题目内容
In the early nineteen fifties, researchers found that people scored lower on intelligence tests if they spoke more than one language. Research in the sixties found the opposite. So which is it?
Researchers presented their newest studies last month at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. The latest evidence shows that being bilingual(双语的)does not necessarily make people smarter. But researcher Ellen Bialystock says it probably does make you better at certain skills. She says bilingual people are often better at controlling their attention—a function called the executive(执行的)control system.
Ms Bialystock is a psychology professor at York University in Toronto, Canada. She says the best method to measure the exective control system is called the Stroop Test. A person is shown words in different colors. The person has to ignore the word but say the color. The problem is that the words are all names of colors.
Her work shows that bilingual people continually practice this function. They have to, because both languages are active in their brain at the same time. They need to limit one to be able to speak in the other.
This mental exercise might help in other ways, too. Researchers say bilingual children are better able to separate a word from its meaning, and more likely to have friends from different cultures. Bilingual adults are ofter four to five years later than others in developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Foreign language study has increased in the United States. But linguist Alison Mackey at Georgetown University points out that English-speaking countries are still far behind the rest of the world. In England, like in the United States, bilingualism is seen as something special and unique and something to be commented on and perhaps work towards, while in many other parts of the world being bilingual is just seen as a natural part of life.
61. Being bilingual can make people .
A. smarter than others B. better at all skills
C. better at controlling their attention D. higher in intelligence
62. According to the text, the Stroop Text .
A. edables children mix up more words
B. requests the person to remember the words of colors
C. shows that bilingual people continually practice the executive control system
D. proves bilingual people scored lower in intelligence tests
63. Bilingual children are more likely to .
A. be healthier than others B. make more friends from different countries
C. develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease D. recognize a word from its meaning
64. The last paragraph suggests that .
A. bilingualism is just seen as a natural part of life in the United States
B. foreign language study needs improving in English-speaking countries
C. bilingualism is seen as something special and unique all over the world
D. English-speaking countries do better than others in foreign language study
65. The text is most probably a .
A. science fiction story B. newspaper ad
C. book review D. science news report
CCBBD
D
Parties, iPods, concerts, movies, TV shows, video games, traffic. All of these things of the modern world make life entertaining and enjoyable. But our 21st-century lifestyle is also loud and, if we don’t take notice, it can have an effect on our hearing.
Most teenagers don’t think about hearing loss. But if you experience any of the following symptoms（症状）, you may already be hearing damaged: you make efforts to hear normal talk, you have to turn up the TV or radio so high that others complain, you watch other people’s expressions to understand what they are saying, you ask people to repeat themselves, you misunderstand what people are saying or you hear ringing in your ears.
iPods and other MP3 players are as common as the clothes you wear, and just as fashionable. But if you turn up an iPod to more than 60 percent of its maximum volume（最大音量）, and listen to music for more than an hour, you are asking for trouble. And, it does not matter if the music you play is classical, rock or heavy metal.
Some researchers find that young people who break the so-called 60-percent/60-minute rule in listening to iPods are at the risk of suffering hearing loss.
Why is an iPod dangerous? With ear buds placed directly in the ear canal and high-volume music played over a long period of time, it’s like working in a loud factory all day, being a maintenance（修理）person under a jet airplane or using a jackhammer（手提钻）on a building site.
Similarly, iPod music can cause a short time or permanent（永久的）hearing damage. A loud iPod can cause a ruptured（破裂的）eardrum and, over time, may cause permanent damage to the tiny hairs in the inner ear. If these tiny hairs are damaged, they cannot effectively send sounds to the auditory nerves（听觉神经）that connect to the brain. If this happens, hearing loss becomes permanent.
【小题1】Which of the following shows that you are suffering hearing loss?
| A．You are interested to listen to others’ talking. |
| B．You have to read others’ expressions to understand them. |
| C．You can only understand others over the phone. |
| D．You always think you hear the ringing of the phone. |
| A．Listen at least an hour every time. |
| B．Turn up the volume to the highest level. |
| C．keep the sound lower than 60% of its highest volume. |
| D．Choose classical, rock or heavy metal music. |
a. The eardrum is broken.
b. The auditory nerves cannot receive sounds.
c. Tiny hairs are damaged.
d. Ear buds are placed directly in the ear canal.
e. High-volume music is played over a long time.
| A．d-a-c-b-e | B．e-c-a-b-d | C．b-c-a-d-e | D．d-e-a-c-b |
| A．music that teenagers like | B．hearing problems caused by the loud world |
| C．ways that teenagers enjoy music | D．dangerous modern lifestyles of teenagers. |