It’s been claimed that playing a musical instrument makes you smarter．
New research suggests that regularly playing a musical instrument changes the shape and power of the brain, and may be used in therapy (疗法) to improve cognitive (认知) skills．
Experts say there is growing evidence that musicians have brains that are structurally and functionally different from those of non-musicians, especially in the areas of the brain used in processing (处理信息)
The parts of the brain that control motor skills, the storage of audio information, hearing and memory become larger and more active when a person learns how to play an instrument and can apparently improve the alertness (警觉) and planning．
Lutz Jancke, a psychologist at the University of Zurich, said, “Leaning to play a musical instrument has great benefits and can increase IQ by seven points in both children and adults．We found that even people over the age of 65, after four or five months of playing an instrument for an hour a week, had strong changes in the brain.” The parts of the brain that control hearing and memory, and the part that controls the hands, among others, all become more active.
“Of course music isn’t the only answer, but I do believe that it should be used in addition to other things.”
Mr．Jancke also said that learning a musical instrument could also make it easier to learn foreign languages and make one more sensitive to understanding the emotions of others．“So not on
ly does this make it easier to pick up other languages and have a better memory of one’s own, we have also seen musicians are able to pick out exactly what others are feeling just by the tones of their voices—sympathy, disappointment, that kind of things.”
He added, “Several studies indeed show that playing music increases memory and language skills, but more research is needed.”
1．What is the passage mainly about?
A．How to use musical instruments.
B．How music affects the brain.
C．How playing music makes people smarter.
D．The development of research into music.
2．Compared wi
th non-musicians, __________.
A．musicians are better at foreign languages
B．musicians are more active in sports
C．musicians have stronger emotions
D．musicians’ brains work differently in proce
ssing
3．Which of the following is NOT a benefit of playing an instrument?
A．It makes it easier for one to pick up foreign languages.
B．It allows one to show his feelings more exactly to others．
C．It gives one a better memory in one’s own language．
D．it makes one understand others’ feelings better．
4．From Luz Jancke we lean that _________．
A．playing an instrument benefits children more than adults
B．playing an instrument has no benefits for people over 65
C．some studies show playing music can increase memory
D．he will do more research into brain development and music
A boy who was nervous on his first day of school climbed onto a third-floor balcony (阳台) and put legs over the side. His mother and teachers tried their best to bring him down, but failed. However, a firefighter who dressed as "Spiderman" succeeded in saving him.
Firefighter David Smith was called in after the 6-year-old’s teachers and mother had failed to get him down from the balcony. "He was asking for his mother, "Smith said. "He was crying, and wouldn’t let any of us get near him." After hearing a conversation between the boy’s mother and his teachers about his love of superheroes , Smith hurried home to get his Spiderman clothes.
"I told him 'Spiderman is here to save you. No one will hurt you now,’" Smith said. "Then I told him to walk slowly toward me. I was really nervous that he might fall if he got too excited and started running." Then the crying boy broke into a smile and walked into the fireman’s arms.
The fictional (虚构的) superhero was created by writer Stan Lee in the early 1960s. It has recently become popular again through a series of movies made about him. In them he is acted by superstar Tobey Maguire, who acted with Kirsten Dunst and James Franco.Which would be the best title for this passage?
| A．Spiderman Is Back | B．"Spiderman" Saved a Boy |
| C．Spiderman Is Popular | D．A Boy’s Love of Spiderman |
Put the following things in the correct order.
a. The fireman dressed as "Spiderman".
b. The mother talked with the boy’s teachers.
c. The boy didn’t let anyone get near him.
d. The boy smiled at the fireman.
| A．c, b, a, d | B．c, b, d, a | C．b, c, a, d | D．b, a, c, d |
How did the fireman succeed in saving the boy?
| A．By showing he had the same interest as the boy. |
| B．By bringing the boy’s mother to his side. |
| C．By dressing up as a superhero. |
| D．By making friends with him. |
What do we learn from the passage?
| A．The boy had been forced to go to school. |
| B．The mother did not love her son. |
| C．Spiderman is a superhero in a series of movies. |
| D．Spiderman became popular again in the 1960s. |
Friends play a very important part in everyone’s life. Friendship usually develops during childhood. New friends are made when you progress through school. Those friends that you make as a student can usually last long. Friends influence (影响) your development, maturity (成熟) and sense of responsibility. A familiar expression is “You can tell a lot about a person by knowing who his friends are.” Friendship is based on common interests. If you like sports, most of your friends are likely to be athletic (竞技的). If you enjoy reading and shopping, most of your friends do the same.
Some people call you their friends for the wrong reasons. These people are not really friends. They are superficial(表面上的) only “friends” on the outside, not the inside where it counts. Superficial friends only want to be your friends if it is to their advantage. True friends are there if you are rich or poor. It is easy to have many so-called “friends” if you are rich. By this time you should be able to separate your friends into the real or the “phoney”.
True friends are most special. They are also difficult to find. You can consider yourself very lucky if you have one true friend. This friend is eager to help you whenever necessary. He or she knows you would do the same for them. A true friend is someone you can talk to about any subject or problem. You and your true friend have good understanding of each other. True friends support you, take your side, and build up your confidence. The first paragraph tells us _____.
| A．how to make a true friend |
| B．we should make friend in our childhood |
| C．what is friendship based on |
| D．friends play a very important part in our life |
Which of the following is TRUE?
| A．What you value above anything is the friendship developing during childhood. |
| B．The friendship developing during your school days will be with you for a long time. |
| C．Only through your friends’ influence will you take the responsibility for your task. |
| D．If you have no music in you, none of your friends will be a music lover. |
“So-called” friends in paragraph 2 refer to _____.
| A．someone who only wants to be your friend when you are successful |
| B．those who want to benefit from you |
| C．the friends who are on the surface only |
| D．all the above |
Which of the following is NOT TRUE?
| A．You should tell true friends from phoneys. |
| B．True friendship is too difficult to find. |
| C．You can share your joys and sorrows with a true friend. |
| D．A true friend will stand by you whatever happens. |
Once there was a piano player in a bar. People came just to hear him play. But one night, a lady asked him to sing a song.
"I don't sing." said the man.
But the lady told the waiter, "I'm tired of listening to the piano. I want the player to sing!"
The waiter shouted across the room, " Hey, friend! If you want to get paid, sing a song!"
So he did. He had never sung in public before. Now he was singing for the very first time! Nobody had ever heard the song Mona Lisa sung so beautifully!
He had talent (天赋）he was sitting on! He may have lived the rest of his life as a no-name piano player in a no-name bar. But once he found, by accident, that he could sing well, he went on working hard and became one of the best-known singers in the US. His name was Nat King Cole.
You, too, have skills and abilities. You may not feel that your talent is great, but it may be better than you think. With hard work, most skills skills can be improved. Besides, you may have no success at all if you just sit on your talent.The lady asked the player to sing a song because .
| A．she had paid him for this | B．she knew him very well |
| C．she wanted to have a change | D．she enjoyed his singsing |
Nat King Cole successed because .
| A．the lady helped him a lot | B．he caught the chance |
| C．he continued to play in the bar | D．he stopped playing the piano |
From the story we know if you have some talent, you should .
| A．hide it and wait | B．ask others or help |
| C．pay no attention to it | D．work hard to improve yourself |
Which could be the best title for the passage?
| A．Sing in the Bar | B．Achieve Success in Life |
| C．Never Lose Heart | D．Find Your Hidden Talent |
Schools and parents in Shenzhen City have been asked to take better care of children’s eyesight as 45 percent of them, were found to be shortsighted. Too much reading, poor lighting and too much TV are blamed. Of the city’s high school graduates who applied to attend college this summer, two-thirds had to have their choices limited because of poor eyesight, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily said.This piece of news was reported by____ .
| A．People’s Daily | B．Shenzhen Special Zone Daily |
| C．school in Shenzhen City | D．parents in Shenzhen City |
The purpose of this passage is to _____ .
| A．criticize children who are shortsighted |
| B．blame parents and schools for children’s being shortsighted |
| C．ask the high school graduates to pay attention to their eyesight |
| D．draw people’s special attention to eye hygiene(卫生) |
Only____ of the children in Shenzhen City have good eyesight.
| A．55 percent | B．less than half | C．45 percent | D．two—thirds |
Because of being shortsighted many school graduates_____ .
| A．weren’t allowed to enter college |
| B．couldn’t graduate from high school |
| C．couldn’t choose to study what they liked best |
| D．lost their limited time |
Boys’ schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (阳刚), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to conform to(符合、顺应) a stereotype（老套）, a US study says.
Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their emotional expressiveness, rather than feeling they had to conform to the“boy code”of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.
The findings of the study go against received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being faded by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can tailor lessons to boys’ learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James, of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have more acute vision learned best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern genre (类型) in which violence and sexism are major themes.” James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to conform to a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “ In mixed schools boys feel forced to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means.” the study reported. The author believes that a single-sex school would ____ .
| A．force boys to hide their emotions to be "real men" |
| B．help to cultivate masculine aggressiveness in boys |
| C．naturally strengthen the traditional image of a man in boys |
| D．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely |
It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys _____ .
| A．behave more responsibly |
| B．grow up more healthily |
| C．perform relatively better |
| D．receive a better education |
What does Tony Little say about the British education system?
| A．It fails more boys than girls academically. |
| B．It focuses more on mixed school education. |
| C．It places more pressure on boys than on girls. |
| D．It fails to give boys the attention they need. |
According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is ______.
| A．boys can focus on their lessons without being disturbed |
| B．teaching can be tailored to suit the characteristics of boys |
| C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in |
| D．teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit |
According to Abigail James’ report, it can be inferred that boys tend to _____________________.
| A．have sharper vision. |
| B．conform to stereotypes. |
| C．enjoy being in charge. |
| D．be violent and sexist. |