Britons Learn to Forgive
LEEDS, England ─ A Leeds University psychology （心理学） professor is teaching a course to help dozens of Britons forgive their enemies．
“The hatred we hold within us is a cancer,” Professor Ken Hart said, adding that holding in anger can lead to problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease．
More than 70 people have become members in Hart’s first 20-week workshop in London ─ a course he says is the first of its kind in the world．
These are people who are sick and tired of living with a memory．They realize their bitterness is a poison they think they can pour out, but they end up drinking it themselves, said Canadian-born Hart．
The students meet in groups of eight to ten for a two-hour workshop with an adviser every fortnight．
The course, ending in July, is expected to get rid of the cancer of hatred in these people．“People have lots of negative attitudes towards forgiveness,” he said, “People confuse forgiveness with forgetting．Forgiveness means changing from a negative attitude to a positive one．”
Hart and his team have created instructions to provide the training needed．
“The main idea is to give you guidelines on how to look at various kinds of angers and how they affect you, and how to change your attitudes towards the person you are angry with,” said Norman Claringbull, a senior expert on the forgiveness project．
Hart said he believes forgiveness is a skill that can be taught, as these people “want to get free of the past”．
【小题1】From this passage we know that _________．

Mark Ramirez, a senior executive at AOL, could work in the comfortable leather chair, if he wanted. No, thanks. He prefers to stand most of the day at a desk raised above stomach level.
“I’ve got my knees bent. I feel totally alive,” he said. “It feels more natural to stand.”
In the past few years, standing has become the new sitting for 10 percent of AOL employees at the firm’s Virginia branch. Part of a standing popularity is among accountants, programmers, telemarketers and other office workers across the nation.
GeekDesk, a California firm that sells desks raised by electric motors, says sales will triple this year.
Standers give various reasons for taking to their feet: It makes them feel more focused, prevents drowsiness(困倦睡意), and makes them feel like a general even if they just push paper. (Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfels works standing up. So does novelist Philip Roth.)
But unknown to them, a debate (辩论) is spreading among ergonomics experts（人类工程学家） and public-health researchers about whether all office workers should be encouraged to stand—to save lives.
Doctors point to surprising new research showing higher rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease and even mortality among people who sit for long stretches. A study earlier this year in the American Journal of Epidemiology showed that among 123,000 adults followed over 14 years, those who sat more than six hours a day were at least 18 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat less than three hours a day.
“Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing,” said Marc Hamilton, a leading researcher on inactivity physiology at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana. “Sitting is harmful. It’s dangerous. We are on the cusp (尖端) of a major revolution.” He calls sitting “the new smoking”.
Not so fast, other experts say. Standing too much at work will cause more long-term back injuries. Incidences of varicose veins(静脉曲张) among women will increase. The heart will have to pump more.
Hedge, the Cornell professor, isn’t a fan of all this standing. “Making people stand all day is dumb,” he said.
The sensible and most cost-effective strategy（策略）, he said, is to sit in a neutral posture（姿势）, slightly reclined(下弯的), with the keyboard on a tray above the lap. This position promotes positive blood flow. Workers should occasionally walk around, stretch and avoid prolonged periods at the desk. The key, he said, is movement, not standing.
【小题1】Marc Hamilton said “Every rock we turn over when it comes to sitting is astonishing” to show that________.

There is no doubt ______ he did is good for us.

A. that what              B. what that              C. that                        D. what

Many of us assume that with such a last name, Peter Buffett, 52, must enjoy a life of endless privilege. But the son of billionaire investor (投资人) Warren Buffett definitely doesn’t think so.

   “People who are born with a silver spoon in their mouth can fall victim (受害者) to what my father has called a silver dagger (匕首) in your back,” Buffett told Reuters in an interview. “It leads to a sense of entitlement (特权) and a lack of personal achievement.”

  Entitlement, he believes, is the worst thing ever. “Anybody who acts like they deserve (应得) something ‘just because’ is a disaster,” he said.

  In his new book, Life Is What You Make It: Finding Your Own Path to Fulfillment, Buffett says that the only real inheritance (遗产) handed down from his parents was a philosophy (价值观): Forge your own path in life. It is a belief that has allowed him to follow his own passions, establish his own identity, and reap (收获) his own successes.

  Did his father ever want him to go into finance? “It was encouraged for a moment when I was open to the idea,” he told Reuters. But as he grew older, it became clear the financial world “was not speaking to my heart.”

   His father accepted his choice to become a musician. He began his musical career by writing music for TV commercials (广告). He then released his own albums.

   “I am my own person and I know what I have accomplished in my life,” he told Reuters. “This isn’t about wealth or fame or money or any of that stuff, it is actually about values and what you enjoy and finding something you love doing.”

   Along with the book, Buffett has begun a “Concert & Conversation” tour in which he plays the piano, talks about his life and warns against consumerist (消费主义) culture and damaging the environment.

   “Economic prosperity (繁荣) may come and go; that’s just how it is,” he writes in the book. “But values are the steady currency (硬通货) that earn us the all-important rewards.”

What does “It” in the second paragraph refer to?

  A. A life of a top investor.          B. A silver spoon in the mouth.

  C. Being born to a wealthy family.  D. The victim of a silver dagger in the back.

What does the article tell us?

  A. Peter Buffett is a born musician.

  B. Peter Buffett enjoys a hugely privileged life.

  C. A wealthy family can benefit a child but also spoil him or her.

  D. Peter Buffett was forced by his parents to take over their business.

The article claims that Peter Buffett owes his achievements largely to ______.

  A. his passion for music      B. the good education he received

  C. his great determination        D. the values he learned from his parents

Which of the following statements would Peter Buffett probably agree to?

  A. Wealth is there to enjoy to the fullest.

  B. A person’s value lies within.

  C. Many people are fooled by economic prosperity.

  D. Young people should choose their own philosophy, whatever their parents believe in.

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 Mechelli, 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 2 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.

6. The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.

A. science on learning a second language

B. man's ability of learning a second language

C. language can help brain power

D. language learning and maths study

7. In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to________.

A. say language is also a kind of physical labor

B. prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language

C. show the importance of using the language when you learn the language

D. make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well

8. The underlined word “bilingual” probably means________.

A. a researcher on language learning

B. a second language learner

C. a person who can speak two languages

D. an active language learner

9. We may know from the scientific findings that ________.

A. the earlier you start to learn a second language the higher the grey matter density is

B. there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn't know a second language

C. the experience of learning a second language has bad effect on people's brain

D. the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

10. In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that________.

A. learning a second language is the same as studying maths

B. early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in study other subjects

C. Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

D. you'd better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language