Born into a farmer’s family, life was not easy when I was a kid. We were so poor that we often did not know where our next meal was coming from. I had to sell cabbages at the marketplace to support my family.

A storyteller once came to the marketplace, and I went to listen to him. My mother was unhappy with me for forgetting my job. But that night, while she was making clothes for us under the weak light of an oil lamp, I couldn't help retelling stories I'd heard that day. She listened impatiently at first, since in her eyes professional（职业的） storytellers were smooth-talking men—nothing good ever came out of their mouths. But slowly she was attracted by my retold stories, and from that day on, she never gave me any task on market days, unspoken agreement to enjoy new stories. As a repayment（回报）for Mother's kindness and a way to show off my memory, I'd retell the stories for her in lively detail. Soon, she wasn't the only member of my audience, which later included my elder sisters, my aunts, even my stubborn grandmother.

I knew she was worried about me. Talkative kids are not well thought of in our village, for they can bring trouble to themselves and to their families when they talk too much. Mother often reminded me not to talk so much, wanting me to be a silent and modest teenager. However, my natural desire（渴望）to talk never went away, and that is what makes my name – Mo Yan, which means ‘no speaking’. This strong wish to talk also improved my ability to express myself, which is important for writers who are also considered as storytellers.

1.Mo Yan lived a/an ________ life when he was young.

A．hard             B．colourful          C．easy             D．rich

2.From the second paragraph, we can learn that ________

A．little Mo Yan was interested in selling vegetables

B．his mother was attracted by the retold story at first

C．his mother didn’t let him listen to the new stories again

D．little Mo Yan had quite a good memory

3.Why did his mother dislike the professional storytellers?

A．Because she thought they never said anything good.

B．Because she thought they couldn’t make much money.

C．Because she thought they would affect Mo Yan’s schoolwork.

D．Because she thought most people didn’t like listening to stories.

4.In Mo Yan’s opinion, a writer should be a ________ child when they were young.

A．silent             B．modest           C．talkative          D．trouble-making

5.Which is the best title（标题）of the passage?

A．My Unlucky Childhood                   B．A Storyteller’s Childhood

C．My Kind Grandmother                    D．More talking leads to success

Do you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? Normally the women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s. Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent（聪明的） than women. Right? Wrong. Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size. Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain. The brain is made up of “grey matter” and “white matter”. While men have more of the white matter, the amount（数量）of “thinking” brain is almost the same in both men and women.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women. This means that little girls may learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of different information at the same time. When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes（性别）. As white matter is the key to spatial（空间的）tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things. “A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher. That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions … and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses（胎儿）are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children when they are very young. A boy would try to climb a barrier before him or push it down while a girl would ask for help from others. These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills. It may all go back to our ancestors, among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
【小题1】Which of the following is TRUE according to Paragraph 1?

“Are you happy?” The simple question usually makes people confused (迷惑的). Even Mo Yan, who won a Nobel Prize, replied to it by saying, “I don’t know.”

When a migrant worker (农民工) was asked, “Are you happy? (Ni Xing Fu Ma?)” by a CCTV reporter, he looked confused before replying, “My family name is Zeng. (Wo Xing Zeng.)” This has become a joke. But his answer showed migrant workers and TV reporters live in different worlds and they cannot even communicate with each other.

Similarly, when asked, “Are you happy?” a 73-year-old man, collecting used plastic bottles in a street in Zhejiang, said, “The bottles can be sold for 0.1 yuan each.” Asked again, he said, “The government is good.” The reporter went on, “My question is ‘Are you happy?’” The old man answered, “My hearing is not good.”

The reporter probably tried to reach the same answer that the interviewees(被采访者) including the migrant worker and the old man are “happy”.

In fact, when the question is asked, we should learn about people’s true situation and their true wishes and opinions but their “Yes” or “No”.

Luckily, the government has paid more attention to the importance. Now there are many TV programs giving common people the chance to give their opinions.

“Everything we do is aimed at letting people live more happily.” At last year’s National People’s Congress (人大), Wen Jiabao said and agreed that increasing happiness would be a top aim for the 12th five-year plan.

1.Ten plastic bottles could be sold for ________ to the 73-year-old.

A．0.1 yuan          B．1 yuan            C．10 yuan           D．20 yuan

2.The government has paid more attention to the importance of ________.

A．learning about people’s true wishes and opinions

B．people’s different replies to “Are you happy?”

C．improving migrant workers’ education

D．keeping the old people’s health

3.Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A．The reporters wanted the people to say “Yes” when asked “Are you happy?”

B．Letting people live more happily is a top aim in the next five years.

C．The reporter asked the old man three different questions.

D．We can call the migrant worker Mr. Zeng.

4.This passage is mainly about ________.

A．the questions                          B．the happiness

C．the popular songs                       D．the education

—Wang Wei, what are you doing ??????????????

—I’m reading ______.

A. Mo Yan wrote a book?????????? B. a book written by Mo Yan

C. a book was written by Mo Yan???? D. a book to be written by MoYan?

根据短文内容和首字母提示，在下文空格处填入适当的词使短文完整。在标有题号的横线上，完整写出空缺处所填单词的正确形式。（每空一词）

Earth Hour started in Sydney on March 31，2007. O___1___ two million homes and businesses turned off their lights for an hour. A year 1ater，in 2008，Earth Hour became the w____2____ activity and was supported by millions of people from thirty-five countries. In 2009，more than two thousand cities in the world take part in it，and Earth Hour came to China. The purpose of the activity is to s____3____ energy and improve climate(气候). Earth Hour has brought about some great c__4__      to our lives.
We may have different ways of s___5___ the hour. For example, we can go to school on foot or b___6___ bike，plant more trees, use water more than once，never leave the lights o_7___ when we are not at home. Try to make full use of paper by using b   8    sides.[来源:Z*xx*k.Com]
Earth Hour is a call for us to work together for a bright f   9    .  It is also a message of hope and action. Everyone can make a difference. It’s time for us to make our environment b_10__. Come on! Join us in Earth Hour 2011!