题型：阅读选择 题类：模拟题 难易度：困难
北京市房山区2020年九年级英语综合练习一（一模）
What makes humans smarter than other animals? We've got a bigger brain, of course. But when it comes to brains, is bigger always better?
Traditionally, scientists have thought that humans' better intelligence (智慧) came mostly from the fact that our brains are three times bigger than those of our nearest living relatives, chimpanzees. People even used to believe that men are smarter than women because men have a little larger brains.
This, however, is not the truth. Scientists at University College London in the UK have found that brain organization, and not brain size, is the key to the advantage of human intelligence, reported Live Science.
Through millions of years of gradual development, our ancestors (祖先) were pushed to get smarter all the time so that they could meet the needs of new environments. However, holding this growing intelligence in increasingly large brains was not the best choice because bigger brains require more energy to power. "This is when reorganization may come into play," said Christophe Soligo, a member of the London research team.
In the study, scientists looked at the brains of 17 kinds of primates (灵长目动物) , including monkeys, apes and humans. They found that in the process of gradual development, brains didn't keep growing as a whole. Certain parts of the brain grew more than others as needed, and in this way they could make the best use of their limited brain space.
For example, when early humans were trying hard to live, the brain region (区域) which is in charge of using tools and finding food grew in size more than other regions. But in modern times, the prefrontal cortex (前额皮质) — the region in charge of social cognition (认知), moral judgments and goal-directed planning — grew more than the rest of the brain.
Think of the brain as a room. If a big room is poorly organized, it doesn't necessarily store more things than a smaller one.
Paul Manger, a professor, explains this using the example of whales. He told Scientific American: "Whales have big brains. But if you look at the actual structure (结构) of the brain, it's very simple. Brain size only matters if the rest of the brain is organized properly. "
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What may come to your mind first when you think of London? Is it the Big Ben or the Tower Bridge? How {#blank#}1{#/blank#} the London Eye? The London Bye has become a place of interest in London {#blank#}2{#/blank#} it was open in 2000. It is a {#blank#}3{#/blank#} of the modern Britain, and it is called London's Eiffel Tower.
At first, it was built to celebrate the new year. So people thought it would only be open during the year 2000, or perhaps just for a few years more. Nobody {#blank#}4{#/blank#} it to be so successful.
Today it is one of the UK's most popular places and is visited {#blank#}5{#/blank#} over 3.5 million people a year. The wheel has 32 boxes and each can carry about 25 people. Visitors can see the whole London from the top.
Confidence is something everyone needs. Sometimes you may question your level of confidence and wish it to be higher. Your confidence level makes a difference to what you can achieve. So keeping a high level of confidence is important to you. You can do as follows.
Renew your mind
What you receive decides your mind, so try something new. Read a new book or magazine or listen to a radio you haven't listened to before. In this way, you can challenge your opinions, open a new world and enrich your knowledge.
Also, spend a period of time being on your own and just think about your life sometimes. Keep yourself away from others and enjoy the power of silence.
Choose your friends wisely
Choose people you admire as your friends. It can be helpful to have those friends in your circle. Learn the way they face new challenges and communicate with them more. Keep away from those who always give up.
Let go of the past
Forgive(原谅) people who hurt you in the past. Write a letter to yourself to record your feelings in detail. If there are people who you need to say sorry to, go and do it right away.
Push yourself out of comfort zones
It's easy for us to make excuses for something. Maybe you think it's out of your comfort zone or too difficult. Remember that you can do it. It will help you discover something new about yourself, such as new hobbies or skills.
{#blank#}1{#/blank#} to improve your confidence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Importance of confidence | Everyone needs to be confident, because confidence {#blank#}2{#/blank#} what you achieve. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Renew your mind | ◆What you receive decides your mind, so try to learn something new. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Choose your friends {#blank#}4{#/blank#} | ◆Try to learn from those you admire | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Let go of the past | ◆Forgive people who hurt you. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Push yourself out of comfort zones | ◆Never make {#blank#}5{#/blank#}for anything | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Happy Rain on a Spring Night Good rain knows its time right; It will fall when comes spring. With wind it steals in night; Mute, it moistens each thing. O'er wild lanes dark cloud spreads; In boat a lantern looms. Dawn sees saturated reds; The town's heavy with blooms. —Translated by Xu Yuanchong Du Fu |
When Tang Dynasty poet Du Fu (712-770) wrote this poem, he was living in Chengdu. Sometimes he went to farm in the field. The poem shows his care for farmers.
The very first word, "good", shows the poet's joy and love for the spring rain. The rain is good indeed, as it "knows" the right time to come. Here the poet uses personification (拟人), as if the rain were smart enough to know that it should come in time for the farmer's busy plowing (农耕) season.
When the rain comes, it appears during the night. Unlike the thunder (雷) and lightning of summer storms, the quiet spring rain makes its contributions (贡献) without being known.
In the night sky, the clouds look dark and heavy, showing that there will be enough rain during the night. Then the poet imagines: tomorrow morning, all of the flowers in the city will bloom (盛开) after the rain.
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