SectionBDirections:Readthefoll-优题课

If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think. This is the research finding of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of out brains are not getting enough exercise, and as a result, we are growing old unnecessarily soon.
Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why quite healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a rather early age, and how the speed of getting old could be slowed down.
With a team of researchers at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain sizes of a thousand people of different ages with different jobs.
Computer technology helped the researchers to get most exact measurements of the sizes of the front and side parts of the brain, which have something to do with thinking and feeling, and decide the human character. As we all know, the back part of the brain, which controls task like eating and breathing, does not contract(萎缩) with age.
Contraction of front and side parts, as cells(细胞) die off, was seen in some people in their thirties, but it was still not found in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.
Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple way to prevent the contraction---using the head.
The findings show that contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country than those in the towns. Those with least possibility, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White-collar workers doing the same work day after day in government offices are, however, as possible to have contracting brains as the farm workers, bus drivers and shop assistants.
The team of doctors wanted to find out ____.

A．at what point people grow live longer.

B．how to make people live longer

C．the size of certain people’s brains.

D．which group of people are the busiest

Their research findings are based on ______.c

A．an examination of farmers in northern Japan

B．using computer technology

C．examining the brain sizes of different people

D．tests given a thousand old people

The doctor’s tests show that ______.

A．our brains contract as we grow older

B．one part of the brain does not contract

C．sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds

D．contraction of the brain begins sooner in people in the country

According to the article, _____ are growing mentally old earlier.

A．engineers

B．office clerks

C．professors

D．researchers

The most possible conclusion of the article is that ____.

A．most of us should take more exercise

B．it’s better to live in the towns

C．the brain contracts if it is not used

D．the more one uses his brain, the sooner he becomes old

In the 1960s, medical researchers Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe developed a checklist of stressful events. They appreciated the tricky point that any major change can be stressful. Bad events like “serious illness of a family member” were high on the list, but so were some helpful life changing events like marriage.
When you take the Holmes Rahe you must remember that the score does not show how you deal with stress -- it only shows how much you have to deal with. And we now know that the way you deal with these events dramatically affects your chances of staying healthy. By the early 1970s, hundreds of similar studies had followed Holmes and Rahe. And millions of Americans who work and live under stress worried over the reports. Somehow the research got boiled down to a memorable message. Women’s magazines ran titles like “Stress causes illness.”
If you want to stay physically and mentally healthy, the articles said, avoid stressful events. But such simplistic advice is impossible to follow. Even if stressful events are dangerous, many -- like the death of loved one--are impossible to avoid. Moreover, any warning to avoid all stressful events is a prescription for staying away from chances as well as trouble. Since any change can be stressful, a person who wanted to be completely free of stress would never marry, have a child, take a new job or move. The idea that all stress makes you sick also takes no notice of a lot of what we know about people. It supposes we're all vulnerable and not active in the face of the difficult situation. But what about human ability and creativity? Many come through periods of stress with more physical and mental strength than they had before. We also know that a long time without change or challenge can lead to boredom and physical and mental pressure.
.
The score of the Holmes Rahe test shows ____ .

A．how you can deal with life changing events

B．how helpful events can change your life

C．how stressful a major event can be

D．how much pressure you are under

.
. Which of the following expressions has the meaning most close to the underlined phrase “got boiled down to” in paragraph two ?

A．was argued about	B．made clear
C．was concentrated on	D．put an end to

.
. The studies on stress in the early 1970s led to ____ .

A．popular avoidance of stressful jobs

B．great fear over the mental disorder

C．a careful research into stress related illnesses

D．widespread worry about its harmful effects

.
Why is “such simplistic advice ”(Line 2, Para.3) impossible to follow?

A．No one can stay on the same job for long.

B．More effective ways have been found to get rid of stressful events.

C．People have to get married some day.

D．You could be missing chances as well.

.
. According to the passage people who have experienced ups and downs may become ____.

A．nervous when faced with difficulties

B．physically and mentally tired

C．more able to deal with difficulties

D．cold toward what happens to them

Unless we spend money to spot and prevent asteroids now，one might crash into Earth and destroy life as we know it，say some scientists.
Asteroids are bigger versions of the meteoroids(流星)that race across the night sky. Most orbit the sun far from Earth and don't threaten us. But there are also thousands whose orbits put them on a collision course with Earth.
Buy $ 50 million worth of new telescopes right now. Then spend $ 10 million a year for the next 25 years to locate most of the space rocks. By the time we spot a fatal one，the scientists say，we'll have a way to change its course.
Some scientists favor pushing asteroids off course with nuclear weapons. But the cost wouldn't be cheap. Is it worth it? Two things experts consider when judging any risk are: 1) How likely the event is; and 2) How bad the consequences if the event occurs. Experts think an asteroid big enough to destroy lots of life might strike Earth once every 500,000 years. Sounds pretty rare-but if one did fall，it would be the end of the world. “If we don't take care of these big asteroids，they'll take care of us,” says one scientist. “It's that simple.”
The cure，though，might be worse than the disease. Do we really want fleets of nuclear weapons sitting around on Earth? “The world has less to fear from doomsday(毁灭性的) rocks than from a great nuclear fleet set against them，” said a New York Times article.
What does the passage say about asteroids and meteoroids?

A．They are heavenly bodies different in composition.

B．They are heavenly bodies similar in nature.

C．There are more asteroids th

an meteoroids.

D．Asteroids are more mysterious than meteoroids.

What do scientists say about the collision of an asteroid with Earth?

A．It is very unlikely but the danger exists.

B．Such a collision might occur once every 25 years.

C．Collisions of smaller asteroids with Earth occur more often than expected.

D．It's still too early to say whether such a collision might occur.

What do people think of the suggestion of using nuclear weapons to alter the course of asteroids?

A．It sounds practical but it may not solve the problem.

B．It may create more problems than it might solve.

C．It is a waste of money because a collision of asteroids with Earth is very unlikely.

D．Further research should be done before it is proved applicable.

We can conclude from the passage that ________ .

A．while pushing asteroids off course nuclear weapons would destroy the world

B．asteroids racing across the night sky are likely to hit Earth in the near future

C．the worry about asteroids can be left to future generations since it is unlikely to happen in our lifetime

D．workable solutions still have to be found to prevent a collision of asteroids with Earth.

Which of the following best describes the author's tone in this passage?

A．Optimistic.

B．Critical.

C．Objective.

D．Subjective.

Young adult filmmakers all hope to show their works in international festivals like Sundance and Toronto. But what about really young filmmakers who aren’t in film school yet and aren’t, strictly speaking, even adults?
They are at the heart of Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival, tomorrow, in a setting any director might envy: Lincoln Center. Complete with “red carpet” interviews and various awards, the festival has much in common with events for more experienced moviemakers, except for the age of the participants: about 8 to 18.
“What’s really exciting is that it’s film for kids by kids,” said Cori Gardner, managing director of Wingspan Arts, a nonprofit organization offering youth arts programs in the New York area. This year the festival will include films not only from Wingspan but also from other city organizations and one from a middle school in Arlington, Virginia. “We want to make this a national event,” Ms. Gardner added.
The nine shorts to be shown range from a Claymation biography of B. B. King to a science fiction adventure set in the year 3005. “A lot of the material is really mature,” Ms. Gardner said, talking about films by the New York City branch of Global Action Project, a media arts and leadership-training group. “The Choice is about the history of a family and Master Anti-Smoker is about the dangers of secondhand smoke. Dream of the Invisibles describes young immigrants’(移民) feelings of both belonging and not belonging in their adopted country.”
The festival will end with an open reception at which other films will be shown. These include a music video and a full-length film whose title is Pressures.
Wingspan Arts Kids Film Festival ______.

A．is organized by a middle school

B．is as famous as the Toronto Festival

C．shows films made by children

D．offers awards to film school students

Which of the following is true of Wingspan Arts?

A．It helps young filmmakers to make money.

B．It provides arts projects for young people.

C．It’s a media arts and leadership-training group.

D．It’s a national organization for young people.

The underlined word “shorts” in Paragraph 4 refers to ______.

A．short trousers

B．short kids

C．short films

D．short stories

Movies to be shown in the festival ______.

A．cover different subjects	B．focus on kids’ life
C．are produced by Global Action Project	D．are directed by Ms. Gardner

At the end of this film festival, there will be ______.

A．various awards

B．“red carpet” interviews

C．an open reception

D．a concert at Lincoln Center

I began working in journalism(新闻工作) when I was eight. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself, and decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
With my load of magazines I headed toward Belleville Avenue. The crowds were there. There were two gas stations on the corner of Belleville and Union. For several hours I made myself highly visible, making sure everyone could see me and the heavy black letters on the bag that said THE SATURDAY EVENING POST. When it was suppertime, I walked back home.
“ How many did you sell, my boy?” my mother asked.
“ None.”
“ Where did you go?”
“ The corner of Belleville and Union Avenues.”
“ What did you do?”
“ Stood on the corner waiting for somebody to buy a Saturday Evening Post.”
“ You just stood there?”
“ Didn’t sell a single one.”
“ My God, Russell!”
Uncle Allen put in, “ Well, I’ve decided to take the Post.” I handed him a copy and he paid me a nickel(五分镍币). It was the first nickel I earned.
Afterwards my mother taught me how to be a salesman. I would have to ring doorbells, address adults with self-confidence(自信), and persuade them by saying that no one, no matter how poor, could afford to be without the Saturday Evening Post in the home.
One day, I told my mother I’d changed my mind. I didn’t want to make a success in the magazine business.
“ If you think you can change your mind like this,” she replied, “ you’ll become a good-for-nothing.” She insisted that, as soon as school was over, I should start ringing doorbells, selling magazines. Whenever I said no, she would scold me.
My mother and I had fought this battle almost as long as I could remember. My mother, dissatisfied with my father’s plain workman’s life, determined that I would not grow up like him and his people. But never did she expect that, forty years later, such a successful journalist as me would go back to her husband’s people for true life and love.
Why did the boy start his job young?