1 . When you hear the beginning of your favorite song from the radio, suddenly your neck is covered in goose bumps.
It's such a thing that a group of scientists call “skin excitement”—a feeling of cold caused not by a drop in temperature or sudden scare, but by the sense of beauty. “Skin excitement” can come from a song, a painting, a moving movie scene, or even a beloved memory-pretty much anything that causes the giving out of pleasure-soaked dopamine in your brain. But it does not come for all of us.
Your favorite music uncovers a lot about your personality，and so does how you respond to that music. Studies suppose that as few as 55 percent of people experience “skin excitement” when listening to music. And if you count yourself among this group, the goose bumps on your skin aren't the only giveaway—scientists can read it in your brain, too. In a new study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Harvard researchers performed brain scans on 10 students who said they reliably got cold when listening to music, and 10 students who didn't. They found that the cold-prone brains may really be excited by stronger emotions.
Cold-prone brains are generally more likely to show stronger emotional intelligence than no-cold brains. Cold-prone minds tend to have unusual active imagination, reflect more deeply on their emotions, and appreciate nature and the beauty of music and art to a stronger degree than no-cold brains.
So, what type of music causes the chills? It seems that the type is not so important; participants in the new study reported getting cold from songs of every kind. And any song connected with a strong emotional memory of the listener can produce the most reliable results. For me, that's the song Sailing to Philadelphia by Mark Knopfler, which I listened to as a kid in the car with my dad, on the way to the summer camp.
1. What can we learn about “skin excitement” in the text?| A．It helps to produce doparmine. | B．It is caused by the pain in the skin. |
| C．It can be experienced by every music listener. | D．It is the human body's reaction to something nice. |
| A．The percentage of music lovers in students. |
| B．The solutions to the goose bumps on one's skin. |
| C．The differences between cold-prone and no-cold brains. |
| D．The relationship between one's music preference and personality. |
| A．Beautiful and intelligent. | B．Emotional and dishonest. |
| C．Imaginative and sensitive. | D．Brave and strong-minded. |
| A．Responses to Music Vary among People | B．A Feeling of Cold Is Caused by Horrible Music |
| C．Your Favorite Music Reveals Your Personality | D．Favorite Music May Bring Forth Goose Bumps |
2 . An 85-year-old primary school constructed in 1935 in Shanghai has been lifted off the ground in its entirety and relocated using new technology called the “walking machine.” The project marks the first time this “walking machine” method has been used in Shanghai to relocate a historical building.
Urbanization（都市化）has continued to significantly threaten architectural heritage. In the capital Beijing, for instance, more than 1,000 acres of its historic hutongs and traditional courtyard homes were destroyed between 1990 and 2010.
In the early 2000s, cities including Nanjing and Bejjing-due to the critics’ protest about the loss of old neighborhoods-drew up long-term plans to preserve what was left of their historic sites, with protections introduced to safeguard buildings and restrict developers.
These conservation efforts have taken different forms. In Beijing, a near-ruined temple was transformed into a restaurant and gallery, while in Nanjing, a cinema from the 1930s was restored to its original form, with some additions providing it for modern use. In 2019, Shanghai welcomed Tank Shanghai, an arts center built in renovated（重修的）oil tanks.
“Relocation is not the first choice, but better than destroying,” said Lan, the Shanghai primary school’s project supervisor. “I’d rather not touch the historical buildings at all.” Building relocations he said however, are “a workable option.” “The central government is putting more emphasis on the protection of historical buildings. I’m happy to see that progress in recent years.”
Shanghai has arguably been China’s most progressive city when it comes to heritage preservation. The survival of a number of 1930s buildings and 19th-century “shikumen” （or “stone gate”） house have offered examples of how to give old buildings new life.
“We have to preserve the historical building no matter what, ” Lan said. “The relocation has challenges, but in general, it is cheaper than destroying and then rebuilding something in a new location.”
1. How did cities respond to the loss of historical sites?| A．They criticized the developers. | B．They rebuilt the historic hutongs. |
| C．They ended the significant threat. | D．They proposed the protection project. |
| A．All original form. | B．A new addition. | C．A cinema. | D．A temple. |
| A．Provide strong evidence. | B．Introduce different opinions. |
| C．Summarize previous paragraphs. | D．Add some background information. |
| A．Walking Machine: a New Technology | B．Rebuilding: a New Option for Relics |
| C．Old Building Torn down for Modern Use | D．Historical Site “Walks” to New Life |
3 . Ian McKenna was in third grade when he learned that many kids at his Austin school weren't getting enough to eat at home. He wanted to help, but local volunteer organizations turned him away, saying he was too young. So he decided to find his own solution. For years, he had been gardening with his mother, and they often distributed their extra vegetables to the neighbors. “Why not give the produce to a soup kitchen? Then I thought, I'm good at gardening," says McKenna, now 16. “Why not plant a garden at school, so that kids in need could take food home?"
McKenna persuaded his school to set aside space for a garden; then he asked the community for donations of seeds and equipment. Other students donated their time. Within months, McKenna's garden was producing lettuces, tomatoes, cucumbers and squash for students and their families. Now, seven years later, McKenna's Giving Garden project has expanded to five area schools in addition to his own backyard garden, and he has provided organic produce, enough for 25,000 meals, to Austin families.
For most of his gardening activities, McKenna wears the same T-shirt in different colors, with his personal motto on it: BE A GOOD HUMAN. To him, that means helping in any way you can, no matter what your age. "Even a smile might change someone's life," he says. “It lets them know that they are important. It can make their day."
When COVID-19 hit the U.S., McKenna redoubled his efforts, cooking up to 100 meals to distribute to the hungry on the weekends. When social distancing meant that volunteers couldn't work on community garden plots, he started offering online classes and a gardening hotline so families could grow at home. While gardening is his core focus, McKenna says he is always looking for new ways to help the hungry.
1. What caused Ian's decision to help the kids in his own way?| A．Being rejected by volunteer groups. | B．Being good at gardening. |
| C．A soup kitchen's support. | D．His mother's suggestions. |
| A．It helps students only. | B．It was started with joint efforts. |
| C．It is funded by schools. | D．It earns great profits every year. |
| A．Where there is a will, there is a way. | B．A small gesture makes a difference. |
| C．One good turn deserves another. | D．Love can break all the barriers. |
| A．Ian McKenna, Growing a Food Bank |
| B．Ian Mckenna, an Experienced Gardener |
| C．Giving Garden Project, an Impossible Mission |
| D．Giving Garden Project, a Universal Solution |
4 . Traffic jams are the horrible dreams of motorists’ lives. If you think your journey is bad, spare a thought for drivers in Sao Paolo, Brazil — one evening in May last year, the traffic jams during the rush hour added up to a 344km queue, according to the city's traffic management agency.
This isn't a new problem, of course. During the car boom of the 1960s, city planners had one seemingly obvious solution: build more and wider roads. But the more roads created, the more cars they attracted. So what's the solution? Some cities have adopted easy methods, like banning cars from driving on certain days.
However, ending this horrible dream may need more of a complete rethink. A company, Urban Engines, has a slightly fresher method. "We're providing an online game that offers trip suggestions and prizes to encourage commuter behaviour changes, including changing travel from peak to off-peak times,“ says Shiva Shivakumar, Urban Engines' co-founder and GEO. For the past two-and-a-half years, the company has conducted pilot studies in major cities, including Bangalore and Singapore. In Bangalore, one-in-six people who took part in the trial started travelling off-peak, and in Singapore one-in-eight.
But others think this solution doesn't go far enough—and that we should provide more reasons for putting fewer cars on the road. “The only effective long-term solution is to improve alternative methods—walking, cycling and particularly high-quality public transport,” says Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute in Canada. Road pricing that charges motorists extra if they drive during the rush hour could also be an option. Cities like Singapore, London and Stockholm have successfully used road pricing to control the steel river.
The solution to beating traffic jams in cities, if it comes, will probably take a long time to gain prizes. But if at least some of these new ideas are a success, the days of Sao Paolo's heavy traffic jams may finally become history.
1. What can we learn about the method of building wider roads?| A．It results in the car boom. | B．It is far from satisfactory. |
| C．It needs to be further tested. | D．It is unlikely to be widely used. |
| A．It charges commuters for travelling at peak times. |
| B．It changes its working time to avoid peak times. |
| C．It bans commuters from driving on certain days. |
| D．It offers prizes to those travelling at off-peak times. |
| A．The traffic flow. | B．The traffic light. |
| C．The public transport. | D．The crowd of people. |
| A．How Do Traffic Jams Form | B．Can We Ever End Traffic Jams |
| C．Do Traffic Jams Affect Our Life | D．Where Is the Most Jammed City |
