Do you know how it is when you see someone yawn and you start yawning too? Or how hard it is to be among people laughing and not laugh yourself? Well, apparently it's because we have mirror neurons (神经元）in our brains.

Put simply, the existence of mirror neurons suggests that every time we see someone else do something, our brains imitate (模仿)it, whether or not we actually perform the same action. This explains a great deal about how we learn to smile, talk, walk, dance or play sports. But the idea goes further: mirror neurons not only appear to explain physical actions, they also tell us that there is a biological basis for the way we understand other people.

Mirror neurons can undoubtedly be found all over our brains, but especially in the areas which relate to our ability to use languages, and to understand how other people feel. Researchers have found that mirror neurons relate strongly to language. A group of researchers discovered that if they gave people sentences to listen to (for example: "The hand took hold of the ball"), the same mirror neurons were triggered as when the action was actually performed (in this example, actually taking hold of a ball).

Any problems with mirror neurons may well result in problems with behavior. Much research suggests that people with social and behavioral problems have mirror neurons which are not fully functioning. However, it is not yet known exactly how these discoveries might help find treatments for social disorders.

Research into mirror neurons seems to provide us with even more information concerning how humans behave and interact (互动). Indeed, it may turn out to be the equivalent (相等物)for neuroscience of what Einstein's theory of relativity was for physics. And the next time you feel the urge to cough in the cinema when someone else does—well, perhaps you'll understand why.

1.Mirror neurons can explain _________.

A．why we cry when we are hurt

B．why we cough when we suffer from a cold

C．why we smile when we see someone else smile

D．why we yawn when we see someone else stay up late

2.The underlined word "triggered" in the third paragraph probably means “_________”.

A．set off            B．cut off            C．built up           D．broken up

3.We can learn from the passage that mirror neurons _________.

A．relate to human behavior and interaction

B．control human physical actions and feelings

C．result in bad behavior and social disorders

D．determine our knowledge and language abilities

4.What is the passage mainly about?

A．Ways to find mirror neurons.              B．Problems of mirror neurons.

C．Existence of mirror neurons.               D．Functions of mirror neurons.

About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”

       This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.

       Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.

       Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?

       Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.

       In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.

       Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.

According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.

       A．a sure sign of a mental problem in a child

       B．a mental state present in all humans, including children

       C．something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development

       D．something hardly to be expected in a young child

Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.

       A．through connection with society

       B．gradually and under guidance

       C．naturally without being taught

       D．through watching television

According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ______.

       A．the widespread influence of television

       B．the poor arrangement of teaching content

       C．the fast pace of human scientific development

       D．the rising standard of living

What does the author think of communication through print for children?

       A．It enables children to gain more social information.

       B．It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.

       C．It helps children to read and write well.

       D．It can control what children are to learn.

Huge global interest in “the best job in the world”—earning good money for lazing on a paradise(天堂) island for 6 months — has crashed the Australian website where it is advertised.

The job pays 150,000 Australian dollars (about 100,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the successful candidate’s home country to tropical Hamilton Island on the famous Great Barrier Reef. In return, the winner will be expected to have as much fun as he or she can — soaking up the sun, swimming, snorkeling, sailing—and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates.

The successful candidate—who will stay rent—free in a multi-million-dollar three-bedroom beach home—must be over 18, a “fantastic and charismatic” communicator, and able to speak and write English.

The campaign is a key element in a drive to promote the northeastern Australian state’s 18-billion-dollars-a-year tourism industry during the tough global economic climate, officials say. And they are at pains to stress that it is “a real job”.

The successful applicants will “also have to talk to media from time to time about what they’re doing so they can’t be too shy and they’ll have to love the sea, the sun, the outdoors,” said acting state Premier Paul Lucas. “The fact that they will be paid to explore the islands of the great Barrier Reef, swim, snorkel and generally live the Queensland lifestyle makes this undoubtedly the best job in the world.”

60. The Australian website was crashed because          .

A. some people destroyed it         B. the website was clicked very frequently

C. the website was infected by a virus  D. the government banned the website

61. To apply for the job, the person is supposed         .

A. to have a good knowledge of Australia   B. to be strong in health  

C. to be able to speak at least 3 languages   D. to talk to media from time to time

62. The purpose of the campaign is to improve         .

A. the global economy              B. the environment

C. the popularity of the website       D. the tourism industry

63. Through the passage, the writer is intended to         .

A. encourage everyone to apply for the job

B. tell us something about the most attractive job

C. encourage everyone to visit the Great Barrier Reef

D. support Australian tourism industry

Homeownership has let us down. For generations, Americans believed that owning a home was undoubtedly good. Our political leaders hammered home the point. Franklin Roosevelt held that a country of homeowners was “unconquerable.” Homeownership could even save babies, save children, save families and save America. A house with a lawn and a fence wasn’t just a nice place to live in or a risk-free investment; it was a way to shape a nation. No wonder leaders of all political types wanted to spend more than $100 billion a year on subsidies（补助）and tax breaks to encourage people to buy.

But the dark side of homeownership is now all too apparent: Indeed, easy lending stimulated（刺激）by the cult of homeownership may have triggered（引起）the financial crisis. Housing remains a drag on the economy. Existing-home sales in April dropped 27% from the previous month, worsening fears of a double-dip. And all that is just the obvious tale of a housing bubble and what happened when it popped. The real story is deeper and darker still.

For the better part of a century, politics, industry and culture lined up to create a fetish of the idea of buying a house. Homeownership has done plenty of good over the decades; it has provided stability to tens of millions of families. Yet by idealizing the act of buying a home, we have ignored the downsides. In the bubble years, lending standards slipped dramatically, allowing many Americans to put far too much of their income into paying for their housing. And we ignored longer-term phenomena too. Homeownership contributed to the hollowing out of cities and kept renters out of the best neighborhoods. It fed America’s overuse of energy and oil. It made it more difficult for those who had lost a job to find another. Perhaps worst of all, it helped us become casually self-deceiving: By telling ourselves that homeownership was a pathway to wealth and stable communities and better test scores, we avoided dealing with these frightening issues head-on.

Now, as the U.S. recovers from the biggest housing bust（破产）since the Great Depression, it is time to rethink how realistic our expectations of homeownership are—and how much money we want to spend chasing them. Many argue that homeownership should not be a goal pursued at all costs.

1.Political leaders wanted to spend money encouraging people to buy houses because______.

A．owning a home was undoubtedly good

B．homeownership could shape a country

C．houses could save families and America

D．homeownership was unconquerable

2.The underlined sentence in Para. 2 means ______.

A．homeownership has quite a lot of bad effects

B．there might be another housing breakdown in the U.S.

C．the existing-home sales will keep decreasing in the U.S.

D．the result of homeownership is much worse than it appears

3.It can be inferred from Para. 3 that ______.

A．Americans choose to live out of urban areas

B．it is the way to wealth to have one’s own house

C．it is hard for Americans to get a home loan

D．homeownership has made many people out of work

4.What is the author’s attitude towards homeownership?

A．Cautious.          B．Ambiguous.        C．Favorable.         D．Optimistic.