Gordon Brown was born in Scotland in 1951.His childhood was a brilliant success because of his intellectual strength.He was accepted into middle school at 10.At 16 he became the youngest student at Edinburgh University.
“At that time, he was a lucky boy, good at almost everything,” said his old friend Murray Elder.However, setbacks (挫折) fell on the brilliant boy.After a rugby injury, he became blind in his left eye.Before long, similar symptoms (症状) developed in his right eye.“I lay in the hospital bed in total darkness, uncertain about my future,” said Brown.
Looking back into the past, Brown didn’t complain about his bad luck.He even said: “One door closes; you can’t play rugby any more, so you focus on other things.”
Brown was interested in student politics in university, which helped a lot in his political career later in life.
In 1997, Brown was made Chancellor of the Exchequer (财政大臣).He has succeeded in giving the country a high rate of employment and the longest period of economic growth in its history.
Compared with his successful career, Brown’s family life is full of downs.He lost his first daughter ten days after her birth.His one-year-old youngest son has a deadly disease.“These accidents make me appreciate my life more,” he said.
1. Gordon Brown was successful in his childhood because he _____.

A．was very intelligent

B．went to middle school at 10

C．played rugby very well

D．became the youngest student at Edinburgh University

2. When Gordon Brown looked back on the past, he _____.

A．still had hope for the future

B．wished that he had not played rugby

C．believed that his door was closed

D．felt very sad about his misfortune

3. Which of the following is TRUE about Gordon Brown?

A．He didn’t like politics in university.

B．He became Chancellor of the Exchequer at 48.

C．He did a good job to improve the national economy.

D．He didn’t do well for the country’s employment.

4. From the last paragraph, we learn that Brown’s family life _____.

A．is as successful as his career.

B．is full of accidents

C．makes him upset about his life

D．is filled with good luck

If you saw another kid ride her bike too fast around a corner and fall down, you might ride your bike more slowly on that turn.Yes, we humans are very sensitive to others’ mistakes.And the same is true for other animals.Animals mess up all the time.They might eat poisonous leaves, fall off a tree or let their prey(猎物) escape.By watching others fail, an animal can avoid making the same mistakes, thus improving its chance of survival.
Scientists believe that one part of the brain helps animals process information about others’ mistakes.Cells(细胞) in that part appear to become more active when a person sees someone else making a mistake.But researchers didn’t know whether individual cells in this part of the brain play different roles in discovering mistakes.
To investigate（调查） the brain’s response(反应) to mistakes in more detail, the researchers taught a game to two macaques, a type of monkey.One monkey could press a yellow or green button while the other watched.If the first monkey pressed the right button, the team gave both animals a treat.Every couple of rounds, the two monkeys switched roles.Meanwhile, the scientists watched individual cells in the animal’s brains.
When the first monkey messed up the game by pressing the wrong button, a group of cells in the second monkey’s brain fired.But if the second monkey also made the wrong choice during its turn, some of the cells in that group didn’t respond.Those unresponsive cells reacted specifically to mistakes made by others, not to the monkey’s own mistakes.
Scientists believe other parts of the brain also might help people process information about another’s mistakes.“You start to think about this other person and see things from his angle.” Ellen de Brujin, told Science News.She studies the brain at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands.
5. According to Paragraph 1, animals’ ability to learn from others’ mistakes______.

A．helps them to survive better

B．used to be ignored by humans

C．is being lost because of humans

D．ensures that they will never fail

6. From the game the scientists taught to two macaques, we can see ______.

A．animals can avoid the same mistakes

B．which part of the brain is more active

C．how the brain processes information.

D．how the brain responds to mistakes

7. In the experiment mentioned, those unresponsive cells are only sensitive to _____.

A．the same buttons

B．the monkey’s brainC others’ mistakes

C．one’s own mistakes

TOURNAMENT OF ROSES     ----5 Days Los Angeles
Day 1 Los Angeles.( Sun.Dec.30)
Welcome to Los Angeles! This evening mixes with your traveling friends at the welcome reception.
Day 2 Los Angeles.( Mon.Dec.31)
Head to Pasadena for the always colorful ROSE BOWL FAMILY FESTIVAL and watch the floats (彩车)decorated with tens of thousands of flowers.This afternoon, you can take the included visit to the GETTY MUSEUM.This evening, join your travelling friends at a special New Year’s Eve DINNER AND DANCE GALA (盛会), complete with hats, party favors and live music.You’ll toast the New Year a little early tonight to consider an early morning departure (离开) to the Rose Parade.
Day 3 Los Angeles.Tournament of Roses Parade ( Tue.Jan.1)
Happy New Year! Get ready for one of the world’s most popular parades, and you’ll see it live! Globus has booked the GRANDSTAND SEATS at the beginning of the parade route for a good view.See the wonderful colorful floats, marching bands from around the world, and the famous people.
Day 4 Los Angeles.( Wed.Jan.2)
This morning view the individual floats in the POST PARADE VIEWING AREA.For many this is the most exciting part of the entire event.Be sure to bring your camera and plenty of film! Another special dinner tonight—a special GLOBUS FAREWELL CELEBRATION DINNER.
Day 5 Los Angeles.( Thu.Jan.3)
The tour ends today, with tour guests departing on individual schedules.
8. What activity can visitors enjoy on Dec.31?

A．Tournament of Rose Parade.

B．A farewell celebration dinner.

C．Post parade viewing area.

D．A dinner and dance gala.

9. The underlined word “Globus” in Paragraph 3 refers to ________.

A．the travel agency	B．the local government
C．Los Angeles	D．Roses Parade

10. According to the passage, you should bring your camera on ________.

A．Day 2.

B．Day 4

C．Day 3

D．Day 5

11. You can most probably read the passage in a ________.

A．textbook	B．news report
C．travel guide	D．history magazine

Let’s face it: Teenagers spend hours texting, socializing on Facebook and playing video games. And it’s driving their parents nuts.

Sure, there are real dangers connected with all this screen time—everything from cyberbullying (网络欺凌) to couch-potato obesity. Not to mention driving while texting, and shortened attention spans(持续时间).

Douglas Gentile, who studies the effects of media on children, says texting, Facebook and video games are not naturally bad. Nor are they naturally better or worse than watching TV, although they do lead to different risks, such as cyberbullying.

But research has shown that the more time kids spend in front of screens—whether it’s TV or instant-messaging—the worse their school performances are.“That doesn’t mean it’s true for every kid, but it makes sense, that for every hour a kid is playing video games, it’s an hour that they’re not doing homework or reading or exploring or creating,” he said. If screen time is taking the place of doing their homework, that’s bad. But if their homework is done, well, so what?

The study also found that the more time kids spend with media, the lower their grades and levels of personal satisfaction are. Gentile said the influence of screen time on school work can be reduced by what he calls “protective factors”. Those might include good teachers and a high-performing school, love of reading, coming from a family where education is valued.“If you had all these protective factors, then that one little risk factor, who cares?”

One thing parents should worry about is the way electronic devices encourage multitasking (多任务处理).

“As adults, your response speeds up, you’re quicker to look over your shoulder and notice little noises or lights. However this is not what the kids need when they get to the classroom. Scanning to see when the next message comes may not be good for kids. The more distractions (分心的事物) you have, the worse your performance is.” Getting kids to turn off their phones, iPods in order to let them concentrate (集中) on homework is a fight worth having.

12. What statement may Gentile agree to?

A．Kids get bad marks when using Facebook.

B．TV or texting affects kids equally.

C．Kids prefer video games to books.

D．Watching TV is better than playing video games.

13. By saying “one little risk factor”, Gentile referred to ________

A．love for reading	B．valuing education
C．screen time	D．good teachers

14. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that________.

A．kids can give quick answer to questions if texting

B．Multitasks aren’t really good for every kid

C．electric devices increase the attention of kids

D．kids perform well if doing many tasks together

15. What might be the most suitable title for the passage?

A．Are kids suffering cyber bullying on Facebook?

B．Are texting and Facebook worse for teens than TV?

C．Are kids willing to turn off their electric devices?

D．Are texting causing kids to lose interest in reading?