If English means endless new words, difficult grammar 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 Michelle, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group 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 (灵活的).” 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 two 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.

1.The main subject talked about in this passage is ______.

2.In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to ______.

3.We may know from the scientific findings that ______.

4.The underlined word “bilingual” probably means ______.

There are three branches of medicine. One is called "doctor medicine," or "scientific medicine." Scientific doctors try to observe sicknesses, look for logical patterns, and then find out how the human body works. From there they figure out what treatments may work. This kind of medicine is believed to date from the 4th century BC. Although nowadays it is successful, in the ancient world this approach probably did not cure many patients.

A second kind of medicine is called "natural cures," or "folk medicine," in which less educated people try to cure sicknesses with various herbs. These folk healers also use observation and logic, but they are not so aware of it. They try things until they find something that seems to work, and then they keep doing that. Folk medicine flourished（繁荣） long before the development of scientific medicine and was more successful in ancient times than doctor medicine.

The third kind is called "health spas," or "faith healing." Sometimes this may be as simple as touching the holy man and being immediately healed. Other times, a magician may make you a magic charm, or say a spell, to cure you. Some religious groups organize special healing shrines（圣坛） for the sick. In these places people rest, get plenty of sleep, eat healthy food, drink water instead of wine, and exercise in various ways. They also talk to the priests and pray to the gods. If you are feeling depressed or you have been working too hard, going to these places may be just the right thing to make you feel better.

Doctor medicine __________.

A. has a longer history than folk medicine         

B. has been practiced for around 1,600 years

C. bases its treatments on observation and logic

D. was very successful in curing sicknesses in ancient times

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT used in health spas?

A. Magic power.    B. Various herbs.   C. Religious faith.        D. A healthy life style. _{高#考   ￥资@源 网}

According to the passage, which of the following statements is true?

A. Folk healers choose different herbs to cure diseases without any sound basis.

B. People who practice folk medicine need lots of formal education on herbs.

C. The success of folk medicine led to the development of doctor medicine.

D. Natural cures worked better than scientific medicine in ancient times.

The author's primary purpose in this passage is to __________.

A. describe different types of medicine             

B. argue for the importance of medicine in health care

C. show the crucial role religion plays in medical treatments

D. compare the educational background of three different types of patients

Life for us is _________exercise in making different choices and can never come

to_________end until the end of life itself.

A. /; /        B. /; an                         C.an;/                           D.an;an

＿＿＿he gave that we should take more exercise in our spare time!

A.What a good advice B.How a good advice  C.What good advice D.How good advice

  Do you know the cold?

Everybody knows what happens when you catch a cold. First you sniffle(抽鼻涕) or get a more throat. Then you sneeze. After coughing and blowing your way through the next few days it’s over---until next time

Do you know what causes a cold, how it is spread or how to help prevent it? And which of the many medicines is best for your cold?

There is no known cure for the common cold. Once you catch a cold, your body usually produces antibodies(抗体) to the virus which caused the cold. These antibodies help the body develop resistance（抵抗力) to the virus if you catch it again. Unfortunately, over 200 different viruses cause the common cold. These viruses may change over time, so your resistance to them reduces. The large number of viruses and the fact that they change help explain why there is no cure for the common cold and why you will suffer colds in the future.

The colds increase in winter(usually between Septenber and March) but Not because of the cold! Cold weather has not been shown to increase the number of colds. People spend more time indoors in winter. They are therefore more likely to come into physical contact with each other and spread the disease. All these ideas remain to be proven. No one has been able to discover what really causes these colds

Common colds are spread by sneezes or by direct contact with a cold sufferer, usually when two people’ hands touch or an object is passed from one person to another. Sneezing spreads colds when someone sneezes near other people, or sneezes on objects which others later touch. A cold virus can survive up to three hours on hard surfaces.

The simplest and most effective way to lower the risk of catching a cold is to wash your hands frequently. Another important step in cold prevention is for cold sufferers to get rid of used tissues immediately after use.

1.From the passage, we can know____________.

A. a cold virus can survive up to four hours      

B. most of people know how to cure a cold

C. there are more colds in November than in May  

D. all of us catch more than one cold a year

2.According to the passage, people tend to catch a cold___________.

A. because they don’t take exercise in winter   

B.if they stay outdoors in freezinf cold winter

C. if they stay indoors more often in winter  

D.because the viruses of colds usually exist in winter

3.We can know colds sre spread through____________.

A. air and touching     B. coughs and objects   C.two people    D. a person and his hands