As a youngster, there was nothing I liked better than Sunday afternoons at my grandfather’s farm in western Pennsylvania. Surrounded by miles of winding stone walls, the house and field provided endless hours of fun for a city kid like me. I was used to tidy living rooms that seemed to whisper, "Not to be touched!"
I can still remember one afternoon when I was eight years old. Since my first visit to the farm, I had wanted more than anything to be allowed to climb the stone walls surrounding the houses. My parents would never approve. The walls were old; some stones were missing, others loose and falling. Still, my idea to climb across those walls grew so strong that finally, one spring afternoon, I had all my courage to enter the living room, where the adults had gathered after Sunday dinner.
"I, uh-I want to climb the stone walls," I said. Everyone looked up. "Can I climb the stone walls? "Immediately voices of disagreement went up from the women in the room. "Heavens, no!" You'll hurt yourself!" I wasn't too disappointed; the response was just as I'd expected. But before I could leave the room, I was stopped by my grandfather's loud voice. "Now hold on just a minute," I heard him say. "Let the boy climb the stone walls. He has to learn to do things for himself."

Many years have passed since then, and today I host the television program Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, seen by millions of children throughout America. There have been changes over the years, but one thing remains the same: my message to children at the end of almost every visit. "There's only one person in this whole world like you," the kids can count on hearing me say, "and people can like you exactly as you are.”
【小题1】When the writer was small, he lived        .

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.

1.Babies choose the larger amount of food     .

A．by saying numbers                      B．with the help of parents

C．on personal preference                  D．through their natural abilities

2.The quantifying ability refers to the ability to     .

A．choose between different substances

B．get much knowledge of the world

C．describe the quantity of something

D．obtain math-related skills

3.What is mainly talked about in Paragraph 4?

A．The process of doing research.

B．The scientific findings.

C．The final choice of infants.

D．The observation of infants’ behavior.

4.We can learn from the text that     .

A．some parents don’t care about their kids

B．people used to think the world is known to babies

C．little research has been done on infants

D．scholars disagree on baby-training programs

5.What’s the best title of the text?

A．Breakthrough in Baby Studies

B．Amazing Baby-training Ideas

C．Early Human Abilities

D．Unique Quantifying Methods

One of the most widely accepted, commonly repeated assumptions (假设) in our culture is that if you exercise, you will lose weight. I exercise all the time, but I still have gut fat that hangs over my belt when I sit. Why isn’t all the exercise getting rid of it?

It’s a question many of us could ask. More than 45 million Americans now belong to a health club, up from 23 million in 1993. We spend some $19 billion a year on gym memberships. Of course, some people join and never go. Still, as one major study — the Minnesota Heart Survey — found, more of us at least say we exercise regularly.

And yet obesity (肥胖) figures have risen sharply in the same period: a third of Americans are obese, and another third count as overweight by the Federal Government’s definition. Yes, it’s entirely possible that those of us who regularly go to the gym would weigh even more if we exercised less. But like many other people, I get hungry after I exercise, so I often eat more on the days I work out than on the days I don’t. Could exercise actually be keeping me from losing weight?

The popular belief that exercise is essential for weight control is actually fairly new. As recently as the 1960s, doctors routinely advised against too much exercise, particularly for older adults who could injure themselves. Today doctors encourage even their oldest patients to exercise, which is sound advice for many reasons: People who regularly exercise are at significantly lower risk for all manner of diseases — those of the heart in particular. They less often develop cancer and many other illnesses. But the past few years of obesity research show that the role of exercise in weight loss has been wildly over-evaluated.

“In general, for weight loss, exercise is pretty useless,” says Eric Ravussin, exercise researcher at Louisiana State University. Many recent studies have found that exercise isn’t as important in helping people lose weight as you hear so regularly in gym advertisements or on shows like The Biggest Loser — or, for that matter, from magazines like this one.

The basic problem is that while it’s true that exercise burns calories and that you must burn calories to lose weight, exercise has another effect: it can make one hungry. That causes us to eat more, which in turn can negate (使无效) the weight-loss benefits we just gained. Exercise, in other words, isn’t necessarily helping us lose weight. It may even be making it harder.

From the passage we learn that ____.

A. some Americans join a health club but never go there  

B. the number of overweight people has doubled since 1993

C. more than 45 million Americans now go to the gym regularly

D. Americans waste too much money each year on sports

According to the passage, exercise ____.

A. has long been believed to be good for older adults

B. is not properly advertised as an effective way to lose weight

C. was first recognized as an effective way to lose weight in the 1960s

D. is less effective in preventing heart disease than what doctors believe

According to the writer, people might gain weight because ____.

A. they have the habit of going to the gym regularly

B. they eat the same food when they do not exercise

C. they exercise less than required by doctors

D. they eat more after they exercise

What may be the best title for this passage?

A. Overweight Is Not Good for Your Health

B. Exercise Won’t Make You Thin 

C. Gym Is Part of American Lifestyle      

D. Obesity Is a Social Problem in America        

George, when your big brother and your little dog and I walked you up to schools today, you had no idea how I was feeling.
You were so excited. You had packed and unpacked your pencils and safety scissors in your backpack a dozen times. I am really going to miss those lazy mornings when we waved your brother and sister off to school.
Because you are my youngest, I had learned a few things by the time you came along. I found out that the seemingly endless days of babyhood are gone like lightning. I blinked(眨眼), and your older siblings were setting off for school as eagerly as you did this morning, I was one of the lucky ones; I could choose whether to work or not. By the time it was your turn, the shining prizes of career advancement and a double income had lost their brightness. A splash(溅水) in the pool with you in your bright red boots or "just one more" rereading of your favorite book, Frog and Toad Are Friends, meant more. You didn’t go to preschool and I hope that doesn’t hold you back. You learned numbers by helping me count the soda cans we returned to the store.
I have to admit that in my mind’s eye, an image of myself while you’re in school has developed, I see myself updating all the photo albums and starting that novel I always wanted to write. As the summer wound down and more frequent quarrels erupted between you and your siblings, I was looking forward to today. And then this morning, I walked you up the steep hill to your classroom. You found the coat hook with your name above it right away, and you gave me one of your characteristically fierce, too-tight hugs. This time you were ready to let go before I was.
Maybe someday you will deliver a kindergartner to the first day of school. When you turn at the door to wave good-bye, he or she will be too deep in conversation with a new friend to notice. Even as you smile, you’ll feel something warm on your cheek.
And then, you’ll know…
【小题1】What does the author mean by the underlined sentence?

Some scientists say that animals in the ocean are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings. The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling, and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels(分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of 120 decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decible level of 195 would have the same effect.

Some scientists have suggested setting a noise limit of 120 decibles in oceans. They have observed that noises above that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that loud noises could seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing, which seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected(感染的).

Many researches whose work depends on ocean sounds disagree with a limit of 120 decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how many and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they previously believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1.The second paragraph mainly tells us that the noises on land and in water       .

A．are both from human activities.

B．both do harm to sea animals

C．are measured differently

D．have the same effect on humans

2.As to(依据) the effects of noises on whales, which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?

A．They are deaf to noises.

B．Noises at a certain level may hurt them.

C．They are easily confused by noises.

D．Noises will limit their ability to reproduce.

3.Many researchers think that the noise limit of 120 decibels would        .

A．protect whales from noises

B．benefit them a lot in their research work

C．do good to their health

D．increase industrial output

4.What will scientists most probably do in the future?

A．Count the number of sea animals.

B．Stop their research on the ocean.

C．Study the effect of different noises.

D．Protect sea creatures from harmful noises.