I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop 　36　me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　37　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　38　interfered with how I spent it, even when I was spending it 　39　. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　40　, I would become more mature and 　41　 about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

　　Like many 　42　parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　43　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around 　44　. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　45　for me. In the end, my father won the 　46　on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins 　47　through the country who could 　48　shelter and help if I needed them.

　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　49　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not 　50　to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　51　year working his way on trains and ships to 　52　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly 　53　. Most parents start 　54　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have 　55　the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.

　　36. A. taught　　　　 B. allowed　　　　C. treated　　　　 D. hired

　　37. A. anxious　　　　B. content　　　　C. proud　　　　　 D. hopeful

　　38. A. never　　　　　B. ever　　　　　 C. always　　　　　D. even

　　39. A. quickly　　　　B. foolishly　　　C. seriously　　　 D. honestly

　　40. A. work　　　　　 B. mistakes　　　 C. others　　　　　D. books

　　41. A. strict　　　　 B. reasonable　　 C. polite　　　　　D. responsible

　　42. A. American　　　 B. Japanese　　　 C. Chinese　　　　 D. British

　　43. A. helped　　　　 B. supported　　　C. shared　　　　　D. worried

　　44. A. Asia 　　　　　B. Africa　　　　 C. Europe　　　　　D. Oceania

　　45. A. journey　　　　B. experience　　 C. chance　　　　　D. possibility

　　46. A. argument 　　　B. game　　　　　 C. discussion　　　D. plan

　　47. A. send out 　　　B. give out　　　 C. carry out　　　 D. spread out

　　48. A. promise　　　　B. afford　　　　 C. provide　　　　 D. serve

　　49. A. leave　　　　　B. make　　　　　 C. take　　　　　　D. prepare

　　50. A. angry　　　　　B. eager　　　　　C. sorry 　　　　　D. sad

　　51. A. unusual　　　　B. hard　　　　　 C. strange　　　　 D. busy

　　52. A. accept　　　　 B. earn　　　　　 C. find　　　　　　D. search

　　53. A. welcome　　　　B. fit　　　　　　C. necessary　　　 D. common

　　54. A. bringing　　　 B. forcing　　　　C. pushing　　　　 D. protecting

　　55. A. selected　　　 B. admired　　　　C. afforded　　　　D. left

What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.

We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.

Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”

The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.

A. bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding  B. pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking

C. great and important; common                       D. hopeful and helpful; careless　

According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.

A. a normal person; a funny person                        B. a strong person; a weak person

C. a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person  D. a famous person; an ordinary person　

A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.

A. whose parents are clever              B. often thinking about difficult problems

C. often helped by his parents and teachers  D. born with a good brain and putting it into active use　

It is better for parents ________.

A. to praise and encourage their children more often  B. to be hard on their children

C. to leave their children alone with nothing to do    D. to give their children as much help as possible　

Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A. Parents play an important part in their children’s growth.

B. The less you use your mind the duller you may become.

C. Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.

D. What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion.

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题纸上将该项涂黑。

　　I had my first job at the age of thirteen, when a friend of my mother’s who owned a book shop 　36　me for six hours a week to help her in the shop. I was very 　37　to earn my own pocket money and my parents 　38　interfered with how I spent it, even when I was spending it 　39　. They believed that by earning money, spending it, and learning from the 　40　, I would become more mature and 　41　 about how to handle work, relationships with others, and money.

　　Like many 　42　parents, my parents also let me and my brothers do things over which they 　43　a great deal. When I was sixteen, for example, after I finished high school and before I entered university, I wanted to spend the summer months traveling around 　44　. My mother was against the idea of my traveling alone at such a young age, but my father felt that it would be a great 　45　for me. In the end, my father won the 　46　on the condition that I limited my traveling to France, my mother’s home, where I had many uncles, aunts and cousins 　47　through the country who could 　48　shelter and help if I needed them.

　　Three years later, my younger brother decided to 　49　a year off after his first year in university and travel through the United States and the Caribbean. Again my mother was very worried and not 　50　to see my brother leave school, but my father encouraged him and my brother had a(n) 　51　year working his way on trains and ships to 　52　passage to different ports and cities, and discovering many fascinating places and people.

　　These kinds of experiences are probably rare for children in many countries but in the US they are fairly 　53　. Most parents start 　54　their children at a young age to do small things by themselves. By the time they have finished high school, many American kids have already had part-time jobs, traveled around the US or other countries on their own, have 　55　the university they plan to attend and maybe even decided on their future career, and so on.

　　36. A. taught　　　　 B. allowed　　　　C. treated　　　　 D. hired

　　37. A. anxious　　　　B. content　　　　C. proud　　　　　 D. hopeful

　　38. A. never　　　　　B. ever　　　　　 C. always　　　　　D. even

　　39. A. quickly　　　　B. foolishly　　　C. seriously　　　 D. honestly

　　40. A. work　　　　　 B. mistakes　　　 C. others　　　　　D. books

　　41. A. strict　　　　 B. reasonable　　 C. polite　　　　　D. responsible

　　42. A. American　　　 B. Japanese　　　 C. Chinese　　　　 D. British

　　43. A. helped　　　　 B. supported　　　C. shared　　　　　D. worried

　　44. A. Asia 　　　　　B. Africa　　　　 C. Europe　　　　　D. Oceania

　　45. A. journey　　　　B. experience　　 C. chance　　　　　D. possibility

　　46. A. argument 　　　B. game　　　　　 C. discussion　　　D. plan

　　47. A. send out 　　　B. give out　　　 C. carry out　　　 D. spread out

　　48. A. promise　　　　B. afford　　　　 C. provide　　　　 D. serve

　　49. A. leave　　　　　B. make　　　　　 C. take　　　　　　D. prepare

　　50. A. angry　　　　　B. eager　　　　　C. sorry 　　　　　D. sad

　　51. A. unusual　　　　B. hard　　　　　 C. strange　　　　 D. busy

　　52. A. accept　　　　 B. earn　　　　　 C. find　　　　　　D. search

　　53. A. welcome　　　　B. fit　　　　　　C. necessary　　　 D. common

　　54. A. bringing　　　 B. forcing　　　　C. pushing　　　　 D. protecting

　　55. A. selected　　　 B. admired　　　　C. afforded　　　　D. left

I had a bad habit of skipping to the last pages of a book. I just wanted to see how it ended 36 I was still in the middle of it. This habit 37 first my mom, then my friends, and 38 even my own daughter. Often my 39 wouldn’t be limited just to the books I read but also to what others were 40 as well. Then one day my daughter told me in anger, “Dad, please just read a book one 41 at a time like everyone else!”

At times I didn’t 42 this bad habit to just books either. I also tried to skip ahead in my own life and 43 out what to do months and even years from now 44 enjoying each day at present. Although I knew that the 45 of my life wasn’t done yet and that I had many

pages 46 to go, I still couldn’t control my burning desire to write the 47 of it half-way through. Time and again, I would 48 jump ahead and try to solve every potential(潜在的) problem before it happened. Life, 49 , doesn’t work like that. It loves to 50 us, and you never know what new problems, changes, or opportunities each new day will 51 .

Recently when I found myself living in the 52 again, I felt a voice that gently told me I needed to “live one day at a time.” When I heard those words, I 53 , turned the book of my life back to the 54 page, and thanked God for today.

Each of us has to 55 the book of life line by line, moment by moment and trust that our story will be brought to its perfect end.

36. A. since　　　　　　　　 B. for　　　　　　　　　　　　　 C. while　　　　　　　　　　　 D. because

37. A. confused　　　 　　 B. annoyed　　　　 C. delighted　　　　 　　 D. embarrassed

38. A. usually　　 　 B. obviously　　　 C. accidentally　　　 　　　 D. finally

39. A. impatience B. misunderstanding C. disappointment　 　　　 D. disagreement

40. A. saying　　　　 　　 B. reading　　　　 C. doing　　　　　　 　　 D. watching

41. A. page　　 　　　　　　 B. copy　 　　　　　　　　 C. chapter　　　 　　 D. edition

42. A. contribute　　 　　　 B. devote　　　　 　 C. apply　　　　　 　 D. limit

43. A. try　　　　　 　　　 B. figure　　　　　 C. let　　　　　 　　 D. turn

44. A. on the part of　 B. other than　　　 　 C. instead of　　　　 　　 D. on the basis of

45. A. book　　　 　　 B. river　　　　　 　 C. picture　　　　　 D. play

46. A. forgotten　　 　　　 B. left　　　　　　 C. kept　　　　　　 D. regretted

47. A. feelings　　　 　　 B. beginning 　　　 　　　　C. ending　　　　　 D. comments

48. A. consciously　　 　　 B. strangely　　　　 　　 C. foolishly　　　　 D. critically

49. A. otherwise　　 B. moreover 　　　　　　 C. therefore　　　　 　　　 D. however

50. A. surprise　　　 　　 B. cheat　　　　　　 　　 C. satisfy　　　　　 D. frighten

51. A. make　　　　 　　 B. bring　　　　　　 　　　 C. take　　　　　　 D. award

52. A. present　　　　 B. future　　　　　 　　 C. memory　　 　　 D. dream

53. A. cheered　　　 　　 B. cried　　　　　　 　　　 C. lost　　　　　　 D. smiled

54. A. exciting　　　 　　 B. hopeful　　　　 　 C. favorite　　　　　 　　　 D. right

55. A. write　　　 　 B. review　　　　　 C. explain　　　　 D. translate

What makes one person more intelligent than another? What makes one person a genius, like the brilliant Albert Einstein, and another person a fool? Are people born intelligent or stupid, or is intelligence the result of where and how you live? These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.

We know, however, that just being born with a good mind is not enough. In some ways, the mind is like a leg or an arm muscle. It needs exercise. Mental (done with the mind) exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists (心理学家) think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about. The children are then more likely to grow up bright and intelligent. If, on the other hand, children are left alone a great deal with nothing to do, they are more likely to become dull and unintelligent.

Parents should also be careful with what they say to young children. According to some psychologists, if parents are always telling a child that he or she is a fool or an idiot, then the child is more likely to keep doing silly and foolish things. So it is probably better for parents to say very positive (helpful) things to their children, such as “That was a very clever thing you did.” or “You are such a smart child.”

1. The words “intelligent” and “brilliant” in the first paragraph probably mean _______ while “dull” in the second paragraph means ________.

A. bright and splendid; slow in thinking and understanding  B. pretty and handsome; ordinary-looking

C. great and important; common                       D. hopeful and helpful; careless　

2.According to the context we can guess that a genius is ________ while an idiot is ________.

A. a normal person; a funny person                        B. a strong person; a weak person

C. a highly intelligent person; a foolish or weak-minded person  D. a famous person; an ordinary person　

3.A person ________ is more likely to become a genius.

A. whose parents are clever              B. often thinking about difficult problems

C. often helped by his parents and teachers  D. born with a good brain and putting it into active use　

4. It is better for parents ________.

A. to praise and encourage their children more often  B. to be hard on their children

C. to leave their children alone with nothing to do    D. to give their children as much help as possible　

5. Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?

A. Parents play an important part in their children’s growth.

B. The less you use your mind the duller you may become.

C. Intelligence is obviously the result of where and how you live.

D. What makes a person bright or stupid is still under discussion.