When my daughter was in grade school, one day she_______home four tiny twigs (枝条). They were trees given to the students by the school to plant._______of them looked very strong but with a hope for the future, I got a spade and planted them in our backyard. Over the years a (an)_______with the lawnmower (割草机) and poor soil brought a (an)_______to three of them. All that was left was a (an)_______evergreen.
It grew bent and very_______. It never got very tall and tilted (倾斜) to one side. In the end it looked more like a fat bush than a tree. I noticed a few years ago too that it was starting to_______. The lower branches were becoming_______. The needles on the branches a little further up had turned brown. Only the top third of the tree was still green. Last summer I did my best to save it by_______it a lot of fertilizer but my efforts ________.
This morning I went out and looked at it again. I was________whether it would be better to just cut it down. It sure would make mowing the lawn easier and I would no longer have to watch it slowly go________. As I walked over to take a closer look at it,________, I noticed something moving within the needles. It was a robin (知更鸟) patiently building a nest in the topmost branches. I________when I looked at it and decided that maybe this old tree had some life and________left in it yet. It may not be healthy or pretty but it was still giving a bird (a)________and oxygen to this world.
This tree________me of something too. All of our lives have purpose. All of our lives have ________ . It doesn’t matter if we are young and strong or old and sickly (病弱的). Until our last________, God has things for us to do, love for us to give, and joy for us to________. Until our last moment here we can help to make this world a better and more beautiful place.
1.A.got B.brought C.rushed D.returned
2.A.None B.All C.Each D.Three
3.A.failure B.incident C.accident D.character
4.A.damage B.death C.end D.hurt
5.A.only B.special C.unique D.single
6.A.slowly B.violently C.quickly D.wildly
7.A.stretch B.grow C.fall D.die
8.A.green B.bare C.lost D.powerful
9.A.delivering B.feeding C.spreading D.laying
10.A.failed B.worked C.replaced D.deserved
11.A.dreaming of B.disappointed at C.deciding on D.sorry about
12.A.mad B.tiring C.regular D.bad
13.A.therefore B.thereafter C.however D.besides
14.A.cried B.smiled C.laughed D.shouted
15.A.usefulness B.energy C.beauty D.strength
16.A.protection B.warm C.stage D.home
17.A.expected B.cured C.changed D.reminded
18.A.meaning B.beauty C.passion D.inspiration
19.A.doubt B.life C.breath D.appearance
20.A.enjoy B.share C.appreciate D.offer
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？1.
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.2.Mental exercise is particularly important for young children. Many child psychologists think that parents should play with their children more often and give them problems to think about.3.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.
4. 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 things to their children，such as “That was a very clever thing you did.”or“5.”
A． It needs exercise.
B． You are such a smart child.
C． A healthy body contributes to one’s intelligence.
D． What people want to express is like this.
E． Parents should also be careful about what they say to young children.
F．The children are then more likely to grow up brightly and intelligently.
G．These are very old questions and the answers to them are still not clear.
Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调).
One of the study's authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”.This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr. Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the researchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings:squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C.M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.
1.When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.
A.he has a difficult time learning music at the same time
B.he has an easier time learning music at the same time
C.it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand
D.it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch
2.Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?
A.Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music.
B.Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain.
C.Because music training might help people with language study.
D.Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music.
3.The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”.
A.created B.spelled C.seemed D.pronounced
4.What would be the best title for this passage?
A.Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers
B.Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study
C.Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning
D.Schools Need to Develop Music Programs
Computer scientists have hoped to give robots technical skills to help them recognize, process and react to humor. But these attempts have mostly failed. AI experts say that in many cases, attempts to make robots understand humor end up producing funny results, but not in the way they were supposed to.
Tristan Miller studied more than 10,000 puns in one research project. The pun is a kind of joke that uses a word with two meanings. For example, you could say, “Balloons do not like pop music.” The word “pop” can be a way of saying popular music; or can mean the sound a balloon makes when it explodes. But a robot might not get the joke. Tristan Miller says that is because humor is a kind of creative language that is extremely difficult for computer intelligence to understand.
Allison Bishop is a computer scientist and she also performs stand-up comedy. She explained that machines are trained to look for patterns. Comedy, on the other hand, relies on things that stay close to a pattern, but not completely within it. To be funny, humor should also not be predictable, Bishop said. This is a great challenge for a machine to recognize and understand what is funny.
Bishop says since robots have great difficulty understanding humor, she feels like it gives her better job safety as a comedy performer. It even made her parents happy when her brother decided to become a full-time comedy writer because it meant he wouldn’t be replaced by a machine, she added.
Despite the difficulties, Darmstadt University’s Miller says there are good reasons to keep trying to teach humor to robots. It could make machines more relatable (叙述的), especially if they can learn to understand sarcasm (讽刺), he noted. Humans use sarcasm to say one thing but mean another. But Kiki Hempelmann thinks differently. “Teaching AI systems humor may make them find it where it isn’t, and they may use it where it’s not suitable,” he said. “Maybe bad AI will start killing people because it thinks something is funny,” he added.
1.What does the author most probably want to show in Paragraph 1?
A.Robots’ influence on the scientific development.
B.Robots’ challenges of making sense of humor.
C.Computer scientists’ devotion to technical skills.
D.Computer scientists’ concern about AI’s development.
2.What are examples mentioned in Paragraphs 2 and 3 intended to do?
A.Prove robots do poorly in funny work
B.Explain robots aren’t as intelligent as humans
C.Describe language is complex and changeable
D.Show language can’t be taught in a set pattern
3.What can we infer about teaching AI system humor from the last paragraph?
A.It will make no difference.
B.It may be a double-edged sword.
C.It may help improve humans’ humor.
D.It will attract more computer scientists.
4.Where would the passage most probably come from?
A.Textbook B.Advertisement
C.Science journal D.Entertainment speech
Why play games? Because they are fun, and a lot more besides. Following the rules, planning your next move and acting as a team member are all “game” ideas that you will come across throughout your life.
Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are entertaining and fun. But perhaps more importantly, they translate life into exciting dramas that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating .
Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For instance, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which sharpens the hand-eye coordination (协调) needed in hunting.
Many sports encourage national or local pride. The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competition. People who watch the event wave flags, knowing that a gold medal is a win for an entire country, not just the athlete who earned it. For countries experiencing natural disasters or war, an Olympic win can mean so much.
Sports are also an event that unites people. Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. People on all continents play it — some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian soccer player, has discovered a way to spread hope through soccer. He created a foundation to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a promising future.
Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other aspects of your life.
1.What are children expected to learn Through playing hide-and-seek?
A.Be a team leader B.Obey the basic rules
C.Act as a grown-up D.Predict possible danger
2.What does the underlined part in Paragraph 2 most probably mean ?
A.Games can describe life in an exciting way
B.Games can turn real-life experiences into a play
C.Games can make learning life skills more interesting
D.Games can change people’s views of sporting events
3.According to the passage, why is winning Olympic medals so encouraging?
A.It inspires people’s deep love for the country.
B.It proves the exceptional skills of the winners.
C.It helps the country out of natural disasters.
D.It earns the winners fame and fortune.
4.What’s Iribarne’s goal of forming the foundation ?
A.Bringing fun to poor kids.
B.Providing soccer balls for children.
C.Giving poor kids a chance for a better life.
D.Attracting soccer players to help poor kids.
Beltana Station —— Stay with a difference
Beltana Station is a fully working sheep and cattle station, and a great place for a holiday with a real difference in Australia. Here the animals are not just to be looked at. They are part of everyday working life at the historic Beltana Station.
What to do
See how a station really works. Join in the daily working life with station workers.
Shearing (剪羊毛) and camp-outs are part of Beltana Station's activities.
Farm animals to see: sheep and cattle. For the kids, depending on the season, there will be animals to feed — lambs and calves.
The station is a joy for painters and photographers. There is a family games room.
Three roads for 4-wheel-drive cars through the station take in such views as Lake Torrens, Mount Deception, relics in Old Beltana town and much more.
Where to live
• the historic 1860s shearers' rooms
• two-room small houses (1860s)
• one small historic country house
Beltana Station is not a resort (度假胜地) hotel. Unlike other places, you can experience real life with real people in Beltana.
1.What would be a proper activity for children at Beltana Station?
A.Camp-outs with station workers. B.Sheep shearing.
C.Driving cattle. D.Feeding lambs.
2.What may people learn when visiting Beltana Station?
A.Skills needed for long walks in mountains.
B.Knowledge of Australian history.
C.What to do in team sports.
D.How to keep pets.
3.What is special about Beltana Station?
A.It is a large wild park. B.It offers real-life work experience.
C.It has seasonal family activities. D.It is a good place for weekend picnics.
