1 . Though researchers have long known that adults build unconscious (无意识的) preferences over a lifetime of making choices between things that are essentially the same, the new finding that even babies engage in this phenomenon demonstrates that this way of justifying choice is intuitive (凭直觉的) and somehow fundamental to the human experience.
“The act of making a choice changes how we feel about our options,” said Alex Silver, a Johns Hopkins researcher. “Even infants who are really just at the start of making choices for themselves have this preference.”
The findings are published today in the journal Psychological Science. People assume they choose things that they like. But research suggests that’s sometimes backwards: we like things because we choose them. And, we dislike things that we don’t choose. “Adults make these inferences unconsciously,” said co-author Lisa Feigenson, a Johns Hopkins scientist in child development. “We justify our choice after the fact.”
This makes sense for adults in a consumer culture who must make random choices every day, between everything from toothpaste brands to styles of jeans. The question was when exactly people start doing this. So they turned to babies, who don’t get many choices so, as Feigenson puts it, are “a perfect window into the origin of this tendency.”
The team brought 10-to 20-month-old babies into the lab and gave them a choice of objects to play with; two equally bright and colorful soft blocks. They set them far apart, so the babies had to crawl to one or the other — a random choice. After the baby chose one of the toys, the researchers took it away and came back with a new option. The babies could then pick from the toy they didn’t play with the first time, or a brand new toy. Their choices showed they “dis-prefer the unchosen object.”
To continue studying the evolution of choice in babies, the lab will next look at the idea of “choice overload.” For adults, choice is good, but too many choices can be a problem, so the lab will try to determine if that is also true for babies.
1. What is people’s assumption about the act of making choices?| A．They like what they choose. |
| B．They choose what they like. |
| C．They base choices on the fact. |
| D．They make choices thoughtfully. |
| A．To help them make better choices. |
| B．To guide them to perceive the world. |
| C．To track the root of making random choices. |
| D．To deepen the understanding of a consumer culture. |
| A．They like novel objects. |
| B．Their choices are mostly based on colors. |
| C．Their random choices become preferences. |
| D．They are unable to make choices for themselves. |
| A．The law of “choice overload”. |
| B．The problem of adults’ many choices. |
| C．Why too many choices can influence adults. |
| D．Whether babies are troubled with many choices. |
2 . Honeybees rely heavily on flower patterns not just colors when searching for food, new research shows.
A team led by the University of Exeter tested bee behaviour and built bee’s-eye-view simulations (模拟装置) to work out how they see flowers.
Honeybees have low resolution vision, so they can only see a flower’s pattern clearly when they are within few centimeters. However, the new’ study shows bees can very effectively distinguish between different flowers by using a combination of colour and pattern.
In a series of tests, bees rarely ignored pattern, suggesting colour alone does not lead them to flowers. This may help to explain why some colours that are visible to bees are rarely produced by flowers in nature.
“We studied a large amount of data on plants and bee behaviour,” said Professor Natalie Hempel, from Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour. “By training and testing bees using man-made patterns of shape and colour, we found they relied flexibly on their ability to see both of these elements. Showing how insects see colour and learn colour patterns is important to understand how pollinators (传粉者) may, or may not, create evolutionary ‘pressures’ on the colours and patterns that flowers have evolved (进化). Our findings suggest that flowers don’t need to evolve too many different flower colours, because they can use patterns to vary their displays so bees can tell them apart from other flowers.”
One typical feature identified in the study is that the outside edges of flowers usually contrast strongly with the plant’s leaves while the centre of the flower does not have such a strong contrast with the leaf colour. This could help bees quickly identify colour differences and find their way to flowers.
While flowers may be beautiful to humans, Professor Hempel stressed that understanding more about bees and the threats they face meant we need to see the world “through the eyes of a bee and the mind of a bee.”
1. What does the new research focus on?| A．The source of bees’ food supply. | B．The way of bees finding flowers. |
| C．The effect of bees’ poor eyesight. | D．The evolution of bees’ behavior. |
| A．It’s not a must. | B．It’s a pressing need. |
| C．It’s beyond belief. | D．It’s a temporary solution. |
| A．An explanation of the research intention. |
| B．Dramatic changes in the research strategy. |
| C．Conflict between different research outcomes. |
| D．Supporting evidence for the research findings. |
| A．Research data. | B．Research methods. |
| C．Research objects. | D．Research frequency. |
3 . What kind of people can become scientists? When a group of researchers posed that question to ninth-and 10th-graders, almost every student gave such responses as “People who work hard” or “Anyone who seems interested in the field of science.”
Many of these same students struggled to imagine themselves as scientists, citing concerns such as “I’m not good at science” and “Even if I work hard, I will not do well.” It’s easy for them to see a scientist’s work as arising from an inborn talent.
But for high school students, learning more about some struggles of scientists can help students feel more motivated to learn science. Researchers at Teachers College, Columbia University and the University of Washington designed an intervention to change students’ beliefs that scientific achievement depends on ability rather than effort by exposing students to stories of how accomplished scientists struggled and overcame challenges in their scientific efforts.
During the study, the students read one of three types of stories about Albert Einstein, Marie Curie and Michael Faraday. Intellectual(智力的)struggle stories: stories about how scientists “struggled intellectually,” such as making mistakes while addressing a scientific problem and learning from them. Life struggle stories: stories about how scientists struggled in their personal lives, such as not giving up in the face of poverty or lack of family support. Achievement stories: stories about how scientists made great discoveries, without any discussion of coexisting challenges.
Researchers found that students who heard either type of “struggle stories” improved their science performance after-intervention, compared to students in the control group. The effect was especially pronounced for lower performing students, for whom exposure to struggling stories led to significantly better science-class performance than low-performing students who read achievement stories. In addition, students who read struggle stories reported feeling more personally connected to the scientists. By recognizing a scientist’s struggles and introducing the growth mindset he or she applied to accomplish great works, the students were able to empathize(共情)with the scientists during their own struggles.
1. Why do students fail to imagine themselves as scientists?| A．They lack interest in science. | B．They are short of confidence |
| C．They don’t have inborn talent. | D．They have no ability to study science |
| A．To introduce some inspirational stories to students. |
| B．To expose students to scientists’ great achievements. |
| C．To ensure students will become scientists in the future. |
| D．To clear students’ misunderstandings of scientific work. |
| A．minimal | B．noticeable | C．doubtful | D．long-lasting |
| A．Science ability has nothing to do with efforts. |
| B．Students are more motivated by achievement stories. |
| C．Scientists’ struggle stories can influence readers’ beliefs. |
| D．Low-performing students tend to feel connected to scientists. |
4 . There is a song by the great Jamaican singer Bob Marley called So Much Trouble in The World. Marley understood that part of the reason why there are so many problems in the world is the lack of tolerance between people. The UN understands this too— that is why it made November 16th “International Day for Tolerance”.
But first, what is tolerance? According to French philosopher Voltaire, “Tolerance is the consequence of humanity. We are all formed of frailty (脆弱) and error; let us pardon each other’s fool— that is the first law of nature.”
Very often, people do not realize that they are intolerant. This is because intolerance has a lot to do with ignorance. For example, the UN’s campaign is in part about the treatment of females by males. But often, the behavior of men toward women is intolerant because men do not put themselves in the shoes of women.
It is worth thinking a little about the words “tolerance” and “intolerance”. Are they the best words to describe the evils of which we are speaking here? To agree to be “tolerant” of someone is not necessarily a very respectful thing. When someone is tolerated, it implies that there is something wrong with them.
Still, what Voltaire said stands: We humans are not perfect and this weakness is something that we all share. That is the reason we should be tolerant. It is a little like generosity. We can give things to another person, and we can also give our forgiveness.
1. What is the purpose of the UN “International Day for Tolerance”?| A．To celebrate the founding of the UN. |
| B．To solve the problem of global warming. |
| C．To change people’s opinion towards globalization. |
| D．To arouse the awareness of tolerance among people. |
| A．Because men do not realize the purpose of the UN. |
| B．Because men are physically stronger than women. |
| C．Because men are not willing to understand women. |
| D．Because men do not appreciate the shoes of women. |
| A．Because they cannot be used in a respectful way. |
| B．Because they are hard to pronounce in English. |
| C．Because they cannot be translated into other languages. |
| D．Because they do not express the exact meaning people refer to. |
| A．Humans tend to find faults in others. |
| B．Humans need to give something to others. |
| C．Humans are advised to treat others better. |
| D．Humans change their attitudes towards others. |
5 . I am seven years older than my twin cousins. When I was 8 or 9 years old, they just learned how to
One night, it was a bit late so they had been
I didn’t know why, but I looked at her and she
| A．think | B．walk | C．listen | D．write |
| A．talk | B．rest | C．cry | D．suffer |
| A．Generally | B．Thankfully | C．Entirely | D．Certainly |
| A．break | B．study | C．start | D．time |
| A．nervous | B．sleepy | C．afraid | D．curious |
| A．run | B．bleed | C．laugh | D．scream |
| A．shock | B．luck | C．pleasure | D．puzzle |
| A．sadness | B．curiosity | C．surprise | D．worry |
| A．interested | B．disappointed | C．frightened | D．excited |
| A．cried | B．shouted | C．smiled | D．jumped |
| A．speed | B．pain | C．loneliness | D．drop |
| A．covering | B．losing | C．stealing | D．making |
| A．rule | B．value | C．spot | D．regret |
| A．idea | B．plan | C．life | D．moral |
| A．joy | B．help | C．courage | D．wisdom |
6 . If job seekers knew companies were using AI to fill open positions, would it stop them from applying for the job? The answer, according to a recent study, is yes — sometimes.
The researchers found that in certain instances, like the screening (筛选) of applications, participants usually accepted some degree of automation. But in other instances, like interviews, automation could stop job seekers from applying for a position.
Companies facing recent labor shortages are increasingly turning to AI as a way to facilitate and speed up the hiring process. AI can be used in tasks such as screening job candidates, checking professional licenses, and interviewing candidates.
The new research suggests that using AI in hiring could be quite opposite. For instance, in one part of the study, participants were shown fictional job postings and then asked if they intended to apply for the position. The researchers found that if the job posting said that AI was used both to screen applicants and to conduct interviews, participants’ intention to apply for the position averaged 2.77 on a six-point scale. If AI was used only for the screening process, participants’ intention to apply averaged 3.73.
In another experiment, the researchers also found that study participants saw pros and cons in the use of AI in interviewing. When told the hiring would be fully automated, some participants expected the whole hiring process to be more consistent (始终如一的) in its judgments. But others tended to believe that they had less voice in the final outcome. Overall, the study results suggest this concern tends to outweigh the appreciation of AI’s lack of bias (偏见) at the interviewing stage.
A mixed approach may be a way to get the best of both worlds. Participants may have been more open to automation earlier in the hiring process because they could see some benefits from using AI — such as less-biased decisions. But during the later stages applicants expect personal interaction, to give them an opportunity to sell themselves and to learn more about the company.
1. Why do companies increasingly turn to AI in hiring?| A．To attract more applicants. | B．To boost hiring process. |
| C．To pick out top candidates. | D．To solve labor shortages. |
| A．Screening job candidates. | B．Interviewing candidates. |
| C．Grading professional licenses. | D．Predicting final outcomes. |
| A．Less AI involvement. | B．Lack of consistent judgments. |
| C．Less-biased decisions. | D．Lack of personal interaction. |
| A．Hi-tech is a two-edged sword. |
| B．AI finds its way to hiring process. |
| C．Automation may discourage job seekers. |
| D．A mixed approach should be adopted in hiring. |
7 . Thinking about the past week, did any of you forget where you put your phone? Did you have a word stuck on the tip of your tongue? You couldn’t remember the name of the movie a friend recommended? What is going on here? Is your memory failing?
It’s not.
The other has something to do with stimulus(刺激物). For example, the tip of the tongue is one of the most common experiences of memory failure.
So when you walk into a room and suddenly don’t know why you’re there, you’re not going crazy or getting Alzheimer’s disease, and your memory isn’t terrible. Go back to the room you were in before you landed in this one and imagine the clues that were there.
| A．One necessary factor is attention. |
| B．It’s doing exactly what it's supposed to do. |
| C．These imperfections are simply the factory settings. |
| D．Our brains tend to remember what is meaningful and forget what isn’t. |
| E．You’re trying to come up with a word, but you cannot find it in your memory. |
| F．It will instantly deliver what you were completely confused about a moment ago. |
| G．Memory is amazing and is essential for the functioning of almost everything we do. |
8 . For years, you’ve been told that stress can be deadly and is something to be avoided. Therefore, an anxious situation is often accompanied by a sense of fear. However, recent studies suggest that stress-related harmful effects on your health are not unavoidable.
One study followed 30,000 people over eight years and measured their stress levels. Those who believed that stress is harmful died at a higher rate than those who were under stress but didn’t acknowledge the so-called negative effects. The latter group was healthier, and many of them lived long, happy lives.
Stressful feelings start out in a small region of the brain that affects how people feel emotions, especially fear. The small region is very sensitive to possible threats. When it senses danger, it alerts the brain, and feelings of fear or stress can result. These feelings give people a warning message when they need to pay attention and when they need to take action. For instance, when the sight of a speeding car triggers (触发) the region to release a lightning-fast message, we know immediately to move out of the way!
Another study carried by Health psychologist Dr. McGonigal found a link between stress and the amount of sympathy people showed to others. Researchers tracked 1,000 adults, their descriptions of the level of stress in their lives and the amount of time spent helping others. With each major stressful event, such as a family tragedy or financial crisis, the risk of dying increased by 30 percent. But for the group who spent time helping others, there was no increase in stress-related deaths, even for those who had faced their own personal tragedies. According to Dr. McGonigal, “Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort. Go after what it is that creates meaning in your life and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.”
1. What does the study in paragraph 2 suggest?| A．Stress caused many deaths over eight years. |
| B．Stress won’t hurt you if you don’t acknowledge its presence. |
| C．It is not the stress but our response to it that creates problems. |
| D．Those without stress usually live long and happy lives. |
| A．Stress is harmful to the brain. |
| B．Stress can cause danger. |
| C．Stress can be a threat to us. |
| D．Stress can lead to timely action. |
| A．People without stress spend more time caring others. |
| B．Stress often causes a family tragedy or financial crisis. |
| C．Stress can be avoided by helping others. |
| D．People chasing meaning in life suffer less from stress. |
| A．Stress Is Not Your Enemy | B．Man Can Conquer Stress |
| C．We Need Remove Stress | D．Stress Is Nearly Harmless |
9 . One afternoon I toured an art museum while waiting for my husband to finish a business meeting. I was looking forward to a quiet view of the wonderful works.
A young couple viewing the paintings ahead of me chatted
I was standing at the counter of the museum gift store making a
“He's a
“But what does he get out of the art?” I asked, He can't see.”
“Can't see! You're wrong. He sees a lot.
I learned something about patience, courage and love that day. I saw the
| A．continuously | B．carelessly | C．hardly | D．excitedly |
| A．required | B．decided | C．blamed | D．announced |
| A．coming up with | B．adding up to | C．putting up with | D．living up to |
| A．As though | B．Now that | C．Each time | D．Ever since |
| A．difference | B．deal | C．fortune | D．purchase |
| A．looked | B．got | C．reached | D．broke |
| A．casually | B．deliberately | C．hard | D．easily |
| A．brave | B．lucky | C．cold | D．clever |
| A．make up | B．give up | C．wake up | D．turn up |
| A．discovery | B．complaint | C．promise | D．contribution |
| A．Less | B．Better | C．Worse | D．More |
| A．describes | B．draws | C．touches | D．praises |
| A．wisdom | B．patience | C．courage | D．faith |
| A．thought | B．hearing | C．emotion | D．sight |
| A．expected | B．shared | C．received | D．imagined |
10 . Captured(捕获的) carbon dioxide(CO2) could be used to extract(提炼) useful metals(金属) from recycled technology such as smartphone batteries rather than just being buried underground. The technique could help make it more economical to capture the greenhouse gas before it enters the atmosphere.
“If you also extract metals by filling CO2, you add value to a process that is known to be costly,” says Julien Leclaire at the University of Lyon, France.
CO2 is the main cause of modern climate change, so many people have attempted to develop technologies to capture it when it comes from power plants and other major sources. The gas can then be stored underground. The problem is that such carbon capture and storage (CCS) is expensive. “No one wants to pay the price for it,” says Leclaire.
To make CCS more appealing, Leclaire’s team has found a use for the gas.
His team collected CO2 from a car gas, cooled it, then pumped it into a mix of chemicals. The CO2 combined with the mix to make many molecules(分子) of various shapes and sizes.
The team found that this process could sort out mixtures of metals, because one metal would dissolve(溶解) in the liquid while another would form a solid. In a series of experiments, they successfully separated three kinds of metals-all of which are used in batteries, smartphones and computers.
If the process can be widely used, it could be a more environmentally friendly way to recycle batteries and other electrical equipment, says Leclaire. This is normally done using highly reactive chemicals, which are potentially polluting. Replacing them with CO2 should lead to a much lower environmental pollution, he says.
Other researchers and companies are trying to change captured CO2 into useful materials like plastics, which are normally produced from petrol, but this is chemically difficult. Leclaire says his approach is more in line with how CO2 behaves naturally. “Instead of copying what we know how to do better and cheaper with oil, let’s find things you can only do with CO2,” he says.
1. What can we learn from the first paragraph?| A．Extracting useful metals from recycled technology is widely used now. |
| B．Useful metals in the atmosphere are used to make smartphone batteries. |
| C．Abandoned smartphone batteries may have been buried underground before. |
| D．The greenhouse gas CO2 could be cleaned up after entering the atmosphere. |
| A．CO2 is the main cause of modern climate change. |
| B．CO2 can be used to recycle many resources. |
| C．Captured CO2 can be changed to useful gas. |
| D．CO2 is harmful to people’s health. |
| A．It could end the use of plastics. |
| B．It could reduce environmental pollution. |
| C．It could make more metals available to humans. |
| D．It could help reduce the cost of battery production. |
| A．The Ways to Make Smartphone Batteries |
| B．The Reason for Capturing Greenhouse Gas |
| C．Collecting CO? Is Starting to Make New Progress |
| D．Captured CO2 Could Be Used to Help Recycle Useful Metals |
