1 . Does solving a math problem give you a headache?Do you feel nervous in a math exam? For most students, math can be tough but scientists have proved that math problems can actually cause physical pain.
Scientists came to this conclusion with an in-depth experiment, which was published in the Public Library of Science One journal. They began by finding out how much participants fear math. Those involved were asked a series of questions such as how they feel when they receive a math textbook or when they walk into a math lesson.
Based on their answers, participants were divided into groups. One group was made up of people who were particularly afraid of math and participants in the other group were more comfortable with the subject. Both groups were then given either math tasks or word tasks. When a math task was going to come next, a yellow circle would appear but when a word task was soon to come, a blue square would be shown
.
Using a brain-scan machine, scientists noticed that whenever people from Group One saw a yellow circle, their brain would respond in a way similar to when their body is feeling pain. It was like the pain they would feel, for example, if they burnt their hand on a hot stove. But they reacted less strongly when they knew that they would be faced with a word task. However, scientists saw no strong brain response from people in the second group.
Math can be difficult, and for those with high levels of mathematics-anxiety (HMA), math is associated with tension, and fear. “The higher a person’s anxiety of a math task, the more he activated brain regions associated with threat detection, and the experience of pain.” said Lyons, leader of the study.
More interestingly, the brain activity disappeared when participants actually started dealing with the math tasks. “This means that it’s not that math itself hurts; rather, the anticipation of math is painful,” Lyons said.
Based on the study, scientists suggested that things could be done to help students move past their fear of math, which might mean they perform better in tests.
1. In the first stage, scientists ask participants some questions to________ .| A．see whether math hurts |
| B．find out how much they fear math |
| C．observe how their brain response |
| D．test if they are good at math |
| A．Group One reacted more strongly when they saw a blue square. |
| B．Group Two showed no brain response during the whole experiment. |
| C．Effective solutions have been worked out to lower students’ anxiety of math. |
| D．Physical pain caused by HMA disappears in the process of doing math problem. |
| A．the attempt of learning math |
| B．the motivation to work out a math problem |
| C．the effort to understand math |
| D．the act of thinking about math |
| A．How to overcome math fear. |
| B．Physical pain affects math performance. |
| C．Math pain in your brain. |
| D．Unknown truth about pain. |
2 . Unsolved Mysteries About the Planet Earth
◆Mystery 1: Where did all the water come from?
Water covers 70 percent of Earth’s surface and earns it the nickname “the blue planet”. And where did it come from? The most popular scientific theory states that the water came from several violent asteroids (小行星) filled with ice. Another suggests that the water actually has been around since Earth’s formation. However it happened, though, it’s certainly worked out well for Earth’s life forms.
◆Mystery 2 :What about all the oxygen?
Another thing is the planet’s oxygen. Tiny creatures released oxygen as a waste product, filling the atmosphere with it. After that, the level of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere went wildly up and down until it finally calmed down around 540 million years ago. Since then, it’s remained at about the breathable level we experience today. But what caused it to be suddenly steady?
◆Mystery 3: What caused the Cambrian (寒武纪) Explosion?
The Cambrian Explosion refers to the explosion of complex life forms that occurred on Earth about 540 million years ago. Before then, life had consisted mostly of bacteria. But at the beginning of the Cambrian period, complex creatures began developing at a rate never seen before. Suddenly, life forms had brains, eyes, and bones. Most living creatures today can trace their blood back to the Cambrian period.
◆Mystery 4: Will we ever be able to predict earthquakes?
We still haven’t been able to come up with a way to accurately predict earthquakes. We can certainly try, but our current technology cannot predict them exactly. We know that earthquakes start when rocks crack underground and send earthquake waves toward the surface, but we haven’t figured out why that happens, or how to predict it.
1. Which of the following is true according to the text?| A．Earth is called the blue star because of water coverage. |
| B．The level of oxygen has been steady all the time. |
| C．Complex creatures had rapid development after the Cambrian period. |
| D．We know nothing about predicting earthquakes. |
| A．It is the oldest mystery of the four. |
| B．It will be solved in the near future. |
| C．It is the most difficult mystery to solve. |
| D．It is a matter that is of practical significance. |
| A．A diary. | B．A geography book. |
| C．A novel. | D．A magazine. |
1. If the performance starts at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, what time will it finish?
| A．At 3:20 p.m. | B．At 5:20 p.m. | C．At 7:20 p.m. | D．At 9:20 p.m. |
| A．£67.50. | B．£70. | C．£72. | D．£73. |
| A．0844 482 5100. | B．0844 482 5160. | C．0844 482 5165. | D．0844 482 5173. |
| A．Visiting the kids' club. | B．Joining in the work shops. |
| C．Having a backstage tour. | D．Taking photos with the performers. |
| A．marked A | B．marked B | C．marked C | D．marked D |
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1. The passage is most probably taken from _______.
| A．A magazine of popular science |
| B．An academic journal on Nature |
| C．An online tourist advertisement |
| D．A literary story book about animals |
| A．fundamental | B．eventual | C．optimal | D．extreme |
| A．Besides whale watching, tourist can also enjoy fascinating harbor sightseeing. |
| B．A tourist is provided with both buffet breakfast and lunch during the cruise. |
| C．Swimming is considered a dangerous thing and therefore is strictly prohibited. |
| D．Team building and corporate culture nurturing is the ultimate goal for the cruise. |
| A．12:15 | B．12:25 | C．12:10 | D．12：00 |
5 . Population and climate
The human population on Earth has grown to the point that it is having an effect on Earth’s atmosphere and ecosystems. Burning of fossil fuels, deforestation, urbanization, and cultivation of rice and cattle are increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and dust in the atmosphere. About 70 percent of the Sun’s energy passes through the atmosphere and strikes Earth’s surface. This radiation heats the surface of the land and ocean, and these surfaces then reradiate infrared radiation back into space. This allows Earth to avoid heating up too much. However, not all of the infrared radiation makes it into space; some is absorbed by gases in the atmosphere and is reradiated back to Earth’s surface. A greenhouse gas is one that absorbs infrared radiation and then reradiates some of this radiation back to Earth. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides are greenhouse gases. In fact, without greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, scientists calculate that Earth would be about 33℃ cooler than it currently is.
The current concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is about 360 parts per million. Human activities are having a major influence on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, which are rising so fast that current predictions made by scientists are that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide will double in the next 50 to 100 years.
Some scientists predict that a doubling of carbon dioxide concentration will raise global temperatures anywhere between 1.4℃ and 4.5℃. The increase in temperature will not be uniform, with the smallest changes at the equator and changes two or three times as great at the poles. The local effects of these global changes are difficult to predict, but it is generally agreed that they may include alterations in ocean currents, increased winter flooding in some areas of the Northern Hemisphere, a higher incidence of summer drought in some areas, and rising sea levels, which may flood low-lying countries.
1. It can be inferred from the passage that one positive aspect of greenhouse gases is that they _______.| A．remove pollutants from Earth’s atmosphere and ecosystems |
| B．absorb 70 percent of the Sun’s energy |
| C．help keep Earth warm |
| D．double atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide |
| A．The rapid rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations is mostly caused by human activities. |
| B．Human activities will no longer have an influence on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations in the next 50 to 100 years. |
| C．Some scientists predict that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will not increase in the next 50 to 100 years. |
| D．Some scientists recently predict that atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations that are largely influenced by human activities will double in the next 50 to 100 years. |
| A．different |
| B．identical |
| C．comparable |
| D．changeable |
| A．Sea levels will fall. |
| B．The effects will not occur in some regions of the world. |
| C．The local plants and forests will be permanently damaged. |
| D．It is hard to know exactly what form the local effects will take. |
| A．Raising livestock and growing rice are the actions of humans. |
| B．The surface of the land and ocean can help decrease the temperature of Earth. |
| C．Although carbon dioxide concentration may double in the future, temperatures at the North Pole and South Pole may not change. |
| D．Nitrogen oxides absorb infrared radiation that can increase the temperature of Earth. |
