Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1,500 B. C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world's population is left-handed.

Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person's two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain(脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person's hands and eyes work together, controls(控制) the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged(伤害) when they are born. However, this doesn't happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因)for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-handed or left-handed according (根据)to the chance and the people they work or live with.

Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don't have to.

56. After studying works of art made at different times in history, the scientists

found ____________.

A. the art began from 1,500 B. C.

B. the works of art ended in the 1950s

C. most people shown in the works of art are right-handed

D. most people shown in the works of art are left-handed

57. How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A. Less than one sixth.　　　 　　　　　　 B. More than a half.

C. About 40%.　　　　　　 　　　　　　　　　　 D. The passage doesn't tell us.

58. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A. No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed.

B. Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed.

C. Today children are not made to use their right hands only.

D. Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness.

59. What is the best title for this passage?

A. Left-handed People 　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Scientists' New Inventions

C. Which Hand　　　　　　　 　　　　 D. Different Brains, Different Hands

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从下列各题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案。

　　Computer programmer David Jones makes $35,000 a year designing (设计) new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a credit card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.

　　The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David's firm (公司) puts two new games on the home market each month. But David's biggest headache is what to do with his money. In spite of his salary (薪水), made by inventing new programs within quite a short period of time, with bonus payments (奖金) and profit-sharing (分红), he cannot drive a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards.

　　He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His firm has to pay $150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive. David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop.“I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,”he said.

　　“I suppose (认为) $35,000 sounds a lot but actually (实际上) that's not good enough. I hope it will come to more than that this year.”He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother $20 a week. But most of his spare time is spent on working.

　　“Unfortunately (不幸的是), computing was not part of our studies at school,”he said.“But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I knew what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.”

　　David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility (可能性). You never know when the market will disappear.”

1．Why is David different from other young people of his age?

[　　]

A．He earns a very high salary.

B．He has no job.

C．He does not go out much.

D．He lives at home with his parents.

2．David's greatest problem is ________.

[　　]

A．making the banks treat him as a grown-up

B．inventing computer games

C．spending his salary

D．learning to drive

3．He was hired by the firm because ________.

[　　]

A．he had worked in a computer shop

B．he had written some computer programs

C．he works very hard

D．he had learnt to use computers at school

4．He left school after taking six 0-levels because ________.

[　　]

A．he did not enjoy school

B．he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him

C．he was afraid of getting too old to use a computer

D．he wanted to earn a lot money

5．Why does David think he might retire early?

[　　]

A．Because one has to be young to write computer programs.

B．Because a million dollars is enough for him to live a happy life.

C．Because he thinks computer games might not always sell so well.

D．Because he thinks his firm might go bad.

Boys and girls, let’s begin our English class now. This time I want to talk about my family. Then I want you to say something about your families.
There are seven people in my family. They are my parents, my two sisters, my brother, his wife (妻子)and I. In England, a family like this is a big one. My father has a factory（工厂）. It isn’t very big. It makes all kinds of boats. My brother is a doctor. He works in a hospital(医院). His wife works in a hospital, too. She is a nurse. My two sisters are students. One wants to be a teacher. She studies hard and well. The other likes singing very much and can sing very well. So she wants to be a singer(歌手). I’m now in China teaching English and learning Chinese. My mother stays at home. Can you guess (猜测)what she does at home? Yes, she does housework. She is a housewife.
【小题1】Where do I come from?

A．China

B．America

C．England

D．Canada

【小题2】Where am I now ?

A．In China

B．In America

C．In England

D．In Canada

【小题3】 Who works in a school in my family?

A．One of my sisters

B．I

C．My father

D．My brother

【小题4】My brother and his wife work _________.

A．as teachers

B．as nurses

C．as doctors

D．in a hospital

【小题5】 In Chinese “ housewife” means_________ .

A．干家务活的人

B．在家的妻子

C．家庭主妇

D．保姆

 Boys and girls, let’s begin our English class now. This time I want to talk about my family. Then I want you to say something about your families.

There are seven people in my family. They are my parents, my two sisters, my brother, his wife (妻子)and I. In England, a family like this is a big one. My father has a factory（工厂）. It isn’t very big. It makes all kinds of boats. My brother is a doctor. He works in a hospital(医院). His wife works in a hospital, too. She is a nurse. My two sisters are students. One wants to be a teacher. She studies hard and well. The other likes singing very much and can sing very well. So she wants to be a singer(歌手). I’m now in China teaching English and learning Chinese. My mother stays at home. Can you guess (猜测)what she does at home? Yes, she does housework. She is a housewife.

1.Where do I come from?

A．China

B．America

C．England

D．Canada

2.Where am I now ?

A．In China

B．In America

C．In England

D．In Canada

3. Who works in a school in my family?

A．One of my sisters

B．I

C．My father

D．My brother

4.My brother and his wife work _________.

A．as teachers

B．as nurses

C．as doctors

D．in a hospital

5. In Chinese “ housewife” means_________ .

A．干家务活的人

B．在家的妻子

C．家庭主妇

D．保姆