2 . I love making art and looking at artworks. I’ve found myself wondering how we gain pleasure from art. And now neuroaesthetics, a combination of neuroscience (神经科学) and aesthetics (美学), may provide an answer.

Neuroaesthetics is a relatively young field of research on what happens in the brain when we make aesthetic assessments. Researchers use brain imaging technique to see which brain areas light up when we view paintings that we consider beautiful. Similar research has been done to understand the “neuronal fireworks” that occur when we look at inspiring sculptures, attractive faces, impressive dance, etc.

But why do we find some art beautiful and other art ugly? According to research, it all comes down to the “aesthetic triad (三元组合)”.

The first part of the triad is sensory-motor. This involves perceiving things like colours, shapes and movements. Movement in art has an interesting role. If you see a painting of a movement, like of a man pulling his arm away after being bitten by a dog, you feel like going through a similar experience. The part of your brain that controls your own movements lights up in response.

Second is emotion-valuation. This is how a piece of art makes you feel, and whether or not you appreciate or enjoy that feeling. The part of the brain related to pleasure is activated in response to something we find beautiful. This system can be affected in fascinating ways, as found by research using transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) (经颅磁刺激). If TMS is applied to a specific part of your brain behind your forehead that is particularly important for decision-making, you suddenly like different kinds of art. Such stimulation produces significant changes in aesthetic appreciation of faces, bodies and artworks.

The third part is meaning-knowledge. This is to do with how we can connect with a piece of art and what meaning we can create in it. Art is deeply personal, because when two people see the same artwork, our perception can create vastly different experiences of meaning. If we find meaning, then we often find pleasure. We also get enjoyment from the knowledge of how something was made. For the images that an artist creates, viewers will probably get far more enjoyment once they know the process used to create them.

Informed by neuroaesthetics, the next time I create my art I will value the process even more, enjoying the activation of the aesthetic triad in my brain as I admire the vivid images that I have created.

1. What does “neuronal fireworks” in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A．A beautiful painting or sculpture.	B．The lighting-up of specific brain areas.
C．An advanced brain imaging technology.	D．The aesthetic assessment of modern art.

2. What effect does movement in art produce on the viewers?

A．Certain part of their brain is activated.	B．Their experience of pain is reduced.
C．Their aesthetic sense is sharpened.	D．Their body reactions are delayed.

3. The application of TMS to the brain described in Paragraph 5 leads to__________.

A．raised memory capacity	B．enhanced painting skills
C．changed artistic taste	D．improved decision-making ability

4. What is the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

A．To propose an abstract theory of art making.

B．To reveal the beauty of science in an artistic way.

C．To share some personal understanding of artworks.

D．To introduce a new research field for art appreciation.

4 . While teenagers who are at risk of depression with risky behaviors — drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and cutting classes often alert parents and teachers that serious problems are brewing, a new study finds that there’s another group of adolescents who are in nearly as much danger of experiencing the same mental symptoms.

These teens use tons of media, get insufficient sleep and have a sedentary (不爱活动的) lifestyle. Of course, that may sound like a description of every teenager on the planet. But the study warns that it is teenagers who engage in all three of these practices in the extreme that are truly in a dangerous position. Because their behaviors are not usually seen as a red flag, these young people have been called the “invisible risk” group by the study’s authors.

The study’s authors surveyed 15,395 students and analyzed nine risk behaviors, including excessive alcohol use, illegal drug use, heavy smoking and high media use. Their aim was to determine the relationship between these risk behaviors and mental health issues in teenagers. The group that scored high on all nine of the risk behaviors was most likely to show symptoms of depression; in all, nearly 15% of this group reported being depressed, compared with just 4% of the low-risk group. But the invisible group wasn’t far behind the high-risk set, with more than 13% of them exhibiting depression.

The findings caught Carli off guard. “We didn’t expect that,” he says. “The high-risk group and low-risk group are obvious, but this third group was not only unexpected. It was so distinct and so large—nearly one third of our sample—that it became a key finding of the study.”

Carli says that one of the most significant things about his study is that it provides new early warning signs for parents, teachers and mental health-care providers. And early identification, support and treatment for mental health issues, he says, are the best ways to keep them from turning into full-blown disorders.

1. What does the underlined word “adolescents” mean in Paragraph 1?

A．Authors.

B．Scientists.

C．Teenagers.

D．Babies.

2. Which teenager probably belongs to the “invisible risk” group?

A．A teenager who suffers from lack of sleep.	B．A teenager who skips school.
C．A teenager who drinks frequently.	D．A teenager who exercises regularly.

3. What can we know about the new study?

A．It was intended to dig into the reasons for depression.

B．Its findings were under expectation of the research team.

C．It revealed an alarming rate of the invisible group suffering depression.

D．It was conducted by analyzing and comparing the previous data.

4. In which part of the newspaper can you read this passage?

A．Literature.

B．Culture.

C．Geography.

D．Health.

5 . Just like our bodies, our minds also become weak over time. We lose the ability to process new information or to switch quickly between mental tasks.     1    

It improves cognitive (认知的) performance.

A study published in the journal Neurology Clinical Practice examined nearly 100 individual studies on exercise and brain function and discovered that exercising an average of 52 hours over six months is associated with improved cognitive performance in older adults.     2     And these exercises include strength-training and mind-body exercises.

    3    

The human body is meant to move. But listening to that urge to move has many benefits — including making you happier and even keep depression and other mental health issues at bay. A research has begun to expose long-overlooked links between physical activity and mental health. It suggested exercise can significantly improve mood over time.

It allows you to use less brain power for the same task.

    4     They found that the fitter a participant was, the less brain activity he used to complete the tasks when compared with his out-of-shape peers.

It can expand your capacity for joy.

Kelly McGonigal is a health expert who explains how exercise makes the brain more sensitive to joy.     5     After eight weeks of walking, jogging and strength training, these adults showed an increase of dopamine receptors.

A．It makes you feel the progress of your brain, power.

B．Researchers wanted to explore this idea by looking at the effect of exercise on the weakening of the brain.

C．But remember not to exercise alone:

D．She explains the importance of dopamine (多巴胺) receptors, which we lose as we age.

E．It can make you happier.

F．But thanks to some researchers, we are learning how exercise can push back against time and keep the brain young.

G．The type of exercises are beneficial.

9 . One early morning, I went into the living room to find my mother reading a thick book called Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again. I became immediately interested because of the word “Poems” that appeared in big, hot pink letters.

“Is it good?” I asked her.

“Yeah,” she answered. “There’s one I really like and you’ll like it, too.” I leaned forward.

“Patty Poem,” she read the title. Who is Patty? I wondered. The poem began:

She never puts her toys away,

Just leaves them scattered(散乱的)where they lay, …

The poem was just three short sections. The final one came quickly:

When she grows and gathers poise(稳重),

I’ll miss her harum-scarum(莽撞的)noise,

And look in vain(徒劳的) for scattered toys.

And I’ll be sad.

A terrible sadness washed over me. Whoever Patty was, she was a mean girl. Then, the shock.

“It’s you, honey,” my mother said sadly.

To my mother, the poem described a parent’s feeling when her child grows up and leaves. To me, the “she” in the poem was terrible. It was my mama who would be sad. It was so terrible that I began crying.

“What’s wrong?” my mother asked.

“Oh Mama,” I cried. “I don’t want to grow up ever!”

She smiled. “Honey, it’s okay. You’re not growing up anytime soon. And when you do, I’ll still love you, okay?”

“Okay,” I was still crying. My fear had gone. But I could not help thinking about that silly poem. After what seemed like a safe amount of time, I read the poem again and was confused. It all fit so well together, like a puzzle. The language was simple, so simple that I could plainly understand its meaning, yet it was still beautiful. I was now crazy about the idea of poetry (诗歌), words that had the power to make or break a person’s world.

I have since fallen in love with other poems, but “Patty Poem” remains my poem. After all, “Patty Poem” gave me my love for poetry not because it was the poem that lifted my spirits, but because it was the one that hurt me the most.

1. Why was the writer attracted by the book Best Loved Poems to Read Again and Again?

A．It has a meaningful title.	B．It was a thick enough book.
C．Something on its cover caught her eye.	D．Her mother was reading it with interest.

2. The writer’s mother liked to read “Patty Poem” probably because ______.

A．it was a sign of her own childhood	B．it was written in simple language
C．it was written by a famous poet	D．it made her think of what would happen

3. What does the underlined word probably mean?

A．Easily.

B．Hardly.

C．Nearly.

D．Narrowly.

4. It can be known from the passage that “Patty Poem” leads the writer to ______.

A．experience great homesickness	B．recognize her love for puzzles
C．find her wishing to grow up	D．discover the power of poetry

10 . 阅读下面材料，根据其内容和所给段落开头语续写两段，使之构成一篇完整的短文。

An Insignificant Task

The day when the jobs were handed out was one of the most exciting for all the children in the class. It took place during the first week of the term. On that day, every boy and girl was given a job for which they would be responsible for the rest of that school year.

As with everything, some jobs were more interesting than others, and the children were eager to be given one of the best ones. When giving them out, the teacher took into account which pupils had been most responsible during the previous year, and those children were the ones who most looked forward to this day. Among them, Rita stood out. She was a kind and quiet girl. During the previous year she had carried out the teacher’s instructions perfectly. All the children knew Rita was the favourite to be given the best job of all: to look after the class dog.

But this year there was a big surprise. Each child received one of the normal jobs, like preparing the books for the lessons, telling the time, cleaning the blackboard, or looking after one of the pets. However, Rita’s job was very different. She was given a little box containing some sand and one ant. Even though the teacher insisted that this ant was a very special ant, Rita could not help feeling disappointed. Most of her classmates felt sorry for her. They sympathised with her and remarked at how unfair it was that she had been given that job.

Yet, Rita, who liked her teacher very much, chose to prove her worth through excellence. “I will turn this little task into something great,” Rita said to herself. What she didn’t know was that the teacher had secretly entered her into a rainforest insect raising competition.

注意：
1．续写词数应为150左右；
2．请按如下格式在答题卡的相应位置作答。

Rita started investigating all about her little ant.

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On the last day of the school year, the teacher burst into the classroom with excitement.

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