Many people cannot start their day without first having a cup of coffee or tea．These drinks help them think clearly and feel more awake．This is because of caffeine，which helps to give a jump start to the nervous system．Now，a report says it may also boost long-term memory．
Mike Yassa is a neurobiology professor．He and other researchers wanted to know if caffeine could improve a person’s memory．He explains，“After you learn anything，it takes some time for that memory to strengthen．And over the first 24 hours is actually where most of the forgetting happens．So that is where we wanted to intervene with caffeine and see if we can help reduce this forgetting．”
They took 160 caffeine-free people and showed them pictures of everyday objects. These people were asked if the objects could be found inside the house， or outdoors．Then some of the subjects were given a caffeine pill．The others were given a placebo—a pill containing nothing. 24 hours later，the subjects were shown the exact same images from the day before．They were also shown images with slight differences，and some completely new images. Both groups correctly identified the exact same and completely new pictures．But those who took the caffeine pill were better at spottingthe pictures that were slightly different．
Professor Yassa says their answers helped to show the effects of caffeine on memory. And we find that if they are on caffeine they are much more likely to make the right decision．”
The amount of caffeine the researchers used in the study was similar to one cup of strong coffee．The researchers did not see any improvement to memory from smaller doses of caffeine or when it was given an hour before viewing the images．What is the focus of the text?
| A．Caffeine can make people addicted． |
| B．Caffeine can make people energetic. |
| C．Caffeine can improve long—term memory． |
| D．Caffeine can make people feel comfortable． |
What does the third paragraph mainly talk about?
| A．How the experiment was conducted． |
| B．Who took part in the experiment． |
| C．Which group of subjects did better． |
| D．What was used in the experiment． |
In which section of a magazine can we read this text?
| A．Culture． | B．Technology． | C．Health. | D．Education. |
Which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．Most forgetting occurs within the first 24 hours． |
| B．Forgetting can be positively affected by caffeine． |
| C．The subjects were given different pills． |
| D．Yassa was disappointed with the result． |
What can we learn from the last paragraph?
| A．More caffeine means better memory． |
| B．Smaller doses of caffeine doesn’t work． |
| C．The time to take cafieine doesn’t matter． |
| D．Caffeine is taken before the experiment． |
It is true that good writers rewrite and rewrite and then rewrite some more. But in order to work up the desire to rewrite, it is important to learn to like what you write at the early stage.
I am surprised at the number of famous writers I know who say that they so dislike reading their own writing later that they even hate to look over the publishers’ opinions. One reason we may dislike reading our own work is that we’re often disappointed that the rich ideas in our minds seem very thin and plain when first written down. Jerry Fodor and Steven Pinker suggest that this fact may be a result of how our minds work.
Different from popular belief, we do not usually think in the works and sentences of ordinary language but in symbols for ideas (known as ‘mentalese’ ), and writing our ideas down is an act of translation from that symbolic language. But while mentalese contains our thoughts in the form of a complex tapestry (织锦)，writing can only be composed one thread at a time. Therefore it should not be surprising that our first attempt at expressing ideas should look so simple. It is only by repeatedly rewriting that we produce new threads and connect them to get closer to the ideas formed in our minds.
When people write as if some strict critics (批评家) are looking over their shoulder, they are so worried about what this critic might say that they get stuck before they even start. Peter Elbow makes an excellent suggestion to deal with this problem. When writing we should have two different minds. At the first stage, we should see every idea, as well as the words we use to express it, as wonderful and worth putting down. It is only during rewrites that we should examine what we excitedly wrote in the first stage and check for weaknesses.What do we learn from the text about those famous writers?
| A．They often regret writing poor works. |
| B．Some of them write surprisingly much. |
| C．Many of them hate reading their own works. |
| D．They are happy to review the publishers’ opinions. |
What do people generally believe about the way human minds work?
| A．People think in words and sentences. |
| B．Human ideas are translated into symbols. |
| C．People think by connecting threads of ideas. |
| D．Human thoughts are expressed through pictures. |
What can we conclude from the text?
| A．Most people believe we think in symbols. |
| B．Loving our own writing is scientifically reasonable. |
| C．The writers and critics can never reach an agreement. |
| D．Thinking and writing are different stages of mind at work. |
A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent ash across northern Europe Airlines have stopped or changed the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.
Grimsvom is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvom different is that it lies under a huge glacier(冰川) of ice up to 12 maters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer(层)of water between the glacier and the volcano This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable, As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava(岩浆) from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.
Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash. according to KLM, one of Europe’s biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane’s engines, causing damage to the plane.
The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp. Glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating ash—covered grass to the sharp object.What makes Grimsvom different from other volcanoes?
| A．It is below ice. |
| B．It lies under the sea |
| C．It is the largest volcano |
| D．It is lava affects the airlines |
What keeps Grimsvom still?
| A．The slow flow of water. |
| B．The low water temperature. |
| C．The thick glacier. |
| D．The water pressure. |
Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption?
| A．People stop traveling in Europe. |
| B．Airlines suffer from the loss of planes. |
| C．It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside. |
| D．Farmers have lost many of their animals. |
This text is most probably taken from________.
| A．a research paper |
| B．a newspaper report |
| C．a class presentation |
| D．a geography textbook |
Girls can easily get sad. If your friend is feeling blue and calls you, what will you do? Here are some tips on how you can make her smile again.
Listen to her. When people feel sad, they often have the feeling of needing to be heard. So, listen carefully to what she is saying and do nothing else. Your friend will surely thank you for being the shoulder she can cry on.
Once you are done with listening, you can offer some advice or remain silent and let her feel everything and let it all out by crying. As a friend, you might think you should give her some advice. But if you have no idea about what to say, just remain silent and be there for her.
In order to be able to help your friend in need, don’t be sad for yourself. How can you help your friend when you are also feeling down?
A hug can make a difference in the word. It makes you feel warm and special. A hug makes you feel safe. So give your friend a hug when she needs it the most.
Spend more time with your friend who wants to be happy. Do things together like washing dishes, cleaning, or going out for fun. The more time you spend together, the stronger your friendship will become.
Sometimes, it is much better that you avoid a crying friend in your life. But by doing so, you are also keeping your friend at a distance and will make her wonder if you are her true friend. If you are there when she needs you, your friendship will be much stronger.The writer wrote this passage mainly to tell us_______.
| A．why girls can easily get sad. |
| B．what to do when we are sad. |
| C．how to make new friends with girls. |
| D．how to make a sad female friend happy again. |
According to Paragraph 2, when a female friend is sad, what should we do?
| A．We should ask her why she feels sad. |
| B．We should say something nice to her. |
| C．We should spend time listening to her. |
| D．We should give her some good advice. |
We can learn from the passage that______.
E.Hugging a sad friend can make you feel warm and special.
F.Your sad friend may feel much better if you also sad.
G.It’s not a good idea to be silent facing a sad friend.
H.Giving a hug to a sad friend is very helpful.In paragraph 6, the writer mainly suggests that we_____.
I.spend more time with your friend.
J.help our friends with their housework
K.spend time with our friends everyday
L.ask our friends to take part in activities
The Eiffel Tower was built in 1889, in memory of the 100th birthday of the French Revolution. The Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England, opened the tower. Of the 700 suggestions that were handed in, Gustave Eiffel’s was chosen.
However, at first, it was not well accepted by all and a group of people — including many well-known writers and painters at that time — were fiercely against its design.
Being about 300 meters in height, and 7,000 tons in weight, it was the world’s tallest building until 1930. It was a great project for France. 300 workers took two years to build it. It isn’t an ordinary building, since it is almost made of steel. For example, its body moves around at most 12 cm in heavy wind. Moreover, its height changes up to 15 cm according to the temperature.
It was almost destroyed in 1909, but was saved because of its antenna(天线), which is used for communication at that time. Beginning in 1910 it became part of the International Time Service. French radio and French television have also made good use of its height.
The Eiffel Tower has also seen a few strange things. In 1923, a journalist rode a bicycle down from the first level of it. And in 1954, a mountain climber climbed on top of it and tried to measure its exact height.
Anyway, although its birth was difficult, it is now well accepted all over the world. It has been considered as one of the symbols of Paris. The passage mainly tells us ________.
| A．the history of the Eiffel Tower |
| B．some information about its design |
| C．what the Eiffel Tower was used for |
| D．how it became one of the symbols of Paris |
Which of the following statements is TRUE according to this passage?
| A．Many people couldn’t accept the Eiffel Tower at the beginning. |
| B．It was the world’s tallest building for hundreds of years. |
| C．A journalist rode down from the Eiffel Tower in 1954. |
| D．The Eiffel Tower was saved because of its height. |
The French Revolution took place in _______.
| A．1889 | B．1923 | C．1789 | D．1930 |
When students and parents are asked to rate subjects according to their importance, the arts are unavoidably at the bottom of the list. Music is nice, people seem to say, but not important. Too often it is viewed as mere entertainment, but certainly not an education priority(优先). This view is shortsighted. In fact, music education is beneficial and important for all students.
Music tells us who we are because music is an expression of the beings who create it, it reflects their thinking and values as well as the social environment it comes from. Rock music represents a lifestyle just as surely as does a Schubert song. The jazz influence that George Gershwin and other musicians introduced into their music is obviously American because it came from American musical traditions. Music expresses our character and values. It gives us identity as a society.
Music provides a kind of perception (感知) that cannot be acquired any other way. Science can explain how the sun rises and sets. The arts explore the emotive (情感的) meaning of the same phenomenon. We need every possible way to discover and respond to our world for one simple but powerful reason: No one way can get it all.
The arts are forms of thought as powerful in what they communicate as mathematical and scientific symbols. They are ways we human beings “talk” to each other .They are the language of civilization through which we express our fears, our curiosities, our hungers, our discoveries, our hopes. The arts are ways we give form to our ideas and imagination so that they can be shared with others. When we do not give children access to an important way of expressing themselves such as music, we take away from them the meanings that music expresses.
Science and technology do not tell us what it means to be human. The arts do. Music is an important way we express human suffering, celebrations, the meaning and value of peace and love.
So music education is far more necessary than people seem to realize.According to paragraph 1, students.
| A．regard music as a way of entertainment |
| B．disagree with their parents on education |
| C．view music as an overlooked subject |
| D．prefer the arts to science |
In Paragraph 2, the author uses jazz an example to.
| A．compare it with rock music |
| B．show music identifies a society |
| C．introduce American musical traditions |
| D．prove music influences people’s lifestyles |
According to the passage, the arts and science.
| A．approach the world from different angles |
| B．explore different phenomena of the world |
| C．express people’s feeling in different ways |
| D．explain what it means to be human differently |
What is the main idea of the passage?
| A．Music education deserves more attention. |
| B．Music should be of top education priority. |
| C．Music is an effective communication tool. |
| D．Music education makes students more imaginative. |