Eating Chocolate Can Make You Smarter

     Chocolate lovers know that eating chocolate makes them happy．Now it turns out that eating chocolate may also make them smarter．

     Dr．Bryan Raudenbush recently made a study to see how eating chocolate affects people’s brains．The U．S．researcher knew that chocolate contained several stimulants(兴奋剂)．But he wasn’t sure how those stimulants actually affected chocolate eaters．

    To find out，Raudenbush had a group of volunteers eat 85grams of milk chocolate．He asked another group to eat no chocolate at all．After l 5 minutes，he tested their memory and their ability to solve problems．

    The group that ate milk chocolate had higher scores．They were able to remember more words and pictures than the group that did not eat chocolate．Raudenbush concluded(得出结论) that the stimulants in chocolate increased mental(精神的)alertness(灵敏度)．

    Of course，eating chocolate doesn’t guarantee(保证)you’ll pass every test．You’ll still need to study hard!

1．Many people like eating chocolate because it can make them      ．

A．annoyed           B．unhappy          C．pleased           D．funny

2．The American researcher knew that       ．

  A．chocolate was a kind of stimulant

  B．there were some stimulants in chocolate

  C．chocolate contained many objects in it but not stimulants

  D．many people loved to eat it because of its stimulants

3．Why did Raudenbush ask a group of volunteers to eat chocolate?

  A．Because he thought it was exciting．

  B．Because he wasn’t sure how many people eat chocolate．

   C．Because his American friend asked him to do so．

   D．Because he wanted to know how stimulants affected the eaters of chocolate．

4．The result of the test is that       ．

   A．the stimulants in chocolate increased mental alertness．

   B．the group that ate chocolate had higher scores than the group that didn't eat

   C．one group ate chocolate but another didn’t eat it．

   D．Nothing happened to the groups．

5．If you want to pass every exam，        ．

   A．you will just eat enough chocolate

   B．you will ask the expert to have a chocolate test

   C．you will still need to study hard

D．you needn’t go to school

Since the 1970s, scientists have been searching for ways to link the brain with computers. Brain­computer interface (BCI) technology could help people with disabilities send commands to machines.

Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated (展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person’s thoughts.

In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.

“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.’ Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”

The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.

Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”

He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.

41. BCI is a technology that can ________.

A. help to update computer systems            B. link the human brain with computers

C. help the disabled to recover                    D. control a person's thoughts

42. How did Tavella operate the wheelchair in the laboratory?

A. By controlling his muscles.                     B. By talking to the machine.

C. By moving his hand.                               D. By using his mind.

43. Which of the following shows the path of the signals described in Paragraph 5?

A. scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair    B. computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair

C. scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair    D. cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair

44. The team will test with real patients to ________.

A. make profits from them                         B. prove the technology useful to them

C. make them live longer                            D. learn about their physical condition

45. Which of the following would be the best title for the text?

A. Switzerland, the BCI Research Center

B. New Findings about How the Human Brain Works

C. BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled

D. Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries

Jack is the name of a game. It is quite popular with children. To play jacks, you will need a small ball and ten small metal objects (物体) called jacks.

  The rules for this game are quite easy. To begin with, put the ten jacks on the floor or ground in front of you. Toss the ball high, pick up one jack and then catch the ball. Keep the jack in your hand and go on to pick up the other jack one at a time. You lose your turn if you do not catch the ball, or if you do not pick up a jack, or if you drop (掉) any of the jacks from your hand.

  When you finish all the ten jacks, you now try to do the same thing again but with two jacks at one time. This is more difficult, of course. You lose your turn if you make any of the above three mistakes (错误) or if you do not pick up two jacks each time.

1.To play jacks is ___________.

A. difficult for boys     B. interesting for children

C. difficult for girls      D. interesting for old people

2.The word “toss” here means __________.

A. drop    B. catch   C. throw    D. pick

3.If you want to finish the first and second parts of the game, you have to pick up jacks __________.

A. ten times  B. fifteen times  C. twenty times  D. thirty times

4.The jacks are made of _________.

A. paper    B. glass     C. metal     D. water

5.After you pick up the first ten jacks, the game becomes more difficult because you must pick up _________ at a time.

A. two jacks  B. four jacks   C. three jacks   D. only one

It is common to believe that learning just takes place in school, but much of human learning happens outside the classroom, even from birth and people continue to learn throughout their lives.
Even before they enter school, young children learn to walk, to talk, and to use their hands to use toys, food, and other objects. They use all of their senses to learn about the sights, sounds, tastes, and smells in their environments. They learn how to communicate with their parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and other people important to their world. When they enter school, children learn subjects like reading, writing, and maths. They also continue to learn a lot outside the classroom. They learn which behaviors are likely to be rewarded and which are likely to be punished. They learn social skills for communicating with other children. After they finish school, people must learn to deal with many changes that affect their lives, such as getting married, raising children, and finding and keeping a job.
Because learning continues throughout our lives and affects almost everything we do, the study of learning is important in many different fields. Teachers need to understand the best ways to educate children. Scientists, social workers and other human service workers need to understand how certain experiences change people’s behaviors.
Learning is closely related (相关的) to memory, which is the storage of information in the brain (大脑). Scientists who study memory are interested in how the brain stores knowledge, where this storage takes place, and how the brain later offers knowledge when we need it. However, scientists who study learning are more interested in behavior and how behavior changes as a result of a person’s experiences. ?
【小题1】The underlined word “siblings” in Paragraph 2 probably means _________.

用括号内所给动词的适当形式填空。(本大题共10分，每小题1分)
【小题1】Bad eating habits always __________ (influence) our health greatly.
【小题2】Now many families can’t afford _________ (buy) new houses because of the high price.
【小题3】Many kind people gave the poor lady many donations, but she __________ (accept) none.
【小题4】So far, nobody except Tom __________ (offer) the police any information about the murder.
【小题5】Mr Black and his two sons __________ (grow) flowers in the garden when it began to rain.
【小题6】You’ll have less difficulty _________ (learn) English with your teacher’s help.
【小题7】The idea of Mother’s Day _______ first _______ (give) by Miss Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia.
【小题8】By the year 2000, the number of the elderly in China __________ (reach) 130 million.
【小题9】Cold viruses can also _________ (spread) by objects, such as telephones, plates and keyboards.
【小题10】I supposed Mary __________ (watch) the drama the next evening.