A new study has found that it may be possible to train people to be more intelligent, increasing the brainpower they had at birth．

Until now，it has been widely assumed that the kind of mental ability that allows us to solve new problems without having any relevant previous experience—what psychologists call fluid intelligence—is innate and cannot be taught（though people can raise their grades on tests of it by practicing）．

But in the new study，researchers describe a method for improving this skill，along with experiments to prove it works．

The key, researchers found, was carefully structured training in working memory—the kind that allows memorization of a telephone number just long enough to dial it．This type of memory is closely related to fluid intelligence，so the researchers reasoned that improving it might lead to improvements in fluid intelligence．

First they measured fluid intelligence of volunteers using standard tests．Then they trained each in a complicated memory task—the child’s card game，in which they had to recall a card they saw and heard．During the course, they needed to ignore irrelevant items, monitor ongoing performance，manage two tasks at the same time and connect related items to one another in space and time．

The four groups experienced a half-hour of training daily for 8, 12, 17 and 19 days, respectively．To make sure they were not just improving their test-taking skills，the researchers compared them with control groups that took the tests without the training．

The results, published Monday in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences，were striking．Improvement in the trained groups was a lot greater．Moreover，the longer they trained, the higher their scores were．All performers，from the weakest to the strongest，showed significant improvement．

“Our results show you can increase your intelligence with proper training．” said Dr Jaeggi, a co-author of the paper．“No one knows how long the gains will last after training stops,” he added, “and the experiment’s design did not allow the researchers to determine whether more training would continue to produce further gains．”

The researchers thought the key to improving the intelligence was ______________．

       A．memorizing telephone numbers         B．improving working memory

       C．training in concentration              D．recalling a card

The following aspects of the training help increase intelligence EXCEPT___________．

       A．ignoring irrelevant items                  

       B．monitoring ongoing performance

       C．managing two tasks at the same time         

       D．using previous experience

When the experiment was conducted, the researchers______________．

       A．trained the four groups for the same period of time

       B．only made comparisons between the four groups

       C．compared the four groups with control groups

       D．trained the four groups together

By writing the article，the writer intends to ______________．

       A．inform the readers of a new study

       B．call on people to be trained to increase intelligence

       C．prove one’s born brainpower can be improved

       D．tell people the improved intelligence will last forever

Researchers who helped discover a new species of Mexican butterfly are offering to sell the naming rights to raise money to fund more research. Co-discoverer Andrew Warren is hoping to raise at least $50,000 by auctioning(拍卖) off the rights to name the 4-inch “owl eye” butterfly, which lives in Sonora, a Mexican state bordering Arizona.

“That would support at least two years of research for our team down in Mexico,” Warren said. “Money goes a long way down here in Mexico.”

According to the scientific tradition, discoverers of a new species have the say in naming it. In recent years, some discoverers have auctioned off their naming rights to raise money.

Warren said the amount being sought for the butterfly is not out of the question, noting that naming rights for a new monkey species brought in $650,000 two years ago. A group of 10 new fish species that went on the naming auction block at the same time earlier this year brought in a total of $2 million.

The butterfly discovered by Warren and researcher George Austin ranges as far north as Mexico.

The butterfly was actually in a collection, misidentified as an example of another new species, at the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity at the Florida Museum of National History in Gainesville, said Warren. They soon began the hard process of determining that it was indeed a “new” model of butterfly.

After checking photos and comparing it with other known species, they determined it was a separate species.

Where did the researchers discover the new species of butterflies?

   A. In Sonora.                        B. In Mexico state.       

   C. In a place in US.                D. Near the US-Mexico border.

Why will the researchers sell the naming rights of the butterfly?

To raise money for wildlife protection.

To raise money for more research.

To cause people’s attention to the new discovery.

To cover the cost of the research.

When the butterfly was first discovered, people thought ______.

it was a new species at once

it wasn’t a species of American butterfly

it belonged to the monarch branches

it belonged to a new species

We can infer from the passage that ______.

the new species of butterfly live both in the US and Mexico

it took the researchers a lot of efforts to determine the new species of butterfly

the researchers are not sure whether they can get the money they want from the auction

it is the first time that the new species of butterfly has been found

Let's face it-English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant (茄子) nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple(菠萝). English muffins (松饼) weren't invented in England nor French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat.

We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes (似是而非的说法),we find that quicksand(流沙) can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers "praught"? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? How can overlook and oversee be opposites, while quite a lot and quite a few are alike? How can a person be "pretty ugly"?

You will be very surprised at the unique lunacy(荒谬) of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which an alarm clock goes off by going on. Why is a "crazy man" an insult(侮辱), while to insert a comma and say "crazy, man" is a compliment (as when clapping for a Jazz performance).

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race (which, of course, isn't a race at all). That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible. And why, when I wind up my watch, I start it, but when I wind up this essay, I end it.

According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE?

A. A wise man is similar in meaning to a wise guy.

B. "An alarm clock goes on" and"An alarm clock goes off" are opposite.

C. Boxing rings are square rather than round.

D. Sweetmeats are sweet meat while sweetbreads are not sweet at all.

Which of the following pairs contains expressions that are opposite in meaning?

A. "A fat chance"and "a slim chance".

B. "To fill in a form"and "to fill out a form".

C. "Crazy man" and "crazy, man".

D. "Quite a lot" and "quite a few".

Which of the following statements about the English language is NOT true according to the passage?

A. It is a crazy language.

B. It reflects the creativity of the human race.

C. It was invented by the British people.

D. It can be quite irregular.

As any homemaker who has tried to keep order at the dinner table knows, there is far more to a family meal than food．Sociologist Michael Lewis has been studying 50 families to find out just how much more．    Lewis and his co-workers carried out their study by videotaping（录像） the families while they ate ordinary meals in their own homes．They found that parents with small families talk actively with each other and their children．But as the number of children gets larger, conversation gives way to the parents’ efforts to control the loud noise they make．That can have an important effect on the children．“In general the more question-asking the parents do, the higher the children’s IQ scores,” Lewis says．“And the more children there are, the less question-asking there is．”

The study also provides an explanation for why middle children often seem to have a harder time in life than their siblings（兄弟姐妹）．Lewis found that in families with three or four children, dinner conversation is likely to center on the oldest child, who has the most to talk about, and the youngest, who needs the most attention．“Middle children are invisible,” says Lewis．“When you see someone get up from the table and walk around during dinner, chances are it’s the middle child．” There is, however, one thing that stops all conversation and prevents anyone from having attention: “When the TV is on,” Lewis says, “dinner is a non-event．”

The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______．        

A．show the relationship between parents and children    

B．teach parents ways to keep order at the dinner table   

C．report on the findings of a study 

D．give information about family problems

Parents with large families ask fewer questions at dinner because ______．

       A．they are busy serving food to their children

       B．they are busy keeping order at the dinner table    

       C．they have to pay more attention to younger children   

       D．they are tired out having prepared food for the whole family

By saying “Middle children are invisible” in paragraph 3, Lewis means  that middle children ______．

       A．have to help their parents to serve dinner

       B．get the least attention from the family   

       C．are often kept away from the dinner table

       D．find it hard to keep up with other children

Which of the following statements would the writer agree to?       

       A．It is important to have the right food for children．   

       B．It is a good idea to have the TV on during dinner．    

       C．Parents should talk to each of their children frequently．   

       D．Elder children should help the younger ones at dinner

When the old man _______ to walk back to his house, the sun ________ itself behind the mountain.

       A. started; had already hidden              B. had started; had already hidden

       C. had started; was hiding                   D. was starting; hid