1 . In our home it was natural to fear our father. Even our mother was afraid of him. As children, my sister and I thought every family was like that.       1       We discovered we could draw pictures with chalk on our wooden front door. We could have lots of fun, so we started drawing and making lots of pretty pictures all over it. We had a great time. We decided to finish our pictures, knowing Mom would love it.

    2     We did not understand why, but we knew all about anger, and we were in big trouble. Off we ran to find a place to hide. In our yard it was not hard for two small children to find safety. Together, we hid behind a tree and did not move. Soon we heard the frightened voices of Mom and our neighbours calling out to us. We were afraid of being found.     3     Those around us became more anxious, and we became more frightened. As we stayed together in the dark, we heard another voice, one we recognized with great fear: our daddy.         4     In it we heard something we had never heard before: fear and despair (绝望). Then came his prayers (祈祷). We saw our daddy with tears running down his face, promising God that he would give his life to Him if He would safely return his girls.

Things were different after that. We had a new daddy. It was like the old one was buried that day in the forest.     5    

A．The praise we expected did not come.

B．The sun set and it began to get dark.

C．Our daddy worked very hard to support the family.

D．Then came the day we found something new and fun to do.

E．Our whole family was changed with a piece of chalk.

F．But there was something different in it.

G．Our mom knew that he cared for us.

2 . Sacrificing Sleep to Get Top Grades Doesn't Work

Sacrificing sleep and skipping meals to study in looking for academic excellence actually doesn't work, a new Harvard study has revealed recently.    1    . They usually like getting less sleep or adopting poor eating habits, in a search for top grades. But the new study of 4, 000 British teenagers shows those who display determination, courage and persistence also tend to have healthier lifestyles.

Children who study hard are also likely to look after themselves, and cultivate healthy emotional regulation skills, rather than behaving in ways that are bad for their health.     2    . Studies have shown the harmful effects stress over exams have on young children's health.     3    . The study also found for the first time a link between high­achieving students and helpfulness. The research revealed that those pupils who see themselves as having potential rather than having fixed abilities are more likely to help their peers.     4    .

Dr Christina Hinton, a research member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, said, "    5    , but rather cultivating healthy emotional regulation skills and effective learning strategies. Our results suggest. "

A．Children struggling for excellence tend to make extra sacrifices

B．Children making sleep sacrifices can lead to excellence

C．The findings showed that children who work hard are also likely to develop health

D．High­achieving students have more potential than those low­achieving students

E．Having a growth attitude appears to have more impacts on the others around them

F．A survey found very young children smoke cigarettes and use energy drinks to prepare for their exams

G．Getting top grades does not require pushing yourself at all costs

3 . What if you could give your children everything they wanted without them having to take any effort at all to get it？Would   they appreciate what they now have？Would they know how to even maintain the lifestyle or how to keep the business moving forward and not downward?

There is some debate among parents of this new generation about the question of whether our children have been given so much that they now expect everything all at once. A case in point is a friend of mine who has a son in his late twenties. It is not that he doesn't have a good paying job and a really nice house. Actually his house is a lot better and bigger than I ever had at his age. But, he is not satisfied with what he has；he wants everything else right now, not tomorrow, but right now.

What he wants is a bigger house, a fancier car, and all the newest gadgets(小玩意) that come on the market. He never thinks he should work a little longer and save his money or that he shouldn't have it all. Maybe we have spoiled our children to expect more than what they should normally expect and then expect all of these worldly possessions to keep coming their way.

Now, the situation with my friend's son is one where his son calls him and complains that life is difficult and that he is having a hard time getting what he wants. The discussion usually then turns to waiting a little longer and working to save money but this discussion usually ends with his son still being disappointed with his life.

Each life must come from work, sacrifice and satisfaction of being able to provide for your family, but there is little room for just wanting when waiting, working and patience could get it done.

All of us need a bit of hardship, struggle, learning to overcome obstacles, understanding perseverance, and developing an attitude that speaks loudly about accepting responsibility for one's own destiny.

1. The writing method of the passage is ________ .

A．listing facts	B．giving an example
C．explaining reasons	D．making comparisons

2. When given so much by his parents, the boy may ________.

A．live a happier life	B．learn to be independent
C．never be satisfied with it	D．be grateful for his parents

3. The fourth paragraph mainly shows us ________.

A．the result of parents' spoiling their children

B．the way for parents to prepare for a better life

C．the advice for parents on how to raise their children

D．the solution for parents to solving their family issues

4. What can we know from the last paragraph?

A．What our life offers us.

B．What we should do for our family.

C．How we should gain what we desire.

D．How we should prepare for our destiny.

4 . The benefits of regular exercise are well documented but there’s a new bonus to add to the ever-growing list. New researchers found that middle-aged women who were physically fit could be nearly 90 percent less likely to develop dementia in later life, and as they did, it came on a decade later than less sporty women.

Lead researcher Dr. Helena Horder, of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden, said : "These findings are exciting because it’s possible that improving people's cardiovascular （心血管的）fitness in middle age could delay or even prevent them from developing dementia. "

For the study, 191 women with an average age of 50 took a bicycle exercise test until they were exhausted to measure their peak （最大值的） cardiovascular capacity. The average peak workload was measured at 103 watts.

A total of 40 women met the criteria for a high fitness level, or 120 watts or higher. A total of 92 women were in the medium fitness category; and 59 women were in the low fitness category, defined as a peak workload of 80 watts or less, or having their exercise tests stopped because of high blood pressure, chest pain or other cardiovascular problems.

These women were then tested for dementia six times over the following four decades. During that time, 44 of the women developed dementia. Five percent of the highly fit women developed dementia, compared to 25 percent of the women with medium fitness and 32 percent of the women with low fitness.

"However, this study does not show cause and effect between cardiovascular fitness and dementia, it only shows an association. More research is needed to see if improved fitness could have a positive effect on the risk of dementia and also to look at when during a lifetime a high fitness level is most important. " She also admitted that a relatively small number of women were studied, all of whom were form Sweden, so the results might not be applicable to other groups.

1. What is on the ever-growing list mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．Positive effects of doing exercises.

B．Exercises suitable for the middle-aged.

C．Experimental studies on diseases.

D．Advantages of sporty woman over man

2. Why did the researchers ask the women to do bicycle exercise?

A．To predict their maximum heart rate.

B．To assess their cardiovascular capacity

C．To change their habits of working out

D．To detect their potential health problems

3. What do we know about Dr Horder's study?

A．It aimed to find a cure for dementia.

B．Data collection was a lengthy process.

C．Some participants withdrew from it.

D．The results were far from satisfactory.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the text?

A．More Women Are Exercising to Prevent Dementia

B．Middle-Aged Women Need to Do More Exercise

C．Fit Women Are Less Likely to Develop Dementia

D．Biking Improves Women's Cardiovascular Fitness

8 . “I wish I didn’t have to go to school, Grandpa." complained Alex, throwing his bag on the ground and sitting m the bench beside him. "It's such a waste of time. I’d much prefer to be out working. I could be earning money already If started working now at a restaurant like Big Chicken, I’d be earing good wages as well as good tips and I’d be able to travel and see the world like you did!"

Grandpa smiled across at Alex and looked at him a moment. “It reminds me of a story I once heard-an old tale from China.”

"Long ago in China, there was a kite. Although it rose higher than all the other kites, it longed to go higher. It saw the clouds and the birds way above and hated not being able to go up there. In fact it scolded the string for holding it back. The string was not happy with this situation and thought it was unfair."

"One day, the wind was particularly strong. The kite went up rapidly as the string was let out quickly. “Aw, not again, string!" yelled the kite to the string. 'Stop holding me back! Let me go higher this time! Let go of me!" The string let go and dropped towards the earth, no longer pulled up by the kite. Without the tension of the string holding it, the kite dropped quite quickly down. The kite was badly injured. Do you see the lesson in this for your situation?"

”YES! Thanks Grandpa! I understand now." exclaimed Alex. "What the story is actually saying is that sometimes you need constraint in order to reach your potential. Sometimes it's the things you think are holding you back that are actually mostly responsible for your growth. The string is to finish school and the kite is my future potential being realized. And the wind is my education lifting me higher and higher."

Grandpa smiled back. "Exactly, Alex. Well done. I am proud of you, young man.

1. What do we know about Alex?

A．He couldn't fit in with his classmates.

B．He behaved badly at school.

C．He desired to do what he wanted to do.

D．He wanted to earn money to support his family.

2. In the old tale, why did the string show dissatisfaction to the kite?

A．Because both of them dropped towards the earth.

B．Because the kite blamed the string for holding it back.

C．Because the string hated not being able to go higher.

D．Because the kite could see the clouds and the blue sky.

3. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．The kite and The String	B．The Grandpa and The Grandson
C．Making yourself a good kite	D．A Story full of fun

9 . What is volunteer travel?

Volunteer travel involves taking a trip where all or part of the purpose of the trip is to participate in an arranged service opportunity helping others. Typically, the volunteer activity takes place in a foreign country, but some opportunities can involve national or regional projects.     1    

Charitable interests often go far beyond national boundaries. People in developed countries become interested in the struggles of people in less developed countries.     2     Volunteer travel is a way to combine a visit to a new location with meaningful work that has a direct impact on communities in other parts of the world.

    3     Historically, church groups made up a large part of this market. Once a year a religious organization or church would organize a trip to another country.     4     For example, it would be to help build a school in an impoverished(贫困的)area, or dig wells so a village would have clean water, or engage in hundreds of other projects that would impact those less fortunate. As international travel became easier and the Internet made communication between countries much easier, the interest in volunteer travel increased.

    5     Volunteering in other countries has become as accessible as browsing a website and signing up. Instead of traveling with a group that is organized at the volunteers home base, the volunteer may join a group that gathers at the worksite from all over the world. This sort of volunteer travel is sometimes referred to as voluntourism or vacanteerism.

A．The primary purpose of the trip was very specific.

B．This type of travel has been an option for many years.

C．Educational institutions also made volunteer travel an option.

D．Sometimes, donating money is not enough to satisfy the need to help.

E．The Internet has helped make community service in general more popular.

F．These trips are usually arranged by church organizations, human interest groups or non-profits.

G．A new trend is that for-profit tour operators arrange group travel around volunteer opportunities.

10 . In 1713, Italian physician Bernardinus Ramazzini described in his book a mysterious set of symptoms he was noticing among artists: “Of the many painters I have known, almost all I found unhealthy ... If we search for the cause of the extremely thin and colorless appearance of the painters, as well as the sad feelings that they are so often victims of, we should look no further than the harmful nature of the paint.”

He was one of the first to make the connection between paint and artists' health, but it would take centuries for painters to switch to less-harmful materials, even as medicine gradually found some clues to the painters' health problems.

The 1834 London Medical and Surgical Journal describes sharp stomach pains occurring in patients with no other evidence of intestinal（肠的）disease, thus leading the authors to suspect that this “painter's stomachache” was a “nervous affection” of the intestine that occurs when lead “is absorbed into the system”.

Paints weren't the only source of saturnism（铅中毒）in past centuries, though. Through the 1500s, lead was widely used in wine to make the wine tastes sweeter. Occasionally, lead was even used as a medicine. In the Middle Ages, lead could be found in makeup.

Though many kinds of people fell victim to saturnism, the disease was perhaps most widespread among those who worked with paint. The symptoms of this “stomachache” ranged, but they often included a pale face, tooth loss, fatigue, painful stomach aches, and so on. In fact, the illness that many famous artists experienced didn't just prompt their gloomy works.

Lead poisoning among historical figures is difficult to prove, in part because the condition was not known or recognized in most of their lifetimes. We can't know whether the madness, depression, and illnesses many Renaissance masters experienced can be attributed to their paint or just their physiologies（生理机能）.

1. In his book, Bernardinus Ramazzini described the following symptoms of many painters except._______

A．being extremely thin	B．depressed feelings
C．being always inactive	D．pale appearance

2. What can we know about Bernardinus Ramazzini?

A．He was an Italian physicist.	B．He invented less-harmful materials.
C．He made artists stop using paints.	D．He thought paints do harm to health.

3. When may be the connection between paint and artists' health first established?

A．In the 16th century.	B．In the 18th century.
C．In the 19th century.	D．In the 20th century.

4. What is the main idea of the passage?

A．Lead was widely used throughout history in daily life.

B．Saturnism in past centuries came from various sources.

C．All the artists are unhealthy for they use harmful paints.

D．Typical symptoms of artists' disease may be connected to paints.