Ever walked to the shops only to find, once there, you’ve completely forgotten what you went for? Or struggled to remember the name of an old friend? For years we’ve accepted that a forgetful brain is as much a part of aging as wrinkles and gray hair. But now a new book suggests that we’ve got it all wrong.
According to The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain, by science writer Barbara Strauch, when it comes to the important things, our brains actually get better with age. In fact, she argues that some studies have found that our brain hits its peak between our 40s and 60s — much later than previously thought.
Furthermore, rather than losing many brain cells as we age, we keep them, and even produce new ones well into middle age. For years it’s been assumed that brain, much like the body, declines with age. But the longest, largest study into what happens to people as they age suggests otherwise.
This continuing research has followed 6,000 people since 1956, testing them every seven years. It has found that on average, participants performed better on cognitive (认知的) tests in their 40s and 50s than they had done in their 20s. Specifically, older people did better on tests of vocabulary, verbal memory (how many words you can remember) and problem solving. Where they performed less well was number ability and perceptual speed — how fast you can push a button when ordered. However, with more complex tasks such as problem-solving and language, we are at our best at middle age and beyond. In short, researchers are now coming up with scientific proof that we do get wiser with age.
Neuroscientists are also finding that we are happier with aging. A recent US study found older people were much better at controlling and balancing their emotions. It is thought that when we’re younger we need to focus more on the negative aspects of life in order to learn about the possible dangers in the world, but as we get older we’ve learned our lessons and are aware that we have less time left in life: therefore, it becomes more important for us to be happy.
1.Barbara Strauch probably agrees that ______.
A. people’s brains work best between their 40s and 60s
B. the young are better at handling important things
C. aging leads to the decline of the function of the brain
D. wrinkles and gray hair are the only symbols of aging
2.The continuing research has found older people perform better on ______.
A. perceptual speed B. vocabulary tests
C. number ability D. body balance
3.People are happier with aging because ______.
A. they know how to share feelings
B. they learn to value the time left
C. they cannot focus on negative aspects
D. they do not realize the possible dangers
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. People get happier with age.
B. People get more self-aware with age.
C. People get wiser with age.
D. People get more forgetful with age.
Your car is a necessary part of your life. You use it every day. Of course, you want to hold on to it so you make sure it has the latest alarm and immobilizer. But despite all these, cars like yours are still stolen every day. In fact, in this country, one car is stolen almost every minute! And if your car is stolen, you only have a 50:50 chance of seeing it again.
Each year, car crime costs nearly £3 billion. Of course, if you’re insured, you won’t lose out, or will you? Firstly, you will have to pay extra insurance later on, and then you may not be offered the full amount by the agent. You will probably have to hire a car and you will also lose the value of the contents and accessories (配件) in the car.
Now comes the solution. An RAC Trackstar system, hidden in one of 47 possible secret locations in your car, is the key of our system. If your car is stolen, radio signals are sent at twenty-second intervals from the car to the RAC Trackstar National Control Center via a satellite network. Then a computer gives the vehicle’s exact location, speed and direction.
The RAC Trackstar National Control Center, which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, will immediately inform the police in the area where the car is located. Because the police receive information every twenty seconds, they will always know the vehicle’s location. Once the thief has been arrested, your car will be returned to you.
RAC Trackstar is unique in being able to provide the National Control Center with details of the exact location of your car, its speed and direction. And speed is the key to successful recovery of a stolen vehicle. RAC Trackstar Control will immediately tell the police if you report your car stolen and under the 24-hour Guardian Option. It will also tell you if your car has been stolen. RAC Trackstar’s constant updates mean the police are kept informed of the car’s location. All these greatly improve your chances of seeing your car again.
1.If your car is stolen, you will have to ______.
A. pay more insurance
B. hire a new car
C. buy a RAC Trackstar system
D. inform the National Control Center
2.The Trackstar system can tell the police ______.
A. how the car is stolen
B. who the thief is
C. where the car is
D. what brand the car is
3.The underlined word “It” in the last paragraph refers to ______.
A. the local police station
B. the RAC Trackstar Control
C. the Guardian Option
D. the insurance company
4.According to the passage, people with RAC Trackstar ______.
A. automatically find directions
B. seldom get their vehicles damaged
C. are more likely to get the stolen cars back
D. have less chance of being in an accident
Exploit your parking space
An unused parking space or garage can make money. If you live near a city center or an airport, you could make anything up to £200 or £300 a week. Put an advertisement（广告）for free on Letpark or Atmyhousepark.
Rent（出租）a room
Spare room? Not only will a lodger（房客）earn you an income, but also, thanks to the government-backed “rent a room” program, you won’t have to pay any tax on the first £4500 you make per year. Try advertising your room on Roomspare or Roommate easy.
Make money during special events
Don’t want a full-time lodger? Then rent on a short-term basis. If you live in the capital, renting a room out during the Olympics or other big events could bring in money, Grashpadder can advertise your space.
Live on set
Renting your home out as a “film set” could earn you hundreds of pounds a day, depending on the film production company and how long your home is needed. A quick search on the Internet will bring up dozens of online companies that allow you to register your home for free—but you will be charged if your home gets picked.
Use your roof
You need the right kind of roof, but some energy companies pay the cost of fixing solar equipment(around￡14,000), and let you use the energy produced for nothing. In return, they get paid for unused energy fed back into the National Grid. However, you have to sign a 25-year agreement with the supplier, which could prevent you from changing the roof.
1.If you earn ￡5000 from renting a room in one year, the tax you need to pay will be based on ______.
A. ￡500 B. ￡800 C. ￡4500 D.5000
2.Where can you put an advertisement to rent out a room during a big event?
A. On Letpark. B. On Grashpadder.
C. On Roomspare. D. On Roommateeasy.
3.If you want to use energy free, you have to_____.
A. sign an agreement with the government
B. pay around ￡14,000 for the equipment
C. keep the roof unchanged for within 25 years
D. sell the roof to some energy companies
4.For whom the text most probably written?
A. Lodgers. B. Advertisers.
C. Online companies D. House owners.
Summer Rain
The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones. We spend all year looking forward to nice weather and long, hot days. All of winter, with its cloudy days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, lying on the sand and enjoying the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.
As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t fair. We suffered through months of school and experienced bad weather for those short ten weeks of freedom and pleasant weather.
On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring out at the rain like a bird in a cage. I was an only child, so there was no one else to play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not actively play with me since he was at work. It was those days that I would watch whatever was on television or read any books that I could find lying around. I’d drag through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next day.
As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work every day, summer is not as exciting. Everything seems dull. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of winter. When summer comes, I hate how hot it is. And then I look forward to the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which makes me comfortable. Rainy days are still the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful — and considerably cooler — weather tomorrow.
1.When the author was a child, he ______.
A. preferred cooler weather
B. hated rainy days
C. liked staying indoors
D. dreamed on summer days
2.We can learn from the passage that the author ______.
A. was often left alone at home
B. preferred reading to playing outside
C. had no brothers or sisters
D. could enjoy the brilliant sun in winter
3.As an adult, the author views summer rain differently because ______.
A. he knows it won’t last long
B. his summer holiday is very short
C. he can better deal with his holiday
D. rain makes the weather cooler
书面表达
假如你是李华，来自美国的交换生Martin在过去的一个月在你们学校学习，生活。现在他即将返回美国。请你根据以下内容用英语写一篇欢送辞。
1. 赞扬他是一位阳光的男孩，善良友好，乐于助人，而且篮球也打得很好。
2. 非常怀念和他相处的快乐时光。
3. 感谢他对大家的英语学习的帮助。
4. 希望他再次有机会来到中国成都，到时一定陪他一起去游览成都的名胜古迹。
注意：1. 词数100左右。
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
3. 开头与结尾已为你写好，不计入词数。
Dear teachers and friends, I’d like to say something before Martin goes back to the USA.
That’s all. Thank you
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文, 请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处错误, 每句中最多有两处。错误涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加: 在缺词处加一个漏字符号（
）, 并在其下面写出改加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线（＼）划掉。
修改：在错的词下划一横线，并在改词下面写出修改后的词。
注意：1. 每处错误及其修改均仅限一词；
2. 只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
Last weekend, I went to the zoo and saw the panda, the animal that I like best. The panda was not only the sign of rare animals but also a sign of China. Pandas are so lovely that almost all people are like them. But as the balance of nature is destroying, pandas become less. They mainly live on bamboo, and each panda needs to eat a lot bamboo every day. The area of bamboo is becoming smaller for many difference reasons, so pandas have less land to live on. Pandas don't have many babies, and baby pandas often die, that makes the situation more serious. However, our government is working hardly to save them and many new plans have been made to increase the numbers of pandas. I hope that there will be more and more pandas live in the wild.
