Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. For Nigel, studying w

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Topping the class academically was certainly an advantage. For Nigel, studying was a piece of cake. The reward was certainly much bigger compared to the little effort Nigel had made. It all began when he was selected to help the teachers in the computer laboratories. And the peak of his school career came not when he topped the class but when he was selected for the nationwide competition.
Unlike everyone else, Nigel wanted to join in the contest because he liked playing with the Lego sets(乐高积木) and making something out of them. Nigel spent two months building his robot. It was during the time that Nigel found out about the big prize for the competition as well as a competitive rival(对手), Alicia, from a neighboring school. His early intentions were forgotten. Getting the thousand-dollar prize was more important th

an anything else. Nigel decided to make friends with Alicia. Unaware of his intentions, she told him all about the robot that she had been building for the competition. He even helped her to put the finishing touches(收尾工作) to her robot. He was glad with the way things had progressed. His robot looked even better than Alicia"s and it was able to play a ball with its arm, something Alicia had failed to do.
On the day of the competition, he saw Alicia. Everything became clear the minute she saw him among the competitors. She stared at him, puzzled at first, then angry and finally a look of helplessness came over her.
The flashbulbs (闪光灯) of the camera exploded in Nigel"s face. The robot had performed actions so unique and different that the specialists" judgments were the same. Nigel was so pleased with himself that he did not even notice the girl standing a few feet away from him. Without her, he would never have won the competition.
小题1:What reward did Nigel receive for doing well in his school work?

A．He was offered a part-time job.	B．He was honored with a scholarship.
C．He helped his teachers build a robot.	D．He helped in the computer laboratories.

小题2:Nigel"s original intention of joining the contest was to ___ .

A．win honor for his school	B．be the top student of the school
C．build a robot with the Lego sets	D．win the thousand-dollar prize

小题3:Why did Nigel help Alicia finish her robot?

A．He intended to help her.	B．He was fond of building robots.
C．He wanted to be her real friend.	D．He didn"t want her to suspect (怀疑) him.

小题4:What is the author"s attitude towards Nigel"s actions?

A．Favorable

B．Critical (批评的)

C．Doubtful

D．Sympathetic

答案

DCDB

解析

略

举一反三

As children face their final month of revision before the exam season starts, many parents are looking for the words to motivate their offspring．But could they be mistakenly praising the value of ability over effort, asks Matthew Syed．
Take a glance at these expressions of encouragement:
"You learned that so quickly, you"re so smart!"
"Look at that drawing．Are you -the next Picasso or what?"
They appear as the kind of confidence-boosting statements that should be given to children or, indeed, anyone else．Such phrases are used in homes and classrooms every day, particularly with exams approaching．
Intelligence-based praise leads the receiver towards the fixed thought —it suggests to them that intelligence is of primary importance rather than the effort through which intelligence can be transformed．
Let"s take a quick second look into the science of expertise, and ask a question．Where does excellence come from? For a long time, it was thought the answer to this depended, to a large degree, on genetic inheritance．Or, to put it another way, it is all about talent．
It turns out that this is mistaken．Dozens of studies have found that top performers—whether in maths, mi sic or whatever—learn no faster than those who reach lower levels of achievement—hour after hour, they improve at almost the same rates．
The difference is simply that high achievers practice for more hours．Further research has shown that when students seem to possess a particular gift, it is often because they have been given extra tuition at home by their parents．
This is not to deny that some kids start out better than others—it is merely to suggest that the starting point we have in life is not particularly relevant．
Why? Because, over time, with the right, kind of practice, we change so dramatically．It is not just the body that changes, but the brain．The question of talent versus effort would not matter terribly much if it as merely theoretical．But it is so much more than that．It influences the way we think, feel, and the way we engage with our world．
小题1:What is the best title of this passage?

A．The Words That Could Encourage Your Child

B．Intelligence Says All

C．High and Low Achievers

D．Start Early, Learn More

小题2:Which statement is intelligence-based praise?

A．"You"re so brilliant - you passed that exam without really studying!"

B．"With more efforts, you can achieve more!"

C．" You combine study with entertainment so well!"

D．"You study so hard even when you are so good at it!"

小题3:The writer thinks the answer to the question of talent versus effort is _____．

A．simple

B．complicated

C．obvious

D．mysterious

小题4:Why do some people have higher achievements?

A．Because they are born with great talent.

B．Because they start better than others.

C．Because they spend more of their spare time practicing what they have learnt.

D．Because they improve themselves at almost the same rates.

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A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth．
Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）．
But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works．
The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it．This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence．
First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests．Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard．During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．
The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively．To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training．
The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking．Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater．Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were．All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement．
“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training．” said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper．“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,” he added, “and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains．”
小题1:.The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________．

A．memorizing telephone numbers	B．improving working memory
C．training in concentration	D．recalling a card

小题2:.The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________．

A．ignoring irrelevant items	B．monitoring ongoing performance
C．managing two tasks at the same time	D．using previous experience

小题3:.When the experiment was conducted, the researchers______________．

A．trained the four groups for the same period of time

B．only made comparisons between the four groups

C．compared the four groups with control groups

D．trained the four groups together

小题4:.By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________．

A．inform the readers of a new study

B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence

C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved

D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

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The hardworking blacksmith Jones used to work all day in his shop and so hard-working was he that at times he would make the sparks (火星) fly from his hammer.
The son of Mr. Smith, a rich neighbor, used to come to see the blacksmith every day and for hours and hours he would enjoy himself watching how the tradesman worked.
“Young man, why don’t you try your hand to learn to make shoe tacks (钉), even if it is only to pass the time?” said the blacksmith. “Who knows, one day, it may be of use to you.”
The lazy boy began to see what he could do. But after a little practice he found that he was becoming very skilled and soon he was making some of the finest tacks.
Old Mr. Smith died and the son on account of the war lost all his goods. He had to leave home and was forced to live in another country. It so happened that in this village there were many shoemakers who were spending a lot of money buying tacks for their shoes and even at times when they paid high prices they were not always able to get what they wanted, because in that part of the country there was a high demand for soldiers’ shoes.
Our young Mr. Smith, who was finding it difficult to earn his daily bread, remembered that once upon a time he had learned the art of making tacks and had the sudden idea of making a bargain with the shoemakers. He told them that he would make the tacks if they would help to get him settled in the workshop. The shoemakers were only too glad of the offer. And after a while, Mr. Smith found that he was soon making the finest tacks in the village.
“How funny it seems,” he used to say, “even making tacks can make money. My trade is more useful to me than all my former riches.”
小题1: The young man learnt to make shoe tacks because ________.

A．his father told him to	B．he wanted to learn a skill
C．Jones encouraged him to	D．he just wanted to pass his time

小题2: Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A．Old Mr. Smith enjoyed making the shoe tacks.

B．The blacksmith had predicted the young man would be in need of the skill.

C．The higher prices they paid, the more tacks the shoemakers would get.

D．The young man earned his living by his skills learnt when he was young.

小题3: What can we learn from the story?

A．Practice makes perfect.	B．Skill makes life easy.
C．A good beginning makes a good ending.	D．Every man has his gift.

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Bexley Middle School eighth-graders won the grand prize at the 2009 National Engineers Week Future City Competition (TM) on Feb. 18 in Washington, D.C. They competed with 37 other schools across the country.
The students qualified for the national competition by winning a regional competition on Jan. 17 in Columbus. By winning the national event, the students earned an all-expenses paid trip to Space Camp in Huntsville, Ala., according to a Bexley school district news report.
Future City aims to stir (激发) interest in science, technology, engineering and math among young people. Bexley team members were Tom Krajnak, Abby Sharp, Wyatt Peery, Elizabeth Maher, Aaron Hutchinson and Truman Haycock. They work in teams under the guidance of a teacher, Margaret Englehardt, and a volunteer engineer, Mark Sherman, design and build a city of tomorrow. Mayor John Brennan presented the students during a recent Bexley City Council meeting. Each team in the Future City competition plans its city using Sim City software and creates a model to show a physical representation of one section of the city. Team members must write both an essay about the yearly theme and an abstract about their city. They also must make a presentation to judges.
Focusing on eco-responsibility, the Bexley team built “Novo-Mondum,” an Icelandic city in the year 2171. Krajnak said the team’s project included a new water system for each resident unit and a 500-word essay on using bacteria to purify water. “We used our essay and abstract (摘要) to build a model,” he said. “It was hard to organize which building would go where, what each building does and how to make it look good.”
Englehardt said her students did a good job answering impromptu (即席) questions during the regional competition. “They can think on their feet,” she said. Principal Harley Williams said the school is very proud of the students’ performance.
小题1:.. From the passage we can learn that the grand prize winners will _________.

A．receive scholarship for further studies

B．get a free trip to Space Camp in Huntsville

C．earn a large sum of money for their designs

D．be admitted to universities without exams

小题2:.The goal of the Future City competition is to _________.

A．make the Sim City software popular

B．test the students’ knowledge of city planning

C．select future engineers from young students

D．make students become interested in engineering

小题3:. Each team must do the following EXCEPT _________.

A．write brief abstracts describing their city

B．present and defend their designs before judges

C．build a future city in Iceland by themselves

D．create model cities using the Sim City software

小题4:. According to Margaret Engl

ehardt, the students _________.

A．always stand still in the competition

B．react very quickly to the questions

C．prepare for the questions in advance

D．take pride in the advisers’ performance

小题5:

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TOEFL stands for Test of English as a Foreign Language, which assesses the proficiency (熟练) of English language of a person in an academic setting. Various institutions, scholarship programs require this test as a trusted and effective indicator of a person’s ability to communicate in English.

TOEFL is available in CBT----Computer-based Technology, PBT----Paper-based Technology and IBT----Internet-based Test formats（形式）to assess the proficiency of English Language. IBT TOEFL is a four-hour test comprising sections: Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing. In areas where internet-based test is not available, a paper-based test (PBT) is given. PBT is a three-hour test comprising four sections: Listening, Structure and Written Expression, Reading Comprehension and Writing.
Taking TOEFL test opens many doors to get admission in foreign u

niversities. More than 7500 colleges, universities and agencies in more than 130 countries rely on TOEFL test scores to check proficiency for English Language. It is very convenient to take this test and it is available in 165 countries world wide.
It measures your academic skills that whether you are ready to study or train at under graduate or post graduate level in foreign universities or not. In the test candidates are provided with a passage from text books and questions based on lectures, and you can be asked to speak or write in response related to that passage.
As the test is made up of 100 % academic questions, so many universities consider it the most effective test, while taking any admission. To take TOEFL test you should:
-----Improve your writing

skills;
-----Improve your vocabulary;
-----Practice other reading passages on the TOEFL Test;
-----Be familiar with the format of the test;
-----Practice for listening test on the TOEFL test.
To take admission in World’s famous Harvard University, the minimum TOEFL score required is 587 on the paper-based test, 240 on the computer-based test, or 94-95 on the internet-based TOEFL.
小题1:The underlined word “comprising” in Paragraph 2 probably means ________.

A．including

B．forming

C．combining

D．explaining

小题2:Which section is Not included in IBT TOEFL?

A．Reading.	B．Writing.
C．Speaking.	D．Structure and Written Expression.

小题3: According to the passage, many students are required to take TOEFL test probably because the test can________.

A．improve their academic skills

B．indicate their proficiency of English language

C．provide scholarship programs in many countries

D．decide your graduation from foreign universities

小题4:What would be the best title for the passage?

A．Advantages of TOEFL test	B．Introduction to TOEFL test
C．Preparations for TOEFL test	D．Assessment of TOEFL test

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