Sorry to say,our brains naturally start slowing down at the Cruelty young age of 30.It used 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,”saying 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.

Dr.Merzenich’s training method mainly depends on ______.

A.speech training

B.computer languages

C.the activities one joins in

D.the information being dealt with

By saying “the brain at any age is highly plastic”,the writer probably means the brain can be ______.

A.used                                                            B.mastered

C.developed                                                     D.researched

What can we learn from the text?

A.Practice makes a quick mind.

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.

Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?

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.

There are many American expressions about insects--- like bees, for example. Bees are known as very hard workers. They appear to be busy, moving around their homes, or hives. So you might say you were as busy as a bee if you spent your weekend cleaning your house. In fact, you might say your house was a beehive of activity if your whole family was helping you clean. You also might say you made a beeline for something if you went there right away. When we go to see a movie, my friend always makes a beeline for the place where they sell popcorn .

Here is an expression about bees that is not used much any more, but we like it anyway. We think it was first used in the 1920s. If something was the best of its kind, you might say it was the bee’s knees. Now, we admit that we do not know how this expression developed. In fact, we do not even know if bees have knees!

If your friend cannot stop talking about something because she thinks it is important, you might say she has a bee in her bonnet. If someone asks you a personal question, you might say “that is none of your beeswax”. This means none of your business.

Speaking of personal questions, there is an expression when their children ask, “Where do babies come from?” Parents who discuss sex and reproduction say this is talking about the birds and bees.

Butterflies are beautiful insects, but you would not want to have butterflies in your stomach. That means to be nervous about having to do something, like speaking in front of a crowd. You would also not want to have ants in your trousers. That is, to be unable to sit still.

1.If you make a beeline for something, you _____ .

A. are as busy as a bee                 B. go quickly and directly towards it

C. always go to the same place          D. buy something at a certain place

2.The underlined expression “ it is the bee’s knees” ______ .

A. is not used at all now               B. was first used in the 1820s

C. reminds us that bees have knees      D. means “it is very good”

3. If you ask your American friend Jack “How old is your wife?” he may say “_____.”

A. It is none of your beeswax           B. You have a bee in your bonnet

C. It is the bee’s knees               D. You are talking about the birds and bees

4. When you have butterflies in your stomach, you _____ .

A. are too sick to sit still           B. have ants in your trousers

C. are nervous about something          D. have a stomachache

If you ask me, I would say that I won’t mind ______abroad to enrich my knowledge.

C
“Regardless of social class, race, age, men say they hate to shop,” says Zukin, City University of New York sociology professor. “Yet when you ask them deeper questions, it turns out that they like to shop. Men generally like to shop for books, music and hardware. But if you ask them about the shopping they do for books or music, they’ll say, ‘Well, that’s not shopping. That’s research.’”
In other words, what men and women call “buying things” and how they approach that task are different.
Women will wander through several 1,000-square-meter stores in search of the perfect party dress. Men will wander through 100 Internet sites in search of the perfect digital camcorder(摄录像一体机).
Women see shopping as a social event. Men see it as a special task or a game to be won.
“Men are frequently shopping to win,” says Ann, a marketing professor at Loyola University of Chicago. “They want to get the best deal. They want to get the best one, the latest one and if they do that it makes them happy.”
When women shop, “They’re doing it in a way that they want everybody to be very happy,” says Ann. “They’re kind of shopping for love.”
“Teenage girls learn to shop from their moms and older sisters, but they also learn to shop by examining articles in magazines like Seventeen,” City University Zukin says.
“And although men’s magazines such as GQ and Esquire have long had shopping articles, it’s TV that has the eye of young male shoppers,” says Ann and Zukin.
“Television shows are used by young men in the same way Seventeen magazine or Lucky are used by girls,” says Zukin, “to help make clothing and toiletry(化妆品) choices.”
“Of course, there are men who love to shop and are proud of it,” Loyola’s Ann says.
And that is important no matter whether you buy a car or a frying pan. All men love to buy but don’t want to get cheated.
Ann adds, “There actually are men who are interested, for example, in cooking or shopping or chinaware or things around the home --- they become kind of girl magnets. Women like it.”
78. From the first paragraph we can find that ______.
A. men are all dishonest                             B. men are all book lovers
C. men hate to shop actually                       D. men like to shop in fact
79. Compared to women men usually treat shopping ______.
A. honestly            B. seriously                  C. frequently         D. foolishly
80. The underlined word “magnets” in the last paragraph means ______.
A. magazines that attract young women              B. persons that have a powerful attraction
C. tools that can help housewives much              D. vegetables that make women beautiful

--- Lorry, how do you think an English woman will feel if you ask how old she is?
--- Well. She may probably feel _____.