Story 1

  In America in 1940，the twin boys went to live with two different families almost as soon as they were born．The two brothers never saw each other again until1979，when they met by chance at a party．When they started talking to each other，they discovered some amazing similarities(相似处)．First，they found out that they both enjoyed making things out of wood．Later on，they discovered that they had both married women called Linda，and that they both had one son whose first and middle names were James and Alan．Besides，both brothers had called their dogs by the same name-Toy．As if that wasn’t enough，they also found out that they both took their family holiday at the same place every year．

Story 2

    In 1996，a Filipino woman called Mrs. Jimena told other people that her three children could breathe underwater like fish．Mrs. Jimena said that her children had three small holes on the sides of their necks below each ear，and that these were like the gills(鱼鳃)on fish．Mrs. Jimena said that she didn’t know how to swim and that her children were just starting to learn. Her family lives in a mountain village far from the sea． According to Mrs. Jimena，the holes in her children’s necks become larger when they are underwater, allowing them to stay underwater for up to six minutes．

Story 3

    On 11th October，1994，a 10-year-old English girl called Vicky Willmore told her mother that she had a headache．Soon afterwards，Vicky began writing in mirror image(镜像)．She wrote letters and numbers either upsidedown or back-to-front．Although she could read what she wrote，no one else could．She was examined by different doctors，but none of them could find out what was wrong with her．Vicky became very upset，and soon stopped reading and writing altogether．Instead she started watching TV all the time．On 27th ，September 1995，Vicky was watching her favourite football team，Manchester United，play on television．When the team scored a goal，she became so excited that she jumped out of her seat and fell backwards，hitting her head on a coffee table．The next day，Vicky could read and write properly again．

1．The twin brothers didn’t meet each other until _________．

  A．1940            B．1979             C．1994               D．1996

2．The twin brothers_______．

  A．grew up in two different families

  B．didn’t have any similarities at all

  C．had two sons named James and Alan

  D．didn’t like making things out of wood

3．Mrs Jimena’s children could stay underwater for up to 6 minutes because ________．

  A．their mother was the best swimmer

  B．their village was close to the sea

  C．they had holes like gills below ears

  D．they bad gills like fish in their necks

4．The 10-year-old English girl changed her proper writing habit _______．

  A．soon after she had a headache one clay

  B．while she was watching a football match

  C．when she hit her head on a coffee table

  D．as soon as she stopped reading and writing

5．From the third story we know that ___________．

  A．Vicky wrote backwards for nearly three years

  B．doctors didn’t know what was wrong with Vicky

  C．hitting one’s head can make him write backwards

  D．watching football on television can cause trouble

6．This passage consists of three __________stories．

  A．traditional    B．historical         C．frightening             D．amazing

For many in the United States, Arab-Americans are an invisible part of the population. Though Arab-Americans as a community have made great contributions to American society in fields from literature to politics to medicine, many Americans know very little about Americans of Arab backgrounds.
Arab history in the United States goes back to the late 1800’s when large numbers of Arab immigrants first began making their journey to a land known simply as “Amreeka”.
Historians generally describe Arab immigration to America in two waves. The first wave took place between 1860 and 1924.The first wave consisted of Lebanese and Syrian, and some Egyptian immigrants. These new immigrants, who were mostly Christian, came to America in search of better opportunities. Even the doomed Titanic, which set sail for America in 1912,had close to a hundred Arab passengers aboard. The majority of Arab-Americans today are descendents of the first wave of immigrants; they are the third or more generation Americans.
The second wave of immigrants followed after World War Ⅱ,caused by political unrest in the Middle East. This second wave of immigrants consists of mainly Arab Muslims（穆斯林）and continues to this day.
Arab-Americans make up 3 million of the population in the United States, according to demographers. And quite different from popular belief, 64 percent of them are American-born. Eighty-two percent of Arab-Americans are US citizens.
Arab-Americans are beyond the national average in both education and income. Education is important among Arab-Americans; 82 percent have high school diplomas, 36 percent have bachelor’s degrees or higher, and 15 percent have graduate degrees. The-median（中位数的）average income among Arab-Americans is $39,580, which is higher than the US average.
【小题1】The first wave of immigrants took place because__________.

IQ（intelligence quotient智商）is a score that shows a person’s level of intelligence.
People used to believe that some people are born with a high IQ and some aren’t.
  32 , a study by scientist at University College London has challenged（挑战）this idea. According to an article last October on the Journal Nature, scientists are beginning to think that our IQ is not a constant（不变的）score.
The scientists tested 33 healthy young people in 2004 between the ages of 12 and 16. Then they did tests again four years later, when the same people were between 16 and 20.
Scientists found big changes in the IQ scores between 2008 and 2004. Some  33 and some fell  34 as many as 21 points.
To test whether these scores were meaningful, the scientists compared them with results from brain scans（扫描）. They found that the IQ changes matched changes in the structure（结构）of the subjects’ brains. “A change in 20 points is a huge  35 ,” said Professor Cathy Price, who led the research. He said it could mean the difference between an average and a  36 person. The team has not found a clear cause for these changes. However, they say it is  37 that education plays a role in changing IQ.
“Here we have shown that children’s  38 is likely to be still developing, ” says Price. “We have to be careful not to write off  39 performers at an early stage. In fact, their IQ may improve in a few more years. ”