Everyone knows booking all your accommodation with the same hotel chain earns loyalty points, which can be traded for free stays and the occasional bottles of wine. Now a study shows that there could be performance benefits too.
People often experience trouble sleeping in a different bed in unfamiliar surroundings. This is a phenomenon known to psychologists as the “first-night” effect. This is because if a person stays in the same room the following night, he or she tends to sleep more soundly. Yuka Sasaki and her colleagues at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, set out to investigate the origins of this effect.
Dr. Sasaki knew the first-night effect probably has something to do with how humans evolved. The puzzle was in what way it can be beneficial. She also knew from previous work conducted on birds and dolphins that these animals put half of their brains to sleep at a time so that they can rest while remaining alert enough to avoid predators. This led her to wonder if people might be doing the same thing and feeling tired the next day as a result.
To take a closer look, the team studied 35 young and healthy people as they slept in the unfamiliar environment of the university’s Department of Psychological Sciences. The participants each slept in the department for two nights and were carefully monitored each time with neuroimaging techniques that looked at the activity of their brains. Their heart rates, muscle and eye movements were also recorded.
Dr. Sasaki found that, as expected, the participants slept worse on their first night in the lab than they did on their second, taking more than twice as long to fall asleep and sleeping less overall. During deep sleep, the participants’ brains behaved in a similar manner seen in birds and dolphins. More specifically, on the first night only, the left brain did not sleep as deeply as the right brain did.
Wondering if the left brains indeed remained awake to process information detected in the surrounding environment, Dr. Sasaki re-ran the experiment while presenting the sleeping participants with a mix of regularly timed beeps of the same tone and irregular beeps of a different tone during the night. She worked out that, if the left brain stayed alert to keep guard in a strange environment, then it would react to the random beeps by waking people up and would ignore the regularly timed ones. This is precisely what she found.
Based upon these feelings, Dr. Sasaki argues in Current Biology that the first-night effect is a mechanism that has evolved to function as something of a neurological night watchman to wake people up when they hear noises when sleeping in an unfamiliar environment.
1. What puzzled the researchers about the first-night effect?| A．What role it has played in evolution. | B．What benefit can be gained from it. |
| C．To what extent it can affect people. | D．The relationship between it and circumstances. |
| A．conducted studies on young and old people |
| B．got some idea from previous studies on birds and dolphins |
| C．found birds and dolphins had nearly the same sleeping patterns |
| D．found half of birds’ and dolphins’ brains remain awake while asleep |
| A．She analyzed the negative effects of irregular tones on brains. |
| B．She recorded the participants’ adaptation to changed environment. |
| C．She exposed the participants to two different kinds of noises. |
| D．She compared the responses of male and female participants. |
| A．They differed in their tolerance of irregular tones. |
| B．They tended to regard irregular beeps as a threat. |
| C．They felt sleepy when exposed to regular beeps. |
| D．They tended to enjoy certain tones more than others. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】At one point or another, you’ve probably heard someone speak with confidence on a topic that they actually know almost nothing about. This phenomenon is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect.
In a set of studies, researchers Justin Kruger and David Dunning asked participants to complete tests of their skills in a particular domain. Then, participants were asked to guess how well they had done on the test.
In other words, if someone knows very little about a particular topic, they may not even know enough about the topic to realize that their knowledge is limited. Importantly, someone may be highly skilled in one area, but be influenced by the Dunning-Kruger effect in another domain.
If people who know very little about a topic think they’re experts, what do experts think of themselves? Interestingly, Dunning and Kruger found that although experts typically guessed their performance was above average, they didn’t realize quite how well they had done. They often make a different mistake:
What can people do to overcome the effect? Dunning and Kruger once had some of the participants take a logic test and then complete a short training session on logical reasoning. After the training, the participants were asked to assess how they’d done on the previous test.
In short, The Dunning-Kruger effect suggests that we may not always know as much as we think we do.
| A．Researchers found that the training made a difference. |
| B．They assume that everyone else is knowledgeable, too. |
| C．This happens when people know much about a topic. |
| D．They found that participants tended to overestimate their abilities. |
| E．All of them had an accurate view of their performance. |
| F．This means that everyone can potentially be affected by the Dunning-Kruger effect. |
| G．In some domains, we may not know enough about a topic to realize that we are unskilled. |
【推荐2】How often do you exercise? A new study found that most kids aged 12 to 15 weren’t getting enough physical activity. The results were based on about 800 kids. As part of the study, the kids reported on their own activity levels, and took physical exams. According to the study, only 25% of U.S. kids get enough physical activity.
“It's certainly worrying to see that our kids have such a limited amount of physical activity each day,” said Dr. Stephen Pont. He is an expert on children's health.
Few kids in the study met the requirement on physical activity that raises the heart rate and makes people breathe harder. Overall, about 25% said they got an hour of that kind of exercise every day. Kids also reported on which activities they did most often outside of school gym class—basketball for boys and running for girls.
“There's always room for improvement,” said Tala Fakhouri, who was the leader of the study. Fakhouri visits schools and holds exercise events. She also calls on schools to offer regular gym classes.
The study also found kids who get physical education at school may get better grades in study.
1. What is the result of the new study?| A．It’s important to take physical exams. |
| B．800 kids don’t get enough physical activity. |
| C．Most U.S. kids don't get enough exercise. |
| D．Kids should get physical activity as much as possible. |
| A．Basketball. | B．Running. |
| C．Gym. | D．Swimming. |
| A．be less active than fat children | B．be more willing to help others |
| C．try their best to get in shape | D．do better in their studies |
【推荐3】We can learn to be happy, but only get lasting benefits if we keep practising, a first-of-its-kind study has shown.
The team behind the University of Bristol’s “Science of Happiness” course had already discovered something.
Senior author Prof. Bruce Hood said, “
Published in the journal Higher Education, it is the first to track well-being of students on a happiness course long after they have left the course.
Prof. Hood said, “This study shows that just doing a course—be that at the gym, a meditation or on an evidence-based happiness course like ours—is just the start.
Much of what we teach centers around positive psychology involvement that turns your attention away from yourself, by helping others, being with friends, gratitude or meditating.
| A．Stick to what you do |
| B．It’s like going to the gym |
| C．You must promise to use what you’ve learned on a regular basis |
| D．Prof. Hood has put the “Science of Happiness” course into a new book |
| E．Students who took the course reported a 10% to 15% improvement in well-being |
| F．Teaching students the latest scientific studies on happiness created a marked improvement in their well-being |
| G．Started in 2018, the University of Bristol’s “Science of Happiness” course was the first of its kind in the UK |
【推荐1】A latest national survey has found that over half of China’s netizens (网民) are suffering from various mental problems although some 62 percent of them claim at the same time that they are happy on the whole anyway.
This is the result of China’s first White Paper on Netizens’ Health Conditions issued on Wednesday by 39.net, China’s largest authoritative website on health sciences. It is the first most comprehensive health survey on netizens’ health situation ever conducted in China in ten years’ time. The white paper came out after two months of online and offline research that involved over 150 thousand netizens, covering topics and questions on health knowledge, mental situation, sense of health, and living habits.
According to the white paper, more than 70 percent of China’s netizens say they are suffering from mental problems such as bad memory, anxiety, depression, and a lack of confidence. And a similar 72 percent of them also say they are often suffering from diseases like insomnia, dizziness, joint degeneration and achings. Meanwhile, another 53 percent of netizens believe that white collar employees who have bigger work pressures are more likely to catch mental problems.
The white paper adds, doing almost no sports and spending long time surfing online lead to the above mentioned health problems among netizens. Only 9 percent of netizens take up sports on weekends while over 40 percent stay home, surfing. And only 16 percent netizens can assure more than eight hours’ sleeping daily.
At present, China has a netizen population of 162 million, with a monthly consumption of 186 yuan, or about 25 dollars, on Internet surfing.
1. The national survey on netizens’ health situation ________.| A．was conducted on Wednesday | B．was carried out online and offline |
| C．is conducted every year | D．covered about half a million netizens |
| A．White clothes. | B．Office workers. |
| C．White offices. | D．White people. |
| A．shopping online | B．spending long time online |
| C．heavy work pressures | D．doing no sports |
| A．China has a large netizen population. |
| B．The Internet has a negative influence on people. |
| C．Many netizens in China have mental problems. |
| D．How to surf the Internet safely and healthily. |
【推荐2】Whether you’re taking a short business flight or a dream vacation around the world, here are some smart and simple green travel tips to make any trip a little easier.
1. Power Down
If your green travels leave behind an empty house, power down as many appliances (电器) as possible. Don’t forget to unplug (拔开) electronics like your TV, computer and others that use power even when they’re turned off.
2. Go Car-Free
On your way to the airport or to your hotel, and all around your traveling city, consider using trains or buses. By stepping out of a car and into the real world, you’ll not only save more energy, but also meet more people, see more sights and have more fun.
3. Go Paperless
Airlines have almost all gone ticketless; not only does this green travel trip reduce paper waste, it also makes check-in faster and easier. Some hotels, too, allow guests to check out using their hotel’s in-house TV programming.
4. Green Travels and Eco-Hotels
Staying in a wild eco-hotel isn’t a usual choice in most cities. But if you were paying the electric bill, you’ll find lots of ways to green your travels. Turning down the air-conditioner when you’re there — turning off when you’re not — makes a big difference.
5. Buy Local
Shopping? Try to buy items that are small and light, and ask if they’re locally made. With a little effort, you might even be able to find something that supports local charities (慈善机构) or schools.
6. Pack Smart
Airlines are charging for extra luggage. Travel light, pack only the things you know you’ll need, and save money and energy. One smart thing to pack but often left behind is a reusable water bottle.
1. When we are going for a trip, it is advisable to .| A．turn off the water tap at home but keep the light on |
| B．take as many things as we can manage for later use |
| C．unplug the TV, computer and other electric appliances |
| D．drive our own cars to save money and time during the trip |
| A．Traveling around without using any paper. |
| B．Avoiding paper tickets at airports and hotels. |
| C．Taking less paper along during the trip. |
| D．Staying in hotels that provide no paper in rooms. |
| A．help travelers save more time shopping |
| B．make sure to buy real good things |
| C．support some of the local charities or schools |
| D．add more weight to the travelers’ baggage |
| A．To encourage the public to protect the environment. |
| B．To correct travelers’ bad habits during their traveling. |
| C．To remind people of the importance of saving energy. |
| D．To introduce some easy green travel tips for travelers. |
【推荐3】Microsoft won’t renew the contracts (合同) for dozens of news production contractors working at its MSN website and plans to use AI (人工智能) to replace them.
The roughly 50 employees were informed that their services would no longer be needed beyond June 30, but a team of full-time journalists will remain.
The Microsoft spokesman said in a statement, “Like all companies, we analyze and make judgments on our activities and services on a regular basis. This can result in increased investment (投资) in some places and, from time to time. rearrangement in others. These decisions are not the result of the current pandemic.”
MSN will use AI to replace the production work its journalists had been doing. That work includes using an automated system to identify trending news stories from dozens of publishing partners and to help improve the content by rewriting headlines or adding better accompanying photographs or slide shows.
“I spend all my time reading about how automation and AI are going to take all our jobs - now it’s taken mine,” one of the terminated (被终止的) contractors said. “But with fewer human beings to monitor the technology, AI may not be fully familiar with strict editorial guidelines and could end up letting through inappropriate stories.”
MSN has undergone a number of changes since its launch as Microsoft Network in 1995. Once it offered original content and links to news, weather, and sports. In 2013, it reduced original news content and began cutting employees. By 2014, it launched a redesigned version that partner red with other news sites-paying them to redistribute their content. Today, the news service relies entirely on those partnerships with no original news content of its own. Selecting and editing stories rather than actually generating them made it easier for MSN to increasingly rely on an automated editing system.
1. What will happen in Microsoft?| A．More people are being employed to develop AI. |
| B．Robots are being used to write news reports for MSN. |
| C．Some workers are being fired and replaced by AI. |
| D．It is signing new contracts with some workers at MSN. |
| A．They will invest more in AI. |
| B．They frequently examine their business. |
| C．They have been badly influenced by the pandemic. |
| D．They provide the best services for Internet users. |
| A．Doubtful. | B．Favorable. | C．Uncaring. | D．Contradictory. |
| A．Its partners help it select and edit news stories. |
| B．Other news websites pay it to use its content. |
| C．Original content is encouraged on its website. |
| D．All its news is produced by other news sites. |
【推荐1】The different parts of a health-care system have different focuses. A hospital’s stroke unit monitors blood flow in the brain. The cardiac (心脏的) unit is interested in that same flow, but through and from the heart. The data is effective in its own field, but for the most part has little relevance to other bits of the body and conditions.
Apart from all this, the instruments that doctors use to monitor health are often expensive, as is the training required to operate them. That combined cost is too high for the medical system to scan regularly, for early signs of illness.
A research project called AlzEye, run from Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, may change this. It is attempting to use the eye as a window through which to detect signals about the health of other organs. The doctors in charge of it, Siegfried Wagner and Pearse Keane, are linking Moorfields’ database of eye scans, which offer a detailed picture of the health of the retina (视网膜), with information about other aspects of its patients’ health collected from other hospitals around England.
The data set includes every one of the 300,000 patients who visited Moorfields between 2008 and 2018 and was over the age of 40. The idea is to examine changes to people’s eyes within that ten-year period, and link these with, say, the appearance of Alzheimer’s disease in the same patient.
Drs Wagner and Keane are searching for patterns in the eye that betray the appearance of disease elsewhere in the body, and are focusing first on Alzheimer’s disease. They will seek such patterns with the help of algorithms (程序) that can spot far tinier variations. They may, it should be remembered, never find such patterns. Although there is evidence that the back of the eye does change as its owner develops Alzheimer’s, it may be that the changes are too small to be detected reliably enough for diagnosis (诊断). If such patterns could be recognized reliably, though, the potential impact would be huge. Even in rich countries, between 50% and 80% of Alzheimer’s cases go undiagnosed. Moreover, even if the technique does not work for Alzheimer’s, it might work for something else. Dr Wagner and Dr Keane therefore plan further searches for patterns related to strokes and heart disease. Even one relevant pattern would contain a remarkable diagnostic leap forward.
If it does work, the technique the two researchers are recommending will be cheap to carry out. An indication of how cheap is the project’s total budget of just £15,000. Also, the equipment and algorithms to perform an eye scan are available to anyone, through cloud-computing services like Google and Amazon.
1. What is the disadvantage of the traditional way to monitor health?| A．Doctors are only interested in their own fields. |
| B．It can’t find early signs of illness effectively. |
| C．It can’t offer all-around health information. |
| D．Hospitals can’t afford the equipment and training. |
| A．decide whether the patients’ retinas are healthy |
| B．compare Moorfields’ database with other hospitals’ |
| C．find the connections between eye changes and disease |
| D．explore the use of algorithms in detecting Alzheimer’s |
| A．change | B．show |
| C．cause | D．prevent |
| A．It examines the lifelong changes to 300,000 patients’ eyes. |
| B．It can correctly diagnose Alzheimer’s cases by scanning eyes. |
| C．It may be applied in finding other diseases besides Alzheimer’s. |
| D．It provides cloud-computing services with Google and Amazon. |
【推荐2】Oxford English Language Center
Information for New Students
CLASS TIME：8:30a. m.-10:00a. m.，10:30a. m. -12:00a. m., 1:30p. m. -3:00p. m. The Language Center is open Monday to Friday. Each class has one afternoon free per week. On the first day, go to the lecture hall to check your timetable.
SELF—ACCESS：The language laboratory（Room 1110）is open Monday to Friday from 3:15p. m. to 5:00p. m. for all full-time students. You can learn how to use computers for language games or word-processing. There are tapes for students to borrow to practice their English. Go in and ask the teacher to show you. If you plan to take public examinations, there are dictation and listening comprehension tapes for you to practice with. There are cloze exercises on the computers. Ask your class teacher for a list of past exam essays. Students can borrow tapes to take home but they must be returned after two days.
ATTENDANCE: All students are expected to attend classes as it is required. Students who do not attend classes will be reported to OSS. Eighty percent attendance is required for students to receive their certificates when they finish their courses. It is also required by OSS for an extension to your visa.
BOOKS: If students are given course books, the books are their responsibility. If a book is lost, the student will be expected to pay for it. If students wish to buy books, there is a bookshop in the college specializing in English books（Room 3520）.
1. When do classes begin and end on a full day?| A．8:30a. m. —1:30p. m.. | B．8:30a. m. —3:00p. m.. |
| C．8:30a. m. —3:15p. m.. | D．3:15p. m. —5:00p. m.. |
| A．No teachers are in the language lab. |
| B．90% attendance is required for the students. |
| C．Books can’t be taken out of the center. |
| D．Students can prepare for exams by listening to tapes. |
| A．the lecture hall | B．the language laboratory |
| C．Room 1110 | D．Room 3520 |
【推荐3】The Palace Museum is limiting the daily number of visitors to 80,000 and recommending both individual visitors and tourist groups to book tickets in, advance online (booking address: https://gugong ktmtech.cn). foreign visitors are required to provide passport numbers during the online booking
ADMISSION
April 1st-October 31st 60 yuan
November 1st-March 31st. 140 yuan
●Free admission(入场费) for children under.2 meters in height.
●Free admission for disabled visitors.
●20 yuan for elementary, middle school, and undergraduate students with student I.D. (not including graduate and adult or continuing education students).
●50% discount for people over 60 years with valid certificate or proof of age (passport, etc.)'
●Women's Day (March 8): Half-price admission for female visitors.
●Children's Day (June 1): Free admission for children 14 years old and younger. 50% discount on admission for one accompanying parent. legal guardian, or adult,
For detailed information and instruction, please click here.
1. How many people can visit the Palace Museum daily at most?| A．Eight hundred | B．Eighty thousand. | C．Eight million | D．Eighty million. |
| A．A middle-aged woman visiting it on 13,Mar. | B．A middle-aged parent visiting it alone on lst, June. |
| C．A 65-year-old man visiting it on 7th,May. | D．A middle school student visiting it on 6th,Jan. |
| A．A website. | B．A magazine | C．A book. | D．A newspaper. |
【推荐1】Bridging the gap between simple automation(自动化)and robots that can communicate with humans naturally is a big challenge, but major progress has been made in the past few years.
Research into social robots has shown that machines that respond to emotion(情感)can help the elderly and children, and could lead to robots becoming more widely socially acceptable.
Milo is both a robotic teacher and a student. Developers RoboKind created Milo to help children with autism(自闭症)learn more about emotional expression and empathy (共鸣) while collecting data on their progress to target learning and treatment. Milo's friendly face makes himself kind and the children are able to read his expressions.
Robots can also reduce stress in hospital settings. Expper Tech's Robin was designed as a robot to provide emotional support for children with medical treatment. Robin explains medical details to them, plays games and tells stories, and during treatment draws their attention away to reduce their feeling of pain.
Expper's robot uses Artificial Inteligence(AI) to create empathy, remembering expressions and conversations to build conversation for follow-up sessions. In trials at the Wigmore Medical Pediatric Clinic in Yerevan. Armenia, the team found that Robin led to a 34% weakening in stress and improve happiness of 26% in the 120 children who interacted(互动)with him at least once.
Today's simple systems are being trained to meet that demand. This includes ProxEmo, a little wheeled robot that can guess how you are feeling from the way you walk, and ENRICHME who helps older people to stay physically and mentally active. The problem is the fear that human jobs may be lost as robots become better at dealing with social situations.
1. What makes children feel Milo's kindness?| A．Milo's appearance. | B．Milo's speech. |
| C．Milo's hospital settings. | D．Milo's way of walking. |
| A．By listing numbers. | B．By making comments. |
| C．By following the time order. | D．By explaining the process. |
| A．Milo. | B．Robin. |
| C．ProxEmo. | D．ENRICHME. |
| A．Robots can't meet their demand. |
| B．Some people will be out of work. |
| C．A robot isn't widely acceptable. |
| D．Robots can't deal with problems. |
【推荐2】Three-day Tour Arrangement to Cambodia（柬埔寨）
Day 1
Welcome to Cambodia! Upon arrival, our professional guide and driver will greet you at the airport, and take you to check in at the hotel. The rest of the day is free for you to explore the city.
Meals: No meals, advice freely available
Accommodation: Tara Angkor (吴哥窟) Hotel
Day 2
Angkor Thom (大吴哥窟) is regarded as the heart of Angkorian relics of Cambodia. After breakfast, we will head for this ancient capital to enjoy the wonderful carvings and sculptures (雕塑) at the south gate.
After that, follow our guide to tour Angkor Wat (小吴哥窟). It is the best-preserved Angkorian relic in the entire country. It is famous for its large number of excellent reliefs (浮雕). Later, we will hike up a mountain to enjoy the sunset view at the Bakheng Temple. A beautiful Apsara Dinner Show awaits you in the evening.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 3
The fantastic sunrise over Angkor Wat should not be missed. Please get up early and have your camera ready to capture the great scenes. After that, we will set out for a private ride to the Banteay Srei Temple. Magical reliefs on its red walls gain the greatest admiration. After visiting a few local villages, we will head back downtown to stop by other sites, Preah Khan Temple, Ta Prohm Temple and Ta Keo Temple.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
1. Which is considered the center of Angkorian relics of Cambodia?| A．Angkor Wat. | B．Angkor Thom. |
| C．Preah Khan Temple. | D．Banteay Srei Temple. |
| A．Drive to a private place. | B．Admire the ancient Angkorian relic. |
| C．Host a beautiful Apsara Dinner Show. | D．Visit some local villages. |
| A．A private ride. | B．The hiking in a mountain. |
| C．The magical reliefs. | D．The fantastic sunrise. |
【推荐3】I speak Spanish, because I was born in Spain. But then at primary school I had to learn Russian, and at high school, I was taught how to speak German. But I always wanted to speak English.
At last I came to America. Everywhere there was English! But even if I heard and felt its presence, it was hard for me to understand it and express myself in it. The few lessons of English that I had taken in Spain gave me only a chance to introduce myself, and I didn’t even know how to buy things and ask directions.
To talk to somebody, I went to a high school to take a course in English for foreigners. Disappointingly, it took almost an hour to get through the process of introducing ourselves. Everyone had to learn something that I had already known from my books – the English alphabet (字母表) and numbers. I thought it was a waste of time, so I quit.
After a month, I tried again, but this time at college. After 15 minutes of introducing ourselves, a teacher gave us a lecture about the history of English. Then we were told that it was very important to know English in an English-speaking country. It took three hours for the teacher to tell us this. Again, I quit.
But I didn’t stop looking for something or someone that would help me to achieve my goal, and I found a tutor from Literacy Volunteers of America. But I still wasn’t happy with the classes. And when it was my turn to give a speech, I was happy to use all the long, complicated words that I had learned from one of my English books. When I had finished, my tutor said “Well, I think I have to learn English before coming to teach you!” This time, the tutor quit!
1. How many languages has the writer learned?| A．Two. | B．Four. |
| C．Three. | D．Five. |
| A．Because no one wanted to talk to him. |
| B．Because everyone had to learn the English alphabet and numbers. |
| C．Because the lessons were too easy. |
| D．Because the courses were prepared for the natives. |
| A．happy. | B．crazy. |
| C．serious. | D．friendly. |
| A．The writer learnt many foreign languages. |
| B．The writer tested the teachers’ English abilities. |
| C．The writer researched different ways of learning English. |
| D．The writer tried to look for a proper way to learn English. |
