Geniuses amaze us，impress us and make us all a little jealous. How do they differ from the average person？Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer. Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.

When Marc Yu was only two years old，he began to play the piano. After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven. Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight. He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears. He seems to be specially designed for music. In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies （神童） to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.

Geniuses didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh. His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain. After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and picture. So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art. Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine. Suffers of brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease. Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.

Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no sign of extraordinary intelligence. Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately. As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards. Make Me a Genius examines what is takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.

If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be done. Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky. Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.

1. In paragraph 2, Marc Yu’s story tells us_________________.

A. a child prodigy can work easier than others.

B. a child prodigy is trained by family.

C. a child prodigy has an unbelievable listening skill.

D. a child prodigy always practise his skills.

2.In paragraph 3, the sentence “Geniuses didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh.” means that ______________.

A. Tommy McHugh could not be called a genius.

B. Tommy McHugh became a genius when he was young.

C. Tommy McHugh was a robot but not a real human being.

D. Tommy McHugh became a genius after a sudden accident.

3.The writer provides different examples to _____________.

A. show how people can be geniuses.     　B. show becoming a genius is easy.

C. show geniuses are common.            　D. show people know how to explain geniuses.

4.The passage may come from_________.

A. a report         B. a novel      　C. a TV program       　　D. a newspaper

Have fun with Stamp collecting..．Join the Collectors Club today!

If you enjoy learning all about stamps, then the Royal Mail’s Collectors Club is for you．Join the club and discover the fascinating world of stamps．There are over 70,000 members and it is one of the biggest clubs of its kind in the country.

Become a member today and you will receive lots of wonderful stamp collecting goodies...

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●Collectors Club magazine

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It won’t cost you much to experience the fun of stamp collecting.

Collectors Club Starter Pack

1.100 used stamps and hinges.

2.The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting.

3.The latest Collectors Club magazine (packed with news and views about stamps, quizzes and competitions, all in color)

4.Album pages

5.Badge and stickers

6.Membership card

7.Royal Mail Stamp Calendar.

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54．Which of the following is NOT included in a starter pack?

A．One hundred used stamps and hinges and album pages.

B．The Collectors Club Guide to Collecting and badge and stickers.

C．The latest Collectors Club magazine and membership card.

D．Royal Mail Stamp Calendar and Collectors Corner supplement.

55.This advertisement is written for people who want to_______.

A．make money through collecting stamps

B．develop stamp collection as a hobby

C．get something free from the club

D．find out where the club is located

56.From the advertisement we can learn_____.

A．Collectors Club is among the biggest clubs in this country

B．how much you must pay to become a member of the club

C．today is the last day for stamp collectors to join the club

D．members may receive a set of album pages every month

57.Where is this advertisement most probably found ?

A．In a newspaper　　 B．On a web page.

C．In a magazine.　　 D. On a TV programme

We keep reading that TV is bad for you. If this is true, how come the current generation of TV-addicted kids is much smarter than we are? In my home, the only people who can work the remote control are the children.

Perhaps TV does educate you. For example, you learn a useful medical fact: A person who has been shot always has time to speak an incomplete sentence before he dies.　

But I guess the biggest things we learn from TV can be regarded as “Life Skills”. Bad things only happen on dark and stormy nights. Emotional breakdowns cause people to wander in the heavy rain without umbrellas. And contrary to what scientists say, the crack(霹雳) of lightning and the accompanying flash happen at exactly the same time, wherever you are.

I’ve even acquired useful geographical facts from science-fiction shows: Aliens speak English no matter which planet they come from.

Making use of what we learn from TV can improve our security. Consider these truths. If you are ever attacked by 20 bad guys, don’t worry about being outnumbered. The criminals will hang back and take turns to approach you in ones and twos just so you can conveniently defeat them all. Bad guys who are completely covered in black clothes always remove their black masks to reveal that they are in fact, aha, women.

TV also teaches us important information about escaping from danger. Watch and learn. (1) If anyone is running after you down a passage, you will find that boxes have been conveniently placed near all the walls you need to jump over. (2) If you are tall and handsome, you can run from any number of armed criminals, and every shot will miss you.

Be warned, however. If your name card says “henchman” (帮凶) and you are part of a group of plain-looking people trying to catch a handsome individual, a single shot will kill you. But don’t be anxious: TV also delivers useful information for bad guys. All cars are inflammable (易燃的) and have amazing shock absorbers that enable them to fly into the air and land without damage — except police cars.

TV even teaches us about TV. Whenever anyone turns on a TV, it shows a news flash about someone they know. They then turn the box off immediately after that news item.

1. By saying “A person who has been shot always has time to speak an incomplete sentence before he dies” (Paragraph 2), the writer shows his________.

A. sympathy　 　 B. humor　 　　　 C. deep concern　　　 D. medical knowledge

2. We can infer from Paragraph 3 that in the real world_______.

A. bad things cause people to break down in the rain

B. bad things never happen on dark and stormy nights

C. the crack of lightning and the accompanying flash don’t happen at the same time

D. people with emotional problems like to walk in the rain without umbrellas

3. On TV what usually happens when a person turns it on?

A.. The person always turns off the TV when it’s time for news.

B. The news shown is always about someone the person knows

C. The program shown is always about the importance of TV.

D. TV always shows news about famous people.

4. What’s the main idea of this passage?

A. Life skills can be learned from TV.

B. TV plays an important role in society.

C. What happens in TV is very different from reality

D. Watching TV makes people more creative.

David Grant

David Grant has become a familiar face to millions of fans of Animal Hospital. ?Here Dr Grant tells us the very best of his personal stories about the animals he has treated, including familiar patients such as the dogs Snowy and Duchess, the delightful cat Marigold Serendipity Diamond. He also takes the reader behind the scenes at Harmsworth Memorial Animal Hospital as he describes his day, from ordinary medical check-ups to surgery（外科手术）.  Tales From Animal Hospital will delight all fans of the programme and anyone who has a lively interest in their pet, whether it is cat, dog or snake!

￡14. 99 Hardback 272pp Simon Schuster

ISBN 0751304417

Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer

Michael White

From the author of Stephen Hawking: A life in Science, comes this colourful description of the life of the world’s first modern scientist. Interesting yet based on fact. Michael White’s learned yet readable new book offers a true picture of Newton completely different from what people commonly know about him. Newton is shown as a gifted scientist with very human weaknesses who stood at the point in history where magic(魔术) ended and science began.

￡18. 99 Hardback 320pp Fourth Estate

ISBN 1857024168

Fermat’s Last Theorem

Simon Singh

In 1963 a schoolboy called Andrew Wiles reading in his school library came across the world's greatest mathematical problem: Fermat's Last Theorem(定理). First put forward by the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat in the seventeenth century, the theorem had baffled and beaten the finest mathematical minds, including a French woman scientist who made a major advance in working out the problem, and who had to dress like a man in order to be able to study at the Ecole Polytechnique. Through unbelievable determination Andrew Wiles finally worked out the problem in 1995. An unusual story of human effort over three centuries, Fermat’s Last Theorem will delight specialists and general readers alike.

￡12. 99 Hardback 384pp Fourth Estate

ISBN 1857025210

1. What is Animal Hospital?

A. A news story.　　　　　　 

B. A popular book.

C. A research report.　　　　　　 

D. A TV programme.

2. In Michael White’s book, Newton is described as _______.

A. a person who did not look the same as in many pictures

B. a person who lived a colourful and meaningful life

C. a great but not perfect man

D. an old-time magician

3. Which of the following best explains the meaning of the word “baffle” as it is used in the text?

A. To encourage people to raise questions.

B. To cause difficulty in understanding.

C. To provide a person with an explanation.

D. To limit people’s imagination.

4. The person who finally proved Fermat’s Last Theorem is _______.

A. Simon Singh    　　　　 

B. Andrew Wiles

C. Pierre de Fermat　　　　　　

D. a French woman scientist

5. What is the purpose of writing these three texts?

A. To make the books easier to read.　　　　　　 

B. To show the importance of science.

C. To introduce new authors.　　　　　　 

D. To sell the books.