How much can environment affect intelligence? In one study, striking increases in IQ occurred in 25 children who were moved from an orphanage  to more stimulating(,) environments.The children, who were all considered mentally retarded and unadoptable, were moved to an institution where they received personal attention from adults.Later, these supposedly retarded children were adopted by parents who gave them love, a family ,and a stimulating home environment.The children gained an average of 29 IQ points.For one child, the increase was an amazing 58 points.A second group of initially less "retarded" children, who stayed in the orphanage, lost an average of 26 IQ points. Other encouraging results can be found in early childhood education programs, which provide stimulating intellectual experiences for disadvantaged children.In one study, children from low-income families were given enriched environments from early infancy  through preschool.By age 2 their IQ scores were already higher than those in a control group.More important, they were still 5 points higher seven years later.High-quality enrichment programs such as Head Start can prevent children from falling behind in school. A particularly striking environmental effect is the fact that 14 nations have shown average IQ gains of from 5 to 25 points during the last 30 years.These IQ boosts, averaging 15 points, occurred in far too short a time for genetics to explain them.It is more likely that the gains reflect environmental forces, such as improved education, nutrition, and living in a technologically complex society. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an environmental factor that affects IQ  _  . A) Good nutrition. B) Improved technology. C) Better education. D) Food pollution.
D


(Question)
As the saying goes, "Change is not always for the better". Take social interaction, for example! We now live in an era in which many teenagers spend hours locked away in their bedrooms shooting virtual soldiers and hitting zombies over the head with digital baseball bats, while others sit home alone, chatting with friends, not in person, but through social networks. Teachers, politicians and parents have genuine reasons to argue that young people like this are in danger of losing the ability to connect with one another, to develop genuine relationships and to separate the fictional world of the Xbox or the Play Station from the real world. Others worry about the increasing breakdown of the family unit within the UK and link that to the increase of youth crime and antisocial behavior, or the problems that some young people have with drugs or alcohol. These issues are particularly common in areas of poverty and, in the light of the economic crisis, are unlikely to improve. Indeed, the gap between rich and poor in the UK could well increase, as unemployment figures rise and the cost of higher education increases. But being a teenager in the 21st century is not all doom and gloom, Young people in the UK today can enjoy living in a far more multicultural, integrated society in which opportunities are more equal and which is increasingly environmentally aware. They benefit from better child protection policies, a wider range of educational activities and clearer guidance on leading healthy lifestyles.  And as they grow up, this generation will benefit from huge technological inventions which will have an impact on almost every aspect of their lives, from entertainment to transport. They will see medical advances which could put an end to diseases like malaria and rid the world of AIDS. They will live longer, work smarter and they will even have a greater understanding of nature and the universe. According to the passage which of the following statements is true? A) The union of a family unit plays an important role in a harmonious society. B) Family problems cause young children to lock themselves in their bedrooms. C) Strict families have introduced better child protection policies. D) All children in breakdown families tend to be aggressive.
(Answer)
A


Ques: Why can some people sleep through noises like a honking car or flushing toilet, while others are awakened by the lightest sound? To find the answer, sleep researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital conducted an unusual study of 12 self-described deep sleepers. After tests confirmed that the healthy volunteers were solid sleepers, they took part in a three-night study in the university's sleep laboratory. The participants spent the night in a big and comfortable room. But the room also included four speakers positioned near the top of the bed. During the night, the deep sleepers were subjected to 14 different recorded sounds, like street traffic, toilets flushing, an ice machine dispensing and an airplane flying overhead. Next door, the researchers monitored their sleep patterns and brain waves. As expected, all of the participants slept  ly well, but there were differences in how they responded to the noisy interruptions. Some of the sleepers didn't wake up even when a sound was blasted at 70 decibels  ; others were awakened by sounds at 40 or 50 decibels. The researchers discovered that the difference in a sleeper's reaction to noise could be predicted by the level of brain activity called "sleep spindles''. A sleep spindle is a burst of high-frequency brain activity coming from deep inside the brain during sleep. The source of the spindles is the thalamus, a part of the brain that sends sensory information to the rest of the cortex  . Before the study, the Massachusetts researchers theorized   that the spindles are the brain's way of preventing sensory information from passing through the thalamus and waking the rest of the brain during sleep. They found that the sleepers who experienced the most sleep spindles during the night were also the soundest sleepers and were least likely to be awakened by noise. Scientists already know that most people become lighter sleepers with age, most likely because older people experience less "slow wave sleep'', which is the deepest stage of sleep. People also produce... It can be learned from the passage that   _  . A) the older a deep sleeper becomes, the lighter his sleep must be B) the more "slow wave sleep" one experiences, the deeper sleep one has C) the more frequently a sleeper's brain works, the less information it sends D) the deeper sleep people have, the more likely they will be awakened by noise
Ans: B


What does the word iceberg make you think of ? Do you think of a large block of ice in a cold northern ocean? Or do you think of something that ships can crash into? While these are both correct, in truth there's far more to icebergs than meets the eye. According to scientists, only the largest blocks of ice count as icebergs. They must rise at least 5 meters above the water and be 15 meters wide at the water line. But only about 10 percent of an iceberg can be seen. The rest lie beneath the water. Icebergs begin froming when layers of snow fall year after year without melting. The snow is pressed together into large blocks of ice called glaciers. When chunks of ice break off these glaciers, icebergs are born. In Greenland alone, about 40,000 icebergs are formed each year. Since they began as snow, icebergs are made of fresh water, not salty ocean water. Tidy bubbles of air inside the ice give them their white color1. While most icebergs are white, some are blue because they have melted and frozen again. This action allows the air bubbles to escape. Other icebergs have brown, black or yellow parts because of dirt mixed with the ice. Algae   can also get trapped in the underwater parts of an iceberg. If the iceberg turns over, all or part of it is green! Icebergs can be flat, cube-shaped, round like a turtle shell or U-shaped. Some even look like mountains. The large underwater parts of icebergs are hard for ships to avoid. They have destroyed and sunk many ships, including the Titanic. As a result, the International Ice Patrol now monitors icebergs in areas with heavy ship traffic. But there's yet another side to icebergs. Many microscopic   animals live inside icebergs and in the water around them. These creatures feed on minerals that the icebergs store and release as they melt. Scientists are still studying all the ways icebergs affect sea life. Why does the passage begin with questions? A) To attract readers' interest in icebergs. B) To show readers icebergs are dangerous. C) To tell readers icebergs are large blocks of ice. D) To encourage readers to see icebergs by themselves.

A