The high noise of modern life may affect speech and language development in the very young, according to a study that found the auditory (听觉的) parts of the brains of young mice are slower to organize properly in the presence of continuous sounds.

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, reared a group of rats in an environment of continuous background noise and found that their brain circuits that receive and interpret (解释) sound did not develop at the same rate as animals that were raised in a quieter environment.?

Edward F. Chang and Michael Merzenich, co-authors of the study appearing in the journal Science, said that the continuous noise delayed the organization of auditory neurons (神经细胞) during a critical two-to-three-week period after the rat pups were born.?

For rats not exposed to the noise, the auditory cortex(皮层) neurons during this period gathered into a smaller area and began developing a selective response to sounds.?

But for the noise?exposed rats, this organization was slowed, causing a delay in the development of the ability to discriminate(辨别) specific sound tones. The researchers said it took three or four times longer for the rats raised in a noisy environment to reach the basic bench marks (基准) of auditory development seen in the rat pups not exposed to noises.?

Although the rat is not a perfect model for what happens in humans, the authors note, the study does suggest that high levels of noise might possibly affect some language learning in babies.?

“These findings suggest that environmental noise, which is commonly present in contemporary child-rearing environments, can potentially contribute to auditory and language-related development delays,”the authors wrote in Science.?

The authors noted that although the brain development was delayed in rats exposed to the noise, their brains did eventually mature (成熟的) normally.?

The scientists at California University studied rats_______.?

A. of different age groups     B. with different habits?

C. in different environments  D. from different areas?

The rats exposed to noise, compared to those not exposed, _______.?

A. were more sensitive   B. were duller?

C. grew up more slowly D. gathered together more quickly

The result of the research mainly tells us that noise _______.

A. delays brain development  B. stops baby growth

C. affects speech and language      D. destroys brains?

Many college students have after-school jobs. Students both go to school and have a job at the same time. Every student has his or her own reason for having an after-school job. The most common reason is to help pay for college. In the US, going to a college or university may be very expensive. Not only must students pay for classes, they must also pay for a place to live, food, and other expenses. Buying books for classes can also be very expensive. Students spend as much as five hundred US dollars on books. Many parents do not have enough money to pay all of these expenses, so the students must get an after-school job to help pay for his or her education.?

Other students have after-school jobs not to pay for college, but to make and save a little money. Even after all of the school fees are paid, students often have many other expenses. Also, students like to go out and have fun. They may want to do anything from shopping to going to music concerts, to going out to bars and drinking with friends. Though it can be a lot of fun to do all of these things, you can not participate if you do not have money. Because of this, many students try to find jobs so that they can have fun as well as study.?

Some students get after-school jobs simply to gain more experience. If a student has never worked before, he or she can have the opportunity to have his or her first job. If a student is interested in banking, he or she may spend a few hours every week working at a ?local? bank. If a student is interested in working in a library after he or she graduates from college, the student can often find a job at the college library. There are many job opportunities for students who are interested in gaining experience in the area his or her choice.?

Though some people feel that after-school jobs take away from a student's time to do his or her homework, working is a great learning experience that happens outside of the ?classroom, and can provide many new opportunities for the students.

After reading the passage, we know that, besides paying for college education, American students have after-class jobs to _______.

A. make or save a little money and gain some experience?

B. simply earn some money?

C. support his or her family?

D. have fun only?

In the third paragraph the purpose of giving examples is _______.

A. to say that they have no choice but to do some jobs in college?

B. to show that the students are interested in working in banks and libraries?

C. to show that working in a bank or a library is the best way to earn money?

D. to explain how the students gain experience from after-school jobs ?

The best title for this passage is _______.

A. To Get an After-school Job for Fun

B. Getting an After-school Job for Your Education?

C. After-school Jobs

D. Experience Is Very Important for Your Job??

Because of the stress and strains of modern life folks today would rather watch television than get together with neighbors. Their behavior doesn't mirror TV soaps like Coronation Street and East Enders.?

The Street's Ashley Peacock and Toyah Battersby know all their neighbors. But the Royal Mail survey shows that real-life under?35s wouldn't dream of popping next door for a chat or to borrow a cup of sugar.?

Three out of ten say they wouldn't know their neighbors if they saw them in the street. The same proportion would only offer to help neighbors if absolutely necessary, while thirty-one? ?percent? don't want to get to know them better. Twenty-six percent rarely or never speak to the person next door. Thirty-five percent only talk to neighbors occasionally, and six percent actively dislike them. The older generation are still sociable, with seventy percent of over?55s ?taking? time to chat to people next door. The report says: “In the past, the British tradition of village green gossip（闲聊）between neighbors was celebrated worldwide. But there's been a clear shift away from local links by the young generation.” Londoners are least likely to be neighbors, with a third rarely or never chatting over the garden fence. People in the Midlands—where 65 percent often speak to their neighbors are most friendly.?

Sociologist Jane Blakeman said: “People are working longer hours than ever before, and are traveling further to work. It leaves them far less time at home.”?

Almost a third of young people_______.?

A. know their neighbours quite well?

B. have no idea who lives next door to them ?

C. talk to their neighbours when they want to borrow something?

D. spend time chatting with neighbours like their parents?

It can be inferred that Ashley Peacock and Toyah Battersby are both_______.?

A. important roles in a popular TV series

B. famous stars in TV programmes?

C. old soap operas

D. members of royal family?

Gossip among neighbours is still common among_______.?

A. people under 35       B. people between 35 and 55?

C. people over 55     D. people of different ages?

They tried to prevent the damage ________ their cattle.

   A. from protecting      B. protecting       C. protect           D. to protect

When I try to understand _______ that prevents so many Americans from being as happy as one might expect, it seems to me that there are two causes.?

A. why it does       B. what it does       C. what it is    D. why it is

假设你是李华，作为选派的交流学生在美国某中学学习了一年，寄住在Mr. Brown家里，刚回到国内。回国后，你发现自己的一本英语词典遗忘在他家，因此给他写了一封信，请他帮助寄回词典。信的主要内容如下：

　　感谢在美国期间他所提供的帮助

　　一本英语词典忘记带回

　　词典是美国老师送的，非常珍贵

　　词典很可能丢在卧室的书架上

　　邮资自己付

　　注意：

　　1、词数100左右；信的开头和结尾已为你写好。

　　2、可适当增加细节，使行文连贯

　　2、参考词汇：邮资-postage

　　Want a glance of the future of health care? Take a look at the way the various networks of people about patient care are being connected to one another, and how this new connectivity is being exploited to deliver medicine to the patient - no matter where he or she may be.

　　Online doctors offering advice based on norman symptoms（症状）are the most obvious example. Increasingly, however, remote diagnosis（远程诊断）will be based on real physiological data（生理数据）from the actual patient. A group from the University of Kentucky has shown that by using personal data assistance plus a mobile phone ,it is perfectly practical to send a patient’s important signs over the telephone. With this kind of equipement, the cry asking whether there was a doctor in the house could well be a thing of the past.

　　Other medical technology groups are working on applying telemedicine to rural （countryside） care. And at least one team wants to use telemedicine as a tool for disaster need - especially after earthquakes. On the whole, the trend is towards providing global access to medical data and experts’ opinions.

　　But there is one problem. Bandwidth（宽带） is the limiting factor for sending complex （复 杂 ）medical pictures around the world,—CU photos being one of the biggest bandwidth users. Communication satellites say be able to deal with the short - term needs during disasters such as earthquakes or wars. But medicine is looking towards both the second - generation Internet and third generation mobile phones for the future of remote medical service.

　　Doctors have met to discuss computer - based tools for medical diagnosis, training and telemedicine. With the falling price of broadband communications, the new technologies should start a new time when telemedicine and the sharing of medical information, experts’opinions and diagnosis are common.

　The writer chiefly talks about ________ .

　　A. the use of telemedicine

　　B. the on -lined doctors

　　C. medical care and treatment

　　D. communication improvement

　Which of the following statements is true according to the text?

　　A. Patients don’t need doctors in hospitals any more.

　　B. It is impossible to send a patient’s signs over the telephone.

　　C. Many teams use telemedicine dealing with disasters now.

　　D. Broadband communications will become cheaper in the future.

The“problem”in the fourth paragraph refers to the fact that ________ .

　　A. bandwidth isn’t big enough to send complex medical pictures

　　B. the second - generation of Internet has not become popular yet

　　C. communication satellites can only deal with short - term needs

　　D. there is not enough equipment for spreading the medical care

It was the first snow of winter — an exciting day for every child but not for most teachers. Up until now, I had been old enough to dress myself, but today would need some help. Miss Finlayson, my kindergarten teacher, had been through brst snow days many times, but I think she may still remember this one. 

I managed to get into my wool snow trousers. But I struggled won my jacket because it didn’t fit well. It was a hand-mc-down from my brother, and if made me wonder why I had to wear his ugly clothes, At least my hat and scarf were mine, and they were quite pretty. Finally it was time to have Miss Finlayson help me with my boots（靴子）. 

In her calm, motherly voice she said, “By the end of winter, you will all be able to put on your own boots.” I didn’t realize at the at the time that this was more a statement of hope than of confidence（信心）. 

I handed her my boots and stuck out my foot. Like most children, I expected grown-ups to do all the work. After much pushing, she managed to get first one into place and then, with a sigh, worked the second one on too. 

I announced, “They’re on the wrong feet.”

She struggled to get the boots off and went through the joyless task of putting them on again. 

“They’re my brother’s boots, you know,” I said. “I hate them”. 

Somehow,  from long years of practice,  she managed to act as though I wasn’t an annoying（烦人的） little girl,  She struggle with me, she asked, “Now, where are your mittens（连指手套）？”

I looked into her eyes and said, “I didn’t want to lose them, so I hid them in the toes of my boots. 

The little girl was more satisfied with her_____.

A. trousers     B. jacket      C. boots     D. hat

Miss Finlayson had difficulty with the girl’s boots mainly because_____.

A. the girl got them from her brother     B. the girl put something in them

C. they were on the wrong feet        D. they did not fit the girl well

Why does the author Miss Finlayson would remember that first snow day?

A. Because the little girl was in her brother’s clothes. 

B. Because it was the most exciting day of the winter . 

C. Because the little girl played a trick on her. 

D. Because the little girl wore a pretty scarf. 

We can learn from the text that Miss Finlayson____.

A. was losing confidence in the little girl. 

B. gradually lost patience with the little girl. 

C. became disappointed with the little girl. 

D. was getting bored with the little girl.

Mary is the best student in our class. I wonder whether anyone has got _______ mark in this examination.

  A. a high     B. a higher      C. the higher        D. the highest

  Over the past twenty years, American country music become    1. ________

more and more popular. Some writers are no longer writing about          2. ________

modern values of the USA. In 1950s, American music was about other      3. ________

things . Money was also thought to be important. Ten years late,           4. ________

some writers turned other subjects. During these years, many young        5. ________

students were angry with society. So songs were often full of angry.        6. ________

Political leaders were not well thought and those songs often made         7. ________

fun of them. Country music today remains much the same as ago.          8. ________

One subject which country music often returns is “the good old days”.      9. ________

And in “the good old days”, people love life on the open air.              10.  ________