20．The writer came to believe that ________.

　　　　 A．it is always a waste of time to make plans about the future

　　　　 B．it is human nature to make attempts on what looks impossible

　　　　 C．one should always challenge the impossible to push the society forward

　　　　 D．one has to use wisdom in deciding what is the best thing to do

19．The importance of wisdom lies in the fact that __________.

　　　　 A．it helps to avoid various mistakes　　　　 B．it contributes to one’s creativity

　　　　 C．it encourages one to go forward in face of difficulty

　　　　 D．it provides the right direction of efforts

18．Some people achieve success much later in life because ______.

A.their work often requires much experience

B．they do not have a chance to show their talent

　　　　 C．they have to learn lessons from failures

　　　　 D．they fail to realize earlier the importance of hard work

17．According to the writer, the great discoveries made by Albert Einstein were mainly a result in __________.　　

A．years of hard work　　 B．sharpness of the brain

　　　　 C．rich experience　 D．his deep understanding of the nuture

16．The writer believes that _________.

　　　　 A．children should make better rules for their games

　　　　 B．children should invite grown-ups to play with them

　　　　 C．children’s games can do them a lot of good

D．children play games without reasons

E

After the age of sixteen, the number of brain cells begins to decrease at a speed of several million a year. They simply die off. We know that in certain types of activity, the human brain is at its peak(高峰) in the early twenties, when it has collected enough information to be able to use the vast number of cells freely in the most effective way. Pure mathematics is one of the fields in which this happens, and we know that Albert Einstein made all his world-shaking discoveries between the　 age of about 20 and 25, and spent the rest of his life tidying them up and arranging them.

But in certain other types of activity (of which being an author is perhaps one) experience is more important than sharpness of brain, and there one usually finds that a person reaches his or her peak much later in life.

Besides sharpness of brain and experience, here is another thing that is very important; and that is wisdom; one can have a very quick, inventive brain and plenty of experience, but if one uses these foolishly, one harms both oneself and others. Wisdom does not always come with age－there are plenty of foolish middle－aged people about－but the average person tends to learn wisdom as he gets older, usually by making painful of embarrassing mistakes.

Leaning to be wise is basically learning what is not possible; and what is possible but so difficult that it is not worth all the trouble one has to go through go get there. Mostly, it is learning about human nature; how real people behave and react, as against how one would like them to behave and react. One can read and hear lot of idealistic stuff(空想的东西) about how to make the world a better place, which would be found if it was based on an accurate (准确) observation of human nature, but which is basically a waste of time because it is not.

15．Why does a child like playing games?

　　　　 A．Because he can be someone other than himself.

　　　　 B．Because he can become popular among friends.

　　　　 C．Because he finds he is always lucky in games.

　　　　 D．Because he likes the place where he places a game.

14．What do we know about grown-ups?

　　　　 A．They are not interested in games.　　　　

B．They find children’s games easy.

　　　　 C．They don’t need a reason to play games.　

D．They don’t understand children’s games.

13．To become a leader in a game the child has to __________.

　　　　 A．play well　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B．wait for his turn

　　　　 C．be confident in himself　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．be popular among his playmates

12．What is true about children when they play games?

　　　　 A．They can stop playing at any time they like.　

B．They can test their personal abilities.

　　　　 C．They want to pick a better team.　　　　　　

D．They don’t need rules.

11．Form the selection, we can infer that __________.

　　　　 A．the hummingbird lives faster than any other warm-blooded creature

　　　　 B．there is no limit as to how large a warm-blooded animal can be.

　　　　 C．small animals have less skin for their body weight than large ones .

　　　　 D．the hummingbird is the smallest animal in the world.

D

Children have their own rules in playing games. They seldom need a referee(裁判) and rarely trouble to keep scores. They don’t care much about who wins or loses, and it doesn’t seem to worry them if the game is not finished. Yet, they like games that depend a lot on luck, so that their personal abilities cannot be directly compared. They also enjoy games that move in stages, in which each stage, the choosing of leaders, the picking-up of sides, or the determining of which side shall start, is a game in itself.

Grown-ups can hardly find children’s games exciting, and they often feel puzzled at why their kids play such simple games again and again. However, it is found that a child plays games for very important reasons. He can be a good player without having to think whether he is a popular person, and he can find himself being a useful partner to someone of whom he is ordinarily afraid. He becomes a leader when it comes to his turn. He can be confident, too, in particular games, that it is his place to give orders, to pretend to be dead, to throw a ball actually at someone, or to kiss some one he has caught.

It appears to us that when children play a game they imagine a situation under their control. Everyone knows the rules, and, more importantly, everyone plays according to the rules. Those rules may be childish, but they make sure that every child has a chance to win.