Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.
“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” Kinsley said.
“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”
Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.
“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.
“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations (改变) to the brain.”How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?
| A．Some researchers have told them. |
| B．Many women say so. |
| C．They know it by experimenting on rats. |
| D．They know it through their own experience. |
What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?
| A．Baby rats. | B．Animals. |
| C．Old rats. | D．Grown-up rats. |
What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?
| A．Estrogen. | B．The hormones of pregnancy. |
| C．More exercise. | D．Taking care of children. |
Which title is the best for this passage?
| A．Do You Want to Be Smarter? |
| B．Motherhood Makes Women Smarter |
| C．Mysterious Hormones |
| D．An Important Study |
Hawking's Five Easy Steps for Making Yourself a Genius
As we all know，Stephen Hawking writes the book A Brief History of Time that explains the origin of the universe. The book spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List and has sold 10 million copies. He is，most agree，very smart.
In his recently published autobiography My Brief History，Hawking offers five life lessons on how to become a genius.
1)Don’t miss opportunities by being too cool
“We showed an air of complete boredom and the feeling that nothing was worth making an effort for. One result of my illness has been to change all that. When you are faced with the possibility of an early death, it makes you realize that life is worth living and that there are lots of things you want to do. ”Seize the moment，as Oxford types would say.
2)Keep it simple
When writing A Brief History of Time，he tried to make science understandable for the rest of us. “I was sure that nearly everyone is interested in how the universe operates，but most people cannot follow mathematical equations(数学公式). ”He has trouble with them，too. “This is partly because it is difficult for me to write them down，but mainly because I don't have an inborn feeling for equations. My aim in the book was to describe these mental images in words. It is such an easy book that everybody can understand it.” The moral：You don't have to be a genius to know everything.
3）Have fun
Hawking has a long history of being a joker，and he has placed lots of bets with other scientists on the nature of black holes. One was with Cal-Tech scientist John Preskill. After paying off his bet by giving Preskill a baseball encyclopedia，Hawking wrote，“but maybe I should have just given him the ashes. ”So lighten up! Geniuses like bad jokes too.
4) Always look for a silver lining (even if you are seriously ill)
Hawking's disease has slowly robbed him of the ability to walk，move his arms，even speak. But，Hawking says，“in some ways I guess my disability has been an assist：I haven't had to lecture or teach students, and I haven't had to sit in meetings. So I have been able to devote myself completely to research.”In other words，Hawking was given lemons，and he made Champagne.
5)Don’t work too hard at school
……The passage tells us the facts about A Brief History of Time EXCEPT that ________.
| A．it explained the origin of the universe |
| B．it has sold 10 million copies up to now |
| C．it spent 147 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List |
| D．it included Hawking's five life lessons on how to become a genius |
According to the passage，which of the following statements is guiding you to be a genius?
| A．Place lots of bets with your friends. |
| B．Seize the moment to learn everything. |
| C．Find something good even in bad situations. |
| D．Get to know everything including math equations. |
Hawking shows his viewpoint by ____________.
| A．making comparisons | B．quoting a famous saying |
| C．listing the numbers and equations | D．talking about his own experience |
Four million children are caught up in the war in Syria. Thirteen-year-old Rabia is one of them. Tall and thin, she sits shaking in a yellow T-shirt at the Al Marj settlement, close to the Lebanese-Syrian border. 
Home for Rabia was once a two-story house near Damascus. Now it is a tent shared with her nine family members.
Rabia’s face is covered with dirt, and she is tired and cold. She has just finished work, picking up potatoes that fell from a truck. Her typical day starts at 4 a.m., and she works a double shift that lasts about 16 hours, putting potatoes into bags. The only choice for her is that she can choose the first eight hours or the second eight hours. For this, she gets paid about $8 a day.
Working means Rabia misses school. Back in her village, she was the best in her class and good at everything. Her favorite subjects were Arabic literature and math. But, like many children now living in the settlements—there are no official refugee （难民）camps in Lebanon —that was Rabia’s old life. Life before war, before her family moved five times to escape the bombs, before leaving behind her bedroom, her toys and her friends without packing a bag, before “half the people I know”were dead.
The old life was full of laughter with her sister, Wala. But Wala, 14, got married two days ago to an 18-year-old Lebanese. Rabia is happy for her sister. Life in the settlement is tough— the children have nowhere to play, the bathing is poor and sexual abuse is out of control. You can’t blame parents —often confused, illiterate （不识字的）and poor—who want to marry off their daughters. They fear for their safety.
Increasing numbers of Rabia’s girlfriends are getting married. Once in rural Syria, a girl got married at 16. According to UNICEF, the age is now dropping to 12 or 13. It is no secret that Lebanese men want to marry Syrian refugee girls, who work hard and don’t ask for anything. Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?
| A．A news report. | B．A book review. |
| C．A history book. | D．A travel magazine. |
The underlined word “shift”in Para. 3 probably refers to _____.
| A．the extra task | B．the low pay |
| C．the potato factory. | D．the working period |
The writer's purpose for writing Para. 4 is to ________.
| A．present the dream of Rabia | B．show the damage of the war |
| C．predict the future of Syrian girls | D．compare the life before war and now |
Why are so many young Syrian girls getting married?
| A．They have no good friends to play with. |
| B．They want money from the husband family. |
| C．Their parents are worried about their safety. |
| D．Their parents are confused，illiterate and poor. |
In today's fast paced, high stress world people are working longer hours than ever, and often exhaust themselves at day's end in front of the television to relax enough to begin again in the morning．However, television watching, for most people, does not really lower stress．Studies show that TV viewing more than an hour or so actually creates stress and, especially in women, may lead to the blues．Most individuals are unaware that doing some exercise after work makes them more energetic since it increases energy levels．
Wise use of free time does not mean getting an advanced degree, although the mental encouragement gained through education is unbeatable in keeping your mind active．Learning new things nearly always adds a spark to your daily life, especially if it is a favorite topic, such as sport, fashion, or art．Also, look through your bookstore or library to find books on your interests．Try to replace a half hour TV watching with reading．
It is reported that in the United States recently, many individuals have as few as two good friends．Long work hours and car commute act to separate people from each other．This separation is deadly．Find ways to meet people at the end of the day and on weekends．Often this can be best done by combining activities, such as by joining a walking group to get both exercise and companionship．Taking a class will lift your spirits and allow you to meet others with similar interests．Hobbies are great for reducing stress and provide another opportunity for social interaction．
Using your free time to aid your health may include these elements and many more, such as going to concerts and spending time with family．Overall, the key is to spend less free time being passive．The best ways to use free time are to be mentally and physically active, spend some time outdoors, and interact with other people on a regular basis．What can we learn from the passage?
| A．Watching television may cause women to feel depressed． |
| B．Finding interests and hobbies in common means taking a class． |
| C．Going to concerts is the best way to make you mentally active． |
| D．Getting an advanced degree in education always lights up your life． |
What does the underlined word "commute" in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
| A．The arrangement to work every day． | B．The journey to work every day． |
| C．The communication between people． | D．The separation between people． |
Which would be the best title for the passage?
| A．Live a Happy and Healthy Life | B．Relax Yourself in Various Ways |
| C．Spend Your Free Time Wisely | D．Interact With Others Outdoors |
The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand---a system of rapid handwriting, and now it's threatening to finish off handwriting as a whole. When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2011, just 15% of the most 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive (草写字母）.The rest? Block letters.
And those college hopefuls are just the first edge of a wave of US students who no longer get much handwriting instructions in the primary grades, frequently 10 minutes a day or less. As a result, more and more students struggle to read and write cursive.
At Keene Mill Elementary School in Springfield, all their poems and stories are typed. Children in Fairfax County schools are taught keyboarding beginning in kindergarten. Older students who never mastered handwriting say it doesn't affect their grades.
There are those who say the culture is at a crossing, turning from the written word to the typed one. If handwriting becomes a lost form of communication, does it matter?
It was at University of Virginia that researchers recently discovered a previously unknown poem by Robert, written in his unique script. Handwritten documents are more valuable to researchers, historians say, because their authenticity (真实性）can be confirmed. Students also find them more fascinating.
The loss of handwriting also may be a cognitive (认知的）opportunity missed. Several academic studies have found that good handwriting skills at a young age can help children express their thoughts better-a lifelong benefit.
It doesn't take much to teach better handwriting skills. At some schools in Prince George's County, elementary school students use a program called Handwriting Without Tears for 15 minutes a day. They learn the correct formation of manuscript letters through second grade, and cursive letters in third grade.
There are always going to be some kids who struggle with handwriting because of their particular neurological (神经系统的) wiring, learning issues or poor motor skills. Educators often point to this factor in support of keyboarding.What is the author concerned about after 2011 SAT exams?
| A．Keyboarding. | B．Shorthand. | C．Handwriting. | D．Block letters. |
A poem by Robert mentioned in the passage is used to _________.
| A．prove how valuable handwriting is |
| B．explain what a famous poet he is |
| C．show how unique his poem is |
| D．stress how fascinating the documents are |
The example of Handwriting Without Tears helps to argue that_________.
| A．the schools are responsible for the loss of handwriting |
| B．the loss of handwriting is a cognitive opportunity missed |
| C．it doesn't take much to teach better handwriting skills |
| D．the culture is turning from the written word to the typed one |
According to the author, when is a perfect time to learn handwriting?
| A．Kindergarten. | B．Primary school. | C．High school. | D．College. |
“A good book for children should simply be a good book in its own right” says Mollie Hunter. Born and brought up near Edinburgh，Mollie has devoted her talents to writing primarily for young people. She firmly believes that there is and should always be a wider audience for any good book whatever its main market is. In Mollie’s opinion it is necessary to make full use of language and she enjoys telling a story，which is what every writer should be doing. “If you aren’t telling a story, you’re a very dead writer indeed.” She says. With the chief function of a writer being to entertain，Mollie is indeed an entertainer. “I have this great love of not only the meaning of language but of the music of language,” she says. “This love goes back to early childhood. I had a school teacher who used to ask us what we would like to be when we grew up and，because my family always had dogs，and I was very good at handling them，I said I wanted to work with dogs，and the teacher always said ‘Nonsense，Mollie；dear，you’ll be a writer.’ So finally I thought that this woman must have something，since she was a good teacher and I decided when I was nine that I would be a writer.”
This childhood intention is described in her novel，A Sound of Chariots，which although written in the third person is clearly autobiographical (自传体的) and gives a picture both of Mollie’s ambition and her struggle towards its achievement. Thoughts of her childhood inevitably (不可避免地) brought thoughts of the time when her home was still a village with buttercup meadows and strawberry fields—sadly now covered with modern houses. “I was once taken back to see it and I felt that somebody had lain dirty hands all over my childhood. I’ll never go back，”she said “Never. When I set one of my books in Scotland” she said “I can recall my romantic feelings as a child playing in those fields，or watching the village blacksmith at work. And that’s important because children now know so much so early that romance can’t exist for them, as it did for us.”What does Mollie Hunter feel about the nature of a good book?
| A．It should not aim at a narrow audience. |
| B．It should be attractive to young readers. |
| C．It should be based on original ideas. |
| D．It should not include too much conversation. |
In Mollie Hunter’s opinion，which of the following is one sign of a poor writer?
| A．Being poor in life experience. |
| B．Being short of writing skills. |
| C．The weakness of description. |
| D．The absence of a story. |
What do we learn about Mollie Hunter as a young child?
| A．She didn’t expect to become a writer. |
| B．She didn’t enjoy writing stories. |
| C．She didn’t have any particular ambitions. |
| D．She didn’t respect her teacher’s views. |
What’s the writer’s purpose in this text?
| A．To share her enjoyment of Mollie Hunter’s books. |
| B．To introduce Mollie Hunter’s work to a wider audience. |
| C．To provide information for Mollie Hunter’s existing readers. |
| D．To describe Mollie Hunter’s most successful books. |