【推荐1】A pretty face is never forgotten. Do you believe so? But maybe it is untrue! Psychologists believe beautiful people are less likely to be recognized. A new study suggests that attractiveness can actually prevent the recognition of faces, unless a pretty face has particularly distinctive (与众不同的) features, such as Angelina Jolie’s.

German psychologists think the recognition of pretty faces is distorted (扭曲) by emotions. Researchers Holger Wiese, Carolin Altmann and Stefan Schweinberger at the University of Jena, Germany, discovered in a study that photos of unattractive people were more easily remembered than pretty ones when they showed them to a group of people.

For the study, which was published in science magazine Neuropsychologia, the psychologists showed photos of faces to test subjects. Half of the faces were considered to be more attractive and the other half as less attractive, but all of them were being thought of as similarly distinctive looking. The test subjects were shown the faces for just a few seconds to memorize them and were shown them again during the test so that they could decide if they recognized them or not.

The researchers were surprised by the result. “Until now we assumed that it was generally easier to memorize faces which are being considered as attractive, just because we prefer looking at beautiful faces,” Dr. Wiese said. But the study showed that such a connection cannot be easily proven. He assumes that remembering pretty faces is distorted by emotional influences, which increase the sense of recognition at a later time. The researchers’ idea is backed up by evidence from EEG-recordings (脑电图记录) they used during their experiment which show the brains’ electric activity.

The study also revealed that in the case of attractive faces, considerably more false positive results were detected. In other words, people thought they recognized a face without having seen it before. “We obviously tend to believe that we recognize a face just because we find it attractive.” Dr. Wiese said.

1. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．An official document.	B．A travel magazine.
C．A science report.	D．A history book.

2. What do we know about the photos from Paragraph 3?

A．They were all of pretty faces.

B．They were not distinctive at all.

C．They were selected at random.

D．They were showed twice to the test subjects.

3. What can be inferred from the new study?

A．Beautiful people are particularly distinctive.

B．People are unwilling to recognize ugly faces.

C．Attractiveness prevents the recognition of faces.

D．Attractive faces are always easy to be recognized.

4. Which word can show the author’s attitude towards the findings of the research?

A．Doubtful.

B．Objective.

C．Favorable.

D．Disapproving.

【推荐3】At home and at work, invisible radio waves from dozens of wireless networks are running through your space and body. It’s reasonable to worry about what effect all that wireless energy might have on your health.

But while the wireless equipment is becoming popular recently, the kind of radiation they produce has been carefully examined for decades, says John Moulder, a professor from the Medical College of Wisconsin. In 2013, Moulder wrote a report about the existing health research on Wi-Fi. Like your mobile phone, Wi-Fi routers（路由器）send and receive information using radio waves, he says.

The research on radio waves and human health goes back at least to the 1950s, when there were concerns about Navy servicemen being exposed（暴露）to powerful shipboard radar（雷达）. “We have 50 or 60 years of research into the kind of radiation connected with Wi-Fi,” Moulder says.

Foster was Moulder’s partner on that 2013 report of Wi-Fi's health effects. He says that, based on our understanding of radio wave strengths and risks, world health organizations have set safety standards for all the equipment that gives off radio waves—from phones to microwaves.

But some experts have more concerns about the types of weak radiation our wireless equipment produces. “We have animal studies suggesting even low-level exposures to the kind of radio wave radiation connected with Wi-Fi could have various negative health effects,” says Joel Moskowitz, a professor from the University of California.

Earlier this year, an animal study found heavy exposures to cell phone radiation increased rats’ risks for some brain and heart problems. But many of these animal studies are “all over the place” in their design quality, Foster says. Animal research often does not translate to humans. Also, many of the experiments are quite worrying, for the levels of radiation that the tested animals received are far greater than what people suffer when using mobile phones or wireless networks.

Moskowitz doesn’t disagree with Moulder. But he says the amount of radio wave radiation people receive today is different, and this raises new concerns. When it comes to our long-term, increasing exposures to all our wireless equipment, “we’re flying blind,” he says.

Of course, trying to avoid radio wave exposure is more or less impossible if you live in modern society. Moskowitz advises keeping wireless equipment away from your body and turning off wireless networks when they’re not in use. While any health risks are yet to be proved, “I think trying to minimize exposure is the best advice at this point,” Moskowitz adds.

1. What can be inferred from what John Moulder and Kenneth Foster say?

A．The study of Wi-Fi dates back to the 1950s.

B．There is no need to worry about the use of Wi-Fi.

C．People take risks when using phones and microwaves.

D．Navy servicemen near radar were in great danger.

2. What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 6 suggest?

A．Many studies on animals can be seen here and there.

B．The design quality of animal research is far from scientific.

C．The conditions set for animal studies are similar to those of humans.

D．Human beings suffer from stronger radiation than the tested animals.

3. What’s Moskowitz’s attitude towards the use of wireless equipment?

A．Cautious.	B．Uncaring.
C．Positive.	D．Curious.

【推荐2】Carl Lewis holds the record as the only man to capture the gold in the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump, and 4×100-meter relay at the same Olympic Games. He has been a member of five Olympic teams, but it wasn’t until the 1984 Games in Los Angeles that he came into his own, winning the 100-meter, 200-meter, long jump, and 4×100-meter relay. He continued to create history at the 1988 Games in Seoul, where he won the 100-meter and the long jump for a second time. In 1992 in Barcelona, Carl won the long jump and 4×100-meter relay again. Carl Lewis finally finished competing in 1996 in Atlanta where he won the long jump.

He happens to live right down the street from me, so I decided to interview the greatest Olympian of all time.

1. When you started running, did you realize that you were going to be great?

No, I was awful when I started! I was 5’5" until the end of tenth grade, but by the time I graduated I was six feet. I’m sure I would have quit if it hadn’t been for my parents telling me not to give up.

2. What thoughts went through your mind before a race? What did you tell yourself?

Leading up to the race, I’d go over my race technique. But once I stepped into the block, I would try to relax and clear my mind so the only thing I could hear was the gun going off. While I was actually running, I had to be aware of what was happening, but I couldn’t let that affect my race. I had to run my own race.

3. What advice would you give athletes?

Never give up. I was supposed to give up, but because my mom was the best liar on earth, telling me I would grow and that I was good at running, I continued to run. And you know how people say, “You can be whatever you want to be.” You just have to be a leader, no a follower, choose to make a difference, and you will be whatever you aspire to be.

1. In which of the following did Carl Lewis win gold medals twice?

A．100-meter and the long jump.	B．4×100-meter relay and 100-meter.
C．The long jump and 200-meter.	D．100-meter and 200-meter.

2. What can be learned about Carl Lewis from the passage?

A．He noticed nothing else but his running during the race.

B．He has altogether participated in four Olympic Games.

C．He was so determined that he never thought of quitting his sports.

D．He couldn’t have succeeded without his parents’ encouragement.

3. The underlined word “awful” in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.

A．terrible	B．confident
C．great	D．short

【推荐1】A US government study has found that facial recognition technology is getting better at identifying people wearing masks. The study is part of an ongoing research by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The agency has examined the effectiveness of more than 150 facial recognition systems on people wearing face coverings . The systems are powered by machine learning algorithms (算法).

The first results of the study were announced in July, as health officials across the world urged people to wear masks to limit the spread of COVID-19. New findings were released this week . Police agencies have long used facial recognition technology to search for and help catch criminals. It can also be used to unlock phones or other electronic devices. Some robots use facial recognition technology to recognize the people they are communicating with. However, the wide use of masks in public has created major difficulties for such systems.

The study looked at facial recognition systems already in use before the pandemic. It also looked at systems specially developed to work on masked faces. The NIST said it processed a total of 6. 2 million images for the experiment People in the images were not actually wearing masks. So, the researchers digitally added different mask shapes to faces in the pictures for use in the study. In some cases, up to 70 percent of a person’s face was covered in the images. Overall, the research shows the top-performing facial recognition systems fail to correctly identify unmasked individuals about 0. 3 percent of the time and the failure rate rose to about 5 percent with masked images. Many of the lower performing algorithms, however, had much higher error rates with masked images — as high as 20 to 50 percent.

In the latest findings, researchers included results from 65 new facial recognition systems that have been developed since the start of the pandemic. “Some of these systems performed “significantly better” than the earlier ones，” Mei Ngan, a lead researcher on the project, said in a statement. The study also found round-shaped masks — which cover only the mouth and nose — led to fewer errors than wider ones that stretch across the cheeks. The new study also ran tests to see whether different colored masks would affect error rates. The team used red, white, black and light blue. The research findings suggested that generally, the red and black masks led to higher failure rates than the other colors.

1. How does the author mainly present the study finding?

A．By giving definitions and examples.

B．By giving examples and a brief description.

C．By presenting data and making a comparison.

D．By giving definitions and presenting data.

2. According to the study, what has affected the effectiveness of facial recognition?

A．The speed of the machine learning algorithms.

B．The operators’skill in performing algorithms.

C．The number of the tested people.

D．The diversity of face coverings.

3. Who is the most difficult to recognize?

A．A girl wearing a white round-shaped mask.

B．A lady with a red mask stretching across her cheeks.

C．A man wearing a light blue mask covering his mouth and nose.

D．A man wearing a black mask with his nose and mouth covered up .

4. What is the author’s attitude towards the facial recognition systems?

A．Objective	B．Negative
C．Uncaring.	D．Doubtful.

【推荐2】What should you think about in trying to find your career? You are probably better at some school subjects than others. These may show strengths that you can use in your work. A boy who is good at mathematics can use that in an engineering career. A girl who spells well and likes English may be good at office work. So it is important to do well at school. On the other hand, you may not have any specially strong or weak subjects but your records show a general satisfactory standard. Although not all subjects can be used directly in a job, they may have indirect value. Knowledge of history is not required for most jobs hut if history is one of your good subjects you must have learned to remember facts and details. This is an ability that can be useful in many jobs.

Your school may have taught you skills, such as typing or technical drawing, which you can use in your work. You may be good at metal work or cookery (烹饪术) and look for a job where you can improve these skills.

If you have had a part-time job on weekends or in the summer, think what you gained from it. If nothing else, you may have learned how to get to work on time, to follow instructions and to get on with older workers. You may have learned to give correct change in a shop, for example. Just as important, you may become interested in a particular industry or career you see from the inside of a part-time job.

Facing your weak points is also part of knowing yourself. You may be all thumbs when you handle tools; perhaps you are a poor speller or cannot add up a column of figures. It is better to face any weaknesses than to pretend they do not exist. Your school record, for instance, may not be too good, yet it is an important part of your background. You should not be ashamed of it but instead recognize that you will have a chance of a fresh start at work.

1. According to the passage, what does the author encourage us to do?

A．Have a specially strong subject.

B．Take up part-time jobs as much as possible.

C．Make efforts to be good at all subjects.

D．Use school performance to help to choose a career.

2. We can learn from the third paragraph that as a student, having a part-time job __________.

A．is a good way to earn extra money

B．is helpless to find out the weak points

C．may be useful for the future work

D．is a must to experience various jobs

3. If a student’s school record is not good, he __________.

A．may do well in his future work if he chooses the right career

B．will be a failure in his future work sooner or later

C．must regret not having worked harder at school

D．should receive further education after graduation

4. What does the underlined part in the fourth paragraph suggest?

A．You may be weak at using your thumbs.

B．You may not be good at handling tools.

C．You are required to use all the thumbs to handle tools.

D．You are not expected to handle tools with all the thumbs.

【推荐3】China has been drinking tea since the time of Shennong, 5,000 years ago. Britain’s relationship with tea is much shorter, but tea enjoys pride of place as the UK’s national drink. According to the UK Tea Council, British people drink an average of three cups a day or a national total of 165 million cups every day.

With figures like these, it is no surprise that time spent taking tea affects the working day in Britain. A recent survey found that 24 minutes a day are lost to making, buying and drinking tea and coffee. That is, £400 a year is lost in working hours per employee, or 190 days over a lifetime. So, should employers be worried about this lost working time, or does the tea break make up in other ways?

One argument is that caffeine improves mental state: a drink of tea or coffee can make you active and focus on work.

Professor Rogers of the University of Bristol disagrees. After years of studying caffeine he sees nothing can prove that. “Workers would perform equally well if not drinking it at all,” he says. “But if they’re often drinking it and then go without, they’ll feel tired and won’t work well.”

Psychologist Cooper instead emphasizes the role tea breaks play in office life, and in building social relationships. “We need to make people more active and see other people. The tea break is one way of doing this,” says Cooper.

And Professor Rogers also points out the comfort effect of a hot drink: “We warm our hands on them on a cold day; they’re comforting and play a big role in our everyday life. Whatever the caffeine’s doing, I’d say these 24 minutes aren’t wasted.”

1. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Tea Breaks cannot make people more active at work.

B．British people drink more tea than people in other countries.

C．Tea break plays an important role in people’s life in Britain.

D．A lot of time has been wasted drinking tea in the working day.

2. We learn from a recent survey that in Britain _________.

A．£400 is lost in working hours for each person

B．tea breaks take up 24 minutes in a working day

C．people spends 190 days drinking tea and coffee each year

D．people drink 165 million cups in working hours every day

3. What’s Psychologist Coopers’ attitude towards tea break?

A．Positive.	B．Negative.
C．Uncertain.	D．Doubtful.