Having a child may improve a woman’s memory, a new study suggests.

In the study, women who were new mothers scored better on tests of visuospatial memory – the ability to understand and remember information about their surroundings—compared with women who didn’t have children.

The findings contradicts the old belief that women develop“baby brain" or a decline in memory and cognitive(認(rèn)知的) function, after they have kids, said study researcher Melissa Santiago, a doctoral student at Carlos Albizu University in Miami. “You don’t have to feel that because you have kids, your memory isn’t the same," Santiago said.

The study was small, and the findings will have to be tested in larger groups of people, Santiago said.

Previous studies on the topic have had mixed results—some showed motherhood hurts cognition, and others showed the opposite. Studies on rats show those with pups have better memory than those without offspring.

Santiago analyzed information from 35 first-time mothers whose children were ages 10 to 24 months, and 35 women who had never been pregnant. Both groups scored similarly on intelligence tests. The average age of mothers was 29 and the average age of never-pregnant women was 27.

To test visuospatial memory, the women were shown a paper containing six symbols for 10 seconds, and then asked to draw what they remembered. This task was repeated several times. The first time women were shown the paper, both groups remembered about the same amount. But on the second and third pass, mothers performed better than those without children, indicating that the mothers collected more information each time than the other women.

Later, the women were shown a variety of different symbols, and asked to remember which ones were presented on the earlier task. Mothers did not make a mistake in this task—they remembered every symbol correctly—but those without children made one or two errors, Santiago said.

55. How did Santiago lead to the findings?

   A. By observation.                                                 B. By comparison.

   C. By analyzing intelligence tests.                       D. By asking women questions.

56. By saying “The study was small", what did Santiago mean?

   A. The study received little attention.

   B. The study has just started.

   C. The study was carried out among a small group of people.

   D. A small group of researchers were involved in the study.

57. Which of the following was discussed in the text?

   A. Ways to test visuospatial memory.

   B. Why having kids improves memory.

   C. How young mothers are different from never-pregnant women.

   D. The negative effects that worries of women without children have.

58. It can be inferred that Santiago believe the findings of the study_________.

   A. may cause a heated discussion among parents

B. may cause an increase in the birth rate

   C. are tested by previous similar studies

D. are encouraging news for mothers

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2012屆安徽省安慶市高三第二次模擬考試英語(yǔ)試卷（1）（帶解析） 題型：閱讀理解


Keeping a busy social life among lots of friends may keep people thinner than spending hours doing some exercises, according to scientists. They say that socialising and meeting with friends help increase levels of brown fat in the body which burns calories(卡路里)to produce heat.
Living in an exciting social environment was found to reduce fat in mice's belly by half over four weeks, even if they ate more. US researchers say that social excitement aids weight loss by turning white fat into brown. White fat stores calories and makes us fatter, while brown burns energy to produce heat. Turning white fat into brown is extremely difficult，normally
requiring long- term stay in cold conditions or exciting part of the body's nervous system.
However, scientists from Ohio State University now think that having a busy social life is an even more effective way of changing white fat into brown. The team came up with their theory by studying the effects of various living environments on mice. Those, who lived alongside a greater number of mice, had more space and toys to excite themselves and then lost far more weight over the course of the study than their “couch potato" fellows.
Study author, Dr Matthew During, whose team's findings appear in the journal Cell Metabolism, said, "I'm still amazed at the degree of fat loss that occurs." Explaining how new technology had threatened face-to-face socialising, he added, "It's not just a sedentary(久坐 的)lifestyle and high calorie foods, but an increasing lack of social activities." Co-author Dr Lei Cao said，"Loneliness is a potential factor for cancer and death; it's equal to cigarette smoking to a certain extent. Social activities are very vital.，，
【小題1】What information can we get from the first two paragraphs?

A．Brown fat stores calories and makes us fatter.
B．It doesn't take long to turn white fat into brown.
C．Social excitement helps gain more weight.
D．Brown fat can burn energy to produce heat.
【小題2】Which of the following statement does the text support?
A．Levels of brown fat can be increased by socialising.
B．The mice lacking social life lose more weight.
C．The research findings haven't been published so far.
D．Dr Matthew During wasn't convinced of the result.
【小題3】We can conclude from the text that _______.
A．the fat in mice's belly was reduced because of the relaxing environment
B．a(chǎn) sedentary lifestyle and high calories foods influence people's social life
C．surfing the Internet may influence people's face-to-face communication
D．cancer and death are mainly caused for lack of social life
【小題4】What’s the main idea of the text?
A．Brown fat is beneficial to people's health.
B．Socialising is unnecessarily important in people's daily life.
C．White fat can be changed into brown fat.
D．Socialising contributes to people's losing weight.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2011屆濟(jì)南市高三教學(xué)質(zhì)量調(diào)研英語(yǔ)試題（A） 題型：閱讀理解

Every American family has its own traditions on Thanksgiving Day, and mine is no different. Once the national holiday arrives, my mom rises early to make the meal. She puts a turkey in the oven, chops carrots and bakes pies. I’m sorry to say that the men in the family – my dad, my younger brother and myself – rarely pitch in to help. Our job is to wash the mountain of dirty dishes after the meal is over.
Around 2 pm every Thanksgiving Day, family members seat themselves around the kitchen table. Plates of turkey, vegetables, salad, rolls and pies cover it. At this point, we can hardly keep ourselves from drooling (流口水) all over our fancy clothes, but it’s not yet time to eat.
First, we must bow our heads, close our eyes and say a prayer of thanks aloud to God for giving us everything we have. Under normal circumstances, I would have no problem making a list of things I am thankful for. I grew up in a loving family. My parents, who aren’t wealthy, took out loans to help me pay for university.
But, the funny thing is, every time I sit down for Thanksgiving dinner and try to say a prayer of thanks, my mind usually goes blank. I think it has something to do with my growling (咕咕叫) stomach and all of that food sitting right there under my nose.
Eventually, though, we all finish our short prayers and dig in. To be sure, the day includes other highlights – visiting with family and watching football. But usually around 6 pm we are all ourselves stuffed like turkeys and thankful to have a nice warm bed to sleep in.
【小題1】The purpose of the text is to ________.

A．tell what the family do for Thanksgiving Day
B．tell how the family spends Thanksgiving Day
C．introduce foods served on Thanksgiving Day
D．introduce the American Thanksgiving Day
【小題2】On Thanksgiving Day the author’s family do the following except ________.
A．watching a movieB．making visits
C．having a big mealD．watching football
【小題3】Why does the author’s mind usually “go blank” when saying a prayer of thanks?
A．He is too thankful to say a word.
B．His mind is on the food before him.
C．He feels too excited to speak.
D．He is shy to speak in public.
【小題4】The underlined phrase “dig in” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to “________”.
A．chat with othersB．make a hole
C．mix things upD．start eating
【小題5】What can we conclude from the text?
A．On Thanksgiving Day, men do nothing but eat.
B．The author is a middle school student.
C．The author’s family is not rich, but it’s a loving one.
D．Thanksgiving Day falls on Thursday of December.

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2010-2011學(xué)年度陜西省西安市第一中學(xué)高一下學(xué)期3月月考英語(yǔ)卷 題型：閱讀理解

閱讀理解(共15小題；每小題2分，滿分30分)
A car needs gas to run and your body also needs food to work for you. Eating the right kind of food is very important. It can help your body grow strong to take care of what you eat.
There are four main food groups altogether. The dairy group has food like milk, cheese and sour milk. The other three groups are the meat and fish group, the fruit and vegetable group, and the bread and rice group. Each meal should have at least one food from all four main groups. With all these food together, you will be given enough energy during the day.
It is easy to get into bad eating habits. You may eat your breakfast in a hurry to get to school on time. Or you may not have time for a good lunch. It may seem easy to finish your supper with fish and chips all the time. But you will find yourself tired in these days and you can not think quickly.
Watching what you eat will help keep your body healthy and strong. It is also good to take some exercise. It will help you eat more if you take a walk or play games in the open air. Having a good eating habit with some exercise is the key to your health.
【小題1】Which of the following diets do you think is the best one?

A．Eggs, tomatoes and chicken.
B．Milk, bread, cabbages and beef.
C．Corn, fish, cream and pork.
D．Rice, bean curd（豆腐）, apples, fish and chicken.
【小題2】 Which of the following is a good eating-habit?
A．Going to school without any breakfast
B．Eating fish and chips for supper all the time..
C．Having at least one food from all four groups each meal.
D．Having different food from all four food groups.
【小題3】 In this passage the writer mainly tells us that _____.
A. every person needs food to grow well
B taking exercise can keep your body strong
C. the right kind of food with exercise will keep you healthy
D. enough energy helps people think more quickly
【小題4】The underlined word “dairy” in the second passage means _____.
A．the food made out of cows such as milk and butter
B．she shop that sells milk and butter
C．a(chǎn) farm where cows are kept
D．a(chǎn) place where milk products are made.
【小題5】The best title for this passage is _____.
A．The Four Food GroupsB． A Healthy Diet
C．Your Body And FoodD．Food And Your Health

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：內(nèi)蒙古包頭一中2009-2010學(xué)年度高一第二學(xué)期4月考考 題型：閱讀理解


第三部分：閱讀理解（共20小題；每小題2分，滿分40分）
閱讀下列短文，從每題所給的四個(gè)選項(xiàng)（A、B、C和D）中，選出最佳選項(xiàng)，并在答題卡上將該項(xiàng)涂黑。
A
When I was sixteen years old, I made my first visit to the United States. It wasn’t the first time I had been abroad. Like most English children, I learned French at school. I had often been to France, so I was used to speaking a foreign language to people who didn’t understand French. But when I went to America, I was really looking forward to having a nice and easy holiday without any language problems.
How wrong I was! The misunderstandings began at the airport. I was looking for a public telephone to give my American friend Daisy a call and tell her that I had arrived. A friendly old man saw me looking lost and asked if he could help me.
"Yes, "I said, "I want to give my friend a ring. "
"Well, that's nice, "he said. "Are you getting married? But aren't you a bit young?"
"Who is talking about marriage?" I replied. "I only want to give my friend a ring to tell her I've arrived. Can you tell me where there's a phone box?"
"Oh! "he said. "There's a phone downstairs. "
When at last we met, Daisy explained the misunderstanding to me.
"Don't worry, "she said to me. "I had so many difficulties at first. There are lots of words which the Americans use differently in meaning from the British. You' ll soon get used to all the funny things they say. Most of the time, British and American people understand each other!"
56. The writer thought ______ in America.
A. he wouldn't have any language difficulties
B. he would not understand the Americans
C. the Americans might not understand him
D. he would have difficulty at the airport
57. The writer wanted to _____.
A. buy a ring for his friend
B. make a call to his friend
C. go to the telephone company
D. see his friend off
58. From the passage we can see that "give somebody a ring" ______.
A .means the same in America as in England
B. means "call somebody" to the old man
C. has two different meanings
D. means "be going to get married" in England
59. In the last paragraph the underlined word "they" refers to ______.
A. the old man and the boy      B. the Americans
C. the British                  D. the French

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科目：高中英語(yǔ) 來(lái)源：2011-2012學(xué)年河南省許昌四校高二第一次聯(lián)考英語(yǔ)試卷 題型：閱讀理解

What is EQ? In the early 1990s, Dr. John Mayer, Ph.D., and Dr. Peter Salovey, Ph.D., introduced the term “emotional intelligence” in the Journal of Personality Assessment. They used this term to describe a person’s ability to understand his or her own emotions and the emotions of others and to act properly based on this understanding. Then in 1995, psychologist Daniel Goleman popularized this term with his book Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.
EQ gives you a competitive advantage. Even at Bell Labs, where everyone is smart, studies find that the most respected and productive engineers are those with the special qualities of emotional intelligence quotient — it’s not necessary for them to have the highest IQ. Having a high IQ may make you an excellent expert or a legal scholar, but a highly developed emotional intelligence quotient will make you a candidate （候選人）for a leader or a brilliant lawyer. EQ can make it more likely that your marriage will be successful. Lack of EQ shows why people with high IQ can be such bad pilots of their personal lives.
The study shows that these men with high IQ also lack these emotional abilities: suffering from being criticized and misunderstood, shy and uncomfortable, emotionally stimulated（激勵(lì)）. Compared with those men with high IQ, these men (with high EQ) are calm and friendly, who are loyal to people and careers, have lots of sympathy with and care for others, with a rich but suitable emotional life  — they’re comfortable with themselves, others, and the human society they live in.
Is your intelligence the greatest predictor of what you’ll achieve in life? We have believed that IQ is the best measure of human potential for so many years. In the past 10 years, however, researchers have found that isn’t necessarily the case---that in fact, your EQ might be a greater predictor of success.
High IQ may help you the father of science fiction, but it won’t make you a respected person. High EQ can help you more.
【小題1】What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A In daily life and work, EQ is more important than IQ.
B High IQ will have a bad effect on people’s lives.
C It’s not necessary for people to have a high IQ.
D You’d better develop your intelligence well in order to be a leader.
【小題2】The underlined sentence “this isn’t necessarily the case” in Paragraph 4 means here that ____.
A your IQ is a greater predictor of success
B success is dependent on your IQ
C your EQ can predict your success better
D human potential is up to your IQ
【小題3】From the text, it can be inferred that ____
A high IQ can help you work better and succeed more easily
B high EQ must make you succeed
C all the bosses have a higher EQ than their employees
D those with high IQ are hot valued
【小題4】The text is written mainly to advise ____.
A people should only pay attention to their EQ
B people should develop their EQ as well as their IQ
C those who want to act as leaders should develop their EQ
D people should not develop their IQ too much

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