The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警觉的). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝视) starts to lose its focus—until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns: she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects (a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly(随意地)on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise(同样地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.
1.The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby's ________.
A.sense of hearing B.sense of sight
C.sense of touch D.sense of smell
2.Babies are sensitive to the change in ________.
A.the size of cards B.the colour of pictures
C.the shape of patterns D.the number of objects
3.Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
A.To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.
B.To see how babies recognize sounds.
C.To carry their experiment further.
D.To keep the babies' interest.
4.Where does this text probably come from?
A.Science fiction. B.Children’s literature.
C.An advertisement. D.A science report.
Wealth starts with a goal saving a dollar at a time. Call it the piggy bank strategy ( 策 略 ). There are lessons in that time-honored coin-saving container.
Any huge task seems easier when reduced to baby steps. If you wished to climb a 12,000-foot mountain, and could do it a day at a time, you would only have to climb 33 feet daily to reach the top in a year. If you want to take a really nice trip in 10 years for a special occasion, to collect the $15,000 cost, you have to save $3.93 a day. If you drop that into a piggy bank and then once a year put $1,434 in a savings account at 1% interest rate after-tax,you will have your trip money.
When I was a child, my parents gave me a piggy bank to teach me that, if I wanted something, I should save money to buy it. We associate piggy banks with children, but in many countries, the little containers are also popular with adults. Europeans see a piggy bank as a sign of good fortune and wealth. Around the world, many believe a gift of a piggy bank on New Year’s Day brings good luck and financial success. Ah, but you have to put something in it.
Why is a pig used as a symbol of saving? Why not an elephant bank, which is bigger and holds more coins? In the Middle Ages, before modern banking and credit instruments, people saved money at home, a few coins at a time dropped into a jar or dish. Potters ( 制 陶 工 ) made these inexpensive containers from an orange-colored clay (黏土) called “pygg,” and folks saved coins in pygg jars. The Middle English word for pig was “pigge”. While the Saxons pronounced pygg, referring to the clay, as “pug”, eventually the two words changed into the same pronunciation, sounding the “i” as in pig or piggy. As the word became less associated with the orange clay and more with the animal, a clever potter fashioned a pygg jar in the shape of a pig, delighting children and adults. The piggy bank was born.
Originally you had to break the bank to get to the money, bringing in a sense of seriousness into savings. While piggy banks teach children the wisdom of saving, adults often need to relearn childhood lessons. Think about the things in life that require large amounts of money --- college education, weddings, cars, medical care, starting a business, buying a home, and fun stuff like great trips. So when you have money, take off the top 10%, put it aside, save and invest wisely.
1.What is the piggy bank strategy?
A.Paying 1% income tax at a time.
B.Setting a goal before making a travel plan.
C.Aiming high even when doing small things.
D.Putting aside a little money regularly for future use.
2.Why did the writer’s parents give him a piggy bank as a gift?
A.To delight him with the latest fashion.
B.To encourage him to climb mountains.
C.To help him form the habit of saving.
D.To teach him English pronunciation.
3.What does then underlined word “something” (Paragraph 3) most probably refer to?
A.Money B.Gifts
C.Financial success D.Good luck
4.The piggy ban originally was _____.
A.a potter’s instrument B.a cheap clay container
C.an animal-shaped dish D.a pig-like toy for children
About 30 years ago, I left Cuba for the United States with my son. After getting settled finally in Brunswick, New Jersey, I enrolled(注册)my son in kindergarten. Several weeks later, my son’s teacher asked me to meet him at his office.
In the teacher’s office, an exchange of greetings was followed by his questions:“Is your son mentally retarded(弱智的)? Does he suffer from any kind of mental disability?”
Was he talking about my wonderful Scola? No, no, it can’t be. What a helpless, lonely moment! I told him that Scola was a quiet, sweet little boy, instead. I asked him why he was asking me all these questions.
My son could not follow the teacher’s directions, he told me, and thus, Scola was disrupting the class. Didn’t he know my son did not speak English yet?
He was angry:“Why hasn’t your son been taught to speak English? Don’t you speak English at home?”
No, I didn’t speak English at home, I replied. I was sure my son would learn English in a couple of months, and I didn’t want him to forget his native language. Well, wrong answer! What kind of person would not speak in English to her son at home and at all times? “Are you one of those people who come to this country to save dollars and send them back to their country, never wanting to be a part of this society?”
Needless to say, I tried to tell him I was not one of“those people”. Then he told me the meeting was over, and I left.
As I had expected, my son learned to speak English fluently before the school year was over. He went on to graduate from college and got a job, earning close to six figures. He travels widely and leads a well-adjusted, contented life. And he has benefited from being bilingual(双语的).
Speaking more than one language allows people to communicate with others;it teaches people about other cultures and other places-something very basic and obviously lacking in the“educator”I met in New Jersey.
1.The teacher asked the author to his office _______.
A.to discuss Scola’s in-class performance
B.to get Scola enrolled in kindergarten
C.to find a language partner for Scola
D.to work out a study plan for Scola
2.What does the underlined word“disrupting”in Paragraph 4 probably mean?
A.Breaking. B.Following.
C.Attending. D.Disturbing.
3.The author’s attitude towards being bilingual may best be described as _______.
A.critical B.casual
C.positive D.passive
Fun Day
To celebrate the Year of the snake
Organised by Lam Tin Youth Centre and Kwun Tong High School
Date: 2 February 2013
Time: 10 am—5 pm
Place: Kwun Tong Playground
Fee: $20 (buy three get one free)
Programmes: drama, lion dance, magic show and ballet performance
Highlights: 1) enter the lucky draw to win a digital camera
2) learn to make festival food
Join us on the Fun Day!
All are welcome!
Free Soft Drinks
Note:
● Tickets are available at the General Office of Lam Tin Youth Center
● For those who would like to be a volunteer, please contact Miss Olivia Wong one week before the activity.
1.What you have just read is a ________.
A.note B.poster C.schedule D.report
2.What is going to take place on 2 February 2013?
A.A big event to welcome a Chinese new year.
B.A social gathering to raise money for wildlife.
C.A party for close friends to meet and have fun.
D.A meeting of Kwun Tong High School students.
3.How much do you have to pay in total if four of you go together?
A.$20. B.$40. C.$80. D.$60.
4.Which of the following statements is true?
A.Tickets are sold in Kwun Tong High School.
B.Free digital cameras are provided for everybody.
C.It’s unnecessary to take soft drinks with you.
D.Festival food will be served without extra charge.
假定你是李华，长沙大剧院（Changsha Grand Theatre）将上演经典越剧（Shaoxing opera）《梁山伯与祝英台》（Butterfly Lovers）。请写封邮件邀请你校来自英国的交换生 Chris一起观看，内容包括：
1. 写信目的；
2. 演出信息；
3. 观看理由（至少两条）。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
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假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加：在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧），并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1 .每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
I will share one experience with you. With the College Entrance Examination draw near, I was filled with great anxiety. However, I couldn’t be absorbed in study, resulting from my failing in the examination. I got very discouraging. Just then, my teacher, Miss Zhang, approached me and said, “In life we all have moments when we can’t achieve what we want to. It is natural. Don’t allow those moments to weaken you, or turn them into motivation to inspire yourself.” Her words were reminder that provided me with constant encouragement to smile at life. Consequently, I gained that I deserved.
So it is an optimistic attitude which matters most of all. It gives you the confidence to deal with difficulties and to achieve success in your life.
