1 . It is a question people have been asking for ages. Is there a way to turn back the aging process?

For centuries, people have been looking for a “fountain of youth”. The idea is that if you find a magical fountain, and drink from its waters, you will not age.

Researchers in New York did not find an actual fountain of youth, but they may have found a way to turn back the aging process. It appears the answer may be hidden right between your eyes, in an area called the hypothalamus (下丘脑). The hypothalamus is part of your brain. It controls important activities within the body.

Researchers at New York’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that hypothalamus neural (神经的) stem cells also influence how fast aging takes place in the body.

What are stem cells(干细胞)? They are simple cells that can develop into specialized cells, like blood or skin cells. Stem cells can also repair damaged tissues and organs.

Dongsheng Cai is a professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He was the lead researcher in a study on aging in mice. He and his team reported their findings in the journal Nature, Cai explained when hypothalamus function is in decline, particularly the loss of hypothalamus stem cells, and this protection against the aging development is lost. it eventually leads to aging.

Using this information, the researchers began trying to activate, or energize, the hypothalamus laboratory mice. They did this by injecting the animals with stem cells, Later, the researchers examined tissues and tested for changes in behavior. They looked for changes in the strength and coordination (协调) of the animals muscles. They also studied the social behavior and cognitive ability of the mice. The researchers say the results show that the treatment slowed aging in the animals, Cai says injecting middle-aged mice with stem cells from younger mice helped the older animals live longer.

But these results were just from studying mice in a laboratory. If the mice can live longer, does that mean people could have longer lives? The next step is to see if the anti-aging effects also work in.

1. In Paragraph 2 a “fountain of youth” is mentioned to ________.

A．introduce the main topic

B．show a hidden secret.

C．describe scientists research

D．recommend a way to stay young

2. Aging takes place in the body when _______.

A．stem cells develop into specialized cells

B．there are important activities within the body

C．hypothalamus neural stem cells fail to protect against aging

D．the hypothalamus fails to repair damaged tissues and organs

3. What do we know about the researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine from the text?

A．They did experiments to see how stem cells work.

B．They studied mice to find their connection with humans.

C．They have found a possible way to slow the aging progress.

D．They have found no changes in mice s behavior during the experiment

4. What will the researchers probably do next?

A．They will help some animals live longer.

B．They will announce the fountain of youth doesn’t exist

C．They will develop products to help people live a longer life immediately

D．They will do research to see if what they have found in mice will apply to humans.

2 . How to Improve Your English

Learning English is a continuous process. For tips on how to improve your English, read on.

Read English newspapers, books, and magazines. Reading is an active process that requires your brain to work. When learning a language, much is achieved by speaking, listening and writing.     1     When you read, you learn new words and will be able to use them.

    2     After reading the daily papers, choose one or two articles that stood out among all those that you read, and write down your reactions to them. Read what you wrote afterwards, and check if you made any grammatical errors or would like to improve your work.

Read the book version of a movie that you have already seen.     3     Reading the book version means you will find it easier to understand and guess vocabulary, and you can remember it easily since the story is already familiar to you.

Teach English to children or friends.     4     This also holds true for the English language. When you share and teach English to others, you are able to practice. At the same time, you become more aware of your weak areas.

Use English every day. Whatever you are doing, from washing the dishes or taking out the garbage to going to work or to the gym, use English. Take out those new words that you learned and use them. Bring out those new idioms you came across and use them.     5     Learn how to use it in your daily life.

As you try to improve your English day by day, you will surely see improvements that are going to “make your day”.

A．Open your mouth.

B．Keep a news diary.

C．But reading is also a great help.

D．Listening to songs can help you improve your English.

E．The best way to improve something is by teaching it to others.

F．If the new knowledge stays inside your head and in your notebooks, it won’t come to life.

G．If you are not a serious book reader, reading a story that you are already familiar with will help you move along page by page.

3 . Opera at Music Hall: 1243 Elm Street. The season runs August through December, with additional performances in October and November. The Opera honors Enjoy the Arts membership discounts. Phone: 241-2742.

www.cityopera com.

Chamber Orchestra: The Orchestra plays at Memorial Hall at 1406 Elm Street, which offers several concerts from September through December. Call 723-1182 for more information.

http: //www. chamberorch. com.

Symphony Orchestra: At Music Hall and Riverbend. For ticket sales, call 381-3300, Regular season runs September through May at Music Hall in summer at Riverbend.

http://www.symphonv.or/home. asp .

College Conservatory of Music （CCM）: Performances are on the main campus of the university, usually at Patricia Cobbett Theater, CCM organizes a variety of events, including performances by the well-known LaSalle Quartet, CCNTs Philharmonic Orchestra, and various groups of musicians presenting Baroque through modern music. Students with ID cards can attend the events for free. A free schedule of events for each term is available by calling the box office at 556-4183.

http://wvm. ccm. uc. edu/events/calendar.

Riverbend Music Theater: 6295 Kellogg Ave. Large outdoor theater with the closest seats under cover （price difference）. Big name shows all summer long! Phone:232-6220.

http： //www.rivwrbendnuisic. com.
1. Which number should you call if you want to see an opera?

A．241-2742.

B．723-1182.

C．381-3300.

D．232-6220.

2. When can you go to a concert by Chamber Orchestra?

A．February

B．October.

C．August

D．April

3. How is Riverbend Music Theater different from the other places?

A．It gives shows all year round.	B．It offers membership discounts.
C．It has seats in the open air.	D．It presents famous musical works.

4 . When I was in fourth grade, I worked part-time as a paperboy. Mrs. Stanley was one of my customers. She’d watch me coming down her street, and by the time I’d biked up to her doorstep, there’d be a cold drink waiting. I’d sit and drink while she talked.

Mrs. Stanley talked mostly about her dead husband, “Mr. Stanley and I went shopping this morning.” she’d say. The first time she said that, soda(汽水) went up my nose.

I told my father how Mrs. Stanley talked as if Mr. Stanley were still alive. Dad said she was probably lonely, and that I ought to sit and listen and nod my head and smile, and maybe she’d work it out of her system. So that’s what I did, and it turned out Dad was right. After a while she seemed content to leave her husband over at the cemetery(墓地).

I finally quit delivering newspapers and didn’t see Mrs. Stanley for several years. Then we crossed paths at a church fund-raiser(募捐活动). She was spooning mashed potatoes and looking happy. Four years before, she’d had to offer her paperboy a drink to have someone to talk with. Now she had friends. Her husband was gone, but life went on.

I live in the city now, and my paperboy is a lady named Edna with three kids. She asks me how I’m doing. When I don’t say “fine”, she sticks around to hear my problems. She’s lived in the city most of her life, but she knows about community. Community isn’t so much a place as it is a state of mind. You find it whenever people ask how you’re doing because they care, and not because they’re getting paid to do so. Sometimes it’s good to just smile, nod your head and listen.

1. Why did soda go up the author’s nose one time?

A．He was talking fast.	B．He was shocked.
C．He was in a hurry.	D．He was absent-minded.

2. Why did the author sit and listen to Mrs. Stanley according to Paragraph 3?

A．He enjoyed the drink.	B．He wanted to be helpful.
C．He took the chance to rest.	D．He tried to please his dad.

3. Which of the following can replace the underlined phrase “work it out of her system”?

A．recover from her sadness	B．move out of the neighborhood
C．turn to her old friends	D．speak out about her past

4. What does the author think people in a community should do?

A．Open up to others.	B．Depend on each other.
C．Pay for other’s help	D．Care about one another.