Hey girls, if the boys in your class are acting silly, you might as well leave them alone. You are far more sensible than them, aren’t you?

There is science to back up this theory. Scientists from Newcastle University, UK, and Seoul University, South Korea, found that the brain matures (成熟) earlier in girls than in boys. This is partly because of the way children’s brains are “pruned.”

As the brain matures, it begins to cut out unimportant information and focus on important information. This process is called “pruning.”

In order to learn more about this process, scientists scanned the brains of 121 people aged between 4 and 40. They found that pruning began much earlier in girls. Between the ages of 10 and 12, a girl’s brain will start to see a lot of activities as the pruning process starts. But for boys, this doesn’t start until the age of 15 to 20.

During this process, the brain will turn off memories, sounds or sights that appear several times. But important connections, like linking the sound of a familiar person’s voice to their face, are kept.

“The loss of connectivity during brain development can help to improve brain function,” scientist Sol Lim told the Daily Telegraph.

To understand this more easily, imagine you are at a party and everyone is talking. You can’t concentrate. But if you “turn off” some of the voices, it is easier to hear the others. The brain works in a similar way.

1.What did the scientists find?

A. Boys usually focus on unimportant information.

B. Girls never focus on unimportant information.

C. Girls mature earlier than boys.

D. Connectivity helps improve brain function.

2.What does the underlined word “pruned”probably mean?

A. 删减 B. 成长 C. 改变 D. 损失

3.What happens during the process “pruning”?

A. The brain doesn’t work for a moment.

B. You can’t remember, hear or see.

C. The connections between things disappear.

D. Brains develop to focus on important information.

4.What can we know from the passage?

A. Boys are more silly than girls.

B. Boys are less sensible than girls.

C. You can never concentrate at the parties.

D. Brains function better after losing some connections.

A Meaningful Gift

Time is very important in our lives. It organizes our everyday moments. However, time never had any importance in my life until I received a beautiful watch from my father. The watch organized my life and made me more responsible.

I received this gift on a gray-sky day. On that day, I had to go to the airport at 9:00 a. m. to pick up my uncle Harry and take him to my father's house. However, I was late because I was hanging out with my friends. Later on that day, around 11:00 a. m., I remembered my uncle. But at that time he had left the airport and taken a taxi to my father's house.

I got to my father's house at 2:00 p. m. on the same day. Seeing my father's angry face, I felt ashamed (惭愧的) of myself at that moment. After I said hi to my angry father and tired uncle my father asked me to sit next to him and he handed me this watch.

Then he said," Lisa, did you have fun with your friends today?" I answered, "Yes, father, and Pm sorry about not picking up Uncle Harry. " He said," What you did was not very nice and you should be sorry for your actions. "

I was ashamed and said, "Father, I'll never do it again. I promise. " He said, "I hope today you learned something important, and this watch will be a reminder for you. " He told me to take this watch and use it as an organizer of my life.

The watch taught me to respect time and never be late. That's why it is important to me.

1.On that day, the writer had to_________.

A. go to the airport to pick up her uncle B. take a taxi to her father's house

C. say hi to her father and uncle D. hang out with her family

2.When the writer got to her father's house, she felt very________.

A. angry B. tired C. ashamed D. surprised

3.The writer's father gave her a watch to_________.

A. make her feel sorry B. welcome her uncle

C. celebrate her birthday D. teach her a lesson about time

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