1 . Easy Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp

Everyone is forgetful, but as we age, we start to feel like our brains are slowing down a bit- -and that can be a very annoying thing.     1    Read on for some techniques worth trying.

1.     2    

People who regularly made plans and looked forward to upcoming events had a 50 percent reduced chance of Alzheimer’s disease (早老性痴呆症)，according to a recent study.     3    Something as simple as setting a goal to have a weekly coffee date with a friend will do. There’s evidence that people who have a purpose in life or who are working on long or short-term goals appear to do better. In other words, keep your brain looking forward.

2. Go for a walk.

Mildly raised glucose (葡萄糖) levels can harm the area of the brain that helps you form memories and physical activity can help get blood glucose down to normal levels. In fact, exercise produces chemicals that are good for your brain.     4    

3. Learn something new.

Take a Spanish class online, join a drawing club, or learn to play cards. A study found that mental stimulation (刺激) limits the weakening effects of aging on memory and the mind. But the best thing for your brain is when you learn something new and are physically active at the same time.     5    Or go dancing with your friends.

A．Focus on the future.

B．This can be especially harmful to the aged.

C．It should be something like learning gardening.

D．So take a few minutes each day to do some reading.

E．But don’t worry if your schedule isn’t filled with life changing events.

F．Luckily, research shows there is a lot you can do to avoid those moments

G．In other words, when you take care of your body, you take care of your brain.

2 . You have a backache; your legs are painful after a basketball match—what better than a relaxing massage (按摩)?

Scientists now say they have figured out the reason why a massage brings comfort. They say a massage changes how some of your proteins (蛋白质) act.This makes your muscles less inflamed (发炎的), according to the Los Angeles Times.

The leader of the study, Professor Mark Tarnopolsky at McMaster University, Canada, chose several healthy young men for the experiment.He asked them to do very tiring exercise. Then he looked at how the cells changed in their legs.After this, the men were given a massage on only one leg and Tarnopolsky recorded any cell changes again.

Tarnopolsky and his team found that massaging made the inflammation caused by exercise get better because it weakened the activity of a protein called NF­kB.

Scientists also noticed that massaging helped cells recover from exercise damage.When muscles were being massaged, the amount of another protein called PGC­lalpha increased. This kind of protein can stimulate (促进) the growth of a tiny part inside cells called mitochondria (线粒体)．

People used to think that massaging eases pain by clearing away the lactic acid (乳酸) which built up after exercise. However, Tarnopolsky and his team didn't see any changes to lactic acid.

Thomas Birk is a professor at Wayne State University, US. He said that the study was the first he had seen to analyze massage in such depth.   He said they wanted to start research 10 years ago, but technology was not yet good enough.

One day massages could be used to treat injuries and muscle disease. They may even be able to replace some anti­inflammatory medicines, said Birk. But, he said, more research is needed for masseurs (按摩师) to figure out the best massages for different diseases.

1. What is the article mainly about?

A．A new way to massage.

B．The best way to relax after doing sports.

C．New research into massages.

D．The advantages of a massage.

2. How can a massage bring comfort according to the article?

A．It weakens the activity of the protein NF­kB.

B．It helps protein recover from exercise damage.

C．It can clear away the mitochondria in muscles.

D．It can prevent inflammation in muscles.

3. What does the underlined word “eases” in Paragraph 6 probably mean?

A．makes easier	B．reduces
C．puts up with	D．stops

4. Which of the following statements is TRUE?

A．It was believed that massages cleared away lactic acid.

B．Research into massages started 10 years ago.

C．Massages are used to treat muscle diseases in hospitals.

D．Massages will reduce the amount of protein PGC­lalpha.

3 . 假如你是李华，你的朋友Molly写信向你询问如何保护视力。请你给她写一封信，并提出一些建议，内容包括：
1.用眼时间不能过长；
2.读书时眼睛与书应该保持一英尺左右的距离；
3.坚持每天做眼保健操；
注意：1.词数100左右

2.信的格式已为你写好，不计入总词数。

参考词汇：  昏暗的dim      视力eyesight
Dear Molly,
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua

4 . How to Care for Your Ears?

Ears not only let us hear, but they also play a role in maintaining our balance, which is vital to our ability to function in daily life. Yet, we ignore them. We can't even see our ears, except in a mirror. We take it for granted what they do for us day in and day out—until we notice something wrong, such as when an earache strikes or when we start having to ask people to repeat what they say.    1    

◆Clean your ear with a washcloth—covered finger only.

Never put anything inside your ear canal, including cotton swabs(药签).    2    

◆Leave earwax（耳垢）alone.

Wax is your ear's way of eliminating（消除）anything foreign that gets into the ear canal.    3    If you find you have too much earwax, use a few drops of earwax remover in the canal. After a few minutes, wash the ear with warm water.

◆Avoid noisy places.

Rock concerts and construction sites are just a few places that frequently have noise levels that can damage hearing. Any place where you have to shout to be heard should be avoided.

◆    4    

Be careful not to play MP3 too loud, especially if using earphone.

◆Be careful with illness and medications.

Respiratory（呼吸的）illnesses should be treated to avoid their spread to the ears. Certain medications can damage hearing, so follow the directions carefully before taking them.

See your doctor if you suffer from sudden hearing loss or hear noises in your head.    5    

A．Turn the volume(音量) down.

B．Avoid using earphones while listening to MP3.

C．In such case, go to see a doctor as soon as possible.

D．This article will show you how to care for your ears.

E．Most people don't need to clean wax out of their ears.

F．Your ear canal is very narrow and a swab can damage it.

G．These can be symptoms of a serious illness which needs to be treated.

5 . 语法填空

Are you a teenager     1    (absorb) in music? If so, I will give you a warning—the music you love could end up making you deaf. More     2    (specific), the way you listen to the music you love could make you deaf.

The problem is headphones. In the past, we played music out into the air.   Then earmuff­style (耳罩式) headphones     3    (invent) and we were able to play music much closer to our ears. Now we have earbuds(耳塞), which many doctors think are     4    (bad) than older headphones because they play music directly into the ears. Also, earbuds are not as good as blocking outside noise, so people     5    use them may turn the volume     6    to dangerous levels.

What's the dangerous level? Well, it     7    (depend) on how long you are going to listen to the noise. Very, very loud sounds can be dangerous to your hearing. But scary     8     (true) is that even seemingly “normal” noise can be dangerous     9    you listen to it all the time.

Think for a minute about how long you spend     10     (listen) to loud noise with headphones every day. Then do some research. There are resources online to tell you what volumes are safe, and for how long.

6 . Nail-biting(咬指甲) is one of the most common annoying habits in children.     1     But you needn’t worry too much and as soon as you realize what’s causing nail-biting, you can help your child overcome and stop it. So, here’s what you can do about it.

    2     In some cases, children won’t even realize they are biting their nails, let alone know why they are doing it. So make sure you have a conversation with your child (if he/she is old enough) and make him/her realize he/she is doing it and try to figure out why it’s happening.     3     It’s important to agree on the level of your involvement. If he/she wants help, create a secret reminder that will make him/her stop without embarrassing him/her.

Give alternatives (替代物).    4     Depending on the age of the child, there are several things that you can offer such as a small ball, Play-Doh games, or any kind of other small toys.

Use bitter solutions(溶液). Forcing a child to keep this solution on his/her fingers may feel like a punishment.     5     Everything else will only lead to embarrassment and discouragement. Furthermore, some of these solutions contain pepper which burns if it enters a child’s mouth or eyes. But if you have an adolescent child who wants to quit biting his/her nails, you may suggest and try out this solution.

A．It’s also likely to continue as the child grows up.

B．Help the child become aware of the habit.

C．You should also consider asking for professional help.

D．Make an agreement on how you’re going to stop it together.

E．The best thing children can do is communicate with their parents.

F．The child needs to go through the process painlessly and in agreement with you.

G．That will keep his/her hands occupied when he/she is likely to bite his/her nails.

7 . A study published Monday found that people who sleep less tend to be fat，and experts said it’s time to find out if more sleep will fight fatness.

“We’ve put so much emphasis on diet and exercise that we’ve failed to recognize the value of good sleep，”said Fred Turek，a physician at Northwestern University.

Monday’s study from Eastern Virgnia Medical School in Norfolk covered 1,000 people and found that total sleep time decreased as body mass index－a measure of weight based on height increased.

“Men slept an average of 27 minutes less than women and overweight and fat patients slept less than patients with normal weights，”it said.In general the fatter subjects slept about 1.8 hours a week less than those with normal weights.

“Americans experience insufficient sleep and fat bodies.Clinicians are aware of the burden of fatness on patients，”the study said.

“Our findings suggest that major extensions of sleep time may not be necessary，as an extra 20 minutes of sleep per night seems to be associated with a lower body mass index，”it added.

“We caution that this study does not set up a cause­and­effect relationship between restricted sleep and fatness，but investigations indicating success in weight loss via extensions of sleep would help greatly to set up such a relationship.”

The study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine along with an editorial by Turek and Northwestern colleague Joseph Bass commenting on it and related research.

Inan interview，Turek said some studies have shown the lack of sleep causes declines in an appetiteholding back protein hormone，and increases in another hormone that cause a longing for food.“In addition neuropathies(神经疗法)in the brain governing sleep and fatness appear to overlap(部分重叠)，”he said.

“Fatness has been rising dramatically in developed countries and reached epidemic(流行病)levels in the United States，”it added，“leading to a variety of health problems.”

A new study having been     1
2	in the past	diet and     3
	this time	sleep
A study from Eastern Virginia Medical School	People	1,000 were     4
	difference	Men slept 27ms less than women on     5
	Americans' problem	6     sleep and fat bodies
	conclusion	Weight loss set up     7     between sleep & fatness.
	Reason	Less sleep causes protein hormone to     8
	concern	developing countries	rising with       9    speed
		in the USA	quite     10

8 . Bad teeth can be painful and even be deadly. Infections of the gums (牙龈) and teeth can release bacteria into the blood system. Those bacteria can increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke and worsen the effects of other diseases. And adults are not the only ones at risk. For example, a 12­-year-­old   boy died when a tooth infection spread to his brain in 2007 in Washington. Experts said it might have been prevented had he received the dental care he needed.

Experts say good dental care starts at birth. Breast milk，they say，is the best food for the healthy development of teeth. Breast milk can help slow bacterial growth and acid production in the mouth. But dentists say a baby’s gums and early teeth should be cleaned after each feeding by using a cloth with a little warm water. Experts say if you decide to put your baby to sleep with a bottle, give only water.

When baby teeth begin to appear，you can clean them with a wet toothbrush. Dentists say it is important to find soft toothbrushes made especially for babies and to use them very gently. The use of fluoride (氟化物) to protect teeth is common in many parts of the world. For example, it is often added to drinking water supplies. The fluoride mixes with enamel (釉质)，the hard surface on teeth, to help prevent holes from forming.

But young children often swallow toothpaste when they brush their teeth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry notes that swallowing fluoridated toothpaste can cause problems. So young children should be carefully watched when they brush their teeth. And only a small amount of fluoridated toothpaste, the size of a pea, should be used.

Parents often wonder what effect finger sucking might have on their baby’s teeth. Dental experts generally agree that this is fine early in life. Most children stop sucking their fingers by the age of four. If it continues，experts advise parents to talk to their children’s dentists or doctors because it could interfere with the correct development of permanent teeth.

Dentists say children should have their first dental visit at least by the time they are one year old. They say babies should be examined when their first teeth appear—usually at around six months.

1. What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?

A．Bad teeth can be a threat to people’s health.

B．Bad teeth come along with other health problems.

C．Tooth infections can spread to brain easily.

D．Dental care should be done at an early age.

2. According to the passage, what is the function of fluoride?

A．Making the surface on teeth much cleaner.

B．Protecting gums from being infected.

C．Keeping holes on teeth from forming.

D．Slowing down bacterial growth and acid production.

3. What is the purpose of the author in writing the passage?

A．To warn us of the deadly infections of gums and teeth.

B．To introduce the advantages of fluoridated toothpaste.

C．To draw our attention to the dental care of young children.

D．To present the research results about dental care.

9 . We brush our teeth daily, but do you know everything you need to know about dental care and hygiene? Believe it or not, there is a lot more than most people realize. Luckily, here are several apps that can help you.

●Brush DJ

You should brush your teeth for full two minutes as recommended by dentists, but that time can be difficult to judge. Many recommend you listen to music, because many songs are just around two minutes in length. Brush DJ has loads of great tunes that will get you into the two­minute habit. There are both songs to listen to, and videos to watch, and you'll find a variety of awesome tunes.

●Orasphere

It's recommended that Orasphere videos be used by dentists for their patients, so they can learn about procedures. Those who do use these videos say that the software can greatly decrease the amount of time it takes to explain procedures to patients.

●American Dental Association(ADA)

Everything you ever wanted to know about your teeth, and then some, can be found on the American Dental Association(ADA) website. You'll find loads of great articles that have the latest news about dentistry（牙科）. Those interested in dental careers will find plenty of information to head them in the right direction, and there's even a section devoted to public dental programs, including Give Kids a Smile and Fluoride in Water.

●DDS GP

Here is more presentation software that explains all types of dental procedures. This is helpful for dentists to have, because they can better explain procedures to their patients.

●Dentistry IQ

You can find information for dentists, hygienists, assistants, office managers, and more at Dentistry IQ. You can also get information about new products, clinical practices, and much more. In addition, you can learn about career opportunities, the most recent practices, and a whole lot more.

1. What is the dentists' suggestion about brushing teeth?

A．Trying to brush as long as possible.

B．Listening to music while brushing.

C．Spending two minutes in brushing.

D．Brushing your teeth before breakfast.

2. Why are dentists recommended to use Orasphere videos?

A．To learn about procedures to shorten their explanation time.

B．To explain all types of dental procedures to their patients.

C．To listen to some music around two minutes in length.

D．To get plenty of information in the right direction.

3. How can the users benefit from American Dental Association(ADA)?

A．By getting free videos about oral care.

B．By getting access to various activities.

C．By getting information about new products.

D．By getting updated news about dentistry.

4. Which one would you feel interested in if you want to be a dentist?

A．Brush DJ.	B．Dentistry IQ.
C．Orasphere.	D．DDS GP.

10 . Eyesight plays a very important role in our daily life. Every waking moment, the eyes are working to see the world around us. Over forty percent of Americans worry about losing eyesight, but it's easy to include steps into our daily life to ensure healthy eyes. Here are five suggestions for a lifetime of healthy eyesight:

·Schedule yearly exams.     1     Experts advise parents to bring babies 6 to 12 months of age to the doctor for a careful check. The good news is that millions of children now can have yearly eye exams and following treatment, including eyeglasses.

·Protect against UV rays (紫外线). Long­term stay in the sun creates risk to your eyes. No matter what the season is, it’s extremely important to wear sunglasses.     2    

·    3     Two thirds of Americans spend up to seven hours a day using computers or other digital products. This frequent eye activity increases the risk for eye tiredness. Experts recommend that people practice the 20/20/20 rule: every 20 minutes, take a 20­second break and look at something 20 feet away.

·    4     As part of a healthy diet, eat more fruits and vegetables each day. Vitamins (维生素) C and E help protect eyesight and promote eye health.

·Practice safe wear and care of contact lenses (隐形眼镜). Many Americans use contact lenses to improve their eyesight. While some follow the medical advice for wearing contact lenses, many are breaking the rules and putting their eyesight at risk.     5     Otherwise, you may have problems such as red eyes, pain in the eyes, or a more serious condition.

A．Give your eyes a break.

B．Parents usually don't care about their own eyesight.

C．They can properly protect your eyes.

D．Stay in good shape by taking more vitamins.

E．Have your eyes checked as early as possible.

F．Always follow the doctor’s advice for appropriate wear.

G．Eat your greens.