【推荐1】Many studies have shown how playing video games can lead to structural changes in the brain, including increasing the size of some regions, or to functional changes, such as activating the areas responsible for attention. New research from the University at Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has gone further to show how cognitive changes can take place even years after people stop playing.

The study involved 27 people between the ages of 18 and 40 with and without any kind of experience with video gaming.

“People who were video gamers before adolescence, despite no longer playing, performed better with the working memory tasks, which require mentally holding and processing information to get a result,” said Marc Palaus, the author of the study.

The results show that people without experience of playing video games as a child did not benefit from improvements in processing and avoiding irrelevant stimuli. Indeed, they were slower than those who had played games as children, which matched what had been seen in earlier studies.

“People who played regularly as children performed better from the outset in processing 3D objects, although these differences were narrowed after the period of training in video gaming, when both groups showed similar levels,” said Palaus.

The study lasted a month and the researchers analyzed participants’ cognitive skills, including working memory, at three points: before starting the training in video gaming, at the end of the training, and fifteen days later. The video game used was Nintendo’s Super Mario 64.

According to Palaus, what most video games have in common is that they involve elements that make people want to continue playing, and that they gradually get harder and present a constant challenge. “These two things are enough to make it an attractive and motivating activity, which, in turn, requires constant and intense use of our brain’s resources.”

“Video games are a perfect recipe for strengthening our cognitive skills, almost without our noticing. However, it’s not the reason for playing too much,” he said.

1. What can be learned about the study?

A．It looks at different games.	B．It is aimed at adult gamers.
C．Its participants are adults.	D．Its author likes playing games.

2. How did people playing no video games as children behave in the study?

A．They tended to ignore irrelevant stimuli.	B．They failed to physically hold 3D objects.
C．They performed very slowly after training.	D．They did worse in working memory tasks.

3. What may Mare Palaus suggest doing?

A．Finding recipes for better cognitive skills.	B．Avoiding getting addicted to video games.
C．Trying less challenging video games.	D．For bidding video games for the young.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Playing Video Games as Kids Can Cause Changes in Brain

B．Video Gamers Memorize Information Much More Quickly

C．Video Games Help to Improve Children’s Working Memory

D．Playing Video Games Benefits Cognitive Skills Even Years Later

【推荐2】The new two-child policy is making job hunting more difficult for women when about 40 percent of them said they were asked whether they planned to have a second child during job interviews, according to a report in Chongqing.

China dropped its decades-long one-child policy in October and allowed each family to have two children. The country now has about 270 million married women of childbearing age.

This change has put millions of career women in a dilemma between family and career. Employers also face big challenges as more female workers will have two childbearing leaves, seven to eight months altogether. A human resources website www.job.cq.qq.com conducted a survey among 500 employers and 5,000 job seekers about how the two-child policy affects the job market.

Though two thirds of employers said the policy would make no difference to their recruitment(招聘), the survey showed that more than 70 percent of job seekers believe that bearing a second child will make women less popular in the job market. Forty percent of employers said they will give priority to married women with two children, according to the survey.

Lin Xia, 29, quit her job after giving birth to her first child. She is now preparing to return to work. After several inquiries at a job fair, she found that the employers are concerned about future birth plans. "I thought it would be easier to find a job after giving birth," she was quoted as saying by the website. "I had to answer whether I will have a second child before I could get a chance for a job interview."

Liang Siqi, 23, a college graduate, said although employers did not ask her the child question yet, she will not plan to have two children. "It (having two children) will definitely affect my career and personal life, so I will have only one," she said.

Zhou Jiansong, who is in charge of human resources at a large private high-tech group in Chongqing, said the company will discuss birth issues with interviewees in order to make a better work plans. "We fully respect a women's right to bear a child or two," he said. "But you don't want them to go on a childbearing leave soon after they join your company." The experts expect more labor dispute cases concerning childbearing leave rights when bearing a second child in future.

1. As for the influence of the new policy on working women, which of the following is TRUE?

A．They will find it more difficult to ask for a leave in a company

B．Most of them will be forced to choose to have two children

C．Many of them will stay at home instead of working outside

D．Those who have two children may find it easier to get a job

2. In the opinion of Zhou Jiansong, what will employers probably do when interviewing women interviewees?

A．They will pay no attention to women’s right to have a child or two

B．They will let women interviewees make a future plan

C．They may hope to know more about women interviewees’ childbearing plan

D．They may expect more labor debate cases about interviewees’ second-child plan.

3. What can we infer from the report in the passage?

A．All the women surveyed in the passage are married

B．The women bearing a second child get the same chance as before to get a job

C．About 70 percent of the women were asked whether they planned to have a second child.

D．Bearing a second child affects the women’s career to some degree.

4. What is the writer’s attitude towards the new two-child policy?

A．Positive	B．Neutral
C．Indifferent	D．Critical

【推荐3】Scientists have long known that a crow (乌鸦) native to New Caledonia is able to use tools. The birds use them to remove food from deep holes. Now, American researchers have discovered a second species of crow with the same ability. They reported on their experiments with Alala crows, which are from the Hawaiian Islands.

In the experiment, the researchers placed pieces of food in holes inside the wood. The holes were too deep for the crows to reach with their beaks (鸟喙). But, by using small pieces of wood held in their beaks, Alala crows quickly got the food. They used small objects as tools, sometimes changing them by shortening too-long sticks. They also made tools from plant materials.

“The crows use their beaks as people use fingers. Tool use is rare in the animal kingdom.” Said Chritian Rutz of University of St. Andrews. “Current evidence strongly suggests that tool use is part of the species’ natural behavioral pattern. These birds had no special training in the study, yet most of them were skilled at handling stick tools.”

Bird experts claim finding out that the crows use tools is important discovery. “It makes us rethink how to look at the whole tool-use idea now and encourages us to go out and look for things that we may have ignored before.”

All the Alala crows left in the world live in Hawaii. There were less than 20 Alalas left in the late 1990s when scientists decided to bring them into a protected area. Now, it is reported that there are over 100 birds living there. Scientists plan to release a small number of the birds back into the wild later.

1. What can Alala crows do according to the study?

A．Storing food in the wood.

B．Making holes in the wood.

C．Processing tools as needed.

D．Working together to get food.

2. What do Chritian Rutz’s words mean?

A．Alala crows’ beaks look like people’s hands.

B．Using stick tools is not easy for Alala crows.

C．Using tools comes naturally to Alala crows.

D．Alala crows won’t use tools without being trained.

3. What do scientists plan to do with Alala crows?

A．Set some of them free in nature.	B．Increase the population of them.
C．Move all of them out of Hawaii.	D．Build more protected areas for them.

4. Where does the text probably come from?

A．A novel.	B．A business report.
C．A research plan.	D．A science magazine.

【推荐1】Scientists have calculated the total amount of plastic ever made: 8.3 billion tons. Looked at another way, that’s as heavy as 25, 000 Empire State Buildings or one billion elephants. And incredibly, almost all of it has been made in the last 65 years.

______ Much plastic is in the form of packaging which is used just once and then thrown away. According to a major new study from the University of California, 9% of this is recycled, 12% is completely burnt and 79% goes to landfill. And because most plastic is not easily disposed of, once it’s in the ground, it stays there.

It’s a situation that has led the paper’s lead author, ecologist Dr. Roland Geyer, to say that we are “rapidly heading towards ‘Planet Plastic’”. The team behind this report also estimate that eight million tons of plastic waste are escaping into the sea every year. This has caused concern that plastic is entering the food chain, through fish and other sea life which swallow the smaller fragments.

Of course, the reason why there’s so much plastic around is that it’s an amazingly useful material. It’s durable and adaptable, and is used for everything from yoghurt pots to spaceships. But it’s exactly this quality that makes it a problem. The only way to destroy plastic is to heat or burn it — although this has the side effect of harmful emissions.

So what’s the alternative, other than using less plastic? Oceanographer Dr. Erik van Sebille from Utrecht University says we’re facing a “tsunami” of plastic waste, and that the global waste industry needs to “get its act together”.

Professor Richard Thompson, a marine biologist from Plymouth University, says it’s poor design that’s at fault. He says that if products are currently designed “with recyclability in mind”, they could be recycled around 20 times over.

1. Which of the following is the best topic sentence for paragraph two?

A．So where does the plastic go?

B．So why is much plastic thrown away?

C．So what’s the problem?

D．So how is the plastic disposed of?

2. How might plastic enter the food we eat?

A．By being eaten and absorbed by sea creatures.	B．By being used as useful materials.
C．By getting into the food market directly.	D．By getting into the deep sea.

3. Which of the following might Richard Thompson agree with?

A．Plastic waste has caused tsunami.

B．The design of products should be environmentally friendly.

C．Plastics are currently recycled over 20 times.

D．Global waste industry is to blame for the plastic waste problem.

4. What can be a suitable title for the text?

A．Global Waste Industry	B．Recyclability of Plastics
C．Planet Plastic	D．Plastic Waste into the Sea

【推荐2】Some scientists say that animals in the oceans are increasingly threatened by noise pollution caused by human beings.

The noise that affects sea creatures comes from a number of human activities. It is caused mainly by industrial underwater explosions, ocean drilling,and ship engines. Such noises are added to natural sounds. These sounds include the breaking of ice fields, underwater earthquakes, and sounds made by animals themselves.

Decibels(分贝) measured in water are different from those measured on land. A noise of one hundred and twenty decibels on land causes pain to human ears. In water, a decibel level of one hundred and ninety-five would have the same effect.

Some scientists have proposed setting a noise limit of one hundred and twenty decibels in oceans. They have observed that noises at that level can frighten and confuse whales.

A team of American and Canadian scientists discovered that louder noises can seriously injure some animals. The research team found that powerful underwater explosions were causing whales in the area to lose their hearing. This seriously affected the whales’ ability to exchange information and find their way. Some of the whales even died. The explosions had caused their ears to bleed and become infected.

Many researchers whose work depends on ocean sounds object to a limit of one hundred and twenty decibels. They say such a limit would mean an end to important industrial and scientific research.

Scientists do not know how much and what kinds of noises are harmful to ocean animals. However, many scientists suspect that noise is a greater danger than they believed. They want to prevent noises from harming creatures in the ocean.

1. According to the passage, which of the following is increasingly dangerous to sea creatures?

A．The man-made noises.	B．The noises made by themselves.
C．The sound of earthquakes.	D．The sound of the ice-breaking.

2. Which of the following is discussed in the third paragraph?

A．Different places with different types of noises.

B．The very human ears sensitive to all types of noises.

C．The same noise measured differently on land and in the ocean.

D．The ocean animals’ reaction to noises.

【推荐3】A ten-year-old sperm whale(抹香鲸）was found dead on a beach in Scotland.A necropsy(尸检）revealed that nearly 100 kilograms of plastic and other trash had formed clumps(硬块）in its digestive system.The tragedy quickly made headlines.Why would a top predator in the ocean eat gloves,rope,and plastic cups?

Conventional wisdom suggests that marine animals eat plastic because it is there and they don't know any better.It is true that plastic may smell like food to some of them.But that doesn't explain why only certain types of whales-deep-diving toothed whales,such as sperm whales and pilot whales-turn up dead on beaches with stomachs full of plastic.

It's possible,says Savoca,that plastic trash sounds like food to toothed whales.These species

hunt deep in the ocean,sometimes nearly 500 meters below the surface,where it's pitch black(漆黑）。They use echolocation(回声定位）to hunt for food,typically squid(乌贼）。

By contrast,baleen whales(须鲸），including humpbacks and blue whales,have natural filters(过滤器）for their food.Baleen,the brush-like filter-feeding system they have in place of teeth,as well as their narrow throats,keeping them from swallowing anything much larger than the krill(磷虾群）that forms the basis of their diet.That could help explain why baleen whales are not ending up with plastic filled stomachs.

Fifty years ago,there was almost no plastic in the ocean.The lifespan of a large whale can be

twice that long.In the lifetime of a single whale,we went from an ocean with no plastic to hundreds of thousands of tons of it.Plastic comes on top of other factors affecting life in the ocean-climate change,overfishing,shipping traffic,and noise pollution."it's a real shame because their lives are challenging enough even without the additional pressure we put onto them,"says Savoca.
1. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．That plastic smells like food to toothed whales.

B．That marine animals started to eat plastic decades ago.

C．That a number of toothed whales are found dead on beaches every year.

D．That conventional wisdom about why marine animals eat plastic doesn't apply to all whales.

2. Which of the following statements DOESN'T explain why toothed whales are more easily harmed by plastic pollution than baleen whales?

A．They don't feed on krill.

B．They live in the dark depths of the ocean.

C．They are not born with brush-like filter-feeding systems.

D．They don't determine the location of their food with their eyes.

3. What does the author want to emphasize in the last paragraph?

A．Whales have a longer lifespan than humans.

B．Plastic has a negative effect on climate change.

C．Great changes have taken place in the ocean in the past 50 years.

D．Plastic pollution has worsened already serious issues affecting marine life.

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

A．Different diets,different fates

B．Silent killers in the ocean

C．Plastic trash in-the ocean

D．Saving whales

【推荐1】Paris is the capital of the European nation of France. It is also one of the most beautiful and most famous cities in the world.

     Paris is called the City of Light. It is also an international fashion center. What women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world. Paris is also a famous world center of education. For example, it is where the headquarters of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
     The Seine River divides the city into two parts. Thirty-two bridges cross this beautiful river. The oldest and perhaps most well-known is the Point Neuf, which was built in the sixteenth century. The Sorbonne, a famous university, stands on the left bank of the river. There are many other famous places in Paris, such as the famous museum, the Louvre, as well as the Notre Dame. However, the most famous building in this city is Eiffel Tower.
     Paris is named after a group of people called the Parisii. They built a small village on an island in the middle of the Seine River about two thousand years ago. This island, called the lle de la Cite, is where Notre Dame lies. Today around eight million people live in the Paris area.
1. This article mainly tells us about ________.

A．the buildings in Paris	B．the general situations of Paris
C．the center of the world	D．the famous buildings along the Seine River

2. The word “ headquarters” means________.

A．tall buildings

B．research center

C．important areas

D．main office

3. From the passage we may conclude that________.

A．the clothes worn by women in Paris are liked by women all over the world

B．women in Paris sell their clothes all over the world

C．women from all over the world go to Paris and wear their own clothes

D．women from all over the world like to go to Paris to buy clothes

4. The building of ________is the most famous building to the world.

A．UNESCO

B．the Pont Neuf

C．Eiffel Tower

D．Notre Dame

5. Which of the following descriptions of Paris is NOT true according to the text?

A．Paris is the capital of the European nation of France.

B．Paris is called the City of Light.

C．The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is located in Paris.

D．The most famous building in this city is the famous museum., the Louvre.

【推荐2】Have you ever been on an airplane, minding your own business, and found your eyes filled with tears for no reason? Or perhaps you sat near someone who burst into tears. Is there something happening to your body that triggers(引发) the tears?

There sure is! When you’re inside a flying airplane, you’re miles off the ground. Not exactly a place where humans usually find themselves. The airplane is pressurized(加压) to keep passengers comfortable. But it’s still not the pressure levels that you’ll experience at ground level. It’s a bit like having climbed a pretty high mountain.

The primary tear-trigger is the lower amount of oxygen in your blood. The oxygen levels in the plane are lower than you’ll find on the ground. And it can bring you bad feelings.

Another cause is dehydration. Because the air in the plane is very dry, we may get dehydrated. And being dehydrated can have all kinds of harmful effects on your 30,000-foot-high body, which is making you have bad feelings like sadness and worry.

In fact, there is a spiritual reason, too! Even if you’re not afraid of planes, it’s a high-stress situation. Taking a flight often involves saying goodbye to someone in the place you’re leaving. You can also be worried about plane crash or losing your baggage.

You can drink plenty of water before your flight to fight back your tears. You can also keep your mind busy with a puzzle or brain game. And if you’re going to watch a movie, maybe choose one that’s a bit more relaxing. In short, make flying a more pleasant and less stressful experience.

1. In Paragraph 1 the author started with questions in order to .

A．lead to the topic of the text

B．give background information

C．ask why some people feel bad on the plane

D．show the do’s and don’ts on the plane

2. What triggers tears when you’re on an airplane?

A．The weather.	B．Your health.
C．The altitude.	D．The temperature.

3. What does the underlined word “dehydration” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Catching a disease.

B．Drinking too much water.

C．Sleeping too much in the daytime.

D．Losing too much water from one’s body.

4. In the last paragraph, the author mainly tells us .

A．suggestions on how to take a safe flight

B．tips on how to hold back tears while flying

C．advice on how to get over fears when flying

D．ways of making yourself comfortable while flying

【推荐3】When starting college, most students enjoy a week’s stay on campus before classes actually begin. What should you do with that time? Below are several tips to ease yourself into college life.

Participating in Campus Welcome Activities

Most universities host welcome events before the academic year officially begins, including freshmen orientations, campus picnics, and entertainments like concerts.

Participating in such events is a great way to learn about school facilities and understand campus culture: What do students do for fun? What are their favorite classes? What is the history of your university? It can help you observe campus life outside the classroom.

Exploring Campus

Getting to know where essential campus resources are—such as the student advising center, psychological services, and the tutoring center—will make your first few weeks on campus a lot easier, because you won’t have to look for them while still getting used to your classes.

Take some time to check out the buildings where your classes will be held. This will prevent you from getting lost in the first few days of classes and familiarize you with how long it takes to get from place to place. If you’re worried about taking classes one after another in different buildings, a quick test run won’t hurt. That way, you will avoid potential time delays in getting to your classes.

Starting a Routine

Before getting too excited about all of the fun things you will be able to do during the week, remember that you do have a pretty big schedule change coming up. Starting classes means being in different places at different times, so it’s a great idea to start getting used to that routine right this week.

What helps you most is to schedule your sleep. Following the planned time will ensure you have enough sleep to get to those early classes and stay wide awake.

If you have other daily routines, such as exercising or talking on the phone with family, work those into your day-to-day life before classes start so that you get a better idea of how they fit in with your schedule.

1. Why are freshmen advised to have a quick test run between buildings?

A．To see how many facilities they can use.	B．To avoid being late for future classes.
C．To help those getting lost on campus.	D．To practice running on their way to class.

2. When is it best for freshmen to start getting used to the new routine?

A．On the first day of their classes.	B．Before the orientation week.
C．After their first-day classes.	D．During the orientation week.

3. What does the author suggest freshmen do to stay focused in class?

A．Take physical exercise before class.	B．Leave their phones powered off.
C．Take early classes every day.	D．Keep to the sleep schedule.

【推荐1】

1. By using the app released by SOLEIF, people can

A．watch a video about the statue's history

B．appreciate the exhibits in the museum

C．view the statue from different angles

D．see a life-size model of the statue

2. Where can we find both apps and popular videos?

A．tinyurl.com

B．uefa.com

C．Apple's iPad

D．SOLELF

3. The following words can be used to describe the Xploro app EXCEPT

A．entertaining

B．interactive

C．informative

D．sensitive

【推荐2】They have beaten us at chess, and now computers are taking a step into a very human territory: the reading comprehension test.

Alibaba said its artificial research outperformed human beings in a global reading comprehension test that seeks answers to such pressing questions as “what was Nikola Tesla’s ethnicity (种族划分)?” and “how big is the Amazon rainforest?”

Luo Si described the machines’ victory as “a milestone”. He said the technology has many uses, from customer service to museum tutorial (教程) to medical inquires — some of which are already being handled by chatbots globally.

In the test, companies subjected their artificial intelligence systems to questions from the Stanford Question Answering Dataset, which assessed reading comprehension. The computers’ answers were compared against average human responses and ranked.

Tying (打平) in top place were Microsoft, the US software giant, and Alibaba, and — like its peers at home and abroad - is putting more funds into AI, much of it via its research arm.

While Microsoft and Alibaba won by the slimmest of margins (幅度) — at accuracy levels a few basis points (基点) above humans’ 82.3 per cent in providing exact matches to questions- the tie provided a symbol of the AI arms race (军备竞赛) launched by the US and China.

China aims to use its vast data, collected from its 1.4 billion population including 730 million who are online, and financial resources to overtake the US in creating a $150 billion industry that is seen as the next industrial revolution.

Baidu made an early bet on AI, and is leading its rivals in autonomous driving. Tencent, which boasts 1 billion monthly active users on its social media WeChat app, and Alibaba have adopted AI in operations such as customizing news and ads, and are investing in new fields.

1. What does Luo Si think of AI’s performance in reading comprehension?

A．He feels frightened at it.	B．He has some doubts about it.
C．He thinks highly of it.	D．He considers it worth a try.

2. What does China depend on to lead in AI?

A．The new industrial revolution.

B．The huge market of $150 billion industry investment.

C．The vast amount of data from its 1.4 billion population.

D．The cooperation between Chinese government and Microsoft.

3. In which field does Baidu do better than its rivals?

A．The medical enquiries.	B．The customer service.
C．Customer news feeds.	D．The driverless cars.

【推荐3】I took a deep breath and walked through the front door, my arms full of groceries. A challenge lay ahead of me, someone who could hardly boil water: cooking the Easter Sunday dinner. What if I made everyone sick? It could truly be our family’s last super meal.

Making the holiday meal was my brother’s job, not mine. I could never fill his shoes. Peter had died in September at the age of 45 from a heart attack, but he’d been a natural in the kitchen all his life. He planned every course in detail, from the crescent rolls to the Dutch apple pie.

My family was lost without him, and we went out to dinner for Thanksgiving and ordered pizza for Christmas. By the time Easter rolled around, though, I couldn’t bear the idea of another holiday surrounded by takeout (外卖食品) boxes. Peter would have hated that. To him, there was nothing more important than a meal made with love. So I convinced Mom that we should cook Easter dinner together. But we were terrible cooks.

I had been thinking what to cook for Easter dinner. I’d bitten off more than I could chew. No one could do this half as well as Peter.

I stepped into the family room. Mom was still at church, but her newspaper was opened on the coffee table, to the sports section, as usual. She was a huge Notre Dame women’s basketball fan, and the featured story was about the forward Devereaux Peters. I read the headline and nearly dropped my grocery bags, Filling Peters’ Shoes.

That afternoon, cooking in the kitchen, I didn’t feel so alone. Mom and I pulled together and the Easter feast was not that bad. The ham may have been a little dry, but it was all made with love— just like Peter would have wanted.

1. What would Peter have preferred to do if holidays had come?

A．To go out to have dinner.	B．To order pizza.
C．To show off his cooking skills.	D．To cook a big dinner for his family.

2. The text tells us that ____________.

A．the Easter dinner was the family’s last dinner

B．Mom persuaded the author to cook the Easter dinner

C．Peter enjoyed cooking a dinner with love

D．their Easter dinner this year was a complete failure

3. By saying “I’d bitten off more than I could chew.” in Paragraph 4, the author means __________.

A．she wasn’t confident in cooking the Easter dinner

B．she was not able to eat a lot of food

C．the Easter dinner made her sick

D．she couldn’t cook the dinner alone

4. What might be the best title for the text ?

A．Cooking in the Kitchen	B．Filling Peter’s Shoes
C．Happy Easter Day	D．Terrible Cooks