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. researchers 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 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.

The impact of Einstein’s breakthrough in the field of photoelectric effect  ____  the understanding of the universe was simply tremendous.

A. in               B. on               C. with         D. about

—The dumpling is very delicious! Thank you for inviting me to eat．

—______．I’m glad you enjoy it．

A．All right．  B．Really?     C．Never mind． D．Don’t mention it．

Doing morning exercises _____ our health and we _____it.

 A. benefit to, benefit   B. benefits, benefit from

 C. benefits from, benefit  D. benefit, are benefited from

–Going to the dentist really frightens me.

–________.  Don’t be a chicken! 

A. Come on      B. Fine             C. Go ahead         D. Poor you

The rise of the so-called “boomerang generation” is revealed in official figures showing that almost one in five graduates in their late 20s now live with their parents.

By contrast, only one in eight university graduates had failed to fly the nest by the same age 20 years ago. It also found that grown-up sons are twice as likely as their sisters to still be living with their parents in their late 20s. With nearly a quarter of men approaching 30 still living at home, the findings are bound to lead to claims of a “generation of mummy’s boys”.

Young professionals in their late 20s or early 30s have been nicknamed the “boomerang generation” because of the trend toward returning to the family home having initially left to study. Recent research has suggested that young people in Britain are twice as likely to choose to live with their parents in their late 20s than their counterparts elsewhere in Europe.

Rising property prices, mounting student debts and the effects of recession on the job market have forced a wave of young people to move back into the family home at an age when they would normally be moving out. But commentators warned that the phenomenon may have more to do with young people facing “dire” prospects than simply a desire to save money.

While the proportion of those of university or college age moving out from the family home has continued to rise in the last 20 years, among those in their mid and late 20s the trend has been reversed. Overall 1.7 million people aged from 22 to 29 now share a roof with their parents, including more than 760,000 in their late 20s. In 1988, 22.7 per cent of men aged 25 to 29 were still living with their parents but last year the proportion was 24.5 per cent.

What is the main idea of the passage?

  A. The economic crisis has shown its effect on the young generation.

  B. More young professionals are returning home to live.

  C. British parents are suffering more loads from their grown-up children.

  D. Britain is suffering more than any other country in Europe.

Which of the following statements is TRUE?

  A. Male children seem to more independent than females.

  B. Eighty percent of university graduates were able to live independently two decades ago.

  C. The grown-up children choose to live with their parents only to save money.

  D. More and more children are moving out at university age.

What does the underlined word “dire” probably mean?

  A. promising.     B. inconvenient.   C. very bad.    D. hopeful

The following factors may account for the phenomenon except _____.

  A. that living prices have risen a lot.

  B. that it’s difficult to land a job.

  C. that education has already cost them a lot

  D. that parents can help them more

On the bank of the river, we found him ________ on a beach, with his eyes _____ on a kite in the sky.

A. seated; fixing                     B. sitting; fixing    

C. seated; fixed                      D. sitting; being fixed

When I was a child, I often dreamed of the time when I could leave home and escape to the city. We lived on a farm. In the winter especially, we were quite far away from the outside world. As soon as I left school, I packed my bags and moved to the capital. However, I soon discovered that my life has its problems too.

One big disadvantage is money. It costs so much to go out, not to mention basics like food and housing. Another disadvantage is pollution. I suffer from asthma (哮喘), and the air is so serious polluted that I am afraid to go outside. Then there is the problem of traveling round. Although I have a car, I seldom use it because of the traffic jams. One choice is to go by bicycle, but that can be quite dangerous.

Of course there are advantages. First, there is so much to do in the city, whatever your tastes in culture or entertainment (娱乐活动). Besides, there are wonderful jobs and greater chances of moving to a more important job or position. Finally, if you like shopping, the variety of goods is very surprising — and , what is more, shops are often only a short walk away.

Is life better then, in the city? Perhaps it is, when you are in your teens (十几岁) or twenties. However, as you get older, and especially if you have small children, the peace of the countryside may seem preferable. I certainly hope to move back there soon.

What was the writer always thinking about when he was a child?

A. Staying on the farm.                      B. Leaving home for the city.

C. Moving to the countryside.             D. Running away from the school.

Which of the following is true about the writer?

A. He lives in the city now.           B. He is in good health.

C. He prefers driving a car.                D. He is very old now.  

In the passage, the writer tries to __________.

A. persuade the reader to live in the city         B. describe his life in the countryside

C. show an interest in the outside world           D. express his opinions about the way of life

How is the passage mainly developed?

A. By inferring.                B. By listing examples.       

C. By comparing.          D. By giving explanations.

Habits are a funny thing. We reach for them mindlessly, setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine. “Not choice, but habit rules the unreflecting creatures,” William Wordsworth said in the 19th century. In the ever-changing 21st century, even the word “habit” carries a negative meaning.

    So it seems contradictory to talk about habits in the same context as innovation (创新). But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits, we create parallel （平行的）paths, and even entirely new brain cells, that can jump our trains of thought onto new, innovative tracks.

    Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit, we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits. In fact, the more new things we try, the more creative we become.

    But don’t bother trying to kill off old habits; once those ruts of procedure are worn into the brain, they’re there to stay. Instead, the new habits we deliberately press into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads.

    “The first thing needed for innovation is attraction to wonder,” says Dawna Markova, author of The Open Mind. “But we are taught instead to ‘decide’, just as our president calls himself ‘the Decider’.” She adds, however, that “to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one. A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities.”

    “All of us work through problems in ways of which we’re unaware,” she says. Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the ability to approach challenges in four primary ways: analytically, procedurally（程序上的）, collaboratively (合作地) and innovatively. At the end of adolescence, however, the brain shuts down half of that ability, preserving only those ways of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.

    The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure, meaning that few of us use our innovative and collaborative ways of thought. “This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,” explains M. J. Ryan, author of the 2006 book This Year I Will … and Ms. Markova’s business partner. “That’s a lie that we have preserved, and it fosters（培养）commonness. Knowing what you’re good at and doing even more of it creates excellence.” This is where developing new habits comes in.

Brain researchers have discovered that      .

A. the forming of new habits can be guided      B. the development of habits can be predicted

C. the regulation of old habits can be transformed

D. the track of new habits can be created unconsciously

The underlined word “ruts” in Paragraph 4 is closest in meaning to       .

A. zones            B. connections      C. situations           D. tracks

Which of the following statements most probably agrees with Dawna Markova’s view?

A. Decision makes no sense in choices.       B. Curiosity makes creative minds active.

C. Creative ideas are born of a relaxing mind.  D. Formation of innovation comes from fantastic ideas.

The purpose of the author writing this article is to persuade us       .

A. to give up our traditional habits deliberately    B. to create and develop new habits consciously

C. to resist the application of standardized testing  D. to believe that old habits conflict with new habits

Anyone who is in _______ of weapons without permission is considered law-breaking.

A. command          B. control            C. charge         D. possession