Many people think of the brain as a mystery.They don’t know much about intelligence and how it works. When they do think about what intelligence is，many people believe that a person is born smart，average，or dumb—and stays that way in the whole life.But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it.And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
Everyone knows that when you lift weights，your muscles get bigger and you get stronger.A person who can’t lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time.That’s because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise.And when you stop exercising，the muscles shrink and you get weaker.That’s why people say “Use it or lose it！”
But most people don’t know that when they practice and learn new things，parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise.Inside the cortex (皮层) of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells，called neurons.The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network.Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems.When you learn new things，these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger.The more you challenge your mind to learn，the more your brain cells grow.Then，things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do—like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra (代数)—seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time.The result is a stronger，smarter brain.
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals’ brains.They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more “perspicacious”—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.According to the first paragraph，________.
| A．the function of our brain is like that of the muscle |
| B．until now it’s impossible to explain the brain’s mystery |
| C．many people believe one’s intelligence is naturally determined |
| D．one’s brain grows stronger as the age increases |
Training muscles is compared to________.
| A．using the brain |
| B．connecting things in your brain |
| C．lifting weights |
| D．doing research about the brain |
What does the underlined word “perspicacious” in the last paragraph probably mean?
| A．Strong. | B．Smart. |
| C．Popular. | D．Active. |
The following paragraph will most probably talk about________.
| A．the differences between animals’ brains and humans’ brains |
| B．the relation between human brains and muscles |
| C．scientists’ findings about animals’ brains |
| D．how to make your brain smarter through selfdevelopment |
第三部分阅读理解(共20小题；每小题2分．满分40分)
阅读下列短文。从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡
上将该项涂黑。 ，
On an—airplane，a spacecraft or a man-made satellite，there is usually an installad device called the“biack box ”Made of a special kind of material．it would remain unbroken，even if the entire craft were blown to pieces．The box records some important data,which provide clues as to what changes had occurred before the real thing came along and help to discover the causes of the
disaster．
The black box．Therefore, becomes the last piece of evidence left.More often,it reveal a Schocking fact that many aircrafts met their disasters only beeanse of a simple but fatal mistake
Some hadn’t been supplied with sufficient fuel；others crashed due to a bird flying in their paths.In many cases。the pilot had been tired．In 1986，the famous US space siadttle Challenger exploded
soon after launch, because a screw on it was a bit loose!
An idea thus occurs to me：if a human being was equipped with a similar device,tracking all
the subtle inner Changes that had taken place over time，the results could astonish the world
Newspapers carry no few sueh stories from day to day－cases of graft or bribe-taking(行贿或受贿)，how—innocent maIl was robbed and killed,and so on．A fatal error,committed by a criminal at a particuiar point in his life，may have arisen from a small quarrei or
out of envy．The number of those who were bom evil and deliberately sent themselvas to the“gallows(绞架)”is in fact extremely small．The disappointment towards the last moment of their life is no different from a struggl against an aircraft crash！
Behave properl in small matters and take best care of the soul---this，I’insist,is the message
from that mysterious box planted deep inside human souls
56．The underlianed phrese”a similar device” in Paragraph 3 refers to
A ；the mysterious box inside human souls． B．the causes of the disasters；
C. The fatal mistake of space shuttles． D．the function of the black box.
57．The underlined phrase“a similar device”in Paragraph 3refers to
A：a useful device B.a black box
C. an installed device D．an important instrument
58．According to the text,which ofthe following is NOT true?
A Most ofus were bom kind，but those evil by nature are not in small numbers．
B．Many crashes should have been avoided ifpilots had been careful.
C．Some small errors can even cause a long-lasting regret．
D．~’Even ifthe plane blows up，the black box can still function·.
59．The best title for the text is
A．The Black Box B．The Black Box and Disasters
C． The Black Box ofthe Soul D．The Black Box and Humans
60．The purpose of the author is to
A． warn us of our safety B．tell us to treat others kindly
C． how us his concerns D．remind us of taking good care of our soul
Do you know about a series of books that say they are“for dummies”?These American self-help books have been translated into more than thirty-nine languages including Chinese，Arabic，Russian，French，German，Greek and Spanish．
“Dummy”is a word for a stupid person．The dummies books are not really for stupid people．
They are designed to show people how to do something they may never have tried before，like painting a house or learning a language．The books all say in a funny way that they are for dummies，such as World History for Dummies，Rabbits for Dummies，Chinese Cooking for Dummies，and Wedding Planning for Dummies．The first such book，DOS for Dummies，was published in 1991．It helped people learn how to use the DOS operating system for computers．Since then，more than one hundred fifty million dummies books have been sold．
The dummies．com website explains the idea behind the books．It says that they show that people can be taught to do anything．First they can make fun of ideas that are difficult to understand．Then they show how the information can be interesting and easy．The publishers（出版商）say that the books do not provide more information than necessary．They give readers just enough information to do what they want．They say that the dummies books give the best and easiest way to do something．And the books use simple and easy language．
There are more than one thousand different dnmmies books．A report in New York Times says that the top-selling dummies books are those that explain technology and personal finance（财经）．
The publishers say that the best-selling dummies books are those providing information many people need—like information about diseases，education and cooking．People interested in opera，car repair and wine can also find dummies books to help them．And there are even more dummies books to come．The publishers say that they publish about two hundred new dummies books every year．
71．Which of the following can be the best title of the passage?
A．Self-Help Books B．The Easiest，the Best
C．Books for Dummies D．New Ideas Behind the Books
72．According to the dnmmies．com website，with the help of dummies books people can_____．
A．simplify some personal things B．do anything they want
C．become expert in any field D．learn any foreign language
73．The dummies books have been popular because__________．
A．they provide just what is needed and are easy to understand
B．they provide much information on the related subject
C．people can learn to do anything with just one copy
D．people can save lots of money through self-teaching
74．According to New York Time，we know the books selling best are the ones on________．
A．cooking and world history B．opera and car repairing
C．diseases and education D．technology and personal finance
75．What can we learn from the passage?
A．The first dummies book was on Chinese cooking．
B．The dummies books will continll6 to be popular．
C．Fifty million different dummies books have been published．
D．The simple language was intended for child readers．
A mosquito is an insect that is found all over the world．There are thousands of different kinds of mosquitoes in many different sizes and colors．The female mosquito needs blood from vertebrates （animals that have a spine）to lay eggs and produce more mosquitoes．She has a special part of her mouth that she uses to suck blood，and her saliva（spit）thins the blood so she can drink it．In fact．it’s the mosquito’s saliva that makes the bites itch（痒）!
A person who gets bitten by a mosquito will notice a wheal，which is a bump around the bite．
The wheal will be round，with pink or red around the edge and white in the middle．The wheal will
itch a lot．Soon the wheal will disappear．but the itch will stay．
If you’ve been bitten by a mosquito，wash the bite with soap and water．Put on some calamine lotion to help stop the itching，or an adult can find an anti-itch cream at the drugstore for you．Placing an ice pack on the bite may also help．Tell all adult you’ve been bitten by a mosquito，especially if you live in the eastern United States．But if you develop an allergic reaction and feel dizzy or sick，tell a doctor immediately．He can treat allergic reactions with sole medicine．
The best way to avoid mosquito bites is to wear an insect repellent．Repellents that include one of these ingredients are best：BEET and lemon eucalyptus．Ask a parent to help you apply them．
Since mosquitoes lay their eggs in water，it’s also a good idea to empty out buckets，flower pots，toys and other things in your yard that may have collected water during a rainstorm．And when it’s possible，you’d better wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants to keep mosquitoes away from your skin．
64．What makes you itch after the mosquitoes’bites?
A．A bump around the bite． B．The mosquito’s saliva．
C．Some calamine lotion． D．An antic-itch cream．
65．The underlined word“wheal”（Paragraph 2）is closest in meaning to________．
A．a small mouth that can prevent an insect
B．a smallmark after an insect bite that usually itches
C．an illness after an insect bite that always spreads nearby
D．an illness from mosquitoes’bites and other pollution diseases
66．Which of the following is TRUE according to this passage?
A．There are thousands of mosquitoes in the same sizes and colors．
B．The wheal will never disappear forever but the itch will disappear soon．
C．Ask a doctor for some medicine if you develop an allergic reaction for the bite．
D．Ask a parent for an insect repellent if you see mosquitoes laying their eggs in water．
If a person tells you that something is“the real McCoy”，he is telling you it is the real thins，not a copy or replacement．There is nothing false about“the real McCoy”．It is the best that can be
found．
There are different ideas on how the expression came into common use．Perhaps the most popular story is about a famous boxer，Charles Kid McCoy，a one-time world famous welter-weigh champion．One day，McCoy was having a drink in a bar with a lady friend．A man came up and began to talk to her．He was not a nice man．
McCoy wanted no trouble．He asked the man to leave．He said．“I'm Kid McCoy．”McCoy
thought his name was so well-known that he didn’t need to say more．But the man did not believe
him．“Oh，yeah?”he said．“Well，if you are Kid McCoy，then I am George Washington!”And he continued to speak to the prize-fighter’s friend in all unpleasant way．
McCoy hit the man with a fist－not hard－actually it was really a light touch．But the man fell to the ground，unconscious．Ten minutes later，when he came to sense，he called out。“That was the real McCoy!”And so，as told by kid McCoy，that was how the expression“the real McCoy”got statted．
There are other versions，however．One is that the expression goes back to the days of prohibition（禁止）when it was illegal in the United States to sell whiskey．Although whiskey was against the law，many sold it．And many sold bad whiskey．They were not afraid to do so，because there was so little that anybody could do about it．Buying whiskey，good or had，was as illegal as selling it．
But there was one whiskey dealer who was honest．His name was McCoy．He refused to sell bad whiskey．He sold only the best imported whiskey．His product became recognized as the best．It was called“the real McCoy”．
The expression survived prohibition days and soon became a general term．One way or another，no matter how the expression began，“the real McCoy”is an expression that everyone understands．It means the one and only—the best one．They are indeed words of special praise．
67．What is the main idea of the first paragraph?
A．It is about the exact meaning of the version．
B．It tells how a person gets his name．
C．It shows how to tell the real from the false．
D．It explains how to find the best．
68．In the third paragraph，“the prize-fighter”refers to______．
A．a champion B．George Washington
C．a fellow D．McCoy
69．Which of the following is TRUE about the days prohibition?
A．A national law forbade the sale of alcoholic drinks．
B．Bad whiskey was not allowed to sell．
C．People at that time preferred nothing but whiskey．
D．The days of prohibition resulted in MeCoy’s selling wine．
70．What is the main idea of the whole passage?
A．The story of a famous boxer．
B．The general use ofthe version．
C．The expression and its story．
D．The friendship between an athlete and a seller．
As we approach the 21st century，it is clearer than ever that science and technology are changging the way we live and work．The breakthroughs in bioengineering science are helping to reveal the mysteries of life，holding out new hope for lifesaving cures to some of our most dreaded diseases．
In 1997，the great news shocked the whole world that the British scientists created a lamb, named Dolly from a single cell．Miraculously，the cell had been taken from the under of an adult sheep，which marks the first time an adult animal had been successfully cloned．
But it soon caused worldwide concern over its ethical，social，and scientific implications．Cloning is especially controversial because it raises the prospect of“making”humans genetically idenfical to an existing man or woman．Some people claim attempting to use these cloning techniques to actually clone a human being is untested and unsafe and morally unacceptable．
How to look upon this new technique?When it comes to a discovery like cloning,we must move with caution，care and deep concern about the impact of our actions．First，cloning should be greatly esteemed and great thanks should be given to its inventors．Meanwhile，great efforts should be made to place this technique under strict control．Especially we should adopt a document against human cloning since past experience tells us a new invention may cause troubles if it is misused．
60．What are changing the way we live and work?
A．Cloning． B．Life saving．
C．Science and technology． D．The mysteries of life．
61．Some people claim attempting to use these cloning techniques to actually clone a human being is ___________.
A．untested B．unsafe
C．morally unacceptable D．above of all
62．How should we look upon cloning?
A．Cloning is terrible．
B．Cloning must be moved with caution，care．
C．Cloning will cause troubles．
D．Cloning is a disease．
63．According to the passage，what should be given to cloning’s inventors?
A．Strict control． B．Great thanks． C．Care． D．Caution．
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