If you want to improve your child’s results at school, you could do a lot worse than ensuring that they do plenty of exercise. Scientists have already shown that physical activity can make you brainier. But a team in America has used scans to show that an important part of the brain actually grows in children who are fit. These youngsters tend to be more intelligent and have better memories than those who are inactive.

　　Scientists also found that one of the most important parts of their brains was 12 percent larger than those of unfit children. They believe that encouraging children to take exercise from a very young age could help them do better at school later. Researchers from the University of Illinois, in the U.S., studied the brains of 49 children aged nine and ten using a magnetic resonance imaging scan (核磁共振攝影掃描), a technique which provides very detailed pictures of organs and tissues in the body.

　　They also tested the fitness levels of the children by making them run on a treadmill (跑步機(jī)). The scientists found that the hippocampus, a part of the brain responsible for memory and learning, was around 12 percent larger in the fitter children.

　　Professor Art Kramer, who led the study published in the journal Brain Research, said the findings had important implications for encouraging individuals to take part in sport from a young age. “We knew that experience and environmental factors and socioeconomic status all impact brain development,” he said. “If you get some terrible genes from your parents, you can’t really fix that, and it’s not easy to do something about your economic status. But here’s something that we can do something about.”

1.If you want to improve your children’s result in school, ____________.

A. it is worse to ensure that they do plenty of exercise

B. you can have their brain scanned

C. it could be better to make sure that they do a lot of exercise

D. you can do a lot except ensuring that they do exercise

2.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?

A. The fitness level of the children is linked to their intelligence.

B. Children who have a larger hippocampus will probably have better memories.

C. You can do something about the genes from your parents.

D. Unhealthy children will probably have a smaller hippocampus than others.

3. All the following factors that have some influence on one’s brain are mentioned EXCEPT ____________.

A. genetic factor    B. economic status   C. physical fitness  D. economic development

 

 

Bill Bryson是美國著名游記作家。閱讀下面列出的他的一些作品的簡要介紹，從A—F 中找出相應(yīng)的封面。

1.This book is a guide to the world’s unspoilt sights and experiences. It presents one thousand fresh and fascinating alternatives to hundreds of well-known tourist destinations and sights, including alternatives to the Carnival in Rio and the beaches of Thailand, the most-visited national parks, over-rated restaurants and holiday sites.

2.In this collection, Bill Bryson is writing from home. We find he assesses life both in New England and in the contemporary United States. With the telescopic perspective(遠(yuǎn)望視角) of one who has stepped out of the American mainstream and come back after 20 years, Bryson holds the mirror up to U.S. culture and feel strange to his motherland.

3.Returning to the U.S. after 20 years in England, Bill Bryson decided to reconnect with his mother country by hiking the length of the 2100-mile Appalachian Trail. Awed by merely the camping section of his local sporting goods store, he still goes into the wilderness and learns hard lessons about self-reliance.

4.A travelogue by Bill Bryson is as close to a sure thing as funny books get. This book is no exception. Following an urge to rediscover his youth, the author leaves his native Des Moines, Iowa, in a journey that takes him to across 38 states in the country, which is like a small town in his opinion.

5.Born in Iowa, Bryson backpacked through Europe as a young man. While living in England some 20 years later, he revisited many of the same places from arctic Norway’s northern lights to romantic Capri in Italy. Here he jumps back and forth between old memories and new experiences.

A	A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail	B	The Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America	C	I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America after 20 Years Away
D	The Road Less Traveled: 1000 Amazing Places off the Tourist Trail	E	Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe	F	The English Landscape: Its Character and Diversity

 

 

While most students in the USA are worrying about getting into their dream universities, others worry about a bigger problem. Students brought to the USA illegally, who have to leave a   36   on applications that need their Social Security number, know they will not be accepted    37   their outstanding grades and performance. The young immigrants   38   from the U.S. school system, but only up through high school. Their education often    39   there due to a 1996 federal law that bans states from offering in-state tuition rate(學(xué)費(fèi)) to illegal immigrants    40   the state also offers it to all U.S. citizens. However, there may be some hope because of the DREAM Act, which will be voted on in Congress (國會).

The DREAM Act is a/an   41   aid program for the young illegal immigrants who entered the U.S. before they were 16. Those who apply for this program can get   42   and temporary residing (居住) status, which can be changed, once   43  , to a green card after six years. These immigrants can then use their newly acquired status to seek green cards for their   44  . In this way, it can also provide citizenship for the illegal foreigners who brought their children to the US.

“I don’t live in fear of being driven out of this   45  ,” says Juan, a high school junior born in Mexico. “I live a normal life here   46   that now everyone is getting their driver’s license, and I can’t.”

Juan came to the U.S. with his mother and older brother at eight. He is hoping for the DREAM Act to be      47 . While he admits that there is no obvious prejudice in high school, Juan   48   faces unfair racial treatment.

“It   49   me when people joke around and ask me for my green card,” Juan explains. “I   50  , but deep down I know they are offending me for   51   I have no control over. I was born in Mexico, but my   52   is here.”

His brother now attends a community (社區(qū)) college and plans to enter a university. Juan hopes to take a   53   path. “For long, I have no   54   that I can go to university” Juan says. “I know it’s going to be hard, but as long as I stay in this country, I have a/an   55  .”

1. A. blank             B. track        C. name         D. message

2. A. because of        B. instead of   C. in terms of      D. regardless of

3. A. suffer        B. benefit          C. learn        D. graduate

4. A. stops             B. begins       C. continues        D. changes

5. A. if            B. until        C. unless           D. after

6.A. legal              B. international    C. seasonal     D. educational

7.　A. low              B. conditional      C. stable       D. regular

8. A. denied        B. lost             C. bought       D. earned

9.A. children           B. parents          C. friends          D. relatives

10. A. school       B. program          C. system           D. country

11.A. with          B. in               C. except       D. now

12.A. introduced   B. discussed        C. passed       D. corrected

13.A. almost        B. still        C. even         D. only

14. A. bothers          B. worries          C. confuses         D. surprises

15. A. laugh        B. cry              C. shout        D. sigh

16. A. everything       B. nothing          C. something    D. anything

17. A. success          B. origin       C. life             D. experience

18. A. similar          B. right        C. different        D. direct

19. A. confidence  B. idea         C. interest         D. doubt

20. A. attempt          B. chance       C. dream        D.choice