【推荐1】Directions: Read the following three passages. Summarize the main idea and the main point（s）of the passage in no more than 60 words. Use your own words as far as possible.

How Come Scientists Draw Opposite Conclusions?

One of the biggest concerns is science is bias-that scientist themselves, consciously or unconsciously, may put their thumbs on the scales and influence the outcomes of experiments. But gathering the data and running an experiment is not the only part of the process that can go awry. The methods chosen to analyse the data can also influence results even if being based on the same data-set.

A new paper, headed by Martin Schweinsberg, a psychologist at the European School of Management and Technology, in Berlin, helps shed some light on why. Dr Schweinsberg gathered 49 different researchers with each handed a copy of a data-set consisting of nearly 8,000 comments made on an online forum for chatty intellectuals. Dr Schweinsberg asked his guinea pigs to explore a seemingly straightforward hypothesis(假设)that a woman’s tendency to participate would rise as the number of other women in a conversation increased. Crucially, the researchers were asked to describe their analysis in detail by posting their methods and workflows, which allowed Dr Schweinsberg to see exactly what they were up to.

As it turned out, no two analysts employed exactly the same methods, and none got the same results. Some 29% of analysts reported that women do indeed participate more, if plenty of other women are present. But 21% concluded that the opposite was true. (The remainder found no significant difference).

The problem was not that any of the analyses were “wrong” in any objective sense. The differences arose because researchers chose different definitions of what they were studying, and applied different techniques. When it came to defining how much women spoke, some analysts plumped for the number of words in each woman’s comment. Others chose the number of characters. Still others defined it by the number of conversations that a woman participated in, irrespective of how much she actually said. The statistical techniques chosen also had an impact, though less than the choice of definitions. Some researchers chose linear-regression analysis: others went for logistic regression or a Kendall correlation.

Truth, in other words, can be a slippery customer, even for simple-sounding questions. What to do? One conclusion is that experimental design is critically important. It is recommended that scientists specify exactly how they chose to perform their analysis, allowing those decisions to be reviewed by others. It is probably not practical, he concedes, to check and re-check every result. But if many different analytical approaches point in the same direction, then scientists can be confident that their conclusion is the right one.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

【推荐2】阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。

It’s difficult not to admire the talent of a skilled musician. Whether it be a pianist or cellist, these individuals have shown dedication and passion over a long period of time to reach the highest levels of performance. But they say it’s never too late to learn. So what are the benefits, for both children and adults, in learning a musical instrument?

Learning to play a musical instrument when growing up can improve hearing in adulthood. According to a study by Dr Nina Kraus at Northwestern University in Illinois, US, children who played musical instruments were better at recognizing different frequencies. This improved hearing skill carried over into later life with adults who had once played an instrument able to discern (分辨)sounds of different pitches more easily. And it could also have some academic benefits too. A study conducted by the University of British Columbia found that students who engaged in music-related activities during grades 7-12 scored significantly higher in science, English and maths.

And there are not just benefits to children. Whether you choose to play the piano, pick or strum a guitar or learn a drumbeat, you could end up joining a band or orchestra. This in turn could improve your social life, meeting other bandmates who are likeminded in their love of a good tune. Learning an instrument can also give you a sense of achievement. Nailing that perfect chord (和弦)is one way, but what if you got together with a bunch of friends and entered into a battle of the bands-and won?

So, whether you’re looking to de-stress playing out some chords, or improve your grades at school, maybe taking up an instrument could help you.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________