The high noise of modern life may affect speech and language development in the very young, according to a study that found the auditory (听觉的) parts of the brains of young mice are slower to organize properly in the presence of continuous sounds.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reared a group of rats in an environment of continuous background noise and found that their brain circuits that receive and interpret (解释) sound did not develop at the same rate as animals that were raised in a quieter environment.?

Edward F. Chang and Michael Merzenich, co-authors of the study appearing in the journal Science, said that the continuous noise delayed the organization of auditory neurons (神经细胞) during a critical two-to-three-week period after the rat pups were born.?

For rats not exposed to the noise, the auditory cortex(皮层) neurons during this period gathered into a smaller area and began developing a selective response to sounds.?

But for the noise?exposed rats, this organization was slowed, causing a delay in the development of the ability to discriminate(辨别) specific sound tones. The researchers said it took three or four times longer for the rats raised in a noisy environment to reach the basic bench marks (基准) of auditory development seen in the rat pups not exposed to noises.?

Although the rat is not a perfect model for what happens in humans, the authors note, the study does suggest that high levels of noise might possibly affect some language learning in babies.?

“These findings suggest that environmental noise, which is commonly present in contemporary child-rearing environments, can potentially contribute to auditory and language-related development delays,”the authors wrote in Science.?

The authors noted that although the brain development was delayed in rats exposed to the noise, their brains did eventually mature (成熟的) normally.?

The scientists at California University studied rats_______.?

A. of different age groups     B. with different habits?

C. in different environments  D. from different areas?

The rats exposed to noise, compared to those not exposed, _______.?

A. were more sensitive   B. were duller?

C. grew up more slowly D. gathered together more quickly

The result of the research mainly tells us that noise _______.

A. delays brain development  B. stops baby growth

C. affects speech and language      D. destroys brains?

 Although her disease       her eyesight and forced her to leave the dance floor, she refuses to fall into self-pity.

A.has affected        B.affected         C.affects          D.had affected

It’s very easy to see why people have bad attitudes. A quick look at the news revealing _21___ with crime, war and corruption (腐败) can easily bring us down. Is it possible to _22__ a healthy, happy attitude when surrounded by these negative things?

   Sure it is! It is possible to wake up each morning with a good mood and _23__ the day. Having a positive _24__not only allows us to enjoy life more but also _25__ our health and relationships with others.

   To lead a happy life, we need to have a positive attitude. We are responsible for our own _26__; other people can’t make us happy. We need to decide to make ourselves happy. This is wonderful because we don’t have to wait around for someone else to do it for us.

   We should surround ourselves with __27_ people. We are influenced by those people with whom we spend the most time. When we have positive friends, we become positive. Otherwise, we become _28__.

   We should also use positive_29__. A. L. Kitselman once said, “‘I am…’ are powerful words; be careful when you use them.” We need to replace our negative self-talk with positive words. Don’t say “I hate getting up in the morning.” Instead, try to say “I am _30__to see a new day.” Changing our self-talk will lead us to the changes in our behavior.

21. A. affairs          B. questions       C. troubles         D. problems               

22. A. change          B. refuse          C. keep           D. invent

23. A. look forward to         B. look down on    C. look up to       D. look back on

24. A. opinion         B. attitude       C. influence         D. answer

25. A. damages         B. improves        C. affects        D. weakens

26. A. satisfaction       B. decision        C. happiness       D. development

27. A. positive         B. friendly        C. easy-going        D. good-mannered

28. A. anxious         B. nervous        C. satisfied        D. negative

29. A. writings         B. pictures        C. expressions      D. signs

30. A. painful          B. bored         C. thankful              D. surprised

Beauty has always been regarded as something praiseworthy. Almost everyone thinks attractive people are happier and healthier, have better marriages and have more respectable jobs. Personal advisors give them better advice for finding jobs. Even judges are softer on attractive defendants (被告). But in the executive (行政的；管理的) circle, beauty can become a liability.

    While attractiveness is a positive factor for a man on his way up the executive ladder, it is harmful to a woman.

    Handsome male executives were considered as having more honesty than plainer men; effort and ability were thought to lead to their success.

    Attractive female executives were considered to have less honesty than unattractive ones; their success was connected not with ability but with factors such as luck.

    All unattractive women executives were thought to have more honesty and to be more capable than the attractive female executives. Interestingly, though, the rise of the unattractive overnight successes was connected more to personal relationships and less to ability than that of the attractive overnight successes.

    Why are attractive women not thought to be able? An attractive woman is considered to be more feminine and an attractive man more manly than the less attractive ones. Thus, an attractive woman has an advantage in traditionally female jobs, but an attractive woman in a traditionally manly position appears to lack the "manly" qualities required.

    This is true even in politics. "When the only clue is how he or she looks, people treat men and women differently," says Anne Bowman, who recently published a study on the effects of attractiveness on political candidates. She asked 125 undergraduate students to rank two groups of photographs, one of men and one of women, of attractiveness. The students were told the photographs were of candidates for political offices. They were asked to rank them again, in the order they would vote for them.

    The results showed that attractive males completely defeated unattractive men, but the women who had ranked most attractive unchangeably received the fewest votes.

In traditionally female jobs, attractiveness ______________.       

A. makes women look more honest and capable   

B. strengthens the qualifies required

C. is of no importance to women               

D. often enables women to succeed quickly

Bowman's experiment shows that when it comes to politics, attractiveness ____________.      

A. turns out to be a disadvantage to men  

B. is more of a disadvantage than an advantage to women

C. affects men and women alike        

D. has as little effect on men as on women

It can be inferred from the passage that people's views on beauty are often ______________.      

    A. practical     B. supportive      C. old-fashioned    D. one-sided

第二节：完形填空（共20小题，每小题1.5分，满分30分）

It was hard to accept, but the horrible day had finally arrived. I still remember the tears in my six-year-old sister’s eyes as she looked around the  36_closet in wonder. The space once filled with 37_ clothes now held only loneliness and sorrow. This little child had come to the 38_ that her father was gone. He had  39_ us, and there was simply no way to change it.

Being the 40_ of four girls has never been easy, but with the departure of our father, our  41_ and dreams were ruined beyond repair. My mother, the most amazingly warm-hearted person in the world, worked harder than anyone should simply to  42_ our broken family. However, long hours at work often prevented her from  43_ being there in our times of need. This is where I have acted as the temporary  44_ of my three small sisters.

Many students  45_ essays about their leadership positions in school and the community, but I  46_that my greatest accomplishment is the  47_ I have played within my own family.

The senior year in high school is not  48_ for anyone, especially when it feels like the entire world is  49_ on your shoulders. I’ve been trying hard to fulfill the dream my mother  50_ for my future. She was not able  51_ her college education dure to lack of money, 52_ this success is her top priority(优先处理的事)for her  53_.

A leader is described as noe who has influence on others. I hope that my leadership  54_ the lives of my sisters and everyone around me. In  55_myself to my family and school, I have set goals that I will accomplish great things.

36.A.heavy       B.full         C.empty   D.broken

37.A.her  B.his         C.our        D.their

38.A.protection        B.prediction     C.realization    D.imagination

39.A.left  B.avoided         C.controlled     D.believed

40.A.busiest    B.happiest        C.smartest       D.oldest

41.A.career      B.world    C.school   D.company

42.A.examine  B.suit        C.enjoy     D.mend

43.A.physically         B.carefully        C.mentally        D.proudly

44.A.caretaker         B.playmate      C.teacher         D.friend

45.A.hate         B.write     C.learn     D.teach

46.A.ignore      B.feel        C.deny      D.regret

47.A.card          B.music    C.role       D.game

48.A.sad  B.boring   C.hard      D.simple

49.A.resting     B.working         C.focusing        D.basing

50.A.abandons         B.explains         C.continues      D.holds

51.A.give B.complete      C.survive D.forget

52.A.as    B.but        C.so D.or

53.A.future      B.job         C.family   D.children

54.A.saves       B.risks      C.affects  D.spends

55.A.presenting       B.devoting        C.connecting   D.attaching