Many people think of the brain as a mystery.They don't know much about intelligence and how it works.When they do think about what intelligence is，many people believe that a person is born smart，average，or dumb—and stays that way in the whole life.But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it.And scientists have been able to show just how the brain grows and gets stronger when you learn.
Everyone knows that when you lift weights，your muscles get bigger and you get stronger.A person who can't lift 20 pounds when he/she starts exercising can get strong enough to lift 100 pounds after working out for a long time.That's because the muscles become larger and stronger with exercise.And when you stop exercising，the muscles shrink and you get weaker.That's why people say “Use it or lose it！”
But most people don't know that when they practice and learn new things，parts of their brain change and get larger a lot like muscles do when they exercise. Inside the cortex(皮层)of the brain are billions of tiny nerve cells，called neurons. The nerve cells have branches connecting them to other cells in a complicated network. Communication between these brain cells is what allows us to think and solve problems. When you learn new things，these tiny connections in the brain actually multiply and get stronger.The more you challenge your mind to learn，the more your brain cells grow.Then，things that you once found very hard or even impossible to do—like speaking a foreign language or doing algebra(代数)—seem to become easy after learning them for a period of time.The result is a stronger，smarter brain.
Scientists started thinking that the human brain could develop and change when they studied animals'brains.They found out that animals that lived in a challenging environment were more perspicacious—they were better at solving problems and learning new things.
小题1:According to the first paragraph，________.
A．the function of our brain is like that of the muscle
B．until now it's impossible to explain the brain's mystery
C．many people believe one's intelligence is naturally determined
D．one's brain grows stronger as the age increases小题2:Training muscles is compared to ________.
A．using the brain
B．connecting things in your brain
C．lifting weights
D．doing research about the brain小题3:What does the underlined word“perspicacious”in the last paragraph probably mean?
A．Strong.
B．Smart.
C．Popular.
D．Active.小题4:The following paragraph will most probably talk about ________.
A．the differences between animals'brains and humans'brains
B．the relation between human brains and muscles
C．scientists' findings about animals' brains
D．how to make your brain smarter through selfdevelopment
小题1:C
小题2:A
小题3:B
小题4:C
科学研究发现，经常学习能促进大脑的发育，正如经常锻炼能使肌肉更强健一样。
小题1:解析 考查推理判断。根据第一段中的“many people believe that a person is born smart，average，or dumb—and stays that way in the whole life”可知C项正确。
答案 C
小题2:解析 考查细节理解。根据第一段中的“But new research shows that the brain is more like a muscle—it changes and gets stronger when you use it.”可知答案。答案 A
小题3:解析 考查词义猜测。根据破折号后面的“they were better at solving problems and learning new things”可知，该词应为“敏锐的”之意。答案 B
小题4:解析 考查推理判断。最后一段提出科学家是从研究动物的大脑得出的结论，因此下一段最可能进一步描述这些研究成果。答案 C。