Not long ago, people thought babies were not able to learn things until they were five or six months old. Yet doctors in the United States say babies begin learning on their first day of life.

Scientists note that babies are strongly influenced by their environment. They say a baby will smile if her mother does something the baby likes. A baby learns to get the best care possible by smiling to please her mother or other caregiver. This is how babies learn to connect and communicate with other human beings.

One study shows that babies can learn before they are born. The researchers placed a tape recorder on the stomach of a pregnant woman. Then, they played a recording of a short story. On the day the baby was born, the researchers attempted to find if he knew the sounds of the story repeated while in his mother. They did this by placing a device in the mouth of the newborn baby.

The baby would hear the story if he moved his mouth one way. If the baby moved his mouth the other way, he would hear a different story. The researchers say the baby clearly liked the story he heard before he was born. They say the baby would move his mouth so he could hear the story again and again.

Another study shows how mothers can strongly influence social development and language skills in their children.

Researchers studied the children from the age of one month to three years. The researchers attempted to measure the sensitivity of the mothers. The women were considered sensitive if they supported their children’s activities and did not interfere（干涉） unnecessarily. They tested the children for thinking and language development when they were three years old. Also, the researchers observed the women for signs of depression（沮丧）.

The children of depressed women did not do as well in tests as the children of women who did not suffer from depression. The children of depressed women did poorly in tests of language skills and understanding what they hear.

These children also were less cooperative and had more problems dealing with other people. The researchers noted that the sensitivity of the mothers was important to the intelligence development of their children. Children did better when their mothers were caring, even when they suffered from depression.

72. According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the factor that influences intelligence development in babies?

　　 A. The environment.　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 B. Mother’s sensitivity.

　　 C. Their peers(同龄人). 　　　　　　　　　　　　　 D. Education before birth.

73. What is the purpose of the experiment in which newborn babies heard the stories?

　　 A. To prove that babies can learn before they are born.

　　 B. To prove that babies can learn on the first day they are born.

　　 C. To show mothers can strongly influence intelligence development in their babies.

　　 D. To indicate early education has a deep effect on the babies’ language skills.

74. Which group of children did the worst in tests of language skills?

　　 A. The children of depressed mothers who cared little for their children.

　　 B. The children of women who did not suffer from depression.

　　 C. The children of depressed but caring mothers.

　　 D. Children with high communication abilities.

75. What is the main idea of the passage?

　　 A. Scientific findings about how babies develop before birth.

　　 B. Scientific findings about how the environment has an effect on babies’ health.

　　 C. A study shows babies are not able to learn things until they are five or six months old.

　　 D. Scientific findings about how intelligence develops in babies.

We don’t know how different our life will be in the future . We can only try to imagine it .
At first we think about human relationship . In the year 2050 , we will use computers almost every day . We will be making new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way . It will be much faster and easier for us . On the other hand , our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today—we will feel a little lonely .
Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050 . For example , they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier . In addition , there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers , like robots which will do the housework for us .
Spending holidays will also be completely different . Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone . Means of transport will , of course , change , too . we will be using solar-powered cars , which will be much more environmentally friendly .
We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment . But it isn’t true .We will pay more attention to protecting the environment . And , scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases , like cancer or AIDS . Therefore , our surroundings as well as health will be in a better condition .
Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world , we often think about them . We worry about our and our children’s future ; we have expectations , hopes as well as fears . But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future . We should be happy and believe good things will happen .
1. Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050 ?
A. Because the number of people will become much smaller .
B. Because there will be less face-to-face communication .
C. Because people won’t like making friends with each other .
D. Because people won’t communicate with each other much often .
2. The third paragraph mainly tells us_________.
A. that computers will do all the things for human beings
B. how people will use computers to communicate with each other
C. that machines like computers and robots will help people a lot
D. how people will use robot to do the housework
3. According to the passage , which of the following will happen in 2050 ?
A. The relationship between people will be more important than that of today .
B. The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today .
C. It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets .
D. Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars .
4. What does the passage mainly talk about ?
A. How peoplewill communicate in the year 2050 .
B. What our life will be like in the year 2050 .
C. How people will travel and spend their holidays in the year 2050 .
D. What high technology will appear in the year 2050 .

Exercise is an important part of a healthy life. It reduces your risk of heart attack and is a good way to control body weight. It is also something you can do with other people, which can be great fun. So, it is important to find time to exercise and be healthier. As well as making time to exercises, another way is to build it into the natural rhythm (节奏) of your day.
· Go for a walk on your lunch break.
Try to find at least three different ways and change them throughout the week. It
might even be possible to find a place to walk inside, for those bad weather days.
· Talk to your employers about improving health at work.
Encourage your workers to cycle to and from work. You might also be able to
encourage them to set up a gymnasium. Sell the idea by pointing out that doing so
will improve productivity (生产率), and make workers happy.
· If you are a student.
Go for walks with friends to talk about your studies. Spend some time in the learning
resource centre reading about sport, exercise and health. The more you know, the
more choices you will have about how to be physically active. Most colleges have
sport and exercise programs that students can take part in. Find out which activities
are being held, and try those you think you might enjoy. 
【小题1】Workers are advised to cycle to and from work to ________.

We don’t know how different our life will be in the future . We can only try to imagine it .

At first we think about human relationship . In the year 2050 , we will use computers almost every day . We will be making new friends through the Internet—even our husbands or wives will be met in this way . It will be much faster and easier for us . On the other hand , our relationships with people won’t be as important as they are today—we will feel a little lonely .

Computers will also help us in many other activities in 2050 . For example , they will be used by the children at school to make their learning easier . In addition , there will be much more other machines which will play a similar role as computers , like robots which will do the housework for us .

Spending holidays will also be completely different . Traveling to other planets or to the moon will be available for everyone . Means of transport will , of course , change , too . we will be using solar-powered cars , which will be much more environmentally friendly .

We could expect that the faster technological progress would lead to a more polluted environment . But it isn’t true .We will pay more attention to protecting the environment . And , scientists will probably find cures for many dangerous diseases , like cancer or AIDS . Therefore , our surroundings as well as health will be in a better condition .

Although we can’t predict the exact changes which will be made in the world , we often think about them . We worry about our and our children’s future ; we have expectations , hopes as well as fears . But I think we should be rather sanguine about our future . We should be happy and believe good things will happen .

1. Why will people probably feel a little lonely in 2050 ?

A. Because the number of people will become much smaller .

B. Because there will be less face-to-face communication .

C. Because people won’t like making friends with each other .

D. Because people won’t communicate with each other much often .

2. The third paragraph mainly tells us_________.

A. that computers will do all the things for human beings

B. how people will use computers to communicate with each other

C. that machines like computers and robots will help people a lot

D. how people will use robot to do the housework

3. According to the passage , which of the following will happen in 2050 ?

A. The relationship between people will be more important than that of today .

B. The way of spending holidays will be the same as that of today .

C. It won’t be difficult for people to travel to other planets .

D. Our environment will be much more polluted with a growing number of cars .

4. What does the passage mainly talk about ?

A. How peoplewill communicate in the year 2050 .

B. What our life will be like in the year 2050 .

C. How people will travel and spend their holidays in the year 2050 .

D. What high technology will appear in the year 2050 .