Have you ever trained your brain（大脑）? Now there are some new suggestions, such as eating dark
chocolate and having cold meat for breakfast. You should also avoid watching soap operas, spending time with people who complain or follow fat-free diets, according to a new book on getting “brain-fit”.
Many of the suggestions in Teach Yourself Training Your Brain are surprising. The book says to read out loud while holding a baby. Writers Terry Horne and Simon Wootton say their advice is from the latest research by experts around the world.
“For years we have thought our brain capability (能力) is decided by our genes（基因）. But it’s now clear that it depends on our lifestyle. What we eat and drink, how we learn at school and what type of feelings we have are all important,” said Horne.
The book talks about the most up-to-date thinking in science about how diet, the environment, stress and other sides of modern life affect our brain capacity. It also offers advice and exercises. The book comes as more and more people are spending money on books, DVDs and computer games, which say to improve their brain’s capability.
Horne believes that people need to make changes to their lifestyles to increase their brain capacity Happiness, confidence and an optimistic nature help the brain, he added.
“So mix with people who make you laugh, or share the same interests as you. And avoid people who complain,” said Horne. “People who are negative will make you sad, which means you won’t achieve things.”
1.According to the book, which of the following isn’t good for training your brain?
A. Doing some brain games.
B. Eating dark chocolate.
C. Having cold meat for breakfast.
D. Watching soap operas.
2.What’s Horne’s attitude toward the brain capability?
A. It depends on what our genes are like.
B. It’s decided by our lifestyle.
C. It has nothing to do with schools.
D. It should follow the type of our feelings.
3.What’s the book Teach Yourself Training Your Brain mainly about?
A. How people’s brain capability works
B. Exercises to improve brain capability
C. Some scientific and healthy diets
D. How to improve people’s brain capability
4. From the underlined sentence, we can learn that __________.
A. more and more people are interested in reading
B. books can help people improve their brain capability
C. people are paying more attention to training their brain
D. there are many ways to train people’s brain
There are several ways you can find out about the countries and places you wish to visit. You can talk to friends who have travelled to the places. Or you can go and see a color film. Or you can read travel books.
It would seem that there are three kinds of travel books. The first are those that give a personal, subjective (主观的) idea of travels which the author has got himself. These books can be useful to you when you are planning your travels if the writers share their travelling experiences with others. The second kind are those books which give objective (客观的) information of things to be done and seen. If a cultured person has written such a book about the facts of a place, then it is even more useful. The third kind are those books which are called “a guide” to some place or other. If they are good, they will describe and explain the place in detail. Like the first kind, they can be interesting and exciting. But their main purpose is to help the reader who wishes to plan his travel in the most practical way.
Whatever kind of travel book you choose you must make sure that it does not describe everything as “wonderful”, “excellent” or “magical”. You must also keep an open eye on its date of publication because travel is a very practical matter and many things change quickly in the twenty-first century. Finally, you should make sure that it’s easy to find useful information for your travel.
1.The passage was written to introduce _______.
A. travel maps B. travel books
C. travel films D. travel places
2.The underlined phrase “ a cultured person” means a person with _______.
A. a good appearance B. a good education
C. a lot of experience D. a lot of money
3.The date of publication must be noticed because _______.
A. the prices of travel books may be different
B. the writers of travel books may be different
C. the information in travel books is always the same
D. the information in travel books is always changing
4.According to the passage, it is best to read _______ before travelling to a place of interest.
A. the first kind of travel books
B. the second kind of travel books
C. the third kind of travel books
D. some travel articles in newspapers
Old George bought the black gloves for just $35 ten years ago. They were made of lamb skin, soft and warm and very strong. Until then, he had worn cheaper man-made material. These gloves never lasted longer than three years. He first decided to buy the expensive gloves, because they would make him feel nice in front of others. George never let a drop of water or rain touch his expensive gloves, so they looked new. Losing this favourite thing was almost like losing a child to him. Bad luck! George lost his expensive gloves on New Year’s Day....
Back home, George was at a loss. In deep winter, he could not do without a pair of gloves. If he bought cheap ones again, he would have to replace (换) them very soon. If he bought a new leather pair, it would cost $50 now. He was sad that people no longer returned things they found on the road.
After the holiday, poor George decided to buy another leather pair. Before boarding the subway, he went into Value Mart again to see if his gloves had been returned to the Lost and Found Office(失物招领处). “What colour are they?” the woman in the office asked again. “Black,” he gave the same answer.
She looked into her drawer and drew out a pair of men's leather gloves. “Are they?” “Yes! Those are mine!”
George explained, with great joy in his eyes.
1.Why did George decide to buy the expensive gloves?
A. Because they were black.
B. Because they made him feel good before others.
C. Because they have a long history.
D. Because they are much cheaper.
2.The leather gloves looked new after years because ____.
A. George took very good care of them
B. they were soft and warm
C. they were expensive
D. George washed them with water.
3.About old George, which of the following is true?
A. He was a very rich man.
B. He never bought cheap gloves.
C. He believed somebody would return the gloves to him.
D. He hadn’t expected to get his gloves back.
完形填空（本题共15小题；每小题1分，满分15分）
A group of adults, highly succeeded in their jobs, went to visit their old professor(教授). Soon they began to about the stress in work and life.
The professor went to the kitchen and returned a pot of coffee and all kinds of cups—crystal(水晶的), glass, plastic, some nice looking, some plain looking, some , some cheap. And he told them to help to the coffee.
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said, “I’ve noticed that all the nice looking expensive cups were up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the cause of your and stress. You know that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, you went for the best cups.”
Now think about this: Lifis the coffee, the jobs, money and in society are the cups. They are just to hold and contain life, and the type of cup does not change the quality of our life. Sometimes, by paying only to the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee that God has us. God gave us the coffee, not the cups. Please enjoy your coffee!
The happiest people don’t have the best of everything. They just make the of everything.
Live simply. Love sincerely. Care deeply. Speak . And leave the rest to God.
1.A. chat B. think C. complain D. discuss
2.A. for B. at C. in D. with
3.A. expensive B. usual C. strong D. serious
4.A. them B. themselves C. him D. everyone
5.A. mixed B. left C. taken D. accepted
6.A. normal B. important C. impossible D. necessary
7.A. thoughts B. failure C. questions D. problems
8.A. Who B. How C. What D. That
9.A. and B. but C. so D. or
10.A. position B. age C. health D. purpose
11.A. cups B. tools C. bags D. bowls
12.A. money B. attention C. advantage D. record
13.A. taught B. provided C. returned D. bought
14.A. fun B. use C. best D. worst
15.A. kindly B. sadly C. rudely D. seriously
--Thank you very much for showing me how to use the new mobile phone.
--- _______
A. No problem. B. Don’t mention it.
C. Never mind. D. No way.
---Could you tell me ______?
---About two weeks.
A. how often are we going to be away
B. how often we are going to be away
C. how long are we going to be away
D. how long we are going to be away
