Hello!MynameisJohnBrown.I’mfro-优题课

If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language. A team led by Dr. Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and thirty-four. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.

A．science on learning a second language

B．man’s ability of learning a second language

C．that language can help brain power

D．language learning and maths study

The underlined word “bilingual” probably means _______.

A．a researcher on language learning

B．a second language learner

C．an active language learner

D．a person who can speak two languages

We may know from the scientific findings that ________.

A．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is

B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language

C．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain

D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that _________.

A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths

B．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

C．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

D．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language

When I was about 12, I had an enemy, a girl who liked to point out my shortcomings(缺点). Week by week her list grew: I was very thin, I wasn’t a good student, I talked too much, I was too proud, and so on. I tried to hear all this as long as I could. At last, I became very angry. I ran to my father with tears in my eyes.
He listened to me quietly, then he asked. “Are the things she says true or not? Janet, didn’t you ever wonder what you’re really like? Well, you now have that girl’s opinion. Go and make a list of everything she said and mark the points that are true. Pay no attention to the other things she said.”
I did as he told me. To my great surprise, I discovered that about half the things were true. Some of them I couldn’t change (like being very thin), but a good number I could—and suddenly I wanted to change. For the first time I go to fairly clear picture of myself.
I brought the list back to Daddy. He refused to take it. “That’s just for you.” he said, “You know better than anyone else the truth about yourself. But you have to learn to listen, not just close your ears in anger and feeling hurt. When something said about you is true, you’ll find it will be of help to you. Our world is full of people who think they know your duty. Don’t shut your ears. Listen to them all, but hear the truth and do what you know is the right thing to do.”
Daddy’s advice has returned to me at many important moments. In my life, I’ve never had a better piece of advice.
What does “Week by week her list grew” mean?

A．Week by week she discovered more shortcomings of mine and pointed them out to me.

B．She had made a list of my shortcomings and she kept on adding new ones to it so that it was growing longer and longer.

C．I was having more and more shortcomings as time went on.

D．Week by week, my shortcomings grew more serious.

Why did her father listen to her quietly?

A．Because he believed that what her daughter’s “enemy” said was mostly true.

B．Because he had been so angry with his daughter’s shortcomings that he wanted to show this by keeping silent for a while.

C．Because he knew that his daughter would not listen to him at that moment.

D．Because he wasn’t quite sure which girl was telling the truth.

Which do you think would be the best title for this passage?

A．Not an Enemy, but the Best Friend

B．The Best Advice I’ve Ever Had

C．My Father

D．My Childhood

I have a neighbor we call “Happy”. I have never seen her angry at anything and never heard her say a harsh (苛刻) word to anyone or about anyone.
Happy and her husband Ben, 70, have a huge garden. They spent many happy hours together working on it. Most of the neighbors watched interestingly as Ben doubled the size of their garden. As the cost of food climbed faster than Ben’s beans, we all wished we also had such a large garden. As the rest of us spent our dollars at the market, Happy could be seen picking beans in her back yard.
Last month, Happy and Ben invited most of the neighborhood over for an “all-day food fest”. We were told to bring gloves and arrive very early in the morning. We didn’t know what was about to take place.
By 9:00 am, there were nine of us in the garden picking tomatoes, beans, okra, and squash. By 10:00 am, there was lots of laughter. We shared a lot of stories. By five o’clock, everyone was a little drunk from the wine and beer. After dinner, we played games. As we were leaving, Happy and Ben handed each of us a shopping bag filled with the bounty（收成）of the day, already packaged and frozen. What a delightful gift!
Well, the point wasn’t so much about the food. The true gift was a day of friends enjoying one another’s company. None of it would have happened if it had been for Happy and Ben’s garden. Now they have a blog about gardening in case we decided to plant a garden. And I am so proud of my tomato plants!
According to paragraph 2, people wish they also had a garden so that_______.

A．they could grow vegetables and sell at the market

B．they didn’t have to spend so much money on food

C．they could invite their neighbors and hold parties in it

D．they could spend happy times together with their family in it

For what purpose did Happy and Ben invite the neighbors to their garden?

A．To ask them to attend a birthday party.

B．To help them get to know each other.

C．To ask them to share some interesting stories.

D．To let them enjoy what they grew in the garden.

What did the writer most probably think of the time he spent in the garden?

A．It was too long.	B．It was not as good as he thought.
C．It was wonderful.	D．It was too terrible.

阅读理解。阅读下面的短文，然后根据短文内容，在每小题所给的四个选项中选出最佳选项。
Why does the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!
That’s an old joke in the west, but it came to my mind again when I saw people crossing the road at the intersection of Shanxi Road and Huaihai Road in Shanghai.
When the traffic light was red, a group of people were waiting for the light to change. Suddenly one man began rushing to the other side of the road. Soon others followed him at the crossing and more people did the same. Just like chickens, they didn’t mind the honking horns(喇叭声) and kept crossing the road in a mess.
Every year several thousand people are either killed or hurt on the roads in Shanghai. And at least one third of them were jaywalking(乱穿马路). Jaywalking is very common in Shanghai. It seems that jaywalkers are not afraid of the danger to themselves.
Traffic laws are to keep people safe. So we should obey them, and have good road-crossing habits. When someone starts to jaywalk, we should stop him, and never follow him. That way we can avoid the traffic accidents.
The underlined word “intersection” here probably means “ ”.

A．road

B．bridge

C．crossing

D．traffic

The writer saw people in Shanghai that day.

A．crossing the road in a mess

B．waiting for the green light patiently

C．crossing the road with chickens

D．hurting each other in the street

How does the writer like what he saw in Shanghai that day?

A．He thinks it’s OK.

B．He thinks it’s wrong.

C．He has no idea of it.

D．He doesn’t mention it.

Kate and Mike were born on the same day. They look the same. Their father is a bus driver. He is busy with his work and has no time to pay attention to their studies. Kate and Mike study in the same class. Kate works hard and does well in all her lessons. She gets on well with her classmates. But Mike likes nothing except playing. He isn’t good at math and doesn’t like to write compositions.
One day, Miss Green, their English teacher, told her class to write a composition entitled(题目) “My Mother”. After supper Kate wrote it in her exercise-book and went to help her mother to do some housework. Mike was sitting at the desk. He wrote a few words on a page, but didn’t know how to go on writing and tore(撕) it off, then tore another off. He didn’t finish it until the football match began on TV. He hurried to bring Kate’s exercise-book out of her bag and copied her composition. Then he went to watch the football match until it was over.
Two days later Miss Green asked in class, “ Can you tell me why your composition is the same as Kate’s, Mike?
“ Yes, I can, Miss Green,” answered Mike. “ We have the same mother, you know.”
Kate and Mike look the same because ________.

A．they were students in the same class

B．they were dressed in the same clothes

C．they have different parents

D．they are twins

Mike is bad at _________.

A．math	B．speaking
C．English	D．all his lessons

Which of the following is NOT true?

A．Mike’s father has no time to look after him.

B．Mike prefers watching football matches to writing compositions.

C．Mike doesn’t like any lessons.

D．Miss Green is Kate’s teacher, not Mike’s teacher.

Kate could write the composition because ________.

A．She does well in her lessons

B．she doesn’t like to watch TV

C．she is a girl

D．she wants to help her mother

Did Mike do the homework by himself?

A．Yes, he did.

B．No, he asked his father to do it.

C．Of course, and he liked writing compositions.

D．No, he copied Kate’s.

	Hello! My name is John Brown. I’m from England. I’m an English teacher. I’m in Beijing International School.My telephone number is 8523-3237. Zhang Hao, Alice and Yingzi are my students.
	I’m Zhang Hao. My English name is Peter. I’m eleven years old. I’m from Beijing. My telephone number is 8876-5342.
	Alice Brown is my name. I’m twelve. I’m from Canada. My mom is a teacher. My telephone number is 7342-6979.
	I’m Yingzi. I’m fourteen years old. I’m from Japan. 5673-6981 is my telephone number.