If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pron

If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pron

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If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven"t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater, the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals" who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
"Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language," said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible (灵活的),"he said. "You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas."
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.
小题1:The main subject talked about in this passage is ______.
A.science on learning a second language
B.man’s ability of learning a second language
C.1anguage can help brain power
D.1anguage learning and maths study
小题2: In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to ______.
A.say language is also a kind of physical labor
B.prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language
C.to show the importance of using the language when you learn the language
D.make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well
小题3:We may know from the scientific findings that ______.
A.the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is
B.there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn"t know a second language
C.the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people"s brain
D.the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time
小题4:The underlined word “bilingual"’ probably means ______.
A.a researcher on language learning
B.a person who is good at learning foreign languages
C.a person who can speak two languages
D.an active language learner

答案

小题1:C
小题1:D
小题1:A
小题1:C
解析

举一反三
If your mother wants to tell you something, she uses words. Birds can not talk as we do. But some birds can make sounds to warn their young of danger. They have their own ways to make the young birds do certain thing.
The jackdaw is a kind of blackbirds that lives in Europe. Jackdaws live together in flocks. ( 群) Yong jackdaws do not know their enemies. When an older jackdaw sees a dog , it makes a loud tattling (格格响的)sound.The young birds know this sound means an enemy is nearby.  The sounds warns them to know their enemy.
If a young jackdaw is in a dangerous place, a jackdaw parent flies over him from behind.The parent bird flies low over the young bird’s back, the parents’ tail feathers move quickly from side to side, It is trying to say, “ Follow me.”
At the same time , the parent calls out, “ Key-aw ,Key-aw.” The parent means, “ Fly home with me.” The young bird then follows the older one home.
Young jackdaws do not have to learn what certain sounds mean.They know the meaning of these sounds from the time they hatch.
小题1:The jackdaw lives in _____ .
A.EuropeB.AustraliaC.AmericaD.Africa
小题2:When an old jackdaw sees a dog , it _____ .
A.calls out “Follow me .”B.makes a loud sound
C.flies awayD.fights the dog .
小题3: Parent jackdaw can use their tail feathers to ______ .
A.ask their young to follow themB.play a game with the young
C.tell the meal timeD.give a warning of a fire
小题4:The story tells much about _____ .
A.the danger of jackdaws.
B.in which mother can talk to their children.
C.the way jackdaws warn their young of danger.
D.how the jackdaws are living.
小题5: Which of the following does this story lead you to believe ?
A.All animal parents can talk to their young.
B.Dogs are the most dangerous enemies for jackdaws.
C.Young jackdaws know the meaning of their parents’ sound when they grow older .
D.Some birds can give certain information to one another.

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When Xia Min started drinking alcohol with her classmates at a friend’s birthday, she didn’t realize what would happen to her. She drank a lot and fell into a coma (昏迷). The 15year-old girl from Chongqing never recovered.
Xia’s death is warning to other students. A new rule went into effect on January 1, 2006. Teens are not allowed to buy or drink alcohol. Shops are not allowed to sell it to them.
A 1999 Chinese law forbade (禁止) shops to sell alcohol to youths under 18. But it is not taken seriously by shopkeepers because it doesn’t have specific rules. People hope the new rule will work.
“I tasted alcohol when having the dinner of the last New Year’s Eve,” said Lian Yuqi, a 16-year-old girl in Xiamen. She believes that the new rule will stop teens from drinking and help them grow in a healthy way.
“Although it may be a little disappointing not to have beer at parties, I think we can have soft drinks instead,” she said.
小题1:Xia Min died from alcohol at the age of ______.
A.15B.16C.17D.18
小题2: The underlined word “it” means ________.
A.a warning singB.a shopkeeper
C.the new rule D.a 1999 Chinese law
小题3:We can know that ________.
A.it is against the new rule for youths under 18 to drink alcohol
B.shops can sell alcohol to a 16 years old youth.
C.without an ID card, young people can’t buy alcohol
D.it seems that the young girl, Liang Yuqi, likes to drink alcohol
小题4:According to the passage, which of the following is TRUE?
A.The new rule has worked very well.
B.Shopkeepers can sell alcohol to teens above 18.
C.China’s legal drinking age is clearly under18.
D.Many teens drink alcohol to show they’ve grown up.
小题5:This passage is mainly about _______.
A.the harm of drinking alcohol
B.the legal age for drinking alcohol
C.a new rule to stop teens drinking
D.student’s ideas about drinking alcohol

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Imagine a boy from a small village in East Africa, He from a very early age has been looking after cattle. At twelve years old he knows more about cattle than most of you. However, he has never been to school. Has this boy ever had any education?
Education is discovering about ourselves and about the people and things around us. All the people who care about us — our parents, brothers, sisters, friends — are our teachers. In fact, we learn something from everyone we meet. We start learning on the day we are born, not on the first day" we go to school. Every day we have new experiences, like finding a bird"s nest, discovering a new street in our neighborhood, making friends with someone we didn"t like before. New experiences are even more fun when we share them with other people.
Encouragement from the people around us enables us to explore things as much as possible. As we grow up, we begin to find out what we are capable of doing. You may be good at cooking, or singing or playing football. You find this out by doing these things. Just thinking about cooking doesn"t tell you if you are good at it.
We learn so much just living from day to day. So why is school important? Of course you can learn some things better at home than at school, like how to do the shopping, and how to help old or disabled people who can" t do everything for themselves. At school, teachers help us to read and write. With their guidance, we begin to see things in different ways.
小题1: The writer takes the African boy as an example to show that _______.
A.African children are very poor
B.some children are unlucky
C.education takes many ways
D.schools are of great importance
小题2:In the eyes of the writer       .
A.we have to learn from the people around us
B.school is not important at all
C.only the people caring for us can teach us
D.education takes place everywhere
小题3:One can find out what he is good at by     _.
A.the encouragement of people aroundB.the teachings of those he or she meets
C.thinking of it when growing upD.trying practicing it
小题4: How the writer looks at the role of school is that       .
A.school is not so important as our living places
B.school enables us to understand the world in other ways
C.school teaches us something useless at home
D.school cannot prepare us for our daily lives
小题5: The passage tells us that _    .
A.everyone gets education from the day he or she is born
B.different education trains different classes of people
C.school is absolutely necessary if one wants to understand the world
D.everyone will find out what he or she is good at

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
Water problems in the future will become more intense and more complex. Our increasing population will tremendously increase urban wastes, primarily sewage. On the other hand, increasing demands for water will decrease substantially the amount of water available for diluting wastes. Rapidly expanding industries which involve more and more complex chemical processes will produce larger volumes of liquid wastes, and many of these will contain chemicals which are noxious. To feed our rapidly expanding population, agriculture will have to be intensified. This will involve ever - increasing quantities of agricultural chemicals. From this, it is apparent that drastic steps must be taken immediately to develop corrective measures for the pollution problem.
There are two ways by which this pollution problem can be dwindled(减少). The first relates to the treatment of wastes to decrease their pollution hazard . This involves the processing of solid wastes "prior to" disposal and the treatment of liquid wastes, or effluents, to permit the reuse of the water or minimize pollution upon final disposal .
A second approach is to develop an economic use for all or a part of the wastes. Farm manure is spread in fields as a nutrient or organic supplement. Effluents from sewage disposal plants are used in some areas both for irrigation and for the nutrients contained. Effluents from other processing plants may also be used as a supplemental source of water. Many industries, such as meat and poultry processing plants, are currently converting former waste products into marketable byproducts. Other industries are potential economic uses for waste products.
小题1:The purpose of this passage is ________.
A.to alert the reader to the dwindling water supply
B.to explain industrial uses of water
C.to acquaint the reader with water pollution problems
D.to demonstrate various measures to solve the pollution problem
小题2:Which of the following points is NOT included in the passage?
A.Industrial development includes the simplification of complex chemical processes.
B.Diluting wastes needs certain amount of water.
C.Demands for water will go up along with the expanding population .
D.Intensive cultivation of land require more and more chemicals.
小题3:The reader can conclude that _________.
A.countries of the world will work together on pollution problems
B.byproducts from wastes lead to a more prosperous marketplace
C.science is making great progress in increasing water supplies
D.some industries are now making economic use of wastes
小题4:The author gives substance to the passage through the use of________.
A.interviews with authorities in the field of water controls
B.opinions and personal observations
C.definitions which clarify important terms
D.strong arguments and persuasions
小题5:The underlined words "prior to"(para. 2)probably man________.
A.afterB.duringC.beforeD.beyond

题型:不详难度:| 查看答案
A scientist who developed a way to calculate how much water is used in the production of anything from a cup of coffee to a hamburger was awarded the 2008 Stockholm Water Prize.
Professor John Anthony Allan of the University of London in Britain won the award for introducing the idea of “virtual water (虚拟水)”, a calculation method that has changed the nature of trade policy and research.
Allan has written seven books and published more than 100 papers.
The Stockholm International Water Institute said this idea is now embedded (埋藏) in the production of foods and industrial products. The institute said Allan’s work had made a big effect on global trade policy and research, especially in water-scarce (缺水的) regions.
“The improved understanding of trade and water management issues on local, regional and global scales are of the highest value for the successful and sustainable (可持续的) use of water resources,” it said.
“People do not only use water when they drink it or take a shower,” the institute said. “Behind the morning cup of coffee, there are 140 liters of water that was used to grow, produce, package and ship the beans.” That is about as much water as a person in England uses on average for all daily drinking and household needs.
“For a single hamburger, about 2,400 liters of water are needed. In the USA, the average person uses nearly 7,000 liters of virtual water every day.” It said that was more than three times the average use of a Chinese person.
小题1:Allan was awarded the prize because _______.
A.he wrote seven books on trade policy
B.he published more than 100 papers on water management
C.he found a new kind of water in water-scarce areas
D.he came up with the idea of virtual water
小题2:Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A.The average American uses about 7,000 liters of water a day.
B.The average Chinese uses nearly 2,300 liters of virtual water a day.
C.An Englishman usually drinks about 140 liters of coffee a day.
D.A hamburger usually contains about 2,400 liters of water.
小题3:What do we learn about John Anthony Allan from the passage?
A. He won the 2008 Nobel Prize.        B. He has written over 100 books.
C. He works at the University of London.        D. He lives in the USA.
小题4:What effect does the idea of virtual water have?
A.It helps us realize the importance of trade.
B.It helps people do successful business.
C.It helps us make use of water scientifically.
D.It tells us how much water we use a day.

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