Sometimes people come into your life and you come to realize that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out whom you are or who you want to become. You never know 16　 these people may be, but when you lock eyes with them, you know in an instant that they will 17　 your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but

18　 you find that without overcoming difficulties you would have never realized your 19 , strength, willpower or heart. Everything happens for a 20 . Nothing happens　 21　 or by means of good luck. Illness, injury, love, brilliant achievements, and sheer stupidity all occur to　 22　 the limit of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be, life would be like a　 23　 paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and 24 , but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you 25　 who affect your life, and the success and downfalls you 26 , help to create who you are and who you become. Even the　 27　 experiences can be learned from. In fact, they are the most important ones. If someone hurt you or breaks your heart, 28 them, for they have helped you learn about　 29　 and the importance of being　 30 . Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it　 31 . Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every 32　 to. Tell yourself you are great and believe in yourself, for 33　 you don’t believe in yourself, it will be hard for 34　 to believe in you.

You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no　 35 . Most importantly (!!!), if you love someone tell him or her, for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.

16. A. who　　　　 　 B. what　　　 　　　　 C. why　 　　　　　　　　　 D. that

17. A. destroy　　　 　 B. affect　　　　 　　 C. end　　　　　 　　 D. give

18. A. in need　　　　　　　 B. by turn　　　 　　　 C. in reflection　　 　　 D. with guidance

19. A. promise 　　　　　　 B. potential　　　　　　　　　 C. belief 　　　　 　　 D. wish

20. A. point　 　　　　　 B. start　　　　 　　　　 C. success　　 　　 　　 D. reason

21. A. in surprise　 　 B. on time　　　　　　 　 C. by chance　　 　　 D. with pleasure

22. A. test　　　　 　　 B. keep　　　　　 　　 C. hold　　　　　 　　 D. send　　　　

23. A. shortly　　　 　 B. quickly 　　　　　　 C. terribly　　　　 　　 D. smoothly　　

24. A. heavy　　　 　 B. colorful　　　　 　 C. satisfying　　　 　　 D. comfortable

25. A. think　　　 　　 B like　　　　　 　　 C. meet　　　　　 　　 D. miss　

26. A. achieve　　 　　 B. experience　　　 　 C. overcome　 　 　　　　 D. suffer

27. A. bad　　　 　　　 B. rich　　　　　 　　 C. personal　　　 　　　 D. pleasant

28. A. forget　　 　　　 B. forgive　　　　 　　 C. remember　　　 　 D. love

29. A. clever　　　 　　 B. value　　　　 　　　 C. life　　　　 　　　　　 D. trust

30. A. helpful　 　　　　 B. smart　　　 　　　　　 C. careful　　 　　　　　 D. serious

31. A. too　　　　 　　 B. then　　　　　 　　 C. before　　　　 　 D. again

32. A. day 　　　　　　　　　 B. way　　　 　　　　　　 C. right 　　　　　　　　　　 D. hand

33. A. if　　 　　　　　　　 B. unless　　　　 　　 C. as　　　　　 　　　 D. until

34. A. the others　　 　 B. some other　　 　　　 C. another　　　　 　　 D. others

35. A. pains　　 　　　　 B. regrets　　　　 　　 C. fair　　　 　　　　　 D. stress

C

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.

Genius 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 pictures．So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art．Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine．Sufferers of autism and 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 signs 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 it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.

If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one．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.

51．My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.

       A．a website            B．the radio                C．a magazine           D．a newspaper

52．The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is        .

       A．a person who learns something easily

       B．a child who is eager to learn new things

       C．a student who practices an instrument a lot

       D．a kid who works hard to do well in school

53．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

       A．New things about the brain are still being discovered.

       B．People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.

       C．Some people naturally have more active brains.

       D．People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.

54．From the passage, we know that ___________

       A．scientists completely understand the brain

       B．people can only be born as geniuses

       C．there’s no such thing as a true genius

       D．there are many factors in being a genius

55．The author develops the passage mainly by ___________.

       A．providing typical examples

       B．following the natural time order

       C．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects

       D．comparing opinions from different scientists

Most of the time, we choose colors for decorating based on our personal taste and our sense of aesthetics (审美学). But, a number of color experts believe that colors have an effect on our emotions and that it would be wise of us to be conscious of that before settling on a definite choice.
Some of the effects of colors are well known and accepted by most people. In fact, those effects have been the subject of serious research and experiments and have been scientifically proven. But not all scientists agree on the validity (正确性) of the results.
When we become interested in the psychological effects of colors, it is important to know that not all societies share our opinion of those effects on our emotions. What we hold as an "objective" observation on a color is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness, which has attributed properties to that color for generations.
Why is it not possible for us to hold a really objective discourse(论述)on the subject? In part, because it is very difficult to separate the psychological from the symbolic, the symbolic aspects are definitely cultural. Often, and this without our realizing it, they influence our understanding of colors and the following emotions - both psychological aspects. Black and white are good examples. In western countries, black is considered serious, dramatic and sometimes sad. People are warned against its potentially depressing effects on decoration. Black is the traditional color of mourning. White, on the other hand, is associated with purity, peace and optimism. For those reasons, white is the traditional color of bridal dresses. No one would think of attending a funeral in white. Any more than it would occur to a bride to wear black. We simply remain convinced that it is not in the "nature" of those colors. Yet, in certain oriental countries, it is white, not black that is the color of mourning.
That having been said, there is some “overlapping” in the properties different cultures attribute to certain colors. For example, Feng Shui, the traditional Chinese philosophy that distinguishes between good and evil influences explains colors much in the same way as the majority of western color specialists. Is that to say that colors have real natural properties which all humans perceive(感知) in the same way or is the phenomenon an example of the cross-influences that affect the thinking of cultures brought closer to one another by a certain Venetian(威尼斯人) called Marco Polo? It is difficult to say.
But, be that as it may, colors do affect us. And if you feel emotions for a certain color, note them and remember them. You may even wish to consider them next time you are planning to decorate. The decision is yours!
【小题1】 Most of the time, we ignore ______ when choosing colors for decoration.

Most of the time, we choose colors for decorating based on our personal taste and our sense of aesthetics (审美学). But, a number of color experts believe that colors have an effect on our emotions and that it would be wise of us to be conscious of that before settling on a definite choice.

Some of the effects of colors are well known and accepted by most people. In fact, those effects have been the subject of serious research and experiments and have been scientifically proven. But not all scientists agree on the validity (正确性) of the results.

When we become interested in the psychological effects of colors, it is important to know that not all societies share our opinion of those effects on our emotions. What we hold as an "objective" observation on a color is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness, which has attributed properties to that color for generations.

Why is it not possible for us to hold a really objective discourse(论述)on the subject? In part, because it is very difficult to separate the psychological from the symbolic, the symbolic aspects are definitely cultural. Often, and this without our realizing it, they influence our understanding of colors and the following emotions - both psychological aspects. Black and white are good examples. In western countries, black is considered serious, dramatic and sometimes sad. People are warned against its potentially depressing effects on decoration. Black is the traditional color of mourning. White, on the other hand, is associated with purity, peace and optimism. For those reasons, white is the traditional color of bridal dresses. No one would think of attending a funeral in white. Any more than it would occur to a bride to wear black. We simply remain convinced that it is not in the "nature" of those colors. Yet, in certain oriental countries, it is white, not black that is the color of mourning.

That having been said, there is some “overlapping” in the properties different cultures attribute to certain colors. For example, Feng Shui, the traditional Chinese philosophy that distinguishes between good and evil influences explains colors much in the same way as the majority of western color specialists. Is that to say that colors have real natural properties which all humans perceive(感知) in the same way or is the phenomenon an example of the cross-influences that affect the thinking of cultures brought closer to one another by a certain Venetian(威尼斯人) called Marco Polo? It is difficult to say.

But, be that as it may, colors do affect us. And if you feel emotions for a certain color, note them and remember them. You may even wish to consider them next time you are planning to decorate. The decision is yours!

1. Most of the time, we ignore ______ when choosing colors for decoration.

A．personal taste                          B．our aesthetics

C．cultural effects                         D．psychological effects

2.Why is it not possible for us to hold a really objective discourse on the subject?

A．Because it is often nothing more than a reflection of our cultural belongingness.

B．Because the colors have the properties for generations.

C．Because it is difficult to separate the psychological from the cultural.

D．Because the symbolic aspects influence our perception of colors.

3. The italicized word “overlapping” is paragraph 6 is closest in meaning to______

A．difference         B．conflict           C．sameness         D．agreement

4. In western countries, white is ______.

A．preferred by bridals                     B．used in a funerals sometimes

C．depressing in decoration                  D．pure in its nature

5. According to the author, which of the following statements is certain?

A．Different cultures can have the same properties of colors.

B．If you feel emotions for a color, note them and remember them.

C．All humans perceive colors’ natural properties in the same way.

D．Marco Polo disclosed the psychological effects of colors.

Dear Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul,
Most people don’t really know what pressures a typical teenager has to go through. Sure, our parents and grandparents were once teens, but things are so different now. It has never been to tougher (严格)to a teenager.
It had never been more important to be in the “right group” or to have the “right brand” of shoes. And those are the easy things to deal with. We also face problems with family, friends, relationships and school pressures.
When it gets to be too much, I turn to my friends. One friend I could not live without is Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. Your books have been so inspiring to me and have helped me to deal with and understand the problems I go through.
For example, I went through a confusing time with my friends when we got to junior high. I had known these friends since kindergarten, and when we began junior high it seemed like some of them began to change. We started hanging out with different groups, and we slowly grew so far apart that it seemed as if we had never been friends. I felt confused and hurt.
Sometime during this period I read the story Friends Forever in Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul Ⅱ.I felt so much better after reading it. It was like a weight had been lifted from me when I realized that many friendships went through changes and that we weren’t the only friends to experience them.
People change, but that doesn’t mean we have to lose the friendships we once shared. My friends and I still spend time together when we can and care about each other a lot. That things are different doesn’t mean I have to forget about all the good times we had. I will always keep the memories in a safe place in my heart.
Sincerely,
Peter
【小题1】According to the author, parents and grandparents