B
Play is the basic business of childhood, and more and more in recent years research has shown the great importance of play in the development of a human being．From earliest infancy （嬰兒）, every child needs opportunity and the right material for play, and the main tools of play are toys．The main function of toys is to suggest, encourage and assist play．To succeed in this, they must be good toys, which children will play with often, and will come back to again and again．Therefore, it is important to choose suitable toys for different stages of a child’s development.
In recent years research on infant development has shown that the standard a child is likely to reach, within the range of his inherited abilities, is largely determined in the first three years of his life．So a baby’s ability to benefit from the right play materials should not be underestimated．A baby who is encouraged, talked to and shown things and played with, has the best chance of growing up successfully．
The next stage, from three to five years old, curiosity knows no bounds．Every type of suitable toy should be made available to the child, for trying out, experimenting and learning, for discovering his own particular ability. Bricks and jigsaws and construction toys; painting, scribbling and making things; sand and water play; toys for imaginative and pretending play; the first social games for learning to play and get on with others．
By the third stage of play development—from five to seven or eight years old— the child is at school．But for a few more years play is still the best way of learning, at home or at school．It is easier to see which type of toys the child most enjoys．
Until the age of seven or eight, play and work mean much the same to a child．But once reading has been mastered, then books and school become the main source of learning．Toys are still interesting and valuable, which lead up to new hobbies, but their significance has changed —to a child of nine or ten years old, toys and games mean, as to adults, relaxation and fun.
小題1:60. The writer wants us to understand that a child_______.

A．cannot grow up without toys	B．matures through play
C．uses toys as friends	D．has to be taught how to play

小題2:61. According to the passage, the abilities a child has inherited from his parents ________.

A．determine his character

B．will not change after the age of three

C．partly determine the standard he is likely to reach

D．to a large extent determine the choice of toys

小題3:62. The passage tells us that children are the most curious when they are about______.

A．two years old	B．one year old
C．six years old	D．four years old

小題4:63. The article is about_______.

A．the importance of play	B．the importance of books
C．the relationship between play and work	D．children’s speech development

Your name made you do it, though unconsciously, suggests new research that finds your name can negatively make you achieve less. Psychologists at Yale and the University of California, San Diego studying the unconscious influence of names say a preference for our own names and initials — the “name-letter effect” — can have some negative consequences.
Students whose names begin with C or D get lower grades than those whose names begin with A or B; major league baseball players whose first or last names began with K (the strikeout-signifying letter) are significantly more likely to strike out.
Assistant professors Leif Nelson of UCSD and Joseph Simmons of Yale have conducted five studies over five years using information from thousands of individuals.
“The conscious process is baseball players want to get a hit and students want to get A's,” Nelson says. “So if you get a change in performance consistent with the name-letter effect, it clearly shows there must be some unconscious desire operating in the other direction.”
The researchers' work supports a series of studies published since 2002 that have found the “name-letter effect” causes people to make life choices based on names that resemble their own. Those studies by Brett Pelham, an associate professor at SUNY University, have found that people are disproportionately（不定比例地）likely to live in states or cities resembling their names, have careers that resemble their names and even marry those whose surnames begin with the same letter as their own.
The twist, Pelham says, is that he has believed the name-letter effect would apply only to positive outcomes. Nelson and Simmons, he says, are “showing it applies more so to negative things than positive things.”
The researchers say the effect is definitely more than coincidence but is small nevertheless. “I know plenty of Chrises and Davids who have done very well in school,” Simmons says.
小題1:The new research is mainly about the relationship between one’s ______.

A．name and unconsciousness	B．name and characteristics
C．name and success	D．sports and school achievements

小題2:Who may serve as an example to show the “name-letter effect”?

A．Miss Smith working as a lawyer.	B．Charles Brown married to Sue Rogers.
C．Mr. Watt living in Washington	D．Paula Snow fond of the color white.

小題3:Which can be used to explain the underlined word “twist” in the last but one paragraph?

A．Difference．	B．Conclusion．
C．Funny side．	D．Shared part．

小題4:The last paragraph mainly tells us that the “name-letter effect” ______.                

A．isn’t believed in by many people	B．doesn’t work with certain names
C．may not really exist	D．is often too small to show

Like many people in the UK, the team of BBC learning English were  1  and sad at the news of the earthquake in Sichuan Province. They would like to extend their condolences(吊唁) to those affected by this terrible natural disaster. Below was their special report on the earthquake and the  2  operations taking place.
Rescue efforts were underway in Sichuan Province following the terrible  3  , which measured 7.9 on the Richter Scale. According to Xinhua news agency, nearly 15,000  4  died in the disaster, with as many as 24,000 more  5  under ruins and another 14,000  6  .
Chinese troops(軍隊) were  7  to carry out the rescue operations, and emergency aid was air-dropped into areas that were cut off by the  8  .
Because of the bad weather, in some places  9  had to go into the disaster area on foot and search for trapped survivors by hand as roads were  10 . Some people of the provincial capital Chengdu chose to   11  in tents and government shelters for fear of aftershock causing     12  damage. One witness in Chengdu said that the people there were helping the relief work by donating food and water for those affected in the  13 .
Although full casualty figures (傷亡數字) were not yet   14 , it was clear that the earthquake was the  15  to strike China after the Tangshan earthquake of 1976.

小題1:	A．shocked B．commanded C．attacked D．rewarded

小題2:	A．transport B．rescue C．farm D．accent

小題3:	A．burst B．accident C．earthquake D．flame

小題4:	A．animal B．miner C．teenager D．people

小題5:	A．buried B．injured C．trapped D．suffered

小題6:	A．missing B．recognized C．upset D．frightened

小題7:	A．helped B．harmed C．taken D．sent

小題8:	A．event B．principle C．disaster D．canal

小題9:	A．reporters B．rescuers C．villagers D．journalists

小題10:

A．blocked B．built C．settled D．tipped

小題11:

A．serve B．sit C．sleep D．study

小題12:

A．equal B．many C．straight D．more

小題13:

A．families B．outdoors C．apartment D．countryside

小題14:

A．satisfied B．certain C．determined D．ignored

小題15:

A．worst B．best C．most D．first

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, is one of the largest cities in the world. It is also one of the world’s most modern cities. Twice last century, the city was destroyed and rebuilt. In 1923 a major earthquake struck the city. Thousands of people were killed and millions were left homeless as buildings collapsed and fires broke out throughout Tokyo. It took seven years to rebuild the city. During World War II, Tokyo was destroyed once again. As a result of these disasters, there is nothing of old Tokyo remaining in the downtown area.
After the war, the people of Tokyo began to rebuild their city. Buildings went up at a fantastic rate, and between1945 and 1960, the city’s population more than doubled. Because of the Olympic Games held in Tokyo in 1964, many new stadiums, parks and hotels were built to treat visitors from all over the world. As a result of this rapid development, however, many problems have risen. Housing shortage, pollution, and waste disposal(處理) have presented serious challenges to the city, but the government has begun several programs to answer them.
小題1:What kind of city is Tokyo?
A historic city.          　 B. A world famous seaport.
C. A highly modernized city.   D. A most attractive (有吸引力的) city for tourists.
小題2:What major(主要的) event(s) happened in Tokyo last century?

A．Its population was doubled.

B．It was twice destroyed by natural disasters and was twice rebuilt.

C．Serious social problems emerged.(出現)

D．It was ruined by an earthquake and a war, but was twice rebuilt.

小題3:Which of the following problems is NOT mentioned in the passage?

A．Housing shortage.	B．Waste disposal.
C．Heavy traffic.	D．Pollution.

小題4:What has brought so many problems to Tokyo today?

A．A severe (嚴重) earthquake and the Second World War.

B．The foreign occupation (占領) after the war.

C．The population explosion between 1945 and 1960.

D．The rapid development of the city after the war.

War Horse author Michael Morpurgo is being interviewed:
Reporter:How did War Horse become so successful?
Michael:War Horse was published in 1982,and it did not sell very well.But my publishers kept it in print,along with all my books.I am very grateful to Egmont and I’m sure now they are very grateful to themselves.
The book was discovered 21 years later,by accident.I was on Desert Island Discs on Radio 4 in 2003 when my work was becoming better known.One of the listeners was the mother of a director called Tom Morris,and after reading War Horse herself she told her son to read it.Two years later the play came out,and it was a huge hit that went to the West End,Broadway and now Canada and Australia,then a nationwide American tour in June this year.
In 2009 kathy kennedy,the producer who worked with Steven Spielberg,walked into the New London Theatre to see the play because her daughter liked it very much.She then phoned Spielberg and told him this would be his next film!The way it all happened is better than any of my stories.War Horse has now sold over 1 million copies.
Reporter:Has War Horse changed your life?
Michael:It has made all the difference in the world.The most important gift it has given us is not to have to worry about money,because there has always been a slight anxiety.It has allowed us to ensure our grandchildren’s education.There is a disadvantage to it as well,which is an assumption that I am super rich.I’m not,actually.It is very nice and completely unexpected but I have got to go on writing.If I were younger,I think,it would go to my head.Now I am too old for anything to go to my head.It is not the same as winning the lottery(彩票)。
小題1:Why are Michael’s publishers grateful to themselves too?

A．Because they never stopped printing it and it finally proved successful.

B．Because they earned a lot thanks to books of high quality they printed.

C．Because they have the ability to enlarge their company.

D．Because they have the potential to film the story.

小題2:War Horse got the first huge success thanks to____.

A．Steven Spielberg and his daughter

B．Tom Morris and his listeners

C．Kathy Kennedy’s daughter

D．Tom Morris’ mother

小題3:Why did Kathy Kennedy watch the play of War Horse?

A．Because she knew that the film was very popular.

B．Because her daughter was mad on the play.

C．Because her friend,Steven Spielberg,advised her to see it.

D．Because she was looking for a story with an animal in her mind.

小題4:What change made Michael feel most valuable because of War Horse?

A．He could stay at home looking after his grandchildren.

B．He can make friends with famous film directors.

C．He needn’t worry about his financial problems.

D．He needn’t spend time writing another book.

小題5:What is the attitude of Michael to his great success?

A．Calm.

B．Unbelievable.

C．Confused

D．Excited.

Brenda Bongos was a happy, artistic girl. She had one big ambition—to play the drums in a band. But one big obstacle lay in her way. To be good enough to play in a band, Brenda had to practice a lot, but she lived next-door to a lot of old people. Many of them are sick. She knew that the sound of beating drums would really get on their nerves. So, she had tried playing in the strangest places: a basement, a kitchen, and even in a shower. But there was always someone it would annoy.
One day, while watching a science documentary on TV, she heard that sound cannot travel in space, because there's no air. At that moment, Brenda Bongos decided to become a sort of musical astronaut.
With the help of a lot of time, books and work, Brenda built a space bubble. This was a big glass ball connected to a machine which sucked out all the air inside. All that would be left inside was a drum kit（成套設備） and a chair. Brenda got into the space suit she had made, entered the bubble, turned on the machine, and played those drums like a wild child.
It wasn't long before Brenda Bongos came very famous. Many people came to see her play in her space bubble. Shortly afterwards she came out of the bubble and started giving concerts. Her fame spread so much that the government suggested that she be part of a unique space journey. Finally, Brenda was a real musical astronaut, and had gone far beyond her first ambition of playing drums in a band.
Years later, when asked how she had achieved all this, she thought for a moment, and said: ''If those old people next – door hadn't mattered so much to me, I wouldn't have found a solution, and none of this would have ever happened.''
小題1:Why did Brenda try to play in the strangest places?

A．Because she didn't want others to hear her play.

B．Because she didn't mean to disturb others.

C．Because she didn't have her own room.

D．Because she didn’t like her neighbors.

小題2:Brenda started to give concerts _______.

A．after she practiced in her space bubble

B．when she became part of the unique space journey

C．after she became a real musicalastronaut

D．when people came to see her in the space bubble

小題3:Brenda became famous because _______.

A．she was good at music and science	B．she became a real musical astronaut
C．she invented a special way of practice	D．she played well and had a talent

小題4:Which of the following can be used to describe Brenda?

A．Kind, hardworking and clever.	B．Brave, kind and hardworking.
C．Lovely, brave and kind.	D．Nervous, kind and clever.

小題5:It can be inferred from the text that: " _______".

A．He laughs best who laughs last	B．It's never too old to learn
C．Two heads are better than one	D．One good turn deserves another

"It's this time of year when the weather starts warming up and frogs start breeding - but they haven't been breeding," says John Wilkinson, research and monitoring officer at the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC).
Amphibians (兩棲動物) are just one of the groups of animals that nature observers fear may have problems reproducing this year, as groundwater levels are even lower now than in the infamously dry summer of 1976, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). According to the UK's Centre for Hydrology and Ecology the average rainfall so far this winter has been the lowest since 1972.
"If ponds dry up totally," says Mr. Wilkinson, "you could have lots of dead tadpoles." Drier and windier conditions could also make it more difficult for juvenile amphibians to survive their journeys between wet habitats.
But Peter Brotherton, the biodiversity manager for Natural England, says that "drought is part of nature's cycle", and, at present, a lot of animals, plants and insects are still in hibernation. This means that the population picture is unclear. "However, when we get extreme events, we get animals dying," he says. "And what is worrying is that normally at this time of year we expect soil to be near saturation（濕潤）after winter."
Charlie Kitchin, the RSPB's site manager of the Nene Washes in Cambridgeshire, says the 2,000-acre wetland and grassland area is now struggling following two winters with relatively little winter rain and no flooding. One species that could suffer, he says, is the black-tailed godwit（黑尾豫）. "There are only 50 breeding pairs in the country, and we have 40 of them, and everything is bone-dry," Mr Kitchin says.
But one bad nesting season, he says, is "not the end of the world". "One of the features of flood plains is that they're volatile anyway," he adds. "But if they fail to breed another year, the population is likely to dip again."
小題1:According to the passage animals may have problems reproducing this year mainly due to _____.

A．drought

B．hibernation

C．windier conditions

D．extreme events

小題2:What really worries Peter Brotherton is that ________.

A．drought is part of nature’s cycle	B．animals are still in hibernation
C．soil at this time is far from saturation	D．the population of animals is still unclear

小題3:Which of the following is NOT true of Charlie Kitchin’s words?

A．Drought has so far continued for two winters.

B．Animals could survive one bad nesting season.

C．The black-tailed godwit is in danger of extinction.

D．40 black-tailed godwits live in the Nene Washes.

小題4:The underlined word volatile in the last paragraph can be replaced by ________.

A．losing water	B．undergoing changes
C．breeding animals	D．suffering flood

小題5:It can be learnt from the text that ______________.

A．groundwater levels this summer are lower than those of 1976

B．the average rainfall this year has been the lowest since 1972

C．windier conditions could also cause some amphibians’ death

D．flooding plays no useful role in wetlands and grasslands

Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl（爬）, while boys will head for the toy cars, a study has shown． The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences．
Psychologists Dr． Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months． The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys． Some were typically boys' toys: a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy． The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set． They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked． Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded．
Of the youngest children （nine to 14 months）, girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did． Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it． The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched． There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more suitable for boys or girls, and the children’s choice．
Dr． Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization． Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference． But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys． There could be a biological basis for their choices． Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby．”
小題1:Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because         ．

A．baby boys are much more active

B．baby girls like bright colors more

C．there is a natural difference between them

D．their parents treat them differently

小題2:What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

A．Nine-month-old baby boys don’t play with dolls at all．

B．Two-year-old baby girls sometimes play with cars and balls．

C．Parents should teach their babies to share each other’s toys．

D．The older the babies are, the more obvious their preference is．

小題3:Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with _________ according to the study．

A．a teddy

B．a car

C．a doll

D．a ball

小題4:We may read this article in a        section of a newspaper．

A．health

B．science

C．culture

D．entertainment

Britain has laws to make sure that women have the same chances as men in education, jobs and training. But it’s still unusual to find women doing dirty or heavy jobs.
Nikki Henriques is a car maintenance engineer in London. She used to be a secretary. Barty Philips, a journalist with “The Observer”, a Sunday newspaper, asked her why she wanted to work with cars.
“My first reason was independence(獨立),” she said. “I also wanted to use my hands, and I like learning about how things work. Many people prefer to have a woman repair their cars, too.”
Nikki didn’t find it easy to become a car maintenance engineer. She went to a Government Skill Centre—a special sort of college where people can learn a new job for twenty weeks. “For ten weeks I was the only woman among four hundred men, and some of them were rude to me. It was also very tiring—from 8 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon, with only 30 minutes for lunch.”
Now Nikki works free-lance, that is, she’s self-employed, working for herself and not for a garage or a company.
Barty Phillips also spoke to Rose, who works as a general builder in Sheffield, an industrial town in the north of England. Like Nikki, Rose used to be a secretary. “I didn’t enjoy it at all.” she said. “I wanted to do more practical work, and I wanted to be self-employed.”
Rose joined a women’s building co-operative, and she learnt her job from other people and from experience. However, many of the women in her group have been specially trained. Most of the jobs they do are improvements to buildings and general repairs.
“People often say, ‘Oh, women aren’t strong enough,’ but I don’t think strength is important.” said Rose, “The important thing is to get used to doing a different sort of work.”
Rose would like more women to come into the building industry. “Everything built at the moment is a product of man’s world. If women become builders, they will be able to understand the production of their house and their towns.”
小題1:There are laws in Britain to help women _____.

A．get higher pay than men

B．enjoy more freedom than men

C．do whatever they like to do

D．have equal chances with men in education and work

小題2:The job of a car maintenance engineer is to _____.

A．make cars	B．sell cars
C．repair cars	D．keep cars for others

小題3:According to Rose, a woman wishing to be a general builder _____.

A．must be specially trained

B．should be strong enough

C．can learn her job either from others or by experience

D．must get used to doing a different sort of work

小題4:The best title for this passage might be _____.

A．Nikki Henriques, a car maintenance engineer

B．Rose, a General Builder in Shefield

C．Women at Work

D．British Women

Five-time world overall short-track speed skating champion Yang Yang(A)won China’s first-ever Winter Olympic gold medal with a runaway victory in the 500m final on Saturday.
Yang Yang, putting behind her a dismal fourth place finish in the 1,500 meters three days ago, got off to a sparking lead and never looked back to cross the line in 44.187 seconds.
World-record holder and four-time European champion Evgenia Radanova followed home 0.065 seconds behind.
Another Chinese, Wang Chunju, the world champion in the shortest distance came in third, two-hundredths of a second further behind.
Yang, 25, whose name is tagged with the letter A to distinguish her from her younger teammate and namesake, Yang Yang(S), is the overall World Cup winner this season, with the top points in the 1,000m and 1,500m.
In the 1,500m, the younger Yang, 24, who won two silver medals in Nagano four years ago, crashed out while chasing herd after two South Korean teenagers, KoGi-Hyun and Choi Eun-Kyungm who eventually finished first and second. Yang Yang(A) ended up fourth.
Yang Yang(S) did not compete in the 500 meters.
小題1:How long did Evgenia Radanova take to finish the 500m final?

A．44.252 seconds.	B．44.187 seconds.
C．44.122 seconds.	D．None of the above.

小題2:Why did not Yang Yang(S) compete in the 500 meters?

A．She did want to.	B．She was wounded.
C．She was not qualified.	D．It was not mentioned.