1 . For hundreds of years, scientists learned about the brain by observing people recovering from injuries. Many with an injury on the left side of the brain had problems understanding or using words. From this, doctors reasoned that the left brain must manage speech and language. They didn’t know, though, if speech and language centers were on this side in everyone. The finding of a new study may be able to tell the answer.

In the new study, researchers used fMRI (功能性磁共振成像) to watch brains in action as 39 children and 14 adults tried to understand sentences. Each fMRI scan (扫描) produced many pictures of the brain. Patches of color in each image highlighted which parts of the brain were getting the most blood. This is a sign that they were turned on and active.

To the researchers’ surprise, the left side of the brain was not the only part that was turned on in the children. Both sides became active when they tried to understand a sentence. That activity in the right brain started to fall in children who were older. By age 19, no activity showed up on the right. All speech-and-language processing now was taking place only on the left. The move from two-sided to one-sided language processing takes place gradually. It starts around the time we learn to talk.

Elissa Newport, who led the study, finds it exciting that children have speech centers on both sides of their brains. “If both sides of their brains can pitch in, this may also explain why left-brain injuries often are not as damaging in young children as in adults,” said she.

Children process language like “mental switch-hitters”. So, the next time you think your parents or older siblings (兄弟姐妹) don’t understand you, give them a break. They could be using just a smaller part of their brains.

1. How did the researchers conduct the study?

A．By drawing pictures of brains.	B．By highlighting different signs.
C．By reading examination results.	D．By studying the blood samples.

2. What did the new study find?

A．Younger children need less time to understand a sentence.

B．Children use both sides of the brain for language processing.

C．The right side of the brain is less important than the left side.

D．The right side of the brain gradually becomes inactive after birth.

3. What does the underlined part “pitch in” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Get involved.	B．Get damaged.
C．Be examined.	D．Be recognized.

2 . Feifei, an 11-year-old boy from Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, suffered from a sudden acute eye disease which has almost led to blindness. The disease was caused by excessive(过度的)eye fatigue(疲劳)during the winter vacation, during which he played computer games for continuous 10 days and nights.

Many youngsters in China nowadays are increasingly addicted to computer games and other electronic products. This is followed by a series of health problems, with the most typical case being myopia, or nearsightedness.

According to the latest research report released by the World Health Organization (WHO), the myopia     rate among Chinese teenagers ranks first in the world—70 percent of high school and college students. The rate is nearly 40 percent in primary school students, while it is only 10 percent for their peers in the United States.

There are at least 10 million people in China with severe myopia, and they are likely to get pathological(病理性的)myopia in middle age. Pathological myopia can't be treated with glasses or surgery, and it is one of the biggest factors that lead to blindness, Xu Xun, director of the ophthalmology(眼科学) department at Shanghai General Hospital, pointed out.

Experts explain that two major factors lead to the high rate of myopia among Chinese people. One is high academic pressure, and the other one is excessive use of electronic devices over a long period of time. Genetics, on the other hand, are not the main reason, as only 20 percent of Chinese people had myopia in the 1960s.

"Teenagers are now faced with severe academic pressure, which means they often study without natural light. This increases their risk of becoming nearsighted," Xu said.

Experts suggest that youngsters maintain a proper balance between study and rest so as to protect their eyesight, and parents should play an active role in the process.

1. Why does the author mention Feifei's experience in the first paragraph?

A．To advise people to protect their eyes.

B．To introduce the topic of nearsightedness.

C．To inform people of the cause of blindness.

D．To show that Feifei developed an eye disease.

2. What can be learnt from the passage?

A．Nearsightedness may cause other health problems.

B．There are more nearsighted students in the United States.

C．70 percent Chinese students in primary school are nearsighted.

D．Pathological myopia is most likely to cause blindness.

3. Which of the following can be a main reason for myopia?

A．Genetics factors.

B．Low academic pressure.

C．Overuse of electronic devices.

D．Reading in natural light.

4. What will be probably discussed in the following paragraph?

A．The significance of protecting eyesight.

B．Youngsters’ bad behavior leading to myopia.

C．The relationship between youngsters and their parents.

D．Parents’ role in helping youngsters protect their eyesight.

3 . 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.