【推荐1】It is not unusual for universities to create a range of new courses each semester. A recently-launched course at Fudan University has become a hit both on and off campus.

Just how popular is it? In the first round of course selection, more than 1,000 students chose the course, Breaking Myths (似是而非). Only 258 were lucky enough to get seats in the classroom.

The course, titled with a Chinese phrase meaning “apparently right, but actually wrong”, aims to discuss the differences between science and pseudoscience (伪科学) in different subject areas.

Pseudoscience includes beliefs, theories or practices that are considered scientific but which actually have no supporting data.

Scientists around the world worry about its influence on people. To help young people tell the two apart, Fudan University launched the new course. It brings together 12 professors from fields including literature, science and medicine, with a total of 17 subjects to be discussed.

These topics include the probable risks of vaccination; whether genes are our destiny (宿命); and whether mobile phone radiation is harmful. The aim of the course, according to the university, is to remove prejudices and provide new ways of thinking.

Speaking to China Youth Daily, Fudan University undergraduate Jiang Xinyi said, “In the era of prevalent (盛行的) fake news, both my classmates and I hope to enhance our judgment through this course.

Lou Hongwei, one of the course lecturers, said, pseudoscience attempts to claim the credibility of real sciences without the research findings to support its claims. He explained one such math fallacy (谬误): “Should people prefer community health centers to a comprehensive Grade A hospital if data shows a lower death rate at the former?” Some people do. But according to Lou, hospitals deal with more deadly conditions, so more deaths can be expected there.

Such logical fallacies are widespread, hard to resist but actually unreasonable, he concluded.

Fudan is not the first university to offer such a course. Many other universities around the world also teach skepticism of pseudoscience. As part of its philosophy (哲学) degree, the University of St Andrews, in Scotland, offers a course called “Scientific Thinking”. In the United States, the University of Nebraska Omaha offers a Science and Critical Thinking course as part of its natural science degree.

Like Fudan University, they examine popular pseudoscientific subjects including ghosts, psychics (通灵) and space aliens. They also focus on distinctions between science and non-science, errors in reasoning and critical thinking.

1. Why did Fudan University offer students the new course?

A．To get more students interested in science.

B．To help students develop scientific thinking.

C．To broaden students’ science knowledge.

D．To promote more teacher-student interaction.

2. Why did the author quote Lou Hongwei’s words in Paragraph 8?

A．To show the best way to identify fallacies.

B．To describe the features of the new course.

C．To show how pseudoscience can be hard to distinguish.

D．To explain the differences between science and pseudoscience.

3. What are the last two paragraphs mainly about?

A．Many universities offer similar courses to Fudan’s new one.

B．Scepticism of pseudoscience has become the recent focus of attention.

C．Popular pseudoscientific topics were specially chosen for philosophy majors.

D．The ability of reasoning is highly valued in various courses.

【推荐2】With obesity rats on the rise among Americans and their pets， two California women have come up with an all-in-one solution — a foggy boot camp where dog owners and their dogs work out together． Thank Dog Boot camp is the nation's first outdoor fitness program where both humans and dogs get a full-body workout while the dogs also learn basic skills． Founded two years ago by twins Jill and Jamie Bowers， the program has grown to include classes at various Los Angeles and Orange County locations and most recently in Northern California．

Classes begin as early as 6 a．m． With instructors yelling out commands in the traditional boot camp style． The difference here is that instructors are certified in both fitness and dog training， and each boot camper happens to have a four-legged partner by their side at all times．“People need to exercise， and dogs need to be trained and exercised，” said Jill Bowers．

The class takes place on a field in a public park with 30 minutes of running and 30 minutes of weight training． Each person has a mat． Their dogs have their own mats and water bowls beside their owner． Various squats， bends， jumps and dashes are combined for the humans． Meanwhile， dogs are told to engage in a series of numbered commands ranging from “sit” to “go” “to” “come”.

“A lack of exercise and training causes logs to have behavioral problem．” said Bowers． “If they don't have enough activities to exhaust their energy， they take it out on your favorite sofa of your designer shoes． With the boot camp， your dog is too tired to be bad．”

Attorney Taylor joined six months ago． “My dog always gets me out of bed，” said Taylor． “It's so used to going now that it's the one making sure I'm up and go out of the door． I've lost 15 pounds and have gained much confidence．”

1. What's the purpose of the Thank Dog Boot camp?

A．To show more concern for pet dogs．

B．To make boot campers and their dogs take exercises together to lose weight．

C．To improve the relationships between humans and their pets．

D．To call on Americans and dogs to participate in camping．

2. According to the writer， the instructors ____________.

A．are companions with a dog by their side at all times

B．are particularly strict with the dogs

C．are soldiers who come from the army

D．are experts on both fitness and training dogs

3. When energetic dogs have nothing to do， they would ____________.

A．eat too much

B．have mental problems

C．destroy things

D．run away from home

4. We can infer from the passage that ____________.

A．Americans have too many pets

B．the dog boot camp is free of charge

C．the dog boot camp also welcomes people without dogs

D．boot campers and their dogs can urge each other to take exercise

【推荐3】

Timetable
Sunday 8:30---11:30 Personal Inventions Mr. Johnson You can see many inventions by the students; you may also bring your own inventions.	Monday 19:00---21:00 Space and Man Dr. Thomas West If you want to know more about the universe (宇宙).
Wednesday 19:30---21:00 Modern Medicine Mrs. Lucy Green Would you like to know medical science?	Friday 18:30---21:00 Computer Science Mr. Harry Morison from Harvard University, USA. Learn to use Windows XP.

1. You may have a chance to introduce your inventions on ______.

A．Sunday

B．Monday

C．Wednesday

D．Friday

2. The person who teaches Computer Science is from______.

A．Canada

B．Japan

C．Australia

D．America

3. You may learn something about a disease called TB from ______.

A．Dr. West	B．Mr. Morison
C．Mrs. Green	D．Mr. Thomas