“When a teenager can’t find her keys，she thinks it's because she’s distracted or disorganized，”says Paul Gold．“A 70-year-old blames her 25 ．”In fact，the 70-year-old may have been 26 things for decades．
In healthy people，memory doesn’t worsen as 27 as many of us think．“As we 28，the memory mechanism isn’t 29 ，”says psychologist Fergus Craik．”It’s just inefficient．”
The brain’s processing 30 slows down over the years，though no one knows exactly 31. Recent research suggests that nerve cells lose efficiency and 32 there’s less activity in the brain．But，cautions Barry Gordon，”It's not clear that less activity is 33 ．A beginning athlete is winded（气喘吁吁）more easily than a 34 athlete．In the same way, 35 the brain gets more skilled at a task，it expends less energy on it.”
There are 36 you can take to compensate for normal slippage in your memory gears，though it 37 effort．Margaret Sewell says：”We’re a quick-fix culture, but you have to 38 to keep your brain 39 shape．It’s like having a good body．You Can’t go to the gym once a year 40 expect to stay in top form.”
21．A. almost B. seldom C. already D. never
22．A. joke B. laugh C. blame D. criticize
23．A. much B. little C. more D. less
24．A. since B. for C. by D. because
25．A. memory B. mind C. trouble D. health
26．A. disorganizing B. misplacing C. putting D. finding
27．A. swiftly B. frequently C. timely D. quickly
28．A．mature B. advance C. age D. grow
29．A. broken B. poor C. perfect D. working
30．A. pattern B. time C. space D. information
31．A . why B. how C. what D. when
32．A. since B. hence C. that D. although
33．A. irregular B. better C. normal D. worse
34．A. famous B. senior C. popular D. trained
35．A. as B. till C. though D. yet
36．A. stages B. steps C. advantages D. purposes
37．A. makes B. takes C. does D. spends
38．A. rest B. come C. work D. study
39．A. to B. for C. on D. in
40．A. so B. or C. and D. if
Section Ⅲ Reading Comprehension (40 points)
Directions: There are 4 passages in this part, Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A, B, C, and D. You should decide on the best choice and blacken the corresponding letter on the ANSWER SHEET with a pencil.
Questions 41 to 45 are based on the following passage:
Prior to the 20th century, many languages with small numbers of speakers survived for centuries. The increasingly interconnected modern world makes it much more difficult for small language communities to live in relative isolation, a key factor in language maintenance and preservation.
It remains to be seen whether the world can maintain its linguistic and cultural diversity in the centuries ahead. Many powerful forces appear to work against it :population growth, which pushes migrant populations into the world’s last isolated locations; mass tourism; global telecommunications and mass media; and the spread of gigantic global corporations. All of these forces appear to signify a future in which the language of advertising, popular culture, and consumer products become similar. Already English and a few other major tongues have emerged as global languages of commerce and communication. For many of the world’s peoples, learning one of these languages is viewed as the key to education, economic opportunity, and a better way of life.
Only about 3,000 languages now in use are expected to survive the coming century. Are most of the rest doomed in the century after that?
Whether most of these languages survive will probably depend on how strongly cultural groups wish to keep their identity alive through a native language. To do so will require an emphasis on bilingualism（mastery of two languages）. Bilingual speakers could use their own language in smaller spheres---at home, among friends, in community settings---and a global language at work, in dealings with government, and in commercial spheres. In this way, many small languages could sustain their cultural and linguistic integrity alongside global languages, rather than yield to the homogenizing（同化的）forces of globalization.
Ironically, the trend of technological innovation that has threatened minority languages could also help save them. For example, some experts predict that computer software translation tools will one day permit minority language speakers to browse the Internet using their native tongues. Linguists are currently using computer—aided learning tools to teach a variety of threatened languages.
For many endangered languages, the line between revival and death is extremely thin. Language is remarkably resilient（有活力的）,however. It is not just a tool for communicating, but also a powerful way of separating different groups, or of demonstrating group identity. Many indigenous（原生的，土著的）communities have shown that it is possible to live in the modern world while reclaiming their unique identities through language.
41.Minority languages can be best preserved in __________.
A．an increasingly interconnected world
B．maintaining small numbers of speakers
C．relatively isolated language communities
D．following the tradition of the 20th century
42.According to Paragraph 2, that the world can maintain its linguistic diversity in the future is _______.
A．uncertain B．unrealistic
C．foreseeable D．definite
43.According to the author, bilingualism can help_________.
A．small languages become acceptable in work places
B．homogenize the world’s languages and cultures
C．global languages reach home and community settings
D．speakers maintain their linguistic and cultural identity
44.Computer technology is helpful for preserving minority languages in that it_________.
A．makes learning a global language unnecessary
B．facilitates the learning and using of those languages
C．raises public awareness of saving those languages
D．makes it easier for linguists to study those languages
45.In the author’s view, many endangered languages are________.
A．remarkably well-kept in this modern world
B．exceptionally powerful tools of communication
C．quite possible to be revived instead of dying out
D．a unique way of bringing different groups together
Questions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage:
Everyone，it seems，has a health problem。After pouring billions into the National Health Service，British people moan about dirty hospitals，long waits and wasted money. In Germany the new chancellor, Angela Merkel, is under fire for suggesting changing the financing of its health system. Canada’s new Conservative Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, made a big fuss during the election about reducing the country’s lengthy medical queues. Across the rich world, affluence, ageing and advancing technology are driving up health spending faster than income.
But nowhere has a bigger health problem than America. Soaring medical bills are squeezing wages, swelling the ranks of the uninsured and pushing huge firms and perhaps even the government towards bankruptcy. Ford’s announcement this week that it would cut up to 30.000 jobs by 2012 was as much a sign of it’s“legacy ” health –care costs as of the ills of the car industry. Pushed by polls that show health care is one of his main domestic problems and by forecasts showing that the retiring baby-boomers (生育高峰期出生的人) will crush the government’s finances, George Bush is to unveil a reform ;plan in next week’s state-of –the –union address.
America’s health system is unlike any other. The Unite States spends 16% of its GDP on health, around twice the rich-country average, equivalent to $6,280 for every American each year. Yet it is the only rich country that does not guarantee universal health coverage. Thanks to an accident of history, most Americans receive health insurance through their employer, with the government picking up the bill for the poor and the elderly.
责任编辑：小草
