D
Losing weight comes with a lot of health benefits—including making your brain sharper.
There have been few studies of overweight and cognitive functioning, (认知功能) possibly because it is generally believed that it is not a primary risk cause for poor cognitive performance. Yet, it turns out that overweight may damage cognitive functions such as memory and attention. Losing weight, therefore, may help improve these mental functions, according to a new research led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.
Growing evidence suggests that being fat is linked to cognitive deficits (缺陷). So Gunstad and his team guessed that losing weight might improve mental function. For their study, they measured memory and attention in a group of 150 overweight participants, some of whom had some kind of operation for weight loss and some did not. All of the volunteers completed mental skills tests to assess their abilities of memory and attention at the beginning of the study, and again 12 weeks later. To begin with, about 24% of the patients showed damaged learning and 23% showed signs of poor memory when tested. At the end of the study, those who had lost weight after operation improved their scores into the average or above average range for cognitive functions. Scores for the volunteers who didn’t lose weight dropped even further.
The study helped Gunstad to find out whether losing weight had any effect on mental function. Now that he’s seen the positive effect that weight loss can have on memory and attention, he says he will next study those who choose to lose weight by the traditional way—eating healthier and getting more active. He expects that losing weight in this way will have a similarly positive effect on the brain. “If we can improve the condition with operations, then we can probably produce the same change with behavioral weight loss as well,” he says.There is less research on overweight and cognitive functions because researchers _____.
| A. believe overweight only affects our body |
| B. have focused on ways to sharpen people’s mind |
| C. do not consider overweight a main cause for low cognitive ability |
| D. are clear about the relation between weight and mental functions |
The result of Gunstad’s study shows that ______.
| A. losing weight has little effect on people’s memory |
| B. losing weight can improve people’s mental functions |
| C. overweight people are likely to have psychology problems |
| D. overweight people’s abilities of concentration differ greatly |
What is Gunstad planning to prove next in his research?
| A. Slim people are smarter than overweight people. |
| B. Healthy diet is better than exercise in losing weight. |
| C. Traditional ways of losing weight are better than operation. |
| D. Overweight people will get smarter by taking more exercise. |
Which of the following is the best title for the text?
| A．Body Weight and Health |
| B．Losing Weight by Operation |
| C．Ways to Improve Mental Functions |
| D．Losing Weight to Sharpen Your Mind |
Do you enjoy watching beautiful sunsets and seeing wildlife in some of the best parts of Wisconsin? Do you like being around people who share the same respect and love for natural resources? If you say“yes”, then a fisheries biologist is a great career choice for you.
As you can probably guess, education is very important. A Bachelor of Science degree in fisheries or biology is strongly recommended(推荐). Many biologists have a Master’s degree. But it’s not only good education that prepares you for a career as a fisheries biologist—field experience is also important. Volunteer work, internships(实习) and short-term fish technician positions are good ways to gain valuable training that can give you an edge in the competitive job market.
In addition to good education and field experience, a fisheries biologist needs other skills. You’ll spend a lot of time working with the public, so it’s important to feel comfortable talking to a variety of people. Good communication, listening, and presentation(陈述) skills are a must.
A common misconception among many people is that fisheries biologists get to fish all the time. Most biologists wish that were true. But as a fisheries biologist, you are especially busy during the fishing season, which leaves little time for you to actually go fishing. It’s sad, but true.
Each day brings something different in the life of a fisheries biologist. In the spring and fall, you spend a lot of time on the water shocking fish in order to sample the population, studying fish, and talking with people. The winter is spent analyzing(分析) fish data and communication with the public.
So if you find fish interesting and fun to learn about, and like working both outside and inside, consider a career as a fisheries biologist. You’ll never be bored!We can infer this passage was written to.
| A．advise us to respect and protect wildlife |
| B．encourage us to spend more time working outside |
| C．explain why education is important for our career |
| D．introduce a good career to those who are interested in wildlife |
What are Paragraphs 2 and 3 mainly about?
| A．Education needed to find a good job. |
| B．Requirements for becoming a fisheries biologist. |
| C．The benefits of being a fisheries biologist. |
| D．Some good ways to gain valuable training. |
The underlined word“misconception”in Paragraph 4 probably means“”。
| A．question | B．misunderstanding | C．dream | D．explanation |
It can be inferred from the passage that.
| A．fisheries biologists like working in winter most |
| B．fisheries biologists can easily get bored of their work |
| C．fisheries biologists get to fish all the time all year round |
| D．fisheries biologists spend a lot of time working outside in spring and fall |
England has been the birthplace of most of the great English-language theater written throughout history. Most of the plays in England that are truly famous have something in common. They usually come from a playwright(剧作家) with several famous plays.
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is considered the most famous British playwright. Shakespeare has a large catalog(目录) of tragedies, comedies and history plays, and each category is home to some of the most famous plays ever written. Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Othello and Julius Caesar are all tragedies and performed in theaters around the world every year. Famous comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. In the history category, Richard Ⅲ and Henry Ⅴ are very famous.
Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw
Several hundred years after Shakespeare, English people began to enjoy the works of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. Wilde’s plays are still popular now, and The Importance of Being Earnest is both performed and studied extremely frequently. A Woman of No Importance and An Ideal Husband are among his other famous works. Shaw and Wilde were born within a few years of each other, but Shaw was a much more productive writer. His most famous plays include Pygmalion and Candida. Shaw’s plays are loved so much that an entire theater company is devoted to performing his work in Niagara-on-the-Lake in southern Ontario.
Harold Pinter
The plays of Harold Pinter certainly have an international presence. His writing was so widely recognized for its importance that he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2005. Pinter is especially known for his style of writing. Many of his plays such as Betrayal, The Dumb Waiter and his first play, The Room, are extremely well known.The writer wrote this passage to.
| A．advise us to spend more time enjoying plays |
| B．explain why England has so many wonderful plays |
| C．tell us about some famous British playwrights and their works |
| D．tell us the differences among some British playwrights |
What do the works in the underlined part in Paragraph 2 have in common?
| A．They are all Shakespeare’s early works. |
| B．They are all tragedies written by Shakespeare. |
| C．They are all Shakespeare’s famous comedies. |
| D．They all belong to the history category of Shakespeare’s plays. |
Which of the following plays were most probably written in the same period of time?
| A．The Dumb Waiter and A Woman of No Importance. |
| B．Richard Ⅲ and A Woman of No Importance. |
| C．An Ideal Husband and Candida. |
| D．Candida and Betrayal. |
Who was mentioned in this passage that he had received the Nobel Prize because of his writing?
| A．William Shakespeare. | B．Oscar Wilde. |
| C．George Bernard Shaw. | D．Harold Pinter. |
Many people influenced various aspects of my life, based on their personal characteristics, accomplishments, and values. I have been fortunate to have had numerous teachers and professors who I respect for their patience and intelligence. There are artists that have inspired me by their natural talents and original creativity. I value many political leaders, who have inspired me by their contributions to society, and their ability to change our futures. But of all the people I have known in my life, the person I admire most is my father.
As the youngest girl in my family, I always considered myself to be“Daddy’s little girl”. While I grew up, it always made me sad to see so many of my friends and neighbors without a father or father-like figure around. This helped me appreciate how my father always takes an interest in his children’s lives. In every aspect of my life my father continuously pushes me to excel, so I could accomplish my work outstandingly among my people. Whenever I feel like giving up, or have a question or a concern, I know I can always call on him for advice. From him I have also learned that sometimes you have to put others’ needs ahead of your own, but you should make sure you are not taken advantage of by others. His strength seems to be unbreakable during hard times, and he is extremely determined to accomplish anything he sets his mind on, no matter how tiny it is. I highly respect him for how he stands up for what he believes in, and will never back down. I have always admired his open mind, compassion(同情) for people, and sense of understanding. He is a very reserved(保留的) man, but to everybody’s surprise, he has a great sense of humor, and always knows how to put a smile on the faces of his wife, his children and his friends.
Living in his affection and instruction, I am very proud of my father. He also professes (声称) how proud he is of his children, and is still there to support us in whatever we are involved in.What is the best title for the passage?
| A．How my father loved me |
| B．My father—the person I admire most |
| C．I am the apple of my father’s eye |
| D．My father—the one who influenced me most |
Which of the following could not be used to describe the author’s father?
| A．Considerate and humorous. |
| B．Affectionate(慈祥的) and open-minded. |
| C．Knowledgeable and sociable. |
| D．Energetic and helpful. |
Which of the following can best explain the underlined word“excel”?
| A．Do better than others. | B．Show off. |
| C．Be cleverer than others. | D．Keep healthy. |
According to the underlined part, the father was telling the author to.
| A．try to be good to those who were worth making friends with |
| B．try to take advantage of those who were friendly to her |
| C．think about others and help them, so that she could make them serve her |
| D．think about others and help them, but not to be made use of in a negative way |
What can we infer about the author?
| A．She appreciated her father because he solved all the problems for her. |
| B．She considered her father humorous and was often made to laugh by him. |
| C．She had pity on the fatherless. |
| D．She was outstanding in work because her father pushed her hard. |
A man was on the side of the road hitchhiking(搭便车) on a very dark night in the middle of a terrible rainstorm, with no cars on the road. The storm was so strong that the man could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car come towards him and stop. The man, without thinking about it, got in the car and closed the door and only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the steering wheel(方向盘)!
The car started to move very slowly. The man looked at the road and saw a curve(拐弯处) coming his way. Terrified, he started to pray, begging for his life. He had not come out of shock when, just before the car hit the curve, a hand suddenly appeared through the window and moved the wheel. The man, paralyzed with fear, watched how the hand appeared every time the car was drawing near a curve. Finally, although terrified, the man managed to open the door and jump out of the spooky(怪异的) car. Without looking back, the man ran through the storm all the way to the nearest town. In a state of complete horror, the man walked into a nearby bar and asked for two glasses of Scotch whisky.
Then, still shaking with fright, he started telling everybody in the bar about the horrible experience he just went through in the spooky car. Everyone in the bar listened in silence and became frightened, with hair standing on end, when they realized the man was telling the truth because he was crying and he was certainly not drunk!
About half an hour later, two other young men walked into the same bar and one said to the other,“Hey, there’s a stupid man who jumped into the car while we were pushing it!”When the car was first drawing near a curve, the man.
| A．felt very curious | B．was extremely frightened |
| C．cried for help | D．remained as calm as possible |
According to the passage, what made the man’s experience believable?
| A．His reasonable behavior. | B．His vivid description. |
| C．His simple appearance. | D．His honest attitude. |
We can infer from the passage that.
| A．it is unsafe for people to take a free ride |
| B．the man was telling a lie to his listeners |
| C．the car probably broke down on the way |
| D．the two young men were familiar with the man |
First lady Michelle Obama urged students to visit China at the “100,000 Strong” China Study Abroad Forum at Howard University.
President Barack Obama announced the “100,000 Strong” Initiative（十万强计划）during his 2009 visit to China. The program aims to increase the number of American students studying in China by making study abroad more affordable.
During the event at Howard, Mrs. Obama spoke about the importance of studying abroad. “Studying in a country like China is about so much more than just improving your own prospects（前途） in the global market. The fact is that with every friendship you make and every bond of trust you establish you are shaping an image of America projected to the rest of the world and making America known better.” she said.
Mrs. Obama encouraged students to set aside the opinion that studying abroad is for “rich kids only” or for those attending “certain schools”. The first lady also announced that the Chinese government is giving 10,000 “Bridge Scholarships” to cover costs for American students studying in China.
Some students who had studied in China shared their experiences. David Marzban from Pepperdine University recalled a time when he formed a cross-cultural bond with a complete stranger at a restaurant near Fudan University in Shanghai. He noticed a young chef signaling him to come over. “He pressed the play button on his media player and started singing California Dreaming and wanted me to sing along with him,” Marzban said. “At that time I knew a great friendship had started during my first two weeks in China.”
Nicole Baden from Howard University recalled how her time in China really helped her master the language. “You have to experience the culture while learning the language to really master it to understand why things are how they are compared to your own culture,” Baden said.
12-year-old Sarah Davis, who studied in China last summer, said she was very excited to hear Michelle Obama talk about the country. “I love Chinese. Out of all the languages I’ve learned, Chinese is the most difficult and interesting.” She said. According to the passage, the “100,000 Strong” Initiative ______.
| A．provides convenience for American students to study in China |
| B．was made by First Lady Michelle Obama in 2009 |
| C．got little support from the Chinese government |
| D．isn’t well-accepted among American students |
According to Mrs. Obama, ______.
| A．American students used to be unable to study abroad |
| B．Studying in China can make American students’ future better |
| C．the Chinese government will offer all the US students scholarships |
| D．American students’ studying in China helps improve the relationship between China and the US |
Three examples are given mainly to indicate that ______.
| A．American students are very popular in China |
| B．Chinese is the most difficult to learn in the world |
| C．Many US young people have actually been studying in China |
| D．American students’ studying in China is important and worthwhile |
What is the best title for the passage?
| A．A great program for American students to study in China |
| B．Michelle Obama encourages students to study in China |
| C．More American students will go to China to study |
| D．China is attracting more and more American students |