Experimenting with eggs
What can you do with eggs other than eat them?
Naked Eggs
What does an egg look like without its shell? You may be picturing the white and yolk in a bowl after cracking it, but that isn’t the only way to remove the shell.
Materials: 1 egg, white vinegar, a bowl, a spoon
Directions: Fill a bowl with one cup of vinegar. Add the egg to the bowl, and wait at least 24 hours. When you check it after a day, you’ll notice some bubbles on the egg and a residue(残留物)in the water. Use the spoon to gently remove the egg from the bowl. Remove the old vinegar, and add a cup of fresh vinegar. Return the egg to the bowl, and wait another 24 hours. When you remove the egg this time, the shell should completely disappear.
Walking on Eggshells
Can Eggs hold the weight of your entire body?
Materials: six cartons(硬纸盒)of eggs, a garbage bag
Directions: Place the garbage bag on the floor to make any necessary clean up easier. Place the cartons of eggs into two rows of three. Make sure all the eggs are pointing in the same direction-either all pointy end up or all rounded end up. Step onto the first carton of eggs carefully. If you’re careful, you will succeed. Eggs are actually incredibly strong. The arch shape at the top and the bottom of the egg allows pressure to be distributed evenly over the egg.
1. In the first experiment, what cause(s)the eggshell to disappear?| A．Water. | B．Vinegar. | C．Bubbles. | D．Residue. |
| A．The arrangement of the eggs. | B．the number of the eggs. |
| C．The distribution of the cartons. | D．The shape of the cartons. |
| A．To persuade readers to use eggs in new ways. |
| B．To tell the reader about the structure of the egg. |
| C．To instruct readers how to experiment with eggs. |
| D．To inspire readers to conduct experiments carefully. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Feeling overwhelmed by your to-do list can certainly make you unhappy, but new research suggests that more free time might not be the magic elixir many of us dream it could be.
In a new study released last week, researchers analyzed data from two large-scale surveys about how Americans spend their time. Together the surveys included more than 35,000 respondents. The researchers found that people with more free time generally had higher levels of subjective well-being — but only up to a point.
People who had up to two hours of free time a day generally reported they felt better than those who'd had less time. But people who had five or more hours of free time a day generally said they felt worse. So ultimately the free time "sweet spot" might be two to three hours per day.
Most people know that being too busy can cause stress. However, no evidence shows more free time will actually bring people happiness. For example, some adults struggle with the "retirement blues, "which can be due to lacking stimulation(刺激)and structure.
Part of finding the "sweet spot" has to do with how people spend the extra time they have, the researchers behind the new study argue.
They conducted several smaller online experiments. In one they asked participants to imagine having 3.5 to seven free hours per day. They were asked to imagine spending that time doing "productive" things (like exercising) or to imagine doing "unproductive" activities (like watching TV) Study participants believed their well-being would suffer if they had a lot of free time during the day—but only if they used it unproductively.
Of course, what feels "productive" is up to you. If watching two hours of "Real Housewives" in your free time increases your happiness, you should do that. Even some traditionally productive or purposeful activities like walking, knitting, reading or cooking, which helps burn stress and put people in a state of flow, can be easy and beneficial.
1. What does the underlined word "elixir" mean in Paragraph 1?| A．Solution. | B．Achievement. | C．Purpose. | D．Outcome. |
| A．To show the "sweet spot" helpful. | B．To prove more free time might harm. |
| C．To confirm the retired lack stimulation. | D．To suggest the old keeping exercising. |
| A．How to spend free time matters. | B．Watching TV is unproductive. |
| C．Being active lessens anxiety. | D．Reading is a purposeful activity. |
| A．What will you do in free time? | B．What's the free time "sweet spot"? |
| C．How much free time makes you happier? | D．What's better, productive or unproductive? |
【推荐2】The human tendency to gravitate towards people that are similar to them starts early. In school-age children, the behavior called homophily, or "love of the same" often has to do with how others dress or act. Adults tend to form groups based on professions or personalities. However, forming cliques (小集团) and shutting out those who are "different" is not just a human characteristic. South Africa's Cape baboons (狒狒) show similar tendencies too!
A team of researchers followed the same two troops of baboons for several months. What they noticed was that like humans, baboons rarely left their original groups. To prove if their observations were correct, the researchers conducted an experiment.
They began by placing some foods that the baboons had never seen before on the edge of paths the animals frequently crossed. The researchers recorded the time it took a baboon to get close enough to examine the new foods and the time for ones that had the courage to taste them. Sure enough, the most curious and daring baboons all belonged to the same group. What did surprise the scientists was that the baboons with similar personalities hung out together, regardless of whether they were male or female.
The researchers say this behavior is not a good sign for the animals, because the daring and curious baboons are also good problem solvers. The scientists worry that if the baboons share new problem-solving skills with only their group, it leaves the rest of the species vulnerable to any environmental changes or enemies.
Unfortunately, baboons are not the only animals that form cliques. In another study, the scientists divided 80 fish into two groups. After about three weeks，the fish were rearranged into smaller groups of ten. The researchers observed that many of the fish that had spent time together in the original two groups seemed to seek each other out. What was even more interesting is that once they re-grouped，they were able to find the hidden food much faster. This led the researchers to think that like humans, the fish tended to share their secrets with their best "friends".
1. What can be used to replace the underlined word "gravitate" in Paragraph 1?| A．Lose respect. | B．Feel attracted. |
| C．Move smoothly. | D．Behave naturally. |
| A．Baboons associate with similar others. |
| B．Male baboons tend to be in the same group. |
| C．Cautious baboons are good at finding new foods. |
| D．Female baboons are usually braver than male baboons. |
| A．To show they are different from baboons. |
| B．To introduce human-like behavior in fish. |
| C．To prove other animals form groups as well. |
| D．To explain how they get on with each other. |
【推荐3】Millions of people pass through the gates of Disney’s entertainment parks each year. What makes these places an almost universal attraction? What makes foreign kings and queens and other important people want to visit these Disney parks? Well，one reason is the way they’re treated once they get there.The people at Disney go out of their way to serve their “guests”，as they prefer to see that they enjoy themselves.
All new employees，from vice presidents to parttime workers，begin their employment by attending Disney University and taking “TraditionsⅠ”. Here，they learn about the company’s history，how it is managed，and why it is successful. They are shown how each department relates to the whole. All employees are shown how their part is important in making the park a success.
After passing “TraditionsⅠ”，the employees go on to do more specialised training for their specific(具体的) jobs. No detail(细节) is missed. A simple job like taking tickets requires four eighthour days of training. When one ticket taker was asked why it took so much training for such a simple，ordinary job，he replied，“What happens if someone wants to know where the restrooms are，when the parade starts or what bus to take back to the campgrounds?We need to know the answers or where to get them quickly. Our constant aim is to help our guests enjoy the party.”
Even Disney’s managers get involved in the daily management of the parks. Every year，the managers leave their desks and business suits and put on special service clothes. For a full week，the bosses sell hot dogs or ice cream，take tickets or drive the monorail，and take up any of the 100 jobs that make the entertainment park come alive. The managers agree that this week helps them to see the company’s goals more clearly.
All these efforts to serve the public well have made Walt Disney productions famous. Disney is considered by many as the best mass service provider in America or the world. As one longtime business observer once said，“How Disney treats people，communicates with them，rewards them，is in my view the very reason for his fifty years of success. ..I have watched，very carefully and with great respect and admiration，the theory and practice of selling satisfaction and serving millions of people on a daily basis，successfully. It is what Disney does best.”
1. The first day they come to Disney parks，all new employees ________.| A．begin by receiving onthejob training |
| B．must learn several jobs |
| C．begin as ticket takers |
| D．have already attended Disney University |
| A．set a good example for employees |
| B．remind themselves of their beginnings at Disney |
| C．gain a better view of the company’s objectives |
| D．replace employees on holiday |
| A．A week. | B．Four weeks. |
| C．Thirty two hours. | D．Eight hours. |
Animals can help people, too. Dogs can be taught to become the “eyes” for a blind person or “ears” for a deaf people. Scientists have found that pets help people live longer! They make people happier, too. Because of that, animals are brought into hospitals for “visit”.
Americans hold “Be-Kind-to-Animals Week” in the first week of May.
Pets shows are held during the week. Even if you don’t live in America, you, too, can do this. How? First, think about how animals make your life richer. If you have a pet, take more time this week to play with it. Remember to give it delicious food. Also, be sure to keep your pet from those unwanted babies.
If you don’t have a pet, be kind to animals around you. For example, if you see a street dog, don’t kick it or throw things at it. Instead, just leave it alone, or better yet, make friends with it. If others around you do bad things to an animal, try to stop them. As people, we must protect animals who can’t speak for themselves.
1. “A few even leave all their money to their pets when they die!” means that__________
| A．pets have the right to inherit (继承) money. |
| B．money can give pets happiness. |
| C．it’s the best way to spend money. |
| D．some pets are taken as children. |
| A．Because they are ill and need to see doctors. |
| B．Because they can make the patients happier. |
| C．Because they can find out the problems of the patients. |
| D．Because doctors can do experiments on them. |
| A．Holding a pet show in the week. |
| B．Playing with pets the whole week. |
| C．Cooking delicious food for pets. |
| D．Making friends with other people’s pets. |
| A．A lot of people are interested in dogs. |
| B．Dogs can help people do many things. Z+X+X+K] |
| C．Pets are lovely and need care and protection. |
| D．We have done a lot of things for pets. |
| A．the friendship between people. |
| B．the friendship between people and animals. |
| C．the friendship between animals. |
| D．the friendship between men and women |
【推荐2】Being honest may not get you a lot of friends, but it will get you the right ones. That’s true, so you should pursue authentic positivity in your friendships, the opposite of toxic (有毒的) positivity that would have you encouraging friends in all things, regardless of what you might feel or observe or know about the challenges of life.
1. Ask questions.
A feature of authentic positivity is a curious mindset, a mentality where you are less locked into “telling it like it is” and more interested in wondering and exploring the possibilities together with your friend.
2.
“That’s so disappointing” is sometimes the most positive thing you can say to your friend when they are struggling. Resisting the urge to say “It’s all going to work out; don’t worry” shows your friend that you see them in their pain, and that you are available to support them here and now.
3. Learn to apologize —and ask for an apology.
| A．Name hard truths. |
| B．Don’t disappoint your friend. |
| C．Every friend misses the mark sometimes. |
| D．Instead, friends should be authentic and positive. |
| E．Here are three ways to be an authentically positive friend. |
| F．But that doesn’t mean you need to focus on the negative all the time. |
| G．Positive friends ask each other questions, and listen deeply to the answers. |
【推荐3】You may well remember the last time you made a fool of yourself when asked a question in front of the entire class or when you felt you stood out, either positively, like scoring a perfect goal in a soccer game, or negatively, like wearing a piece of clothing that made you look entirely out of place.
These situations differ greatly, but one thing is for sure: in none of them did people pay attention to you to the extent that you might have thought they did. We estimate our own significance from our perspective, colored by the fact that we are all the center of our own universes, which is the noted “egocentric bias”, represented by the spotlight effect.
A study conducted by Tom Gilovich and other researchers found the participants greatly overestimated the number of people who might have noticed an embarrassing T-shirt they were wearing. But when required to view a recording of a third person wearing an embarrassing T-shirt, they got the estimate of the number of people who noticed it nearly right. What seems to shift the memorability of the T-shirt in our eyes, then, is us.
The spotlight effect doesn’t apply merely to appearance but to actions. In another part of the same study, the student participants similarly overestimated how much importance their classmates in a group discussion attached to their performance. Having an accurate idea of how much our performance matters to other people is vital. Overestimating how impressed our classmates are with our positive performance can cause us to have a ballooning sense of self-importance. Yet understanding fewer people than we realize actually care about our negative performance or errors can be incredibly freeing.
If we continuously fall into the trap of the spotlight effect, it may harm our mental health. We may respond with inaction to opportunities we want to participate in based on a mistaken assumption that others will analyze and judge us for them. The comforting truth is that just reminding ourselves of the fact that others almost never notice us as much as we think they do can be enough to counteract the spotlight effect.
1. What occasions are mentioned in paragraph 1?| A．When you are judged. | B．When you feel noticed. |
| C．Highlights of your life. | D．Your embarrassing moments. |
| A．To make a comparison. |
| B．To apply the spotlight effect. |
| C．To stress the essence of evaluation. |
| D．To analyze external factors’ effect on thinking. |
| A．gain respect | B．feel liberated |
| C．take pride in ourselves | D．break down mentally |
| A．Act out. | B．Find fault with. | C．Cancel out. | D．Take notice of. |
