Sorry to say,our brains naturally start slowing down at the Cruelty young age of 30.It used to be thought that this couldn’t be helped,but new studies show that people of any age can train their brains to work faster.“Your brain is a learning machine,”saying University of California scientist Dr. Michael Merzenich.Given the right tools,we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger.All that’s required is the practice designed just for the purpose:a few exercises for the mind.

Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process(过程) in which the brain deals with information (positscience.com).Since much of the data we receive comes through speech,the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better speed and accuracy(准确性).

Over the course of training,the program starts asking you to distinguish(辨别) sounds (between“dog”and“bog”,for example) at an increasingly faster speed.It’s a bit like tennis instructor,says Merzenich,hitting balls at you—faster and faster to keep you challenged(受到挑战).You may start out slow,but before long you’re pretty quick.

The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic.If you ask your brain to learn,it will learn.And it may even speed up while in the process.

To keep your brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you:playing table tennis or bridge,doing crossword puzzles,learning a language...“When it comes to preventing ageing,you really do ‘use it or lose it’,”says Barbara Sahakian,professor at Cambridge University.

1.Dr.Merzenich’s training method mainly depends on ______.

A.speech training

B.computer languages

C.the activities one joins in

D.the information being dealt with

2.By saying “the brain at any age is highly plastic”,the writer probably means the brain can be ______.

A.used                                  B.mastered

C.developed                             D.researched

3.What can we learn from the text?

A.Practice makes a quick mind.

B.Brain research started ten years ago.

C.Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer.

D.People believed nothing could stop the brain slowing down.

4.Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?

A.The training methods work better for the old.

B.People should use the brain to stop it from ageing.

C.The training of the brain should start at an early age.

D.It’s necessary to take part in as many activities as possible.

It’s great fun to explore(探索) new places—it feels like an adventure,even when you know you’re not the first to have been there.But make sure not to get lost or waste time going round in circles.

●Do the map reading if you’re being driven somewhere.It’ll be easier if you keep turning the map so it follows the direction you’re traveling in.Keep looking ahead so that you can give the driver lots of warning before having to make a turn,or you’ll have to move to the back seat.

●Get a group of friends together and go exploring.You’ll need a good map,a compass(指南针),a raincoat,a cell phone to call for help in case you get lost,and a bit of spare cash for emergencies(应急现金).Tell someone where you’re going before you set out and let them know what time you expect to be back.The test is in not getting lost,not in seeing how fast you can go,so always stick together,waiting for slower friends to catch up.

●See if your school or a club organizes orienteering activities,in which you need a map and a compass to find your way.This can be done as a sport,with teams trying to find the way from A to B(and B to C,etc.) in the fastest time,or simply as a spare-time activity.Either way,it’s not only good fun,but a great way to keep fit.

1.Sitting beside the driver,you should ______.

A.direct the driver when necessary

B.look ahead to see where there’s a turn

C.move to the back seat if feeling uncomfortable

D.keep looking at the map to find a place to go to

2.Why do you need to tell someone your exploration plan before setting out?

A.To get information when in danger.

B.To be saved in case of an accident.

C.To share the fun with him/her in exploration.

D.To tell him/her what’s going on with the group members.

3.Orienteering activities can ______.

A.make people work fast

B.help people stay healthy

C.help people organize other activities

D.make people get prepared for sports

4.The text mainly talks about ______.

A.the fun of exploration

B.what to bring for exploration

C.the way to use a map in exploration

D.how to prevent getting lost in exploration

Jim suffered heart problems.In conversation he expressed little joy and it seemed that his life was drawing to a close.

When his heart problems led to operation,Jim went through it successfully,and a full recovery was expected.Within days,however,his heart was not beating properly.Jim was rushed back to operation,but nothing was found to explain the cause of his illness.He died on the operating table on the day before his 48th birthday.

Dr.Bruce Smoller,a psychologist(心理学家),had had many conversations with him,and the more he learned,the stranger he realized Jim’s case was.When Jim was a child,his father,a teacher,suffered a heart attack and stayed home to recover.One morning Jim asked his father to look over his homework,promising to come home from school at noon to pick it up.His father agreed,but when Jim returned his father had died.Jim’s father was 48.

“I think all his life Jim believed he killed his father,”Dr. Smoller says.“He felt that if he had not asked him to look at his homework,his father would have lived.Jim had been troubled by the idea.The operation was the trial(判决) he had expected for forty years.”Smoller believes that Jim willed himself not to live to the age of 48.

Jim’s case shows the powerful role that attitude(态度) plays in physical health,and that childhood experiences produce far-reaching effect on the health of grown-ups.Although most cases are less direct than Jim’s,studies show that childhood events,besides genes,may well cause such midlife diseases as cancer,heart disease and mental illness.

1.Jim was sent back to operation because ______.

A.his heart didn’t work well

B.he expected a full recovery

C.his life was drawing to a close

D.the first one wasn’t well performed

2.What made Dr. Smoller feel strange about Jim’s case?

A.Jim died at a young age.

B.Jim died on the operating table.

C.Both Jim and his father died of the same disease.

D.Jim’s death is closely connected with his father’s.

3.From Smoller’s words,we can infer that ______.

A.Jim’s father cared little about his study

B.Smoller agreed that Jim did kill his father

C.Jim thought he would be punished some day

D.Smoller believed Jim wouldn’t live to the age of 48

4.Which of the following could have strong effect on one’s physical health according to the text?

A.a,b,d                                 B.a,b,e

C.a,c,e                                 D.b,c,d

I believe that my country,Poland,is a perfect example for a place where food is particularly important.When we were little children,we began to understand how much a loaf of bread meant to our parents—to some it might sound silly but for me the custom of kissing bread before you started cutting it was simply amazing.It’s not so common nowadays to treat food that way,since you hardly ever bake your own bread.Besides,everyone would call you crazy if you tried to kiss every bread roll before you ate them!But though we no longer make our food from scratch(起点),some customs have been kept—that’s why I feel so sorry every time I have to throw any food away—even though I no longer live with my parents and nobody would blame me for this anymore!

Many people of our nation are still working as farmers,eating what they grow and harvest and therefore enjoying everything more.It’s widely known that you value more anything that needs your effort in the first place.In most homes in Poland,especially those of farmers,the whole family would try and have their meals together—extremely difficult now,but so rewarding(值得)!You can share other members’ troubles and successes,give your children some attention,or just sit down for a moment instead of rushing through life aimlessly.Furthermore,your body,and stomach in particular will be very grateful(感激) for such a time!

In Poland,a wedding,Christmas or even a birthday is celebrated with a great meal.Women in the house get together and cook,sometimes for a few days before the event,and the extremely good or unusual food will be remembered and widely talked about.

You cannot over-value the importance of food in the country.What’s more,almost everyone in Poland will be as interested in the topic as I am.

1.When the writer was a child,he/she ______.

A.found people were crazy about bread

B.began to realize the importance of food

C.thought that cutting bread was amazing

D.learned people hardly baked their own bread

2.The writer feels very sorry when he/she has to throw away any food because ______.

A.he/she makes food from scratch

B.his/her parents would blame him/her

C.some customs still have effect on him/her

D.many people are still working hard as farmers

3.From the text,we can learn that,in Poland,_______.

A.most meals can be interesting topics for a long time

B.the whole family often have meals together nowadays

C.it’s common for women to get together to cook for a few days

D.family members can know more about each other by having meals together

阅读下面短文，掌握其大意，然后从各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

It’s fourteen years since I left the Philippines to live with my family in the USA.A month ago,while on summer vacation back in my motherland,I learned a lesson from mosquito(蚊子) bites.Right before   1Kennedy Airport in New York,my grandma   2me of the behavior of the native mosquitoes around the   3like me.She said,“There’s an old saying—the   4you stay away from the motherland,the sweeter your blood   5to the mosquitoes.”Not   6it,I replied,“Grandmaaaa,that’s just an old wives’ tale!”

Well,less than a week   7my arrival in Manila,I was already carpeted with a   8of mosquito bites.I took many measures to keep myself from being   9，but they all proved useless.

Late one   10in my cousin’s home,I couldn’t bear the   11of the bites.Hoping to find some comfort,I   12my cousin,who was sleeping peacefully in the bed next to mine.Unhappy for being   13she said,“There is nothing you can do.Go back to sleep.”With a few turns,she slept again.Enviously(妒忌地)   14her sleep,I hoped a big mosquito would

15on her face.However,the mosquitoes would just lightly dance around her forehead and fly away quickly,never biting her.Amazed(惊奇的),I ran to others’   16,only to find they were all sleeping   17as the same thing occurred again and again.

From those bites,I came to   18my grandma’s silly tale.From then on,I’ve always tried to keep a(n)   19mind about those strange old wives’ tales   20they do have some truth to them.

1.A.leaving         B.passing           C.visiting              D.finding

2.A.persuaded       B.reminded      C.warned                D.informed

3.A.students            B.foreigners        C.passengers            D.visitors

4.A.earlier         B.longer            C.sooner                D.later

5.A.grows           B.goes          C.flows             D.remains

6.A.expecting       B.understanding C.recognizing           D.believing

7.A.after           B.before            C.when              D.as

8.A.shade           B.pile          C.cloud             D.blanket

9.A.touched         B.bitten            C.defeated          D.discovered

10.A.morning            B.afternoon     C.evening           D.night

11.A.noise          B.hit               C.pain              D.effect

12.A.woke up            B.shouted at        C.looked for            D.dropped on

13.A.blamed         B.interrupted       C.moved             D.frightened

14.A.having         B.watching      C.making                D.helping

15.A.land               B.fly           C.fall              D.wait

16.A.houses         B.flats         C.rooms             D.homes

17.A.joyfully           B.anxiously     C.soundlessly           D.worriedly

18.A.tell               B.know          C.remember          D.accept

19.A.open           B.active            C.clear             D.honest

20.A.and                B.so                C.because           D.until

 The flowers his friend gave him will die unless ___ every day.

A.watered                               B.watering

C.water                                 D.to water

 —Dad!Tom’s broken a glass!

—_______.Accidents will happen.

A.No way                                B.Doesn’t matter

C.No trouble at all                         D.Don’t mention it

 It was so dark in the cinema that I could hardly ___ my friend.

A.turn out                              B.bring out

C.call out                                  D.pick out

 Little joy can equal ___ of a surprising ending when you read stories.

A.that                                  B.those

C.any                                   D.some

 Of the two coats,I’d choose the ___ one to spare some money for a book.

A.cheapest                              B.cheaper

C.more expensive                            D.most expensive