Teaching a child to read at a young age gives him a valuable start in life. Reading is the basic part of education and a child’s reading ability will influence his school success greatly. Learning difficulties, many of which begin from poor reading skills, can damage a school child’s confidence and affect his future achievement. Young children are programmed to learn and they can learn better with encouragement. Ten to twenty minutes of reading a day still leaves plenty of time for play.

Many parents are concerned that learning to read is too challenging a task for a pre-school child, but they should also remember that most children learn to speak by the time they are 3. Learning a language is probably the single most challenging task any individual can undertake, yet children do it without formal instruction, achieving the fluency much better than adult language students.

There is a window of opportunity in terms of IQ development, which is most open during a child’s early years. A scientific study, carried out by Dr. Peter Huttenlocher at the University of Chicago, showed that the number of connectors, called synapses（神经元突触）, between the nerve endings in a newborn baby’s brain is similar to the number in the average adult brain. These synapses increase rapidly during early childhood. By 12-24 months a child’s brain has about 50% more synapses than the average adult brain. After that the synapses which are not in use begin to atrophy（衰退）. For most people, from age 16, the number remains steady. It begins to drop again as we move into our golden years. Doing intellectual activities at a young age, such as learning to read, can stimulate（刺激）and preserve these connectors in the brain resulting in a long-term beneficial（有益的）effect on IQ development.

Another notable study is probably the Milwaukee project. This study took a group of babies, all of whose mothers had low IQs, and gave them special training for seven hours a day, five days a week, until they started first grade. By the age of 6 these children had an average IQ 30 points higher than their contemporaries. The overwhelming conclusion is that the early intellectual stimulation can have a positive, long-term effect on a child’s brain development.

From birth you should talk to and explain things to your baby. Reading to him can be a wonderful way of spending quality time with your child. The enjoyment of books and being familiar with the idea of print will pave the way for（为……铺平道路）learning to read later.

If your child is a fast learner you can help him realize his potential by introducing him to the joy of the printed word at an early age. This will lay the foundations（基础）for both a high achieving school career and a lifelong love of reading. If your child shows early signs of reading difficulties, your efforts may help him get rid of such problems before he goes to school.

It can be difficult to teach your own child because emotional（引起情绪激动的）issues arise easily. Online programs for learning to read English are excellent options. They allow children to repeat new materials as many times as they need to, without wearing out the parents’ patience.

1.What does the passage mainly discuss?

A. Children should be taught to read at an early age.

B. Children can read better than most adult students.

C. Children have more synapses than most adults.

D. Children are supposed to learn to read on the Internet.

2.Why does the author mention the study by Dr. Peter Hutten locher?

A. To remove parents’ worry.

B. To explain IQ development.

C. To explain how a baby’s brain works.

D. To show the parents’ wrong ideas.

3.How can children benefit from learning to read at a young age?

A. It can build up great confidence in their mind.

B. It can help preserve the connectors in their brains.

C. It can help produce more connectors in their brains.   

D. It can help them find both their weaknesses and strengths.

4.At the end of this passage the author advises _______.

A. parents not to get angry too often

B. children to enjoy reading as early as possible

C. children not to wear out their parents’ patience

D. parents to get their children to take an online program

Exactly意为“确实是这样”，表示同意对方的观点。

----- Sorry, I must be leaving now, because there's a meeting

----- _______.
A. Oh, no, you can't.　　　　　 B. Yes, you can leave if you like.
C. Do you really have to go?　　 D. Oh, no. I don't understand.

287. The thief drove as fast as he could in an effort to     the pursuing police car.

— I’m hungry. Let’s get something to eat.

— Look, there’s a restaurant over there. Let me ____ you to dinner today.

In February 2006, Lydia Angyiou and her two sons were walking through their village in northern Canada．The sound of children shouting made her turn around．To her horror, Lydia saw  a 700-pound polar bear behind her eyeing her seven-year-old son．Getting between the bear and her child, Lydia yelled at the children to run away．She then began hitting and kicking the animal as hard as she could．A neighbor who heard all the noise came and shot the bear．But everyone agreed it was Lydia who had saved her children's lives．A local policeman described it this way: “…I guess when your back is up against the wall…we come up with super-human strength．”

Where does this “super-human strength”，courage and quick thinking come from? Experts say it comes from stress! In stressful situations, the body releases chemicals that prepare it to take action．These chemicals give people the speed and strength they need to fight danger or run away from it．

When we think of stress, we usually think of its negative effects．Studies, though, show that moderate levels of stress are actually helpful．In fact, the way we perform is usually affected by the amount of stress we feel．

Stress causes the brain to release adrenaline（肾上腺素）which in turn increases our energy and excitement．The chemical gives us clearer minds and helps us to do more．This is why some people say they work better under a deadline．

Adrenaline that is not released for long periods of time can cause us to increase and strengthen our abilities instead of weakening them．We sometimes turn out our very best work when we push ourselves to the limit．Stress can also make us more confident．Handling small amounts of stress now prepares us for handling serious situations in the future．Who knows? Today's stress may even prepare for the next polar bear that comes along!

1.In the first paragraph, the case of Lydia Angyiou is mentioned to ______．

         A．introduce the topic to be followed

         B．praise Lydia Angyiou for her bravery

         C．remind us of the unexpected danger of life

         D．show the importance of super-human strength

2.What does the policeman probably mean by saying "your back is up against the wall"?

         A．You are helped．                                          B．You are inspired．

         C．You are confident．                                           D．You are cornered．

3.What would be the best title for the passage?

         A．Brave Mother                                                 B．The Cause of Stress

C．The Benefit of Stress                                           D．Super-human Strength