She’s not afraid of anything. Snakes? No problem. Walking alone in the dark? Easy. We’re not talking about a superhero here -- SM is a 44-year-old mother. And she’s fearless because she happens to be missing part of her brain: the amygdala(扁桃腺).

Shaped like a pair of almonds sitting in the middle of your brain, the amygdala helps control fear and anxiety. A rare condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease left SM without her amygdala, and seems to have completely erased her sense of fear.

To try to understand how the amygdala works, a team of researchers made their efforts to scare SM. They showed her horror movies and took her to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House in Kentucky. She pushed out one of the monsters(巨物) and laughed. SM said she didn’t like snakes, but at a pet store full of poisonous creatures, she kept asking to touch them. When asked to rate her feelings, SM reported feeling surprised or disgusted, but never fearful.

“She tends to approach everything she should be avoiding,” says Justin Feinstein of the University of Iowa. This means the amygdala could control deeper urges to approach or avoid danger. Other scientists have a different opinion, though. “I don’t believe you can make a general statement about what the amygdala does by a single case study,” Elizabeth Phelps said. In 2002, Phelps published a study on a similar patient with amygdala damage who still showed fear.

It may sound like fun to be totally fearless, but we get scared for a good reason. “The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger,” Feinstein said. SM was once followed in a park after dark by a man with a knife, and she simply walked away. “It is quite remarkable that she is still alive,” said Feinstein.

1.SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________.

A. she is a superhero

B. she has experienced such conditions a lot

C. she is a mental patient

D. she has no sense of fear

2.Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________.

A. The function of a particular organ

B. SM’s reaction of fear and anxiety

C. The process of removing amygdale

D. A special way to get along with monsters

3.What do we know from the research on SM?

A. It was easy for her to avoid danger.

B. SM never felt fearful but disgusted.

C. SM was frightened by nothing except monsters.

D. SM got along well with the snakes.

4.What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?

A. Indifferent B. Supportive C. Disapproving D. Interested

5.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. People can remove their amygdala to be fearless.

B. SM will be admired because of her bravery.

C. No one can survive if their amygdala is removed.

D. The sense of fear is crucial to humans.

PART THREE READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the following three passages. Each passage is followed by several questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C and D. Choose the one that fits best according to the information given in the passage.

A

An Indian civil servant, SM Raju, has come up with a new way of providing employment for millions of poor people in Bihar. His campaign to encourage people to plant trees effectively addresses two burning issues of the world: global warming and shrinking job opportunities.

Mr Raju’s success could clearly be seen on 30 August, 2009 when he organized 300,000 villagers from over 7,500 villages in northern Bihar to engage in a mass tree planting ceremony.

Mr Raju has linked his “social forestry” program to the central government’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), which is also designed to provide employment for poor people. Under NREGA — started in February 2006 as the government’s most ambitious employment generation scheme for poor people — the authorities are bound by law to provide a minimum of 100 days of employment a year for members of families living below the poverty line. About 44% of Bihar’s population fall into this category.

Mr Raju says that Bihar — being the poorest and most lawless state of India — hasn’t been able to spend the allocated (分配的) NREGA funds. “This is because of a lack of awareness among officials about the scheme,” he said. “So the idea struck to my mind: why not involve families below the poverty line in social forestry and give them employment under this scheme for 100 days? Under the scheme, each family can earn a minimum of 10,200 rupees ($210).”

The civil servant immediately made a plan of his idea. In June, Mr Raju published a booklet of “dos and don’ts” and distributed it to village heads. His plan meant that NREGA funds were fully used — in the past this hasn’t always been the case.

“I told the villagers they would get 100 days employment in a year simply by planting trees and protecting them. The old and disabled would be given preference,” he explained.

Every village council has now been given a target of planting 50,000 saplings — a group of four families have to plant 200 trees and they must protect them for three years till the plants grow stronger.

“They would get the full payment if they can ensure the survival of 90% of the plants under their care. For a 75-80% survival rate, they’ll be paid only half the wage. For less than 75%, the families in the group will be replaced,” the guidelines say.

Significantly, his scheme has even stopped the migration of poor labourers from the area in search of employment elsewhere.

56. According to the passage, the main purpose of SM Raju’s “social forestry” program is to _____.

A. promote the practice of NREGA

B. make efforts to prevent global warming

C. increase the employment of poor people

D. prevent poor people from migrating elsewhere

57 According to the passage, the poor people in Bihar don’t make full use of NREGA funds because _____.

A. the local officials don’t realize the importance of NREGA

B. the local government doesn’t get enough support from the central government

C. the local poor people know little about NREGA

D. Bihar is the most lawless state in India

58. We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. most people in Bihar will benefit from NREGA

B. the old and disabled people are not involved in tree planting

C. families who can’t ensure 75% survival rate of the trees will not be paid

D. Raju’s new plan will reduce Bihar’s population below the poverty line

59. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. There’s a good way to deal with global warming

B. Tree planting provides employment for the poor

C. Tree planting solves the problem of unemployment

D. Raju’s “social forestry” program wins the support of NREGA

60. How can villagers get more NREGA funds?

A. Thinking better ways to stop global warming

B. Working hard for one hundred days

C. Planting more trees and ensuring the survival of plants

D. Stopping moving from the area to search employment elsewhere

Afraid that her son would be too tired, Ms. Wendy would sometimes tell the boy to skip school, but each time, Fabian would insist on going to school.
“I don’t like it because when I return to school, I don’t know what’s going on,” the 12-year-old boy explained. He suffers for SMA-a neuromuscular（神经肌肉的）disease that leads to weakness in muscles-and gets around in a wheelchair.
Fabian’s determination to excel in his studies was evident when he was disappointed that he got a total score of 236 yesterday in his Primary School Leaving Examination. He was hoping for a score of at least 240, but his mother was full of pride. “I am happy with his results. He’s very motivated,” said Ms. Wendy.
When Fabian was two months old, he was diagnosed with SMA. Ms. Wendy, who used to go to other homes to teach piano lessons, started teaching lessons at home so she could take care of her son. Fabian proved to be a fighter. Ms. Wendy said, “ He would study every day on his own even though he was weak and his spine（脊柱）was already starting to curve quite badly.”
Fabian is also active in the Singapore Disability Sports Council, where he plays boccia（滚球）, a ball sport for those who require a wheelchair due to physical disability.
At just 133cm tall and weighing 14kg, he knows that he will have to rely on others all his life. “I’m afraid that when my parents grow older, they will not be able to carry me and that there will be nobody to carry me,” said Fabian. “But for now, I feel lucky that I get to go out and do a lot of things that I thought I couldn’t.”
His dreams aren’t lofty（崇高的）either-all he want to be able to do is work and provide for his parents. “I just want to study hard so that I can be a businessman, like my dad.” He is planning to apply to study at Victoria School.

1.
The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.
1. A.
  going to school.
2. B.
  being absent from school
3. C.
  studying hard.
4. D.
  suffering from SM
2.
We can know from the text that Fabian ______.
1. A.
  got the disease at the age of 12.
2. B.
  was proud of his exam results.
3. C.
  has no interest in any sports.
4. D.
  wants to be a businessman like his father.
3.
What do we know about Ms. Wendy?
1. A.
  She insists that her son go to school.
2. B.
  She used to be a piano teacher in a school.
3. C.
  She is satisfied with her son’s performance at school.
4. D.
  She fears that her son will be helpless when she is older.
4.
Which words can best describe Fabian?
1. A.
  Sensitive and weak.
2. B.
  Active and optimistic.
3. C.
  Clever and strong.
4. D.
  Stressed and concerned.
5.
What is the best title for the text?
1. A.
  He Is Disabled but He Is a Fighter.
2. B.
  A Great Mother and Her Special Son.
3. C.
  How to Fight Against SM

She’s not afraid of anything. Snakes? No problem. Walking alone in the dark? Easy. We’re not talking about a superhero here -- SM is a 44-year-old mother. And she’s fearless because she happens to be missing part of her brain: the amygdala(扁桃腺).
Shaped like a pair of almonds sitting in the middle of your brain, the amygdala helps control fear and anxiety. A rare condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease left SM without her amygdala, and seems to have completely erased her sense of fear.
To try to understand how the amygdala works, a team of researchers made their efforts to scare SM. They showed her horror movies and took her to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House in Kentucky. She pushed out one of the monsters(巨物) and laughed. SM said she didn’t like snakes, but at a pet store full of poisonous creatures, she kept asking to touch them. When asked to rate her feelings, SM reported feeling surprised or disgusted, but never fearful.
“She tends to approach everything she should be avoiding,” says Justin Feinstein of the University of Iowa. This means the amygdala could control deeper urges to approach or avoid danger. Other scientists have a different opinion, though. “I don’t believe you can make a general statement about what the amygdala does by a single case study,” Elizabeth Phelps said. In 2002, Phelps published a study on a similar patient with amygdala damage who still showed fear.
It may sound like fun to be totally fearless, but we get scared for a good reason. “The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger,” Feinstein said. SM was once followed in a park after dark by a man with a knife, and she simply walked away. “It is quite remarkable that she is still alive,” said Feinstein

1.
SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________
1. A.
  she is a superhero
2. B.
  she has experienced such conditions a lot
3. C.
  she is a mental patient
4. D.
  she has no sense of fear
2.
Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________
1. A.
  The function of a particular organ
2. B.
  SM’s reaction of fear and anxiety
3. C.
  The process of removing amygdale
4. D.
  A special way to get along with monsters
3.
What do we know from the research on SM?
1. A.
  It was easy for her to avoid danger
2. B.
  SM never felt fearful but disgusted
3. C.
  SM was frightened by nothing except monsters
4. D.
  SM got along well with the snakes
4.
What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?
1. A.
  Indifferent
2. B.
  Supportive
3. C.
  Disapproving
4. D.
  Interested
5.
What can we infer from the last paragraph?
1. A.
  People can remove their amygdala to be fearless
2. B.
  SM will be admired because of her bravery
3. C.
  No one can survive if their amygdala is removed
4. D.
  The sense of fear is crucial to humans

She’s not afraid of anything. Snakes? No problem. Walking alone in the dark? Easy. We’re not talking about a superhero here -- SM is a 44-year-old mother. And she’s fearless because she happens to be missing part of her brain: the amygdala(扁桃腺).

Shaped like a pair of almonds sitting in the middle of your brain, the amygdala helps control fear and anxiety. A rare condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease left SM without her amygdala, and seems to have completely erased her sense of fear.

To try to understand how the amygdala works, a team of researchers made their efforts to scare SM. They showed her horror movies and took her to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House in Kentucky. She pushed out one of the monsters(巨物) and laughed. SM said she didn’t like snakes, but at a pet store full of poisonous creatures, she kept asking to touch them. When asked to rate her feelings, SM reported feeling surprised or disgusted, but never fearful.

“She tends to approach everything she should be avoiding,” says Justin Feinstein of the University of Iowa. This means the amygdala could control deeper urges to approach or avoid danger. Other scientists have a different opinion, though. “I don’t believe you can make a general statement about what the amygdala does by a single case study,” Elizabeth Phelps said. In 2002, Phelps published a study on a similar patient with amygdala damage who still showed fear.

It may sound like fun to be totally fearless, but we get scared for a good reason. “The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger,” Feinstein said. SM was once followed in a park after dark by a man with a knife, and she simply walked away. “It is quite remarkable that she is still alive,” said Feinstein.

41. SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________.

A. she is a superhero B. she has experienced such conditions a lot

C. she is a mental patient D. she has no sense of fear

42. Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________.

A. The function of a particular organ B. SM’s reaction of fear and anxiety

C. The process of removing amygdala D. A special way to get along with monsters

43. What do we know from the research on SM?

A. It was easy for her to avoid danger.

B. SM never felt fearful but disgusted.

C. SM was frightened by nothing except monsters.

D. SM got along well with the snakes.

44. What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?

A. Indifferent B. Supportive C. Disapproving D. Interested

45. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. People can remove their amygdala to be fearless.

B. SM will be admired because of her bravery.

C. No one can survive if their amygdala is removed.

D. The sense of fear is crucial to humans.

The underlined word “it” in the second paragraph refers to ______.

We can know from the text that Fabian ______.

What do we know about Ms. Wendy?

Which words can best describe Fabian?

What is the best title for the text?

SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________

Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________

What do we know from the research on SM?

What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?

What can we infer from the last paragraph?

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