For an old person, his brain may perform not so well as before. But a new study suggests that some parts of brain may already decline in young adulthood.
The study, which followed more than 2,000 healthy adults between the ages of 18 and 60, found that certain mental functions — including measures of abstract reasoning, mental speed and puzzle-solving — started to dull as early as age 27. Meanwhile, the decline of memory generally became apparent around age 37.
On the other hand, indicators of a person’s accumulated knowledge — like performance on tests of vocabulary and general knowledge — kept improving with age, according to findings published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.
The results do not mean that young adults need to start worrying about their memories. Most people's minds function at a high level even in their later years, according to researcher Timothy Salthouse. “According to these patterns, some kinds of flexibility in the brain decline relatively early in adulthood, but throughout adulthood the knowledge pool in one’s command and the effective combination with one’s capabilities may be on the increase without the attack of diseases.” Salthouse said in a news conference.
The study included healthy, educated adults who took standard tests of memory, reasoning and perception at first and at some point over the next seven years.
The tests are designed to detect subtle (细微的) changes in mental function, and involve solving puzzles, recalling words and details from stories, and identifying patterns in collections of letters and symbols.
In general, Salthouse and his colleagues found that certain aspects of cognition (认知能力) generally started to decline in the late 20s to 30s.The findings explain normal age-related changes in mental function, which could aid in understanding the process of dementia (痴呆), according to the researchers. “By following individuals over time,” Salthouse said, “we gain insight in cognition changes, and may possibly discover ways to slow the rate of decline.”
The researchers are currently analyzing the study participants’ health and lifestyle to see which factors might influence age-related cognitive changes.
1.According to the text, what is the common view of mental function?
A.It varies from person to person.
B.It weakens in one’s later years.
C.It gradually expands with age.
D.It indicates one’s health condition.
2.What does Timothy Salthouse say about people’s minds in most cases?
A.They tend to decline in people’s later years.
B.Their flexibility determines one’s abilities.
C.They function quite well even in old age.
D.Their functioning is still a puzzle to be solved.
3.Although people’s minds may function less flexibly as they age, what is their strength?
A.They may be better at solving puzzles.
B.They can memorize things with more ease.
C.They may have greater facility in abstract reasoning.
D.They can put what they have learned into more effective use.
4.According to Salthouse, how may their study help us?
A.It will find ways to stop mental functions dulling fast.
B.It will find ways to improve our memories.
C.It will help us understand the complex process of mental functioning.
D.It will help us understand the relation between physical and mental health.
As the school year barely starts in Denver, French teacher Melanie is filled with worry that her students are always absent-minded. Yet, the problem isn’t messaging, enjoying video games or delivering notes. Surprisingly, the problem is about the ongoing heat wave in Denver.
“Today was a little bit hot, so I noticed kids were very sleepy and they were having to get up to drink water quite often.” said Melanie, who works at Denver’s East High School. “If you lose too much water, and you have to keep going to the water fountain, that can take away from their classroom experience.” While nodding off in class on a warm day may seem acceptable for the average teen, Melanie’s observation carries a bigger consequence than dry lips.
“There have been quite a few media reports about teachers noticing that students weren’t able to focus on hotter days,” said R Jisung Park, a researcher, “Does a hotter climate during the school year actually affect the rate of learning?” The drops in academic achievement couldn’t be explained by hotter weekends or hotter summers, but the trend was connected to higher temperatures on school days alone.
The connection between lost learning and a greater number of hot days is one more example of how climate change is already affecting our lives — and it’s an alarm bell for what we stand to lose in the future. Humans still have time to lessen the worst consequences of continued global warming. Without the unlikely important changes in the next 10 years, the globe will be trapped in an unavoidable era of heat waves that were unprecedented (前所未有的) for human beings.
1.What may cause students absent-minded according to the text?
A.Video games. B.Text messages.
C.Heat waves. D.Classroom notes.
2.What can be inferred from the second paragraph?
A.Kids often go to the water fountain for lack of water.
B.Extreme heat may lower a kid’s ability to learn.
C.Nodding off in class is a sign of respecting teachers.
D.Kids are more interested in drinking water than sleeping.
3.How does the author feel about dealing with the future global warming?
A.Optimistic. B.Uncertain. C.Worried. D.Indifferent.
4.What does the text mainly talk about?
A.The way that global warming continues.
B.The reasons why kids are absent-minded in class.
C.The hotter it grows, the more focused kids become.
D.The hotter it grows, the harder it will be for kids to learn.
Upon first look, the world of business is no place for young women. And many people have told my cofounders and me that in many circumstances. Pessimistic though people are about women’s chances in conducting business, three of us female college students, without any experiences, started our business with a greatly aggressive goal: to set up a seaweed farm in North Carolina and grow as much seaweed as possible to help cut down carbon emissions (排放) and pollution filled with nutrition from agricultural activities.
In the beginning, our ideas were either ignored or mocked by the researchers from whom we sought help and advice. But we carried on with our research–if others wouldn’t provide us with answers, we weren’t afraid to try to work them out by ourselves. We experiment on species which could grow in warmer waters, and we had identified potential markets into which we planned to sell the product. We've spent the last two years setting up the first seaweed farm in NC, applying for a patent (专利) and competing with five final teams in front of the United Nations for 2 million.
Despite all of our efforts, many industry experts remained unwilling to take us seriously. But as often happens in business, the same characteristics we were ignored for were, in reality, our biggest competitive advantage. Our age gave us the strength to learn from failure, and our background as environmental scientists, rather than businesswomen, helped us find new marketing opportunities. For every 10 farmers who claimed nobody would ever want to feed their cows seaweed, we found one who was interested. For every 15 cosmetics producers who refused to answer our cold calls, we stuck to the one with an interesting idea for a seaweed lotion.
Over the course of our early business development efforts, we have had access to a wealth of resources, programs, and individuals who work constantly to help us succeed. By staying focused on bringing our ideas to light, our team has demonstrated that entrepreneurship (创业) is exactly the right place for the hopeful.
1.What was the major cause for their difficulty in starting business?
A.They were women. B.They were young.
C.They lacked experience. D.They suffered prejudice.
2.What did they do to make their business successful?
A.They expanded their seaweed farms.
B.They experimented on seaweed species.
C.They got their product officially recognized.
D.They consulted the United Nations.
3.What is the third paragraph mainly about?
A.How they got others interested in seaweed.
B.How they succeeded from their so-called weaknesses.
C.How they made themselves more competitive.
D.How they approached potential customers.
4.Which of the following can best describe the three women?
A.Innocent and simple-minded. B.Ambitious and self-centered.
C.Adventurous and persistent. D.Courageous and stubborn.
Of all the American blockbusters, some popular movies are rolled out for the teenagers. With the preparation of popcorns, you can choose one of them for your teen to watch with you or their friends.
1. Dead Poets Society
An English teacher, called Mr. Keating, guides his students, who hope to be lawyers and doctors, to poetry and free-thinking. With each student coping with some issues, he urged them to set up Dead Poets Society for reading and writing poems.
2. The Hunger Games
Based on a book by Suzanne Collins, the story set in Panem, a destroyed country in North America. Each year, boys and girls, coming from 12 districts of Panem, take part in Hunger Games. Broadcast alive, this competition is exciting because all the participants play the games against death.
3. The Breakfast Club
It begins with five students at the Shermer High School, Claire, a princess, John, a criminal, Andrew, an athlete, Brian, a bookworm and Allison, an unfortunate person, who are forced to spend 9 hours together on a Saturday. In spite of their differences, they find that their social problems are more similar than they think.
4. Eighth Grade
Kayla is a shy, socially anxious girl trying to get by the last few weeks of middle school. She earns the “most quiet” girl title in school, but at home, she posts online self-help and motivational videos that not many people watch. Kayla is raised by her single father Mark, who tries to disconnect Kayla from the social media.
1.Who helps teenagers form a Dead Poets Society?
A.Mr. Brain. B.Mr. Keating.
C.Suzanne Collins. D.Ms. Claire.
2.Which film is adapted from a book according to the passage?
A.Eighth Grade. B.Dead Poets Society.
C.The Hunger Games. D.The Breakfast Club.
3.Whom is the passage most likely to be targeted at?
A.Teachers. B.Teens. C.Friends. D.Parents.
听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1.How did the speaker prefer to get scientific ideas?
A.From magazines. B.From websites. C.From books.
2.What field did the speaker’s team work in?
A.Biology. B.Physics. C.Chemistry.
3.What did the teacher advise the speaker’s team to do?
A.Make the experiment as specific as possible.
B.Write each part of the process.
C.Do enough experiments.
4.What was the difference between the speaker’s team and the other teams?
A.It designed a display.
B.It took a lot of photos.
C.It wrote about the experiment.
听下面一段较长对话，回答以下小题。
1.What are the speakers talking about?
A.Room decoration.
B.A family get-together.
C.Preparations for a surprise party.
2.What is the relationship between the speakers?
A.Father and daughter.
B.Husband and wife.
C.Mother and son.
3.What will the man do on the 22nd of next month?
A.Go out for dinner.
B.Go to see a movie.
C.Meet his friends.
4.How will the woman prepare food?
A.She’ll cook it herself.
B.She’ll have her friends do it.
C.She’ll order it from a restaurant.
