We’ve talked about snails (蜗牛) and their slow move. But much of the time snails don’t move at all. They are in their shells (壳) —sleeping.

Hot sun will dry out a snail’s body. So at the least sign of hot sun, a snail draws its body into his shell. A snail will die in a heavy rain. So when it rains, a snail does the same thing, too. A snail can sleep for as long as it needs to. It spends all the winter months in its shell, asleep.

In the spring the snail wakes up. Its body, about three inches long, comes out from the shell. When hungry, the snail looks for food. Its eyes, at the end of the top feelers (触角), are very weak. But its sense (感觉) of smell is very strong. It helps the snail to find food and the new greens.

A snail’s mouth is no bigger than the point of a pin (大头针). Yet it has 256,000 teeth! The teeth are very small, and you can’t see them. If you put a snail in a hard paper box, it will eat its way out! And if a snail wears out its teeth, it will grow new ones.

1. A snail _________.

　 A. moves more slowly at night　　B. has thousands of feet

C. doesn’t move at all   　　      D. sleeps much of the time

2. In the sentence “A snail draws its body into its shell”, the word “draw” means _____.

　 A. to make with a pencil     B. to push　　C. to pull      D. to move away

3. From the story, we know _________.

　 A. a snail’s shell is very thin     B. a snail can’t see well

　 C. a snail’s nose is quite short    D. a snail’s body changes in different seasons

4. A snail goes to sleep when _____.

　 A. it feels hungry   B. it is put into a paper box  C. spring is coming   D. it rains heavily

5.Which of the following is wrong?

A. In winter the snail doesn’t eat or move.　　B. A snail doesn’t like living under the sun

C. The snail’s teeth can’t be worn out.       D. The snail’s nose helps to find food.

    Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person’s two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the left hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain (大脑). The right side of the brain, which makes a person’s hands and eyes work together, controls (控制) the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the center for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handed-ness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

    No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain is damaged (损害) when they are born. However, this doesn’t happen to everyone so scientists guess there must be another reason (原因) why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene (基因) for right-handedness, he/she may become either right-or left-handed according to the chance (偶然性) and the people they work or live with.

Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don’t have to.

1. After studying works of art made at different times in history, the scientists found ________.

    A. the art began from 1,500 B. C.

    B. the works of art ended in the 1950s

    C. most people shown in the works of art are right-handed

    D. most people shown in the works of art are left-handed

2. How many people in the world are left-handed now?

    A. Less than one sixth.　　　　　　　　　　    B. More than a half.

    C. About 40% 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　  D. The passage doesn’t tell us.

3. What is the left hand for most people used to do?

    A. It’s used to find or hold things.

    B. It’s used to work with things.

    C. It’s used to make a person’s eyes work together.

    D. It’s the center for thinking and doing problems.

4. According to (根据) the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

    A. No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed.

    B. Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness.

    C. Today children are not made to use their right hands only.

    D. Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed.

5. The best title (标题) for this passage is ________.

    A. Scientists’ New Inventions 　　　　    B. Left-handed People

C. Which Hand 　　　　　　　　　　　　　　    D. Different Brains, Different Hands