Any foreigner who has tried to learn Chinese can tell how hard it is to master the tones required to speak and understand. And anyone who has tried to learn to play the violin or other instruments can report similar challenges.
Now researchers have found that people with musical training have an easier time learning Chinese. Writing in the online edition of Nature Neuroscience，researchers from Northwestern University say that both skills draw on the same parts of the brain that help people discover changes in pitch(音调)．
One of the study’s authors，Nina Kraus，said the findings suggested that studying music “actually tunes our sensory system”．This means that schools that want children to do well in languages should hesitate before cutting music programs，Dr.Kraus said. She said music training might also help children with language problems.
Mandarin(普通话)speakers have been shown to have a more complex encoding(编码) of pitch patterns in their brains than English speakers do. This is because in Mandarin and other Asian languages，pitch plays a central role. A singlesyllable word can have several meanings depending on how it is intoned.
For this study，the res
earchers looked at 20 nonChinese speaking volunteers，half with no musical background and half who have studied an instrument for at least six years.
As they were shown a movie，the volunteers also heard an audio tape of the Mandarin word “mi” in three of its meanings：squint，bewilder and rice. The rese
archers recorded activities in their brain stems to see how well they were processing the sounds. Those with a music background showed much more brain activities in response to the Chinese sounds.
The lead author of the study，Patrick C．M.W
ong，said it might work both ways. It appears that
native speakers of tonal languages may do better at learning instruments.When learning Chinese，a foreigner will find ________.
| A．he has a difficult time learning music at the same time |
| B．he has an easier time learning music at the same time |
| C．it is hard to master the tones required to speak and understand |
| D．it is easy to use the brain to help him discover changes in pitch |
Why does Chinese learning have something to do with music training?
| A．Because there is the same difficulty in learning Chinese and music. |
| B．Because skills to learn the two make use of the same parts of the brain. |
| C．Because music training might help people with language study. |
| D．Because people who do well in Chinese study do well in music. |
The underlined word “intoned” in the fourth paragraph can be replaced by the word “____”．
| A．created | B．spelled |
| C．seemed | D．pronounced |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Mandarin Speakers Are Smarter than English Speakers |
| B．Skilled Ear for Music May Help Language Study |
| C．Pitch Plays a Central Role in Chinese Learning |
| D．Schools Need to Develop Music Programs |
When I was 13, my bedroom walls were covered with posters of the Monkees and Beatles. I wrote fan letters and daydreamed about meeting the objects of my affections. I begged my parents to attend every rock concert and watch every TV show featuring my favorite celebrities; my friends and I discussed for hours all the things we would say and do when we met our favourite movie stars and pop singers. I drove my mother crazy ! But after a few years, my obsession stars faded as I matured and gained the confidence to socialize with “real” boys.
In the 35 years since I was a teenager, celebrity worship (崇拜) has increased among teens due to the explosion of television celebrity gossip shows, and instant access to celebrity news on the Internet. It’s no wonder that many teens are obsessed with stars when news programs are often filled with entertainment stories and the lives of celebrities.
Celebrity worship syndrome (综合征) is now considered a personality disorder. While it is normal for teenagers to follow the lives of their favorite stars, parents should try to monitor everything their child finds interesting. Parents should take action if they suspect a teen is too obsessed with celebrities and showing little interest in school or withdrawing from the family. When teens talk a lot about celebrities and view them as just means of entertainment, this is considered normal celebrity worship. However, when a teenager is obsessed with a star and often expresses a desire to have a close personal relationship with a celebrity or feels they have a special connection to a star, this may be the time for concern. Recent studies have shown that teens who develop an unhealthy obsession with celebrities often suffer from low self confidence and depression. Teens who are overly obsessed with stars often have damaged relationships with their parents. The first paragraph is intended to tell us________.
| A．parents needn’t worry about celebrity worship |
| B．celebrity worship can cause serious problems |
| C．it’s normal for a teen to have celebrity worship |
| D．celebrity worship only exists among teens |
We can learn from the second paragraph that________.
| A．the media greatly contributes to celebrity worship today |
| B．the author is surprised at celebrity worship |
| C．teens today are not so obsessed with celebrities |
| D．celebrities expose their lives too much |
Parents should become concerned when their children________.
| A．talk a lot about celebrities with others |
| B．put up celebrity posters in their bedrooms |
| C．ask to go to their favourite star’s concert |
| D．desire a close personal relationship with their favorite star |
The last paragraph implies that________.
| A．parents should not care too much about a child’s celebrity worship |
| B．celebrity worship syndrome can be a serious problem if left overlooked |
| C．children can normally get out of celebrity worship when they are older |
| D．children with celebrity worship usually have high opinion of themselves |
What is most likely to be talked about in the paragraph following the passage?
| A．The harm of celebrity worship syndrome. |
| B．More signs of celebrity worship syndrome. |
| C．What to do with children’s celebrity worship syndrome. |
| D．Who will suffer most from celebrity worship syndrome. |
Even if you are naturally shy, these three tricks will help you to quickly build a new social circle in any new city.
1. Take pictures
One of the great things about taking pictures at an event or party is that it gives you an excuse to get in touch with the person later. Everybody loves seeing pictures of themselves, and it’s very easy after taking a picture to say “If you’d like I can email it to you”. This can be the seed that leads to new connections. The next time you hear about a fun event email your new contacts to let them know about it.
2. Eat alone in public
You might feel self-conscious eating by yourself but it has an important benefit: you are much easier to approach when you are alone. People may be afraid of interrupting you or being rude if you are in a conversation with someone else. Bring a book or newspaper to read (this will make you feel less self-conscious). Plus, having an interesting book with you will give others an excuse to start a conversation if they’ve read it.
3. Join a class, sports team, or club
Yoga, salsa dancing, volleyball, Toastmasters (a public speaking club), a class for work, etc. Take up a new hobby or continue an old one!
These are all great places to meet new people, primarily because you will be forced to see the same people over and over again in the class. You will automatically make friends with them if you have a common interest and are forced to see each other again.
Tips:
* In the beginning, never turn down an invitation from someone, even if it’s something you wouldn’t normally do.
* Email your new friends with fun things to do instead of always asking what their plans are. If they have a better plan you can drop yours and join them. This will help establish you as someone who is contributing value instead of just taking it (people want this in a friend).
* Don’t let little things in life upset you or be a negative person. People don’t want to be around someone like that!________ can give you an excuse to start new connections.
| A．Taking pictures of others |
| B．Eating by yourself in public |
| C．Reading interesting books |
| D．Joining group activities |
When having meals, you’d better ________ if you want to make new friends.
| A．approach others to show conscious friendliness |
| B．start a conversation with those who have friends aside |
| C．invite others to your apartment to eat together |
| D．sit on your own in public places |
According to the text, which of the following is NOT mentioned as an advantage of joining a class?
| A．It helps you find out people who share a common interest with you. |
| B．It helps you find out your interest and take up a new hobby. |
| C．It offers an opportunity to meet the same people repeatedly. |
| D．It is a good way to meet new people and make friends in a new city. |
Which of the following pieces of advice is a tip from the text?
| A．Try to be outgoing and talkative instead of being shy. |
| B．Never turn down an invitation from your friends. |
| C．Offer suggestions on how to spend time together. |
| D．Always give a positive response to any request. |
By writing the text, the author intends to tell us ________.
| A．why you should change when you move to a new city |
| B．how you can make new friends in a new city |
| C．why you should make new friends in a new city |
| D．how you can keep in touch with strangers |
A new report says the number of foreign students at colleges and universities in the United States increased by three percent last year. This has been the first obvious increase since 2001.
American schools last fall had 583,000 foreign students. The record is 586,000. That was set in 2002 after many years of gains. But after that the numbers fell. The terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 led to more visa (签证) requirements. Now stronger efforts are being made to get more foreign students to study in the United States.
China remained in second place in front of South Korea but behind India, whichsent almost 84,000 students last fall. The number of Japanese fell sharply by nine percent, although it remained in fourth place.
There were three percent drops from Indonesia and Kenya, the only African country in the top twenty last year. But there were obvious increases from Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Vietnam. The number of Saudi students more than doubled, rising to nearly eight thousand.
For a sixth year, the University of Southern California in Los Angeles had the most foreign students. Columbia University in New York was second. Other schools in the top five were New York University, the University of Illinois and Purdue University.
Unlike American students in other countries, who often choose history and language study, the leading area of study in the USA was business and management. Second was engineering.
The new report also says more than 220,000 Americans studied in other countries. That was during the 2005-2006 school year. It was a record number, and an increase of eight and a half percent from the year before. But only five percent of them stayed for a full year.
| A．Americans were worried that foreign students might attack them |
| B．few American universities welcomed students from abroad |
| C．their own countries could offer them a better education |
| D．it was harder for foreign students to get permission to study in the USA |
in the USA?
| A．China. | B．Japan. | C．South Korea. | D．India. |
| A．Business and management. | B．History. |
| C．Engineering. | D．Language. |
| A．Kenya is the only African country that has students in the USA |
| B．now foreign students are encouraged to study in the USA |
| C．the number of students studying in America always increases |
| D．the number of foreign students in the USA will keep increasing in the future |
| A．Culture. | B．Science. | C．Education. | D．Business. |
Chinese star Yao Ming has retired. Yao made it official Wednesday, telling a news conference that a series of foot and leg injuries forced him to end his playing career at the age of 30.
“I will formally end my career,’’ said Yao, who became a household name in China before starting his NBA career with the Houston Rockets in 2002. Yao played eight seasons in the NBA.
“Today is an important day for me and holds a special meaning for both my basketball career and my future,’’ Yao said. “I had to leave the court since I suffered a stress fracture（断裂） in my left foot for the third time at the end of last year. My past six months were a painful wait. I have been thinking about my future over and over. Today I am announcing a personal decision, ending my career as a basketball player and officially retire. But one door is closing and another one is opening.’’
Yao said he would return to work with his former Chinese team, the Shanghai Sharks, with the possibility of becoming general manager. He already owns the club and wants to contribute more. “My playing career started with the club. I hope I can do something for it,’’ Yao said.
He later appeared with his family on the stage to the applause and cheers of the crowd. He thanked a lot of people — his family, former coaches, even players like Shaquille O’Neal — “for making me a better player.’’
Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was among those attending the farewell(告别) conference Wednesday. Morey made the long trip from Houston. Morey said 20 hours on planes was tiring but “I would be sorry if I wasn’t here.” “It’s a big moment,’’ Morey added. “Yao had a sense of humor, a great attitude and sense of responsibility. I hope we can continue his culture in the NBA.’’
| A．his age | B．his bad conducts on the court |
| C．his foot and leg injuries | D．his poor health |
| A．peaceful | B．upset | C．confident | D．proud |
| A．Shanghai | B．Houston | C．Beijing | D．New York |
Yao Ming?
| A．Talented. | B．Responsible. | C．Humorous. | D．Cautious. |
| A．Daryl Morey thinks highly of Yao Ming. |
| B．Daryl Morey was Yao Ming’s coach. |
| C．Daryl Morey is a basketball player in the Houston Rockets. |
| D．Daryl Morey is not satisfied with Yao Ming’s retirement from basketball. |
| Bugs Bunny's Hoping Carrot Hunt In this game you are Bugs Bunny．and your goal is to reach the finish line．A carrot truck has spilled its cargo! Gather as many carrots as you can, and when you get the big carrot, you'll be able to jump even higher! Instructions: Use the mouse to move Bugs left and right, and click to jump a gap while gathering carrots． Category: Action |
| Mushroom Madness You are in charge of protecting several farms．It's up to you to make sure the mushrooms there reach maturity before the animals in the forest get their hands on them．Use your swatter（苍蝇拍）to fight off anything that comes near them; use heavier weapons if necessary． Instructions：Slap any creature that conies near your mushrooms．Use the mouse to control the swatter．If you see a "power up", click to use it．Collect coins to buy upgrades after each level． Category: Action |
| Rudolph's Kick and Fly Santa's little helpers have worked all year preparing for Christmas．When Santa finally leaves to deliver his presents, the elves(精灵）head down to the snowfields with Rudolph, the reindeer, to play their favorite game: Kick and Fly! Instructions: 1.Use the mouse to aim, and click to launch an elf． 2.While in the air, click again to catch, and to gain extra height． 3.The goal is to collect as many Christmas ornaments（装饰物）possible, and get 10 points for each one． Tips: If you're heading towards an obstacle(障碍), be sure to avoid it! Category: Action |
| Click Flick Your mission is to save chicks falling from the sky．Use your trampoline （蹦床） to bounce them up and direct them into a nest．But hurry—if you don't, many chicks will fall and lose their lives．There will be falling bombs, worms, nuts and eggs and you can get extra points by collecting the worms and nuts．Save the amount of chicks shown to unlock the next level! Instructions: Move the chicks left and right using keys or the mouse． Category: Adventure |
| A．tell us different categories of games |
| B．ask us to decide which game is the best |
| C．introduce several interesting computer games |
| D．let us evaluate whether we are interested in the games |
| A．is playing Mushroom Madness | B．will lose the game quite soon |
| C．will get 10 points for each one | D．will get extra points and get ahead |
passage?
| A．Bugs Bunny needs to be fast to win． |
| B．All four games are in the same category． |
| C．Players can only use the mouse to control the targets． |
| D．The number of elves decides whether a player wins in Rudolph's' Kick and Fly． |
| A．find a "power up" or use heavier weapons |
| B．collect falling bombs as quickly as possible |
| C．click the elf while it's in the air |
| D．get the big carrot while running |
| A．Bugs Bunny's Hopping Carrot Hunt． | B．Mushroom Madness． |
| C．Rudolph's Kick and Fly． | D．Click Flick． |
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