A businessman had two sons. While he gave the younger son a lot of love and gifts, he neglected (忽视) the elder son. It was completely puzzling (令人费解) and no one knew why.

When the boys grew up, they were asked to manage the father’s business. The elder son was absorbed in the business. From morning till late in the evening, he was busy working. Within a few years, he ran the business very well and even expanded (扩大) it.

What about the younger son? He didn't have much to do except have a good time. But the father believed that his favorite son would be a success. If the elder son could be a successful businessman, surely the younger one, with a higher education, would do much better.

A few years later, the results of his decision became clear. Uninterested in business, the younger son continued spending his time enjoying himself. And he went out of business. But the elder son’s far smaller share (份) of business had expanded and he had proved himself to be a good decision maker.

Ashamed at the turn of events, the father met the elder son and was angry with the younger one. The elder son, who was listening to all this quietly, suddenly said he wanted to set up an independent business and live on his own.

“Why?” asked the father.

“I blame (责备) one person for the way my brother has turned out, and it’s not him. You can’t blame children for the faults (过失) of their parents, can you?” asked the elder son.

21. Before the younger son went into the father’s business, he______.

A. was interested in business          B. had achieved great success

C. often looked down upon his brother  D. was well-educated at school

22.Why did the father treat the two sons differently?

A. the elder son didn’t work hard      B. no one knew why he did it

C. the younger son was hardworking   D. he wanted to do an experiment

23.Which is NOT the reason for the younger son’s going out of business?

A. he himself didn’t work hard

B. his father didn’t educate him properly

C. he was not interested in business at all

D. he was busy working every day

24.What does the text really want to teach us?

A. Parents are responsible for children’s development.

B. Once something is done, you should do it well.

C. Interest is the most important for success.

D. One has responsibility for what he himself has done.

Sports shoes that work out whether their owner has done enough exercise to ensure time in front of the television have been invented in the UK.

The shoes ― dubbed (配音的) Square Eyes contain an electronic pressure sensor and a tiny computer chip to record how many steps the wearer has taken in a day. A wireless transmitter（发射机）passes the information to a receiver connected to a television, and this decides how much evening viewing time the wearer deserves, based on the day’s efforts.

The design was inspired by a desire to combat (遏制) the rapidly ballooning waistlines among British teenagers, said Gillian Swan, who developed Square Eyes as a final year design project at Brunel University in London UK. “We looked at current issues and childhood obesity(过度肥胖) really stood out,” she told New Scientist. “And I wanted to deal with that with my design.”

Once the child has used up their daily allowance gained through exercise, the television automatically switches off. And further time in front of the TV can only be earned through more steps.

Swan calculated how exercise should translate to television time using the recommended daily amounts of both. Health experts suggested a child take 12,000 steps each day and watch no more than 2 hours of TV. So every 100 steps recorded by the Square Eyes shoes equals exactly one minute of TV time.

25.The best title for the passage might be ______.

  A. A Newly-invented Type of Shoes in the UK

  B. Smart Shoes Deciding on Television Time

  C. New Shoes and Watching TV in the UK

  D. The Problem of Children’s Obesity

26. We know from the passage the wireless transmitter is probably placed in ______.

A. the pressure sensor          B. the television          C. the computer              D. the shoes

27. Gillian Swan developed Square Eyes to ______.

  A. gain enough TV time                          B. deal with childhood obesity

C. encourage TV watching                         D. finish university design project

28. The underlined word “allowance” in Para.4 probably means ______.

A. the money given to children                   B. the money for watching TV

C. the time of watching TV                         D. the steps to be taken

In choosing a friend, one should be very careful. A good friend can help you study. You can have fun together and make each other happy. Sometimes you will meet fairweather friends. They will be with you as long as you have money or luck, but when you are down, they will run away. How do I know when I have found a good friend? I look for certain qualities (品质) of character, especially understanding, honesty

and reliability (可靠).

　　Above all else, I look for understanding in a friend. A good friend tries to understand how another person is feeling. He is not quick to judge. Instead, he tries to learn from others. He puts himself in the other person's place, and he tries to think of ways to be helpful. He is also a good listener.

　　At the same time, however, a good friend is honest. He does not look for faults (过错) in others. He notices their good points. In short, a friend will try to understand me and accept me.

　　Another quality of a friend is reliability. I can always depend on (信赖) a good friend. If he tells me he will meet me somewhere at a certain time, I can be sure that he will be there. If I need a favor, he will do his best to help me. If I am in trouble, he will not run away from me.

　　There is a fourth quality that makes a friend special. A special friend is someone with whom we can have fun. We should enjoy our lives, and we would enjoy our friendship. That is why I especially like friends who are fun to be with. A good friend likes the same things I like. We share experience (经验) and learn from each other. A good friend has a good sense of humor (幽默), too. He likes to laugh with me. That is how we share in the joy of being friends. And I know that he is looking for the same quality in me.

　　When I meet someone who is reliable, honest, and understanding, I know I've found a friend!

29. Which of the following qualities the writer thinks is the most important in choosing a friend?

　　A. Understanding.       B. Honesty.         C. Reliability.        D. A sense of humor.

30. If you have fair weather friends, ______ .

A. they will give you all that they have when you need help

B. you will be refused when you get into trouble

　　C. you will become rich

　　D. you can be sure that you get real friends

31. Good friends need to ______.

　　A. always point out each other's mistakes            B. be helped with money

　　C. understand each other's feelings                            D. have money or luck

　　66. This passage mainly discuss ______ .

　　A. the qualities of a friend                              B. where to choose friends

　　C. how to get along with friends                            D. the importance of having a friend

Ask Dr ? Jeffers

This month Dr. Jeffers is answering questions about the human brain and how it works.

Dear Dr. Jeffers,

One of my colleagues, Felix Moeller, told me that scientists are learning to use computer to ‘read minds’. Is there any truth to this story/

—Jane Leon, New York, USA

Dear Ms. Leon,

Well, a lot of research is being conducted in this area, but so far, the brain scanning equipment and corresponding computer programs haven’t been able to actually read thoughts. In one experiment, test subjects（受试者）were connected to scanning equipment and shown two numbers on a screen. They were then asked to choose between adding or subtracting（减）the two numbers. Using this method, researchers were able to follow brain processes and make the correct assumptions（假设）70 percent of the time. It’s not quite mind reading, but it’s certainly a first step.

—Dr. J.

Dear Dr. Jeffers,

My three-year-old son loves it when I dig my fingers into his sides and tickle （胳肢）him until he laughs uncontrollably. The other day I noticed him trying to tickle himself but he couldn’t do it. Why not?

—Glenn Lewis, Vancouver, Canada

Dear Mr. Lewis,

It’s because of how the brain works. The brain is trained to know what to pay attention to and what to ignore. It causes us to ignore physical feelings we expect to happen, but it causes a mild panic reaction when there is an unexpected feeling. For example, you don’t notice how your shoulder feels while you’re walking down the street. But if someone comes up behind you and touches you lightly on the shoulder, you may jump in fear. It’s that unexpected part that causes the tickle reaction.

—Dr. J.

32.What can we learn from the answer to the first question?                          

A. Some equipment is able to read human minds.

B. Some progress has been made in mind reading.

C. Test subjects have been used to make decisions.

D. Computer programs can copy brain processes.

33 People laugh when tickled by others because the feeling is _______.        

A. unexpected        B.expected        C. comfortable        D. uncomfortable

34.Who has got a little child according to the text?                                       

A. Ms. Leon          B. Mr. Lewis        C. Mr. Moeller        D. Dr. Jeffers

35.According to the text, Jeffers is probably _______.                                 

A. a computer programmer                B. a test subject

C. a human brain expert                   D. a medical doctor

For the rest of March, a disease will sweep across the US. It will keep kids home from school.   36   Employees will suddenly lose their ability to concentrate.

The disease, known as “March Madness”, refers to the yearly 65 – team US men’s college basketball tournament (锦标赛).   37   Teams compete against each other in a single – elimination (单局淘汰) tournament that eventually crowns a national champion.

Nearly 20 million Americans will find themselves prisoners of basketball festival madness. The fun comes partly from guessing the winners for every game. Friends compete against friends.        38   Colleagues against bosses.

Big – name schools are usually favored to advance into the tournament. But each year there are dark horses from little – known universities.

This adds to the madness. Watching a team from a school with 3,000 students beat a team from a school with 30,000, for many Americans, is an exciting experience. Two years ago, the little – known George Mason University was one of the final four teams.   39 

College basketball players are not paid, so the game is more about making a name for their university and themselves.   40   About $ 4 billion will be spent gambling (赌) on the event. According to Media Life magazine, the event will bring in $ 500 million in advertising income this year, topping the post – season income of every US professional league, including that of the NBA.

       A. Husbands against wives.

       B. The players will go all out for the games.

       C. But that doesn’t mean money isn’t involved.

       D. College students will ignore piles of homework.

       E. People are willing to spend more money on watching it.

       F. It begins on March 15 and lasts through the beginning of April.

       G. Many people had never even heard of the university before the tournament.