How could we tell time if there were no watches or clocks anywhere in the world? The sun was probably the world’s first “clock”, except in the far north, where the Eskimos(爱斯基摩人) live. There, it’s dark most of the winter, and light most of the summer. But in most of the world, people have used the sun for a clock. Even today, if you don’t have a clock, you still know that when the sun shines, it’s day, and when it’s dark, it’s night. The sun can also tell you if it’s morning, noon, or afternoon.
People who live near the sea can tell time from the tides. In the daytime, for about six hours, the water rises higher and higher on the beach. And then it goes down and down for about six hours. The same thing happens again at night. There are two high tides and two low tides every 24 hours.
Seamen on a ship learn how to tell time by looking at the moon and the stars. The whole sky is their clock.
In some places in the world the wind comes up at about the same time every day or changes direction or stops blowing. In these places the wind can be the clock.
A sand clock is an even better clock. If you had fine dry sand in a glass shaped like the one in the picture, you would have what is called an hourglass. The sand in the hourglass goes from the top part to the bottom part in exactly one hour. When the hourglass is turned over, the sand will take another hour to go back again.
1. According to(根据) the passage, there are ____________ ways to tell time besides（除了）the clock and watch.| A．3 | B．4 | C．5 | D．7 |
| A．they know very little about the sun |
| B．the sun there never goes down in winter |
| C．it’s too cold for them to go out to watch the sun |
| D．it has long dark winters and long light summers |
| A．洋流 | B．潮汐 | C．海啸 | D．波浪 |
| A．News | B．Science | C．Business | D．Advertisement |
| A．Different Ways to Tell Time | B．Useful Machines to Tell Time |
| C．The History of the Clock | D．The Development of the Clock |
相似题推荐
①The sun sets on a field in southern England. When it rises again the following morning, that field has become a huge work of art. A large part of the crop has been pressed into a pattern of circles, squares and other shapes.
②Farmers have reported finding strange circles in their fields for centuries. The earliest mention of a crop circle dates back to the 1500s. A woodcut（木版画）from the time showed a “mowing devil” making a crop circle. Crop circles, however, didn’t get attention until 1980, when a farmer in England, discovered three circles, each about 18 meters across, in his field. The world first began to learn about crop circles.
③By the 1990s, crop circles had become something of a tourist attraction. In 1990 alone, more than 500 circles appeared in Europe. Within the next few years, there were thousands.
④Crop circles can be in many different shapes. Most early crop circles were simple circular designs. But after 1990, the circles changed. Crops can be made to look like just about anything—smiling faces, flowers of even words.
⑤People have long been wondering who or what is creating these crop circles. Possibly the most widely known idea is that crop circles are the work of visitors from other planets. Those who agree with the idea say the circles are either the mark left by landing spacecraft or messages brought from afar for us.
⑥Probably the most scientific opinion says that crop circles are created by vortices（漩涡）. They force the air down to the ground, which presses the crops down. Dr. Terence Meaden, an expert in this field, says when the dust gets caught up in a vortex, it can appear to glow, which may explain the UFO—like glowing lights many people have seen. But no one can explain how the air can create such perfect shaped crop circles in just a few seconds.
1. The writer introduce the topic by ______.| A．telling a story | B．asking a question |
| C．giving a comparison | D．describing a scene |
a.More than 500 circles appeared in Europe.
b.The world first began to learn about crop circles.
c.Farmers reported finding strange circles in their field.
d.The circles changed into anything—smiling faces, flowers or words.
| A．a-b-c-d | B．b-c-a-d | C．c-b-a-d | D．c-d-a-b |
A． | B． |
C． | D． |
| A．Farmers and Strange Circles | B．Different Shapes of Crop Circles |
| C．Creators of Crop Circles | D．The Mystery of Crop Circles |
【推荐2】Does Music Make You Smarter?
What interests many parents is that musical training improves the development of the brain — that “music makes us smarter”. According to a study published by the UK’s largest music education body, 7 out of every 10 children say they presently play a musical instrument. Whether this figure (数字) shows that most parents do believe the statement, or whether the potential benefits of music are hard to ignore (忽视). Ongoing research looks for suggestive evidence proving that musical training may actually strengthen the so-called “smart skills”.
The relationship between music and memory has long been the subject of research. In the 2003 study by The Chinese University of Hong Kong were 90 boys between the ages of 6 and 15, half of whom had 1 to 5 years of musical training and half of whom had none at all. Each of them had a memory test, with the musically trained students recalling more words, and being able to memorize more words after 30 minutes. One year later, a follow-up study showed that those students who had continued training, as well as novices who had recently begun musical training, both showed improvement in retention. However, students who had stopped music practice fewer than three months after the first study showed no further improvement. These results suggest that music training might improve memory function.
There is also increasing evidence that musical training may result in structural changes to the brain. Noticeable differences have been found between the brains of musicians and non-musicians. The size of those areas of the musician’s brain connected with hearing and visuospatial abilities is larger. A 2014 study found that the part of the cortex (大脑皮层) was thicker in children who had taken musical training.
However, like many scientific studies, research into the benefits of music remains ongoing, with many different opinions. Some deny (否认) that music makes people smarter. Others think that people who are naturally gifted in the cognitive (认知的) functions are simply more likely to play musical instruments. It would therefore be premature (草率的) to state without any doubt that music makes people smarter. Whatever the truth behind the statement that “music makes us smarter”, it should eventually come second only to the fact that music is one of life’s greatest pleasures.
1. The studies by The Chinese University of Hong Kong show that ________.| A．most parents believe the statement |
| B．people who take musical training might be happier |
| C．musical training may result in changes to the brain |
| D．musical training might improve students’ ability to remember things |
| A．memory | B．practice | C．train | D．subject |
| A．People have different opinions on whether music can make them smarter. |
| B．A child whose cortex is thicker prefers to take musical training. |
| C．70 percent of students like playing musical instrument. |
| D．Students who had taken the test had continued training. |
| A．To stress that musical training may benefit the brain. |
| B．To show that finding pleasure in music is important. |
| C．To suggest that people learn a musical instrument. |
| D．To remind that musicians are usually smart. |
【推荐3】Do you like writing by hand or with a keyboard?
A new brain (脑) study at Norwegian University of Science and Technology shows that choosing handwriting instead of using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.
“When you write your shopping list or class notes by hand, you simply remember what you wrote better later,” said Audrey van der Meer, who did the study.
12 young grown-ups and 12 children took part in the study. Special machines were used to follow and record brain wave (电波) activities. Each person wore a special cap with over 250 electrodes (极) on the head, and was asked to write by hand and use a keyboard. The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes picked up the activities that took place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes for each person.
The results showed that the brain in both young grown-ups and children was much more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses become active by holding a pen and putting it down on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These build connection (关联) between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.
Van der Meer believes that the results let us know the importance of children being asked to draw and write at an early age, “Learning to write by hand is a slower course, but it's important for children to experience the tiring step of learning to write by hand,” she said.
The hand movements used to form the shapes (形状) of letters are helpful in several ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand needs control (控制) of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning condition as often as possible,” Van der Meer added, For example, you might use a keyboard to write an article, but you should take notes by hand during a class.
1. Which is the correct order of the study?①Record and study the results.
②Put a special cap on each person.
③Find 12 young grown-ups and 12 children.
④Ask the people to write by hand and use a keyboard.
| A．②④①③ | B．③②④① | C．③④②① | D．②①④③ |
| A．You can remember what you write better if you use a keyboard. |
| B．Fewer people choose handwriting and more people use a keyboard. |
| C．The brain is more active when writing by hand than when using a keyboard. |
| D．It is easier to put your brain in a learning condition when you use a keyboard. |
| A．The letters you are learning to write, |
| B．The skills you use to write an article. |
| C．The sense experiences when you write by hand. |
| D．The different parts of the brain relative (相关的) to writing. |
| A．Ways to take notes by hand. |
| B．How to control your fine motor skills. |
| C．Examples of using a keyboard. |
| D．Why hand movements in writing are helpful. |
