If you saw a digital image of yourself running on a virtual treadmill (跑步机), would you feel like going to the gym? Probably so, according to a Stanford study showing that personalized avatars can motivate people to exercise and eat right.
Moreover, you are more likely to follow the behavior of an avatar in real life if it looks like you, said Jesse Fox, a researcher at the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab. In her study, she used digital photographs of participants to create personalized avatar bodies.
In Fox’s first test, some participants saw their avatar running on a treadmill. Others saw themselves hanging out in the virtual room or saw a running avatar they didn’t know.
Fox contacted participants a day after the study and found that the people who saw their own avatar running were more likely to exercise (after they left the lab) than the people who saw someone else running or saw themselves just hanging out in the virtual room. In fact, those who watched themselves running were motivated to exercise, usually, a full hour more than the others. They ran, played soccer or worked out at the gym.
“They had imitated their avatar’s behavior,” Fox said.
In another test, some participants ran in place while watching their avatars become thinner, other participants stood still and watched their avatars become heavier, and others saw an unfamiliar avatar either slim (变苗条) or fatten.
“If they saw a person they didn’t know, they weren’t motivated to exercise. But if they saw themselves, they exercised more,” Fox said. “Personalized avatars could be used to motivate healthy behavior. For example, someone on a long-term weight loss schedule could pull out his or her smartphone and track progress by watching the avatar body slim down onscreen.”
1. What did Jesse Fox do for her study?| A．She let participants choose avatars according to their body shape. |
| B．She created personalized digital images for participants. |
| C．She took different photos to record participants’ changes. |
| D．She learned about participants’ behavior before her study. |
| A．Stopped. | B．Copied. | C．Changed. | D．Controlled. |
| A．People’s own avatars motivate them more than unfamiliar ones. |
| B．Avatars can help people develop long-term healthy habits. |
| C．The research on personalized avatars needs further study. |
| D．Watching avatars can help people lose weight quickly. |
| A．How to improve avatar technology in smartphones |
| B．How to make a good connection with our avatars |
| C．Can avatars influence our personal relationships? |
| D．Can avatars change the way we think and act? |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Improving memory is important to success in studying. But is there anything that we can do about it? One solution might be walking backwards.
According to a new study published in the Journal of Cognition, walking backwards, whether doing it really or just imagining it can improve the brainpower in the short term. In the study, 114 volunteers were asked to watch a video in which a woman had her bag stolen. Then they answered 20 questions about the information shown in the video. Ten minutes after watching the video, the volunteers were divided into three groups. The first two groups were told to move forwards or backwards 10 meters while the third group was asked to stay still on the same point. The researchers found that the backwards walking group got two more correct answers on average than the other two groups. This suggests that a relationship between the concepts of time and space is important to the way our minds form memories,
When we walk backwards, everything we learn becomes strange to us. “This forces the brain to think in a different way,” US scientist Christine Weber told Forbes. It almost always means that our brain needs to be more active in the limited time. Naturally, our short-term memory will be improved greatly.
Besides improving our memory, walking backwards also plays an important role in physical health, especially fitness. Another study found that walking backwards puts less strain (压力) and requires a smaller range of movements from the knee joints (膝关节). Thus, there’s less pressure and pain in the knees.
In addition, walking backwards, compared to walking forwards, is more challenging. It requires you to use muscles and movements that you probably seldom use, making it a prefect way to change your exercise routine for greater fitness gains. Meanwhile, by making people put in extra effort, it naturally bums more fat and calories.
1. Which group of people performed best in the memory test?| A．The staying sill group. | B．The forward-walking group. |
| C．The imaginary-walking group. | D．The backward walking group. |
| A．It limits our thinking time. |
| B．It follows our exercise routine. |
| C．It can increase the activities of our brain. |
| D．It directs our focus to important information. |
| A．To add another point of the topic. | B．To explain the result of the research. |
| C．To present the main idea of the passage. | D．To provide some background information. |
| A．It can make people 8 joints stronger. | B．It can make people more energetic. |
| C．It can keep people in good shape. | D．It can reduce people’s stress. |
| A．A news review. | B．A health magazine. |
| C．A science textbook. | D．An educational report. |
【推荐2】Professional rock climber Emily Harrington has made history after successfully free climbing Yosemite National Park's El Capitan last Wednesday.
Harrington, 34, became the fourth person—and the first woman—to ever scale the 3,000-foot El Capitan without the help of a rope or other equipment. “The people before me who have achieved this are kind of like some of my heroes in rock climbing,” she said, “so it feels pretty special to join that group.”
But Harrington's climb was not without injury—at one point, she slid and was left with a serious wound on her forehead that required her to take a break. “I took a fall and I couldn't get my feet out and my head actually hit the wall,” she recalled, “I got this wound on my forehead. I rested a little bit longer, bandaged (包扎) it up, and then tried again,” Harrington said，adding that although she “kind of didn't really want to try again,” she powered through because “ I felt like I should try again.”
After 21 hours and 13 minutes, Harrington scaled all of El Capitan, achieving a feat (壮举) she failed to finish twice last year. “That was my life dream. I achieved it,” she said.
Harrington said she's hopeful that her journey has inspired others. “I hope that as a result of my story more people will get to experience climbing, or at least try.”
Harrington previously scaled Mt. Qomolangma, the tallest mountain in the world. As a former member of the USA climbing team, Harrington has competed in five U. S. sport climbing championships and two North American championships.
1. What do we learn about Harrington's conquering El Capitan?| A．She took no tools to help her. |
| B．She climbed up the mountain freely. |
| C．She was the first person to climb El Capitan. |
| D．She got the fourth place in the competition. |
| A．Remove. | B．Mount. |
| C．Measure. | D．Weigh. |
| A．The risk of the climbing. | B．Harrington's determination. |
| C．The meaning of failure. | D．Harrington's expert skills. |
| A．Harrington's achievements. | B．US sport climbing events. |
| C．The climbing team's arrangements. | D．The secret to Harrington's success. |
| A．A travel journal. | B．A story book. |
| C．A news report. | D．A science magazine. |
Memo
To: All Staff
From: Jakie Mok, Secretary; Sports Development Committee
Date: 26 October 2015
A week ago, “Sports for Life” programme was sent to the parents, requiring them to select a sport they wanted their child to play. Since then, our staff has received lots of calls from parents asking for more information about it. Here is a memo for your reference when you answer the phones.
Basketball
We expect that this will be the most popular of the four sports. Therefore, students should be advised to sign up as soon as possible. Students will take a private bus to and from Kwun Tong Sports Park. To cover the cost of hiring a bus, each student will have to pay HK$10 each time There will be four basketball courts available for our use with one teacher watching over each game.
Gym
We will be using St Peter’s Memorial Park. There are two reasons for choosing this park. First, it is not very busy and crowded before 6: 00 p. m. Second, it has a lot of trees with plenty of shade. Students must bring along two bottles of water to prevent thirst. Three activities—skipping, jogging, outdoor aerobics, all of which are free of charge—will be arranged. And there will be a teacher on duty for each of the activities.
Hiking
Hiking will take place at Kowloon Peak. The activity will start at 2: 30 p. m. and finish 90 minutes later. Three teachers will accompany the students, and a hiking instructor will accompany each group of 15 hikers. Each instructor will cost HK$75 per hour. Students are advised to bring plenty of water and sunscreen.
Swimming
The Kowloon City Aquatic Centre is a 10-minute walk from our school. Four teachers will go to the pool and conduct the activities from the poolside. We will only be able to reserve the pool for one hour (i. e. 2: 45 p. m. -3: 45 p. m. ). Only students skillful at swimming can take up this activity. The pool will have two lifeguards present. The cost is HK$10 per visit.
1. Which of the following is true according to the passage?| A．Students selecting basketball had better register early. |
| B．Students participating in gym should arrive at 6: 00 p. m. |
| C．Students interested in swimming can take up swimming. |
| D．Students taking part in hiking will finish their activity at 5: 00 p. m. |
| A．each sport will take only one hour |
| B．students will be charged for the four sports |
| C．all the sports will take place at Kowloon Peak |
| D．teachers will keep students company on each sport |
| A．To attract students’ interest in the programme. |
| B．To require the parents to select a sport for their child. |
| C．To help the staff explain the programme to the parents. |
| D．To remind teachers and lifeguards to be present on time. |
【推荐1】It’s no secret that your personal characteristics directly affect how you interact with the world, but you might be surprised at just how deep it goes. Experts think that your personality can even affect how you exercise and influence what sports are suitable for you.
Highly Sensitive
Highly sensitive people may be more uncomfortable with group exercise classes or team sports where they feel their every move is being observed. Additionally, they may feel more upset over an ineffective or poor workout, says researcher Elaine Aron.
For such people, individual or non-competitive activities like biking, running and hiking are ideal.
Type A Personality
Type A individuals often have an “all or nothing approach” to exercise. This personality type is known for sticking closely to their plan, not to mention being super competitive. However, this can cause them to stick too closely to a fitness routine, which means they might try to push past an injury.
To get better exercise results, Type A people need to be aware that following an exercise plan too strictly may limit their progress. They should be more flexible and listen to their body, especially when they are in pain.
Type B Personality
This laid-back group may get too lazy about their exercise plan, which prevents them from seeing results. They are often less willing to devote enough time and energy to their fitness goals, especially if exercise is something that makes them anxious.
Type B individuals succeed in creative and co-operative environments, so team sports and group gym classes may be perfect.
Remember, there are plenty of ways you can adapt a fitness plan to suit your needs, regardless of your characteristics. Just keep in mind what you like.
1. Why might highly sensitive people be unwilling to take part in group sports?| A．They will feel like they are being evaluated. |
| B．They don't like socializing with other people. |
| C．They don't consider themselves to be athletic. |
| D．They fear they'll be let down by their teammates. |
| A．committed | B．flexible. |
| C．independent. | D．sensitive. |
| A．To help people understand what personality type they are. |
| B．To explain how personal characteristics affect exercise habits. |
| C．To identify the dangers of doing the wrong type of exercise. |
| D．To describe different types of workouts that are available today. |
【推荐2】You don’t have to use a dandelion (蒲公英) to know which way the wind blows. But it can help. Dandelion seeds fly freely in the wind. But those seeds on any given dandelion have different fates. Some are to float north when the wind blows them, while others are fated to fly east, south, west or some direction in between. “How do dandelion seeds respond to the wind depends on where they sit on the dandelion head?” says Jena Shields, a biophysicist at Cornell University in Ithaca.
One day, Jena happened to watch her little child play with dandelions. She noticed that the dandelion seeds didn’t all fall off the same. Some came loose more easily than others, but it depended on how the child blew on the seed heads. Jena got the inspiration for the research from it. So Jena set out to study what was going on.
She measured the force it takes to blow dandelion seeds away. To start with, she glued (粘贴) a wire to the different seeds. Then she pulled them at various angles. This seed-by-seed study mimicked what happens when the wind pushes them over.
The findings show that each seed falls off most easily in the wind from one direction, and seeds from one head don’t go the same way. The feathery seeds on the side facing the wind will fall off most easily. The others hold on more tightly until the wind shifts. Besides, once blown off a dandelion, a seed’s umbrella-like feather carries it on the wind that pulled it away. And it helps explain why the plants are so successful in spreading.
However, Jena also found an exception. A sudden strong blow was still able to blow all the seeds away in the same direction. So when a strong wind blows or excited children try their best to blow, all the seeds could be blown off at once.
1. Why did Jena do research on dandelion seeds?| A．To correct people’s misconception of dandelions. |
| B．To figure out how dandelion seeds react to wind. |
| C．To explain why dandelions fly far without wind. |
| D．To satisfy her child’s curiosity about dandelions. |
| A．Predicted. |
| B．Proved. |
| C．Explored. |
| D．Copied. |
| A．They fly for the similar distance. |
| B．They tend to fly in one direction. |
| C．They come off easier in the wind from one direction. |
| D．They break free from feathers to fly once coming off. |
| A．To make up for the research. |
| B．To stress the point of the text. |
| C．To make a summary of the text. |
| D．To provide examples for the research. |
【推荐3】Being bored is no fun, especially at work. There's nothing worse than finding yourself bored in your office on a Monday morning and realize there's still four and a half more days to the weekend. But a new research done by Australian National University argues that while boredom is certainly boring, it isn't all bad. This bored mental state can actuaIJy spark(引发) precious creativity.
The study asked 52 subjects(实验对象) to do a boring job: Sort apart a bowl of red and green beans with just one hand for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, 49 other subjects-the control group-were instructed to create art projects with paper, beans, and glue.
Once the 30 minutes was over, each group was asked to spend five minutes on a creative task:they had to come up with reasons why a hypothetical(假设的) person was two hours late for a meeting. The researchers found that the bored group came up with not just more ideas but more creative ideas than the control group.
The research found that although some previous research implies boredom can lead to dissatisfaction at a job, boredom didn't produce unwanted emotions that could be detrimental to mental health. In this case, people who were bored were just bored, and they walked away with a net benefit of creativity.
“Boredom is not miserable and harmful based on my research," says the study's lead author, Guihyun Park.“People want to get out of a boring state, so they are induced to novelty-seeking(追求新奇的) unique thinking, which brings out creativity."
1. What can we know about the 52 subjects?| A．They often felt very bored. | B．They always thought of weekends. |
| C．They were asked to do creative work. | D．They were required to sort beans. |
| A．The bored group was as creative as the control group. |
| B．Bored people could work better than those who were not. |
| C．The two groups carried out a same 30-minute task. |
| D．Bored people are often late for a meeting. |
| A．Valuable. | B．effective. | C．Harmful. | D．Positive. |
| A．Boredom Brings out Creativity | B．Never Feel Bored When Doing Work |
| C．Being Bored Is No Fun at Work | D．Boredom Produces Unwanted Emotions |
Here are some things students often do.
No-garbage (垃圾) lunches. How much do you throw away after lunch? Environment clubs ask students to bring their lunches in bags that can be used again. Every week they will choose the classes that make the least garbage and report them to the whole school.
No-car day. On a no-car day, nobody comes to school in a car. Not the students and not the teachers! Cars give pollution to our air, so remember: work jump, bike and run. Use your legs! It’s lots of fun..
Turn off the water! Did you know that some toilets can waste twenty to forty cubic(立方) meters of water an hour? In a year, that would fill a small river! In environment clubs, students mend those broken toilets. We love our environment. Let’s work together to make it clean.
1. Environment clubs ask students __________.
| A．to run to school every day |
| B．to take exercise every day |
| C．not to forget to take cars |
| D．to use lunch bags |
| A．at school | B．in shops |
| C．in chubs | D．at home |
| A．a small river | B．a club |
| C．water in cubic meters | D．a toilet |
| A．clean school | B．make less pollution |
| C．join clubs | D．help teachers |
| A．On No-car day, only the teachers can go to school in their cars. |
| B．In the clubs, students usually work together to make the earth less polluted. |
| C．The water in the toilet can fill a river. |
| D．Students can take their lunch in paper, so they can throw it after lunch. |
【推荐2】Osaka, Japan — Defending champions China lifted the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup trophy（奖品）with perfect 11 straight wins after easing past Argentina 3-0 here on Sunday. With their eleventh win at the 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup, China won the FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Cup.
This year, the World Cup has been played across different cities, and Team China had training sessions even on traveling days when some participating teams chose to rest up after a tiring flight. “Coach Lang focuses on details of the technique in the training sessions, and I feel our team has become more balanced.” Captain Zhu Ting said. This firm approach explains how China managed to turn the table against the United States at the World Cup. Never giving up, especially in adversity, that’s what the spirit of Chinese women’s volleyball means.
When the team struggled, Zhu was always there, doing whatever was needed to carry the team forward. That’s why she has become a national volleyball icon, just like “Iron Hammer” Lang. As for Lang, she took over the flag from her former coach Yuan Weimin, who was behind China’s rise in the beginning. From coach Yuan to coach Lang, and spiker（主攻手）Lang to spiker Zhu, the flag bearers may have changed over time, but the craving for championships and the steely desire and determination remain the same.
Volleyball is a team sport and behind the on-court team. There is always a supportive coaching team and staff. Lai was one of the members. Shouldering responsibilities as both vice director of China’s Volleyball Management Center and as assistant coach. Apart from coordinating between coaches and players, Chinese coaches and foreign coaches and sometimes within Chinese coaches, she also has to do chores. During Rio 2016, assistant coach Yuan Lingxi headed for the arena（竞技场）at 6 am every day to film the matches and would return to the Olympic Village at 2 am when he would start analyzing China’s opponents and file reports. There are many Lais and Yuans that are not known by the public, but who remain indispensable for the team to overcome difficulties and reach their peak.
1. What does the underlined word “lifted” probably mean in paragraph 1?| A．Raised. | B．Won. |
| C．Beat. | D．Expected. |
| A．Being a special team. | B．Sticking to the end. |
| C．Winning every game. | D．Training hard every day. |
| A．She wins many awards in the World Cup. |
| B．She keeps strong desire and determination. |
| C．She takes lots of training after the tiring fight. |
| D．She does almost everything to help the team forward. |
| A．Hard work is vital in volleyball matches. |
| B．The coach has a great influence on players. |
| C．The staff behind the on-court team is also important. |
| D．Understanding opponents is necessary to win the game. |
【推荐3】If we look around us at the things we have bought at some point in our lives， we would no doubt notice that not everything we own is being put to good use：the thick woolen coat which we thought looked fashionable despite the fact that we live in a tropical(热带的) country， the smartphone that got put away when we bought ourselves the newest model， or even the guest room in our house that somehow got turned into a storeroom.
Those underutilized things may seem useless to some， but could be useful to others. With the coming of the Internet， online communities have figured out a way to generate profit from the sharing of those underused things. Using websites and social media groups that facilitate(促进) the buying and selling of second-hand goods, it is now easier than ever for sharing activities to take place. And this is known as the sharing economy.
These online platforms are providing a chance for people to make a quick buck or two. To give an example, busy parents e previously might not have bothered with setting up a stall(货摊) at the local market or car boot sale to sell their children's old stuff， but with online marketplaces， parents are now able to sell on those hardly worn baby clothes that their children have outgrown and the expensive pushchairs and baby stuff they have bought, so as to put some cash back into their pockets.
Businesses have also caught on to the profitability of the sharing economy and are seeking to gain from making use of those underutilized resources. A business model that has rapidly risen in popularity sees companies providing an online platform that puts customers in contact with those who can provide a particular product or service. Companies like Airbnb act as a middleman for people to cash in on their unused rooms and houses and let them out as profitable accommodation （住所）. Another example is Uber, encourages people to use their own personal cars as taxis to make some extra cash in their free time.
This move towards a sharing economy is not without criticisms. Unlike businesses, unregulated individuals do not to follow certain rules and this can lead to poorer and inconsistent quality od goods and services and a higher risk of cheating. Nevertheless, in the consumerist society we live in today, the increased opportunities to sell on our unwanted and underused goods can lead to a lesser impact on environment.
1. What does the underlined word “underutilized” in Paragraph 2 probably mean____.| A．Not being fashionable. | B．Used. |
| C．Not being used enough. | D．Worn out. |
| A．The latest smartphone. |
| B．The storeroom in our house. |
| C．A thick coat in a cold country. |
| D．Clothes our babies don't or can't wear anymore. |
| A．they have to follow certain rules |
| B．they like to criticize their buyers |
| C．they don't have a business permit |
| D．they might sell lower-quality products |
| A．The Consumerist Society |
| B．Parents Who Need Money |
| C．The Rise of the Sharing Economy |
| D．Why We Buy Things We Don’t Need |
