Why play games? Because they are fun, and we can learn even more while playing. Following the rules, planning your next move, acting as a team member — these are all “game” ideas that you will come across all through your life. They can help you in different ways.
Think about some of the games you played as a young child, such as rope-jumping and hide-and-seek. Such games are very interesting. But perhaps more importantly, they translate part of life into exciting games that teach children some of the basic rules they will be expected to follow the rest of their lives, such as taking turns and cooperating (合作).   
Many children’s games have a practical side. Children around the world play games that prepare them for work they will do as grown-ups. For example, some Saudi Arabian children play a game called bones, which improves the hand-eye coordination (协调) needed in fishing.
The most famous games of all, the Olympic Games, bring athletes from around the world together to take part in friendly competitions. People who watch the event (比赛项目) know that a gold medal is a win for the whole country, not just the athlete who got it. For countries experiencing natural disasters (灾害) or wars, an Olympic win can mean so much.
Sports games are also an event that unites (团结) people. Football is the most popular sport in the world. People all over the world play it — some for fun and some for a living. Nicolette Iribarne, a Californian football player, has discovered a way to spread hope through football. He created a foundation (基金会) to provide poor children with not only soccer balls but also a bright future.
Next time you play your favorite game or sport, think about why you enjoy it, what skills are needed, and whether these skills will help you in other parts of your life.

1. 1.

   What are children expected to learn when they play games?

   1. A.
      To act as a team leader.
   2. B.
      To follow the basic rules.
   3. C.
      To train how to move fast.
   4. D.
      To practice rope-jumping.
2. 2.

   What can we learn from the passage?

   1. A.
      Games can help everybody to make much money.
   2. B.
      Games can turn real-life experiences into a story.
   3. C.
      Games can make skill learning more interesting.
   4. D.
      Games can prevent all the countries from disasters.
3. 3.

   What’s the main idea of the passage?

   1. A.
      Games can help people in different ways.
   2. B.
      People are advised to play games for fun.
   3. C.
      An Olympic win means a lot to every country.
   4. D.
      Sports can get people all over the world together.

When I was ten, my mother worked all day so I had to take care of my younger brother. At that time my little brother was about four years old and he missed mum all the time.
One day, after I had given him his dinner, he started crying for mum.He was so young and really needed mum. So I dressed him, put on his shoes, carried him on my back and walked out. Soon he fell asleep. About half an hour later, I found that he had lost a shoe while sleeping. I took him off my back and put him down. I knew we needed to find that shoe, for our mother couldn’t afford new shoes. We had to go back to find it, so I told my brother to wait right there. A man heard it and stopped me just before I walked off. He asked me, “You are leaving your brother here to find the shoe? What would you do if he is not here when you return?” I did not know how to answer that question. He continued, “It’s OK if you can’t find the shoe, but it is not OK to lose your brother.” Then he sent us to mum’s workplace by taxi.
My whole life I have depended on the kindness of many strangers, I feel regretful that I cannot find them and say thank you. I do not even remember what the man’s face looked like, but he taught me a lesson—people are more important than things.
【小题1】 Why did the younger brother cry for his mother?

When women sit together to watch a movie on TV, at the same time they usually talk about a lot of subjects, including children, men, careers and what’s happening in their lives. When groups of men and women watch a movie together, the men usually end up telling the women to shut up. Men can either talk or watch the screen---they can’t do both---and they don’t understand that women can. Besides(此外), women think that the point of all getting together is to have a good time and develop relationships--not just to sit there like couch potatoes staring (盯着) at the screen.
During the ad breaks, a man often asks a woman to explain the plot(the story that is told in a novel or play or movie etc.) and tell him where the relationship between the characters is going. He is unable, unlike women, to read the small body language signals that show how the characters are feeling emotionally(情绪上). Since women originally spent their days with the other women and children in the group, they developed the ability to communicate successfully because they want to keep relationships. For a woman, speech continues to have such a clear purpose: to build relationships and make friends. For men, to talk is to connect to the facts.
Men see the telephone as a communication tool for sending facts and information to other people, but a woman sees it as a way of keeping relationship. A woman can spend two weeks on vacation with her girlfriend and, when she returns home, telephone the same girlfriend and talk for another two hours.
There is no convincing(令人信服的)evidence that social conditioning, the fact that girls’ mothers talked them more, is the reason why girls talk more than boys. Psychiatrist Dr. Michael Lewis, author of Social Behaviour and Language Acquisition, conducted experiments that found mothers talked to and looked at baby girls more often than baby boys. Scientific evidence shows parents reply to the brain differences of their children. Since a girl’s brain is better organized to send and receive speech, we talk to them more. As a result, mothers who try to talk to their sons are usually pointed to receive only short complaints in reply.
【小题1】While watching TV with others, women usually talk a lot because they ___________.