If English means endless new words, difficult grammar and sometimes strange pronunciation, you are wrong. Haven’t you noticed that you have become a master since you stated to learn a language?

   According to a new study by a British university, learning a second language can lead to an increase in your brain power. Researchers found that learning other languages changes grey matter. This is the area of the brain which processes information. It is similar to the way that exercise builds muscles.

  The study also found the effect is greater, the younger people learn a second language.

  A team led by Dr Andrea Mechelli, from University College London, took a group of Britons (土著的英国人)who only spoke English. They were compared with a group of "early bilinguals" who had learnt a second language before the age of five, as well as a number of later learners.

Scans showed that grey matter density (密度) in the brain was greater in bilinguals than in people without a second language. But the longer a person waited before mastering a new language, the smaller the difference is.

  "Our findings suggest that the structure of the brain is changed by the experience of learning a second language," said the scientists.

  It means that the change itself increases the ability to learn.

  Professor Dylan Vaughan Jones of the University of Wales, has researched the link between bilingualism and maths skills. "Having two languages gives you two windows on the world and makes the brain more flexible,"he said. "You are actually going beyond language and have a better understanding of different ideas."

  The findings were matched in a study of native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between the ages of two and 34. Reading, writing, and comprehension were all tested. The results showed that the younger they started to learn, the better. "Studying a language means you get an entrance to another world," explained the scientists.

1. The main subject talked about in this passage is ______.

  A. science on learning a second language

  B. man’s ability of learning a second language

  C. 1anguage can help brain power 

  D. 1anguage learning and maths study

2. The underlined word “bilingual'’ probably means ______.

  A. a researcher on language learning

  B. a second language learner

  C. a person who can speak two languages

   D. an active language learner

 3. In the second paragraph, the writer mentions “exercise” in order to ______.

  A. say language is also a kind of physical labor

  B. prove that one needs more practice when he (she) is learning a language

  C. show the importance of using the language when you learn the language

  D. make people believe language learning helps grey matter work well

4. We may know from the scientific findings that _________.

  A. the earlier you start to learn a second language the higher the gray matter density is      

  B. there is difference between a later second language learner and one who doesn’t know a second language

  C. the experience of learning a second language has had an effect on people’s

  D. the ability of learning a second language is changing all the time

5. In the last two paragraphs, the author wants to tell us that__________.

  A. learning a second language is the same as studying maths

  B. early learning of a second language helps you a great deal in studying other subjects

  C. Italian is the best choice for you as a second language

  D. you’d better choose the ages between 2 and 34 to learn a second language

I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my profession stand in the way of being a good parent.

   I no longer consider myself the center of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows (誓约) mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends, and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today.

So here's what I wanted to tell you today: get a life. A real life, not a desire of the next promotion , the bigger paycheck, the larger house.

Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is. Pick up the phone. Send an e­mail. Write a letter. And realize that life is the best thing and that you have no business taking it for granted.

It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours，and our minutes. It is so easy to exist instead of to live. I learned to live many years ago. Something really, really bad happened to me，something that changed my life. If I had my choice, it would never have been changed at all. And what I learned from it is what, today, seems to be the hardest lesson of all.

I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned to look at all the good in the world and tried to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and totally. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.

By telling them this: Read in the backyard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a deadly illness, because if you do, you will live with joy and passion(激动) as it ought to be lived.

6. The best title of this passage probably is______.

  A. Love your friends                B. Live a real life

  C. Don’t waste time                 D. Be a good mother and wife

7. How did the author form her view of life?

A. Through social experience.     

B. By learning from her friends.

C. Through an unfortunate experience.     

D. From her children and husband.

8.By the underlined sentence “It is so easy to exist instead of to live.” in the fifth paragraph, the author really means that people tend to________.

A. make a living rather than live a real life  

B. work rather than enjoy life

C. waste a lot in life                    

D. forget the most important lesson in life

9.What’s the author’s attitude toward work?

A. Do it well to serve others.                

B. Earn enough money to make life better.

C. Try your best to get higher position and pay. 

D. Don’t let it affect your real life.

10.It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A. the author is a success in personal life

B. the author doesn’t try her best to work well

C. the author spends all her time caring for her children

D. the author likes traveling very much

Relax During a Job Interview

Few people actually like job interviewing. It’s nerve-wracking trying to show your “best” self to a perfect stranger.  ____11   That’s not easy, but there are some ways to pull yourself together and feel more confident.

Prepare solid talking points. It’s always best to over-prepare for possible questions by not only researching the company and the person interviewing you, but also by preparing answers and practicing those responses. Review the skills and experiences requested in the job announcement and have two to three examples how you have demonstrated each one.  12

Remember: It’s a two-way street. This is conversation, not an interrogation（审问）  13  Remembering that this is a back and forth discussion, where you can and should ask questions as well as answer them, can help you feel more comfortable.

Just breathe.   14   Your body will relax lot. You want to avoid upper chest breathing, as it tends to just move you, stress upward to your face.

____15  if you go into an interview picking apart your outfit or imperfect responses, you're only hurting your chances of coming off as calm and collected. Turn off your negative self-talk and then create a different self-talk message, like, “I am here to share the best of my ability and that is all I can really do.”

Work it out. Putting in some gym time the morning of your interview can help you get rid of any nervous tension. Exercise helps calm your nervous system and tends to reduce the intensity of physical manifestations（表现形式）of stress such as restlessness.

A. Before you walk into your interview, take a few deep breaths

B. This will strengthen your answers and allow you to show how your experience is relevant to the job or organization for which you’re interviewing

C. When faced with an interviewer, you may be nervous

D. Don’t forget that you’re not the only one being interviewed – you’re also interviewing the organization

E. Put your idea into practice

F. Stop the negative thoughts

G. You’re trying to prove you’re the one for the job and that you can handle stressful situations

   Once there lived a rich man  31  wanted to do something for the people of his town.  32 first he wanted to find out whether they deserved his help.

    In the centre of the main road into the town, he placed   33   very large stone. Then he   34  (hide ) behind a tree and waited. Soon an old man came along with his cow.

    “Who put this stone in the centre of the road?” said the old man, but he did not try to remove the stone. Instead, with some difficulty he passed around the stone and continued on his way.   35   man came along and did the same thing; then another came ,and another. All of them complained about the stone but not tried to remove  36  . Late in the afternoon a young man came along. He saw the stone,   37  (say) to himself: “The night   38  (be) very dark. Some neighbors will come along later in the dark and will fall against the stone.”                

   Then he began to move the stone. He pushed and pulled with all his   39   (strong) to move it. How great was his surprise at last!   40   the stone, he found a bag of money.

  Your friends might be in Australia or maybe just down the road, but they are all just a few clicks away. Life has  __16__for millions of teenagers across the world who now make friends online.  17 you use chat rooms, QQ, MSN or ICQ, you are  18  of a virtual community(虚拟社区).

   "I rarely talk with my parents or grandparents,   19  I talk a lot with my old friends on QQ," said Fox's Shadow, the online nickname(网名)used by a Senior 2 girl in China. "Eighty per cent of my classmates use QQ  20  school."

     QQ is the biggest messaging   21  in China. A record 4 million people used it on Saturday nights in October,  22  to Tencent, the company which developed QQ.

     And Fox's Shadow might well have been one of them. "I log in (登陆) on Friday nights, and Saturdays or Sundays when I feel   23  . I usually    24  about 10 hours chatting online every week," she said. "But I rarely talk with   25   , especially boys or men."

     Even though she likes chatting, she is careful about making 26  with strangers online. "You don't know   27  you're talking to. You should   28  be careful about who you trust online."

     Many people would like to meet offline when they feel they have got to   29  someone  very well. Fox's Shadow once met one of her online friends face to face. It was a girl who was a comic fan like   30  and they went to a comic show together.

 16. A. improved                     B. become                       C. changed                      D. increased

17. A. Whether                              B. If                           C. When                   D. Unless

18. A. member                               B. part                              C. partner                        D. number

19. A. but                                 B. while                      C. when                     D. still

20. A. before                           B. at                          C. after                     D. since

21. A. service                          B. product                        C. structure                      D. organization

22. A. granting                               B. depending            C. considering                 D. according

23. A. sleepy                           B. tired                             C. bored                   D. busy

24. A. take                                     B. cost                              C. pay                              D. spend

25. A. friends                          B. adults                    C. males                    D. strangers

26. A. relation                          B. touch                     C. contact                        D. friends

27. A. who                                      B. what                      C. whose                  D. which

28. A. often                                     B. usually                  C. sometimes            D. always

29. A. know                             B. recognize              C. tell                         D. judge

30. A. herself                           B. him                        C. anybody else               D. everyone