C

The publication of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" gladdens booksellers across China. The British and American editions were No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the sales chart of the Beijing Xidan Book Building last week. The book's poster is highlighted and news about the book can often be heard on the radio.

Why is the book so attractive to children? With curious mood, the author got a copy of "Harry Potter". Originally, I wanted to glance over it and made some criticisms. But, out of expectation, the author has been deeply attracted by the magic world. On the other hand, one cannot help asking: where is  our own "Harry Potter"?

The Chinese nation has a history of 5,000 years, which cannot be regarded as short and its culture as not profound. With a vast market of youngsters, China did publish many books popular among children. However, why are the present works not as good as those imported?

There come two major reasons: Firstly, quite a number of children's books are of strong sense of teaching, and lack interest and entertainment. Children often have a feeling of being "educated". No wonder they don't like them. Secondly, children's reading materials involving "idiom stories" and "Chinese talents' stories", though always in different covers, are usually much the same or plagiarized. One knows the ending as early as in the beginning. In final analysis, the authors of the books seldom take children's requirements into consideration.

As a matter of fact, each child has his own wonderful imagination. They long to understand the world and nature. Similarly they have their own choices. They dislike similar stories, even if the stories are excellent. First-class reading for children should be very interesting, which contains knowledge and the essence of national culture, which are presented in children's language.

Market is a touchstone for products. The theory also holds true for cultural products. It is hoped that the authors of children's books can learn something from the good market of "Harry Potter" and write out more and better books loved by children.

64. The disadvantages of  our books are the following except_______.

A. they have little sense of interest and entertainment

B. many of  our books are of the same

C. the authors didn’t pay much attention to the children’s tastes.

D.  Our authors never know what 七彩教育网our children need.

65. The reason why the imported book is so popular is that _______.

A. it has no sense of teaching

B. it opens a wonderful world for children to explore

C. it is only written in children’s language

D. it is advertised more on TV or poster.

66. What’s the feeling of the writer when he finishes reading “Harry Potter”?

A. He is so angry that he wants to criticize the book

B. He is also attracted by the book

C. He is shocked by the book, meanwhile he is worried about  our books.

D. He can’t help looking for Harry Potter.

67. What does the writer mean by writing “where’s  our own Harry Potter”?

A. We are short of books for children

B. We Chinese must produce books as popular as “Harry Potter”.

C. Authors should write books in the same way as “Harry Potter”

D.  Our authors are hoped to make the market of  our books for children take off

I am a psychologist. I first met Timothy, a quiet, overweight eleven-year-old boy, when his mother brought him to me to discuss his declining grades. A few minutes with Timothy were enough to confirm that his self-esteem(自尊) and general happiness were falling right along with them. I asked about Timothy’s typical day. He awoke every morning at six thirty so he could reach his school by eight and arrived home around four thirty each afternoon. He then had a quick snack, followed by either a piano lesson or a lesson with his math tutor. He finished dinner at 7 pm, and then he sat down to do homework for two to three hours. Quickly doing the math in my head, I found that Timothy spent an average of thirteen hours a day at a writing desk.

What if Timothy spent thirteen hours a day at a sewing machine instead of a desk? We would immediately be shocked, because that would be called children being horribly mistreated. Timothy was far from being mistreated, but the mountain of homework he faced daily resulted in a similar consequence —he was being robbed of his childhood. In fact, Timothy had no time to do anything he truly enjoyed, such as playing video games, watching movies, or playing board games with his friends.

Play, however, is a crucial part of healthy child development. It affects children’s creativity, their social skills, and even their brain development. The absence of play, physical exercise, and free­from social interaction takes a serious toll on many children. It can also cause significant health problems like childhood obesity, sleep problems and depression.

Experts in the field recommend the minutes children spend on their homework should be no more than ten times the number of their grade level. As a fifth­grader, Timothy should have no more than fifty minutes a day of homework (instead of three times that amount). Having an extra two hours an evening to play, relax, or see a friend would soundly benefit any child’s life quality.

1.What does the underlined word “them” in the first paragraph probably refer to?

A. Timothy’s parents.                                                        B. Timothy’s grades.

C. Psychologists.                                                              D. The students.

2.What did the writer think of Timothy after learning about his typical day?

A. Timothy was very hard­working.

B. Timothy was being mistreated.

C. Timothy had a heavy burden.

D. Timothy was enjoying his childhood.

3.Which of the following statements best describes the writer’s opinion?

A. Children should be allowed enough time to play.

B. Playing board games works better than playing video games.

C. The more they play, the more creative children will become.

D. The depression caused by homework makes children unwilling to play.

4.According to the passage, how long should a third­grader spend a day doing homework?

A. About ten minutes.

B. No more than twenty minutes.

C. No more than thirty minutes.

D. About fifty minutes.

单词拼写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）请根据首字母或汉语提示完成句子。

1.I would a__________ it if you could do me a favor.

2.Our car had a b________ on the motorway, so we walked a mile to look for help.

3.It is mine; you mustn’t use it without my p_________.

4.Tom gave Helen an apple in e__________ for a piece of cake.

5.Having a big family to support, he cannot a__________ to take a holiday.

6.There are over four million __________(失业的) workers in this country.

7.The room suddenly fell into silence with the __________(靠近) of the footsteps.

8.According to the _________(调查) conducted by this university, only 18% are for the idea.

9.It is advisable to take an open-minded _________(态度) to new creation.

10.Children should be encouraged to think __________(独立自主地)

It is interesting to observe the way in which children so often react against their parents’ ideas, while at the same time 36 their parent’s characteristics. This is to say, the children grow up to have different 37 from their parents, yet to have 38 personalities. There is a 39 going on in the toy world at present over 40 children should be encouraged to have war toys. I do not see any 41 in forbidding them when I think of the 42 of my friend Henry.
Henry is the son of strict parents who were against war. He was never 43 toy soldiers or guns as a 44.
Henry 45 and went into the army, becoming a first-class soldier and 46 all sorts of honors in the army. In that way he became the 47 of what his parents might have 48 of their son. And yet there is a gentleness about Henry which shows a  49 personality. His sympathies(同情) which I can see must have come from his 50. 51 doing things differently from our parents, a lot of the 52 gets passed on.
Parents have to 53 their children what they believe to be right; but it is not much your ideas that the children 54 your example. Perhaps the best way to teach one’s child gentleness is not to forbid toy guns, but to be 55 in one’s own everyday life.

“Creativity is the key to a brighter future,” say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this important skill in children.

If Dick had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product that we now think of as of great importance: a new type of tape. Dick worked for the Minnesota Mining Company. At work he developed a kind of material strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to think more about the idea. Finally, using his own time, Dick improved the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake. Now it encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking about and developing new ideas.

Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a character of high intelligence. The fact that a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of using the resources one has to produce new ideas that are good for something.

Unfortunately, schools have not tried to encourage creativity. With strong attention to test results and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators give up creativity for correct answers. The result is that children can give back information but can’t recognize ways to use it in new situation. They may know the rules correctly but they are unable to use them to Work out practical problems.

It is important to give children choices. From the earlier age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their results. Even if it’s choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money. This is because the most important character of creative people is a very strong desire to find a way out of trouble.

1.What did the company where Dick once worked learn from its mistake?

  A. They encouraged people to work a longer time.

  B. They discouraged people to think freely.

  C. They asked people to spend all their work time developing new ideas.

  D. They encouraged people to spend some of their work time considering and improving new ideas.

2. Creativity is something __

   A. that people are born with

   B. that depends on intelligence

   C. that is a way of using what one has learnt to work out new problems

   D. that is not important at all

3.Why don’t schools try to encourage creativity?

   A. They don’t understand the importance of education.

   B. They don’t want their students to make mistakes.

   C. They pay too much attention to exam marks, language and mathematical skills.

   D. They think it more important to remember some information.

4. What should the parents do when their children decide how to spend their money?

   A. Try to help them as much as possible. B. Take no notice of whatever they do.

   C. Leave them as they are.   D. Help them if their decision is wrong, but not too much..