According to a recent U.S. report, children spent up to 25 hours a week _______ TV.

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（大脑灰质）. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles（肌肉）.

The study also found the younger people learn a second language，the greater the effect is.

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,” 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.

1.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 learning can help brain power

D. language learning and maths study

2.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

3. 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

4.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 studying 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

“When your mother criticizes you, you can look somewhere else and think about other things. Just pay no attention to her words. But remember: it’s a strong attitude, so it cannot be used  36 .You can use this skill only sometimes.” These words are from some cartoons  37 skills for children to  38 against their mothers.

“This is a book for  39 aged six to twelve who are always criticized by their  40 ”, and the cartoons,   41 by two 10-year-old girls, list over twenty  42 which children can use to deal with their mothers’  43 ,such as crying, running away and so on. Each skill is described with interesting  44 and funny notes. The two girls’ creativity(创造力)amazed the adults.

According to one of the girls’ mothers, her daughter once performed  45 in an exam, so she criticized her. The daughter’s feelings led to her  46 the cartoons. The girl’s father said he  47 parents would pay attention to the pictures. He said parents should think about children’s feelings. They shouldn’t criticize them so often. And he said the cartoons weren’t  48 yet and that his daughter would continue with them when she was  49 .

The cartoons make people  50 the problems within Chinese family  51 , said an expert on family education. According to a survey of 104 children and their parents, as many as 51.9 percent of the children  52 being criticized by their mothers.

Not giving children enough time to play and always criticizing them seem to be very  53 in family life. It is a big problem in fact     parents think it is ok .Children will have  55 feelings within their heart. Parents should learn to encourage children more.

1.                A．suddenly       B．certainly        C．recently  D．often

2.                A．showing        B．using           C．lending   D．leaving

3.                A．fight           B．protect         C．argue    D．stand

4.                A．classmates      B．children        C．strangers D．neighbors

5.                A．parents         B．teachers        C．friends   D．sisters

6.                A．bought         B．interested       C．drawn    D．dreamed

7.                A．photos         B．presents        C．skills D．reasons

8.                A．care           B．anger          C．encouragement D．sadness

9.                A．pictures        B．results          C．words    D．characters

10.               A．quickly         B．badly          C．well  D．slowly

11.               A．reading        B．directing        C．creating   D．selling

12.               A．disagreed       B．wondered      C．found D．hoped

13.               A．invited         B．wanted         C．known    D．finished

14.               A．old            B．free           C．bored D．excited

15.               A．forget          B．enjoy          C．change    D．face

16.               A．education       B．planning        C．importance D．tradition

17.               A．continue       B．hate           C．understand D．keep

18.               A．useful          B．clear           C．common   D．funny

19.               A．though         B．therefore       C．if D．and

20.               A．relaing         B．thankful        C．happy D．negative

Watching television makes it easier for toddlers（学走路的孩子）to kick and scream, according to a U.S. study. Children under two should not watch any TV. The longer they sit in front of the box, the worse their behavior becomes.

Just having the TV on in the background, even if the child wasn’t watching it, was also connected to troublemaking behavior although the relationship wasn’t as strong, said the researchers.

“Parents should be smart about TV use,” researcher Jennifer Manganello from the University at Albany, New York, said.

“They should limit the time that children use TV, pay attention to the content of TV programs, and consider how TV is used throughout the home.”

The study looked at 3,128 women from 20 U.S. cities who had a child between 2005 and 2008.

While there was some diversity（差异）of education among the women, one-third hadn’t graduated from high school.

Two-thirds of the mothers said their three-year-old watched more than two hours of TV a day, and the average（平均的）viewing time for children was around three hours. On average, the TV was on for about five additional hours on a common day.

After accounting for factors（因素）such as living in a violent neighborhood, scientists also found watching TV was strongly connected to behavior such as hitting others, having angry moods, being disobedient（不服从的）, and screaming a lot.

The researchers thought that children may see violence on TV, and spend less time on positive development tasks such as reading or playing.

The American Academy of Paediatrics suggests no TV at all for children at two and younger, and two hours a day or less for older kids.

1.what is the main idea of the passage?

A.Children should choose positive programs.

B.Children should keep away from TV.

C.Watching TV can make children violent.

D.Parents should watch less TV.

2.what do we know from Paragraph 2?

A.Children can watch good programs.

B.Children will be affected as long as the TV is on.

C.It’s OK that the TV is on if children don’t watch it.

D.Children’s troublemaking behavior is mainly caused by watching TV.

3.what can be learned about the study between 2005~2008 from the passage?

  A.The TV was on for about three hours.

  B.The women studied have different jobs.

  C.The study included men and women.

  D.Most women allowed their child to watch TV.

4.Children who spend much time watching TV will ________.

A.not be hit by others

B.be influenced by others

C.become angry easily

D.know more about the neighborhood

根据短文内容，从短文后的选项中选出能填入空白处的最佳选项。选项中有两项为多余选项。

May the first is an important date in the college admission process in the United States．This is the last day for high school seniors to accept or reject offers of admission in the fall．But according to a recent report, there is a great change．Acceptance rates at the top colleges this year were lower than ever．    1.  

These days, college applicants are applying to more colleges because online and common applications make the process easier．  2.   On the other hand, deciding students for top colleges to accept can be difficult because it takes much time．Students may not like being put on waiting lists．Also, common colleges work more to get the students they accept to accept them．Some colleges hold visiting days that offer a chance to attend classes and stay overnight．Some universities send gifts．  3.     

For many families, the most important thing colleges can do is show them the money, especially this year; the weak economy makes parents nervous．  4.  The recent problems that spread from the housing market to credit markets have even affected student’s loans．So lately, top schools have to spare lots of money to increase their financial aid for students．

   5.     The Education Department expects the number of high school graduates to start to go down．This will happen as the last of the children of the baby boom generation finishes high school．The number is not expected to start rising again until 2015．

A．Besides, top colleges are facing changes in the population．

B．What contributes to it?

C．But a mistake can be costly if it happens．

D．But top colleges ignore them．

E．They have international students who know English．

F．It can mean several acceptances to choose from．

G．They cannot afford college as planned．