Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling （兄弟姐妹） or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter. New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be improved throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually challenging careers. The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is fixed by the age of about 18.
Scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores become steady（稳定的）. But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can "upgrade" their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation（刺激）from others is important as the "brain seems to be rather like a muscle - the more you use it, the stronger it gets". However, the opposite is also true - so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels nosedive as a result.
Professor Flynn analyzed US intelligence tests from the last 65 years and created new IQ "age tables". He found a bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage compared to a similar child with equally bright brothers and sisters and special educational treatment to help pull them up.
Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80% of intelligence, the remaining 20% is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. He suggested the best way to improve IQ levels is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.
1.According to the text, it is commonly believed that ______ .
A. people' s IQ level falls as they age
B. it is wise to share family members' views
C. people cannot improve their intelligence during adulthood
D. doing something challenging is good for one's intelligence
2.The underlined word "nosedive" in paragraph 2 probably means ______ .
A. vary B. develop
C. change D. fall
3.Which of the following can help improve one's intelligence according to Professor Flynn？ ______
A. Making many friends.
B. Staying with smart people.
C. Doing exercise every day.
D. Learning from brothers or sisters
4.The purpose of the text is to ______ .
A. inform B. advertise
C. entertain D. persuade
手机的盛行让很多人都成了低头一族，而不少中学生周末也沉浸在埋头玩手机之中，假如你是学生会的主席李华，打算倡议大家加入“周末或假期不当低头族(phubber)”活动，现请你写一封倡议信，在倡议信中请提出有效建议。要点如下：
1．成为低头族的危害(提出3条左右)；
2．周末不做低头族，可以进行哪些活动，请给出建议(提出3条左右)。
注意：1. 词数100左右；
2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Dear friends，
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Sincerely yours，
Li Hua
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处语言错误，每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅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(∧)，并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除：把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改：在错的词下画一横线，并在该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。
Dear Andrew，
How nice to hear from you again! I think it is natural for you not to get used to live there. Here, I have some suggestion for you.
First of all, you should respect the local customs but try to involve yourself in the natives' lives. Secondly, don't be afraid to communicate with American students and make friends with us. Friendship will bring you happiness. What's more, it was better for you to join more outdoor activities with your friends. Those activities may help you relax and have a fun, that is of great benefit. Finally, mind your own manners and remain modest and honesty when getting along with your friends.
I sincere hope my advice will help. May you adapt to your new life and enjoy your stay there.
Yours，
Li Hua
In a used furniture business, unlike new, you cannot order stock from a catalogue. People call in, and you have to go out and make an offer. “You can't ______ what you don't have，” my father would say.
When I was aged thirteen, my father ______ his store manager, a one－armed guy who could do more with his one arm than many will do with two. With his ______ gone, my father came to me. “Will you come in while I go out to ______ the day's calls ______ I find the right person？” he asked. The store has tens of thousands of ______. “People like to bargain，” he told me. “So I don't ______ prices. You just have to know a ______．”
He took me around and said, “A quarter－horse motor you can sell for four dollars. For a refrigerator, depending on the______，you can sell for thirty－five dollars to sixty dollars. However, if it has a freezer all the way across, sell it for eighty dollars; ______ excellent condition, maybe one hundred dollars. Dishes come in with a houseful of furniture, and I don't even figure them in when I give a price. You can sell them for a nickel to a quarter. Something really nice.”
Every day after ______，I would pedal(骑自行车) down to the store. Soon after, I was writing up a sales slip(纸条) for an attractive plate when my father walked in. I had asked a dollar and the guy did not hesitate. I was very ______. My father glanced down at what I was doing, ______ the customer and said, “You sure got a______ today. My employee gave you the price and that's the price.” Afterward, I asked my father, “What was that all______？”
It turned out that it was a(n) ______ plate, worth a few hundred dollars. I was shocked. Here I was ______ to help my father in the business and instead I was losing money for him.
He said, “I could have stopped the sales if I'd wanted to. You were just writing up the slip and hadn't yet taken the money. ______， by civil law, you're ______ age. But，a man stands by his word and the word of his agent.” It ______ my father a small amount of money, but I learned a lifelong lesson in integrity(正直)．
1.A. buy B. sell C. order D. store
2.A. missed B. fired C. dismissed D. lost
3.A. manager B. boss C. servant D. salesman
4.A. ask B. return C. answer D. give
5.A. if B. when C. until D. unless
6.A. items B. materials C. facilities D. instruments
7.A. offer B. decide C. mark D. create
8.A. name B. range C. variety D. catalogue
9.A. price B. situation C. condition D. quantity
10.A. on B. for C. by D. in
11.A. school B. work C. study D. play
12.A. upset B. worried C. embarrassed D. pleased
13.A. turned on B. turned to C. turned up D. turned down
14.A. plate B. reward C. bargain D. fortune
15.A. about B. for C. around D. to
16.A. ordinary B. fragile C. antique D. delicate
17.A. willing B. waiting C. managing D. trying
18.A. However B. Therefore C. Besides D. Consequently
19.A. under B. above C. at D. of
20.A. spent B. cost C. took D. wasted
Overcome Culture Shock in the Classroom
Culture shock occurs in a classroom when students are exposed to a new situation.1.. However, it can also happen to students moving from a small town to a large city, to home－schooled students starting formal school education or to students progressing from one level of education to another. There are several strategies that teachers can use to help students overcome culture shock.
Make group rules
Brainstorm(集体讨论) group rules with the class as a whole to create a safe space and good learning environment.2.. Rules could include respecting differences, listening when someone is speaking and not teasing, for example.
Provide a partner
Find a partner for the new student in the adjustment period.3.. A good partner is someone who is friendly, outgoing and patient. The partner should show the new student around the school, spend time with him or her after class and eat lunch with him or her.
Know the source of a problem
Identify problems early and work with the student and his or her family to deal with them. 4.. It can also be caused by overseas or home school environment. Students and parents need to be aware of all the rules and customs that apply.
5.
Create lessons that include information about different countries and traditions. These could include story reading, geography, cultural studies and history. Encourage the student to share some information about himself or herself.
A. Create special lessons
B. Respect other cultures
C. They have lost their own language and culture
D. Explain the rules and require everyone to follow them
E. A partner can help him or her quickly adapt to the new environment
F. Classroom culture shock is often caused by the very different environment of a classroom
G. Typically, this happens when a new immigrant(移民) arrives in a classroom for the first time
Nations in the UN have agreed that the world needs to completely stop plastic waste from entering the oceans. The UN resolution(决议) has no timetable. But ministers at an environment summit believe it will set the course for much tougher policies and send a clear signal to business.
Under the resolution, governments would establish an international task force(特遣小组) to advise on fighting what the UN's oceans chief has described as a world crisis. One controversial issue is the wish to include businesses on the global task force. Ministers say the problem will not be solved without business, but green groups point out that some firms in the plastics industry have been against restrictions for decades. Vidar Helgesen, a leading voice in the talks, told BBC News, “Business is listening to markets and seeing how marine litter(海洋垃圾) is a growing popular concern. It's possibly the fastest－growing environmental problem and it's therefore a fast－growing problem for business. We need to bring on board those companies that want to change things, and then look at taxes and regulations to make more companies act.”
Certainly, there has been resistance from plastics firms to the bans. One UN delegate, who did not want to be named, stated that journalists in some countries were being paid by the plastics industry to write stories about job losses following the plastic bag ban. But they did not mention the jobs being created in alternatives, such as labour－intensive basketwork, which provides work for the rural poor. But some governments are standing firm, and the meeting has witnessed individual nations declaring tougher action against single－use plastic bags.
The UN's spokesman Sam Barratt told BBC News, “Of course we would have liked to have gone further, but this meeting's made real progress. There's now a sense of urgency and energy behind the issue that we haven't quite seen before. What is obvious, though, is that the UN can't solve this problem on its own. We need to do it in partnership with governments, businesses and even individuals.”
1.What can we know about the UN resolution on plastic waste?
A. Plastic waste should be banned on land too.
B. Plastic waste should be recycled by business.
C. The UN made exact time to stop it entering oceans.
D. The UN may make stricter policies in the future.
2.What can we infer from what Vidar Helgesen said?
A. Business doesn't see the problem of marine litter.
B. Fastest－growing marine litter is a new problem.
C. Governments should force companies to act by policy.
D. Most companies want to stop marine life from disappearing.
3.Why did some companies pay journalists to write articles about job losses?
A. To express their satisfaction with governments.
B. To struggle against the strict plastic bag ban.
C. To show difficulties in labour－intensive basketwork.
D. To make governments stand firm against plastic bags.
4.What is the best title for the text?
A. The UN is committed to handling ocean plastic waste
B. The UN tries to protect the marine life
C. We should solve the plastic waste problem
D. We should ban plastic waste completely
