to be thought that this couldn"t be helped, but new studies show that people of any age can train
their brains to work faster. "Your brain is a learning machine," says University of California scientist
Dr. Michael Merzenich. Given the right tools, we can train our brains to act like they did when we
were younger. All that"s required is the practice designed just for the purpose: a few exercises for
the mind.
Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process(过程)in
which the brain deals with information ( positscience. com). Since much of the data we receive
comes through speech, the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better
speed and accuracy (准确性).
Over the course of training, the program starts asking you to distinguish (辨别) sounds (between
"dog" and "bog", for example) at an increasingly faster speed. It"s a bit like tennis instructor, says
Merzenich, hitting balls at you-faster and faster to keep you challenged(受到挑战).
You may start out slow, but before long you"re pretty quick,
The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic.
If you ask your brain to learn, it will learn. And it may even speed up while in the process.
To keep your brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and
excite you: playing table tennis or bridge, doing crossword puzzles, learning a language. . . "When
it comes to preventing ageing, you really do " use it or lose it" ,"says Barbara Sahakian, professor at
Cambridge University.
B. computer languages
C. the activities one joins in
D. the information being dealt with
B. mastered
C. developed
D. researched
B. Brain research started ten years ago.
C. Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer.
D. People believed nothing could stop the brain slowing down.
A. The training methods work better for the old.
B. People should use the brain to stop it from ageing.
C. The training of the brain should start at an early age.
D. It"s necessary to take part in as many activities as possible.
very close to the shore. With the help of Max Egan, we went to film them near Byron Bay. It
was extremely exciting to spot the little puffs(水柱)of spray on the horizon. When migrating, the
whales can be traveling at speeds of about 12 km an hour and can dive under anywhere between
five and forty minutes, but with many years of experience Max usually guided our boat to exactly
the right place to provide us with amazing sighting. As the whales break the surface like submarines
(潜水艇 ) , the water spills off their broad dark backs and huge tails. Then, with a powerful down
stroke ,they dive back into the depths of the sea, leaving just a smooth glassy patch of water or
"footprint" on the surface to show where they had been.
One day we had traveled up and down the shore and far out to the sea in search of whales, but
the horizon was deserted. There was no report of whales in the area so we
decided to test out Max"s new, highly sensitive hydrophone (水中听音器) and the result was
astonishing. As soon as the hydrophone was in the water, we found ourselves listening to the most
beautiful voices. What may have seemed like a vast empty ocean filled with the singing of whales.
It is the males which sing,as they migrate between feeding and breeding (养育) grounds. No one
knows for sure what the purpose of these songs is,whether they are love songs to the females or
warnings to other males to stay away.
It was thought that each population of hump backs had its own song which remained regular but
recent findings suggest that the whales appreciate a memorable tune (曲调)and quickly adopt any
new songs they hear.
B. The songs of whales.
C. The traveling speed of the whale.
D. The depth of the whales" dive.
B. He is a brave scientist on whales.
C. He is an experienced man in finding whales.
D. He is an expert in making hydrophones.
3. The author"s main purpose of looking for whales in the passage is___________.
B. studying the beautiful songs of whales
C. making films about whales
D. hunting whales for research
A. Each group of humpbacks had the song of their own
B. Whales can"t sing to each other.
C. Whales aren"t easy to find.
D. The whale can"t dive in the sea as long as forty minutes.
days at a time and about one in eleven tries to hide his or her online habit, according to a study
showed on Tuesday.
The study by researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine in California found
one in eight adults admitted they needed to spend less time online, saying this showed "problematic
Interact use" is present in a sizable portion (部分)of the population.
The study involved a nationwide telephone survey of 2,581 respondents in the spring and summe
r of 2004 with researchers then examining the data and preparing the report which appears in the
October issue of CNS Spectrums.
The survey found that 68.9 percent of respondents were regular Internet users and 13.7 percent
of the users found it hard to stay offline for several days at a time.
It found 12.4 percent often stayed online longer than intended, more than 12 percent said they
saw a need to cut back on their Internet use, and 8.7 percent tried to conceal (隐瞒) "non-essential
"Internet use from family, friends and employers.
A smaller number, 8.2 percent, said they use the Internet to escape problems or a bad mood,
while 5.9 percent felt their relationships suffered because of too much Internet use.
One report published earlier this year said that 5 percent to 10 percent of the population likely
will experience Internet addiction.
It said signs include a disregard for health or appearance, lack of sleep and reducing physical
activities and social communications with others, as well as dry eyes and juries of hands and fingers.
B. how surfing the net has caused a bad result to people
C. why to throw off the Internet addiction becomes a hot problem
D. why so many adults want to spend less time on the interact
B. 8.7%
C.5.9%
D. 13.7%
B. All of the Interact users have terrible psychological problems to solve.
C. The internet is more harmful to people than good.
D. We have to pay attention to negative effects from the internet.
revolution". On the farm of today, machines provide all the power.
One of the most important benefits will be the farm computer. A few forward-looking farmers
are already using computers to help them run their farms more efficiently. The computers help them
keep more accurate records so they can make better decisions on what crops to plant, how much
livestock to buy, when to sell their products, and how much profit they can expect. Many computer
companies have been developing special computer programs just for farmers. Programs are being
written for hog(猪) producers, grain farmers, potato farmers, and dairy farmers. In the future, farmers
will be able to purchase computer programs made to their needs. Because of the growing importance
of computers on the farm, students at agricultural colleges are required to take computer classes in
addition to their normal agricultural courses. There can be no doubt that farmers will rely on computers
even more in the future. While the old-time farm depended on horse power, and modern farms
depend on machine power, farms of the future will depend on computer power.
Another technological advance which is still in the experimental stage is the robot, a real "mechanized
hired hand" that will be able to move and, in some ways, think like a human being. Unlike farmers of
the present, farmers of the future will find that many day-to-day tasks will be done for them. Scientists
are now developing robots that will be able to shear(修剪) sheep, drive tractors, and harvest fruit.
Even complex jobs will be done by robots. For example, in order to milk their cows, farmers must
first drive them into the special barn(畜棚), then connect them to the milking machines, watch the
machines, and disconnect them when they are finished. In the future, this will all be done by robots.
In addition, when the milking is completed, the robots will automatically check to make sure that
the milk is pure. The complete mobilization of the farm is far in the future, but engineers expect that
some robots will be used before long.
B. The first sentence of the second paragraph.
C. The first sentence of the third paragraph.
D. The last sentence of the second paragraph.
B. whether to plant a certain kind of crop
C. whom to sell their livestock to
D. when to sell their products
B. Both computers and robots have been in use on today"s farms.
C. Farmers mainly use machines on their farms at present.
D. Farmers can do nothing without the help of computers on today
B. milking cows
C. most of the farm work
D. some house work
B. Farmers in the Future
C. Robots in the future
D. Revolution on the farm
Sometimes you"ll hear people say that you can"t love others until you love yourself. Sometimes you"ll
hear people say that you can"t expect someone else to love you until you love yourself. Either way,
you"ve got to love yourself first and this can be tricky. Sure we all know that we"re the apple of our
parents" eyes, and that our Grandmas think we"re great talents and our Uncle Roberts think that we will
go to the Olympics, but sometimes it"s a lot harder to think such nice thoughts about ourselves. If you find
that believing in yourself is a challenge, it is time you build a positive self-image and learn to love yourself.
Self-image is your own mind"s picture of yourself. This image includes the way you look, the way you
act, the way you talk and the way you think. Interestingly, our selfimages are often quite different from the
images others hold about us. Unfortunately, most of these images are more negative than they should be.
Thus changing the way you think about yourself is the key to changing your selfimage and your whole
world.
The best way to defeat a passive self-image is to step back and decide to stress your successes. That
is, make a list if you need to, but write down all of the great things you do every day. Don"t allow doubts
to occur in it.
It very well might be that you are experiencing a neg- ative self-image because you can"t move past
one flaw or weakness that you see about yourself. Well, roll up your sleeves and make a change of it as
your primary task. If you think you"re silly because you aren"t good at math, find a tutor. If you think
you"re weak because you can"t run a mile, get to the track and practice. If you think you"re dull because
you don"t wear the latest trends, buy a few new clothes. But remember, just because you think it doesn"t
mean it"s true.
The best way to get rid of a negative self-image is to realize that your image is far from objective, and
to actively convince yourself of your positive qualities. Changing the way you think and working on those
you need to improve will go a long way towards promoting a positive self-image. When you can pat(拍)
yourself on the back, you"ll know you"re well on your way. Good luck!
B. feel it hard to change yourself
C. are unconfident about yourself
D. have a high opinion of yourself
B. are probably untrue
C. are often changeable
D. have different functions
B. To make your life successful.
C. To understand your own world.
D. To change the way you think.
B. How to face challenges in your life.
C. How to build a positive self-image.
D. How to develop your good qualities.
B. Adolescents.
C. Educators.
D. People in general.
black holes! Astronomers last week discovered a pair of enormous black holes far out in the galaxy
that appear to be dancing toward each other. However, astronomers say the collision is not likely
to occur for several million years.
Black holes are objects in outer space that are so dense that nothing can escape their gravity.
They often sit in the center of a galaxy - like the Milky Way - and suck up everything near them.
The gravitational pull of a black hole is so intense that not even light (Which travels faster than
anything else in space) can make it past without being swallowed.
Black holes, like the one at the center of the Milky Way, are enormous. Scientists call some
of them "supermassive", because they can be a few million times the size of most stars. Their size,
their mass, and their inescapable gravity make black holes a giant force of nature in outer space.
Because there is no light near black holes, astronomers cannot actually see them; they are
completely invisible to us on the Earth. Scientists manage to detect the existence of a black hole
by watching what happens to other objects, or matter floating in space.
So how did scientists manage to get a good look at a region so faraway? The team used an
orbiting NASA observatory known as Chandra. This special observatory uses X-rays rather than
light to watch far out into space. Right before a star gets sucked into a black hole, it produces a large
number of X-rays.
B. It has extremely strong gravity.
C. It can suck up everything near them.
D. It is an enormous object in the galaxy.
B. Because Chandra can help them see black holes in X-rays.
C. Because Chandra was sucked into the black hole.
D. Because Chandra can resist the gravitational pull of a black hole.
B. How stars react when sucked into a black hole.
C. Black holes" swallowing up many nearby stars.
D. How black holes come into existence.
B. The location of black holes in the galaxy.
C. New clues about the beginning of the universe.
D. Nothing near a black hole can escape without being swallowed.
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