Nature and culture are often seen as opposite ideas. What belongs to nature cannot be the result of human activities and on the other hand, cultural development is achieved against nature. However, this is not the only opinion on the relationship between nature and culture. Studies in the development of humans suggest that culture, whether taken as an effort against nature or a natural effort, is part of the development of the human species(物种).
Several modern writers saw the process of education as a struggle(斗争) against human nature. We are born with wild natures, such as eating and behaving in a disorganized way or acting selfishly. Education uses culture as a way to get us out of our widest natures; it is thanks to culture that the human species could learn to adapt(适应) , progress and raise itself above and beyond other species.
Over the past century and a half, however, studies in the history of human development have shown that the formation of culture is part of the biological adaptation. Consider, for example, hunting(打猎) . It seems to be an adaptation, which allowed humans to move into new and different areas, opening up the opportunity to change living habits. At the same time, the development of weapons(武器) is related to that adaptation-from rocks and stones to a set of hunting tools, and from hunting tools to rules relating to the proper use of weapons. Hunting also seems to be responsible for a whole set of bodily abilities, such as balancing on one foot. Just think of how this very simple thing is closely related to dance, a key expression of human culture. It is then clear that biological development and cultural development are closely tied.
The transmission of culture seems to be directly related to what’s in our blood. Just as snails carry their shells, so do we bring along our culture. However, culture is also passed on among people of the same time or among people belonging to different populations. We can learn how to make jiaozi even if we were born from Russian parents in Paris just as we can learn how to speak English even if none of our family or friends speak that language.
1. What is Paragraph 2 mainly about?| A．Culture belongs to human nature. |
| B．Nature teaches humans how to adapt. |
| C．Humans are supposed to be well organized. |
| D．Education pushes the human species to progress. |
| A．To suggest some possible ways of changing living habits. |
| B．To stress the importance of tools in humans’ struggle for life. |
| C．To show how culture develops as humans adapt to the environment. |
| D．To explain why there is a need to call for the proper use of weapons. |
| A．system | B．spread | C．start | D．spirit |
| A．Culture and nature are separate yet balanced. |
| B．Culture depends much on nature to progress. |
| C．Nature and culture are different but connected. |
| D．Nature follows the unwritten rules set by culture. |
2 . Most of us probably have told a lie at one time or another. Some lies are harmful. Some are mostly harmless. Still other lies may even he created with kindness. But whatever kind of lie you tell, it takes surprising brainpower to pull it off. Lying also can have unwanted influences, too.
When you tell the truth, you think of what you want to say and just say it. However, lying takes much more work—you have to come up with a story and remember it. A lot of that work is done in a brain area called the prefrontal cortex(前额叶皮层). It’s responsible for working memory and executive function(执行功能) tasks such as planning, problem-solving and self-control. Working memory keeps things in mind just for a little while as you’re using them. Executive function comes into play when you use self-control to keep from blurting out(脱口而出) the facts that would uncover your lie. It helps you recall all the details of a lie to make sure that it sounds believable. It also lets you think a step or two ahead to make sure the lie you’re telling will likely hold up to questioning.
Calling on your executive function this way uses up a lot of brainpower. Vendemia, a neuroscientist at the University of South Carolina, did a research and has found that people’s mental workload will be heavier and their reaction time longer when they lie. Worse still, when the prefrontal cortex is busy with tasks related to lying, she notes, it has a harder time doing other tasks such as making a study plan or using self-control to keep from spending too much time on computer games.
Lying has social influences, too. Even the kindest lies can sometimes be risky and often backfire. When you give dishonest praise, you may make your friends feel good at first. But if you do it often enough, they’ll soon learn that they can’t trust your praise. People generally value honesty and don’t like liars, so if you are viewed as untrustworthy, it can be bad for your relationships.
It’s widely agreed that nearly all cultures value honesty, and now science is revealing(揭示) how dishonesty influences the brain and your ability to build the trust on which strong relationships depend. So, even when lying doesn’t stretch your nose, it still comes at a price that you can’t afford.
1. The second paragraph is mainly about _________.| A．why self-control benefits the brain | B．what social influences lying can bring |
| C．how the brain works when people lie | D．when executive function comes into play |
| A．Lying improves working memory. | B．Covering lies takes much brainpower. |
| C．The nature of lies is decided by the brain. | D．People’s reaction can be sped up by lying. |
| A．lead to serious accidents | B．help to win full support |
| C．build up strong relationships | D．have the opposite effect |
| A．Signs of Lying | B．Costs of Lying | C．Causes of Lies | D．Types of Lies |
3 . Height is just one of the features (特征) your genes (基因) decide. In fact, because you have two parents, your genes give you a height between the height of each parent. If both your parents are tall, then most probably you will be tall too. But if you have questions about how tall you’re going to be, ask your doctor if he or she can help you find them out.
But genes don’t decide everything. For example, eating unhealthy food can stop you from growing to your full potential (潜力). Getting plenty of sleep and enough exercise will help you grow to the expected (期待的) height. Maybe you’re thinking how fast you should grow. There’s no perfect or right answer. Kids grow about 6 cm a year between age 3 and the time when they start puberty. Your doctor will know how your growth has been going over the years, how you have been growing up to this height, what other changes your body may be going through.
Don’t be surprised if you seem to have grown a lot in a very short time. Everyone has a growth spurt (高峰) during puberty. The age for starting puberty is about 10 for girls and about 11 for boys. But it can be earlier or later — between 7 and 13 for girls and 9 and 15 for boys. You’ll usually begin to find that you’re growing faster about a year after your body starts to show the first changes of puberty.
1. If you want to know how tall you should grow, ________.| A．you should have enough exercise | B．you can ask doctors for help |
| C．you should take some special medicine | D．you can record your growth during puberty |
| A．童年时期 | B．婴幼儿时期 | C．习惯养成期 | D．生长发育期 |
| A．how you grow to a certain height | B．how your parents’ heights influence (影响) you |
| C．how you look like your parents | D．how the genes work in your body |
| A．how good it is to be a doctor | B．how much sleep we need |
| C．why genes can’t decide everything | D．what a healthy diet is |
4 . Touch down to Earth
China welcomed three heroic astronauts Zhai Zhigang, Wang Yaping and Ye Guangfu home on April 16. This return ended the Shenzhou XIII astronauts’ six-month space mission. It also marks a major (重大的) breakthrough for China’s efforts in space.
In order to return home safety, they did a lot of preparation before leaving the space station.
If you are coming home after a long journey, you have to pack up. For astronauts in space, besides their personal belongings, they “packed” experimental data (数据) and samples, so they would be further researched on Earth.
The astronauts had to tidy up a large number of materials, including goods on the Tianzhou 3 cargo (货物) spacecraft, according to Zhong Weiwei, a researcher at the China Astronaut Research and Training Center.
Since the space station had no room service, the three astronauts needed to “clear the house” themselves. They collected a great amount of waste. This included leftover foods, sanitary (卫生) waste and waste from in-orbit experiments. The waste was then put into the orbital module (轨道舱), which burnt up as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere.
They also had to put all equipment in place correctly since there would be a gap of more than one month before the astronauts of Shenzhou XIV enter the space station, according to Zhong. They needed to make sure some items, such as gym equipment, were fixed to the walls to avoid floating and slipping (滑落).
Astronauts experienced microgravity for long periods of time during their stays on the space station, which had an effect on their bodies. This included a loss of fluid (体液) muscle atrophy (萎缩) as well as bone loss.
To ensure their safe and sound return, the three astronauts had been doing physical exercises to train their muscles for the return to Earth. Based on their in-orbit physical examinations and data, experts had customized (定制) exercise plans for each of them to ensure a safe landing.
Just like a house that will be vacant (空着的) for a long time must have it’s water and power switched off, astronauts checked everything before they left. Based on experience at home and abroad, they checked and adjusted 40 to 50 items to ensure that the space station could transmit valid parameters (参数) to the ground during subsequent unmanned missions.
1. When did the three astronauts return to earth safety?2. What did they “pack” experimental data and samples for?
3. Where did they put the waste they collected?
4. How did experts help the three astronauts return?
5. What do you think of staying in space? Why do you think so?
The world’s leading researchers are studying our senses. From the connection between taste and smell, to the idea of “scent（气味）training”, there’s so much more than we think to our sense of smell.
Your sense of smell is largely responsible for your ability to taste food. “Flavor（味道）is really an experience that joins what happens on your tongue with smell,” says a professor at the University of York, UK. “When you put something in your mouth, the molecules（分子）go into your nose. Maybe your tongue can tell there’s fat in that chocolate, and that’s something the brain finds very satisfying, but the formal chocolate experience comes from all the molecules going into your nose.”
Women out-perform men when both groups are asked to tell a certain number of scents
That holds true across all age groups. This is because women are better at noticing a smell and better at describing it with language. Research shows that when people were asked to memorize eight scents and were then given a scent test, the women were better able to tell whether or not a scent was one of the ones that had been memorized. Women were also better at recognizing the scents by name.
Your eating habits may change because of the loss of smell
“You think, ‘I remember how this tasted in the past. I guess they don’t have the same tasty tomatoes or meat any more, ’”says a researcher. “But in fact, it’s your sense of smell that may be working less.” Losing the sense of smell is likely age-related or caused by a cold.
The loss of smell may even change people’s eating habits. Some people will lose interest in eating or don’t want to eat with their friends. Others will start eating lots of junk food, spices, salt, to try to make eating more enjoyable.
Scent training might protect our sense of smell
The loss of smell is not the end of the world. Some research suggests that scent training might protect our sense of smell. By breathing in strong smells on purpose for several weeks, people become more sensitive（敏感的）to all scents and improve their ability to smell. Researchers found the MRI brain images of people undergoing scent training got thicker in the parts of the brain responsible for dealing with the role of scent, which means it’s not just a nose that is trained, it’s the whole brain.
1. What is responsible for flavor when you eat something?| A．The teeth and brain. | B．The nose and tongue. |
| C．The brain and nose. | D．The tongue and teeth. |
| A．Scent training can help men smell more things. |
| B．Women are more creative about naming scents. |
| C．Women are better than men at recognizing scents. |
| D．Brain training can improve men’s ability to smell. |
| A．What you smell may not be real | B．Unlock facts about the sense of smell |
| C．How to develop a good sense of taste | D．More than you think to the sense of taste |
6 . Why Do Top Athletes Choke Under Pressure?
According to classic economic theory, the higher the reward, the better the expected performance. As a result, we could expect the best performance at the most important moments. But why do we so often see the most talented and experienced athletes perform much worse than expected in important competitions like the Olympics?
Why the Drop in Performance?
It is not necessarily true that there’s a direct relationship between incentives (激励) and achievement. Research has shown that increased motivation (动机) beyond a certain level harms an athlete’s performance. We call this phenomenon “choking under pressure”. Greater incentives may lead to higher levels of arousal (兴奋). The relationship between performance and arousal looks like an inverted U shape (倒U形), meaning that performance is the best at certain levels of arousal and drops with over-arousal.
The desire to perform as well as possible is thought to create performance pressure. Many studies have shown increased pressure has a bad effect on athletes’ performance in skill-based games. When people overthink or consciously monitor each step, the drop in performance happens.
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Beyond the pressure coming from the important competitions, another thing that may add pressure is the level of expectations. An experiment suggested high audience expectations harm performance in a skill-based task. For example, one of the most famous biathletes in history, Martin Fourcade, said it was very emotional for him to compete in his home country and also much harder than competing abroad because of greater expectations.
We tested this home disadvantage by using data from biathlon (冬季两项) competitions over 17 years. We have found the most titled athletes miss a lot more shots when competing in their home country compared to when they compete abroad. The most reasonable explanation likely relates to the level of expectations from the homeland.
How to Deal with It?
There are several ways to reduce stress, such as a countdown or taking a deep breath before the task. But the base for any solution is to realize that stress affects performance. Choking under pressure can happen to the best athletes and it’s not a shame to admit it. The more athletes know about the effect pressure can have on them, the more likely they are to succeed at the highest level.
1. What can we learn from “choking under pressure”?| A．The higher the reward, the better the expected performance. |
| B．Better achievement in games results from a drop in pressure. |
| C．Arousal beyond a certain level harms an athlete’s performance. |
| D．Athletes’ performance in games has something to do with their training. |
| A．Pressure as a Key to Improving Performance. |
| B．Pressure as a Push for Becoming Top-level Athletes. |
| C．High Expectations as a Cause of Choking Under Pressure. |
| D．High Expectations as an Incentive to Compete in the Home Country. |
| A．avoid the possible feelings of pressure |
| B．share their worries with friends and coaches |
| C．try their best to succeed at the highest level |
| D．recognize the effect of stress on performance |
7 .
Did you know that humans aren’t the only species (物种) that use language? Bees communicate by dancing. Whales talk to each other by singing. And some apes talk to humans by using American Sign Language.
A female gorilla, Koko, was born at the San Francisco Zoo on July 4th, 1971. Koko learned sign language from her trainer, Dr. Penny Patterson. Patterson began teaching sign language to Koko in 1972, when Koko was one year old. Koko must have been a good student, because two years later she moved onto the Stanford University campus with Dr. Patterson. Koko continued to learn on the campus until 1976. That’s when she began living full-time with Patterson’s group, the Gorilla Foundation. Patterson and Koko’s relationship has blossomed ever since.
Dr. Patterson says that Koko has mastered sign language and known over 1,000 words, and that Koko makes up new words. For example, Koko didn’t know the sign for ring, so she signed the words finger and bracelet. Dr. Patterson thinks that this shows meaningful and constructive use of language.
Not everyone agrees with Dr. Patterson. Some argue that apes like Koko do not understand the meaning of what they are doing. Some people who don’t believe that say that these apes are just performing complex tricks (戏法). For example, if Koko points to an apple and signs red or apple, Dr. Patterson will give her an apple. They argue that Koko does not really know what the sign apple means. She only knows that that if she makes the right motion, one which Dr. Patterson has shown her, then she gets an apple. The debate is unresolved, but one thing is for certain: Koko is an extraordinary ape.
It seems like Patterson and Koko have a good relationship, but not everyone agrees with it. Some people believe that Patterson is humanizing the ape. They think that apes should be left in the most natural state possible. Even Dr. Patterson struggles with these feelings. When she was asked if her findings could be duplicated by another group of scientists, she said, “We don’t think that it would be ethical (道德的) to do again.” She went on to argue that animals should not be kept in such unnatural circumstances.
As for the future, Dr. Patterson and the Gorilla Foundation would love to get Koko to an ape preserve (保护区) in Maui, but they are having trouble getting the land. So unless you have a few million dollars to spare, Koko’s going to be spending her time in Woodland, California with Dr. Patterson. Koko probably doesn’t mind that. If she moved to Hawaii, she’d have to give up her Facebook page and Twitter feed, and she’s got like 50 thousand “likes”. Some may deny (否认) that she knows sign language, but nobody says that she doesn’t know social networking.
1. What is the writer’s main purpose in writing the second paragraph?| A．To describe the environment in which Koko lives. |
| B．To tell readers how Dr. Patterson developed Koko’s living skills. |
| C．To advise Patterson to free Koko after she learnt on the campus. |
| D．To make an introduction about Koko and Dr. Patterson’s background. |
| A．Koko has mastered sign language without a doubt. |
| B．Everybody likes how Dr. Patterson has raised Koko. |
| C．Some people think that Koko only signs to get food. |
| D．The Gorilla Foundation has got a land for Koko to stay naturally. |
| A．To disagree with someone. | B．To fool them. |
| C．To copy something. | D．To be disproven through debate. |
| A．Bees, whales, and apes like Koko all use language to communicate. |
| B．Koko uses sign language but some think it’s just a trick. |
| C．It is natural for gorillas to learn sign language like humans. |
| D．If you want a lot of “likes” on Facebook, get a talking gorilla. |
From football to volleyball, “ball” is part of the sport’s name in many cases. However, if you watch an ice hockey game for the first time, you will probably notice that, unlike many sports, there’s no ball.
In ice hockey, it’s all about the puck: the little round black object that flies around the ice. As two teams skate rapidly on the ice, they fight with sticks to get the puck into the net. They skate so fast and shoot the puck with such force that it’s almost impossible to keep track of it.
Hockey pucks are flat and round. Made of black rubber, they are about 7.62 centimeters across and 2.54 centimeters thick. Each puck weighs about 170 grams. Have you ever seen a hockey puck up close? If so, you’ve probably noticed that there are raised patterns on the edge of the puck. A completely smooth puck would be hard to shoot. The raised patterns give the hockey stick something to hold onto when a player takes a shot.
The hockey puck first appeared in 1875, though it’s unclear who actually invented it. Experts believe the first hockey puck was likely just a rubber ball cut in half. This provided players with an object with a flat side that would slide（滑行）across the ice.
Today, hockey pucks are only made in four countries: Canada, Russia, China, and the Czech Republic. At large factories, workers mix rubber with a special material first. Next, they add carbon black to the mixture. Then, they pour the mixture into a mold（模具）and press it. After that, special logos can be added to each side through a step called silk screening. About 5,000 logoed pucks can be made in a week.
Hockey pucks are really cool. They are kept frozen so that they slide on the ice and don’t bounce（弹跳）around. Once the players tie their ice skates, they’re off running after the puck, which can reach speeds of up to 160 kilometers per hour or more!
1. The expression “keep track of” in Paragraph 2 probably means “________”.| A．follow | B．collect | C．lead | D．cross |
| A．It takes four steps to produce a logoed puck. |
| B．The first hockey puck was a round rubber ball. |
| C．The pucks are kept frozen to bounce around the ice. |
| D．Raised patterns make it hard for players to take shots. |
| A．Slide on the Ice with Pucks |
| B．Get to Know All about Pucks |
| C．Have Fun Playing Ice Hockey |
| D．Take a Close Look at Ice Hockey |
9 . Friendly and trustworthy people are more likely to be picked for teams than those known for just their skill competence (能力), according to new research.
“We would think people are chosen because of the knowledge and skills they bring to the table. However, the research suggests people may often get picked because team members feel comfortable with them,” said Cynthia Maupin from Binghamton University. “People may be willing to sacrifice (牺牲) a bit in terms of performance in order to have a really enjoyable team experience.”
Maupin’s team focused on a number of MBA students to carry out their study. Students were randomly (随机地) divided into teams to work on class projects when a term began. Toward the end of the term, students were asked to form their own teams and talk about why they picked each member of their group. “We wanted to find out what people did to show others they might be a good teammate,” Maupin said.
The researchers specifically (具体地) looked at how students showed their human capital, the ability to do their tasks well, and their social capital, the degree to which they were friendly and trustworthy, to other students by studying their use of challenging or supportive voice:
● Challenging voice: Communicating in a way that challenges the present situation and focuses on new ideas.
● Supportive voice: Communicating in a way that strengthens social ties and trust.
“As might be expected, anyone who was very strong in terms of showing both their human and social capital were extremely wanted when it came to forming teams. They’re doing all the right things to show they’re both trustworthy and competent,” Maupin said.
However, the researchers found students who only showed social capital through supportive voice were more needed than those only showing their competence through the use of challenging voice.
These findings could have major implication for the workplace. If people are looking to join important teams, they should use supportive voice to show others they can be trusted, especially when they’re new to an organization. In times of the pandemic (流行病), the findings are even more useful as many organizations have a fully long-distance or mixed work model. “You may only see your coworkers during online meetings,” Maupin said. “With fewer in-person interactions, you really need to make your human and social capital noticeable through the use of your voice, especially if you’re looking for future team opportunities.”
1. In the study the MBA students were asked to ________.| A．explain why they picked certain team members |
| B．grade how each team performed in the projects |
| C．question the skills and knowledge they have |
| D．share their experience of fitting into a team |
| A．what the research found out | B．who the research focused on |
| C．why the research was important | D．how the research was carried out |
| A．work out new ways for a mixed work model |
| B．design interesting online meetings for your team |
| C．speak up in both challenging and supportive ways |
| D．have as many in-person interactions with coworkers as possible |
| A．People using challenging voice are more likely to be accepted. |
| B．The ability to come up with new ideas plays a more decisive role. |
| C．A friendly attitude outweighs the ability to deal with difficult tasks. |
| D．The desire to get others’ trust is more valued than to build social ties. |
Many people take running as a way to keep fit. They like to run in hot weather and enjoy the feeling of being wet through with sweat ( 汗 ) while running. Cold weather during winter months, with low temperatures and freezing cold winds, may keep many people from running in the open air.
However, a new study shows that the drop in temperature is a good reason to run. In fact, running in cold weather helps improve one’s performance. Many runners might find it easier to run in winter than in hot weather. The body needs less water on a cold day than in warm weather. In addition, lower temperatures reduce stress on the body. When you run in cold weather, your heart rate is lower.
John Brewer is a professor of applied sports science at St. Mary’s University in London. For this study, he and other researchers put a group of people into a room where summer and winter weather conditions are recreated. The test subjects were asked to run 10,000 meters under both conditions and their biological measurements were recorded and studied.
From the study, every movement runners make produces heat. The heat can be really damaging unless the body can lose it. One way in which people lose heat is by sweating. The body loses heat through sweat. The body also loses it by transporting the blood to the surface of the skin and it puts more stress on the heart, especially in hot conditions because it’s much harder to lose heat when the outside environment is warm. As the result shows, running in hot temperatures results in 6 percent higher heart rates.
When running in cold conditions, the body does not have to work hard to move blood to the skin surface. Therefore, it requires less energy. The most important thing for people who run in cold conditions is to wear the right clothing. Keep as dry as possible when exercising in low temperatures. Wear warm and light clothing to keep sweat away from your skin. So don’t let winter weather keep you indoors. Simply get ready for the low temperatures and start running.
1. Why did John Brewer make a group of people run in a room?| A．Because the weather conditions could be recreated for four seasons. | B．Because the researchers could teach the people there to study science. |
| C．Because the professor could study science with the group of people. | D．Because the test subjects’ biological measurements could be recorded. |
| A．Running in cold weather doesn’t need a lot of energy. | B．Running in cold weather needs heavy clothing to keep warm. |
| C．Running in hot weather causes hearts beat slower than in cold. | D．Running in hot weather produces more heat than other movements. |
| A．To study why the drop in temperature is good to run. | B．To compare benefits of running in winter and summer. |
| C．To encourage people to keep running outdoors in winter. | D．To show us how to keep healthy while running in winter. |
