Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp
Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit—and that can be a very annoying thing. Read on for some techniques worth trying.
1.
People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer's disease (早老性痴呆症), according to a recent study. Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There's evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.
2. Go for a walk.
Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain.
3. Learn something new.
Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time. Or go dancing with your friends.
A.Focus on the future. |
B.This can be especially harmful to the aged. |
C.It should be something like learning gardening. |
D.So take a few minutes each day to do some reading. |
E. But don't worry if your schedule isn't filled with life-changing events.
F. Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments.
G. In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.
When I was nine,my parents divorced (离婚) and our house was to be taken away. My dad,with whom my four younger siblings (兄弟姐妹) and I lived,spent countless hours filling out housing forms,calling shelters,and looking for places to stay. Although Dad had four siblings,none offered us a hand until we could get back on our feet.Family problems had caused them to go in separate directions,and,as a result,none were very close.
In spite of all this,my dad told us that we should stick together. His motto was “All of us or none of us,” even if we were just going to the supermarket. He especially stressed the importance of family during these hard times.He told us not to worry because we’d get through this together.He promised that if we stuck together,we’d be all right.
Naturally,like any nineyearold,my mind wandered to playing cops (警察) and robbers and whatever else nineyearolds think about.His heartfelt (衷心的) words seemed to go in one ear and out the other. However,seven years have passed since that time.As my dad promised,we have stuck together and ended up all right.We stayed at a friend’s house until my dad’s many forms produced results and we received housing in a nice neighborhood.
Now I can understand the importance of my dad’s words.I also know that no matter what happens,I can depend on my siblings.Sure,we have our disagreements like any other kids,but we all know we can all depend on each other.That is what family should mean,and that is what matters most to me.When the parents divorced,the main problem for the father to settle was to________.
A.get enough food for daily life |
B.find a suitable house to live in |
C.get in touch with his siblings |
D.find a job to support the family |
By saying “All of us or none of us”,the author’s father meant________.
A.some of the siblings could go to the supermarket |
B.friendship is always the most important thing |
C.all or none of them could go to the supermarket |
D.the family should stick together in hard times |
What matters most to the author?
A.Believing in the parents. | B.Getting a nice house. |
C.Depending on the siblings. | D.Leading a comfortable life. |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Stick together | |
B.Father’s advice | |
C.My siblings | D.Life’s lesson |
Sometimes teens(十几岁的少年) need to have some time away from their families. They may want' to move out of the family home for a while.
Many parents will say no to this demand. But experts say it might be a good idea to let your teens live with a friend or relative.
"It was the break I needed at the time," said Richard Lerner. He is talking about the time he spent living with his grandmother when he was 15.
"It allowed me to be a different person than I was with my parents." Lerner said. He now heads the Institute for Children, Youth and Families at Michigan State University.
Experts say teens living away from their families can test new ways of thinking and getting along with people. They may see new solutions (解答) to problems.
This is different from running away, the experts stress. Runaways are often fleeing serious problems.Some teens who want some time away from family attend a structured summer program. Others live for a while with a relative or with the family of a friend.
If there is conflict (冲突) at home, having a teen live elsewhere can benefit other family members. It gives everyone space to develop better relationships.
Joseph Kett teaches history at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He says living at home until the late teen years has become the norm (准则) only in recent times."In the 17th century, children were often sent to live in other people's homes when they were about 10 or 11," he said.
Peter Sheras teaches education at the University of Virginia. He said parents should listen when a child wants to move out. They should try to find out why the child wants some time away.
Often, parents can help the child find a safe place to stay during that time. In other cases, they can meet the child's needs at home.According to this passage, many parents think it ______ for their children to live away from them.
A.right |
B.happy |
C.unsafe |
D.Reasonable |
When children seriously disagree with their parents,experts suggest that parents should .
A.Punish them |
B.Jet them live away from their family |
C.Send for a teacher |
D.Keep them in the house |
In the third paragraph the word ‘structured’ means .
A.built |
B.stuck |
C.organized |
D.drunk |
In history, .
A.Teens never left their families |
B.Teens often left their parents |
C.Teens never went to school |
D.Teens never made friends with each other |
Terry was a middleaged leather trader whose repeated failure in career made him a depressed man, often____that he had been cheated by others. One day he told his wife he was so__
_with the city that he had to leave.
So his family moved to another city. It was the evening of a weekend. When Terry and his wife were busily__up their new home, the light suddenly__
__.Terry was regretful to have forgotten bringing along__
_and had to wait__
__in a low mood. Just then he heard light, hesitant__
__on his door that were clearly audible (听到) in the_
__night.
“Who's it?” he wondered, since Terry was a____to this city. And this was the moment he especially hated to be__
__, so he went to the door and opened it__
_. At the door was a little girl, shyly asking, “Sir, do you have candles? I'm your neighbor.”“No,” answered Terry in anger and shut the door__
__. “What a nuisance (讨厌)!” he complained over it with his wife. “No sooner had we settled down than the neighbor came to_
__things.”
After a while,the door was knocked again, he opened it and found the same girl outside.___this time she was__
__two candles,saying, “My grandma told me the new neighbor downstairs might need candles. She__
__me here to give you these.” Terry was very__
__by what he saw.
At that moment he suddenly realized what caused his___in life. It was his__
__and harshness (刻薄) with other people. The person who had cheated him in life was__
__nobody else but himself, for his eyes had been blurred (蒙蔽) by his unsympathetic mind.
A. complaining B. reflecting
C. praying D. pretending
A.inspired B.disappointed
C.thrilled D.encouraged
A.looking B.turning
C.coming D.tidying
A.went on B.went down
C.went out D.went through
A.candles B.matches
C.lights D.flashlights
A.happily B.patiently
C.hopefully D.helplessly
A.steps B.words
C.knocks D.screams
A.dark B.quiet
C.noisy D.crowded
A.newcomer B.stranger
C.guest D.settler
A.called B.disturbed
C.watched D.offered
A.surprisedly B.delightedly
C.impatiently D.willingly
A.gently B.kindly
C.politely D.violently
A.lend B.sell
C.purchase D.borrow
A.And B.But
C.So D.For
A.holding B.hiding
C.fetching D.seeking
A.suggested B.forbade
C.sent D.forced
A.frightened B.pleased
C.puzzled D.surprised
A.failure B.success
C.complaint D.determination
A.warmth B.coldness
C.kindness D.sympathy
A.doubtfully B.hardly
C.really D.probably
On a sunny day last August, Tim heard some shouting. Looking out to the sea carefully, he saw a couple of kids in a rowboat were being pulled out to sea.
Two 12-year-old boys, Christian and Jack, rowed out a boat to search a football. Once they’d rowed beyond the calm waters, a beach umbrella tied to the boat caught the wind and pulled the boat into open water. The pair panicked and tried to row back to shore. But they were no match for
it and the boat was out of control.
Tim knew it would soon be swallowed by the waves.
“Everything went quiet in my head,” Tim recalls(回忆). “I’m trying to figure out how to swim to the boys in a straight line.”
Tim took off his clothes and jumped into the water. Every 500 yards or so, he raised his head to judge his progress. “At one point, I considered turning back,” he says. “I wondered if I was putting my life at risk.” After 30 minutes of struggling, he was close enough to yell to the boys, “Take down the umbrella!”
“Let’s aim for the pier(码头),” Jack said. Tim turned the boat toward it. Soon afterward, waves crashed over the boat, and it began to sink. “Can you guys swim?” he cried. “A little bit,” the boys said.
Once they were in the water, Tim decided it would be safer and faster for him to pull the boys toward the pier. Christian and Jack were wearing life jackets and floated on their backs. Tim swam toward land as water washed over the boys’ faces.
“Are we almost there?” they asked again and again. “Yes,” Tim told them each time.
After 30 minutes, they reached the pier. Why did the two boys go to the sea?
A.To go boat rowing |
B.To get back their football. |
C.To swim in the open water |
D.To test the umbrella as a sail. |
What does “it” in Paragraph 2 refer to?
A.The beach |
B.The water |
C.The boat |
D.The wind |
Why did Tim raise his head regularly?
A.To take in enough fresh air . |
B.To consider turning back or not. |
C.To check his distance from the boys. |
D.To ask the boys to take down the umbrella. |
How can the two boys finally reach the pier?
A.They were dragged to the pier by Tim. |
B.They swam to the pier all by themselves. |
C.They were washed to the pier by the waves. |
D.They were carried to the pier by Tim on his back. |
I was very fond of hunting when I was a young man. In the autumn of 1915, I was in the northwest of India. One evening, after hunting in the forest all
, I was returning alone to the place where I had
up my tent. I was tired
hungry. It was getting
and darker, and I was walking slowly
a narrowpath. On my right was a wide river; on my left, a
, dark forest. All of a
I saw two green eyes looking at me from among the trees. I knew it
be a man-eating tiger. The tiger was getting ready to
on me.
My heart . What could I do? Should I jump
the river and hope to save my life
swimming? Ilooked to the
. In the river there was a
crocodile waiting to welcome me with its mouth
open. I was so
that I shut my eyes. And I thought it would be the end of my
. I heard branches moving
the tiger roared (咆哮) and jumped.
then I opened my eyes. What do you think had happened? The tiger had jumped right over me and now in the jaws (嘴) of the crocodile.
A. practicing B. studying C. planting D. traveling
A. day B. night C. the time D. the year
A. turned B. put C. made D. brought
A. but B. and C. or D. nor
A. colder B. warmer C. brighter D. latter
A. by B. beside C. along D. on
A. thick B. strong C. tall D. short
A. shock B. joy C. sudden D. surprise
A. could B. can C. must D. should
A. live B. depend C. look D. jump
A. beat B. sank C. ached D. jumped
A. across B. over C. into D. from
A. on B. of C. with D. by
A. front B. back C. left D. right
A. big B. small C. dead D. dying
A. long B. short C. wide D. narrow
A. tired B. excited C. frightened D. surprised
A. work B. study C. day D. life
A. though B. asC. but D. or
A. Just B. Even C. Still D. Only