A team from Krakow, in Poland, used functional magnetic resonance imaging （机能性核共振成像）（FMRI）to assess brain activity when 40 volunteers were shown various images．Men showed activity in areas which dealt with what action they should take in order to avoid or face up to danger．But the study found more activity in the emotional centers of women's brains．The researchers, from another university, carried out scans on 21 men and 19 women．Brain activity was monitored while the volunteers were shown images of objects and images from ordinary life designed to remind different emotional states．
The images were displayed in two runs．For the first run, only negative pictures were shown．For the second run, only positive pictures were shown．
While viewing the negative images, women showed stronger and broader activity in the left thalamus（神经床）．This is an area which passes sense information to the pain and pleasure centres of the brain．Men showed more activity in an area of the brain called the left insula（脑岛）, which plays a key role in controlling natural functions, including breath, heart rate and digestion．Generally, activity in this area tells the body to either run away from danger, or meet it head on - the so-called "fight or flight response"．
While viewing positive images, women showed stronger activity in an area of the brain associated with memory．With men, the stronger activity was recorded in an area associated with visual processing．Dr Urbanik believes these differences suggest women may analyze positive stimuli（刺激）in a broader social context and associate positive images with a particular memory．
For instance, viewing a picture of a smiling child might remind memories of a woman's own child at this age．On the contrary, male responses tend to be less emotional．
1．The research shows that men response differently to__________compared with women．
A．different images    B．ordinary life 
C．different activities        D．medical scan
2．According to the passage, when faced with danger, ____________．
A．women react more slowly than men       B．women usually try to avoid it 
C．men usually have no reaction         D．men react to it more directly
3．What is discussed in the 4 th paragraph?         ．
A．Men and women’s different memories   B．The different responses to the children
C．Different reactions to positive stimuli    D．Negative results of the visual processing
3．The passage mainly develops______．
A．by inferring                   B．by comparing  
C．by listing examples       D．by giving explanations

I had this exchange with my 6-year-old last week．

       Him: Mom, we have to start buying Danimals．

       Me: Why?

       Him: So, I can bring it to |school for lunch．It's yogurt ．

       Me: Why do you want it so badly?

       Him: Because Danimals i|s giving away five fantastic Caribbean vacations．

       I had to explain that there was little chance that he would win a vacation．It's a strategy used to encourage kids to beg for artificially-colored （人工着色的） yogurt that costs a lot．

       Marketing follows my kids —and yours—wherever they go ．It comes via TV commercials． Store displays and websites are also constantly selling at our kids ．But the most powerful means in kids" lives is the presence of licensed characters on every product imaginable．

       Children can begin their day in character clothing．There's even character -themed wall paint available．A breakfast in a character bowl can be followed by a character toothbrush and character toothpaste（牙膏）, character soap and shampoo, and a character wash cloth and towel ．Then, they can put on character clothing and character shoes．Check that, character clock on the wall: Is it time for characier-shaped fruit snacks yet?

       Surround kids with enough of the characters and they'll come to believe they need them．Most of us, of course, don't buy all those items．But say no to four products out of five and your home can still get filled with these tiny items encouraging brand loyalty （品牌忠诚）

       At this time of year, parents buy licensed school supplies．With so much marketing around us, it can be tough to stop the tide．

       "One thing that helps parents'is that they can talk to other parents about, this kind of thing," Linn suggested ．"If you decide you want to buck this, it helps to find other people who will do the same thing ．That way, if your child says．"Everyone's doing it," you can really have a sense of whether everyone is．" |

1.From the dialogue between the author and the son, we can infer that ____-

       A．the son likes drinking yogurt a lot．

       B．buying Danimals may win a free tour

       C．the son's school encourages kids to eat yogurt

       D．Danimals in the most popular yogurt among kids．

2.We can learn from th^ passage that     '

       A．character bowls increase kids' appetite．

       B．character-themed wall paint is expensive

       C．household goods are becoming the target of advertisers．

       D．Linn considered character-themed products a foolish marketing strategy．

3.The underlined word "buck" in the last paragraph probably means _____．

       A．support        B．resist           C．advertise            D．learn

4.What does the passage mainly tell us ?  ．

       A．Marketing is affecting kids all the time．

       B．Most kids now don't have a happy childhood,

       C．Kids like buying licensed school supplies a lot.

       D．Licensed character produce are doing great harm to kids.

For hundreds of years, artists have used cartoons to criticize bad rulers or landowners. As early as the 19 th century, people produced and read books of drawings. In many ways, they were similar to modern comics（漫画）. They contained stories of naughty children and playful animals. The owl and the elephant were usually wise animals, ready to give advice. The lion and tiger were brave. The fox and wolf were cunning, greedy and dangerous.

    A century ago, an American newspaper published the first-color comic strip. It was so popular that sales of the newspaper, Morning Journal, increased quickly. Since then, newspapers throughout the world have included comic strips.

    In modern time, comics are popular in China, Japan, the USA and almost everywhere. Not even video games or CD-ROMs have reduced their popularity. Names such as Snoopy, Woodstock and Garfield are well known in dozens of countries. The Peanuts comic strip appears in over 2,000 newspapers and in more than 25 languages.

    Perhaps one day, you may like to create your own comic strip and become a millionaire. First, you must think of a good plot. It should be funny, exciting or interesting in some way. It should have plenty of action. Moreover, the language must be realistic and simple. The words should suit the characters in your story.

    Furthermore, the characters in your story must be clear to readers. They should be obviously good or bad. In many comic strips—especially those showing crime of adventure—there should also be a hero or heroine. This will attract the reader to keep on reading the story. 

1. Which of the following is NOT the name of a cartoon character?

  A. Snoopy             B. Garfield         C. Peanuts        D. Woodstock

2. We can know from the first paraphaph that rulers ________.

  A. asked the artists to draw cartoons           B. probably did not like cartoons about them.

C. often drew cartoons many years ago.        D. used cartoons to give people advice.

3. According to the passage, what makes a popular and successful comic strip?

 A. Good plot         B. suitable language      C. clear characters      D. All of above

4. The underlined word “plot” is similar in meaning to ______.

 A. places              B. stories            C. events               D. characters

Obama Still Smokes in Secret

US President Barack Obama has just made life more difficult for cigarette makers．He has just signed a law that will set tough new rules for the tobacco industry．The new law gives the US Food and Drug Administration the power to strictly limit the making and marketing of tobacco products．

At a White House signing ceremony Monday, Obama said that he was among the nearly 90% of smokers who took up the habit before their 18 th birthday．

Obama, who has publicly struggled to give up smoking, said he still hadn’t completely kicked the habit．Every now and then he still smokes in secret．

“As a former smoker I struggle with it all the time．Do I still smoke sometimes? Yes．Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No．” Obama said at a news conference．

“I don' t do it in front of my lads．I don 't do it in front of my family．I would say that I am 95% cured, but there are times when I mess up, " he said．

"Once you go down this path, it' s something you continually struggle with, which is exactly why the law is so important．The new law is not about me, it' s about the next generation of kids coming up．What we don ' t want is kids going down that path," he said．

Nearly 20% of Americans smoke and tobacco use kills about 440,000 people a year in the United States due to cancer, heart disease, and other serious diseases．

1.The new law makes life difficult for             ．

2.What do we know about Obama?

3.According to the passage, Obama is most concerned about           ．

“Racism (种族歧视) is a grown-up disease,” declares the saying on Ruby Bridge’s website along with a photo of Mrs. Bridge today, a 6-year-old girl four decades ago. In the photo, she is walking up the steps of the William Frantz Public School in New Orleans, a little black girl accompanied by two officers who protect her on her way to school.

Her name then was Ruby Nell. It was Nov. 14, 1960. She was the first black child to enroll at this all-white elementary school according to the court order to desegregate in New Orleans schools. Her story is moving -- she was a very courageous child -- and remains a significant proof against intolerance (不宽容) of all kinds. Ruby’s photo brings out another powerful image on her website: Norman Rockwells symbolic painting for Look magazine on Jan. 14, 1964, “The Problem We All Live With.”

Rockwell was an illustrator of exceptional skill and charm. He produced a vast number of unforgettable images over a long career, many of them involving children. His American kids are innocent and appealing, but often, at the same time, decidedly naughty. His method was to photograph his models, and the resulting paintings were photographic． But it is revealing to see how the artist slightly changed facial expressions from photo to oil painting in order to make his paintings communicate with the viewer. Communication, even persuasion, lay at the back of his work; this was art for effect.

“The Problem We All Live With” belongs to Rockwell’s later work, when he began openly showing his strong belief in liberty. This is a highly persuasive image. Before he arrived at the final copy, one sketch (草图) shows the little girl closer to the two officers following her than to those in front. In the finished picture, the girl seems more determined, independent, and untouched． The unfriendly tomatoes thrown on the wall are behind her now, and she, is completely unaffected．

1.Ruby Nell was protected by officers on her way to school, because   .

2.According to the passage, “The Problem We All Live With” is a(n)     .

3.The word “desegregate” in paragraph 2 probably means“   ”.

4.The main topic of this passage is   .