If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.
A. science on learning a second language
B. man’s ability of learning a second language
C. that language can help brain power
D. language learning and maths study
【小题２】The underlined word “bilingual” probably means _______.
A. a researcher on language learning
B. a second language learner
C. a person who can speak two languages
D. an active language learner
【小题３】 We may know from the scientific findings that ________.
A. the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is.
B. there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language
C. the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain
D. the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time
【小题４】In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that _________.
A. learning a second language is the same as studying maths
B. early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects
C. Italian is the best choice for you as a second language
D. you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language
When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you.” he said, “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
1. What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?
A. Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.
B. She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.
C. I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.
D. Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.
2.Why did her father listen to her quietly?
A. Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.
B. Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.
C. Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.
D. Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.
3.Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?
A. Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend
B. The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had
C. My Father
D. My Childhood
F. Scott Fitzgerald, born on September 24, 1896, an American novelist, was once a student of St. Paul Academy, the Newman School and attended Princeton University for a short while. In 1917 he joined the army and was posted in Alabama, where he met his future wife Zelda Sayre. Then he had to make some money to impress her.
His life with her was full of great happiness, as he wrote in his diary “My own happiness in the past often got such joy that I could share it even with the person dearest to me but had to walk it away in quiet streets and take down parts of it in my diary.”
This side of paradise, his first novel, was published in 1920. Encouraged by its success, Fitzgerald began to devote more time to his writing. Then he continued with the novel the Beautiful and Damned (1922), a collection of short stories Thales of the Jazz Age (1922), and a play The Vegetable (1923). But his greatest success was the novel The Great Gatsby, published in 1925, which quick brought him praise from the literary world. Yet it failed to give him the needed financial（财政的） security(安全，保障). Then, in 1926, he published another collection of short stories All the Sad Young Men.
However, Fitzgerald’s problems with his wife Zelda had an effect on his writing. During the 1920s he tried to reorder his life, but failed. By 1930, his wife had her first breakdown and went to a Swiss clinic. During this period he completed novels Tender Is the Night in 1934 and The love of the last Tycoon in 1940. While his wife was in hospital in the United States, he got totally addicted to alcohol（酒精）. Sheila Graham, his dear friend, helped him fight his alcoholism.
Which of the following is the correct order to describe Fitzgerald’s life according to the passage?
a. He became addicted to drinking.
b. He studied at St. Paul Academy.
c. He published his first novel This Side of Paradise.
d. The Great Gatsby won high praise.
e. He failed to reorder his life.
f. He joined the army and met Zelda.
A. f-c-e-a-b-d B. b-e-a-f-c-d
C. f-d-e-c-b-a D. b-f-c-d-e-a
【小题２】We can infer from the passage that Fitzgerald_______.
A. had made some money when he met Zelda in Alabama
B. was well educated and well off before he served in the army
C. would have completed more works if his wife hadn’t broken down
D. helped his friend get rid of drinking while his wife was in hospital
【小题３】The passage is probably followed by a concluding(总结的) paragraph about_____.
A. Zelda’s personal life
B. Fitzgerald’s contributions to the literary world
C. Fitzgerald’s friendship with Graham
D. Zelda’s illness and treatment
I have a neighbor we call “Happy”. I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh (苛刻) word to anyone or about anyone.
Happy and her husband Ben, 70, have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbors watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben’s beans, we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market, Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard.
Last month, Happy and Ben invited most of the neighborhood over for an “all-day food fest”. We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn’t know what was about to take place.
By 9:00 am, there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes, beans, okra, and squash. By 10:00 am, there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o’clock, everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner, we played games. As we were leaving, Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty（收成）of the day, already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift!
Well, the point wasn’t so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another’s company. None of it would have happened if it had been for Happy and Ben’s garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decided to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants!
According to paragraph 2, people wish they also had a garden so that_______.
A. they didn’t have to spend so much money on food
B. they could grow vegetables and sell at the market
C. they could invite their neighbors and hold parties in it
D. they could spend happy times together with their family in it
【小题２】For what purpose did Happy and Ben invite the neighbors to their garden?
A. To ask them to attend a birthday party.
B. To help them get to know each other.
C. To let them enjoy what they grew in the garden.
D. To ask them to share some interesting stories.
【小题３】What did the writer most probably think of the time he spent in the garden?
A. It was too long. B. It was wonderful.
C. It was not as good as he thought. D. It was too terrible.
完形填空 先通读下面的短文，掌握其大意，然后在A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。（本大题共10分，每小题1分）
You may have a lot of friends and expect your friendship to last a lifetime. However, lifelong friendships are not ________ what everybody can get. Friends sometimes misunderstand each other. For one thing, you may want your ______ to be near at hand, but also you need your independence (独立).
For example, when one of your friends comes asking _______ it is all right to spend the evening in your house, sometimes you just say “______” to him or her because it is not convenient for you. Unfortunately, not all your friends _______ this type of independence. They believe that friends can ask for any favor and the answer should always be “yes”.
Also, misunderstanding sometimes happens when you ask for _______. You expect your friends top help you whenever you need. But the fact is, your friends may not always drop everything to satisfy _______ of your needs. This may make you _______ with them and your friendship could end. The most important thing for you and your friends to do is to always show understanding and respect for each other.
Lifelong friendships don’t develop overnights. In a true friendship, both people equally _______ each other. Long-term friendships provide the time to build up a ________ together. As you spend more time with your friend, you are creating special times and stocking up (存储) on memories.
1.A. always B. sometimes C. never D. ever
2.A. parents B. friends C. students D. teachers
3.A. when B. as C. if D. why
4.A. yes B. no C. good D. OK
5.A. provide B. understand C. produce D. invent
6.A. help B. food C. money D. respect
7.A. every B. each C. both D. either
8.A. happy B. excited C. cheerful D. angry
9.A. connect B. compare C. support D. solve
10.A. story B. family C. character D. history
---Reading is the best way to pass time on the train.
---______, I never go traveling without a book.
A. You are joking. B. That’s true
C. I don’t think so D. It sounds like fun
