The attraction of television is undeniable when it comes to kids. 1. Here are guidelines we created to help us decide what’s appropriate for our family:

Monitor television time. Choosing good shows isn’t a big issue if you’re not watching a lot of television, so really the best solution to finding appropriate television is saying, “Go play.” 2.

Don’t trust network ratings. A kid-approved stamp given by a television network is a general guide that doesn’t take into account your parenting style and the things your family feels are important. 3. There are plenty of adult cartoon shows on television now, many with highly inappropriate topics.

4. The bottom line is, I want to know what my kids are watching, and if the TV is on my time in our home, I want to first approve of the show ahead of time, and second to watch it with my kids so that I’m aware of anything they might be seeing that needs intervention(干涉).

Talk about the show with your kids. As kids get older, we realize that we can’t shelter them from every single person/show/behavior that doesn’t fit exactly with our values. They’re going to hear a swear word from time to time—and might walk into the room while the characters in the romantic comedy we’re watching are kissing. 5.

A. If it doesn’t feel good, turn it off.

B. And be aware of cartoons!

C. We can talk about what we see, though, using story-lines to teach lessons when possible.

D. The standard for what our kids can watch might be difficult to set.

E. But how do you choose which shows are appropriate for the younger set?

F. Watch TV with them.

G. Still, a little bit of television doesn’t hurt and can be fun.

It’s the place where smart people make smart machines work even smarter. It’s also in the heart of sunny California, a great place to start a family and raise kids. What could be better?

But something is happening to their children. Up until the age of two they develop normally. But then everything seems to go backwards. The children become locked into their own small world, unable to communicate at all.

They call it the “curse(诅咒)of Silicon Valley,” but the medical name for the condition is autism(自闭症). It used to be thought that autism was a kind of mental illness. Now doctors are sure that it is a neurological disease transmitted genetically. It seems that the people leading the communications revolution are having children who cannot communicate at all.

But even the parents have trouble communicating. Asperger’s Syndrome is a mild version of autism. People who have it are highly intelligent and often brilliant with numbers or system but have no social skill. This very combination of symptoms makes Asperger’s sufferers into ideal computer professionals.

The Asperger’s sufferer has always been a well-known figure in popular culture. He or she was the eccentric but dedicated scholar or the strange uncle or auntie who never married. But the high numbers of such people in Silicon Valley mean that they can meet others who understand them and share their interests. And while they might not be personally attractive, they can earn truly attractive amounts of money. They can get married and have kids. Unfortunately, many of the children of two Asperger’s parents seem to be developing serious autism.

There is little anyone can do. It takes hours of work just to make autistic child realize that anyone else exists. And there is no cure in sight. Some argue that no cure should be found. “It may be that autistics are essentially different from normal people, but that these differences make them invaluable for the evolution of the human race,” says Dr. Kirk Whilhelmsen of the University of California. “To eliminate the genes for autism could be disastrous. ”

It seems that the children of Silicon Valley are paying the price of genius.

1.What is the best title of the passage?

A. The Price of Genius

B. Asperger’s Syndrome, a Mild Version of Autism

C. No Cure Should Be Found

D. Ideal Computer Professionals

2.What does Dr Kirk Whilhelmsen think of autism?

A.It is disastrous to society.

B.It is not completely a bad thing.

C.It is a punishment to those working in Silicon Valley.

D.People with autism should never marry.

3.What can we learn about autism according to the passage?

A.It is believed to be a kind of mental illness that can be cured.

B.People with autism can’t find people sharing their interests.

C.They do not care about the presence of others.

D.They are a burden for the society.

4.Why do people call autism “curse of Silicon Valley”?

A.Because autistic people live in Silicon Valley.

B.Because many people working in Silicon Valley have autism children.

C.Because people with autism will be driven out of Silicon Valley.

D.Because people with autism are not personally attractive and not liked by others.

5.What can we know about Asperger’s Syndrome according to the passage?

A.Asperger’s sufferers are ideal computer professionals.

B.Asperger’s sufferers never get married and have children.

C.Asperger’s sufferers are ashamed of themselves and locked into their own world.

D.Asperger’s sufferers can be beneficial to society if they are cured.

Around the world, honeybee groups are dying in huge numbers: About one-third of nests collapse each year. For bees and the plants they pollinate (授粉) — as well as for beekeepers, farmers, honey lovers and everyone else who appreciates this marvelous social insect — this is a catastrophe.

Honeybee collapse has been particularly worrying because there is no one cause, but rather a thousand little cuts. The main elements include the mixed impact of pesticides (杀虫剂) applied to fields, as well as pesticides applied directly into nets to control bugs, pests and diseases; nutritional shortages caused by vast acreages of single-crop fields that lack diverse flowering plants; and commercial beekeeping itself, which destroys groups by moving most bees around the country multiple times each year to pollinate crops.

The real issue, though, is not the volume of problems, but the interactions among them. Here we find a major lesson from the bees that we ignore at our risk: the concept of synergy (协同作用), where one plus one equals three, or four, or more. A typical honeybee colony contains remains from more than 120 pesticides. Alone, each represents a benign dose (良性剂量). But together they form a poisonous soup of chemicals whose interplay (相互作用) can greatly reduce the effectiveness of bees’ immune systems, making them easier to suffer from diseases.

Observing the death of honeybees should warn us that our own well-being might be similarly threatened, and the widespread collapse of so many groups presents a clear message: We must demand that our regulatory authorities require studies on how exposure to low dosages of combined chemicals may affect human health before approving compounds.

Bees also provide some clues to how we may build a more collaborative relationship with the services that ecosystems can provide. Bees could offer some of the pollination service needed for agriculture. People discovered that crop harvests, and thus profits, are maximized if some cropland are left uncultivated for bees. Meanwhile a variety of wild plants means a healthier, more diverse bee population, which will then move to the planted fields next door in larger and more active numbers.

1.Which of the following is NOT the cause that leads to bees dying?

A. Lack of nutrition from enough diverse flowering plants.

B. The pests and diseases of the bees.

C. The beekeepers’ destroying without intention

D. The pesticides applied to crops.

2.By saying “one plus one equals three, or four, or more” in Paragraph 3, the author means that ____.

A. bees united mean they are much more powerful

B. bees united mean they are much more poisonous

C. pesticides mixed mean they are much more poisonous.

D. pesticides mixed mean they are much more effective.

3.The lesson people can learn from bees dying is that ____________.

A. medicine is as powerful as pesticide

B. our health might be threatened by pesticides

C. we should protect bees by reducing the usage of pesticides

D. medicine may be harmful to us when used together

4.What is the last paragraph mainly about?

A. Keeping a balance with nature is important

B. More plants mean more and healthier bees.

C. Bees are very important to agriculture.

D. Bees can bring in good higher profits to farmers

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