One day Edward brought a caterpillar ( a kind of worm) into the classroom he had found in an
ear of corn. We placed the caterpillar in a glass fish tank with a metal mesh（網(wǎng)狀物）cover for
its protection. We couldn’t be sure what type of leaves the caterpillar would eat, but as it had been
found in an ear of corn we decided to feed it leaves from particular garden vegetables.
     Soon we began collecting information about the caterpillar and noticing changes. The children
wrote about what they saw in small groups. Three weeks into the caterpillar observation, the teacher
started a whole-group discussion going like this:
     Teacher: “What do you notice about the caterpillar?”
     Students: “It’s twice as big as when Edward brought it to the class.”
     The students also commented that the caterpillar’s color had changed- yellowish and brownish
colors clearly appeared.
     Teacher: “What do you think will happen next?”
     Students: “I think it’s gonna make a cocoon（繭）.”
     Teacher: “Wait a minute! What do you mean? The caterpillar will become a cocoon?”
     There was a considerable pause allowing the children to organize their thoughts and make a
prediction. At this point we took an informal survey showing more than half the class believed the
caterpillar would make a cocoon.
     Then, to further our learning, we connected the research to literature by reading The Very Hungry
Caterpillar by Eric Carle(1969). This book presents a fictional account of the “transformation”
undergoing by a caterpillar: egg- larva- pupa- butterfly. When reading the book, the teacher used the
terms kids already knew like larva or pupa. She also pointed out an error in the book, moths have
cocoons and butterflies have chrysalides（蝶蛹）.
     Eventually, it developed a cocoon, which lay unnoticed for a week as the children had become
distracted by other activities and events in our school and classroom. One day, the class noticed an
open “case” with the contents gone. The children decided the caterpillar had “finished growing” and
had changed into a butterfly or a moth. They guessed the creature had managed to escape through
a tear in the mesh cover of the tank and found its way to a nearby park where there were many trees
and some gardens. All these conjectures seemed reasonable and were supported by the teacher.

1.The children gave the caterpillar vegetable leaves in the garden as food based on ______.

A. what it looked like
B. where it tended to make its way
C. where it had been found
D. what they had learned from watching it

2.Which is NOT one of the changes happening to the caterpillar while it was in the classroom?

A. Color.
B. Size.
C. Form.
D. Behavior.

3.The underlined word “conjectures” in the last paragraph could be replaced by ______.

A. experiments
B. guesses
C. statistics
D. elements

4.Which of the following might be the best title of the passage?

A. Firsthand Nature
B. Animal Protection
C. An Amazing Caterpillar
D. An interesting Experience

     The drug store was closing for the night.Young Alfred Higgins,the shop.assistant,was ready to go
home.Mr.Carr,the boss,stared at him and said:"Hold on,Alfred.Maybe you'd be good enough to take
the things out of your pockets and leave them here before you go."Alfred's face got red. After a little
hesitation,he took out what he had stolen.Mr.Can"said."Maybe I should call your mother and let her
know I'm going to have to put you in prison."
    Alfred thought his mother would come rushing in, eyes burning with anger.But,to his surpnse, she
arrived wearing a smile."Hello, I'm Alfred's mother.Is he in trouble?"she said.Mr. Carr was surprised ,
too.He had expected Alfred's mother to come in nervously,shaking with fear, asking with wet eyes for
a mercy for her son.But no, she was most calm, quiet and pleasant and was making Mr.Carr feel
guilty....Soon Mr.Carr was shaking his head in agreement with what she was saying.''Of course,''he
said,''I don't want to be cruel. You are right. Sometimes, a little good advice is the best thing for a boy
at certain times in his life and it often takes the youths long time to get sense into their heads."And he
warmly shook Mrs. Higgins's hand.
     Back home, without even looking at Alfred, she said, "You are a bad luck. It is one thing after
another,always has been. Why do you stand there so stupidly? Go to bed.''In his bedroom, Alfred
heard his mother in the kitchen.There was no shame in him,just pride in his mother's strength.He felt
he must tell her how great she was.As he got to the kitchen.he saw his mother drinking a cup of tea.
He was shocked by what he saw.His mother's face was a frightened,broken one.It was not the same
cool,bright face he saw earlier in the drug store.As she lifted the tea cup,her hand shook.And some
of the tea splashed on the table.Her lips moved nervously. She looked very old.He watched his
mother without making a sound.The picture of his mother made him want to cry.He felt his youth
coming to an end.He saw all the troubles he brought his mother in her shaking hand and the deep lines
of worry in her grey face.It seemed to him that this was the first time he had ever really seen his mother.

1. The reason why Mr.Carr felt guilty was that______ .

A. he found Alfred was in fact innocent    
B. he should have called a policeman in first
C. Alfred's mother appeared polite and gentle
D. he thought he was partly responsible for it

2. Which ofthe following is probably said by Mrs.Higgins while talking to Mr.Carr?  

A."Please,for God's sake,you know,he is just a kid."
B."I can't believe it!You are treating my son like that!"
C."You know,it takes time for a youth to truly grow up."
D."Punishment makes sense because it teaches about the law."

3.What do you think"his mother's strength''refer to?

A. Mrs.Higgins's calmness and communicating skills.
B. Mrs.Higgins''attitude towards parental sufferings.
C. Mrs.Higgins's love and care for her son Alfred.
D. Mrs.Higgins's greatness as a woman.

4. After the incident,young Alfred would probably____.

A. feel ashamed of his mother      
B. change his attitude towards life    
C. learn to live an independent life    
D. hate Mr.Carr for hurting his mother  

     A lot of teachers hate doodlers(亂寫(xiě)亂畫(huà)的人)during classes. "Pay attention!" Teachers will often
warn doodling students, sure that they must be daydreaming.
     However, according to a recent study, doodling while listening to a boring lecture helps concentrate(集中)the attention:
     Andrade, a psychology professor in England asked participants to listen to a boring lecture. Half the
participants were told to color in squares and circles freely on a piece of paper while listening to the
lecture. The other half weren’t given a task. After it was over, the participants were asked to retell the
lecture.    
     Those given the doodling task (color in squares and circles) remembered 29 percent more information
than the non-doodlers. Andrade said.   
     "If someone is doing a boring task, like listening to a dull conversation, they may start daydream,"
said Professor Andrade.
    "Daydreaming distracts(使分心)them from the task, resulting in poorer performance. A  simple task,
like doodling, can stop them from daydreaming without affecting their performance at the task," he said.    
     So the next time you're doodling during a class, and you hear "pay attention", you can tell the teacher
with confidence that you've been paying attention to every word．  
1. The passage mainly tells us              .

A. doodling will be banned(禁止) in classes  
B. teachers are against doodling
C. doodling may help concentrate    
D. doodling can lead to daydream

2. Teachers hate doodlers because they thought               .

A. doodlers are not good at study      
B. doodlers are doing no task 
C. doodlers pay no attention in class  
D. doodlers are not polite to them

3. According to the text, it is helpful to doodle when               . 

A. a boring lecture is given            
B. an interesting story is told
C. watching a long TV program      
D. having a conversation with the teacher

4. Professor Andrade thinks                .  

A. those given the doodling task can remember less information
B. if you have daydream during classes you'll have a good memory
C. daydreaming is better than doodling
D. doodling can stop us from daydreaming

5. We can learn from the text that                . 

A. doodling is the best way to draw attention
B. daydreaming is different from doodling
C. doodling will be helpful in any occasion
D. every student should doodle in class