When you want advice to achieve something, whom would you rather ask: the top performer in that area or someone barely getting by? Most people would choose the top performer. That person’s advice, however, may not be any more helpful.
“Skillful performance and skillful teaching are not always the same thing, so we shouldn’t expect the best performers to necessarily be the best teachers as well,” said David Levari (Harvard Business School), lead author of a recent Psychological Science article.
Across four studies, he and co-authors found that top performers don’t give better advice than other performers, at least in some domains(领域). Rather, they just give more of it. “Our studies suggest that at least in some instances, people may overvalue advice from top performers,” the researchers wrote.
“In our experiments, people given advice by top performers thought that it helped them more, even though it usually didn’t. Surprisingly, they thought so even though they didn't know anything about the people who wrote their advice,” said Levari. “Top performers didn’t write more helpful advice, but they did write more of it, and people in our experiments mistook quantity for quality,” Levari added.
So, why wasn’t the advice more helpful? Levari and colleagues have a few ideas. First, skilled performers may overlook fundamental advice because natural talent and extensive practice have made conscious thought unnecessary. Second, top performers may not be skilled communicators. Even when an excellent performer does have explicit information to share, they may not be especially good at sharing it. Finally, a large quantity of advice may be more than what can realistically be carried out.
“We spend a lot of time and money looking for good advice, whether from coworkers and coaches, teachers and tutors, or friends and family,” said Levari. “The next time you get advice, you should think less about how much of it there was, and more about how much of it you could actually use.”
1. How did the author introduce the topic of the text?| A．By comparing data. |
| B．By raising a question. |
| C．By describing a definition. |
| D．By presenting the survey result. |
| A．Top performers give poor advice. |
| B．Top performers give better advice. |
| C．Top performers give useful advice. |
| D．Top performers give more advice. |
| A．Learn about its writer. |
| B．Consider its practicality. |
| C．Think less about its quality. |
| D．Find more related information. |
| A．Top Performers Can Be Trusted |
| B．Trying Common Performers' Advice Is Great |
| C．Common Performers May Give More Advice |
| D．Top Performers Don't Always Give Better Advice |
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【推荐1】The number of universities has grown very fast in recent decades. Higher-education institutions across the world now employ 15 million researchers, up from 4 million in 1980. Governments are also happy to spend on higher education because it is supposed to produce scientific breakthroughs that can be available to all. In theory, therefore, universities should be an excellent source of productivity growth.
In practice, however, the productivity has slowed down during the last decades. In the 1950s and 1960s, workers’ output per hour across the rich world rose by 4% a year. But in the last decade, 1% a year was the norm. Even with the wave of innovation in artificial intelligence (AI), productivity growth remains weak — less than 1% a year, which is bad news for economic growth.
A new paper by Ashish Arora and his team suggests that universities’ rapid growth and the rich world’s slowdown productivity could be two sides of the same coin. The paper suggests that scientific breakthroughs from public institutions “caused little or no response from businesses” over a number of years. A scientist in a university lab might publish brilliant paper after brilliant paper. Often, however, this has no impact on corporations’ own patents, with life sciences being the exception. And this, in turn, points to a small impact on the overall productivity.
Why do companies struggle to use ideas produced by universities?
The paper says that, free from the demands of the market, researchers in university labs focus more on satisfying their curiosity than finding breakthroughs that will change the world or make money. “To some degree, such kind of research is not a bad thing; some breakthrough technologies, such as penicillin, were discovered almost by accident,” it writes, “But if everyone is doing that, the economy suffers.”
Perhaps, with time, universities and the business world will work together more tightly. Tougher competition could force businesses to beef up their internal research. In fact, researchers in companies’ labs, rather than universities, are driving the current AI innovations. At some point, governments will need to ask themselves hard questions. In a world of weak economic growth, huge spending on universities may come to seem an unjustifiable luxury.
1. What are the statistics in paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．The weak economy around the globe. | B．Universities’ contribution to employment. |
| C．Governments’ spending on higher education. | D．The slow productivity growth in the rich world. |
| A．The investors. | B．The workers. | C．Life sciences. | D．Al industries. |
| A．They are very eager to make more money. | B．They are less concerned about applications. |
| C．They usually find breakthroughs by accident. | D．They should be left alone to do their research. |
| A．A Study Suggests Universities Fail to Increase Productivity |
| B．Universities and the Business World May Work Together Soon |
| C．It Is Important for Companies’ Labs to Lead the AI Innovation |
| D．It Is a Big Waste to Spend So Much Money on Higher Education |
【推荐2】One of the most works of art is Mona Lisa. Nearly everyone who goes to see the original will already be familiar with it from reproductions, but they accept that fine art is more rewardingly viewed in its original form. Despite a recognition that the spread of good reproduction can be culturally valuable, museums continue to promote the special status of original work. Unfortunately this seems to place severe limitations on the kind of experience offered to visitors.
One limitation is related to the way the museum presents its exhibits .We view a collection by the presence of security guards, ropes and display cases to keep us away from the exhibits. A major collection like that London's National Gallery is housed in numerous rooms, each with dozens of works, any one of that is likely to be worth more than all the average visitor possesses . In a society that judges the personal status by material worth, It's therefore difficult not to be impressed by one's own 'worthlessness' in such an environment. Furthermore, consideration of the 'value' of the original work in its treasure house setting impresses upon the viewer that the works have been assigned a huge monetary value by some person or institution more powerful than themselves. Evidently nothing about the work is going to change that value, and so today's viewer is deterred from trying to extend that spontaneous （自然的）,immediate kind of reading which would originally have met the work.
The visitor may be struck by the strangeness of seeing such diverse paintings, drawings and sculptures brought together in an environment for which they were not originally created. This 'displacement effect* is further heightened by the volume of exhibits. In case of a major collection ,time seems to be a vital factor in the appreciation of all art forms. A fundamental difference between paintings and other art forms is that there is no prescribed（规定的）time over which a painting is viewed. By contrast, novels and poems are read in a prescribed temporal sequence （顺序）, whereas a picture has no clear place at which to start viewing, or at which to finish. Thus art works themselves encourage us to view them superficially, without appreciating the richness of detail and labour that is involved.
1. The writer mentions London's National Gallery to illustrate ________.| A．the undesirable cost to a nation of maintaining a huge collection of art |
| B．the conflict that may arise in society between financial and artistic values. |
| C．the negative effect a museum can have on visitors' of themselves. |
| D．the need to put individual well-being above large-scale artistic schemes. |
| A．discouraged. | B．changed . |
| C．dismissed. | D．promoted. |
| A．require a specific location for a performance. |
| B．need the involvement of other professionals. |
| C．involve direct contact with an audience. |
| D．have a specific beginning or end. |
| A．To tell the limitations of the museums. |
| B．To introduce the role of museums of fine art. |
| C．To show how the museums arrange their exhibits. |
| D．To explain why viewers are influenced by the museums. |
【推荐3】You probably get your eyes tested to protect your sight, maybe have a yearly hearing test to check your ears—but, protecting your nose... eh? Recent research has discovered more than 600 genes in the human body associated with the sense of smell and that it’s actually important to the human body.
Smell can help keep us alive by warning us of dangers such as food that might make us sick or the threat of fire, and it does this within only 100-150 milliseconds of breathing. “Smell also helps create the flavour of food and plays a role in controlling the variety of our diet and the nutrients we consume,” says Jeanne Hort, a professor at News Zealand’s Massey University.
In fact, each of us has a unique sense of smell and the strength of our unique smell is related to the genes you inherit (遗传) from your parents which determine which smell receptors (感受器) are expressed in the nose. Other factors further determine how sensitive your sense of smell is. Women generally have a stronger sense of smell than men, while damage from air pollution means people who live in highly polluted cities have a less sensitive sense of smell than those in rural areas. “We also know the sense of smell declines with age,” says Professor Hort. “And if you’ve damaged your nose through head injury, illness or breathing in something that causes pain and discomfort, your sense of smell can also be negatively affected.”
Protecting your nose from such damage is therefore the first step in activating your sense of smell. Avoid breathing in strong scents like chemicals. Then, keep your nose busy. For example, sniff (唉) vegetables and fruit as part of determining ripeness before you buy them and sniff more different smells exposed to your nose. “The sense of smell is a bit like a muscle, you can train it to become stronger by exercising it,” says sensory expert Eugeni Roura.
1. Why does the author mention eye and ear protection in paragraph 1?| A．To compare different human senses. | B．To call attention to the sense of smell. |
| C．To clarify the concept of good health. | D．To show the importance of medical exams. |
| A．The advice on healthy eating. | B．The basic functions of the nose. |
| C．The important role of smell in life. | D．The ways to avoid hidden dangers. |
| A．There is sex difference in terms of smell. | B．The sense of smell doesn’t change with age. |
| C．Smell receptors decide the strength of smell. | D．Air pollution is very likely to cause loss of smell. |
| A．It is essential to protect your nose from damage. |
| B．Different parts of your body sometimes work the same. |
| C．Sniffing different smells helps to build up your strength. |
| D．The more you use the sense of smell, the more you sharpen it. |
【推荐1】In October, Mediterranean fruit flies were discovered in an area of Los Angeles. California is a big farming state, and this was serious news for farmers. The key to the problem may seem a little unusual: releasing millions more of the flies.
The Mediterranean fruit fly, often known as the “Medfly”, is one of the most serious threats faced by farmers worldwide. Once the pest makes its way into an area, it can be very hard to remove. The flies lay their eggs in over 300 kinds of fruits and vegetables. When the eggs hatch, they turn into worm-like larvae (幼虫) that can destroy these products.
Three Mediterranean fruit flies were discovered in a Los Angeles neighborhood called Leimert Park in October. To stop the problem from spreading, the government set up a large quarantine (隔离) area, which means that no produce (fruits, nuts, or vegetables)can be moved out of that area. The quarantine area is 90 square miles.
That may seem extreme, since only three Medflies were found, but experts believe there are probably more out there. “It’s really important to get on top of this fast,” said Jason Leathers. Luckily, California has developed a program to control Medflies, and it’s been working well for 30 years. The plan involves using planes to drop millions of Medflies over the area. That may sound like a bad idea, but it’s actually a good way to make sure that Medfly numbers go down.
The airplanes only drop male flies, and all of them have been treated so that they can’t help produce new fruit flies. The males are sterile (不育的). This means that even though they can mate with female fruit flies, the eggs produced will never grow or hatch. The plan has worked well in the past. The government says that the number of flies has been cut by over 90%. To deal with the problem near Leimert Park, the government will be dropping two airplane loads of sterile Medflies every week.
1. Why is the figure mentioned in Paragraph 2?| A．To show farmers require more help. | B．To stress the great harm done by the Medfly. |
| C．To remind people to be particular about health. | D．To appeal for urgent concerns about the Medfly. |
| A．To destroy the native produce. | B．To limit the spread of the Medfly. |
| C．To kill the Medfly completely. | D．To reduce the losses of local farmers. |
| A．California values the control of Medflies. | B．Using planes to drop Medflies saves money. |
| C．Jason Leathers is in charge of Medflies’ study. | D．The public care little about killing Medflies. |
| A．A research article. | B．A short story. | C．A news report. | D．An agricultural research. |
【推荐2】Adulting is hard. While high school students are at the forefront of technological and learning skills, it's often not until they leave home that they learn everyday life skills. Some believe that high schools should offer a commonsense course in which students are taught how to pay bills, change a tire or cook. Now, one Kentucky school is offering an ''adulting day'' to teach such skills to students in their senior year.
The class of 2019 at Bullitt Central High School in Shepherdsville, Ky., traded in their algebra and literature classes for a day to learn some positive life skills, according to Wave 3 News.
''I think that the idea occurred to me, originally, when I saw a Facebook post that parents passed around saying they needed a class in high school on taxes and cooking, '' Christy Hardin, director of the BCHS Family Resource & Youth Services Center, told Wave 3. ''Our kids can get that, but they have to choose it. And ''Wednesday'' was a day they could pick and choose pieces they didn't feel like they had gotten so far. ''
Members of the community helped provide the lessons for the students one on one, including local police who taught them how to interact with officers during traffic stops, a speaker who explained how to decipher the difference between homesickness and depression, and others who discussed how to use credit cards, how to cook in a dorm room and how to change a tire.
While many people on Facebook applauded the idea, with some arguing, ''This should be taught in every high school, '' others wondered what became of home economics.
Now known as Family and Consumer Sciences, these courses teach students how to cook, sew and budget, along with other skills. In many districts, however, the classes are electives and students do not always choose to take them.
''About time this came back, it was called Home Economics, '' one woman wrote. ''In today's diverse make up of families it would be a welcome addition. ''
Another shared, ''We had home economics that taught us to cook and learned how to sew. We also had business math that taught us banking and finances. Why in the world is that not taught today? I mean, a special day called adulting to teach kids this stuff? Should be a required class credit. ''
1. What can we infer from the first paragraph?| A．High school students are too busy to learn everyday life skills. |
| B．The schools in other districts have never taught everyday life skills to students. |
| C．High school students are advanced in technological and learning skills. |
| D．High school students are lacking in everyday life skills. |
| A．It did everything it could to cater to the parents. |
| B．It taught life skills at the cost of academic courses. |
| C．It offered parents opportunities to instruct classes. |
| D．It allow students to decide on their own subjects. |
| A．determine | B．define | C．discriminate | D．distribute |
a. use credit cards b. learn algebra and literature c. change a tire d. how to cook
| A．abc | B．bcd | C．acd | D．abd |
| A．Supportive | B．Opposed | C．Skeptical | D．Indifferent |
【推荐3】We increasingly rely on social media to talk to friends, GPS to navigate and the web for information. But is that wise?
Google is making you stupid, your iPhone’s making you anxious and your social networks are making you anti-social. Modem technology is driving each of us into a cognitive (认知的) disorder, and if we aren’t careful we’ll be beaten into a stupor (麻木).
Of course, the real story isn’t as clear as all that But stories continue because the sense that something is eroding our mental abilities feels right We struggle to remember our own phone number, while only a few years ago we could recall dozens. Online, readers prefer short, simple stories to long, subtle pieces, and we all know someone who breaks out in a sweat when separated from their smartphone.
So what’s really happening? The first thing to consider is that this kind of ‘neuro-anxiety’ about the tools we use is nothing new. In 370 BC, Plato warned that the Greeks’ “trust in writing77 would “discourage the use of their own memory”. Sound familiar?
The reality is that our brains do change when we use a smartphone or computer — but they also change when we use a pen, a screwdriver, or any other tool for that matter. They change when we mow the lawn, play golf or cook dinner. Our experiences continually shape the way the brain works So the question isn’t really ‘is tech changing our brains?’ but ‘how are our brains adapting to living in today’s screen-first, always-online, networked world?’
Scientifically speaking, we’re a long way from definitive answers, but we looked at the latest research and talked to leading experts in their fields to discover how they think our brains are being affected….
1. In Paragraph Two, the author tries to tell usof modern technology.| A．the bad effects | B．the benefits |
| C．the overuse | D．the diversity |
| A．warn people not to use writing tools |
| B．present the development of technology |
| C．show people’s anxiety about technology always exists |
| D．explain writing tools have an influence on people’s memory |
| A．modern technology has the greatest effect on our brains |
| B．our brains are always changing no matter what we do |
| C．it’s easy to find out how our brains adapt to the modern world |
| D．the latest research about modern technology is quite helpful |
| A．indifferent | B．opposed |
| C．doubtful | D．objective |
The term remote management is used to describe any process in which he controlling device is not physically attached to the actual unit. There are four aspects to this process: the communication method, the level of control, the operator training and the performance(性 能) issues. The remote management system is primarily used to improve safety and increase productivity.
Remote management can be applied to many fields such as the construction, mining, transportation and information technology industries. There are more and more devices that can be managed remotely because of the improved quality of computer programming and system designs. The increased leverage(影响力) of this technology is providing new opportunities for machine and heavy equipment design.
The communication method used in a remote management system is dependent upon the intended application. For example, communication with a drilling machine in a mine cannot be based on a clear line of sight between the operator and the machine. Instead, a dedicated radio frequency or wireless communication channel is needed. The number of other machines and units controlled via a remote management system has a huge impact on the effectiveness of the communication method. Each unit must be controlled separately, with no interference from other devices,
The level of control provided via remote management is also very important. Initially, most of the equipment was very large, and the technology was used to get close enough for manual control. However, operators now require a high degree of precision and control. The tools used to control the equipment are so sophisticated(精良的)that they can be used to create a program or to move the machine in very small progress.
The remote management operator typically sits in a separate location and is responsible for controlling the equipment based on video feed similar information. The training required to work with this type of equipment is usually provided by the employer, because every system is different. The increased use of these tools has resulted in the development of short courses and training programs designed specifically to increase the skill level of the operator.
One of the challenges of remote management is related to overall performance. Operator expectations can be excessively influenced by images in the media of remote controlled robots that can be easily controlled with great precision. In fact, a significant amount of programming and effort is required to complete a process with a remote controlled device. Most of the adjustments that an operator would make require additional time to carry out in this model.
Passage outline | Supporting details |
Introduction | ◆Remote management refers to the process where the controlling device is not physically available in the actual unit, ◆Four aspects are ◆The primary |
| ◆Remote management can be used in various fields. ◆An ◆New opportunities are provided for machine and heavy equipment design | |
Four | The communication method ◆The communication method used in a remote management system ◆The effectiveness of the communication method is greatly |
| The level of control ◆Initially, most of the equipment was so large that the level of control was low, ◆Now the level of control has | |
| The operator training ◆The remote management operator is to ◆With more people using the tools, short courses and training programs are also developed. | |
| The performance issues ◆Images in the media of remote controlled robots can influence operator expectations excessively. ◆Actually, it requires an operator extra effort to make |
【推荐2】For millions of U.S. students, a hot meal has been part of the school day since Congress passed the National School Lunch Program in 1946. But with many items on today’s menus filled with fat and calories, educators are taking a cue from (效法) the local-food movement to put school lunches on a healthier path.
The National School Lunch Program, intended to prevent the return of the depression era of child malnourishment (营养不良), allowed the government to buy surplus food from farmers and set minimum nutritional values for each meal. Its budget grew under Eisenhower and Nixon, but the Reagan Administration cut it by nearly $1.5 billion — making up for the cuts by revising nutritional guidelines, reducing portion sizes and (infamously) attempting to categorize ketchup as a vegetable.
The 1980s and 90s saw school districts contract with private companies to stock brand-name soft drinks and snacks in exchange for a cut of the profits. While the partnerships boosted school revenue (收入), they also exacerbated (加剧) soaring childhood-obesity rates.
In an effort to promote healthier diets, some 9,000 schools have joined a national farm-to-school program that provides locally grown food for school cafeterias. The Department of Agriculture is expected to expand school nutrition standards this year, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 63% of schools have stopped selling sugary soft drinks. Yet despite these efforts, most students still pile unhealthy foods onto their lunch trays. Currently, 80% of schools serve lunches with more than the recommended amount of saturated fat; 43% don’t offer daily fresh fruits and vegetables. No matter how you measure it, there’s very little nutrition in a Tater Tot.
1. According to the passage, what problem does the school lunch have now?| A．It is too expensive and most students can’t afford it. |
| B．It is unhealthy and contains too much fat. |
| C．It can’t bring any revenue to schools. |
| D．The government has not enough money to put into it. |
| A．a national farm-to-school program |
| B．the National School Lunch Program |
| C．the brief history about school lunches |
| D．most US students’ taste |
| A．To prevent the children from malnourishment. |
| B．In exchange for a cut of the profits. |
| C．To prevent the children from being obese. |
| D．To boost school revenue. |
【推荐3】Wild animals are known to listen to each other for warnings that predators are near. Some birds, for example, flee when neighbors make a loud noise to announce a snake’s presence.
The fairy wren is a small Australian songbird. It is not born knowing the “languages” of other birds. But recent study says it can learn the meaning of a few important sounds.
Andrew Radford, a biologist at the University of Bristol in England, and other scientists carried out the study in the National Botanic Gardens in Canberra. They wanted to see if fairy wrens would react to sounds of other birds even if they could not see them.
The scientists first played two recorded sounds that they likely had never heard before for the birds. One was a warning cry of an allopatric chestnut-rumped thornbill, a bird not native to Australia. The other was a computer-generated bird sound called “buzz”.
When the 16 fairy wrens in the study first heard the sounds, they had no special reaction.
The scientists then tried to train half the birds to recognize the thornbill’s cry as a warning sound. They tried to train the other half of the birds to recognize the computer-generated “buzz” as a warning call.
They did so by playing the sounds in addition to other noises that the birds already knew as warnings. These included the fairy wrens’ own threat call.
After three days, the scientists tested what the birds had learned — and their students passed the test.
The fairy wrens trained with the thornbill’s cry, fled when they heard it. The group trained with the buzz, fled when they heard that sound. Neither group reacted to the sound taught to the other.
“What this new study does is to remove the predator entirely. It shows that these birds can learn to associate new sounds with danger, without having to learn through trial and error, ” Christopher Templeton from Pacific University said.
1. What can be known about fairy wrens from the passage?| A．They are native to Austria. |
| B．They know the “languages” of other birds naturally. |
| C．They can imitate the “languages” of other birds. |
| D．They have a capacity for learning the meaning of a few sounds. |
| A．To see if birds can react to others’ “languages” by listening. |
| B．To train fairy wrens how to recognize warnings from other birds. |
| C．To persuade birds not to learn just through trial and error. |
| D．To prove fairy wrens have a strong ability of learning. |
| A．They pretended not to hear it. |
| B．They flew away as well as the other fairy wrens. |
| C．They remained the same as before. |
| D．They passed on the warning to other fairy wrens. |
| A．In a biology textbook. |
| B．In a science newspaper. |
| C．In a poster. |
| D．In a fashion website. |
