One period of our lives when better results are demanded of us is, strangely enough, childhood. Despite being young we are expected to achieve good grades, stay out of trouble, make friends at school, do well on tests, perform chores (杂务)at home and so on. It’s not easy.

Likeable children enjoy many advantages, including the ability to deal more easily with stresses of growing up.In her book Understanding Child Stress, Dr. Carolyn Leonard states that children who are likeable and optimistic are able to gain support from others. This leads to focus and resilience（适应力）, the ability to recover from or adjust early to life stress. Much research shows that resilience has enabled children to succeed in school, avoid drug abuse, and develop a healthy self-awareness(自我意识).

Why does a likeable child more easily handle stress and do better in his or her life? Because likeability helps create what’s known as a positive feedback loop(回馈圈). The positive feelings you want to see in other people are returned to you, creating constant encouragement and motivation to deal with the daily stress of life.

This feedback loop continues into adulthood. To return once again to the example of teaching, learning becomes easier with a likeable personality. Michael Delucchi of the University of Hawaii reviewed dozens of studies to determine if likeable teachers received good ratings because of their likeability or because they in fact taught well. Delucchi found that “Students who perceive(察觉) a teacher as likeable, in contrast to(比照) those who do not, may be more attentive to the information that the teacher delivers and they’ll work harder on assignments, and they will learn more.”

You may have noticed this pattern in your own life when you try to give some advice. The more positive your relationship with that person, the more he or she seems to listen, and the more you feel certain that that person has heard you and intends to act on your words.

1.The writer implies in the first paragraph that __________.

A．life is not easy for every one of us

B．children are expected much than we usually think

C．better education results in smarter children

D．to be a likable child is almost impossible

2.According to Dr. Leonard, likeable children __________.

A．will work harder on assignments and learn more

B．can deal more easily with stress independently

C．can achieve more and understand themselves better

D．are always optimistic and ready to help those in need

3.The main purpose of the studies done by Michael Delucchi is to find __________.

A．how a likeable teacher’s teaching style is formed

B．how a teacher’s likeability gains popularity

C．if a likeable teacher draws more attention

D．if a likeable teacher has a positive personality

4.The passage aims at proving that __________.

A．likeable people give better advice

B．likeable people do better in their childhood

C．social creatures enjoy more advantages

D．likeable people do better in life generally

 

Women consistently lie on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter to make their lives appear more exciting, a survey has found.

Researchers found that at least one in four women exaggerated or distorted what they are doing on social media once a month. The survey of 2000 women found they mostly pretended to be out on the town, when in fact they are home alone, and embellished about an exotic holiday or their job.

The most common reasons for women to write “fibs” included worrying their lives would seem “boring”, jealousy at seeing other people’s more exciting posts and wanting to impress their friends and acquaintances.

Psychologists suggested that as people attempt to “stay connected” on social media, they can in fact “paradoxically” be left “more isolated”. They also said that the “more we try to make our lives seem perfect, the less perfect we feel”.

According to the OnePoll survey, one third of women surveyed admitted to “dishonesty” on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter at some stage.

Almost one in four admitted to lying or exaggerating about key aspects of their life online between one and three times a month while almost one in 10 said they lied more than once a week.

Nearly 30 percent of women lied about “doing something when I am home alone”, almost a quarter overstated their alcohol consumption while one in five were not truthful about their holiday activities or their jobs. Almost one in five women even lied about their “relationship status”.

“We work very hard presenting ourselves to the world online, pretending and attempting to be happy all the time which is exhausting and ultimately unfulfilling,” said Dr Michael Sinclair, a leading British consultant psychologist.

“Omitting the less desirable imperfections of our lives from the conversations with our `friends` online leads to less opportunity to feel empathized with(与…产生共鸣), resulting in a greater sense of disconnection from others.”

The survey was commissioned by Pencourage, a new anonymous “diary-style” social media website.

1.Which of the words below is closest in meaning to the underlined word “fibs” in Para 3?

A．life experiences                        B．short stories

C．careful thoughts                        D．insignificant lies

2.A woman tends to tell a lie online when she__________.

A．hopes to make more friends               B．envies other people’s exciting life

C．feels lonely at home                     D．gets tired of the boring life

3.A woman might pretend to be happier online than she actually is by __________.

A．avoiding conversations with friends

B．describing her holiday activities

C．leaving out the imperfections in life

D．overstating her trouble at work

4.According to Dr Michael Sinclair, constantly lying online may __________.

A．eventually make one’s life more exciting

B．actually lead to a sense of isolation

C．really improve one’s sense of happiness

D．scarcely have any influence on relationships

 

Through history, children have played with toys and they help to prepare children for adult life. But the toys are changing all the time. As science and technology have changed the way adults live, the toys children play with have changed as well. Developments in science and technology have had a big effect on the toys that children play with. Today trains and mobile phones are popular toys for young children, but there were no toys of this kind before real trains and mobile phones were invented.  The materials that toys are made of have also changed.  Today lots of toys are made of plastic. Plastic is a modern, man-made material that did not exist (存在) in the past. On the other hand, some other toys that you have might not be all that different from the ones children played with 1,000 years ago. Scientists have found some bone dice (骰子)in Aberdeen. In medieval (中世纪的)times dice were used for playing games as much as they are today.

A recent survey found that half of all the children aged from 4 to 6 have played video games, a quarter of them regularly. The increasing use of electronic toys troubles Dr Singer, a professor at Yale. “One thing we know is that kids in early years need to be in touch with the real world,” he said, “No matter how brilliant they are, they’re not going to learn to walk, to move or to talk to others unless their hands or feet have a direct role in such activities.”

Some toy experts argue that the best toys are the ones that increase a child’s creativity and imagination. Traditional toys can be used for different kinds of purposes and be used in group settings, individually(单独地), and one-to-one. They are also used differently depending on the child’s age and skill level. And these toys made of natural materials are valuable for children because they teach children what the world is made of.

1.In how many ways do toys change according to the first paragraph?

A．One.

B．Two.

C．Three.

D． Four.

2.From the article, we can know that     .

A．only children like to play with toys

B．toys have nothing to do with children’s future life

C．the development of toys is related to science and technology

D．plastic is the best material for making toys

3.According to Dr Singer,     .

A．the electronic toys are good for children if they play often enough

B．the electronic toys prevent children keeping in touch with the real world

C．children should be stopped from being hurt by the danger coming from the outside world

D．children should play with electronic toys instead of the traditional ones

 

London, Dec.17 (Xinhua) “Drivers on London Underground trains have started reading out sayings from great thinkers like Mahatma Gandhi , Frindrich Engels, and Albert Einstein in a bid to cheer up passengers ,” officials said. As well as the usual announcements urging passengers to “mind the steps” and warning of delays, the sayings such as “ an ounce ( 盎司) of action is worth a ton of theory” have taken the place of commercial ad in the underground carriages .

New York, Oct.8 (Xinhua) Once as a famous actor, now the governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to abandon textbooks in favor of digital ones. He plans to launch this program in August next year when California’s high-school pupils will have access to online math and science text. But some teachers wonder whether his idea of getting rid of textbooks might end up costing more not less, with digital textbook going for $300.

Amsterdam, Nov.30 (Xinhua) A few cups of coffee a day may not only help to put off the disease—dementia(痴呆) but also can treat it, according to Dr. Arendash, who led the research. After giving mice with memory damage water containing caffeine, he found the mice developed better memories and quick thinking. The reason is that caffeine is a safe drug for most people. It easily enters the brain and directly affects the disease process. He suggested people should drink five eight–ounce cups of ordinary coffee, two cups of strong ‘coffee shop’ coffee, 14 cups of tea, or 20 cola drinks to get the same amount of 500 milligrams of caffeine.
【小题1】What’s the purpose of putting up sayings on the underground carriages in London?

A．to help passengers to kill time.

B．to encourage passengers to learn.

C．to lift the spirits of passengers.

D．to make money as a commercial ad.

【小题2】What can we conclude from the second news?

A．digital textbooks will replace traditional textbooks.

B．online math is already available to high-school pupils .

C．digital textbooks are convenient to carry anywhere.

D．Not all the teachers support their governor’s idea.

【小题3】Which of the following statements is true from the third news?

A．The more coffee you drink, the less chance there will be for dementia.

B．Caffeine can make mice become more and more intelligent and energetic.

C．Caffeine can affect the process of the disease—dementia and treat it.

D．Caffeine is a safe drug for all the people for everyday use so enjoy it.

阅读下面短文，从各题A、B、C、D四个选项中，选出最佳答案。

People who smoke could lose around one third of their daily memory, researchers say.

A study by a team at Northumbria University showed that smokers lost more of their memory when compared to non-smokers.

And the research also found that those who kicked the habit saw their ability to recollect information restored to almost the same level as non-smokers.

The study involved more than seventy 18-to-25-year-olds and included a tour of the university’s campus. Those who took part were asked to recall small details, such as a list of songs played at a campus concert and tasks completed at various points－known as real world memory test. Smokers performed badly, remembering just 59 percent of tasks. But those who had given up smoking remembered 74 percent and those who had never smoked recalled 81 percent of tasks.

Dr. Tom Heffernan, who leads Northumbria University’s Collaboration for Drug and Alcohol Research Group, said the findings would be useful in anti-smoking campaigns. He said, “Given that there are up to 10 million smokers in the UK and as many as 45 million in the United States, it's important to understand the effects smoking has on everyday cognitive（认知的）function-of which prospective memory is an excellent example. ”

“This is the first time that a study has set out to examine whether giving up smoking has an impact on memory. We already know that giving up smoking has huge health benefits for the body, but this study also shows how stopping smoking can have knock-on benefits for cognitive functions too. ’’

The research will now investigate the effects of passive smoking on memory, while Dr. Heffernan and Dr. Terence O’Neil will look into the effects of third-hand smoking－toxins left on curtains and furniture.

1.What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Smoking does harm to health.

B．Smokers take a tour to the University’s campus.

C．Smoking can affect one’s memory.

D．Smokers are compared to non-smokers.

2.How did those who took part in the study perform when asked to recall small details?

A．Smokers did the worst among the participants.

B．Non-smokers could recall about half of them.

C．Smokers could recall nothing at all.

D．Those who gave up smoking did best.

3.According to Dr. Tom Heffernan, the findings_______.

A．would be really a surprise to the public

B．would contribute to fighting against smoking

C．would be used in real world memory test

D．would be nothing new to the researchers

4.What does the underlined word “impact’’ most probably mean?

A．order            B．impression         C．expression         D．effect

5.What will Dr. Heffernan and Dr Terence O’Neil do?

A．Investigate the effects of third-hand smoking.

B．Do research on how smoking affects passive smokers.

C．Find ways to persuade people to quit smoking.

D．Study whether giving up smoking affects memory.