The Mother Goose Stories, so well known to children all over the word, are commonly said to have been written by a little old woman for her grandchildren. According to some people, she lived in Boston, and her real name was Elizabeth Vergoose. Her son-in-law, a printer named Thomas Fleet, was supposed to have published the famous stories and poems for small children in 1719. However, no copy of this book has ever been found, and most scholars doubt the truth of this story—and doubt, moreover, that Mother Goose was ever a real person. They point out that the name is a direct translation of the French “Mere I’ Oye.” In 1697 the Frenchman Charles Perrault published the first book in which this name was used. The collection contains eight tales, including “Sleeping Beauty,” “Cinderella,” and “Puss in Boots.” But Perrault did not originate these stories; they were already quite popular in his day, and he only collected them.

In 1729 there appeared an English translation of Perrault’s collection,Robert Samber’s Histories or Tales of Past times, Told by MotherGoose(London,1729), which introduced “Sleeping Beauty”, “Little Red-hood”, “Puss in Boots”,”Cinderella” and other Perrault’s tales to English-speaking audiences. These were fairy tales(童话)。 John Newbery published a book of English rhymes，Mother Goose’s Melody, or Sonnets for the Cradle( London, undated,1765), which switched the focus from fairy tale to nursery  rhymes, and in English this was until recently the primary meaning for Mother Goose.A book of poems for children entitled Mother Goose’s Melody was published in England in1781, and the name “Mother Goose” has been associated with children’s poetry ever since.

1.What is supposed to have happened in 1719?

　 A.　Elizabeth Vergoose wrote the first Mother Goose Stories.

　 B.　 The Mother Goose Stories were translated into French.

　 C.　 Thomas Fleet published the Mother Goose Stories.

　 D.　Charles Perrault published the first Mother Goose Stories.

2. Most scholars consider Mother Goose to be _________.

　　 A. a real person                                                 B. a translation from French

 　　C. a collection by Elizabeth Vergoose          D.　 a book written by a little old woman

3.When Perrault published the first book in 1679, _______.

　　 A. no story of the book had been known to people

　　 B. some stories of the book were already well known

　　 C. few people were interested in the stories of the book

　　 D. stories like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella” became popular

4.The name used in the first book published in 1679 is supposed to have been _______.

　A. Mother Goose         B. Charles Perrault C. Elizabeth Vergoose  D. Mere I’ Oye 

5.When people talk about Mother Goose, they refer to,___________

     A.    a printer of Boston          B. a kind of animal

     C.    children’s  poetry            D. the  French “Mere L’oye

 

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　　Fear can be fun. Many young people queue up to ride very fast and scary roller coasters, screaming but enjoying themselves. Other people like to read “goose bumps (鸡皮疙瘩)” books or watch horror movies at night, scared to death but feeling excited. Why do people like being scared?

　　Fear is an ancient way of surviving. Being scared makes animals, including humans escape from danger and save themselves. It is because of fear that we have lived through millions of years of evolution. Those who lacked a strong fear response were more likely to be killed, leaving the more fearful and careful to pass their genes onto the next generation.

　　How do scientists explain why shaking over such scary things is fun? “Some kids will go to a scary movie and love it and laugh over it, others will feel anxious and hide their faces and some won’t even set foot in the cinema,” said Ned Kalin, a US scientist. “Which kind of person you are depends partly on experiences you’ve had and partly on your genes.”

　　What happens in the brain when something frightens you? Nerves that begin at the eyes and ears lead to a part of the brain called the amygdale. When you suddenly see a snake, for example, the amygdale makes you freeze, sweat, have a quickened heartbeat, or run very fast. However, seeing the snake also uses another part of the brain, the cortex. It analyzes the situation, and if it finds that the snake is only made of rubber it tells your heart and the rest of your body to calm down. Think of the amygdale as the engine and the cortex as the brake.

　　Back to the first question: Why do some people like to make themselves scared? “One reason is that we can play games with fear, find ways to reduce the scariness by looking away or thinking of something else,” Kalin said. “To believe we have control over a situation gives us a feeling of power.” “Scary movies or novels are good practice to prepare young people for the real thing. Thrills such as roller coaster rides also go to the brain’s pleasure centre.”

　　And there might be some evolutionary advantage to being able to adjust this system that is there to protect people.

　　72. How many questions are answered in the passage?

　　A. 2. 　　　B. 3. 　　　C. 4.　　　 D. 5.

　　73. Some people like to be scared because______.

　　A. they are afraid that the fear genes will be passed onto their children

　　B. it’s a good practice to get prepared for the real frightening situation

　　C. it can help them show their own personalities

　　D. they will feel powerful after getting rid of fear

　　74. Which of the following is true about the people who are not easily scared?

　　A. Their cortex is better at analyzing the situations.

　　B. They are more likely to suffer from potential danger.

　　C. They are born unaffected by anything horrible.

　　D. They lack a strong response towards threat.

　　75. What is the best title of the passage?

　　A. Ready to scream? 　　　　B. How to be scared?

　　C. Willing to shake?　　　　D. Why to be scared?