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Passage One If those "mad moments"--when you can’t remember what your friend has told you or where you left your keys--are becoming more frequent, mental exercises and a healthy brain diet may help. Just as bodies require more maintenance with the passing years, so do brains, which scientists now know show signs of aging as early as the 20s and 30s. "Brain aging starts at a very young age, younger than any of us had imagined and these processes continue gradually over the years," said Dr. Gary Small, the director of the Center on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles. ’Tin convinced that it is never too early to get started on a mental or brain-fitness program," he added. In his book, The Memory Bible, the 51-year-old neuroscientist (神经学家) lists what he refers to as the 10 suggestions for keeping the brain young. They include training memory, building skills, reducing stress, mental exercises, brain food and a healthy lifestyle. "Misplacing your keys a couple of times don’t mean you should start labeling your cabinets. Memory loss is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Our brains can fight back," he said. Small provides the weapons for a full-scale attack. Simple memory tests give an indication of what you are up against and tools such as "look" and "connect" are designed to make sure that important things such as names and dates are never forgotten. "So if you wanted to learn names and faces, for example, you meet Mrs. Beatty and you notice a distinguishing facial feature, maybe a high eyebrow," said Small. "You associate the first thing that comes to your mind. I think of the actor Warren Beatty, so I create a mental picture of Warren Beatty kissing her brow." Small admits it may sound a bit strange but he says it works. "Mental exercises could be anything from doing crossword puzzles and writing with your left hand if you are right handed or learning a language. It could be anything that is fun that people enjoy doing," he added. By giving the example "you meet Mrs. Beatty and you notice a distinguishing ...eyebrow", Dr. Small is trying to explain the memory tool of ______

A. healthy brain diet
B. physical exercises
C. reducing stress
D. mental exercises

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Passage Four Do you believe that severe punishment would deter potential criminals from evildoing Is death penalty (死刑) indispensable component of the criminal law Do you believe the arch criminals deserve another chance to turn over a new leaf Should capital punishment be abolished (废除的) In the USA, 85% of the population over the age of 21 approve of the death penalty. Many U.S. states still have the death penalty. Some use the electric chair, which can take up to 20 minutes to kill, while others use gas or lethal injection. The first execution was the case of Ruth Ellis who was hanged for shooting her lover in what was generally regarded as a crime of passion. The second, a man was hanged for murders which, it was later proved, had been committed by someone else. The death penalty advocates listed several points to support capital punishment. First there is the deterrence theory, which argues that potential murders would think twice before committing the act if they knew that they might die if they were caught. The armed bank robber might, likewise, go back to being unarmed. The other argument is more suspectful. The idea of retribution demands that criminals should get what they deserve: if a murderer intentionally sets out to commit a crime, he should accept the consequences. Retribution, which is just another word for revenge, is supported by the delicious doctrine of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. The arguments against the death penalty are largely humanitarian. But there are also statistical reasons for opposing it: in Britain, 1903 was the record year for executions and yet in 1904, the number of murders actually rose. There was a similar occurrence in 1946 and 1947. If the deterrence theory were correct, the rate would have fallen. The other reasons to oppose the death penalty are largely a matter of individual conscience and belief. One is that murder is murder and that the state has no more right to take a life than the individual. The other is that Christianity advises forgiveness, not revenge. The people who are in favor of death penalty believe in the following except ______

A. The intentional murderer should eat his own bitter fruit
B. Stricter punishments stop crime
C. The punishment must fit the crime
D. To err is human; to forgive, divine

Passage One If those "mad moments"--when you can’t remember what your friend has told you or where you left your keys--are becoming more frequent, mental exercises and a healthy brain diet may help. Just as bodies require more maintenance with the passing years, so do brains, which scientists now know show signs of aging as early as the 20s and 30s. "Brain aging starts at a very young age, younger than any of us had imagined and these processes continue gradually over the years," said Dr. Gary Small, the director of the Center on Aging at the University of California, Los Angeles. ’Tin convinced that it is never too early to get started on a mental or brain-fitness program," he added. In his book, The Memory Bible, the 51-year-old neuroscientist (神经学家) lists what he refers to as the 10 suggestions for keeping the brain young. They include training memory, building skills, reducing stress, mental exercises, brain food and a healthy lifestyle. "Misplacing your keys a couple of times don’t mean you should start labeling your cabinets. Memory loss is not an inevitable consequence of aging. Our brains can fight back," he said. Small provides the weapons for a full-scale attack. Simple memory tests give an indication of what you are up against and tools such as "look" and "connect" are designed to make sure that important things such as names and dates are never forgotten. "So if you wanted to learn names and faces, for example, you meet Mrs. Beatty and you notice a distinguishing facial feature, maybe a high eyebrow," said Small. "You associate the first thing that comes to your mind. I think of the actor Warren Beatty, so I create a mental picture of Warren Beatty kissing her brow." Small admits it may sound a bit strange but he says it works. "Mental exercises could be anything from doing crossword puzzles and writing with your left hand if you are right handed or learning a language. It could be anything that is fun that people enjoy doing," he added. In this passage, the author mainly tells us ______

A. everyone has bad memories sometimes no matter how old he is
B. we can prevent our mind from aging with various methods
C. brain aging starts at the time when we are in the 20s and 30s
D. memory loss is not the sign that we are getting old

Passage Five Tattoos didn’t spring up with the biker gangs and rock ’n’ roll bands. They’ve been around for a long time and had many different meanings over the course of history. For years, scientists believed that Egyptians and Nubians were the first people to tattoo their bodies. Then, in 1991, a mummy was discovered, dating back to the Bronze Age of about 3,300 B.C. "The Iceman," as the specimen was called, had several markings on his body, including a cross on the inside of his knee and lines on his ankle and back. It is believed these tattoos were made in a curative (治病的) effort. Being so advanced, the Egyptians reportedly spread the practice of tattooing throughout the world. The pyramid-building third and fourth dynasties of Egypt developed international nations with Crete, Greece’, Persia and Arabia. The art tattooing stretched out all the way to Southeast Asia by 2,000 B.C. Around the same time, the Japanese became interested in the art but only for its decorative attributes, as opposed to magical ones. The Japanese tattoo artists were the undisputed masters. Their use of colors, perspective, and imaginative designs gave the practice a whole new angle. During the first millennium A.D., Japan adopted Chinese culture in many aspects and confined tattooing to branding wrongdoers. In the Balkans, the Thracians had a different use for the craft. Aristocrats, according to Herodotus, used it to show the world their social status. Although early Europeans dabbled with tattooing, they truly rediscovered the art form when the world exploration of the post-Renaissance made them seek out new cultures. It was their meeting with Polynesian that introduced them to tattooing. The word, in fact is derived from the Polynesian word tattau, which means "to mark." Most of the early uses of tattoos were ornamental. However, a number of civilizations had practical applications for this craft. The Goths, a tribe of Germanic barbarians famous for pillaging Roman settlements, used tattoos to mark their slaves. Romans did the same with slaves and criminals. In Tahiti, tattoos were a rite of passage and told the history of the person’s life. Reaching adulthood, boys got one tattoo to commemorate the event. Men were marked with another style when they got married. Later, tattoos became the souvenir of choice for globe-trotting sailors. Whenever they would reach an exotic locale, they would get a new tattoo to mark the occasion. A dragon was a famous style that meant the sailor had reached a "China station." At first, sailors would spend their free time on the ship tattooing themselves and their mates. Soon after, tattoo parlors were set up in the area, surrounding ports worldwide. In the middle of the 19th century, police officials believed that half of the criminal underworld in New York City had tattoos. Port areas were renowned for being rough places flail of sailors that were guilty of some crime or another. This is most likely how tattoos got such a bad reputation and became associated with rebels and criminals. Tattoo can be traced back to as early as ______.

A. the middle of the 19th century
B. the year 1991 when a mummy was discovered
C. 2000 B.C.
D. 3300 B.C.

Passage Three Valentine’s Day is a festival of romance and affection. The holiday is an interesting combination of pagan (异教徒的) and Christian influences. Some of the day’s customs probably came from an ancient Roman holiday caned Lupercalia, Which honored Juno (wife of Jupiter, the goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth) and Pan (the God of nature). During the Lupercalia festival, young women dropped poems bearing their names into a large vase. Each young man picked a name from the vase to find his sweetheart for that year. During the Middle Ages, church leaders wanted to relate this pagan holiday to Christianity, so they renamed it after a Christian saint and moved the holiday from February 15 to February 14, the feast day of St. Valentine. St. Valentine was a third-century Christian martyr, a young man who was imprisoned in Rome for refusing to worship pagan gods. According to legend, before Valentine was beheaded on February 14, he restored the eyesight of his jailer’s blind daughter. Then he sent her a farewell letter signed, "From your Valentine". This phrase is now a common expression of affection that appears on many of the holiday greeting cards. Perhaps another reason that February 14 was picked as a holiday for lovers was that the ancient Romans believed that birds began to mate on this date. In modern times, early in February of each year, card shops, drugstores, and department stores begin displaying a wide variety of greeting cards called valentines. Most of them are illustrated with the symbolic red heart, which stands for love. Many also show a picture of Cupid with his bow and arrow. Some valentines are very fancy--decorated with paper lace, scented satin, feathers, ribbons, or bows. Some contain affectionate verses, while others simply say, "Be my Valentine". There are special Valentines for various family members, sweet hearts, and friends. People sometimes send anonymous valentines to the persons whom they are in secret love with. On that day, children usually buy packages of small, inexpensive valentines to give to classmates and teachers. Sweet-hearts and married couples may exchange more expensive cards, along with small gifts. Men often give red roses or chocolates wrapped up beautifully in red, heart-shaped boxes to their girlfriends or wives. This holiday derived its name from ______

A. Juno, the goddess ’of marriage
B. Pan, the god of nature
C. Lupercalia, a holiday for lovers
D. a Christian martyr-priest

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