As many people hit middle age, they often start to notice that their memory and mental attention are not what they used to be. We suddenly can't remember where we put the keys just a moment ago, or an old friend's name, or the name of an old band we used to love. It happens to most of us, but is it unavoidable?
Scientists are increasingly showing that there's actually a lot that can be done. It turns that the brain needs exercise in much the same way as our muscles do, and the right mental workouts can improve our basic cognitive(认知) functions.
Now, a new San Francisco Web-based company has taken it a step further and developed the first "brain training program" designed to actually help people improve and regain their mental sharpness. Called Lumosity, it was designed by some of the leading experts from Stanford University. Lumosity is far more than an online place to exercise your mental skills. That's because they have combined these exercises with a Web-based program that allows you to systematically improve your memory and attention skills.
Apparently it works. One study showed students improved their scores on math tests by 34 percent after using Lumosity for six weeks, greater gains than those made by other students in the same class, who were not training with the Lumosity program. The company says its users have reported clearer and quicker thinking, improved memory for names, numbers, directions, increased alertness(警觉) and awareness, high mood, and better concentration at work or while driving.What is the purpose of Lumosity?
| A．To exercise the brain and muscles. |
| B．To combine exercises with a web-based program. |
| C．To improve basic cognitive functions. |
| D．To improve students’ scores on test. |
Which of the following is true?
| A．Memory losing is unavoidable. |
| B．Lumosity is unreasonable. |
| C．Muscles don’t need exercise. |
| D．Brains need exercise. |
What does the last paragraph mainly tell us?
| A．Lumosity is an effective program. |
| B．Users have improved their thinking. |
| C．A company made a Lumosity trial. |
| D．Lumosity was carried out in tests. |
The author explains the training results by________
| A．making a comparison. |
| B．presenting training findings. |
| C．analyzing facts. |
| D．setting down rules. |
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；，每小题2分，满分40分）
第一节（共15小题；每小题2分，满分30分）
Ammie Reddick from East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was only 18 months old when she had the accident that has scarred her for life. While her mother was away for a moment, the inquisitive baby reached up to a hot kettle in the family kitchen and poured boiling water all over her tiny body.
An ambulance was called and rushed the baby to a nearby hospital. Twenty percent of Ammie's body had been burned and all of her burns were third-degree. The doctors could tell immediately that Ammie's best chance of survival was a specialized burns unit(科) some miles away at Glasgow Royal Infirmary. There, using tissue taken from unburned areas of Ammie's body, surgeons performed complex skin grafts（移植）to close her wounds and control her injuries, an operation that took about six hours. Over the next 16 years, Ammie had 12 more operations to repair her body.
When she started school at Maxwelton Primary at age four, other pupils made cruel comments or simply wouldn't play with her. “I was the only burned child in the street, the class and the school,”she recalls. “Some children refused to become friends because of that.”
Today, age 17, Ammie can only ever remember being a burned person with scars; pain is a permanent part of her body. She still has to have two further operations. Yet she is a confident, outgoing teenager who offers inspiration and hope to other young burns victims.
Ammie's parents Ruby, a funeral director and Gibby, a policeman, have been a great support. “They told me if people had a problem with my burns, the problem was theirs not mine,” says Ammie. “They taught me to cope with other people's reactions and constantly reminded me I was valued and loved." Ammie's positive philosophy（人生观） means she is now in demand with burns organizations, helping younger patients build their self-esteem to live with permanent scars.
“Now she is a member of the Scottish Burned Children's Club, which a charity set up last year.” says Donald Todd, chairman of the club and a senior burns nurse at Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children, “Ammie provides so much encouragement for younger ones. She is upbeat and outgoing and a perfect role model for them.”
This month, Ammie will be joining the younger children at the Graffham Water Centre in Cambridgeshire for the charity's first summer camp . "I'll show them how to shrug off unkind stares from others," she says. Ammie loves wearing fashionable sleeveless tops and she plans to show the youngsters at summer camp that they can too. "I do not go to great lengths to hide my burns scars," she says. “I gave up wondering how other people would react years ago.”
56. Ammie was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary because ____________ .
A. it was the nearest hospital away from her home
B. it was a hospital specializing in childhood disease
C. only there can skin grafts be performed
D. it has more advanced and specialized techniques to cure burns
57. How many operations will Ammie have to receive altogether?
A. 12 B. 13 C. 14 D. 15
58. The underlined phrase “shrug off” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______ .
A. perform B. ignore C. accept D. tolerate
59. Which of the following best describes Ammie’s?
A. Strong-minded, optimistic and helpful
B. Shy, pessimistic and discouraged
C. Fashionable, sensitive and easygoing
D. Careful, confident and intelligent
C
A light emitting diode （发光二极管）, or L．E．D．, is a device that shines when electricity passes through it．But it works differently than traditional kinds of light bulbs．Light emitting diodes use less energy and last much longer than bulbs with a filament （灯丝） inside．L．E． D．’s are also cooler to the touch, and shine a lot brighter than they used to．
Red L．E．D．’s have long been used as signal lights on electronic equipment．But now light emitting diodes also come in blue and other colors．Colored L．E．D．’s are used to show images on everything from wireless phones to huge video signs．And white L．E．D．’s are being used increasingly to replace traditional lighting systems．
But all these require electricity．In poor countries, people often burn fuel to produce light．But the smoke can make people sick．So an electrical engineering professor from Canada started a project to produce L．E． D．lighting systems for the developing world．These lights are powered by batteries that can be recharged with energy from the sun．The batteries can also be charged through other ways, such as wind power and water power．
Professor David Irvine-Halliday tells the story of how he got the idea．In 1997, while climbing in the Annapurna mountains in Nepal, he saw a small school．All the children were outside．He looked through a window and saw that inside the school was dark．The school had a sign that read: "We have no teachers．If you want to stay and teach for a few days, we would be very pleased．" Professor Irvine-Halliday says that experience had a big effect on him．Back at the University of Calgary, he was on the Internet one day．He saw a company in Japan selling bright white L．E． D．’s．So he built a light with some．This is how he began the Light Up the World Foundation．
48．Compared with traditional kinds of light bulbs, L．E．D．’S________．
A．waste a lot of energy B．need shorter time to make
C．shine much brighter D．are warmer to touch
49．According to the passage, we know that L．E．D．’s________．
A．will replace all the lights B．will be more and more popular
C．will be only colored ones D．will be only used in developing countries
50．According to the passage, we can infer that the purpose of the Light Up the World Foundation is to________．
A．develop L．E．D．lighting system for the developing world
B．sell bright white L．E．D．’s
C．collect money for developing countries
D．earn money by selling L．E．D．’s
B
Rome-Doctors and medical groups around the world last weekend reacted with strong opposition to the news that an Italian specialist is on the point of cloning the first human baby．
Dr．Severino Antinori, who is the head of a hospital in Rome, has been referred to in an Arab newspaper as claiming that one of his patients is eight weeks pregnant （怀孕的）with a cloned baby．
Antinori refused to comment on the reports, but in March 2001 he said he hoped to produce a cloned embryo （卵）for implantation within two years．So far seven different kinds of mammals have already successfully cloned, including sheep, cats and most recently rabbits．
Doctors showed their doubt and were strongly opposed although they admit that human cloning would finally come true unless there was a world wide ban on the practice．
Professor Rudolf Jaenisch of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said: “I find it astonishing that people do this where the result can be foretold that it will not be a normal baby．It is using humans as guinea pigs．It makes people feel sick．” But Ronald Green, director of the Ethics institute at Darmouth College in the US, said it is unlikely that an eight-week-old pregnancy would lead to a birth．
So far all cloned animals have suffered from some different serious disorders, many of them dying soon after their births ．
Doctors are opposed to human cloning because they are worried about the welfare of the cloned child if there is one．
“There are no benefits of cloned human beings, just harm,”said Dr．Michael Wilks of the UK．
45．What is the doctors’ general attitude to cloning of humans according to the passage?
A．They are against it． B．They support it．
C．They welcome it． D．They pay no attention to it．
46．Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A．Doctor Severino Antinori is strongly opposed to cloning human beings．
B．Up to now, seven kinds of animals have been cloned, including sheep, cats, humans and rabbits．
C．Professor Rudolf Jaenisch is carrying on an experiment on cloning an eight-week-old embryo．
D．Ronald Green doubts about the future successful birth of the so-called cloned embryo．
47．Which is the best title for the passage?
A．The Success of Cloning Humans B．The Anger at Cloning Humans
C．Failure of Cloning Humans D．First Cloned Human?
第二部分：阅读理解（共两节，满分30分）
第一节（共10小题，每小题2分，满分20分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
Americans spend their free time in various ways．
America is a country of sports — of hunting, fishing and swimming, and of team sports like baseball and football．Millions of Americans watch their favorite sports on television．They also like to play in community orchestras （管弦乐队）, make their own films or recordings, go camping, visit museums，attend lectures, travel, garden, read, and join in hundreds of other activities．The people also enjoy building things for their homes, sewing their own clothes, even making their own photographs．They do these things for fun as well as for economy．
But as much as Americans enjoy their free time, the country is at the same time a “self-improvement” country．More than 25 million adults continue their education, chiefly by going to school in the evening, during their own free time, at their own expense．Added to the time spent on personal activities, Americans a1so devote a great amount of their time to the varied needs of their communities．Many hospitals, schools, libraries, museums, parks, community centers, and organizations that assist the poor depend on the many hours citizens devote to these activities, often without any pay．Why do they do it?
There are several answers．The idea of cooperating and sharing responsibility with one another for the benefit of all is as old as the country itself．
When the country was first founded in 1776, it was necessary for the settlers to work together to live．They had crossed dangerous seas and risked all they had in their struggle for political and religious freedom．There remains among many Americans a distrust of central government．People still prefer to do things themselves within their communities, rather than give the government more control．
Sometimes people offer their time because they wish to accomplish something for which no money is paid, to do something that will be of benefit to the entire community．It is true that some people use their leisure because they are truly interested in the work; or they are learning from the experience．
No matter what the reason is, hundreds of thousands of so-called leisure hours are put into hard, unpaid work on one or another community need．
1．This passage is mainly about ________．
A．why America is a country of sports
B．how Americans spend their free time
C．why America is a “self-improvement” country
D．how Americans are devoted to their community activities
2．The writer mentions the foundation of the country in order to indicate ________．
A．the early history of America
B．the American people’s determination to live
C．the reason for Americans’ willingness to cooperate and share responsibility
D．the American people’ s love for freedom
3．Which of the following best explains the meaning of the underlined word “leisure”?
A．work time B．energy C．effort D．spare time
4．What can we infer from the text?
A．The first settlers left their hometown for political and religious reasons．
B．Many Americans don’t trust the central government．
C．American people enjoy building things for their homes just for fun．
D．Americans continue their education at their own expense．
Win a trip to the OREGON COAST-Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. Build the biggest sand castle on the beach. Search tide pools for sea life. Watch the bright orange sunset over the ocean. Whether you’ve been to the Pacific Ocean before or have only closed your eyes and imagined it, we want to know how you would explore the Oregon Coast if you had the chance to go this summer.
JUDGING
1. Clear relationship between the Essay and the Drawing 40%
2. Creativity and skill in design and form of the Drawing 40%
3. Expression of the passion to draw and explore 10%
4. Journalistic quality, tidy nature and overall quality of the Essay 10%
PRIZE
By entering, you will have the chance to win an all expense paid trip to the ORECON COAST. Activities will include: kite flying, studying beautiful sea creatures, searching for sea life in a boat, science exploration at a science center and roasting over a beach campfire.
Who may enter: The competition is 0pen to kids aged 6 - 14.
TERM : Entries(参赛作品) must be postmarked no later than July 31 ,2009.
How to enter
Surf travelogue. com/kids to download and print out an entry form.
Be sure to mark whether you have or have not been to the Pacific Ocean in山e form. Create a drawing of the Pacific Ocean on a piece of paper using a pen or paints.
Write an article of 100 words or less to explain why you want to go, what you think you would see and what you would explore if you have never been to the Pacific Ocean, or describe your favorite memories from your last visit.
Send to Dare to Explore the Pacific Ocean. NG1145 14th street NW. Washington D. C. 20036
72. What is the most important for the judging?
A. Whether your article is written in a neat way.
B. The article and the drawing should be closely related.
C.Whether you show your passion to draw and explore
D. The skill in your drawing the map of the AtlanticOcean.
73. If you win the competition, you may____
A. fly a kite on the beach B. search the beach for sea plants
C. roast the sea creatures over a beach campfire
D. win an all expense paid trip to Washington D. C.
74. What information can you get from the passage?
A. Your article should be 8t least 100 words.
B. Every kid can rake part in the competition.
C. You must send the drawing before June 31, 2009.
D. Your entry form should be downloaded and printed out.
75. You can most probably read the passage in ________ . .
A．a textbook B．a travel guide C．a newspaper D．a research book