With large and small keyboards everywhere, neither children nor adults need to write much of anything by hand. That’s a big problem. Study after study suggests that handwriting is important for brain development — helping kids get fine motor skills and learn to express and create ideas. Yet the time devoted to teaching penmanship in most schools has shrunk to just one hour a week. Is it time to give up handwriting? Have a look at the link between the brain and penmanship, and you may get the answer.
A test among students in grades 2, 4 and 6 found that they not only wrote faster by hand than by keyboard, but also created more ideas when composing essays with handwriting. And other research shows that the finger movements required to write by hand activate brain areas involved with thought, language, and short-term memory.
A recent Indiana University study had one group of children practice writing letters by hand while a second group just looked at those letters. Then, both groups of kids entered a functional MRI (核磁共振)that scanned their brains as the researchers showed them the same letters. Researchers found that the brain activity in the first group was far more advanced and “adult-like”.
Handwriting also affects other people’s way they think of adults and children. Several studies have shown that the same average essay will score much higher if written with good penmanship and much lower if written out in poor handwriting. These studies have also found that people judge the quality of a person’s ideas based on his or her handwriting. And the consequences are real: On standardized tests with handwritten sections, like the SAT, all essay that is considered hard to recognize gets a big zero.
Studies show that this isn’t only an English-language phenomenon. Chinese and Japanese youths are suffering from “character amnesia”. They can’t remember how to write characters, thanks to computers and text messaging. Some experts fear that Chinese writing and reading are so closely linked in the brain that China’s reading ability as a nation could suffer.
1..
What does the Indiana University study imply?
A. Children should practice writing letters
B. Handwriting can increase brain activity
C. It’s good for children to enter a functional MRI.
D. Letters should often be shown to children
2..
What does the 4th paragraph mainly talk about?
A. Handwriting affects both adults and children.
B. Handwriting helps a person write better essays.
C.SAT should be done with good handwriting.
D. Good handwriting makes a person seem smarter.
3..
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Essays written with keyboards will get lower scores.
B. The quality of your ideas depends on your handwriting.
C. Chinese and Japanese youths don’t know how to write.
D. Less handwriting may affect China’s reading ability.
4..
The passage tries to tell us that __________________.
A. keyboards are more popular than handwriting
B. we shouldn’t judge people by their handwriting
C. handwriting is of great importance
D. it’s time to give up using keyboards
The wedding between Prince Wiliam and Kate Middleton on April 29 has focused the world’s camera lenses (镜头) on the UK.
In Britain, there is a constant debate about the relevance (相关性) of the royal family to modern British society. However, Windsor (the family name of the British Royal Family) and Middleton have been seen to represent a more modern, forward-looking nation.
Nigel Baker, the British ambassador to Bolivia, believes that the royal wedding is “about modern Britain”. “The estimated 2 billion spectators across the world will see that Britain is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse nations in the world, home to 270 nationalities speaking 300 different languages, founded on tolerance and respect for difference,” wrote Baker on his blog.
According to Baker, the wedding could help viewers to see “why Britain is one of the most dynamic and creative countries in the world”: The television on which most people watched the event was invented by John Logie Baird, a Briton, and the World Wide Web that broadcast the event to millions more was invented by another Briton, Tim Berners-Lee.
The guests who attended the wedding ceremony gave more than a few clues as to the nature of modern Britain. David and Victoria Beckham represent Britain’s obsession (着迷)with football and celebrity.
Leaders from different religious backgrounds supported Baker’s comments on the multicultural nature of modern British society.
Before the wedding, David Elliott, arts director of the British Council China, agreed that the wedding would be a showcase for modern Britain: “I think, and hope, that it (modern British influence) would be values like openness, multiculturalism, creativity, sense of humor and the traditional British sense of fair play,” he said.
Furthermore, events such as the Olympics in London in 2012 may also increase people’s sense of Britishness.
According to a poll published in Daily Telegraph, more than a third of people in the UK admitted they felt “very British” when watching the Olympics.
1.. What is the point of the article?
A. To introduce Prince William’s wedding arrangements in detail.
B. To comment on the significance of the royal wedding.
C. To question the relevance of the royal family in modern British society.
D. To explain why the royal wedding is linked with the 2012 Olympics.
2.. What can be concluded from the article?
A. Some say that the royal wedding is a reflection on modern Britain.
B Some think the royal wedding shows Britain’s multiculturalism and sense of fair play.
C.About 2 billion people across the world will see the wedding ceremony online.
D. Britons are obsessed with football due to the influence of David Beckham.
3.. Why is the inventor of the World Wide Web mentioned?
A. To inform readers about some well-known British inventors.
B. To point to the importance of the World Wide Web for the wedding.
C. In support of the idea that Britain is a nation of creative and original people.
D. To encourage people to watch the wedding on the Internet.
4.. According to the article, both the 2012 Olympics and the royal wedding .
A. have increased the British sense of national identity
B. have promoted traditional British values
C. represent a more modern Britain
D. have encouraged the interest of Britons in Football
阅读下面两篇短文，从短文后所给各题的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
I remember the exact moment I learned the principle of preparing for luck.
I was on the wrestling team. Now, if there’s one thing I can tell you about any sport, it is that wrestling is probably the sport that has the least 31 .There are only two people out on the mat, so you cannot 32 it on your teammates or your coach. And guess what? There is no 33 because we do the whole thing indoors, so you can’t say, “It was raining” or “It was snowing.” It makes 34 to say wrestling is the sport with the least luck.
On our team were two world champions; one of them had been a world champion five times. We 35 had five people who were national champions. One of them was a guy 36 the name of John.
John had never been 37 in any high school wrestling competition that I could remember, 38 he was a national champion. There was nobody locally who could touch him.
One day, we 39 a match with our biggest opponent (对手). John went out on the mat, and about a minute and 30 seconds into the match he tried to make a particular 40 He rolled over, and his opponent 41 him halfway through his roll. He was pinned (压住) 42 !
The match was over.
I remember on the way home, one of our teammates tried to 43 John by saying, “Oh, he just got lucky.” John said, “That’s so stupid. The 44 presented itself, and he just took advantage of it.”
We used to have this big 45 in our wrestling room that the coach had put there: “Luck is what happens when opportunity meets 46 .”
John’s opponent was prepared to make use of this opportunity. The possibility of beating John was not 47 and he knew it. But he waited for the 48 opportunity to present itself, and he defeated and pinned a five-time national champion.
In other words, the real 49 is “Be prepared!” It’s not just finding the opportunity; you have to be prepared to 50 it.
1.. A. luck B. risk C. difficulty D. opportunity
2.. A. accuse B. blame C. doubt D. keep
3.. A. stress B. injury C. change D. weather
4.. A. reason B. sure C. safe D. sense
5.. . A. also B. even C. too D. once
6.. A. under B. for C. in D. by
7.. A. hurt B. met C. trained D. defeated
8.. A. although B. as C. yet D. until
9.. A. went for B. waited for C. fought for D. played for
10.. A. act B. step C. task D. move
11.. A. fixed B. threw C. caught D. carried
12.. A. accidentally B. fortunately C. unfairly D. immediately
13.. A. control B. comfort C. convince D. forgive
14.. A. success B. moment C. opportunity D. situation
15.. A. warning B. sign C. sentence D. note
16.. A. occasion B. challenge C. time D. preparation
17.. A. obvious B. strong C. little D. slight
18.. A. equal B. exact C. rest D. right
19.. A. message B. theme C. key D. suggestion
20.. . A. receive B. follow C. seize D. save
Shoppers are also less likely to queue for long if the item they are buying is of low value, and ____ food and drink shopkeepers are having to find new ways to deliver good customer service.
A. in the end B. after all C. as a result D. on the contrary
The accident produced a very bad impact on the society, so those who _________ the project were severely punished.
A. come up with B. look out for C. took charge of D. took the place of
Their efforts finally when the New York Time picked the group as one of the top 10 bands of the year.
A. sent off B. paid off C. set off D. took off
