A team of US psychologists(心理学家) have found that talking to another person for ten minutes a day helps with memory.
“Socializing(交际) is just as effective as more traditional kinds of mental exercise in boosting memory and intellectual(智力的) performance,” Oscar Ybarra, a psychologist at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research, said in a statement.
In one investigation, they analyzed data on 3610 people, aged 24 to 96.
They found that the higher their level of social interaction(交流), the better their cognitive(认知的) functioning. Social interaction includes getting together or having phone chats with relatives, friends and neighbors.
In another experiment, the researchers conducted laboratory tests on 76 college students, aged 18 to 21, to evaluate(评估) how social interactions and intellectual exercises affected the results of memory and mental performance tests.
The students were divided into three groups: the social interaction group had a discussion of a social issue for 10 minutes before taking the tests; the intellectual activities group completed three tasks (including a reading comprehension exercise and a crossword puzzle) before the tests; and a control group(对照组) watched a 10-minute clip(电影片段) of the Seinfeld television show.
“We found that short-term social interaction lasting for just 10 minutes improved participants’ (参与者) intellectual performance as much as engaging in (从事) so-called ‘intellectual’ activities for the same amount of time,” Ybarra said.
The study was expected to be published in the February issue of the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.What does the underlined word “boosting” in the second paragraph probably mean?
| A．Improving. | B．Reducing. |
| C．Preventing. | D．Training. |
Which is not included in social interaction?
| A．Having a talk with a neighbor. |
| B．Attending a birthday party. |
| C．Watching TV at home alone. |
| D．Calling your classmates. |
What’s the purpose of the experiment on 76 college students?
| A．To judge the effect of social interaction on memory and intelligence. |
| B．To find out what is real social interaction. |
| C．To learn how much time is needed for social interaction. |
| D．To show the function of people's cognition. |
What’s the main idea of the passage?
| A．Intellectual exercises make your memory better. |
| B．Different people have different ways of communication. |
| C．Communicating with others keeps you healthy. |
| D．Social interaction makes you smart. |
It was Mother’s Day. John was so busy with his work that he couldn’t go back home. When he walked by a flower shop in the evening, an idea came to his mind. “I’ll send Mum some roses (玫瑰).”
While John was picking his flowers, a young man went inside. “How many roses can I get for only five dollars, Madam?” he asked. The shop assistant told him that roses were as expensive as forty dollars a dozen (一打). Maybe he would be happy with carnations(康乃馨). She told him they were a lot cheaper than roses.
“No, I have to have red roses,” he said, “My mum was badly ill last year and I didn’t get to spend much time with her. Now I want to get something special, it has to be roses, as the rose is her favorite.”
After hearing this, John said he would pay the rest of the money for the young man. Moved by both of them, the shop assistant said, “Well, lovely young men, thirty dollars a dozen, only for you two.” Taking the roses, the young man almost jumped into the air. He thanked John, and ran out of the shop. It was well worth twenty-five dollars John paid to see the exciting moment. Then John paid for his dozen of roses and told the shop assistant to send them to his mother.
As he walked out, he felt nice. Suddenly he saw the young man crossing the street and going into a park. But soon he realized it was not a park but a cemetery (墓地). Crying, the young man carefully laid the roses, “Mum, oh, Mum, why didn’t I tell you how much I loved you? God, please help me find my mum and tell her I love her.”
Seeing this, John turned and quickly walked back to the shop. He would take the flowers home himself.The shop assistant tried to ask the young man to buy carnations instead of roses because _____.
| A．there were not enough roses in the shop |
| B．carnations were much nicer than roses |
| C．roses were more expensive than carnations |
| D．carnations were special flowers for Mother’s Day |
John spent _______ in the flower shop that day.
| A．$5 | B．$25 | C．$ 45 | D．$ 55 |
The young man cried at the cemetery because he _______.
| A．had spent all his money on the roses |
| B．wasn’t able to tell his mother he loved her himself |
| C．felt sorry to ask John to pay for his flowers |
| D．hadn’t got enough money for his sick mother |
At last John decided to take the roses home himself because he wanted to _______.
| A．tell his mother he loved her |
| B．ask his mother for more money |
| C．tell his mother the young man’s story |
| D．ask his mother if she liked roses |
The writer wrote this passage to tell us “_______”.
| A．Buy roses for your mother when she is ill |
| B．Let your mother know how much you love her |
| C．Work hard to get more money for your mother |
| D．Send your mother flowers on Mother’s Day |
阅读下面的短文，选出正确答案。
One day a tiger caught a fox(狐狸) in the forest（森林）. Before the tiger eat him , the fox said, “You can’t eat me, I’m king (王)of the forest. If you eat me , all the other animals in the forest will be angry with you.” The tiger didn’t believe him. The fox said, “If you don’t believe me, then take a walk with me in the forest. You can see whether(是否)they are afraid of me.”
The tiger thought it was a good idea, so they started together. The fox walked in front and the tiger went behind. When the other animals saw the tiger coming, they ran away as fast as they could. The fox called out, “ Mr Tiger, you see, all the animals are afraid of me.” The tiger said, “Yes, you are quite right.” He let the fox go .One day a tiger caught a ________.
| A．dog | B．pig | C．cat | D．fox |
The fox walked _____ the tiger.
| A．in front of | B．in the middle of | C．behind | D．beside |
In fact the other animals are afraid of the _____
| A．fox | B．tiger | C．dog | D．elephant |
When the other animals saw the tiger, they_____
| A．were angry | B．were happy | C．ran off | D．were sad |
The tiger didn’t eat the fox at last, did he ?
| A．Yes, he didn’t | B．No, he did | C．No, he didn’t | D．Yes, he did |
阅读下面的短文，判断正误.（正确的用T，错误的用F）
Lin Fei’s home is about 10 kilometers from school. He gets up at six o’clock every day, showers, and has a quick breakfast. Then he leaves for school at around six-thirty. First, he rides his bicycle to the bus station. That takes about ten minutes. Then the early bus takes him to school. The bus ride usually takes about 25 minutes.It’s about ten kilometers from Lin Fei’s home to school.
He sometimes gets up at six o’clock.
He leaves for school at about half past six.
He gets to the bus station by subway.
It takes him about 20 minutes to the bus station.
Something was crying outside. So I went out to see what was happening. A big cat sat by the door. It must run for a long time as it looked tired and dirty. I let it in my house and took out some food; this poor cat ate all, but still looked starving…, so I got my own cats’ fish, and the cat ate that too!
My five-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter were interested in the cat. They bathed (给……洗澡) it and fed it more food. They wanted to keep it. But I didn’t agree. It was not because I didn’t love it. We already had 2 cats and 2 dogs and our house was not big enough to keep more. Another reason was that I thought maybe it got lost. And its owner (主人) must be worried about it. Then I posted notices all over the town in the hope of finding its home. I also bought an ad (广告)time on a radio station. Three weeks passed, but there was no response (答复).
Finally, I decided to keep the cat. Our house was small, but I would take good care of it as possible as I could.What did the cat look like when it came to the writer’s home?
| A．Tired but beautiful. | B．Cute and clean. |
| C．Dirty but lovely. | D．Tired and dirty. |
Why didn’t the writer agree to keep the cat?
| A． The children liked to hit the cat. | B．The cat was too small. |
| C．He wanted to help the cat find its owner. | D．He didn’t like it. |
What does the underlined word“starving”mean in Chinese？
| A．饥饿的 | B．忧郁的 | C．恐惧的 | D．沮丧的 |
Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
| A．At last, the writer had three cats and two dogs. |
| B．The writer’s house was too small to keep the cat. |
| C．The writer’s daughter is three years younger than his son. |
| D．The writer tried hard to find the cat’s home. |
What is the passage mainly about?
| A．Why the writer didn’t want to keep cats any more. |
| B．How the writer found a cat and raised 饲养 it. |
| C．How the writer’s family looked after a cat. |
| D．What the writer did to find the cat’s owner. |
Shanghai is a nice city. The weather here is mild (温和的), that is, it is neither too hot nor too cold. It changes from season to season. Now many tall buildings have been set up one after another. But at the same time, the city is full of people. As a result, the traffic is terrible. Traffic jams (拥挤) happen during the rush(高峰) hours. If you want to go to a place far away, the fastest way is neither driving, nor riding a bike. It is often walking! The policemen in Shanghai are very helpful. Visitors can ask them for help if they lose their way or lose something. But when you disobey (违背)the traffic rules, they will be very strict with you. A lot of people in Shanghai can speak English. Travellers from English speaking countries feel at home here. Welcome to Shanghai.The weather in Shanghai is _________.
| A．mild | B．hot | C．cold | D．cool |
The traffic in Shanghai is terrible because the city is full of _________.
| A．many buildings | B．people | C．bikes | D．streets |
Sometimes the fastest way to a place far away is to go __________.
| A．by taxi | B．by bike | C．on foot | D．by bus |
The policemen in Shanghai are always ready to __________.
| A．disobey | B．work | C．talk | D．help |
English speaking people can often _________ people in the streets in Shanghai.
| A．listen to | B．talk to | C．get | D．ask |