Few people would even think of beginning a new job at the age of 76,1._____ one of America's
most famous artists did just that.Anna Mary Robertson,better known as "Grandma Moses",turned to
painting 2._____ she was too old to work on her farm.
     Grandma Moses was crazy about painting soon after she picked it up and worked hard at it.She
painted 3._____ (care) and her works were nice.She first painted only to please 4._____,and then
began to sell her works 5._____ a little money.In 1993,a collector,Louis Caldor,happened to see
several of Grandma Moses' works 6._____ (hang) in a shop.He liked them,7._____ (buy) them at
once,and set out to look for 8._____.Caldor held 9._____ show to introduce the works of
Grandma Moses to other artists.Grandma Moses,10._____ was worldfamous,died on December 13,
1961,at the age of 101.

     It seems hard to watch someone yawn and not to yawn ourselves. Even reading about yawning can
make you do it. Now, a new study has found why yawning has such a powerful force.
     Yawning when others yawn, the study suggests, is a sign of pity and a form of social connection. Kids
don't develop this deeply rooted behavior until around age four, the study has found. Kids with autism
(自闭症)are half as likely to catch yawns. In the most serious cases, they never do. Yawning might help
doctors to see whether the children are developing rightly. The work could also lead to a better
understanding of the ways that people communicate and connect.
     "Emotional infection seems to be a born thing that connects us together, "said Molly Helt, a graduate
student in psychology at the University of Connecticut. "Yawning may be part of that. "Inspiration for her
study came when she tried to get her own autistic son to clear his ears on an airplane. She repeatedly
yawned at him, hoping he would yawn back. He never did.
     "The fact that autistic kids don't do it might mean they're really missing out on that emotional
connection with people around them, "she said. "The biggest thing people try to figure out after birth is
how we become humans and understand that humans have minds that are different from others'," she
added. "Autistic people never seem to understand that. "
     Like infectious laughter and crying, scientists have found that yawning is a shared experience that
promotes social connection. Helt said it could fight stress after a period of being nervous and spread a
feeling of calm in a group.

1. What does the new study suggest, according to the first two paragraphs?

A. It is impossible to stop yawning when you see others yawn.
B. Yawning has some mysterious force which is related to God.
C. Children follow others in yawning just after they are born.
D. Yawning is a form of communication.

2. According to Molly Helt, ________.

A. emotions are infectious, but yawning is not
B. yawning helps clear ears on planes
C. humans differ from animals because they communicate with others
D. yawning is a kind of emotional connection among humans

3. Which of the following is NOT true about yawning?

A. It is natural to yawn back if people around you yawn.
B. Some kids are too young to yawn after others.
C. Yawning can be used to test children's development.
D. Kids with autism yawn easily when others yawn.

4. According to the author, infectious yawning________.

A. has a positive effect on social relationships
B. is helpful in curing people of autism
C. helps people develop their brain
D. is most useful in group work

5. The author implies in the last paragraph that________.

A. it is bad manners to yawn on some social occasions
B. yawning can make people feel relaxed
C. yawning is different from infectious laughter and crying in theory
D. the more you yawn, the more you will become nervous and stressful

     One of my longestrunning battles (战役)with my kids is about manners specifically about whether it's
necessary to send handwritten thankyou notes for gifts.I told my children it was a must so they have
continued throughout their teens to write the notes,but they always grumble (发牢骚)that I'm out of step
with the times.
      If a BabyCenter's survey is a guide,I'm not alone.A surprisingly large number of parents still insist
(坚持)that their children practice some oldfashioned manners such as putting pen to paper to say thank
you,and treating adults with respect.
      Among the reasons,the one provided most often by parents,according to BabyCenter's report,is that
they see so many badly behaved kids around them that they're determined to raise their children differently,and meanwhile,many parents agree that"the world is a more  freewheeling place,and they want to give their kids a stronger moral compass (道德的罗盘)to guide them"．
      This creates a particular challenge for parents for the reason that they have to find a sitter,nanny or
other childcare providers who will insist on the manners they consider most important but the fact is that it
is very difficult to find the right person.
      Perri Klass wrote recently in the New York Times about her annoyance at a rude,demanding boy
Perri Klass wrote,"I do pass judgment"on kids with bad manners "and so do other pediatricians
(儿科医生)who do the same work as me" since rude kids make them wonder whether the kids' families
are moral.The whole "manners"concept (观念)might seem a bit oldfashioned,she says,until you accept it as a hotbutton childdevelopment social skills.

1．What do the author's children think of writing thankyou notes?

A．Interesting.  
B．Oldfashioned.
C．Necessary.     
D．Tiring.

2．From the second paragraph we know that________.

A．sending thankyou notes for gifts is unnecessary
B．BabyCenter is an organization which sells books
C．many parents hold the same opinion as the author
D．it is the author that did the survey on the Internet

3．What made the parents pay attention to their children's manners?

A．The latest fashion.     
B．The author's suggestion.
C．BabyCenter's new survey.  
D．Some children's bad behaviors.

4．Why is it a challenge for some parents to teach their children good manners?

A．Because they can't stay with their children all the time.
B．Because their children dislike the oldfashioned manners.
C．Because they have difficulty in finding suitable teachers.
D．Because they themselves are not good at good manners.

5．It can be inferred from the text that________.

A．Dr Klass is impressed badly by some parents
B．Dr Klass cares little about children's manners
C．Dr Klass is a doctor who treats child patients
D．Dr Klass often writes articles for newspapers

                                                          Communicating with Gestures
     When travelling, you may think that if you don't know the language, you can communicate using
gestures. However, very few gestures are universally understood and interpreted. What is perfectly
acceptable in this country may be rude in other cultures.
     1. Pointing at something using the index finger. It is impolite to point with the index finger in the
Middle and Far East. Use an open hand or your thumb in Indonesia.
     2. Making a "V"sign. This means "victory"in most parts of Europe when you make the sign with
your palm facing away from you. But if you face your palm in, the gesture is very rude.
     3. Smiling. This facial expression is universally understood. However, cultures can provide different
reasons for smiling. The Japanese may smile when they are confused or angry while in other parts of
Asia people smile when they are embarrassed. People in some cultures only smile to friends. It is
important not to judge people for not smiling, or for smiling at what we would consider "inappropriate"
times.
     4. Waving one's hand with the palm facing outward to greet someone. In parts of Europe, waving the
hand back and forth can mean "No". To wave "goodbye", raise the palm outward and wave the fingers
together; but this is rude in Nigeria if the hand is too close to another person's face.
     5. Forming a circle with one's fingers to mean "OK". Although this means "OK"in the U. S. and many
other countries, there are some notable exceptions. In Brazil and Germany the gesture is obscene
(猥亵的), while in Japan it means"money". In France, it has the additional meaning of "zero"or
"worthless".

1. According to the text, when we travel to other countries________.

A. many gestures are universally recognized
B. the same gesture can have different meanings
C. a smile always suggests friendliness
D. we can still communicate without knowing the languages

2. Which of the following gestures should be used to point at an object in Indonesia?

3. What does the word "inappropriate"in Paragraph 4 probably mean?

A. Unsuitable.     
B. Impolite.
C. Uncomfortable.  
D. Ordinary.

4. When you talk to people from Brazil, you should remember not to ________.

A. smile at them
B. make a "V"sign
C. point at objects around you
D. make the "OK"gesture

5. The text is mainly to __________.

A. show that gestures are universally accepted
B. warn readers of impolite gestures
C. show the different meanings of gestures in different countries
D. teach readers how to understand gestures in other countries

     If you go into the forest with friends, stay with them. If you don't, you may get lost. If you get lost,
this is what you should do. Sit down and stay where you are. Don't try to find your friends - let them
find you. You can help them find you by staying in one place. There is another way to help your friends
or other people to find you. You can shout or whistle three times. Stop. Then shout or whistle three times
again. Any signal given three times is a call for help.
     Keep up shouting or whistling. Always three times together. When people hear you, they will know
that you are not just making a noise for fun. They will let you know that they have heard your signal.
     They will give you two shouts or two whistles. When a signal is given twice, it is an answer to a call
for help.
     If you don't think that you will get help before night comes, try to make a little house with branches.
     Make yourself a bed with leaves and grass.
     When you need some water, you have to leave your little branch house to look for it. Don't just walk
away. Pick off small branches and drop them as you walk in order to go back again easily. When you are
lost, the most important thing to do is to stay in one place.

1. Which signal is a call for help?

A. shouting here and there                
B. crying twice
C. whistling everywhere in the forest
D. shouting or whistling three times together

2. When you hear two shouts or two whistles, you know that _______.

A. someone is afraid of an animal          
B. someone needs help
C. people will come to help you                
D. something terrible will happen

3. What's the meaning of the underlined sentence?

A. Pick off branches to build another house
B. Leave branches to find your way back  
C. Use branches to make a bed            
D. Drop branches to look for water

4. The main idea of the passage is _______.

A. what you should do if you are lost in the forest
B. how to travel in the forest
C. what you should do if you want to get some water
D. how to spend the night in the forest

     When you turn on the radio, you hear an advertisement. When you watch television, you hear and
see an advertisement. If you turn the pages of a newspaper or magazine, again you find an advertisement.
      If you walk down the street, you see one advertising board after another. All day, every day, people who want to sell you something compete to catch your attention. As a result, advertisements are almost
everywhere.?
     In the West, advertisements are the fuel that makes mass media work. Many TV stations, newspapers, magazines, radio stations are privately owned. The government does not give them money. So where does
the money come from? From advertisements. Without advertisements, there would not be these private
businesses.?
      Have you ever asked yourself what advertising is? Through the years, people have given different
answers to the question. For some time it was felt that advertising was a means of "keeping your name
before the public." And some people thought that advertising was "truth well told." Now more and more
people describe it in this way: Advertising is the paid, non-personal, and usually persuasive description of
goods, services and ideas by identified sponsors (明确的出资者) through various media.
      First, advertising is usually paid for. Various sponsors pay for the advertisements we see, read, and
hear over the various media. Second, advertising is non-personal. It is not face to face communication.
     Although you may feel that a message in a certain advertisement is aimed directly at you, in reality, it is
directed at large groups of people. Third, advertising is usually persuasive. Directly or indirectly it tells
people to do something. All advertisements try to make people believe that the product, idea, or service
advertised can do good to them. Fourth, the sponsor of the advertisement must be identified. From the
advertisement, we can see if the sponsor is a company, or an organization, or an individual. Fifth,
advertising reaches us through traditional and nontraditional mass media. Included in the traditional
media are newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and films. Nontraditional media include the mail,
matchbox covers, and billboards.?

1. The existence of the privately-owned mass media depends financially on _______.

A. the government   
B. advertisements?
C. their owners' families
D. the audience

2. According to the passage, who are most probably paying for the advertisements?

A. Companies.
B. Organizations.  
C. Individuals.
D. All of the above.?

3. Which of the following is considered nontraditional mass media?

A. Newspapers    
B. Magazines
C. The mail  
D. Films?

4. According to the passage, which of the following statements about the features of advertisements
    is NOT true??

A. The sponsors are always mentioned in the advertisements.
B. Advertising is meant for large groups of people.?
C. Advertising tells people to do something directly or indirectly.?
D. Advertising must be honest and amusing.?

      An argument is appearing in Los Angeles over whether a newspaper should publish teachers' names
along with an analysis of how well they do in raising their students' standardized test scores.
Some people argue that transparency(透明) should exist at all costs, but others hold that it's unfair to
label individual teachers using possibly flawed(有瑕疵的) statistics. Some worry that anger over the
forthcoming Los Angeles Times article will make people oppose so-called "value added" analysis of
teacher performance, which is the method the Times uses.
      "This incident with the L.A. Times is where the advocates(提倡者) for value-added are getting a bit
ahead of themselves," says Douglas Harris, an education professor. "Teachers are already feeling
under the gun on this kind of thing."
     "Value-added data" is the latest trend in teacher responsibility: the idea that a student's gain from the
previous year's test ? as opposed to his or her overall performance ? can be measured and tied to the
latest teacher.
     "There are too many variables(变量) in the testing process," says A.J. Duffy. But he says he opposes
using value-added data in evaluations at all, although he acknowledges it could be a useful tool to give
teachers feedback. "I believe in a system that emphasizes the whole student, not just standardized tests,"
he says.
     Proponents(支持者) of value-added say that's a valid criticism, agreeing that no one should expect
that student gains on a standardized test could capture the creativity or broader enrichment that goes on
in many teachers' classrooms. The District of Columbia which attracted argument for its decision to fire
teachers based in part on value-added data, uses that data for 50 percent of the evaluation, relying on
other measures such as classroom observation for the rest. "No one is suggesting using it as a single
measure of performance," says Paige Kowalski.
     Barnett Berry, a professor, is even more critical of it. Value-added data can be useful, he and others
say, but it's important to acknowledge its limitations. It doesn't take into account, for instance, constant
student absence and learning gains due to summer school, after-school programs, or supplemental
teachers, such as reading specialists.

1. The tone of the underlined sentence is that of _______.

A. praise      
B. warning    
C. anger  
D. threat

2. In the opinion of Mr. Duffy, teachers should be judged by _______.

A. the value-added data of the times
B. students' scores of standardized tests
C. the whole development of a student
D. the feedback of students and parents

3. The underlined word "it" in Para. 6 refers to _______.

A. the creativity or broader enrichment
B. a standardized test
C. classroom observation
D. value-added data

4. What's the passage mainly about?

A. How well teachers can do in raising students' scores
B. Whether teachers should be linked to student's scores
C. Who opposes value-added analysis of teacher performance.
D. Why the Los Angeles Times plans to publish names of teachers.