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 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. “The
y 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 alterations （改变） to the brain.” How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
| A．Some researchers have told them. |
| B．Many women say so. |
| C．They know it by experimenting on rats. |
| D．They know it through their own experience. |
What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?
| A．Baby rats. | B．Animals. | C．Old rats. | D．Grown-up rats. |
What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
| A．Estrogen. | B．The hormones of pregnancy. |
| C．More exercise. | D．Taking care of children. |
“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 have nothing to do with humans. |
| B．The experiments on the rats are very important for animals. |
| C．The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans. |
| D．The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals. |
Avatar
Venue: Orient Pioneer Theater
Date: January 2
Price (￥): 150/180/240/300
Tel: 400 – 810 – 3721
Additional Information:
The film is directed by James Cameron. In the future, Jake, a paraplegic war veteran, is brought to another planet, Pandora, which is inhabited by the Na’vi, a humanoid race with its own language and culture. Those from Earth find themselves at odds with each other and the local culture. The fierce war unfolded …
Farewell My Concubine
Venue: National Centre for the Performing Arts
Date: January 2
Price (￥): 50/80/100/300
Tel: 400 – 810 – 8271
Additional Information:
Peking Opera tells the story of XiangYu (232BC – 202BC), the self – styled Hegemon – king of Western Chu (modern provinces of Hubei, Huan, Jiangxi, Anhui and Jiangsu) who battled to unify China with LiuBang, the final founder of the powerful Han Dynasty.
Guo Degang Cross Talk Show
Venue: Cultural Palace of Nationalities
Date : January 24 – 25
Price (￥): 100/200/300/500
Tel: 400 – 610 – 2270
Additional Information:
Guo Degang is a famous Chinese cross talk actor.
Confucius
Venue : Today Art Theater
Date : January 20
Price (￥): 100/120/150/180
Tel: 400 – 610 – 3721
Additional Information:
The film is about Confucius, who was a Chinese thinker and philosopher. His teachings and philosophy have deeply influenced Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese though and life.
40．If you want to appreciate the Chinese traditional opera, you can call
A．Tel: 400 – 810 – 3721 B．Tel: 400 – 810 – 8271
C．Tel: 400 – 610 – 2270 D．Tel: 400 – 610 – 3721
41．What can we learn from four posters?
A．Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is a sci – fi movie.
B．Confucius can be seen in Oriental Pioneer Theatre.
C．You can enjoy Guo Degang’s cross talk on Jan. 20.
D．Xiang Yu finally founded the powerful Han Dynasty.
42．The underlined phrases “at odds” probably means
A．in harmony B．in disagreement C．in touch D．in common
Chen Yurong, 55, an average woman in Wuhan, Hubei province, who was diagnosed with a fatty liver (肝), walked 10 kilometers a day for seven months, despite wind an rain, so she could donate part of a healthy liver to her son. After wearing out four pairs of shoes and losing eight kilograms, her fatty liver condition disappeared. One doctor called it a “miracle” (奇迹).
|
Hear 31 – year – old son, Ye Haibin suffered from severe Wilson’s disease, a rare disorder that causes body to keep copper. Doctors said only a liver transplant could lengthen his life. Despite her age and the knowledge that about one in 1,000 liver donators die after the transplant, Chen said she did not hesitate to donate part of her liver.
“In order to give my young granddaughter a complete family, I’dC
When it comes to friends, I desire those who will share my happiness, who possess wings of their own and who will fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate（照亮）me and train me up for love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say:“Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write separate poems or stories
that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we, too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend, He was in despair(失望)and I was in despair. But our friendship was based on the idea in each of us that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we had felt bad at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and found many excellent things. We walked until our despairs disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think:“Yes, I must tell….”We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist（心理学家），who will only fill up the healing（愈合的）silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.
69. In the eighth grade, what the author did before developing proper social behavior was to ______.
A. become serious about her study
B. go to her friend’s house regularly
C. learn from her classmates at school
D. share poems and stories with her friend
70. In Paragraph 3, “We gave London to each other” probably means ______.
A. our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us
B. we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London
C. our unpleasant feeling about London disappeared
D. we parted with each other in London
71. According to Paragraph 4, the author and her friend _______.
A. call each other regularly
B. have similar personalities
C. enjoy writing to each other
D. dream of meeting each other
72. In the darkest moments, the author would prefer to ______.
A.need professional helpB. be left alone
C. stay with her best friend D. break the silence
B
More than 10 years ago, it was difficult to buy a tasty pineapple. The fruits that made it to the UK were green on the outside and, more often than not, hard with an unpleasant taste within. Then in 1996, the Del Monte Gold pineapple produced in Hawaii first hit our shelves.
The new type of pineapple looked more yellowy-gold than green. It was slightly softer on the outside and had a lot of juice inside. But the most important thing about this new type of pineapple was that it was twice as sweet as the hit-and-miss pineapples we had known. In no time, the Del Monte Gold took the market by storm, rapidly becoming the world’s best-selling pineapple variety, and delivering natural levels of sweetness in the mouth, up until then only found in tinned pineapple.
In nutrition(营养) it was all good news too. This nice-tasting pineapple contained four times more vitamin C(维生素C) than the old green variety. Nutritionists said that it was not only full of vitamins, but also good against some diseases. People were understandably eager to be able to buy this wonderful fruit. The new type of pineapple was selling fast, and the Del Monte Gold pineapple rapidly became a fixture in the shopping basket of the healthy eater.
Seeing the growing market for its winning pineapple, Del Monte tried to keep the market to itself. But other fruit companies 
developed similar pineapples. Del Monte turned to law for help, but failed. Those companies argued successfully that Del Monte’s attempts to keep the golden pineapple for itself were just a way to knock them out of the market.
65. We learn from the text that the new type of pineapple is ______.
A. green outside and sweet inside
B. good-looking outside and soft inside
C. yellowy-gold outside and hard inside
D. a little soft outside and sweet inside
66. Why was the new type of pineapple selling well?
A. It was rich in nutrition and tasted nice. B. It was less sweet and good for health.
C. It was developed by Del Monte. D. It was used as medicine.
67. The underlined word “fixture” in Paragraph 3 probably refers to something ______.
A. that people enjoy eating B. that is always present
C. that is difficult to get D. that people use as a gift
68. We learn from the last paragraph that Del Monte ______.
A. allowed other companies to develop pineapples
B. succeeded in keeping the pineapple for itself
C. tried hard to control the pineapple market
D. planned to help the other companies
阅读理解(满分40分)
第一节（共15小题年每小题2分，满分30分）
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C、D）中，选出最佳答案，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
A
When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm, in the winter especially, we wear quite out off from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital.
However, I soon discovered that one big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma(哮喘), and the air is so bad that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it became of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.
Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever you tastes in culture or entertainment(娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising --- and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.
Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is , when you are in your teens(十几岁)or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.
61. What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?
A. Staying on the farm. B. Moving to the countryside.
C. Leaving home for the city. D. Running away from the school.
62. Which of the following is true about the writer?
A. He is very old now. B. He is in good health.
C. He prefers driving a car. D. He lives in the city now.
63. In the passage, the writer tries to __________.
A. express his opinions about way of life B. describe his life in the countryside
C. an interest in the outside world D. persuade the reader to live in the city
64. How is the passage mainly developed?
A. By inferring. B. By comparing.
C. By listing examples. D. By giving explanations.
