |
What is the writer’s attitude toward life?
| A．Positive. | B．Negative. |
| C．Doubtful. | D．Indifferent. |
Chinese are very generous when it comes to educating their children. Not caring about the money, parents often send their children to the best schools or even abroad to England, the USA or Australia. They also want their children to take extra courses or activities where they will either learn a musical instrument or ballet, or other classes that will give them a head start in life. So parents will spend unreasonable amount of money on education.
However, what most parents fail to see is that the best education they can give their children is usually very cheap.
Parents can see that their children’s skills vary. Some children are skilled in some areas while poor in others.
The problem is that parents are only educating their children on how to take multiple-choice tests and how to study well, but not teaching them the most important skills: they need to be confident, happy and clever.
Parents can achieve this by teaching practical skills like cooking, sewing and doing other housework.
Teaching a child to cook will improve many of the skills that he will need 
later in life. It is an enjoyable but difficult experience. A good cook always tries to improve his cooking, so he will learn to work hard and gradually finish his job successfully. The result, a well-cooked dinner, will give him much satisfaction and a lot of confidence.
Some old machines, such as a broken radio or TV set that you give your child to play with will make him curious and arouse his interest. he will spend hours looking at them, trying to fix them; your child might become an engineer when he grows up. And that is more important.
| A．The Chinese believe that the more expensive an education is, the better it is. |
| B．These activities are teaching a child not only to read a book, but also to think , to use his mind. |
| C．What most parents fail to realize ，though ,is that today’s children lack self-respect and self-confidence. |
| D．Even poor couples will buy a computer for their son or daughter. |
E. The more cost in education, the better the result will be.
F. Cooking demands patience and time.
A Narrow Escape
Shortly after the war, my brother and I were invited to spend a few days’ holiday with an uncle who had just returned from abroad. He had rented （租） a cottage in the country, although he hardly spent much time there. We understood the reason for this after our arrival: the cottage had no comfortable furniture in it. Many of the windows were broken and the roof leaked （漏水）, making the whole house wet.
On our first evening, we sat around the fire after supper listening to the stories our uncle told of his many adventures in distant countries. I was so tired after the long train journey that I would have preferred to go to bed; but I could not bear to miss any of my uncle’s exciting stories, He was just in the middle of describing a rather terrifying experience he had once had when there was a loud crash（倒塌声） from the bedroo
m above, the one where my brother and I were going to sleep.
When we got to the top of the stairs and opened the bedroom door, a strange sight met our eyes. A large part of the ceiling had fallen right on to the pillow（枕头）of my bed. The uncle disliked the rented cottage for the reason that _____.
| A．there were no beds in it |
| B．the windows were broken and the roof leaked |
| C．it was too old for him to live in |
| D．it was very rainy in the area |
On the first evening, the writer was very sleepy, _____.
| A．but he did his best not to miss any stories |
| B．so he had to go to bed early |
| C．because he was tired of his uncle’s stories |
D．and he was g radually falling asleep while listening |
A narrow escape means ___.
| A．A person runs away from a danger through a narrow door. |
| B．A person escapes a danger by luck. |
| C．A person escapes a danger easily. |
| D．A person runs away from a danger easily. |
Many teenagers feel that the most important people in their lives are their friends. They believe that their family members don’t know them as well as their friends do. In large families, it is quite often for brothers and sisters to fight with each other and then they can only go to their friends for some ideas
It is very important for teenagers to have one good friend or a group of friends. Even when they are not with their friends, they usually spend a lot of time talking among themselves on the phone. This communication is very important in children’s growing up, because friends can discuss something. These things are difficult to tell their family members.
However, parents often try to choose their children’s friends for them. Some parents may even stop their children from meeting their good friends. Have you ever thought of the following questions?
Who chooses your friends?
Do you choose your friends or your friends choose you?
Have you got a good friend your parents don’t like?
Your answers are welcome. Many teenagers think that ____ can understand them better.
| A．friends | B．brothers | C．sisters | D．parents |
When teenagers have something difficult to tell their parents, they usually____.
| A．stay alone at home | B．fight with their parents |
| C．discuss it with their friends | D．go to their brothers and sisters for help |
The sentence （句子） “Your answers are welcome. ” means _______.
| A．You are welcome to discuss the questions with us |
| B．We’ve got no idea, so your answers are welcome |
| C．Your answers are always right |
| D．You can give us all the right answers |
Which of the following is the writer’s attitude（态度）?
| A．Parents should choose friends for their children. |
| B．Children should choose everything they like. |
| C．Parents should understand their children better. |
| D．Teenagers should only go to their friends for help. |