Most people around the world are right-handed. This also seems to be true in history. In 1799, scientists studied works of art made at different times from 1,500 B.C. to the 1950s. Most of the people shown in these works are right-handed, so the scientists guessed that right-handedness has always been common through history. Today, only about 10% to 15% of the world’s population is left-handed.

Why are there more right-handed people than left-handed ones? Scientists now know that a person’s two hands each have their own jobs. For most people, the hand is used to find things or hold things. The right hand is used to work with things. This is because of the different work of the two sides of the brain. The right side of the brain, which makes a person’s hands and eyes work together, controls the left hand. The left-side of the brain, which controls the right hand, is the centre for thinking and doing problems. These findings show that more artists should be left-handed, and studies have found that left-handedness is twice as common among artists as among people in other jobs.

No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed instead of left-handed. Scientists have found that almost 40% of the people become left-handed because their main brain isdamagedwhen they are born. However, this doesn’t happen to everyone, so scientists guess there must be another reason why people become left-handed. One idea is that people usually get right-handed from their parents. If a person does not receive the gene(基因) for right-handedness, he/ she may become either right-handed or left-handed according to the chance and the people they work or live with.

Though right-handedness is more common than left-handedness, people no longer think left-handed people are strange or unusual. A long time ago, left-handed children were made to use their right hands like other children, but today they don’t have to.

1.How many people in the world are left-handed now?

A.Less than one sixth.

B.More than a half.

C.About 40%.

D.The passage doesn’t tell us.

2.Which of the following has the closest meaning to the underlined word “damaged” in this passage?

A.knocked B.changed C.broke D.harmed

3.According to the passage, which of the following is NOT true?

A.No one really knows what makes a person become right-handed.

B.Left-handedness is cleverer than right-handedness.

C.Today children are not made to use their right hands only.

D.Scientists think there must be some reason why people become left-handed.

4.The best title for this passage is _______.

A.Scientists’ New Inventions

B.Left-handed People

C.Which Hand

D.Different Brains, Different Hands

阅读下列短文,根据短文信息完成文后表格。在标有题号的横线上,写出空缺处所填单词的 正确形式。

Hi! My name is Robin. I live in a town in the east of Shanghai. Over the last twenty years, great changes have taken place here.

In the past, my hometown was only a small village. There were no tall buildings. But now more and more tall buildings appear and the roads get wider. My father used to work in a small post office. We kept in touch with each other mainly by sending letters. Now we can use telephones, mobile phones, the Internet to contact each other. The world becomes smaller and smaller.

We can find our life more comfortable. We live in big flats. We enjoy milk, vegetables, fruit and meat for meals. We can also enjoy wonderful films and listen to music with MP5 players or mobile phones. In the past, we couldn’t enjoy life like this.

On the other hand, pollution has become a serious problem in our daily life. In the past, there were not many factories. So the water was clean and the air was fresh. However, the water and the air aren’t clean any more, because too many factories have polluted them. The government has taken action to reduce the pollution. Now things have been better.

I am sure my hometown will be more and more beautiful.

1.in Robin’s Life

Robin lives in a town in the2. part of Shanghai.

In the past

◇The town was a small3.twenty years ago.

◇There were no tall buildings and4.roads.

◇People5.letters to keep in touch with each other.

◇The water and the air were clean because of fewer6..

At7.

◇Life is also8.. People can enjoy all kinds of nice food.

◇Life is also becoming9.. People can see films, listen to music and take part in other activities.

◇The pollution has been serious. The government has taken action to work out the10.

Robin is sure his hometown will be more and more beautiful.

When you wear something, you are often saying, "Look at me!" Your clothing communicates to the world what you want the world to think of you. For example, when you go on a job interview, you might choose clothes that make you seem sincere. When you go to a party, you might choose clothes that make you look exciting.

___1 In Scotland and parts of the countries of East and Southeast Asia, men as well as women wore skirts. In Turkey and China and among the Inuit, both men and women wore trousers. But in ancient Greece, men who wore trousers were thought to be savages(野蛮人).In the United States today, both men and women wear pants.

_____2 Over the centuries, anthropologists(人类学家)have learned that the clothing people wore was connected to the position they held in society. In most societies, important people put on special clothing to show their power. In the 18th, kings and queens wore special clothing, often specially made and difficult to keep clean. Since poor people could not afford to wear this kind of clothing, it became a symbol of wealth.

_____3 Today some people still wear clothing that represents their position in life. Sometimes clothing clearly shows the organization that a person works for. Postal workers, airline attendants, and some factory workers wear uniforms. Others wear expensive clothes that show their social position as wealthy people.

4 Now many teenagers and adults buy clothes from a certain designer or company. They may like the good name of the designer or the company and want to share that name. But one basic reason for choosing clothes is the same as it has always been. People choose their clothes to tell others who they are and what they like.

1.The sentence "In different civilizations(文明)at different times, different kinds of clothes have been acceptable(可接受的). "can be put in Blank ________________.

A.1 B.2 C.3 D.4

2.Why do some people buy clothes from a certain designer?

A.They like the designer's good name.

B.They work for the designer's company.

C.They want more people to know the designer.

D.They think it makes it easier to choose clothes.

3.In the sentence "But one basic reason for choosing clothes is the same as it has always been." "one basic reason" probably refers to(指的是)_________________.

A.their work B.their wealth C.their appearance D.their position

4.According to the article, you may believe that __________________.

A.people might not look attractive in new clothes

B.each new period brings some changes in clothing

C.clothes from good designers or companies sell well

D.people who belong to organizations must wear uniforms

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