1 . Handwriting Brings Benefits
In a digital age, we almost never write things by hand. However, many studies have shown that this act has many benefits.
New brain research, led by researchers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, proves the same: choosing handwriting over using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.
“When you write your shopping list or lecture notes by hand, you simply remember the content (内容) better afterwards,” said Audrey van der Meer, author of the study.
The study used some equipment to record brain wave (波) activity. The participants (参与者) included 12 young adults and 12 children. This is the first time that children have participated in such a study. Each subject was asked to write by hand and type on a keyboard while wearing a hood (风帽) with over 250 electrodes (电极). The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes are very sensitive and pick up the electrical activity that takes place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes per person.
The results showed that the brain in both young adults and children is much more active when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses are activated by pressing a pen on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These sense experiences build touch between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.
Vander Meer believes that the outcomes stress the importance of children being challenged to draw and write at an early age, especially at school. “Learning to write by hand is a bit slower process, but it’s important for children to go through the tiring phrase of learning to write by hand,” she said.
The hand movements used to form the shapes of letters are beneficial in several ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning state as often as possible,” Van der Meer added. For example, you might use a keyboard to write an essay, but you should take notes by hand during a lecture.
1. What do we know about the study?| A．The study involved 250 participants altogether. | B．Typing on a keyboard helps you remember a lot of things. |
| C．All the participants have to take a 45-minute examination. | D．Learning to write by hand is a bit difficult but it is a fast process. |
| A．Writing by hand is easier on the brain. | B．More senses are made active when writing by hand. |
| C．Writing by hand requires the same skills and senses. | D．Typing on a keyboard doesn't put the brain in a learning state. |
| A．It allows people to write better essays. | B．It increases people’s interest in learning. |
| C．It helps people develop fine motor skills. | D．It allows children to become more patient. |
2 . A Dry Ice Experiment
Did you know that carbon dioxide sent out by dry ice can actually put out flames? Encourage your kids to try this simple experiment. It’s suitable for young kids in first and higher grades, so long as there is plenty of adult direction. The experiment takes no longer than five to ten minutes.
Materials
*Three candles
*A lighter
*A glass or bowl
*One-half cup of water
*A block of dry ice (the size does not matter)
*Dry ice gloves
Instructions
1. Light the candles with a lighter and fix them in a glass or bowl.
2. Put on your gloves.
3. Pour one-half cup of water into the glass or bowl.
4. Place a piece of dry ice into the glass or bowl with water, and watch the dry ice vapor (蒸气) begin to rise.
What’s Happening
When you add dry ice to water, it produces carbon dioxide, the gaseous form of dry ice. Since flames need oxygen to burn, the flames go out once the oxygen is taken over by carbon dioxide.
Safe Handling Instructions
Because dry ice is so cold, it isn’t safe to touch it to your skin or put it in your mouth. Always use insulated (隔热的) gloves when handling dry ice to avoid ice bite and other injuries to your skin. If you put dry ice into a bottle, avoid capping the bottle as the pressure from dry ice can push the cover off forcefully.
1. What makes the candles die out in the experiment?| A．Cold water. | B．Increasing oxygen. |
| C．Freezing surroundings. | D．Increasing carbon dioxide. |
| A．covering | B．opening | C．shaking | D．breaking |
| A．A news report.. | B．A science magazine. | C．A student's diary. | D．An advertisement. |
3 . Can plants talk? Modern research has found something amazing: they do communicate with each other.
It has been known for some time that plants use chemicals to communicate with each other. This happens when a plant gets attacked by insects. The plant gives out chemicals from the leaves that are being eaten. This is like a warning, or a call for help: “I’m being attacked!” When another plant gets the chemicals, it starts to give out its own, different chemicals. Some of these chemicals drive insects away. Others attract the wasps（黄蜂，蜜蜂）! The wasps kill the insects that are eating the plants. Scientists hope to learn more about this plant warning system, so that we can use it to grow more crops.
More surprisingly, plants also use sound to communicate. People can’t hear these sounds; but plants are making them. Some plants make noises with their roots. Com and chili plants do this. Some trees make clicking noises when there is not enough water.
Most surprisingly of all, plants have an amazing system of communication that can link nearly every plant in a forest. Scientists call this system the “wood wide web”. The wood wide web is linked underground by fungi（霉菌）. It links the roots of different plants to each other. It is in some ways similar to the Internet we use. Using the wood wide web, plants can share information and even food with each other. However, it may lead to bad effects. Plants may use it to steal food from each other, or spread chemicals to attack other plants. Perhaps one day scientists will learn how to create a “firewall” to help prevent these attacks within the wood wide web.
Scientists are leaning more every day about the secret ways in which plants talk to each other. Maybe one day we will know enough about plant communication to be able to “talk” with them ourselves.
1. What will plants do when they are attacked by insects?| A．They will kill the insects by themselves. |
| B．They will control the wasps to kill the insects. |
| C．They will send out signals to ask for help. |
| D．They will produce chemicals as a warning or a call for help. |
| A．By making noises with their roots. |
| B．By connecting the roots of different plants to each other. |
| C．By sharing food and information with each other. |
| D．By spreading chemicals to each other. |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．The Secret Language of Plants | B．The Study about the Plant Warning System |
| C．The Plants that Give Warnings | D．Why Scientists Do Research about Plants |
4 . Each of us has dreams and goals for our future. What makes us study and make progress each day is closely connected with our personal dream and goal.
But why do you have dreams and goals, you still end up with nothing? What separates successful people from the dreamers is their persistent（锲而不舍的）action. When you learn your lessons in school, you must work hard and not give up. You will often find some of your lessons very hard. Try and keep trying, and you’ll be sure to successfully deal with any difficulty you meet with. If we have a hard lesson today, let us try our best to learn it well and then we shall be prepared for a harder one tomorrow.
This is the famous formula（公式）for success:
Dream> Believe> Achieve
Most people have what they want（Dream）and think they can realize their dreams（Believe）. And then they do nothing. They just imagine their dreams can come true. When they get tired waiting and lose a lot, they get bored. They say angrily how terrible their life is.
I personally believe that if you really want to achieve your dreams and goals in life, you have to add one thing to your success formula:
Dream > Believe > Act>Achieve
For me, act is the most important thing for success and that’s to Take Persistent Action（Act）. If you say, “I can’t do it” and give up, you can never do anything valuable. However, “I’ll try” creates wonders. Let’s remember that there will be obstacles in our life. We must face them bravely and solve them. Success is not something that falls down from the sky. Most successful people made their dreams come true because of their persistent action.
Please remember: Action is the bridge that connects our dreams and goals to reality.
1. What should you do when you find your lessons very hard?| A．Ask people for help. | B．Try and keep trying. |
| C．Get ready to create wonders. | D．Prepare for a harder one. |
| A．Dangers. | B．Imaginations. | C．Wonders. | D．Difficulties. |
| A．To support his idea. | B．To ask readers to explain it. |
| C．To show what his goals are. | D．To compare it with a bridge. |
| A．Doing Something Valuable | B．Studying Hard and Making Progress |
| C．Realizing Dreams with Persistent Action | D．Separating Successful People from Dreams |
5 . After Gaokao, what the students most expect is the acceptance letters (录取通知书). During July 2019, Tsinghua University received much attention since the “3D acceptance letter” was shown on the Internet. The latest acceptance letters are made by teachers and students of Tsinghua University and will be sent to students soon.
This year, the most special feature (特征) of Tsinghua’s acceptance letter is a 3D “two school gates”. The two school gates are made of more than 30 pieces of paper parts and hundreds of splicing structures (拼插结构). In fact, it is a wonderful work of art. When the acceptance letter is opened, 3D’s “two school gates” will appear on the paper. With the letter comes a message of hopes which says, “When you go through the two school gates in August, a new world will spread slowly in front of you, and a new life will wait for you to explore and create.”
The two school gates of Tsinghua University is a landmark building of Tsinghua university. They were built in 1909 and witnessed the 100-year history of Tsinghua University. Tsinghua said that the 3D “two school gates” on the acceptance letter not only holds weight of history, but also means a new time of youth and future.
1. Who made the 3D acceptance letters?| A．Workers of Tsinghua University | B．The headmaster of Tsinghua University. |
| C．Students and teachers of Tsinghua University. | D．The professors of Tsinghua University. |
| A．The Tsinghua’s acceptance letter. | B．The school gate. |
| C．The paper part. | D．The splicing structure. |
| A．Tsinghua’s acceptance letter has a 3D “two school gates”. |
| B．The two school gates mean a lot to Tsinghua University. |
| C．The two school gates now are places of interest in Beijing. |
| D．The message with the acceptance letter provides all the information about Tsinghua University. |
| A．The “two school gates” of Tsinghua University | B．The history of Tsinghua University |
| C．The 3D acceptance letters of Tsinghua University | D．The specialty of Tsinghua University |
6 . Different kinds of weather make people feel different. They influence(影响) health, intelligence(智力) and feelings. In the southern part of the United States, it is very hot at sometime and very cold at other time. People in those places have more heart trouble and other kinds of health problems after the weather changes in February or March.
The weather can also influence intelligence. For example, in the report of 1983 by scientists, IQ(智商) of a group of students is very high when a very strong wind comes, but after the strong wind, their IQ is 10% lower. The wind can help people have more intelligence. Very hot weather, on the other hand, can make it lower. Students in many schools of the United States often get worse scores(分数) in exams in the hot months of the year(July and August).
Weather also has a strong influence on people’s feelings. Winter may be a bad time for thin people. They usually feel cold and unhappy during these months. But fat people may have a hard time in hot summer.
Low air pressure(气压) may make people forgetful(健忘的). Scientists say people leave more bags on buses and in shops on low-pressure days. People feel best at a temperature of about 18℃.
Are you feeling sad, tired, forgetful or unhappy today? It may be the weather’s problem.
1. In the southern part of the United States, people have more heart trouble in February or March because ________.| A．the weather is fine | B．the weather is hot |
| C．the weather is cold | D．the weather changes |
| A．May | B．July | C．December | D．February |
| A．snowy days | B．cloudy days |
| C．low-pressure days | D．high-pressure days |
| A．Hot and cold weather influence all people in the same way. |
| B．Weather influences people’s behavior(行为). |
| C．IQ changes when weather changes. |
| D．People feel good on low-pressure days. |
| A．Hot weather causes health problems. |
| B．Different weather makes people feel bad. |
| C．The weather in the southern part of the United States is hot. |
| D．Weather influences health, intelligence and feelings. |
7 . What exactly is intelligence? There aren’t any easy answers. Despite the progress that has been made in genetics and psychology, human intelligence has remained one of the most areas of modern science that causes public discussion until now, for the discovery of a gene (基因) linked to intelligence has made the experts think again.
Robert Plomin of the Institute of Psychiatry in London and his colleagues in the US have been looking into genetic make-up. From their research, they have discovered that a slightly different gene is more common in those with a high IQ. Plomin analyzed DNA from two groups of 51 children aged between 6 and 15. What he found was that the first group had an IQ of 136, putting them in the top 5% of the population, while the other group had an average IQ of 103. An analysis of their genes showed that 32% of children in the higher group had the gene in question, while only 16% in the second group did. However, there is a lot more research to be done, and Plomin himself is cautious at this early stage. He suggests that there are probably many genes connecting to intelligence, rather than just one.
Several studies have shown a strong link between IQ and career success, although some psychologists are not sure about this. Professor Michael Rowe, who has written a book called Genius Explained, is one of these. “The people with the highest IQs are not usually the ones who do best in their careers.”
Many psychologists now believe that when it comes to intelligence, IQ isn’t everything. Many different views have been put forward recently. One example is the idea of multiple intelligences (多元智能), which was developed in the 1980s by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner. This offers a much broader view than the IQ theory, including creativity and communication skills as related factors in intelligence.
Tony Buzan, a brain expert and author of Master your Memory, is excited about this belief, arguing that true geniuses do indeed appear to combine high levels of each type of intelligence. He lists Alexander the Great, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein as examples. At the same time, Buzan believes that everyone can develop their intelligence, only if they take the trouble to exercise their brain. Perhaps there’s hope for us all!
1. Why does the author use data in Paragraph 2?| A．To prove an idea. | B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To make a suggestion. | D．To give an example. |
| A．The development of intelligence. |
| B．IQ isn’t everything for intelligence. |
| C．Different views have been put forward. |
| D．The idea of multiple intelligences. |
| A．Robert Plomin proves genes have something in common. |
| B．Michael Rowe believes in a strong link between IQ and career. |
| C．Howard Gardner thinks intelligence includes various factors. |
| D．Tony Buzan agrees geniuses exercise brain to improve intelligence. |
| A．The relationship between genes and intelligence. |
| B．IQ benefits a lot from high intelligence. |
| C．What makes intelligence. |
| D．How to develop intelligence. |
8 . When we think of leadership, we often think of strength and power. But what are these really and how do they operate?
Leadership today is not about forcing others to do things. If this is even possible it is short-term, an tends to backfire. If you order someone to do something against their will, they may do it because they feel they must, but the anger they feel will do more harm in the long-term. They will also experience fear.
Fear causes the thinking brain to shut down, making the person unable to function at his or her best. If they associate (联系) you with this emotion of fear, they will become less functional around you, and you will have succeeded in not only shooting yourself in the foot, but possibly making a very good employee or partner unable to perform effectively. Fear has no place in leadership.
The way we influence people in a lasting way is by our own character, and our understanding and use of emotion. We can order someone to do something which may be part of the work day; or we can employ them at the emotional level, so they became fully devoted to the projects and provide some of their own motivation. Today’s work place is all about relationships. Anyone works harder in a positive environment in which they’re recognized and valued as a human being as well as a worker. Everyone produces just a bit more for someone they like. Good leaders usually understand the way things work. They know the pay check is not the single most encouraging factor (因素) in the work life of most people.
The true strength of leadership is an inner strength that comes from the confidence of emotional intelligence—knowing your own emotions, and how to handle them, and those of others. Developing your emotional intelligence is the single best thing you can do if you want to develop your relationships with people around you, which is the key to the leadership skills.
1. The underlined phrase “shooting yourself in the foot” means ________ in this passage.| A．to walk in a right direction | B．to make progress in work |
| C．to hurt others by stepping their feet | D．to harm one’s own interests |
| A．he cannot work at his best | B．he is forced to do things |
| C．he is unwilling to do things and criticized | D．he shuts down his brains and his head goes blank |
| A．develop his own personality so that he can have high emotional level |
| B．provide better suggestions to make his employees have the emotional intelligence |
| C．give his employees a pay raise in order to please them |
| D．hide his own emotion of fear to set a good example for his employees |
9 . Do you eat fish every week? Do you think eating fish may help protect our brains from air pollution? A new research studied some older women, who lived in places with high levels(等级) of air pollution. They found that those who had the lowest levels of omega-3 fatty acids(w-3脂肪酸) in their body had more brain shrinkage(脑萎缩) than women who had the highest levels.
“Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and easy to add to the diet,” said Ka He from Columbia University. “Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to maintain brain structure(保持脑部结构) in aging brains. They have also been found to reduce brain damage caused by some neurotoxins(神经毒素). So we did the research to see if omega-3 fatty acids could help protect our brains from a certain toxin in air pollution.”
The research studied 1,315 women with an average age of 70. Researchers asked the women how much fish they had each week and tested the amount of omega-3 fatty acids in their blood. The researchers also used the women’s home addresses to work out their three-year average exposure to air pollution, and then scanned(扫描)different areas of the women’s brains to see the change in the structure.
After adjusting for(调控) age, education, smoking and other factors that could affect(影响) brain shrinkage, researchers found that women who had the highest levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood had less change in white matter and hippocampus than those with the lowest levels, which are associated with signal sending and memory.
“ It’s important to note that our study only found an association(联系) between maintaining brain structure and eating fish,” he said, “Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in the blood from eating fish may help maintain brain structure as women grow older and possibly fight against the bad effects of air pollution. However, more research is still needed.”
1. In the third paragraph, the writer shows us ________.| A．when the study was planned | B．why researchers did the study |
| C．how the study was performed | D．what researchers found in the study |
| A．Women have more brain shrinkage than men. |
| B．Fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids has fewer neurotoxins. |
| C．White matter and hippocampus can protect themselves from neurotoxins. |
| D．High levels of omega-3 fatty acids may help fight against brain shrinkage. |
| A．Does eating fish protect our brains from air pollution? |
| B．How do aging brains affect older women’s thinking? |
| C．Why can omega-3 fatty acids improve our memory? |
| D．Can older women live longer by eating fish? |
10 . 
If you live in a place where most people speak the language you are learning, you may use the language for several hours each day. It may become part of your “inner speech.” In other words, you start thinking in that language. Your mind stops trying to translate things from your native language into the second language. But most of the English learners live in places where English is not the main language. This maybe true for you. You may not have many chances to practice English. You may even be self-taught.
When you speak, your speech might be slower than you would like. This is because your mind is still translating from your first language, which can also sound unnatural. English, has its own sentence structure.
The good news is that thinking in English can bring you a huge step closer to fluency(流利). It is not very difficult but it does need practice.
Most experts note that it’s best to start small. So, a good first step is to think in individual(单独的) words. Look around you. What do you see? In your head, try to name each object in your surroundings. Charles Thomas has taught English for over 10 years. He tells his students to name the things that they see around them, wherever they are. Start with nouns and then add in verbs, he suggests.
Another exercise that Thomas suggests is describing in your mind objects you don’t know the words for. For example, if you’re looking at your house and you see your garage, but you can’t think of the name in English. You can say, “The place inside where I put my car.” You can also use shorter phrases, such as “It’s similar to…” or “It’s the opposite of…”. Thomas says doing this can help learners of any language. As a Spanish learner, he does it himself.
Next, you can move to exercises like thinking in simple sentences and in conversations. So, how much time should you spend on these exercises? Thomas says you do a little everyday. “When you make things a habit, then it just appears suddenly into your mind without thinking and then, before you know it, really, you’re thinking in English.”
1. According to the writer, people may speak a second language slowly because _________.| A．they don’t live in a place people speak that language |
| B．they try to translate from their native language |
| C．they don’t have time to practice that language |
| D．they may teach that language by themselves |
| A．Your surroundings can help you translate the language well. |
| B．The sentence structure is the key to learn a second language well. |
| C．Thinking more in a second language may help you speak fluently. |
| D．Describing with shorter phrases can help spell the unknown words. |
| A．To explain why our second language sounds unnatural. |
| B．To discuss our problems of learning a second language. |
| C．To show some examples of learning English by thinking. |
| D．To encourage people to train their brains to think in English. |
