【推荐1】Free Level Test: Spanish courses in Sydney

Let your language journey begin.

Spanish is the second most spoken language in the world and the official language of more than 20 states, including Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, etc.

If you are planning a trip or just want to learn Spanish, consider taking a free Spanish Level Test at Instituto Cervantes Sydney, the official Spanish language and cultural centre in Australia.

Instituto Cervantes Sydney is home to Spanish language classes whose purpose is to develop students’ ability to understand, speak, read and write in Spanish. All teachers are university qualified and use the most up-to- date teaching methods.

If you already have some knowledge of Spanish, this Level Test is fit for you, as you will be tested by one of the teachers before being put into a class. You can also have all the information you need to start learning Spanish here, including courses and costs.

Ask the customer service team members about information on the free library service for students and the exciting cultural activities held all year round.

If you haven't studied Spanish before, you can enroll(注册) online in a level A1.1 ( Beginner Course). You can also enroll at the reception during business hours.

Don't miss out on discounts. Learn Spanish with up to a 7% Early Bird Discount if you enroll before the 20 of April. Students at Instituto Cervantes Sydney also enjoy special discounts on activities such as dance classes, cinema tickets and much more.

Begin your Spanish language journey with Instituto Cervantes Sydney today by joining a free Level Test this summer; there are different classes to choose from between the 11h and 18 of April.

For more information on Instituto Cervantes Sydney and their classes and cultural activities, please visit sidney. cervantes. es/ en/ default. shtm.

1. To a student who has learned Spanish, the class he will be in is decided by _______.

A．which country he is from	B．his grades in a Level Test
C．when he enrolls for the course	D．his reasons for learning Spanish

2. What do we know about the Spanish courses?

A．They are about business Spanish.	B．They center on learners' listening.
C．They are run with cultural activities.	D．They are taught with traditional methods.

3. Why are learners advised to enroll before the 20" of April?

A．They can save some money.	B．They can go to free dance classes.
C．They can start their classes earlier.	D．They can choose their favorite teachers.

【推荐2】If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become smarter since you started to learn a language?
According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter(（中枢神经系统的）灰白质). This is the area of the brain which processes(加工,处理) information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.
The study also found the effect is greater when the younger people learn a second language.
A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of “early bilinguals ” who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.
Scans showed that grey matter density(密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference.
“Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language,” said the scientists.
It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.
Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. “Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,” he said. “You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas.”
The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of 2 and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. “Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world,” explained the scientists.
1. The main subject talked about in this passage is ________.

A．science on learning a second language

B．language learning and the increase in one’s brain power.

C．man’s ability of learning a second language

D．language learning and the study of maths

2. In the second paragraph, the writer mentions exercise in order to _____.

A．say language is also a kind of physical labour

B．prove that one needs more practice when he or she is learning a language

C．make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well

D．to show the importance of using the language when you learn it.

3. What change can we get during the experience of learning a second language?

A．The increase of the ability to learn.

B．The development of muscles.

C．The improvement of strange pronunciation.

D．A worse understanding of different ideas.

4. We may know from the scientific findings that _______.

A．there is no difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language

B．the experience of learning a second language has a bad effect on people’s brain

C．the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

D．the earlier you start to learn a second language, the higher the grey matter density is

5. In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that ______.

A．learning a second language is the same as studying maths

B．Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

C．early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

D．you’d better start to learn a second language between 2 and 34

【推荐3】Usually, if you want to ask a stranger for the time, you would start by saying ＂Sorry to bother you. Do you know what time it is?＂. If you’re five minutes late for an appointment, you would generally greet the person by saying ＂Sorry. I’m late!＂.

We Brits pride ourselves on our polite manners towards one another in public. We use the word ＂sorry＂ in so many different situations that the meaning of the word has slightly changed over time. The two main dictionary definitions of ＂sorry＂ are:

(1) Feeling sad for someone else because of their problems or misfortunes.

(2) Feeling regret because you’ve done something wrong.

Now, think about this. Normally, when you want to ask a stranger a question, you start with ＂sorry to disturb you＂. In this situation, we aren’t saying sorry because we feel sad for that person or because we feel regret.

So what does ＂sorry＂ really mean? And why do Brits use it so much? Well, in the British culture, saying ＂sorry＂, or apologizing in general, is a way to be polite, especially to people who you don’t know very well. It’s also a very clever way to get what you want. In a recent experiment, an actor approached different strangers on a rainy day to ask if he could use their mobile phone in order to make a call. When he approached one group of strangers and asked them without apologizing first, he was only 9 per cent successful in borrowing their phone. However, when he apologized to another group of strangers about the bad weather before asking if he could use their mobile phone, he was 47 per cent successful. So maybe saying ＂sorry＂ is also a good method to get what you want!

1. In the whole passage, Paragraph 1 serves as a(n) ______________ .

A．explanation	B．comment
C．background	D．introduction

2. How does the author make his argument believable in the passage?

A．By giving examples.	B．By describing details.
C．By referring to books.	D．By explaining the causes.

3. How can you ask for help according to the passage?

A．By apologizing first.	B．By asking straightly.
C．By stopping them rudely.	D．By making friends with them.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．Brits’ pride on apologizing.

B．Meaning it when saying ＂sorry＂.

C．The evolution of ＂sorry＂ in Britain.

D．Different situations of saying ＂sorry＂.

【推荐2】Although ethics（道德）lessons are common around the world, scientists are unsure if the lessons can actually change behavior. But a new study found that a single ethics lesson may have had lasting effects.

The researchers investigated one lesson’s impact on eating meat. They chose this particular behavior for three reasons, according to study co-author Eric, a philosopher at the University of California: students’ attitudes on the topic are variable, behavior is easily measurable, and eating less meat is good because it reduces environmental harm and animal suffering. The researchers studied students in four classes. Half of them read an article on the ethics of factory-farmed meat, watched an 11-minute video on the topic and joined a 50-minute discussion. The other half focused on charitable giving instead. Then, the researchers studied their meal-card purchases for that semester-nearly 14,000 receipts（收据）for almost 500 students. “It’s an awesome data set,” says Nina Strohminger, a psychologist who teaches business ethics and was not involved in the study.

For students who discussed meat ethics, meal purchases containing meat decreased from 52 to 45 percent-and this effect held steady for the study’s duration of several weeks. Purchases from the other group remained at 52 percent.

“That’s actually a pretty large effect for a pretty small intervention,” Eric says. Strohminger agrees, “The thing that still blows my mind is that just one ethics lesson should have such an obvious effect.”

Eric believes the greatest impact came from classmates or teaching assistants leading the discussions. Second, the video may have had an emotional impact. Least influential, he thinks was argument. Now the researchers are investigating the specific effects of teaching style teachers’ eating habits and students’ video exposure.

1. How did the researchers carry out the study?

A．By making a comparison.	B．By introducing a concept.
C．By presenting an argument.	D．By referring to another study.

2. What does the underlined phrase “blows my mind” in paragraph 4 probably mean?

A．Annoys me.

B．Surprises me.

C．Bothers me.

D．Frightens me.

3. According to Eric, what may have the least effect on students’ meat purchases?

A．Argument.

B．Teaching style.

C．Teaching assistants.

D．The video exposure.

4. What is the purpose of the study?

A．To improve students’ lifestyles.

B．To call on students to eat less meat.

C．To encourage students to take ethics lessons.

D．To tell the effects of ethics lessons on behavior.