There are many best –selling authors in Europe and one of them is a 15-year –old girl from Paris. She is Flavia Bujor. Flavia is selling more books than people three times her age.

She started writing her novel at the age of 12. At 14, she had her book published. Her best-seller is called The Prophecy of Stones (<<石头的预言>>). The Prophecy of Stones is a story about a girl in hospital. In the story, the girl imagine another world and in that world three heroines work together to save their land with magical stones. So far, the book has sold 20,000 copies in France and Italy and 30,000 in Germany! Flavia Bujor says that “writing is my passion(最爱)”, but she still enjoys being 15. She takes piano lessons and likes hanging out with friends. The French girl plans to spend her money on her college education,

50.The Prophecy of Stones tells about things happening in _______________.

A. our real world   B. an imaginary world   C. the outer space  D. both A and B.

51.The underlined sentence in the last paragraph means ______________.

A. She likes to do things people of her age do 

B. She feels happy to be a 15- year –old best –selling author.

C. She does not wish to grow up.

D. She thinks15 is the best age for her as an author

52.What may be the best title for the article?

A. The Prophecy of Stones attracts most attention.

B. A 15-year –old girl becomes best-selling author.

C. Good school girl and best – selling author

D. Young author has more readers.

53.This passage probably appears _____________.

A.    in a story book               B. in a textbook

C.    in a newspaper               D. in a fashion magazine

Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.

Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．

One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.

Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A single­syllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.

For this study，the researchers looked at 20 non­Chinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.

As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The researchers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.

The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.Wong，said it might work both ways. It appears that native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.

1.When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.

A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time

B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time

C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand

D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch

2.Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?

A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music.

B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain.

C．Because music training might help people with language study.

D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music.

3.The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．

A．created                          B．spelled      

C．seemed                           D．pronounced

4.What would be the best title for this passage?

A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers

B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study

C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning

D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs

It may not be news to parents of teenage girls, but researchers have confirmed that no one can stop their 16-year-old daughter from deciding how the family spends its money.

The willpower and determination of teenage girls give them a big say in how a family’s money is spent on everything from food and meals to mobile phones, and, of course, clothes. Teenage boys did not show up at all in the analysis, which was designed to find out the influence of young people on household spending.

The findings on the spending power of teenage girls were calculated from Office for National Statistics records of family spending during the 1980s and 1990s. Researchers examined how much money went on services and leisure goods in different kinds of homes. They checked spending on food, restaurant meals, alcohol, tobacco, services, heating, transport, clothes and sports in 2,745 British families.

They found that teenage girls in the UK typically played an active role in family decisions about the allocation（分配）of household resources. But older children— those over the age of 21 who are still living with their parents—appear to have no say in household decisions.

They also tried to calculate to what extent the bargaining power of a teenager affected family budgets. “Every parent knows that children, even at a very early age, have their own preferences with regard to consumption, researchers said. “But children are only interested in a limited range of goods—mainly sweets and toys—and parents are able to use punishment to reduce their children’s bargaining power or remove it.”  When they become teenagers, however, girls are much more independent and they are capable of earning their own money, which improves their bargaining power in family decisions.

The researchers could not explain why girls have more influence over spending while the evidence for boys is much less conclusive. However, this study could be of great significance to market research and how marketers target children.

1. From the passage we can learn that            .

2.What does the underlined part “give them a big say” in the second paragraph mean?

3.It appears that household decisions are NOT affected by        .

4.How can parents reduce children’s bargaining power?

E

Devon, 17, is used to paying her own cell phone and car expenses. But lately it's been harder. The family she baby-sits for hasn’t been calling as much as usual and she couldn't find a job over the summer. Devon's dad said it's a sign of the tough economy. He told her he's feeling the pinch too and that he had to use her college fund to pay the loan(货款).

This kind of money troubles isn't strange to common families these days. In fact, it's hard to avoid news about the economy on the screen of the TV or the computers recently. It can seem a bit worry and some families are hit really hard.

For most people, the big problem is that things cost more at a time when they have less money to spend. But higher prices aren't the only problem. Many people are having a tough time making payments on some types of home loans.

Therefore, some families are cutting back on what they spend. For example, eating out less, staying home instead of going on vacation, moving to a less expensive house and so on.

However, as discouraging as things may seem now, the good news is that the economy always gets back on track after a while. Jobs may be hard to find, but the slow economy can open up new opportunities. The couple Devon babysat for might cut back on evening's out, but they could be interested in hiring her for after-school care. Perhaps it's time to sell her old toys and baby gear (设备)in the basement(地下室) or help others sell these items online if she is-good at it. She could charge them a fee to sell their old stuff(东西).

72. What does the underlined phrase in the first paragraph refer to?

A. Getting hurt.               B. Short of money.

C. Out of work.               D. Receiving less calls.

73. According to the passage, what constantly appears on the screen nowadays?

A. News on the tough economy.         B. Devon's family troubles.

C. Advertisements for babysitters.        D. Information on yard sales.

74. What do people do to overcome the tough economy?

A. To strike for high pay.      B. To open a new store to sell toys.

C. To cut down their expense.  D. To move to other places for vocations.

75. The passage is mainly about       ．

A. Devon's own family money troubles    B. family troubles' made by tough economy

C. ways of solving the slow economy    D. the increasing prices and expenses

Few of us haven't read Cinderella, the story of a young woman living in poverty who meets the prince of her dreams, Some might not want to admit it, but there is a hidden Cinderella in everyone's heart—we all wish we could achieve recognition or success after a period of obscurity（默默无闻） or neglect．

         Mary Santiago has that secret dream, too．Her story is featured in Another Cinderella Story, a film set in a US high Mary is shy but loves to dance．Compared with other girls, she is invisible．However, her world changes completely when a famous teenage pop singer, Joey Parker, appears．

         Joey is everything the rest of the boys in her class are not—kind, handsome and desirable．Mary and Joey's paths cross at a ball．They meet and falHn love with each other．But when Mary has to．rush back home, she leaves behind her MP3 player, which becomes the only clue Joey has to find the girl of his dreams．Of course, there is a wicked（邪恶的） stepmother, who turns out to be Dominique Blatt and she takes in Mary after her dancer mother dies．Dominique treats Mary like a maid and does everything she can to make sure Mary doesn't get into the top dance school．Her two daughters are equally determined to stop Joey falling for Mary, even if that means embarrassing her．

         The story, though it mostly follows Cinderella, does add a few modem day twists to the classic fairy tale．Refreshingly, the film, unlike many high school films, does not focus on looks, although the actors are all beautiful．There is also a lot less materialism in Another Cinderella Story than in many similar movies．

         "The movie takes the Cinderella fairytale as its jumping off point," writes movie critic Amber Wilkinson．"The focus is firmly on following your dream．"

1.The first paragraph is mainly to _____．

         A．build interest and lead us to Mary's secret dream

         B．remind us why Cinderella is popular all the years

         C．inform us of the main topic of the whole passage

         D．tell us how interesting the fairy tale Cinderella is

2.In the movie, Mary Santiago is the main character who      .

         A．is brave in expressing her iove[来源:学&科&网]

         B．is attended badly by the stepmother

         C．has a dream of meeting a prince

         D．is embarrassed by the pop singer

3.What can we infer from the passage?

         A．Joey is just like other boys in Mary's class．

         B．Mary's mother influences her a lot m singing．

         C．Not many people have a dream to be realized．

         D．The MP3 player helps Joey in finding Mary．

4.The passage is mainly _____．

         A．an introduction to a film 

         B．a review about a film

         C．an essay about dreams        

       D．an advertisement of Cinderella

5.According to the passage．Another Cinderella Story _____．

         A．follows Cinderella with nothing new[来源:学_科_网]

         B．pays more attention to the looks of the actors

         C．encourages young people to follow their dreams

         D．focuses more on materialism than other films