A team of US psychologists(心理学家) have found that talking to another person for ten minutes a day helps with memory.
“Socializing(交际) is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual(智力的) performance,” Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, said in a statement.
In one investigation, they analyzed data on 3610 people, aged 24 to 96.
They found that the higher their level of social interaction(交流), the better their cognitive(认知的) functioning. Social interaction includes getting together or having phone chats with relatives, friends and neighbors.
In another experiment, the researchers conducted laboratory tests on 76 college students, aged 18 to 21, to evaluate(评估) how social interactions and intellectual exercises affected the results of memory and mental performance tests.
The students were divided into three groups: the social interaction group had a discussion of a social issue for 10 minutes before taking the tests; the intellectual activities group completed three tasks (including a reading comprehension exercise and a crossword puzzle) before the tests; and a control group(对照组) watched a 10-minute clip(电影片段) of the Seinfeld television show.
“We found that short-term social interaction lasting for just 10 minutes improved participants’ (参与者) intellectual performance as much as engaging in (从事) so-called ‘intellectual’ activities for the same amount of time,” Ybarra said.
The study was expected to be published in the February issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.What does the underlined word “boosting” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．Improving. | B．Reducing. |
| C．Preventing. | D．Training. |
Which is not included in social interaction?
| A．Having a talk with a neighbor. |
| B．Attending a birthday party. |
| C．Watching TV at home alone. |
| D．Calling your classmates. |
What’s the purpose of the experiment on 76 college students?
| A．To judge the effect of social interaction on memory and intelligence. |
| B．To find out what is real social interaction. |
| C．To learn how much time is needed for social interaction. |
| D．To show the function of people's cognition. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Intellectual exercises make your memory better. |
| B．Different people have different ways of communication. |
| C．Communicating with others keeps you healthy. |
| D．Social interaction makes you smart. |
A popular shopping bag has been seen on the arm of some of the world’s most beautiful women. It sells at an official price of ￡5, but as much as ￡400 online. The bag called “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” is made of cotton. It is so “hot” that now everyone wants to get one. It’s fashionable, and it’s green!
Supporters see the bag as a way to move away from throwaway(一次性的) plastic bags that are given away in large numbers by supermarkets every year.
When the bags were first sold, about 500 people waited in line to buy one. So far, 20,000 of the popular bags have been sold at the second largest supermarket in Great Britain. It is one of the ways to encourage shoppers to use the reusable(可再利用的) bags, rather than the plastic ones.
The bag has also become a must-have for many famous people who want to be fashionable, and at the same time care about the environment.
The designer of the bag has been asked to develop the bag by the “We Are What We Do” group. The group believes that each person in Great Britain uses about 167 plastic bags every year. It says that small lifestyle changes can have a strong effect on reducing waste and the environmental pollution. It also says that everyone should try his best to protect the earth from being polluted.We can buy the popular bag at a price of ￡5 __________.
| A．on the Internet |
| B．from the shops all over the world |
| C．at the designer’s home |
| D．at the 2nd largest supermarket in Britain |
According to the passage, the “We Are What We Do” group most probably means ___________.
| A．those who want to do something by themselves |
| B．those who design the new bags |
| C．an organization that protects the environment |
| D．a business that sells bags |
The purpose of designing the popular bags is __________.
| A．to make money |
| B．to help famous people |
| C．to make women fashionable |
| D．to reduce the environmental pollution |
A Nobel Prize is considered by most people one of the highest international honours(荣誉) a person can receive. As you know, the prizes were started by a Swede called Alfred Nobel. He was born in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. Alfred Nobel was a great scientist. He made two important inventions, and so he became very rich. Although he was rich, Nobel was not a happy man. He never married or had children. Also, he was a sick man during his large part of life. When he died at the age of 63, he left a fund of $9,000,000. The money was to be used in giving prizes to those who made great achievements in physics, chemistry(化学), medicine and literature(文学), and for world peace.
The first Nobel Prizes were given on December 10, 1901, five years after Nobel’s death. Since then many famous people from all over the world have been given Nobel Prizes for their achievements.
Each prize has three parts. The first part is a gold medal. Second, a winner of a Nobel Prize is given a certificate saying that he has been given the prize. The third part of the prize is a large amount of money-about $40,000.
Often a prize is given to just one person, but not always. Sometimes a prize is shared. It may be given to two or more people who have worked together. It is also sometimes true that a prize is not given at all if there is no great achievement. In 1972, for example, no Nobel Peace Prize was given.When was Alfred Nobel born?
| A．In 1938. | B．In 1833. | C．In 1896. | D．In 1906.[ |
What kind of person would you say Alfred Nobel was?
| A．He was a rich, happy and lucky man. |
| B．He was a poor, unhappy and unlucky man. |
| C．He was a rich, but unhappy and unlucky man. |
| D．He was a poor, but happy and lucky man. |
When he died, Nobel left a large amount of money ________.
| A．to his wife |
| B．to his children |
| C．for helping the poor people in Sweden |
| D．for setting five prizes |
Starting a stamp collection is easy and not very expensive. Before you start, you need to decide what kind of stamps you want to collect. Most people collect stamps that they are interested in: a certain country or an animal, a famous person or even a sport. Whatever you choose, you will find that there is a world of knowledge in stamps: you will learn about people, geography, building, history and culture.
You can collect stamps from letters, ask your friends to let you have their old stamps, or you can buy used stamps. When you get a letter with a stamp on it, carefully cut out the stamp. Leave lots of space around the stamp so that you will not damage it. Put the stamp in water and wait until you can safely remove the stamp. Carefully remove the stamp off the letter. Place the wet stamp between two clean pieces of paper. A stamp can get wrinkled(褶皱的) when it dries, so put some books on top.What does the writer think of collecting stamps?
| A．Hard | B．Expensive | C．Useful | D．Boring |
What does the underlined work “damage” mean?
| A．损坏 | B．保存 | C．利用 | D．删除 |
What’s the correct order when we try to get a stamp on a letter?
①Remove the stamp off the letter.
②Place the wet stamp between two pieces of paper.
③Cut out the stamp.
④Put the stamp in water.
⑤Put some books on top.
| A．①→②→⑤→③→④ | B．③→④→①→②→⑤ |
| C．④→①→②→⑤→③ | D．③→①→④→②→⑤ |
All students need to have good study habits. When you have good study habits, you learn things quickly. You also remember them easily.
Do you like to study in the living room? This is not a good place because it is usually too noisy. You need to study in a quiet place, like your bedroom. A quiet place will help you only think about one thing, and you will learn better. Before you begin to study, do not forget to clean your desk. A good desk light is important, too. It’s good for your eyes if there is enough light.
根据短文内容，选择最佳的答案。To learn things quickly, you should ____________.
| A．have good study habits | B．study in the living room |
| C．study in the bedroom | D．study with a good desk |
Living room is not a good place to study because_________.
| A．it is too small | B．it is too noisy | C．it is too big | D．it is very quiet |
You’ll learn things quickly if the desk is ___________
| A．high | B．low | C．clean | D．hard |
__________ is important for students to study well.
| A．A high desk | B．A noisy place | C．An expensive chair | D．Enough light |
The best title(题目) of the passage is ___________.
| A．How to learn well | B．Study in a quiet place |
| C．Study with a good desk | D．Good study habits. |
Mrs. Brown had a small garden behind her house and in the spring she planted some vegetables in it. She looked after them very carefully, and when the summer came, they looked very nice. One evening Mrs. Brown looked at her vegetables and said, “Tomorrow I am going to pick them and we can eat them.” But early the next morning, her son ran into the kitchen and shouted, “Mother, mother! Come quickly! Our neighbor’s ducks are in the garden and they are eating our vegetables!” Mrs. Brown ran out, but it was too late. All the vegetables are finished! Mrs. Brown cried, and her neighbor was very sorry, but that was the end of the vegetables. Then a few days before Christmas, the neighbor brought Mrs. Brown a beautiful fat duck. And on it was a piece of paper with the words, “ENJOY YOUR VEGETABLES!”Mrs. Brown had a _________ behind her house.
| A．shed | B．small garden | C．an apple orchard | D．small house |
In _________ she planted some vegetables in the garden.
| A．the summer | B．the winter | C．the autumn | D．the spring |
When _________ came, the vegetables looked very nice.
| A．the summer | B．the winter | C．the autumn | D．the spring |
Early the next __________ her son ran into the kitchen and shouted.
| A．morning | B．afternoon | C．evening | D．night |
One morning __________ were eating vegetables in the garden.
| A．monkeys | B．ducks | C．pigs | D．chickens |
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