Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average 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 consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．

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 tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources 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．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 as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract 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（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．

The passage mainly tells us ________．

A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains

B．the changes in brain throughout our lives

C．that men are better at spatial tasks

D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors

Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s

B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．

C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain．

D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter．

What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

A．Women prefer doing many things at a time．

B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time．

C．Women do not need to tell directions．

D．Men have weaker spatial abilities．

Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls．

B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills

C．Women may have stronger feelings than men．

D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills．

What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A．Defensive．         B．Persuasive．    C．Supportive．   D．Objective．

There are hundreds of things that your parents controlled for you when you were a child．And it’s a good thing, too — kids need this kind of protection and assistance, because they aren’t mature enough to take care of themselves and make careful decisions on their own．
But eventually, kids grow up and become teens．It’s totally normal for teens to create their own opinions, thoughts, and values about life; it’s what prepares them for adulthood．But as you change and grow into this new person who makes his or her own decisions, your parents may have a difficult time adjusting themselves to it．
In most families, it’s this adjustment that can cause a lot of fighting between teens and parents．Teens get angry because they feel parents don’t respect them and aren’t giving them space to do what they like, and parents get angry because they aren’t used to not being in control or they disagree with the teens’ decisions．
It’s easy for feelings to get very hurt when there are conflicts like these．And more complicated issues can cause even bigger arguments, because your parents will always be intent on protecting you and keeping you safe, no matter how old you are．
The good news about fighting with your parents is that in many families the arguing will lessen as parents get more comfortable with the idea that their teens have a right to certain opinions．It can take several years for parents and teens to adjust to their new roles, though．In the meantime, concentrate on communicating with your parents as best you can．
Sometimes this can feel impossible — like they just don’t see your point of view and never will．But talking and expressing your opinions can help you gain more respect from your parents, and you may be able to reach a compromise that makes everyone happy．Keep in mind, too, that your parents were teens once and that in most cases, they can relate to what you’re going through．
【小题1】Why do parents always want to control their children?

A．They are afraid to lose their children．

B．They want to protect their children．

C．They don’t believe the ability of their children．

D．They can’t accept their children are growing．

【小题2】The author suggested that teenagers ________．

A．fight with their parents bravely for their rights

B．obey their parents without any doubt

C．communicate with their parents actively

D．persuade their parents in as many ways as possible

【小题3】It can be inferred from the passage that ________．

A．most parents will give in while fighting with their children

B．the conflict between parents and teenagers can be solved

C．the only way for teens to get freedom is to leave home

D．only few parents do well in facing the growth of their children

Mr. Grey traveled a lot on business. He sold machines of different kinds to farmers. It was not really a very   36   job, but Mr. Grey had always been interested in   37  , and he was quite   38   with his life.

One of Mr. Grey’s problems was often__39___ to stay when he reached some small places in the country. He did not expect great ___40__ and wonderful food, but he found it annoying when he was given a __41___ room and when there was no hot water or good food after a long and ___42__ day.

Late one __43__ evening, Mr. Grey arrived at a small railway station. The journey by __44__ that day had not been ___45__ interesting, and Mr. Grey was cold and tired and hungry. He was __46___ a simple but satisfying meal by a bright burning __47___ , and then a hot bath and a comfortable ___48__.

While he was walking to the taxi stand, he said to a local man who was _  49__ walking there, “ As this is my first __50___ to this part of the country and I was in too much of a __51___ to find out about hotels before I left home, I would very much like to know how many you have here?”    

The local man answered, “ We have two.”

“And which of the two would you __52___ me to go to ?” Mr. Grey asked then.

The local man scratched his __53___ for a few moments and then answered, “ Well, it’s like this: ___54__ you go to, you’ll be ___55__ you didn’t go to the other.”

A．curious        B．serious          C．exciting         D．horrible

A．shopping     B．farming         C．studying         D．teaching

A．satisfied       B．terrified         C．thankful        D．careful

A．where        B．which           C．what            D．how

A．position       B．respect          C．comfort         D．money

A．cold          B．small           C．common         D．local

A．happy         B．interesting     C．tiring           D．ordinary

A．winter        B．summer        C．Sunday          D．holiday

A．air           B．train           C．plane          D．boat

A．in all        B．at all           C．all over      D．all the same

A．booking     B．ordering       C．longing for     D．finding out

A．fire        B．light           C．wood          D．stove

A．hotel             B．room          C．seat             D．bed

A．already      B．also            C．yet          D．quite

A．arrive       B．look            C．visit            D．moment

A．while       B．hurry         C．habit         D．wonder

A．want        B．suggest         C．allow           D．advise

A．paper       B．head          C．hand          D．notebook

A．whenever    B．wherever      C．whichever one  D．neither one

A．proud       B．sure           C．sorry         D．glad

Laziness is a state of inaction. It is something that you do, not something that you are. Being lazy means you have no         to do anything. This is obvious but the mistake that many people make is          themselves as someone who is lazy.

Lazy people are often seen as useless.      , are they really being lazy or are they acting lazy? There is a huge difference between saying you are lazy sometimes and you are a lazy person. One is suggesting that your laziness is       while the other suggests that it’s permanent. This is the myth of laziness. People who are lazy aren’t lazy; they      are people who are temporarily acting that way.

So what causes a person to be inactive? The answer is a lack of goals. If you give someone a good enough      to do something, he will do it. People who don’t seem to do anything just haven’t found a good enough reason to do something. Lazy students don’t study because they don’t see the        in studying. For example, if you are too lazy to clean out the garage, would someone        a gun to your head help you take action? The reason can be positive or negative      it’s strong enough to induce(引起) action.

To motivate someone who is lazy, what you need to do is to help him find enough      to work towards a certain goal.

1.A. motivation B. question       C. promotion     D. courage

2.A. agreeing    B. denying         C. identifying    D. refusing

3.A. Otherwise B. Besides C. However       D. Therefore

4.A. correct       B. false      C. temporary     D. inspirational

5.A. simply         B. occasionally          C. often     D. hardly

6.A. excuse       B. gift         C. chance D. purpose

7.A. point B. success C. situation        D. difficulty

8.A. dropping    B. pointing         C. shooting        D. hiding

9.A. as long as B. as soon as     C. so that  D. in case

10.A. reasons    B. money  C. energy  D. Confidence

 

Tayka Hotel De Sal

Where: Tahua, Bolivia

How much: About $95 a night

Why it’s cool: You’ve stayed at hotels made of brick or wood, but salt? That’s something few can claim. Tayka Hotel de Sal is made totally of salt—including the beds (though you’ll sleep on regular mattresses(床垫) and blankets). The hotel sits on the Salar de Uyuni, a prehistoric dried-up lake that’s the world’s biggest salt flat. Builders use the salt from the 4,633-square-mile flat to make the bricks, and glue them together with a paste of wet salt that hardens when it dries. When rain starts to dissolve the hotel, the owners just mix up more salt paste to strengthen the bricks.

Green Magic Nature Resort

Where: Vythiri, India

How much: About $240 a night

Why it’s cool: Ridding a pulley(滑轮)-operated lift 86 feet to your treetop room is just the start of your adventure. As you look out of your open window—there is no glass!—you watch monkeys and birds in the rain forest canopy. Later you might test your fear of heights by crossing the handmade rope bridge to the main part of the hotel, or just sit on your bamboo bed and read. You don’t even have to come down for breakfast—the hotel will send it up on the pulley-drawn “elevator”.

Dog Bark Park Inn B&B

Where: Cottonwood, Idaho

How much: $92 a night

Why it’s cool: This doghouse isn’t just for the family pet．Sweet Willy is a 30-foot-tall dog with guest rooms in his belly. Climb the wooden stairs beside his hind leg to enter the door in his side. You can relax in the main bedroom, go up a few steps of the loft(阁楼）in Willy’s head, or hang out inside his nose. Although you have a full private bathroom in your quarters, there is also a toilet in the 12-foot-tall fire hydrant (消防栓）outside.

Gamirasu Cave Hotel

Where: Ayvali, Turkey

How much: Between $130 and $475 a night

Why it’s cool: This is caveman cool! Experience what it was like 5,000 years ago, when people lived in these mountain caves formed by volcanic ash. But your stay will be much more modern. Bathrooms and electricity provide what you expect from a modern hotel, and the white volcanic ash, called tufa, keeps the rooms cool, about 65℉ in summer. (Don’t worry—there is heat in winter.)

1.What do we know about Tayka Hotel de Sal?

A. It is located on a prehistoric lake.

B. It should be protected against the rain.

C. Everything in the hotel is made of salt.

D. You have to cross a rope bridge to the hotel.

2.What is the similarity of the four hotels?

A. Being expensive.                                                 B. Being comfortable.

C. Being natural.                                                    D. Being unique.

3.What does the underlined part “Sweet Willy” refer to?

A. The name of the hotel.

B. The name of the hotel owner.

C. The building of Dog Bark Park Inn B&B.

D. The name of a pet dog of the hotel owner.

4.Which of the hotels makes you have a feeling of living in the far past?

A. Tayka Hotel De Sal                                                        B. Green Magic Nature Resort

C. Dog Bark Park Inn B&B                                       D. Gamirasu Cave Hotel

5.What may be the purpose of the writer writing the passage?

A. To show his wide knowledge

B. To introduce some interesting hotels

C. To develop business in tourism

D. To attract attention from the readers