If you don’t use it, you lose it. At least, that’s how the old saying goes. It refers to the idea that something which does not get used regularly quickly falls into a state of decline. Muscles, for example, will waste away without use. In order to resist this, people take regular exercise to keep their skills sharp.
Well, what about the brain? As we age, our brains can naturally begin to decline. In some cases, this can lead to certain mental conditions such as dementia (痴呆), which I’m sure you will agree, no one wants. However, all is not lost because these days it’s relatively easy to train your brain. Smart phones and apps have put programmes into our hands that can test, maintain and even improve our memories, mathematical skills and a lot of other mental abilities. With a little practice every day, we can keep our brains nice and sharp, right?
Well, no, actually. According to a report from the Global Council on Brain Health, even though many people thought it was important to play online games, such as puzzles and mind games, which are designed to improve brain health, the evidence of the benefits was “weak to non-existent”.
There are other ways to promote the old grey matter. It recommends seeking out new activities that challenge the way you think and are socially engaging, while leading to a healthy lifestyle. Among their suggestions are practising tai chi, taking photography classes, learning new technologies, gardening, art projects or volunteering.
There’s more good news, too. James Goodwin, chief scientist at Age UK has said that brain decline is not inevitable (不可避免的). As long as the activities are “new to you and require your concentrated attention”, they can provide benefits for brain health. So, hurry up, get out there and try something new. Maybe it’s time to try that hobby you’ve always wanted to do. And as for me? I’m off to learn the piano.
1.From which is the text probably taken?
A.A biology textbook. B.A research paper.
C.A travel brochure. D.A healthy magazine.
2.According to the passage, what can the brain training apps help you?
A.It will improve our brain health. B.It can make us smarter.
C.It does little to sharp our brain. D.It can prevent us from aging.
3.How to maintain brain health according to the author?
A.Using smart phone regularly. B.Trying something new.
C.Playing games online. D.Doing what you are good at.
4.What does the passage mainly tell us?
A.How to spend time meaningfully at an old age.
B.How to keep brain sharp.
C.Disadvantages of using smart phones.
D.Advantages of trying something new.
When it comes to the most famous 20th century painters of the United States, Grandma Moses should be mentioned, although she did not start painting until she was in her late seventies. As she once said to herself , “I would never sit back in a rocking chair, waiting for someone to help me”. No one could have had a more active old age．
She was born on a farm in New York State, one of five boys and five girls. At 12 she left home and was in domestic service until at 27 she married Thomas Moses, the hired hand of one of her employers. They farmed most of their lives, first in Virginia and then in New York State, at Eagle Bridge. She had ten children, of whom five survived; her husband died in 1927．
Grandma Moses painted a little as a child and made embroidery (刺绣) pictures as a hobby, but only changed to oils in old age because her hands became too stiff (僵硬的) to sew and she still wanted to keep busy and pass the time. Her pictures were first sold at the local drugstore and at a market and were soon noticed by a businessman who bought all that she painted. Three of the pictures were exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1940 she had her first exhibition in New York. Between the 1930’s and her death, she produced some 2,000 pictures: careful and lively portrayals of the country life she had known for so long, with a wonderful sense of color and form. “I think really hard till I think of something really pretty, and then I paint it” she said．
1.What can we learn about Moses?
A.She stopped painting in her late seventies.
B.She still led an active life when she was old.
C.Her marriage life was not happy.
D.She painted oils as a child.
2.What did Grandma Moses spend most of her life doing?
A.Embroidering. B.Farming.
C.Nursing. D.Painting.
3.What does the underlined word “portrayals ” in the last paragraph mean?
A.Directions. B.Stages.
C.Surveys. D.Descriptions.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage？
A.Grandma Moses: the Best Woman Painter
B.Grandma Moses and Her Farm Life
C.Grandma Moses and Her Exhibition
D.Grandma Moses : A Famous Woman Painter of 20th Century
Walter Peak High Country Farm, on the western shores of Lake Wakatipu is famous in history. Its sheltered bays were used as camping sites by Maori travelling to the Mararoa and Oreti Rivers on Moa hunting and gathering expeditions.
Things to do
Situated on picturesque Lake Wakatipu’s wester shores, the farm is the perfect place to spend a few relaxing hours. The Farm Tour itself is a wonderful experience for the whole family, with something to keep everyone entertained and happy. Our rural host will meet you after you leave the steamboat and take you for a walking tour of the farmyard. The first stop is the holding to help feed the sheep and deer, and even get up close to the Scottish highland cattle. Then walk slowly through the lakeside gardens to the charming Colonel’s Homestead for morning or afternoon tea. Afterwards the farmer will lead you over to the shearing shed (剪羊毛棚) where you can watch the farm dogs rounding up sheep on the hills, and see the farmer cut the wool off a sheep. You will then board the steamboat for your cruise back to Queenstown.
Ticket Information
Child Ticket $ 22. 00
Adult Ticket $ 77.00
Visitor Information
Opening Time: 10 a.m.
Closing Time: 4 p.m.
Additional Information
All tickets purchased at MyFun must make a booking at +64-3441—8166. Please mention your My Fun barcode (条形码) number when making your booking. Please print out your voucher (收据) and take along with you to the attraction. Tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.
1.What can you do during the Farm Tour?
A.Ride on the farm. B.Feed the chicken.
C.Have morning tea. D.Cut the wool off a sheep.
2.How much should parents with a child pay for the Farm Tour?
A.$99. B.$ 121.
C.$ 176. D.$198.
3.What should the visitor who has bought tickets at MyFun do?
A.Call +64-3441-8166 to print out your voucher.
B.Take the voucher to the Farm.
C.Tell the Farm your MyFun barcode number.
D.Use the tickets after a year.
阅读下面短文，根据所给情节进行续写，使之构成一个完整的故事。
One morning, Ann’s neighbour Tracy found a lost dog wandering around the local elementary school. It was a beautiful dog, which attracted Tracy a lot. So Tracy thought the owner of the dog must have been worried about it and looked for it around, she was a warm-hearted woman, so she decided to help the lost dog. In no time, she asked Ann if she could keep an eye on the dog. Ann said that she could watch it only for the day.
Tracy took photos of the dog and printed off 400 FOUND flyers (传单), and put them in mailboxes. Meanwhile, Ann went to the dollar store and bought some pet supplies, warning her two sons not to fall in love with the dog. At the time, Ann’s son Thomas was 10 years old, and Jack, who was recovering from a heart operation, was 21 years old.
Four days later Ann was still looking after the dog, which they had started to call Riley. They began to love the dog, which was so clever and cute that every member of the family loved it. One day, when Ann arrived home from work, the dog threw itself against the screen door and barked madly at her. As soon as she opened the door, Riley dashed into the boys’ room where Ann found Jack suffering from a heart attack. Riley ran over to Jack, but as soon as Ann bent over to help him the dog went silent.
“If it hadn’t come to get me, the doctor said Jack would have died,” Ann reported to a local newspaper. At this point, no one had called to claim the dog, so Ann decided to keep it.
Paragraph 1:
However, the next morning Tracy got a call.
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Paragraph 2:
Peter drove to Ann’s house to pick up his dog,
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假定你是李华，你们学校的美国交换生 John 准备参加“外国讲中国成语（idiom）故事”比赛，他发邮件请你给予辅导。请你回复一封邮件，内容包括：
1. 答应帮助；
2. 提出建议；
3. 询问辅导时间与地点。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear John,
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
The highly anticipated film Better Days (《少年的你》) was finally released on Oct 25. While Zhou Dongyu, the young actress who won the Golden Horse Award for Best Leading Actress, maintained her usual level of 1. (act), the new star Jackson Yee’s excellent performance surprised audiences.
The film follows two teenagers who find themselves in an 2. (expect) situation. An excellent candidate of the national college entrance exam, Chen Nian starring Zhou Dongyu, meets a teen hooligan (小混混) 3. (name) Liu Beishan starring Jackson Yee. The two slowly form a strong friendship, 4. (support) each other through tough times. Chen learns that Liu 5. (abandon) by his parents and dropped out of school at age 13. Liu tries to protect Chen from school bullies (霸凌). But before Chen takes the exam, she 6. (accident) kills a classmate who has been bullying her. To protect his friend, Liu tries to take the blame 7. Chen.
Jackson Yee scored a success with the film. Talking about why he 8. (choose) the role, the 18-year-old star said he was interested in the theme of teenage bullying. “Beyond the problem of school 9. (violent), the film also reflects on the mental growth of youth,” he told Global Times. In recent years, the pop star has been working as 10. activist and pioneer for Chinese youth.
