Even smart people can make terrible decisions. Generally, it’s not because they spent time deliberating and somehow arrived at the wrong answer.
The siren call of your inbox can be hard to resist. Yet research suggests that switching between tasks — say, doing research and checking for new email — takes up to 40 percent longer than doing one at a time. Even when you think you’re being more productive by multitasking, you’re probably not.
Staying seated all day
Office jobs doesn’t contribute to getting a lot of physical activity.
Listening to music while you work
You might feel more productive when you listen to music while doing focused work — but you’re probably not really. In 2015, neuroscientist and musician Daniel Levitin, who cited a growing body of research suggesting that, in almost every case, your performance on intellectual tasks (thinking, reading or writing) suffers considerably when you listen to music.
Choosing foods that seem nutritious — but aren’t really
Don’t believe the hype — know the facts about your food.
Staying up too late
Scientists have identified a common phenomenon they call “bedtime procrastination”: Failing to go to bed at the intended time, while no external circumstances prevent a person from doing so. For example, you keep watching one episode after another of a not-that-interesting TV show.
| A．Constantly checking your email. |
| B．This isn’t just silly — it can be dangerous. |
| C．Keeping your phone off your desk at work. |
| D．It’s because they didn’t spend any time thinking at all. |
| E．But you don’t need to be up and about for hours at a time. |
| F．In a 2005 study, scientists make a list of foods that you think are bad for you, but aren’t really. |
| G．Business Insider’s Erin Brodwin put together a list of foods that you think are good for you, but aren’t and foods that you think are bad for you, but aren’t really. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】I'm a speaker and give hundreds of speeches every year. I spoke about appreciation last month and I used this quote by Albert Schweitzer: " Sometimes our light goes out but is blown again into flame by meeting with another human being. Each of us should express the deepest thanks to those who have relighted this inner(内心的) light
I asked my audiences to shut their eyes and think about someone who, at some time in their lives, has relighted their inner light. Then I left the room in silence for several minutes. It was always a meaningful experience as they remembered the joy they felt from another person
One day, a gentleman came up to talk with me and thanked me for creating a new awareness(意识)in him. He said he thought of his eighth-grade history teacher because she was everyone's favorite teacher and had truly made a difference in all of their lives. After several days, the gentleman found his history teacher and he wrote to her. The following week he received this letter
Dear John
You will never know how much your letter meant to me. I am 83 years old, and I am living all alone in one room. My friends are all gone. My family’s gone. I taught 50 years and yours is the first "thank you" letter I have ever gotten from a student. Sometimes I wonder what I did with my life. I will read and reread your letter until the day I die
The gentleman was sad, "She is always the one we talk about when we have a get-together. She is everyone's favorite teacher-- we love her! But no one had ever told her until she received my letter.
1. Why did the author use Albert Schweitzers words in his speech?| A．To draw the attention of the audiences | B．To show his honor to Albert Schweitzer |
| C．To show the importance of appreciation | D．To prove humans should help each other. |
| A．To ask questions | B．To thank the author |
| C．To try to find his history teacher | D．To introduce his history teacher to him. |
| A．We should never forget our teachers | B．Teachers usually miss their students |
| C．Expressing thanks may light up others' life | D．It's never too late to show thanks to others |
| A．No one loved the teacher | B．He missed his teacher very much |
| C．His teacher lost many loved ones | D．He didn't thank his teacher in time |
【推荐2】I went to the Tsavo National Park in northern Kenya for a film. We set off early for a distant water hole. A huge elephant covered with dry mud, drank calmly and deeply. He might have traveled 50 km to reach the water. He wasn’t going to hurry now. He’d drink a while and rest in the shade, and then drink again or so we thought. What actually happened was that he drank deeply and stepped away. Then he suddenly fell down. Within minutes he was dead.
We called animal doctor Jeremiah Poghon immediately. He removed the head of a poisoned arrow from the elephant’s body, and let out over 100 liters of pus (胺)－the result of the elephant’s meeting with a poacher（偷猎者）months before.
Today's poacher shoots from a blind. He fires an arrow, covered with poison, into the body of an elephant. If the poacher is lucky, the elephant might die in an hour or two; if not, he might have to follow the elephant for days before it dies. Often the arrow head fails to kill the elephant at once－it doesn't mean the poison won't finally kill the ele- phant, but it will be a slow death.
Living in Tsavo through these times, I could see the results of poaching from time to time. When I think about the death of that elephant, what stays with me is the extra- ordinary silence after the shocking sound of his body hitting the ground. I took some comfort from the knowledge that as the dead body returned to the soil, some animals would benefit－but I couldn't escape the feeling that with the death of such a large animal, the world seemed to be a poorer and emptier place.
1. What does the author probably do?| A．Teacher | B．Hunter | C．Zoo keeper | D．Director |
| A．knew the elephant was injured |
| B．found the elephant acted violently |
| C．tried their best to save the elephant |
| D．thought the elephant was in good condition |
| A．had suffered an hour or two |
| B．was killed by a poisonous needle |
| C．had suffered a lot |
| D．had had a good fight with a poacher |
| A．Empty. | B．Comfortable. | C．Upset. | D．Relieved. |
| A．To introduce African elephant. |
| B．To show the cruelty of poaching. |
| C．To describe his filming experience. |
| D．To ask readers to protect wild animals. |
【推荐3】
| A．There are other habits which, when formed in early life, are of great help. |
| B．Whether good or not habit are, they are easy to get rid of. |
| C．We ought to keep from all these bad habits, and try to form such habits as will prove good for ourselves and others. |
| D．These are all easily formed habits. |
| E．It is therefore very important that we should pay great attention to the formation of habits. |
| F．Habits, whether good or bad, are gradually formed (形成). |
| G．It is very important for us to know why we should get used to good habits. |
【推荐1】Science is increasingly central to our lives — from its role in creating day-to-day objects such as the smartphones in our pockets, to the big challenges of tackling disease, addressing climate change and focusing on biodiversity loss.
Many of the changes that the discipline brings are hugely beneficial, but they often come with potential downsides that demand public debate. Will artificial intelligence take people’s jobs or destroy elections with false news? How fast can we practically achieve a net zero economy?
For the crucial public debate that is needed on all this to take place, we must have a scientifically literate population. But there is a divide between the scientifically minded and those who choose not to engage with science.
It saddens me that our culture now views science as difficult, which discourages many from taking an interest in it. A British Science Association (BSA) survey recently suggested that only around a third of 14- to 18-year-olds find scientists inspirational or consider the subject to be relevant to their lives.
In fact, science is interlinked with every aspect of our existence and people from all walks of life and of all ages should be able to access it easily. The invention of the printing press was crucial to the Enlightenment because it democratised (普及) knowledge. So, in this increasingly science-centred world, the same attention should be given to popular science writing as is given to other forms of literature.
The Royal Society Science Book Prize is the only one in the world to promote popular science writing. Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time, which was shortlisted (把……列入入围名单) for the prize in 1989, was written for readers who had no prior knowledge of physics and has since become a universally recognised text on the universe.
Democratising science has never been more important. There are so many scientific stories to be told that can help us better understand ourselves. A society equipped with a solid understanding of the issues of the day is a society more able to respond to them in a better way.
1. What does the underlined part “all this” in paragraph 3 refer to?| A．Beneficial scientific advancements. |
| B．Challenges facing human beings. |
| C．Potential downsides of science. |
| D．Disagreements between scientists and the public. |
| A．They have great respect for scientists. |
| B．They feel disconnected from science. |
| C．They know little about the Enlightenment. |
| D．They wish to land a career in the scientific field. |
| A．It won an international book prize. |
| B．It focused on important life issues. |
| C．It was written by a highly-honoured author. |
| D．It democratised knowledge about the universe. |
| A．The crisis of science in our modern life |
| B．We must rely on science to tackle our problems |
| C．Popular science books have never been more important |
| D．Public debate about science could never be more necessary |
【推荐2】We lead very busy lives and we too easily forget how hard it was for us to focus on homework when we were in school. Now that we have jobs to do, food to buy and cook and other errands(差事) to run, even I sometimes think it would be a welcome change to have to sit down and quietly read and write with no distractions. But, in case you don’t remember - homework is pretty much every child’s least favorite thing to do. In the age of Netflix, Snapchat and wifi, the distractions are almost endless. It can sometimes almost be too hard to even keep up with all the new tech advances our kids are using, so how can we make sure that those advances take a back seat to our children’s education? Here are some ideas.
There’s no point in stopping the reality that young people are going to focus on their phones and tablets instead of other things at times. Your best way is to accept, actually the tech sector continues to be the most profitable and fast-growing industries and that’s unlikely to change fast. There are ways to use technology to help your kid do homework. Ask your teacher and school staff what apps and websites they’re using to teach lessons and supplements(补充) them with at-home activities as well.
Even though technology has changed, the basics haven’t. If you want to read, write and think properly, you need to have peace and quiet and the ability to focus, right? Well, your kids are just the same.Try and find a space in your home to enable your kids to do work away from televisions, the Internet or other distractions. Let me be clear: this shouldn’t be a prison.I feel like I’m my most productive working alone in an office or at a busy cafe with my headphones on. Getting lost in other realities helps my creativity grow. Placing kids in isolation(独处) can often have a harmful effect and doesn’t always equal being more productive.
I feel like “getting engaged( 参 与 )” is always a big part of my advice for parents on just about everything. How can you make sure your children are being successful if you have no idea what they’re doing? How can you be sure they’re doing it right if you don’t know what is the correct answer? What do they need? You should be in touch with their teachers, have a sense of where the lessons are going, what kinds of tasks are being given and what success looks like in the classroom.
Knowing all of that is key to your child’s success, especially when matched with some encouraging praise and helpful tips on how he can keep going. Thinking about how your child is best motivated(激励) by other things and using those methods here reasonably isn’t a bad idea.
And if by chance you’re having trouble solving that Math problems or understanding a sentence, don’t fear – you’re not alone. Use the school staff, other parents or friends as your support. Better to seek help than do nothing.
We all know that homework isn’t exactly the most entertaining way anyone spends their time. And sometimes we can’t help but feel that since we left school, we’re done with homework forever. But the circle of life plays out in all times and it’s up to us to make sure that we pass on the lessons we’ve picked up and that while homework might seem dull, it’s how we build skills, learn real lessons and get on the road to greatness. That greatness is on the inside, it’s up to us as adults to enable the young people to bring it out. The key to achieving greatness is to take a lifelong learning.
1. What is the author’s attitude towards new tech?| A．It affects parents’ everyday life. |
| B．It should be kept out of children’s reach. |
| C．It can benefit student’s education. |
| D．It makes homework easier. |
| A．Homework should be made entertaining. |
| B．Parents should know what motivates their children best. |
| C．Students should do their homework independently. |
| D．School staff should help parents on new tech. |
| A．must be better at all the lessons |
| B．needn’t make sure that their children are being successful |
| C．can teach their children by themselves |
| D．should know as much as possible about it |
| A．Children should achieve greatness on their own. |
| B．Parents and their children should learn from each other. |
| C．Children can hardly succeed without parents’ efforts. |
| D．Parents can only obtain skills by helping their children. |
| A．Education | B．Health | C．Technology | D．Science |
【推荐3】The British love their supermarkets. And there are more and more of them every year. But is this a good thing? Not necessarily.
For a start, supermarkets have a negative effect on local communities. Money spent in independent small shops usually stays in the area. However, money spent at supermarkets is often put into the bank accounts of distant shareholders(股东), some of whom don't even pay any tax(税) in the UK!
Supermarkets are also bad for animal welfare(福利、关心). The UK has high standards in this field, but some supermarkets get their meat from abroad. And in many cases, this meat is produced under conditions that would be illegal (违法的) in the UK. But once they've got the meat, supermarkets put a British flag on the product as the meat is packed there. Dishonest? Not exactly, but it isn't entirely true either!
Supermarkets have a poor environmental record too. Many of them don't store food products themselves as storage space is expensive, so they get food producers to do it for them. This means that supermarket trucks have to make more trips to collect supplies. In turn,this increases the amount of petrol used, which leads to more pollution. In fact, the average item of food from a supermarket travels over 1,000 kilometres. Supermarkets also use a lot of plastic packaging, which isn't good for the environment either.
So, what can be done to help the small shops? Not much really. Supermarkets have a lot of power. Many political parties(政党) receive donations from supermarkets and supermarkets often use their money to influence decisions. For example, just before the millennium (the year 2000), one supermarket gave the government £12 million to help build the Millennium Dome in London. Later, plans to tax supermarket car parks were dropped.
Supermarkets are good news for shoppers looking for a bargain, but they're definitely bad for local business, animals and the environment!
1. Why are supermarkets in the UK bad for local communities?| A．They refuse to employ local workers. |
| B．They take money away from the locals. |
| C．They drive small shops out of the area. |
| D．They pay more tax than local companies. |
| A．It is often priced dishonestly. |
| B．It may be packed under poor conditions. |
| C．It is sometimes produced illegally in the UK. |
| D．It may be below UK standard for animal welfare. |
| A．They cause too much food waste. |
| B．They reuse a lot of plastic packaging. |
| C．They occupy much land-as storage space. |
| D．They carry food over long distances by truck. |
| A．They are heart-broken. |
| B．They are money-driven. |
| C．They are open-minded. |
| D．They are strong-willed. |
