【推荐1】Winning the silver medal at the 2023 FIVB Volleyball Nations League in the United States, on Sunday, the Chinese women’s volleyball team enjoyed their best result in the tournament (联赛), with the key to the breakthrough being their unity and never-say-die spirit.

“I just feel that our team is more united than ever,” said Yuan Xinyue, Team China captain. “We support and help each other on the court. This is the most important reason behind our success. All of us should shoulder the responsibility of winning.”

She continued to say, “ We have firm determination, and we will keep moving forward. We cherish the road that we have walked. We will summarize events, and we will keep tackling the problems. We will also try hard and hold onto our dreams and the belief that the Chinese women’s volleyball team can be the best.”

Team China was one step away from gold, but the Turkish women’s team showed greater momentum (势头) in the final beating China 3-1. As the Chinese team only finished sixth at last year’s VNL, the second-place finish was a surprise to Chinese fans.

Sunday’s final attracted huge media attention and generated a series of trending topics on social media. While many joined in heated discussion about the final, many more expressed congratulations on the fast rise of the young women’s team.

“Although the Chinese women’s team wasn’t able to stand on the highest podium (领奖台) at the Volleyball Nations League, they still produced the best possible result by fighting together. Hand in hand, Team China players march forward together,” reported by China Sports Daily. “Team China was not among the favorites to reach the final of the VNL, but the team still managed to pocket a silver medal, which is huge progress compared to last year’s result. They proved all the doubters wrong, and they showed the world what a united team they are.”

1. How can we best describe Team China’s performance in the tournament?

A．Overconfident.

B．United.

C．Disappointing.

D．Careless.

2. Which can replace the underlined word “tackling” in paragraph 3?

A．Checking out.

B．Bringing about.

C．Giving up.

D．Dealing with.

3. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.

A．People were concerned about Team China because it lost the game.

B．Team China played very hard in the tournament and won the first prize.

C．Team China has made significant advances though not pocketing the gold medal.

D．Team China didn’t try their best.

4. What can be the best title for the news report?

A．Team China shines in silver medal success

B．Team China not among favorites to reach final

C．Chinese women’s volleyball team plays against Turkish team

D．Team China wins the game

【推荐2】EVENTS

Bicycle tour and race

A bike tour and race will be held on August 26 and 27 (Sat & Sun.). At 5:30 am, the riders will leave Tian’anmen Square and ride the first 35 kilometres as a training leg. Then the next 55-kilometre-leg, from Yanjiao to Jixian, will be the first competitive part of the tour. The riders and their bikes will then be takern from Jixian to Changli.

The second racing leg of the tour will be from Changli to the seaside of Nandaihe, covering a distance of 20 kilometres. Saturday night includes the stay at Nandaihe and supper. Sunday morning is free for play at the seaside. At noon all the people and their bikes will be taken back to Beijing.

Cost: 200 yuan          

Telephone: 4675027

Brazilian footballers

The Brazilian Football Club will play Beijing Guo’an Team at the Workers Stadium on August 26. The club has four national team players. Also coming is 1994 US World Cup star Romario who has promised to play for at least 45 minutes.

Ticket prices: 60; 100; 150 yuan

Time/Date: 4:30 pm, August 26 (Sat. )     

Telephone: 5012372

Rock climbing

The Third National Rock Climbing Competition will be held on August 26-27 at the Huairou Mountain-climbing Training Base. More than 10 teams from Beijing, Wuhan, Dalian, Jilin and other places will take part in it. A Japanese team will give an exhibition climbing. Free for spectators (观众).

Take a long-distance bus from Dongzhimen to Huairou.

Time/Dates: 9-12 am, August 26 and 27

Telephone: 7143177, 7144850, Wang Zhenghua

1. The main purpose of announcing the above events is to give information about_________.

A．visiting teams	B．famous players
C．things to do for the weekend	D．prices to pay for the sports events

2. If you take part in the bike tour, you will ride for ________.

A．35 kilometres	B．55 kilometres
C．75 kilometres	D．110 kilometres

3. The underlined word “leg” in “Bicycle tour and race” probably means_______.

A．race	B．practice
C．part of the training	D．part of the tour

4. What is special about the rock climbing competition?

A．A foreign team takes pan in it.

B．You can watch it without paying.

C．You don’t have to be a sportsman to take part.

D．The bus trip to the place of the competition is free.

5. If you want to find something to do for Saturday aftermoon, which telephone number will you call?

A．4675027

B．7143177

C．5012372

D．7144850

【推荐3】Every year holidays Broughton teams up with Sopraviva Trekking to offer twelve days of unforgettable adventure in a tropical rain forest. Depending on where this year's rain forest adventure is located, you may be going to Borneo, Malaysia, Indonesia, or even to the greatest rain forest of them all, the mighty Amazonian forest.
You will fly with your fellow adventurers to one of our special base camps at the edge of the forest, where you will be given five days of survival training, and talks on the local wildlife by trained and experienced experts. You will also go on walks which take you deeper and deeper under the forest canopy until on your final night you camp out in the rain forest itself.
Then you transfer by bus into the forest itself. If you go on one of the Asian holidays, you will have to walk the final five miles to the camp site itself, to avoid disturbing the local ecology. All of the Sopraviva sites have been carefully built to conform with the latest regulations, and to cause the minimal amount of disturbance to the local wildlife.
From the camp, you will go on daily walking tours to experience for yourself the beauty and diversity of the forests, and plants and vegetation that can be found nowhere else on the planet. Remember that these adventure holidays take you deep into the wilderness, and they are not suitable for families with young children or for anyone who is not physically able to meet the demands of this kind of adventure. Also remember that in order to preserve the delicate ecological system that you will be walking through, no more than two dozen guests can stay at any camp at one time, so if you want to go on one of these very special holidays, you will need to book early!
1. If you want to go on the camp, you will first have to___________.

A．attend talks on the local wildlife	B．have survival training
C．walk the final five miles	D．book beforehand

2. What does the organizer of the camp mainly stress?

A．Disturbing the local ecology.

B．Preserving the forest environment.

C．Private possessions and possible dangers.

D．The survival training.

3. Go on daily walking tours and you’ll enjoy___________.

A．the wilderness	B．the Amazonian forest
C．the Asian forest	D．the forest canopy

4. Which of the following people is/are allowed to enter the forest?

A．A family with young kids.

B．A person with physical problems.

C．Walking tourists

D．Cyclists.

5. Which of the following is true of the holiday camp?

A．It is free of charge.

B．It lasts 12 days.

C．It is organized by Broughton.

D．It attaches little importance to ecology.

【推荐1】A

Forget Cyclists, Pedestrians are Real Danger We are having a debate about this topic. Here are some letters from our readers. ■Yes, many cyclists behave dangerously. Many drivers are disrespectful of cyclists. But pedestrians are probably the worse offenders. People of all ages happily walk along the pavement with eyes and hands glued to the mobile phone, quite unaware of what is going on around them. They may even do the same thing while crossing a road at a pedestrian crossing or elsewhere. The rest of us have to evade (避让) them or just stand still to wait for the unavoidable collision. The real problem is that some pedestrians seem to be, at least for the moment, in worlds of their own that are, to them, much more important than the welfare of others. ——Michael Horan ■I love the letter from Bob Brooks about cyclists (Viewpoints, May 29). I am afraid they seem to think they own the roads. I was walking across Altrincham Road one morning when a cyclist went round me and on being asked what he was doing he shouted at me. The government built a cycle lane on the road but it is hardly used. The police do nothing. What a laugh they are! The cyclists should all have to be made to use the cycle lanes and wear helmets, fluorescent (发荧光的) jacket and lights at night and in the morning they should pay some sort of tax and be fined for not wearing them. ——Carol Harvey ■Cyclists jump on and off pavements (which are meant for pedestrians), ride at speed along the pavements, and think they have a special right to go through traffic lights when they are on red. I was almost knocked down recently by a cyclist riding on the pavement when there was a cycle lane right next to him. Other road users, including horse riders, manage to obey the rules so why not cyclists? It's about time they had to be registered and insured, so when they do hit a pedestrian or a vehicle, or cause an accident, at least they can be treated and there might be an opportunity to claim. ——JML Write to Viewpoints of the newspaper.

1. Michael Horan wrote the letter mainly to show that _______.

A．drivers should be polite to cyclists

B．road accidents can actually be avoided

C．sine pedestrians are a threat to road safety

D．walking while using phones hurts one's eyes

2. Carol Harvey suggests that cyclists should _______.

A．be provided with enough roads

B．be asked to ride on their own lanes

C．be made to pay less tax for cycling

D．be fined for laughing at policemen

3. What is a complaint of JML?

A．Very few drivers are insured.

B．Cyclists ride fast on pavements.

C．Pedestrians go through red traffic lights.

D．Horse riders disrespect other road users.

4. The underlined word "they" in the third letter refers to ______.

A．accidents	B．vehicles
C．pedestrians	D．cyclists

5. The three letters present viewpoints on _______.

A．real source of road danger

B．ways to improve road facilities

C．measures to punish road offences

D．increased awareness of road rules

【推荐2】A large body of research has been developed in recent years to explain many aspects of willpower. Most of the researchers exploring self-control do so with an obvious goal in mind: How can willpower be strengthened? If willpower is truly a limited resource, as the research suggests, what can be done to make it stay strong?

Avoiding temptation (诱惑) is an effective method for maintaining self-control, which is called the "out of sight, out of mind" principle. One recent study, for instance, found office workers less attracted to candy in the desk drawer than that on top of their desks, in plain sight.

The research suggesting that we possess a limited reservoir of self-control raises a troubling question. When we face too many temptations, are we to fail? Not necessarily. Researchers don't believe that one's willpower is ever completely exhausted. Rather, people appear to hold some willpower in reserve, saved for future demands. The right motivation allows us to tap into those reserves, allowing us to carry on even when our self-control strength has been run down. High motivation might help overcome weakened willpower-at least to a point.

Willpower may also be made less vulnerable (脆弱) to being exhausted in the first place.

Researchers who study self-control often describe it as being like a muscle that gets tired with heavy use. But there is another aspect to the muscle comparison, they say. While muscles become exhausted by exercise in the short term, they are strengthened by regular exercise in the long term. Similarly, regular practices of self-control may improve willpower strength.

The evidence from willpower-exhaustion studies also suggests that making a list of resolutions on New Year's Eve is the worst possible approach. Being exhausted in one area can reduce willpower in other areas, so it makes more sense to focus on a single goal at a time. In other words, don't try to quit smoking, adopt a healthy diet and start a new exercise plan at the same time. Taking goals one by one is a better approach. Once a good habit is in place, Baumeister says, you'll no longer need to draw on your willpower to maintain the behavior. Eventually healthy habits will become routine, and won't require making decisions at all.

1. From the studies in the passage we learn that ________.

A．people have unlimited self-control	B．high motivation ensures one's success
C．too many temptations often lead to failure	D．willpower is hardly completely exhausted

2. The underlined phrase "tap into" in Paragraph 3 most probably means ________.

A．put up with	B．make up for
C．make use of	D．keep away from

3. The author compares self—control to muscles ________.

A．to explain the benefits of practicing self-control

B．to show the significance of regular exercise

C．to argue that self-control can be easily used up

D．to prove the long-term effect of willpower

4. To develop a good habit, which of the following does the author prefer?

A．"I will give up dessert and do exercise."

B．"I will set three goals this new semester."

C．"I will read an English novel every month."

D．"I will keep myself from any temptation."

【推荐3】Eating out is such a pleasure—the food, the wine, the joy of having it all brought to you by someone else that it’s a pity to ruin the experience by sharing it with other people.

Well, I do like visiting restaurants with friends. But dining out alone has its own very special attractions. For a start you can give all your attention to the food. There’s nothing worse than having to invent and deliver an opinion on school league tables or Sanchez’s move to Manchester United, plus listen to everyone else’s opinions, when all you really want to do is enjoy each mouthful along the way.

A second great thing about eating out alone is the chance to combine food with one of life’s other true pleasures: reading. You have to plan this carefully: Indian or Chinese restaurants are the best—you need food you can eat with just one hand, leaving the other free to hold your reading material.

But perhaps the biggest attraction of a table for one is the chance it gives to people—watching. Restaurants and the different reasons for visiting them—the first date, business meeting or night out with friends—produce human behaviour of surprising richness and variety. Will the man selling his business idea get any joy out of his possible investor(投资者)? Will the married couple think of anything to say to each other before their main courses arrive?

This “human zoo” part of eating out alone is one of the reasons I’d hate to be famous: everyone would be watching you, so you wouldn’t be able to watch them. The snooker player Steve Davis says that this was one of the strangest consequences(后果) of becoming well-known: he got very worried about his eating in public, almost to the level of doubting whether he was doing it right.

So next time you’re considering your eating out choices, remember the advice of the businessman Nubar Gulbenkian: “The best number for a dinner party is two-myself and a super headwaiter.”

1. What is an advantage of dining out alone?

A．One can enjoy reading while eating.

B．One can be watched by other diners.

C．One can talk with waiter or waitress.

D．One can choose the food and the wine.

2. What worries Steve Davis?

A．Eating out can’t bring any joy to him.

B．Famous people can’t go to his favorite restaurants.

C．He must invent and deliver everyone else’s opinions.

D．Whether his table manners are right when he was watched by others.

3. What is the author’s attitude towards eating out alone?

A．Supportive.	B．Disapproving
C．Negative.	D．Unconcerned.

4. How is the passage mainly developed?

A．By inferring.	B．By comparing.
C．By analyzing reasons.	D．By listing suggestions.

【推荐1】Imagine this: your child has just been involved in an emergency. You call 911. The medical workers rush in and begin asking you questions as they work to rescue your child. But they also ask questions about your child’s medical history. It’s hard to think clearly. You begin to answer and then end up saying, “I don’t remember. I don’t know.” So many doctors suggest that parents keep handy a record of their children’s important healthy facts. This can often help the medical team make a better and more rapid diagnosis of a problem at a time when time really counts.

The most important information to know is the child’s allergies (过敏). It is especially crucial if the child is allergic to any medicine — penicillin, for example. Food allergies can come into play, so make a note of those as well. Children who have been hospitalized in the past may have developed latex (胶乳) allergies. Often this information can help emergency workers find a cause for problems like breathing difficulties.

Keep a list of any medicine, including what your child is now taking. Some medicines can cause adverse reaction when they are taken together, so the doctors need this information before they give your child anything. You’ll need to know when the child took the medicine last and how much was taken.

It is also important to tell emergency workers about any health problem or illness that your child has had. These pre-existing conditions can have a huge effect on the type of tests and treatment in an emergency. Consider having any child who has a health problem wear a tag around his neck. This kind of rapid notice can help doctors who are providing emergency care, especially if your child suddenly becomes ill at day care, school or a friend’s house.

1. What’s the function of the example in paragraph 1?

A．To tell us what we should do in an emergency.

B．To tell us the importance of keeping a record of children’s health facts

C．To remind us emergent situation is everywhere.

D．To tell us what doctors will ask

2. How many types of allergies are mentioned in Paragraph 2 ?

A．One

B．Two

C．Three

D．Four

3. The underlined word “crucial “in Paragraph 2 probably means________.

A．essential

B．professional

C．convincing

D．admirable

4. Doctors can make a rapid diagnosis of a problem with the help of knowing the following EXCEPT_________.

A．the medicine the child took last and the amount.

B．if the child is allergic to any medicine

C．if your child suddenly becomes ill at day care, school, or a friend’s house.

D．if your child has had any health problem or illness.

【推荐2】I became a magician by accident. When I was nine years old, I learned how to make a coin disappear. I’d read The Lord of the Rings and risked coming into the adult section of the library to search for a book of spells (魔法) — nine being that curious age at which you’re old enough to work through more than 1, 200 pages of mysterious fantasy literature but young enough to still hold out hope that you might find a book of real, actual magic in the library. The book I found instead taught basic sleight-of-hand (戏法) technique, and I devoted the next months to practice.

Initially, the magic wasn’t any good. At first it wasn’t even magic; it was just a trick — a bad trick. I spent hours each day in the bathroom running through the secret moves in front of the mirror. I dropped the coin over and over, a thousand times in a day, and after two weeks of this my mom got a carpet sample from the store and placed it under the mirror to eradicate the sound of the coin falling again and again.

I had heard my dad work through passages of new music on the piano, so I knew how to practice — slowly, deliberately, going for precision rather than speed. And then I tried the illusion (错觉) in the mirror and an unbelievable scene took place. It did not look like a magic trick. It looked like a miracle. I knew that I had got what I wanted.

One day I made the performance on the playground. We had been playing football and were standing by the backstop in the field behind the school. A dozen people were watching. I showed the coin to everyone. Then it disappeared. The kids screamed. They yelled, laughed, scrambled away. Everyone went crazy. This was brilliant.

1. What did the author enter the adult section of the library to do?

A．To kill his time.	B．To find a book of magic.
C．To read The Lord of the Rings.	D．To learn knowledge of literature.

2. What does the underlined word “eradicate” in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Get rid of.	B．Give out.
C．Imitate.	D．Distinguish.

3. What contributed to the author’s success?

A．His mother’s help.	B．The secret of quick moves.
C．The inspiration from his father.	D．His repeated hard practice.

4. How would the author feel about the result of his performance on the playground?

A．It’s fantastic.	B．It’s funny.
C．It’s awkward.	D．It’s disappointing.

【推荐3】Death Valley is one of the most famous deserts in the United States, covering a wide area with its sand. Almost 20 percent of this area is well below sea level, and Badwater, a salt water pool, is about 280 feet below sea level and the lowest point in the United States.

Long ago the Indians called this place “Tomesha”— the land of fire. Death Valley’s present name dates back to 1849, when a group of miners coming from Nevada became lost in its unpleasantness and hugeness and their adventure turned out to be a sad story. Today Death Valley has been called a National Monument (遗迹) and is crossed by several well-marked roads where good services can be found easily. Luckily the change created by human settlement has scarcely (几乎没有) ruined the special beauty of this place.

Here nature created a lot of surprising sights, almost like the sights on the moon, ever-changing as the frequent (频繁的) wind moves the sand about, showing the most unusual colors. One of the most astonishing and changeable parts of Death Valley is the Devil’ s Golf Course, where it seems hard for one to tell reality from terrible dreams. Sand sculptures (沙雕) stand on a frightening ground as evening shadows move and lengthen.

1. According to the first paragraph, ______ is the lowest place in the United States.

A．Tomesha	B．Death Valley
C．Nevada	D．Badwater

2. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.

A．no one had ever known the desert before the miners

B．it’s still not easy to travel across the desert

C．people can now find gas-stations, cafes and hotels in the desert

D．people have greatly changed the natural sight of the desert

3. Devil Golf Course is famous for _______.

A．the frequent wind	B．the colors of the sand
C．dream-like sights	D．the sand sculptures

4. From the passage we can see that the writer _______ the Death Valley.

A．appreciates	B．is fearful of
C．dislikes	D．is tired of

【推荐1】Did you know that if you attach a weighed stick to the back of a chicken, it walks like a dinosaur?

No, you did not know(or care to know) such things, but now you do! Thanks to this year’s winners of the 12 Noel Prize! Now in is 251h year, the lg Nobel is the goofy younger cousin of the honored Nobel Prize. It applauds achievements in the fields of medicine, biology, physics, economies. literature. etc. Every September at Harvard University, awards are presented in 10 categories that change year to year, depending on - according to the organization - what makes the judges “laugh, then think”.

The ceremony officially begins when audience members launch paper airplanes at an assigned human target on the stage, then speakers only have 60 seconds to present their research. In previous year, the one-minute rule was imposed by a young girl - nicknamed Miss Sweetie Poo -who would go up to the platform and repeat the words: “Please stop, I’m bored.” in a sharp tone until the speaker left the stage.

Fortunately for candidates though, the Ig Informal Lectures are held afterwards on Saturday to give presenters more time to explain the crazy things they're working on.

The research can seem more like the brainchildren of teenage boys than of respectable adults. Justin Schmidt won the physiology Ig for creating the “Sting(蛰) Pain Index," which rates the pain people fell after getting stung by insects. Smith pressed bees against 25 different parts of his body until they stung him. Five stings a day for 38 days, Smith concluded that the most painful sting locations were the nose and the upper lip. Ouch.

As silly as they sound, not all of the Ig awards lack scientific applicability, A group of scientists from 12 different counties won in the medicine category for accurately diagnosing patients with appendicitis (阑尾炎) based on an unusual measurement: speed bumps(减速带) . They found that patients are more likely to have appendicitis if they report pain during bumpy car rides.

All these weird experiments have just one thing in common. They’re improbable. It can be tempting to assume that “improbable” implies more than that--implies bad or good, worthless or valuable, trivial or important. Something improbable can be any of those, or none of them, or all of them, in different ways. And what you don't expect can be a powerful force for not only entertaining science, but also for the boundary-pushing science we call innovation.

1. The underlined word “goofy” in Paragraph 2 probably means_______.

A．amusing	B．boring
C．serious	D．precious

2. According to the passage, what can we know about the awarding ceremony of Ig Nobel?

A．Ig Informal Lecture gives presenters 60 seconds.

B．The audience throw paper airplanes to end the ceremony.

C．Its categories of awards vary each yea.

D．It is held at a fixed place every other September.

3. The example in Paragraph 6 is used to show that Ig Nobel_______.

A．offers another opportunity to those who miss the Nobel Prizes

B．celebrates the diligent work of researchers

C．has no serious purpose except for amusing the audience

D．serves as a platform for the creative and practical achievements

4. Among the four candidates below, who is most likely to win an Ig Nobel?

A．A chemist who invents a type of battery.

B．An economist who studies which county's paper money is best at spreading bacteria.

C．A biologist who discovers how cell sense and adapt to oxygen availability.

D．A novelist who criticizes social injustice.

【推荐2】One morning last week I looked out of my study window and saw that it was a fine day. No, it was a glorious (极好的) day: the sun shone down from the sky without even a single cloud.

But later that day, hard at work at my desk, I heard a loud drumming noise on the roof. Turning to the window, I saw that the sky was the colour of charcoal (木炭). Rain was beginning to fall; two minutes later the rain became hail (冰雹); at some point, the hail became snow. Rain, hail or snow, it was all wet, making rivers of water.

This story will give you some idea about the weather in Britain. It's extremely variable. Go ahead with your picnic in the local park by all means, but don't assume that because the sun is shining now, it will be when you open your pack of sandwiches; better take an umbrella, just in case.

The weather in Britain is by no means always bad. The weather can just seem a lot like a person who has a lot of mood swings.

This is one of the biggest reasons why the British talk so often about the weather: it's handy. Wherever there are strangers standing or sitting close together, talk cannot be avoided, and the conversation focuses on the weather: "Yes, the weather has been good, hasn't it? Three whole days of sunshine this May!" or "What shocking weather we've been having!" The unreliability of the weather is something that every Brit can agree on. That makes it a safe topic of conversation.

Thus, the weather's unpredictability is actually a plus for the British, a very useful bit of our culture. Even those with different opinions on everything else in the world, such as the argument in the UK about membership of the European Union, can talk about the weather without it leading to a shouting match. Long live rainstorms in mid-July!

1. Why did the writer write this article?

A．To describe his own experience of the different weather in Britain.

B．To remind people to take an umbrella whenever they have to go out in Britain.

C．To prove the uncertainty of the weather in Britain.

D．To describe the weather and the way people talk about the weather in Britain.

2. What is the main characteristic of British weather?

A．Changeability.	B．Stability.
C．Lack of sunshine.	D．Continuous rain.

3. Why do the British often start conversations by talking about the weather?

A．Because they seldom trust the weather forecast.

B．Because the variable weather is a safe topic of conversation.

C．Because they are all interested in predicting weather.

D．Because they like complaining about the terrible weather.

4. What is the author's attitude towards the weather in Britain?

A．Negative.

B．Critical.

C．Indifferent.

D．Positive.

【推荐3】Next time you raise an eyebrow at the views of your partner, friend, sibling or colleague, remember they could be helping to make you smarter. New research shows that intelligence is not fixed but can be improved throughout adulthood by family members, bright mates and intellectually challenging careers. The study challenges the commonly held belief that intelligence is fixed by the age of about 18.

Scientific consensus suggests that intelligence is controlled by genes, with environmental factors such as schooling and nutrition playing a partial role up to this age. After this point, IQ scores become steady. But James Flynn, professor of political studies and psychology at the University of Otago in New Zealand, argues that people can "upgrade" their own intelligence throughout their lives. He believes intellectual stimulation from others is important as the "brain seems to be rather like a muscle—the more you use it, the stronger it gets". However, the opposite is also true—so people sharing a home or workplace with those who are intellectually challenged risk seeing their IQ levels nosedive as a result.

Professor Flynn analyzed US intelligence tests from the last 65 years and created new IQ "age tables". He found a bright ten-year-old with brothers and sisters of average intelligence will suffer a five to ten point IQ disadvantage compared to a similar child with equally bright brothers and sisters and special educational treatment to help pull them up.

Professor Flynn also concluded that although genetics and early life experiences determine about 80% of intelligence, the remaining 20% is linked to lifestyle. This means that people can raise their IQ, or allow it to fall, by ten points or more. He suggested the best way to improve IQ levels is to mix with bright friends, find an intellectually challenging job and marry someone cleverer.

1. According to the text, it is commonly believed that ______ .

A．people' s IQ level falls as they age

B．it is wise to share family members' views

C．people cannot improve their intelligence during adulthood

D．doing something challenging is good for one's intelligence

2. The underlined word "nosedive" in paragraph 2 probably means ______ .

A．vary

B．develop

C．change

D．fall

3. Which of the following can help improve one's intelligence according to Professor Flynn？ ______

A．Making many friends.	B．Staying with smart people.
C．Doing exercise every day.	D．Learning from brothers or sisters

4. The purpose of the text is to ______ .

A．inform

B．advertise

C．entertain

D．persuade