2 . Parents may fear that if their high school student isn’t motivated (有动力) to do well in classes, there’s nothing that will change that. But a new study found that students’ learning motivation often did change and usually for the better.

1,670 students from grades 9 to 11 took part in the study in two school years, during which they completed several surveys that assessed their motivation. After each survey, the students were placed into six different profiles (档案), from worst — those who were not motivated at all, to best — those who had an inner desire to learn.

The study found about 67 % students did change their profiles during the two years and there was an overall positive change in students’ motivation. For example, 8% of the students were in the best profile — autonomously motivated — in the first year, and that increased to 11.4% in the second year. The worst profile, the not motivated, described 2.8% of the students in the first year, dropping to 2.1% in the second year.

“The other good news in the study was that if we can find better ways to motivate students, if we can get them in a better profile, they tend to stay there,” said Kui Xie, lead author of the study and professor of educational studies at the Ohio State University.

Why did students move in a positive direction? One reason may be simply because they’re a year older and more mature (成熟).

But the study did find two factors that impacted how likely they were to become more motivated. One was the previous achievement. Students who had higher grade the first year were more likely to remain in better profiles in the second year of the study. The other factor was school belongingness, with students who felt they were more a part of their school in the first year being more likely to move to or stay in a better profile in the second year.

“This may be one area where we can help students become more motivated,” Xie said. “Belongingness is something schools can change. They can find ways to help students feel like they are part of the school community.”

1. What did Kui Xie’s study discover?

A．Students’ willingness to study can be improved.

B．Teenagers’ inner desire to learn can be assessed.

C．Students from grades 9 to 11 are easy to be inspired.

D．Teenagers’ learning motivation is parents’ most concern.

2. What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 2?

A．The background of the study.

B．The influence of the study.

C．The purpose of the study.

D．The process of the study.

3. According to the study, what influences students’ motivation?

A．Their average ages.

B．Their previous scores.

C．Their personal profiles.

D．Their motivated schoolmates.

4. What may Kui Xie probably agree?

A．Schools should put students in better profiles.

B．Students should have their own assessment plan.

C．Schools should use motivation strategies to inspire students.

D．Students should improve their communication with their parents.

3 . 阅读下面短文，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

Belinda, like many of my students, had grown up "street smart", with very little use for schools and books. On the first day of school, she called Rory a very bad word, so I kept her in at break. I made her wash all the desks and pick up all the garbage lying around. "That'll teach her," I thought. Belinda, though, was smarter than me. "I like cleaning. Mr. Brassell," she said. "Can I do this every day?"

On the third day, I caught Belinda fighting with Jose. I walked over to their table and asked what the problem was. "She keeps calling me a bad word," Jose said. Belinda wrote standards after school while I gave her another lecture on behavior. The next day, I caught her fighting with Jose again. I shouted angrily across the room to ask why they were fighting. Again, Jose accused Belinda of calling him a bad word. Belinda had finally earned a home visit. I told her that I would walk her home after school and talk to her mother in person.

And for the first time all the week, Belinda became silent. For the rest of the day, she sat still in her chair, even with kids teasing her. "It's not going to work, young lady," I told her. "You already earned a walk home, and behaving now isn't going to change that."

When the final bell sounded, I took Belinda by the hand, and we began the two-block walk to her house. Belinda took me through the gate to her yard and she went inside to get her mother while I waited outside.

Where have you been, girl?" a voice screamed. Babies cried loudly inside.

"My teacher's here," Belinda said softly, and I still couldn't see inside through the front door.

"Hello," a deep voice barked. Then the door opened, and a rather skinny, short woman walked out.

"Uh, I'm Mr. Brassell, Belinda's teacher."

"What'd she done this time?"

注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；
2.请按如下格式在相应位置作答。

I suddenly decided to try a different approach.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The next day at school, Belinda gave my knees a big hug.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4 . Who is a genius? This question has greatly interested humankind for centuries.

Let’s state clearly: Einstein was a genius. His face is almost the international symbol for genius. But we want to go beyond one man and explore the nature of genius itself. Why is it that some people are so much more intelligent or creative than the rest of us? And who are they?

In the sciences and arts, those praised as geniuses were most often white men, of European origin. Perhaps this is not a surprise. It’s said that history is written by the victors, and those victors set the standards for admission to the genius club. When contributions were made by geniuses outside the club—women, or people of a different color or belief—they were unacknowledged and rejected by others.

A study recently published by Science found that as young as age six, girls are less likely than boys to say that members of their gender(性别)are “really, really smart.” Even worse, the study found that girls act on that belief: Around age six they start to avoid activities said to be for children who are “really, really smart.” Can our planet afford to have any great thinkers become discouraged and give up? It doesn’t take a genius to know the answer: absolutely not.

Here’s the good news. In a wired world with constant global communication, we’re all positioned to see flashes of genius wherever they appear. And the more we look, the more we will see that social factors(因素)like gender, race, and class do not determine the appearance of genius. As a writer says, future geniuses come from those with “intelligence, creativity, perseverance(毅力), and simple good fortune, who are able to change the world.”

1. What does the author think of victors’ standards for joining the genius club?

A．They’re unfair.	B．They’re conservative.
C．They’re objective.	D．They’re strict.

2. What can we infer about girls from the study in Science?

A．They think themselves smart.

B．They look up to great thinkers.

C．They see gender differences earlier than boys.

D．They are likely to be influenced by social beliefs

3. Why are more geniuses known to the public?

A．Improved global communication.

B．Less discrimination against women.

C．Acceptance of victors’ concepts.

D．Changes in people’s social positions.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Geniuses Think Alike	B．Genius Takes Many Forms
C．Genius and Intelligence	D．Genius and Luck

5 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

Going to Mount Huangshan reminds me of the popular Beatles’ song “The Long and Winding Road”.     1     is so breathtaking about the experience is the out-of-this-world scenes. The rolling sea of clouds you see once you are at the top will remind you how tiny we     2     (human) are.

The hot spring at the foot of the mountain is something you must try after the climb. It will     3    (undoubted) help you get refreshed! The amazing thing about the spring is that the colder the temperature gets, the     4     (hot) the spring! Strange, isn’t it? But that’s how nature is — always leaving us     5     (astonish).

What comes next is the endless series of steps. You can’t help wondering how hard it     6     (be) for the people then to put all those rocks into place. Though it is the only unnatural thing on your way up the mountain, still it highlights the whole adventure     7    offers a place where you can sit down to rest your     8     (ache) legs.

As the song goes, this long and winding road “will never disappear”, and it will always stick in the visitor’s memory. It sure does in     9     (I). While you’re in China, Mount Huangshan is     10     must to visit!

6 . When almost everyone has a mobile phone, why are more than half of Australian homes still paying for a landline (座机)?

These days you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Australia over the age of 15 who doesn’t own a mobile phone. In fact plenty of younger kids have one in their pocket. Practically everyone can make and receive calls anywhere, anytime.

Still, 55 percent of Australians have a landline phone at home and only just over a quarter (29%) rely only on their smartphones according to a survey (调查). Of those Australians who still have a landline, a third concede that it’s not really necessary and they’re keeping it as a security blanket — 19 percent say they never use it while a further 13 percent keep it in case of emergencies. I think my home falls into that category.

More than half of Australian homes are still choosing to stick with their home phone. Age is naturally a factor (因素)— only 58 percent of Generation Ys still use landlines now and then, compared to 84 percent of Baby Boomers who’ve perhaps had the same home number for 50 years. Age isn’t the only factor; I’d say it’s also to do with the makeup of your household.

Generation Xers with young families, like my wife and I, can still find it convenient to have a home phone rather than providing a mobile phone for every family member. That said, to be honest the only people who ever ring our home phone are our Baby Boomers parents, to the point where we play a game and guess who is calling before we pick up the phone (using Caller ID would take the fun out of it).

How attached are you to your landline? How long until they go the way of gas street lamps and morning milk deliveries?

1. What does paragraph 2 mainly tell us about mobile phones?

A．Their target users.	B．Their wide popularity.
C．Their major functions.	D．Their complex design.

2. What does the underlined word “concede” in paragraph 3 mean?

A．Admit.	B．Argue.
C．Remember.	D．Remark.

3. What can we say about Baby Boomers?

A．They like smartphone games.	B．They enjoy guessing callers’ identity.
C．They keep using landline phones.	D．They are attached to their family.

4. What can be inferred about the landline from the last paragraph?

A．It remains a family necessity.

B．It will fall out of use some day.

C．It may increase daily expenses.

D．It is as important as the gas light.

7 . Four Great Persons

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart(1756-1791)

Born in Austria in 1756, Mozart was the son of a successful musician . He wrote his first piece of published music at five. Within the year, he began playing for the public, which included a tour of Europe where people admired the young boy’s talent. By the time he was a teenager, Mozart had written several operas. He wrote over 600 pieces of music in his lifetime.

Shirley Temple (1928-2014)

Shirley Temple received her first acting chance at the age of three and starred in Carolina, her first film, at six. She quickly caught attention and by 1940, she had starred in 43 films, including Bright Eyes for which she won a special award for “Outstanding Personality”. As an adult, Temple became a US diplomat（外交官）for the United Nations.

Nkosi Johnson(1989-2001)

South African Nkosi Johnson was born HIV-positive（携带艾滋病毒）. His story caught the media’s attention when his local public school refused to admit him because of his condition. Soon he traveled the world, telling his story wherever he could,encouraging other patients to speak out. Besides,he founded Nokie’s Haven,a safe place for HIV-positive mothers and their children.In 2005,he was award the International Children’s Peace Prize.

Alexandra Scott(1996-2004)

Alexandra Scott had cancer before she celebrated her first birthday.At the age of four, she decided to raise money for other children going through the same thing.So she set up a lemonade stand（摊位）,which inspired others to start lemonade stands, too.They raised over$1 million before Scott died of cancer.Her family carries on her legacy(遗产) through Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation,which has raised over $150 million.

1. Who changed his/her career path when he/she grew up?

A．Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.	B．Shirley Temple
C．Nkosi Johnson	D．Alexandar Scott

2. What happened to Nkosi Johnson according to the text?

A．He got HIV-positive soon after he was born.

B．He caught wide attention for his disease.

C．He was once refused by schools for his illness.

D．He was awarded a prize for his high grades.

3. What can we know about the four persons from the text?

A．They became well-known at an early age.

B．They had a hard time when they were a child.

C．They behaved kindly to other people as a child.

D．They were hardworking when they were young.

8 . When I was a kid, my sister and I would fight all the time over nearly everything. But as we grew older, our bond strengthened by sharing secrets, offering advice and trading clothes. Having a sister by my side while growing up taught me many lessons about the unique bond.

And now, thanks to an 8-year long study that’s making the rounds on the Internet again, science is confirming what I know is true. In the study, researchers discovered that having an older or younger sister can help ease the anxiety for kids between the ages of 10 and 14 years. They also found that people with sisters can “learn how to make up and to have control over their emotions again, which are skills that undoubtedly serve children well.

The revival of this study actually comes on the heels of another newer study, which shows that it’s not just the older kids and parents who influence and shape children as they grow. It turns out that younger siblings(兄弟姐妹) do too, and what’s more, they may also give their older siblings a greater chance of developing empathy (同情).

The Canadian study followed 452 pairs of siblings, all between a year-and-a-half and 4 years old. The researchers found that having a younger sibling increased the older sibling's level of empathy.

This research confirms that sisters are pretty amazing in making the world a much lovely place. As the mom of two boys, I often wonder what kinds of lessons they will learn from their younger sister. Perhaps they will be the same lessons I learned from mine that cooler heads always win. This study gives me hope that all those endless arguments between my kids may actually be laying the groundwork for conflict-settlement skills.

1. What can we learn from the study?

A．Children under four develop empathy fastest.

B．It is normal for siblings to quarrel.

C．Having siblings is not always a headache.

D．Having sisters is helpful to mental health.

2. What does the underlined word "revival"in Paragraph 3 probably mean?

A．Result	B．Beginning.
C．Reappearance.	D．Significance.

3. What can we learn about the author’s children?

A．They love their mom very much.

B．They have a higher level of empathy.

C．They often quarrel with one another.

D．They have learned the same lessons as the the author.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Siblings have a unique bond.

B．Siblings have something in common.

C．Having siblings is good to children.

D．Children having siblings are considerate.