I was born an albino(白化病人）in Pennsylvania in 1945．No one in my family had ever known what an albino was and what it meant to be an albino.
My family and friends treated me as everybody else．That was just about the best thing they could have done．It helped me believe in myself, so when troubles came along, I could deal with them．
Like most albinos, I had the terrible eyesight, but the fact that I could hardly see didn’t bother me that much .Kids would make fun of me, calling me“Whitey”． People looked at me when I held the books right at the tip of my nose so that I could see it well enough．Even when I was eight, movie-theater workers started asking me to pay full prices because I“looked older”．The worst thing for me was that because my eyesight was so bad, I couldn’t play sports very well．I didn’t give up trying, though．And I studied harder．Finally, I got better at school and loved it．When I got to university, I was double majoring(双修), going to summer school and busying myself with every activity I could find．I had learned to be proud of being an albino．I did my best to make“albino”a good word．And I decided to make my living with my eyes—and in sports．
I couldn’t see very well to play sports, but with a good education and a drive to do it, I could make a living in the area I loved．I’ve done it now for more than thirty years in video, and now in cyberspace(网络空间)．People make jokes about how I’m the only“blind editor”they know, but the jokes are of goodwill and some of them are signs of respect(尊重)．
I was just a proud albino kid from the country of Pennsylvania．I now realize that being born an albino helped me to overcome difficulties, have confidence, and be proud of my personal achievement .
Which is one of the signs of being an albino?
| A．He has a black face. |
| B．He can’t see clearly |
| C．He looks much older. |
| D．He has a little nose. |
How did the author’s family and friends deal with him?
| A．Regarding him as the best friend |
| B．Laughing at him |
| C．Treating him as a usual person |
| D．Being afraid to speak to him |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
| A．The author has learned to face difficulties. |
| B．The author started to be brave after going to university. |
| C．The author could achieve everything because of his good education. |
| D．The author could play sports well because he never gave up |
What’s the main idea of this passage?
| A．To give the reason of causing the albino. |
| B．To tell us how the albino was treated |
| C．To help us deal with kinds of challenges. |
| D．To tell us how an albino succeeded |
These four ads ar
e for four children’s books. They talk about the writers, prices, sizes and so on of the books.
| Alfie’s Angels Henriette Barkow Ages 8-12 Pictures by Sarah Garson Alfie wants to be an angel（天使） because angels can do anything! But his teacher has other ideas. She thinks Alfie wants to look cool. ￡7.50 21.5 cm x 27cm Languages : English and French |
That’s My Mum Henriette Barkow Ages 8-12 Pictures by Derek Brazell People often think that Mia’s mum is not her mother because they don’t like each other. Mia doesn’t want people to think that. Mia and her friend Kai decide to do something about this. ￡6.50 21.5 cm x 27cm Languages : English and Chinese |
| What Is Peace Emma Damon Ages 4-6 Peace is giving…not taking. Peace is love…not hate. And peace is many more things… ￡5.99 19 cm x 21cm Languages : English and Japanese |
Farmer Duck Martin Waddell Ages 6-8 Pictures by Helen Oxenbury There was a duck. It lived with a lazy farmer. While the duck worked, the farmer lay in bed. One day the other animals decided to do something for the duck. ￡8.50 28 cm x 23cm Languages : English and Korean |
198 words Why does Alfie want to be an angel?
| A．Because angels can fly. | B．Because angels can do anything. |
| C．Because angels look like each other. | D．Because angels are cool. |
How much is What Is Peace?
| A．￡7.50. | B．￡6.50. | C．￡5.99. | D．￡8.50. |
Andy is a Korean boy. Which book can he read?
| A．Alfie’s Angels. | B．That’s My Mum. |
| C．What Is Peace. | D．Farmer Duck. |
Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? Normally the women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain is made up of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the white matter, the amount（数量）of “thinking” brain is almost the same in both men and women.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes（性别）. As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的）tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿）are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 1?
| A．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain. |
| B．Men’s brain is 10% less than women’s. |
| C．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter. |
| D．Men and women have the same amount of white matter. |
What can you infer from Paragraphs 2 and 3?
| A．Men have weaker spatial abilities. |
| B．Women do not need to tell directions. |
| C．Women prefer doing many things at a time. |
| D．Women do many jobs at a time better than men. |
What can you learn from Paragraph 4?
| A．Our children needed more spatial skills. |
| B．Women may have more feelings than men. |
| C．Young boys may be stronger than young girls. |
| D．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills. |
The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．ways of being more intelligent |
| B．differences between men and women |
| C．studies on brains between two sexes |
| D．studies on white matter and grey matter |
The rising costs of health care have become a problem for many countries in the world. To deal with this problem, it is reported that a big part of the government’s health budge（预算）has been used for health education and disease prevention instead of treatment. Actually, many kinds of diseases are preventable in many ways and preventing a disease is usually much cheaper than treating it. For example, people could avoid catching a cold if they dressed warmly when the weather starts getting cold. But many people get sick because they fail to do so, and have to spend money seeing a doctor.
Daily habits like eating more healthy food would have kept millions of families from becoming bankrupt（破产）if the patients had taken ways for early prevention. For example, keeping a balanced diet（均衡饮食）, such as not consuming too much animal fat and trying to have enough vegetables and fruits, seems to be quite important.
One very effective and costless way of prevention is regular（定期的）exercise, which is necessary for a healthy mind and body. Regular exercise, such as running, walking, and playing sports is a good way to make people feel better.
In addition, health education plays a key role in improving people’s health. By giving people more information about health, countries could help people understand the importance of disease prevention and ways to achieve it. For example, knowing one’s family medical history is an effective way to help keep healthy. Information about health problems among close relatives will make them aware of what they should do to prevent certain diseases through lifestyle changes, which will work before it is too late.
However, paying more attention to disease prevention does not mean medical treatment is unimportant. After all, prevention and treatment are just two different means toward the same effect. In conclusion, we could save money on health care and treat patients more successfully if our country spends more money on health prevention and education. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “consuming” in Paragraph 2?
| A．Avoiding. | B．Producing. | C．Eating. | D．Cooking. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
| A．Health or Illness? | B．Exercise or Illness? |
| C．Prevention or Education? | D．Prevention or Treatment? |
We can learn from the passage that ______.
| A．more health education should be given |
| B．dressing warmly can prevent diseases |
| C．a balanced diet is cheaper than regular exercise |
| D．the government’s health budget should be increased |
Fat and shy, Ben Saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket - anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the one always made fun of in school gym classes in Devonshire, England.
It was a mountain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first he went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to ride the bike along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set up his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed and strength. At the age of 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year he met John Ridgway and started to work as an instructor at Ridgway’s school of adventure（冒险） in Scotland, where he learnt about Ridgway’s cold-water exploits. Greatly interested, Saunders read all he could about North Pole explorers and adventures, he decided that this would be his future.
In 2001, after becoming a skillful skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition （探险）towards the North Pole. It took unbelievable energy. He suffered frostbite（冻伤）, ran into a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit, pulling his sled up and over the rocky mountains.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the North Pole by himself than any other British man. His old playmates would not believe the change. What changed Saunders according to Paragraph 2?
| A．A friend’s words. | B．A mountain bike. |
| C．His 18th birthday gift. | D．His first marathon. |
What did Saunders do in 2001?
| A．He decided to build up his body. |
| B．He met John Ridgway in Scotland. |
| C．He worked as an instructor at school. |
| D．He took an adventure to the North Pole. |
What does the story mainly tell us about Saunders?
| A．He is a success in sports. | B．He is the youngest British skier. |
| C．He is Ridgway’s best student. | D．He is a good instructor at school. |
| Stuck on a desert island（被困荒岛）？ |
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| http://www.TalkingPoints.com/ Started on 23rd April by Steve |
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| Post 1 Steve USA |
Hi, everyone. What would you miss most if you were stuck on a desert island? For me, I’d probably miss the rain. What about you? |
| Post 2 Tomas Germany |
Good question. Steve, I think I’d miss different types of bread, and shopping at the supermarket. I’d miss the food most. |
| Post 3 Miko Japan |
It would have to be music. I couldn’t live without my music. I wouldn’t miss going to school at all! |
| Past 4 Jayne UK |
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned their family? I’d be lost without my husband and two kids. They’re the most important for me. |
| Post 5 Jaime Mexico |
Hi, I would miss the Internet and Japanese food, like sushi. I’d also miss TV shows and shopping for clothes. |
Who would miss his or her family most?
| A．Steve. | B．Tomas. | C．Jayne | D．Jaime. |
Miko would feel bad if there was no ______.
| A．rain | B．food | C．family | D．music |
How many of them mentioned that they would miss food?
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |