阅读理解。 If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes st
题型：安徽省模拟题难度：来源：
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 younger people learn a second language, the better the effect is.
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
was.
"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 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.
B. man"s ability of learning a second language
C. findings that language learnings can help brain power
D. language learning and maths study
B. prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language
C. show the importance of using it when you learn a language
D. make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well
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
B. people who are good at learning foreign languages
C. people who can speak two languages
D. active language learners
答案
举一反三
They say sleep strengthens the memory and helps the brain organize the masses of information we receive
each day.
The lead researcher Bob Stickgold at the Harvard Medical School said, "Sleep helps us draw rules from our
experiences. It"s like knowing the difference between dogs and cats even if it"s hard to explain."
The US research team studied how well students remembered connections between words and symbols,
reports New Scientist. They compared how the students performed if they had had a sleep between seeing the
words and having the test, and if they had not slept. They found that people were better able to remember lists
of related words after a night"s sleep than after the same time spent awake during the day. They also found it
easier to remember themes that the words had in common. But they forgot around one in four more themes if
they had been awake.
Prof. John Groeger, University of Survey"s Sleep Research Centre, said, "People have been trying for years
to find out what the purpose of sleep is, as we know that only certain parts of it have a restorative (促使康复
的) value."
"We form and store huge numbers of experiences in the head every day, and sleep seems to be the way the
brain deals with them all."
B. to wait until the next day for a decision
C. to sleep to forget a problem
D. to have difficulty in sleeping
B. remember words and their meanings
C. show their knowledge of words
D. make up lists of related words
B. Rules from personal experiences.
C. Words learned before a good sleep.
D. Ideas stored together in the brain.
B. It helps find out the common themes of words.
C. It tells us that more sleep can improve health.
D. It proves the value of old-fashioned advice.
as a Foreign Language, or TOEFL. A listener in Cambodia named Thida asks if American colleges and
universities also accept the IELTS exam. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. It was
developed by the University of Cambridge ESOL examiners.
Cambridge ESOL says the test measures true-to-life ability to communicate in English for education,
immigration or employment. The IELTS tests listening, reading, writing and speaking skills. It uses a mixture
of accents and spellings, including British English and American English.
The test is used by government agencies, schools and professional organizations in one hundred and twenty
countries. And, yes, that includes the United States. Many American schools that accepted the IELTS can be
found on the Web at felts, org.
Some schools accept both the TOEFL and the IELTS, but the graduate school at Duke University in
Durham, North Carolina, for example, says it prefers the IEITS.
The listening and speaking parts are the same for everyone who takes the IELTS, but people have a choice
of reading and writing tests-either academic or general training.
The listening test takes thirty minutes. There are forty questions based on a recording. The reading test takes
sixty minutes. Students answer forty questions based on three written passages.
The writing test also takes sixty minutes. Students have to write two essays. One essay has to be at least
one hundred and fifty words long and the other at least two hundred and fifty words. The shorter one is
description of something; the longer one has to support and argument.
The speaking test takes less than fifteen minutes. The score is based on a recorded talk between the student
and a test examiner.
And that"s the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. If you have a general
question for our series, write to special@voanews.com. I"m Barbara Klein.
B. International English Language Testing System.
C. Test of English as a Foreign Language.
D. Test of English as a Native Language.
B. more than 165 minutes
C. no more than 160 minutes
D. less than 165 minutes
B. IELTS is completely different from TOEFL
C. every American needs to accept TOEFL
D. IEITS isn"t used more widely than TOEFL
B. It talks about some ways to pass TOEFL.
C. It introduces IELTS.
D. How can the readers pass two kinds of tests?
the sight of a test makes some kids sweat. For others, it is a blank answer sheet. Then there are the frightening
words, "Take out your Number 2 pencil." All three fill 10-year-old Chelsea Logo with fear. "I start to tap my
pencil on the desk," says the fifth grader, "Then I feel the butterflies in my stomach."
Chelsea is not alone. In a recent survey, more than 70% of kids aged 9 to 13 said they worry about tests.
It"s no wonder. Across the United States, public schools give more than 250 million standardized tests each
year.
Why do kids have to take so many tests? The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law requires that students in
grades 3 through 8 be tested each year. The law"s goal is for all students to be at grade level by 2014. Students
must pass the tests and meet other requirements or their schools may be shut down.
US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan wants to change NCLB. But that doesn"t mean he favors getting
rid of tests. Duncan believes tests should be used mainly to evaluate kids" strengths and weaknesses. Tests,
Duncan says, should not be used to punish kids or their schools for failure. "The goal is to focus on great
teaching and learning," Duncan said.
Under NCLB, each state sets its own standards for students to meet. The result, Duncan says, is that states
are making the tests easier. To fix this problem, 48 states are now working together to create common
standards. "I want to set a high bar for kids," Duncan says, "so they"ll be in great shape to achieve their dreams."
Like them or not, tests are here to stay. So how can you handle test stress? Schools are teaching students
to relax through deep breathing and stretching. In Oakland, California, Principal Zarina Ahmad of Piedmont
Avenue Elementary leads her students in a cheer to get them excited about learning.
B. nervous
C. exciting
D. proud
B. is requiring schools to make the tests more difficult
C. is trying to make schools be responsible for students
D. aims to evaluate kids" strengths and weaknesses by means of tests
B. suggests closing some schools
C. is concerned about students" development
D. suggests each state set its own standard
B. schools have no good way to deal with students" stress
C. tests help assess what students have to learn
D. schools are aware of students" stress caused by tests
注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
The treadle pump (脚踏抽水机) is based on a design developed in the 1970s by Norwegian engineer Gunnar
Barnes. It can be made locally and easy to build from bamboo or other wood and two metal cylinders (圆筒)
with pistons (活塞). The pistons go up and down as a person stands on lever (控制杆) devices, treadles, and
uses a natural walking motion.
How many hours a day the pump needs to be operated depends on the season and how much water is
needed for crops. It could be two hours a day or seven hours a day. Small children sometimes stand with their
parents on the treadles. Everyone in the family can take turns operating the pump.
Families using them ate more vegetables, because they were able to grow more to eat and to sell. Many of
these families also drank more milk, because they bought a cow with their added earnings. Men with treadle
pumps often no longer have to leave the farm to seek extra work in cities. The pumps can also improve
education. Farmers often use their extra earnings to buy books for their children or to pay for schooling.
A farmer in Zambia said he hoped to have enough money in three years, to buy a diesel-powered pump.
Then he could grow more crops over a larger area. But the world economic crisis has had an effect on some
farmers. Even some who were able to buy diesel pumps now do not have enough money to buy fuel. So they
are using their treadle pumps again.
