Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would   21  ."

Blue interrupted, "You only think about the   22  , but consider the sky and the sea.   23  the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be   24  ."

Yellow chuckled（笑道）, "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and   25   into the world."

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, "I am the color of health and strength. I may be  26  , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky   27  , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another   28   to any of you."

Red could stand it   29   and he shouted out, "I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to   30   truth. I am also the color of passion and of love."

Then came Purple and Indigo（深蓝）….

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own   31  . Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder. Rain started to pour down   32  . The colors crouched（蜷缩）down   33  , drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor（叫嚷）, rain began to speak, "You foolish colors, fighting   34

yourselves, each trying to dominate  35   . Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose,   36  ? Join hands with   37   and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors   38   and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good rain   39   the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to   40   one another.

A. stay              B. leave               C. go out               D. die

A. earth            B. moon               C. star                   D. sun

A. That is          B. I am                C. It is                  D. This is

A. anything              B. nothing            C. something          D. everything

A. warmth         B. sadness           C. depression           D. anxiety

A. usual            B. normal             C. common              D. scarce

A. at midnight     B. at noon or at night    C. at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

A. gift                 B. honor                 C. thought              D. respect

A. for more             B. any more                   C. very much          D. no longer

A. turn to      B. fight for                   C. struggle with         D. bend over

A. superiority     B. disadvantages        C. inferiority         D. weakness

A. gently        B. quietly                C. violently            D. peacefully

A. with care       B. in fear                C. by chance         D. on purpose

A. amongst        B. by                   C. for                  D. against

A. others        B. themselves             C. the other            D. the rest

A. equal and simple B. ordinary and similar  C. more or less  D. unique and different

A. each other     B. me                  C. one another               D. them

A. combined      B. separated            C. united            D. divided

A. cleans        B. washes                C. brightens            D. dampens

A. appreciate     B. quarrel with           C. ignore            D. praise

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. Green said, "Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would   21  ."

Blue interrupted, "You only think about the   22  , but consider the sky and the sea.   23  the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea．Without my peace, you would all be   24  ."

Yellow chuckled（笑道）, "You are all so serious. I bring laughter, fun, and   25   into the world."

Orange started next to blow her trumpet, "I am the color of health and strength. I may be  26  , but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. When I fill the sky   27  , my beauty is so striking that no one gives another   28   to any of you."

Red could stand it   29   and he shouted out, "I am the ruler of all of you. I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to   30   truth. I am also the color of passion and of love."

Then came Purple and Indigo（深蓝）….

The colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own   31  . Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening thunder. Rain started to pour down   32  . The colors crouched（蜷缩）down   33  , drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor（叫嚷）, rain began to speak, "You foolish colors, fighting   34

yourselves, each trying to dominate  35   . Don't you know that you were each made for a special purpose,   36  ? Join hands with   37   and come to me."

Doing as they were told, the colors   38   and joined hands. They formed a colorful rainbow. From then on, whenever a good rain   39   the world, a rainbow appears in the sky. They remember to   40   one another.

1.A. stay              B. leave               C. go out               D. die

2.A. earth            B. moon               C. star                   D. sun

3.A. That is          B. I am                C. It is                  D. This is

4.A. anything              B. nothing            C. something          D. everything

5.A. warmth       B. sadness           C. depression           D. anxiety

6.A. usual            B. normal             C. common              D. scarce

7.A. at midnight     B. at noon or at night    C. at sunrise or sunset   D. during the day

8.A. gift                 B. honor                 C. thought              D. respect

9.A. for more             B. any more                   C. very much          D. no longer

10.A. turn to      B. fight for            C. struggle with         D. bend over

11.A. superiority    B. disadvantages        C. inferiority         D. weakness

12.A. gently        B. quietly                C. violently            D. peacefully

13.A. with care      B. in fear                C. by chance         D. on purpose

14.A. amongst        B. by                   C. for                  D. against

15.A. others        B. themselves             C. the other            D. the rest

16.A. equal and simple B. ordinary and similar  C. more or less  D. unique and different

17.A. each other     B. me                  C. one another               D. them

18.A. combined      B. separated            C. united            D. divided

19.A. cleans        B. washes                C. brightens            D. dampens

20.A. appreciate     B. quarrel with           C. ignore            D. praise

Geniuses amaze us, impress us and make us all a little jealous．How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer．Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.

When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano．After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven．Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight．He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears．He seems to be specially designed for music．In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies (神童) to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.

Genius didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh．His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain．After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and pictures．So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art．Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine．Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease．Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.

Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence．Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately．As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards．Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.

If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one．Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky．Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.

56．My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.

A．a website                   B．the radio           C．a magazine         D．a newspaper

57．The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is        .

A．a person who learns something easily

B．a child who is eager to learn new things

C．a student who practices an instrument a lot

D．a kid who works hard to do well in school

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

A．New things about the brain are still being discovered.

B．People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.

C．Some people naturally have more active brains.

D．People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.

59．What would be the best way to describe Susan Polger’s special abilities?

A．Born．                    B．Magical．         C．Developed．        D．Ridiculous.

60．From the passage, we know that         .

A．scientists completely understand the brain

B．people can only be born as geniuses

C．there’s no such thing as a true genius

D．there are many factors in being a genius

61．The author develops the passage mainly by         .

A．providing typical examples

B．following the natural time order

C．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects

D．comparing opinions from different scientists

Geniuses amaze us, impress us and make us all a little jealous．How do they differ from the average person? Scientists are working hard to figure out that answer．Tune in to the National Geographic Channel to find out about the discoveries they’re making in the series My Brilliant Brain.

       When Marc Yu was only two years old, he began to play the piano．After a year, he started learning pieces by Beethoven．Now he’s a world-famous concert pianist at age eight．He learns newer and more difficult pieces with ease and can identify any note he hears．He seems to be specially designed for music．In Born Genius, National Geographic looks at the science behind child prodigies (神童) to explain why some children seem to be born without limits.

       Genius didn’t come naturally to Tommy McHugh．His came only after he nearly died from bleeding in his brain．After recovering, McHugh’s head was filled with new thoughts and pictures．So, he began to express them in the form of poetry and art．Now, he’s a seemingly unstoppable creative machine．Sufferers of autism and brain injury have shown that great mental ability can sometimes come from damage or disease．Accidental Genius explores this puzzling relationship.

       Can normal people be trained to be geniuses? Susan Polger has shown no signs of extraordinary intelligence．Yet, during her childhood, she studied thousands of chess patterns and learned to recognize them immediately．As a result, she was able to beat skilled adult players by age 10 and can now play up to five games at the same time without even seeing the boards．Make Me a Genius examines what it takes to turn an ordinary brain into that of a genius.

       If becoming a genius were easy, we’d all be one．Yet, there is much more to super intelligence than simply being born lucky．Learn more about amazing brains this month on National Geographic’s My Brilliant Brain.

1．My Brilliant Brains is most probably from _______.

       A．a website            B．the radio           C．a magazine         D．a newspaper

2．The author takes Marc Yu as an example to show that a child prodigy is        .

       A．a person who learns something easily

       B．a child who is eager to learn new things

       C．a student who practices an instrument a lot

       D．a kid who works hard to do well in school

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

       A．New things about the brain are still being discovered.

       B．People without natural abilities can learn to do things well.

       C．Some people naturally have more active brains.

       D．People are usually smarter when they recover from brain injury.

4．What would be the best way to describe Susan Polger’s special abilities?

       A．Born．             B．Magical．         C．Developed．           D．Ridiculous.

5．From the passage, we know that         .

       A．scientists completely understand the brain

       B．people can only be born as geniuses

       C．there’s no such thing as a true genius

       D．there are many factors in being a genius

6．The author develops the passage mainly by         .

       A．providing typical examples

       B．following the natural time order

       C．presenting a cause and analyzing its effects

       D．comparing opinions from different scientists

阅读理解

阅读下面短文，并做每篇后面的题目。从四个选项中，选出能回答所提问题或完成所给句子的最佳答案。

　　Some people cannot learn in ordinary schools. Often some physical or mental handicap prevents a child from learning. In education today new methods are being used in special schools to help the handicapped learn.

　　Among many interesting schools for handicapped persons, there is one which is being set up in the southern part of New Jersey, U.S.A. It is called the Bancroft Community. Here handicapped Young adults will be trained to support themselves and to get along in the outside world.

　　The Bancroft Community is not walled in like any other school. The students may gradually develop normal relations with the rest of the world. Bancroft Community students will live in apartments or houses, cooking their own meals, washing their own clothes, and learning to do other tasks. Gradually, as they become able, they will buy their own furniture, paying for it our of their own earnings. They will pay rent and pay for their food, too. They will learn to expect telephone bills for the calls they make every month.

　　As a step toward the goal of becoming independent, each handicapped will decide what kind of work one wants to be trained to do. While some of the training will be carried on within the Bancroft Community itself, most of the students will receive job training in nearby towns. They will be trained by townspeople for whom they will work without pay.

1．Which work in the following is similar in meaning to “handicapped”?

[　　]

2．The reason why the handicapped go to the special schools is that ________.

[　　]

A．ordinary schools have no specialized teachers and necessary accommodations.

B．they do not want to go to the ordinary schools

C．they have special rights

D．they are a group of strange people

3．There are no walls around the Bancroft Community, why?

[　　]

A．Because the director wants to make the students live freely.

B．Because the director wants to help the students learn more.

C．Because the students can mix with the outside world and it should not be different from all other schools.

D．Because the director wants to save money.

4．As a student in a special school, one ________.

[　　]

A．can't cook their own meals

B．will pay the job trainers with one's service

C．can't pay rent or pay for their food

D．can't afford their own furniture