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.

1.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.

2.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.

3.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.

4. 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

 

 

Almost every child in cities has the chance to go to school, but not all children in the countries are so lucky.

There is a girl called Xiao Fang. She is eight years old and lives in a small village in Guangxi. When she was young, she wanted to go to school. But she could not, because her family was too poor to afford the school fees for her, so her parents had to keep her at home. Instead of studying, Xiao Fang worked in the fields with her parents every day. Then Project Hope heard about Xiao Fang. It agreed to help Xiao Fang to go to school. Her wish of study came true, and now she is studying in a school.

Unluckily there are many thousands of children who can not go to school. You can join in Project Hope and help these children. You know all the good work needs money. Project Hope needs your help.

If you give Project Hope￥300 each year, it can pay for one child to go to school for a whole year. With more money, Project Hope can build new schools, buy good desks, chairs, blackboards and books. Let’s help the children together and give them a chance to have a good start in life.

1.________________ can go to school.

A. Almost every child in the world       

B. Almost every child in China

C. Almost every child in big cities       

D. Almost every child in small villages

2.Xiao Fang didn’t go to school when she was young because_________.

A. her family was too poor             

B. she didn’t like to go to school

C. there was too much work for her to do  

D. she could learn nothing at school

3.With ￥300, _________.

A. one child can go to school for nine years   

B. a new school can be built

C. many children can go to school       

D. a child can go to school for a whole year

4.Project Hope helped Xiao Fang because__________.

A. she went to ask for help            

B. it heard about her

C. she knew someone working there     

D. she wrote a letter to the newspaper

5.Which of the following is TRUE?

A. Project Hope helps the poor children to go to school.  

B. Project Hope helps to build new schools.

C. Project Hope helps schools to buy desks, chairs, books, etc.  

 D. All the above.

 

Who is the superstar of the cat world? It has to be Uncle Cat. Uncle Cat is a fat white cat living in the countryside of Japan. He is already nine years old, as old as our 50-year-old uncle in cat years. That’s why he gets the nickname(绰号) Uncle Cat.

Uncle Cat is a lazy cat. He often half shuts his eyes and lies in the sun. It makes him look relaxed and peaceful. He also enjoys himself in a basket, so he has another name: Basket Cat.

Uncle Cat is clever. He knows exactly how to make himself look cool—to wear a pair of sunglasses. From hats to flowers, Uncle Cat likes everything that makes him a different cat.

Uncle Cat’s owner likes to take pictures of Uncle Cat. To his surprise, these photos are very popular on the internet. They make people from all over the world to know and love this cute cat.

Recently, a big earthquake happened in Uncle Cat’s hometown. But don’t worry. Uncle Cat is also a lucky cat. He is safe and sound. That means there will be more photos of Uncle Cat on time and he will soon bring us more fun!

1.What do you know about Uncle Cat’s looks?

A. He is a fat white cat.

b. He is already nine years old.

C. He is a lonely cat.

D. He lives in the country of Japan.

2.The main reason why Uncle Cat is called Basket Cat is that           .

A. He often half shuts his eyes.

b. He always lies in the sun.

C. He enjoys himself in a basket.

D. He looks relaxed and peaceful.

3.People from all over the world get to know and love Uncle Cat            .

A. during a big earthquake.

b. on the Internet.

C. from photo collections.

D. in the newspaper.

4. Which of the following can best explain “Uncle Cat knows exactly how to make himself look cool”?

 

林华的英语老师今天布置了一份问卷调查，假如你是林华的一个被调查者，请把你的回答放到相应问题前的序号内, 其中有一个答案是多余的。

A. Once a week.   B. For nine hours C.  By bike.    D. Go shopping.   E. France.       F. Playing basketball

 

 

 

1.What do you usually do on weekends?       

2.Where are you going for winter vacation?           

3. How often do you watch TV?           

4.How do you usually go to school?               

5.What’s your favorite exercise?