Nuclear science should be developed to benefit people _______ harm them.

A. more than      B. rather than        C. other than           D. less than

A

For most pregnant women, exercise is the last thing on their minds. After all, keeping slim while you’re expecting isn’t exactly the top priority— rather, it’s making sure your baby gets enough nutrients to grow. But in a small new study, researchers at the University of Auckland in New Zealand report that a mother’s regular aerobic exercise may be good for a growing fetus’ health — and may even help a baby get a healthier start in life.

The finding is a bit surprising, because exercise is known to lower the risk of insulin resistance（胰岛素抵抗），a condition eventually leading to diabetes（糖尿病）. Although insulin resistance is a detriment in healthy adults, it turns out to be helpful for proper fetal（胎儿）development. In pregnant women, this condition means nutrients get shunted to the growing baby.

The question is: could a mother’s exercise put her developing baby’s food supply at risk? Past studies looking at the effect of exercise on birth weight have been inconclusive, and none have really investigated the influence of exercise on the mother’s sensitivity to insulin. So the University of Auckland’s Dr. Paul Hoffman and his team decided to study 84 first-time mothers, who were of normal weight on average, and track any effects aerobic exercise(有氧运动) might have on their insulin sensitivity and, ultimately, on their babies’ birth weight. Researchers asked some women to exercise on a stationary bicycle for at least 40 minutes per session, up to five times each week, starting in the 20th week of pregnancy; the other women were not specifically asked to exercise. When the two groups and their babies were compared, the team found that women who bicycled regularly gave birth to babies who were on average 150g lighter than those born to the non-exercising mothers. In both groups, however, the babies were of healthy weight, and there was no difference in the mothers’ weights.

Generally speaking, babies on the lower end of the normal weight range are considered healthier and less prone to developing diabetes and obesity than heavier ones, so this was an encouraging result. Even more reassuring was that regular exercise did not seem to affect the flow of nutrients to the growing babies in the womb.

41. According to the new study, a pregnant woman’s regular exercise may _______.

  A. bring benefits to a baby’s growth

  B. lower the risk of insulin resistance

  C. put her baby’s food supply at risk

  D. help her keep slim and healthy

42. What does the underlined word “detriment” mean in the second paragraph?

  A. Something that brings good.

  B. Something that brings damage.

  C. Something that brings obstacles.

  D. Something that brings development.

43. What is the purpose of the experiment carried out by Dr. Paul Hoffman?

  A. To investigate the influence of exercise on pregnant women.

  B. To find out what aerobic exercise can benefit a baby’s growth.

  C. To make sure of the effects exercise may have on babies’ birth weight

  D. To compare the differences between mothers who exercise and who don’t

44. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

  A. Lighter babies are generally believed to be healthier than heavier ones.

  B. Non­－exercising mothers will definitely give birth to heavier babies.

  C. No studies have looked at the effect of exercise on birth weight before.

  D. Some women studied were asked to exercise regularly while some don’t.

45. Which of the following may be the best title for the passage?

  A. All mothers should take aerobic exercise.

  B. Moms who exercise give birth to lighter babies。

  C. Exercise reduces the risk of insulin resistance.

  D. Heavier babies are more likely to develop diabetes.

You can’t get to the island____by boat.

A. more than      B. other than       C. rather than      D. less than

Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world．But in recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism （双语能力） are even more important than being able to converse with a wider range of people．Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter．It can have a deep effect on your brain, improving skills not related to language and even protecting against a serious mental disorder in old age．

This view of bilingualism is different from the understanding of bilingualism through much of the 20th century．Researchers, educators and policy makers long considered a second language to be an interruption that prevented a child's school work and ability to think and understand things．They were not wrong about the interruption: there is ample evidence that in a bilingual \s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system disturbs the other．But this interruption, researchers are finding out, isn't so much a disturbance．It forces the brain to solve inside conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its thinking muscles．

The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment．"Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often—you may talk to your father in one language and to your mother in another language," says Albert Costa, a researcher at the University of Pompea Fabra in Spain．

"It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving．" In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr．Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, showing that they did better in it．

1.From the passage we can learn that experts used to believe that ______．

A．interruption forced a bilingual's brain to strengthen its thinking ability

B．a second language stopped children's studying as well as mental development

C．using two languages annoyed the children who have trouble in learning skills

D．language systems were busy in a bilingual's brain when he was using languages

2.The underlined word "switch" in Paragraph 3 probably means "______"．

A．change      B．use         C．speak     D．study

3.What is the author's attitude towards bilingualism?

A．Cautious．  B．Doubtful．   C．Concerned．  D．Favourable．

4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?

A．How Bilinguals Use Languages    

B．What Bilingualism Is Really about

C．Why Bilinguals Are More Intelligent   

D．When People Learn a Second Language