Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s．Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women．Right? Wrong．Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size．Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain．The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”．While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes．

It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women．This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time．When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time．

There are other important differences between two sexes．As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的） tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things．“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher．That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!

The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿） are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one．A boy would try to climb a barrier （障碍物） before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others．These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills．It may all go back to our ancestors（祖先）, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research．

If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t．“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it．” says a biologist．

The passage mainly tells us ________．

A．the difference between men’s and women’s brains

B．the changes in brain throughout our lives

C．that men are better at spatial tasks

D．that brain differences are related to our ancestors

Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?

A．Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s

B．Grey matter plays the same role as white matter．

C．Grey matter controls thinking in the brain．

D．Both sexes have the same amount of white matter．

What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?

A．Women prefer doing many things at a time．

B．Men do better dealing with one job at a time．

C．Women do not need to tell directions．

D．Men have weaker spatial abilities．

Which of the following do you agree with according to the fourth paragraph?

A．Young boys may be stronger than young girls．

B．More women take up jobs requiring speech skills

C．Women may have stronger feelings than men．

D．Our ancestors needed more spatial skills．

What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?

A．Defensive．         B．Persuasive．    C．Supportive．   D．Objective．

When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farmstead, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that city life has its problems too.

One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma（哮喘）, and at times the air is so dirty that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.

Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment. Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising - and, what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.

Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

1.What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?

    A. Staying on the farm.                 B. Moving to the countryside.

    C. Leaving home for the city.            D. Running away from the school.

2.Which of the following is true about the writer?

    A. He is very old now.                  B. He is in good health.

    C. He prefers driving a car.              D. He lives in the city now.

3.In the passage, the writer tries to _________.

    A. express his opinions about way of life

    B. describe his life in the countryside

    C. show an interest in the outside world

    D. persuade the reader to live in the city

4.How is the passage mainly developed?

    A. By inferring.                       B. By comparing.

    C. By listing examples.                 D. By giving explanations.

Part B: Vocabulary 9%

F. negative       G. failures         H. defined          I. mark          J. reliable  

We might be surprised at the progress made in every field of study, but the methods of testing a person’s knowledge and ability remain as primitive as ever they were. It is really extraordinary that after all years, educationists have still failed to devise something more 41 than examinations. For all the 42 that examinations test what you know, it is common knowledge that they more often do the exact 43. They may be a good means of testing memory, or the knack of working rapidly under extreme pressure, but they can tell you nothing about a person’s true ability.

As anxiety-makers, examinations are 44 to none. That is because so much depends on them. They are the 45 of success or failure in our society. Your whole future may be decided in one fateful day. It doesn’t matter that you weren’t feeling very well, or that your mother died. Little things like that don’t 46: the exam goes on. No one can bring out the 47 in him when he is in terror, or after a sleepless night, yet this is precisely what the examination system expects him to do. The moment a child begins school, he enters a world of fierce competition where success and failure are clearly 48 and measured. Can we wonder at the increasing number of “dropouts”: young people who are written off as 49 before they have started a career? Can we be surprised at the suicide rate among students?

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。
No fight can end, and no friendship can move on, until everyone says these little words: I’m sorry. Sometimes, though, they can be difficult to say. 【小题1】 .
It’s not about winning.
Friendships aren’t like the Super Bowl, and there should never be a winner and a loser. When you start fighting with a friend, it may feel important that you “win” the fight by proving you’re right and he is wrong, or by making him be the first to apologize.
   【小题2】
You may have heard the expression “His pride stood in the way.” It is usually used to describe a person who is so determined to be“right”that he lets an opportunity for happiness pass him by forever.  【小题3】   Remember: as time goes on, we usually forget who was right and who was wrong in a disagreement, and only remember the sadness of losing a friend.
Take the first step.
Are you sick of fighting? Do you think this fight is just not important enough to ruin your friendship?  【小题4】  You don’t have to take full responsibility for starting the fight, or even say that your feelings were wrong. But you should find something you did or said that’s worth apologizing for. Maybe you’re sorry that you let the fight go for so long, of that you overreacted(反应过度的) to something your friend did. If you say you are sorry, it’s like an invitation for your friend to do the same.  【小题5】

Imagine the following scenario(情景): A woman buys her lunch every day from a fast food outlet near her job. After some years, she finds herself 30 pounds overweight, and feeling unhealthy. So what does she do? She chooses to bring a lawsuit against the fast food outlet, claiming that the food served there was the cause of her being overweight and in poor health.

Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t? The only thing more absurd than the story itself is the fact that is not fiction. There are people who have sued（控告）fast food chains for causing their weight problems.

This is an example of one of the ways in which many of us spend enormous amounts of energy trying to deny the undeniable and universal fact that we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices and our own lives.

How much easier would we make it for ourselves if we could accept this fact rather than resist it? But how can we embrace the truth, that we are living the lives we choose to live, that we are enjoying or suffering the consequences(结果) of our own choices, and that blaming others for our problems and shortcomings is nothing more than a comfortable fantasy?

We must acknowledge the truth of our lives, however unpleasant this may be. If we are overweight, in a bad relationship, in a dead end, we need to accept that this is where we are, at this moment in time.

Imagine that woman decided that she was unhappy with the extra pounds she’d gained after many years of eating fast food on a regular basis. Imagine that this woman took the time to really understand and accept that she and no one else was responsible for her eating choices. Having acknowledged this fact, she then decides to make the changes in her lifestyle to become the healthier, slimmer person she wants to be.

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

2. Why is the woman mentioned twice in the passage?

3. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

4. What should a person do if he is in a bad relationship with his roommates, according to the author?