Police in America were looking for a thirteen-year-old boy, Ben. He was a middle school student. He was lost last Friday night.

  Ben’s mother went to bed early that evening because she had a bad cold. She thought Ben was spending the night with his friend. However, Ben did not appear at the family lunch the next day. She became worried and called the police.

  That evening, Ben left home to play baseball with two friends. They both said Ben went home after the game. Some neighbors said to the police they saw a UFO flying over Ben’s house that night. So they thought Ben might be taken away by aliens.

  The police said they would not give up until they found him.

57. When was Ben lost?

  ______________________________________________________________

58. What did Ben do with his friends that evening?

  ______________________________________________________________

59. What might happen to Ben according to his neighbors?

_______________________________________________________________

Every day in China, about 200 million children go to school. Many of them take school buses. What should we do to keep these students safe on the road?

On April 5, 2012，the State Council(國(guó)務(wù)院) published new rules about school bus safety. These new rules are stricter than the old ones.

Under the new rules, local governments must make sure that students go to nearby school or boarding schools to reduce traffic risks . Also, local governments must help kids in the countryside reach their school buses.

From now on, school buses have a speed limit of 80 km/h on highways and 60 km/h on normal roads. While on the road, other cars must let school buses go first.

The new rules also say that school buses must never be overloaded (超載的).

There are many other rules as well. A school bus must have more than seven seats. On each bus, there must be at least one adult to keep an eye on the kids. Each school bus must have a fire extinguisher (滅火器), a first aid kit (急救箱) and a GPS.

A series of school bus accidents happened in China in 2011. To stop such accidents, the Central Government decided to strengthen (加強(qiáng)) the rules for school buses.

The most serious accident happened in Gansu in November,2011. When a nine-seat minibus crashed. There were more than 60 children inside, and 21 of them died.

I hope such terrible things won’t happen again and all of us can pay more attention to the safety of the students.

56. What did the State Council publish on April 5, 2012?

A. New rules about school bus safety.　　 B. New rules about student safety.

C. New rules about student home.　　　　 　　 D. New rules about class.

57. According to the passage, the government made new rules because 　　　.

A. 21 students died in school bus accidents in 2011

B. School buses in China were not safe enough before

C. 200 million children in China go to school by bus every day　 　　　　　　

D. the government encourages all students to take school buses　 　　　　

58. What does the underlined “”word mean?

A. 國(guó)外的 .　　　 B. 國(guó)內(nèi)的 .　 C. 寄宿的.　 D. 較遠(yuǎn)的 .

59. What is the best title of this passage?

A. The most serious accident happened in 2011 in Gansu.

B. A school bus must have more than seven seats.　　

C. Local governments must help kids.

D. Safety first on the school bus.

Living in a modern society has its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that you often have to live closer to other people than you would like to. Sometimes, your neighbors make noise that you are not comfortable with.

   The best way to solve this problem is to talk with your neighbor first. You should be very polite and ask your neighbor if he knows how thin the walls of your homes are. This way doesn’t criticize (批評(píng)) his behavior; it simply points out that he may not realize how far his sound travels. Tell him that you know that sometimes you make noise as well, but that you do your best to keep it down. Often this will solve the problem right away, but sometimes the neighbor may become angry.

   If your neighbor becomes angry with you, there are some more steps you can take. You might write a letter to the neighborhood committee. Make sure you write down the source of the noise and the time in the letter. They will review the situation and decide whether your neighbor is out of line. Some noise is considered to be reasonable, even if it bothers you. So you may prepare a good pair of earplugs (耳塞).

    Even if your neighbor makes too much noise, you don’t have to live your life in discomfort. It’s always a good idea to be friendly to your neighbors. You may clean the rubbish in front of his door. He’s sure to appreciate (感激)behavior like this and be more open to your suggestions about noise level.

57. What is the first step to deal with the noisy neighbor?

A. To buy a good pair of earplugs.

B. To offer suggestions to the neighbor.

C. To ask the neighborhood committee for help.

D. To tell the neighbor how bad his behavior is.

58. What should be written in the letter to the neighborhood committee?

A. How to punish your noisy neighbor.

B. Where and when the noise appears.

C. How to make the noise less in the neighborhood.

D. What problems the noise causes to your life.

59.What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A. You should control your noise as well.

B. You can live comfortably even if there is noise.

C. Your neighbor may be more friendly than you think.

D. You should build good relationship with your neighbor.

60.The author wrote this passage to tell us ____ .

A. why we should get on well with neighbors

B. how to relax ourselves in a modern society

C. how to become known among neighbors

D. what we should do with our noisy neighbor 

      What happened to that brilliant idea that you once had? Did you ignore (忽略) it because you thought that it was just a little thought?       Have you ever considered what that little thought would have become if you had acted on your instincts (本能) or if you had paid more attention to it?

       Imagine a scene, where you are sitting at home watching television or reading a book, suddenly a light bulb is turned on in the dark tunnel of your mind as a thought or an idea crosses your mind. The thought catches your attention but seems so meaningless and you want to give it up, but wait a minute! That thought could be the potential (潛在的) beginning of the success you have wanted so much. As the thought crosses your mind, your senses become alert and you suddenly see a possibility, a realization, a solution, a conclusion, or find the answer to a problem whose solution has long escaped from you.

       It is almost as if a great being has spoken the perfect solution quietly into your ear or awakened your senses to a reality by this means bringing light to your life. It is like finding the last piece of jigsaw puzzle. This becomes an AHA moment and everything freezes around you as you excitedly try to grasp the practicality of that little but powerful thought.

       Your self-confidence and interest increase as you become aware of the great possibilities that can arise if that little thought is acted upon. This becomes the moment to build upon that thought and to write down any ideas that are streaming from that little thought for later review. Seemingly meaningless little thoughts or ideas when acted upon have a potential to burst into great projects.     Many successful projects have been born from the little positive thoughts that were carefully nurtured (培育) and recognized as tickets to great things.

       You may have heard people say many times that it just came to me in a flash moment, a small idea or seemingly meaningless thought may cross your mind about something you have been planning to complete. Don’t waste an opportunity to act on a potentially brilliant idea. You don't have to wait for a major peer (同伴) for a major idea, a master strategy or agreement in order for you to act on that little thought. That little thought or idea is the beginning of great things if you decide to follow it.

57.   In paragraph 3, “an AHA moment” refers to the moment that _____________.

A. you suddenly understand and find something

B. you get the agreement from your peers

C. a thought or an idea crosses your mind

D. a light bulb is turned on in the dark

58.   What is the best title for the passage?

A. Can You Catch Your Chances?

B. Are You Ignoring that Little Thought?

C. Little Thoughts in Your Leisure Time

D. How to Make Use of the Little Thought

59. What does the writer want to tell us?

A. Little thoughts help increase the interest for your job.

B. Think over the little thoughts for the later great invention.

C. Many successful projects have been born from your dreams.

D. Act on the little thoughts because they might lead to great things.

Napping(小睡) after learning something new could help improve your memory--- as long as you dream, scientists say.

　 They found people who dream about a new task do it better on waking than those who do not sleep or do not dream.

Volunteers were asked to learn the layout(布局，設(shè)計(jì)) of a 3D computer maze(迷宮) so they could find their way several hours later. Those allowed to take a pap and who also remembered dreaming of the task, found their way to a landmark quicker.

　 The researchers think the dreams are a sign that unconscious(無(wú)意識(shí)的) parts of the brain are working hard to process information about the task..

　 Dr. Robert Stickgold of Harvard Medical School, said dreams may be a marker that the brain is working on the same problem at many levels.

　 Study tips

　 Co-author Dr. Erin Wamsley said the study suggests our non-conscious brain works on the things that it deem(認(rèn)為) are the most important.

　 “Every day we are gathering lots of information and new experiences,” she said. “It would seem that our dreams are asking the question, “How do I use this information to inform(影響) my life?”

　 The scientists say there may be ways to use this phenomenon(現(xiàn)象) for improving learning and memory. For example, students might be better studying hard before bedtime, or taking a nap after a period of afternoon study.

57. Scientists say ______ could help improve your memory.

A. dream　　 B. nap　　　　 C. nap and dream　　　 D. nap without dream

58. What were volunteers asked to do?

A. Take a nap.　 B. Dream a task.　 C. Learn about 3D computer.　 D. Find their way out of a maze.

59.Which is right about dreams?

A. They are a sign that parts of the brain is unconscious.

B. They can help us fall asleep and improve learning and memory.

C. They tell us how to use this information to inform our life.

D. They may be a marker that the brain is working on the same problem.

60. When is the best time for study?

A. Before bedtime. 　 B. After bedtime.　 C. Before taking a nap.　 D. In the afternoon.