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 . The Internet plays a big part in human life. We use it for work and pleasure. We use it to learn a new language. We find advice on it. We use it to keep in touch with events we care about. The list goes on and on.
As far as the Internet being a part of our lives--well, that train has left the station. There is no going back to an Internet-free life. But can using the Internet too much be bad for our health? It might be, say researchers. A new study finds that heavy Internet use may be connected to high blood pressure（高血压） in a group---teenagers.
The study results show that teens who spend at least 14 hours a week only online may cause high blood pressure, which makes your heart and blood vessels( 血管) work too hard. Over time, this extra strain (压力) increases their risk of a heart attack. High blood pressure can also cause other diseases.
The Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan did the study. 335 young people, from 14 to 17 years old, took part in it. 134 of the teens were described as “heavy Internet users”. And researchers found that out of these 134 teens, 26 had high blood pressure. The researchers say the study is the first to connect heavy web use with high blood pressure.
The lead researcher of the study is Andrea Cassidy-Bushrow. She said, “Using the Internet is part of our daily life but it shouldn’t ruin us.” Ms. Gassidy-Bushrow adds that it is important for teens to have a rest regularly from their computers or smart phones and do some kind of physical activity. She also suggests that parents shouldn’t let their children use the Internet for more than two hours a day, five days a week.
1. What does the underlined part “that train has left the station” mean in Paragraph 2?| A．The train has stopped at the wrong station. |
| B．There is something wrong with the station. |
| C．Life without the Internet is nowhere to be found. |
| D．The train has changed its course. |
| A．Heavy Internet users might have high blood pressure. |
| B．There is no relation between high blood pressure and Internet use. |
| C．There are more advantages than disadvantages of Internet use. |
| D．High blood pressure will do harm to teens. |
| A．Teenagers shouldn’t use the Internet. |
| B．The Internet will ruin human life in the future. |
| C．Smart-phones are more harmful than computers. |
| D．Regular breaks are necessary when using the Internet. |
| A．How to prevent teenagers from the Internet |
| B．Teenagers should keep away from the Internet |
| C．Too much Internet use may be bad for teenagers |
| D．Every coin has two sides--So does the Internet |
3 . The idea of using a public bathroom with see through walls may sound like the stuff of nightmares. But a famous Japanese is hoping to change that view, using new technology to make restrooms in Tokyo parks more inviting.
“There are two things we worry about when entering a public restroom, especially those cated at a park,” according to architect Shigeru Ban’s firm. “The first is cleanliness, and the second is whether anyone is inside.”
The newly-invented transparent walls can turn off both of those worries, Ban says, by showing people what awaits them inside. After users enter the restroom and lock the door, the room’s walls turn a powdery paste) shade and are no longer see-through.
Ban’s are sure to make for great conversation among visitors to the park-and they’ll stand out even more after dark. “At night, the facility lights up the park like a beautiful lantern,” the architect’s website says.
The group is behind the Tokyo Toilet project, world-famous architects to create toilets “like you’ve never seen. The project’s eye catching toilets are part of a plan to put people ar ease when isiting a public bathroom. The project may seem silly, but the 16 architects who are reimagining public toilets are some of the brightest names in Japanese architecture. The list includes four Pritzker Prize winners-Ban, Toyo Ito, Tadao Ando and Fumihiko Maki-along with international stars such as Kengo Kuma and Sou Fujimoto. The fashion designer Nigo is also contributing.
Ban’s colorful public bathrooms opened to the public this month in two parks: Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park. Other bespoke commodes will be opening in coming months.
1. Why are people often worried before entering a public restroom?| A．Its lock is usually useless. |
| B．It’s usually at a huge distance. |
| C．It’s not always clean. |
| D．It’s always occupied. |
| A．Easy to see through. |
| B．Not easy to see through. |
| C．Full of bright colors. |
| D．Thick and strong. |
| A．It’s and silly. |
| B．It’s rewarding and. |
| C．It has won the Pritzker Prize. |
| D．It’s the fruit of colleqtive wisdom |
| A．Should the public restrooms be upgraded? |
| B．The new high-tech walls of public restrooms are coming. |
| C．How do we live with see-through public facilities? |
| D．Some famous architects designed a silly project. |
4 . People who have kids live longer than those who remain childless, an academic study has suggested. Researchers believe it is because adults’ immune systems are “refreshed” when kids go to nursery and start picking up infections.
During the course of someone’s life, their immune system can become weaker. But when kids start bringing infections home, their parents’ immune systems get a workout. Non-parents — unless they are teachers or nurses perhaps — do not get the same exposure to infection.
Writing in the journal Scientific Reports, Miguel Portela said parents had less risk of dying from infection than non-parents and if they did, it was about five years later. He said that “a parent’s immune system is refreshed by a child’s infections at a time when their own protection starts wearing thin.” He added, “With this improved immune system, the parent has a better chance to defend whatever infections that might strike when old and weak and parenthood is rewarded in individual terms through an improved immunization against infections.” Naturally there are other reasons why some people live longer than others, but they may not be comparable with becoming a parent. The academics say that high income and house ownership are always associated with higher survival but less so than having children.
Mr. Portela admits the research is far from complete, saying that while the results “record a relationship between the presence of children and death rate, the specific transmission mechanisms remain unclear. He acknowledges the presence of other, perhaps behavioral factors in parents which result in changed death rate compared to individuals without children.” He adds, “While the relationships of lifestyle choices such as smoking, obesity, drinking and other behavioral factors with life expectancy and causes of death are well studied and understood, the same cannot be said for the individual decision to become a parent”.
1. Why did Mr. Portela say “parents had less risk of dying from infection than non-parents”?| A．Parents have healthier lifestyles. |
| B．Parents have less exposure to infection. |
| C．Parents have higher ability to fight against infections. |
| D．Parents have less experience to fight against infections. |
| A．By being exposed to their kids’ infection. | B．By working out with their kids. |
| C．By refreshing their kids’ life. | D．By strengthening their kids’ infection. |
| A．Rich life benefits parents more than having children. |
| B．Lack of sleep has nothing to do with life expectancy. |
| C．The presence of children can improve parents’ health |
| D．Behavioral factors contribute to higher death rate than having no children. |
| A．Parents and Non-parents | B．How to Achieve Longer Life Expectancy? |
| C．How Is Parents’ Immune Systems Changed? | D．Children’s Effect on Parents’ Immune System |
5 . September is an exciting month in every college freshman’s life. For many, it’s the first time that they’ve left home to live in a new environment. But after the hustle and bustle of a few weeks, excitement gives way to a less enjoyable emotion—homesickness.
Homesickness manifests itself in many ways. You may miss mum’s cooking, your pets, or even your old bed. All this becomes a fond memory of the past. Homesickness can be a bitter feeling for many students, especially when faced with the challenges of settling into an unfamiliar environment.
But remember, you’re not alone. According to a recent BBC article, 70 percent of British college students experience homesickness. In this increasingly globalized world in which people migrate to faraway places for a relationship, education or work, homesickness is a feeling shared by many adults.
Homesickness can have similar symptoms to depression and in extreme cases it can develop into a panic attack. As for the term, homesickness or nostalgia wasn’t invented until the 17th century. It was considered a disorder by a Swiss physician, who attributed soldiers’ mental and physical discomfort to their longing to return home, “nostos” from Greek, and the accompanying pain, “algos”.
Studies in recent years, however, have shown that nostalgia may have some benefits to our mental health. After a decade of surveys and researches, Constantine Sedikides, a US social psychologist, found that nostalgia is what makes us human. He explains that nostalgia can resist loneliness, boredom and anxiety. Therefore, it’s necessary for college students to learn some ways to overcome the uncomfortable feeling.
1. From the first two paragraphs, we can infer that ________.| A．homesickness means a fond memory of the past |
| B．only a few students will experience homesickness |
| C．homesickness is an enjoyable emotion among freshmen |
| D．college freshmen usually suffer from homesickness after weeks |
| A．negative | B．supportive | C．skeptical | D．critical |
| A．Some benefits about homesickness. |
| B．Other problems in college freshmen’s life. |
| C．How to make campus life more meaningful. |
| D．Some tips on how to cope with homesickness. |
| A．Let’s embrace homesickness |
| B．How to fit into the college life |
| C．A harmful emotion—homesickness |
| D．The disadvantages of homesickness |
6 . Elizabeth Spelke, a cognitive (认知的) psychologist at Harvard, has spent her career testing the world's most complex learning system-the mind of a baby. Babies might seem like no match for artificial intelligence (AI). They are terrible at labeling images, hopeless at mining text, and awful at video games. Then again, babies can do things beyond the reach of any AI. By just a few months old, they’ve begun to grasp the foundations of language, such as grammar. They’ve started to understand how to adapt to unfamiliar situations.
Yet even experts like Spelke don’t understand precisely how babies — or adults, for that matter — learn. That gap points to a puzzle at the heart of modern artificial intelligence: We're not sure what to aim for.
Consider one of the most impressive examples of AI, Alpha Zero, a programme that plays board games with superhuman skill. After playing thousands of games against itself at a super speed, and learning from winning positions, Alpha Zero independently discovered several famous chess strategies and even invented new ones. It certainly seems like a machine eclipsing human cognitive abilities. But Alpha Zero needs to play millions more games than a person during practice to learn a game. Most importantly, it cannot take what it has learned from the game and apply it to another area.
To some AI experts, that calls for a new approach. In a November research paper, Francois Chollet, a well-known AI engineer, argued that it’s misguided to measure machine intelligence just according to its skills at specific tasks. “Humans don’t start out with skills; they start out with a broad ability to acquire new skills,” he says. “What a strong human chess player is demonstrating is not only the ability to play chess, but the potential to fulfill any task of a similar difficulty.” Chollet posed a set of problems, each of which requires an AI programme to arrange colored squares on a grid (格栅) based on just a few prior examples. It’s not hard for a person. But modern machine-learning programmes-trained on huge amounts of data — cannot learn from so few examples.
Josh Tenenbaum, a professor in MIT's Center for Brains, Minds & Machines, works closely with Spelke and uses insights from cognitive science as inspiration for his programmes. He says much of modern AI misses the bigger picture, comparing it to a cartoon about a two-dimensional world populated by simple geometrical (几何形的) people. AI programmes will need to learn in new ways — for example, by drawing causal inferences rather than simply finding patterns. “At some point — you know, if you’re intelligent — you realize maybe there's something else out there,” he says.
1. Compared to an advanced AI programme, a baby might be better at _______________.| A．labeling images | B．identifying locations |
| C．playing games | D．making adjustments |
| A．Stimulating. | B．Measuring. | C．Beating. | D．Limiting. |
| A．AI is good at finding similar patterns |
| B．AI should gain abilities with less training |
| C．AI lacks the ability of generalizing a skill |
| D．AI will match humans in cognitive ability |
| A．What is exactly intelligence? |
| B．Why is modern AI advanced? |
| C．Where is human intelligence going? |
| D．How do humans tackle the challenge of AI? |
7 . People have long dreamt of a car that flies through the sky. Japan's Sky Drive has carried out a successful, but modest test flight of such a vehicle carrying a person.
It is just one of the many "flying car" projects around the world. In a video shown to reporters, a vehicle that looked like a motorcycle lined up to two meters off the ground. It flew in circles in a protected area for four minutes. Tomohiro Fukuzawa heading the Sky Drive effort said he hopes the flying car can be made into a real-life product by 2023. However, he noted the importance of safety. "Of the world's more than 100 flying car projects, only a handful has succeeded with a person on board. I hope many people want to ride it and feel safe."
The machine so far can fly for Just 5 to 10 minutes, but if the flight time can be extended to 30 minutes, the car will have more possibilities. Unlike airplanes and helicopters, " electric vertical (垂直的) takeoff and landing" vehicles, or eVTOL, generally offer quick point-to-point personal travel. They could do away with having to deal with airports, traffic jams. Such vehicles could even fly without a pilot.
Sky Drive's flying car began as a volunteer project in 2012. The project received financial support from top Japanese companies including carmaker Toyota, electronics company Panasonic. A demonstration flight three years ago did not go well. But the flying car has improved, and the project recently received additional support of $37 million, including money from the Development Bank of Japan. The Japanese government has expressed support for the futuristic project, with a "road map" for business services by 2023. The goal is to expand the flying car's commercial use by the 2030s. It also has noted possible uses for connecting faraway areas and providing transportation in disasters.
1. What can we learn about the flying car according to the text?| A．It's a kind of motorcycle. | B．It has been put into use. |
| C．Its safety factor is high. | D．Its flight time is limited. |
| A．needs to land at the airport | B．will get stuck in traffic jams easily |
| C．can fly as high as you like | D．may travel automatically |
| A．To increase people s yearly income. |
| B．To ease the traffic pressure nationwide. |
| C．To make flying cars more used in business. |
| D．To improve the transportation in remote regions. |
| A．History of eVTOL Systems | B．Japan's Sky Drive Flying Car |
| C．A Volunteer Project | D．Sky Drive's Bright Future |
8 . Almost every night for more than 10 years，Kirk Alexander，48，ordered a late dinner from his local restaurant Domino’s Pizza.But for the past two weeks，he hasn’t called for even once.
“A few of my staff mentioned that we hadn’t seen his order in a while.Then I found that it had been 12 days since he last ordered，which is not like him，” Domino’s general manager Sarah Fuller said，feeling she could no longer ignore Kirk’s recent absence.
Sarah has known Kirk since 2009 when she started working at the Domino’s Pizza as a delivery driver (送餐员) and often made the short trip to Kirk’s home about six minutes away.She knew Kirk worked from home，and neighbors said he seldom left.She also knew that he suffered some health problems in the past.Something，Sarah worried，was wrong.
Around 1 a.m.on May 8，Sarah sent delivery driver Sean Hamblen to visit Kirk’s home.Sean arrived at Kirk’s home and knocked on the front door several times.There was no answer.He later noticed that the lights and the TV in the home were on.When he called Kirk’s phone，it went straight to voice mail.
Sean drove back to the restaurant to tell Sarah and they decided to call 911.Soon，officers arrived at Kirk’s home.So did Sarah and Sean.They heard a man calling for help from inside.Officers broke down the door and found Kirk on the floor in need of medical attention at once after suffering from a heart attack (心脏病发作).One day later，they might have been too late.
So is keeping an eye on regular customers (老顾客) part of Domino’s business plan? Not really.“Kirk is part of our family here and we feel like we need to do something.” Sarah said.
1. Why did Sarah send a delivery driver to visit Kirk?| A．Because she was worried about Kirk. |
| B．Because her staff asked her to do so. |
| C．Because she wanted Kirk to order meals. |
| D．Because she knew Kirk had a heart attack. |
| A．He called 911 at once. |
| B．He heard Kirk calling for help. |
| C．He didn’t get any reply from Kirk. |
| D．He tried to break into Kirk’s house. |
| A．An order saved Kirk’s life |
| B．Domino’s Pizza served as a life savior |
| C．Regular customers of Domino’s Pizza |
| D．Helping others means helping ourselves |
9 . Culture shock has many stages. Each stage can appear only at certain times. Culture begins with the “ honeymoon”. This is the period of time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. This honeymoon stage can last for quite a long time. Afterwards, the second stage presents itself. A person may encounter some difficult times in daily life. This period of culture adjustment (调整) can be very difficult and lead to the new arrival rejecting the new culture. This “rejection stage” can be quite dangerous because the visitor may develop unhealthy habits, such as smoking, drinking too much.
The third stage is characterized by gaining some understanding of the new culture. A new feeling of pleasure and sense of humor may be experienced. And you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor! This is called the “adjustment stage”. The fourth stage can be called “ at ease at last”. Now you feel quite comfortable in your new environment. You can deal with most problems. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them. If you meet someone from your country who has just arrived, you can be the expert on life in the new culture and help them to deal with their culture shock.
The fifth stage is the stage that is called the “re-entry shock. ” This occurs when a return to the country of origin is made. One may find that things are no longer the same. For example, some of the newly learned customs are not in use in the old culture.
1. What could be the best title of the passage?| A．How to Fight Cultural Shock | B．Stages of Cultural Shock |
| C．Origin of Cultural Shock | D．How to Adjust to New Cultural |
| A．The “honeymoon stage” | B．The “rejection stage” |
| C．The “adjustment stage” | D．The “re-entry shock” |
| A．The place is not the same as before |
| B．The old customs have changes over the years |
| C．They are not used to the local customs. |
| D．They are no longer what they used to be. |
10 . In every school there is a "top" crowd that sets the pace, while the others follow their lead. For example, the top crowd decides that it is smart to wear bright red sweaters. Very soon everybody is wearing a bright red sweater. There is nothing wrong with that, except the fact that bright red is not suitable on some people at all.
The situation can even become dangerous, if the top crowd decides that it is smart to drink or to drive cars at 70 miles an hour. Then the people who follow the lead are causing danger to people's lives. They are like sheep being led to the slaughterhouse (屠宰场）
Perhaps you have come across situations like these more than once in your life. In fact, at one time or another you probably did something you knew to be wrong. You may have excused yourself by saying, "The crowd does it. " Well, let the crowd do it, but don't do it yourself. Learn to say, "No"
Make your own judge. If you know the crowd is planning something with which you disagree, please have the courage to leave them politely. You'll have the satisfaction of standing on your own feet.
1. he writer disagree to wear red sweaters if ___ .| A．the crowd is wearing them | B．you can't afford them |
| C．your parents disapprove | D．you don't look good in red |
| A．follow the crowd | B．be independent |
| C．obey their parents | D．take the advice of their elders |
| A．will lose friends |
| B．will make themselves happy |
| C．sometimes do things against their better judgment |
| D．finally become pace-setters (领跑者) in their own right |
| A．Rules for Teens. | B．The "Top" Crowd. |
| C．On Being Yourself. | D．Follow the Leader |
