Parents are often amazed at how fast their child grows and develops. New research has determined that the ability to quantify may develop much sooner than most parents realize.
Kristy vanMarle, professor of the University of Missouri, has determined that contrary to what previous studies have shown, infants（婴儿）are able to quantify substances（物质）—like sand or water—as early as 10 months. As long as the difference between the two substances is large enough, infants will choose the larger amount, especially when it comes to food.
With the assistance of her team researchers, vanMarle tested the quantifying skills of babies by presenting them with two cups: one containing a small amount of food, and one containing a larger amount. Consistently, the babies chose the larger amount.
“Several studies throughout the last 15 years have shown that infants are very good at telling how many objects they see; however, infants don’t seem to count things like water or sand,” vanMarle said. “What we’re saying is that they can quantify substances; The infants can see how much food goes into each cup and compare that in their memories. They decide which amount is larger, and they almost always select the larger one.”
This information further refutes（驳斥）the long-held idea that babies “know nothing of the world,” vanMarle said.
“Since psychologists have begun studying infants with sensitive measures, we’ve discovered a lot of early abilities. I think for parents, it should be exciting to know that there’s somebody there that has some fundamental and basic knowledge of the world, and that knowledge is guiding their development,” vanMarle said.
In the future, vanMarle says this kind of study could be linked to a child’s progress in math-related skills, although programs marketed to increase those abilities, such as “Baby Einstein,” still have mixed reviews when it comes to academic study.
【小题1】Babies choose the larger amount of food     .

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food. Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more.
Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes. They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children. But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make. That can have an important effect on the children." In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores," Lewis says. "And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is."
The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings(兄弟，姐妹). Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention. “Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis. “When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are that it’s the middle child.” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event(扫兴的事).”
【小题1】The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to _________.

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no different. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.
Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.
First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.
But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.
Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.
【小题1】The purpose of the text is to ________.

A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States.The woman had visited major businesses and investment companies in New York City and Chicago.

“I studied English before I left home，”she said.“But I still was not sure that people were speaking English.”

Her problem is easy to understand.Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere.They have a language of their own.Some of the words and expressions deal with the special areas of their work.Other expressions are borrowed from different kinds of work such as the theater and movie industry.

One such saying is “get your act together”．

When things go wrong in a business，an employer may get angry.He may shout，“Stop making mistakes.Get your act together.”

Or，if the employer is calmer，he may say，“Let us get our act together.”

Either way，the meaning is the same.Getting your act together is getting organized.In business，it usually means to develop a calm and orderly plan of action.

It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began.But，it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry.Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes.The director may have said，“Calm down，now.Get your act together.”

Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late 1970s.Mister Rogers says the Manchester Guardian newspaper used it in 1978.The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together.

Now，this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet.One company even called its yearly report，“Getting Our Act Together.”

The Japanese visitor was confused by another expression used by American business people.It is cut to the chase.

She heard that expression when she attended an important meeting of one company.One official was giving a very long report.It was not very interesting.In fact，some people at the meeting were falling asleep.

Finally，the president of the company said，“Cut to the chase.”

Cut to the chase means to stop spending so much time on details or unimportant material.Hurry and get to the good part.

Naturally，this saying was started by people who make movies.Hollywood movie producers believe that most Americans want to see action movies.Many of their movies show scenes in which the actors chase each other in cars，or in airplanes or on foot.

Cut is the director’s word for stop.The director means to stop filming，leave out some material，and get to the chase scene now.

So，if your employer tells you to cut to the chase，be sure to get to the main point of your story quickly.

1.After the woman visited the United States she might feel that ________.

A．her English was poor

B．it’s easy to master English

C．it’s difficult to make money

D．people there weren’t very friendly

2.In which situation could the words “get your act together” be used?

A．A task is completed successfully.

B．Players perform badly in a match.

C．Audience is satisfied with the actor’s performance in a movie.

D．Visitors make a tiresome and unpleasant trip to someplace.

3.According to the text，the expression “get one’s act together” ________.

A．was first used by a Japanese businesswoman

B．was forbidden to be used in the government policy

C．originally came from a yearly report of a company

D．was commonly read by readers in a newspaper in 1978

4.What do the sayings “get your act together” and “cut to the chase” have in common?

A．Their use.? B．Their meaning.

C．Their origin.? D．Their popularity.

Star hurdler Liu Xiang returned home last night after spending about three months in the United States for foot operation and recovery.
Liu and coach Sun Haiping were followed away by officials after arriving at Shanghai Pudong airport at around 6 : 30 p. m. , and said nothing to the waiting media.
Liu went straight to the Xinzhuang training base in Shanghai, where he will start on the comeback (恢复) through rehabilitation (复职) and training.
Feng Shuyong, vice-director of China's Athletics Administrative Center, said a group of experts is on standby at the training base to help with Liu's recovery.
"The experts will give Liu a full check-up tomorrow or the day after and advise regularly on rehabilitation in the coming months," Feng was quoted by qq. com as saying.
The foot injury forced defending champion Liu to quit from the 2008 Beijing Olympics last August after "he limped out of the Bird's Nest in the first round of the men's 110m hurdles, bitterly disappointing adoring home fans.
The 25-year-old Athens Olympic and world champion had successful foot surgery in December at the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, and had four calcium deposits (钙物质) removed from his right Achilles tendon (跟腱).
He spent the next three months in Houston for rehabilitation and basic training under the guidance of doctors there.
"His recovery is better than we expected. Doctors believe that after three months' rehabilitation and training, he has actually achieved the level of recovery that generally needs four months," Feng said.
Liu will, however, be absent from the ongoing annual Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) meeting due to the recovery process. Feng said Liu is paying close attention to the meeting through the Internet, and closely following issues such as athletes' education and life after retirement.
It is the second time Liu has asked for leave from the annual session after being elected to the CPPCC: He did not attend last year's meeting because he was at a key competition in Spain.
【小题1】The best title for the passage is _______.