【推荐1】“Our research has shown that the No. 1 reason people become fans is that it's your connection to your first community,” said Adam Earnhardt, chairman of the communications department at Youngstown State University and co-author of Sports Fans, Identity and Socialization: Exploring the Fandemonium. “I don't care if a Seattle fan moves to China, he or she carries with them their love for the sports teams,” he said. “    1    ”

    2     And when a team begins to catch fire, as with, say, the Mariners in ' 95 or the Seahawks of recent vintage, well, it's easy to get swept up in the wave.

“It's phenomenal,” said Simons. “We have this ability to understand other people so remarkably that their victories literally become ours. Our testosterone literally responds to their victory.     3     They're us, and competing on a literal level as us—a little extension of us.

Professor Robert Cialdini at Arizona State University came up with the term BIRG— Basking In Reflected Glory—to describe the intense pride fans feel when their teams succeed. It can be used as a verb, as in, "Seahawks' fans are currently BIRGing up a storm." The counterpoint, as coined by researchers C. R. Snyder, Mary Anne Lassergard and Carol E. Ford, is the concept of CORFing—Cutting Off Reflected Failure.     4    We've all heard it in action: We won, but they lost.

This leads into another concept, that of cognitive bias, also known as confirmation bias, which causes fans to help explain away defeats by blaming outside factors, such as referees. I'm sure it would also help explain why Seahawks fans rallied around Richard Sherman after his postgame interview, rationalizing behavior that was widely criticized by many fans with no vested interest. It could also explain the notion of "eustress", invented by endocrinologist Hans Selye to refer to a combination of euphoria(极度愉快的心情)and stress, such as that resulting from watching tense sporting events. Indeed, it's much of the appeal.

A．It means that different team is accessible to you.

B．Belonging to your favorite team stimulates your confidence.

C．That identity is first and foremost.

D．The more we follow a team, the deeper the bond becomes.

E．In that sense, your favorite team can serve the same purpose as church and family: Fostering a sense of belonging.

F．This refers to the inclination by fans to distance themselves from their team after a defeat.

【推荐3】Like all big cities, Paris has a traffic problem: lots of cars, lots of traffic jams and lots of pollution from exhaust fumes. So the city began a project to improve the situation.

Under the Velib project (‘Velib’ comes from velo liberty, or ‘bicycle freedom’) people can take a bicycle, use it for as long as they want, and then leave it at the same or another bicycle station. The first half-hour on the bike is free, but if you don’t return it after 30 minutes, you have to pay. But it’s only €1 a day or €29 a year! The bicycles are heavy (25kg), and they are all gray and have baskets. There are about 20, 000 of them in the city, and around 1, 450 bicycle stations. So there are a lot more Velib stations than the 298 subway stations!

Paris is not the first city to have a project like this. But not everybody thinks it’s a great idea. One Parisian said, “These bicycles are only for short journeys. If people want to travel across the city, they won’t use a bicycle —they’ll still use their cars.”

A city spokesman said, “The bicycle project won’t solve all our traffic problems, of course. But it might help reduce air pollution. Traffic, together with factory fumes, is a big problem. There aren’t any simple answers to traffic problems and pollution in cities. But unless we do something now, there will be more traffic jams and temperatures will continue to rise, so the problems in our environment will get worse. The bikes might help people to lead a healthier life, too.”

1. What can we learn about the Velib project?

A．Its bikes have no baskets.	B．Its bikes are light and colorful.
C．It aims to make traveling easier.	D．It owns more stations than the subway.

2. If you use a Velib for 1 hour, you should pay___________.

A．Free.

B．€1.

C．€29.

D．€30.

3. Why do some people disagree with the Velib project?

A．The cost is rather high.	B．It’s hard to find a Velib station.
C．It’s not suitable for a long journey.	D．The distance between two Velib stations is long.

4. What docs the underlined word “fume” in the first paragraph mean?

A．position.

B．smoke.

C．quality.

D．loss.

5. What’s the city spokesman’s attitude towards the bicycle project?

A．Worried.

B．Positive.

C．Uncaring.

D．Doubtful.

【推荐1】Let’s face it—you’re attached to your phone. You use it to communicate, play games and surf the Internet. But there’s a great way to make your smartphone a life-enriching device without hurting your eyes. Check out the world of podcasts.

Think of podcasts as YouTube camels for listeners that you can download to your phone. What’s so exciting about that? Well you can find a lot of amazing shows! Whatever you find that catches your attention, one thing is sure—listening inspires the imagination. Because you can only listen to a show and not see it, you have to pay more attention. Therefore, your imagination has the potential to become stronger and more vivid as a result.

Podcasts allow you to experience the world from various angles. Take America’s NPR and Britain’s BBC, for example. Both have produced several podcasts. By listening to them, you can learn to appreciate cultural to linguistic distinctions. Choose what you like. In the end it’s your device—you get to decide who influences you!

So what’s out there? Lots! Since podcasts are created for very specific audiences, you’re sure to find one that interests you. Podcasts had been around for more than a decade, and one that really put podcasting in the spotlight is called Serial. It’s in the form of a story, broken up over several weeks, complete with cliffhangers. Or maybe you like listening to people discuss interesting topics. My personal favorite is White Horse Inn. If you’re a fan of informative speeches, subscribe to one of the many TED talks podcasts. There are several language-learning podcasts too, like ESLPod. The list goes on. If you’re not sure where to start, look up “top podcasts” and give one of their recommendations a try.

Whether you’re riding a bus, exercising, or just relaxing, put on some headphones and put your listening skills to the test. Download a podcast App, subscribe to a few and get listening. Or, better yet, if you have an idea for a podcast, why not produce one yourself!

1. Paragraph 2 mainly tells us podcasts help ________.

A．to make your life more meaningful	B．to develop your imagination
C．to improve your listening ability	D．to know the world better

2. Paragraph 3 is developed ________.

A．by giving examples	B．by making comparisons
C．by giving detailed facts	D．by giving causes and effects

3. From the text it can be judged that ________.

A．you can make progress by just downloading a podcast App

B．Serial is a listening program telling interesting stories

C．White Horse Inn is a program that discusses dull topics

D．people can be taught to learn all kinds of languages

4. The purpose of mentioning your phone at the beginning of the text is ________.

A．to introduce the topic	B．to give you more evidence
C．to talk about the function of phones	D．to make the text informative

【推荐2】In habitats across the planet, animals periodically drop everything to walk, fly or swim to a new place. Wildlife such as whales and geese learn migration paths by following their parents. Others, including small songbirds, gain the distance and direction of their migration within their genetic code. And some animals use a combination of genetics and culture to guide their migration.

Another group of migrators does not quite fit either model, and researchers have only recently started to figure out how they find their way. Take the Cory’s shearwater, an oceangoing sea bird that migrates over the Atlantic every year. The young do not migrate with their parents, so culture cannot explain their journeys. And the exact paths vary wildly from individual to individual, making genetics equally unlikely.

Cory’s shearwaters are long-lived, rarely producing young successfully before age nine. This leaves an opening for learning and practice to develop their migration patterns. Researchers call this the “exploration-refinement”, and until now it has been hypothetical (假设的) because of difficulties in tracking migratory animals’ movements.

But a team of researchers has done that by attaching small geolocators to more than 150 of the birds aged four to nine. They found that younger birds traveled longer distances, for longer periods, and had more diverse paths than older birds. “We finally have evidence of the ‘exploration-refinement’ for migratory birds,” says Letizia Campioni, who led the study. Younger Cory’s shearwaters are able to fly just as fast as the adults— but they do not, suggesting that the young do more exploring, which gradually fades as they mature and settle into a preferred course.

Although it may seem less efficient than other strategies, “exploration refinement could be beneficial to birds and other organisms (生物) in a rapidly changing world due to unpredictable man-made changes,” says Barbara Frei. “It might be safer to repeat a behavior that was recently successful than to rely on patterns that were perfected long ago but might no longer be safe.”

1. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A．It describes animals’ habitats.	B．It talks about migration models.
C．It compares different species.	D．It introduces a tracking technology.

2. What does the underlined word “this” in paragraph 3 refer to?

A．The opening for learning and practice.

B．The unique living habit of Cory’s shearwaters.

C．The way Cory’s shearwaters form their migration patterns.

D．The process scientists track Cory’s shearwaters’ movements.

3. What does Letizia’s study find about the younger Cory’s shearwaters?

A．They travel as much as adult birds.	B．They move in a predictable manner.
C．They lower the speed for exploration.	D．They look for a course with their parents.

4. What can we conclude from the last paragraph?

A．Man-made changes make migration easier.

B．Animals make a safer journey via a fixed track.

C．Course exploration contributes to birds’ adaptability.

D．A combination of strategies assures migration success.

【推荐3】Earthquake forecasting is one of the most ancient skills known to mankind. From ancient Greece to the present day, countless scientists have tried to develop tools to predict earthquakes. Their attempts usually focused on searching for reliable evidences of coming quakes.

However, there are many reasons why predicting quakes is so hard. “We don’t understand some basic physics of earthquakes,” said Egill, a research professor at the California Institute of Technology. Scientists have also attempted to create mathematical models of movement, but precisely predicting would require great mapping and analysis of the Earth’s crust. Other challenges include a lack of data on the early warning signs, given that these warning signs are not yet entirely understood. Actually, real earthquake prediction is very similar to the diagnosis of potential human illnesses based on observing and analyzing each patient’s signs and symptoms. As it turns out, quake prediction is extremely difficult.

Many sources show that earthquake forecasting was a recognized science in ancient Greece. Ancient Greeks lived very close to nature and were able to detect unusual phenomena and forecast earthquakes. The first known forecast was made by Pherecydes of Syros about 2500 years ago: he made it as he scooped water from a well and noticed that usually very clean water had suddenly become muddy. Indeed, an earthquake occurred two days later, making Pherecydes famous. Nowadays, seismic and remote-sensing methods are considered to have the greatest potential in terms of solving the earthquake prediction problem.

Currently, Terra Seismic can identify a forthcoming earthquake with a high level of confidence. Generally, Terra Seismic does not predict a quake if the earthquake’s epicenter is located beyond a depth of 40 km. Fortunately, such quakes are almost always harmless, since quake’s energy reduces before reaching the Earth’s surface. “Scientists have tried every possible method to try to predict earthquakes,” Bruneau said. “Nobody has been able to crack it and make a believable prediction.”

1. What do we know about earthquake forecasting?

A．Scientists have been passionate about accurately predicting earthquakes.

B．As long as enough data is collected, earthquakes can be predicted.

C．Mathematical models of motion can simulate and predict earthquakes.

D．Scientists have not yet fully studied the structure of earthquakes.

2. How did Pherecydes successfully predict earthquakes?

A．By seismic and remote-sensing methods.

B．By observing unusual natural phenomena.

C．By living in seismic zones throughout the year.

D．By looking into data on the early warning signs.

3. What was Bruneau’s opinion about the current methods of earthquake prediction?

A．He strongly believed the Terra Seismic can solve the difficult problem.

B．He was sure that humans could accurately predict earthquakes in the future.

C．He considered it harmless to humans for an earthquake deeper than 40km.

D．He thought that scientists had no reliable method to predict earthquakes.

4. Which question does this article focus on?

A．Why do humans predict earthquakes?

B．How to protect oneself during an earthquake?

C．What methods can be used to forecast earthquakes?

D．When to achieve accurate earthquake forecasting?