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.

It’s been claimed that playing a musical instrument makes you smarter．
New research suggests that regularly playing a musical instrument changes the shape and power of the brain, and may be used in therapy (疗法) to improve cognitive (认知) skills．
Experts say there is growing evidence that musicians have brains that are structurally and functionally different from those of non-musicians, especially in the areas of the brain used in processing (处理信息)
The parts of the brain that control motor skills, the storage of audio information, hearing and memory become larger and more active when a person learns how to play an instrument and can apparently improve the alertness (警觉) and planning．
Lutz Jancke, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said, “Leaning to play a musical instrument has great benefits and can increase IQ by seven points in both children and adults．We found that even people over the age of 65, after four or five months of playing an instrument for an hour a week, had strong changes in the brain.” The parts of the brain that control hearing and memory, and the part that controls the hands, among others, all become more active.
“Of course music isn’t the only answer, but I do believe that it should be used in addition to other things.”
Mr．Jancke also said that learning a musical instrument could also make it easier to learn foreign languages and make one more sensitive to understanding the emotions of others．“So not only does this make it easier to pick up other languages and have a better memory of one’s own, we have also seen musicians are able to pick out exactly what others are feeling just by the tones of their voices—sympathy, disappointment, that kind of things.”
He added, “Several studies indeed show that playing music increases memory and language skills, but more research is needed.”
1．What is the passage mainly about?
A．How to use musical instruments.
B．How music affects the brain.
C．How playing music makes people smarter.
D．The development of research into music.
2．Compared with non-musicians, __________.
A．musicians are better at foreign languages
B．musicians are more active in sports
C．musicians have stronger emotions
D．musicians’ brains work differently in processing
3．Which of the following is NOT a benefit of playing an instrument?
A．It makes it easier for one to pick up foreign languages.
B．It allows one to show his feelings more exactly to others．
C．It gives one a better memory in one’s own language．
D．it makes one understand others’ feelings better．
4．From Luz Jancke we lean that _________．
A．playing an instrument benefits children more than adults
B．playing an instrument has no benefits for people over 65
C．some studies show playing music can increase memory
D．he will do more research into brain development and music

I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people      I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a       person.

I think my      started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my       and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever      to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really     . It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a(n)      . I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I could      to help. That was really a big      for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of      are still my best friends today.

A bigger cause of my new     , however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my     . Every time I came into her room, she was      because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never      her, so I took her place. She let me     that making others feel good make me feel good, too, when she died, I was     , but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much      person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not      these experiences. They have      me to care about other people more than about myself. I      who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

1.A. since              B. before            C. or                     D. unless

2.A. famous            B. simple          C. different                       D. skilled

3.A. education          B. career  C. tour       D. change

4.A. balance      B. homework    C. degree D. interest

5.A. talked        B. wrote   C. lied       D. reported

6.A. careful       B. lonely   C. curious D. guilty

7.A. argument B. game    C. experiment D. defence

8.A. dare           B. offer    C. hesitate        D. happen

9.A. dream       B. problem        C. duty     D. step

10.A. us    B. which   C. them    D. whom

11.A. attitude   B. hobby   C. hope    D. luck

12.A. friend       B. partner C. guide   D. guest

13.A. polite       B. happy C. strange         D. confident

14.A. bothered         B. answered     C. visited D. trusted

15.A. explain     B. guess    C. declare D. see

16.A. homeless B. heartbroken C. bad-tempered      D. hopeless

17.A. quieter    B. busier C. better D. richer

18.A. forget      B. face       C. improve        D. analyze

19.A. forced     B. preferred     C. ordered        D. taught

20.A. miss B. like       C. wonder         D. expect

I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people        I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a        person.

I think my        started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my       and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever         to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really        . It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a (n)        . I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I        to help. That was really a big        for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of        are still my best friends today. 

A bigger cause of my new        , however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my         . Every time I came into her room, she was so        because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never        her, so I took her place. She let me        that making others feel good make me feel good, too, when she died, I was        , but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much        person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not        these experiences. They have         me to care about other people more than about myself. I        who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

1.A. since          B. before          C. or         D. unless

2.A. famous       B. simple   C. different       D. skilled

3.A. education          B. career  C. tour     D. change

4.A. balance      B. homework    C. degree D. interest

5.A. talked        B. wrote   C. lied       D. reported

6.A. careful       B. lonely   C. curious D. guilty

7.A. argument B. game    C. experiment   D. defense

8.A. dared        B. offered C. hesitated      D. happened

9.A. dream       B. problem        C. duty      D. step

10.A. us    B. which   C. them    D. whom

11.A. attitude   B. hobby   C. hope    D. luck

12.A. friend       B. partner C. guide   D. guest

13.A. polite       B. happy C. strange         D. confident

14.A. bothered         B. answered     C. visited D. trusted

15.A. explain     B. guess    C. declare D. see

16.A. homeless B. heartbroken C. bad-tempered      D. hopeless

17.A. quieter    B. busier C. better D. richer

18.A. forget      B. face       C. improve        D. analyze

19.A. forced      B. preferred      C. ordered        D. taught

20.A. miss B. like       C. wonder         D. expect

I used to be a very self-centered person, but in the past two years I have really changed. I have started to think about other people__36__I think about myself. I am happy that I am becoming a__37__person.

I think my __38__started when I was at Palomar College. At first, I just wanted to get my__39__and be left alone. I thought I was smarter than everyone else, so I hardly ever__40__ to anyone in my classes. By the end of my first semester, I was really__41__. It seemed as if everyone but me had made friends and was having fun. So tried a(n)  __42__. I started asking people around me how they were doing, and if they were having trouble I__43__ to help. That was really a big__44__for me. By the end of the year, I had several new friends, and two of__45__are still my best friends today. 

A bigger cause of my new__46__, however, came when I took a part-time job at a Vista Nursing Home. One old lady there who had Alzheimer’s disease became my__47__ . Every time I came into her room, she was so __48__  because she thought I was her daughter. Her real daughter never__49__her, so I took her place. She let me __50__that making others feel good made me feel good, too. When she died, I was__51__, but I was very grateful to her.

I think I am a much__52__ person today than I used to be, and I hope I will not__53__ these experiences. They have __54__ me to care about other people more than about myself. I __55__who I am today, and I could not say that a few years ago.

1.                A．since           B．before          C．or   D．unless

2.                A．famous         B．simple          C．different D．skilled

3.                A．education       B．career          C．tour D．change

4.                A．balance        B．homework      C．degree   D．interest

5.                A．talked          B．wrote          C．lied D．reported

6.                A．careful         B．lonely          C．curious   D．guilty

7.                A．argument       B．game           C．experiment    D．defence

8.                A．dared          B．offered         C．hesitated D．happened

9.                A．dream          B．problem        C．duty D．step

10.               A．us             B．which          C．them D．whom

11.               A．attitude        B．hobby          C．hope D．luck

12.               A．friend          B．partner         C．guide     D．guest

13.               A．polite          B．happy          C．strange    D．confident

14.               A．bothered       B．answered       C．visited    D．trusted

15.               A．explain         B．guess          C．declare   D．see

16.               A．homeless       B．heartbroken     C．bad-tempered D．hopeless

17.               A．quieter         B．busier          C．better     D．richer

18.               A．forget          B．face           C．improve   D．analyze

19.               A．forced         B．preferred       C．ordered   D．taught

20.               A．miss           B．like            C．wonder   D．expect