1 . Running is often tiring and a lot of hard work, but nothing beats the feeling you get after finishing a long workout around the track.
But while it’s long been believed that endorphins (内啡肽) —chemicals in the body that cause happiness—are behind the so-called “runner’s high”, a study suggested that there may be more to this phenomenon than we previously knew.
According to a recent study published by a group of scientists from several German universities, a group of chemicals called endocannabinoids (内源性大麻素) may actually be responsible for this familiar great feeling.
To test this theory, the scientists turned to mice. Both mice and humans release high levels of endorphins and endocannabinoids after exercise. After exercising on running wheels, the mice seemed happy and relaxed and displayed no signs of anxiety. But after being given a drug to block their endorphins, the mice’s behavior didn’t seem to change. However, when their endocannabinoids were blocked with a different drug, their runners’ high symptoms seemed to fade.
“The long-held notion of endorphins being responsible for the runner’s high is false. Endorphins are effective pain relievers, but only when it comes to the pain in your body and muscles you feel after working out,” Patrick Lucas Austin wrote on science blog Lifchacker.
Similar studies are yet to be carried out on humans, but it’s already known that exercise is a highly effective way to get rid of stress or anxiety. The UK’s National Health Service even prescribes (开药 方) exercise to patients who are suffering from depression. “Being depressed can leave you feeling low in energy, which might put you off being more active. Regular exercise can improve your mood if you have depression, and its especially useful for people with mild to moderate (中等的) depression,” it wrote on its website.
It seems like nothing can beat that feeling we get after a good workout, even if we don’t fully understand where it comes from. At least if we’re feeling down, we know that all we have to do is to put on our running shoes.
1. What did scientists from German universities recently discover?A.Working out is a highly effective way to treat depression. |
B.The runner’s high could be caused by endocannabinoids. |
C.Endorphins may contribute to one’s high spirits after running. |
D.The level of endorphins and endocannabinoids could affect one’s mood. |
A.To find what reduces the runner’s high symptoms. |
B.To see the specific symptoms of the runner’s high. |
C.To identify what is responsible for the runner’s high. |
D.To test what influences the level of endocannabinoids released. |
A.Effect. | B.Goal. | C.Opinion. | D.Question |
A.They can help ease depression symptoms. |
B.They are the best way to treat depression. |
C.They only work for those with serious depression. |
D.They can help people completely recover from depression. |
2 . Girls are better at reading and writing than boys as early as fourth grade, according to a study, and the gap continues to widen until senior year.
Scientists generally agree that boys and girls are psychologically more alike than they are different. But reading seems to be a(n)
David Reilly, lead author of the study, said the study
Factors explaining the results could include learning
To investigate how
A.distinction | B.exception | C.objection | D.limitation |
A.pattern | B.standard | C.circumstance | D.feature |
A.strategy | B.signal | C.sign | D.evidence |
A.confirmed | B.represented | C.questioned | D.introduced |
A.underestimated | B.overemphasized | C.underrepresented | D.justified |
A.increasing | B.promoting | C.accepting | D.reducing |
A.objectives | B.drills | C.difficulties | D.advantages |
A.contributions | B.differences | C.communications | D.similarities |
A.literacy | B.literary | C.academic | D.cognitive |
A.pulled down | B.settled down | C.turned down | D.broke down |
A.granted | B.measured | C.designed | D.engineered |
A.Likewise | B.Overall | C.However | D.Besides |
A.overtake | B.discourage | C.parallel | D.distinguish |
A.psychological | B.emotional | C.behavioral | D.mental |
A.in line with | B.at the mercy of | C.on account of | D.in favor of |
3 . Women are still underrepresented in top academic positions. One of the possible explanations for this is the increasing importance of obtaining research funding. Women are often less successful in this than men. Psychology researchers Dr. Romy van der Lee and professor Naomi Ellemers investigated whether this difference also occurs at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and examined potential explanations.
The researchers were assigned by NWO to carry out this study as part of the broader evaluation of NWO’s procedures and its gender diversity policy. The aim was to gain more insight into the causes of the differences in awarding rates for male and female applicants for research funding. The analysis addressed an important “talent programme” of NWO, the Veni grant. “Whoever receives this grant has a greater chance of obtaining an important appointment at a university, ” says Naomi Ellemers.
Van der Lee and Ellemers investigated all the applications submitted by male and female researchers over a period of three years: a total of 2823 applications. Under the direction of NWO these applications were assessed by scientific committees consisting of men and women. The results demonstrate that the awarding rates for female applicants (14.9%) are systematically lower than those for male applicants (17.7%). “If we compare the proportion of women among the applicants with the proportion of women among those awarded funding, we see a loss of 4%,” said Ellemers.
The study reveals that women are less positively evaluated for their qualities as researcher than men are, “Interestingly the research proposals of women and men are evaluated equally positively. In other words, the reviewers see no difference in the quality of the proposals that men and women submit,” says Romy van der Lee.
In search for a possible cause for the differences in awarding rates and evaluations, the researchers also investigated the language use in the instructions and forms used to assess the quality of applications. This clearly revealed the occurrence of gendered language. The words that are used to indicate quality are frequently words that were established in previous research as referring mainly to the male gender stereotype (such as challenging and excellent). Romy van der Lee explains: “As a result, it appears that men more easily satisfy the assessment criteria, because these better fit the characteristics stereoty-pically associated with men.”
In response to the results of this research, NWO will devote more attention to the gender awareness of reviewers in its methods and procedures. It will also be investigated which changes to the assessment procedures and criteria can most strongly contribute to more equal chances for men and women to obtain research funding. This will include an examination of the language used by NWO. NWO chair Jos Engelens said, “The research has yielded valuable results and insights. Based on the recommendations made by the researchers we will therefore focus in the coming period on the development of evidence-based measures to reduce the difference in awarding rates.”
1. Van der Lee and Ellemers carried out the research to find out whether _________.A.women are less successful than men in top academic positions |
B.female applicants are at a disadvantage in getting research funding |
C.NOW’s procedures and gender diversity policy enhance fair play |
D.there are equal chances for men and women to be admitted to a university |
A.grant receivers were more likely to get appointments at universities |
B.men applicants for research funding outnumbered women applicants |
C.the research proposals of women are equally treated with those of men |
D.the reviewers have narrow, prejudiced conceptions of women candidates |
A.The words used in the instructions and forms. |
B.The reviewers’ preference to applications. |
C.The methods and procedures for evaluation. |
D.The vague and unclear assessment criteria. |
A.Eliminate possibilities for difference in awarding rates. |
B.Design a language examination for all the reviewers. |
C.Emphasize the importance of gender awareness. |
D.Improve the assessment procedures and criteria. |
4 . When your home becomes a tourist attraction
Have you ever looked at a beautiful little news house in London and thought “It must be so amazing to live there?”
Alice Johnston is a longtime resident of Notting Hill, the London neighborhood famous for pastel-painted row houses and for being the setting of the movie of the same name. Johnston, a journalist, has complicated feelings about her Instagram-beloved neighborhood. She lives on Portobello Road, one of the capital’s most famous streets.
Once, she and a friend were walking his French bulldog when a tourist asked if they could “borrow” the pup for a quick photo. The friend and the dog agreed, the Instagrammer posed with the Frenchie in front of a bright blue door and then handed over five pounds as a thank you. In that story, everybody had a good time.
A.And she has witnessed all kinds of crazy behavior committed in the pursuit of the perfect snapshot. |
B.But there can be a darker side to living inside what some people think is a movie set. |
C.“For us it’s a tremendous pleasure to be able to share the house and see so many people happy and excited about it.” |
D.If so, you’re not the only one. |
E.When private homes become tourist attractions, conflicts can occur. |
F.When it comes to living in a much-photographed place, some people try to take the good with the bad. |
5 . What would the world be if there were no hunger? It’s a question that the late ecologist Donella Meadows would ask her students at Dartmouth College back in the 1970s. She set out to create a global movement. The result—an approach known as systems thinking—is now seen as essential in meeting big global challenges.
Systems thinking is crucial to achieving targets such as zero hunger and better nutrition because it requires considering the way in which food is produced, processed, delivered and consumed, and looking at how those things relate with human health, the environment, economics and society. According to systems thinking, changing the food system—or any other network—requires three things to happen. First, researchers need to identify all the players in that system; second, they must work out how they relate to each other; and third, they need to understand and quantify the impact of those relationships on each other and on those outside the system.
Take nutrition for example. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization tracked 150 biochemicals in food and various databases, which revealed the relationships between calories, sugar, fat, vitamins and the occurrence of common diseases. But using machine learning and artificial intelligence, network scientists propose that human diets consist of at least 26,000 biochemicals and that the vast majority are not known. This shows that we have some way to travel before achieving the first objective of systems thinking—which, in this example, is to identify more constituent parts of the nutrition system.
A systems approach to creating change is also built on the assumption that everyone in the system has equal power and status. But the food system is not an equal one. There have been calls for a World Food and Nutrition Organization, so that legally binding policies can be applied to all its members. Another way to address power imbalances is for more universities to do what Meadows did and teach students how to think using a systems approach.
A team of researchers has done just that, through the Interdisciplinary Food Systems Teaching and Learning program. Students from disciplines including agriculture, ecology and economics learn together by drawing on their collective expertise in tackling real-world problems, such as how to reduce food waste. Since its launch in 2015, the program has trained more than 1,500 students from 45 university departments.
More researchers, policymakers and representatives from the food industry must learn to look beyond their direct lines of responsibility and embrace a systems approach, as the editors of Nature Food advocate in their launch editorial. Meadows knew that visions alone don’t produce results, but concluded that “we’ll never produce results that we can’t envision”.
1. The passage is mainly about ________.A.how to conduct research efficiently | B.how to build a world food organization |
C.an approach to solving real-world problem | D.an approach to applying scientific findings |
A.artificial intelligence is more useful than traditional methods |
B.achieving systems thinking requires identifying more components |
C.we are unable to gain thorough understanding of our nutritious system |
D.some biochemicals are related with the occurrence of common diseases |
A.It is the only way of solving imbalance in our food system. |
B.It aims to urge the governments to carry out its food policies. |
C.It seeks to solve theoretical issues about food and nutrition |
D.It has cultivated many interdisciplinary talents since its launch. |
A.Results can’t be produced. | B.Vision brings about change. |
C.Action matters more than saying. | D.Systems thinking is too difficult to realize. |
Three Hours a Week: Play Time’s over for China’s Young Video Gamers
China has forbidden under-18s from playing video games for more than three hours a week, a stringent(严苛的)social intervention that it said was needed to pull the plug on a growing addiction to
The new rules,
The restrictions, which apply to any devices including phones, are a body blow to a global gaming industry that caters to tens of millions of young players in the world’s most profitable market.
They limit under - 18s to
The rules from the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) regulator coincide with a broader clampdown(压制)by Beijing
The campaign
Gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors in any form outside the stipulated(规定)hours and
The new rules swiftly became one of the most discussed topics on Weibo, China’s answer to Twitter. Some users expressed support for the measures
“This is so fierce that I’m utterly speechless,” said one comment that received over 700 likes.
The NPPA regulator told Xinhua it
Why true happiness isn't about being happy all the time
Over the past two decades, the positive psychology movement has brightened up psychological rescarch with its science of happiness and human potential. It argues that psychologists should not only investigate mental illness but also what makes life worth living.
The founding father of positive psychology, Martin Seligman, describes happiness as experiencing frequent positive emotions, such as joy, excitement and satisfaction, combined with deeper feelings of meaning and purpose. It implies a positive attitude in the present and an optimistic outlook for the future. Importantly, happiness experts have argued that happiness is not a stable ,unchangeable feature but something flexible that we can work on and eventually strive towards.
Recent research indicates that psychological flexibility is the key to greater happiness and well-being.For example,being open to emotional experiences and the ability to endure periods of discomfort can allow us to move towards a richer, more meaningful existence. Studies have also demonstrated that the way we respond to the circumstances of our lives has more influence on our happiness than the events themselves. Experiencing stress, sadness and anxiety in the short term doesn't mean we can't be happy in the long term. Putting up with sorrow can make us tougher and lead us to take action in our lives, such as changing jobs or overcoming hardship. Often when people have faced difficulty, illness or loss, they describe their lives as happier and more meaningful as a result.
Unlike feeling happy, which is a temporary state, leading a happier life is about individual growth through finding meaning. It is about accepting our humanity with all its ups and downs, enjoying the positive emotions, and making use of painful feelings in order to reach our full potential.
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8 . In “minority report”, a policeman played by Tom Cruise, gathers information from three psychics (通灵者) and arrests future criminals before they break the law. In the real world, prediction is more difficult. But it may no longer be science fiction, thanks to the growing predictive power of computers. That prospect scares some, but it could be a force for good-if it is done right.
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, can lead to remarkably accurate predictions. It works by chewing vast quantities of data in search of patterns. Take, for example, restaurant hygiene (卫生). The system learns which combinations of sometimes vague factors are most suggestive of a problem. Once trained, it can assess the risk that a restaurant is dirty. The Boston mayor’s office is testing just such an approach, using data from online reviews.This has led to a 25% rise in the number of spot inspections that uncover offences.
Governments are taking notice, A London district is developing an algorithm (运算法则) to predict who might become homeless. In India Microsoft is helping schools predict which students are at risk of dropping out. Machine-learning predictions can mean government services arrive earlier and are better targeted. Researchers behind an algorithm designed to help judges make bail (保释) decisions claim it can predict likelihood of committing crimes again so effectively that the same number of people could be bailed as are at present by judges, but with 20% less crime.To get a similar reduction in crime across America, they say, would require an extra 20,000 police officers at a cost of $2.6 billion.
But computer-based predictions are sometimes debatable. ProPublica, an investigative-journalism outfit, claims that a risk assessment in Bmoward County, Florida, wrongly labelled black people as future criminals nearly twice as often as it wrongly labelled whites. Citizens complain that decisions which affect them are taken on incomprehensible grounds.
These problems are real, but they should not spell the end for machine learning as a policy tool. Instead, the priority should be to establish some ground rules and to win public confidence.The first step is to focus machine learning on applications where people stand to gain extra help at school, say, rather than extra time in jail.
1. The example of restaurants is used in paragraph 2 in order to _________.A.illustrate how accurate the predictions are |
B.urge that the government should take action |
C.stress that vague factors can make a difference |
D.show how machine learning changes people’s lifestyle |
A.More money would be spent to uncover offences. |
B.More policemen would be required to reduce crime. |
C.Less crime has been reported since the algorithm was applied. |
D.Fewer people that are likely to commit crimes would be bailed. |
A.In which area machine learning is applied matters. |
B.Machine learning as a policy tool is coming to a dead end. |
C.Public confidence in computer-based predictions is increasing. |
D.The government should not rely on computer-based predictions. |
A.Clever computers | B.The power of learning |
C.The government that depends on AI | D.Decisions that contribute to better algorithm |
A delivered B management C overlooked D.products E.rural F. shifted G.strategies H.sufficient I. tremendous J.urbanisation K.worst |
National governments neglecting development needs of cities
National governments around the world are neglecting the needs of their major cities with non-existent or inadequate development policies, a new report has found. National governments are key to making cities more sustainable, because cities are limited distinctly in the policy measures they can take for themselves, the report points out. However, only a quarter of the world’s governments have urban development policies at all, and most of those that do exist are far from
The report looks at the key measures of energy production, transport, waste
The report, from the Stockholm Environment Institute and the Coalition for Urban Transitions and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, suggests national governments have
Cities around the world are facing rapid population growth, and are likely to be among the areas
Scrolling through your WeChat moments, you came across a post saying: “I just got accepted to Harvard AND Oxford! Are they sure they didn't mix my applications up with somebody else?!" This person is clearly humblebragging. The term“humblebrag'"was first coined to describe when someone makes a seemingly modest statement, but the actual purpose is to bring attention to something they are proud of.
Although those who humblebrag think it will make them more likable because they aren't loudly boasting about their triumphs,a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology showed that humblebragging actually has the opposite effect. "Humblebragging backfires because it seems very fake. That 'woe is me' attitude combined with self-promotion does not lead to a favorable impression,"said Ovul Sezer,the lead author of the study."Even simply bragging or complaining is better, because at least those messages are seen as more sincere."
Sezer's study also found that nearly 60 percent of humblebrags were complaint-based humblebragging, with most people humblebragging about their looks, followed by their money or wealth, and finally about their performance at work.“It's such a common phenomenon. All of us know some people in our lives, whether in social media or in the workplace, who do this annoying thing,"commented Sezer, adding that we all do it to some extent.
So, if you want to share your achievements with others, what's the best way to do it then? Sezer suggests that people“own their self-promotion and reap the rewards of being sincere". She also suggested finding a wingman:"If someone brags for you,that's the best thing that can happen to you, because then you don't seem like you're bragging.
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