【推荐1】If a philosopher and a president credited the same secret for their success, would you try to follow it too? What if the secret was something you already knew how to do?     1     Here’s what Friedrich Nietzsche wrote: “It is only ideas gained from walking that have any worth.” Thomas Jefferson: “Walking is the be possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.”

Are you still sitting there reading this? Get walking! It’s not just these two great minds who made a case for it as a prime creativity booster.     2     A Stanford University study found that participants were 81 percent more creative when walking as opposed to sitting. According to the study, walking outside greatly contributes to the participants doing creative work.

But the scenery is almost as important as the sweat. The National Human Activity Pattern Survey reveals that Americans spend 87 percent of their time indoors.     3     Being inside, you’re more likely to lack energy. Without energy, you can’t wonder or create. Just by going outside, you are stepping out of your habitual surroundings and your comfort zone, which is necessary if you want to open your mind to new possibilities.

The movement aspect of walking is obviously key. You’ve probably heard the phrase Exercise you creativity, which refers to the brain as muscle. Our creative mindset is triggered (触发) by physical movement.     4     Research has shown that being buried in nature, and the corresponding disconnection from multimedia and technology, increased performance on a creative problem-solving task by a full 50 percent in a group of hikers.

    5     Engage more closely with your surroundings for the next few weeks. Turn off your phone and give yourself the chance to be present in the world, to hear conversations and natural sounds, to notice the way people move. Walk not just for exercise. Walk for wonder and creativity.

A．In fact, you probably do it every day.

B．They spend less time outdoors than ever before.

C．That is exactly why walking feeds creative thinking.

D．So why not set a creativity goal that starts with walking?

E．However, is walking really useful for creative inspiration?

F．Lack of walking is even associated with personality change.

G．Researchers have discovered the connections between walking and creativity.

【推荐2】Scientists have long known that humans are built for endurance. Now, a new study shows people's hearts are also bettered for endurance — though how much depends on whether we run, farm, or stay put on the sofa.

To get to the heart of the matter, researchers examined the hearts of more than 160 adult men from four groups: long-distance runners, sedentary adults, highly trained football player, and the Tarahumara, native American farmers famous for their running ability.

When researchers compared the thickest of the heart's ventricles, they found there were clear differences. Endurance runners and farmers had larger, longer ventricles with thin walls, which could help pump more blood for a long time, the researchers report today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The football player, whose training was short, high-intensity exercise, had shorter, wider ventricles with thicker walls. So did the sedentary humans.

Because high-intensity activity causes blood pressure to increase for a short amount of time, such shorter ventricle, thick walls, and rounder shapes are good for the football players, researchers say, by making sure enough blood is pumped to the brain. But even without those pressures, a couch potato lifestyle seems to result in the same kind of thickening.

But sedentary readers shouldn't feel heartbroken — the researchers said that changes in heart shape are likely reversible, with more endurance activities.

1. What was the aim of the research into hearts?

A．To work out why humans are built for endurance.

B．To make out what kind of ventricle is the healthiest.

C．To figure out whether hearts are bettered for sedentary adults.

D．To find out how endurance activities can make our hearts better.

2. Jimmy is a computer engineer who has to work for long hours on computer. Which of the following ventricle and walls may suit him according to the passage?

A．	B．
C．	D．

3. What will the passage talk about following the last paragraph?

A．Introduction to endurance activities.	B．Benefits of heart shape.
C．Damage happened to sedentary adults.	D．Diets on reversible health.

【推荐3】Researchers from Arizona State University (ASU) published their latest report. When men expressed their opinions with anger, people considered them more believable. But when women expressed anger, they were viewed as more emotional (情绪化) and, thus, less trustable. In other words, a man could benefit from using anger in power and persuasion. A woman, however, could be ignored or hurt by her group if she expressed anger.

The study was based on the responses of 210 students. They were shown evidence online from a murder (谋杀) trial. A man was said to have murdered his wife. The students were asked to decide if the man was guilty or not. Before making their decisions, the students discussed the case online with five jurors (陪审员). But these jurors were computers responses and comments. Some of the jurors had male identities. Others had female identities.

Some male jurors were angry about the verdict (裁决). When this happened, the students reacted by doubting their own decisions about the case. Confidence in their responses on the verdict dropped. However, when female jurors seemed angry, the students became more confident in their original verdicts.

Jessica Salerno, a psychologist and co-author of the study, said, “Our results provide something important for any woman who is trying to have an influence on a decision in her workplace and everyday life.”

In a political debate, a female candidate might have less influence if she shows anger. In the entertainment world, actor Jennifer Lawrence recently wrote that women and men in Hollywood get the opposite reactions when expressing their opinions angrily. “All I hear and see are men speaking their opinions,” she wrote. “When I give mine in the quite similar manner, you would have thought I said something annoying”.

1. What’s the new finding from the ASU report?

A．Men usually do harm to angry women.

B．Women are more likely to become angry.

C．People prefer to believe the angry women.

D．Angry men appear to gain influence in a group.

2. When would the students be sure about their decisions in the study?

A．Male jurors agreed with them.

B．They became angry with the jurors.

C．Angry female jurors didn’t agree with them.

D．Angry male jurors showed opposite opinions.

3. What does Jessica Salerno think the study?

A．It helps women avoid losing influence.

B．It asks men to get away from angry women.

C．It causes men to change their attitude to women.

D．It shows men and women should be treated equally.

4. How does the author support Jessica Salerno?

A．By showing differences.	B．By giving examples.
C．By presenting research findings.	D．By setting down general rules.

【推荐1】When did you last write a letter? Properly write one—by hand? In a digital world, where sending a text or email is far more convenient, is the writing on the wall for traditional pen and paper? Well, some people claim that writing still has many benefits, so maybe it’s not time to ditch your ballpoint or fountain pen yet.

These days, when people request things in writing, a typed, electronic document will be accepted. Doing this on a computer means it could be saved, edited, duplicated and sent via email. But crafting a handwritten document is unique: It requires planning and thought, and, as well as practising your handwriting, it helps you to remember spelling and punctuation.

Some experts believe your brain benefits from using old-fashioned pen and paper. This is particularly relevant for students, where typing notes into a laptop is thought to lack the tactile (触觉的) feedback to the brain that contact between pen and paper does. Hetty Roessingh from the University of Calgary says that “taking notes by hand involves cognitive engagement in summarizing, paraphrasing, organizing, concept and vocabulary mapping.” Others agree that handwriting may boost fine motor skills in your hands and fingers.

There are everyday benefits to using pen and paper too. Scribbling notes, shopping lists or messages on the back of an envelope can still be useful, quick and portable. But putting pen to paper in a letter to a friend or loved one can probably have the most impact. Pen pal writer Katherine Moller told the BBC: “In a world where it is so easy to hop online to email or to send a fast text, it is so personal and so precious to know someone chose to turn off the virtual world to spend some time with you.”

So, while digital skills remain important, don’t write off your pens and pencils yet— especially if your smartphone, tablet or laptop runs out of power!

1. What does the underlined word “ditch” mean in the first paragraph?

A．Pick up.	B．Get rid of.
C．Put back.	D．Take advantage of.

2. How does the author develop paragraph 2?

A．By raising questions.	B．By presenting figures.
C．By giving examples.	D．By making comparisons.

3. What is the advantage of writing by hand according to Hetty Roessingh?

A．It helps you to practise your handwriting.

B．It boosts motor skills in hands and fingers.

C．It strengthens the contact between humans.

D．It develops your comprehensive cognitive abilities.

4. What can be drawn from Katherine Moller’s words?

A．Handwriting helps make friends easily.

B．Digital skills remain important nowadays.

C．Writing a letter adds a personal touch to communication.

D．Online communication has become a must in our daily life.

【推荐2】A new study says electronic toys are not helping babies learn.

“Even if companies are marketing them as educational, they’re not teaching the babies anything at this time,” said the study’s author, Anna Sosa. She is a Northern Arizona University professor who heads the school’s Child Speech and Language Lab.

Sosa and her fellow researchers listened to audio recordings of parents playing with their babies-aged 10 months to 16 months. There searchers compared the experiences when the children played with electronic toys, traditional toys such as blocks, or when the children looked at books.

What they found is that parents talked less with their babies when the babies played with electronic toys.

“The parents talked less, responded less and used fewer content specific words,” Sosa said. Why is this important?

Sosa said research shows that how quickly children develop language is often based on what they hear from parents. When the infants played with electronic toys, parents said little to their children. But with traditional toys, such as blocks, parents shared the names and descriptions of the animals, colors and shapes as their children played, Sosa said.

There was even more information given by parents as their babies looked at the pictures in books, the researcher also said.

Sosa is not telling parents to throw out electronic toys. But she said parents should look at their infants’ play with such toys as entertainment, not a learning experience.

Toy Industry Association spokeswoman Adrienne Appell responded to the study. She said it is important that parents make time to play with their children.

“Playing is a way that kids can learn so much, not only cognitive (认知的) skills, but social and developmental skills,” she said.

She added that play should be balanced, including time for just “make believe” activities, as well as traditional and electronic toys.

1. When toy companies promote sales, they usually stress their toys are ________.

A．Amusing	B．Electronic
C．Educational	D．Affordable

2. According to Anna Sosa, what is important for kids’ learning experiences?

A．A good choice	B．A must
C．The past	D．A risk

3. Which idea will Adrienne Appell probably share?

A．Cognitive skills are the most important for kids to develop.

B．Giving kids electronic toys sets time aside for parents to to something else.

C．Traditional toys are giving way to electronic ones.

D．Parents should get involved to make the toys a meaningful learning tool.

4. What’s the main idea of the passage?

A．Electronic Cars should be abandoned.

B．Talking more about your kids’ toys is necessary.

C．Abandoning your kids to electronic toys probably means little learning.

D．How to choose toys for your kids is of great importance.

【推荐3】Hidden in the mountains of Jordan is the beautiful ancient city of Petra. It lay in ruins for more than a thousand years.

Petra was built in 312 BC by the Nabataeans who were an ancient southern Arab people. They were very skilled at carving(刻). It is no wonder that this ancient city has so much to offer!

In 363 AD, the city suffered from terrible earthquakes that left most of the city damaged. The buildings and the city’s water system were affected. A Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, discovered this city of wonders in 1812. Until he discovered Petra, it had been unheard of in the Western world for about 5 centuries!

Petra is the Greek word for stone and this name makes perfect sense because of where the city is located and how some of it is carved into the rock. The ancient city of Petra is also known as the “Rose City”. This is because the rock in which the city is built is a rose­red colour. Many of the buildings of Petra have beautiful facades(正面). Some of the facades have columns(柱) carved into the rock, but they are for decoration and they don’t actually hold anything up.

Petra was built in the middle of the desert, where it hardly ever rained. Luckily, the Nabataeans were very skilled engineers and knew how to live in a hot and dry place. First, they carved channels(渠) to bring water from a nearby spring into the city. Rainwater was also collected in underground channels. The water was then stored. So, even in the long dry months there was enough water for people to use.

Today, Petra is one of the world’s most famous ancient sites and people come from all over the world to visit it.

1. What do we know about Petra?

A．It was built on high mountains.	B．It was a history of five centuries.
C．It was destroyed by earthquakes.	D．It was first visited by westerners in 363.

2. Why was the city named “Petra”？

A．Some of it looked rose­red.	B．Some of it was filled with roses.
C．Some of it was home to animals.	D．Some of it was built into the rock.

3. What is the purpose of the columns?

A．To beautify the buildings.	B．To support the buildings.
C．To function as gates.	D．To serve as tools.

4. Which word can best describe the Nabataeans?

A．Honest.

B．Creative.

C．Hard­working.

D．Well­educated.