Transportation and communication networks bring people together．Yet sometimes people themselves create barriers(障碍)to transportation and communication．
In some countries，laws stop people from moving freely from place to place．Over the centuries，many groups of people have been denied the freedom to travel because of their race，religion，or nationality．In the Middle Ages，for example，Jews were often forbidden to move about freely within certain cities．South Africa’s government used to require black Africans to carry passes when they travel within the country．Some governments require all citizens to carry identification papers and to report to government officials whenever they move．
Countries set up customs posts at their borders．Foreign travellers must go through a customs inspection before they are allowed to travel in the country．Usually travellers  have to carry special papers such as passports and visas(签证)．Some countries even limit the number of visitors to their country each year．Others allow tourists to visit only certain areas of the country，or they may require that travellers be with an official guide at all times during their stay．
Many of those barriers to travel also act as barriers to communication．When two governments disagree with each other on important matters，they usually do not want their citizens to exchange news or ideas freely．Countries often try to keep military or lndustrial information secret．
Today，people have the ability to travel，to communicate，and to transport goods more quickly and easily than ever before．Natural barriers that were difficult or dangerous to cross a hundred years ago can now be crossed easily．The barriers that people themselves make are not so easy to overcome．But in spite of all the different kinds of barriers，people continue to enjoy travel and the exchange of goods and ideas.
【小题1】Choose the best title for the passage．

The ability to memorize things seems to be a vanishing （消失的） technique．So what can we do to bring out brain cells back into action? A newly published book on memory, Moomvalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by American journalist Joshua Foer, makes a telling point, one that is an analysis of the importance of memorising events and stories in human history; the decline of its role in modem life; and the techniques that we need to adopt to restore the art of remembering．
As For points out, we no longer need to remember telephone numbers．Our mobile phones do that for us．We don't recall addresses either．We send emails from computers that store electronic addresses．Nor do we bother to remember multiplication tables （乘法表） ．Pocket calculators do the job of multiplying quite nicely．Museums, photographs, the digital media and books also act as storehouses for memories that once we had to keep in mind．
As a result, we no longer remember long poems or folk stories by heart, feats （技艺） of memory that were once the cornerstones of most people's lives．Indeed, society has changed so much that we no longer know what techniques we should employ to remember such lengthy works．We are, quite simply, forgetting how to remember．
And let's face it, there is nothing sadder than someone who has lost their mobile phone and who finds they cannot even phone home or call their parents or partners because they cannot remember a single telephone number．That is a sad example of loss of personal independence．So, yes, there is a need for us to he able to remember certain things in life．
Therefore, Foer's book outlines the methods that need to be mastered in order to promote our memories and regain the ability to recall long strings of names, numbers or faces．In the process, he adds, we will become more aware of the world about us．
The trick, Foer says, is to adopt a process known as " elaborative encoding", which involves transforming information, such as a shopping list, into a series of "absorbing visual images"．If you want to remember a list of household objects—potatoes, cottage cheese, sugar and other items, then visualise them in an unforgettable manner, he says．Start by creating an image of a large jar of potatoes standing in the garden．Next to it, imagine a giant tub of cottage cheese—the size of an outdoor pool—and then picture Lady Gaga swimming in it．And so on．Each image should be as fantastic and memorable as possible．
Using methods like this, it becomes possible to achieve great feats of memory quite easily, Foer says．It certainly seems to have worked for him: he won the annual US Memory Championships after learning how to memorize 120 random digits in five minutes; the first and last names of 156 strangers in 15 minutes; and a deck of cards in under two minutes．"What I had really trained my brain to do, as much as to memorise, was to be more mindful and to pay attention to the world around," he says．
These techniques employed by Foer to master his memory were developed by Ed Cooke—a British writer and a world memory championship grandmaster．He acted as Foer's trainer during preparations for the book and helped him achieve his championship performances．" Memory techniques do just one thing: they make information more meaningful to the mind, making the things we try to learn unforgettably bright and amusing," said Cooke．
【小题1】Which of the following is conveyed in this article?

One school night this month I walked quietly up to Alexander, my 15-year-old son, and touched his cheek gently in a manner I hoped would seem casual．A year ago he would have ignored this disturbance but now he reacted impatiently and leaned back to his computer screen．

I made a mistake: breaking into my teenager's personal space. “The average teenager has pretty strong feelings about his privacy," Lara Fox and her friend Hilary Frankel told me. Mr．Frankel and Mr．Fox, both 17, are the authors of Breaking the Code, a new book that seeks to bridge the generational divide between parents and adolescents．It is being promoted by its publisher as the first self-help guide by teenagers for their parents, a kind of "Kids Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus" that explains the language and actions of teenagers．The girls dealt with issues including hanging out late, money, school pressures, smoking etc．

Personally, I welcome their opinions．The most common missteps in interacting with teenagers arise from the war between parents exercising their rights to know what goes on under their roof and teenagers firmly guarding their privacy．Teenagers can be quick to interpret their parents' remarks and respond with anger that masks their vulnerability （脆弱 ）. Ms Fox said, "What we want above all is your approval．Don't forget, no matter how much we act as if we don't care what you say, we believe the things you say about us．"

Nancy, a New York child-raising expert said she didn't agree with everything the authors suggested but found their arguments reasonable．"When your kids are saying, ' You don't get it, and you never will, ' there are lots of ways to respond so that they will listen and that is what the writers point out．"

" My parents helped me see that, " Mr．Fox told me, " even though they used to stay out late and ride their bicycles to school, times have changed and the way parents educate children is different．These days there is a major fear factor in bringing up kids．Parents worry about their child crossing the street．" The writers said they hoped simply to throw light on teenage thinking．

1.According to the two girls, teenagers nowadays are ____．

A．independent          B．intelligent

C. inconsiderate           D．sensitive

2.The underlined sentence "You don't get it, and you never will" in the 4th paragraph implies that ____．

A．the teenagers don't want/to admit their weakness

B．the teenagers think that their parents will never understand them

C．the parents do not necessarily force into the world of their children

D．the generation gap cannot be shortened despite their parents' efforts

3.It can be inferred from the last two paragraphs that ____．

A．teenagers should guard their privacy

B．Nancy totally agrees with the two girls' opinions

C．parents are more concerned about children's safety

D．the two girls have obtained numerous support from the public

4.Why does the author mention the book "Kids Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus ?

A．It is one of the best-sellers

B．It is also written by the two girls

C．The two books have the similar theme

D．The two books have different opinions

The Loss of Innocence（纯真）
Innocence is such a precious gift. It’s explained as freedom from guilt or wrong doing. Just imagine never having to worry about anything and having a guilt-free mind. Some people wish to save this kind of innocence from being lost from childhood to adulthood.
What would the world be like if innocence were never lost? One way it would benefit humanity is the lack of hatred （仇恨） among the world. During youth, there may be an occasional argument, even a little physical fight, but nothing like firing a handgun at a fellow human being. And children are blind towards the racial differences of others. A kid will hang out with any other kid. It is the lack of innocence and the ignorance we learn from adults that influence children otherwise. Another benefit is the constant desire for fun and adventure. With very little if any time at all for fun, the adventurous mind is lost in time with the responsibilities placed upon adults. If innocence were kept alive, these ambitions would never depart from our lives.
However, other people actually hate the idea of innocence lasting for ever. They feel that the lack of organization and mental power of those with innocence would cause extremely destructive consequences to society in general. A large number of individuals would never have the urge to learn, work, and act upon the necessary needs for humanity to survive. Without a proper education which is usually provided by those who no longer live in a world of innocence, people would not have the desire to succeed, get a good job in life, or provide income for their families, which would hurt the lives of children.
The lack of a good education and career would also harm the economy. As long as innocence is kept alive, no one would be terribly angry at the lack of effort people put out in the workplace, resulting in a strong decline（减少） in production and quality of needed goods.
Maybe it is wrong in wanting to save innocence. It sure is a nice thought, though. Perhaps innocence was meant to be lost. It was god's will to make things the way they are, and there is a good purpose for everything. All that remains to be said about innocence is to enjoy it while it lasts.
【小题1】The author believes that the loss of innocence in adulthood should be______.

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项（Ａ、Ｂ、Ｃ和Ｄ）中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
He fell in love with her at the first sight at a party. She was so outstanding while he was so  36  . At the end of the party, he invited her to have  37  with him. She was very  38  , but she promised.
Sitting in a nice coffee shop, he was too  39  to say anything. Suddenly he
said to the waiter,“ Would you please give me some  40  ?” Everybody stared at him, so strange！His face turned red, but still, he  41   the salt in his coffee and drank it.
She asked him  42  ,“Why do you have this  43  ?”
He replied,“ When I was a little boy, I was living near the  44  . Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood and my  45  .”
While saying that tears  46   his eyes. She was deeply  47  . That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. Later they got  48   … And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that’s the way he liked it.
After 40 years, he passed away, leaving her a letter which  49  :
My dearest, please forgive my lie,  the only  50   I said to you --the salty coffee. The first time we  51   I was so nervous that actually I wanted some sugar. I  52   to tell you the truth many times, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have  53   not to lie to you forever… Having you is my biggest happiness even though I have to drink the salty coffee.
Her tears  54  the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, “What’s the taste of salty coffee?” She replied, “It’s  55  .”