2 . Hands-on basketball

The boy was only nine years old when he designed a “hands-on basketball”. Chris Haas had the idea when he saw his friends miss lots of baskets. His basketball has painted hands on it. The hands show you where to put your hands when you throw the ball. Today people use his invention around the world.

Wristies

At age 10, Kathryn Gregory was playing outside one day in the cold. Her wrists (手腕) began to hurt from the cold so she decided to find a way to keep both her hands and wrists warm during the winter. In 1994, she invented Wristies: fuzzy sleeves (毛绒袖子) that can be worn underneath gloves to protect your wrists from the cold. She worked with her mom to get the idea off the ground and now the product is sold worldwide.

Makin’ Bacon

Abbey Fleck was 8 years old when she noticed how much time her parents spent soaking up bacon fat (吸干培根油脂) after cooking. She realized that it might be easier to hang bacon while it cooks. That way you wouldn’t need paper towels and it would even make the bacon healthier. She then worked with her father to design a dish that hangs bacon while it cooks. Now people can see her invention in many supermarkets.

Braille

Louis Braille had an accident when he was three. The accident left him blind. At that time, it was hard for blind children to read. They had to touch raised letters. But it was difficult to tell a Q from an O, an R from a B, and so on. When he was fifteen, Louis invented an alphabet (字母表) that used raised dots. The Braille alphabet was a big success!

1. Whose invention is related to sports?

A．Chris Haas’.	B．Kathryn Gregory’s.
C．Abbey Fleck’s.	D．Louis Braille’s.

2. What can we learn about Makin’ Bacon?

A．It was invented in 1994.

B．It was named after its inventor.

C．It helps people eat more healthily.

D．It reduces the cases of cooking accidents.

3. What do the four inventions have in common?

A．They were invented by kids.

B．They came into being by chance.

C．They were designed to help others.

D．They brought wealth to their inventors.

4 . Their beautiful call suggests the arrival of spring, but the routes taken by cuckoos(杜鹃) during their annual migration(迁徙) have remained a mystery. Now, though, scientists from the British Trust for Omithology(BTO) have revealed the details of their remarkable 10,000-mile journey, with the help of tracking devices.

Five male birds were caught in Norfolk last May and fitted with satellite-tagged “backpacks’’ before being released. The scientists then monitored their progress over 12 months as they flew to Africa in the autumn, and returned in the spring.

The project was carried out to discover why every year fewer of the birds return to Britain. Between 1995 and 2010，the population of cuckoos spending summer here fell by almost half, and the number is continuing to decline. Previously, the lack of information about the cuckoos’ long migration has hampered the understanding of how to help conserve the birds.

Earlier this year, it was reported that cuckoos arrived in the UK much earlier than normal. Their call was recorded by ornithologists(鸟类专家) as early as February, a month ahead of their usual arrival.

Like all migrating animals, cuckoos respond to the changing seasons. They depend on lush plants to provide the fruit and food for insects that they feed on. This reliance on seasonal patterns means that a changing climate could make an already challenging journey impossible for them.

1. What is the main purpose of the project?

A．To track cuckoos’ 10,000-mile journey.

B．To better understand the habits of cuckoos.

C．To find out what happens during cuckoos’ journey.

D．To discover why the population of cuckoos is declining.

2. The underlined word “hampered” in Paragraph 3 probably means________.

A．prevented

B．deepened

C．improved

D．affected

3. When do cuckoos usually arrive in Britain?

A．In January.

B．In February.

C．In March.

D．In April.

4. Cuckoos arrived in the UK much earlier than normal probably because of________.

A．1acking food	B．changing climate
C．changing routes	D．cold spring in the UK

5 . 阅读下面材料，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。

One morning, my family and I woke up and went to eat breakfast——until we heard barking and scratching at the door. When my mom opened the door, we saw a puppy(小狗). We looked around to see if we saw its owner, but there was no one. We took it inside and fed it.

Regardless of how badly I wanted to keep the puppy, we decided to look for the owner. We looked all day, but we failed. We talked about whether we should keep looking or if we should look the next day. We all agreed to look for its owner the next day.

So, the next day my family and I looked for the dog's owner. It was so hard looking for its owner. We were looking for flyers(传单)that involved the puppy, but no luck. We wouldn't have quit because it's a puppy.

“We won't stop looking,” my mom and dad said. We were going to take care of the puppy until we found its owner.

When we woke up in the morning, we went to a pet shop to buy the puppy some dog food. After that we went back home to feed the puppy the dog food that we had just bought. After we fed the puppy, we gave it a nice bath. It was so dirty that the fur was black and sticky, but after we gave it a bath, it turned white.And I noticed there was a collar (狗项圈)on him, which said “Coby”. After we gave him a bath, we went to look for the p uppy's owner, but my mom stayed at home, and it was only my dad and me this time.

We continued looking more and more until we found flyers. “We looked at it.”it said.

“Lost Dog: Please Help if Found.” Then we looked at the picture;it looked exactly like Coby. We were all happy we found a flyer that was for Cody.

注意：1.续写词数应为150左右；2.请在答题卡的相应位置作答。

There was a phone number on the flyer.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We found the lady’s house, and then we knocked on the door.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6 . In Lauderdale lives a young girl, Mary Lou. She is a(n) ______ bird-watcher at a very young age. In fact, she’s so ______ about birds that she has already written a children’s book about them. It's ______ for a 13-year-old girl in school.

It all started when her family moved to a new neighborhood. Mary would feel very ______ at times with few kids living on her street. Becoming a bird-watcher helped her ______ the new neighborhood and feel more at home.

She became deeply attracted to bird-watching in Grade Six when she had to write a book for a school project. She decided to write something she knew: the mockingbird. The homework was just the ______ of Mary’s great writing adventure.

Every morning Mary takes her binoculars (望远镜) and heads out to ______ birds. To watch birds, one must not make a lot of ______. If a watcher makes any sudden movements, the birds will probably become ______ and fly away.

Mary usually uses her binoculars to ______ different types of birds. Sometimes she just sits in the wildlife areas, ______ the various birds as they come to eat and drink at the nearby lake. Mary is quite a(n) ______ on birds types, but she can't always name every bird she sees. So she thinks there are always new lessons and the sky is full of ______.

When Mary was writing her bird book for children, she studied hard by searching the Internet. She also ______ some of the birds for the book herself with her color pencils. Finally, after nine months of ______, the book was finished.

1.

A．experienced

B．independent

C．intelligent

D．normal

2.

A．selective

B．knowledgeable

C．patient

D．flexible

3.

A．inspiring

B．diverse

C．commercial

D．amazing

4.

A．proud

B．joyful

C．lonely

D．hesitant

5.

A．respond to

B．settle into

C．figure out

D．go off

6.

A．schedule

B．process

C．lesson

D．beginning

7.

A．feed on

B．give way to

C．look for

D．clean up

8.

A．mistakes

B．noises

C．descriptions

D．traps

9.

A．hopeful

B．pleased

C．scared

D．disappointed

10.

A．identify

B．gather

C．analyze

D．master

11.

A．observing

B．impressing

C．exchanging

D．describing

12.

A．journalist

B．expert

C．tourist

D．designer

13.

A．power

B．imagination

C．secrets

D．improvement

14.

A．collected

B．rescued

C．kept

D．illustrated

15.

A．study

B．publish

C．complain

D．efforts

7 . As parents, we walk a fine line between caring for our children and teaching them how to care for themselves. When they're little, they need our help with everything. Over time, kids usually take the lead on things like feeding and dressing themselves, but it can be difficult to know when it's time for them to start doing some basic things, such as packing their own lunches for school or solving problems with teachers without a parent's help.

Blogger Amy Carney recently shared a post about the things parents should stop doing for their teens. In it, Carney shared the basic skills that she expects her kids to master by the time they hit 13, such as waking themselves up in the morning, making their own breakfast and lunch, and finishing their own homework.

Barb Harvey, a childhood behavior expert, gave me her answer: The age at which children learn to master certain skills will be different depending upon the maturity (成熟) and interest level of the child.

I asked the same question among my friends. They gave all kinds of answers, which can explain Harvey's opinion.

Therefore, there's only one expert who can determine when your kids have the ability to deal with certain skills, and that's you. If your kids aren't ready to pack their own lunches — don't sweat it. Help them learn the skills they're ready to deal with and keep working towards the end goal of raising responsible and able adults. Because if there's one thing that we can all agree on as parents, it's that time moves quickly when you're raising kids. One day you will wish they could just do things without you and the next day, you will feel upset that they do.

1. What is Amy Carney's expectation when her children are 13?

A．To be a skillful cook.	B．To follow Harvey's opinion.
C．To be an expert.	D．To have basic skills.

2. Who can decide when the children will learn to care for themselves?

A．Amy Carney.	B．Barb Harvey.
C．The children.	D．The parents.

3. Why will parents feel upset when their children grow up?

A．Their kids can do nothing.

B．They feel less important.

C．Their children become able adults.

D．Their kids disagree on anything.

4. What does the text mainly talk about?

A．Walking a fine line.

B．Blogger Amy Carney.

C．Parents and their children's growth.

D．A childhood behavior expert.

8 . 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.

9 . 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.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10 . 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