1 . When George Smith was 31, he became enthusiastic about some ancient tablets in the British Museum. But even after the tablet fragments(碎片) had been pieced together, little had been translated. The 3, 000-year-old tablets remained as mysterious as buried in the ruins. Even so, the English archaeologist (考古学家) decided he would be the man to reveal the secrets. Smith taught himself Sumerian and literary Akkadian. After nearly two decades, Smith had a breakthrough：The complex symbols were describing a story, just like Noah’s Ark!

For thousands of years, humans have been telling stories, sharing the morally even before the invention of writing. In one way or another, much time in people’s lives is spent telling stories. Besides entertainment, stories did give us something more.

Stories can influence people’s emotional lives. Storytelling allows people to peek into someone’s conscience to see how others think and feel. Studies have found reading stories significantly increased empathy towards others, especially people initially seen as “outsiders”, such as foreigners or people of a different race. Interestingly, the more absorbed the readers are in the story, the more empathetic they are in real life. Psychologists tested this by “accidentally” dropping a handful of pens. Those who had previously reported being “highly absorbed” in the story were about twice as likely to help pick up the pens.

But why start telling stories in the first place? Their usefulness in understanding others is one reason, and another theory is that storytelling could be an evolutionary(进化的) mechanism that helped keep our ancestors alive. For example, if you heard, “There’s a monster near that tree, so don’t go over there,” it would not be as effective as told, “My cousin was eaten by a scary creature that lurks around that tree, so don’t go over there.”

Upon translating the 11th tablet, the most important part of the story, Smith told a coworker, “I am the first person to read that after 3.000 years of oblivion(被遗忘)!”

1. Why did George Smith decide to translate the tablets?

A．Because he hoped to be an archaeologist.

B．Because he wanted to learn old languages.

C．Because he was employed by the museum.

D．Because he showed great interest in history.

2. What does the underlined word “empathy” in Paragraph 3 mean?

A．Understanding.

B．Thought.

C．Confidence.

D．Pity.

3. What is the example in Paragraph 4 used for?

A．Proving our ancestors’ wisdom.

B．Showing our ancestors’ lifestyles.

C．Describing stories’ usefulness in entertainment.

D．Explaining stories’ effectiveness in persuasion.

4. What is the writer’s attitude towards Smith’s work?

A．Approving.

B．Doubtful.

C．Negative.

D．Indifferent.

2 . One of the most important ways to help your child with their friendships is to have open communication with them.    1    . This is more important than you focus on telling them what you think. However, here are a few points to pass on to your teenager when talking about friendships.

Meeting possibilities

    2    . Sometimes, friendships are developed because of shared interests, or activities. Other times, social relationships develop between people who may not seem to have much in common but for whatever reason.

Practicing forgiveness

Friends sometimes hurt each other, but they can always apologize and forgive each other.    3    . However, also be sure to pass on the message that some friendships may not be worth saving, particularly for some bad behaviours. In those conditions, it’s fine to walk away.

    4    

Who your teen chooses to be their friend is important. They might choose friends who share similar interests and histories with them. The most important things to look for are whether or not the person will be a good friend and if your teen enjoys spending time with them.

Putting in the work

It takes many learned skills to make and keep a friendship. It also takes many skills to end a friendship. The reality is that most friendships will experience conflict, and friends will have to work through it to keep the relationship or part ways.    5    .

A．Building closeness

B．Choosing friends wisely

C．Moreover, aim to listen to what they have to say

D．A good friend will make you feel good about yourself

E．Everyone is allowed to have many friends and many types of friends

F．If a friendship is becoming hurtful, ending the friendship is a clever choice

G．Good relationships are worth the work to repair the damage caused by any miscommunications

3 . editor (             )

A．编辑

B．探测；勘探

C．组织；筹建

D．合伙人

4 . schedule (             )

A．较年长的人

B．一代人

C．青年时期

D．工作计划；日程安排；安排

5 . extra (             )

A．性别

B．额外的

C．策略

D．毕业生

6 . literature (             )

A．挑战

B．芭蕾舞

C．工作计划；日程安排

D．文学；文学作品

7 . topic (             )

A．话题

B．方式；作风

C．修改；修订

D．小伙子

8 . title (             )

A．性别

B．实验；试验

C．标题

D．公司

9 . movement (             )

A．动作；运动

B．发展；进步

C．同伴；配偶

D．校园

10 . content (             )

A．印象

B．目标

C．内容；目录；满意的

D．策略