Did you know that women’s brains are smaller than men’s? The average women’s brain weighs 10% less than men’s.Since research has shown that the bigger the brain, the cleverer the animal, men must be more intelligent(聪明的) than women.Right? Wrong.Men and women always score similarly on intelligence tests, despite the difference in brain size.Why? After years of study, researchers have concluded that it’s what’s inside that matters, not just the size of the brain.The brain consists of “grey matter” and “white matter”.While men have more of the latter, the amount of “thinking” brain is almost exactly the same in both sexes.
It has been suggested that smaller brain appears to work faster, perhaps because the two sides of the brain are better connected in women.This means that little girls tend to learn to speak earlier, and that women can understand sorts of information from different sources at the same time.When it comes to talking to the boss on the phone, cooking dinner and keeping an eye on the baby all at the same time, it’s women who come out on top every time.
There are other important differences between two sexes.As white matter is the key to spatial(空间的) tasks, men know better where things are in relation to other things.“A great footballer always knows where he is in relation to the other players, and he knows where to go,” says one researcher.That may explain one of life’s great mysteries: why men refuse to ask for directions…and women often need to!
The differences begin when fetuses(胎儿) are about nine weeks old, which can be seen in the action of children as young as one.A boy would try to climb a barrier (障碍物) before him or push it down while a girl would attract help from others.These brain differences also explain the fact that more men take up jobs that require good spatial skills, while more women speech skills.It may all go back to our ancestors(祖先), among whom women needed speech skills to take care of their babies and men needed spatial skills to hunt, according to one research.
If all this disappoints you, it shouldn’t.“The brain changes throughout our lives according to what we do with it.” says a biologist.The passage mainly tells us ________.
| A.the difference between men’s and women’s brains |
| B.the changes in brain throughout our lives |
| C.that men are better at spatial tasks |
| D.that brain differences are related to our ancestors |
Which of the following is true according to the first paragraph?
| A.Women’s brain is 10% less than men’s |
| B.Grey matter plays the same role as white matter.k.s.5.u |
| C.Grey matter controls thinking in the brain. |
| D.Both sexes have the same amount of white matter. |
What can we infer from the second and third paragraphs?
| A.Women prefer doing many things at a time. |
| B.Men do better dealing with one job at a time. |
| C.Women do not need to tell directions. |
| D.Men have weaker spatial abilities. |
What is the writer’s attitude in writing this passage?
| A.Defensive. | B.Persuasive. | C.Supportive. | D.Objective. |
Apple Seeds
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News China
Circulation: 1 Year, 12 Issues
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Product Description: News China Magazine is the English edition of China Newsweek. The magazine covers the latest Chinese domestic news in politics, business, society, environment, culture, sports and travels, etc. It is the first comprehensive news magazine for readers interested in China.What do we know about Apple Seeds?
| A.The soft cover enables it to be read and kept long. |
| B.It can be purchased as an award for your children. |
| C.It offers the biggest discount among all the magazines. |
| D.The magazine is going to surprise you for many years. |
Tom wants to beautify his house, so he may choose _________ .
| A.Apple Seeds | B.Better Life | C.Humor Times | D. News China |
What kind of people may buy News China ?
| A.People who have an interest in Personal lifestyle of the Chinese. |
| B.People who have a strong sense of humor and love to laugh. |
| C.People who want to enlarge the knowledge of their kids. |
| D.People who are interested in China’s politics, business and culture. |
Which magazine provides the biggest discount if you buy it for the whole year?
| A.Apple Seeds | B.Better Life | C.Humor Times | D. News China |
Early last Tuesday, six men carrying machine guns, a pistol and a hunting rifle got on a four—car electric “ milk train” at the Dutch town of Assen. Shortly after it left Beilen, ten miles away, the terrorists stopped the train and seized the passenger as hostages. As police and Dutch soldiers ringed the train, another group of terrorists stuck in Amsterdam, forcing their way into the Indonesian consulate and taking 41 more hostages, including 16 children. By week’s end the terrorists had murdered three people aboard the train, and four more had been wounded in the raid on the consulate.
The kidnapping, and the subsequent cold—blooded murders, virtually rocked the Netherlands. While the Cabinet met in emergency sessions, television and radio station paused normal programming in favor of solemn music and news bulletins.
The terrorists were Indonesians from the South Moluccan Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and they were demanding that the Dutch help them gain independence from the Jakarta regime.(雅加达政权)
The twin acts of violence were not the first signs of South Molucca anger. Just before a 1970 visit to the Netherlands by Indonesia’s President Suharto, they attacked the Indonesian embassy in the Hague, killing a Dutch policeman. Last week’s kidnappings are two days before the Dutch Appeals Court was to trial 16 South Moluccan’s who were implicated in a plot last April to kidnap Queen Juliana and other members of the Royal family. They planned to storm the palace at Soestdijk after attacking the gates with an armoured car(装甲车).
The Moluccan headache is a heritage(遗留问题) of the old days of empire. A chain of islands at the eastern of the Indonesian archipelago, the Moluccas were once known as the Spice Islands. When the Netherlands gave up its East Indies colonies in 1949, the Moluccans wanted to set up a South Moluccan Republic, some 12,000 islanders were allowed to settle to the Netherlands. Their number swollen by Dutch—born children now reached 35,000. the young Moluccans here are demanding that the Dutch help them gain independence from the Jakarta regime.Which of the following is not mentioned in the passage?
| A.Dozens of people were seized by the terrorist as hostages. |
| B.The Indonesian consulate was located in Amsterdam. |
| C.The terrorists were Indonesians living in the Netherlands. |
| D.The terrorists all surrendered(投降) to the police and soldiers. |
Why did television and radio stations pause normal programming?
| A.The acts of violence shocked the whole country. |
| B.The terrorists destroyed necessary equipment. |
| C.the Cabinet needed to think quietly. |
| D.Their men were too sad to produce good program. |
The last paragraph __________.
| A.is mainly about the history of Indonesia |
| B.tells us how Indonesia won its independence |
| C.tell us how the Netherlands gave up its rule |
| D.briefly accounts for the acts of violence |
Scotland is a well-developed tourist destination, with tourism generally being responsible for sustaining 200, 000 jobs mainly in the service sector, with tourist spending averaging at £4 bn per year. Tourists from the United Kingdom make up the bulk (主体) of visitors to Scotland. In 2002, for example, UK visitors made 18.5 million visits to Scotland, staying 64.5 million nights and spending £3.7 bn. In contrast, overseas residents made 1.58 million visits to Scotland, staying 15 million nights and spending £806 m. In terms of overseas visitors, those from the United States made up 24% of visits to Scotland, with the United States being the largest source of overseas visitors, and Germany (9%), France (8%), Canada (7%) and Australia (6%), following behind.
Scotland is generally seen as clean, unspoilt destination with beautiful scenery which has a long and complex history, combined with thousands of historic sites and attractions. These include prehistoric stone circles, standing stones and burial chambers, and various Bronze Age, Iron Age and Stone Age remains. There are also many historic castles, houses, and battlegrounds, ruins and museums. Many people are drawn by the culture of Scotland.
The cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are increasingly being seen as a cosmopolitan(全世界的)alternative to Scotland’s countryside, with visitors year round, but the main tourist season is generally from April to October inclusive. In addition to these factors, the national tourist agency, VisitScotland, have deployed a strategy of niche (适当的) marketing, aimed at exploiting, amongst other things, Scotland’s strengths in golf, fishing and food and drink tourism. Another significant, and increasingly popular reason for tourism to Scotland — especially by those from North America— is genealogy, with many visitors coming to Scotland to explore their family and ancestral roots.People from ________ visited Scotland most.
| A.the USA | B.France | C.the UK | D.Germany |
For Chinese students, the best time to visit Scotland is in ________.
| A.the Spring Festival | B.the winter vocation |
| C.the summer vacation | D.any time |
Scotland mainly impresses tourists with its ________.
| A.food and drink |
| B.beautiful scenery with cultural relics |
| C.big cities like Edinburgh |
| D.many North Americans’ family and ancestral roots |
In 2002, visitors from the US made about ________ visits to Scotland.
| A.18.5 m | B.1.58 m | C.4.45 m | D.0.38 m |
Which of the following is true according to the text?
| A.In history, many Scotlanders moved to North America. |
| B.Overseas visitors do not like to stay in Scotland for the night. |
| C.VisitScotland is trying to change people’s impression on Scotland. |
| D.Overseas visitors come to Scotland mainly to explore their family roots. |
The English are often described as unfriendly people who don’t talk to strangers(陌生人)。 But not London taxi drivers. I once asked one cabby to describe his life to me and he didn’t stop talking until I arrived home half an hour later. He told me many interesting stories and this is one of them.“Some strange things happen late at night. The other day I was taking a woman home from a party. She had her little dog with her. When we got to her house, she found that she’d lost her key. So, I waited in the cab with her dog while she climbed in through the window.”
“I waited and waited. After half an hour of ringing the bell I decided to find out what was going on. I tied the dog to a tree and started to climb in through the window. The next thing I knew was that the police came. They thought I was to rob the house! Luckily, the woman came downstairs. She’d gone to sleep and forgotten about me and the dog. I was in such a hurry to get away that I forgot to ask her for the fare.” What does the writer think of the London taxi driver?
| A.They are unfriendly. | B.They like to talk to strangers. | C.They talk too much. | D.They are not English. |
From the passage, we know_________.
| A.the writer is the taxi driver’s friend | B.the writer often travels by taxi |
| C.the writer is a foreigner visiting London | D.the writer lives in London |
What does “cabby” mean?
| A.Taxi. | B.Stranger. | C.Taxi driver. | D.Londoner. |
Why did the taxi driver wait for the woman?
A. Because she had left her dog with him.
B. Because she had not paid him.
C. Because she wanted to go out again.
D. Both A and B. Why do you think the woman didn’t go out of the house again.
| A.Because she didn’t want to pay the taxi driver. |
| B.Because she was so tired that she had forgotten about the taxi driver. |
| C.Because she wanted to keep the taxi driver waiting. |
| D.Because she wanted to go to sleep first. |
When you walk along a street in a big city in the United States, you may see clocks in most stores. Radio announcers give the correct time during the day. People there think that it is important to know the time. Most Americans have watches. They want to do certain things at certain times. They do not want to be late. Not all people all over the world value time. Suppose you visit a certain country in South America. You would find that people living there do not like to rush. If you had an appointment(约会)with someone, he would probably be late. He would not care for arriving on time. In some countries in South America, even the radio programs may not begin right on time, nor do the radio announcers think it important to announce the right time. Many people regard a clock as a machine. It seems to them that a person who does everything on time is controlled(控制)by a machine. They do not want a clock or any machine to have that much power over their lives.There are clocks in most stores in the US cities because ______.
| A.people in the stores want to sell these clocks |
| B.bosses want to make their stores beautiful |
| C.people think it important to know the time |
| D.they needn't wear watches when they are away from home |
The underlined word “rush” in the passage most probably means ______.
| A.“run” | B.“race” |
| C.“hurry” | D.“move” |
If you had an appointment with someone in some place in South America, he might not arrive on time, and this is because ______.
| A.he didn't have a watch with him |
| B.he forgot to have a look at a watch or a clock |
| C.he didn't think it important to arrive on time |
| D.he didn't like an appointment with someone |
In some countries in South America ______.
| A.the radio announcers do think it important to announce the exact time |
| B.the radio programs many start a bit early or late |
| C.many people think a clock has much power |
| D.most people do not want to be controlled by others |
From the passage we can see ______.
A. most Americans like to have an appointment with others
B. radio announcers all over the world give the correct time
C. people in some countries in the South America are very poor