Babies appear to know how to help those in need, according to researchers who studied signs of altruism in almost 100 children. Researchers who wanted to see whether children would give up their food to give it to a stranger without encouragement found the kids just did that — even when they were hungry.
The scientists recruited 96 19-month-old children. During the experiments, a child and a researcher sat across from each other. In the control group, the researcher threw a piece of fruit onto a plate beyond reach, but the child could reach. The researcher showed no expression and made no attempt to get the fruit back. In contrast, the researcher in the test group pretended to accidentally drop the fruit on the plate, and then reach for it unsuccessfully. This signaled to the opposite child that the adult wanted the fruit. Among the test group, 58 percent of the children picked up the fruit and gave it to the adult, compared to 4% in the control group.
Next, the team explored if children would still be generous when the cost was raised. The same scenes as the experiment above were repeated with a separate group of kids before their lunchtime, when they were likely to be hungry. Similarly, 37 percent of the test group handed over the fruit, compared with none in the control group.
The experiments were repeated four times. Researchers got similar results each time. Babies with siblings (兄弟姐妹) and babies from Latino or Asian families shared more of the fruit, the team also found.
Carter Morgan, lead professor of the study, said, “We often think of babies as selfish persons. But here we find that they are willing to help others even when it comes at some ‘cost’ to themselves.” Addressing why children with siblings or from certain cultural backgrounds were more likely to share, Morgan said , “ We believe this partly reflects what social psychologists call ‘interdependence’, which stresses the importance of interpersonal connections. These social experiences that shape attitudes towards sharing appear to have an effect very early in life.”
1. What does the underlined word “altruism” in Para.1 most probably mean?| A．Courage. | B．Creativity. | C．Selflessness. | D．Independence. |
| A．They can classify different fruits. |
| B．They understand signals for help. |
| C．They can express their needs freely. |
| D．They know what time to have lunch. |
| A．The second experiment was less persuasive. |
| B．Children in the second experiment were less generous. |
| C．Children in the second experiment were more likely to be hungry. |
| D．Children in the second experiment were more motivated to take the fruit for themselves. |
| A．Attitudes towards sharing change greatly as people get older. |
| B．Babies from families with an only child are more willing to share. |
| C．It’s easier to control babies’selfish desires when they are hungry. |
| D．Social experiences play a role in affecting babies’behavior of sharing. |
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【推荐1】If you are a perfectionist, you are probably familiar with the feeling of wanting to get everything just right. You may struggle with handing in papers, agonize over projects at work, and even worry about small errors from the past. High standards are one thing, but perfectionism is quite another. And as some researchers have discovered, pursuing perfection can have serious consequences to both mental and physical well-being.
According to researchers, perfectionists hold themselves to unrealistically high standards and become self-critical if they believe they haven’t met these standards. Perfectionists are also likely to feel guilt and shame if they experience failures, which often leads them to avoid situations where they are worried they might fail.
In one study, researchers looked at a total of 284 studies (with over 57,000 participants) and found that perfectionism was associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders. They also found that people higher in perfectionism (i.e. participants who more strongly identified with perfectionist traits) also reported higher levels of overall psychological distress.
In an article published in 2016, researchers looked at how perfectionism and depression were related over time. They found that people higher in perfectionism tended to have increases in depression symptoms, which suggests that perfectionism may be a risk factor for developing depression. In other words, although people may think of their perfectionism as something that helps them succeed, it appears that their perfectionism may actually be harmful for their mental health.
Since perfectionism is associated with negative outcomes, what can someone with perfectionist tendencies do to change their behavior? Although people are sometimes hesitant to give up their perfectionist tendencies, psychologists point out that giving up on perfection doesn’t mean being less successful. In fact, because mistakes are an important part of learning and growing, embracing imperfection can actually help us in the long run.
1. Why does the author describe the scene in the first paragraph?| A．To introduce the topic. |
| B．To provide examples. |
| C．To support the author’s argument. |
| D．To define a concept. |
| A．A person who is determined to achieve high goals. |
| B．A person who tends to feel sorry for what he has done. |
| C．A person who blames himself for not being that successful. |
| D．A person who holds high standards for themselves. |
| A．It may lower one’s mental health. |
| B．It reflects one’s psychological level. |
| C．It results in depression immediately. |
| D．It stops one from recovering from depression. |
| A．A call for not being a perfectionist. |
| B．Another side-effect of perfectionism. |
| C．Why perfectionism is harmful. |
| D．How to avoid perfectionism. |
【推荐2】Fossil fuels are rapidly warming the planet, and the aerosols (气溶胶) from their burning process kill millions of people each year. But those aerosols can also cool the atmosphere. It creates an odd climate contradiction. If we burn less gas, oil, and coal, we’ll stop loading the sky with planet-warming carbon, but we’ll also load it with fewer planet-cooling aerosols. But exactly how much cooling we get from aerosols, and how strong that effect will be as the world stops using fossil fuels, are huge questions among climate researchers.
Burning fossil fuels produces clouds of tiny particles (颗粒), which cool the climate in two main ways. “The little particles themselves act like little mirrors, and they reflect some sunlight straight back to space,” says University of Oxford climate scientist Duncan Watson-Parris.
The second way is more indirect: They influence the formation of clouds, which in turn affect the local climate. “Water vapor (水蒸气) in the atmosphere covers the aerosols and forms cloud droplets (云滴),” says Watson-Parris. If you load a given area with extra aerosols, the droplets end up being more numerous, yet smaller: There’s only so much water vapor to go around all the particles. Smaller droplets are brighter than bigger ones, which whitens the cloud, causing it to reflect more of the sun’s energy back into space.
In addition, the atmosphere is an extremely complicated 3D system stretching miles into the sky. Temperatures, humidity, and winds are changing constantly. And the aerosols caused by human activity are extraordinarily complicated. That’s why scientists can’t yet say that if we burn fewer fossil fuels and reduce aerosols by X amount, we can expect Y amount of warming. That’s why researchers like Watson-Parris have had a range of outcomes. More atmospheric data, they say, will help them get closer to concrete numbers.
If we find better ways to take existing aerosols out of the air, but continue to burn fuels that release planet-warming carbon dioxide, we’ll raise temperatures while eliminating the tiny particles that are compensating for (抵消) some of that heat. And that, Watson-Parris says, would be “a double blow.”
1. What remains unknown to climate researchers according to paragraph 1?| A．When the world can get rid of fossil fuels. | B．What the best alternative to fossil fuels is. |
| C．How the aerosols will affect temperatures. | D．How people will benefit from the aerosols. |
| A．Less water vapor. | B．Whiter clouds. |
| C．Bigger droplets. | D．Fewer particles. |
| A．Collecting more atmospheric data. | B．Calling on people to reduce the aerosols. |
| C．Building up a better research model. | D．Questioning Watson-Parris’s research results. |
| A．Comparing. | B．Removing. |
| C．Monitoring. | D．Distinguishing. |
【推荐3】With a brain the size of a pinhead, insects perform fantastic navigational (导航的) abilities. They avoid obstacles and move through small openings. How do they do this, with their limited brain power? Understanding the inner workings of an insect’s brain can help us in our search towards energy-efficient computing, physicist Elisabetta Chicca of the University of Groningen demonstrates with her most recent result: A robot that acts like an insect.
In search of the neural (神经的) mechanism that drives insect behaviour, PhD student Thorben Schoepe developed a model of its neuronal activity and a small robot that uses this model to navigate. Schoepe’s model is based on one main principle: always steer towards the area with the least apparent motion.
He had his robot drive through a long “corridor”— consisting of two walls with a random print on it—and the robot centred in the middle of the corridor, as insects tend to do. In other virtual environments, such as a space with obstacles or small openings, Schoepe’s model also showed similar behaviour to insects.
“The model is so good,” Chicca concludes, “that once you set it up, it will perform in all kinds of environments. That’s the beauty of this result.”
The fact that a robot can navigate in a realistic environment is not new. Rather, the model gives insight into how insects do the job, and how they manage to do things so efficiently.
Chicca explains, “Much of robotics is not concerned with efficiency. We humans tend to learn new tasks as we grow up and within robotics. This is reflected in the current trend of machine learning. But insects are able to fly immediately from birth. An efficient way of doing that is hardwired in their brains. In a similar way, you could make computers more efficient.”
1. Why does Chicca want to study how the insect brain works?| A．To make computers more efficient. | B．To make use of insects’ brain power. |
| C．To understand the habit of insects. | D．To reveal the inner part of insects’ brain. |
| A．Stretch. | B．Stare. | C．Drive. | D．Work. |
| A．Regretful. | B．Shocked. | C．Confused. | D．Satisfied. |
| A．How to make a robot that acts like an insect. |
| B．Why insects navigate more efficiently than robots. |
| C．Why a robot can navigate in a realistic environment. |
| D．How humans tend to learn new tasks as they grow up. |
【推荐1】For night owls like Chen Danhong, 28, who works for a technology company in Beijing, the day really just begins after about 8 pm, a psychological hint that she can relax. “When I get home, I’m feeling worn out and tired, but that suddenly turns to excitement and I go on the Internet, read novels or watch movies. I’ll be playing video games and continually saying to myself, ‘OK, this is the last one’ before I eventually realize that it’s 2 o’clock,” says Chen.
Common symptoms (症状) include falling asleep later than 2 am, with the average time taken to fall asleep being more than one hour. Young people in cities are most vulnerable to such symptoms, according to the 2020 Chinese National Healthy Sleep White Paper. Common causes are loneliness, overtime sequelae (后遗症), excessive stress and emotional disorders. On March 21, World Sleep Day, a newspaper, Nanguo Morning News, conducted a survey that attracted 2,000 interviewees.
According to the survey, the reasons for going to bed late vary widely, with overtime work or taking care of a baby accounting for just five percent of the interviewees’ answers on this question. Sixty-four percent said they sleep late because they watch dramas, various shows, read books or play with their mobile phones. Fourteen percent said they do not want to go to bed too early even if they have nothing to do.
Many interviewees said they have had experience of the dangers of going to be late. Twenty-three percent said they have no serious physiological problems, but they can feel weak, are easily fatigued and have a poor complexion. Twenty-one percent said they are forgetful and find it hard to concentrate on work. More worrying is that an unwillingness to sleep can lead to a vicious circle (恶性循环), and15 percent of the respondents said they cannot fall asleep even if they want to.
1. Why does the author mention Chen Danhong’s situation in the first paragraph?| A．To lead in the topic. | B．To present an argument. |
| C．To shock the reader. | D．To raise a question. |
| A．Unwillingness to sleep. | B．The various entertainments. |
| C．Caring for their family. | D．The frequent overtime. |
| A．Concerned. | B．Exhausted. | C．Focused. | D．Sleepy. |
| A．Young people are more strong enough to sleep late. |
| B．Young people can fall asleep anytime they want to. |
| C．Going to bed late affects many people’s health or work. |
| D．Sleeping late occasionally isn’t harmful to our health. |
【推荐2】From ordering food to buying a new book to making a charitable donation, more and more decisions that used to be made on paper are now being made on digital devices like tablets, phones, and computers. And this trend towards digitalization has many advantages, in particular when it comes to efficiency and sustainability — but could it also be negatively influencing how we make decisions?
We conducted a series of studies with more than 2, 500 participants across the U. S. and China to explore the impact of the medium you use to make a decision, with a particular focus on decisions with some sort of moral component, such as whether or not to make a donation to a charity, or whether to choose a healthy or unhealthy entrée (主菜) at a restaurant. We asked the participants to make a variety of these sorts of choices using either a paper form or a digital tablet, and despite controlling for all other variables (变量) , we consistently found that people who used paper made more moral decisions than those who used a digital device: For example, participants who read their choices and made a selection on paper were significantly more likely to give money to charity, choose a healthy entree, and opt for an educational book rather than something more entertaining.
Why might this be? Our research suggests that the key mechanism driving this effect is how “real” the decision feels. We asked participants in two of our studies to describe how real a decision felt, as well as the extent to which they believed the decision as representing who they were as people, and they consistently indicated that making a choice on paper felt more real and representative than making the same decision on a digital device.
It may seem like a minor detail, but our research shows that the medium with which your customers, employees, or community members make a decision can have a major impact on the choices they make. This has implications (暗示) for marketers, policymakers, and anyone seeking to encourage any sort of virtuous behaviour. For example, to encourage customers to choose healthier options, restaurants might consider opting for paper rather than digital menus. Similarly, parents and educators might opt to provide students with paper rather than online book order forms, to increase the chances that they’ll choose educational reading materials.
1. What do we know about the studies?| A．The participants are all from America. |
| B．The participants are divided into three groups. |
| C．The studies pay special attention to decisions with moral component. |
| D．The studies prove the efficiency and availability of the digital device. |
| A．The awareness of environmental protection. |
| B．People’s objection to trend towards digitalization. |
| C．The real feeling caused by making decisions on paper. |
| D．People’s care about their identity when making decisions on paper. |
| A．It has practical value. | B．It needs improvement. |
| C．It can stand the test of time. | D．It makes sense in every situation. |
| A．Pen and paper will never be replaced. |
| B．We encourage everyone to make a responsible choice. |
| C．We make more moral choices when using pen and paper. |
| D．Educational reading materials should be provided in the form of paper. |
【推荐3】An ageing population is a global phenomenon. Countries are looking for the balm to address the demands of a swelling elderly community.
Many nations are threatened by a shortage of healthcare workers because of unenviable tasks such as bathing, feeding and changing the diapers. Advancements in technology now present an innovative solution to this. Japan has now developed carebots, specially-designed robots, to replace human caregivers. Japan is also working at more coordinated care for the elderly within the community which includes the integration of hospitals, homecare, elderly care centres and nursing homes. Putting in place a system that can effectively track and retrieve the medical history of every elderly person, Japan leverages technology to provide quality healthcare for the seniors.
The unique feature about Sweden is that most of the elderly live in their own homes where they continue to enjoy living independently. Local governments allocate funds and manage services while citizens have the freedom to choose the type of home services and their service provider. They can apply for homecare services including delivering meals to homes, hanging curtains, changing light bulbs etc. In Sweden, the focus is also on preventive care—keeping the elderly healthy. The elderly who are ill are not just given medicines but also a specific type of physical activity, where their doctors also monitor the outcome.
Singapore also provides more homecare services and day-care centres where the older people can go for rehabilitative and social activities. Besides, the government is creating more dementia-friendly communities, where support comes from the community. Various people within a community like policemen, shopkeepers and other volunteers are trained to assist the elderly with dementia (痴呆). With greater community awareness and support, it is more plausible for a dementia sufferer to stay at home instead of a nursing home.
In our search for the best model to meet the demands of a burgeoning ageing population, let us keep in mind that there is no one-size-fits-all solution. What is important is shouldering the responsibilities of caring for them and ensuring them to age well and comfortably.
1. How does Japan deal with the problem of the shortage of healthcare workers?| A．By offering quality healthcare for the seniors. |
| B．By tracking the medical history of every elderly person. |
| C．By developing robots programmed with caregiving functions. |
| D．By integrating places like hospitals, homecare, and nursing homes. |
| A．Optional care services are both provided free. |
| B．Independent living is respected and supported. |
| C．Preventive care for the elderly is highly valued. |
| D．Social activities and voluntary help are enjoyed. |
| A．Models for giving the elderly care. |
| B．Countries with an ageing population. |
| C．Responsibilities of caring for the elderly. |
| D．Demands of a growing elderly community. |
【推荐1】The Amazon basin region is home to about 2.5 million insect species, tens of thousands of plants, and some 2,000 birds and mammal is. To date, at least 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish, 1,294 birds, 427mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles have been scientifically classified in the region. One in five of all the birds in the world live in the Amazon rainforest.
The warm and wet forest has been in existence for at least 55 million years, and thrived even during glacial periods, allowing for the evolution of an unbelievable diversity of species. Radiocarbon dating has revealed trees of 10 centimeter in diameter to be more than 300 years old, and some trees over 1,000 years old, indicating that untouched forests can experience unbelievable longevity.
The first human inhabitants are thought to have settled in the Amazon region about 11,200 years ago. European explorers arrived in the 16th century, bringing diseases which traveled faster than the explorers themselves, killing perhaps as many as 90% of the indigenous inhabitants. By the late 17th century the Amazon basin was controlled by Portuguese and Spanish explorers.
The Amazon rainforest has been described as the lungs of our planet because of its important role in recycling carbon dioxide into oxygen. But due to deforestation, rainforests now coverless than 5% of the Earth's land surface, and experts believe that this is a big contributor to global climate change. Severe deforestation began in the 20th century, with 587,000 square kilometers lost up to the year 2000. Most deforested land is used for grassland to raise farm animals and agriculture. The addition of transport routes has led to increased settlement and deforestation, and at the present rate, scientists estimate that the Amazon rainforest will be reduced by 40% in two decades.
1. Why are the figures mentioned in Paragraph 1?| A．To prove the forest untouched. | B．To classify species scientifically. |
| C．To show the diversity of species. | D．To attract more attention to the Amazon region. |
| A．Because European explorers brought diseases there. |
| B．Because Portuguese explorers treated them badly. |
| C．Because a lot of trees were cut down and burned. |
| D．Because they got killed by Spanish explorers. |
| A．It has the largest number of species. | B．It covers over 5% of South America. |
| C．It is becoming larger in area. | D．It is being endangered now. |
| A．Examples of destroying forests. | B．Measures to protect rainforests. |
| C．New settlements in the Amazon region. | D．Ways to stop global warming. |
【推荐2】We all like watching online videos of dogs and cats doing funny things. But if you had to decide, which of the two animals would you say you might like better? Your answer may say something about your personality.
According to a 2010 study led by Sam Gosling, a scientist at the University of Texas, US, dog people are about 15 percent more outgoing and 13 percent more pleasant to be friends with than cat people.
This is not hard to understand, since cats and dogs behave differently themselves. "Cats will occasionally engage in social activities, but usually after only a few minutes, they will abandon the game. Dogs, on the other hand, will often engage in play, like fetching a thrown ball, for hours at a time," said Modern Dog Magazine.
Although cat people are less social, Gosling's study showed that they are 11 percent more open-minded than dog people. They usually like art, adventures and unusual ideas. They also have more imagination and curiosity. But dog people are more likely to stick to old beliefs and traditional interests.
However, their love of a free lifestyle also means that cat people dislike making plans. They just follow whatever ideas pop into their heads without planning ahead. But dog people are different. They usually have strong self-control and like to carry out their plans.
Despite these big differences between dog people and cat people, there are some things that they have in common. "Both types of people consider themselves close to nature, dislike animal-print clothing, and are generally optimists," noted Mother Nature Network.
But can personality change? Can a cat person become a dog person, or the other way around? In a study done by Stanley Coren, a scientist based in Canada, he asked cat owners: "If you had enough living space and there were no objections form other people in your life, and someone gave you a puppy as a gift, would you keep it?"
About 68 percent of them said they would not accept a dog as a pet. But when dog owners were asked the same question about a kitten, almost 70 percent said they would allow a cat into their lives.
1. According to the article, compared with cat people, dog people ______.| A．perform better in school | B．are more open-minded |
| C．have closer friends | D．are more traditional |
| A．take little interest in | B．take part in |
| C．benefit from | D．suffer from |
| A．Both of them like planning ahead. |
| B．Both of them love travelling and adventures. |
| C．Both of them are imaginative and curious. |
| D．Both of them care about nature. |
【推荐3】When Carson Palmer, a professional American football player, hurt his arm a few years ago, he took a week off from throwing the football. But in his head, Palme practiced every day. The following weekend, Palmer had the best game of his life.
For more than a century, scientists have been trying to understand how this mental training works. In the 1930s, researchers proved by experiment that when you’re imagining an action, your brain sends signals to your muscles which are too weak to tighten the muscles but might help train the body to perform. In other words, mental practice might create a pattern in your head, like an inner how-to guide for a particular skill.
Sports psychologists have conducted hundreds of studies comparing imagined and physical practice for actions. On the whole, the research shows that mental training works. A 2012 study, for example, compared 32 amateur golfers who practiced hitting the balls to another 32 who merely held a golf club in their hands and visualized (想象) their swings.
Under the same training rules, both groups improved their skills by getting the ball about 4 inches closer to the hole.
Visualization has advantages over the real thing: You can do it anywhere, even when injured. It is safe — a major plus for high-risk performers such as gymnasts and surgeons. And you can practice for longer periods of time because you’re not restricted by physical tiredness. That’s not to say it’s easy. “We’ve had Olympic-level athletes sitting in our lab, visualizing the movements for two hours,” says Tadhg Macintyre, a sports psychologist at the University of Limerick in Ireland. “When we’re done, they’re absolutely tired.”
It doesn’t work for everyone, though. “If you’re a novice, the effect can be harmful,” warns Macintyre. “If you’re trying to visualize a free throw, and you don’t even know the proper movement, then you’re probably going to mentally practice the wrong skill.”
1. The author introduces the topic of the text by_ .| A．giving an example | B．presenting an argument |
| C．explaining a phenomenon | D．making an assumption |
| A．A special skill is quickly acquired. |
| B．A certain model is formed in the head |
| C．The muscles grow increasingly tense. |
| D．The brain sends strong messages to the body. |
| A．Athletes are likely to win games through imagined practice. |
| B．Practicing a skill properly in mind can produce intended effect. |
| C．Practice whether mental or physical has its own characteristics. |
| D．Scientists have found a sale way for athletes to practice their skills. |
