Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars,  a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.

Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy.  The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.

Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”

1.Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because         .

2.Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with       according to the study.

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

4.What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?

5.We may read this article in a        section of a newspaper.

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。  

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

Interviewing someone for a job is not as easy as it looks. First, as the interviewer, you're tasked with finding the person who will not only do the job well but also fit in well with the other employees.

You have to make an evaluation of abstract qualities that can't be found on a résumé. Because you have to repeat the process for every potential employee, you end up asking question after question, applicant after applicant.

Still, interviewers need to be told something，“What is your biggest weakness？” is not a good question. It just isn't.

Now, job seekers have to understand that interviewers want to find some way to know what makes an applicant different from others. Asking questions that are seemingly impossible to answer is one way to see who can think creatively. Then what may be a proper way to respond to such a question?

Honesty, with a twist(新手法)

“‘What are your three strengths and three weaknesses？’ is a classic,  but not too many people know how to answer this，” says Kenneth C. Wisnefski,  founder and CEO of WebiMax, an online marketing company.

“As an interviewer, we want to hear strengths that describe initiative(主动性), motivation and dedication. The best way to respond is to include these qualities into specific ‘personal statements’．”

“Similarly, weaknesses should be positioned as a strength that can benefit the employer.”

“I like to hear applicants state an exaggerated strength, and put an interesting twist on it. An example of this is, ‘My initiative is so strong, that sometimes I take on too many projects at a time.’”

This answer leads with a strength that employers want—initiative—and still acknowledges that you're not perfect.

Although you might consider this acknowledgement too honest, it works because it proves you're being honest.

Honesty, with progress

When you consider what your weaknesses are, think about how you have attempted to overcome them. No one is perfect, so pretending that you are a perfectionist will come across as insincere.

Debra Davenport, author of “Career Shuffle”， believes citing(引用) examples are the best approach.

“My preferred response for this question is to tell the truth without damaging the applicant's image.” Davenport explains.

“A better response might be, ‘I've had some challenges with work­life balance in the past and I realize that a life out of balance isn't good for me, my family or my employer. I've taken the time to learn better time and project management, and I'm also committed to my overall wellness.’”

The answer adds some dimension to the question, and proves you're thought beyond the answer. You've actually changed your behavior to address the situation, even if you haven't completely overcome the weakness.

Put yourself in the interviewer's shoes

However you decide to answer, Debra Yergen, author of “Creating Job Security Resource Guide”， recommends job seekers imagine themselves sitting on the other side of the desk.

“If you were doing the hiring, what would you be looking for? What would be your motivation for asking certain questions? Who whould you be trying to weed out? If you can empathize(共鸣) with the interviewer, you can better understand what they want and need, and then frame your qualifications to meet their needs for the position you seek.”

Once you consider what the goal of the question is and figure out what your honest answer is, you'll be able to give the best possible answer to a tricky question.

When you practice reading with passages shorter than book length, do not try to take in each word separately, one after the other. It is much more difficult to grasp the broad theme of the passage this way, and you will also get the stuck on individual words which may not be absolutely essential to a general understanding of the passage. It is a good idea to skim through the passage very quickly first to get the general idea of each paragraph. Titles, paragraph headings and emphasized words can be a great help in getting this skeleton outline of the passage. It is surprising how many people do not read titles, introductions or paragraph headings. Can you, without looking back, remember the title of this passage and the heading of this paragraph?

    Most paragraphs of a passage or chapter have a 'topic sentence' which expresses the central idea. The remaining sentences expand or support that idea. It has been estimated that between 50% and 90% of all expositive（说明的）paragraphs in English have the topic sentence first. Always pay special attention to the first sentence of a paragraph, it is most likely to give you the main idea.

    Sometimes, though, the first sentence in the paragraph does not have the feel of 'main idea' sentence. It does not seem to give us enough new information to justify a paragraph. The next most likely place to look for the topic sentence is the last sentence of the paragraph.

    Remember that the opening and closing paragraphs of a passage or chapter are particularly important. The opening paragraph suggests the general direction and content of the piece, while the closing paragraph often summarizes the very essence（精髓）.

1. It is a good idea to skim through a passage quickly first ____________.

A. at about 315 w.p.m.（words per minute）

B. to get the general idea of each paragraph

C. so that you can take in each work separately

D. to make sure you get to the end at least once

2.The topic sentence of an expository paragraph in English _____________.

A. usually comes in the middle

B. is most likely to be found at the end

C. is most often at the beginning

D. is usually left out in expository writing

3. Most expository paragraphs in English have a clearly defined topic sentence. In such paragraphs the topic sentence comes first _____________.

A. in about 5% of cases                       B in about 80% of cases

C. in about 20% cases                         D. very rarely

4.Sometimes we know the first sentence is not the topic sentence because ____________.

A. it does not seem to give us enough new information

B. it is not long enough

C. it does not come at the beginning

D. it does not make a complete sentence

5.The closing paragraph of a piece of writing ____________.

A. is not really very important

B. is often unnecessary repetition

C. often comes at the end

D. often summarizes the essence of the passage

Baby girls make their way directly for dolls as soon as they can crawl, while boys will head for the toy cars,  a study has shown. The findings, the first to show differences in very young babies, suggest there is a biological basis to their preferences.

Psychologists Dr Brenda Todd from City University London carried out an experiment involving 90 infants aged nine months to 36 months. The babies were allowed to choose from seven toys. Some were stereotypically boys' toys - a car, a digger, a ball and a blue teddy.  The rest were girls’ toys: a pink teddy, a doll and a cooking set. They were placed a meter away from the toys, and could pick whichever toy they liked. Their choice and the amount of time they spent playing with each toy were recorded.

Of the youngest children (nine to 14 months), girls spent significantly longer playing with the doll than boys, and boys spent much more time with the car and ball than the girls did. Among the two-and three-year-olds, girls spent 50 percent of the time playing with the doll while only two boys briefly touched it. The boys spent almost 90 percent of their time playing with cars, which the girls barely touched. There was no link between the parents’ view on which toys were more appropriate for boys or girls, and the children’s choice.

Dr Brenda Todd said: “Children of this age are already exposed to much socialization. Boys may be given ‘toys that go’ while girls get toys they can care for, which may help shape their preference. But these findings agree with the former idea that children show natural interests in particular kinds of toys. There could be a biological basis for their choices. Males through evolution have been adapted to prefer moving objects, probably through hunting instincts（本能）, while girls prefer warmer colors such as pink, the color of a newborn baby.”

1.Baby boys and girls have different toy preferences probably because         .

2.Both baby boys and baby girls like to play with       according to the study.

3.What can we infer from Paragraph 3 ?

4.What conclusion did Dr. Brenda Todd draw from the results of the study?

5.We may read this article in a        section of a newspaper.

Have you ever been in a meeting while someone was making a speech and realized suddenly that your mind was a million miles away? You probably felt sorry and made up your mind to pay attention and never have daydreaming again. Most of us from earlier school days have been told that daydreaming is a waste of time.

“ On the contrary,” says L.Giambra, an expert in psychology（心理学）, “ daydreaming is quite necessary. Without it, the mind couldn’t get done all the thinking it has to do during a normal day… .

You can’t possibly do all your thinking with a conscious（有意识的） mind. Instead, your unconscious mind is working out problems all the time. Daydreaming then may be one way that the unconscious states of minds have silent dialogues.”

Early experts in psychology paid no attention to the importance of daydreams or even considered them harmful. At one time daydreaming was thought to be a cause of some mental illness. They did not have a better understanding of daydreams until the late 1980s. Eric Klinger, a professor of psychology, is the writer of the book Daydreaming. Klinger says, “we know now that daydreaming is one of the main ways that we organize our lives, learn from our experiences, and plan for our futures… Daydreams really are a window on the things we fear and the things we long for in life.”

Daydreams are usually very simple and direct, quite unlike sleep dreams which may be hard to understand. It’s easier to gain a deep understanding of your life by paying close attention to your daydreams than by trying to examine your sleep dreams carefully. Daydreams help you recognize the difficult situations in your life and find out a possible way of handling them.

Daydreams cannot be predicted; they move off in unexpected directions which may be creative and full of useful ideas. For many famous artists and scientists, daydreams were and are a main source of creative energy.

So the next time you catch yourself daydreaming, don’t stop. Just pay attention to your dream. It may be more important than you think.

1.In what way are daydreams different from sleep dreams?

A．Daydreams help to develop an unconscious mind.

B．Daydreams are not so easy for us to control and direct.

C．Daydreams help us to handle more difficult situations

D．Daydreams are easier for us to understand.

2.Professor Eric Klinger believes that _______.

A．our fears and longings in life are shown in our daydreams

B．we may study our experiences just through our daydreams

C．daydreaming is one of the important ways that we recognize our lives

D．we should be able to tell our futures by having daydreams

3.The writer of the article thinks that ______.

A．daydreaming is more helpful than sleep dreams

B．many artists and scientists are famous because they have daydreams

C．professor Eric Klinger has a better idea than L. Giambra

D．daydreaming with an unconscious mind will do good to health

4.Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the passage?

A．Daydreaming was once regarded as a cause of mental illness.

B．Experts began to have a better understanding of daydreams in the late 1980s.

C．Scientists believe that we can know daydreams before having them.

D． Many well-known artists gained energy of creation from daydream