Parents who feel disappointed at their teenagers’ failure to pay attention in class, and inability to sit quietly long enough to finish homework or plan ahead, should take solace. Their children are not being lazy or careless, according to new research.
The research has found that teenagers’ brains continue developing far longer into adulthood than we used to think. Teens may look like young adults but their brain structure is similar to that of much younger children.
“It is not always easy for teens to pay attention in class without letting their minds wander, or to ignore distractions from their younger brothers or sisters when trying to solve a maths problem,” said Dr Iroise Dumon-theil. “But it’s not the fault of teenagers that they can’t pay attention and are easily distracted. It’s to do with the structure of their brains. Teens simply can’t think as well as an adult.”
The research showed that the brain of a teenager works less effectively than that of an adult. “We knew that the front of the brain of teens functioned in a chaotic (混乱的) way but we didn’ t realize it continued until the late 20s or early 30s,” said Dr Sarah-Jayne Blakemore, who led the research.
Chaotic thought patterns are a result of teenagers’ brains containing too much grey matter — the cell bodies and connections which carry messages within the brain. As we age, the amount of grey matter in our brain reduces.
“What our research has shown is that there is simply too much going on in the brains of teens,” said Blakemore. “The result is that their brain energy and resources are wasted and their decision-making process is badly influenced. Adults, on the other hand, have less grey matter. This means that the brain works far more effectively.”The underlined word “solace” in Paragraph 1 may mean _____.
| A． notice | B．medicine | C． comfort | D．action |
When making decisions, _____.
| A． teens’ brains continue to do much needless work |
| B． the grey matter in young children’s front brain becomes active |
| C． people are not likely to be distracted until their late 30s |
| D． adults are more independent than teens |
What is the effect of having too much grey matter?
| A． It makes us always feel disappointed. |
| B． It makes us more intelligent. |
| C． It had a bad effect on the growth of teens. |
| D． It had a bad effect on decision-making. |
What’s the text mainly about?
| A． Teens have different brains from those of children. |
| B． Adults work more effectively than teens. |
| C． Grey matter makes teens unable to pay attention. |
| D． Brain energy is wasted in the brain’s activity. |
Were you born in the 1990s? Do you think you are different from older generations? As there has been considerable discussion about “the post1990s” in newspapers and on the Internet recently, people including the group themselves, have begun to look at some things that help shape their culture. Do you find them true?
1. Jay Chou He is not handsome. When he hums no one can understand him. But the 28yearold Taiwan singer has stolen the hearts of many boys and girls who were born in the 1990s. They are crazy about him. Huang Kaiqin, a 16yearold Shanghai student, said，“I love him! I love everything from his lyrics to his melody(旋律), and to his attitude toward the life. ”
2. PSP Its full name is Play Station Portable and it's a Sony product for game fans. Teens love it because PSP is better than the Game Boy in terms of pictures, controls and choices of games. With a PSP you can also play MP3 or MP4, watch movies and so on.
3. Naruto Among all the popular cartoons and comic books, the Japanese manga series has been this generation's favorite read. Naruto, who was orphaned at birth, grows from being a naughty boy to a powerful ninja (日本武士). Naruto teaches readers that honor is very important and not to give up, even if something is hard to achieve.
4. iPods MP3s are not in any way, shape or form. But the iPod is amazing because it is a complete library of music in your hand. Post90s are always excited about the latest product.
5. Tuzki Tuzki, the white and hairy baby rabbit, was not born until January this year. But Tuzki's popularity has been spreading quickly among post90s who like QQ and MSN. Wang Lin, a college student, created the cool little rabbit.
6. Chat lingo On the Internet, the chat lingo is cool and convenient. But one day, teachers notice a new generation of errors entering their students' essays. Words such as “3Q”，“ORZ” and “b4” confuse adults but are part of teens' everyday lives. Which of the following is WRONG?
| A．The latest product among teens is iPod. |
| B．Naruto is a character in a popular cartoon. |
| C．Some adults don't understand their children's words. |
| D．Tuzki is a college student born in January. |
Why does the author write the passage?
| A．He wants to make teens born in the 1990s understand more. |
| B．He criticizes the teens born in the 1990s. |
| C．He doesn't understand the young at all. |
| D．He feels worried about the young. |
The best topic of this passage might be ________.
| A．the post1990s | B．fashionable people |
| C．teens with electronic products | D．chatting generation |
The famous car Rolls-Royce has been largely hand-made and always one of the most expensive cars on the market.
In fact, Rolls-Royce is made up of two men’s names, Charles S. Rolls and Henry Royce. They came from very different backgrounds, received very different educations and when they met; their careers were going in very different directions.
In 1903, Royce bought a second-hand France Decauville car. He found the car unreliable, difficult to start and overheated. Royce decided he could do better himself and set about building two-cylinder (双杠发动机) car of his own design. The first of these, built almost completely by Royce himself, was a success in almost every way: it started easily, ran smoothly and was very reliable. It never failed to impress everyone who saw it rode in the car, including Rolls.
While he was a university student at Cambridge, Rolls acquired a French Peugeot. It was the first automobile seen at Cambridge and by the time Rolls finished his studies, he was probably the most skilled driver in Britain. In 1902, Rolls went into the business of selling cars and became a leading automobile distributor. He was looking for a British car to market when he was told that Henry Royce had designed and built a two-cylinder automobile.
In 1904, Royce and Rolls joined together to build and sell motor car. They combined their talents—Royce the engineer and Rolls the salesman and businessman.
And, just two years later, the partnership produced the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, a milestone car acclaimed (盛赞) by many by the time as the “ best in the world”. Over the years the automaker built a legendary reputation.The Rolls-Royce is expensive for its ______ .
| A．procedure | B．engine |
| C．function | D．impression |
The underlined word “distributor” in Paragraph 4 probably means ______ .
| A．boss | B．producer |
| C．buyer | D．seller |
According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
| A．The Rolls-Royce car is the most expensive car in the world. |
| B．The two cylinder car built by Royce failed to impress people. |
| C．When Rolls graduated from Cambridge University, he didn’t do well in driving. |
| D．In 1906 the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was popular with many people. |
Societies all over the world name places in similar ways. Quite often there is no official naming ceremony but places tend to be called names as points of reference by people. Then an organized body steps in and gives the place a name. Frequently it happens that a place has two names: One is named by the people and the other by the government. As in many areas, old habits died hard, and the place continues to be called by its unofficial name long after the meaning is lost.
Many roads and places in Singapore are named in order that the pioneers will be remembered by future generations. Thus we have names such as Stamford Road and Raffles Place. This is in keeping with traditions in many countries —in both the West and the East.
Another way of naming places is naming them after other places. Perhaps they were named to promote friendships between the two places or it could be that the people who used to live there were originally from the places that the roads were named after. The mystery is clearer when we see some of the roads named in former British bases. If you step into Selector Airbase you will see Piccadilly Circus —obviously named by some homesick Royal Air Force personnel.
Some places were named after the activities that used to go on at those places. Bras Basah Road is an interesting example, “Base Basah” means “wet rice” in Malay（马来语）. Now why would anyone want to name a road “Wet Rice Road”? The reason is simple. During the pioneering days, wet rice was laid out to dry along this road.
A few roads in Singapore are named by their shapes. There is “Circular Road” for one. Other roads may have part of their names to describe their shapes, like “Paya Lebar Crescent”. This road is called a crescent（月牙） because it begins on the main road, makes a crescent and comes back to join the main road again.What does the underlined phrase “die hard” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?
| A．Change suddenly. |
| B．Change significantly. |
| C．Disappear mysteriously. |
| D．Disappear very slowly. |
Which of the following places is named after a person?
| A．Raffles Place. | B．Selector Airbase. |
| C．Piccadilly Circus. | D．Paya Lebar Crescent. |
What can be inferred from the passage?
| A．Some place names in Singapore are the same as in Britain. |
| B．Some places in Singapore are named for military purposes. |
| C．The way Singaporeans name their places is unique. |
| D．Young Singaporeans have forgotten the pioneers. |
For almost two months Dominic York, a 23-year-old hairdresser, wandered about hospitals all night, wearing a white coat and pretending he was a doctor. Yesterday he proudly claimed in court that despite his complete lack of medical experience or qualifications, he had saved several people’s lives. He had even been allowed to assist a surgeon during an emergency operation on a patient who was about to die on something she had swallowed.
“I watched one of those TV dramas about a hospital and suddenly I felt like playing one of the roles myself. So I put on a white jacket and a stethoscope(听诊器)and walked around one of the biggest hospital in London. At first I just watched. Once you learn how doctors talk to patients, nurses and others doctors, it’s easy to take people in,” he said.
One of the patients he treated was Laura Kennan. She had been knocked down by a car and fainted. When she came to in hospital, York was standing over her.
“He looked very professional. He told me his name was Doctor Simon. Then he gave me some sort of injection,” she said. And then he suddenly cleared off when a nurse asked who he was. She didn’t think there was anything wrong. “I would never have realized he was a fake if a policewoman hadn’t showed me his photograph a week later. When the policewoman told me who he really was, I could hardly believe my ears.”
Judge Raymond Adams told York that he was “ shocked and horrified” that he got away with his deceiving for so long. And they sentenced him to eighteen months in a special prison for criminal with mental disorders.
“I can only hope that this will not lead to further problems. After all, you will have considerable opportunity to study the behaviour of the psychiatrists(精神科医生)who will look after you while you are there. If you try to persuade people that you yourself are a psychiatrist after you are set free, I shall make sure that you are given a much longer sentence.” Judge Adams warned York.York was proud of the fact that ___________.
| A．a surgeon let him watch an operation. |
| B．he could perform some duties of a doctor |
| C．he had cheated doctors for so long |
| D．people thought he could become a real doctor |
York learned how to behave like a doctor by __________.
| A．watching other doctors work |
| B．talking to doctors and nurses |
| C．getting some training and experience |
| D．observing doctors while he was a patient |
Why was Laura Kennan in hospital?
| A．She had swallowed something and almost died. |
| B．She had to have and emergency operation. |
| C．She had been injured in a road accident. |
| D．She had lost consciousness while driving. |
The judge’s remark implied that York would be more severely punished if he _________.
| A．pretended to be a psychiatrist |
| B．tried to get away from prison |
| C．was proud of what he had done |
| D．studied the behaviour of the psychiatrist |
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Kathleen Merrigan sees an epidemic (流行病) sweeping across America’s farmland. It has little to do with the usual challenges, such as flood, rising fuel prices and crop-eating insects. The country’s farmers are getting older, and there are fewer people standing in line to take their place. National agricultural census (普查) figures show that the fastest-growing group of farmers is the part over 65. Merrigan is afraid the average age will be even higher when the 2012 statistics are completed.
Merrigan, a former college professor, is making stops at universities across the country in hopes of encouraging more students to think about careers in agriculture. Aside from trying to stop the graying of America’s farmers, her work is made tougher by a recent blog posting that put agriculture at No. 1 on a list of “useless” college degrees. Top federal agriculture officials are talking about the posting, and it has the attention of agricultural organizations across the country.
“There couldn’t be anything that’s more incorrect,” Merrigan said. “We know that there aren’t enough qualified graduates to fill the jobs that are out there in American agriculture.”
In addition, a growing world population that some experts predict will require 70% more food production by 2050, she said.
“I truly believe we’re at a golden age of agriculture. Global demand is at an all-time record high, and global supplies are at all-time record lows,” said Matt Rush, director of the Texas Farm Bureau. “Production costs are going to be valuable enough that younger people are going to have the opportunity to be involved in agriculture. “
The Department of Agriculture has programs aimed at developing more farmers and at increasing interest in locally grown food. The National Young Farmers’ Coalition has also been pushing for state and federal policy changes to make it easier for new farmers.
Ryan Best, president of Future Farmers of America, has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the country and visiting with high school students about careers in agriculture. The 21-year-old Best hopes his message --that this is a new time in agriculture-- will motivate the next generation to turn around the statistics. “Never before have we had the innovations (创新) in technology which have led to agriculture in this country being the most efficient it has ever been,” he said. “There’s really a place for everybody to fit in. “ What is the new challenge to American agriculture?
| A．Fewer and older farmers. | B．Higher fuel prices. |
| C．More natural disasters. | D．Lower agricultural output. |
Why is Merrigan visiting universities across the country?
| A．To draw federal agriculture officials’ attention. |
| B．To select qualified agriculture graduates. |
| C．To clarify a recent blog posting. |
| D．To talk more students into farming careers. |
According to Matt Rush, American agriculture will provide opportunities for younger people because ________.
| A．the government will cover production costs |
| B．global food supplies will be even lower |
| C．investment in agriculture will be profitable |
| D．America will increase its food export |
What do the underlined words “to turn around the statistics” in the last paragraph mean?
| A．To re-analyze the result of the national census. |
| B．To increase agricultural production. |
| C．To bring down the average age of farmers. |
| D．To invest more in agriculture. |