If you don’t have a college degree, you’re at greater risk of developing memory problems or even Alzheimer’s (老年痴呆). Education plays a key role in lifelong memory performance and risk for mental disorder, and it's well documented that those with a college degree possess a cognitive（认知的） advantage over their less educated counterparts in middle and old age.
Now, a large national study from Brandeis University published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry shows that those with less schooling can significantly make up for poorer education by frequently engaging in mental exercises such as word games, puzzles, reading, and lectures.
“The lifelong benefits of higher education for memory in later life are quite impressive, but we do not clearly understand how and why these effects last so long,” said lead author Margie Lachman, a psychologist. She suggested that higher education may encourage lifelong interest in cognitive efforts, while those with less education may not engage as frequently in mental exercises that help keep the memory agile (敏捷地).
But education early in adulthood does not appear to be the only route to maintain your memory. The study found that intellectual activities undertaken regularly made a difference. “Among individuals with low education, those who are engaged in reading, writing, attending lectures, doing word games or puzzles once a week or more had memory scores similar to people with more education,” said Lachman.
The study, called Midlife in the United States, assessed 3,343 men and women between the ages of 32 and 84 with a mean age of 56 years. Almost 40 percent of the participants had at least a 4-year college degree. The researchers evaluated how the participants performed in two cognitive areas, verbal memory and executive function --- brain processes involved in planning, abstract thinking and cognitive flexibility. Participants were given a battery of tests, including tests of verbal fluency, word recall, and backward counting.
As expected, those with higher education said they engaged in cognitive activities more often and also did better on the memory tests, but some with lower education also did well, explained Lachman.
“The findings are promising because they suggest there may be ways to level the playing field for those with lower educational achievement, and protect those at greatest risk for memory declines,” said Lachman. “Although we can not rule out the possibility that those who have better memories are the ones who take on more activities, the evidence is consistent with cognitive plasticity (可塑性), and suggests some degree of personal control over cognitive functioning in adulthood by adopting an intellectually active lifestyle.”
57. What is the text mainly about?
A. Higher education has a better cognitive advantage.
B. Better memories result from college degree.
C. Cognitive activity does a mind good.
D. Poor education has more risk of memory declines.
58. According to the result of Margie Lachman’s study, we can conclude that ________.
A. education is responsible for the lifelong memory performance and risk for mental disorder
B. education early in adulthood can be the only route to maintain your memory
C. those with higher education did better on the memory tests than those with lower education
D. an intellectually active lifestyle does help to maintain your memory
59. What do we know about the study called Midlife?
A. Participants each were given a battery to test their memory.
B. The average age of the participants are 56 years old.
C. Participants had to perform in one of the two cognitive areas.
D. One in four of the participants had a 4-year college degree.
60. Why are the findings of the Lachman’s study promising?
A. The lower educated may have the same opportunities to keep up memory.
B. We may have ways to cure the people who have memory declines.
C. Adopting a different lifestyle can control over cognitive functioning.
D. We can find out the possibility to have better memories.
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 Zones2,3 and 4 of the transport system. Most hosts do not live in the town center as much of central London is commercial and not residential（居住的）.Zones3 and 4often offer larger accommodation in a less crowed 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. What can be inferred from Paragraph3?
| A．Zone 4 is more crowded than Zone 2. |
| B．Hosts dislike travelling to the city centre. |
| C．The business centre of London is in Zone1. |
| D．Accommodation in the city center is not provided. |
According to the passage, what does Continental Breakfast include?
| A．Dessert and coffee. |
| B．Bread and fruit juice. |
| C．Fruit and vegetables. |
| D．Centre 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 enjoy much more freedom. |
| D．To entertain friends as they like. |
When I was seven my father gave me a Timex, my first watch. I loved it, wore it for years, and haven’t had another one since it stopped ticking a decade ago. Why? Because I don’t need one. I have a mobile phone and I’m always near someone with an iPod or something like that. All these devices（装置）tell the time—which is why, if you look around, you’ll see lots of empty wrists; sales of watches to young adults have been going down since 2007.
But while the wise have realized that they don’t need them, others—apparently including some distinguished men of our time—are spending total fortunes on them. Brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe and Breitling command shocking prices, up to £250.000 for a piece.
This is ridiculous. Expensive cars go faster than cheap cars. Expensive clothes hang better than cheap clothes. But these days all watches tell the time as well as all other watches. Expensive watches come with extra functions—but who needs them? How often do you dive to 300 metres into the sea or need to find your direction in the area around the South Pole? So why pay that much of five years’ school fees for watches that allow you to do these things?
If justice were done, the Swiss watch industry should have closed down when the Japanese discovered how to make accurate watches for a five-pound note. Instead the Swiss reinvented the watch, with the aid of millions of pounds’ worth of advertising, as a message about the man wearing it. Rolexes are for those who spend their weekends climbing icy mountains; a Patek Philippe is for one from a rich or noble family; a Breitling suggests you like to pilot planes across the world.
Watches are now classified as“investments”(投资). A 1994 Philippe recently sold for nearly £350, 000, while 1960s Rolexes have gone from £15, 000 to £30, 000 plus in a year. But a watch is not an investment. It's a toy for self-satisfaction, a matter of fashion. Prices may keep going up—they’ve been rising for 15 years. But when fashion moves on, the owner of that £350, 000 beauty will suddenly find his pride and joy is no more a good investment than my childhood Timex.It seems ridiculous to the writer that_______________.
| A．people dive 300 metres into the sea |
| B．expensive clothes sell better than cheap ones |
| C．cheap cars don’t run as fast as expensive ones |
| D．expensive watches with unnecessary functions still sell |
What can be learnt about Swiss watch industry from the passage?
| A．It’s hard for the industry to beat its competitors. |
| B．It targets rich people as its potential customers. |
| C．It wastes a huge amount of money in advertising. |
| D．It’s easy for the industry to reinvent cheap watches. |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Watches? Not for Me! |
| B．My Childhood Timex |
| C．Timex or Rolex? |
| D．Watches—a Valuable Collection |
As soon as you meet, or even see, a person, you form an impression of him based on his posture, gesture and facial expressions. This is why it is important to make a good first impression on the person who will be interviewing you. Within the first 60 seconds of meeting you, the interviewer will have formed an impression about what type of person you are and what kind of employee you would become, and 55% of this will be based only on your body language. Here are some tips to make you that impression a good one.
First of all, relax. Think positive thoughts and you are more likely to come across as a positive, confident person during the interview. Dress smartly, as your appearance is one of the first things an interviewer will notice you. Stand up straight, and walk in with your shoulders back and your head up. Try to avoid slowing down as you walk into the room because this suggests fear and uncertainty. Shake hands with the interviewer firmly. You should have a positive handshake and a warm smile. Open your coat or jacket as you sit down shows that you, too, are open.
Posture is important. You should be sitting well back in your seat. Sit up straight and lean forward slightly, but not too much. Sitting at too much of an angel expresses discomfort and distrust. Two of the most common defensive(防卫的) signals are crossing your arms and legs, so try to avoid them.
Another important issue is eye contact. Looking someone in the eye shows confidence in yourself and trust in the other person. However, don’t overdo it, as too much eye contact or starring will make the other person uncomfortable. Use more eye contact when listening than when talking, and when you look away, look down. Looking up at the ceiling will make you seem bored and rude.The purpose of the first impression is to tell readers __________.
| A．what a good first impression is |
| B．how to make a good first impression |
| C．how long it takes to make a first impression |
| D．the importance of making a good first impression |
Which of the following does the author advise you to do when you are being interviewed?
| A．Cross your arms or legs |
| B．Open your coat or jacket when sitting down |
| C．Go into the room more slowly than usual |
| D．Avoid looking at the eyes of the interviewer directly |
If you lean forward too much, it means __________.
| A．you are very bored |
| B．you are too nervous |
| C．you don’t have confidence |
| D．you don’t trust others |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How to use body language to win an interview |
| B．How to answer questions in an interview |
| C．How to understand body language |
| D．How to deal with an interviewer |
My husband, Micheal, and I were at a restaurant with his boss, a rather stern(严厉的) elderly man. When Micheal began a story I was sure he had told before, I gave him a kick under the table. There was no response, so I gave him another kick. Still the story went on. Suddenly he stopped and said with a smile, “Oh, but I’ve told you this one before, haven’t I ?” We all chuckled and changed the subject.
Later, on the dance floor, I asked my husband why it had taken him so long to get my message. “What do you mean?” he replied. “I cut off the story as soon as you kicked me.”
“But I kicked you twice, and it still took you a while to stop!”
Suddenly we realized what had happened and returned to our table. The boss smiled and said, “Don’t worry. After the second one I thought it wasn’t for me, so I passed it along!”The writer kicked her husband because __________.
| A．she didn’t like him |
| B．she didn’t like stories |
| C．he was telling a story he had told before |
| D．the story he told was not interesting |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Micheal was kicked three times. |
| B．Micheal kicked the boss. |
| C．The boss was kicked twice |
| D．The boss kicked the author. |
They all chuckled because __________.
| A．they kicked each other |
| B．they changed the subject in the end |
| C．they were all satisfied with the dinner |
| D．they all thought each of them had done something interesting |
It took Micheal so long to stop his story because __________.
| A．he wanted to finish the whole story |
| B．he got a kick only after a long while |
| C．he didn’t understand at once why he was kicked |
| D．the two kicks given were not heavy enough |
Johann Gutenberg, who worked as a goldsmith(金匠)，took what has already been discovered, and created a small invention that changed history. He created a machine that allowed him to move small blocks of letters in such a way that written material could be printed and mass-produced. Few people could read before Johann Gutenberg made the invention, but once books became less expensive, more Europeans could read and write.
Block printing existed long before Gutenberg. The Chinese had been using wood blocks to print books as early as 868, but a new set of woodcuts(木刻印版) had to be made for each book. Producing one book was not easy; producing all kinds of books was more difficult.
Writing ink dates from about 2500 BC in Egypt and China. Johann Gutenberg use an oil-base printing ink that would last longer than other inks used in his time. We don’t know much about Gutenberg because he was not famous during his lifetime. He was born in Germany about 1400. In 1448, Gutenberg developed signatures for each number, letter, and punctuation mark(标点符号). He then built the molds (模型) to hold the signatures in place. Johann Gutenberg published the first mass-produced book: a 1,282 page Bible. To this day, more copies of the Bible have been printed the any other book.
Copies of Gutenberg’s invention spread throughout Europe, but the German goldsmith did not get rich from his invention. Some officials denounced the invention of printing because they feared that it would spread bad ideas. By 1500 there 1,700 printing presses in Europe. The presses had already produced about 20 million volumes of 40,000 different books.What happened after Johann Gutenberg’s invention?
| A．People could afford to read books. |
| B．People became interested in inventing. |
| C．It was still difficult to print all kinds of books. |
| D．Punctuation mark began to be used in printing. |
Compared with block printing in China, Johann Gutenberg’s method __________.
| A．was difficult to run. | B．needed harder paper |
| C．used a new kind of ink | D．was put into use earlier |
The underlined word “denounced” in the paragraph means __________.
| A．fought against | B．accepted | C．laughed at | D．supported |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A famous 1,282 page Bible |
| B．The life of a famous inventor |
| C．An invention that changed history |
| D．The development of printing |