Almost everyone wants to get smarter. We struggle to improve our 16_ , intelligence and attention. We drink cup after cup of coffee to help us 17_ the day.
18 __, a new study published in Current Directions in Psychological Science warns that there are 19___ to how smart humans can get.
Each of our body parts develops in a certain way for a reason. 20 _, we are not 3 meters tall 21 _ most people’s hearts are not strong enough to send 22 _ up that high. Scientists say that our thinking ability works in the same way. A baby’s brain size is limited by a series of __23 , such as the size of the mother’s pelvis (骨盆). If our brains developed to be bigger, there could be more 24 during childbirth.
The study of Jews, who have an average IQ much _ 25_ than other Europeans, showed they were more _26_ to develop diseases of the _27_ system. This might be because of their increased brainpower.
If intelligence cannot be improved, can we at least get better at _ 28 _ ? Not really, say scientists. They studied _29_ like caffeine (咖啡因)that improve attention. They found the drugs only helped people with serious 30 _ problems. For those who did not have trouble paying attention, the drugs could have the 31 _ effect. Scientists say that this suggests there is a(n) 32 limit to how much people can or should concentrate.
Our memory is also a “double-edged sword”. People with extremely good memories could 33__ having a difficult life because they cannot _34 bad things that happen to them.
Thomas Hills, one of the authors of the paper, said that 35 all the problems in trying to get smarter, it’s unlikely that there will ever be a “super mind”.
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A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent ash across northern Europe. Airlines have stopped or changed the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.
Grimsvotn is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvotn different is that it lies under a huge glacier（冰川）of ice up to 12 meters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer（层）of water between the glacier and the volcano. This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable. As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava （岩浆）from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash. According to KLM, one of Europe's biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane's engines, causing damage to the plane.
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating ash-covered grass or the sharp objects. What makes Grimsvotn different from other volcanoes?
| A．It is below ice. |
| B．It lies under the sea. |
| C．It is the largest volcano. |
| D．Its lava affects the airlines. |
What keeps Grimsvotn still?
| A．The slow flow of water. |
| B．The low water temperature. |
| C．The thick glacier. |
| D．The water pressure. |
Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption?
| A．People stop traveling in Europe. |
| B．Airlines suffer from the loss of planes. |
| C．It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside. |
| D．Farmers have lost many of their animals. |
This text is most probably taken from __________.
| A．a research paper |
| B．a newspaper report |
| C．a class presentation |
| D．a geography textbook |
The poor are very wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition-and I told the sisters ： You take care of the other three. I take care of this one who looked worse. So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said just the words "Thank you" and she died.
I could not help but examine my conscience before her and I asked what I would say if I was in her place. And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said I am hungry, I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something, but she gave me much more-she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. So did that man whom we picked up from the drain, half eaten with worms, and we brought him to the home. "I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, loved and cared for，" he said at the end. And it was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that, who could die like that without blaming anybody, without cursing anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel-this is the greatness of our people. And that is why we believe what Jesus has said ： I was hungry, I was naked, I was homeless, I was unwanted, unloved, uncared for, and you did it to me.
And with this prize that I received as a Prize of Peace, I am going to try to make the home for many people who have no home. Because I believe that love begins at home and if we can create a home for the poor I think that more and more love will spread. And we will be able through this understanding love to bring peace, the good news to the poor, the poor in our own family first, in our country and in the world. When pick up a person from the street, hungry and I give him a plate of rice or a piece of bread, I am satisfied. I have removed that hunger. But to a person who is shut out, who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, who has been thrown out from society, that poverty is so full of hurt and so unbearable...And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something. What can be learned from the second paragraph?
| A．The woman should have paid more attention to herself. |
| B．The man couldn't blame anyone. |
| C．The author is religious. |
| D．The man died in the street. |
The purpose of this passage is __________.
| A．to appeal for more donation for the poor |
| B．to call on the public to love each other |
| C．to tell the readers the poor are wonderful |
| D．to express how moved the author is to receive the prize |
Which of the following can NOT be inferred from the passage?
| A．The author has few supporters. |
| B．The author was somewhat surprised at what the man said. |
| C．The author is delighted to help others in trouble. |
| D．The author may agree to solve social problems in soft ways. |
What's the best title of this passage?
| A．Have Sympathy for the Poor |
| B．The Poor Are Wonderful |
| C．Smile and Love |
| D．Relieve Poverty |
Ted Turner achieved high goals and great success by the time he was 43. Best known for his CNN, Ted Turner launched a second nationwide all-news network, Headline News, purchased the Atlanta Braves baseball team, and became the world's best yachtsman at the America's Cup in 1977. In 1982 Ted Turner was named by Forbes one of the 400 richest people in the U. S. He was named Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 1992. How did Ted Turner accomplish all of this at such a young age?
Ted Turner's father, Ed, was a self-made millionaire who demanded that his only son try to achieve similar success. He instilled in the boy a strong belief that hard work was good. Besides reading a new book every two days, Ted Turner was also charged rent at home during summer vacations from boarding school. Ed Turner was a strong influence in his son's life.
As a child, Ted Turner lived a very lonely life, often separated from his family. During World War Ⅱ，his father served in the navy. Ed Turner took his wife and daughter with him so they could live nearby but left his 6-year-old son behind in a boarding school in Cincinnati, Ohio. When Ted Turner was in the fifth grade, his father enrolled him in a military academy. Even though Turner had friends at school, it didn't make up for the absence of his parents and sister. Eventually Ted Turner enrolled at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended college off and on, became involved in sailboat racing, and became a member of the U. S. Coast Guard for a while. In his early twenties, he became general manager of one of his father's branch offices-the Turner Advertising Company in Macon, Georgia.
Two years later after his father's suicide, Ted Turner took over the company. He soon discovered that he was more skilled than his father in managing the business. During the next twenty years, Ted Turner worked hard to accumulate enough power and money to fulfill his father's dream.
Reflecting on his father's death, however, Ted Turner realized that it was dangerous to put too much emphasis on material possessions. He decided to use his hard-earned influence to serve the public.
Concerned about the environment, Ted Turner established the Better World Society in 1985. The purpose of this organization was to produce documentaries to educate people about pollution, hunger, and the danger of building weapons of mass destruction. In1986 Turner began sponsoring the Goodwill Games to promote world peace. The Turner Tomorrow Awards were created to encourage writers and thinkers to focus their attention on solving world problems. The Turner Family Foundation was established in 1992. What is CNN according to the passage?
| A．It's a broadcast news company. |
| B．It's a basketball team agency. |
| C．It's a charity organization. |
| D．It's a publishing house. |
What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?
| A．The creation of CNN encouraged broadcasters to be more successful. |
| B．Towering goals and hard work led to fame and prosperity. |
| C．Ted Turner was expert at sailboat racing and playing basketball. |
| D．Ted Turner became very successful at an early age. |
As a student in a military academy, Turner __________.
| A．wasn't as lonely as he looked because of his many friends at school |
| B．missed his family very much despite having friends at school |
| C．served as a member of the U. S. Coast Guard for a while |
| D．showed little interest in studying |
The author seems to believe that Ted Turner is __________.
| A．bossy |
| B．incapable |
| C．ambitious |
| D．modest |
Four out of ten women who diet end up heavier than when they started watching their waistline（腰围），a study revealed today. The research also showed that a large percentage of women started noticing the pounds creeping back on just 21 days after reaching their ideal weight.
Yesterday, Dr Ian Campbell of the Jenny Craig Weight Management Program said ： "In the UK 61. 4 percent of adults are over-weight or obese. Successful weight management requires a long-term commitment in order to lose weight successfully and for good. Dieting can be a real challenge so setting realistic goals and remaining focused on them is important. Otherwise as this research shows, women could end up heavier than when they started. "
The "Food, Body, Mind" report was publicized by Jenny Craig who quizzed 2，000 women aged between 18 and 65 who diet regularly on their attitudes, beliefs and behaviors around weight loss. Six in ten said they were on a diet then and one in five women said they were on a " continuous diet".
It found the most common triggers to start dieting was seeing their " reflection in the mirror"，preparing for a summer holiday or unflattering photos posted on social networking sites. Other popular reasons include comments by friends or relatives or their other half.
However, the study showed that one in ten give up within one day, while almost a fifth manage to make it to a week or more. The average is ten days. Many blamed pressure they put on themselves to lose weight too quickly for the weight gain, which leaves them with a bigger appetite than normal. Others blamed colleagues, who tuck into fatty lunches and snacks unaware of the effect it has on the dieters, while mothers' polishing off their children's leftovers（剩饭）was an-other common cause of weight gain. Which of the following might be the best title for this article?
| A．Three reasons to fail in dieting |
| B．Important things for successful diet |
| C．Obesity-a problem for 61. 4% adults in the UK |
| D．Four in ten women gain weight on diets |
Women who go on a diet __________.
| A．are all overweight or obese |
| B．are likely to gain weight again after reaching their ideal weight |
| C．all fail because they are not persistent enough |
| D．all end up heavier than when they start to diet |
The underlined word "triggers" in Paragraph 4 probably means __________.
| A．effects |
| B．examples |
| C．causes |
| D．imagination |
Which of the following is NOT the reason that many people quit dieting very soon?
| A．The pressure they put on themselves to lose weight quickly. |
| B．Colleagues who tuck into fatty lunches and snacks. |
| C．Reflections they see in the mirror. |
| D．Leftovers of children's taken by their mothers. |
The website FarmersOnly. com calls itself an online dating and friendship finder. The idea started in the mind of a man, Jerry Miller in Ohio. He wondered how farmers could meet new people who understand the life of a farmer. Jerry Miller is not a farmer but he represents a lot of farmers.
As he tells it, the idea for the site was planted when a farmer told him one day that she was recently divorced and would like to date. But someone would invite her to meet for coffee at nine o'clock at night, when she had to start her day at five the next morning.
So, in 2005，Jerry Miller launched his website. "You don't have to be a farmer to be on FarmersOnly. com. But you do have to have the good old-fashioned traditional values of America's heartland. "
You also have to live in the United States or Canada to be a member of the site. Some services are free, but a full membership costs fifty dollars for a year. As of last week the site listed more than58，000 members. Many of them are farmers in the United States. Others are students or workers involved in some way with agriculture. Jerry Miller tells us about thirty marriages in the last year have resulted from his website.
Some farmers have also found love through a group, Singles in Agriculture, which was formed as a nonprofit organization in 1986. It organizes gatherings that usually end with a dance, but is not a dating service. The purpose is to support educational and social activities that offer people a chance for friendship. Its website, singlesinag. org, says there are more than 1，000 members across the nation and as far away as France. Jerry Miller started FarmersOnly. com in order to __________.
| A．help farmers |
| B．support traditions |
| C．understand farmers |
| D．represent farmers |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 indicate?
| A．She dislikes city lifestyle. |
| B．She prefers late night coffee. |
| C．Country life isn't well understood. |
| D．It's tiring to get up early. |
Which of the following is true of singlesinag. org?
| A．Its services are free. |
| B．It provides dating services. |
| C．Only farmers can become its members. |
| D．Farmers in France can't benefit from it. |
It can be inferred from the text that __________.
| A．all farmers desire marriage |
| B．farmers are easy to meet new people |
| C．more farmers get divorced in the USA |
| D．the Internet helps improve farmers' social life |
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