It’s the place where smart people make smart machines work even smarter. But for the people who work in it, Silicon Valley (硅谷) is more than just a high technology hothouse. It’s also in the heart of sunny California, a great place to start a family and raise kids. What could be better?

But something is happening to the children. Up until the age of two they develop normally. Their proud parents watch and smile as they take their first steps and speak their first words. But then everything seems to go backwards. The children become locked into their own small world, unable to communicate at all.

They call it the “curse of Silicon Valley,” but the medical name for the condition is autism（孤独症）. It used to be thought that autism was a mental illness. Now doctors are sure that it is a disease transmitted genetically (遗传). It seems that the people leading the communications revolution are having children who cannot communicate at all.

But even the parents have trouble communicating. Asperger’s Syndrome (综合症) is connected with autism. People who have it are highly intelligent and often brilliant with numbers or systems but have no social skills, which makes Asperger’s sufferers into excellent computer professionals. Unfortunately, many of the children of two Asperger’s parents in Silicon Valley seem to be developing serious autism.

There is little anyone can do. And there is no cure in sight. Some argue that no cure should be found．“It may be that autistics are essentially (本质上) different from normal people, but that these differences make them valuable for the evolution (进化) of the human race,” says Dr Kirk Wilhelm of the University of California．“To remove the genes (基因) for autism could be terrible.

It seems that the children of Silicon Valley are paying the price of genius.

A person who has autism usually _____.

       A．has difficulty in speaking       B．loses communication skills

       C．has difficulty in working D．hates people around

Which of the following best explains “curse of Silicon Valley”?

       A．The children are brought up in Silicon Valley.

       B．Autism is just a result of working in Silicon Valley.

       C．The children suffer from autism due to their parents in Silicon Valley.

       D．Autism makes the children in Silicon Valley unable to communicate.

Some people think that no cure of autism should be found because ______.

       A．autism cannot be cured    B．autism isn’t a disease

       C．harm will be done to the children   D．autism is necessary in some way

What does the writer seem to feel about the children of Silicon Valley?

       A．It’s a pity that they cannot have a normal life.

       B．They are the pride of the human race.

       C．They are sure to have a bright future.

       D．It’s likely that they will have a normal life.

第二节：读写任务（满分25分）
阅读下短文，然后按照要求，写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
The motor vehicle has killed and disabled more people in its brief history than any bomb or weapon ever invented. Much of the blood on the street flows essentially from uncivil behavior of drivers who refuse to respect the legal and moral rights of others. So the killing on the road may be regarded as a social problem.
In fact, the enemies of society on wheels are rather harmless people, just ordinary people acting carelessly, you might say. But carelessness is no excuse when one’s actions could bring death or damage to others. A minority of the killers go even beyond carelessness to total negligence(疏忽).
Researchers have estimated that as many as 80 per cent of all automobile accidents are caused due to the psychological(心理的) condition of the driver. Emotional upsets can slow drivers’ judgment and reactions, and blind them to dangers that might otherwise be evident. The experts warn that it is important for every driver to make an effort to keep one’s emotions under control.
Yet drivers are not the only people to blame for road accidents. Street walkers regularly break traffic regulations, they are at fault in most vehicle walker accidents; and many cyclists even believe that they need not follow the basic rules of the road.
[写作内容]
概括短文的内容要点，该部分约30词；
就“如何减少交通事故”这个主题发表你的看法，至少包含以下的内容
要点，该部分约120词；
交通事故造成的生命财产的损失；
人们应做出什么努力来减少交通事故的发生；
政府应采取什么措施来减少交通事故的发生。
[写作要求]
1．题目自定
2．你可以使用实例或其它论述方法支持你的论点，也可以参照阅读材料的
内容，但不要抄袭阅读材料中的句子。
[评分标准] 概括的准确性、语言的规范性、内容的合适性以及篇章的连贯性。

A new study suggests that the round­the­clock availability that cell phones have brought to people's lives may take a toll on family life. The study，which followed more than 1,300 adults over 2 years, found that those who consistently used a mobile phone throughout the study period were more likely to report negative “spillover” between work and home life—and，in turn，less satisfaction with their family life.
Spillover essentially(本质上)means that the line between work and home begins to become unclear. Work life may invade home life when a parent is taking job­related calls at home，for instance—or family issues may start to take up work time. For example，a child may call mum at work，telling her “microwave exploded”，explained Noelle Chesley，an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Wisconsin­Milwaukee and the author of the study. The problem with cell phones seems to be that they are allowing for even more spillover between work and home.
This may be especially true for working women，the study found. Among men，consistent use of mobile phones seemed to allow more work issues to creep (潜入)into family time. But for women，the spillover tended to go in both directions. Being “connected” meant that work cut into home time，and family issues came into work life.
Cell phones seem to be opening more lines for stressful exchanges among family members. But there may be ways to control the spillover，according to Chesley. Employers, she said，could look at their policies on contacting employees after hours to make sure their expectations are “reasonable”．For their part，employees could decide that cell phones go off during family time, Chesley said.
【小题1】What does the underlined phrase “take a toll on” probably mean in Paragraph 1?

Artistic Skates

Artistic roller skates are made up of a leather boot, very strong sole plate, and a jump bar that adds extra force. The boot sits a few inches above the ankle, providing more support for the foot.

Jam Skates

Jam skates are the most different roller skates because of their special low-cut design and lack of toe stop. That’s right: there is no brake. But the original jam skate design was different, resembling an artistic skate. Jam skating is more about personal expression rather than speed skating. The free-flowing movements of jam skating have been given many names. But regardless of its name, jam skating has always been about expression and passion.

Speed Skates

A speed skate resembles a shoe. The cut of the boot is lower. Speed skates typically offer lightweight plates to reduce exhaustion for skating long distances. Jam skates have preferred speed skates because they offer a similar design and freedom of movement. The most obvious difference is that a speed skate features a toe stop, unlike a jam skate that uses a toe plug.

Rhythm Skates

Rhythm skates are similar to jam skates. The difference between them lies in the boot design. In fact, the boot design looks very similar to an artistic skate, essentially providing you with the ankle support benefits of an artistic skate, but the freedom of movement of a jam skate. If you want a skate that allows you to move to the beat, which added ankle support, the rhythm skate is the ideal choice.

1.Which of the following is NOT a feature of jam skates?

A．They have no brake

B．They lack a toe stop

C．They have no toe plug.

D．They have a unique, low-cut design.

2.If you want to skate to music, which of the following is the best choice?

A．Rhythm skates      B．Jam skates         C．Speed skates       D．Artistic skates

3.Speed skates are popular with jam skates because _____.

A．they have a high boot cut

B．they allow free-flowing movement.

C．they are able to stabilize the foot

D．they can help jam skates reduce tiredness.

4.What is a common feature of rhythm and jam skates?

A．They both offer some support for the ankles.

B．They both have a similar boot design.

C．They are both suitable for free-flowing movement.

D．They are both about personal expression and passion.

5.What can you learn from the passage about jam skates?

A．The original jam skate design has hardly changed.

B．The original jam skate design was similar to an artistic skate.

C．Jam skates have gradually become a type of speed skate.

D．Jam skating has many names because it’s about expression and passion.

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。

E

    It’s not that hard to be a better writer. Seriously, it’s especially true if you’re starting as a non-writer who’s just trying to be competent for day-to-day tasks.

    1．Have a Structure．   1    Your body should consist of paragraphs that are grouped according, to topic, each one dealing with a single element of your subject．

    2．  2   When you say a car runs "fast" , don't leave it at that．Show me how fast it is by ; detailing the vehicle' s top speed and acceleration, along with listing other cars it leaves in the dust．Do the same with every other significant modifier（修饰语） you use．

    3．Don't pad words．  3   Most of the time, this ends up turning what' s essentially nice; writing into unreadable nonsense．You' 11 see this with heavy use of unnecessary adjectives and adverbs, along with useless phrases that can easily be cut off without losing meaning．

    4．Choose good words．Sometimes, the way your text reads comes down to word choice．Don't say " converse" when you can say " speak" ; don' t write " adjudicate" when you say "decide"．  4 

    5．Use a writing software．Notice that we didn't give any advice on grammar．That's because using a quality proofreading software can help you on that end．  5 

    A．Try not to use adjectives and adverbs without providing an explanation．

    B．Don't let anything keep you from it!

    C．Many inexperienced writers tend to pad words to meet word count goals．

    D．Regardless of what you do, your writing should have an introduction and a conclusion．

    E．Basically, put your words to good use and find words that will make the experience easier for your readers．

    F．Some ideas can be quite correct．

    G．Sure, a few mistakes might slip in now and then, but a good tool will take care of most of them．