Even before my father left us, my mother had to go back to work to support our family．Once I came out of the kitchen, complaining, "Mom, I can't peel potatoes．I have only one hand．"

Mom never looked up from sewing．"You get yourself into that kitchen and peel those potatoes," she told me．"And don't ever use that as an excuse for anything again!"

In the second grade, our teacher lined up my class on the playground and had each of us race across the monkey bars, swinging from one high steel bar to the next．When it was my turn, I shook my head．Some kids behind me laughed, and I went home crying．

That night I told Mom about it．She hugged me, and I saw her "we'll see about that" look． The next afternoon, she took me back to school．At the deserted playground, Mom looked carefully at the bars．

"Now, pull up with your right arm," she advised．She stood by as I struggled to lift myself with my right hand until I could hook the bar with my other arm．Day after day we practiced, and she praised me for every rung （横档） I reached．I'd never forget the next time, crossing the rungs．I looked down at the kids who were standing with their mouths open．

One night, after a dance at my new junior high, I lay in bed sobbing．I could hear Mom come into my room．"Mom," I said, weeping, "none of the girls would dance with me．"

For a long time, I didn't hear anything．Then she said, "Oh, honey, someday you'll be beating those boys off with a bat．" Her voice was soft and weak．I glanced at her to see tears running down her cheeks．Then I knew how much she suffered on my behalf．She had never let me see her tears．

Which of the following expressions can be used most suitably to describe Mom's attitude

when she made the child peel potatoes?

    A．Cruel．          B．Serious．   C．Strict．        D．Cold．

From the passage, we know monkey bars can help a child train ____．

    A．the skill to circle round a bar

    B．the skill to throw and catch things

    C．the speed of one's hand movement

    D．the strength and skill to hang and swing

What does the sentence "I saw her 'we'll see about that' look" imply?

    A．Mom believed every aim could be achieved if you stuck to it．

    B．What the child had said brought Mom great attraction and curiosity．

    C．Mom was determined to prove she herself was better than the teacher．

    D．The race across monkey bars was not difficult enough for a child to give up．

The most probable conclusion we can draw after reading the passage is ____．

    A．the last incident was sad enough to make Mom weep

    B．the child's experience reminded Mom of that of her own

    C．Mom could solve any problem except the one in the last paragraph

    D．in fact Mom suffered more in the process of the child's growth

____ the temperature falling so rapidly, we couldn't go on with the experience.

A. Since   B. With    C. As    D. For

Not all memories are sweet. Some people spend all their lives trying to forget bad experiences. Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they relive (重新体验) these experiences in nightmares.

Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might reduce, or possibly erase (抹去), the effect of painful memories.

In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.

The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it. Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers’ troubling memories after war.

They say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.“Some memories can ruin people’s lives. They come back to you when you don’t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions,”said Roger Pitman, a professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at Harvard Medical School.“This could relieve a lot of that suffering.”

But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because memories give us our identity (特质). They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past. “All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are. I'm not sure we'd want to wipe those memories out,” said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist (伦理学家).

Some people fear that although the drug would first be used in only very serious cases, it would become more and more common. “People always have the ability to misuse science,”said Joseph LeDoux, a New York University memory researcher. “All we want to do is help people have better control of memories.”

What’s the main idea of the text?

A. People often suffer from bad memories.

B. American researchers are trying to develop a pill.

C. Forget bad memories, and be happy.   

D. The research has caused a heated argument.

The underlined word “it” in paragraph 4 refers to “_____”.

A. the new drug                                 B. the research into the drug

C. the memory                          D. the chemical in the drug

Which of the following is not the opinion of the supporters?

A. The pill can erase all the memories in the past.

B. Some memories can ruin people’s life. The pill can relieve emotional suffering.

C. The pill can also help many people who suffer from terrible memories.

D. The pill can prevent or treat troubling memories in soldiers after war.

Which of the following is not the opinion of the opponents (反对者)?

A. Our memories give us our identity.

B. The memories help humanity avoid mistakes of the past.

C. The drug should be used in only very serious cases.

D. People may not be sure whether they want to wipe the memories out.

For photographers lacking training, experience and even the ability to click a shutter button, they produce remarkable pictures．Under the sea, deep in the woods and high in the sky, furry, feathery and leathery-skinned creatures are opening up vistas（远景）by taking cameras where no human can go．

This is the world of animal-borne imagine celebrated last month at a conference sponsored(supported) by the National Geographic Society for the 20th anniversary of its Crittercam, the device that started it all．

Since its debut（首次公开露面）in 1987 on the back of a turtle, the Crittercam and similar devices developed by others have grown smaller and more powerful．

“It’s more than just a camera now,” said Greg Marshall, the marine biologist and now filmmaker who invented the Crittercam．“We are now including more instruments to gather more data while at the same time reducing everything in size．”

The idea of attaching video cameras to animals came to Mr．Marshall in 1986 on a dive off Belize when a shark apporached him．When the animal quickly turned away, he noticed a shark with a sucker fish on its belly．He came up with the idea that putting a camera in place of the sucker fish would allow people to witness the shark’s behavior without disturbing it．

Crittercams have been attached to sharks, sea lions and other marine animals, and, more recently, to land animals．

Birds are a new addition, Mr．Marshall said．Dr．Christian Rutz of Oxford recently reported on tiny cameras called feathercams that monitor the crows in the South Pacific．It has discovered that crows are smarter than anyone knew they not only use twigs（嫩枝）and grass stems as tools to root out food, but they also save their favorite tools to use again．

Tracey L．Rogers, director of the Australian Marine Mammal Research Center in Sydney, said crittercam was a powerful tool in her work with leopard seals（豹斑海豹）in Antarctica．“In studying animals,” Dr．Rogers said at the meeting, “you want to see how our animal models align（与……一致）with reality．With a camera, you actually see what they do．You don’t have to guess．”

What’s the text mainly about?

A．The advantages of crittercam．

B．The development of Crittercams in the past 20 years．

C．How crittercam was invented．

D．How crittercam works．

What inspired Marshall to invent crittercam?

A．The sight of sucker fish clinging to a shark on a dive．

B．The thought of how to photograph animals better．

C．Noticing a shark eating a sucker fish on a dive．

D．Seeing a shark with a camera on its belly on a dive．

According to Dr．Rogers, crittercam ____．

A．can clear up all your doubts about animals

B．is the most powerful tool in studying animals

C．enabled her to observe the crows in the South Pacific closely

D．helped a lot with her research on leopard seals in Antarctica

All of the following are improvements of crittercams EXCEPT that ____．

A．the size is becoming smaller

B．more instruments are involved to gather more data

C．they allow researchers to see where and how animals live

D．they are able to be applied to smaller animals such as birds

When he was alive, the old scientist used to say that knowledge ______ from practice and he gained his experience by doing a lot of practical work.

    A. was coming               B. had come

    C. comes                    D. would come