1 . Handwriting Brings Benefits
In a digital age, we almost never write things by hand. However, many studies have shown that this act has many benefits.
New brain research, led by researchers at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, proves the same: choosing handwriting over using a keyboard results in better learning and memory.
“When you write your shopping list or lecture notes by hand, you simply remember the content (内容) better afterwards,” said Audrey van der Meer, author of the study.
The study used some equipment to record brain wave (波) activity. The participants (参与者) included 12 young adults and 12 children. This is the first time that children have participated in such a study. Each subject was asked to write by hand and type on a keyboard while wearing a hood (风帽) with over 250 electrodes (电极). The sensors (传感器) in the electrodes are very sensitive and pick up the electrical activity that takes place in the brain. Each examination took 45 minutes per person.
The results showed that the brain in both young adults and children is much more active when writing by hand than when typing on a keyboard. According to Van der Meer, plenty of senses are activated by pressing a pen on paper, seeing the letters written and hearing the sound made while writing. These sense experiences build touch between different parts of the brain, opening the brain up for learning.
Vander Meer believes that the outcomes stress the importance of children being challenged to draw and write at an early age, especially at school. “Learning to write by hand is a bit slower process, but it’s important for children to go through the tiring phrase of learning to write by hand,” she said.
The hand movements used to form the shapes of letters are beneficial in several ways. “If you use a keyboard, you use the same movement for each letter. Writing by hand requires control of your fine motor (精细动作) skills and senses. It’s important to put the brain in a learning state as often as possible,” Van der Meer added. For example, you might use a keyboard to write an essay, but you should take notes by hand during a lecture.
1. What do we know about the study?| A．The study involved 250 participants altogether. | B．Typing on a keyboard helps you remember a lot of things. |
| C．All the participants have to take a 45-minute examination. | D．Learning to write by hand is a bit difficult but it is a fast process. |
| A．Writing by hand is easier on the brain. | B．More senses are made active when writing by hand. |
| C．Writing by hand requires the same skills and senses. | D．Typing on a keyboard doesn't put the brain in a learning state. |
| A．It allows people to write better essays. | B．It increases people’s interest in learning. |
| C．It helps people develop fine motor skills. | D．It allows children to become more patient. |
2 . What kind of amusing activities will you participate in during your life? Will you be spending your free time doing safe sports with little danger or will you always be one of the first people to try the next popular extreme activity? Scientists have been interested in finding out why some people seem to prefer dangerous activities.
Although there are exceptions (例外) researchers have found that in most cases men are less cautious than women. Men often try to impress women by proving that they are courageous and fearless, and they are more likely to take risks when women are watching them or when they are competing against other men.
Research also shows that as people get older, they usually behave more responsibly and avoid taking unnecessary risks. In addition, when people are in stable (稳定的) relationships, they seem to be less attracted to daring (冒险的) activities.
Some people seem to be more daring than others, but there are many different types of risks and some people take one type of risk, but not another. Psychologists have identified a number of categories of risk. These include financial risks, risks related to health and safety, amusing risks and social risks. Psychologists discover that some people will take risks in one area, but not in another. Just if a person enjoys bungee (蹦极) jumping, it doesn’t mean he or she will take chances when investing money or that he will tell a joke to a group of strangers.
Interestingly, research shows that women take more social risks than men. They are more likely to make career changes as they get older and to express unpopular opinions in business meetings.
Yet, at the end of the day, the likelihood of particular people taking a risk depends on their personalities. In general, optimistic people are more likely to take risks because they focus on the possible positive outcomes of their actions. On the other hand, those with opposite personality are much more likely to avoid taking a chance.
1. What can we learn from the 2nd paragraph?| A．Women are always changing jobs. | B．Women are good at doing business. |
| C．Women are more willing to take risks. | D．Women are less risky than men. |
| A．The potential consequences. | B．Their characters. |
| C．Their problems of finance. | D．The focuses of their work. |
| A．People’s sense of taking risks | B．Risks at people’s different ages. |
| C．Different types of people’s risks. | D．Risks between men and women. |
Eyes on Vision
Two years ago, Azara Mason was having trouble seeing the board in class. An eye doctor told her she had myopia（近视）, or nearsightedness! People who are nearsighted have trouble seeing things that are far away. Azara now wears glasses when she needs them.
The eye works like a camera. Light passes through a lens and is turned into images. The brain then helps us understand what they are.
When people have healthy vision, their eyes focus（聚焦） light on the retina（视网膜）. When people are nearsighted, their eyes focus light in front of the retina. That makes objects that are far away look blurry.
Dr Maria Liu is head of the Myopia Control Clinic at the University of California at Berkeley. She says a growing number of people have myopia, and kids are developing it at a younger age.
Many studies show a rise in myopia. The National Eye Institute（NEI） found that nearsightedness among Americans grew 66% from 1971 to 2004. Experts say that by 2020, myopia could affect（影响） one third of the world’s population.
Scientists link（联系） the rise in nearsightedness to an increase in near work, including computer and cell-phone use. Studies show that less time spent outdoors may also be adding to the increase.
What can you do to take care of your eyes? Liu advises everyone to stay away from electronic devices（设备） and spend more time outdoors to keep eyes healthy. Screen-Free Week, from May 4 to 10, is a good time to do just that. Liu also tells patients to take a 15-minute break to look at things in the distance for every 45 minutes of near work.
If you are worried about your vision, you should visit an eye-care professional. Liu often advises patients to use special contact lenses and eye drops. She says they can correct nearsightedness and slow it from progressing. Glasses and regular contact lenses improve vision but don’t have that extra benefit（益处）, she says.
If you suffer（遭受） from myopia, your parents and doctor can best decide the treatment that is right for you. Azara’s mom is looking into options other than glasses. But for now, Azara continues to happily wear her glasses and clearly see the board.
1. The word “blurry” in Paragraph 3 probably means “________”.| A．large | B．bright | C．disordered | D．unclear |
| A．The treatments for myopia. |
| B．The link between myopia and near work. |
| C．The causes of increase in myopia. |
| D．The electronics for studying myopia. |
| A．Using eyedrops can’t slow nearsightedness from progressing. |
| B．The number of people who suffer from myopia is increasing. |
| C．People’s eyes focus light behind the retina if they are nearsighted. |
| D．Reading on electronic devices outdoors can help to keep eyes healthy. |
Laughter Therapy（疗法）
Laughter not only provides workout for your muscles（肌肉）, it also produces endorphins（内啡肽）which help to reduce stress（压力）. What’s more, your body can’t tell the difference between real and fake（假的）laughter.
The happiness you feel when you laugh is a great way of fighting the physical effects（影响）of stress. When we laugh, our body relaxes and endorphins are released（释放）into the blood stream.
A Laughter Therapist’s aim is to help you laugh more easily. It starts with a warm-up followed by a lot of activities designed to get you laughing. Laughter doesn’t come easily to everyone, but luckily, it’s a skill you can learn. So faking it has the same beneficial effect.
Dr Lee Berk of Loma University Medical Centre, has been doing laughter therapy research since the late 1970s. In 1989 Berk studied the effects of laughter in ten healthy males. Five experimental subjects watched an hour-long comedy while five control subjects didn’t. Blood samples taken from the ten subjects showed that cortisol（皮质醇）, the hormone（荷尔蒙）our body releases when under stress, in the experimental subjects had reduced more rapidly than in the control group. Berk’s research has also shown the number of cells that fight viruses（病毒）increases through laughter. These same cells are blocked（阻碍）if the body suffers long-term stress.
The therapeutic effects of laughter have been studied since the 1970s, but Dr Madan Kataria is the one who set up the first laughter club in 1995. There are now more than 5000 laughter clubs worldwide.
Laughter therapy is suitable for everyone. Elderly groups, young people in care and mental（心理的）health patients are all thought to benefit especially from laughter therapy. If you’re undecided, remember this: children laugh about 400 times a day while adults manage only 15.
A laughter therapy may make you feel excited and tired at the same time. Muscle tone and cardiovascular（心血管的）functions may be improved and oxygen levels in the blood may be increased.
In the long term, laughter therapy teaches us that we don’t just have to laugh when we are happy. Laughing can actually improve your mood. And it’s contagious（传染的）, so you can expect to see those around you benefiting from a good laugh too.
1. Laughter can help to reduce stress because ________.| A．it comes easily to everyone |
| B．a lot of activities can make people laugh |
| C．real and fake laughter can both produce endorphins |
| D．real and fake laughter can both provide workout for muscles |
| A．Laughter blocks the cells that fight viruses. |
| B．Laughter can help people to reduce cortisol. |
| C．Ten experimental subjects watched the comedy. |
| D．Dr Madan Kataria studied the effects of laughter in 1989. |
| A．Laughter therapy is good for our physical and mental health. |
| B．A laughter therapy can make us feel excited for a long time. |
| C．Elderly people benefit the most from laughter therapy. |
| D．Laughter therapy can help us make more friends. |
| A．To explain why people like laughter therapy. |
| B．To introduce the benefits of laughter therapy. |
| C．To advise people to laugh as much as possible. |
| D．To tell the difference between real and fake laughter. |
5 . Jorge and Maria Ramirez and their six-year-old son are smiling and laughing as they watch the baby giant panda. They are at a zoo as part of a large crowd watching the baby panda learning to walk. Why are people so attracted by the baby giant panda? Cuteness is the answer.
Experts say the things we describe as “cute” share several qualities（品质）. What make something cute is different from what makes something beautiful. People often describe pandas as cute, but they don’t usually say they are beautiful. A butterfly, on the other hand, may be beautiful but not cute. While we tend（倾向于）to admire（欣赏） beautiful things, we do not tend to have the fondness for them that cute things inspire （激发） in us.
Scientists have discovered some key facial features and behaviors that cute things have in common. Two important features are a round face and bright eyes. The position of the eyes is also important: the eyes should at least appear to face forward and not be high on the face. There are also certain behaviors that cute things have in common, such as walking and moving arms, legs and wings unsteadily. Other important qualities of cuteness include youth, innocence（天真）and neediness, as well as being vulnerable（脆弱的）to possible harm or danger.
The baby panda, with its round face, big black eyes and unsteady movements, has all the key features which add up to being cute. Another popular creature that shares many of these cute qualities is the baby emperor penguin. And many of people’s pets can be described as cute.
Scientists believe there is an important reason why we are attracted to all these cute qualities. It is because human babies have all these qualities. They have round faces, bright eyes and unsteady movements. Human babies cannot get by without help from adults. Scientists point out that the cuteness of babies makes adults want to take care of them. This allows babies to survive（存活）, become adults and have their own babies. This cycle ensures the human species continues.
Advertisers use the special attraction of cute things in their attempts（企图，尝试） to get us to buy their products. In Japan, for example, one of the most popular images is Hello Kitty. Many cartoon animal characters have round faces and large, bright eyes that face forward. In the real world, ducks and mice do not have round faces, and their small eyes are on the side of their heads.
The Ramirez family is not aware （意识到的） of all of this. For now, they are too busy taking pictures and admiring the baby panda.
1. Why does the writer talk about the Ramirez family in the first paragraph?| A．To give an example of cuteness. | B．To bring readers close to the topic. |
| C．To give readers some idea of admiration. | D．To develop the main view of the passage. |
| A．changes people’s facial features | B．inspires people to give their help |
| C．inspires people in dangerous situations | D．shares the same qualities with being beautiful |
| A．Beautiful eyes. | B．Friendly to people. | C．Newly born. | D．Unsteady movement. |
| A．Being Cute to Survive | B．Cute and Beautiful |
| C．Feature of Cute Animals | D．Making Babies Cute |
6 . Now few businesses can run without computers. Schools even offer lessons for their students to learn to write on computers. But what are we giving up as handwriting loses its importance in society?
Researchers from Princeton University studied two groups of students. One group wrote out their notes in class while the other typed （打字） them with a computer. In order to show the differences between the two groups, researchers tested both groups of students 30 minutes after a lesson, and again a week later.
The results showed that both groups did well in the first test. But students with the handwritten （手写的） notes were able to better remember and understand the lesson a week later, and were more open to new ideas.
According to the lead researcher, “Our findings suggest that even when computers are used as planned, they may still cause harm to your learning.”
Part of the reason for this is that notetakers using pen and paper could understand the lesson better and put what they heard in their own words. Those taking notes on a computer typed faster, but they always tried to type every word exactly （精准地） as they heard it, so they didn’t really pay enough attention to the content（内容） of the lesson. That’s the problem. Students chose to take notes with a computer because it could help them take notes faster, but it undermined learning.
Computers aren’t going away anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean paper notebooks need to become out-of-date. In fact, it’s best to start using them at an early age. University of Indiana researchers compared brain scans of five-year-olds. Some of them practised writing letters down and some just looked at the letters. Those who wrote out the letters had better and even “adult-like’ brain activity.
So next time when you need to take notes, why not choose a pen and paper over a keyboard? It will do wonders for your memory.
1. Paragraph 3 mainly tells us ________.| A．how difficult the tests were | B．what the research showed us |
| C．when the research finished | D．why students needed the tests |
| A．helped to learn | B．made learning fun | C．harmed learning | D．made learning natural |
| A．handwriting makes people smarter | B．it’s better to take notes on computer |
| C．handwriting is going away from class soon | D．it’s difficult to use paper notes at an early age |
7 . A new study finds climate events such as flooding, heatwaves and drought worsen more than half of the known diseases that infect people. These diseases include malaria（疟疾）, cholera（霍乱）and anthrax（炭疽）.
Researchers examined medical literature（文献）of established cases of such diseases. They found out that 218 out of the known 375 human infectious diseases seemed to be made worse by extreme weather connected to climate change. The study connected more than 1,000 pathways from climate events to sick people. In some cases, heavy rains and flooding sicken people through disease-carrying mosquitoes, rats and deer. Other events, like warming oceans and heatwaves, spoil seafood and droughts bring bats carrying viral（病毒性的）infections to people.
Medical doctors, going back to the days of ancient Greek civilization, have long connected disease to weather. But this study shows how widespread the influence of climate events is on human health. “Climate is changing, and the risk of these diseases is changing,” said Dr Jonathan Patz. “The findings of this study are terrifying and illustrate well the enormous consequences of climate change on human pathogens（病原体）. Humans need to all work together to prevent disasters from climate change.”
Camilo Mora, a climate data expert, said the study is not about predicting future cases. “These are things that have already happened,” he noted. Here’s one example Mora knows from his own experience. About five years ago, Mora’s home in rural Colombia was flooded, creating a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Mora contracted Chikungunya, a virus spread by mosquito bites. He survived, but he still suffers pain related to the disease. In another case, the remains of a reindeer which died from anthrax were unearthed as the Siberian permafrost（永冻土）melted from warming in 2016. A child touched the dead animal, got anthrax, and an outbreak spread.
Dr Aaron Bernstein said the study is a good warning about climate and health for now and the future. He added, “But of course, it only reports on what we already know, and what’s yet unknown about pathogens may be yet more convincing about how preventing further climate change may prevent future disasters like COVID-19.”
1. What is the main idea of the passage?| A．Climate disasters make infectious diseases worse. |
| B．Climate disasters bring deadly threats to humans |
| C．Climate disasters cause unknown infectious diseases. |
| D．Climate disasters enable viruses to spread across the world. |
| A．the wide spread of climate-related viruses | B．the dangers of disease-carrying animals |
| C．the real-life impact of climate change | D．the huge damages of infectious diseases |
| A．more related researches are needed | B．unknown diseases are the real threat |
| C．COVID-19 still remains a mystery | D．actions should be taken for prevention |
The students of Class 1, Grade 7 are going hiking (徒步旅行) on their field trip. Hiking is good for people’s health. Many hikers like to hike in the countryside (乡村), forests and mountains (高山).
Just walking for fun is the first kind of hiking. Many people like to hike in city parks or just on the sidewalks.
A hike can take a few hours or weeks. People just need clothes and shoes that are good for the weather. At the beginning, hikers should start with walks that they can do in one day. As you get stronger, you can go an overnight hikes. Later you can go longer than that. You can make your hike last for several days or weeks.
For safety(安全), hikers should hike with someone. It is a good idea to have one or two friends with you. Hikers should also carry a map. It’s useful.
Backpacking is another kind of hiking. People carry food, clothes and other things on their backs in a pack. Backpackers can stay many days in the places where there is no food to buy. They carry what they need on their backs.
Now, put on your hiking shoes and take a hike!
1. Is hiking good for people’s health?2. Where do many hikers like to hike?
3. How many kinds of hiking are there in the passage?
4. What should hikers do for safety?
5. Do you want to go hiking? Why or why not?
9 . Let’s play a little game.
Clear your mind. Go ahead. Clear it.
OK, now, try not to picture a white bear.
Failed (失败)?
OK, let’s try again. Now do the countdown from three. Three, two, one!
Oh no! White bear again!
If you’re having trouble with this, don’t worry. You’re not alone. In fact, the harder you try not to think of something, the more you end up thinking about it.
It has a name, called Ironic Process Theory. Social psychologist (社会心理学家) Daniel Wegner first studied it in 1987. The theory (理论) tells people “thought control has the opposite (相反的) effect on behaviors.” So, if you’ve ever told yourself again and again not to play computer games or not to eat too much ice-cream, I’m sure this comes as no surprise. So it almost makes sure that your hard work to change bad habits by resisting (抵抗) will fail.
A famous psychologist Carl Jung said, “What you resist not only keeps staying there but will grow in size.” If resisting the bad habits is not only useless but harmful, then what should you do instead?
One way is to change what you want on your own brain. It goes like this: when you want to do something that you shouldn’t do, don’t resist. Instead, replace.
Let me give you an example. My friend Jack had a strong habit that he tried to break—he couldn’t stop eating junk food. He fought with it for years using the “resist, resist, resist” way with results we can only guess at. Finally, he decided to try something different. Every time he felt that want, instead of trying to fight with it, he replaced the want with a drink of water! After a while, he found that the want slowly started to disappear (消失), until he forgot that it was ever even a thing.
I love this amazing idea! Getting a drink is just one choice. You could also try peeling an orange, going outside, doing a push-up, taking a walk. ...You could try whatever works for you. It doesn’t matter what you do. Instead of resisting the behavior, just do something else.
1. Why does the writer talk about a little game at the beginning?| A．To show how to play a game. | B．To test readers’ math skill. |
| C．To introduce a theory. | D．To help readers to relax. |
| A．It helps people solve their problems easily. |
| B．Hard work to resist bad habits is very useful. |
| C．It tells people where their trouble comes from. |
| D．Bad habits get stronger when people resist them. |
| A．Eating junk food. | B．Eating ice-cream. | C．Picturing a white bear. | D．Drinking some water. |
| A．thought control comes with good effects on behaviors |
| B．doing something else helps to change bad habits |
| C．bad habits disappear when we try to forget them |
| D．the more we resist, the stronger mind we’ll have |
10 . What exactly is intelligence? There aren’t any easy answers. Despite the progress that has been made in genetics and psychology, human intelligence has remained one of the most areas of modern science that causes public discussion until now, for the discovery of a gene (基因) linked to intelligence has made the experts think again.
Robert Plomin of the Institute of Psychiatry in London and his colleagues in the US have been looking into genetic make-up. From their research, they have discovered that a slightly different gene is more common in those with a high IQ. Plomin analyzed DNA from two groups of 51 children aged between 6 and 15. What he found was that the first group had an IQ of 136, putting them in the top 5% of the population, while the other group had an average IQ of 103. An analysis of their genes showed that 32% of children in the higher group had the gene in question, while only 16% in the second group did. However, there is a lot more research to be done, and Plomin himself is cautious at this early stage. He suggests that there are probably many genes connecting to intelligence, rather than just one.
Several studies have shown a strong link between IQ and career success, although some psychologists are not sure about this. Professor Michael Rowe, who has written a book called Genius Explained, is one of these. “The people with the highest IQs are not usually the ones who do best in their careers.”
Many psychologists now believe that when it comes to intelligence, IQ isn’t everything. Many different views have been put forward recently. One example is the idea of multiple intelligences (多元智能), which was developed in the 1980s by Harvard psychologist Howard Gardner. This offers a much broader view than the IQ theory, including creativity and communication skills as related factors in intelligence.
Tony Buzan, a brain expert and author of Master your Memory, is excited about this belief, arguing that true geniuses do indeed appear to combine high levels of each type of intelligence. He lists Alexander the Great, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein as examples. At the same time, Buzan believes that everyone can develop their intelligence, only if they take the trouble to exercise their brain. Perhaps there’s hope for us all!
1. Why does the author use data in Paragraph 2?| A．To prove an idea. | B．To draw a conclusion. |
| C．To make a suggestion. | D．To give an example. |
| A．The development of intelligence. |
| B．IQ isn’t everything for intelligence. |
| C．Different views have been put forward. |
| D．The idea of multiple intelligences. |
| A．Robert Plomin proves genes have something in common. |
| B．Michael Rowe believes in a strong link between IQ and career. |
| C．Howard Gardner thinks intelligence includes various factors. |
| D．Tony Buzan agrees geniuses exercise brain to improve intelligence. |
| A．The relationship between genes and intelligence. |
| B．IQ benefits a lot from high intelligence. |
| C．What makes intelligence. |
| D．How to develop intelligence. |
