【推荐1】A quiet space is often considered essential for achieving the concentration that leads to academic success. But research shows that some students may benefit from breaking the silence with certain kinds of music while they study. Music has a powerful influence on both the body and the brain, in ways that can help students navigate the physical and emotional barriers that come with academic challenges.

One U.S. study compared students who took a test to soft music with those who took the test under silent conditions. The study found that students taking a test to music not only completed more questions within a set time but also answered more questions correctly. Music has been further linked to improvements in memory and recall. Experts have found that when music stimulates mood and motivation, students are able to learn more and to better demonstrate their knowledge.

A bit of mood music affects more than just memory and recall when students hit the books. Music can also relieve stress associated with school. Scientists have learned that music engages the autonomic nervous system, which not only controls the unconscious functions of the body but also influences emotions. So it’s no surprise that researchers from the Group Health Research Institute concluded that certain kinds of background music can be just as effective at reducing stress as a massage. Furthermore, while the brain feels better with music, the body may as well. Research shows that certain types of music can make physical pain feel less intense. What’s more, calming music with a steady, meditative (冥想的) rhythm can help people sleep longer and more deeply.

However, some educators express concern that listening to music while trying to concentrate may do more harm than good. Loud music may have a negative influence on a student’s mood or act as a distraction. Actually, the best approach may depend on the students themselves. Listening to music during study time may not mean a guaranteed A for all students, but those who find it helpful should be allowed to plug in their headphones.

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

A．Recognize.

B．Assess.

C．Overcome.

D．Create.

2. The author writes Paragraph 3 mainly to ________.

A．present the effects of music on mind and body

B．compare the functions of different types of music

C．confirm the impacts of music on memory and recall

D．give examples of the influences of music on emotions

3. What can we learn from this passage?

A．Music helps students remove physical pain immediately.

B．Loud music has the same calming effect as a massage.

C．Listening to music makes it easier for students to multitask.

D．Music is likely to better students’ academic performance.

4. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?

A．The Power of Silence	B．The Score to Better Scores
C．Music to a Sharper Mind	D．Road to Academic Success

【推荐3】What are dreams for? A handful of theories have the most influence. Sigmund Freud famously claimed that they reveal hidden truths and wishes. Despite being largely unsupported by evidence，researchers found that students in the U.S.，South Korea，and India were much more likely to accept the view. In the same study，respondents said that dreaming about a plane crash would cause them more anxiety than an official warning about a terrorist attack. More recent research suggests that they may help us process intense emotions，or perhaps sort through and strengthen memories，or rehearse responses to threatening situations.

Even if dreams can’t foretell the future，they seem to expose our shared fascinations. The majority of dreams occur during REM sleep cycles，of which the average person has four or five a night. A study of Canadian university students found the most common dream topics to be school，falling，being chased，and arriving too late for something.

For all the commonalities dreams exhibit，they vary across time people who grew up watching black-and-white TV are more likely to dream in black and white—and culture. A 1958 study determined that compared with Japanese people，Americans dreamed more about being locked up，losing a loved one，finding money. Japanese people were more likely to dream about school，trying repeatedly to do something，being paralyzed with fear，or “wild，violent beasts.”

If human dreams sound boring，bear in mind that even negative ones can have positive effects. In a study of students taking a French medical—school entrance exam，60 percent of the dreams they had beforehand involved a problem with the exam，such as being late or leaving an answer blank. But those who reported dreams about the exam，even bad ones，did better on it than those who didn’t.

1. What do you know about Freud’s view on dreaming?

A．It will cause people more anxiety.

B．It is already been proved by evidence.

C．It is popular with some American and Asian students.

D．It can reveal the hidden truth and predict the future.

2. According to recent research，dreams may________.

A．make emotions intense	B．help prepare for special situations
C．reduce our memories	D．help us take notes

3. According to paragraphs 2 and 3，which of the following is true?

A．The average person has four or five sleep cycles a night.

B．Canadian students aren’t worried about being late for schoo1.

C．Americans usually share the same dream topics with Japanese.

D．Films about wild beasts may be widely shown in America in 1958.

4. If you dream that you failed the exam，____________.

A．your dream will come true

B．you will be depressed with fear

C．you are supposed to take it seriously

D．it shows that you care a lot about the exam

【推荐1】Some places in the world have strange laws. It's important for you to know about them before going there.

Whoever likes to chew gum (口香糖) may have to leave Singapore. The government really wants to keep the city clean and will fine you for chewing gum.

Before you leave for the United Arab Emirates, you'd better make sure you aren’t visiting during Ramadan (斋月). During that time you aren’t allowed to eat or drink in public. Tourists have been fined up to $275 for drinking in public.

In Thailand it's against the law to drive a car or motorcycle without a shirt on, no matter how hot it is. Punishments are different in different areas and can include warnings and tickets costing about $10. No joke--the local police will stop you.

Studies in Denmark have shown that cars with their headlights on are more noticeable by other drivers than those with their headlights off. Drivers there are required to leave their headlights on even during the day, or they may face a fine up to $100.

Make sure you know about these laws before your next trip. Better safe than sorry.

1. What is mainly talked about in the text?

A．How to make your trip around the world safe.

B．Why there are strange laws in the world.

C．Interesting places you can go to around the world.

D．Some strange laws you should know about for your trip.

2. If you are driving a car in Thailand, ________

A．you should wear your shirt even though it's hot

B．the police will play a joke on you

C．the police will give you tickets costing about $10

D．you should always keep your headlights on

3. What can we learn from the text?

A．In Thailand it's against the law to drive a car or motorcycle with a shirt on.

B．The Singaporean government cares a lot about its environment.

C．Tourists in the United Arab Emirates shouldn't eat in public.

D．You can turn your headlights off in daytime in Denmark.

【推荐1】Most of us relate creativity to our concept of self, Either we’re “creative” or we aren’t, without much of a middle ground. “I’m just not a creative person!” a frustrated student might say in art class, while another might blame her talent at painting for her difficulties in math, giving a comment such as, “I’m very right-brained.”

Dr. Pillay, a tech entrepreneur and an assistant professor at Harvard University, has been challenging these ideas. He believes that the key to unlocking your creative potential is to ignore the traditional advice that urges you to “believe in yourself. “ In fact, you should do the opposite: Believe you are someone else.

Dr. Pillay points to a 2016 study examining the impact of stereotypes (固有印象) on one’s behavior; The authors, educational psychologists Denis Dumas and Kevin Dunbar, divided their college student subjects into three groups, instructing the members of one to think of themselves as “romantic poets” and the members of another to imagine they were “serious librarians” (the third group was the control). The researchers then presented all the participants with ten ordinary objects, including a fork, a carrot, and a pair of pants, and asked them to come up with as many different uses as possible for each one. Those who were asked to imagine themselves as romantic poets came up with the widest range of ideas, whereas those in the serious-librarian group had the fewest. Meanwhile, the researchers found only small differences in students’ creativity levels across academic majors.

These results suggest that creativity is not a fixed individual characteristic but a “malleable product, as long as he or she feels like a creative person. Dr. Pillay argues that, besides identifying yourself as creative, taking the bold, creative step of imagining you are somebody else is even more powerful. So, wish you were more creative? Just pretend!

1. According to the passage, who is more likely to unlock his creative potential?

A．An art major who always believes in himself.

B．A math major who has excellent academic performance.

C．A physics major who likes to imagine himself as a poet.

D．A history major who works as a librarian on weekends.

2. What does the Study conducted by Denis Dumas and Kevin Dunbar focus on?

A．The creativity of the college students.

B．The stereotypes of the college students.

C．The impact of stereotypes on one’s behavior.

D．The influence of creativity on one’s behavior.

3. The underlined word in the last paragraph probably means ________?

A．Settled.

B．Continuous.

C．Predicable.

D．Changeable.

4. Dr Pillay may agree with the statement that _________.

A．there is no doubt that we are either creative or not.

B．a student who doesn’t do well in art class is not creative.

C．right brain determines whether a person is creative or not.

D．if we pretend to be creative, then we might be really creative.

【推荐3】University of Pennsylvania researchers say that for the first time they have linked social media use to increases in depression and loneliness. The idea that social media is anything but social when it comes to mental health has been talked about for years, but not many studies have managed to actually link the two. To do that, Penn researchers, led by psychologist Melissa Hunt, designed a study that focused on WeChat, Snapchat and Instagram.

The study was conducted with 143 participants, who before they began, completed a mood survey and sent along photos of their battery screens, showing how often they were using their phones to access social media. “we set out to do a study which attempts to imitate real life.” Hunt said.

The study divided the participants into two groups: The first group was allowed to maintain their normal social media habits. The other, the control group, was restricted to 10 minutes per day on social media. The restrictions were put in place for three weeks and then tested for now comes such as fear of missing out, anxiety, depression and loneliness.

The results showed a very clear link between social media use and increased levels of depression and loneliness.” Using less social media then you normally do would lead to significant decreases in both depression and loneliness,” Hunt said.

Social media invites what Hunt calls “downward social comparison.” “When you’re online, it can sometimes seem that everyone else is cooler and having more fun and included in more things and you’re left out,” Hunt said. And that’s just generally discouraging. “Every minute you spend online is a minute you are not doing your work or not meeting a friend for dinner or having a deep conversation with your roommate.” And these real life activities are the ones that you can encourage self-esteem and self-worth, Hunt added.

“People are on their devices, and that’s not going to change,” she said. But as in life, a bit of control goes a long way.

1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?

A．Social media is a good tool for social activity.

B．Social media can’t increase people’s social activities.

C．Social media is the cause of depression and loneliness.

D．No studies about social media and mental health have been done.

2. What are the participants required to do?

A．To participate in a mood survey first.

B．To show how often they use their phones.

C．To keep their normal social media habits.

D．To stay in the lab for three weeks.

3. What can we infer from Hunt’s words in the last two paragraphs?

A．Social comparison makes people work harder.

B．Social media activities can increase self-esteem and self-worth.

C．People will reduce the use of social media.

D．controlling the use of social media will make a difference to people’s life.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The tendency of using social media.

B．The importance of the study on social media.

C．The disadvantage of using social media.

D．A study on the relationship between social media and mental health.

【推荐1】A new study, a project of the researchers from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, finds that a fitness tracker (健康追踪器) probably does not help with weight loss.

The trackers are designed to record your physical activity. They are usually worn around the wrist (手腕),   where they record a person's heart rate. The research team looked at two groups of people. The first wore a fitness tracker and took part in health consultation with experts for best weight loss plan. The researchers compared this group with people who only got health consultation.

The study found that those only speaking with the health experts lost nearly 6 kilograms, but those using a fitness tracker lost only 3.5 kilograms. John Jakicic the lead researcher, questioned the use of these trackers for weight loss.

The study involved 470 people age between 18 and 35. Some of them were overweight, while others were considered obese. Over three fourths of them were women. All were told to increase physical activity and start on a low-calorie diet. They had their weight measured once every six months. After six months, researchers divided the group into two parts: one continued with monthly consulting, while members of the other group were given a fitness tracker. Eighteen months later, both groups showed great improvements in fitness, physical activity and diet, with no big difference between groups. However, when it came to losing weight, the people who only spoke with experts lost nearly twice as much weight.

Jakicic said, “The study's findings are important because effective long-term treatments are needed to deal with America's obesity.”More information is needed, he added, to learn how to best use these trackers to help adults who want to lose weight.

1. Both groups of people in the study were asked to           .

A．start on a high-calorie diet.	B．wear a fitness tracker
C．consult experts	D．record their heart rates

2. Why does Jakicic think the findings are important?

A．Wearing fitness trackers hardly helps people lose weight.

B．Physical activity and diet have no effect on weight loss.

C．Dealing with obesity needs effective long-term treatments.

D．There are great differences in health between both groups.

3. What can we infer about the study mentioned in the text?

A．The study went on for about two years.

B．More than 120 men took part in the study.

C．Health consulting helps lose almost 6 kilograms.

D．Wearing a fitness tracker is useful for keeping slim.

4. The purpose of the text is to           .

A．describe how the researchers carried out the study

B．show regular consulting for weight control is necessary

C．persuade readers to wear fitness trackers for weight control

D．warn women are more likely to suffer from weight problems

【推荐2】A trip to London
My family had dreamed of a trip to London for a long time. Luckily it was possible for us to realize our dream because all of us were free on the weekend.
We planned to drive into Cambridge and caught the 7: 34 train to Liverpool Street Station.Then my wife and I would separate from Joan, my wife’s sister, to do different things and finally meet again for lunch. And after lunch, we would go to the concert.
But we were late because of a thick London fog. The train had to move along so slowly that it was not until 10:30 that it got there. In spite of our late arrival, Joan decided that she would go to see the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London while we went shopping. It was only after her sister had disappeared into the fog that my wife realized that we hadn’t decided where we should meet for lunch. Since I had our three tickets for the concert in my pocket, this was indeed a problem. We didn’t have any mobile phones at that time. There seemed to be nothing we could do except taking a taxi to the Tower of London, and try to find her there. Needless to say, we didn’t find her.
It was now one o'clock, and the concert began at 2: 30. “Perhaps she will think of waiting outside the concert hall,” said my wife hopefully. By this time the fog was so thick that road traffic had to stop, and the only way to get there was by subway. Hand in hand we felt our way along the road to where we thought the nearest station should be. An hour later we were still trying to find it.Just when I was about to become angry, we met a blind man tapping his way confidently through the fog. With his help we found the subway station which was just fifty meters down the road.
By now it was far too late to get to the concert hall before the performance began at 2: 30, so we decided to return to Cambridge. It took seven hours instead of the usual two to make that journey. Nor were we able to get any food and drink on the train. We were tired and hungry.
We finally reached home at ten. Opening the door we were amazed to find Joan at home; she had seen the Crown Jewels, had managed to get another ticket for concert, and had had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant. Of course, she managed to get home, too. Oh my god!
1. What did the writer plan to do after lunch that day?

A．Go to the concert.	B．Return to Cambridge.
C．Go shopping.	D．See the Crown Jewels.

2. The writer and his wife separated from Joan because _______.

A．they were late for the concert

B．Joan didn’t want to go to the concert

C．there was a thick fog

D．they planned to do different things until lunch time

3. Who helped the writer find the subway station?

A．A taxi driver.	B．A blind man.
C．His wife.	D．Joan.

4. The writer and his wife felt _______ on the train back home.

A．quite interested	B．rather disappointed
C．tired and hungry	D．very enjoyable

【推荐3】Goodbye, Columbus by Philip Roth

I had read American Pastoral three times and I was filled with so much respect and fear towards the book that it frightened me when it came to my own writing. Then one day it hit me that it wasn’t the first thing he’d written, so I picked up Goodbye, Columbus. It’s amazing to think of Roth, published at 26, and to see how much he grew by the time he wrote American Pastoral. The fact that you could have people just be extremely excited was a really calming, influential thing for me. It made me want to write.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

I connected so much with that character as a young girl. As I got older, I realized that the settings of books that I love most are always the spiritual description. I still come back to this book all the time because of the vulnerability(脆弱性) in there. Every time I write now I think about that feeling that you get from some books, that you’ve really been let into the most frightened and quiet corners of someone’s soul.

The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris

I remember reading The Silence of the Lambs. There’s nothing more terrifying than someone who is intelligent and dangerous. He even had that longing to eat humans, which was terrible, but the magic was that he’d then say these really insightful things. I wouldn’t have written anything if I hadn’t read the line, “We strongly want to have what we see every day,” in my head. I loved the frightening insights into the possibilities of what’s existing unseen around you.

1. Why did the author decide to read Goodbye, Columbus?

A．It taught him how to write.	B．The book is highly spoken of.
C．He was touched by Roth’s books.	D．He was full of admiration for the author.

2. What affected the author’s writing in the second book?

A．The setting of the book.	B．The description of spirit.
C．The weakness of people.	D．The background knowledge.

3. What kind of book is The Silence of the Lambs?

A．A fairy tale.

B．A love story.

C．A science fiction.

D．A horror story.