Many people believe that teaching children music makes them smarter, better able to learn new things. But the organizers of a new study say there's no scientific evidence that early musical training affects the intelligence of young people.
An estimated 80 percent of American adults think music lessons improve children's abilily to learn or their performance in school. They say that the satisfaction for learning to play a new song helps a child express creativity.
Researchers at Harvard University, however, have found that there's one thing musi­cal training does not do. They say it does not make children more intelligent. Samuel Mehr is a graduate student at Harvard's School of Education. He said it is wrong to think that learning to play a musical instrument improves a child's intellectual development. He says the evidence comes from studies that measured the mental ability of two groups of 4-year-olds and their parents. One group attended music class, the other went to a class that places importance on the visual arts—arts that can be seen.
"The evidence there is 'no'. We found no evidence for any advantage on any of these tests for the kids participating in these music clases," said Mehr.Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter. He says the results have been mixed. He says only one study seems to show a small percentage increase in IQ, intellectual scores among students after one year of music lessons. He does not believe that IQ is a good measure of child's intelligence. He says researchers in his study compared how well children in the musical training group did on mental processing tasks or projects, then the results were compared to those of children who did not take lessons. There was no evidence that the musical training group did much better on the mental tasks than the other group.
The researchers comfirmed the results with a larger group of children and their par­ents.Mr Mehr says music lessons may not offer children a fast easy way to gain entry to the best schools later of their life. But he says the training is still important for cultural reasons. In his words, "We teach music because music is important for us."
小題1:According to the new study, musical training______.
A.makes children smarter
B.helps a child express creativity
C.does not make children more intelligent
D.improve children's ability to learn in school
小題2:Samuel Mehr may agree that______.
A.the children who attended music class are smarter than those who attended arts class
B.IQ is a good measure of a child's intelligence
C.we needn't to teach children music
D.music training is still important for cultural reasons
小題3:In order to confirm his view, Samuel Mehr______.
A.conducted more than one research
B.interviewed many American adults
C.taught two groups of 4-yetr-olds music and arts
D.offered children a fast way to be admitted to the best schools
小題4:The artical may be taken from a report about _____.
A.healthB.educationC.cultureD.economy

小題1:C
小題2:D
小題3:A
小題4:B

試題分析:人們認為孩子小的時候接受音樂教育可以更聰明。但事實是這樣嗎?哈佛大學最近的一項研究表示,沒有證據(jù)支持接受了音樂教育的孩子比沒有接受音樂教育的孩子表得更好。
小題1:主旨大意題。文章講了哈佛大學做的一項研究 ,推翻了人們認為的孩子小時候學習音樂會更聰明的結論。故選C。
小題2:細節(jié)理解題。由“ But he says the training is still important for cultural reasons. In his words, "We teach music because music is important for us."”可知他認為 音樂對于文化原因還是很重要的。故選D。
小題3:細節(jié)理解題。由“Samuel Mehr says researchers have carried out many studies in an effort to learn whether musical training can make children smarter.”可知 Samuel Mehr組織了不止一項研究去論證音樂對孩子早期智力開發(fā)的真實作用。故選A。
小題4:主旨大意題。 全文講了哈佛大學教授做的一項關于音樂開發(fā)小孩智力真假與否的研究,因此應該出自教育有關的欄目。health健康;education教育;culture文化;economy經(jīng)濟。故選B。
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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

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Yale University art professor Robert Farris Thompson says that the term “cool” goes back to 15th century West African philosophy(哲學).  “Cool” relates to ideas of grace(優(yōu)雅) under pressure.
“In Africa, ” he writes, “coolness is a positive quality which combines calmness, silence, and life.”
The modern idea of “cool” developed largely in the US in the period after World War II. “Post-war ‘cool’ was in part an expression of war-weariness (n. 厭戰(zhàn)情緒)
. . . it went against the strict social rules of the time,” write sociologists Dick Pountain and David Robins in Cool Rules:Anatomy of an Attitude.
But it was the American actor James Dean who became the symbol for “cool” in the hugely successful 1955 movie Rebel without a Cause.  Dean plays a tough guy who disobeys his parents and the authorities. He always gets the girl, smokes cigarettes, wears a leather jacket and beats up bullies(欺凌弱小者). In the movie, Dean showed what “cool” would mean to American young people for the next 60 years.
Today the focus of “cool” has changed to athletics (體育運動) stars. Often in movies about schools, students gain popularity on the athletics field more than in the classroom. This can be seen quite clearly in movies like Varsity Blues and John Tucker Must Die.
But many teenagers also think being smart is cool. Chess and other thinking games have been becoming more popular in schools.
“Call it the Harry Potterization of America—a time when being smart is the new cool,” writes journalist Joe Sunnen.
小題1:Barack Obama, Lady Gaga and Steve Jobs are mentioned in the first paragraph to ________.
A.introduce the topicB.draw our attention
C.tell us what they have in commonD.tell us what is “cool”
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A.thought and acted differently from the majority
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C.didn’t observe rules and authorities
D.had all kinds of “bad” manners
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A.do very well in their studies
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C.a(chǎn)re good at chess and other thinking games.
D.have supernatural powers like Harry Potter
小題4:Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
A.It is generally considered “cool” to be independent-minded and not to follow the crowd.
B.“Cool” was used as early as the 15th century.
C.Disobeying one’s parents and the authorities is considered “cool” among American young people nowadays.
D.Getting the first place in an exam can also be considered “cool”.
小題5:What does the article mainly talk about?
A.The origin of the word “cool”.
B.The kinds of people who are “cool”.
C.The changing meaning of the word “cool”.
D.How to be a “ cool” person.

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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

There are some new drivers going back to school. Teens who have recently gotten their driver's licenses may be taking the wheel to school this fall. However, parents fear when their teen starts driving. And it turns out that such parental fears are justified, so it's worth reviewing how to keep your teen safe while he or she is behind the wheel.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among US teens. Drivers 16 to 19 years old are at the greatest risk of crashes. In fact, their risk is 4 times greater than that of older drivers. The teens at the greatest risk are those who are male, those carrying other teenage passengers in the car, and those still in their first year of driving. Nearly 50 percent of teen deaths related to automobile crashes happen on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays between the hours of 3 pm and midnight.
Why are teens at higher risk of motor vehicle crashes?
Development. Teens haven't completely matured mentally and have greater risk­taking behaviors, possibly because they tend to underestimate the risk associated with a particular behavior. Teens also have a greater tendency to speed and to drive too close to the cars in front of them.
No seatbelts. Teens have the lowest rate of seatbelt use among all driving groups.
Alcohol. A least 25 percent of motor vehicle deaths in teens are related to drinking alcohol.
Technological distractions(分散注意力的事).Cellphones,texting,MP3 players,and the like can all distract drivers greatly—and who more than teenagers?
Be aware of your teen's driving practices and discuss safe driving habits when opportunities present themselves. Check out the applications and devices now available for restricting your teen's use of technology while driving. Some applications alert you to the danger when your teen is texting while the vehicle is moving. Another device blocks incoming and outgoing texts when the car is running—incoming messages get an automatic reply (eg. “I'm driving right now”), and phone calls go directly to voicemail. You can also get notifications if your teen tries to shut off the program. There are also GPS programs that let you know your new driver's whereabouts at all times. All in all, you can't be too cautious when teaching your teen how to be safe on the road.
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A.Drivers' age.B.Passengers' sex.
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A.using no seatbeltsB.drinking water
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C.Automated replies.D.Voicemail.
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科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

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“It’s not a pretty picture,” said Steve Sawyer, climate policy adviser with Greenpeace in Amsterdam. Global warming and changes of weather patterns are already occurring and there is more than enough carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to drive climate change for decades to come.
Already, changes are being felt in Asia but worse is likely to come, Sawyer and top climate bodies say, and could lead to mass migration and widespread human disasters. According to predictions, icebergs will melt faster, some Pacific and Indian Ocean islands will have to evacuate(疏散) or build sea defenses, storms will become more intense and insect and water-borne diseases will move into new areas as the world warms.
All this comes with rising populations and demand for food, water and other resources. Experts say environmental worsening such as deforestation and pollution will probably enlarge the results of climate change.
In what could be a sign of the future, Japan was hit by a record of 10 typhoons and tropical storms this year, while two-thirds of Bangladesh, parts of Nepal and large areas of northeastern India were flooded, affecting 50 million people, destroying livelihoods and making tens of thousands ill.
The year before, a winter cold struck and a summer heat wave killed more than 2,000 people in India.
小題1:This passage is mainly about       .
A.what kind of weather we like best
B.the weather predictions for Asia in the future and the reasons
C.how to improve our environment
D.that the world will not be suitable for us to live in
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A.food shortagesB.droughtsC.warsD.floods
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