A study showed that the experiences children have in their first few years are important . These experiences affect the development of the brain. When children receive more attention, they often have higher IQs. Babies receive information when they see, hear and feel things, which makes connections between different parts of the brain. There are a hundred trillion(万亿)connections in the brain of a three-year-old child.
Researcher Judit Gervain tested how good newborns are at distinguishing different sound patterns. Her researchers produced images of the brains of babies as they heard different sound patterns. For example, one order was mu-ba-ba. This is the pattern"A-B-B". Another order was mu-ba-ge. This is the pattern “A-B-C”. The images showed that the part of the brain responsible for speech was more active during the" A-B-B"pattern. This shows that babies can tell the difference between different patterns. They also were sensitive to where it occurred in the order.
Gervain is excited by these findings because the order of sounds is the building block of words and grammar."Position is key to language," she says. "If something is at the beginning or at the end, it makes a big difference:'John caught the bear.' is very different from 'The bear caught John.'”
Researchers led by scientist Patricia Kuhl have found that language delivered by televisions, audio books,the Internet, or smartphones－no matter how educational－doesn’t appear to be enough for children’s brain development. They carried out a study of nine-month-old American babies. They expected the first group who’d watched videos in Chinese to show the same kind of learning as the second group who were brought face-to-face with the same sounds. Instead they found a huge difference. The babies in the second group were able to distinguish between similar Chinese sounds as well as native listeners. But the other babies －regardless of whether they had watched the video or listened to the audio－learned nothing.
1.What makes connections in a baby’s brain?
A. Having a higher IQ. B. Experiencing new information
C. The baby’ early age D. The connection with other babies
2.What did Judit Gervain and her team find in the experiment?
A. Babies identify different sound patterns.
B. Word order is relevant to meaning.
C. Babies can well understand different words.
D. A certain brain region processes language.
3.What does the underlined sentence mean in Paragraph 3?
A. Grammar is important in learning languages.
B. Different orders have different meanings.
C. Different languages have different grammar.
D. Words have different sounds.
4.What is the main conclusion from the study led by Patricia Kuhl?
A. Babies shouldn’t watch a lot of television.
B. Listening to different languages develops babies’ brain
C. Foreign languages help babies’ brain develop
D. Social communication improves babies’ brain development.
A young woman sits alone in café sipping tea and reading a book. She pauses briefly to write in a nearby notepad before showing her words to a passing café waiter: “Where are the toilets please?” This is a familiar scene in Tokyo’s so-called “silent cafes”, where customers are not allowed to speak, and only communicate by writing in notepads.
The concept rises by a desire to be alone among young Japanese, a situation brought by economic uncertainly, a shift in traditional family support structures and the growing social isolation. The phenomenon is not limited to coffee shops but covers everything from silent discos, where participants dance alone wearing wireless headphones connected to the DJ, to products such as small desk tents designed for conversation-free privacy in the office. One Kyoto company even offers single women the opportunity to have a “one woman wedding” – a full bridal affair, complete with white dress and ceremony, and the only thing missing is the groom. The trend has its own media expression – “botchi-zoku”, referring to individuals who consciously choose to do things completely on their own.
One recent weekday afternoon, Chihiro Higashikokubaru, a 23-year-old nurse, travelled 90 minutes from her home, to Tokyo on her day off in order to enjoy some solo time. Speaking quietly at the entrance of the café, Miss Higashikokubaru said: “I heard about this place via Twitter and I like the idea of coming here. I work as a nurse and it’s always very busy. There are very few quiet places in Tokyo, and it’s a big busy city. I just want to come and sit somewhere quietly on my own. I’m going to drink a cup of tea and maybe do some drawings. I like the idea of a quiet, calm atmosphere.”
The desire to be isolated is not a new concept in Japan, home to an estimated 3.6 million “hikikomori” – a more extreme example of social recluses（隐士）who withdraw completely from society.
1.What is special about the “silent café”?
A. It provides various tea and books.
B. People are not allowed to communicate.
C. It has attracted many popular young people.
D. It offers service by writing not by speaking.
2.Which of the following accounts for the idea of being alone in Japan?
A. The increasing social isolation.
B. The stable economic situation.
C. The rising demand for privacy.
D. The rapid development of internet.
3.What do we know about Higashikokubaru?
A. She doesn’t like to be a nurse.
B. She doesn’t like the life in big cities.
C. She enjoys her solo time in a quiet place.
D. She travelled to Tokyo on her work days.
4.What is the best title of the passage?
A. Silent cafes B. Lonely Japanese
C. One woman wedding D. Social recluses in Japan
I never planned to be a teacher. I was headed for a law school, for a real career. Teaching was something to “get out of my system”. I would teach a couple of years and then go to get a real job. After the first couple of years, I promised myself I would leave if I didn’t love my job any more. Twenty-nine years later, that day still has not come.
So, why do I stay? I stay because I laugh and learn every day. The children are funny, insightful, and honest. If my shoes don’t match my outfit, they tell me. If my argument that Invisible Man is an important twentieth century classics doesn’t convince them, they tell me.
I stay because every single day is different. Some days, my lessons are great, and I have classes of students who are engaged in reading, writing and thinking. Some days, my lessons fall flat, and I realize that I need to start from scratch — even after 29 years.
I stay because I love to see the children realize that they have learned something — whether it’s how to craft an argumentative thesis sentence or how to understand the effect of repetition in The Declaration of Independence. I love to see the children write well; I love the feeling of reading a well-argued essay, and I love smiling as I write a final “Awesome job!” on a paper on which a student has worked hard.
I stay because what I’ve learned in 29 years is that I do have a “real” job — the most real job there is. It’s the one that leads to other jobs, that helps to create good thinkers who go on to be productive in our society, and that supports our community as it grows and times change. My job is among the ones that matter most.
1.The author became a teacher because he ____________.
A. needed money to go to a law school B. loved dealing with children
C. loved teaching very much D. failed to get a “real” job
2.We can infer from Paragraph 2 that the author _________.
A. often pays no attention to his outfit B. is good at convincing his students
C. enjoys his time with his students D. doesn’t read many classics
3.According to Paragraph 4, the author continues to teach most probably because ________.
A. teaching makes him feel he can make a difference to children
B. teaching makes him realize every day is different
C. he can learn a lot of things from teaching
D. he likes to be praised by his students
4.What is the passage mainly about?
A. What the author has learned as a teacher.
B. What the author thinks of being a teacher.
C. Why the author didn’t choose to become a lawyer.
D. Why the author chooses to stay as a teacher.
Aruba is one of the most well-known Caribbean destinations for tourists around the world.
You’re probably wondering what to include as well as what to wear while you’re in Aruba.
Clothes
The main reason why you’re heading there is to relax on the country’s fresh beaches and joy in warm waters of the Caribbean Sea. During most of the day, you’ll likely be wearing your swimsuit. When you’re finished at the beach or pool area, it is advisable to bring along a shirt or cover as well as shorts to wear.
It is not recommended to wear beach clothes when you go out for dinner – regardless of the time of day. Shorts and T-shirts are enough in many restaurants, although more formal clothes are advised for the fanciest eating establishments.
What else to bring?
The Caribbean sun is very strong and if you’re planning on spending lots of time in the sun, there are several precautions you must take. Include suncream, sunglasses, a wide hat, a couple of bathing suits, as well as a beach bag and a cooler in your luggage.
What NOT to bring?
While drinking water is questionable or not safe in many Caribbean nations, Aruba is an exception. Aruba is known for having the cleanest water in the world. There is no need to bring water, simply bring along an empty bottle.
Several items are prohibited in Aruba for carrying. These include firearms, e-cigarettes, as well as sharp objects and tools.
1.Tourists choose Aruba for a destination mainly because__________.
A. they can wear casual clothes freely
B. they can enjoy the beautiful scenery
C. they can relax on the beach and in waters
D. they can have a wonderful dinner party there
2.Which of the following is not advised to do in Aruba?
A. Wearing a T-shirt in a restaurant.
B. Preparing suncream in advance.
C. Wearing beach clothes for dinner.
D. Taking along sun glasses before going out.
3.The purpose of the text is to__________.
A. provide information for tourists
B. offer advice on travelling in Aruba
C. attract more tourists to travel in Aruba
D. warn tourists against doing wrong things
听下面一段独白。根据你所听到的内容，在空格中填入恰当的单词完成下面的短文，每空一词。
Dear Borg Fence,
I have been trying to get in 1. with you for weeks about my gate. You fixed it on September 29, but no one has called me back.
I was not able to be at home while the workers finished fixing the gate that day. Well, I came back to find that the gate had not been fixed properly. The problem is very 2.: the nails are not nailed in properly, so every piece of wood is slowly coming 3.. I know that this job was very small, but even small jobs should be done properly. Even though your workers had to complete another bigger job 4., they should still have paid attention to my fence. I already paid for the work, and I feel like you took 5. of me. Between my house at 1701 Coventry Lane and my mother’s house at 52 Ascott Circle, my family has given your company thousands of dollars in the past several months, and we 6. to be treated with more 7. than this.
I hope this can be resolved as soon as possible. Please call me at 745-898-8222 to let me know when I can 8. someone to come out here to make this right. Of course, I would prefer to handle this quietly, but if you do not 9. to this letter, I will be forced to take my case to the Better Business Organization and make a formal 10..
Best regards，
Jasper Smith
听下面一段对话，其后有五个句子，请根据你所听到的内容判断其正误，如果句子正确，选A；如句子错误，选B。
1.It was the first time for the man to shop in the store.
A. T B. F
2.The man wanted to buy his wife a birthday present.
A. T B. F
3.The diamond necklace was too expensive for the man.
A. T B. F
4.The budget for the gift was $1000.
A. T B. F
5.The man paid $720 for the gold necklace at last.
A. T B. F
