Three travelers, Allan, Carl and Paul were sitting on the chairs in a train station. They were waiting for a train that was very late.

To pass the time, they began talking to each other.

At first, they talked about the weather and their work. Then Paul said, "Tell me—what would you most like to do if your doctor tell you that you have only three months to live?"

The other two men thought about this for a while, then Carl spoke.

“Well,” he said, “if I have only three months to live, I’ll take all my money out of the bank and go to foreign countries for holidays with my best friend, Erik. I'd like to travel to the places in the world as many as possible. And I'll stay at the best hotels and then eat the best food. I think I'll have a wonderful time.”

“That's very interesting.” Paul said.

With these words, he turned to the other man, saying, “And what about you?”

“I'll tell you a secret,” Allan said. “I always want to be a racing driver. So if I have only three months to live, the first thing I'd like to do is to sell my house. With the money I’ll buy the fastest car in the world. Maybe I can enter all the big motor races.”

Then he laughed, "I might even end up (以……而告终) world champion.”

“Now it's your turn,” Allan went on, “If your doctor tell you the bad news, what would you most like to do?”

“Oh,” said Paul with a smile. “I’ll go and see another doctor.”

1.The three men were talking _____________.

A. in the post office  B. in the waiting room

C. on the train        D. on the chairs

2.The man called ________ answered the question first.

A. Carl B. Allan C. Erik D. Paul

3.The men began to talk about the weather and the work because they __________.

A. didn't know anything new

B. wanted to pass the time quickly

C. had nothing to do

D. were very interested in each other's work

4."I might even end up world champion." Here the word "champion" means ___in Chinese.

A.名人 B.赛车手 C.大款 D.冠军

5.Which sentence is right according to the passage?

A. The train didn't arrive on time.

B. Paul wanted to buy a racing car very much.

C. Allan was the second man to answer the question.

D. Carl didn't like traveling at all.

Could you tell me when ___________?

A. the train will arriveB. does the train arrive

C. did the train arriveD. will the train arrive

Sorry to say, our brains naturally start slowing down at the young age of 30. It used to be thought that this couldn't be helped, but new studies show that people of any age can train their brains to work faster. "Your brain is a learning machine," says University of California scientist Dr. Michael Merzenich. Given the right tools, we can train our brains to act like they did when we were younger. All that's required is the practice designed just for the purpose: a few exercises for the mind.

Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to speed up the process（过程） in which the brain deals with information (positscience.com). Since much of the data we receive comes through speech, the Brain Fitness Program works with language and hearing to better speed and accuracy （准确性）.Over the course of training, the program starts asking you to tell sounds (between "dog" and "bog", for example) at an increasingly faster speed. It's a bit like tennis instructor, says Merzenich, hitting balls at you faster and faster to keep you challenged. You may start out slow, but before long you're pretty quick.

The biggest finding in brain research in the last ten years is that the brain at any age is highly plastic. If you ask your brain to learn, it will learn. And it may even speed up while in the process. To keep your brain young and plastic you can do one of a million new activities that challenge and excite you：playing table tennis or bridge, doing crossword puzzles, learning a language.... "When it comes to preventing ageing, you really do 'use it or lose it'," says Barbara Sahakian, professor at Cambridge University.

51. According to the new studies, what will happen to our brains?

A. They will not start slowing down until the age of 30

B. They will start working slowly after the age of 30

C. They can work as well as at a young age through certain exercises

D. They can not be improved once they start to slow down

52. The writer mentioned many ways to speed up your brain, EXCEPT_____

A. doing a million new activities　　

B. sleeping as much as possible　

C. playing some intelligent games

D. playing table tennis

53. What can we learn from the text?

A. Using right tools is important for brains’ work.　　

B. Brain research deals with information from the Internet　

C. Dr. Merzenich is a scientist in computer,

D. Many activities can keep our brains young.

54. Which of the following agrees with the writer’s idea?

A. The train methods work better for the old.

B. People should train the brain to stop it from aging.

C. The training of the brain should start at an early age.

D. It is necessary to take part in as many activities as possible.

55. Which one is TRUE according to the passage?

A. If you are 71 years old, your brain is too old to train.

B. You can eat the food to keep your brain young and plastic.

C. Merzenich has developed a computer-based training method to train brains.

D. You will feel younger when you train your brain.

阅读理解

　　The train was already half an hour late. I had to arrive in Vienna at 7∶15 in time to catch the 7∶20 train to Paris, but there was no hope of that now I told my problem to the conductor, he advised me to get off two stops before Vienna Station and take a taxi. When the time came, he even helped me with my bag. He wished me good luck as I jumped off. A few minutes later I was racing towards the center of the city in a taxi. It was almost 7∶25 when we stopped outside the station. I paid the driver quickly, picked up my bag and hurried inside. “Pair train” was all I had time to say to the official I saw. You can see how I felt when he pointed to a train that was just moving out of the station.

NOTES： Pairs n. 巴黎； conductor n. 乘务员； center n. 中心； official n.官员

(1)The writer couldn't arrive in Paris in time because ________.

[　　]

A. the train was late

B. he took the wrong train

C. he didn't pay the driver

D. the conductor advised him to get off early

(2)The conductor advised the writer to get off before Vienna and take a taxi ________.

[　　]

A. as soon as the train stopped

B. after he heard the writer's explanation

C. after he was passing the writer

D. when the train arrived in Vienna at 7∶25

(3)Which of the following did the conductor do to help the writer?

[　　]

a. The conductor took him to the centre of the city in a taxi.

b. The conductor advise him to get off two stops before Vienna.

c. The conductor carried the bag for him.

d. The conductor showed him out of the station and called a taxi.

(4)When the writer saw that train was just moving, he felt ________.

[　　]

(5)Which of the following is true?

[　　]

A. The conductor was very kink to the writer.

B. The writer paid the driver quickly.

C. The driver helped the writer to catch the train.

D The writer was luck to catch the train.