1 . Losing your ability to think and remember is pretty frightening. We know the risk of dementia (痴呆症) increases with age. But if you have memory slips, you probably needn’t worry. There are pretty clear differences between signs of dementia and age-­related memory loss.

After age 50, it’s quite common to have trouble remembering the names of people, places and things quickly, says Dr. Kirk Daffner of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The brain ages just like the rest of the body. Certain parts become smaller, especially areas in the brain that are important to learning, memory and planning. Changes in brain cells can affect communication between different regions of the brain. And blood flow can be reduced as blood vessels narrow.

Forgetting the name of an actor in a favorite movie, for example, is nothing to worry about. But if you forget the plot of the movie or don’t remember even seeing it, that’s far more concerning, Daffner says.

When you forget entire experiences, he says, that’s “a red flag that something more serious may be involved”. Forgetting how to operate a familiar object like a microwave oven, or forgetting how to drive to the house of a friend you’ve visited many times before can also be signs of something going wrong.

But even then, Daffner says, people shouldn’t panic. There are many things that can cause confusion and memory loss, including health problems like temporary stoppage of breathing during sleep, high blood pressure, or depression, as well as medications (药物) like antidepressants.

You don’t have to figure this out on your own. Daffner suggests going to your doctor to check on medications, health problems and other issues that could be affecting memory. And the best defense against memory loss is to try to prevent it by building up your brain’s cognitive (认知的) reserve, Daffner says.

“Read books, go to movies, take on new hobbies or activities that force one to think in novel ways.” he says. In other words, keep your brain busy and working. And also get physically active, because exercise is a widely known to boost the brain.

1. Which memory-related symptom should people take seriously?

A．Totally forgetting how to do one’s daily routines.

B．Inability to recall details of one’s life experiences.

C．Failure to remember the names of movies or actors.

D．Occasionally confusing the addresses of one’s friends.

2. What should people do when signs of serious memory loss show up?

A．Check the brain’s cognitive reserve.

B．Stop medications affecting memory.

C．Turn to a professional for assistance.

D．Exercise to improve their well­being.

3. What is Dr. Daffner’s advice for fight against memory loss?

A．Having regular physical and mental checkups.

B．Taking medicine that helps boost one’s brain.

C．Engaging in known memory repair activities.

D．Staying active both physically and mentally.

4. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the underlined word “boost” in the last paragraph?

A．Reduce.

B．Benefit.

C．Increase.

D．Depress.

2 . I’m often asked how to study English effectively. I think this means getting the most out of your study time, and that means variety.     1    .

Study Every Day

It’s important to study English every day. However, don’t exaggerate (夸张)!     2    . This habit of studying English every day will help keep English in your brain fresh.

A Little Grammar, a Little Listening, a Little Reading, and a Little Writing.

    3    . Study a little grammar, then do a short listening exercise and then read an article on the same topic. Don’t do too much; twenty minutes on three different types of exercises is plenty!

    4    

Give yourself one grammar goal when reading a new article or watching a new video. For example, try to write down each example of a form you are studying such as the present perfect. Use colored pens to highlight (使.....突出) forms that you are studying.

Use Different Learning Methods

Don’t just use one way to study English. Use many kinds of methods which will make all the parts of your brain help you.     5    . All of these methods together help with your learning.

Find Some Friends

You can practice the exercises together, have conversations together (in English), and, as you study English together, help each other with exercises you may not understand.

A．Forget Grammar

B．Review Grammar as You Watch or Read

C．Here are some simple exercises to help you warm up

D．Here are some basic ideas to help you as you study English

E．Study for thirty minutes every day instead of two hours once a week

F．Make sure that you study a number of areas rather than focusing on just one

G．For example, if you are learning new vocabulary, create a word map, describe a picture, make a list...

3 .     1    You probably think you will never be a top student. This is not necessarily so, however. Anyone can become a better student if he or she wants to. Here is how:

Plan your time carefully. When planning your work, you should make a list of things that you have to do. After making this list, you should make a schedule of your time. First your time for eating, sleeping, dressing, etc. Then decide a good, regular time for studying.     2     A weekly schedule may not solve all your problems, but it will force you realize what is happening to your time.

Find a good place to study. Look around the house for a good study area. Keep this space, which may be a desk or simply a corner of your room, free of everything but study materials. No games, radios, or television. When you sit down to study, concentrate on the subject.

Make good use of your time in class.     3     Listening carefully in class means less work later. Taking notes will help you remember what the teacher says.

Study regularly. When you get home from school, go over your notes, review the important points that your teacher is going to discuss the next day, read that material.     4     If you do these things regularly, the material will become more meaningful, and you’ll remember it longer.

Develop a good attitude towards tests. The purpose of a test is to show what you have learned about a subject. They help you remember your new knowledge. The world won’t end if you don’t pass a test, so don’t be over worried.

    5     You will probably discover many others after you have tried these.

A．There are other methods that might help you with your studying.

B．Don’t forget to set aside enough time for entertainment.

C．Take advantage of class time to listen to everything the teacher says.

D．No one can become a top student unless he or she works hard.

E．Maybe you are an average student.

F．Make full use of class time to take notes of what the teacher says in class.

G．This will help you understand the next class.

4 . It’s important for you teenagers to know how to save money. You know that the money you save can be for rainy days and be used to pay through your college education. If you think it’s a difficult task and don’t know how to do it, please do as the followings.

    1    

My dad always tells me that if one doesn’t respect money, it will never respect you. Hence, it’s important that you keep a record of your daily expenses. Make it a habit to write down all that you have spent. And when you find out the total expenses at the end of the month, you will realize what you have spent more money in doing.    2    .

Open a savings account

Opening a savings account is a better way to save money. You can set a goal; say (for example), the money is for a new notebook or for college, and then save, until you have enough money to buy a notebook or until you go to college.    3    .

Do not carry much cash

Do you have the habit of not leaving a store without buying anything? The only way to stop that is carrying less money around with you. Go to the store with the minimum amount of money, which will not even help you buy a drink.    4    .

Save the changes

Save the changes that you get back. If you have gone to a shop to buy something and get back some changes, then do not spend them.    5    . And you’ll be surprised at the huge amount of money after days.

Follow these tips above, and thus you can save a lot of money. And surely, they’ll help you to be more responsible in your life.

A．Keep a record of your daily expenses

B．In a few days, you’ll get rid of this habit

C．Instead, you can save them in your piggy bank

D．By that time, you will realize the importance of saving money

E．Saving money builds your financial power and personal freedom

F．Next month, you will automatically try and save more in that part

G．Nowadays in the developed and developing countries, people are all working for the sake of earning money

5 . Hansen and his 10-year-old son Chase search the streets of Salt Lake City every weekend for the homeless to take to lunch. They started Project Empathy(共情)four years ago to ________a meal, listen to their stories and figured out how they could ________ help.

“Just start with a smile, a hello. It really just starts with that. If you do it, you can make a connection. A small gesture can have a ________ impact on others less fortunate,” Hansen ________ in an interview.

Some of these shared meals have turned into stronger ________ .Ward, a homeless, was ________ in a flat. He credited the Hansens with helping him ________the difficult process of moving off the streets. “It is great to have friends who make us feel ________ and I’m impressed with the pair,” Ward said.

Father and son’s ________have developed into a passion project that ________ faith and community, which emphasizes the ________ community members can have in uplifting the homeless. They know they can’t settle the homeless ________ alone. They’re hoping empathy will ________.

“My hope for the future is to ________ more connection across our country. We could and we will succeed ________ we have other people join in and help the homeless,” Chase said.

1.

A．buy

B．cook

C．share

D．eat

2.

A．often

B．further

C．also

D．even

3.

A．dramatic

B．different

C．minimum

D．decisive

4.

A．remarked

B．praised

C．joked

D．quoted

5.

A．desires

B．connections

C．motivations

D．opinions

6.

A．provided

B．permitted

C．abandoned

D．housed

7.

A．through

B．for

C．despite

D．to

8.

A．surprised

B．relaxed

C．awesome

D．calm

9.

A．dreams

B．influences

C．experiences

D．efforts

10.

A．assesses

B．compares

C．highlights

D．respects

11.

A．importance

B．task

C．chance

D．role

12.

A．argument

B．problem

C．debt

D．conflict

13.

A．go away

B．catch on

C．fade out

D．give off

14.

A．establish

B．miss

C．exchange

D．maintain

15.

A．before

B．if

C．until

D．so

6 . The morning had been a disaster. My tooth was aching, and I’d been in an argument with a friend. Her words still hurt, “ The trouble with you is that you won’t put yourself in my place. Can’t you see things from my point of view? ” I shook my head stubbornly-and felt the ache in my tooth. I’d thought I could hold out till my dentist came back from holiday, but the pain was really unbearable. I started calling the dentists in the phone book, but no one could see me immediately. Finally, at about lunchtime, I got lucky.

“ If you come by right now, ” the receptionist said, “ the dentist will fit you in. ”

I took my purse and keys and rushed to my car. But suddenly I began to doubt about the dentist. What kind of dentist would be so eager to treat someone at such short notice? Why wasn’t he as busy as the others?

In the dentist’s office, I sat down and looked around. I saw nothing but the bare walls and I became even more worried. The assistant noticed my nervousness and placed her warm hand over my icecold one.

When I told her my fears, she laughed and said, “ Don’t worry. The dentist is very good. ”

“ How long do I have to wait for him? ” I asked impatiently.

“ Come on, he is coming. Just lie down and relax. And enjoy the artwork, ” the assistant said.

“ The artwork? ”I was puzzled.

The chair went back. Suddenly I smiled. There was a beautiful picture, right where I could enjoy it: on the ceiling. How considerate the dentist was! At that moment, I began to understand what my friend meant by her words.

What a relief!

1. Which of the following best describes the author’s feeling that morning?

A．Upset.

B．Nervous.

C．Cheerful.

D．Satisfied.

2. What made the author begin to doubt about the dentist?

A．The laughing assistant of the dentist.

B．The surroundings of the dentist’s office.

C．The dentist’s being as busy as the other dentists.

D．The dentist’s agreeing to treat her at very short notice.

3. Why did the author suddenly smile?

A．Because the dentist came at last.	B．Because she could relax in the chair.
C．Because she saw a picture on the ceiling.	D．Because the assistant kept comforting her.

4. What did the author learn from her experience most probably?

A．Strike while the iron is hot.	B．Put oneself in other’s shoes.
C．A friend in need is a friend indeed.	D．Have a good word for one’s friend.

7 . Your kids may be unhappy about the end of summer and the beginning of another school year but you can cheer them up with something fun. Here are 4 fantastic places for them to go this fall.

Frist Art Museum

Tickets: $15 adults, free ages 18& younger

One of the most famous children's authors of all time, Eric Carle, is the creator of more than 70 picture books. In the exhibit of Eric Carle's Picture Books: Celebrating 50 Years of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, you and your kids will be offered the chance to explore Carle s personal history and interests, different subjects and artistic techniques.

Grand ole Opry House

Tickets: $24.99 (children 3 younger are free)

This fantastic musical, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is a live-action stage version of the based 1964 animated（动画的）TV special. The 70-minute stage adaptation holds true to the TV version, and it’s great excitement to watch Rudolph flying in the air over the stage. Your kids are going to be excited when the larger-than-life Abominable Snowman takes the stage!

First Tennessee Park

Tickets:23.99adults: 15.99 ages 3-16: (On Tuesday or Wednesday, 12.79ages3-12: Tickets: $ 20.79 adults or ages over 12

Nashville is getting a brand-new holiday experience at the stadium, GLOW, which will soon feature 4 million lights, the South's largest Christmas tree (at more than 100 feet tall)and other decorations related to the coming Christmas.

Bridgestone Arena

Tickets: $100

There have been other “Jurassic” live shows with life-size robotic dinosaurs, but this is the very first time that the Jurassic World movie has set free its ancient creatures in an arena（竞技场）experience. Your kids can look forward to a whole new Jurassic World.

1. What can kids get from a visit to Frist Art Museum?

A．A chance to promote one's art works.	B．A tip on having a performance in a musical.
C．A chance to explore a well-known author.	D．A copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar for free.

2. How much will a couple with a 14-year-old boy pay to enter First Tennessee Park on Wednesday?

A．47.97 dollars.

B．54.37 dollars.

C．62.37 dollars.

D．63.97 dollars.

3. Where will you probably visit if your kids like ancient animals?

A．Frist Art Museum	B．Grand Ole Opry House.
C．First Tennessee Park.	D．Bridgestone Arena.

8 . Please take a few seconds and think of your personal biggest goal. Imagine telling someone you meet today what you’re going to do. Imagine their congratulations and their high image of you. Doesn't it feel good to say it out loud? Don’t you feel one step closer already? Well, bad news: you should have kept your mouth shut, because that good feeling will make you less likely to do it.

Any time you have a goal, there is some work that needs to be done to achieve it. Ideally, you would not be satisfied until you’d actually done the work. But when you tell someone your goal and he acknowledges it, psychologists have found it's called a "social reality". The mind is kind of tricked into a feeling that it's already done. And then. because you’ve felt that satisfaction. you’re less motivated to do the actual and necessary hard work. This goes against the traditional wisdom that we should tell our friends our goals, right?

In 1982, Peter Gollwitzer, a professor of psychology, wrote a whole book about this. And in 2009, he did some new tests, which were published. It goes like this: 163 people across four separate tests—everyone wrote down their personal goal. Then half of them announced their commitment to this goal to the room, and half didn't. Then everyone was given 45 minutes of work that would directly lead them towards their goal, but they were told that they could stop at any time. Finally, those who kept their mouths shut worked the entire 45 minutes on average, and when asked afterwards, said they felt they had a long way to go to achieve their goal. But those who had announced it quit after only 33 minutes on average, and when asked afterwards, said that they felt much closer to achieving their goal.

1. What do the words "social reality" in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．Necessary hard work.	B．Completion of a goal
C．A sense of satisfaction.	D．People’s judgement.

2. What does Peter Gollwitzer try to tell us?

A．Writing down the goal is very helpful.

B．Achieving the personal goal needs more time.

C．Keeping the goal secret makes people work harder.

D．Making the goal public makes people less satisfied.

3. How did Peter Gollwitzer prove his idea about people's goal?

A．By giving figures.	B．By giving examples.
C．By making a survey.	D．By making comparison tests

4. What will probably happen if you tell your friends your goal?

A．You'll be more confident

B．You will not gain satisfaction.

C．You'll be less likely to realize it.

D．You'll be much more motivated.

9 . Baseball was always where my heart lay. However, my father did not care for baseball. Two recreational activities he enjoyed were golfing and fishing, neither of which I considered a real sport. He didn’t talk much and he wasn’t good at expressing himself. Frankly, I wasn’t entirely certain he cared about me. In a way, my father was like a familiar stranger I saw every day.

One day, watching the play on television made me want a glove of my own. To my surprise, my father said he wanted one, too. He was on the portly side, but then again, one of the famous pitchers(投球手) on the Mets was even fatter. So I thought, why not?

We bought two gloves, and that evening, he suggested we go out to the courtyard and toss(掷) the ball around. I’d already practiced catching and throwing at school, but I could tell this was the first time for my father, because every time he caught the ball, it landed directly in his palm. If you’ve ever caught a ball with a baseball glove, you know how much this hurts.

But my father caught ball after ball this way. Slap! Slap! He winced(呲牙咧嘴). After about five minutes, I told him I’d had enough. It wasn’t out of mercy, but for my own self-interest. Neighborhood kids were watching and would no doubt tease me later for having an old man who didn’t know how to properly catch a baseball do that. When my father took the glove off, his palm was red and swollen.

Dad, who passed away 11 years ago, never told me he loved me. But that sound of the baseball landing in the soft flesh of his hand, over and over again—it spoke its own tender language, though at the time, all I felt was shame.

1. Why did the father want a glove?

A．He was interested in baseball.

B．He was impressed by the play on television.

C．He wanted to show his improvement in baseball.

D．He wanted to make the author happy.

2. What does the underlined word “portly” mean in Paragraph 2?

A．Experienced.	B．Cool.
C．Famous.	D．Fat.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．The father didn’t feel hurt when catching the ball.

B．The father didn’t understand his child at all

C．The author didn’t realise his father’s love at first.

D．The author criticised his father when playing.

4. What could be the best title for the passage?

A．A Crying Shame for Baseball

B．The Sound of Love

C．A Loving Father and His Son

D．Love That Comes Late

10 . I was envious of my friends who got to stay at school for lunch. They _______ the same things as the characters in our favourite TV shows. The meals we ate at home were different. One day, a classmate asked what I ate for lunch. I _______, feeling like I'd been caught. Like most days, we'd had fried rice. "Sandwiches," I lied. My face felt hot as I turned away, _______ she wouldn't ask anything more.

Still, there was one day of the year when Mom made an _______ and we were allowed to stay at school for lunch. Every year, there was Chinese Day at the cafeteria to _______ Chinese New Year. "The school is honoring our heritage," Mom would say. The first Chinese Day lunch I can _______ was when I was about six. I had_______ this day for weeks. When the bell rang for lunch, I rushed to the cafeteria. As I stood in line, I imagined the _______ they'd have waiting for us.   

There would be _______, surely—every Chinese New Year meal included fish. I could explain to my friends what Mom had told us: how the ________ for "fish" in Chinese sounded like another word meaning abundance. There would be chicken, too, probably with the head still on, because a whole chicken for Chinese New Year ________ wholeness.

The line was slowly moving forward until ________ it was my turn. The cafeteria worker passed me my plate and I looked down. I barely________ anything. All I did was sit there, confused. They called this "Chinese" lunch, so why had I never ________it before? Those first few bites, I realized later, were my ________ to Chinese-Canadian cuisine.

1.

A．ate

B．mixed

C．kept

D．bought

2.

A．quit

B．froze

C．fell

D．changed

3.

A．figuring

B．agreeing

C．hoping

D．regretting

4.

A．excuse

B．exception

C．impression

D．appointment

5.

A．create

B．save

C．celebrate

D．guide

6.

A．remember

B．discover

C．order

D．serve

7.

A．put up with

B．looked out for

C．come up with

D．looked forward to

8.

A．programme

B．meal

C．seat

D．guest

9.

A．chicken

B．beef

C．bacon

D．fish

10.

A．price

B．search

C．need

D．word

11.

A．combined

B．represented

C．described

D．predicted

12.

A．immediately

B．usually

C．finally

D．recently

13.

A．improved

B．understood

C．observed

D．recognized

14.

A．seen

B．missed

C．used

D．read

15.

A．introduction

B．solution

C．instruction

D．application