选择知识点

In all the world's cultures, people sing, play instruments, and celebrate with music. It plays such an important role in our lives that all fields focus on its study, including one looking at the biology of music. Experts are finding that because of the way our brains process music, learning to play an instrument or just listening to music can have a wide range of benefits.
  Music education has received a lot of attention. Learning to play an instrument can help children improve math, science, and language skills. One study in Canada tracked children's IQ scores for nine months, discovering that children who studied music had the biggest test score improvements. The secret may lie in the way reading music and playing notes uses several areas of the brain, increasing our ability to learn school subjects. For example, reading notes improves spatial （空间的） reasoning skills, which are helpful in solving math problems like fractions（分数）.
  Music is also used for medical purposes, such as the treatment of diseases which affect memory.The secret lies in the way the brain processes music.One area near the forehead,the medial prefrontal cortex,connects music with memories stored in two other areas：the amygdale and hippocampus.That's why an old song can remind you of something that happened years ago. For patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's,listening to music can help unlock buried memories by strengthening musical pathways to memories.
  With the evidence of music's benefits pouring in,it's no wonder some countries make music study a part of their education systems.People are recognizing that more than just a form of entertainment,music is also great for the brain.



Scientists are studying music because ______ .

A. music can be used for medical treatments
B. music plays a very important role in our lives
C. our brains can possess music in different ways
D. music education has received a lot of attention

According to the Canadian study, which children had increased IQ scores？ ______

A. Those who already had high IQs.
B. Those who had always played music.
C. Those who could not play any instrument.
D. Those who studied music for a period of time.

Which of the following is a kind of disease？ ______

A. Spatial reasoning.
B. Alzheimer's.
C. The amygdale and hippocampus.
D. The medial prefrontal cortex.

What can be the best title for the text？ ______

A. Music and health
B. Music and the mind
C. Music and education
D. Music and instruments

Managing a popular tourist attraction can be kind of like throwing a party - everyone wants to come and have fun, but nobody wants to help clean up when it's over. But the Faroe Islands have come up with a creative way to take care of their home and welcome visitors at the same time.
  An official notice on the islands' national tourism website reads "closed for maintenance（维护），open for voluntourism." Following a successful plan this year, the country has made the decision to "close" its major tourism sights and attractions during the weekend of April 16-17， 2020. Hotels will be open, and flights will continue. That weekend, people all over the Faroe Islands will be working on environmental protection projects.
  However, people who are just dying to visit the Faroe Islands during that weekend can sign on to help with the housekeeping. The islands are looking for 100 volunteers to come to the country to help with the caretaking efforts. There were thousands of applications for the 2019 plan,so would-be islanders better apply fast.
  "For us, tourism is not all about numbers," Director at Visit Faroe Islands told CNN Travel earlier this year."We welcome visitors to the islands each year,but we also have a responsibility to our community and to our beautiful environment, and our aim is to protect the islands, ensuring responsible growth." The first group of voluntourists included travelers from Mexico, Israel, Australia, China and the United States. The director said that because of the surprising popularity of the volunteering weekend in 2019， the Faroes will host the event yearly. According to the Faroes' tourism authority, visits to the country have increased by 10% over the past few years.



Who can visit the Faroe Islands on April 16-17， 2020？ ______

A. Any tourists.
B. Selected voluntourists.
C. Housekeepers.
D. All islanders.

Why do the Faroes host the yearly event？ ______

A. To protect and develop their home.
B. To make more money in tourism.
C. To attract more foreign visitors.
D. To please the tourists.

What can we infer from the passage？ ______

A. All travelers have a chance to volunteer in 2020.
B. The Faroe Islands are likely to hold a party yearly.
C. The plan has made some difference in recent years.
D. Some tourism sights and attractions are closed for all.

What's the writer's attitude towards the voluntourism？ ______

A. Indifferent.
B. Doubtful.
C. Negative.
D. Objective.

In which section of a newspaper can you probably find this article？ ______

A. Sports.
B. Travel.
C. Technology.
D. History.

When marine biologist Jennifer Lavers from Australia traveled to a remote string of islands in the Indian Ocean to see how much plastic waste had washed up on the beaches, here's just part of what she found： "373，000 toothbrushes and around 975，000 shoes, largely flip-flops."
  The island was a good place to measure plastic waste because almost no one lives there. That meant the plastic there wasn't local - it floated in - and no one was picking it up.
  "It's the little stuff that's perfectly bite-sized," Lavers says. "The stuff that fish and squid and birds and even turtles can eat."
  Lavers didn't just count the stuff on the surface. She dug down 4 inches into the sand. "What was really quite amazing was that the deeper we went," she says, "the more plastic we were actually finding." What happens is that the sun breaks down the plastic on the surface, and the waves strike it into tiny pieces and drive it into the sand.
  Lavers' team of researchers studied seven of the islands, by marking off transects（横断面） on beaches and counting all the plastic inside each transect."So, more than 414 million pieces of plastic are estimated to be currently sitting on the Cocos Keeling Islands, weighing a remarkable 238 tons," Lavers says.She was flabbergasted.
  It's becoming increasingly clear that no place on the planet seems immune from plastic waste. Take the Arctic, for example. "Wastes are transported via air currents in addition to ocean currents," Ecologist Chelsea Rochman at the University of Toronto explains. "And there （in the Arctic）， we see high concentrations of small microfibers and small particles, and so, absolutely, you expect different things in different places. And what you find tells you something about where it's coming from."



What does the author intend to express by mentioning the numbers？ ______

A. To show Lavers is good in calculating.
B. To show the plastic pollution is very serious.
C. To tell the beach is very broad.
D. To tell wasting of man is very serious.

How do Lavers and her team count the waste？ ______

A. By marking off transects and then count.
B. By digging into the sand.
C. By counting the plastic on the beach.
D. By weighing the plastic.

What does the underlined word in Para 3 mean？ ______

A. Curious.
B. Puzzled.
C. Shocked.
D. Merciful.

What can we know according to the last paragraph？ ______

A. Pollution varies from place to place.
B. The Arctic is relatively cleaner than other places.
C. Plastic waste is mainly transported via air and water.
D. Almost every place on earth is now polluted.

A new study published this week in the journal Nature Communications has concluded that a 100 percent change to organic （有机的） food production in England and Wales would actually lead to a great increase in greenhouse gas emissions （排放）. In turn, this would contribute to further climate change.
  Although organic farming directly pours out fewer emissions than conventional farming-around 20 percent lower for crops and 4 percent for farm animals-it produces notably less food. As to this study's findings, total organic agriculture in England and Wales would produce 40 percent less food. With less food in the market, the countries would need to increase food imports, which would produce more global greenhouse gas emissions.
  Organic farming also increases the amount of absorbing carbon, a process where carbon dioxide （CO2）is "absorbed" out of the atmosphere and captured by plants and stored in the soil. However, even a total change to organic farming would only be equal to a tiny part of the higher emissions from overseas land use."We predict a drop in total food production of 40 percent under a fully organic farming process, compared to conventional farming, if we keep to the same national diet," Dr Adrian Williams, lead author and reader in Agri-Environmental Systems at Cranfield University, said in a statement. "This results from lower crop quantity, because output is limited by a lower supply of nitrogen, which is mainly from other crops or solid waste from cattle on the grassland."
  Nevertheless, it is important to note that organic farming still holds some useful benefits for the environment, such as reducing exposure to chemicals and improving the varieties of creatures. In conclusion, the study suggests that organic farming will continue to play a key role in resolving the world's environmental problems. However, it's just one part of a much wider solution.



What will total organic agriculture bring to England？ ______

A. More main food.
B. More species crop.
C. More food imports.
D. More fresh oxygen.

How does organic farming increase the amount of absorbing carbon？ ______

A. By taking in CO2.
B. By changing CO2.
C. By giving off CO2.
D. By producing CO2.

What is the last paragraph mainly about？ ______

A. The ways to reduce organic farming.
B. The advantages of organic farming.
C. The solution to the environment problems.
D. The results caused by organic farming.

Which of the following is the best title of the text？ ______

A. Organic farming, green food.
B. Organic farming, a double-edged sword.
C. Organic farming, a mistake we made.
D. Organic farming, our hope in future.

A three-month survey of 119 households in Seattle found about one-third of the food thrown away was edible（可以吃的）.
  "We think we are doing better but we can't be, given the waste," said Andrea Spacht, a food specialist at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
  For every item thrown away, the cost is far more than just an uneaten meal. Throwing out just one hamburger, for example, wastes as much water as a 90-minute shower.
  The waste of nutrition and resources on this scale （规模）makes little sense when 15 million American households have been classified as food-insecure by the U. S. Department of Agriculture-meaning they cannot access enough food.
  But food waste is not just about households. It is happening on a large scale on the farm.
  Most farm food waste is due to a lack of buyers or prices that are too low. Without a guarantee of an income that will at least cover the cost of harvesting, growers have no choice but to leave food in the field-despite the huge waste that represents, said Lisa Johnson, of the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University.
  For the time being, the U. S. remains a contradiction, say food waste activists. "It's the place in the world where the most food is wasted, but also where some of the most exciting solutions are," said Tristram Stuart, founder of Toast Ale, which makes beer from bread that would otherwise be thrown away.
  The past few years have seen an awakening awareness of the impact of the problem on our planet. An increasing number of food waste companies and charities have appeared to help people cut their own food waste and also ensure unwanted food makes its way to where it is needed.
  While campaigners are celebrating the rising consumer and corporate （公司的） recognition of food waste as a major problem, they do not expect the problem to disappear overnight. Dealing with the problem requires "a transformation that will take years," said Evan Lutz, co-founder of the food waste company Hungry Harvest.



Why does the author mention the example in Paragraph 3？ ______

A. To encourage readers to save water.
B. To prove the popularity of hamburgers.
C. To show that people are doing better in saving food.
D. To explain that throwing away food has hidden costs.

Why do growers leave food in the field according to Lisa？ ______

A. The food goes bad.
B. The food isn't ripe.
C. They cannot make a profit.
D. They do not have the machine to harvest.

What do the food waste activists mean by saying "the U. S. remains a contradiction"？ ______

A. Food waste contradicts food insecurity.
B. Food waste contradicts exciting solutions.
C. The lack of buyers contradicts good harvests.
D. The high cost of harvesting contradicts low food prices.

What does Evan think of the food waste problem？ ______

A. Americans waste the most food.
B. It has been in existence for years.
C. Solving it will take a long time.
D. People are becoming aware of its seriousness.

Why do Americans struggle with watching their weight, while the French, who consume rich food, continue to say thin？ Now a research by Cornell University suggests how life style and decisions about eating may affect weight. Researchers concluded that the French tend to stop eating when they feel full. However, Americans tend to stop when their plate is empty or their favorite TV is over.
  According to Dr. Joseph Mercola, a health expert, the French see eating as an important part of their life style. They enjoy food and therefore spend a fairly long time at the table, while Americans see eating as something to be squeezed between the other daily activities. Mercola believes Americans lose the ability to sense when they are actually full. So they keep eating long after the French would have stopped. In addition, he points out that Americans drive to huge supermarkets to buy canned and frozen foods for the week. The French, instead, tend to shop daily, walking to small shops and farmers' markets where they have a choice of fresh fruits, vegetables, and eggs as well as high-quality meats for each meal.
  After a visit to the United States, Mireille Guiliano, author of French Women don't Get Fat, decided to write about the importance of knowing when to stop rather than suggesting how to avoid food. Today she continues to stay slim and rarely goes to the gym.
  In spite of all these differences, evidence shows that recent life style changes may be affecting French eating habits. Today the rate of obesity-or extreme overweight-among adults is only 6%． However, as American fast food gains acceptance and the young reject older traditions, the obesity rate among French children has reached 17%-and is growing.



In what way are the French different from Americans according to Dr. Joseph Mercola？ ______

A. They go shopping at supermarkets more frequently.
B. They squeeze eating between the other daily activities.
C. They regard eating as a key part of their lifestyles.
D. They usually eat too much canned and frozen food.

This text is mainly the relationship between ______ ．

A. Americans and the French
B. life style and obesity
C. children and adults
D. fast food and overweight

The text is mainly develop ______ ．

A. by contrast
B. by space
C. by process
D. by classification

Where does this text probably come from？ ______

A. A TV interview
B. A food advertisement
C. A health report
D. A book review

Exercise helps to keep us in good health. Doctors at the American Heart Association suggest getting at least 150 minutes of proper physical activity every week. Many people exercise for a few minutes every day or every other day. So, getting 150 minutes every week is easy.
  But what about those times when you are sick？ If you do not feel well, should you keep following your exercise habit？ Following are the answers from health experts （专家）.
  Edward R. Laskowski is a doctor at the Mayo Clinic. He and other experts have a general rule about exercising when you are sick. It is usually fine to exercise properly（not hard），he explains,if your symptoms（症状）are all "above the neck". These signs may include a runny nose,sneezing（打喷嚏）or a sore throat.
  Geralyn Coopersmith,a physical fitness trainer who has written several books on exercise offers similar advice. However, both Coopersmith and Dr. Laskowski suggest taking a break from exercising if signs of your illness appears "below the neck". Pay special attention to symptoms such as chest congestion（胸闷）， bad cough or pain in the stomach.
  There are other symptoms that can tell you to avoid exercise. They include a higher than normal body temperature, a sense of feeling very tired, and widespread muscle（肌肉） pain.
  Both Coopersmith and Dr. Laskowski suggest listening to your body. If you feel really bad,take a break and let your body rest. If you don't feel too bad, these experts both suggest cutting down the amount of exercise. For example, if you usually run, take a quick walk instead.



How long should people do exercise according to doctors？ ______

A. No less than two and a half hours a week.
B. One hundred and fifty minutes each day.
C. At least a few minutes every day.
D. About 150 minutes every other day.

People with symptoms "below the neck" are advised to ______ .

A. stop exercise
B. walk instead of run
C. ignore the symptoms
D. do less exercise

What does the underlined part "listening to your body" in the last paragraph mean？ ______

A. Taking good care of yourself.
B. Learning to take advice of your body.
C. Making decisions according to your physical condition.
D. Listening to music when exercising to keep healthy.

What is the text mainly about？ ______

A. Warnings against exercise when you are ill.
B. Harmful results of exercise when you are ill.
C. Time for exercise when you are ill.
D. Professional suggestions on exercise when you are ill.

There are many ways to travel within a city. We can walk, cycle or take a bus. But no matter which way we travel, we have to stick to the route（线路）the city planners laid down for us.
  Parkour practitioners（跑酷爱好者），however,see the city in a completely different way. To them, there are no fixed routes. There are no walls and no stairs - since they jump, climb, roll and crawl to move across, through, over and under anything that they find in their path. The city is their playground.
  The International Gymnastics Federation（FIG）has noticed that this activity is drawing more and more people to it - there are 100，000 people taking part in parkour today in the UK alone, according to the Guardian - and how it is helpful for people to be much stronger：It trains coordination（协调性）and balance. So,the organization is thinking about recognizing parkour as a new sport and adding it to the Olympics by 2024.
  But parkour practitioners themselves don't seem to be happy with the idea. They see parkour as "a lifestyle"，wrote the website Next Sport Star. "It's a competition against the conditions rather than just a sport."
  Indeed,many do parkour just to "escape the daily routine and experience the city in different ways"，wrote reporter Oli Mould on The Conversation. They see parkour as a way to express themselves through relaxing moves and creative routes while freeing themselves from the pressure.
  It's great that the FIG wants to develop a new sport and stay close to a new cultural form. But it would be greater if they knew that not everything in life is a competition.



How do the parkour practitioners do parkour？ ______

A. They run faster than others.
B. They plan the way themselves.
C. They move on as they wish.
D. They stick to certain routes.

Why does the FIG want to add parkour to the Olympics？ ______

A. It's a special way of life.
B. It's good for people to keep healthy.
C. It draws their attention.
D. It needs some rules and instructions.

What is the author's idea on parkour？ ______

A. It helps people to be creative.
B. It is more formal than other sports.
C. It's worth adding to the sporting event.
D. It calls on people to work as a team.

What is the best title for the passage？ ______

A. A new sports competition
B. Parkour practitioners
C. Making the city their own
D. Training in a different way

     Students at Beijing's Yucai High School have to be very careful when playing football on the school's field. That's because there is a 100-year-old tree growing in the middle of it. And keeping their eye on the ball too much can result in a painful collision(撞击).
     Building a football field around a tree sounds pretty stupid. But the school had no choice. It's reported that there are historic(有历史意义的)buildings all around Yucai High School,and this was the only space that could be used for a football field. Before starting working on the field,the school did ask to have the tree moved and planted somewhere else. However,they were told that it was hundreds of years old, and that it was a national treasure. Having it moved and planted somewhere else was too risky(有风险的) - they might damage or kill the tree. So they were left with no choice but to build the field around it.
     Interestingly,Yucai High School is built on the grounds of Beijing's Royal Gardens of the Ming and Qing dynasties(朝代). A reporter for the Beijing News believes that the strangely-located tree is the oldest tree in the Chinese capital. That information has not been checked,but other people think the tree is only 100 years old.
     Playing a serious game of football on this field cannot be very pleasant. The tree could "catch" the ball and change its direction from time to time. But the students have no choice but to train on the playground with the tree. Luckily, they can play on a different field in competitions with other schools.


If students play football on the school field, ______ .

A. they might run into a tree
B. they will have a good chance of winning
C. they will fall down more often
D. they can control the ball all the time

Why did the school build a football field around a tree？ ______

A. Because the tree was as old as the school.
B. Because the school could only use that place.
C. Because students in the school liked the tree.
D. Because the tree had something to do with the city's history.

Why was the school not allowed to move and plant the tree somewhere else？ ______

A. Because there was no other place for the tree.
B. Because it may have been dangerous for the tree and it might have died.
C. Because the tree was too big to be moved.
D. Because it was more meaningful to keep the tree where it was.

What do we know about the tree？ ______

A. It's the oldest tree in the Chinese capital.
B. It was planted in Ming Dynasty.
C. Some believe it is only one-hundred years old.
D. Students will play on another field to protect it.

Global warming is the increase of the earth's average surface temperature due to the effect of greenhouse gases,for example,carbon dioxide,which traps heat that would otherwise escape from the earth. After the trees are cut down and more greenhouse gases are released. the "blanket" around the earth called the ozone layer（臭氧层），will get thicker. This catches more heat and makes the earth hotter. Luckily,there are many things that every citizen of the earth can do to help reduce the effects of global warming,and it's never too late or too early for children to take action.
  The children should learn what a carbon footprint is. A carbon footprint is the amount of carbon and greenhouse gases people make as they lead the daily life and go about the normal activities. In other words,the carbon footprint is a measure of the environmental impact（冲击）the life has. To live an environmentally friendly life that doesn't contribute to global warming,people-want to have the smallest carbon footprint possible.
  Almost everything people do contributes to global warming and is related to fossil fuel consumption. These can be direct uses of fossil fuels,like riding in a gasoline-powered car,or indirect contributions to greenhouse gases,such as eating fruits or vegetables that have to be shipped from far way to reach their tables.
  If a child wants to make a contribution to reducing global warming,he should ride a bicycle to the near park,school,his friend's house,or anywhere else instead of taking the car. Or he may try to walk or jog,which is also helpful. In addition,although trains and buses often run on fossil fuels, on average, each person uses less energy and produces less pollution to run. Next time if children with their parents have to get around town or it's too far to walk or bike,take the bus or other public transportation instead of asking for a ride.



What is the main reason for global warming？ ______

A. Too much greenhouse gases are released.
B. The ozone layer has caught more heat.
C. Much more ozone layer has been released.
D. The increase of the earth's inner temperature results in the global warming.

What is the main idea of Paragraph 2？ ______

A. Life has an impact on carbon footprint.
B. The definition of a carbon footprint.
C. People should live an environmental friendly life.
D. People make a huge amount of carbon and greenhouse gases.

The author wants to write the passage for ______ .

A. children
B. parents
C. children educators
D. adults

What can be a suitable title for the text？ ______

A. What Can People Do To Use Less Energy？
B. Why Global Warming Affects Humans' Life？
C. How Can Kids Help Reduce Global Warming？
D. How Does Carbon Footprints Measure Pollution？