Passage 3

　　Questions 31 to 35 are based on the following passage:

　　If you want to stay young, sit down and have a good think.

　　This is the research findings of a team of Japanese doctors, who say that most of our brains are not getting enough exercise and as a result, we are aging unnecessarily soon. Professor Taiju Matsuzawa wanted to find out why otherwise healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think and reason at a relatively early age, and how the process of aging could be slowed down. With a team of colleagues at Tokyo National University, he set about measuring brain volumes of a thousand people of different ages and varying occupations. Computer technology enabled the researchers to obtain precise measurements of the volume of the front and side sections of the brain, which relate to intellect (智能) and emotion, and determine the human character. The rear section of the brain, which controls functions like eating and breathing, does not contact with age, and one can continue living without intellectual or emotional faculties (功能). Contraction of front and side parts—as cells die off—was observed in some subjects in their thirties, but it was still not evident in some sixty and seventy-year-olds.

　　Matsuzawa concluded from his tests that there is a simple remedy to the contraction normally associated with age-using the head.

　　The findings show in general terms that contraction of brain begins sooner in people in the country than in the towns. These least at risk, says Matsuzawa, are lawyers, followed by university professors and doctors. White collar workers doing routine works in government offices are, however, likely to have shrinking brains as the farm workers, bus drivers and shop assistants.

　　Matsuzawa's findings show that thinking can prevent the brain from shrinking. Blood must circulate properly in the head to supply the fresh oxygen the brain cells need. "The best way to maintain good blood circulation is through using the brain.” he says, "Think hard and engage in conversation. Don't rely on pocket calculators. "

　　31. The team of doctors wanted to find out_________.

　　A. why certain people age sooner than others

　　B. how to make people live longer

　　C. the size of certain people's brains

　　D. which people are most intelligent

　　32. According to the research in the passage, why are healthy farmers in northern Japan appeared to be losing their ability to think at a relatively early age?

　　A. Because they don't seem to have received high education.

　　B. Because the living conditions in that area is not so good.

　　C. Because they seldom sit down and have a good think.

　　D. Because they are burdened with heavy field work.

　　33. The doctor's tests show that_________.

　　A. our brains shrink as we grow older

　　B. the front section of the brain does not shrink

　　C. sixty-year-olds have better brains than thirty-year-olds

　　D. Shrinking of our brains has nothing to do with our ages.

　　34. The word "subjects" in paragraph 3 means__________.

　　A. something to be considered

　　B. branches of knowledge studied

　　C. persons chosen to be studied in an experiment

　　D. those who are studying the subjects

　　35. According to the passage, which people seem to age slower than the others?

　　A. Lawyers. B. Farmers. C. Clerks. D. Shop assistants.

　　Passage 4

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage:

　　Death comes quickly in the mountains. Each winter, holidaymakers are caught unconscious as they happily ski away from the fixed runs, little realizing that a small avalanche (雪崩) can send them crashing in a bone-breaking fall down the slope and leave them buried under tons of crisp white snow. There are lots of theories about how to avoid disasters when hit by an avalanche. Practice is normally less cheerful.

　　The snow in the Salzburg area of Austria, where a recent disaster took place, was typical avalanche material. For several days before the incident 1 had skied locally. Early winter snow was wearing thin and covered with ice. On the top of that, new, warm flakes (雪片) were gently falling to produce a dangerous carpet. To the skier who enjoys unmarked slopes it is tempting stuff, deep new powder snow on a hard base— the skiing that dreams are made of. And sometimes nightmares. Snow falls in sections like a cake. Different sections will have different densities because of the temperatures at the time of the fall and in the weeks afterwards. Problems come when any particular section is too thick and not sticking to the section beneath. The snow of the past few weeks had been falling in rather higher temperatures than those of December and early January. The result of these conditions is that even a slight increase in the temperature sends a thin stream of water between the new snow and the old. Then the new snow simply slides off the mountain.

　　Such slides are not unexpected. Local citizens know the slopes which tend to avalanche and the weather in which such slides are likely. Traps are set to catch the snow or prevent it slipping; bombs are placed and exploded from time to time to set off small avalanches before a big one has time to build up; and, above all, skiers are warned not to ski in dangerous areas.

　　In spite of this, avalanches happen in unexpected areas and, of course, skiers ignore the warnings. The one comfort to recreational skiers, however, is that avalanche incidents on the marked ski slopes are quite rare. No ski resort wants the image of being a death trap.

　　36. Each winter holidaymakers in the mountains come face to face with death because ________________.

　　A. they fail to realize how dangerous avalanches can be

　　B. they are not expert enough at skiing on the fixed runs

　　C. they are trying to avoid areas where avalanches happen

　　D. they ski great distances down the mountainsides

　　37. According to the writer, skiing conditions in the Salzburg area of Austria before the accident happened were ___________.

　　A. perfect for the inexperienced skier

　　B. unsafe because the new snow was covered with ice

　　C. typical of conditions resulting in avalanches

　　D. suitable only for skiing locally

　　38. It would appear from the passage that avalanches are brought about because________.

　　A. a particular section of snow is not thick enough

　　B. there is a slight fall in the temperature

　　C. heavy snowfalls turn into rain

　　D. the ice between different sections of snow melts

　　39. In areas where avalanches are known to happen, ______________.

　　A. local residents stay indoors when the weather is bad

　　B. measures are taken to prevent serious avalanches

　　C. small avalanches can easily be prevented

　　D. skiers form themselves into a wall to keep the snow in position

　　40. Although accidents do happen, skiers will be reasonably safe if_________.

　　A. they stay on the officially approved slopes

　　B. they ski only for pleasure

　　C. they ski only at resorts

　　D. they choose less crowded ski slopes