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.

He is taller than he_____.

A. used   B. used to be  C. used to  D. used to do

With a determined(坚定的) look on his face, Chicago’s Michael McCarthy held on to the banister(扶手) and climbed to the top of the Willis Tower not long ago. The Tower stands 1,451 feet(442 meters) tall, the 21 building in the US.
As he got to the last step, McCarthy 22 fell down, but that didn’t stop him. The 14-year-old boy finally finished climbing the 2,109 steps and arrived at the top, where he 23 cheers from many people.
“I just want to show people that  24 a kid with no legs can do it, anyone can do it,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy, who was born without legs, has to wear prosthetic legs(假肢) and use a stick to walk. But McCarthy has a strong 25 . He believes having a disability(残疾) shouldn’t stop anyone  26  achieving his or her success.
He has been in a special school  27  he was four. When he decided to climb the Willis Tower, his teacher, Jeff Kohn, was   28  by his determination(决心) and offered to help train him. They   29  more than ten hours practicing climbing stairs and keeping balance with the prosthetics and sticks on the steps every day. “  30  seems that he never knows how difficult it is.  31  I was so tired that I asked him to rest for a day,”said Kohn. “But he said he was still full of energy and wanted more  32 .”
Kohn always walked with McCarthy for the climb. “I   33   the last 10 floors, he went faster,” said Kohn. “He’s the most craven sportsman I’ve ever trained.”
McCarthy said he was   34  of himself and that the tower now holds special meaning. “When I’m older, I’ll   35  to the building and say ‘Look at this building I climbed’,” he said.
【小题1】A. largest  B. highest            C. earliest    
【小题2】A. seldom     B. hardly           C. almost
【小题3】A. enjoyed   B. needed            C. made      
【小题4】A. while      B. though                C. if        
【小题5】A. heart     B. hope              C. body      
【小题6】A. by                 B. for                 C. from
【小题7】A. as                 B. since               C. until       
【小题8】A. pleased    B. beaten           C. moved      
【小题9】A. used               B. spent               C. took        
【小题10】A. Here                  B. There               C. It
【小题11】A. However B. Sometimes          C. Then
【小题12】A. friends       B. helpers              C. exercise
【小题13】A. tried     B. saw              C. did        
【小题14】A. thinking   B. talking             C. proud
【小题15】A. point   B. go                     C. turn        

At the beginning of this century, medical scientists made an interesting discovery: we are built not just of flesh(肌肉) and blood but also of time. They were   41   to show that we all have a ‘body clock’   42   us, which controls the   43   and fall of our body energies,   44   us different from one day to the next.

The   45   of a ‘body clock’ should not be too   46   since the lives of most living things are controlled   47   the 24-hour night-and-day cycle(循环). We feel   48   and fall asleep at night and become   49   and energetic during the day. If the 24-hour cycle is   50   most people experience unpleasant   51  . For example, people who are not   52   to working at night can find that   53   of sleep causes them to   54   badly at work.

  55   the daily cycle of sleeping and   56  , we also have other cycles which   57   longer than one day. Most of us would   58   that we feel good on some days and not so good on   59  ; sometimes our ideas seem to flow and at other times, they   60   do not exist.

A. anxious                   B. careful                  C. able                    D. proud

A. around                  B. inside                 C. between              D. on

A. rise                      B. supply                  C. use                     D. movement

A. showing               B. treating                 C. changing             D. making

A. idea                    B. opinion                 C. story                   D. invention

A. difficult                   B. exciting                C. interesting           D. surprising

A. from                     B. over                            C. by                      D. during

A. dull                      B. dreamy                C. tired                   D. peaceful

A. regular                    B. excited                 C. clear                   D. lively

A. shortened              B. disturbed                     C. reset                   D. troubled

A. moments             B. senses                   C. feelings               D. effects

A. used                     B. allowed                C. expected              D. prevented

A. miss                      B. none                     C. need                  D. lack

A. show                       B. perform                C. manage               D. control

A. With                      B. Except                  C. As well as            D. Rather than

A. waking                B. moving                 C. living                  D. working

A. repeat                      B. remain                  C. happen                D. last

A. believe                  B. agree                    C. realize                 D. allow

A. others                      B. the other               C. all other              D. other

A. only                    B. just                      C. still                     D. yet

Scientific research results can now be quickly _____ to factory production.

A. used                     B. applied                 C. tried                     D. practiced