.
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 who 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 changes to the brain.”
51. How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
A. They know it by experimenting on rats. B. Many women say so.
C. Some researchers have told them. D. They know it through their own experience.
52. What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?
A. Old rats. B. Animals. C. Baby rats. D. Grown-up rats.
53. What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
A. Estrogen. B. Taking care of children.
C. More exercise. D. The hormones of pregnancy.
54. “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 are much the same on humans.
B. The experiments on the rats are very important for animals.
C. The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans.
D. The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals.
55. Which title is the best for this passage?
A. Do You Want to Be Smarter? B. An Important Study
C. Mysterious Hormones D. Motherhood Makes Women Smarter
Computer programmer David Jones makes 35,000 pounds a year designing new computer games, yet he cannot find a bank prepared to let him have a credit card (信用卡). Instead, he has been told to wait another two years, until he is 18.
The 16-year-old boy works for a small firm in Liverpool, where the problem of most young people of his age is finding a job. David’s firm puts two new games on the home market each month.
But David’s biggest headache is what to do with his money. In spite of his salary, made by inventing new programs within a quite short period of time, the bonus payments and profit-sharing (奖金和分红), he cannot drive a car, get some money from a bank to buy a house, or get credit cards.
He lives with his parents in their house in Liverpool, where his father is a bus driver. His firm has to pay ￡150 a month in taxi fares to get him the five miles to work and back every day because David cannot drive.
David got his job with the firm a year after leaving school with six 0-levels and working for a time in a computer shop. “I got the job because the people who run the firm knew I had already written some programs,” he said.
“I suppose 35,000 pounds sounds a lot but actually that’s not good enough. I hope it will come to more than that this year.” He spends some of his money on records and clothes, and gives his mother 20 pounds a week. But most of his spare time is spent working.
“Unfortunately, computing was not part of our studies at school,” he said. “But I had been studying it in books and magazines for four years in my spare time. I know what I wanted to do and never considered staying on at school. Most people in this business are fairly young, anyway.”
David added, “I would like to earn a million and I suppose early retirement (退休) is a possibility. You never know when the market might disappear.”
36. Why is David different from other young people of his age?
A. He earns a very high salary.
B. He has not a job.
C. He does not go out much.
D. He lives at home with his parents.
37. David’s greatest problem is ____________.
A. making the banks treat him as a grown-up
B. inventing computer games
C. spending his salary
D. learning to drive
38. He was hired by the firm because ____________.
A. he had worked in a computer shop
B. he had written some computer programs
C. he worked very hard
D. he had learned to use computers at school
39. He left school after taking six 0-levels because ____________.
A. he did not enjoy school
B. he wanted to work with computers and staying at school did not help him
C. he was afraid of getting too old to start computing
D. he wanted to earn a lot of money
40. Why does David think he might retire early?
A. One has to be young to write computer programs.
B. He wants to stop working when he is a millionaire.
C. He thinks computer games might not always sell so well.
D. He thinks his firm might go bad.
Many people go to school for a good education . They learn languages ,history ,maths and other lessons . School education is very important and useful . Yet no one can learn everything from school . No matter how much a teacher knows , he cannot teach his students everything they want to know . His work is to show his students how to learn . He teaches them how to read and how to think . So , much more is to be learned outside school by the students themselves .
It is always more important to know how to study by oneself . It is quite easy to learn something in a language or a formula in maths , but it is difficult to use a formula in finding the answer to a maths problem . Great inventors do not get everything from school but they can invent many things and change the world a lot . Though Thomas Edison invented many things he didn’t have much school education . How do they do all these ? Because they know how to study . A lot of things are not taught in the classroom . They get knowledge from books outside school . They work hard all their lives , and the most important thing is that they know how to use their head .
31. What do many people go to school for ?
A. To make friends B. To get everything
C. To get a good education D. To study by themselves
32. What should a student learn to do from school ?
A. Try to remember more knowledge and formulas .
B. Try to learn how to read and how to think .
C. Try to remember what the teachers teach .
D. Try to invent the world .
33. How can an inventor invent things ? The most important thing is how
to .
A. be a great inventor B. study by himself
C. use his head well D. remember what he’s been taught
34. The word formula in this passage means .
A. 数学题 B. 公式 C. 几何图形 D. 数学用表
35. Which of the following shows the most important idea of this passage ?
A. School education is important for a person .
B. A student can not learn everything from school .
C. A student should learn how to remember a formula .
D. Inventors can invent things and change the world a lot .
E
Many children first learn the value of money by receiving an allowance （pocket money）.The purpose is to let children learn from experiences at an age when financial mistakes are not very costly．
The amount of money that parents give to their children to spend as they wish differs from family to family Timing is another consideration .Some children get a weekly allowance Others get a monthly allowance
In any case，parents should make clear what，if anything，the child is expected to pay for with the money．At first, young children may spend all of their allowance soon after they receive it If they do this they will learn the hard way that spending must be done within a budget．Parents are usually advised not to offer more money until the next allowance．
The object is to show young people that a budget demands a choice between spending and saving Older children may be responsible enough to save money for larger costs，like clothing or electronics．Many people who have written on the subject of allowances say it is not a good idea to pay your child for work around the home .These jobs are a normal part of family life.
Paying children to do extra work around the house，however，can be useful．It can even provide an understanding of how a business works.
Allowances give children a chance to experience the three things they can do with money．They can share it in the form of gifts or giving to a good cause．They can spend it by buying things they want．Or they can save it.
Saving helps children understand that costly goals require sacrifice．You have to cut costs and plan for the future. Requiting children to save part of their allowances can also open the door to future saving and investing. Many banks offer services to help children and teenagers learn about personal finance．
A savings account is an excellent way to learn about the power of compound interest．
Compounding works by paying interest on interest．So，for example，one dollar invested at two percent interest for two years will earn two cents in the first year．The second year，the money will earn two percent of one dollar and two cents，and so on. That may not seem like a lot．But over time it adds up.
71．Giving an allowance，parents should consider all the following EXCEPT________．
A．how much the child should get each time
B．whether the child has made a budget
C．where the money really goes
D．how often a child can get it
72．According to the passage，how can a child learn to have a budget?
A．Through their own experiences．
B．Through parents' instruction．
C．By spending allowance．
D．By receiving allowance．
73．The author of the passage holds the opinion that_________．
A．what children learn by handling allowances may be beneficial in the future
B．children can learn to set up their own business with their allowances.
C．keeping allowances in the bank is the best choice for children
D．it is not a good idea to pay children to do housework at home
74．The underlined words “compound interest” in the passage probably means__________．
A．increasing curiosity to learn how to make more money
B．stronger power to hold one's attention to saving money
C．money paid by the bank on your original money and the gain from it
D．the sum of money that you earn from keeping your money in the bank
75．What is the best title for the passage?
A．Be Generous To Pay Your Children
B．Be Wise To Avoid Financial Mistakes
C．Saving Allowances Does Good To Children
D．Allowances Help Children Learn About Money
D
11-year-old Courtney Thompson was so passionate about gymnastics that she would practice five hours a day until her arms were sore and her elbows swollen．She rarely complained about her tough schedule，and for good reason．Courtney was ranked the best gymnast in the State for her age，and she dreamed of going to the Olympics．But on January 12th，2005，while practicing a routine exercise，she felt an unbearable pain in the left elbow．The medical examination then revealed a severe injury，resulting in an immediate surgery and a slow，painful recovery．
What happened to Courtney Thompson is a red flag in America's growing epidemic of youth sports injuries．Across the country，younger and younger athletes are injuring themselves in the pursuit of sports achievement．The U．S．Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that 2.8 million Americans aged 5 through 24 received medical treatment for a sports-related or recreation-related injury in 2003．Severe injuries that used to be limited to professionals are now showing up in high school and even junior high athletes．
There are many reasons behind the outbreak in sports injuries，hut most experts agree on one：the extreme culture of organized youth sports．Gone are the days when children played a variety of games on playgrounds．Child kidnapping and street crime have ended casual neighborhood athletics in many places，leading parents to enroll their children in organized sports under the watchful， though demanding，eyes of adult volunteers and coaches．And movies like Friday Night Lights glorify the thrill of victory for young athletes with single-minded dedication to athletic achievement.
From high school gyms to county hall fields，41 million children younger than 19 participated in organized youth sports in 2005，according to the latest research by the National Council of Youth Sports. The figure represents a 25 percent increase since 1997．
Parental involvement 1”youth sports has also made childhood games less about having fun and more about training and competing for the top spot．1anding a college scholarship or launching a promising career Hoping to nurture the next Michelle Kwan or Apolo Ohno，some parents guide their children into specializing in one sport But the repetitive training required to master a sport places enormous stresses on hones and muscles that are still developing.
67．The passage is mainly about_________
A．children’s participation in organized sports
B．the main causes of the youth sports injuries
C．the way to train children in organized sports
D．the common occurrence of youth sports injuries
68．The underlined part “Fed flag” in the second paragraph most probably means“_______”．
A．warning B．problem C. symbol D．mark
69．Why is the number of sports injuries among children in America growing?
A．Because of their increasing fondness for sports．
B．Because children are not professional enough fur sports
C．Because more children are seeking for sports achievements．
D．Because of the involvement of the parents and more organized sports
70． We can learn from the passage that __________
A．about 10.25 million youngsters participated in organized sports in 1997
B．parents give limited chances for children to choose their sports
C．serious injuries often happened to young students in the past
D．courtney Thompson will never become a famous gymnast
C
Can you imagine a catfish bigger than a boy? There are more than 1，000 kinds of catfish；28 species are found in the United States' lakes and rivers． This huge family has some mighty strange members. Let's meet a few.
Walking catfish．Nature's feisty little catfish，found in southern Florida，has an extra lung for breathing on dry land. When its swimming hole dries up，the walking catfish waddles on stiff forward fins in search of another lake or stream．If an enemy attacks，the fish flares（展开）its top and front fins and leaps at the attacker to scare it off．
Armored catfish．This catfish has heavy，bony plates protecting its body. The shell makes the fish difficult to bone. To cook it，throw the fish whole into a fire. When it is done，break it open for eating．Some armored catfish are found in Florida，but the 100-pounders live in South America．
Rounding out the family of strange catfish are talking catfish，which make growing sound when you pull them from the water；climbing catfish，which move quickly up shore brush in search of food；electric catfish，which can deliver a mild shock；and blind catfish，which settle in the inky blackness of underwater caves．Blind catfish find food through taste buds in their eight whiskers（须）．
Most catfish have four whiskers on the upper jaw and four on the lower jaw. Sensory holes on these whiskers help the fish smell and taste food even in the muddiest of water．The United States does not have catfish anywhere near the size of those in South America．But in some large U.S，rivers，blue and flathead catties do top 100 pounds．
Most of the catfish you are likely to catch will be much smaller，about frying pan size．When you catch one，remember that the top fins and the forward fins have poison glands（腺）at their bases. They can give you painful wounds （…）
63．The purpose of the passage is to___________．
A．encourage readers to go fishing for catfish
B．inform readers of the world's largest catfish
C．describe the unusual characteristics of catfish
D．explain different ways to catch a variety of catfish
64．The author talks about the way of cooking an armored catfish to show that
A．it has heavy and bony plates B．it's hard to cook and eat
C．it has too many bonesD．it's poisonous inside
65．Which is NOT mentioned about catfish in the passage?
A．Its eating habits． B．Its living conditions．
C．Its whiskers． D．Its size
66．What may be continued in the last paragraph?
A．The author's love for catfish．B．Where else to catch a catfish．
C．The origin of the name “catfish” D．The safest way to handle catfish