1 . There is a popular saying in the English language: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” Well, that is not true. Unkind words, name-calling or even the so-called “the silent treatment” can hurt children as much as being physically hit, sometimes even more so. A recent study of middle school children showed that verbal (言语的) abuse by other children can harm, the development in the brain. The study was a project of researchers at Harvard Medical School in Massachusetts. Researcher Martin Teicher and his team studied young adults, aged 18 to 25. These young men and women had not ever been treated in a cruel or violent way by their parents. The researchers asked the young people to rate their childhood exposure to verbal abuse from both parents and other children. Then the researchers performed imaging tests on the brains of the subjects.
The images showed that the people who reported suffering verbal abuse from peers in middle school had underdeveloped connections between the left and right side of the brain. The two sides of the brain are connected by a large bundle of connecting fibers called the corpus callosum. This was the area that was underdeveloped.
The middle school years are a time when these brain connections are developing. So, unkind, hurtful comments from children or adults during this period have the greatest effect. The researchers tested the mental and emotional condition of all the young people in the study. The tests showed that this same group of people had higher levels of fear, depression, anger and drug abuse than others in the study.
The researchers published their findings online on the American Journal of Psychiatry's website.
Parents cannot control what other people say to their children, but they can prepare their children.
1. Why does the author use the popular saying at the beginning?| A．To show the power of words. |
| B．To introduce an opposite view. |
| C．To prove the author's argument. |
| D．To show ancient people's wisdom. |
| A．They were hurt by unkind words. |
| B．They performed poorly in imaging tests. |
| C．They had their brain slightly damaged. |
| D．They experienced no physical abuse at home. |
| A．Comments on the findings. |
| B．Approaches to further studies. |
| C．Suggestions to parents. |
| D．Different opinions on the matter. |
| A．Unkind words hurt the brain. |
| B．Verbal violence should be stopped. |
| C．The way we speak matters. |
| D．Words are worse than sticks and stones. |
2 . In 2010, a huge earthquake hit Haiti, causing the deaths of over a hundred thousand people and millions of dollars’ worth of damage.
Social media in particular has had a great impact on charity.
New, innovative ways of donating are being thought up all the time. For example, if you want to support a good cause and keep fit at the same time, you can use an app called Charity Miles.
Apps like these are growing in number, and that can only be a good thing.
| A．People were eager to aid others in trouble. |
| B．The app can track the distance you run or cycle. |
| C．News of disasters spreads quickly around the world. |
| D．Charity helps to refresh the development of social Media. |
| E．Technological advances have changed how charities work. |
| F．The international community jumped into action to provide aid. |
| G．In future, we could support our chosen cause more easily and more often. |
3 . After her own experience using a service dog, Tabitha Bell understands how helpful a service dog is. Having learnt from her doctor that many people were unable to afford a service dog, Tabitha decided to start the organization Pawsitive Pawsibilities (Paws), which raises money to help people buy service dogs.
Amazing Kids (AK)：What has been the most difficult part of managing Paws?
Tabitha Bell(TB) ：It is always a struggle ( 难事) to come up with new and creative ways to raise money.
AK：What are the different ways that Paws raises money?
TB ：We have done dress competitions in my middle school and then my high school. I have done a benefit concert( 慈善音乐会) in my high school which I hope to continue in college. I put on my first
Super Paws 5k run in Utah and we are organizing our second for October in California. So we would love to have as much participation (参与) as we can get!
AK：How do you choose a puppyowner match?
TB：After we have a meeting with the person who needs a dog, we send them to a dog trainer and let the trainer make the final decision. The person will discuss with the trainer what jobs the dog has to do and then the trainer will find a dog that he thinks will suit the owner.
AK：What are your plans for the future?
TB：This fall I'm going to be attending the University of California, Berkeley. I am hoping to use my skills I get to encourage others and lead Paws to reach hopefully the whole nation.
1. What can we learn about Tabitha Bell?| A．She is good at training dogs. |
| B．She depends on a service dog to live. |
| C．She was studying at university when starting Paws. |
| D．She started Paws because of her doctor's suggestion. |
| A．Matching a dog with an owner. | B．Finding experienced dog trainers. | C．Reaching out for more people in need. | D．Working out good ways to collect money. |
| A．The person's doctor. | B．The dog trainer. | C．The dog owner. | D．The manager of Paws. |
4 . There’s no doubt that one of the greatest human achievements is the exploration of the space. Ever since astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to be sent into the orbit around the moon in 1961, scientists have been pushing the boundaries further and further. But until now the exploration into the unknown has been dominated (主导) by men.
Of course, in the past, women were also included in the space projects and played an active role on the ground and behind the scenes. For example, they worked as seamstresses (女裁缝师), sewing vital spaceflight components. In fact, many of NASA’s key works would never have been possible without them. Recently Hollywood produced a movie called Hidden Figures to focus on a group of American female mathematicians, especially the black women, who helped NASA send the first American into space. But this was not women’s only contribution. Back in 1963, Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to be sent into space. However, after that, space flight programs were slow to employ women. In the USA. NASA didn’t accept applications from women to become astronauts until 1978.
But attitudes have changed and leading officials at NASA say that the first person to set foot on Mars should be a woman. The space agency aims to have a sex-balanced workforce but can only achieve that if equal numbers of men and women are trained for science and technology jobs. As Allison McIntryre told the BBC, “My director is a woman. We have female astronauts. We haven’t put a woman on the moon yet. And I think that perhaps the first person to step on Mars should be a woman.”
1. What did Yuri Gagarin do in 1961?| A．He landed on the moon in success. |
| B．He discovered many new boundaries. |
| C．He led scientists to explore the moon. |
| D．He made the first journey into the space. |
| A．To show women are the true heroes of NASA’s first launch. |
| B．To stress that black people have won equal rights in NASA. |
| C．To prove women can do as well as men in NASA’ projects. |
| D．To present women’s contributions to NASA’s space programs. |
| A．Uncaring. | B．Disapproving. |
| C．Supportive. | D．Disappointed. |
| A．Will the First Person to Step on Mars Be a Woman? |
| B．Great Achievements Have Been Made in Space Exploration? |
| C．Why Men Played an Important Role in Exploring the Unknown? |
| D．Men and Women Have Made Equal Contributions to NASA’s Projects? |
Did you grow up in one culture, your parents came from another, and you are now living in a
The term “third—culture kid”
Yet many
University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at £3,000 annually, but this will be reviewed next year and the Government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.
In the researeh, the teenagers were presented with die terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average £ 31.000 by the age of 25, although the average salary for those aged 22 to 29 is just £ 17,815. The teenagers expected to be in debt when they finished university or training, although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £ 10.000. Average debts for graduates are £ 12，363.
Stephen Moir, head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest, said. "The more exposed young people are to financial issues, and the younger they become aware of them, the more likely they are to become responsible, forward-planning adults who manage their finances confidently and effectively."
Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just introduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweathcr. aged 15. from St Helens, said that she had benefited from lessons on personal finance, but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.
1. Which of the following can be found from the five-year researeh project?
| A．Students understand personal finances differently. |
| B．University tuition fees in England have been rising. |
| C．Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earnings. |
| D．The students' payback ability has become a major issue. |
| A．to raise the student loans | B．to improve the school facilities |
| C．to increase the upper limit of the tuition | D．to lift the school building roofs |
| A．are too young 10 be exposed 10 financial issues |
| B．should learn 10 manage their finances wellC- should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans |
| C．benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance |
| A．Many British teenagers do not know money matters well |
| B．Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts. |
| C．Financial planning is a required course at college. |
| D．Young people should become responsible adults. |
