Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits. In recent years, scientists have begun to show that being bilingual makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. Researchers, educators and policy makers in 20 century considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’ s academic and intellectual development.There is ample evidence that in a bilingual’ s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference isn’ t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’ s so-called executive function. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind—like remembering a sequence of directions while driving. Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolin-guals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page. The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often, “ says Albert Costa, a searcher at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving. “ In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age, and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life.

[*]W: Welcome to Friday Cinema. Would you like to purchase a movie ticket? M: Umm ... I want to know when The Ring is showing? W: There are 5 shows today. One at noon, and then 2 p. m. , 5 p. m. , 8 p. m. and 11 p. m. On the weekend, besides these 5 shows, there is an other show at midnight. M: I’ m sorry. Could you tell me the show times for today again? W: There are 5 shows today, one at noon, and then 2 p. m. , 5 p. m. , 8 p. m. and 11 p. m. M: OK. I want 6 tickets for the 11 p. m. show tonight. Are there still 6 tickets available that are seated together? W: Sorry. There are only three tickets left. How about the 8 p. m. show? There are still 10 tickets left for that one. M: But I have a friend who doesn’ t get off work till 8 p. m. , so he won’ t make the beginning of the movie. W: Well, I think it should be OK if he misses the first ten minutes. M: He works about an hour’ s drive from this movie theater, so he will never be able to make it in time. W: Would you like to see another movie then? M: No, we all want to see this one. Is there any way that we could buy tickets now for tomorrow? W: Yes, you can order tickets now for tomorrow.

What does the word“ valentines“ refer to in the passage?Although February is a very cold month in many parts of the United States, many nice things happen during February. It is the month when Americans celebrate the birthdays of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Alva Edison. Washington, for whom the capital was named, was the first president of the United States. Lincoln, who was also a president, is especially remembered for ending slavery in 1862. Thomas Edison is the most honored American inventor. He invented the electric light, the phonograph, and movies—three of the world’ s most popular items. Valentine’ s Day also comes in February. It is the day when people give valentine cards or candy to their boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands or wives. Valentines often have the shape of a red heart and a nice way to say, “I love you. “ The entire month of February has been named “Black History Month“. Cities, schools and clubs often plan programs to honor the black men and women who have contributed so much to American culture. They have served on the president’ s cabinet, on the Supreme Court, and in the United States Congress. Los Angeles, Washington and Cleveland are some of the big cities that have elected black mayors. These black Americans have come far since the days of slavery. Boyfriends. Girlfriends. People. Cards.

When is this lecture given?Welcome to physiology 100. I’m doctor Ann Roberts. I think everyone here is the sophomore since this is the nursing department’ s second year physiology course. If you are first year nursing students, please see me after class about transfering to the introductory course. OK, I’ d like to begin my first lecture by introducing two important terms: vitalism versus mechanism. How many of you’ ve heard these terms? Oh, I see someone of you has! Well, vitalism and mechanism are two completely opposed approaches to human physiology. According to the vitalist, the laws of the physics and chemistry alone cannot explain the processes of life. To the vitalist, there is a so-called “ vital force“ and this “ vital force “ is totally separated from mental energy. As you may have guessed, vitalism is a kind of philosophical approach. Mechanism, on the other hand, is the view that all life phenomena, no matter how complex, can be explained according to chemical and physical laws, since we can support mechanism through scientific experimentations. The modern scientist tends to be a mechanist, but vitalism is not totally dismissed especially in feel, such as brain physiology. There are terms, such as human consciousness, that haven’ t been defined by physical and chemical terms. I recently read an interesting article that deals with the variant question that whether the mind is separated from the brain or whether the chemical is in the physiological working of the brain. I’ d like to continue with this next time so we can speak more details. I have some copies of that article and I want you to take them home and read them for next week. Just before the final exam. During the first week of classes. During the second week of classes. After the second laboratory quiz.

Read the following text and write an essay to 1) summarize the main points of the text, 2) make clear your own viewpoints and 3) justify your stand. In your essay, make full use of the information provided in the text. If you use more than three consecutive words from the text, use quotation marks (“ “). You should write 160 -200 words on the ANSWER SHEET. No woman can be too rich or too thin. This saying often attributed to the late Duchess of Windsor embodies much of the odd spirit of our times. Being thin is deemed as such a virtue. The problem with such a view is that some people actually attempt to live by it. I myself have fantasies of slipping into narrow designer clothes. Consequently, ! have been on a diet for the better— or worse—part of my life. Being rich wouldn’ t be bad either, but that won’t happen unless an unknown relative dies suddenly in some distant land, leaving me millions of dollars. Where did we go off the track? When did eating butter become a sin, and a little bit of extra flesh unappealing, if not repellent? All religions have certain days when people refrain from eating and excessive eating is one of Christianity’ s seven deadly sins. However, until quite recently, most people had a problem getting enough to eat. In some religious groups, wealth was a symbol of probable salvation and high morals, and fatness a sign of wealth and well-being. Today the opposite is true. We have shifted to thinness as our new mark of virtue. The result is that being fat—or even only somewhat overweight—is bad because it implies a lack of moral strength. Our obsession with thinness is also fueled by health concerns. It is true that in this country we have more overweight people than ever before, and that in many cases, being overweight correlates with an increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease. These diseases, however, may have as much to do with our way of life and our high-fat diets as with excess weight. And the associated risk of cancer in the digestive system may he more of a dietary problem—too much fat and a lack of fiber—than a weight problem.

Parents now have a popular belief that schools are no longer interested in spelling. No school I have taught in has ever ignored spelling or considered it unimportant as a basic skill. There are, however, greatly different ideas about how to teach it or how much priority (优先) it must be given over general language development and writing ability. The problem is that how to encourage a child to express himself freely and confidently in writing without holding him back with the complexities of spelling. If spelling becomes the only focal point of his teacher’ s interest, clearly a bright child will be likely to “play safe“. He will be prone to write only words within his spelling range, choosing to avoid adventurous language. That’ s why teachers often encourage the early use of dictionaries and pay attention to content rather than technical ability. I was once shocked to read on the bottom of a sensitive piece of writing about a personal experience: “This work is terrible! There are far too many spelling errors and your writing is illegible(难以辨认的). “It may have been a sharp criticism of the pupil’ s technical abilities in writing, but it was also a sad reflection on the teacher who had omitted to read the essay, which included some beautiful expressions of the child’ s deep feelings. The teacher was not wrong to draw attention to the errors, but if his priorities had centred on the child’ s ideas, an expression of his disappointment with the presentation would have given the pupil more motivation(动力)to seek improvement.

Speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits. In recent years, scientists have begun to show that being bilingual makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age. Researchers, educators and policy makers in 20 century considered a second language to be an interference, cognitively speaking, that hindered a child’ s academic and intellectual development.There is ample evidence that in a bilingual’ s brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language, thus creating situations in which one system obstructs the other. But this interference isn’ t so much a handicap as a blessing in disguise. It forces the brain to resolve internal conflict, giving the mind a workout that strengthens its cognitive muscles. The collective evidence from a number of such studies suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain’ s so-called executive function. These processes include ignoring distractions to stay focused, switching attention willfully from one thing to another and holding information in mind—like remembering a sequence of directions while driving. Why does the tussle between two simultaneously active language systems improve these aspects of cognition? Researchers thought the bilingual advantage stemmed primarily from an ability for inhibition that was honed by the exercise of suppressing one language system. But that explanation increasingly appears to be inadequate, since studies have shown that bilinguals perform better than monolin-guals even at tasks that do not require inhibition, like threading a line through an ascending series of numbers scattered randomly on a page. The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals may be more basic: a heightened ability to monitor the environment. “Bilinguals have to switch languages quite often, “ says Albert Costa, a searcher at the University of Pompeu Fabra in Spain. “It requires keeping track of changes around you in the same way that we monitor our surroundings when driving. “ In a study comparing German-Italian bilinguals with Italian monolinguals on monitoring tasks, Mr. Costa and his colleagues found that the bilingual subjects not only performed better, but they also did so with less activity in parts of the brain involved in monitoring, indicating that they were more efficient at it. The bilingual experience appears to influence the brain from infancy to old age, and there is reason to believe that it may also apply to those who learn a second language later in life.

[*]Now, in the last few minutes of class, I’ d like to address a slightly different issue: the question of how children learn to talk. Learning to speak their own language is one of children ’ s greatest accomplishments, yet it is a somewhat mysterious process. Children first begin to make language-like noises when they are between two and four months old. These noises generally begin with the letters“ g“ and“ k“ and because these sounds—“goo“and“koo“—are the easiest sounds for infant mouths to make. Between four months and eight months, infants begin to babble meaningless syllables. Most common are those beginning with“p“ , “ b “ , “ d “ , “ m “ , or “ n “ sounds, followed by a vowel sound. Parents sometimes misinterpret these as actual words, such as mama or dada. Between six months and a year, babies say their first true words. Vocabulary grows slowly at first, usually only a few words a month, but once a child has learned about fifty words—generally around 18 months—the pace picks up rapidly. At first, children say single words: then they begin forming two-word combinations: “ all gone “ “ more milk “ “ see doggie. “ Children ’ s two word combinations are so similar to the world over that they read like translations of one another. Between the age of two and three, children can form complete sentences and have mastered the basis of grammar. Can you believe it? A two-and-a-half-year-old toddler is a grammatical genius and all without studying a single rule! Typically, four-year-old know some 15, 000 words and can form very sophisticated sentences. Even their mistakes are very logical: “I saw two mans “or “We went to gramma’ s house. “So, how does this all happen? Well, there are several conflicting theories about language acquisition, but unfortunately, there just isn’ t time to discuss them today, so we’ll take them up in Wednesday’ s class. In the meantime, please read Chapter Eight in your textbook. See you Wednesday.

What does the speaker say about the road between Maine and Quebec?The Old Canada Road is a long lost trail between the Canadian province of Quebec and Maine in the northeast comer of the United States. Yes, it really was lost and finding it again was a complex process that involved advanced technology: how the location of the roads was pinpointed was very interesting. And I’ll return to it as soon as I gave you a little background information. The road was begun in 1817, a few years before Maine even became a state. At the time Quebec was a major market for livestock, crops and fish. So a road to Quebec was seen by officials in Maine as necessary for trade. For about 20 years the movement of people and goods was mostly from Maine to Quebec, and then the trend reversed as thousands of Canadians immigrated to Maine to escape poor crops, the lack of jobs and the threat of disease. 1 think it was a color epidemic. Besides its negative reasons major building projects in Maine also made the state very attractive for the Canadians who needed work. I should stress though that immigration during that period went in both directions. In fact the flow of people and goods went completely unhindered. There wasn ’ t even a border post until around 1850. The people of the time saw Maine and Quebec as a single region mainly because of the strong French influence which is still evident in Maine today. Eventually the road fell into disuse as a major railway was completed. Finally people simply forgot about it and that’ s how it came to be lost. This brings me back to the original topic. It was built by the Canadians. It was built to facilitate trade. The path for the road was extremely difficult to clear. Hostilities between Canada and the United States caused construction delays.

Walking—like swimming, bicycling and running—is an aerobic exercise, 【C1】______builds the capacity for energy output and physical endurance by increasing the supply of oxygen to skin and muscles. Such exercises may be a primary factor in the 【C2】______of heart and circulatory disease. As probably the least strenuous, safest aerobic activity, walking is the 【C3】______acceptable exercise for the largest number of people. Walking【C4】______comfortable speed improves the efficiency of the cardiorespiratory system【C5】______stimulating the lungs and heart, but at a more gradual rate than most other forms of exercise. In one test, a group of men 40 to 57 years of age, 【C6】______at a fast pace for 40 minutes four days a week, showed improvement【C7】______to men the same age on a 30 minute, three-day-a-week jogging program in the same period. Their resting heart rate and body fat decreased 【C8】______. These changes suggest some of the important—even vital—benefits walking can bring about. Walking【C9】______burns calories. It takes 3, 500 calories to gain or lose one pound. Since a one-hour walk at a moderate pace will 【C10】______up 300 to 360 calories. By walking one hour every other day, you can burn up a pound and a half monthly, or 18 pounds 【C11】______—providing there is no change in your intake of food. To【C12】______weight faster, walk an hour every day and burn up 3 pounds a month, or 36 pounds a year. Whatever your age, right now is the time to give your physical well-being as much thought as you 【C13】______to pensions or insurance. Walking is a vital defense【C14】______the ravages of degenerative diseases and aging. It is nature’ s【C15】______of giving you a tuneup.

Have you ever started a diet or exercise program but didn’ t stick with it? If you are like millions of other people, you’ ve set out with the best intentions but failed to keep the momentum going. Relying on motivation and willpower doesn’ t work. Instead, there is another way! 95% of our life is dictated by the subconscious mind, the part of our brain that runs our lives on autopilot. By consciously deciding to create a new habit, you can harness the power of your unconscious to create a new neural pathway. Once a new habit is established it becomes easy to do. Here are several steps to turn any desired new activity into a habit. Once a habit is established you’ll find yourself doing effortlessly. 【K1】______ Setting big goals is exciting but starting with small boring goals is more likely to lead to success. Some examples of small changes would be to meditate for 10 minutes, replace one unhealthy snack with raw veggies, or walk 15 minutes per day. Taking small actions tricks your brain. Your subconscious likes to be in control—it doesn’t like change. A big change often sets up subconscious resistance, but you can sneak a small change by it. Use Triggers A trigger is something that leads you to automatically doing something else. Smokers, for example , are triggered to smoke after a meal. Use triggers to your advantage. If you commit to always meditating after breakfast, after a few weeks you’ll automatically think about meditating after your morning meal. Visual triggers work well, too. Lay your workout clothes on the bed in the morning will encourage you to work out when you get home from work. 【K2】______ Make sure you have everything you need to ensure your success. If you want to start a walking program, get comfortable walking shoes and a pedometer. People who wear a pedometer walk 27% more than those who don’ t! 【K3】______ The more difficult and time-consuming it is to take an action, the less likely you will do it. This is why so many people who buy gym memberships drop out. It’ s just not that convenient. Get everything you need ready ahead of time so that when it’ s time you can, as Nike says, “ Just Do It. “ 【K4】______ If you don’ t enjoy doing something, you aren’ t going to stick with it. Find ways to make your lifestyle change as enjoyable as possible. Exercise with a friend, learn to cook healthy foods that are delicious, or find a meditation program that really resonates with you. 【K5】______ When American comedian Jerry Seinfeld was an unknown, he created the habit of writing new material daily using a wall calendar and a red marker. Every day he wrote, he put a big red“ X“ through that day. He didn’ t want to see any blank days. Use this technique for one month and you’ll find your new habit will largely be formed. By using these steps to create a habit you are tricking your brain to create a new neural pathway. Once the habit is formed you can use it to serve as a gateway to bigger changes that can truly change your life. A journey of a thousand miles really does begin with a single step. [A] Don’ t Break the Chain [B]Be Prepared [C]Make It Fun [D] Maintain Realistic Expectations [E] Make It Convenient [F]Set Small Goals [G] Make a Big Change

Genetically engineered crops are safe for humans and animals to eat and have not caused increases in cancer, obesity, gastrointestinal illnesses, Sidney disease, autism or allergies, an exhaustive report from the National Academies of Science released Tuesday found. Overall, genetically engineered(GE)crops saved farmers in the United States money but didn’t appear to increase crop yields. They have lowered pest populations in some areas, especially in the Midwest but increased the number of herbicide-resistant weeds in others. There’ s also no evidence that GE crops have affected the population of monarch butterflies, the report said. To gauge whether foods made from genetically modified crops were safe for human consumption, the committee compared disease reports from the United States and Canada, where such crops have been consumed since the mid-1990s, and those in the United Kingdom and western Europe, where they are not widely eaten. No long-term pattern of increase in specific health problems after the introduction of GE foods in the 1990s in the United States and Canada was found. There was no correlation between obesity or Type II diabetes and the consumption of GE foods. Celiac disease, which makes humans intolerant of gluten, increased in both populations. Patterns in the increase in autism spectrum disorder in children were similar in both the United Kingdom and the United States, the committee reported. Overall the report concluded that there were no differences in terms of a higher risk to human health between foods made from GE crops and those made from conventionally-bred crops. Food & Water Watch, a government accountability group in Washington D. C. , said the committee ’ s ties to the biotech industry and other corporations create conflicts of interest and raise questions about the independence of its work. “Critics have long beenmarginalized, “said Wenonah Hauter, the group’ s executive director. A significant portion of American consumers are concerned about the safety or other effects of foods made with genetically modified crops, often called GMOs for genetically modified organisms. A survey released last year by the NPD Group, a market research firm, found that 57% of Americans were concerned that genetically modified foods posed a health hazard. The food industry has taken notice. In 2015, Progressive Grocer, a trade publication, reported that total U. S. sales of food and beverage products labeled“ non-GMO“ reached $ 10 billion during 2014. The National Academies report will likely not sway these consumers, said Phil Lempert, a Los Angeles-based food industry analyst. “ It’ s an emotional issue, it’ s not a science issue, “ he said.

【T1】Environmentalists and activists accused the world’ s rich nations of managing a global conference on genetically modified foods to calm public fears. Activists said a three-day Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development conference on GM foods which began on Monday in Scotland was little more than an apology for the global biotechnology industry. A handful of environmental groups such as Green Peace and Friends of the Earth were invited to the conference, as well as one scientist known for his opposition to GM foods and an outspoken consumer rights group. 【T2】But activists said that was not enough to counter dozens of representatives from biotechnology companies and scientists keen to promote research and commercialization of GM crops and foods. 【T3】“The overall weight of the conference is skewed toward scientists and industry officials who are in favor of GM foods, “ Robin Harper, a Green Party member of the new Scottish Parliament, told a news conference. Activists, holding a separate, smaller gathering about GM foods in offices of the new Scottish parliament, said US and British regulators were not listening seriously enough to fears about GM foods. 【T4】The U. S. -based Alliance for Bio-Integrity, a consumer activist group, said a 1998 lawsuit against the US Food and Drug Administration to obtain mandatory testing of all GM foods had exposed serious doubts among scientists within the FDA that GM foods were as safe as their conventional counterparts. “People are eating these foods daily. We need to face facts that there are a lot of scientists unsure about the safety of GM foods and we need to thoroughly test these products before they are approved. “Steven Druker, coordinator of the lawsuit, told the news conference. 【T5】The FDA said its scientists who questioned the safety of GM foods were doing their job as part of the agency’ s regulatory process, and that their views were taken into account in the FDA’ s final policy. Although it is confident GM foods widely used in the US are safe, the FDA is considering the labeling of GM foods after three public consultations, said James Maryanski, biotechnology coordinator at the FDA’ s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

What is the most suitable subject of the passage?

According to the text, which of the following is TRUE?

The key difference between bilinguals and monolinguals is that______.

The underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 means______.

According to the passage, which of the following is NOT the advantage of speaking two languages?