Work your brain!
Between 2 and 3 pounds of wonder, it controls everything we say, do or think, who we are and what we care about. The way we walk or laugh or figure out things. What we like and the talents we possess. How we see and talk and run and jump and process our food.
The brain uses 20 percent of our body’s oxygen and 20 percent of its blood. Somewhere within its protein, fat, 100,000 miles of blood vessels and 100 billion nerve cells, it helps us remember where we put our gym shoes. Change our temperature so we don’t die because of the heat or cold. Speed us up or slow us down. Help us choose between orange juice or orangeflavored drinks.
Its complexity are stunning, far beyond anything most of us can imagine. To keep this work of art as polished as possible we need to eat right, exercise and keep mentally stimulated. Good nutrition helps brain cells communicate with each other. Exercise stimulates a hormone in our brain that improves memory. Mental stimulation keeps you sharp even as you age.
“It’s very important that we tell people to be physically active and mentally active,” said neurologist Malcolm Stewart.“People cannot stop aging, but you’re able to reduce the damage; you’re able to keep the function up.”
Following are Dr. Stewart’s advice for improving brain health：
| Nutrition |
Avoid fast food. Follow the old adage(格言): For breakfast, eat like a king; for lunch, like a queen; for supper, like a beggar. |
| Exercise |
Do a combination of stretching aerobic and muscle strengthening every day. |
| Mental games |
Try to have a sense of hope about the future. Do puzzles. Listen to music. Reach out to others to make their lives better. |
The purpose of the author in writing this passage is to ______.
| A．inform us how the brain works |
| B．give us advice on how to keep the brain healthy |
| C．tell us that the brain plays an important role in our lives |
| D．show how special the brain is to us |
The underlined word “stunning” means ______.
| A．interesting | B．strange | C．significant | D．amazing |
According to the text，more exercise ______.
| A．keeps our mind sharp |
| B．helps improve our memory |
| C．gives our brain a rest |
| D．is good for brain cells communicating with each other |
In order to keep brain healthy，we should avoid ______.
| A．eating a good lunch | B．doing puzzles |
| C．eating a large supper | D．taking aerobic exercise |
四. 阅读理解(40分)
Children start out as natural scientists, eager to look into the world around them. Helping them enjoy science can be easy; there’s no need for a lot of scientific terms or expensive lab equipment. You only have to share your children’s curiosity(好奇).Firstly, listen to their questions. I once visited a classroom of seven-year-olds to talk about science as a job. The children asked me “textbook questions” about schooling, salary(薪水) and whether I liked my job. When I finished answering, we sat facing one another in silence. Finally I said,“Now that we’ve finished with your lists, do you have questions of your own about science?”
After a long pause, a boy raised his hand,“Have you ever seen a grasshopper(蚱蜢) eat?When I try eating leaves like that, I get a stomachache. Why?”
This began a set of questions that lasted nearly two hours.
Secondly, give them time to think. Studies over the past 30 years have shown that, after asking a question, adults typically wait only one second or less for an answer, no time for a child to think. When adults increase their “wait time” to three seconds or more, children give more logical(符合逻辑的),complete and creative answers.
Thirdly, watch your language. Once you have a child involved in a science discussion, don’t jump in with “That’s right” or “Very good”.These words work well when it comes to encouraging good behavior(行为).But in talking about science, quick praise can signal that discussion is over. Instead, keep things going by saying,“That’s interesting” or “I’d never thought of it that way before”,or coming up with more questions or ideas.
Never push a child to “Think”.It doesn’t make sense, children are always thinking, without your telling them to. What’s more, this can turn a conversation into a performance. The child will try to find the answer you want, In as few words as possible, so that he will be a smaller target(目标) for your disagreement.
Lastly, show don’t tell. Real-life impressions of nature are far more impressive than any lesson children can learn from a book or a television program. Let children look at their fingertips through a magnifying glass(放大镜),and they’ll understand why you want them to wash before dinner. Rather than saying that water evaporates (蒸发),set a pot of water to boil and let them watch the water level drop.
1..According to the passage, children are natural scientists, and to raise their interest, the most important thing for adults to do is .
A.to let them see the world around
B.to share the children’s curiosity
C.to explain difficult phrases about science
D.to supply the children with lab equipment
2.In the last sentence of the first paragraph, the word “lists” could best be replaced by________.
A.any questions B.any problems
C.questions from textbooks D.any number of questions
3.According to the passage, children can answer questions in a more logical, complete and creative way if adults___________.
A.ask them to answer quickly
B.wait for one or two seconds after a question
C.tell them to answer the next day
D.wait at least for three seconds after a question
4.In which of the following paragraph(s) does the author tell us what to say to encourage children in a science discussion?
A.The second and third. B.The fourth and fifth.
C.The fifth and sixth. D.The seventh.
5.The author mentions all of the following techniques for adults to share with their children’s curiosity except that adults should___________.
A.tell their children stories instead of reciting(背诵) facts
B.offer their children chances to see things for themselves
C.be patient enough when their children answer questions
D.encourage their children to ask questions of their own
第二节（共5小题，每小题2分，满分10分）
根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。其中有两项为多余选项。
Is the customer always right? 71 Shopping is very much a part of a country’s culture, and attitudes to shopping and consumers vary from country to country just as much as climate or taste in food.
Recent economic hardship has given the consumers increased power in Europe because shopkeepers fight to win their share of reduced disposable(可支配的) income. This has meant falling prices, plenty of special offers and a re-examination of what customer service really means. 72 In restaurants in the south of the USA, for example, waiters compliment(恭维) you on your clothes, ask about your day, compliment you on your wisdom of your order and then return every ten minutes to refill your glass and make sure that everything is to your satisfaction.
Anyone who has waited 30 minutes to be served in a restaura
nt may possibly dream of such customer service. 73 In fact, different nationalities expect different types of service. As a friend of mine once told me, “By the end of evening I had spent as much time talking to the waiter as to my wife.”
A Chinese-American friend loves telling people about how her Chinese mother shops for clothes. First of all she waits until they are on sale. 74 And later she finds some small fault wi
th the product and demands a further reductio
n. She never buys anything at the regular price. Could you imagine trying such ways in department stores in other countries?
Attitudes to service are, of course, affected by employers’ attitudes to their workers. As American waiters heavily depend on tips, they have to provide more service. But is this fair？ 75 It might not be a
case of “Is the customer always right?” but a case of “How much service is it fair to expect?”
| A．People often point to America as an example of good customer service. |
| B．It is a question of expectations. |
| C．Do we think it is fair to ask shop assistants to work late evenings or on Sundays? |
| D．Then she asks for a discount until she gets an even better price. |
E.The answer, it seems, depends on which country you are in.
F.The way we shop shows the way we get along with other people.
G..However, do Europeans really want US style service?
Guide to
Restaurants in New York City
Nearly 1,000 restaurants are included in this latest edition of the most trusted guide to eating well in New York. Brief reviews by the city’s most respected food writers are made more readable by what cannot be found in any other restaurant guide, including: suggested dishes final bill. Hardcover.$14.95.
How Electronic Things Work
A guided tour of everyday technology from the pages of the New York Times Circuits section, with easy to understand explanations of the inner workings of computers, CD players, ATM’s, digital cameras and 76 other devices, 100 illustrations，St. Martin’s Press. 195 pages. Hardcover.
The New York Times Book of Natural Disasters
The book gathers together the paper’s finest articles about humankind’s quest to understand natural disasters. Possible causes and effects of global warming are studied, as is the surprising force of nature’s violent excitement in such phenomena as hurricanes, forest fires, sinkholes and others. Illustrated, soft cover, 216 pages,$16.95.
Campaigns: A Century of Presidential Races
Every campaign since 1900—including the historic 200 races—in images from the New York Times Photo Archives. With 350 photos, contemporary newspaper reports and an introduction by prize winning historian Alan Brinkldy DK Publishing. 410 pages. Hardcover.
1. A student of history is most likely to take _____ listed above.
A. the fourth book B. the third book C. the second book D. the first book
2.The underlined word“others”in Paragraph 3 may include______.
A. traffic accidents B.floods C. pollution D.explosions
3.It can be learned from one of the books _____.
A. how to repair your digital camera for yourself
B. how to work out the expenses before going to a restaurant
C. how to get the latest information about natural disasters
D. how to learn a lot about historian Alan Brinkley
A team of researchers recently created a robot that can repair itself. The newly designed machine can sense injury to itself and adapt. That ability sets the new robot apart from earlier machines. Because the robot can recover from unexpected damage, it may be especially useful in exploring unfamiliar places. “There is a need for planetary robotic rovers(流浪者) to be able to fix things on their own,” says Josh Bongard, one of the device’s creators. “Robots on other planets must be able to continue their mission without human help if they are damaged and cannot communicate their problem back to Earth.”
A typical robot functions according to a computer program, but the new robot works differently. First, sensors in its four legs observe the robot’s movements and signals to its built-in computer. From the information it collects, the robot creates its own programs that allow it to adapt to different situations. For example, when the researchers shortened one of the robot’s legs, the smart machine simply adjusted its way of walking—it used three legs instead of four.
The researchers are looking for other places to put the resilient(迅速恢复) robot to work. One possible spot is the ocean floor. That dark and dangerous undersea terrain(地带) might be a good choice for a robot the scientists call the Starfish. “We never officially named the robot, but we usually refer to it as the Starfish, even though a real starfish has five rather than four legs,” says Bongard. “Also, a real starfish is much better than our robot at recovering from injury, because it can ac
tually regrow its legs.” Scientists have created robots that help humans in many ways: by exploring space, fighting fires, and even performing surgery.
1. The newly designed robot is different from the former ones because it ___________.
A. can communicat
e with people on the earth about their problems
B. works according to a certain computer program
C. can find problems itself and get used to the new environment
D. can explore unfamiliar places
2. An example is given in the second paragraph in order to explain that the new robot ___________.
A. is used to create new programs B. has typical robot functions
C. has sensors to observe its movements D. can adapt to new conditions
3. What might be the best title of the passage?
A. How does the Starfish Robot work B. Do-It-Yourself Robot Repair
C. Robots Designed to Work On Other Planets D. New Robot Helping Us In Many Ways
4. Which of the following is True about the Starfish?
A. It has more than four legs. B. It hasn’t been officially named.
C. It can regrow its legs quickly. D. It has started to work on the ocean floor.
WASHINGTON Laura Straub is a very worried woman. Her job is to find families for French teenagers who expect to live with American families in the summer.
It’s not easy, even desperate.
“We have many children left to place: 40 out of 75,” said Straub, who works for a Paris based foreign exchange programme called LEC.
When exchange programmes started 50 years ago, more families were willing to help others. For one thing, more mothers stayed home.
But now, increasing numbers of women work outside the home. Exchange student programmes have struggled in recent years to sign up host families for the
30,000 teenagers who come from abroad every year to have some courses for one year in the United States. as well as the thousands more who take part in summer programmes.
School systems in many parts of the US, unhappy about accepting non taxpaying students, have also strictly limited the number of exchange students they accept. At the same time, the idea of hosting foreign students is becoming less 
exotic (异国情调的).
In searching for host families, who usually receive no pay, exchange programmes are increasingly br
oadening their requests to include everyone from young couples to the retired.
“We are open to many different types of families.” said Vickie Weiner, eastern regional director for ASSE, a 25-year-old programme that sends about 30,000 teenagers on one-year exchange programmes worldwide.
For elderly people, exchange students “keep us young——they really do,” said Jean Foster, who is hosting 16-year-old Nina Ports from Denmark.
1.Foreign teenagers come to American families with the purpose of _____.
A. finding their parents in America B. finding good jobs in America
C. learning the culture of America D. enjoying the life of America
2.In the past, Straub’s job was easy, because American families _____.
A. needed more money to live B. had fewer children to support
C. had spare rooms to rent D. were not as busy as now
3.To deal with the problem in recent years, Straub and her workmates have to _____.
A. ask different kinds of families for help B. limit the number of the exchange students
C. borrow much money to pay for the costs D. force some families to accept students
4.From the last paragraph we can conclude that _____.
A. exchange students are welcome in America
B. exchange students must pay much money to the host families
C. American students don’t want to join the exchange programmes
D. old Americans can benefit from hosting exchange students
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