2014届高三英语二轮专题复习拔高训练：政治经济文化类阅读理解21.docVIP

2014届高三英语二轮专题复习拔高训练：政治经济文化类阅读理解21 1.阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中选出最佳选项。 The works of Shakespeare and Wordsworth are rocket-boosters to the brain and better than the other self-help books, researchers will say this week． Scientists, psychologists and the English experts at Liverpool University have found that reading the works of Shakespeare and other classical writers has a beneficial effect on the mind, catches the reader’s attention and triggers moments of self- reflection．Using scanners, they monitored the brain activity of volunteers as they read the works by William Shakespeare, William Word8worth, T．S Eliot and other classical writers． They then translated the texts into more straightforward, modern language and again monitored the readers brains as they read the words．Scans showed that the more challenging articles and poetry set off far more electrical activity in the brain than the modem versions．Scientists were able to study the brain activity as it responded to each word and record how it lit up as the readers came across unusual words, surprising phrases or difficult sentence structures．This lighting up of the mind lasts longer than the initial electrical spark, shifting the brain to a higher speed, encouraging further reading． The research also found that reading poetry, in particular, increases the activities in the right side of the brain, an area concerned with autobiographical memory, helping readers to reflect on their own experiences in light of what they have read．The experts said this meant the classics were more useful than self-help books． Philip Davis, an English professor who has worked on the study with the university, will tell a conference this week: Serious literature acts like a rocket - booster（火箭助推器）to the brain．” The research shows the power of classical literature to shift mental pathways, to create new thoughts, shapes and connections in the young and the old alike． 66．The author mentioned Shakespeare an