In all the world’s cultures, people sing, play instruments, and celebrate with music. It plays such an important role in our lives that all fields focus on its study, including one looking at the biology of music. Experts find that because of the way our brains process music, learning to play an instrument or just listening to music can have a wide range of benefits.
Music education has received a lot of attention. Learning to play an instrument can help children improve math, science, and language skills. One study in Canada tracked children’s IQ scores for nine months, discovering that children who studied music had the biggest test score improvements. The secret may lie in the way reading music and playing notes use several areas of the brain, increasing our ability to learn school subjects. For example, reading notes improves spatial(空间的) reasoning skills, which are helpful in solving math problems like fractions(分数).
Music is also used for medical purposes, such as the treatment of diseases which affect memories. The secret lies in the way the brain processes music. One area near the forehead, the medical prefrontal cortex, connects music with memories stored in two other areas: the amygdale and hippocampus. That’s why an old song can remind you of something that happened years ago. For patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s, listening to music can help unlock buried memories by strengthening musical pathways to memories.
With the evidence of music’s benefits, it’s no wonder some countries make music study a part of their education system. People are recognizing that more than just a form of entertainment, music is also great for the brain.Scientists are studying music because .
| A．music can be used for medical treatment. |
| B．music plays a very important role in our lives |
| C．our brain can process music in different ways |
| D．music education has received a lot of attention |
According to the Canadian study, which children increased IQscores?
| A．Those who already had high IQ scores. |
| B．Those who always played music. |
| C．Those who could not play any instrument. |
| D．Those who studied music for a period of time. |
Which of the following is a kind of disease?
| A．Spatial reasoning. |
| B．Alzheimer’s. |
| C．The amygdale and hippocampus. |
| D．The medial prefrontal cortex. |
Which can be the best title for the text?
| A．Music and health | B．Music and the mind |
| C．Music and the education | D．Music and instruments |
Justin Bieber used to be an ordinary Canadian boy, but his life totally changed in 2008. With his great musical talent, this 17-year-old boy has become a superstar in the music industry.
Justin Bieber was born in Straford, Ontario and was raised by his single mother. Bieber learned to play musical instruments when he was very young. In 2007,he took part in a local singing competition in his hometown, and he did it just for fun. He never took singing lessons before but surprisingly he placed second in the competition. Then,with the help of his mother, he uploaded videos of him singing on a website and they successfully attracted the attention of viewers. His videos got popular through word of mouth and some of them have received up to 10,000,000 views.
Justin Bieber would have never gotten a career in the music business without his videos. Scooter Braun, a former marketing executive of So So Def Recordings, had watched Bieber’s videos and he was impressed by the boy’s talent. Braun then contracted Bieber and he flew the boy into Atlanta 7 months after the first video was posted. Bieber showed his talent in singing as well as his ability in playing musical instruments. He then got a record deal.
In 2009,Justin Bieber released his first single “One Time” while he was recording the debut album（首张专辑）.The single “One Time” tells a story about love. This song had success not only in Canada and the US, but also in the international market. Then he released his debut album “My World 2.0”in 2010 and the song “Baby” became the lead single. This album successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. In June 2010, he started his first world tour in Hartford, Connecticut. One month later, he started recording his second album.Justin Bieber’s career in music began to take off when ________.
| A．he met with Scooter Braun |
| B．he released his debut album |
| C．he won second place in a competition |
| D．his singing videos were uploaded to a website |
It can be infered from the text that Justin Bieber ___________.
| A．owed his success to good luck |
| B．showed a gift for music when he was young |
| C．is the youngest superstar ever in the music industry |
| D．released his debut album with the help of Scooter Braun |
What do we learn about Justin Bieber’s “One Time”according to the text?
| A．It is about love and was released in 2010. |
| B．It attracted the world’s attention after released. |
| C．It successfully entered the Top Ten Charts in seven countries. |
| D．It is the lead single of his debut album “My World 2.0”. |
What is the best title for the text?
| A．Justin Bieber’s journey to success |
| B．Lucky boy-- Justin Bieber |
| C．What made Justin Bieber a singer |
| D．Secrets of Justin Bieber’s success |
The Pacific island nation of Nauru used to be a beautiful place. Now it is an ecological disaster area. Nauru’s heartbreaking story could have one good consequence — other countries might learn from its mistakes.
For thousands of years, Polynesian people lived on the remote island of Nauru, far from western civilization. The first European to arrive was John Fearn in 1798. He was the British captain of the Hunter, a whaling ship. He called the island Pleasant Island.
However, because it was very remote, Nauru had little communication with Europeans at first. The whaling ships and other traders began to visit, bringing guns and alcohol. These elements destroyed the social balance of the twelve family groups on the island. A ten-year civil war started, which reduced the population from 1,400 to 900.
Nauru’s real troubles began in 1899 when a British mining company discovered phosphate (磷酸盐)on the island. In fact, it found that the island of Nauru was nearly all phosphate, which is a very important fertilizer for farming. The company began mining the phosphate.
A phosphate mine is not a hole in the ground; it is a strip mine. When a company strip-mines, it removes the top layer of soil. Then it takes away the material it wants. Strip mining totally destroys the land. Gradually, the lovely island of Nauru started to look like the moon.
In 1968, Nauru became one of the richest countries in the world. Every year the government received millions and millions of dollars for its phosphate.
Unfortunately, the leaders invested the money unwisely and lost millions of dollars. In addition, they used millions more dollars for personal expenses. Soon people realized that they had a terrible problem — their phosphate was running out. Ninety percent of their island was destroyed and they had nothing. By 2000, Nauru was financially ruined. Experts say that it would take approximately $433,600,000 and more than 20 years to repair the island. This will probably never happen. What might be the author’s purpose in writing the text?________.
| A．To seek help for Nauru’s problems. |
| B．To give a warning to other countries |
| C．To show the importance of money |
| D．To tell a heartbreaking story of a war. |
What was Nauru like before the Europeans came? ________.
| A．Rich and powerful | B．Modern and open |
| C．Peaceful and attractive | D．Greedy and aggressive |
The ecological disaster in Nauru resulted from _______.
| A．soil pollution | B．phosphate overmining |
| C．farming activity | D．whale hunting |
Which of the following was a cause of Nauru’s financial problem? ________.
| A．Its leaders misused the money |
| B．It spent too much repairing the island |
| C．Its phosphate mining cost much money |
| D．It lost millions of dollars in the civil war. |
What can we learn about Nauru from the last paragraph?________.
| A．The phosphate mines were destroyed |
| B．The ecological damage is difficult to repair. |
| C．The island was abandoned by the Nauruans |
| D．The leaders will take the experts’ words seriously. |
Homestay provides English language students with the opportunity to speak English outside the classroom and the experience of being part of a British home．
What to Expect
The host will provide accommodation and meals．Rooms will be cleaned and bedcovers changed at least once a week．You will be given the house key and the host is there to offer help and advice as well as to take an interest in your physical and mental health．
Accommodation Zones
Homestays are located in London mainly in Zones 2, 3 and 4 of the transport system．Most hosts do not live in the town centre as much of central London is commercial and not residential（居住的）．Zones 3 and 4 often offer larger accommodation in a less crowned area．It is very convenient to travel in London by underground．
Meal Plans Available
♢ Continental Breakfast
♢ Breakfast and Dinner
♢ Breakfast, Packed Lunch and Dinner
It’s important to note that few English families still provide a traditional cooked breakfast．Your accommodation includes Continental Breakfast which normally consists of fruit juice, cereal（谷物类食品），bread and tea or coffee．Cheese, fruit and cold meat are not normally part of a Continental Breakfast in England．Dinners usually consist of meat or fish with vegetables followed by desert, fruit and coffee．
Friends
If you wish to invite a friend over to visit, you must first ask your host’s permission．You have no right to entertain friends in a family home as some families feel it is an invasion of their privacy．
Self-Catering Accommodation in Private Homes
Accommodation on a room-only basis includes shared kitchen and bathroom facilities and often a main living room．This kind of accommodation offers an independent lifestyle and is more suitable for the long-stay student．However, it does not provide the same family atmosphere as an ordinary homestay and may not benefit those who need to practice English at home quite as much．The passage is probably written for___________．
| A．host willing to receive foreign students |
| B．foreigners hoping to build British culture |
| C．travelers planning to visit families in London |
| D．English learners applying to live in English homes |
Which of the following will the host provide?
| A．Room cleaning． | B．Medical care． |
| C．Free transport． | D．Physical training． |
What can be inferred from Paragraph 3?
| A．Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2． |
| B．The business centre of London is in Zone 1． |
| C．Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre． |
| D．Accommodation in the city centre is not provided． |
According to the passage．What does continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee |
| B．Fruit and vegetables． |
| C．Bread and fruit juice |
| D．Cereal and cold meat． |
Why do some people choose self-catering accommodation?
| A．To experience a warmer family atmosphere． |
| B．To enrich their knowledge of English． |
| C．To entertain friends as they like． |
| D．To enjoy much more freedom． |
Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia（痴呆） in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones（荷尔蒙） , U．S．researchers reported on Thursday．
Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s（早老痴呆症）．University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans．“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy（怀孕） are protecting the brain, including estrogen（雌激素）, which we know has many neuroprotective （保护神经的） effects,” Kinsley said．
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview．“They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes．” Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline．
“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida．
“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain．If you look at female animals that have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young．But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations（改变） to the brain．”How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
| A．Some researchers have told them． |
| B．Many women say so． |
| C．They know it by experimenting on rats． |
| D．They know it through their own experience． |
What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?
| A．Baby rats． | B．Animals． | C．Old rats． | D．Grown-up rats． |
What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
| A．Estrogen． |
| B．The hormones of pregnancy． |
| C．More exercise． |
| D．Taking care of children． |
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals．” What does the sentence suggest?
| A．The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans． |
| B．The experiments on the rats are very important for animals． |
| C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans． |
| D．The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals． |
Which title is the best for this passage?
| A．Do You Want to Be Smarter? |
| B．Motherhood Makes Women Smarter |
| C．Mysterious Hormones |
| D．An Important Study |
How could we possibly think that keeping animals in cages in unnatural environments－mostly for entertainment purposes－is fair and respectful?
Zoo officials say they are concerned about animals．How ever, most zoos remain “collections” of interesting “things” rather than protective habitats （栖息地）．Zoos teach people that it is acceptable to keep animals bored, lonely, and far from their natural bones．
Zoos claim （声称） to educate people and save endangered species（物种）, but visitors leave zoos without having learned anything meaningful about the animals’ natural behavior, intelligence, or beauty．Zoos keep animals in small spaces or cages, and most signs only mention the species’ name, diet, and natural range（分布区）．The animals’ normal behavior is seldom noticed because zoos don’t usually take care of the animals’ natural needs．
The animals are kept together in small spaces, with no privacy and little opportunity for mental and physical exercise．These results in unusual and self-destructive behavior called zoophobia．A worldwide study of zoos found that zoophobia is common among animals kept in small spaces or cages．Another study showed that elephants spend 22 percent of their time making repeated head movements or biting cage bars, and bears spend 30 percent of their time walking back and forth, a sign of unhappiness and pain．
Furthermore, most animals in zoos are not endangered．Captive breeding（圈养繁殖）of endangered big cats, Asian elephants, and other species has not resulted in their being sent back to the wild．Zoos talk a lot about their captive breeding programs because they do not want people to worry about a species dying out．In fact, baby animals also attract a lot of paying customers．Haven’t we seen enough competitions to name baby animals?
Actually, we will save endangered species only if we save their habitats and put an end to the reasons people kill them．Instead of supporting zoos, we should support groups that work to protect animals’ natural habitats．How would the author describe the animals’ life in zoos?
| A．Dangerous． | B．Unhappy． | C．Natural． | D．Easy． |
In the state of zoophobia, animals _________．
| A．remain in cages | B．behave strangely |
| C．attack other animals | D．enjoy moving around |
What does the author try to argue in the passage?
| A．Zoos are not worth the public support． |
| B．Zoos fail in their attempt to save animals． |
| C．Zoos should treat animals as human beings． |
| D．Zoos use animals as a means of entertainment． |
The author tries to persuade readers to accept his argument mainly by _____．
| A．pointing out the faults in what zoos do |
| B．using evidence he has collected at zoos |
| C．questioning the way animals is protected |
| D．discussing the advantages of natural habitats |
Although he argues against zoos, the author would still agree that _______．
| A．zoos have to keep animals in small cages |
| B．most animals in zoos are endangered species |
| C．some endangered animals are reproduced in zoos |
| D．it’s acceptable to keep animals away from their habitats |
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