A. inform people of how to find their way through the maze B. advise parents their way through the maze
C. inform people of the dos and don?ts of Downey' s corn maze
D. show the comprehensive services provided by Downey' s corn maze
B
Neuroscientists have explained the risky, aggressive or just plain confusing behavior of teenagers as the product of a brain that is somehow compromised. Groundbreaking research in the past 10 years, however, shows that this view is wrong. The teen brain is not defective (有缺陷的). It is not a half-baked adult brain, either. It has been forged by evolution to function differently from that of a child or an adult.
Foremost among the teen brain's features is its ability to change in response to the environment by modifying the communication networks that connect brain regions. It allows teenagers to make enormous strides in thinking and socialization. But the change also makes them sensitive to dangerous behavior and serious mental disorders.
The most recent studies indicate that the riskiest behavior arises from a mismatch between the maturation of networks in the limbic system (边缘系统), which drives emotions and intensifies at puberty ( 青春期), and the maturation of networks in the prefrontal cortex (前额皮质), which occurs later and promotes sound judgment and the control of impulses. Indeed, we now know that one' s prefrontal cortex continues to change prominently until his 20s. And yet puberty seems to be starting earlier, extending the \
The plasticity of networks linking brain regions — and not the growth of those regions, as previously thought — is key to eventually behaving like an adult. Understanding that, and knowing that a widening gap between the development of emotional and judgment networks is happening in young people today, can help parents, teachers, counselors and teenagers themselves. People will better see that behavior such as risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and turning away from parents and toward peers are not signs of cognitive or emotional problems. They are a natural result of brain development, a normal part of adolescents learning how to negotiate a complex world.
The same understanding can also help adults decide when to intervene. A 15-year-old girl's departure from her parents' tastes in clothing, music or politics may be a source of anxiety for Mom and Dad but does not indicate mental illness. A 16-year-old boy' s tendency to skateboard without a helmet or to accept risky challenges from friends is not unimportant but is more likely a sign of short-range thinking and peer pressure than a desire to hurt himself. Other exploratory and aggressive actions might be red flags, however. Knowing more about the unique teen brain will help all of us learn how to separate unusual behavior that is age-appropriate from that which might indicate illness. Such awareness could help society reduce the rates of teen addiction, motor vehicle accidents and depression.
58. How is Paragraph I mainly developed?
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A. By drawing a comparison. B. By confirming a prediction. C. By making an assumption.
D. By correcting a misunderstanding.
59. What can we know about the changeability of teens' brains?
A. It is predictable and avoidable. B. It is a double-edged sword.
C. It is related to their brain development in the childhood. D. It results from serious functional disorders.
60. The limbic system and the prefrontal cortex are mentioned in Paragraph 3to ________.
A. show how the mismatch between their maturation of networks happens B. explain the relationship between early puberty and them C. explain what leads to teens' riskiest behavior D. show the differences between them
C
Enough “meaningless drivel”.That?s the message from a group of members of the UKgovernment who have been examining how social media firms like LinkedIn gather and use social media data.
The House of Commons Science and Technology Committee?s report, released last week, has blamed firms for making people sign up to long incomprehensible legal contracts and calls for an international standard or kitemark (认证标记) to identify sites that have clear terms and conditions.
“The term and conditions statement that we all carelessly agree to is meaningless drivel to anyone,” says Andrew Miller, the chair of the committee. Instead, he says, firms should provide a plain-English version of their terms. The simplified version would be checked by a third party and awarded a kitemark if it is an accurate reflection of the original.
It is not yet clear who would administer the scheme, but the UK government is looking at introducing it on a voluntary basis. “we need to think through how we make that work in practice,” says Miller.
Would we pay any more attention to a kitemark? “I think if you went and did the survey, people would like to think they would,” says Nigel Shadbolt at the University of Southampton, UK, who studies open data. “We do know people worry a lot about the inappropriate use of their information.” But what would happen in practice is another matter, he says.
Other organisations such as banks ask customers to sign long contracts they may not read or understand, but Miller believes social media requires special attention because it is so new. “We still don?t know how significant the long-term impact is going to be of unwise things that kids put on social media that come back and bite them in 20 years? time,” he says.
Shadbolt, who gave evidence to the committee, says the problem is that we don?t know how
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companies will use our data because their business models and uses of data are still evolving. Large collections of personal information have become valuable only recently, he says.
The shock and anger when a social media firm does something with data that people don?t expect, even if users have apparently permission, show that the current situation isn?t working. If properly administered, a kitemark on terms and conditions could help people know what exactly they are signing up to. Although they would still have to actually read them. 61. What does the phrase “ meaningless drivel” in paragraphs 1 and 3 refer to?
A. Legal contracts that social media firms make people sign up to. B. Warnings from the UK government against unsafe websites. C. Guidelines on how to use social media websites properly. D. Insignificant data collected by social media firms.
62. It can be inferred from the passage that Nigel Shadbolt doubts whether _______.
A. social media firms would conduct a survey on the kitemark scheme B. people would pay as much attention to a kitemark as they think C. a kitemark scheme would be workable on a nationwide scale
D. the kitemark would help companies develop their business models 63.The writer advises users of social media to _______.
A. think carefully before posting anything onto such websites B. read the terms and conditions even if there is a kitemark C. take no further action if they can find a kitemark D. avoid providing too much personal information 64. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. Say no to social media?
B. New security rules in operation? C. Accept without reading? D. Administration matters!
D
My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can?t be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying, “What do you want? Take my wallet,” but at the time I thought of nothing.
I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house --- Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen?s voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy?s head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy, and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already
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running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn?t crouch(蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.
I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help!” at eight o?clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in!” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy?s screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.
The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely, “Please go and eat. We?re OK.”
I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn?t change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?
People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were ill-tempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the gunmen. “Typical,” said one policeman when we couldn?t even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn?t think that would be much help.
The policemen were matter-of-fact about the whole thing. The thin one said, “That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you?re told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.
Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys,” he said. “If you had gone into the house with them…” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” --- he twisted his head toward me --- “and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look,” said the fat policeman kindly, “there?s no right or wrong in the situation. There?s just luck.”
All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time --- no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There?s only luck. The next time I might end up dead.
And I?m sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they?re fooling themselves.
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65. When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window, ________.
A. she felt very annoyed
B. she lost consciousness D. she lost the power of thinking B. The author?s screaming D. The police?s arrival
B. they were busy preparing dinners
C. she felt very much nervous A. Jeremy?s fighting
66. What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?
C. Their neighbor?s brave action A. they were much too frightened
67. When the author called for help, the neighbors didn?t come out immediately because_______.
C. they needed time to find baseball bats D. they thought someone was playing a trick 68. The author was happy to see the neighbors go because ________.
A. she hated to listen to their empty talk B. she did not want to become an object of pity
C. she was angered by their being late to come to her help D. she wanted to be left alone with Jeremy to get over the shock 69. The police were rather angry because ________.
A. the author was not hurt and gave a false alarm B. they thought it was a case of little importance
C. the author and Jeremy could not tell the police anything D. the gunmen had already fled when they arrived on the scene 70. What the author wants to tell us is that ________.
A. neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty B. the police are not reliable when one is in trouble C. security is impossible as long as people can have guns D. preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice
第II 卷（共35分）
第五部分：任务型阅读（共10题；每题1分；满分10分）
We?re encouraged on a daily basis to “dream big” and set our aims high if we want to achieve great things. There is nothing wrong in that itself, yet it tends to be misinterpreted by us, the regular mortals who are fascinated by fairy stories of dreams that come true to those who are brave enough to focus on the ultimate goal.
For every great achievement ever made, there have been a million of small wins and breakthroughs that gradually led to it, and this is something many people tend to overlook when working on achieving their goals. If we forget to appreciate the small wins we regularly make, we?ll risk feeling bad about ourselves and feeling incompetent when we constantly compare our present state to our final goals, which can only lessen our chances of making progress, Worse still, the increased amount of stress we have to cope with is counterproductive, as it decreases our productivity and damages our physical health.
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