Our brains work in complex and strange ways. There are some people who can calculate the day of the week for any given date in 40,000 years, but who cannot add two plus two. Others can perform complex classical piano pieces after hearing them once, but they cannot read or write.

       Dr.J.Langdon Down first described this condition in 1887.He called these people idiot savants. An idiot savant is a person who has significant mental impairment (损伤) , such as in autism or retardation.  At the same time, the person also exhibits some extraordinary skills, which are unusual for most people.The skills of the savant may vary from being exceptionally gifted in music or in mathematics, or having a photographic memory.

       One of the first descriptions of a human who could calculate quickly was written in 1789 by Dr.Benjamin Rush, an American doctor.His patient, Thomas Fuller, was brought to Virginia as a slave in 1724. It took Thomas only 90 seconds to work out that a man who has lived 70 years, 17 days, and 12 hours has lived 2,210,500,800 seconds.Despite this ability, he died in 1790 without ever learning to read or write.

       Another idiot savant slave became famous as a pianist in the 1860s. Blind Tom had a vocabulary of only 100 words, but he played 5 ,000 musical pieces beautifully.

       In the excellent movie Rain Man, made in 1988 and available on video cassette, Dustin Hoffman plays an idiot savant who amazes his brother played by Tom Cruise, with his ability to perform complex calculations very rapidly.

       Today we more clearly recognize that the idiot savant is special because of brain impairment.Yet not all brain impairment leads to savant skills.Some studies have shown that people who have purposeful interruption of the left side of the brain can develop idiot savant skills. However,few people wish to participate in such experiments. There are many excellent reasons for not undergoing unnecessary experimentation on one's brain. The term idiot savant is outdated and inappropriate. Virtually all savants have a high degree of intelligence and are thus not idiots.

What does the passage mainly talk about?

       A.Idiot savants have areas of outstanding abilities.

       B.Human Beings have complicated thinking process.

       C.The brains of the idiot savants are partly impaired.

       D.The reasons why people have wonderful skills vary.

Which of the following can be done by Rain Man?

       A.He can play wonderful pieces of classical music.

       B.He can guess out exactly the length of a man's life.

       C.He can memorize the contents of the pictures fast.

       D.He can count matches dropped on the floor quickly.

What can you infer from the passage?

       A.Idiot savants have real talents for art and math.

       B.Dr.Down is the first person who found idiot savants.

       C.Few people wish to risk becoming savants by brain operations.

       D.Intentional left brain impairments will surely lead to idiot savants.

I was a publishing director and was looking forward to embracing a new day of work, as always,that morning.
I would always turn to the crossword, but that day it didn't  31  I'd been doing it for 30 odd years, but trying to read this one was like treading through syrup(糖浆): 32  slow and hard. I thought I must be tired. I said to my assistant. The 33  colleague contacted my wife, Beth, and she drove me straight to hospital. There, confirmation came that I'd had a stroke in the part of my brain that 34 communication. I was now in a condition that means it's difficult or 35 to receive and produce language. It was the only time I 36 .
I was back at home a week later, and my goal was to get better and  37  Work in a couple of months. The way to  38  my language ability was rough. I'd look at simple pictures and try to describe them as my mind  39  round and round in the darkness, looking for words.
As the months passed it became  40  that I wasn't going to be able to go back to my old job. For 25 years, I had  41  myself as a publisher. I was used to a busy day of meetings. I enjoyed colleagues and the 42 I'd had. I didn’t feel ready to say goodbye to my old self. There were times when I felt incredibly  43 .
In the darkest months, I devoted myself to  44 . I couldn't manage novels or newspapers,  45  I tried reading poetry, and found the shorter lines less overwhelming. My speech came back, and I learned how to read again, though much more slowly. I also learned the  46  to keep up. I allowed myself to slow down, and started to enjoy it.
47  , I rid of my old skin. I grieved the past, its passing and its absence, and started to 48  it. Now,  10 years  later,  I look after my grandson a day a week, and my relationship with my family is deeper than ever. If you'd asked me 15 years ago to  49  the importance of the things in my life I might have said work, but now I'm no longer a high-achieving publisher. I'm a  50         man. 

【小题1】
A.wear off B.make any senseC.count upD.pay off
【小题2】
A.temporarilyB.scarcelyC.incrediblyD.savagely
【小题3】
A.curious B.reservedC.rigidD.concerned
【小题4】
A.calls forB.deals withC.suffers fromD.responds to
【小题5】
A.practical B.absurdC.impossibleD.innocent
【小题6】
A.prayedB.criedC.failedD.withdrew
【小题7】
A.contribute toB.agree to C.return toD.appeal to
【小题8】
A.obtaining B.rebuildingC.revealingD.improving
【小题9】
A.slipped B.doubtedC.wanderedD.reckoned
【小题10】
A.messy B.flexibleC.straightforwardD.self-evident
【小题11】
A.informedB.estimated C.reflectedD.defined
【小题12】
A.extinctionB.rewardC.agendaD.status
【小题13】
A.angry B.acuteC.prejudicedD.merciless
【小题14】
A.speakingB.tryingC.writingD.managing
【小题15】
A.since B.until C.SOD.as
【小题16】
A.favor B.patienceC.coincidenceD.comfort
【小题17】
A.Gradually B.HopefullyC.Narrowly D.Annually
【小题18】
A.keep up withB.come to terms withC.get around toD.live up to
【小题19】
A.arrangeB.compareC.rankD.declare
【小题20】
A.geniusB.communityC.dignity D.family

        When I was an official of a school in Paio Alto,California, Polly Tyner, the president of our board,wrote a letter that was printed in the Palo Alto Times.Polly’s son,Jim,had great difficulty in school, He was classified as the educationally handicapped and required a great deal of patience on the part of his parents and teachers.But Jim was a happy kid with a great smile that lit up the room.His parents knew his difficulties,but they always tried to help him see his strengths so that he could walk with pride.Shortly after Jim finished high school,he was killed in a motorcycle accldent, After his death,his mother gave this letter to the newspaper.

“Today we buried our 20-year-old son.He was killed in a motorcycle accident on Friday night.How I wish I had known that the last time I had talked to him would be the last time.If I had only known that,I would have said to him,‘Jim,I love you and I’m always so proud of yon.’I would have taken the time to count the many blessings he had brought to the lives of the people who loved him.I would have taken the time to appreciate his beautiful smile,his laughter, and his genuine love to other people.

“When I put all the good things on the scale and try to balance them with all the irritating (恼人的) things such as the radio that was always too loud,the haircut that wasn’t to our liking, the dirty socks under the bed,etc.,I find that the irritations really don’t amount to much.

       “I won’t get another chance to tell my son all that I would have wanted him to hear, but,other parents, do have a chance.Tell your young people what you would want them to hear as if it may be your last conversation.The last time I talked to Jim was the morning of the day when he died.He called me to say,‘Hi, Mom! I just called to say I love you.You have to go to work now.Bye.’That day, he gave me something to treasure forever.”

       If there is any purpose at all for Jim’s death, maybe it is to make others appreciate life more and to tell people,especially family members,that they should take the time to let each other know just how much they care.You may never have another chance.Do it today! 

1.Who was Jim?

       A.A school boy.                                          

B.The writer

       C.The president of a school board.                               

D.An official of a school.

2.What’s the meaning of the underlined phrase“the educationally handicapped”?

       A.The communication difficulty.                     

B.The physical problems.

       C.The psychological problems.                       

D.The learning difficulty.

3.According to the writer, which of the following about Jim is TRUE?

       A.He was always sad about his school marks.

       B.His parents always scolded him about his bad school marks.

       C.His study needed more attention from his parents and teachers.

       D.He was kilied in a car accident

4.What did PoIly think of Jim?

       A.He was a lovely boy with a beautiful smile who always loved others.

       B.He was physically sick but always happy

       C.He was an irritating boy with some bad habits.

       D.He seldom expressed his love to his parents.

5.The purpose of Polly’s letter is to    

       A.memorize her son

       B.teach parents to appreciate their chtidren

        C.teach children how to be good boys

       D.give some advice on how to deal with children’s problems

 

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