Is it shi (是) or si (斯) in the sentence “Thus when Heaven is about to confer a great office on any man...” (“故天将降大任于是/斯人也”)? Most people “clearly remember” that it’s si, while the textbooks say it’s shi. Many studies have proven that “feeling certain” about a memory has nothing to do with the facts. Memories can be blurred (模糊) by belief, imagination and time.
·
In an experiment, scientists told 2 groups of college students about a man who left without paying the restaurant bill. The first group was told that he “liked to steal (偷窃)”. The second group was told that he left because be got a phone call. A week later, the first group remembered a higher bill—10 to 25 percent more than the bill actually was. The second group remembered a lower bill. This showed that how we expect or believe things to happen can distort (扭曲) our memories.
·Remembering things that never happened
In another experiment, people watched a film and were asked: “How fast was the white car going when it passed the barn?” In fact, there was no barn. But about 20% of the students said they had seen it. That’s because imagination after getting a hint (暗示) could leave a memory trace in the barn.
·Si or shi
In the case of si or shi, some people said that “si” sounds more like ancient Chinese. That’s why most people relate it to the ancient classic. On the Internet, the version (版本) of “si” is so widespread and popular that it gave people a wrong hint as time went by.
1. For students who thought the man liked to steal, they remembered ________.| A．nothing | B．a lower bill | C．a higher bill | D．the bill that it actually was |
| A．students’ imagination | B．a short video of the film |
| C．20 percent of the students | D．the word “barn” in the question |
| A．An experiment of a bill | B．Seeing is believing |
| C．Beliefs that change our memory | D．A bill that distorts our memories |
| A．people’s memories are decided by feelings |
| B．the textbooks say that “shi” is the right version |
| C．people’s memories only have to do with belief and time |
| D．students may change their memories of the bill if they’re told differently |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center drew a map of brain changes after a year of aerobic (有氧的) exercise and discovered an important process: Exercise increases blood flow into two key areas of the brain connected with memory.
The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, showed this blood flow can help even older people with memory problems. The finding could guide future Alzheimer’s (阿尔茨海默) disease research, according to UT Southwestern Medical Center.
In the study researchers followed 30 people who were 60 or older and had memory problems. Half experienced a year of aerobic exercise while the other half did stretches. “We’ve shown that even when your memory starts to drop, you can still do something about it by adding aerobic exercise to your lifestyle,” said Binu Thomas, a senior research scientist of UT Southwestern Medical Center who led the study. “The aerobic exercise group showed a 47% improvement in some memory scores after a year; the other group showed slight change. Brain imaging (成像) of the aerobic exercise group, taken while at rest at the beginning and end of the study, showed increased blood flew into the specific brain areas that played important roles in memory function.”
Many teams across the world are trying to decide if aerobic exercise might fight memory loss. Evidence (证据) is growing that it could at least play a small role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. For example, a 2018 study showed that people with lower fitness levels experienced faster retrogression of important nerve fibers (神经纤维) in the brain called white matter connected with memory.
“Blood flow in the brain connected with memory improvement is still a part of the puzzle, and we need to continue piecing it together,” Thomas says. “But we’ve seen enough date to know that starting a fitness program can have lifelong advantages for our brains as well as our hearts.”
1. What is the study mainly about?| A．Old people have memory problems. | B．Exercise improves memory. |
| C．Aerobic workouts is good for people’s health. | D．Alzheimer’s disease can be cured. |
| A．Earlier memories were refreshed. | B．Memory scores showed very small change. |
| C．Brain imaging remained the same. | D．More blood flew into the areas connected with memory. |
| A．The process of growing. | B．The process of renewing. |
| C．The process of becoming stronger. | D．The process of becoming weaker. |
| A．Further research work requires doing. | B．More people experience memory loss. |
| C．Mystery of brain blood flow has been solved. | D．Signs of memory loss can be discovered earlier. |
【推荐2】What is your favorite drink? Do you like juice or soft drinks? Soft drinks have too much sugar. They are both bad for your teeth and makes you fat. Here are some cool and healthy drinks. Let’s take a look!
Water
Water? That’s right. It is the best and healthiest drink. Water contains no sugar or calories (卡路里). It won’t give you bad teeth or make you fat. How much water should you drink every day? The US research group Mayo Clinic suggests at least eight glasses of water a day (240 ml water for each glass).
Juice
If you don’t like fresh fruits or vegetables, 100-percent fruit juice might be a good choice. Just don’t drink too much-about 240 ml per day is fine. Once you open a bottle of fresh juice, drink it in one sitting. It will go bad in a short time.
Milk
Milk helps you build a healthy body. Milk is rich in protein (蛋白质), vitamin D and calcium (钙). They are all good for children’s bones and teeth.
1. Which of the following is bad for your teeth?| A．Soft drinks. | B．Fruit juice. | C．Milk. | D．Water. |
| A．No more than 1.92 L. | B．At least 1.92 L. |
| C．No more than 240 ml. | D．At least 240 ml. |
| A．Water. | B．Fruit juice. | C．Milk. | D．Soft drinks. |
| A．Juice won’t go bad quickly. |
| B．Fruit juice can take the place of fruit. |
| C．It is better to drink 100-percent fruit juice in one sitting. |
| D．Drinking 500 ml of juice each day can help people stay healthy. |
| A．Water. | B．Milk. | C．Fruit juice. | D．Soft drinks. |
【推荐3】Every time you come back from school, your parents tell you to wash your hands with soap（肥皂）. The soap can clean your hands and keep you healthy. We need it every day so it is a must for everyday life.
_________
There is a legend（传说）about soap in Italy. Soap got its name from a mountain called Sapo. It was a place for animal sacrifice（祭祀）. Rain washed animal fat and ash to the Tiber River. Women always washed their clothes in the river. If they did the washing after heavy rain, their clothes were cleaner. That was the first use of soap. In the 18th century, people in France and Italy first began to use soap. Soap then became part of daily life.
Best Way to Wash Your Hands
First, wet your hands with water. Then, use some soap and rub（揉搓）it in your hands for about 15 seconds. Make sure you rub every part of your hands. Last, wash your hands carefully.
Other Uses
When it is difficult to take off your ring, soap can help you. And it can also help clean the mirror（镜子）and other glasses.
1. The underlined word “must” means “________” in the passage.| A．必需品 | B．非必需品 | C．有用品 | D．无用品 |
| A．China and Japan | B．France and Italy |
| C．the US and UK | D．China and Italy |
| A．One. | B．Two. | C．Three. | D．Four. |
| A．How to Use Soap | B．Who First Use Soap | C．Why We Use Soap | D．Where to Use Soap |
【推荐1】
China is the land of silk. Silk is a special fiber that can be made into clothing, bedsheets, and other products. It’s produced by silkworms. Farmers feed silkworms with mulberry leaves to create silk. How is silk produced? Let’s look at the silkworm’s life.
A female silkworm moth(蛾) lays about 500 tiny eggs. Then, it dies. After about 20 days, black tiny caterpillars come out of the eggs. They begin to eat mulberry leaves. As they eat and eat, they grow and grow. And they must get rid of their old skins and grow new ones. It happens four times in the life of a silkworm caterpillar.
When the caterpillar reaches its full size, it stops eating. Now it is ready to make its cocoon. The silkworm pushes a kind of “water” out. When this “water” meets the air, it becomes a thread(线). The silkworm uses this thread to make a cocoon around its body. The thread is an unbroken fiber that is over one mile long. While the silkworm is inside the cocoon, more changes are taking place to its body. The caterpillar becomes a pupa. Over the next three weeks, the pupa grows long legs and a short, thick body. Wings and eyes also form. The pupa changes into a moth. At last, the moth climbs out through a hole in the cocoon. Then the cocoons are sent to a factory to be processed into silk.
Silk can be used in many ways. Scientists in Japan are working to create a new kind of silk. It might be useful in creating skin grafts (移植) for people who have been injured or burned.
1. In order to get silk, ______.| A．factory workers make it by hand | B．farmers raise silkworms |
| C．farmers plant mulberry trees | D．China builds clothing factories |
| A．remove | B．repeat | C．regrow | D．recall |
| A．③④⑤ | B．③⑤⑥ | C．②⑥⑦ | D．②⑤⑦ |
| A．Silk begins as a kind of “water” from the body of the silkworm. |
| B．A silkworm’s cocoon is made of one continuous fiber. |
| C．It is impossible that one silk fiber can be a mile long. |
| D．Silk might be used to help people who have been burned. |
| A．The Usages of Silk | B．Land of Silk—China |
| C．How Farmers Feed Silkworms | D．How Silk Is Produced |
【推荐2】Charles Darwin
Early years
Charles Darwin was one of the six children from a big family. His grandfather and father were doctors and the young Darwin went to Edinburgh University to study medicine. However, he hated to see blood and he soon realized that he couldn’t be a doctor. He then went to Cambridge University and discovered that he had a great interest in studying plants, insects and animals. Luckily, one of Darwin’s university teachers helped him join the perfect trip for a biologist: a voyage around the world to study nature.
The Beagle
In 1831, Charles Darwin left Plymouth on The Beagle, a ship that took him around the world for five years. While he was travelling, he studied the plants and animals in the countries and on the islands that the ship visited. Darwin also spent his time on The Beagle writing notes about the things he had seen. When he finally arrived back in Britain, Darwin was already starting to create his famous theory that all living things had a common ancestor (祖先).
Down house
At home at Down House, a place that you can still visit today, Darwin wrote many articles and books about his travels, but he didn’t want to make anything about his theory known to the public. He worked in his study, where he wrote 250,000 words about his theory of evolution (进化论), but he was frightened about what people might say about his idea that monkeys were the ancestors of humans. He thought the public would be against it and was so frightened that he became ill with worry. However, when another scientist started to write about similar ideas, Darwin decided to print his book, On the Origin of Species.
Most scientists accepted Darwin’s theory and people continue to study it today. On 12th February, the day he was born, Darwin Day is celebrated around the world to encourage more people to study the natural world.
1. What caused Darwin to give up his study of medicine?| A．He didn’t like seeing blood. | B．He found the studies too difficult. |
| C．He was pushed to give up by his family. | D．He was advised to study natural science. |
| A．It helped him to finish his study at the university. |
| B．It allowed him to change his mind about his future. |
| C．It gave him ideas about the beginnings of human life. |
| D．It got him to complete his most famous book on the ship. |
a. He arrived back in Britain in 1836.
b. He thought the public would not support his ideas.
c. He became interested in studying the natural world.
d. He printed his famous book, On the Origin of Species.
e. He received help to get a place on a trip around the world.
f. He studied the plants and animals on the islands he visited.
| A．e→f→c→a→b→d | B．c→e→f→a→b→d |
| C．e→f→a→c→d→b | D．c→e→f→d→a→b |
| A．To introduce Darwin’s famous book. | B．To tell how people celebrate Darwin Day. |
| C．To explain why people accept Darwin’s ideas. | D．To show Darwin’s influence on natural science. |
【推荐3】We may know that there are four basic (基本的) periods for human beings to pass through when you enter and live in another country. This process (变化过程) helps you deal with culture shock (文化冲击).
Culture shock begins with the “honeymoon period”. This is the time when you first arrive in a place where everything about the new cu1ture is strange and exciting. You see new things, hear new sounds and language, eat new kinds of food. This period can last for quite a long time because you feel very happy.
Unluckily, the second period can be more difficult. After you have got used to your new life, you can become very tired and begin to miss your motherland, your family, your friends, your pets and so on. All the little prob1ems in life seem to be much bigger and more worrying when you face them in a foreign country. This period can be very difficult and lead to moving backwards quickly.
The third period is called the “adjustment (调整) period”. This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the new country. Your sense of humor usually becomes stronger and you realize you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor (善于求生者).
The fourth period can be called “at ease (安逸) at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new place. You can deal with most problems that you have. You may still have prob1ems with language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with t hem. At this time, you may feel a little uncomfortable if you go back to your motherland.
1. According to the passage, culture shock usually happens when you __________.| A．get married to a foreigner | B．live in a big city |
| C．go to live in a foreign country | D．meet foreigners in your motherland |
| A．sad and lonely | B．happy and excited |
| C．angry but strong | D．easy but uncomfortable |
| A．the 1st period | B．the 2nd period | C．the 3rd period | D．the 4th period |
| A．living in another country is fun | B．it’s boring to live in another country |
| C．knowing about culture shock is hard | D．it’s not easy to deal with culture shock |
