BruceHorowitzwritesinUSATodayt-优题课

Sorry to say , our brains naturally start slowing down at the cruelly young age of 30 . It used to be thought that this couldn’t be helped , but new studies show that people of any age can train their brains to work faster . “ Your brain is a learning machine , ” says University of California scientist Dr . Michael Merzenich . Given the right tools , we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger . All that’s required is the practice designed just for the purpose : a few exercises for the mind .
Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process in which the brain deals with information ( positscience. com ) . Since much of the data we receive comes through speech , the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better speed and accuracy .
Over the course of training , the program starts asking you to distinguish sounds ( between “ dog ”and “ bog ” , for example ) at an increasingly faster speed . It’s a bit like tennis instructor , says Merzenich , hitting balls at you faster and faster to keep you challenged (受到挑战) . You may start out slow, but before long you’re pretty quick .
The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic. If you ask your brain to learn, it will learn . And it may even speed up while in the process.
To keep you brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you : playing table tennis or bridge, doing crossword puzzle , learning a language ….“ When it comes to preventing ageing, you really do ‘ use it or lose it ’ , ” says Barbara Sahakian , professor at Cambridge University .
67. Dr . Merzenich’s training method mainly depends on .
A. speech training B. computer languages
C. the activities on joins in D. the information being dealt with
68. By saying “ the brain at any age is highly plastic ”, the writer probably means the brain can be .
A. used B. mastered C. developed D. researched
69. What can we learn from the text?
A. Practice makes a quick mind.
B. Brain research started ten years ago .
C. Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer.
D. People believed nothing could stop the brain slowing down.
70. Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?
A. The training methods work better for the old.
B. People should use the brain to stop it from ageing.
C. The training of the brain should start at an early age.
D. It’s necessary to take part in as many activities as possible.

How many people have I met who have told me about the book they have been planning to write but have never yet found the time? Far too many .
This is Life , all right , but we do treat it like a rehearsal (排演) and , unhappily ,we do miss so many of its best moments.
We take jobs to stay alive and provide homes for our families always making ourselves believe that this style of life is merely a temporary state of affairs along the road to what we really want to do . Then , at 60 or 65 , we are suddenly presented with a clock and several grandchildren and we look back and realize that all those years waiting for real life to come along were in fact real life.
In America they have a saying much laughed at by the English :“ Have a nice day ”they speak slowly and seriously in their shops , hotels and sandwich bars . I think it is a wonderful phrase , reminding us , in effect , to enjoy the moment : to value this very day .
How often do we say to ourselves , “I’ll take up horse-riding (or golf , or sailing ) as soon as I do get a higher position ,”only to do none of those things when I do get the higher position .
When I first became a reporter I knew a man who gave up a very well paid respectable job at the Daily Telegraph to go and edit a small weekly newspaper . At the time I was astonished by what appeared to me to be his completely abnormal (反常的) mental state . How could anyone turn his back on Fleet Street in central London for a small local area ? I wanted to know .
Now I am a little older and possibly wiser , I see the sense in it . In Fleet Street the man was under continual pressure . He lived in an unattractive London suburb and he spent much of his sitting on Southern Region trains.
60. The first paragraph of the passage tell us that___________________.
A. we always try to find some time to write a book
B. we always make plans but seldom fulfill them
C. we always enjoy many of life’s best moments
D. we always do what we really want to do
61.The underlined phrase “ turn his back on ”( Paragraph 6 ) most probably means______________.
A. leave for B. return to C. give up D. rely on
62. What is probably the best title for the passage ?
A. Provide Homes For Our Family B. Take Up Horse-riding
C. Value This Very Day D. Stay Alive

四、阅读理解（共20小题。每小题2分；满分40分）
第一节阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
In the course of working my ways through school , I took many jobs I would rather forget . But none of these jobs was as dreadful （可怕的）as my job in an apple plant. The work was hard ; the pay was poor ; and, most of all , the working conditions were terrible.
First of all , the job made huge demands on my strength . For ten hours a night , I took boxes that rolled down a metal track and piled them onto a truck . Each box contained twelve heavy bottles of apple juice. I once figured out that I was lifting an average of twelve tons of apple juice every night .
I would not have minded the difficulty of the work so much if the pay had not been so poor. I was paid the lowest wage of that time — two dollars an hour. Because of the low pay , I felt eager to get as much as possible . I usually worked twelve hours a night but did not take home more than $ 100 a week.
But even more than the low pay , what made me unhappy was the working conditions . During work I was limited to two ten—minute breaks and an unpaid half hour for lunch .Most of my time was spent outside loading trucks with those heavy boxes in near-zero-degree temperatures. The steel floors of the trucks were like ice, which made my feet feel like stone. And after the production line shut down at night and most people left , I had to spend two hours alone cleaning the floor.
I stayed on the job for five months , all the while hating the difficulty of the work, the poor money , and the conditions under which I worked . By the time I left , I was determined never to go back there again.
56. Why did the writer have to take many jobs at that time ?
A. To pay for his schooling B. To save for his future
C. To support his family D. To gain some experience
57. The following facts describe the terrible working conditions of the plant EXCEPT_____.
A. loading boxes in the freezing cold B. having limited time for breaks
C. working and studying at the same time D. getting no pay for lunch time
58.What is the subject discussed in the text?
A. The writer’s unhappy school life.
B. The writer’s eagerness to earn money.
C. The writer’s experience as a full-time worker.
D. The writer’s hard work in an apple plant.
59. How is the text organized?
A. Topic — Argument — Explanation
B. Opinion— Discussion — Description
C. Main idea — Comparison —Supporting examples
D. Introduction— Supporting examples — Conclusion

Michael, a typical American, stays home on workday. He plugs into his personal computer terminal in order to connect with the office. After work he puts on his headphones, watches a movie on his home video recorder or plays baseball on the computer. On many days, Michael does not talk to any other human beings, and he does not see any people except the ones on television. Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible. The inventions of modern technology seem to be cutting us off from contact with our fellow human beings.
The world of business is one area which technology is isolating us. Experts say, for example, that many people will soon be able to work at home. With access to a large central computer, employees such as office clerks, insurance agents and accountants could do their jobs at display terminals in their own homes. They would never have to actually see the people they’re dealing with. In addition, the way employees are paid will change. Workers’ salaries will be automatically paid into their band accounts, making paper checks unnecessary. No workers will stand in line to receive their pay or cash their checks. Personal banking will change, too. Customers will deal with machines to put in or take out money from their accounts.
Another area that technology is changing is entertainment. Music, for instance, was once a group experience. People listened to music at concert halls or in small social gatherings. For many people now, however, music is an individual experience. Walking along the street or sitting in their living rooms, they wear headphones to build a wall of music around them. Movie entertainment is changing, too. Movies used to be social events. Now, fewer people are going out to see a movie. Many more are choosing to wait for a film to appear on television or are borrowing videotapes to watch at home. Instead of laughing with others, viewers watch movies in their own living rooms.
46. The sentence,“Michael is imaginary, but his life style is very possible”means _______.
Michael is a person full of imagination and he can make his dreams come true.
Michael is not a real person but the life style does exist.
Michael has ambitions but he can’t make his dreams come true.
Michael is a person full of imagination and his style is common nowadays.
47. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
Clerks will be able to worn play baseball on the computer.
One can listen to music without disturbing others.
One can borrow books from libraries at home.
48. What will the author most probably discuss after the last paragraph?

A．Games and sports.	B．Personal banking.
C．Music and films.	D．International business.

49. What is the main idea of the passage?
We may no longer need to communicate with other human being.
Modern technology seems to be separating human being.
We any no longer need to work in the office.
Modern technology makes it possible for us to work and entertain ourselves at home.