She’s not afraid of anything. Snakes? No problem. Walking alone in the dark? Easy. We’re not talking about a superhero here -- SM is a 44-year-old mother.  And she’s fearless because she happens to be missing part of her brain: the amygdala(扁桃腺).

   Shaped like a pair of almonds sitting in the middle of your brain, the amygdala helps control fear and anxiety. A rare condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease left SM without her amygdala, and seems to have completely erased her sense of fear.

   To try to understand how the amygdala works, a team of researchers made their efforts to scare SM. They showed her horror movies and took her to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House in Kentucky. She pushed out one of the monsters(巨物) and laughed. SM said she didn’t like snakes, but at a pet store full of poisonous creatures, she kept asking to touch them. When asked to rate her feelings, SM reported feeling surprised or disgusted, but never fearful.

   “She tends to approach everything she should be avoiding,” says Justin Feinstein of the  University of Iowa. This means the amygdala could control deeper urges to approach or avoid danger. Other scientists have a different opinion, though.  “I don’t believe you can make a general statement about what the amygdala does by a single case study,” Elizabeth Phelps said. In 2002, Phelps published a study on a similar patient with amygdala damage who still showed fear.

It may sound like fun to be totally fearless, but we get scared for a good reason. “The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger,” Feinstein said. SM was once followed in a park after dark by a man with a knife, and she simply walked away. “It is quite remarkable that she is still alive,” said Feinstein.

1.SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________.

A. she is a superhero

B. she has experienced such conditions a lot

C. she is a mental patient

D. she has no sense of fear

2.Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________.

A. The function of a particular organ

B. SM’s reaction of fear and anxiety

C. The process of removing amygdale

D. A special way to get along with monsters

3.What do we know from the research on SM?

A. It was easy for her to avoid danger.

B. SM never felt fearful but disgusted.

C. SM was frightened by nothing except monsters.

D. SM got along well with the snakes.

4.What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?

A. Indifferent    B. Supportive    C. Disapproving     D. Interested

5.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A. People can remove their amygdala to be fearless.

B. SM will be admired because of her bravery.

C. No one can survive if their amygdala is removed.

D. The sense of fear is crucial to humans.

She’s not afraid of anything. Snakes? No problem. Walking alone in the dark? Easy. We’re not talking about a superhero here -- SM is a 44-year-old mother.  And she’s fearless because she happens to be missing part of her brain: the amygdala(扁桃腺).
Shaped like a pair of almonds sitting in the middle of your brain, the amygdala helps control fear and anxiety. A rare condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease left SM without her amygdala, and seems to have completely erased her sense of fear.
To try to understand how the amygdala works, a team of researchers made their efforts to scare SM. They showed her horror movies and took her to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House in Kentucky. She pushed out one of the monsters(巨物) and laughed. SM said she didn’t like snakes, but at a pet store full of poisonous creatures, she kept asking to touch them. When asked to rate her feelings, SM reported feeling surprised or disgusted, but never fearful.
“She tends to approach everything she should be avoiding,” says Justin Feinstein of the  University of Iowa. This means the amygdala could control deeper urges to approach or avoid danger. Other scientists have a different opinion, though.  “I don’t believe you can make a general statement about what the amygdala does by a single case study,” Elizabeth Phelps said. In 2002, Phelps published a study on a similar patient with amygdala damage who still showed fear.
It may sound like fun to be totally fearless, but we get scared for a good reason. “The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger,” Feinstein said. SM was once followed in a park after dark by a man with a knife, and she simply walked away. “It is quite remarkable that she is still alive,” said Feinstein

1. 1.

   SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________

   1. A.
      she is a superhero
   2. B.
      she has experienced such conditions a lot
   3. C.
      she is a mental patient
   4. D.
      she has no sense of fear
2. 2.

   Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________

   1. A.
      The function of a particular organ
   2. B.
      SM’s reaction of fear and anxiety
   3. C.
      The process of removing amygdale
   4. D.
      A special way to get along with monsters
3. 3.

   What do we know from the research on SM?

   1. A.
      It was easy for her to avoid danger
   2. B.
      SM never felt fearful but disgusted
   3. C.
      SM was frightened by nothing except monsters
   4. D.
      SM got along well with the snakes
4. 4.

   What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?

   1. A.
      Indifferent
   2. B.
      Supportive
   3. C.
      Disapproving
   4. D.
      Interested
5. 5.

   What can we infer from the last paragraph?

   1. A.
      People can remove their amygdala to be fearless
   2. B.
      SM will be admired because of her bravery
   3. C.
      No one can survive if their amygdala is removed
   4. D.
      The sense of fear is crucial to humans

She’s not afraid of anything. Snakes? No problem. Walking alone in the dark? Easy. We’re not talking about a superhero here -- SM is a 44-year-old mother.  And she’s fearless because she happens to be missing part of her brain: the amygdala(扁桃腺).

   Shaped like a pair of almonds sitting in the middle of your brain, the amygdala helps control fear and anxiety. A rare condition called Urbach-Wiethe disease left SM without her amygdala, and seems to have completely erased her sense of fear.

   To try to understand how the amygdala works, a team of researchers made their efforts to scare SM. They showed her horror movies and took her to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House in Kentucky. She pushed out one of the monsters(巨物) and laughed. SM said she didn’t like snakes, but at a pet store full of poisonous creatures, she kept asking to touch them. When asked to rate her feelings, SM reported feeling surprised or disgusted, but never fearful.

   “She tends to approach everything she should be avoiding,” says Justin Feinstein of the  University of Iowa. This means the amygdala could control deeper urges to approach or avoid danger. Other scientists have a different opinion, though.  “I don’t believe you can make a general statement about what the amygdala does by a single case study,” Elizabeth Phelps said. In 2002, Phelps published a study on a similar patient with amygdala damage who still showed fear.

It may sound like fun to be totally fearless, but we get scared for a good reason. “The nature of fear is survival and the amygdala helps us stay alive by avoiding situations, people, or objects that put our life in danger,” Feinstein said. SM was once followed in a park after dark by a man with a knife, and she simply walked away. “It is quite remarkable that she is still alive,” said Feinstein.

41. SM dares to walk alone in the dark mainly because ____________.

   A. she is a superhero         B. she has experienced such conditions a lot

   C. she is a mental patient      D. she has no sense of fear

42. Researchers tried their best to frighten SM in order to find ___________.

   A. The function of a particular organ    B. SM’s reaction of fear and anxiety

   C. The process of removing amygdala   D. A special way to get along with monsters

43. What do we know from the research on SM?

   A. It was easy for her to avoid danger.

   B. SM never felt fearful but disgusted.

   C. SM was frightened by nothing except monsters.

   D. SM got along well with the snakes.

44. What is Elizabeth Phelps’ attitude toward the function of the amygdala based on the research on SM?

   A. Indifferent    B. Supportive    C. Disapproving     D. Interested

45. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

   A. People can remove their amygdala to be fearless.

   B. SM will be admired because of her bravery.

   C. No one can survive if their amygdala is removed.

   D. The sense of fear is crucial to humans.

Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a
parent you might never guess all the way a good imagination benefits
your child. It helps a preschooler：
Develop social skills
As children play pretend games, they explore relationship  
between family members, friends and co-workers and learn more about how people communicate. Playing doctor, they imagine how physicians care for their patients.  Playing house, they learn more about how parents feel about their children. Imaginative play help develop sympathy for others. If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet, they are better able to help those in need. They become more willing to play fair, to share, and to cooperate.
Build self-confidence
Young children have very little control over their lives. Imagining oneself as builder of skyscrapers or a superhero defending the planet is inspiring to a child. It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.
Boost intellectual growth
Using the imagination is the beginning of abstract thought. Children who can see a king’s castle in a pile of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically. This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects, letters symbolize sounds, and so on.
Practice language skills
Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking. This helps increase their vocabulary, Kids who play pretend with their friends do a lot of talking.  This helps increase their vocabulary, improve sentence structures and develop communication skills.
Work out fears
Playing pretend can help children work Out their fears and worries. When children role-play about the big, bad monster under the bed, they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn’t seem quite so big or so bad. Imaginative play also helps kids vent（发泄）confusing feelings they might have, such as anger toward a parent or rivalry（较劲）with a new brother or sister.
68. Which of the following can help children develop social skills in a game?
A. Imagining being a superhero.                 B. Preparing a delicious dinner with mud.
C. Pretending to have a talk with friends.     D. Pretending to be a doctor.
69．Why can imagination build children’s self-confidence?
A．It makes them more willing to play fair.
B．It helps them gain control over themselves.
C．It helps them protect people and make much greater progress.
D．It makes them feel as if they were much more powerful than they really are.
70．Which of the following is NOT true according to the progress.
A．Playing pretend games only helps children psychologically.
B．Playing pretend games is good for children’s development.
C．While playing pretend games, children learn to get along with others.
D．Playing pretend games helps children to do well while they are in school.
71．The passage mainly tells us something about      .
A．advantages of playing outdoors
B．skills in playing pretend games
C．benefits of developing your child’s imagination
D．tips on how to improve our child’s imagination

D
Wives, children and parents left behind in the countryside by migrant workers need special assistance, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference said yesterday.
Adult males moving to work in cities, is causing a challenge to the traditional function of bringing up children and supporting the elderly, said Shen Shuji, who is also an official with the All-China Women’s Federation.
Shen recommended certain measures, including a special policy to guarantee educational opportunities for such children, accelerating (加速) the establishment of pension (养老金) and medical care systems in rural areas, and encouraging enterprises and non-governmental organizations to help such families.
The rights and welfare of migrant workers themselves have called much attention in recent years. The government has made policies to protect their rights.
The number of children aged between 6 and 16 in this situation is more than 20 million nationwide, accounting for more than half of the country’s total. Some of the children have both their parents in cities and have to be taken care of by grandparents or other family relatives.
Without enough care from parents, many of them become problem children, Shen said. Wives left at home by their husband have to face hard work, loneliness and a lack of a sense of security. In many cases long-term separation ends up with divorce.
There is still no pension system in China’s countryside. Traditionally, the elderly in rural areas are supported by their children with low incomes.
But the exodus of their children has left many old people in a difficult situation. They have to continue to work in farms while taking care of their grandchildren, Shen said.
The country should gradually scrap (消除) the decades-old bi-polar system separating rural and urban areas, which prevent farmers from enjoying the equal rights.  
53．What is the key to solving the problem that wives, children and parents are left behind in the
countryside?
A．Migrant workers should have a higher pay.
B．More profitable policies for migrant workers should be carried out.
C．The government should try to make the countryside catch up with the city.
D．Everyone should give his hand to help migrant workers.
54．We can infer from the passage that ______.
A．enough efforts have been made to improve the situation in the countryside.
B．families in the countryside are often very large.
C．all the children can go to school before long.
D．there is a long way to go before solving the problem
55．Which of the following is NOT the problem of adult males moving to work in cities according to the passage?
A．The broken marriage.                           B．More problem children.
C．Lack of labour force.                           D．More deserted land.
56．The underlined word “exodus” probably means ______.
A．poverty               B．missing               C．absence               D．illness