GETTING A GRANT Who pays? The local education authority (LEA) for the area in which the student is living. Who can get this money? Anyone who gets a place on a first degree course, although a student who has already attended a course of advanced further education may not. Students must also have been resident in the UK for at least three years, which can exclude some students from overseas. |
| SPECIAL CASES |
| If a student has worked before going to college? A student who is 26 or more before the course starts and who has worked for at least three of the previous six years will get extra money – £155 a year if 26, increasing to a maximum of £615 at 29 or more. If a student is handicapped? LEAs will give up to £500 to help meet extra expenses – such as buying a tape recorder for a blind student, extra heating or special food. Banking? Most of the big banks offer special services to students who open accounts (in the hope that they will stay with the bank when they become rich officials). A student won’t usually have to pay bank charges as long as the account stays in credit. Some banks allow students to overdraw by £100 or so, and still don’t make charges (though they do charge interest). |
1. The phrase “a grant” in the first line most probably means _____.
| A．bank interest | B．a credit card |
| C．an education fee | D．financial aid |
| A．be unable to get money from any LEA |
| B．get money if taking a first degree course |
| C．get money from LEA when finishing his course |
| D．have to open a bank account before getting money |
| A．None. | B．£155. | C．£615. | D．£515. |
2 . We already know that exercise is good for our bodies. Daily exercise fights the loss of muscle tone and flexibility that tends to increase slowly with age. And it turns out that it has the same fountain-of-youth effects on our brains.
Studies show that over time our minds also become less nimble. We lose the ability to process new information or switch between mental tasks quickly — and now we know why.
A recent study examined nearly 100 individual studies on exercise and brain function and discovered exercising an average of 52 hours over six months is “associated with improved cognitive (认知的) performance in older adults with and without cognitive damage.” The type of exercises that are beneficial include aerobic, strength-training and mind-body exercises like yoga or tai chi.
In previous studies, researchers from Japan’s University of Tsukuba wanted to explore this idea by looking at the effect of exercise on the weakening of the brain. They tested the oxygen ability of 60 Japanese men between the ages of 64 and 75 who did not show any signs of dementia (痴呆) or other mental symptoms. Next, they looked at the brain activity of each man as he completed a mental task. They found that the fitter a participant was, the less brain power he used to complete the tasks when compared with his out-of-shape peers, which made him more efficient.
Although much research is focused on how exercise may benefit an aging brain, exercise offers brain health benefits at almost any age, and this includes children. A review of 14 studies showed that more physically active schoolchildren do better academically. Exercise actually causes your brain to grow in size. So get moving and keep moving for best results.
1. The underlined word “nimble” in Paragraph 2 most probably means__________.| A．dull-witted | B．single-minded |
| C．absent-minded | D．quick-witted |
| A．They had significant brain advantages. |
| B．Their brains were younger than their age. |
| C．Their cognitive performance would decline. |
| D．They had a quick mind when doing the task. |
| A．By making comparisons. |
| B．By analyzing study results. |
| C．By describing the processes. |
| D．By telling peers’experiences. |
| A．Exercise is beneficial for your bodies. |
| B．Exercise can benefit your brain health. |
| C．Exercise is especially good for dementia. |
| D．Exercise may lower your risk of mental problems. |
3 . 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 ventured into the adult section of the library to search for a book of spells—nine being that curious age at which you’re old enough to work through more than 1,200 pages of 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 technique, and I dedicated the next months to practice.
At first 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 from the hardware store and placed it under the mirror to muffle 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. One day I tried the illusion in the mirror and the coin vanished. It did not look like a magic trick. It looked like a miracle.
One of the lessons you learn very early on as a magician is that the most amazing part of a trick has nothing to do with the secret. The secret is simple and often dull: a hidden piece of tape, a small mirror, a duplicate playing card, diversion of the audience’s attention. In this case, the secret was a series of covert ( 暗 中 的 ) technique to hide the coin behind my hand in the act of opening it, a dance of the fingers that I learned so completely I didn’t even have to think. I would close my hand, then open it, and the coin would vanish not by skill but by real magic.
1. What book did the author intend to find in the library when he was nine years old?| A．A book teaching people how to make a coin disappear. |
| B．The second book of The Lord of the Rings. |
| C．A book on how to become a magician. |
| D．A book of real magic. |
| A．clean | B．punish |
| C．lower | D．kill |
| A．Without music, life is of no value. | B．Practice makes perfect. |
| C．Great liars are also great magicians. | D．No pains, no gains. |
| A．Carrying out skillful hand moves. |
| B．Using real magic to create miracles. |
| C．Hiding some stage tools inside the coat. |
| D．Guiding the audience to focus on something unimportant. |
4 . As we have seen, the focus of medical care in our society has been shifting from curing disease to preventing disease — especially in terms of changing our many unhealthy behaviors, such as poor eating habits, smoking, and failure to exercise. The line of thought involved in this shift can be pursued further. Imagine a person who is about the right weight, but does not eat very nutritious foods, who feels OK but exercises only occasionally, and who has no chest pains or abnormal blood counts, but sleeps a lot and often feels tired. This person is not ill. He may not even be at risk for any particular disease. But we can imagine that this person could be a lot healthier.
The field of medicine has not traditionally distinguished between someone who is merely “not ill” and someone who is in excellent health and pays attention to the body’s special needs. Both types have simply been called “well”. In recent years, however, some health specialists have begun to apply the terms “well” and “wellness” only to those who are actively attempting to maintain and improve their health. People who are well are concerned with nutrition and exercise, and they make a point of monitoring their body’s condition. Most importantly, perhaps, people who are well take active responsibility for all matters related to their health. Even people who have a physical disease or handicap (缺陷) may be “well”. In this new sense, if they make an effort to maintain the best possible health, they can in the face of their physical limitations. “Wellness” may perhaps best be viewed not as a state that people can achieve, but as an ideal that people can struggle for. People who are well are likely to be better able to resist disease and to fight disease when it strikes. And by focusing attention on healthy ways of living, the concept of wellness can have a beneficial influence on the ways in which people face the challenges of daily life.
1. Today’s medical care is placing more stress on ________.| A．keeping people in a healthy physical condition |
| B．monitoring patients’ body functions |
| C．removing people’s bad living habits |
| D．ensuring people’s psychological well-being |
| A．to best satisfy their body’s special needs |
| B．to strive to maintain the best possible health |
| C．to meet the strictest standards of bodily health |
| D．to keep a proper balance between work and leisure |
| A．People who have strong muscles as well as slim figures. |
| B．People who are not presently experiencing any symptoms of disease. |
| C．People who try to be as healthy as possible, regardless of their limitations. |
| D．People who can recover from illness even without seeking medical care. |
5 . A little boy almost thought of himself as the most unfortunate child in the world because poliomyelitis (小儿麻痹症) made his leg lame and his teeth uneven. He seldom played with his classmates; and when the teacher asked him to answer questions, he always lowered his head without a word.
One spring, the boy’s father asked for some saplings (树苗) from the neighbor. He told his children to plant a sapling each person. The father said, “Whose seedling grows best, I will buy him or her a favorite gift.” The boy also wanted to get his father’s gift. But seeing his brothers and sisters carrying water to water the trees happily, anyhow, he hit upon an idea: he hoped the tree he planted would die soon. So watering it once or twice, he never attended to it.
A few days later, when the little boy went to see his tree again, he was surprised to find it not only didn’t wilt, but also grew some fresh leaves, and compared with the trees of his brother and sister, his appeared greener and more vital. His father kept his promise, bought the little boy his favorite gift and said to him: from the tree he planted, he would become an outstanding botanist when he grew up.
Since then, the little boy slowly became optimistic. One day, the little boy lay on the bed but couldn't sleep. Looking at the bright moonlight outside the window, he suddenly recalled what the biology teacher once said, plants generally grow at night. Why not go to see the tree? When he came to the courtyard on tiptoe, he found his father was splashing something under his tree with a ladle (勺子). He returned to his room, tears running down his face.
Decades passed. The little boy didn’t become a botanist, but he was elected President of the United States. His name was Franklin Roosevelt.
1. Why didn’t the boy answer the teacher’s question?| A．He couldn’t concentrate on the class. |
| B．All the students looked down on him. |
| C．He lacked confidence because of his illness. |
| D．He was an unfortunate boy with learning disability. |
| A．The neighbor required him to do it. |
| B．He expected them to be botanists. |
| C．He wanted to encourage the disabled boy. |
| D．The children asked for their favorite gifts. |
| A．Become weak. | B．Become strong. |
| C．Become beautiful. | D．Become green. |
| A．An Unfortunate Boy |
| B．Nutrition of Growth |
| C．A Loving Father |
| D．The Unselfish Love |
6 . Ultrasound（超声）is used widely in medical imaging, but in recent years scientists have started developing it for another use: stimulating nerves to treat disease. In two new studies in mice, researchers focused the sound waves on nerves in the spleen（脾）that communicate with the immune system, reducing symptoms. If the approach proves safe and effective in people, it could serve as a treatment for diseases such as arthritis（关节炎）.
In one study, led by scientists at the Feistein Institute and GE Research, mice receiving a few minutes of ultrasound treatment to the spleen nerve had a diminished symptoms to an injected（注射）poison. In another study, researchers at the University of Minnesota and their colleagues reduces symptoms of arthritis in mice by stimulating their spleen nerves for 20 minutes every day for a week. “Zeroing in on the spleen may provide a more precise approach than focusing on the vagus nerve（交感神经）, which connects with the immune system via a second nerve that stimulates the spleen.” says Hubert Lin, lead author of the latter study. “When we’re targeting the spleen we have less of an effect all over the body.”
“Little is known about how repeated ultrasound affects the spleen or whether it has other harmful effects,” says neuroscientist Denise Bellinger of Loma Linda University, who was not involved in either study. An ongoing clinical trial aims to assess the treatment’s safety in humans with arthritis. A bigger unknown is how ultrasound activates in general. Scientists are now exploring the use of ultrasound on other parts of the nervous system, including the brain. “We know how to control nerves with electricity, and we’ve been doing it for more than 100 years,” neuroscientist Kevin Tracey says, “But the idea of controlling nerve signals with ultrasound is a brand-new field.”
1. What do scientists expect of the new application of ultrasound?| A．It'll be applied in medical imaging |
| B．It'll be used to activate nerves to treat disease. |
| C．It’ll be applied in spleen transplantation. |
| D．It'll be employed to rebuild immune system. |
| A．Complicated. | B．Worsened. |
| C．Decreased. | D．Associated. |
| A．Side effect. | B．Time length. |
| C．The procedure. | D．The cost. |
| A．Assessing the treatment' s safety on humans. |
| B．Activating nerves in general with ultrasound. |
| C．Exploring the use of ultrasound on the brain. |
| D．Controlling nerve signals with ultrasound. |
7 . The Giraffe Center in Nairobi is one of the oldest giraffe conservation organizations in the world. When it was founded in 1979, there were only 150 Rothschild's giraffes left in Kenya.
Stanley Kosgey, in charge of conservation education at the center, says the tallest animals in the world have never really gotten the same attention from conservationists and governments that other African mammals have. In some ways, he thinks, it's because they're hard to miss. In Kenya, it's not rare to see half a dozen of them as you drive past some fields on the highway. It can take you several safaris （旅行队）before you catch sight of a lion.
“Giraffes are in what I would call a silent extinction," Kosgey says.
In a lot of ways, he says, a perfect storm has fallen on the species. Climate change means longer droughts and new diseases; civil unrest means giraffes become easy food; and as African countries grow, humans have encroached （入侵）on wildlife areas and the removal of trees becomes a huge problem. Giraffes are huge creatures, and they require a lot of space and plants.
Kosgey says the good news is that the world has begun to pay attention. In Kenya, which has some of the best conservation policies on the continent, there is a plan underway to treat giraffes in the same way that lions, rhinos and elephants are treated. That's to put in place detailed action plans and programs to make sure those animals thrive. The first step for giraffes is to get a deeper understanding of their population by conducting a survey.
Kosgey says their conservation effort alone has saved the Rothschild's giraffe. There are now about 650 of them in Kenya. Worldwide, there are 1,671 Rothschild's, about 26 percent more than there were in the 1960s, according to the IUCN （International Union for Conservation of Nature）.
“They are tall, graceful animals and they should be heard/5 Kosgey says.
1. What can we learn about the giraffes from the first two paragraphs?| A．They run the fastest in the world. |
| B．They are in danger of extinction. |
| C．They are harder to see than lions in Kenya. |
| D．They draw conservationists' more attention. |
| A．It is hard for them to survive. | B．A terrible storm attacks them. |
| C．They live where humans live. | D．Removing trees leaves them space. |
| A．become healthy | B．hang out |
| C．move away | D．grow strong |
| A．Protecting the Earth. | B．Living with Animals. |
| C．Saving the Giraffes. | D．Loving Peaceful Nature. |
8 . Drugs come in different forms. However，can you imagine that drugs come in chicken eggs？A team of scientists from England prove that it can come true. They have developed special chickens that lay eggs with drugs inside. These special drugs can help treat some kinds of diseases. Until now，they have made two kinds of drugs. One drug can treat skin cancer and the other can treat a nerve disease （神经性疾病）.
Certain drugs are produced by the special chickens inside their egg whites. These drugs are made of proteins（蛋白质） which can be found in animals' skin，hair，milk and meat. The scientists also use DNA technology to make sure that the drugs are only inside the egg whites. In this way，the chickens can stay healthy.
Besides egg whites，drugs made of proteins come in milk of cows and sheep. Compared with cows and sheep，the special chickens have ascendancy over them. First，they are cheaper to raise. Second，they need less room and grow faster.
These special chicken can pass on their drug﹣producing ability to their children. So far，five generations （代） of the special chickens have appeared. But scientists may need more time to make the drugs perfect. It's said that scientists will realize their dream in five to ten years.
1. The underlined word "ascendancy" in the passage means" "in Chinese.| A．情况 | B．优势 | C．劣势 |
| A．pills that can treat all cancers | B．just the scientists' imagination | C．made of proteins |
| A．need less room and grow faster |
| B．were developed by scientists from France |
| C．produce certain drugs outside the eggs |
| A．The scientists never use DNA technology to keep the special chickens healthy. |
| B．It may take scientists more time to make the drugs perfect. |
| C．Until now，scientists have made three kinds of drugs. |
| A．It's mainly about a serious disease. |
| B．It's mainly about a natural ability of the special chickens. |
| C．It's mainly about the special drugs. |
Tea is not plain water, it can nourish (养育，抚养) your mind and keep you calm. If you’re not thirsty, then do not drink up the tea at once. On the one hand, it may be hot and bums your lips. On the other hand, it is generally considered a rude behavior. You should take a sip and appreciate the flavor, from good smell to sweetness till the long after taste, you may find words are too plain to describe this fascinating feeling and process.
2. Do not spit the tea out of your mouth
It is also considered that the biggest impoliteness of the guest is to spit the tea out of mouth, especially, in front of the tea server. This bad manner may also leave a very bad impression on the host.
3. Do not smoke
Smoking cigarettes during the tea drinking is disrespectful. If you are a heavy smoker, you should ask the host for opinions. You should not start smoking unless the host or the hostess allows you to.
4. Do not be absent-minded
Keep calm and relaxed when drinking tea, instead of being absent-minded and dispirited. Tea is not only an amazing drink, it can also be your friend. When you feel uneasy, it helps you calm down; when you feel distracted, it makes you relax; while when you find your inner peace, it will bring you indescribable flavor. What a wonderful friend!
1. What can you do in a Chinese Tea House?| A．You can smoke when guests invite you to. |
| B．You can spit the tea out of your mouth if it doesn’t suit you. |
| C．You can enjoy listening to MP4 and try to have a short period of sleep. |
| D．You find inner peace in your mind and relax yourself. |
| A．favor | B．good taste |
| C．bad smell | D．ceremony |
| A．when you feel unrest in mind, it helps you calm down |
| B．when you find your inner peace, tea tastes better |
| C．when you can’t focus on something, tea makes you distracted |
| D．when you have no friends, make friends by drinking tea with them |
| A．tea is not plain water, it is a healthy drink |
| B．you may have your lips burned |
| C．you can’t drink tea directly in front of the tea server |
| D．it is hot |
10 . Ants know when an earthquake is about to strike, researchers have discovered. Their behavior changes significantly prior to the quake and they resume normal functioning only a day after it. Gabriele Berberich of the University Duisburg-Essen in Germany presented these findings on Thursday at the European Geosciences Union annual meeting in Vienna according to LiveScience.
Berberich and her colleagues discovered that red wood ants preferred to build their colonies right along active faults in Germany. They counted 15,000 mounds （土堆)）lining the faults. These faults are the places where the earth violently bursts in earthquakes.
Using a special camera that tracked changes in activity. Berberich and her colleagues tracked the ants round the clock for three years, 2016 to 2019. They found that the ants' behavior changed only when the quake was over magnitude （级数）2. There were 10 earthquakes between magnitude 2.0 and 3.2 during this period, and many smaller ones. Humans can also sense quakes of over magnitude 2 only.
According to Berberich, normal ant activity consists of going about collecting food etc,during the day and resting in the night But before an earthquake, the ants didn't go back to their mound in the night and moved around outside it. This strange and abnormal behavior continued till a day after the earthquake, Berberich told a news conference, according to Livescience.
How do ants know an earthquake is coming? Berberich suggested that they could either be picking up changing gas emissions or noting tiny changes in the Earth's magnetic fields （磁场）. "Red wood ants have special cells which can detect changes in carbon dioxide levels. They also have special cells for detecting electromagnetic fields." she said. Berberich and her colleagues are planning to continue the research in areas where there are more and bigger earthquakes
1. What's the meaning of the underlined word "resume" in Paragraph 1?| A．Form. | B．Avoid. |
| C．Recover. | D．Improve. |
| A．To lead to the main topic. | B．To describe a new species of ant, |
| C．To introduce a famous researcher | D．To tell how to predict an earthquake. |
| A．They have no appetite. | B．They are too excited to rest. |
| C．They get lost on their way home. | D．They refuse to go inside their nests. |
| A．Ants can only detect smaller earthquakes. |
| B．The result of the research is completely reliable. |
| C．Ants may have two ways to predict earthquakes. |
| D．Researchers don't know how ants predict earthquakes. |
