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（大脑灰质）. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles（肌肉）.
The study also found the younger people learn a second language，the greater the effect is.
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,” 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 2 and 34. 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.
1.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. language learning can help brain power
D. language learning and maths study
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
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
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
Many people go to school for an education. They learn languages, history, geography, physics, chemistry and mathematics. Others go to school to learn a skill so that they can make a living. School education is very important and useful. Yet no one can learn everything from school. A teacher，no matter how much he knows can not teach his students everything they want to know. The teacher’s job is to show his students how to learn. He teaches them how to read and how to think. So much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves.
It is always more important to study by oneself than to memorize some facts or a formula(公式). It is actually quite easy to learn a certain fact in history or a formula in maths. But it is very difficult to use a formula in working out a maths problem. Great scientists, such as Einstein，Newton and Galileo didn’t get everything from school. But they were all so successful. They invented so many things for mankind. The reason for their success is that they worked hard all their lives, wasting not a single moment. They would ask many questions as they read and they did thousands of experiments. Above all, they knew how to use their brains.
1.The subject which is not spoken of in the article is _____
A. maths B. history C. physiology D. physics
2. The teacher’s job is to teach ___________.
A. everything the students want to know
B. the students everything that they know
C. the students some facts of formulas
D. the students how to learn
3. Who does the article say didn’t waste a single moment?
A. Great people B. Persons who work as teachers
C. The great scientist－Newton D. Great scientists
In the United States, 30% of the adult population has a “weight problem”. To many people, the cause is obvious（明显的）: they eat too much. But scientific evidence does little to support this idea. Going back to the America of the 1910s, we find that people were thinner than today, yet they ate more food. In those days people worked harder physically（体力上）, walked more, used machines much less and didn’t watch television.
Several modern studies, moreover, have shown that fatter people do not eat more on the average than thinner people. In fact, some investigations（调查）, such as the 1979 study of 3,545 London office workers, report that, on balance, fat people eat less than slimmer people.
Studies show that slim people are more active than fat people. A study by a research group at Stanford University School of Medicine found the following interesting facts:
The more the men ran, the more body fat they lost
The more they ran, the greater amount of food they ate.
Thus, those who ran the most ate the most, yet lost the greatest amount of body fat.
1.The physical problem that many adult Americans have is that ______.
A. they are too slim B. they work too hard
C. they are too fat D. they lose too much body fat
2. According to the article, given 500 adult Americans, ______ people will have a “weight problem”.
A. 30 B.50 C. 100 D. 150
3. Is there any scientific evidence to support that eating too much is the cause of a “weight problem”?
A. Yes, there is plenty of evidence.
B. Of course, there is some evidence to show this is true.
C. There is hardly any scientific evidence to support this.
D. We don’t know because the information is not given.
4.In comparison with the adult American population today, the Americans of the 1910s ______.
A. ate more food and had more physical activities
B. ate less food but had more activities
C. ate less food and had less physical exercise
D. had more weight problems
5.Modern scientific researches have reported to us that ______.
A. fat people eat less food and are less active
B. fat people eat more food than slim people and are more active
C. fat people eat more food than slim people but are less active
D. thin people run less, but have greater increase in food intake
At two o’clock a bank robber stole in. “This is a holdup（持枪拦劫）,” the man said rudely. He took a gun from under his jacket, pointing to George. “Hand it over!” George reached into his money-box and took all the bills from the top part – close to six thousand dollars. The robber snatched them and turned to leave.
Then, while everyone watched the robber, George calmly lifted the top part of the money-box, took bills from the bottom part and put them into his own pocket secretly.
The door was shut and the bank robber was gone. George fainted (晕倒).
As soon as he was safely behind his bedroom door, George counted the money. He had eight thousand dollars. He was very happy.
The next morning, while the others were examining the bank’s records, George was called into Mr. Burrow’s office and was introduced to Mr. Carruthers, who used to be president of the bank.
“Good morning, George, I was sorry to give you a hard time yesterday, but with all the banks being robbed these days I thought it would be a good idea to prove that our little bank can be robbed too. I have retired (退休), but I’m always thinking of our bank. That’s why I played my little game yesterday, just to keep everyone on his toes (保持警觉). Now, I have put the money back in your money-box— all six thousand.”
1. George was happy because ______.
A. he didn’t lose his money box B. he wasn’t killed by the robber
C. he got eight thousand dollars D. he was introduced to Mr. Carruthers
2.What did George do when he was taken to the bedroom?
A. He counted money. B. He examined the bank’s record.
C. He put some money into his pocket. D. He lifted the top part of the money box.
3.Who might be the robber?
A. George. B. Mr. Burrow. C. A retired lady. D. Mr. Carruthers.
完形填空题(共20小题;每小题1分，满分20分)
阅读下面短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项A、B、C和D中，选出最佳选项：
I found out one time that day a favor(帮助) for someone could get you into a lot of trouble.
I was in the eighth grade at the time, and we were having a final test. During the test, the girl sitting next to me 36 something, but I didn’t understand. So I leaned(斜靠) over her way and 37 that she was trying to ask me if I had an extra pen. She showed me that hers was out of 38 and would not write. I happened to have an extra one, 39 I took it out of my pocket and put it on the desk.
Later, after the test papers had been 40 , the teacher asked me to stay in the room when all the other students were dismissed（离开）. As soon as we were 41 , she began to talk to me about what it meant to grow up; she mentioned how 42 it was to stand on your own two feet and be 43 for your own acts. For a long time, she talked about 44 and emphasized(强调) the fact that when people do something dishonest, they are really 45 themselves. She made me promise that I would think 46 about all the things she had said, and then she told me I could 47 . I walked out of the room 48 why she had chosen to talk to me about all those things.
Later on, I found out that she thought I had cheated on the test. When she saw me lean over to 49 to the girl next to me, it looked as though I was 50 answers from the girl’s test paper. I tried to 51 about the pen, but all she could say was that it seemed 52 to her that I hadn’t mentioned anything about the pen the day she talked to me right after the test. 53 I tried to explain that was just doing the girl a 54 by letting her use my pen, I’m sure she continued to 55 that I had cheated on the test.
|
1. A. moved |
B. touched |
C. whispered |
D. left |
|
2. A. found out |
B. looked out |
C. came out |
D. picked out |
|
3. A. water |
B. pen |
C. milk |
D. ink |
|
4. A. but |
B. so |
C. or |
D. although |
|
5. A. given away |
B. handed out |
C. handed in |
D. looked through |
|
6. A. alone |
B. here |
C. back |
D. away |
|
7. A. interesting |
B. important |
C. curious |
D. happy |
|
8. A. responsible |
B. ready |
C. late |
D. useful |
|
9. A. carefulness |
B. devotion |
C. honesty |
D. safety |
|
10. A. cheating |
B. entertaining |
C. troubling |
D. puzzling |
|
11. A. anxiously |
B. nervously |
C. carelessly |
D. seriously |
|
12. A. laugh |
B. leave |
C. succeed |
D. stay |
|
13. A. wondering |
B. asking |
C. understanding |
D. discovering |
|
14. A. shout |
B. talk |
C. wave |
D. read |
|
15.A. giving |
B. copying |
C. writing |
D. seeking |
|
16. A. explain |
B. think |
C. care |
D. worry |
|
17. A. risky |
B. distant |
C. strange |
D. terrible |
|
18. A. In case |
B. No wonder |
C. Except that |
D. Even though |
|
19. A. favour |
B. fact |
C. choice |
D. chance |
|
20. A. wish |
B. believe |
C. guess |
D. promise |
______ snacks and drinks, but they also brought cards for entertainment when they had a picnic in the forest.
A. Not only they brought B. Not only did they bring
C. Not only brought they D. Not only they did bring
