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oke while knitting, when hands are holding needles and hooks, there’s less snacking and mindless eating out of boredom.J) I’ve found that my handiwork with yam has helped my arthritic (患關(guān)節(jié)炎的)fingers remain more dexterous (靈巧的) as I age. A woman encouraged to try knitting and crocheting after developing an autoimmune disease that caused a lot of hand pain reported on the Craft Yam Council site that her hands are now less stiff and painful.K) A 2009 University of British Columbia study of 38 women with an eating disorder who were taught to knit found that learning the craft led to significant improvements. Seventyfour percent of the women said the activity lessened their fears and kept them from thinking about their problem.L) Betsan Corkhill, a wellness coach in Bath, England, and author of the book Knit for Health amp。 Wellness, established a website, Stitchlinks, to explore the value of what she calls therapeutic knitting. Among her respondents, 54 percent of those who were clinically depressed said that knitting made them feel happy or very happy. In a study of 60 selfselected people with persistent pain, Ms. Corkhill and colleagues reported that knitting enabled them to redirect their focus, reducing their awareness of pain. She suggested that the brain can process just so much at once, and that activities like knitting and crocheting make it harder for the brain to register pain signals. Perhaps most exciting is research that suggests that crafts like knitting and crocheting may help to keep off a decline in brain function with age. In a 2011 study, researchers led by Dr. Yonas Geda at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester interviewed a random (隨機(jī)的) sample of 1,321 people ages 7089, most of whom were cognitively (在認(rèn)知方面) normal, about the cognitive activities they engaged in late in life. The study, published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry amp。 Clinical Neurosciences, found that those who engaged in crafts like knitting and crocheting had a diminished chance of developing mild cognitive disorder and memory loss.M) Although it is possible that only people who are cognitively healthy would pursue such activities, those who read newspapers or magazines or played music did not show similar benefits. The researchers speculate that craft activities promote the development of nerve pathways in the brain that help to maintain cognitive health.N) In support of that suggestion, a 2014 study by Denise C. Park of the University of Texas at Dallas and colleagues demonstrated that learning to knit or do digital photography enhanced memory function in older adults. Those who engaged in activities that were not intellectually challenging, either in a social group or alone, did not show such improvements.O) Given that sustained social contacts have been shown to support health and a long life, those wishing to maximize the health value of crafts might consider joining a group of likeminded folks.I for one try not to miss a single weekly meeting of my knitting group.36. When the author was a college student, she found that knitting helped her concentrate.37. Knitting can help people stay away from tobacco.38. Even men and children are now joining the army of knitters.39. Being a member of a crafts group enhances one’s health and prolongs one’s life.40. Knitting diverts people’s attention from their pain.41. The author learnt to knit as a teenager, but it was not until she was much older that she became keenly interested.42. When people are knitting, they tend to eat fewer snacks.43. Survey findings show that knitting can help people relieve stress.44. According to a study, knitters and crocheters are less likely to suffer mild cognitive damage.45. The products of knitting can increase one’s sense of selfrespect.Section CDirections: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.Passage OneQuestions 46 to 50 are based on the following passage.Nobody really knows how big Lagos is. What’s indisputable is that it’s growing very quickly. Between now and 2050, the urban population of Africa could triple. Yet cities in subSaharan Africa are not getting richer the way cities in the rest of the world have. Most urban Africans live in slums (貧民窟)。 migrants are often not much better off than they were in the countryside. Why?The immediate problem is poverty. Most of Africa is urbanising at a lower level of ine than other regions of the world did. That means there’s little money around for investment that would make cities liveable and more productive. Without upgrades and new capacity, bridges, roads and power systems are unable to cope with expanding populations. With the exception of South Africa, the only light rail metro system in subSaharan Africa is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Traffic jam leads to expense and unpredictability, things that keep investors away.In other parts of the world, increasing agricultural productivity and industrialization went together. More productive farmers meant there was a surplus that could feed cities。 in turn, that created a pool of labour for factories. But African cities are different. They are too often built around consuming natural resources. Government is concentrated in capitals, so is the money. Most urban Africans work for a small minority of the rich, who tend to be involved in either cronyish (有裙帶關(guān)系的)businesses or politics. Since African agriculture is still broadly unproductive, food is imported, consuming a portion of revenue.So what can be done? Though African countries are poor, not all African cities are. In Lagos, foreign oil workers can pay as much as $65,000 per year in rent for a modest apartment in a safe part of town. If that ine were better taxed, it might p