1 . On a rainy afternoon in Aspinwall, Pennsylvania, a group of amateur musicians gathered to lay down a few tracks. This wasn’t the first time the band had performed together, but it was their first time in a recording studio.
The band, which calls itself Infinity, first performed its work at the 2022 Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference in November. All four band members are diagnosed with schizophrenia, a mental disorder that can cause people to interpret reality in abnormal ways, which can cause many kinds of disordered thinking.
Infinity formed five years ago when Flavio Chamis, a Brazilian composer and conductor, began working with the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) on how to use music to treat mental illness.
“Having a mental health diagnosis is not a reason to not have a creative life,” Chamis said. Schizophrenia can be disabling, but therapy, medication and even playing music can help, according to a growing body of research.
Chamis and K.N. Roy Chengappa, a professor of psychiatry (精神病学) at UPMC Western Psychiatric Hospital and the director of Pittsburgh’s schizophrenia conference, are continuing their efforts with the four musicians and to further investigate musical interventions in mental health outcomes.
As imaging techniques advance, scientists are working to answer precisely why music affects the brain in the ways that it does. Playing music seems to have an impact on timing systems in the brain, which are affected by major depression, schizophrenia and other illnesses. There is research indicating that training patients to play in rhythm can in fact help retrain the brain in other, less obvious ways. Interventions tend to have positive effects, but the research is still in early stages.
The band doesn’t have much formal music training, but they played and sang with touching sincerity. “It’s not supposed to be professional or perfect,” Chengappa said. “One of them has been my patient for 20 years. ... They’ve really blossomed.”
Chamis led the Infinity recording from the piano, with each musician in a separate sound-proof room listening to one another on headphones. The conductor and composer encouraged the musicians and gave advice after each take.
“It’s been great working on this with Flavio,” said guitarist David Baird. “I loved feeling like a professional. ... I want more.”
1. What is special about the band Infinity?A.All the members were professional. | B.It performed for people with schizophrenia. |
C.All the members have mental disorders. | D.It formed and gave its first performance in 2022. |
A.investigate the causes of schizophrenia | B.study the effect of music on mental illness |
C.stimulate the members’ creativity in music | D.obtain the opportunity to cooperate with UPMC |
A.intervening its timing systems | B.employing imaging approaches |
C.changing its reaction time | D.making its rhythm less obvious |
A.sincere | B.professional | C.depressed | D.confident |
2 . Maps, number lines, shapes, artwork and other materials tend to cover elementary classroom walls. However, too much of a good thing may end up
Psychology researchers Anna V. Fisher, Karrie E. Godwin and Howard Seltman of Carnegie Mellon University looked at whether classroom displays affected children’s ability to maintain
“Young children spend a lot of time — usually the whole day — in the same classroom, and we have shown that a classroom’s
Should teachers
“We do not suggest by any means that this is the answer to all
For the study, 24 kindergarten students were placed in
“We were also interested in finding out if the visual displays were removed, whether the children’s attention would
However, when the researchers totaled all of the time children spent off-task in both types of classrooms, the rate of off-task
The researchers hope these findings will lead to further studies into developing guidelines to help teachers design classrooms
A.attracting | B.distracting | C.holding | D.paying |
A.confidence | B.relationship | C.consistency | D.focus |
A.gains | B.opportunities | C.needs | D.disabilities |
A.social | B.natural | C.physical | D.visual |
A.turn over | B.take down | C.try out | D.look into |
A.athletic | B.environmental | C.educational | D.communicative |
A.additional | B.prior | C.national | D.independent |
A.However | B.Besides | C.Therefore | D.Meanwhile |
A.stretch | B.adapt | C.concentrate | D.explore |
A.decorated | B.empty | C.transitional | D.laboratory |
A.teaching | B.classroom | C.school | D.personality |
A.accuracy | B.emphasis | C.impact | D.perspective |
A.refer | B.listen | C.respond | D.shift |
A.questions | B.behaviors | C.incidents | D.tasks |
A.originally | B.innovatively | C.appropriately | D.exclusively |
A. activate B. amounted C. compared D. energetic E. guidelines F. identify G. image H. influenced I. respects J. review K. substantial |
Exercise Can Help Prevent Depression, Study Finds
How often do you exercise? A new
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that adults engage in 2.5 to 5 hours of moderate activity per week or one hour and 15 minutes to 2.5 hours of
Adults who took a walk for what
Many
Nearly 5% of adults in the U.S. report regular feelings of depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among the study participants, researchers estimate that 1 in every 9 cases of depression might have been prevented had everyone met recommended exercise
Grand Chinese New Year Celebration Held in London
More than 700,000 people in London joined in a celebration on February 11 organized by the London Chinatown Chinese Association to welcome the Year of the Dragon.
The celebration was claimed by the organizers
During the parade, significant attention
At noon, the event reached its climax on the center stage in Trafalgar Square, with notable figures from China and Britain participating in the eye-dotting ceremony of two lions, symbolically
Zheng Zeguang, China’s ambassador (大使) to the UK,
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, spoke highly of the contributions of Londoners of Chinese origin. “One of the reasons why London is the greatest city in the world is
In addition to the lively parade and stage performances, there were cultural workshops, interactive games, and food stands set up around Trafalgar Square.
Why Ear-worms Get Stuck in Your Head
We all get a sensation when a song, for no apparent reason, refuses to leave your head — in fact we’re no strangers to the dreaded “ear-worm.” But a new study published in Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity and the Arts reveals a fascinating insight into ear-worms, and why some songs are better than others in sticking in our heads by investigating the actual elements of the song that make it catchy in the first place.
To do this, most frequent ear-worms of the participants were entered into a database and compared to songs that had never been reported as an ear-worm at all. The melodic features of the tunes were then analyzed, revealing that ear-worm tunes were typically those songs that have overall melodic shapes common in Western pop music. A classic example of a common contour (音调的升降曲线) pattern is heard in Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, where the first phrase rises in pitch and the second falls. This makes the tune easy to remember and has been exploited in many other nursery rhymes, but also in pop music.
In addition to the melodic shape, the other ingredient to the ear-worm formula is the unusual interval structure. The aim of this is to surpass the listener’s expectations of an average pop song, showing unexpected leaps or more repeated notes than usual. “Our findings show that you can, to some extent, predict which songs are going to get stuck in people’s heads based on the song’s melodic content,” says one of the researchers, “This could help song-writers or advertisers write a jingle (短歌) everyone will remember for days or months afterwards.”
The authors conclude that studies of ear-worms can help explain how the brain works, and improve our understanding in how perception, emotions, memory and spontaneous thoughts behave in different people.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________假设你是明启中学高三学生赵磊,你的外国朋友William一直对中国文化很感兴趣。近日,他在网上了解到有两个相关的线上节目(节目信息如下表所示),但他对节目选择有些茫然,想听听你的建议。请给William回复一封邮件,邮件内容须包括:
(1)推荐其中一个节目;
(2)通过比较两个节目的信息,说明你推荐该节目的理由。
节目名称 | 故宫里的国宝 Treasures of the Forbidden City | 寻访中国美食 Exploring Chinese Cuisine |
节目内容 | 介绍故宫里的国宝及其背后的故事 | 介绍中国传统美食及其烹饪方式 |
节目形式 | 纪录片 | 短视频 |
节目语言 | 英语解说 无字幕 (subtitles) | 中文解说 英语字幕 |
7 . Pricing is managers’ biggest marketing headache. It’s where they feel the most pressure to perform and the least certain that they are doing a good job. All successful pricing efforts share two qualities: The policy combines well with the company’s overall marketing strategy, and the process is well-organized as a whole.
A company’s pricing policy sends a message to the market—it gives customers an important sense of a company’s philosophy. Consider Saturn Corporation (a wholly owned company of General Motors). Saturn wants to let consumers know that it is friendly and easy to do business with. Part of this concept is conveyed through initiatives such as inviting customers to the factory to see where the cars are made and sponsoring evenings at the dealership that combine a social event with training on car maintenance. But Saturn’s pricing policy sends a strong message as well. Can a friendly, trusting relationship be established with customers if a salesperson uses all the negotiating tricks in the book to try to separate them from that last $100? Of course not. Saturn has a “no hassle, no haggle” policy which removes the possibility of conflicts between dealer and potential customer. Customers have an easier time buying a car knowing that the next person in the door won’t negotiate a better deal.
Of course, there are typically many participants in the pricing process: Accounting provides cost estimates; marketing communicates the pricing strategy; sales provides specific customer input; production sets supply boundaries; and finance establishes the requirements for the entire company’s financial health. Input from diverse sources is necessary. However, problems arise when the philosophy of wide participation is carried over to the price-setting process without strong coordinating mechanisms (协调机制). For example, if the marketing department sets list prices, the salespeople negotiate discounts in the field, the legal department adjusts prices if necessary to prevent breaking the laws or contractual agreements, and the people filling orders negotiate price adjustments for delays in shipment, everybody’s best intentions usually end up bringing about less than the best results. In fact, the company may actually lose money on some orders.
1. Why is it essential for a company’s pricing policy to combine with its overall marketing strategy?A.To maximize possible returns and profits. |
B.To maintain consistency in business operations. |
C.To eliminate the need for diverse sales inputs. |
D.To attract customers to social events and trainings. |
A.Saturn trains its dealers to treat customers sincerely. |
B.Saturn offers discounts to some loyal customers. |
C.Saturn cars are at least $100 cheaper than other cars. |
D.Saturn cars are sold at fixed, non-negotiable prices. |
A.Decision making requires gathering comprehensive information. |
B.The coordinating mechanism won’t work without a lot of input. |
C.Potential customers are easily upset at any stage of the process. |
D.The company loses money unless everyone intends for the best. |
A.The art of coordinating pricing processes |
B.The best sales negotiation techniques |
C.Getting one step closer toward better pricing |
D.Maximizing profits through pricing policies |
Typical desert activities like sandboarding, dune bashing and quad biking
With this tour, you’ll have half a day of adventure activities in the desert.
You’ll start your tour by driving to a scenic spot on the top of a tall sand dune (沙丘) for a chance to take photos of the area. On top of a sand dune, you’ll have the chance to slide down the side by sandboarding. From here, you’ll get ready for hitting some dunes in a four-wheel drive vehicle. Next, you’ll hop on a quad bike and have time to drive around the desert in the open air. Finally, you’ll have a camel ride around a small part of the desert.
What’s included
Pickup and drop-off
20 minutes of sandboarding
35 minutes of dune bashing
25 minutes of quad biking
10-minute camel ride
Water and soft drinks
A drive through a camel farm
Additional information
Requires a high level of physical fitness.
Not suitable for children between 0 and 5.
Children under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
Tours starting after noon include a BBQ dinner with sweets and fruits, which costs an additional US$ 45/person only.
1. What kind of experiences can participants expect from this trip?A.Taking a sand bathing on the top of a sand dune. |
B.Exploring the expansive desert freely on a camel ride. |
C.An exciting day adventure filled with diverse activities. |
D.Capturing the breathtaking desert landscape with a camera. |
A.US$ 180. | B.US$ 220. | C.US$ 265. | D.US$ 400. |
A.The show was great! I highly recommend! |
B.It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed every minute of it. |
C.The place is cool, easy to find and get to with metro. |
D.Arrive early for tickets to avoid a long queue. |
9 . In the middle of 2023, a study conducted by the HuthLab at the University of Texas sent shockwaves through the fields of neuroscience (神经科学) and technology. For the first time, the thoughts and impressions of people
Losing the ability to communicate is a deep cut to one’s sense of self.
The proposed legislation recognizes the intensely
While the legal action taken by Chile is the most impactful and
And while it is likely that the first applications of neurotech will be medical, future
Different people, societies, and cultures will disagree on where to draw the line. We are at a(n)
A.eager | B.ready | C.unwilling | D.unable |
A.clearing | B.occupying | C.changing | D.reading |
A.Reducing | B.Restricting | C.Restoring | D.Requiring |
A.irrelevant | B.uncomfortable | C.negligible | D.supportive |
A.needed | B.limited | C.controlled | D.denied |
A.application | B.weakness | C.impact | D.significance |
A.In comparison with | B.In line with | C.At the conclusion of | D.At the cost of |
A.integrity | B.condition | C.disorder | D.function |
A.group | B.general | C.physical | D.personal |
A.interaction | B.chance | C.criticism | D.defence |
A.far-reaching | B.labor-saving | C.short-sighted | D.ill-timed |
A.advances | B.arrangements | C.requirements | D.policies |
A.confidence | B.availability | C.membership | D.movement |
A.mature | B.initial | C.different | D.final |
A.diversified | B.genuine | C.pressing | D.special |
No Filming at Concerts and Movie Theaters on Phones
“Please, no flash photography.”
Polite requests like this can be found in museums all over the world, but they generally don’t discourage people from taking photos of
The patent,
Many musicians and performers have banned cellphones from their shows
But the patent also raises questions about the sort of power that this technology would be handing over to
Given the company’s rigid support of personal privacy when it comes to police requests to break into users’ devices, it’s possible that Apple just