Most people think that the older you get, the harder it is to learn a new language. That is, they believe that children learn more easily and efficiently than adults. Thus, at some point in our lives, maybe around age 12 or 13, we lose the ability to learn languages well. Is this idea a fact or myth(悬念)？
Is it true that children learn a foreign language more efficiently than adults? On the contrary, research studies suggest that the opposite may be true. One report, on 2,000 Danish children studying Swedish, concluded that the teenagers learned more, in less time, than the younger children. Another report, on Americans learning Russian, showed a direct improvement of ability over the age range tested; that is, the ability to learn increased as the age increased, from childhood to adulthood.
There are several possible explanations for these findings. For one thing, adults know more about the world and therefore are able to understand meanings more easily than children. Moreover, adults can use logical(逻辑的) thinking to help themselves see patterns in the language. Finally, adults have more self-discipline (self-control) than children.
All in all, it seems that the common idea that children are better language learners than adults may not be a fact, but a myth.
1.The main idea of the passage is that .
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A．teenagers are more difficult to teach |
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B．Danish teenagers can learn Swedish faster than younger children |
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C．adults are more logical than children |
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D．the ability to learn languages increases with age |
2. If most people’s idea of learning languages is true, people may lose ability to learn languages well .
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A．at an early age |
B．when they reach their twenties |
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C．at an old age |
D．after they become young men |
3.According to the passage, teenagers can learn a foreign language __________ than younger children.
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A．harder |
B．more efficiently |
C．more slowly |
D．more carefully |
4.The reason why adults understand meanings more easily than children is that .
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A．adults have more self-discipline |
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B．adults like to play more than children |
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C．adults have more knowledge than children |
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D．adults accept new things more easily than children |
5.The explanation for older student’s better achievement not mentioned in the above passage is that .
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A．adults know more about the world. |
B．adults can use logical thinking |
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C．adults have more self-discipline. |
D．adults can read better. |
There is an English saying that “Laughter is the best medicine.” Until recently, few people took the saying seriously. Now however, doctors have begun to look into laughter and the effects it has on the human body. They have found that laughter can really improve people’s health.
Tests were carried out to study the effects of laughter on the body. People watched funny films while doctors checked their hearts, blood pressure, breathing and muscles. It was found that laughter has similar effects to physical exercise. It increases blood pressure, makes the heart beat quicker and makes people breathe deeper; it also works on several groups of muscles in the face, the stomach, and even the feet. If laughter exercises the body, it must be beneficial.
Other tests have shown that laughter appears to be able to reduce the effects of pain on the body. In one experiment doctors produced pain in groups of students who listened to different radio programs. The group that tolerated（忍耐）the pain for the longest time was the group which listened to a funny program. The reason why laughter can reduce pain seems to be that it helps to produce a kind of chemical in the brain which diminishes both stress and pain.
As a result of these discoveries, some doctors in the United States now hold laughter clinics, in which they help to improve their patients’ condition by encouraging them to laugh. They have found that even if their patients do not really feel like laughing, making them smile is enough to produce beneficial effects similar to those caused by laughter.
1.According to the passage, the following statements are true except .
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A．Laughter is good for health |
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B．Laughter can make you become old quickly |
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C．Laughter helps to reduce pain. |
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D．Laughter, just like physical exercise, is good for our body. |
2.The underlined word “diminishes” in the third paragraph means “ ”.
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A．delays |
B．prevents |
C．increases |
D．reduces |
3.Some doctors hold laughter clinics because .
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A．they want to earn more money. |
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B．they think they will help the patients recover from illnesses. |
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C．they want to improve their patients’ condition. |
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D．they want their patients to practice how to laugh |
4.According to the author, we should .
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A．laugh as much as possible |
B．watch more funny films |
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C．smile all the time |
D．spend more time in laughter clinics |
5.The best title for this passage may be .
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A．Both laughter and physical exercise are good for health |
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B．Laughter clinics help patients improve their condition |
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C．Laughter can reduce the effects of pain |
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D．Laughter is the best medicine. |
In most of the time, I am devoted to my research in the lab with my friend Dave, who loves traveling very much. To make our life colorful and relax ourselves, in July, my friend and I are taking a camping trip. We will travel for four weeks and will tour the United States and part of Canada. We have decided to camp because it does not cost as much as vacationing (度假) in hotels.
We have to plan very carefully in advance. First, the car we are going to drive is very small, so we have decided to take only one small suitcase each and as few camping things as possible. We will take some medicine with us to prevent insects (昆虫) from hurting us, and also food for picnics. Second, there is a lot to see in the United States and Canada, so we have to decide on the direction (方向) we want to drive.
The date we are leaving is July 2, from which day we will have two months off. We want to see and do many things on our camping tour. We want to climb in the mountains, visit famous caves, and swim in cool mountain rivers. We want to visit many cities and talk to many people, which I am sure can enrich our experience greatly. We also want to find a hotel room if it rains at night. We expect to have an exciting trip.
1. The two friends are going to take a camping trip ________.
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A．if they have four weeks’ time off |
B．though it will be a long trip |
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C．so that they can save money |
D．because it will be warm enough in July |
2.Which of the following statements is possibly true?
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A．They are now on the trip |
B．They are going to make a tour all over the U.S and Canada. |
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C．They are quite rich. |
D．July is drawing near. |
3. We learn from the second paragraph that ________.
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A．they must be ill. |
B．they will bring a lot in the car. |
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C．they must have studied the map carefully. |
D．they must have been hurt by insects. |
4. It is quite clear that ________.
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A．there will be no insects at all. |
B．they are sure to take some medicine on the trip. |
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C．the two friends will take turns to drive. |
D．the two friends will share a suitcase. |
5. If they are caught in the rain , they will ________.
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A．talk to their families while it rains. |
B．ask others for help. |
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C．have to stop climbing. |
D．have to stay in a hotel for the night. |
He made a promise he would not play computer games again at school.
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A．which |
B．where |
C．how |
D．that |
Newly-developed materials for spaceships can _______ extreme weather conditions.
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A．hold |
B．support |
C．stand |
D．compete |
his homework, my son went downstairs to play basketball.
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A．Having finished |
B．finished |
C．to finish |
D．finishing |
