Sign has become a scientific hot button．Only in the past 20 years have specialists in language study realized that signed languages are unique-a speech of the hand．They offer a new way to probe how the brain generates and understands language, and throw new light on an old scientific controversy(争论)：whether language, completed with grammar, is something that we are born with, or whether it is a learned behavior．The current interest in sign language has roots in the pioneering work of one rebel teacher at Gallaudet University in Washington, D．C．, the world’s only liberal arts university for deaf people．
When Bill Stokoe went to teach English, the school enrolled him in a course in signing．But Stokoe noticed something odd; among themselves, students signed differently from his classroom teacher．
Stokoe had been taught a sort of gestural(手势)code, each movement of the hands representing a word in English．At the time, American Sign Language(ASL)was thought to be no more than a form of pidgin English(混杂英语)．But Stokoe believed the“hand talk”his students used looked richer．He wondered：Might deaf people actually have a genuine language?And could that language be unlike any other on Earth?It was 1955, when even deaf people dismissed their signing as“substandard”．Stokoe’s idea was academic heresy(异端邪说)．
It is 37 years later．Stokoe－now devoting his time to writing and editing books and journals and to producing video materials on ASL and the deaf culture-is having lunch at a café near the Gallaudet campus and explaining how he started a revolution．For decades educators fought his idea that signed languages are natural languages like English, French and Japanese．They assumed language must be based on speech, the modulation(调节)of sound．But sign language is based on the movements of hands, the modulation of space．“What I said,”Stokoe explains,“is that language is not mouth stuff(素材)-it’s brain stuff．”
(1)
The study of sign language is thought to be ________．
[ ]
A．
a new way to look at the learning of language
B．
a challenge to traditional views on the nature of language
C．
an approach to simplifying the grammatical structure of a language
D．
an attempt to clarify misunderstanding about the origin of language
(2)
Most educators objected to Stokoe’s idea because they thought ________．
[ ]
A．
sign language was not extensively used even by deaf people
B．
sign language was too artificial to be widely used and understood
C．
a language should be easy to use and understand
D．
a language could only exist in the form of speech sounds
(3)
Stokoe’s argument is based on his belief that ________．
[ ]
A．
sign language is as efficient as any other language
One of the largest countries in Texas is named for Captain Erastus“Deaf”Smith－a deaf man．Captain Smith was the leader of General Sam Houston's scouts during the Texas Revolution, the war in which Texas won its freedom from Mexico．The county named in his honor is called Deaf Smith County．
A scout in the days of the Texas Revolution was much like what a spy is today．Captain“Deaf”Smith would find out where enemy troops were camped and how many men the enemy had, and he would report to Sam Houston．Even when other people could not see or hear any sign of people or animals, Captain Smith would know where they were．Sometimes he would guide Texas troops through enemy territory without the enemy even knowing they were there．
Erastus Smith was born in New York on April 19,1787; but went to live：in Mississippi when he was 11 years old．He went to Texas for a short time in 1817, and four years later returned to Texas to stay; He wandered over Texas as a surveyor(测量员)before he volunteered for army service after the start of the Texas Revolution．
Smith married a Mexican woman, and they had four children－three girls and one boy．He spent a lot of time learning the customs, manners, and language of the Mexican settlers．When the Texas Revolution began in 1835, Smith at first refused to take part in it out of respect for his family's heritage(传统)．However, after Mexican troops tried to stop him from going to San Antonio to visit his family, he volunteered for service with the Texans．He was made a captain．
(1)
At first, Smith refused to take part in the Texas Revolution because ________．
[ ]
A．
he was a peace-loving person and hated fighting
B．
Mexican soldiers stopped him from going to San Antonio
C．
the Texans were not very good to him and his family
D．
his wife was Mexican and he didn't want to fight against her people
(2)
How old was Smith when he settled in Texas?
[ ]
A．
Thirty－four．
B．
Eleven．
C．
Thirty．
D．
Twenty-seven．
(3)
Which of the following is the correct order of the events?
a．A county in Texas was named after Smith．
b．Smith got married to a Mexican woman．
c．Smith volunteered for service with the Texans．
d．Mexican troops tried to stop him from seeing his family．
e．Smith went to live in Mississippi．
f．The Texas Revolution started．
[ ]
A．
a－b－c－d－e－f
B．
e－b－d－c－a－f
C．
b－e－f－d－c－a
D．
e－b－f－d－c－a
(4)
Which of the following was a great help in Smith's work as a scout?
[ ]
A．
His family's heritage．
B．
His experience as a surveyor．
C．
His deafness．
D．
His good eyesight．
(5)
Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
[ ]
A．
Deaf Smith County
B．
The Texas Revolution
C．
The Mexicans and the Texans
D．
Captain“Deaf”Smith
阅读理解：
May Paxton graduated from the Missouri School for the deaf near the year 1909．Three years later she went to see Dr．Richardson about becoming a nurse．Dr．Richardson had never heard of a deaf nurse．But she was impressed with her, and accepted May as a student nurse．
Dr．Richardson never regretted her decision．In fact, she was so pleased with May’s work that she later accepted two other deaf women as student nurses．The first was Miss Marian, who was hard of hearing．The second was Miss Lillie．
May and Marian did not know each other before Marian was hired by the hospital．Dr．Richardson introduced May to Marian．During the next two days, the two girls wrote notes to each other．Finally, other nurses asked Martian if she knew that May was deaf．Marian ran to the bedroom and asked May in sign if she really was deaf．May answered in sign．Then, the two girls burst into laughter(突然大笑)．
May was always careful about following orders．Only once did she disobey Dr．Richardson．It took a lot of time to care for all the sick children, as a result, Dr．Richardson asked the nurses not to hold the new babies when they were crying．However, May heated to see the babies cry．When Dr．Richardson was not around, she found time to hold them．This small change helped the nursery to run much more smoothly．When Dr．Richardson knew that May’s actions had improved the nursery, she decided to overlook(视而不见)May’s breaking the rules．
(1)
When did May Paxton start working at Dr．Richardson’s hospital?
[ ]
A．
In 1009．
B．
Before she graduated from the Missouri School．
C．
Three years after she graduated from the Missouri School．
D．
Three years after she went to see Dr．Richardson．
(2)
When May disobeyed Dr．Richardson’s orders about holding babies, ________．
[ ]
A．
Dr．Richardson was very angry．
B．
Dr．Richardson didn’t know because she wasn’t there．
C．
May was fired．
D．
Dr．Richardson didn’t say anything about it．
(3)
May and Marian communicated by writing at first because ________．
[ ]
A．
They didn’t know each other and were shy．
B．
they were playing a joke on each other
C．
neither one of them knew that the other was deaf
D．
Marian was a hearing person．
(4)
What can we infer from this passage?
[ ]
A．
May was fond of babies．
B．
May hated her job．
C．
May enjoyed working in the Emergency Room．
D．
May preferred to work with deaf people．
阅读理解：
A scientist turns out to be able to see the future by offering each of four-year-olds a piece of candy and watching how he or she deals with it．Some children reach eagerly for the treat they see．Some last a few minutes before they give in．But others are determined to wait until the last moment．
By the time the children reach high school, something remarkable has happened．A survey found that those who as four-year-olds had enough self-control to hold out generally grew up to be more popular, adventurous, confident and dependable．The children who gave in to temptation(诱惑)early were more likely to be lonely, easily frustrated and inflexible(固守己见的)．
Actually, the ability to delay reward is a sign of emotional intelligence which doesn't show up on an IQ test．
The hardware of the brain and the software of the mind have long been scientists' concerns．But brain theory can't explain what we wonder about most, like the question why some people remain upbeat in the face of troubles that would sink a less resistant soul．
Here comes the theory of Daniel Goleman, writer of Emotional Intelligence：when it comes to predicting people's success, brain ability as measured by IQ may actually matter less than the qualities of mind once thought of as “character”．
EQ is not the opposite of IQ．What researchers have been trying to understand is how they work together; how one's ability to handle stress, for instance, affects the ability to concentrate and put intelligence to use．Among the ingredients(要素)for success, researchers now generally agree that IQ counts for about 20％; the rest depends on everything from social class to luck．
While many researchers in this relatively new field are glad to see emotional issues finally taken seriously, some few fear EQ invites misuse．
(1)
The experiment with the four-year-olds makes it clear that ________．
[ ]
A．
the age of 4 is a proper time for scientific experiment
B．
emotional intelligence won't show up until adolescence
C．
the ability of self-control plays a role in personal success
D．
candy can be used to measure a person's emotional intelligence
(2)
Which of the following is TRUE of EQ and IQ according to the text?
[ ]
A．
There is no link between EQ and IQ．
B．
The higher a person's IQ is, the higher his or her EQ is．
C．
Some people can be blessed with lots of both, but some with little of either．
D．
Scientists are trying to discover the way in which EQ and IQ work together．
(3)
The underlined word “upbeat” in Paragraph 4 probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
kind
B．
floating
C．
excited
D．
optimistic
(4)
Why does the author mention the experiment at the beginning of the text?
[ ]
A．
To amuse both the children and readers．
B．
To prove the scientist's wisdom．
C．
To introduce the topic of the text．
D．
To show us how to do an IQ test．
(5)
What is most likely to be written in the paragraph that follows?
