1 . Can you trust your very first childhood memories? Maybe not, a new study suggests.
Past researches show that people's earliest memories typically form around 3 to 3. 5 years of age. But in a recent survey of more than 6,600 people, British scientists have found that 39 percent of participants claimed to have memories from age 2 or younger. These first memories are likely false, the researchers said. This was particularly the case for middle -aged and older adults.
For the study, researchers asked participants to describe their first memory and the age at which it occurred. Participants were told they had to be sure the memory was the one that had happened. For example, it shouldn't be based on a photograph, a family story or any source other than direct experiences. Then the researchers examined the content, language and descriptive details of these earliest memories and worked out the likely reasons why people would claim to have memories from an age when memories cannot form.
As many of these memories dated before the age of 2, this suggests they were not based on actual facts, but facts or knowledge about their babyhood or childhood from photographs or family stories. Often these false memories are fired by a part of an early experience, such as family relationships or feeling sad, the researchers explained.
"We suggest that what a rememberer has in mind when recalling fictional early memories is …a mental representation consisting of remembered pieces of early experiences and some facts or knowledge about their own babyhood or childhood, " study author Shania Kantar said in a journal news release, "Additionally, further details may be unconsciously inferred or added. Such memory-like mental representations come~ over time, to be collectively experienced when they come to mind, so for the individual, they quite simply are memories, which particularly point to babyhood. "
"Importantly, the person remembering them doesn't know this is fictional," study co-author Martin Conway said "In fact, when people are told that their memories are false they often don't believe it. "
1. What can we learn from a recent study?| A．Memories form after the age of 3. | B．Participants are good at telling stories |
| C．Adults are likely to form false memories | D．Earliest memories may play a trick on us |
| A．A direct experience. | B．A family story. |
| C．A family photo. | D．A sad feeling. |
| A．They are repeated mental representations. |
| B．They are a collection of early experiences. |
| C．They are a combination of both facts and fictions. |
| D．They are further details of remembered experiences. |
| A．Society. | B．Psychology. | C．Technology. | D．Health. |
2 . Lawrence Ferlinghetti, the poet, publisher, painter, social activist and bookstore owner, has been San Francisco’s honored poet. He turns 100 this month, and the city is making preparations to celebrate him in style. Readings and performances and an open house will take place at City Lights, the sacred bookstore he co-founded in 1953.
On March 24, 1919, Lawrence Ferlinghetti was born in Yonkers, New York. After spending his early childhood in France, he received his BA from the University of North Carolina, an MA from Columbia University, and a PhD from the Sorbonne.
He is the author of more than thirty books of poetry, including Poetry as Insurgent Art; A Coney Island of the Mind. He has translated the works of a number of poets, including Nicanor Parra, Jacques Prevert, and Pier Paolo Pasolini. In addition to poetry, he is also the author of more than eight plays and three novels, including Little Boy: A Novel, Love in the Days of Rage and Her.
In 1953, Ferlinghetti and Peter Martin opened the City Lights bookstore in San Francisco, California. It became a nerve center for the Beats and other writers. Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and other writers from that era were Easterners who dropped into San Francisco for a spell. In 2001 it was made an official historic landmark. Now City Lights is almost certainly the best bookstore in the United States. It’s filled with serious world literature of all kinds.
If City Lights is a San Francisco institution, Ferlinghetti himself is as much of one. He has loomed over the city’s literary life. As a poet, he’s never been a critical favorite. But his flexible and plain-spoken and often powerful work — he has published more than 50 volumes — has found a wide audience. His collection “A Coney Island of the Mind” has sold more than 1 million copies, making it one of the best-selling American poetry books ever published.
1. What can we learn about Ferlinghetti from Paragraph 2?| A．He had a happy childhood. |
| B．He received normal education. |
| C．He had a gift for writing novels. |
| D．He had written lots of poetry. |
| A．Flexible. | B．Optimistic. | C．Outspoken. | D．Productive. |
| A．Because it is a nerve center for the youth. |
| B．Because its collections have a long history. |
| C．Because it is an official historic landmark. |
| D．Because it has many modern world literature. |
| A．To speak highly of a great poet. |
| B．To introduce some English poetry. |
| C．To promote values of City Lights. |
| D．To celebrate the birthday of Ferlinghetti. |
3 . During the rosy years of elementary school(小学), I enjoyed sharing my dolls and jokes, which allowed me to keep my high social status. I was the queen of the playground. Then came my tweens and teens, and mean girls and cool kids. They rose in the ranks not by being friendly but by smoking cigarettes, breaking rules and playing jokes on others, among whom I soon found myself.
Popularity is a well-explored subject in social psychology. Mitch Prinstein, a professor of clinical psychology sorts the popular into two categories: the likable and the status seekers. The likables’ plays-well-with-others qualities strengthen schoolyard friendships, jump-start interpersonal skills and, when tapped early, are employed ever after in life and work. Then there’s the kind of popularity that appears in adolescence: status born of power and even dishonorable behavior.
Enviable as the cool kids may have seemed, Dr. Prinstein’s studies show unpleasant consequences. Those who were highest in status in high school, as well as those least liked in elementary school, are “most likely to engage(从事) in dangerous and risky behavior.”
In one study, Dr. Prinstein examined the two types of popularity in 235 adolescents, scoring the least liked, the most liked and the highest in status based on student surveys(调查研究). “We found that the least well-liked teens had become more aggressive over time toward their classmates. But so had those who were high in status. It clearly showed that while likability can lead to healthy adjustment, high status has just the opposite effect on us.”
Dr. Prinstein has also found that the qualities that made the neighbors want you on a play date—sharing, kindness, openness—carry over to later years and make you better able to relate and connect with others.
In analyzing his and other research, Dr. Prinstein came to another conclusion: Not only is likability related to positive life outcomes, but it is also responsible for those outcomes, too. “Being liked creates opportunities for learning and for new kinds of life experiences that help somebody gain an advantage, ” he said.
1. What sort of girl was the author in her early years of elementary school?| A．Unkind. | B．Lonely. | C．Generous. | D．Cool. |
| A．The classification of the popular. |
| B．The characteristics of adolescents. |
| C．The importance of interpersonal skills. |
| D．The causes of dishonorable behavior. |
| A．They appeared to be aggressive. |
| B．They tended to be more adaptable. |
| C．They enjoyed the highest status. |
| D．They performed well academically. |
| A．Be Nice—You Won’t Finish Last |
| B．The Higher the Status, the Better |
| C．Be the Best—You Can Make It |
| D．More Self-Control, Less Aggressiveness |
4 . Barcelona's famous Segrada Familia is finally set to get a building licence, 137 years after work on the still uncompleted church began.
Construction on the UNESCO World Heritage basilica(长方形基督教堂), which is Barcelona's most visited tourist attraction, began in 1882 based on a design by architect Francisco Lozano. However, when he stepped down, architect Antoni Gaudi took over the design in 1883. The building won't be finished until 2026-one hundred years after the architect was killed by a streetcar in the city. His body was buried in a room under the floor of the Sagrada Familia.
To get its paperwork rubber stamped, the church authorities have agreed to finally pay the government a∈36 million fee for a building permit. Gaudi was told to get the paperwork processed, but the architect failed to do so—proceeding with construction regardless. The money from the church's permit will be used to upgrade transport links and beautify the area. Gaudi and his works have become symbols of Barcelona, the capital city of Catalonia, northeast Spain.
Gaudi played an active role in directing the construction of the Sagrada Familia until his death in 1926. He would often request that work be modified and adjusted until it was exactly what he had in mind. However, interpretation of the designs by present day architects is particularly challenging because of the nature of the existing designs.
The unfinished building is called a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and it is perhaps the most unique and mysterious building in the style ever constructed. The popularity of the site with tourists has helped fund the push to complete the church and pay for the paperwork.
1. What do we know about the Segrada Familia?| A．It has been completely constructed. |
| B．It was first designed by Antoni Gaudi. |
| C．It will get a building permit in 2026. |
| D．It began to be built 137 years ago. |
| A．He wished to be buried in the church |
| B．He is remembered as a great architect. |
| C．He didn't know a permit was necessary. |
| D．He is to blame for the unfinished church. |
| A．Its unusual design style |
| B．Its two famous architects. |
| C．Its special building materials. |
| D．Its illegal construction paperwork |
| A．in the support of the government |
| B．by reducing construction costs |
| C．with the aid of tourist income |
| D．through donations from architects |
5 . As a first responder, you never know what type of situation you might walk into, or who you’ll meet along the way. That’s definitely been the case for Jeffrey Lanenberg, a 51-year-old paramedic(急救医务人员) since 1984.
Ten years into the job, Lanenberg received a call that reported that a man in his early 30s had fallen down in the Mall of America. When Lanenberg and his partner arrived at the scene, they found the young male face down on the ground. He had gone unconscious, making weak attempts to breathe. His wife stood beside him holding their small son in horror. They quickly rushed to defibrillate(除颤) and calm the man to keep him under control. After Lanenberg dropped the patient off at the neighboring hospital, he thought about the man and his family for a long time.
Lanenberg thought he had experienced everything under the sun until one random visit to Office Max three years ago, where he met a man repeatedly walk back and forth while staring at him. As it turned out, the man was the patient he had saved 20 years earlier.
＂You gave me 20 years more than I ever thought I’d have,＂ the man said. He thanked Lanenberg repeatedly and told him he had someone he wanted him to meet. He stepped around the corner and reappeared with a 20-something-year-old man. Lanenberg instantly knew that it was the son he had seen standing by his mother all those years ago.
＂That day changed my life,＂ Lanenberg said. ＂Before that, everything was about work…When I talk to my beginner-training class, I tell them you never know the impact you can have on someone’s life.＂
1. What did Lanenberg do with the young man?| A．He gave the man the first aid. | B．He cured the man at the scene. |
| C．He only sent the man to hospital. | D．He took care of the man’s wife and son. |
| A．It was unbelievable. | B．It was a common routine. |
| C．It was a matter of course. | D．It was a dangerous situation. |
| A．Lanenberg helped bring up his little son. |
| B．Lanenberg donated to support his family. |
| C．Lanenberg gave him the present happy life. |
| D．Lanenberg taught his son to be a new doctor. |
| A．He changed his attitude to his job. |
| B．He was rewarded with much money. |
| C．He got a promotion to be a team leader. |
| D．He took up teaching work to train newcomers. |
6 . Experts say there are about 6，500 languages spoken throughout the world.But the United Nations estimates that about half of these languages are in danger of disappearing.
One non-profit organization seeking to save world languages is a New York-based group called Wikitongues.Officials from Wikitongues say the organization has a simple goal:to provide the tools and support that people need to save their languages.
Udell is the co-founder of Wikitongues.He said when a language disappears，many other things can go away as well.For example，parts of a community’s culture，knowledge and identity can also be lost.Because of this.Udell believes the process of bringing languages back must be done by community members themselves，“from the ground up，”he said.
“There is no way an outside organization can save someone’s language for them.”
Wikitongues was launched in 2016 as an open internet collection of world languages.The self-described“community”is operated by volunteers from around the world.The collection is in the form of language videos that people add to the Wikitongues website.
There are currently more than 400 languages and dialects represented on Wikitongues’YouTube channel.Udell says more than 1,500 people from 70 different countries have added videos to the system.
“We have people from India who record dozens of languages，which is beyond their own.”he said.
One of Wikitongues’volunteers is Kolokwe，who lives in Namibia.His native language is Subiya，however，he does not get the chance to speak his native language every day.Like many other educated people from his area，he speaks a lot of English and Afrikaans.
Kolokwe is hoping his involvement with Wikitongues call help keep Subiya and other African languages from going extinct.He wants the world to know about his language.But his goal goes beyond just sharing his language with others through video.He is also working to create a dictionary and language teaching materials that can be used in schools.
1. What is tile result of languages disappearing?| A．People are uncertain about who they are. |
| B．All the customs and beliefs are still existing. |
| C．People can not communicate with each other. |
| D．The community becomes more independent. |
| A．It was founded by the United Nations. |
| B．Officials from it want to make money. |
| C．It contributes to saving languages. |
| D．1500 languages are uploaded on its website. |
| A．He has no chance to speak his native language. |
| B．He dislikes speaking English and Afrikaans. |
| C．He wants to stop his native language dying out. |
| D．He hopes to teach his language in school himself. |
| A．The majority of languages have been saved. |
| B．Wikitongues can save languages disappearing. |
| C．Internet plays a more important part than volunteers. |
| D．Only community members can save their own languages. |
7 . Heat has been used to control hair for hundreds of years. But how much is too much? If you have ever opened a very hot oven, you know that heat can burn your eyebrows off your face very quickly. A scientist from Purdue University in Indiana is trying to find a scientific answer on how hot is too hot when it comes to your hair.
Many women and some men are very particular about their hair. Some people who have naturally curly hair prefer to have it straightened. Others with straight hair want to have curls. Tahira Reid is one of those people. As an African-American woman, she is familiar with the challenges of maintaining (保养) curly hair.
Tahira Reid and other researchers at Purdue University are studying how heat treatment interacts with different types of hair and how to prevent damage. Amy Marconnet is an assistant professor. She says the team is seeing how heat and temperature relate to their research.
In a Purdue University’s lab, team members designed a hair straightener tool —a flat iron with temperature control. They attached it to a robotic arm that moved over pieces of hair. They controlled the temperature while the device straightened hair.
What did they find? Their study found that the heat weakens or breaks a protein called keratin, responsible for the hair’s shape, and temporarily changes it. But nobody knows exactly what level can make the heat actually cause forever change. Researchers say early results are a bit inconclusive.
It turns out that everyone’s hair is different and there’s no exact temperature where hair straightening becomes hair damage. Ms Reid says they will continue their research in the hope of finding what works best without damaging hair.
1. What does the scientist want to find out?| A．Ways to protect our hair. |
| B．Ways to maintain curly hair. |
| C．The temperature that can damage hair. |
| D．The temperature that makes hair curly. |
| A．are African-Americans |
| B．love their hair very much |
| C．love making their hair curly |
| D．love changing their hairstyle |
| A．the hair gets burned |
| B．the hair’s shape is changed |
| C．the hair is forever damaged |
| D．the hair surely becomes curly. |
8 . I started out in life with few advantages. I did not graduate from high school. I worked at menial(不体面的) jobs. I had limited education, limited skills and a limited future.
And then I began asking, "Why are some people more successful than others?" This question changed my life.
Over the years, I have read thousands of books and articles on the subjects of success and achievement(成就). It seems that the reasons for these accomplishments have been discussed and written about for more than two thousand years, in every possible way. One quality that most philosophers, teachers and experts agree on is the importance of self﹣discipline(自律). As Al Tomsik summarized it years ago, "Success is tons of discipline."
Some years ago, I attended a conference in Washington. It was the lunch break and I was eating at a nearby food fair. The area was crowded and I sat down at the last open table by myself, even though it was a table for four. A few minutes later, an older gentleman and a younger woman who was his assistant came along carrying trays of food, obviously looking for a place to sit. With plenty of room at my table, I immediately arose and invited the older gentleman to join me. He was hesitant, but I insisted. Finally, thanking me as he sat down, we began to chat over lunch.
It turned out that his name was Kop Kopmeyer. As it happened, I immediately knew who he was. He was a legend in the field of success and achievement. Kop Kopmeyer had written four large books, each of which contained 250 success principles that he had obtained from more than fifty years of research and study. I had read all four books from cover to cover, more than once.
After we had chatted for a while, I asked him the question that many people in this situation would ask, "Of all the one thousand success principles that you have discovered, which do you think is the most important?”
He smiled at me with a twinkle in his eye, as if he had been asked this question many times, and replied, without hesitating, "The most important success principle of all was stated by Thomas Huxley many years ag. He said, 'Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.'"
He went on to say, "There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, but without self﹣discipline, none of them work."
1. Why did the writer ask the question in Paragraph 2 ?| A．Because he wasn't satisfied with himself. |
| B．Because he was a person of self﹣discipline. |
| C．Because he dislike those successful people. |
| D．Because he wanted to share his idea on success. |
| A．His great kindness. |
| B．Then gentleman's fame. |
| C．His eagerness for success. |
| D．The gentleman's good manners. |
| A．Personal changes |
| B．The secret of success |
| C．Sayings of wisdom |
| D．The gentleman's legend. |
| A．The Magic of Reading |
| B．An Unexpected Conversation |
| C．A Question that Changed My Life |
| D．The Power of Self-discipline |
9 . VAR technology has been used in U.S. sports for years. Now it is fully combined with the global game of soccer and made its debut(首次亮相) at the 2018 World Cup this summer.
The VAR team supported the referees from a centralised video room. The operators selected and provided the best angles from the relevant broadcast cameras plus two additional offside cameras.
| A．If one team is likely to win a game |
| B．VAR stands for video assistant referee |
| C．It is hard to avoid and VAR is necessary |
| D．Once they decide an incident is reviewable |
| E．Throughout a match they are constantly checking for mistakes |
| F．The use of video technology is a hot topic among football watchers |
| G．VAR can serve to remove such scenes and get the game moving again |
10 . Earthquake rescue robots have experienced their final tests in Beijing.Their designers say with these robots,rescuers will be able to buy more time to save lives during an earthquake.
This robot looking like a helicopter,is called the detector-bot.It’s about 4 meters long,and it took about 4 years to develop the model.Its main functions are to collect information from the air,and send goods of up to 30 kilos to people trapped by an earthquake.
This robot has a high definition 360 degrees panoramic (全景) camera.It can work day and night and will also be able to send the latest pictures from the quake area.
Dr.Qi Juntong,Chinese Academy of Science,said,“The most important feature of this robot is that it doesn’t need a distant control.We just set the destination (目的地) information on it,and then it takes off,and lands by itself.It flies as high as 3,000 meters,and as fast as 100 kilometers per hour.”
This robot has a different function—it can change as the environment changes.Its main job is to search for any signs of life in places where human rescuers are unable to go.
As well as a detector (探测器) that finds victims and detects poisonous gas,a camera is placed in the 40 centimeters long robot, which can work in the dark.
Another use for the rescuers is the supply bot.With its 10-meter-long pipe,people who are trapped in the ruins,will be able to get supplies including oxygen and liquids.
Experts have said that the robots will enter production,and serve as part of the national earthquake rescue team as soon as next year.
1. According to the passage,this robot_______.| A．is carried by the helicopter |
| B．weighs about 30 kilos |
| C．hasn’t been put into production so far. |
| D．is a machine with a length of 10 meters |
| A．it has more functions |
| B．it has a unique shape |
| C．it has more advanced cameras |
| D．it can work by himself once given the information |
| A．a detector | B．a camera |
| C．a rescuer | D．a supply |
| A．an introduction to the robot |
| B．what the robot looks like |
| C．how the robot is made |
| D．information about earthquakes |
