Children who are brought up by two parents grow up to be cleverer than those raised by just one person, new research suggests. Being with both parents in the earliest years of life leads to a child developing more brain cells, the scientists believe. Being brought up by both parents causes boys to have better memory and learning functions. By contrast, it causes girls to develop improved co-ordination and sociability.
It is believed that babies with two parents tend to get more attention and more stability(稳定), and that they are less likely to suffer emotional distress(悲伤) in the first years of life. This leads to greater brain cell production ------ for boys it is grey matter brain cells that develop and for girls is white matter brain cells.
The researchers from Canada studied mice and experimented by creating one-parent and two-parent family groups. They then measured the offspring’s(后代的) brain cell development from birth to adulthood. Adult mice with the highest number of brain cells turned out to be those who had been brought up by two parents rather than one. As babies they had received more attention and more nursing as both parents took turns to lick and tend to their youngsters, said Dr Samuel Weiss.
As a result, the babies with two parents are less likely to suffer early life hurt which can have a massive impact on how their brains develop in later life, the research shows. However, what did surprise the researchers is that female babies who grew up with both parents turned out to be good single mothers, as if good parenting was passed on.
The researchers said,“ In the mouse model, parenting and the environment directly impacted adult brain cell production. It is possible that similar effects could be seen in other mammals, such as humans.”From the first paragraph we can draw a conclusion that ________.
| A．Girls have better memory and learning functions. |
| B．Boys are better at co-ordination and sociability. |
| C．The benefits vary between the sexes. |
| D．The benefits are the same between the sexes. |
The researchers proved their idea ________.
| A．by questionnaire on parents. |
| B．by experiment on mice. |
| C．by raising babies themselves. |
| D．by experiment on humans. |
The underlined word “impacted” means _________.
| A．destroyed | B．constructed |
| C．influenced | D．disagreed |
What does the passage mainly tell us?
| A．Children brought up by two parents are cleverer. |
| B．Children brought up by single parent are cleverer. |
| C．Children grow up themselves are cleverer. |
| D．Children grow up themselves are more self-confident. |
According to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)，the U．K．has about 7．7 million families with dependent children，of which 3．7 million have just one child，compared to 3 million with two and 1．1 million with three children or more．The number of families today with just one dependent child is now 47 percent and will likely rise to more than 50 percent in a decade．As the ONS confirms，“It appears that families are getting smaller．”
One obvious reason for this could be that women are putting off having children until they have established careers when they are bound to be less fertile．But it could just as well be a matter of choice．Parents must consider the rising cost of living，combined with economic uncertainty and an increasingly difficult job market．And this trend may continue growing as having an only child becomes more normal，which seems to be the mood on the mothers’ online forum Mumsnet，where one member announced that she “just wanted to start a positive thread about how fab it is to have an only child”．
She had received 231 replies，overwhelmingly in the same upbeat spirit．Parents of only children insist there are plenty of benefits．Nicola Kelly，a writer and lecturer who grew up as an only child and is now a married mother of one，says her 15 year old son seems more grown up in many ways than his contemporaries．
Not all products of single child families are as keen to repeat the experience．In a moving recent account journalist Janice Turner wrote about her own keenness to “squeeze out two sons just 22 months apart”as a reaction to her only child upbringing．
She was placed on a pedestal by her doting parents，whom she punished with a “brattish，wilful” rejection of everything they stood for．Desperate for a close friend she was repeatedly shattered by rejection and refers to her childhood as being “misery”．
Writer and clinician Dr．Dorothy Rowe，a member of the British Psychological Society，says that we all interpret events in our own individual way and there are some children who no matter what their circumstances feel slighted，while other children see the advantages of their situation．
However，the one part of life that is unlikely to get any easier for only children is when they grow up and find themselves looking after their own parents as they become older．The passage is written with the purpose of ________．
| A．illustrating the strength and weakness of having an only child |
| B．analyzing the reasons why having an only child becomes popular |
| C．presenting us with different opinions about having an only child |
| D．guiding people to look at the same issue from different perspectives |
What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 4 mean？
| A．Nearly half of families intend to have just one child． |
| B．All people don’t stand for the idea of having an only child． |
| C．Some people fail to recognize the advantage of having an only child． |
| D．People brought up in an only child family resist downsizing the family． |
From what Dr．Dorothy Rowe said，we know that ________．
| A．journalist Janice Turner experienced a miserable childhood |
| B．she has a positive attitude towards Janice Turner’s reaction |
| C．it’s necessary for us to look at the event from our own angle |
| D．some are unable to make an objective assessment of their conditions |
What can be inferred from the passage？
| A．It’s normal to see the imperfection in character in only children． |
| B．Mumsnet is an online forum which promotes having an only child． |
| C．Economic development plays a determining role in the family size． |
| D．Only children will have difficulty in attending to their parents． |
Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage？
| A．The voyage through the wormhole is a considerable challenge． |
| B．A team of crime fighters uncovers a criminal plot in Big Hero． |
| C．President Coin pushes Katniss to protest Peeta． |
| D．Penguins have to wrestle with problems in District 13． |
The similarity that exists in the four films is that ________．
| A．each of them is a branch of film series |
| B．all of them are concerned with positive energy |
| C．they all have the best actors and actresses in the world |
| D．the four films all have something to do with exploration |
A glass a day keeps obesity at bay．Alcohol has always been thought to cause weight gain because of its high sugar content, but new research suggests a glass a day could form part of a diet．Looking at past studies they found that, while heavy drinkers do put on weight, those who drink in moderation can actually lose weight．
A spokesman for the research team at Navarro University in Spain says, “Light to moderate alcohol intake, especially of wine, may be more likely to protect against, rather than promote, weight gain”．The International Scientific Forum on Alcohol Research reviewed the findings and agreed with most of the conclusions, particularly that current data do not clearly indicate if moderate drinking increases weight．
Boston University’s Dr．Harvey Finkel found that the biologic mechanisms (生物学机制) relating alcohol to changes in body weight are not properly understood．His team pointed out the strong protective effects of moderate drinking on the risk of getting conditions like diabetes(糖尿病)，which relate to increasing obesity．Some studies suggest that even very obese people may be at lower risk of diabetes if they are moderate drinkers．
The group says alcohol provides calories that are quickly absorbed into the body and are not stored in fat, and that this process could explain the differences in its effects from those of other foods．They agree that future research should be directed towards assessing the roles of different types of alcoholic drinks, taking into consideration drinking patterns and including the past tendency of participants to gain weight．
For now there is little evidence that consuming small to moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis increases one’s risk of becoming obese．What’s more, a study three years ago suggested that reveratrol, a compound present in grapes and red wine, destroys fat cells．
The passage is mainly for those ______．
| A．who produce wine |
| B．who are eager to lose weight |
| C．who go on a diet |
| D．who have a drinking habit |
The underlined phrase “in moderation” in the first paragraph means ______．
| A．properly | B．carefully |
| C．excitedly | D．frequently |
Why has alcohol been thought to cause weight gain?
| A．Because its calories are stored in fat． |
| B．Because it is rich in sugar． |
| C．Because it changes drinking patterns． |
| D．Because it increases the risk of diabetes． |
What can we learn from the passage?
| A．The specific roles of different types of alcoholic drinks are very clear． |
| B．Resveratrol is proved to increase the risk of becoming fat． |
| C．The research found moderate drinking has a strong protective effect． |
| D．Current data clearly show that moderate drinking increases weight． |
What is most likely to be discussed in the paragraph that follows?
| A．How to do some easy experiments． |
| B．How to prove the finding mentioned above． |
| C．How to make wine in a healthy way． |
| D．How to reduce the calories contained in wine． |
In my first week as a graduate student at Cambridge University in 1964 I met with a fellow student, two years ahead of me in his studies; he was unsteady on his feet and spoke with great difficulty．This was Stephen Hawking．I learned that he had a bad disease and might not live long enough even to finish his PhD degree．
But, amazingly, he has reached the age of 73．Even mere survival would have been a medical miracle, but of course, he didn’t merely survive．He has become arguably the most famous scientist in the world for his brilliant research, for his bestselling books, and, above all, for his astonishing victory over hardship．
Stephen received his “death sentence” in 1964, when I thought it was hard for him to go on with his study．Stephen went from Albans School to Oxford University．He was said to be a “lazy” undergraduate, but his brilliance earned him a first class degree, an “entry ticket” to a research career in Cambridge and a uniquely inspiring achievement．Within a few years of the burst of his disease he was wheelchair bound, and his speech was so unclear that it could only be understood by those who knew him well．But his scientific career went from strength to strength: he quickly came up with a series of insights into the nature of black holes (then a very new idea) and how the universe began．In 1974 he was elected to the Royal Society at the exceptionally early age of 32．
The great advances in science generally involve discovering a link between phenomena that were previously conceptually unconnected — for instance, Isaac Newton realized that the force making an apple fall to earth was the same as the force that holds the moon and planets in their orbits．Stephen’s revolutionary idea about a link between gravity and quantum(量子) theory has still not been tested．However, it has been hugely influential; indeed, one of the main achievements of string theory(弦理论) has been to confirm and build on his idea．He has undoubtedly done more than anyone else since Einstein to improve our knowledge of gravity and he is one of the top ten living theoretical physicists．
What impressed the author most about Stephen Hawking?
| A．His brilliant research． |
| B．His bestselling books． |
| C．His serious disease． |
| D．His defeating hardship． |
What made Stephen Hawking start his research career at Cambridge?
| A．His death sentence． |
| B．His “lazy” attitude． |
| C．His above average talent and ability． |
| D．His rich experience． |
It can be inferred that Stephen Hawking was born ________．
| A．in the early 1940s |
| B．in the late 1940s |
| C．in the early 1930s |
| D．in the late 1930s |
What can we learn from the text?
| A．Hawking’s theory was proved years ago． |
| B．Hawking was not as successful as Newton． |
| C．String theory built on Hawking’s idea． |
| D．Hawking’s theory has had little influence on others． |
Which of the following is Not True according the passage?
| A．He achieved one success after another in his career despite his disease． |
| B．He couldn’t walk when the author first met him at Cambridge． |
| C．He not only survived his disease but contributed greatly to science． |
| D．He is among the greatest scientists to improve the knowledge of gravity． |
Sina Weibo, one of the country’s most popular micro blogging sites,has launched a paid service．For a 10 yuan ($ l．57) monthly fee, users get a membership on their Sina Weibo accounts．
According to Xu Yuanyuan, a member of the marketing team at Sina, themove is to guarantee a more convenient and safer environment for users．But despite the company’s efforts to increase income, it seems that most of its 300 million users still prefer the free version．
The premium membership (高级会员) plans ,announced by the company on Monday, brought about negative comments from its users ．
“The current service is good enough for me”, said a Beijing based micro blogger．“I don’t really need those value added services and it might be a waste of money．I might consider paying for it if some more features are added．”
Dong Xu, an analyst with consulting firm Analysys International, said that Sina shouldn’t expect a great increase in income brought by the new services．The free services are enough for most users, Dong said．“The company has been making attempts at different profit models since last year．A potential source of income could be gaming．Games and advertisements are so far the two biggest sources of income．” she said．
Other micro blogging service providers have not yet followed suit．Fang Gang, vice president of rival Sohu, said via e mail on Tuesday that Sohu’s micro blogging service will never charge users．“It’s good news for us．Users can come to our website if they have to pay for services (at Sina)．” Fang said．
Most of Sina Weibo’s users______．
| A．aren’t satisfied with its free version |
| B．show no interest in its paid services |
| C．are looking forward to new services |
| D．think highly of its new paid version |
What’s Dong Xu’s attitude towards Sina Weibo’s new services increasing income?
| A．Negative． | B．Confident． |
| C．Indifferent． | D．Positive ． |
Why did Fang Gang consider Sina Weibo’s charging its users good news?
| A．Because Sina will make more money． |
| B．Because Sina will lose the whole Weibo market． |
| C．Because Sohu will attract more users． |
| D．Because Sohu will offer free services． |
What can be inferred from the text?
| A．Most of Weibo websites will charge their users． |
| B．Sina Weibo’s new move will be a great success． |
| C．Sina Weibo’s users will enjoy more services． |
| D．A large number of Weibo users like playing games． |
What can be the best title for the text?
| A．Sina Weibo Faces Great Challenges |
| B．Sina Weibo Launches Paid Services |
| C．Sina Weibo Expects Income Increase |
| D．Sina Weibo Becomes More Convenient |