Looking back on my childhood. I am convinced that naturalists are born and not made. Although we were brought up in the same way, my brothers and sisters soon abandoned their pressed flowers and insects. Unlike them, I had no ear for music and languages. I was not an early reader and I could not do mental maths.     

Before World War I we spent our summer holidays in Hungary. I have only the dim memory of the house we lived in, of my room and my toys. Nor do I recall clearly the large family of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who gathered next door. But I do have a crystal clear memory of dogs, the farm animals, the local birds and above all, the insects.  

I am a naturalist, not a scientist. I have a strong love of the natural world, and my enthusiasm has led me into varied investigations. I love discussing my favorite topics and enjoy burning the midnight oil reading about other people’s observations and discoveries. Then something happens that brings these observations together in my conscious mind. Suddenly you fancy you see the answer to the riddle. Because it all seems to fit together .This has resulted in my publishing 300 papers and books. Which some may light honor, with the title of scientific research.  

But curiosity, a keen eye, a good memory and enjoyment of the animal and plant world do not make a scientist? One of the outstanding and essential qualities required is self-discipline, a quality I lack. A scientist can be made a naturalist. If you can combine the two, you get the best of both worlds. 

1.According to the author, a born naturalist should first of all be _____           

A. full of ambition               B. self-disciplined

C. full of enthusiasm           D. knowledgeable 

2.The first paragraph tells us that the author _____

A. lost his hearing when he was a child

B. didn’t like his brothers and sisters

C. was interested in flowers and insects in his childhood

D. was born to a naturalist’s family

3.The author says that he is a naturalist rather than a scientist probably because he thinks he __     . 

A. just reads about other people observations and discoveries.

B. Lacks some of the qualities required of scientist.

C. Has a great deal of trouble doing mental arithmetic.

D. Come up with solutions in most natural ways.

4.The author can’t remember him relatives clearly because__

A. He didn’t live very long with them

B. He was too young when he lived with them.

C. The family was extremely large.

D. He was fully occupied with observing nature.

5.Which of the following statements is true?

A. The author believes that a born naturalist cannot be scientist. 

B. The author read a lot of books about the natural world and oil industry

C. The author’s brothers and sisters were good at music and languages.

D. The author spent a lot of time working on riddles.

Personal computers and the Internet give people new choices about how to spend their time.
Some may use this freedom to share less time with certain friends or family members, but new technology will also let them stay in closer touch with those they care most about. I know this from personal experience.
E-mail makes it easy to work at home, which is where I now spend most weekends and evenings. My working hours aren’t necessarily much shorter than they once were but I spend fewer of them at the office. This lets me share more time with my young daughter than I might have if she’d been born before electronic mail became such a practical tool.
The Internet also makes it easy to share thoughts with a group of friends. Say you do something fun see a great movie perhaps-and there are four or five friends who might want to hear about it. If you call each one, you may tire of telling the story.
With E-mail, you just write one note about your experience, at your convenience, and address it to all the friends you think might be interested. They can read your message when they have time, and read only as much as they want to. They can reply at their convenience, and you can read what they have to say at your convenience.
E-mail is also an inexpensive way stay in close touch with people who live far away. More than a few parents use E-mail to keep in touch, even daily touch, with their children off at college.
We just have to keep in mind that computers and the Internet offer another way of staying in touch. They don’t take the place of any of the old ways.
【小题1】The purpose of this passage is to ________.

    In bringing up children, every parent watches eagerly the child's acquisition (学会) of each new skill m the first spoken words, the first independent steps, or the beginning of reading and writing. It is often tempting to hurry the child beyond his natural learning rate, but this can set up dangerous feelings of failure and states of worry in the child. This might happen at any stage. A baby might be forced to use a toilet too early, a young child might be encouraged to learn to read before he knows the meaning of the words he reads. On the other hand, though, if a child is left alone too much, or without any learning opportunities, he loses his natural enthusiasm for life and his desire to find out new things for himself.

    Parents vary greatly in their degree of strictness towards their children. Some may be especially strict in money matters. Others are severe (严格的) over time of coming home at night or punctuality for meals. In general, the controls represent the needs of the parents and the values of the community as much as the child's own happiness.

    As regards the development of moral standards in the growing child, consistency is very important in parental teaching. To forbid a thing one day and excuse it the next is no foundation for morality (道德). Also, parents should realize that "example is better than precept". If they are not sincere and do not practice what they preach (说教), their children may grow confused when they grow old enough to think for themselves, and realize they have been to some extent fooled.

    A sudden awareness of a marked difference between their parents' principles and their morals can be a dangerous disappointment.

1.Eagerly watching the child’s acquisition of new skills, _________________.

  A. should be avoided

  B. is universal among parents

  C. sets up dangerous states of worry in the child

  D. will make the child lose interest in learning new things

2.In the process of children’s learning new skills, parents _________________.

  A. should encourage them to read before they know the meaning of the words they read

  B. should expect a lot of the children

  C. should achieve a balance between pushing them too hard and leaving them on their own

  D. should create as many learning opportunities as possible

3.The second paragraph mainly tells us that _________________.

  A. parents should be strict with their children

  B. parental controls reflect only the values of the community

  C. parental restrictions vary, and are not always for the benefit of the children alone

  D. it’s parents’ and society’s duty to control the children

4.The word “precept” in Paragraph 3 probably means “_________________”.

  A. opinion          B. punishment       C. behavior            D. instruction

5.In terms of moral matters, parents should _____________________.

  A. follow the rules themselves

  B. be aware of the huge difference between adults and children

  C. forbid their children to follow hook teachings

  D. always ensure the security of their children

No one doubts that students should study languages, maths and science in high school, but some may object to the idea that they should study art and music as well. To them, these subjects are useless for students’ future and are not worth the time and effort. In my opinion, however, it is necessary for middle school students to study art and music.

Art and music are a precious culture legacy（遗产）, which bring us pleasure and enjoyment. Have you ever been deeply moved by Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony（第五交响曲）? Have you ever been fascinated by the colorful starry night produced by Vincent Van Gogh in his paint? Have you ever longed for the moving love between the Butterfly Lovers when you hear this well-known Chinese melody（曲调）? Art and music are not only images and sounds, but something beyond them. They are the products of passion and human wisdom（智慧）.

Art and music help make students more creative. Artists and musicians are considered the most creative people in the world. It is because art and music sharpen their senses and provide a different perspective (视角) for them to see the world. Many great scientists benefited from art and music. Einstein, the greatest physicist in the 20th century, as well as an excellent violin player, is a good example.

Enjoying art and music is also a good way to relax. Middle school students, who typically carry heavy burdens of study, will definitely（明确地）benefit from it.

To sum up, art and music should absolutely be included in the middle school courses, for they can bring students pleasure and relaxation.

1.According to the author, people who think art and music are useless for middle school students __________.

A. don’t understand the value of art and music

B. don’t know the history of art and music at all

C. never benefit from artists and musicians

D. know little about the trend of future education  

2.In paragraph 2, the author tries to argue that __________.

A. Beethoven is one of the greatest musicians

B. art and music help express people’s emotions

C. art and music are precious pictures and sounds

D. art and music bring people joy and quality life

3.The example of Einstein is used to __________.

A. show the importance of creativity

B. prove that scientists are creative

C. encourage students to study art and music

D. provide students with a new way to see the world

4.Which of the following is an effective way for middle school students to study?

    A.  Relaxing themselves regularly while studying.

    B.  Attending concerts during holidays or after school.

    C.  Avoiding too much homework by studying art and music.

    D.  Listening to music while studying language, maths or other subjects.

5.Which of the following is used to support the writer’s opinion?

A. Art and music help people become scientists.

B. Art and music provide people with more opportunities.

C. Art and music are beneficial to students in other subjects.

D. Art and music are helpful to make students creative learners.

A student walks into his first class and realizes he forgot all about the midterm exam. He knows he needs to bring his grades up, and getting a zero will make it nearly impossible. He quickly jots down some notes and shoves them under his lap hoping it will help him pass. Cheating is a major concern in all academic environments. Students are creating new and more outrageous(令人吃惊的) ways of cheating every day; some claim that certain accounts of cheating can be justified, but overall it can always be prevented.
Cheating has been around forever, and millions of ways to cheat have been fashioned. Copying homework and cheat sheets are some of the most basic ways students in all education levels have cheated. Some students think nothing about writing a few answers on their hand, in a gum wrapper, or boldly using a study guide to cheat. Desperate students have even gone as far as to steal the test or scan in bottle wrappers and put answers into the nutrition label. The internet has now become available in almost every location. Computers can be accessed at school, at home, and now even on cell phones. This opens a doorway for even more methods of cheating to be born.
There are countless opinions on whether or not cheating can be justified. The truth is this behavior will always be a matter of opinion with each scenario of cheating. Students often rationalize their cheating by claiming they forgot to look over the material or did not understand what the teacher or professor was saying. Some may counter these arguments by saying that the student could have set reminders or asked the teacher to explain the material before the day of the test. Some other reasons students believe cheating is justified are their heavy workloads and trying to find time for school, sports, friends, and family. This may be true in certain instances, however, all students have these problems, and it is unfair to the students refrain(制止) from cheating when the student who is dishonest receives a better grade. The majority of students who think cheating is acceptable may believe the reason for this is that sometimes students are unaware they are cheating, there is not enough time given for assignments, or that the information is too much for the course.
It may be difficult to accomplish, but cheating can be prevented. Teachers and professors have tried many options to stop cheating. These options can range anywhere from simply spreading test-takers out in a room, to expelling(驱逐) a student, which will most likely hindertheir plans of getting into another college. One simple way to fix the problem is to scold the student when caught. They may be so scared or embarrassed that they never do it again. This is a risky way to prevent cheating in some cases, however, because it can possibly damage self-esteem. Another simple way to avoid cheating is to create many different kinds of the same test. This prohibits students from getting the answers off of a neighbor's test, but students still have the option of using other cheating tactics.
There may be a million ways to cheat and get away with it, but there are few times, if any, that it is justified. Cheating never has to be a necessity and is never worth compromising morals and losing years worth of working towards a degree. This problem is spreading throughout America; with everyone's help, it can be stopped.
【小题1】Which is the best title of this passage?