1 . If you wear glasses, chances are you are smarter. Research published in the famous British journal Nature Communications has found that people who displayed higher levels of intelligence were almost 30 percent more likely to wear glasses.
The scientists studied the genes of thousands of people between the ages of 16 and 102.The study showed intelligence can be connected to physical characteristics. One characteristic was eyesight. In out of 10 people who were more intelligent, there was a higher chance they needed glasses. Scientists also said being smarter has other benefits. It is connected to better health.
It is important to remember these are connections which are not proven causes. Scientists call this correlation. Just because something is connected to something else does not mean one of those things caused the other. And it’s worth noting that what constitutes intelligence is subjective and can be difficult, if not impossible, to measure.
Forget genes though. Plenty of proof shows wearing glasses makes people think you are more intelligent, even if you do not need glasses. A number of studies have found people who wear glasses are seen as smarter, hard-working and honest. Many lawyers use this idea to help win their cases. Lawyer Harvey Solves explained this. Glasses soften their appearance. He said Sometimes there has been a huge amount of proof showing that people he was defending broke the law. He had them wear glasses and they weren’t found guilty.
Glasses are also used to show someone is intelligent in movies and on TV. Ideas about people who wear glasses have begun to shift. People who do not need glasses sometimes wear them for fashion only. They want to look worldly or cool. But not everyone is impressed by this idea, though. GQ magazine said people who wear glasses for fashion are trying too hard to look smart and hip (时髦的). However, that hasn’t stopped many celebrities from happily wearing glasses even if they do not need them. Justin Bieber is just one high-profile fan of fashion glasses.
1. What does the new study show?A.People wearing glasses are smarter. |
B.People wearing glasses are healthier. |
C.Wearing glasses can make people cleverer. |
D.Wearing glasses is associated with higher IQ. |
A.Shift. | B.Link. | C.Proof. | D.Consequence. |
A.Because it can create a moral image. |
B.Because it can mislead the witnesses. |
C.Because it can highlight clients’ qualities. |
D.Because it can prove the clients’ innocence. |
A.Positive. | B.Negative. | C.Mixed | D.Indifferent. |
2 . I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes(糖尿病) in 2017. And then I was told that I couldn’t
Driving was a
I found it really
I couldn’t
A.walk | B.speak | C.drive | D.ride |
A.settled | B.increased | C.worsened | D.changed |
A.task | B.concern | C.habit | D.relief |
A.report | B.bill | C.picture | D.medicine |
A.witness | B.burden | C.mistake | D.success |
A.hard | B.convenient | C.safe | D.funny |
A.worrying | B.trouble | C.amazing | D.fine |
A.Thus | B.Meanwhile | C.However | D.Instead |
A.record | B.describe | C.examine | D.manage |
A.hospital | B.school | C.office | D.factory |
A.assist | B.interview | C.know | D.study |
A.symptoms | B.problems | C.dreams | D.experiments |
A.disease | B.status | C.law | D.discussion |
A.explain | B.return | C.suggest | D.repeat |
A.relied on | B.resulted in | C.stuck to | D.took the place of |
A.forget | B.regret | C.believe | D.remember |
A.unafraid | B.unfair | C.unsure | D.unhealthy |
A.blood | B.money | C.evidence | D.help |
A.predicted | B.wondered | C.confirmed | D.imagined |
A.cancelled | B.used | C.borrowed | D.copied |
3 . A robot created by Washington State University (WSU) scientists could help elderly people with dementia (痴呆) and other limitations live independently in their own homes.
The Robot Activity Support System, or RAS, uses sensors installed in a WSU smart home to determine where its residents are, what they are doing and when they need assistance with daily activities. It navigates (定位) through rooms and around obstacles to find people on its own, provides video instructions on how to do simple tasks and can even lead its owner to objects like their medication or a snack in the kitchen.
“RAS combines the convenience of a mobile robot with the activity detection technology of a WSU smart home to provide assistance in the moment, as the need for help is detected,” said Bryan Minor, a postdoctoral researcher in the WSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Currently, an estimated 50 percent of adults over the age of 85 need assistance with every day activities such as preparing meals and taking medication and the annual cost for this assistance in the US is nearly $2 trillion. With the number of adults over 85 expected to triple by 2050, researchers hope that technologies like RAS and the WSU smart home will relieve some of the financial strain on the healthcare system by making it easier for older adults to live alone.
RAS is the first robot researchers have tried to incorporate into their smart home environment. They recently published a study in the journal Cognitive Systems Research that demonstrates how RAS could make life easier for older adults struggling to live independently.
“While we are still in an early stage of development, our initial results with RAS have been promising,” Minor said. “The next step in the research will be to test RAS’ performance with a group of older adults to get a better idea of what prompts, video reminders and other preferences they have regarding the robot.”
1. How does RAS serve elderly people?A.Through sensors. | B.Through objects. |
C.Through a mobile robot. | D.Through their daily activities. |
A.It is the first robot used in daily life. | B.Its function remains to be tested. |
C.It can locate people and do any task. | D.It can cook for owners on its own. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Negative. |
C.Optimistic. | D.Uncertain. |
A.Elderly people leave the nursing home. |
B.Smart Home Tests first elder-Care robot. |
C.RAS, the first robot to make home smart. |
D.Older adults have benefited from RAS. |
4 . Google previously announced successful tests of machine learning systems designed to assist doctors. In one case, Google reported AI had examined eye diseases with equal accuracy to doctors. Other tests showed that machine learning can be used to study large amounts of patient data to predict future medical events.
Now the company has published two new studies showing a high level of success in identifying metastatic breast cancer. Metastatic means that cancer has spread from its main area to other parts of the body. Metastatic breast cancer is one of the deadliest, causing about 90 percent of all breast cancer deaths worldwide.
In metastatic breast cancer patients, the cancer often travels to nearby lymph nodes(淋巴结). Usually doctors examine lymph node tissue under a microscope to see whether cancer is present. Google notes that previous studies have shown that up to one-fourth of metastatic lymph node classifications end up being changed after a second examination. In addition, studies show that small metastatic material can be missed up to 67 percent of the time when examinations happen under extreme time restrictions.
Google says it created a mathematical algorithm(算法). The algorithm, called Lymph Node Assistant, is trained to find characteristics of tissue affected by metastatic cancer. When the system examined tissue images(图像), it was able to differentiate between metastatic cancer and non-cancer 99 percent of the time. In addition, the Lymph Node Assistant is highly effective at finding the positions of the cancers. Some of these positions would be too small for doctors themselves to identify. The research also showed that the algorithm method can reduce the usual time needed to examine the disease by about 50 percent.
But Google makes clear the AI-based system is not meant to replace the work of medical professionals. Instead, it is designed to reduce the number of false identifications and help doctors work faster and more effectively.
1. What is the main idea of Paragraph 1?A.Google became a pioneer in training doctors. |
B.Machine learning is able to stop future medical events. |
C.Google developed artificial intelligence to help doctors. |
D.Artificial intelligence cured eye diseases with equal accuracy to doctors. |
A.One-fourth of the metastatic breast cancer patients die in the end. |
B.Metastatic breast cancer is very difficult to identify. |
C.It results in 90 percent of deaths of all cancers. |
D.It can be identified after a second examination. |
A.It can offer effective treatment. |
B.It can tell the exact positions of cancers |
C.It costs 99 percent less time than before. |
D.It improves the accuracy of identifying cancers by 50%. |
A.False identification of cancers will be avoided. |
B.More effective prevention of cancers will be found. |
C.The number of medical professionals will be reduced. |
D.Doctors can have a faster understanding of patients’ condition. |
5 . It wasn’t that I was embarrassed my husband was out of work. It’s just that we were
It didn’t take long before my friends found out that my husband
After knowing what they were
It goes the other way too. Tammy and her husband have given us enough wood to
I don’t have much to give, but I can give of myself. I can have
A.strange | B.selfish | C.mature | D.private |
A.duties | B.problems | C.opinions | D.plans |
A.mind | B.care | C.notice | D.sympathize |
A.went hunting | B.visited neighbors | C.stayed home | D.dined out |
A.difference | B.truth | C.result | D.message |
A.jobs | B.friends | C.promotion | D.comfort |
A.relieved | B.disappointed | C.confused | D.shocked |
A.starving | B.hesitating | C.struggling | D.quarrelling |
A.going through | B.preparing for | C.looking for | D.looking forward to |
A.professional | B.personal | C.modem | D.secret |
A.housework | B.project | C.search | D.conversation |
A.earlier | B.lower | C.average | D.suggested |
A.shop | B.bargain | C.compromise | D.share |
A.decorate | B.support | C.build | D.heat |
A.help | B.victory | C.burden | D.profit |
A.difficulties | B.examples | C.expenses | D.traditions |
A.watches | B.praises | C.adopts | D.raises |
A.interview | B.negotiation | C.list | D.party |
A.curiosity | B.ambition | C.freedom | D.kindness |
A.hunt for | B.get back | C.believe in | D.come across |
6 . In a recent series of experiments at the University of California, researchers studied toddlers’ thinking about winners and losers, bullies (欺凌) and victims.
In the first experiment, toddlers (学步儿童) watched a scene in which two puppets (木偶) had conflicting goals: One was crossing a stage from right to left, and the other from left to right. The puppets met in the middle and stopped. Eventually one puppet bowed down and moved aside, letting the other one pass by. Then researchers asked the toddlers which puppet they liked. The result: 20 out of 23 toddlers picked the higher-status puppet — the one that did not bow or move aside. It seems that individuals can gain status for being dominant (占优势的) and toddlers like winners better than losers.
But then researchers had another question: Do toddlers like winners no matter how they win? So, researchers did another experiment very similar to the one described above. But this time, the conflict ended because one puppet knocked the other down and out of the way. Now when the toddlers were asked who they liked, the results were different: Only 4 out of 23 children liked the winner.
These data suggest that children already love a winner by the age of 21-31 months. This does not necessarily mean that the preference is inborn: 21 months is enough time to learn a lot of things. But if a preference for winners is something we learn, we appear to learn it quite early.
Even more interesting, the preference for winners is not absolute. Children in our study did not like a winner who knocked a competitor down. This suggests that already by the age of 21-31 months, children’s liking for winners is balanced with other social concerns, including perhaps a general preference for nice or helpful people over aggressive ones.
In a time when the news is full of stories of public figures who celebrate winning at all costs, these results give us much confidence. Humans understand dominance, but we also expect strong individuals to guide, protect and help others. This feels like good news.
1. One of the purposes of the experiments is to ________.A.teach toddlers how to gain higher status |
B.offer toddlers a chance to watch a scene |
C.observe the process of toddlers’ solving a conflict |
D.find out toddlers’ attitude toward winners and losers |
A.obeying rules |
B.gaining status |
C.giving in to the other |
D.showing good manners |
A.They are excellent learners. |
B.They are always changeable. |
C.They show mercy to the loser. |
D.They value kindness over winning. |
A.Disappointing. | B.Encouraging. |
C.Unexpected. | D.Controversial. |
7 . It is often difficult for farmers to identify diseases quickly enough to protect their crops and those on neighboring farms. Now, some farmers are using a simple device directly in the field to find viruses before they spread.
In Tanzania, several viruses are a threat to cassava crops. Farmers struggle to identify the diseases in an urgent effort to avoid severe crop damage. The disease identification process is often difficult when farmers are acting on their own. If they do not know what is attacking their crops, they cannot decide the best way to fight the disease. A device from British technology company Oxford Nanopore is changing that. The device extracts deoxyribonucleic acid, better known as DNA, from plants. DNA is the carrier of genetic information in nearly all living things. The device helps farmers identify what is harming their crops so they can change to more resistant crops.
Laura Boykin is with the University of Western Australia and also works with the Cassava Virus Action Project. She brought the device to a Tanzanian farm owned by Asha Mohamed. She said, “We are here collecting leaf punches from infected material to test, to do a DNA extraction and then start sequencing (排序) in the field.” The testing identified a number of viruses in the cassava fields near Mohamed’s farm. The process also discovered that plants considered resistant to disease had a very low viral level. Once the viruses were identified, Asha Mohamed was given two kinds of seeds that are resistant to the diseases.
In another case, DNA was collected from a pawpaw tree farm in Kenya. With that test, the technology was able to identify diseases affecting Naomi Mumo’s crops. Naomi Mumo said, “All my pawpaw were affected by a disease, and I didn’t know what kind of disease it was. But now, I have people who have identified the disease using new technology, and within a very short time. So I’m very happy.”
The speed at which farmers identify diseases can mean the difference between the success or failure on large areas of crop land. Now, the use of such simple and easily transportable DNA sequencing devices is making that possible.
1. What’s the main idea of the whole passage?A.Farmers In Tanzania struggle to identify the diseases in their crops |
B.How Laura Boykin helped Asha Mohamed to identify the viruses. |
C.DNA sequencing device helps farmers to find viruses and identify the diseases in their crops quickly. |
D.A DNA sequencing device helps farmers to identify the diseases and keep healthy. |
A.produces | B.creates | C.refuses | D.gets |
A.relaxed | B.satisfied | C.disappointed | D.annoyed |
A.Farmers often have difficulty in identifying diseases in their crops quickly by themselves. |
B.DNA carries genetic information in nearly all living things. |
C.Both Asha Mohamed and Naomi Mumo are farmers in Tanzania. |
D.If farmers can identify diseases in their crops quickly, they can protect their crops and succeed on large areas of crop land. |
8 . Don't get mad the next time you catch your teenager texting when he promised to be studying. He simply may not be able to resist. A University of lowa(UI) study found teenagers are far more sensitive than adults to the immediate effect or reward of their behaviors. The findings may help explain why the initial rush of texting may be more attractive for adolescents than the long-term pay off of studying.
"For the teenager, 'the rewards are attractive." says Professor Jatin Vaidya,an author of the study. "They draw adolescent. Sometimes, the rewards are a kind of motivation for them. Even when a behavior is no longer in a teenager's best interest to continue, they will, because the effect of the reward is still there and lasts much longer in adolescents than in adults ."
For parents,that means limiting distraction (分心的事情)so teenagers can make better choices. Take the homework and social media dilemma: At 9 p.m., shut off everything except a computer that has no access to Facehook or Twitter, the researchers advise. "I'm not saying they shouldn't be allowed access to technology," Vaidya says. But some help in netting their concentration is necessary for them so they can develop those impulse-control skills.”
In their study,Vaidya and co-author Shaun Vecera note researchers generally believe teenagers are impulsive(冲动的),make bad decisions,and engage in risky behavior because the frontal lobes(额叶)of their trains are not fully developed. But the UI researchers wondered. whether something more fundamental was going on with adolescents to cause behaviors independent of higher-level reasoning.
"We wanted to try to understand the brain's reward system how it change from chillhood to adulthood," Says Vaidya, who adds the reward character in the human brain is easier than decision-making. “We've been trying to understand the reward process in adolescence and whether there is more to adolescence behavior than an under-developed frontal lobe,”he adds.For their study ,the researchers persuaded 40 adolescents, aged 13 and 16,and 40 adults, aged 20 and 35 to participate.
In the future,researchers hope to look into the psychological and neurological(神经学上的)aspects of their results.
1. What does the passage mainly tell us?A.The initial rush of texting is less attractive for adolescents than the long-term pay off of studying. |
B.Always, rewards are attractive to teenagers. |
C.Resistance can be controlled well by adolescents. |
D.Getting rewards is the greatest motivation for adolescents to study. |
A.The influence of the reward is weak in adolescents. |
B.Parents should help children in making decisions. |
C.Children should have access to the Internet. |
D.Children need help in refocusing their attention. |
A.Doing things after some thought. |
B.Making good decisions. |
C.Joining in dangerous actions. |
D.Escaping risky behavior. |
A.By making a comparison of brain examinations. |
B.By examining adults’ brain. |
C.By examining teenage brain. |
D.By building the train’s reward system. |
Up to 82 percent of children with healthy mothers are not easy to be obese(肥胖的), according to research. A mother,
And research suggests it could be more to do with nurture(养育)
The study examined the medical history and lifestyles of more than 24,000 children aged nine
The mother's health was judged on her height-to-weight ratio(比例), her diet, amount of physical
10 . We may think we're a culture that gets rid of our worn technology at the first sight of something shiny and new, but a new study shows that we keep using our old devices(装置) well after they go out of style. That’s bad news for the environment — and our wallets — as these outdated devices consume much more energy than the newer ones that do the same things.
To figure out how much power these devices are using, Callie Babbitt and her colleagues at the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York tracked the environmental costs for each product throughout its life — from when its minerals are mined to when we stop using the device. This method provided a readout for how home energy use has evolved since the early 1990s. Devices were grouped by generation — Desktop computers, basic mobile phones, and box-set TVs defined 1992. Digital cameras arrived on the scene in 1997. And MP3 players, smart phones, and LCD TVs entered homes in 2002, before tablets and e-readers showed up in 2007.
As we accumulated more devices, however, we didn't throw out our old ones. "The living-room television is replaced and gets planted in the kids' room, and suddenly one day, you have a TV in every room of the house," said one researcher. The average number of electronic devices rose from four per household in 1992 to 13 in 2007. We're not just keeping these old devices — we continue to use them. According to the analysis of Babbitt's team, old desktop monitors and box TVs with cathode ray tubes are the worst devices with their energy consumption and contribution to greenhouse gas emissions(排放)more than doubling during the 1992 to 2007 window.
So what's the solution(解决方案)? The team's data only went up to 2007, but the researchers also explored what would happen if consumers replaced old products with new electronics that serve more than one function, such as a tablet for word processing and TV viewing. They found that more on-demand entertainment viewing on tablets instead of TVs and desktop computers could cut energy consumption by 44%.
1. What does the author think of new devices?A.They are environment-friendly. | B.They are no better than the old. |
C.They cost more to use at home. | D.They go out of style quickly. |
A.To reduce the cost of minerals. |
B.To test the life cycle of a product. |
C.To update consumers on new technology. |
D.To find out electricity consumption of the devices. |
A.The box-set TV. | B.The tablet. |
C.The LCD TV. | D.The desktop computer. |
A.Stop using them. | B.Take them apart. |
C.Upgrade them. | D.Recycle them. |