In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive(认知的) skills didn't get any smarter.
More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week. They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q test before and after the experiment.
Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher than those playing the games.
"If you're (playing these games) because they're fun, that's absolutely fine," said Adrian Owen, the study's lead author. "But if you're expecting (these games) to improve your I.Q., our data suggests this isn't the case," he said during a press briefing on Tuesday.
One maker of brain games said the company's games have been proven to boost brain power.
"Their conclusion would be like saying, 'I cannot run a mile in under 4 minutes and therefore it is impossible to do so," Aldrich said in a statement.
"There is precious little evidence to suggest the skills used in these games transfer to the real world," said Art Kramer, who was not linked to the study and has no ties to any companies that make brain training games.
Instead of playing brain games, Kramer said people would be better off getting some exercise. He said physical activity can spark(激发) new connections between nerves and produce new brain cells. "Fitness changes the building blocks of the brain's structure," he said.. It can be inferred that the online brain games mentioned in the text are_____________.
| A．costly | B．unreliable | C．illegal | D．effective |
. Which of the following statements is true about the experiment in the second paragraph?
| A．The experiment lasted for a week. |
| B．Age didn’t affect the result of the research. |
| C．Every person played online brain games three times a day. |
| D．People who didn’t play online brain games did better in I.Q test |
. What can we learn from the text?
| A．Playing games which are fun can improve your I.Q. |
| B．There is a lot of evidence to suggest skills can transfer to the real world. |
| C．Do physical activity can boost your brain power. |
| D．Playing online games can spark new brain cells |
The underlined sentence suggests that ___________.
| A．The research was not linked to the study |
| B．Those playing the games can score higher in the test |
| C．playing the games can spark new connections between nerves |
| D．This isn’t the case that these games can improve your I.Q. |
MOST recently, my world has been shaken by the death of a teacher at my school. He was Dr Allan Woolley and he was only 52. Suddenly he took his own life, which remains a mystery.
That morning, everyone sensed that something wasn't right. During our lessons, an announcement was made that an assembly (集会) was scheduled for morning break, which was only done in emergencies.
Once morning break came, the entire school gathered in the main hall. As our headmaster marched out to announce the "momentous (重大的) news", it felt like the air around us trembled . Many students broke down in tears, and the reaction afterward was intensely powerful and unifying .
The headmaster said that students were allowed to miss lessons and have a free period to collect themselves if they found the news too distressing (悲伤的). Many students went outside and shared memories of Dr Woolley to control theirselves.
Dr Woolley taught me chemistry two years ago, but up until his death he still taught many of my close friends. Many of my friends were so shocked that they still couldn't believe the person that they had owed (欠) some homework to was now dead.
It was heart-warming to spend time with teachers that morning and get to know more about them. Despite the time of sadness, I feel that every cloud has a silver lining. Although Dr Woolley's death is something nobody wanted to see, we must move on.What did the students feel at the news of his teacher’s death?
A.unhappy B shocked C.surprised D.silentWhat does the underlined word “collect” in Paragraph4 mean?
| A．bring something together | B．calm down |
| C．increase in amount | D．get and keep |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．The real cause of Dr Woolley’s death is known to us. |
| B．Many students didn’t prepare themselves for the bad news so that they felt very sad. |
| C．It takes the whole school some time to recover from the dispressing news. |
| D．Dr Woolley’s death allows students to understand teachers better. |
It can be inferred from the underlined sentences in the last paregraph that______.
| A．Dr Woolley’s death made students sad. |
| B．There is still some comfort and hope in trouble |
| C．Dr Woolley’s death disappointed students greatly |
| D．We should forget the fact to study better. |
The best title for the passage should be_______.
| A．Our School Faces a Tragedy |
| B．Dr Woolley—A Great Teacher |
| C．The Living Live For the Death |
| D．Lesson From the Death. |
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Private English Tutor Wanted
Senior Chinese manager is looking for a one-on-one English tutor for several hours per week. He would like to learn British pronunciation, so UK nationals will be preferred. Tutors should be fairly flexible to suit his busy schedule and be of professional appearance. Pay is to be discussed directly and will be very high for the right candidate. Teaching experience is not a must.
If interested, please send an email with your background information, pay expectations and a recent picture to dhanyatk@hotmail.com.
CALLING – Teacher/Librarian!
We are a small Kindergarten to Grade 6 international school in Beijing. We need a teacher/ librarian. The teacher we are looking for will: - Be a Chinese /English speaking librarian.
Qualifications
Be self-starters, active team players,
Have a positive attitude and love to work with kids
Provide an exciting and innovative library program to students.
If you meet the above qualifications, please send your CV and a current picture to principalinchina@yahoo.ca . The purpose of the advertisements is________.
| A．to start a business |
| B．to employ English teachers |
| C．to provide the latest jobs |
| D．to help people find a suitable job |
According to the first advertisement, we can learn that_______.
| A．English Teacher agency charges teacher for this service |
| B．you must go online to offer your basic information first |
| C．you may call to get more information about the job |
| D．once you English Teacher agency, you will get a job |
In the third advertisement, the private English tutor should________
| A．be an English language expert from UK |
| B．speak American English |
| C．have rich teaching experience |
| D．have the ability to deal with changing situations |
If you didn’t pass the interview for Teacher/Librarian, the probable reason should be that ________.
| A．you like working with children |
| B．you have a strong team spirit |
| C．you lack teaching experience |
| D．you can only speak English |
The underlines word “CALLING” in the fourth advertisement most means_________.
| A．job or profession | B．wish | C．interest | D．chance |
The legal age for drinking alcohol in the United States is twenty-one. Underage drinking is a crime but also a common part of college social life. This week in our Foreign Student Series, we look at alcohol rules at American colleges and universities. These rules differ from school to school, as do measures. But many schools have been moving to strengthen their rules.
The United States has more than 17000,000 students in higher education. Each year, 1700 of them die from alcohol-related road crashes and other injuries. 600,000 more are injured while under the influence of alcohol. And almost 700,000 are attacked by another drunken.
One behavior that college officials are trying to prevent is too much drinking. Some researchers have found that students who think binge drinking is normal often think extremely how much other students really drink. A person can die of alcohol poisoning. At Oklahoma University, a nineteen-year-old student died from drinking heavily at a party in 2005
Now alcohol is banned from all sorority houses and university housing. Student organizations can serve alcohol at events but only on Friday and Saturday nights. Other new requirements include an alcohol education program that first-year students take online.
The rules govern behavior on campus (校园) and off. With a first violation(违犯), students pay seventy-five dollars and their parents are told. They must also take an alcohol education class. For a second "strike," they have to pay one hundred fifty dollars. A third strike means that they have to be suspended school for at least one semester.
Since 2005, 363 students have had a first strike. 30 have had a second strike -- and only one hasn’t allowed to go to school for one semester. The president at Oklahoma tells us the aim is not just to punish but to change behavior and the culture at the university.The first paragraph mainly tells us that_________.
| A．the legal age at the lowest for drinking alcohol is 21 |
| B．many colleges consider drinking alcohol to be a crime |
| C．drinking alcohol is a necessary and popular campus culture |
| D．American colleges and universities have their own alcohol rules |
Every year the number of the students who die or are injured because of alcohol in the USA added up to about _______.
| A．17000,000 | B．1,301,700 | C．601,700 | D．1300,000 |
If a student has a third strike, he/she should________.
| A．have to stop going to school for a time | B．be removed to another school |
| C．be locked at home for a period | D．be forced to leave school forever |
Which of the following statements is supported by the passage ?
| A．College students are not allowed to drink alcohol at any time.. |
| B．If students take an alcohol program online, they can drink alcohol . |
| C．Students having a first strike only receive punishment of fine |
| D．Students with a second strike pay twice as much as students with a first strike |
We can infer ________from the last two paragraphs.
| A．alcohol rules have no effect on college students |
| B．drinking alcohol remains a serious problem |
| C．alcohol rules aim to change behavior and the culture at the university. |
| D．the number of students drinking alcohol is dropping in one way. |
Australians have been warned they face a life or death decision over their water — drink recycled sewage (污水) or die.
With t he drought (干旱) continuing, the country is set to be forced to use purified (净化的) waste water for drinking, even though there is great opposition to the measure.
Queensland has become the first state to introduce the policy after a warning from its premier .
"I think in the end, because of the drought, all of Australia is going to end up drinking recycled purified water," said Peter Beattie.
"These are difficult decisions, but you either drink water or you die. There's no choice. It's liquid gold, it's a matter of life and death."
Beattie said Australia's second largest state would become the first to use recycled water for drinking.
Water is recycled in Britain and parts of northern Europe along with the US and Israel.
But Australians have never liked the idea.
To try to change the way Australians think, Prime Minister John Howard and Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull have adhered to Queensland's move.
"I am very strongly for recycling and Mr. Beattie is right and I agree with him completely," Howard said.
“Australian cities, all now facing water shortages because of the worst drought on record, must start to use recycled water.” added Turnbull, "All of our big cities have to widen the range of water sources to include sources which are not dependent on rainfall."What is the text mainly about?
| A．Continuing drought forces Australians to drink recycled sewage |
| B．Australians face the choice of life and death |
| C．Premier Beattie is worried about his people’s health |
| D．We should avoid drinking recycled water to keep healthy |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．Nobody disagrees to the idea of drinking recycled purified water |
| B．Australia's second largest state has become the first state to introduce the policy |
| C．No other countries but Australia decide to drink recycled water |
| D．The drought is the worst one in the droughts recorded in Australian history. |
What can we learn from the last paragraph ?
| A．Australians have never like drinking purified waste water |
| B．Australians should develop more water sources to live through the hard time |
| C．Australians can’t depend upon rainwater , which is not suitable for drinking . |
| D．Australian government has no ability to solve the problem of water shortage |
The underlined phrase “adhered to” in Paragraph 9 probably means_________.
| A．disliked | B．gone against | C．supported | D．doubted |
It can be inferred from what Premier Peter Beattie said that________.
| A．he gives orders to drink purified waste water |
| B．It is painful for him to see his people drink recycled sewage |
| C．If the decision is made, people won’t survive the drought |
| D．It’s up to you to either make a life or death decision |
There are two kinds of physical activity which require special training. The first demands exact careful movements of the muscles. This kind of activity must be strictly controlled because even a slight movement in the wrong direction will lead a mistake. To type quickly, for example, a person needs training; the slightest movement of a finger in the wrong direction may cause a spelling mistake. A dancer who has to dance on the point of her shoes or turn around on one foot must be trained for a long period of time before she can sense her own center and balance herself. You may have seen a girl walking on a rope across an empty space, which, too, requires a lot of practice.
The second kind of physical activity needs greater strength or extra effort. Most of us get tired if we try to run half a mile without stopping, but a specially-trained person can do this without much effort. Three years ago, some scientists carried out experiments, which produced meaningful and unexpected results. They wanted to find out whether a certain amount of physical exercise would injure those suffering from heart problems. They selected some male patients and trained them in continuous bicycle riding. They were surprised to find that the harmful effect of given amount of physical effort was actually less on the hearts of these trained patients than on those of the patients who were not similarly trained. This is important because it shows that regular physical exercise enables us to make better use of the oxygen we breathe in and that this training, in fact, reduces the amount of work our hearts do. Many tasks which are hard for untrained people are not hard at all for trained people.The first kind of physical activity must be strictly controlled because _________.
| A．a mistake in the wrong direction is dangerous to the fingers |
| B．a wrong movement in a direction will cause no mistakes |
| C．a movement in the wrong direction will cause a mistake |
| D．a slight movement of a finger will lead to a mistake |
What must a dancer do before she can balance herself?
| A．She must dance on the point of her shoes. |
| B．She must receive long-time training. |
| C．She must turn around on one foot. |
| D．She must perform again and again. |
The experiments done by some scientists showed that ________.
| A．some male patients were asked to ride bicycles regularly in the experiments |
| B．the physical exercise had more harmful effect on the hearts of the untrained patients |
| C．the physical exercise was harmless to the male patients with heart trouble |
| D．the physical exercise could be helpful for the patients to take in more oxygen |
What would be the best title for this text?
| A．Training Our Bodies | B．Physical Activities |
| C．Movement Training | D．Extra Body Effort |