If you want to increase your vocabulary, the best way to do it might be to pick up a guitar, or learn the violin. A new study shows that learning to play a musical instrument makes the brain more able to remember words.

“Grown-ups with music training in their childhood can have better memory for words,” said Dr Agnes Chan of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who did the research. “They can remember things that you tell them better than those who did not have music training when they were young.”

It seems that one can remember spoken words because his brain has a special part. “That part of the brain is larger in musicians than in non-musicians,” Dr Chan told BBC. “If that part of the brain is larger, it may be better developed and so this explains very nicely our results.”

Dr Chan and her workmates came to their conclusion after studying students. Their research is reported in the latest edition of the journal(雜志) Nature. “We did the experiment with 60 girl college students from our university and 30 of them have at least six years training with one western musical instrument (such as the violin and the piano) before the age of 12. The other 30 had received no music training. We tested their memory by reading them some words and asking them to remember these words—a very common test for memory. We found that people who have had music training can remember about 70% more information than those who have not had any music training.”

Dr Chan thinks the process(過程) of learning is more important than the actual instrument used. She also believes if one is able to remember words through learning to play instruments, he or she could have some very real benefits. Dr Chan thinks this could be developed into a medical way for patients who are suffering from memory loss.

1. According to the writer, learning to play a musical instrument helps to ______.

A．get more knowledge

B．live more happily

C．remember more words

D．make one become a musician

2.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．Dr Chan thinks people should have music training when they grow up.

B．Dr Chan thinks the special part of the brain doesn’t need developing.

C．Dr Chan thinks people should have music training when they are young.

D．Dr Chan thinks musicians have a larger brain than non-musicians.

3.How many students took part in Dr Chan’s research?

A．30 girl students.	B．60 girl students.
C．17% of his students.	D．60 girl and boy students.

 

In a six-week study, experts found people who played online games designed to improve their cognitive(認(rèn)知的) skills didn't get any smarter.

More than 8,600 people aged 18 to 60 were asked to play online brain games designed by the researchers to improve their memory, reasoning and other skills for at least 10 minutes a day, three times a week. They were compared to more than 2,700 people who didn't play any brain games, but spent a similar amount of time surfing the Internet and answering general knowledge questions. All participants were given a sort of I.Q test before and after the experiment.

Researchers said the people who did the brain training didn't do any better on the test after six weeks than people who had simply been on the Internet. On some sections of the test, the people who surfed the Net scored higher than those playing the games.

"If you're (playing these games) because they're fun, that's absolutely fine," said Adrian Owen, the study's lead author. "But if you're expecting (these games) to improve your I.Q., our data suggests this isn't the case," he said during a press briefing on Tuesday.

One maker of brain games said the company's games have been proven to boost brain power.

"Their conclusion would be like saying, 'I cannot run a mile in under 4 minutes and therefore it is impossible to do so," Aldrich said in a statement.

"There is precious little evidence to suggest the skills used in these games transfer to the real world," said Art Kramer, who was not linked to the study and has no ties to any companies that make brain training games.

Instead of playing brain games, Kramer said people would be better off getting some exercise. He said physical activity can spark(激發(fā)) new connections between nerves and produce new brain cells. "Fitness changes the building blocks of the brain's structure," he said.

1.. It can be inferred that the online brain games mentioned in the text are_____________.

A. costly     B. unreliable      C. illegal    D. effective

2.. Which of the following statements is true about the experiment in the second paragraph?

   A. The experiment lasted for a week.

B. Age didn’t affect the result of the research.

C. Every person played online brain games three times a day.

D. People who didn’t play online brain games did better in I.Q test

3.. What can we learn from the text?

   A. Playing games which are fun can improve your I.Q.

B. There is a lot of evidence to suggest skills can transfer to the real world.

   C. Do physical activity can boost your brain power.

D. Playing online games can spark new brain cells

4.The underlined sentence suggests that ___________.

   A. The research was not linked to the study  

B. Those playing the games can score higher in the test

C. playing the games can spark new connections between nerves

D. This isn’t the case that these games can improve your I.Q. 

 

 

How many men do housework? Recently a European commission(委員會(huì)) tried to find out people’s ideas and reactions to the women’s movement. As part of their survey(調(diào)查), they asked many men and women the question, “Who does the housework?” The men answered very differently from the women!

The housework they asked people about was: preparing meals, washing dishes, cleaning the house and babysitting. 48% of British husbands said they did these things. 37% of Danish(丹麥的) men helped in the house. But only 15% of Italian men said they did the housework; many of them said they never helped at all! 

But there was an interesting point of view from the wives. According to British wives, only 38% of their husbands helped in the house. And Italian wives said that their husbands hardly ever helped. The Italian and British men did not tell the truth! The Commission found that Danish men were the most truthful husbands; their answers were the same as their wives’ answers. 

Do the men you know help in the house? Do you think the survey gives a true picture in your experience? Write and tell us what you think. 

1. The survey was carried out in _______.

A. Britain         B. Italy          C. Denmark      D. Europe

2. The subject for the survey is_______. 

A. how many boys do the housework?

B. who does the housework at home

C. how many women do the housework?

D. who are more diligent, wives or husbands

3. From the passage we can see that _______.

A. there are more husbands who did the housework than wives

B. husbands do half of the housework all the time

C. there are more wives who do the housework than husbands

D. wives do almost all the housework at home

4. More _______ husbands help in the house than _______ husbands.

A. British; Danish         B. Italian; Danish      

C. Danish; British         D. Italian; British

About a year ago, a couple with three children moved into the apartment next door to mine. I never heard any noise from the children, but the parents were always shouting at the kids.

    We often met in the hallway when we were coming or going. I always spoke, but the only answer I got was a hello from the four-year-old girl.

    One afternoon when I returned, they were just coming out of their apartment and the little girl was holding the door open for the others. I remained in the car doing unnecessary things. But when I looked up I saw the little girl was still holding the door open, waiting for me. I hurried as much as I could and thanked her.

    I was really touched by her act of kindness. That afternoon I was at the K-Mart and I bought a white Teddy bear for her. The next day, there was a knock on the door and it was the little girl and her father. She was very proud of the bear and thanked me like I had never been thanked before.

    Now when we meet in the hall, we all speak in a friendly manner. As time passes, I don’t hear that yelling as often as before.

    Last night we had about four inches of snow. I looked out at my car and wondered how I was going to keep my doctor’s appointment. I went out to remove the snow. But when I opened my front door, I found my car was there with all the snow removed. You couldn’t imagine how I felt at that moment. I thanked that family in my heart.

    Isn’t it amazing how a small kind act of a four-year-old girl can change so many things for the better? My guardian angel says that good things come from small acts.

1. Who did the writer think removed the snow on his car?

A. That family next door.    B. Someone sent by his doctor.

C. Some strangers.         D. The gate keeper.

2.Which of the following is CORRECT according to the passage?

A. The children were very naughty and often made their parents angry.

B. Life must be very hard for the parents next door as they had a large family to support.

C. The writer put off the appointment with his doctor because of the heavy snow.

D. The little girl’s kind act changed the relationship between the writer and her family.

3. The right time order of these events in the passage may be         .

① I bought a white Teddy bear for the four-year-old little girl.

② A new family moved into the building next to my door.

③ The four-year-old little girl held the door for me.

④ The father came with the little girl and thanked me.

⑤We speak to each other now in a friendly manner.

A. ②-③-①-④-⑤   B. ②-④-①-③-⑤    C. ③-②-④-⑤-①  D. ③-④-②-⑤-①

 

Some students get so nervous before a test, they do poorly even if they know the material. Sian Beilock has studied these highly anxious test-takers.
Sian Beilock: “They start worrying about the consequences. They might even start worrying about whether this exam is going to prevent them from getting into the college they want. And when we worry, it actually uses up attention and memory resources.I talk about it as your cognitive horsepower that you could otherwise be using to focus on the exam.”
Professor Beilock and another researcher, Gerardo Ramirez, have developed a possible solution. Just before an exam, highly anxious test-takers spend ten minutes writing about their worries about the test.
Sian Beilock: “what we think happens is when students put it down on paper , they think about the worst that could happen and they reappraise the situation. They might realize it’s not as had as they might think it was before and, in essence(本質(zhì)上), it prevents these thoughts from popping up when they’re actually taking a test.”
The researchers tested the idea on a group of twenty anxious college students. They gave them two short math tests. After the first one, they asked the students to either sit quietly or write about their feelings about the upcoming second test.
The researchers added to the pressure. They told the students that those who did well on the second test would get money. They also told them that their performance would affect other students as part of a team effort.
Professor Beilock says those who sat quietly scored an average of twelve percent worse on the second test. But the students who had written about their fears improved their performance by an average of five percent.
Next, the researchers used younger students in a biology class. They told them before final exams either to write about their feelings or to think about things unrelated to the test.
Prefessor Beilock says highly anxious students who did the writing got an average grade of B+, compared to a B- for those who did not.
Sian Beilock: “What we showed is that for students who are highly test-anxious, who’d done our writing intervention, all of a sudden there was no relationship between test anxiety and performance. Those students most likely to worry were performing just as well as their classmates who don’t normally get nervous in these testing situations.”
But what if students do not have a chance to write about their fears immediately before an exam or presentation? Professor Beilock says students can try it themselves at home or in the library and still improve their performance. 
【小題1】What may happen if students have the problem of test anxiety?

A．Test anxiety can improve students’ performance to some degree.

B．Students’ attention and memory resources run out when worried.

C．Students may not be admitted into their favorite college if worried

D．Test anxiety is sure to cause students to fail the test.

【小題2】Which of the following if TRUE?

A．In the first math test, students who sat quietly performed better.

B．In the second math test, students who wrote about their feelings did worse.

C．Some college students are highly anxious test-takers while others are not in the tests.

D．The result in the math test agrees with that in the biology test.

【小題3】What does the underlined phrase “popping up” mean?

A．Giving out

B．Fading away

C．Becoming clearly

D．Appearing suddenly

【小題4】what is most probably Sian Beilock?

A．A psychology professor.	B．A philosophy researcher.
C．A politics professor	D．A tutor

【小題5】What is the main idea of the passage?

A．It is a common practice for students being worried before a test.

B．Being worried before tests does harm to students’ performance.

C．Anxious students overcome test anxiety by writing down fears.

D．It is important for students to overcome test anxiety.