If English means endless new words，difficult gramrnar 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 goup 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，”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 2 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．
【小題1】The main subject talked about in this passage is
| A．language can help brain power |
| B．man's ability of learning a second language |
| C．science on learning a second language |
| D．language learning and maths study |
| A．say language is also a kind of physical labor |
| B．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well |
| C．show the importance of using the language when you learn the language |
| D．prove that one needs more practice when he(she)is learning a language |
| A．people who can speak two languages |
| B．second language learners |
| C．researchers on language learning |
| D．a(chǎn)ctive language learners |
| A．the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people’s brain |
| B．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language |
| C．the earlier you start to learn a second language，the higher the grey matter density is |
| D．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time |
| A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths |
| B．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language |
| C．you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language |
| D．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects |
【小題1】A
【小題2】B
【小題3】A
【小題4】C
【小題5】D
解析試題分析：文章講述的正是學(xué)習(xí)另外一門語言可以讓人更加聰明，可幫助提升腦力。
【小題1】主旨大意題。從第一段的句子：Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?可知文章講述的正是學(xué)習(xí)另外一門語言可以讓人更加聰明，可幫助提升腦力。選A。
【小題2】推理題。從第二段的句子：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．可知作者提到鍛煉，說明使讀者相信語言學(xué)習(xí)可以增強肌肉，而學(xué)習(xí)外語可以提高智力，故B正確。
【小題3】猜測詞義題。根據(jù)劃線詞的下文可知這里的bilingual是指who had learnt a second language before the age of five可知他是能講兩種語言的人，故A正確。
【小題4】推理題。根據(jù)文章第五段But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.可知越早學(xué)習(xí)一門外語，灰白質(zhì)的密度越高，C正確。
【小題5】 細(xì)節(jié)題：從文章最后一段的句子：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．
可知作者想要告訴我們早期學(xué)習(xí)一門外語對其他科目的學(xué)習(xí)也是有好處的。選D。
考點：考查科普類短文
習(xí)題精選系列答案科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Seven species of carp(鯉魚) native to Asia have been introduced into United States waters in recent decades, but it's four in particular－bighead, black, grass and silver－that worry ecologists, biologists, fishers and policymakers alike. Introduced in the southeast to help control weeds and parasites in aquaculture (水產(chǎn)養(yǎng)殖) operations, these fish soon spread up the Mississippi River system where they have been crowding out native fish populations not used to competing with such aggressive invaders. The carps' presence in such numbers is also harming water quality and killing off sensitive species.
Asian carp are strong to jump over barriers such as low dams. They lay hundreds of thousands of eggs at a time and spread into new habitat quickly and easily. Also, flooding has helped the fish expand into previously unattainable water bodies. And fishers using young carp as live bait have also helped the fish's spread, as they have boats going through locks up and down the Mississippi.
The federal government considers the Asian carps to be annoying species and encourages and supports “active control” by natural resources management agencies. Federal and state governments have spent millions in tax dollars to prevent the carp from making their way into the Great Lakes, but an underwater electric fence constructed to keep them out has not worked as well as hoped, and policymakers are reviewing other options now.
In the meantime, state and federal agencies are monitoring the Mississippi and its branches for Asian carp and testing various barrier technologies to prevent their further spread. For instance, the National Park Service is cooperating with the state of Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources to construct new dams that are high enough to prevent Asian carp from jumping over. The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee has funded DNA monitoring in potentially affected water bodies whereby researchers can determine whether the troublesome fish are present just by the biological footprints they leave behind. Individuals can do their part by not transporting fish, bait or even water from one water body to another, and by emptying and washing boats before moving them between different water bodies.
【小題1】Asian carp have been introduced to the USA in order to ________.
| A．improve water quality |
| B．help sensitive species |
| C．control the number of native fishes |
| D．control the ecosystem in aquaculture |
| A．testing various barrier technologies |
| B．construction of an underwater electric fence |
| C．Emptying and washing boats before using them. |
| D．monitoring the Mississippi and its branches for Asian carp |
| A．a(chǎn)quaculture operations are dangerous to the water bodies |
| B．scientific technology is useless in preventing Asian carp spreading |
| C．both the state and the individuals can make efforts to keep out Asian carp |
| D．Asian carp have successfully invaded the Mississippi and the Great Lakes |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Using too much water or throwing rubbish into our rivers are clear ways that humans can put our water supply in danger, but we also affect our water supply in less obvious ways. You may wonder how paving(鋪砌) a road can lead to less useable fresh water. A major part of the water we use every day is groundwater. Groundwater does not come from lakes or rivers.It comes from underground. The more roads and parking lots we pave, the less water can flow into the ground to become groundwater.
Human activity is not responsible for all water shortages. Drier climates are of course more likely to have droughts than areas with more rainfall，but in any case, good management can help to make sure there is enough water to meet our basic needs.
Thinking about the way we use water every day can make a big difference, too. In the United States, a family of four can use 1.5 tons of water a day! This shows how much we depend on water to live，but there's a lot we can do to lower the number.
You can take steps to save water in your home.To start with, use the same glass for your drinking water all day. Wash it only once a day. Run your dishwasher only when it is full. Help your parents fix any leaks in your home. You can even help to keep our water supply clean by recycling batteries instead of throwing them away.
【小題1】Which of the following is most likely to lead to less groundwater?
| A．Using river water. | B．Throwing batteries away. |
| C．Paving parking lots. | D．Throwing rubbish into lakes. |
| A．All water shortages are due to human behavior. |
| B．It takes a lot of effort to meet our water needs. |
| C．There is much we can do to reduce family size. |
| D．The average family in America makes proper use of water. |
| A．show us how to fix leaks at home |
| B．tell us how to run a dishwasher |
| C．prove what drinking glass is best for us |
| D．suggest what we do to save water at home |
| A．why paving roads reduces our water |
| B．how much we depend on water to live |
| C．why droughts occur more in dry climates |
| D．how human activity affects our water supply |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
A huge cloud of dust rose and an overpass disappeared. This was the scene in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province on May 17.Nine people were killed and 16 injured.
Things were similar last year in the Sichuan earthquake. Thousands of people were buried in the ruins and lost their lives. What if we could have warned them?
People are always racking their brains to find a way of preventing buildings’ collapse. Better materials and technology help，but they are not a solution.
Just like humans，a building has its own life cycle from “birth” to “death”．If we know when a building is going to collapse，we can repair it in advance or get out of it before it falls.
Now，scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a material that turns red before it breaks. The invention could be used in things like climbing ropes or bridge supports.
The research was led by Nancy Sottos，a professor at the university’s Beckman Institute，and Douglas Davis，a graduate research assistant.
The secret behind the colorchanging material is a type of molecule (分子)．A molecule is a group of atoms held together by chemical bonds. Imagine you and your friends standing in a circle，holding hands. Each person stands for one atom，your hands represent the bonds，and the entire circle represents a molecule. If one person lets go of his or her hands，the molecule changes color.
The research team put the molecule into a soft material. When the researchers stretched the material，it turned bright red for a few seconds before it broke into two pieces. When they repeatedly stretched and relaxed the material，without breaking it，it only turned a little red.
The major problem is that light can get rid of the red color. When the team shone bright light on the molecule，the broken bond was fixed，and the color disappeared.
If the bright light keeps the red color from appearing，the material’s warning system will be useless. Scientists still have a lot of work to do before the colorchanging molecules can be used outside the lab.
【小題1】What does the passage mainly introduce?
| A．The collapse of an overpass in Zhuzhou，Hunan Province. |
| B．The Sichuan earthquake |
| C．A material that turns red before it breaks. |
| D．A way of preventing building from collapsing. |
| A．suffering a lot | B．collecting beyond imagination |
| C．losing a lot | D．thinking very hard |
| A．Thousands of people died from the collapse of buildings in the Sichuan earthquake because they hadn’t been warned. |
| B．There is no building that will never collapse. |
| C．A new material has been applied to buildings to warn people of collapse. |
| D．A colorchanging material can turn red before it breaks. |
| A．The colorchanging molecules are certain to be used outside the lab. |
| B．There will be no collapse with the help of the colorchanging material. |
| C．There is a long way to go before the material can be applied. |
| D．The problem caused by bright light will be solved by scientists. |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
The weather is getting hotter. You are thirsty（口渴的） playing basketball or riding home from school. A cold drink may be just the thing. But be careful what you are drinking. Something that looks cool may not be good for your health. There are plenty of “energy drinks” on the market. Most of them have beautiful colors and cool names. The lists on them tell you they are helpful to your health. Sounds great!
But after a careful check you may find that most energy drinks have lots of caffeine(咖啡堿)in them. These drinks are especially aimed at young people, students, busy people and sports players. Makers sometimes say their drinks make you better at sports and can keep you awake. But be careful not to drink too much. Caffeine makes your heart beat fast. Because of this, the International Olympic Committee(IOC)（國際奧委會） has limited its use. Caffeine in most energy drinks is at least as strong as that in a cup of coffee or tea. Possible health dangers have something to do with energy drinks. Just one box of energy drink can make you nervous, have difficulty sleeping and can even cause heart problems. Scientists say that teenagers should be discouraged from taking drinks with a lot of caffeine in them.
【小題1】Which of the following can be the best title of the passage? ______
| A．What’s the Use of Energy Drinks? |
| B．Who Can Drink Energy Drinks? |
| C．What’s that in Energy Drinks? |
| D．Why Can’t We Buy Energy Drinks? |
| A．disliked | B．helped | C．stopped | D．encouraged |
| A．energy drinks are especially aimed at teenagers |
| B．energy drinks are helpful to teenagers’ study |
| C．sports players need to drink a lot of energy drinks |
| D．a(chǎn)dvertisements are important in getting people to buy energy drinks |
| A．they have beautiful colors and cool names |
| B．they have lots of caffeine |
| C．they can keep them awake and better at sports |
| D．they are said to be helpful to health |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
What will people die of 100 years from now? If you think that is a simple question, you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in biotechnology. With the help of new medicine, the human body will last a very long time. Death will come mainly from accidents, murder and war. Today's leading killers, such as heart disease, cancer, and aging itself, will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes, the Internet gets most of the attention these days. But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times. How long can humans live? Human brains were known to decide the final death. Cells are the basic units of all living things, and until recently, scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells, such as those of brain cells, would not last forever. But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine. Sometime between 2050 and 2100, medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so, people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs. The medicine, made up of the basic building materials of life, will build new brain cells, heart cells, and so on—in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence, but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
【小題1】According to the passage, human death is now mainly caused by ________.
| A．diseases and aging | B．a(chǎn)ccidents and war |
| C．a(chǎn)ccidents and aging | D．heart disease and war |
| A．medicine | B．the Internet | C．brain cells | D．human organ |
| A．heart disease will be far away from us |
| B．human brains can decide the final death |
| C．the basic materials of cells will last forever |
| D．human organs can be repaired by new medicine |
| A．Over 100 years. | B．More than 120 years. |
| C．About 150 years. | D．The passage doesn't tell us. |
| A．Cells aren’t the basic units of all living things any more |
| B．humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now |
| C．much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life |
| D．we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
You might not know it, but there is something wonderful at your fingertips. You can make people happier, healthier and more hard-working just by touching their arms or holding their hands.
Doctors say that body contact is a kind of medicine that can work wonders. When people are touched, the quantity of hemoglobin (血紅蛋白)－a type of matter that produces the red color in blood increases greatly. This results in more oxygen reaching every part of the body and the whole body benefits. In experiments, bottle-fed baby monkeys were separated from their mothers for the first ten days of life. They became sad and negative. Studies showed the monkeys were more probable to become ill than other babies that were allowed to stay with their mothers.
Human babies react in much the same way. Some years ago, a scientist noticed that some well-fed babies in a clean nursery became weak. Yet babies in another nursery were growing healthily, even though they ate less well and were not kept as clean. The reason, he concluded, was that they often had touches from nurses.
Experiments show that most people like being touched. And nearly all doctors believe touch helps to reduce patients' fear of treatment. Of course there is time when a touch is not welcome. But even if we don't like being touched, a smile can make us feel better. Smiling increases blood flow and starts the production of "happy brain" chemicals. So let's have a big smile and don't forget to keep in touch.
【小題1】Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．Everyone knows that body contact can make people happier. |
| B．People may work harder because of body contact. |
| C．Your fingertips can do something. |
| D．People may not understand the importance of touching. |
| A．human brains need oxygen and blood supply now and then |
| B．touches from doctors and nurses have nothing to do with treatment |
| C．new-born baby monkeys should stay away from their mothers |
| D．not all the people like being touched |
| A．to be useful or helpful |
| B．to get something useful or helpful |
| C．to be ill |
| D．to be hurt |
| A．Why People Touch | B．Smile and Touch |
| C．Wonders of Touch | D．Touch or Not |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Throughout the world, boys and girls prefer to play with different types of toys. Boys typically like to play with cars and trucks, while girls typically choose to play with dolls. Why is this? A traditional sociological explanation is that boys and girls are socialized and encouraged to play with different types of toys by their parents, peers, and the “society”. Growing scientific evidence suggests, however, that boys’ and girls’ toy preferences may have a biological origin.
In 2002, Gerianne M. Alexander of Texas A&M University and Melissa Hines of City University in London surprised the scientific world by showing that monkeys showed the same sex-typical toy preferences as humans. In the study, Alexander and Hines gave two masculine toys (a ball and a police car), two feminine toys (a soft doll and a cooking pot), and two neutral toys (a picture book and a stuffed dog) to 44 male and 44 female monkeys. They then assessed the monkeys’ preference for each toy by measuring how much time they spent with each. Their data showed that male monkeys showed significantly greater interest in the masculine toys, and the female monkeys showed significantly greater interest in the feminine toys. The two sexes did not differ in their preference for the neutral toys.
If children’ s toy preferences were largely formed by gender socialization, as traditional sociologists’ claim, in which their parents give “gender appropriate” toys to boys and girls, how can these male and female monkeys have the same preferences as boys and girls？They were never socialized by humans, and they had never seen these toys before in their lives.
【小題1】Traditional sociologists believe boys’ and girls’ toy preferences ________.
| A．a(chǎn)re passed down from their parents |
| B．a(chǎn)re largely formed in later life |
| C．have nothing to do with gender socialization |
| D．have a biological origin |
| A．a(chǎn)lso have a sex typical toy preference |
| B．a(chǎn)lso play toys as humans do |
| C．have no toy preferences |
| D．like to play different toys at different time |
| A．find more evidence for traditional sociology |
| B．test the intelligence of monkeys |
| C．test whether monkeys like to play toys |
| D．find out why boys and girls prefer different toys |
| A．only the male monkeys showed interest |
| B．the female monkeys showed more interest |
| C．the male and female monkeys showed the same interest |
| D．neither the male nor the female monkeys showed any interest |
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科目：高中英語 來源： 題型：閱讀理解
Even while in a deep sleep, people can still learn brand new information. Sleepers soak in new associations between smells and sounds, knowledge that lingers(逗留）into the next waking day, researchers report online August 26 in Nature Neuroscience.
The new study is the first to show that entirely new information can get into the sleeping mind, says Anat Arzi of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. "The brain is not passive while you sleep. It's quite active. You can do quite a lot of things while you are asleep."
But the results don't mean that Spanish vocabulary tapes now have a place on the nightstand. L, Researchers have tried but largely failed to find evidence that complicated information, such as new pairs of words, can make its way into the brain during sleep.
Instead of trying to teach people something complicated like a new language, Arzi and her colleagues relied on the sense of smell and hearing. As anyone who has walked by a dumpster（垃圾車）in July knows, smells can cause a nose-jerk reaction. Catching a bad smell automatically makes people inhale(吸氣)less, reducing the size of the inhale. But scent of fresh bread causes a long, deep inhale.、rzi and her team took advantage of this reaction for their experiment.
As people slept in the laboratory, the researchers delivered pleasant scent, such as shampoo. As this nice smell got into the sleepers' noses, the researchers played a particular music. Later, a disgusting smell, such as rotten fish or meat, was paired with a different music. Neither the smell nor the sound woke people up. After just four exposures to the smell-music pair during a single night, the sleepers started to automatically respond to the tones without the accompanying smells, taking in bigger breaths when the shampoo-associated tone played and smaller breaths when played the sound linked to the rotten fish smell.
This new learned association lingered into the next waking day, too. Even though the sleepers had no idea they had been exposed to smells or sounds, their behavior proved that their brain had actually learned something during sleep. As before, the shampoo sound stimulated a long, deep inhale, while the rotten fish tone caused more shallow breaths.
【小題1】We can infer from the passage that
| A．while sleeping, we can learn whatever we want to learn |
| B．we will increase the size of inhale if we catch a pleasant smell |
| C．the knowledge we learned while sleeping will be forgotten in the next waken day |
| D．when walking by a bakery, the fresh bread will cause a nose-jerk reaction |
| A．One can’t acquire complicated knowledge during the sleeping hours. |
| B．Spanish vocabulary tapes now have a place on the nightstand |
| C．Researchers have tried to find evidence that the new words can be learned during sleep. |
| D．Complicated information can make its way into the brain during sleep |
| A．giving instructions | B．a(chǎn)nalyzing human brains |
| C．following the guides of others | D．doing experiments |
| A．Culture. | B．Science. | C．History. | D．Economy. |
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