Do you play a musical instrument? If so, you may be getting smarter. A recent study shows that taking music lessons can raise a person’s IQ.
Scientists studied 132 children in Canadian schools. At the beginning of the school year, these children took an IQ test. Then they were divided into four groups. One group took singing lessons. Another group took weekly piano lessons. The third group took classes in drams(戏剧). And the last group did no special activities at all.
At the end of the school year, the 132 children took an IQ test again. In all four groups, the average score went up. However, the piano players’IQs went up 7.0 points on average. The average increase for the other three groups was only 4.3 points.
The researchers say that the difference is small and it may not result in better grades for the piano players. However, they still consider the results important. Learning an instrument helps kids becomes better at concentrating and at memorizing things. Therefore, the researchers say, it may be good for brain development in young people.
If you have a chance to learn to play a musical instrument, never miss it. Remember it can make you smarter. Which of the following is NOT true of the study?
| A．It was done in Canada. |
| B．It was done by some musicians. |
| C．It included four groups of children. |
| D．It took one school year to complete. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Average IQ scores increased in all the groups. |
| B．Only the piano players’ IQs increased. |
| C．The average increase for all four groups was 4.3 points. |
| D．Most of the children’s IQs did not go up. |
The underlined word “they” in the passage refers to ______.
| A． better grades | B．piano players | C．researchers | D．instruments |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．It’s good for us to listen to music. |
| B．Everyone should learn to play the piano. |
| C．Take an IQ test before you learn instruments. |
| D．Learning instruments may make kids smarter. |
A major development to self-driving cars may change the way we will drive in the future. Google, the leading company in self-driving technology, has changed its develop plan. It had driverless cars built by car factories, but now it will start building its own cars.
Google has started to build some kinds of experimental electric self- driving cars that look like a Smart car or Fiat 500. There is no steering wheel(方向盘)，gas pedal or brake. The only things a human passenger controls are a red “e-stop” button(按钮) for fear stops and a start button. The car’s only “friendly” face is designed to make it help people accept self-driving technology.
Google workers took part in a long experiment, in which they used self-driving cars for their usual travel to work. No accident happened, but Google’s heads realized that depending on a human passenger to drive in an emergency(紧急情况) wouldn’t work because they may be reading, working , or sleeping. Now the self-driving car drives by itself if the driver takes his hands off the wheel for over ten seconds.
Google’s self-driving cars are now limited(限定) to a speed of 25 miles per hour for safety reasons. The cars aren’t allowed to drive on highways. However, a Google engineer said that once the cars are solved to run safely, we can drive at the speed of 50, even 80 miles an hour.
Google recently announced that its cars had covered 700,000 miles of public roads, and they were now running in busy city streets. People who love self-driving cars say this will improve transport by making roads safer, cutting down accident, and making less pollution.
Of course, there’s no need to look for parking at a crowded shopping mall. Instead, users could let their self-driving cars drop them off to park itself. A mother who took a test ride said that having the car would allow her more time to catch up with her son. The cars could also allow people who might not be able to drive to enjoy the hand-free driving. And drunk driving? Not a problem. It is very likely that by 2020, driverless cars will be common. Do you believe so?
What equipment do the self-driving cars have?
| A．A gas pedal. | B．A brake. |
| C．A steering wheel. | D．An “e-stop” button and a start button |
How fast can people drive a self-driving car now?
| A．25 miles an hour. | B．50 miles an hour. |
| C．80 miles an hour. | D．100 miles an hour. |
What has Google company already done?
| A．Google has changed its development plan and helped other factories make cars. |
| B．Google has already had car-testing experiments in all the states in the US. |
| C．Google has realized some problems and tried to solve them. |
| D．Google has asked its own workers to buy the cars and travel to work. |
Which advantage of self-driving cars is not mentioned ?
| A．They can start the engine by itself and make people’s hands completely free. |
| B．They can help to solve air pollution and reduce car accident. |
| C．They can park by themselves and make mothers look after young kids easily. |
| D．They can help those disabled people to enjoy the driving. |
What will happen if emergency happens when someone is driving a driverless car?
| A．If the driver presses the “e-stop” button, the car will drive by itself at once to keep safe. |
| B．If the driver is reading, working or sleeping, he can’t handle the situation in time. |
| C．The car’s friendly face will work and help the driver accept the situation and stay calm. |
| D．The self-driving car will break the speed limit and run at a speed that the driver tells it. |
French and American doctors have done an operation (手术) together in which the doctors were outside the operating room. This kind of operation is known as robotic operation.
Doctor Marescaux did the operation in an office in New York City last month, while a sixty-eight-year-old woman patient was in a hospital in Strasbourg, France.
A doctor in Strasbourg got the patient ready. He placed medical tools and a small video camera in her stomach area. Doctor Marescaux in New York watched the patient on a video screen. Then he used the computer to send messages to the robot machine.
The robot moved the tools that cut the woman’s gallbladder (胆囊) away. The woman got well soon after the operation and left the hospital two days later.
Experts say the main problem with such a robotic operation is based on high-speed telecommunications (通讯系统) between the doctor and the robot. Technology must be able to send a doctor’s order to a robot to move the tool quickly.
Experts also say a successful robotic operation will improve an operation. For example, the robot can make such smaller movements than a person can. A robot machine can turn tools in ways that a doctor’s hand cannot.
Doctors say such a robotic operation will make safer and better operations in the future. They say it will improve doctor training. It will also mean that doctors could do an operation on people in dangerous places far away. And it could mean that people could have operations done by top doctors without having to travel to the city where the doctors work.
The underlined phrase “ robotic operation” means ________.
| A．a special kind of robot invented by doctors. |
| B．something done to mend a robot. |
| C．an operation done by French and American doctors. |
| D．an operation done far away with the help of a robot. |
We use the robot in the operation because _________.
| A．it can send messages in a high speed. |
| B．even a top doctor can’t do the operation himself. |
| C．it can make the operation safer and better. |
| D．operations can be done without doctors. |
If we want to use the robot in the operation, we must solve the problem of ________.
| A．top doctors |
| B．smaller movement |
| C．doctor training |
| D．high-speed telecommunications |
Which of the following is NOT right?
A.Robotic operation has been used in the USA.
B.Robotic operation is good for doctor training.
C.Experts speak highly of robotic operation.
D.The robot is used to watch the patient clearly.What’s the best title for this passage?
| A．An Operation |
| B．Robotic Operation |
| C．How to do a Robotic Operation |
| D．The problems of a Robotic Operation |
Do you know cows can climb onto the roof? Isn’t it fun? To eat grass, a Swiss farmer Dieter Mueller’s cow climbed up a roof to look for fresh grass.
Mueller said the cow was walking on a road behind the house. Then she thought the grass may be greener on the other side of it, but it didn’t walk around, it decided to climb over the house. In fact the grass was not greener on the other side.
Mueller said this is a cantankerous cow. She always does her way. And never follow his words. So it is quite difficult for her to get her down! Mueller tried to let her get down and even put a ladder up to the roof, but it doesn’t work. She stayed up there as long as she liked. She just had to do things in her own sweet time.
At last she was tired to stay on the farmhouse roof and found the way to get down herself.
That’s really good news.The cow climbed onto the roof to ________.
| A．have fun | B．look for grass |
| C．run away from the farm | D．look for shelter |
The owner put a ladder up to the roof to __________.
| A．climb over the house | B．call for help |
| C．climb up the roof | D．help the cow get down |
The underlined word “cantankerous” means __________.
| A．shy | B．friendly | C．clever | D．naughty |
Why did the cow get down from the roof at last?
| A．She wanted to drink water. |
| B．She was too tired to stay there. |
| C．The policeman helped her. |
| D．The owner found a way for her. |
Which of the following is true according to the passage?
| A．The grass is greener on the other side of the house. |
| B．The cow always does what she wants to do. |
| C．Getting down from the roof is easy for the cow. |
| D．The cow got down from the farmhouse by using the ladder. |
How quickly can you count from one to ten? Do you use ten different words to do it? Can you do it in English, or do you have to use your first languages? Do you count on your fingers? Many people think tikat numbers and math are the same all over the world* But scientists have discovered that it is not true.
People in different parts of the world use different ways to count on their fingers. In theUnited States, people begin counting with their first fingers, which they extend or stick out.They then extend the rest of their fingers and finally the thumb(拇指) to count to five. Then they repeat this with the other hand to get to ten. In China, people count by using different finger positions. In this way, a Chinese person can easily count to ten on only one hand.
Besides ways of finger counting, scientists have found that cultures and languages are also different when it comes to numbers. Some languages have only a few words for numbers, and others have no words for numbers. A group of scientists studied aboriginal(土著的) people in Australia. These people don't have hand movements to stand for numbers. They don't even have words for numbers. However, they are still able to understand different ideas about numbers.
In a similar study, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology discovered that people of the Piranha tribe(部落) in northwestern Brazil don't have words for numbers such as "one" or 6'three". They are not able to say 66five trees" or "ten trees" but can say "some trees," "more trees," or 66many trees." Professor Edward Gibson said that most people believe that everyone knows how to count, t6but here is a group tbat does not count. They could learn, but it isn't not useful in their culture, so they've never picked it up."
Although ali[ humans are able to understand quantities(数量：) ,not alllanguages have numbers and not all people use counting. Number words in a certain language are a result of people needing numbers in their daily lives. Now we know that people have different ideas about numbers and math, too.The writer begins with the four questions in order to .
| A．make a survey | B．interest readers |
| C．tell a story | D．solve math problems |
What do we learn from the difference in finger counting between the U.S. and China?
| A．People from China count much faster than people from the U.S.. |
| B．People from China need two hands to count from one to ten. |
| C．People of different cultures may use different ways of finger counting. |
| D．People of different cultures use the same way of finger counting. |
Which of following is TRUE about aboriginal Australians?
| A．They have only a few words for numbers. |
| B．They have hand movements to stand for numbers. |
| C．They can only count to five on their fingers. |
| D．They can understand different ideas about numbers. |
The study of the Piranha tribe shows that .
| A．people all over the world know how to count |
| B．people of the tribe have words for number |
| C．some groups of people are not smart enough to count |
| D．counting is not usefulin the culture of the tribe |
What is the main idea of the passage?
A. People from different cultures have different ideas about numbers and math.
B. Chinese people can count more easily on their fingers than Americans.
C In some aboriginal culture, people don't even know how to count.
D. Some languages don't bave number words because people don't need numbers.
Spending more than two hours a night doing homework leads to better results in English,math and science, according to a major study (by Pam Sammons, England) which has tracked(跟踪) the progress of3,000 children over the past 15 years.
Spending any time doing homework showed advantages, but the influence was greater for the students who put in two to three hours a night, according to the study published by the Department for Education in England.
The scientists who did the research say their study empbasizes(强调) what students actually do rather than how much work the school has set.
Pam Sammons, a professor of education at Oxford University, said that time spent on homework showed the influence of the school-if children were expected to do homework and if they enjoy their subjects. "That's one of the reasons Indian and Chinese children do better.They put more time in it." he added.
It's also reported that students who enjoyed school got better results. "Schools could make sure children had a better experience by improving the school environment, making school work interesting and making children feel supported by teachers." Sammons said.
It is suggested that children aged 5 t0 7 should be set one-hour homework a week, half an hour a night for 7 t0 11-year-olds. Secondary schools were encouraged to set up two hours a night for 14 t0 16-year-olds.
"Head teachers should make their own homework policy(政策)," the government says.Where can we probably read this passage?
| A．In a poster. | B．In a magazine. |
| C．In a storybook | D．In an advertisement. |
According to the first paragraph, spending doing homework leads to better results in lessons.
| A．half an hour | B．an hour |
| C．over two hours | D．less than two hours |
Which of the following sentences is TRUE according Io the passage?
| A．What students actually do is as important as how much work schools set. |
| B．If children enjoy their subjects, they will do much homework |
| C．Indian and Chinese children spend more time doing homework |
| D．Children aged 14-16 should spend an hour a night on homework |
The underlined word "set" means .
| A．writing music for words |
| B．giving some work for somebody to do |
| C．putting something in a place |
| D．making something happen |
From the passage, we can know that .
| A．Students should become interested in their results. |
| B．Students should do bomework as mucb as possible. |
| C．Parents should encourage their children to do homework |
| D．Teachers should make their children feel supported. |
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