In order to ______ his muscle, Mike goes to the gym regularly to do exercise.

   A. sharpen               B. brighten         C. strengthen           D. deepen

 

---Why don’t you use the knife?

   ---It needs ___________________.

   A. sharpen         B. being sharpened        C. sharpening       D. to sharpen

No one doubts that students should study languages, maths and science in high school, but some may object to the idea that they should study art and music as well. To them, these subjects are useless for students’ future and are not worth the time and effort. In my opinion, however, it is necessary for middle school students to study art and music.

Art and music are a precious culture legacy（遗产）, which bring us pleasure and enjoyment. Have you ever been deeply moved by Beethoven’s famous Fifth Symphony（第五交响曲）? Have you ever been fascinated by the colorful starry night produced by Vincent Van Gogh in his paint? Have you ever longed for the moving love between the Butterfly Lovers when you hear this well-known Chinese melody（曲调）? Art and music are not only images and sounds, but something beyond them. They are the products of passion and human wisdom（智慧）.

Art and music help make students more creative. Artists and musicians are considered the most creative people in the world. It is because art and music sharpen their senses and provide a different perspective (视角) for them to see the world. Many great scientists benefited from art and music. Einstein, the greatest physicist in the 20th century, as well as an excellent violin player, is a good example.

Enjoying art and music is also a good way to relax. Middle school students, who typically carry heavy burdens of study, will definitely（明确地）benefit from it.

To sum up, art and music should absolutely be included in the middle school courses, for they can bring students pleasure and relaxation.

1.According to the author, people who think art and music are useless for middle school students __________.

A. don’t understand the value of art and music

B. don’t know the history of art and music at all

C. never benefit from artists and musicians

D. know little about the trend of future education  

2.In paragraph 2, the author tries to argue that __________.

A. Beethoven is one of the greatest musicians

B. art and music help express people’s emotions

C. art and music are precious pictures and sounds

D. art and music bring people joy and quality life

3.The example of Einstein is used to __________.

A. show the importance of creativity

B. prove that scientists are creative

C. encourage students to study art and music

D. provide students with a new way to see the world

4.Which of the following is an effective way for middle school students to study?

    A.  Relaxing themselves regularly while studying.

    B.  Attending concerts during holidays or after school.

    C.  Avoiding too much homework by studying art and music.

    D.  Listening to music while studying language, maths or other subjects.

5.Which of the following is used to support the writer’s opinion?

A. Art and music help people become scientists.

B. Art and music provide people with more opportunities.

C. Art and music are beneficial to students in other subjects.

D. Art and music are helpful to make students creative learners.

 

Scientists have proved that sleeping and learning go hand in hand. Even a short nap can boost our memory and sharpen our thinking. But the relationship goes deeper than that.
“The brain is not passive while you sleep,” scientist Anat Arzi said. “It’s quite active. You can do many things while you are asleep.”
Arzi and her coworkers didn’t try to teach the sleeping volunteers any complex information, like new words or facts. Instead, the scientists taught volunteers to make new connections between smells and sounds.
When we smell something good, like a flower, we take deep breaths. When we smell something bad, we take short breaths. Arzi and her co-workers based their experiment on these reactions.
Once the volunteers fell asleep in the lab, the scientists went to work. They gave them a whiff of something pleasant and meanwhile played a particular musical note. They didn’t wake up, but they heard—and sniffed(吸气) deeply. Then the scientists gave the volunteers a whiff of something terrible and played a different musical note. Again, the volunteers heard and smelled—a short snort this
time—but didn’t wake up. The researchers repeated the experiment.
After just four repetitions, volunteers made a connection between the musical notes and their paired smells. When the scientists played the musical tone that went with good smells, the sleepers breathed deeply. And when the scientists played the musical tone that went with bad smells, the sleepers breathed briefly—despite there being no bad smell.
The next day, the volunteers woke up with the sound-smell connection. They breathed deeply when hearing one tone and cut their breaths short when hearing the other, which must have been unusual for them. Imagine walking down the street and taking a deep breath upon hearing a particular sound!
【小题1】In the study, the volunteers were taught _______. 

A．to become active during sleep

B．to tell the difference between smell

C．to learn new words and scientific facts

D．to make sound-smell connections

【小题2】 How did the volunteers react when smelling something nice and hearing musical notes?

A．They took a deep breath.	B．They had a wonderful dream.
C．They woke up at once.	D．They took a short breath.

【小题3】 When the volunteers woke up the next day, they_______.

A．learned how to play to musical tones

B．forgot what happened during their sleep

C．continued with the sound-smell connection

D．changed their reaction when hearing.

【小题4】The passage mainly tell us______

A．special smells and sounds can improve our memory.

B．our brain can actually learn something new during the sleep.

C．the volunteers will always hear similar sounds in the street.

D．our brain can tell the difference between smells during the sleep.

【小题5】Which of the following is NOT true?

A．A short sleep can improve our memory and sharpen our thinking.

B．Arzi and her coworkers didn’t try to teach the sleeping volunteer some simple information.

C．When the volunteer smelt something terrible, they didn’t wake up.

D．After four repetitions, volunteers made a connection between the musical notes and their pared smells.