Motherhood may make women smarter and may help prevent dementia(痴呆) in old age by bathing the brain in protective hormones(荷尔蒙) , U.S. reseachers reported on Thursday.

Tests on rats show that those who raise two or more litters of pups do considerably better in tests of memory and skills than rats who have no babies, and their brains show changes that suggest they may be protected against diseases such as Alzheimer’s(早老痴呆症). University of Richmond psychology professor Craig Kinsley believes his findings will translate into humans.

“Our research shows that the hormones of pregnancy(怀孕) are protecting the brain, including estrogen(雌激素), which we know has many neuroprotective (保护神经的) effects,” Kinsley said.  

“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals,” he added in a telephone interview. “They go through pregnancy and hormonal changes.”

Kinsley said he hoped public health officials and researchers will look to see if having had children protects a woman from Alzheimer’s and other forms of age-related brain decline.

“When people think about pregnancy, they think about what happens to babies and the mother from the neck down,” said Kinsley, who presented his findings to the annual meeting of the Society of Neuroscience in Orlando, Florida.

“They do not realize that hormones are washing on the brain. If you look at female animals who have never gone through pregnancy, they act differently toward young. But if she goes through pregnancy, she will sacrifice her life for her infant—that is a great change in her behavior that showed in genetic alterations(改变) to the brain.”

How do scientists know “Motherhood may make women smarter”?

A. Some researchers have told them.

B. Many women say so.

C. They know it by experimenting on rats.

D. They know it through their own experience.

What does the phrase “litters of pups” mean in the second paragraph?

A. Baby rats.         B. Animals.    C. Old rats.            D. Grown-up rats.

What can protect the brain of a woman according to the passage?

A. Estrogen.                            B. The hormones of pregnancy.    

C. More exercise.                     D. Taking care of children.

“It’s rat data but humans are mammals just like these animals are mammals.” What does the sentence suggest?

A. The experiments on the rats have nothing to do with humans.

B. The experiments on the rats are very important for animals.

C. The experiments on the rats are much the same on humans.

D. The experiments on the rats are much the same on other animals.

Which title is the best for this passage?

A. Do You Want to Be Smarter?  B. Motherhood Makes Women Smarter

C. Mysterious Hormones       D. An Important Study

任务型阅读（共l0小题；每小题1分，满分10分）

请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入最恰当的单词。注意：每空格1个单词。

BEIJlNG, March 9—The central government will require an additional three years of use for official vehicles for ministers (部长) and governors (政府官员) to reduce the costs of purchasing new cars, media have reported.

The new rule has been applied among all Party and government departments nationwide, the Beijing News reported on Tuesday. The new rule has not yet been made public, said Li, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference National Committee. Under the old rules, the cars used by minister-level officials could be replaced as often as every five years, Li said. These officials will also continue to use the same cars when they take new posts, he added.

The new rule also reiterated (重申) that officials ranking below minister-or governor-levels should not be allocated cars. The cars possessed by their departments should be used on demand.

“It violates the rules for lower-ranking-even county-level-officials to be allocated cars,” Li said.

Purchases of vehicles for official use have been heavily investigated, as they account for a large expenditure of public funds every year.

A survey on the Web news www.ifeng.com found 64 percent of respondents believed the new rule will be difficult to obey because it is related to officials’ interests.

Local government departments had stopped approvals for requests for such vehicles and had started to limit the number of such cars under the new rules, Li said. “The future reform of official vehicle use will introduce market systems”Li said.

Premier Wen Jiabao said in the annual government work report on Saturday that expenditures on such vehicles will not increase in 2011 compared with a year ago.

Beijing’s standing deputy mayor Ji Lin last week said the municipal government will release the number of vehicles for official use in the capital as early as at the end of this month.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Finance had published a rule regulating the budgets for such vehicles.

第二节完形填空（共20小题；每小题1.5分，满分30分）

阅读下面短文，从短文后各题所给的四个选项(A、B、C、D)中，选出可以填入空白处的最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She said, “I don’t think I      36    you, but you must be hungry. Please   37    and have something to eat.”

“Is the man of the house    38   ?” they asked. “No,” she replied, “He’s out.” “Then we cannot come in,” they replied. In the evening when her    39    came home, she told him what had happened. “   40     them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a house    41    ,” they replied. “Why is that?” she asked.

One of the old men explained, “His name is Wealth,” he said    42     one of his friends, “and he is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and    43     your husband which one of us you want in your home.”

The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was    44    . “How nice!” he said. “Since that is    45     , let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!” His wife    46    . “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?” Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own    47    , “Wouldn’t it be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love.” “Let us    48     our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite    49     to be our guest.” The woman went out and asked the three old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our    50    .”

Love got up and started walking toward the house.

The other two also got up and    51     him.    52    , the lady asked Wealth and Success, “I only invited Love. Why are you coming in?”

The old men replied together, “If you    53     Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but    54     you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go with him.    55     there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”

36. A. like                    B. know                C. recognize          D. need

37. A. go out                B. get away           C. get up               D. come in

38. A. home                  B. room                C. family               D. office

39. A. friend                 B. father                C. brother              D. husband

40. A. Go tell            B. Do tell                     C. Go ask                     D. Do ask

41. A. one by one          B. one after anotherC. alone                D. together

42.A. laughing at          B. looking at          C. pointing to        D. staring at

43. A. argue with          B. discuss with       C. debate with        D. quarrel with

44. A. overjoyed           B. surprised           C. excited              D. worried

45. A. the situation     B. the position              C. the case             D. the point

46. A. agreed                B. appreciated        C. nodded              D. disagreed

47. A. suggestion           B. plan                  C. solution             D. explanation

48. A. discuss            B. take                  C. consider            D. ignore

49. A. Success           B. Wealth                     C. Love                 D. them

50. A. friend                 B. relative             C. son-in-law         D. guest

51. A. followed             B. stopped             C. honored            D. pleased

52. A. Pleased           B. Surprised          C. Delighted          D. Disappointed

53. A. invited            B. Invite                C. had invited        D. have invited

54. A. when                  B. while                C. if                      D. since

55. A. Wherever            B. However          C. Whenever          D. Whatever

Anti-bird flu contingency (意外事故) measures, including a proposal to separate poultry from humans and a series of traffic and logistics (后勤) measures will be discussed at the Legislative Council's Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene Panel meeting next month. Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food Dr York Chow says the contingency plan would come into force if an outbreak occurred near Hong Kong.

Speaking on a radio talk show this morning, Dr Chow said the separation of poultry from humans policy, which will be determined after a decision whether to set up a central slaughtering (屠宰) house or several regional ones, would be based on the demand for live chickens.

He pointed out that at present there were 30,000 live chickens imported from the Mainland and 30,000 supplied locally. If this demand persisted, there would be no central slaughtering house or wholesale point that could handle such an amount and regional slaughtering houses could be the choice.

He added that building of regional slaughtering houses took time, but stressed the need to study the views of the public and the sector before a final decision was made.

Regarding avian flu vaccination (种痘) for humans, Dr Chow said it was still being developed. He added that it may not be reliable in the case of an outbreak as records show vaccination can only offer 5% protection against a virus.

He said Hong Kong had more experience and expertise than neighbouring territories in the fight against viral outbreaks, and was willing to offer them help. He added there was no “boundary” for infectious diseases and close cooperation among different countries had to be maintained to fight against a possible outbreak.

It can be inferred from the first paragraph that ______.

A. the government is planning to take strong action to fight against bird flu

B. an outbreak which happened near Hong Kong made people very frightened

C. anti-bird flu contingency measures will come into use next month

D. Dr York Chow will organize a meeting to discuss the contingency plan

According to the passage, the best way to fight against bird flu is to ______.

A. separate poultry from humans                       B. set up a central slaughtering house

C. set up several regional slaughtering houses      D. get avian flu vaccination

When the final decision will be made mainly depends on ______.

A. the demand for live chickens                         B. the views of the public

C. the advice from experts

D. the time when regional slaughtering houses will be finished

Which of the following statements isn’t Dr York Chow’s opinion?

A. Hong Kong is better at dealing with viral outbreaks than its neighbours.

B. Infectious diseases could happen in any country.

C. Other territories should ask Hong Kong for help because it has more experience.

D. Cooperation is quite necessary when danger is coming.

Do you still remember your dreams from childhood? They’re like flowers that never fade, “23-year-old Liu Wei told a happy audience during a broadcast of the nationwide talent competition China’s Got Talent. Liu, an ___16____ pianist from Beijing, was named one of the show’s finalists.

Liu once had arms. At the age of 10 he accidentally grabbed a high-voltage wire and lost his arms. “My family and I were so ___17____ then,” Liu recalled. He credits a disable boy he met at the hospital who gives him the __18_____ to cheer him up.

He was forced to __19_____ playing soccer (his favorite sport) but bounced back and ___20____himself to learn swimming. After two years, Liu had won two gold medals and one silver at the National Swimming Championship for the disabled in 2002.

By the age of 19, Liu had taught himself __21_____ to play the piano with his feet, fulfilling a childhood ___22____ of composing and producing music, he said ___23____ a big smile. “__24_____ enough time, I could be just as same as anyone.”

“I can read music and have __25_____ the ‘toeing’ by myself,” he told. According to Liu, the big toe is the most __26_____ digit when “toeing,” but that he can only reach five keys at the same time. “It means I have to train my toes to move more ___27____,” he said.

One of the show’s hosts, Cao Kefan, told press.  “He was __28_____ so hard his feet were constantly cramping,” Cao said.

“ We’ve all __29_____ our dreams when we were young, but no one has fought as hard as you,” commented Gao Xiaosong. Gao is one of the show’s judges and one of most ___30____ music producers in China.

“You tell us that to __31_____ our dream, we need to spare no pains,” said Yi Nengjing, a show judge and Taiwanese pop star.

“I’ve received a lot of letters of support, all ___32____ me to focus on my music,” Liu said. When asked what he would do when the show was ___33____, he revealed several music companies had asked to __34_____ him. But whatever happened, he added he is sure he would keep __35_____ his dream.

“Music is like water and air to me,” he said. “I can’t live with out it.”

1.A．aimless          B．legless        C．armless        D．forceless

2.A．desperate        B．happy          C．angry          D．nervous

3.A．power            B．strength       C．energy         D．enthusiasm

4.A．give away        B．give in        C．give up         D．give off

5.A．let              B．devoted        C．abandoned      D．challenged

6.A．what             B．how            C．whether        D．which

7.A．idea             B．purpose        C．dream          D．thought

8.A．at               B．to             C．in             D．with

9.A．given            B．if             C．when           D．only if

10.A．carried out     B．figured out    C．worked out     D．gave out

11.A．flexible        B．available      C．sensible       D．advisble

12.A．heavily         B．rapidly        C．slowly         D．slightly

13.A．looking         B．working        C．exercising     D．practicing

14.A．looked for      B．fought for     C．make for       D．took for

15.A．influential     B．beneficial    C．potential      D．official

16.A．make            B．gain           C．get            D．realize

17.A．letting         B．discouraging                     C．inspiring  D．encouraging

18.A．by              B．out            C．over           D．off

19.A．offer           B．sign           C．answer         D．find

20.A．pursuing        B．looking        C．thinking       D.promising