Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones, U.S. reseachers reported on Thursday.
Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.
“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective effects,” Kinsley said.
“It’s rat data but human
s are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”
Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.
“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.
“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.” How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
| A．Some researchers have told them. |
| B．Many women say so. |
| C．They know it by experimenting on rats. |
| D．They know it through their own experience. |
What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?
| A．Baby rats. | B．Animals. | C．Old rats. | D．Grown-up rats. |
What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
| A．Estrogen. | B．The hormones of pregnancy. |
C．More  exercise. |
D．Taking care of children. |
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.” What does the sentence suggest?
| A．The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans. |
| B．The experiments on the rats are very important for animals. |
| C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans. |
| D．The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals. |
Which title is the best for this passage?
| A．Do You Want to Be Smarter? |
| B．Motherhood Makes Women Smarter |
| C．Mysterious Hormones |
| D．An Important Study |
Pop stars today enjoy what once only belonged to the royalty(皇室)．Wherever they go，people turn out in their thousands to greet them.The crowds go wild trying to catch a brief glimpse of their smiling，colorfully dressed idols.The stars are transported in their chauffeur driven Rolls Royces，private helicopters or executive aeroplanes.They are surrounded by a permanent entourage(随从)of managers，press agents and bodyguards.Photographs of them appear regularly in the press and all their comings and goings are reported，for，like royalty，pop stars are news.If they enjoy many of the privileges of royalty，they certainly share many of the inconveniences as well.It is dangerous for them to make unscheduled appearances in public.They must be constantly shielded from the adoring crowds who idolize them.They are no longer private individuals，but public property.The financial rewards they receive for this sacrifice cannot be calculated，for their rates of pay are great.
And why not？Society has always rewarded its top entertainers lavishly.The great days of Hollywood have become legendary：famous stars enjoyed fame，wealth and adulation(奉承)on an all time scale.By today's standards，the excesses of Hollywood do not seem quite so spectacular.A single gramopphone record nowadays may earn much more in royalties than the films of the past ever did.The competition for the title“Top of the Pops”is fierce，but the rewards are truly huge.
It is only right that the stars should be paid in this way.Don't the top men in industry earn enormous salaries for the service they perform to their companies and their countries？Pop stars earn vast sums in foreign currency—often more than large industrial companies—and the taxman can only be grateful for their massive annual contributions to the exchequer(国库)．So who would begrudge them their rewards?
It's all very well for people in boring jobs to complain about the successes and rewards of others.People who make envious remarks should remember that the most famous stars represent only the tip of the iceberg.For every famous star，there are hundreds of others struggling to earn a living.A man working in a steady job and looking forward to a pension at the end of it has no right to expect very high rewards.He has chosen security and peace of mind，so there will always be a limit to what he can earn.But a map who attempts to become a star is taking enormous risks.He knows at the outset that only a handful of competitors ever get to the very top.He knows that years of concentrated effort may be rewarded with complete failure.But he knows，too，that the rewards for success are very high indeed：they are the payback for the huge risks involved and once he makes it，he will certainly earn them.That's the essence of private enterprise.The author develops the passage mainly by ________.
| A．comparing different ideas |
| B．giving explanations |
| C．inferring |
| D．listing typical examples |
The underlined word “begrudge” in the third pararaph is closest in meaning to ________.
| A．be jealous of | B．be satisfied with |
| C．be anxious about | D．be crazy about |
According to the passage，which of the following can match the view of the author?
| A．He who laughs last laughs best. |
| B．If you venture nothing，you will gain nothing. |
| C．He who makes no mistakes makes nothing. |
| D．Success belongs to the persevering. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．People are blind in idolizing stars. |
| B．There is fierce competition in becoming pop stars. |
| C．The government taxes pop stars very little. |
| D．Pop stars' life is more luxurious than that of royalty. |
My mind went blank when I saw the gun pointing against the car window as we pulled out of the garage. This can't be happening to me. Then I felt the gun, cold, against my head, and I heard my friend Jeremy saying，“What do you want? Take my wallet，” but at the time I thought of nothing.
I remember being a little annoyed when the gunman pulled me from the car by the hair. I remember the walk to the house—Jeremy, me, the two men with two guns. I remember the fear and anger in the gunmen's voices because Jeremy was being slow, and I remember wondering why he was being slow. I did not realize that Jeremy had thrown the keys into the bush. But I remember that sound of the gun hitting Jeremy's head and the feeling as the man who had hold of my hair released me. And I remember the split second when I realized he was looking at Jeremy，and I remember wondering how far I could run before he pulled the trigger. But I was already running, and upon reaching the car across the street, I didn't crouch (蹲伏) behind it but screamed instead.
I remember thinking there was something ridiculous and illogical about screaming “Help, help！” at eight o'clock on a Tuesday evening in December and changing my plea(恳求) to the more specific “Help, let me in, please let me in！” But the houses were cold, closed, unfriendly, and I ran on until I heard Jeremy's screams behind me announcing that our attackers had fled.
The neighbors who had not opened their doors to us came out with baseball bats and helped Jeremy find his glasses and keys. In a group they were very brave. We waited for the police to come until someone said to someone else that the noodles were getting cold, and I said politely，“Please go and eat. We're OK.”
I was happy to see them go. They had been talking of stricter sentences for criminals, of bringing back the death penalty(处罚) and how the President is going to clean up the country. I was thinking, they could be saying all of this over my dead body, and I still feel that stiffer sentences wouldn't change a thing. In a rush all the anger I should have felt for my attackers was directed against these contented people standing in front of their warm, comfortable homes talking about all the guns they were going to buy. What good would guns have been to Jeremy and me?
People all over the neighborhood had called to report our screams, and the police turned out in force twenty minutes later. They were illtempered about what was, to them, much trouble about nothing. After all, Jeremy was hardly hurt, and we were hopeless when it came to describing the gunmen. “Typical，” said one policeman when we couldn't even agree on how tall the men were. Both of us were able to describe the guns in horrifying detail, but the two policemen who stayed to make the report didn't think that would be much help.
The policemen were matteroffact about the whole thing. The thin one said，“That was a stupid thing to do, throwing away the keys. When a man has a gun against your head you do what you're told.” Jeremy looked properly embarrassed.
Then the fat policeman came up and the thin one went to look around the outside of the house. “That was the best thing you could have done, throwing away the keys，” he said. “If you had gone into the house with them...” His voice became weaker. “They would have hurt her” ——he twisted his head toward me——“and killed you both.” Jeremy looked happier. “Look，” said the fat policeman kindly, “ there's no right or wrong in the situation. There's just luck.”
All that sleepless night I replayed the moment those black gloves came up to the car window. How long did the whole thing last? Three minutes, five, eight? No matter how many hours of my life I may spend reliving it, I know there is no way to prepare for the next time—no intelligent response to a gun. The fat cop was right. There's only luck. The next time I might end up dead.
And I’m sure there will be a next time. It can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone.Security is an illusion(幻觉); there is no safety in locks or in guns. Guns make some people feel safe and some people feel strong, but they're fooling themselves.When the writer saw the gun pointing against the car window，________.
| A．she felt very annoyed |
| B．she lost consciousness |
| C．she felt very much nervous |
| D．she lost the power of thinking |
What most possibly drove the two gunmen away?
| A．Jeremy's fighting. |
| B．The author's screaming. |
| C．Their neighbour's brave action. |
| D．The police's arrival. |
When the author called for help, the neighbors didn't come out immediately because________.
| A．they were much too frightened |
| B．they were busy preparing dinners |
| C．they needed time to find baseball bats |
| D．they thought someone was playing a trick |
What the author wants to tell us is that________.
| A．neighbors are not helpful in moments of difficulty |
| B．the police are not reliable when one is in trouble |
| C．security is impossible as long as people can have guns |
| D．preventing robbers entering your house is the best choice |
With the average temperature for January standing at －50 ℃，it is no wonder the Russian village of Oymyakon is the coldest permanently inhabited settlement in the world.Known as the“Pole of Cold”，the coldest ever temperature recorded in Oymyakon is －71.2 ℃.This is the lowest recorded temperature for any permanently inhabited location on Earth and the lowest temperature recorded in the northern hemisphere(北半球)．
Ironically，Oymyakon actually means“nonfreezing water”due to a nearby hot spring.Most homes in Oymyakon still burn coal and wood for heat and enjoy few modern conveniences.
Nothing grows there so people eat reindeer(驯鹿)meat and horsemeat.A single shop provides the town's bare necessities and the locals work as reindeerbreeders，hunters and icefishermen.
There are few modern conveniences in the village—with many buildings still having outdoor toilets—and most people still burn coal and wood for heat.When coal deliveries are irregular，the power station starts burning wood.If the power ceases，the town shuts down in about five hours，and the pipes freeze and crack.
Daily problems that come with living in Oymyakon include pen ink freezing，glasses freezing to people's faces and batteries losing power.Locals are said to leave their cars running all day for fear of not being able to restart them.Even if there was coverage for mobile phone reception，the phones themselves would not work in such conditions.
Another problem caused by the frozen temperatures is burying dead bodies，which can take anything up to three days.The earth must first have thawed(融解)sufficiently in order to dig it，so a bonfire is lit for a couple of hours.Hot coals are then pushed to the side and a hole couple of inches deep is dug.The process is repeated for several days until the hole is deep enough to bury the coffin.
Travel companies offer tourists the opportunity to visit the village and sample life in the freezing conditions.From the passage we can infer that people in Oymyakon ________.
| A．prefer meat to any other kind of food |
| B．seldom have fresh vegetables and fruits |
| C．can buy anything in the shop |
| D．might row a boat to catch fish |
Which of the following is the first step when burying a dead body?
| A．The coffin must be put in place. |
| B．A bonfire has to be lit first. |
| C．Hot coals have to be pushed to the side. |
| D．A hole couple of inches deep is dug. |
Mobile phones would not work in Oymyakon because ________.
| A．the batteries are of poor quality |
| B．there was no coverage for phone reception |
| C．batteries can't be charged in such conditions |
| D．the extreme coldness makes the batteries lose power |
Why do the locals have their cars running all day?
| A．They are afraid they can't get the car started. |
| B．They want to keep warm in the car. |
| C．They have abundant oil resources. |
| D．They have little awareness of saving. |
When times get tough，we all look for ways to cut back.When we're hungry，we eat at home instead of going out.We take buses instead of taxis.And we wear our old designer jeans just a few months longer.With college expenses at alltime highs，high school students are eager to do anything to cut the cost of a university education.
One costcutting proposal is to allow college students to get a bachelor's degree in three years instead of four.Educational institutions have been actively exploring ways to make the learning process more efficient.But there's a question：Would the quality of undergraduate(本科生)education suffer？ Few US universities have formally approved a “threeyear degree”model.
I doubt that mainstream North American colleges will carry out a threeyear curriculum(课程)any time soon.For one thing，most universities already allow highly qualified students to graduate early by testing out of certain classes and obtaining a number of college credits(学分)．In addition，at famous universities，the committee who determine which courses are required and which courses are electives are unlikely to suddenly “throw out”one quarter of the required credits.Professors will resist “diluting(稀释)”the quality of the education they offer.
In my opinion，a quality fouryear education is always superior to a quality threeyear education.A college education requires sufficient time for a student to become skilled in their major and do coursework in fields outside their major.It is not a good idea to water down education，any more than it's not a good idea to water down medicine.If we want to help students find their way through university，we should help them understand early on what knowledge and skills they need to have upon graduation.We should allow students to test out of as many courses as possible.We should give them a chance to earn money as interns(实习生)in meaningful parttime jobs that relate to their university studies，such as the fiveyear coop program at Northeastern University.The first paragraph serves as a(n) ________.
| A．explanation | B．definition |
| C．introduction | D．comment |
In most US universities，________.
| A．college students are offered the coop program |
| B．electives' credits make up one quarter of the required credits |
| C．all students are required to finish fouryear education before graduation |
| D．some excellent students can graduate ahead of time |
We can infer that ________.
| A．the author is a college professor |
| B．the author thinks the cost of a university education is too high for people to afford |
| C．the author considers the university education quality very important |
| D．the author pays special attention to the allround development of college students |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．It's time to shorten the learning process |
| B．Best learning takes place over time |
| C．University education should be watered down |
| D．College education calls for reform |
When 19－year－old Sophia Giorgi said she was thinking of volunteering to help the Make－A－Wish Foundation (基金会)，nobody understood what she was talking about.But Sophia knew just how important Make－A－Wish could be because this special organization had helped to make a dream come true for one of her best friends .We were interested in finding out more，so we went along to meet Sophia and listen to what she had to say.
Sophia told us that Make－A －Wish is a worldwide organization that started in the United States in 1980.“It's a charity(慈善机构)that helps children who have got very serious illnesses.Make－A－Wish helps children feel happy even though they are sick, by making their wishes and dreams come true ，” Sophia explained .
We asked Sophia how Make－A－Wish had first started.She said it had all begun with a very sick young boy called Chris ，who had been dreaming for a long time of becoming a policeman .Sophia said lots of people had wanted to find a way to make Chris's dream come true—so, with everybody's help, Chris, only seven years old at the time，had been a “policeman” for a day.” When people saw how delighted Chris was when his dream came true, they decided to try and help other sick children too，and that was the beginning of Make－A－Wish，” explained Sophia.
Sophia also told us the Foundation tries to give children and their families a special, happy time.A Make－A－Wish volunteer visits the families and asks the children what they would wish for if they could have anything in the world.Sophia said the volunteers were important because they were the ones who helped to make the wishes come true. They do this either by providing things that are necessary，or by raising money or helping out in whatever way they can.Sophia found out about Make－A－Wish because her best friend had________.
| A．benefited from it | B．volunteered to help it |
| C．dreamed about it | D．told the author about it |
According to Sophia，Make－A－Wish________.
| A．is an international charity |
| B．was understood by nobody at first |
| C．raises money for very poor families |
| D．started by drawing the interest of the public |
What is said about Chris in Paragraph 3?
| A．He has been a policeman since he was seven. |
| B．He gave people the idea of starting Make－A－Wish |
| C．He wanted people to help make his dream come true. |
| D．He was the first child Make－A－Wish helped after it had been set up. |
Which of the following is true about Make－A－Wish volunteers?
| A．They are important for making wishes come true. |
| B．They try to help children get over their illnesses. |
| C．They visit sick children to make them feel special. |
| D．They provide what is necessary to make Make－A－Wish popular. |
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