Brain researchers have discovered that the formation of new habits can beA．predicted.B．regulated.C．traced.D．guided.

共用题干
Learning Disabilities
Learning disabilities are very common.They affect perhaps 1 0 percent of all children.Four times as many boys as girls have learning disabilities.
Since about 1970,new research has helped brain scientists understand these problems better.Scientists now know there are many different kinds of learning disabilities and that they are caused by many different things.There is no longer any question that all learning disabilities result from differences in the way the brain is organized.
You cannot look at a child and tell if he or she has a learning disability.There is no outward sign of the disorder.So some researchers began looking at the brain itself to learn what might be wrong.
In one study,researchers examined the brain of a learning-disabled person who had died in an accident. They found two unusual things.One involved cells in the left side of the brain,which control language.These cells normally are white.In the learning disabled person,however,these cells were gray.The researchers also found that many of the nerve cells were not in a line the way they should have been.The nerve cells were mixed together.
The study was carried out under the guidance of Norman Geschwind,an early expert on learning disabilities, Doctor Geschwind proposed that learning disabilities resulted mainly from problems in the left side of the brain. He believed this side of the brain failed to develop normally.Probably,he said,nerve cells there did not connect as they should.So the brain was like an electrical device in which the wires were crossed.
Other researchers did not examine brain tissue.Instead,they measured the brain's electrical activity and made a map of the electrical signals.
Frank Dully experimented with this technique at Children's Hospital Medical Center in Boston.Doctor Dully found large differences in the brain activity of normal children and those with reading problems.The differences appeared throughout the brain.Doctor Dully said his research is evidence that disabilities involve damage to a wide area of the brain,not just the left side.

According to the passage we can conclude that further researches should be made______.
A:to help learning-disabled children to develop their intelligence
B:to study how children learn to read and write,and use numbers
C:to investigate possible influences on brain development and organization
D:to explore how the left side of the brain functions in language learning

Text 1 Habits are a funny thing.We reach for them mindlessly,setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine."Not choice,but habit rules the unreflecting herd,"William Wordsworth said in the 19th century.In the ever-changing 21st century,even the word"habit"carries a negative implication.So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation.But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits,we create parallel paths,and even entirely new brain cells,that can jump our trains of thought onto new,innovative tracks.Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit,we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits.In fact,the more new things we try—the more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become,both in the workplace and in our personal lives.But don't bother trying to kill off old habits;once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus,they're there to stay.Instead,the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads."The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,"says Dawna Markova,author of"The Open Mind"and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners."But we are taught instead to'decide,'just as our president calls himself'the Decider.'"She adds,however,that"to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one.A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities."All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware,she says.Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways:analytically,procedurally,relationally（or collaboratively）and innovatively.At the end of adolescence,however,the brain shuts down half of that capacity,preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure,meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought."This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,"explains M.J.Ryan,author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms.Markova's business partner."That's a lie that we have perpetuated,and it fosters commonness.Knowing what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence."This is where developing new habits comes in.21.The Wordsworth’s view,“habits”is claimed by being________.

A.casual
B.familiar
C.mechanical
D.changeable

Text 1 Habits are a funny thing.We reach for them mindlessly,setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine."Not choice,but habit rules the unreflecting herd,"William Wordsworth said in the 19th century.In the ever-changing 21st century,even the word"habit"carries a negative implication.So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation.But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits,we create parallel paths,and even entirely new brain cells,that can jump our trains of thought onto new,innovative tracks.Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit,we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits.In fact,the more new things we try—the more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become,both in the workplace and in our personal lives.But don't bother trying to kill off old habits;once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus,they're there to stay.Instead,the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads."The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,"says Dawna Markova,author of"The Open Mind"and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners."But we are taught instead to'decide,'just as our president calls himself'the Decider.'"She adds,however,that"to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one.A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities."All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware,she says.Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways:analytically,procedurally,relationally（or collaboratively）and innovatively.At the end of adolescence,however,the brain shuts down half of that capacity,preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure,meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought."This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,"explains M.J.Ryan,author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms.Markova's business partner."That's a lie that we have perpetuated,and it fosters commonness.Knowing what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence."This is where developing new habits comes in.22.Brain researchers have discovered that the formation of new habits can be________

A.predicted
B.regulated
C.traced
D.guided

共用题干
第三篇

Smart Exercise

Doctors are starting to find more and more information that suggests a connection
between exercise and brain development.Judy Cameron,a scientist at Oregon Health and
Science University,studies brain development.According to her research,it seems that
exercise can make blood vessels,including those in the brain,stronger and more fully
developed.Dr. Cameron claims this allows people who exercise to concentrate better. As
she says:"While we already know that exercise is good for the heart,exercise can literally
cause physical changes in the brain."
The effects of exercise on brain development can even be seen in babies.Babies who
do activities that require a lot of movement and physical activity show greater brain
development than babies who are less physically active.With babies,even a{ittle
movement can show big results. Margaret Barnes , a pediatrician（儿科医师）,believes in
the importance of exercise.She thinks that many learning disabilities that children have in
elementary school or high school can be traced back to a lack of movement as babies.
"Babies need movement that stimulates their five senses.They need to establish a
connection between motion and memory.In this way,as they get older,children will begin
to associate physical activity with higher learning,"says Margaret.
Older people can beef up their brains as well.Cornell University studied a group of
seniors ranging in age from seventy to seventy-nine. Their study showed a short-term
memory increase of up to 40 percent after exercising just three hours a week.The exercise
does not have to be very difficult,but it does have to increase the heart rate.Also,just like
the motion for infants,exercise for older people should involve some complexity.Learning
some new skills or motions helps to open up memory paths in the brain that may not have
been used for a long time.
For most people,any type of physical activity that increases the heart rate is helpful.
The main goal is to increase the brain's flow of blood.And your brain can benefit from as
little as two to three hours of exercise a week.

Research by Dr.Cameron seems to suggest that exercise can
A: generate new blood vessels.
B:change the way a person thinks.
C: promote brain development.
D: divert one's attention.

共用题干
第二篇

Exercise and Brain

Just as exercise strengthens the heart and lungs,bones and muscles,it may also power up the brain.A succession of scientific studies of animals implies that physical activity has a positive effect on mental functioning.
"It's clear that the brain benefits from exercise,"says brain scientist William Greenough of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.His studies with rats have demonstrated two primary effects of activity:Vigorous physical exercise provides the brain with more fuel,and skill-based ex-ercise increases the formation of connections in the brain, which, according to the proposals of some scientists,may make the brain better able to process information.
In one experiment,laboratory rats were separated into three groups.One group was exercised by running inside an automatic wheel,a second group improved their skills in a complicated obstacle course,and a third group was inactive.
"The animals that learned to go through the obstacle course exhibited a greater number of brain connections than the animals in the exercised or inactive groups,"Greenough said."In contrast, the animals that exercised inside the automatic wheel possessed a greater density of blood vessels in the brain than did either of the other two groups of animals."
Learning a new dance step may boost the brain in the same way that learning a language can, he says.And if the dance is a good physical exercise as well,the benefits multiply.Young brains may be especially able to boost brain power through exercise,suggested another of Greenough's experiments that showed the most significant changes in the brain occurred among rats that had been exercised when very young.And while animals aren't people,he says it is logical to make the inference that an effect found in rats may also apply to humans.
Human studies have focused primarily on older adults and suggest that regular exercise can improve the speed with which the brain processes information.Measurements made by Arthur Kramer at the University of Illinois demonstrated that inactive adults,aged 63 to 82,could hit buttons faster in response to a tone after they went through a 10-week water exercise course.A corresponding control group that didn't exercise showed no improvement.

Which statement is correct according to the passage?
A:The effect of exercises found in rats can not apply to people.
B:Changes in the brain occurred among young rats are more significant than those among adult rats.
C:Regular exercise can only improve the speed with which the older adults' brain processes information.
D:The author encourages people do more skill-based exercise instead of vigorous physical exercise.

共用题干
第二篇

Download Knowledge Directly to Your Brain

For the first time,researchers have been able to hack into the process of learning in the biain,using
induced brain patterns to create a learned behavior. It's not quite as advanced as an instant Kung-fu down-
load,and it's not as sleek as cognitive inception,but it's still an important finding that could lead to new
teaching and rehabilitation techniques.
Future therapies could decode the brain activity patterns of an athlete or a musician,and use them as a
benchmark for teaching another person a new activity,according to the researchers.
Scientists from Boston University and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto used
functional magnetic resonance imaging,or fMRI,to study the learning process.They were examining the
adult brain's aptitude for visual perceptual learning,or VPL,in which repetitive training improves a per-
son's performance on a particular task.Whether adults can do this as well as young people has been an on-
going debate in neuroscience.
Led by BU neuroscientist Takeo Watanabe,researchers used a method called decoded fMRI neurofeed-
back to stimulate the visual cortex.First they showed participants circles at different orientations.Then they
used fMRI to watch the participants'brain activity.The researchers were then able to train the participants to
recreate this visual cortex activity.
The volunteers were again placed in MRI machines and asked to visualize shapes of certain colors.The
participants were asked to"somehow regulate activity in the posterior part of the brain"to make a solid green
disc as large as they could.They were told they would get a paid bonus proportional to the size of this disc,
but they weren't told anything about what the disc meant.The researchers watched the participants'brain
activity and monitored the activation patterns in their visual cortices.
"Participants can be trained to control the overall mean activation of an entire brain region,"the study
authors write,"or the adtivation in one region relative to that in another region."
This worked even when test subjects were not aware of what they were learning,the researchers said.
"The most surprising thing in this study is that mere inductions of neural activation patterns corresponding to
a specific visual feature led to visual performance improvement on the visual feature,without presenting the fea-
ture or subjects' awareness of what was to be learned,"Watanabe said in a statement.
Watanabe and colleagues said this method can be a powerful tool.
"It can'incept' a person to acquire new learning, skills,or memory,or possibly to restore skills or
knowledge that has been damaged through accident,disease,or aging,without a person's awareness of what
is learned or memorized,"they write.

The finding of the study is most significant in that learning_________.
A:is full of fun
B:is visualized
C:happens unconsciously
D:becomes unnecessary

American travelers abroad have discovered that they can buy more foreign____with their dollar.

A.currented
B.currently
C.currency
D.current

共用题干
Kicking the Habit

What is a bad habit?The most common definition is that it is something that we do regularly,almost
without thinking about it,and which has some sort of negative consequence.This consequence could affect
those around us,or it could affect us personally.Those who deny having bad habits are probably lying. Bad
habits are part of what makes us human.
Many early habits,like sucking our thumb,are broken when we are very young.We are either told to
stop doing it by our parents,or we consciously or subconsciously observe that others do not have the same
habit,and we gradually grow out of it.It is when we intentionally or unintentionally pick up new habits in
our later childhood or early adulthood that it becomes a problem.Unless we can break that habit early on,it
becomes a part of our life,and becomes"programmed"into our brain.
A recent study of human memory suggests that no matter how hard we try to change our habits,it is the
old ways that tend to win,especially in situations where we are rushed,stressed or overworked.Habits that
we thought we had got rid of can suddenly come back.During the study programme,the researchers showed
a group of volunteers several pictures,and gave them words to associate with them.They then showed the
volunteers the same pictures again,and gave them new words to associate with them.
A few days later,the volunteers were given a test.The researchers showed them the pictures,and told
them to respond with one of the words they had been given for each one.It came as no surprise that their an-
swers were split between the first set of words and the second.Two weeks later,they were given the same test

again.This time,most of them only gave the first set of. words.They appeared to have completely forgotten
the second set.
The study confirms that the responses we learn first are those that remain strongest over time.We may
try to change our ways,hut after a while,the response that comes to mind first is usually the first one we
learned.The more that response is used,the more automatic it becomes and the harder it becomes to respond
in any other way.
The study therefore suggests that over time,our had habits also become automatic,learned behavior.
This is not good news for people who picked up bad habits early in life and now want to change or break
them.Even when we try to put new,good intentions into practice,those previously learned habits remain
stronger in more automatic,unconscious forms of memory.

We can only break bad habits if others tell us to do so.
A:Right
B:Wrong
C:Not nientioned

共用题干
Kicking the Habit

What is a bad habit?The most common definition is that it is something that we do regularly,almost
without thinking about it,and which has some sort of negative consequence.This consequence could affect
those around us,or it could affect us personally.Those who deny having bad habits are probably lying. Bad
habits are part of what makes us human.
Many early habits,like sucking our thumb,are broken when we are very young.We are either told to
stop doing it by our parents,or we consciously or subconsciously observe that others do not have the same
habit,and we gradually grow out of it.It is when we intentionally or unintentionally pick up new habits in
our later childhood or early adulthood that it becomes a problem.Unless we can break that habit early on,it
becomes a part of our life,and becomes"programmed"into our brain.
A recent study of human memory suggests that no matter how hard we try to change our habits,it is the
old ways that tend to win,especially in situations where we are rushed,stressed or overworked.Habits that
we thought we had got rid of can suddenly come back.During the study programme,the researchers showed
a group of volunteers several pictures,and gave them words to associate with them.They then showed the
volunteers the same pictures again,and gave them new words to associate with them.
A few days later,the volunteers were given a test.The researchers showed them the pictures,and told
them to respond with one of the words they had been given for each one.It came as no surprise that their an-
swers were split between the first set of words and the second.Two weeks later,they were given the same test

again.This time,most of them only gave the first set of. words.They appeared to have completely forgotten
the second set.
The study confirms that the responses we learn first are those that remain strongest over time.We may
try to change our ways,hut after a while,the response that comes to mind first is usually the first one we
learned.The more that response is used,the more automatic it becomes and the harder it becomes to respond
in any other way.
The study therefore suggests that over time,our had habits also become automatic,learned behavior.
This is not good news for people who picked up bad habits early in life and now want to change or break
them.Even when we try to put new,good intentions into practice,those previously learned habits remain
stronger in more automatic,unconscious forms of memory.

Researchers were surprised by the answers that the volunteers gave in the first test.
A:Right
B:Wrong
C:Not mentioned

Text 1 Habits are a funny thing.We reach for them mindlessly,setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine."Not choice,but habit rules the unreflecting herd,"William Wordsworth said in the 19th century.In the ever-changing 21st century,even the word"habit"carries a negative implication.So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation.But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits,we create parallel paths,and even entirely new brain cells,that can jump our trains of thought onto new,innovative tracks.Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit,we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits.In fact,the more new things we try—the more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become,both in the workplace and in our personal lives.But don't bother trying to kill off old habits;once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus,they're there to stay.Instead,the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads."The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,"says Dawna Markova,author of"The Open Mind"and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners."But we are taught instead to'decide,'just as our president calls himself'the Decider.'"She adds,however,that"to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one.A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities."All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware,she says.Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways:analytically,procedurally,relationally（or collaboratively）and innovatively.At the end of adolescence,however,the brain shuts down half of that capacity,preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure,meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought."This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,"explains M.J.Ryan,author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms.Markova's business partner."That's a lie that we have perpetuated,and it fosters commonness.Knowing what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence."This is where developing new habits comes in.23.The word"ruts"（Line 1,Paragraph 4）is closest meaning to________

A.tracks
B.series
C.characteristics
D.connections

Text 1 Habits are a funny thing.We reach for them mindlessly,setting our brains on auto-pilot and relaxing into the unconscious comfort of familiar routine."Not choice,but habit rules the unreflecting herd,"William Wordsworth said in the 19th century.In the ever-changing 21st century,even the word"habit"carries a negative implication.So it seems paradoxical to talk about habits in the same context as creativity and innovation.But brain researchers have discovered that when we consciously develop new habits,we create parallel paths,and even entirely new brain cells,that can jump our trains of thought onto new,innovative tracks.Rather than dismissing ourselves as unchangeable creatures of habit,we can instead direct our own change by consciously developing new habits.In fact,the more new things we try—the more we step outside our comfort zone—the more inherently creative we become,both in the workplace and in our personal lives.But don't bother trying to kill off old habits;once those ruts of procedure are worn into the hippocampus,they're there to stay.Instead,the new habits we deliberately ingrain into ourselves create parallel pathways that can bypass those old roads."The first thing needed for innovation is a fascination with wonder,"says Dawna Markova,author of"The Open Mind"and an executive change consultant for Professional Thinking Partners."But we are taught instead to'decide,'just as our president calls himself'the Decider.'"She adds,however,that"to decide is to kill off all possibilities but one.A good innovational thinker is always exploring the many other possibilities."All of us work through problems in ways of which we're unaware,she says.Researchers in the late 1960s discovered that humans are born with the capacity to approach challenges in four primary ways:analytically,procedurally,relationally（or collaboratively）and innovatively.At the end of adolescence,however,the brain shuts down half of that capacity,preserving only those modes of thought that have seemed most valuable during the first decade or so of life.The current emphasis on standardized testing highlights analysis and procedure,meaning that few of us inherently use our innovative and collaborative modes of thought."This breaks the major rule in the American belief system—that anyone can do anything,"explains M.J.Ryan,author of the 2006 book This Year I Will...and Ms.Markova's business partner."That's a lie that we have perpetuated,and it fosters commonness.Knowing what you're good at and doing even more of it creates excellence."This is where developing new habits comes in.25.Ryan's comments suggest that the practice of standardized testing________

A.prevents new habits form being formed
B.no longer emphasizes commonness
C.maintains the inherent American thinking model
D.complies with the American belief system

共用题干
第二篇

Exercise and Brain

Just as exercise strengthens the heart and lungs,bones and muscles,it may also power up the brain.A succession of scientific studies of animals implies that physical activity has a positive effect on mental functioning.
"It's clear that the brain benefits from exercise,"says brain scientist William Greenough of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.His studies with rats have demonstrated two primary effects of activity:Vigorous physical exercise provides the brain with more fuel,and skill-based ex-ercise increases the formation of connections in the brain, which, according to the proposals of some scientists,may make the brain better able to process information.
In one experiment,laboratory rats were separated into three groups.One group was exercised by running inside an automatic wheel,a second group improved their skills in a complicated obstacle course,and a third group was inactive.
"The animals that learned to go through the obstacle course exhibited a greater number of brain connections than the animals in the exercised or inactive groups,"Greenough said."In contrast, the animals that exercised inside the automatic wheel possessed a greater density of blood vessels in the brain than did either of the other two groups of animals."
Learning a new dance step may boost the brain in the same way that learning a language can, he says.And if the dance is a good physical exercise as well,the benefits multiply.Young brains may be especially able to boost brain power through exercise,suggested another of Greenough's experiments that showed the most significant changes in the brain occurred among rats that had been exercised when very young.And while animals aren't people,he says it is logical to make the inference that an effect found in rats may also apply to humans.
Human studies have focused primarily on older adults and suggest that regular exercise can improve the speed with which the brain processes information.Measurements made by Arthur Kramer at the University of Illinois demonstrated that inactive adults,aged 63 to 82,could hit buttons faster in response to a tone after they went through a 10-week water exercise course.A corresponding control group that didn't exercise showed no improvement.

Vigorous physical exercise can________.
A:provide the brain with more fuel
B:increase the formation of connections in the brain
C:make the brain better able to process information
D:do nothing good to our brain

共用题干
第二篇

Exercise and Brain

Just as exercise strengthens the heart and lungs,bones and muscles,it may also power up the brain.A succession of scientific studies of animals implies that physical activity has a positive effect on mental functioning.
"It's clear that the brain benefits from exercise,"says brain scientist William Greenough of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.His studies with rats have demonstrated two primary effects of activity:Vigorous physical exercise provides the brain with more fuel,and skill-based ex-ercise increases the formation of connections in the brain, which, according to the proposals of some scientists,may make the brain better able to process information.
In one experiment,laboratory rats were separated into three groups.One group was exercised by running inside an automatic wheel,a second group improved their skills in a complicated obstacle course,and a third group was inactive.
"The animals that learned to go through the obstacle course exhibited a greater number of brain connections than the animals in the exercised or inactive groups,"Greenough said."In contrast, the animals that exercised inside the automatic wheel possessed a greater density of blood vessels in the brain than did either of the other two groups of animals."
Learning a new dance step may boost the brain in the same way that learning a language can, he says.And if the dance is a good physical exercise as well,the benefits multiply.Young brains may be especially able to boost brain power through exercise,suggested another of Greenough's experiments that showed the most significant changes in the brain occurred among rats that had been exercised when very young.And while animals aren't people,he says it is logical to make the inference that an effect found in rats may also apply to humans.
Human studies have focused primarily on older adults and suggest that regular exercise can improve the speed with which the brain processes information.Measurements made by Arthur Kramer at the University of Illinois demonstrated that inactive adults,aged 63 to 82,could hit buttons faster in response to a tone after they went through a 10-week water exercise course.A corresponding control group that didn't exercise showed no improvement.

According to passage,what can not boost the brain?
A:A new dance step.
B:A dance which is a good physical exercise as well.
C:Running on an automatic wheel.
D:Being inactive inside.

共用题干
第三篇

Smart Exercise

Doctors are starting to find more and more information that suggests a connection
between exercise and brain development.Judy Cameron,a scientist at Oregon Health and
Science University,studies brain development.According to her research,it seems that
exercise can make blood vessels,including those in the brain,stronger and more fully
developed.Dr. Cameron claims this allows people who exercise to concentrate better. As
she says:"While we already know that exercise is good for the heart,exercise can literally
cause physical changes in the brain."
The effects of exercise on brain development can even be seen in babies.Babies who
do activities that require a lot of movement and physical activity show greater brain
development than babies who are less physically active.With babies,even a{ittle
movement can show big results. Margaret Barnes , a pediatrician（儿科医师）,believes in
the importance of exercise.She thinks that many learning disabilities that children have in
elementary school or high school can be traced back to a lack of movement as babies.
"Babies need movement that stimulates their five senses.They need to establish a
connection between motion and memory.In this way,as they get older,children will begin
to associate physical activity with higher learning,"says Margaret.
Older people can beef up their brains as well.Cornell University studied a group of
seniors ranging in age from seventy to seventy-nine. Their study showed a short-term
memory increase of up to 40 percent after exercising just three hours a week.The exercise
does not have to be very difficult,but it does have to increase the heart rate.Also,just like
the motion for infants,exercise for older people should involve some complexity.Learning
some new skills or motions helps to open up memory paths in the brain that may not have
been used for a long time.
For most people,any type of physical activity that increases the heart rate is helpful.
The main goal is to increase the brain's flow of blood.And your brain can benefit from as
little as two to three hours of exercise a week.

The title of the passage implies that
A:only smart people do exercise.
B: exercise can be smart or stupid.
C:exercise keeps the brain strong.
D:it is fashionable to do exercise.

共用题干
第二篇

Download Knowledge Directly to Your Brain

For the first time,researchers have been able to hack into the process of learning in the biain,using
induced brain patterns to create a learned behavior. It's not quite as advanced as an instant Kung-fu down-
load,and it's not as sleek as cognitive inception,but it's still an important finding that could lead to new
teaching and rehabilitation techniques.
Future therapies could decode the brain activity patterns of an athlete or a musician,and use them as a
benchmark for teaching another person a new activity,according to the researchers.
Scientists from Boston University and ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories in Kyoto used
functional magnetic resonance imaging,or fMRI,to study the learning process.They were examining the
adult brain's aptitude for visual perceptual learning,or VPL,in which repetitive training improves a per-
son's performance on a particular task.Whether adults can do this as well as young people has been an on-
going debate in neuroscience.
Led by BU neuroscientist Takeo Watanabe,researchers used a method called decoded fMRI neurofeed-
back to stimulate the visual cortex.First they showed participants circles at different orientations.Then they
used fMRI to watch the participants'brain activity.The researchers were then able to train the participants to
recreate this visual cortex activity.
The volunteers were again placed in MRI machines and asked to visualize shapes of certain colors.The
participants were asked to"somehow regulate activity in the posterior part of the brain"to make a solid green
disc as large as they could.They were told they would get a paid bonus proportional to the size of this disc,
but they weren't told anything about what the disc meant.The researchers watched the participants'brain
activity and monitored the activation patterns in their visual cortices.
"Participants can be trained to control the overall mean activation of an entire brain region,"the study
authors write,"or the adtivation in one region relative to that in another region."
This worked even when test subjects were not aware of what they were learning,the researchers said.
"The most surprising thing in this study is that mere inductions of neural activation patterns corresponding to
a specific visual feature led to visual performance improvement on the visual feature,without presenting the fea-
ture or subjects' awareness of what was to be learned,"Watanabe said in a statement.
Watanabe and colleagues said this method can be a powerful tool.
"It can'incept' a person to acquire new learning, skills,or memory,or possibly to restore skills or
knowledge that has been damaged through accident,disease,or aging,without a person's awareness of what
is learned or memorized,"they write.

What have researchers been able to do with the help of the study?
A:Discover a person's learning process in the brain.
B:Make a person know how to do something without learning.
C:Set up different learning patterns for different people.
D:Enable people to learn Kung fu instantly.

共用题干
Kicking the Habit

What is a bad habit?The most common definition is that it is something that we do regularly,almost
without thinking about it,and which has some sort of negative consequence.This consequence could affect
those around us,or it could affect us personally.Those who deny having bad habits are probably lying. Bad
habits are part of what makes us human.
Many early habits,like sucking our thumb,are broken when we are very young.We are either told to
stop doing it by our parents,or we consciously or subconsciously observe that others do not have the same
habit,and we gradually grow out of it.It is when we intentionally or unintentionally pick up new habits in
our later childhood or early adulthood that it becomes a problem.Unless we can break that habit early on,it
becomes a part of our life,and becomes"programmed"into our brain.
A recent study of human memory suggests that no matter how hard we try to change our habits,it is the
old ways that tend to win,especially in situations where we are rushed,stressed or overworked.Habits that
we thought we had got rid of can suddenly come back.During the study programme,the researchers showed
a group of volunteers several pictures,and gave them words to associate with them.They then showed the
volunteers the same pictures again,and gave them new words to associate with them.
A few days later,the volunteers were given a test.The researchers showed them the pictures,and told
them to respond with one of the words they had been given for each one.It came as no surprise that their an-
swers were split between the first set of words and the second.Two weeks later,they were given the same test

again.This time,most of them only gave the first set of. words.They appeared to have completely forgotten
the second set.
The study confirms that the responses we learn first are those that remain strongest over time.We may
try to change our ways,hut after a while,the response that comes to mind first is usually the first one we
learned.The more that response is used,the more automatic it becomes and the harder it becomes to respond
in any other way.
The study therefore suggests that over time,our had habits also become automatic,learned behavior.
This is not good news for people who picked up bad habits early in life and now want to change or break
them.Even when we try to put new,good intentions into practice,those previously learned habits remain
stronger in more automatic,unconscious forms of memory.

The study suggests that it is more difficult to respond to what we learn first?
A:Right
B:Wrong
C:Not mentioned

共用题干
Kicking the Habit

What is a bad habit?The most common definition is that it is something that we do regularly,almost
without thinking about it,and which has some sort of negative consequence.This consequence could affect
those around us,or it could affect us personally.Those who deny having bad habits are probably lying. Bad
habits are part of what makes us human.
Many early habits,like sucking our thumb,are broken when we are very young.We are either told to
stop doing it by our parents,or we consciously or subconsciously observe that others do not have the same
habit,and we gradually grow out of it.It is when we intentionally or unintentionally pick up new habits in
our later childhood or early adulthood that it becomes a problem.Unless we can break that habit early on,it
becomes a part of our life,and becomes"programmed"into our brain.
A recent study of human memory suggests that no matter how hard we try to change our habits,it is the
old ways that tend to win,especially in situations where we are rushed,stressed or overworked.Habits that
we thought we had got rid of can suddenly come back.During the study programme,the researchers showed
a group of volunteers several pictures,and gave them words to associate with them.They then showed the
volunteers the same pictures again,and gave them new words to associate with them.
A few days later,the volunteers were given a test.The researchers showed them the pictures,and told
them to respond with one of the words they had been given for each one.It came as no surprise that their an-
swers were split between the first set of words and the second.Two weeks later,they were given the same test

again.This time,most of them only gave the first set of. words.They appeared to have completely forgotten
the second set.
The study confirms that the responses we learn first are those that remain strongest over time.We may
try to change our ways,hut after a while,the response that comes to mind first is usually the first one we
learned.The more that response is used,the more automatic it becomes and the harder it becomes to respond
in any other way.
The study therefore suggests that over time,our had habits also become automatic,learned behavior.
This is not good news for people who picked up bad habits early in life and now want to change or break
them.Even when we try to put new,good intentions into practice,those previously learned habits remain
stronger in more automatic,unconscious forms of memory.

Boys usually develop bad habits when they are very young.
A:Right
B:Wrong
C:Not mentioned