If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners. Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.The main subject talked about in this passage is ___________.
| A．science on learning a second language |
| B．man’s ability of learning a second language |
| C．that language learning can help brain power |
| D．language learning and maths study |
The underlined word “bilingual” probably means ____________.
| A．a researcher on language learning |
| B．a second language learner |
| C．a person who can speak two languages |
| D．an active language learner |
We may know from the scientific findings that ____________.
| A．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is |
| B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language |
| C．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain |
| D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time |
In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that ____________.
| A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths |
| B．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects |
| C．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language |
| D．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language |
Food，football and fashion—Milan has it a11．The city is perhaps most famous for its annual Milan Fashion Week and its world-class soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan．And May will see it host the six-month Milan Expo，the theme of which is food and nutrition．
Milan may not the first place tourists think of when they think of Italy．Rome is the most famous city in Italian history，Venice draws visitors who want to travel along its canals and Florence is popular with art lovers．Yet Milan can often be left off tourists’lists．But although some see Milan as the“ugly sister”of these cities，according to Lonely Planet，in 2015 the city is“suddenly back in fashion in a big way”．
The Milan Expo will look at the future of food，trying to answer the question of how Earth’s fast-growing population can be fed in the future．According to Lonely Planet website．“144 countries will set up shop northwest of central Milan，forming a mini city-within-a-city”．
Milan’s famous opera house，La Scala，normally closed in the summer，will also host daily performances during the expo，reported Fox News．
Not interested in opera?Don’t worry．Visitors who prefer sports may want to visit the San Siro stadium，home of the soccer teams AC Milan and Inter Milan．Tile stadium is one of the most famous in Europe and has seen many important games over the years，both in Serie A and the European Champions League．
So even if all of its fashion and beautiful people can make Milan seem“soulless”，as Lonely Planet said．it still has“a serious sense of history and place”．Many people will be discovering it this year，and eating great food from all over the world to help solve world problems．Will you?Which of the following statements is True about Milan?
| A．It is the largest city in Italy and has the longest history． |
| B．It is hosting the world’s largest Fashion Week in 2015． |
| C．Football，fashion and ancient canals are three features of the city． |
| D．The city’s La Scala opera house will offer additional performances in 2015． |
What’s the attitudes of the editors from Lonely Planet towards the city of Milan?
| A．uninterested． | B．modest． |
| C．favorable． | D．dissatisfied． |
In the 2015 Milan Expo，you can ___________．
| A．enjoy food from all over the world |
| B．Watch great football games |
| C．Travel along the canals |
| D．Enjoy great art works |
The author’s purpose in writing this article is to ____________．
| A．give an introduction to Milan as a tourist destination |
| B．inform readers of the theme of the 2015 Milan Expo |
| C．give an objective review of the food culture in Milan |
| D．explain why Milan will be holding the world Expo in 2015 |
When I set out to drop my dad of fat the airport，it was dark and dreary(沉闷的)．It started to rain on the way．When I left the airport，the visibility wasn’t clear because of the drops of rain．It was before 6 am．
Even though the road conditions were poor，I drove at my normal speed．I was angry with the more cautious drivers ahead of me that were delaying my drive．The exit ramp(坡道)to the highway was a tight spiral(急盘旋)．It is a dangerous spot in good weather and totally scary when the weather is miserable or it is dark．But I didn’t want to slow down and arrive home any later than necessary．I drove down the ramp too fast．The road was wet and my car slid，landing face down on the passenger side．
I didn’t like to drive by myself at the time and had debated taking my husband and son with me on the trip．Thankfully，I was alone in the car．My accident was slight．In fact, I was lucky enough not to have a single scratch．I shuddered to think the injuries my son would have suffered had he been in the backseat of that car with no seatbelt when it rolled．After the ear rolled three times，I found my mobile phone was lost in a pile of small things that were all lying in the bottom of the car．A lady was kind enough to let me borrow her mobile phone，but with-out the numbers preprogrammed who could I call? I was lucky enough to remember my father’s mobile phone number，and fortunate that he hadn’t yet got on his plane.
You never know when an accident will happen．As a driver，I will keep safety in mind by obeying all traffic laws and have safe-driving habits，especially in bad weather．Insist your children always wear their seatbehs．Life is a journey and everyone should value it and enjoy the ride．Why was the author angry with those drivers?
| A．She thought they drove too slowly． |
| B．They made much noise on the ramp． |
| C．They didn’t pay attention to the safety． |
| D．They tried to stop her car on the ramp． |
What does the underlined word“shuddered” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．Ensured the safety． |
| B．Remembered clearly． |
| C．Trembled because of fear． |
| D．Took control of the bad situation． |
What is the main reason that resulted in the accident?
| A．The visibility was not clear． |
| B．The author drove rather fast． |
| C．It started to rain heavily then． |
| D．It was an unsafe spot for driving． |
We can learn from this passage that the author _____________．
| A．had just a single scratch |
| B．called her father for help |
| C．felt sorry because her son was injured |
| D．found her mobile phone with the help of a lady |
In order to help customers to find what they want quickly，it’s important to keep the thou- sands of titles in the Main Street Movies store organized properly．This section of the Employee Handbook will tell you how to organize videos．
Each Main Street Movies store has three main sections：
1．New Releases Wall．
2．Film library．
3．Video Games．
New Releases Wall．A1most 70 percent of movie rentals are new releases，and that is the first place where most customers go when they enter the store．The center section of shelves on this wall holds Hottest Hits．When new titles come into the store，place them on this wall in alphabetical order．The shelves beside Hottest Hits are called Recent Releases．The New Releases Wall，including the Hottest Hits and Recent Releases shelves，holds about 350 titles.
Film Library．The thousands of tides in the Film Library are organized into categories. The films within each category are displayed alphabetically．Here are the categories and their two-letter computer codes：
*Foreign Language tides include films that were originally made in a foreign language and films with foreign language subtitles．A sticker on the back of each box tells which type of film it is.
Video Game．All the video games in Main Street Movies are arranged in alphabetical order．Although video games represent only a small percentage of our inventory(库存)，they are stolen more often than any other type of goods in our store．Therefore，video games are never displayed on the shelves. Shelves in the Video Game section hold cardboard with pictures and information about each game．When a customer wants to rent a particular game，you can find the game from the locked case behind the counter．Whom do you think this passage is most probably written for?
| A．The readers in the store． |
| B．The manager of the store． |
| C．The customers in the store． |
| D．The salespersons of the store． |
How can a customer find a film with foreign language subtitles?
| A．Check the computer． |
| B．Cheek the center section． |
| C．Look at the back of the box． |
| D．Watch a few minutes of the film． |
Why can’t video games be seen on the shelves?
| A．Because they’ve been sold out． |
| B．Because they’re in the storehouse． |
| C．Because they’re in a locked case behind the counter． |
| D．Because they represent a small percentage of the inventory． |
BEIJING，Feb．5，2013（Xinhua）－Chinese health authorities on Tuesday launched a campaign to fight against assisted reproductive technology （ART：辅助生育技术）abuse．Unauthorized ART use，surrogate motherhood and the illegal collection and supply of sperm and eggs，as well as the illegal sale and abuse of ovulation induction（诱导排卵） medicine，will be targeted．
The Ministry of Health and health department of the People's Liberation Army General Logistics Department jointly announced the campaign at a conference．Both departments also ordered all of their local branches to suspend permits for new organizations that wish to offer ART treatments．That is，new organizations will not appear recently．Official figures showed that at the end of 2012，China had 358 organizations authorized to conduct ART treatment．
The health ministry also delivered a brief statement of the country's current infertility rate（不孕率） and ART use．The infertility rate in China is now between 7 and 10 percent，the ministry said．Some 70 to 80 percent of women who are suffering from infertility can be pregnant after changing their lifestyles and receiving medical treatment．Around 20 percent of infertile couples have to resort to ART to have babies．In 2011，about 350，000 people received ART treatment and more than 60，000 infertile couples successfully had children with the help of ART，the ministry said．ART abuse DOSEN'T include________．
| A．surrogate motherhood |
| B．unauthorized ART use |
| C．the regular usage of medicine |
| D．the illegal supply of sperm and eggs |
What does the underlined word “suspend” （paragraph 2） probably mean?
| A．Support． | B．Pause． | C．Allow． | D．Ban． |
From the last paragraph we can know________．
| A．Nearly10 percent of couples could not have their own babies |
| B．70 to 80 percent of women could not be pregnant now |
| C．Over 350，000 infertile couples had their babies with the help of ART |
| D．About one fifth of infertile couples have to turn to ART for help |
What's the best title of the passage?
| A．China targets ART abuse |
| B．ART is used in China |
| C．ART is illegal in China |
| D．China increases ART using |
Growing strawberries in pots
·The best way to start growing strawberries is to buy pot-grown strawberry plants in spring：5 plants are plenty for a hanging basket and 10 for the average 13 inch-sized pot．
·Plant them immediately in soil-based compost（混合肥料） and they will produce a modest crop in their first year．The second year should see a bumper（特大的）crop，followed by a slightly lower yield（产量）the third summer．Then start again with fresh stock ．
·Careful watering and feeding are essential If you are to harvest a good crop，you must never let the compost dry out, particularly when the fruit is forming and ripening；if you do．most of your crop will drop off血e bush almost immediately．
·Water well then leave the pots for up to 3 weeks，until they reach the point of drying out be careful not to overwater them during the winter months．
Pruning apple trees
·A one-year-old tree is known as a “maiden”．It has a single stem when purchased．Immediately after planting, cut it back by about half to leave 4 good buds at the base of the stem．This will force growth from the base or the plant during the summer．
·In the second year ,prune in winter by cutting all side branches back by about one-third, Make sure each cut is made cleanly just above an outward-facing bud．In the third and fourth years, new side branches will have emerged from the previous year’s growth．Cut back all these new side branches by a third, pruning to an outward-facing bud．
·By the fifth year the tree should have a well-balanced shape．From then on ,cut back all new branches by one-third in winter．Remove any diseased wood and broken branches, and ensure the centre is open to air circulationThe two pieces of advice probably appear in_________
| A．a scientific repot | B．a gardening guide |
| C．a book review | D．a fashion column |
A good crop of strawberries mainly depends on_________
| A．the size of a pot |
| B．the season of harvesting |
| C．the number of plants in a pot |
| D．careful watering and feeding |
Cutting back all side branches by a third is to__________
| A．remove the diseased and broken branches |
| B．keep the whole tree open to air circulation |
| C．force the apple tree to grow from the base in winter |
| D．help the apple tree to form a well-balanced shape |
The two pieces of advice suggest that planting is closely related to_______
| A．season | B．water | C．compost | D．cutting |
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