1 . The sun is setting, brightening your kids’ faces as they play in the waves. You reach for your phone for this perfect moment. But before you do, here’s a bit of surprising science: Taking photos is not the perfect way to keep memory as you think.
Taking too many pictures could actually harm the brain’s ability to keep memories, says Elizabeth Loftus, a psychology professor at the University of California. So, we get the photo but kind of lose the memory. Photography “outsources” memories. It works in two ways: We either shake off the responsibility of remembering moments when taking pictures, or we’re so distracted (分心的) by the process that we miss the moment altogether. The first explanation is the loss of memory. People know that their camera is recording that moment, so they don’t try to remember. The other is distraction. We’re distracted by the process of taking a photo — how we hold our phone, composing the photo, such as smiling faces, the background to our liking and clear image, all of which use up our attention that could otherwise help us memorize.
However, taking photos can help memory when done mindfully. While taking a photo may be distracting, the act of preparation by focusing on visual details around has the opposite. When people take the time to take clear pictures, memories become strengthened.
Another advantage is that we recall moments more exactly with the photos. Memory has been reshaped with the help of new information and new experiences. Thus, photos or videos help us recall moments as if they really happened. Memories die away without a visual record backing them up. Therefore, a photo is an excellent tool to help remember when done purposefully, which is worth exploring further.
1. What is the purpose of the first paragraph?| A．To present the topic. | B．To show the background. |
| C．To provide an example. | D．To make an argument. |
| A．Taking photos is helpful for us to memorize. |
| B．Photos are more detailed than memories. |
| C．Many sources influence people’s memories during photo-taking. |
| D．People depend more on photos to remember than their brains. |
| A．When taking photos is better. | B．How to use photo-taking to memorize better. |
| C．How to stay focused while taking photos. | D．When distraction is likely to happen. |
| A．Photography Does Help to Memories |
| B．Too Many Photos Taken Result in Poor Memories |
| C．Remember the Moment and Take Photos Properly |
| D．The Fewer Photos We Take, the Better We Will Remember |
2 . When I was a boy growing up in New Jersey in the 1960s, we had a milkman delivering milk to our doorstep. His name was Mr. Basille. He wore a white cap and drove a white truck. As a 5-year-old boy, I couldn’t take my eyes off the coin changer fixed to his belt. He noticed this one day during a delivery and gave me a quarter out of his coin changer.
Of course, he delivered more than milk. There was cheese, eggs and so on. If we needed to change our order, my mother would pen a note — “Please add a bottle of buttermilk next delivery” — and place it in the box along with the empty bottles. And then, the buttermilk would magically (魔术般) appear.
All of this was about more than convenience. There existed a close relationship between families and their milkmen. Mr. Basille even had a key to our house, for those times when it was so cold outside that we put the box indoors, so that the milk wouldn’t freeze. And I remember Mr. Basille from time to time taking a break at our kitchen table, having a cup of tea and telling stories about his delivery.
There is sadly no home milk delivery today. Big companies allowed the production of cheaper milk, thus making it difficult for milkmen to compete. Besides, milk is for sale everywhere, and it may just not have been practical to have a delivery service.
Recently, an old milk box in the countryside I saw brought back my childhood memories. I took it home and planted it on the back porch (门廊) . Every so often my son’s friends will ask what it is. So I start telling stories of my boyhood, and of the milkman who brought us friendship along with his milk.
1. Mr. Basille gave the boy a quarter out of his coin changer to __________.| A．show his magical power | B．pay for the delivery |
| C．satisfy his curiosity | D．please his mother |
| A．He wanted to have tea there. | B．He was a respectable person. |
| C．He was treated as a family member. | D．He was fully trusted by the family. |
| A．Nobody wants to be a milkman now. | B．It has been driven out of the market. |
| C．Its service is getting poor. | D．It is not allowed by law. |
| A．He missed the good old days. | B．He wanted to tell interesting stories. |
| C．He needed it for his milk bottles. | D．He planted flowers in it. |
3 . We all know that unpleasant feeling when we’re talking about something interesting and halfway through our sentence we’re interrupted(打断). But was that really an interruption? The answer depends on whom you ask, according to new research led by Katherine Hilton from Stanford University.
Using a set of controlled audio clips, Hilton surveyed 5,000 American English speakers to better understand what affects people’s perceptions(认知)of interruptions. She had participants listen to audio clips and then answer questions about whether the speakers seemed to be friendly and engaged, listening to one another, or trying to interrupt.
Hilton found that American English speakers have different conversational styles. She identified two groups: high and low intensity speakers. High intensity speakers are generally uncomfortable with moments of silence in conversation and consider talking at the same time a sign of engagement. Low intensity speakers find it rude to talk at the same time and prefer people speak one after another in conversation:
The differences in conversational styles became obvious when participants listened to audio clips in which two people spoke at the same time but were agreeing with each other and stayed on topic, Hilton said. The high intensity group reported that conversations where people spoke at the same time when expressing agreement were not interruptive but engaged and friendlier than the conversations with moments of silence in between speaking turns. In contrast, the low intensity group perceived any amount of simultaneous (同时) chat as a rude interruption, regardless of what the speakers were saying.
“People care about being interrupted, and those smalt interruptions can have a massive effect on the overall communication,” Hilton said. “Breaking apart what an interruption means is essential if we want to understand how humans interact with each other.”
1. What does Hilton’s research focus on?| A．What interruptions mean to people. | B．Where interruptions are accepted. |
| C．How to avoid getting interrupted | D．Why speakers interrupt each other. |
| A．Record an audio clip. | B．Answer some questions. |
| C．Listen to one another. | D．Have a chat with a friend. |
| A．It’s important. | B．It’s interesting. | C．It’s inefficient. | D．It’s impolite. |
| A．Conversational styles affect perceptions of interruptions. |
| B．Communication is the very basis of our everyday life. |
| C．Interruptions during conversations contribute to thinking. |
| D．Language barriers will always exist regardless of the content. |
4 . The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was quitting my job and biking alone across western China.
One of the best parts of the whole experience was the people. I met people from across China and once got to attend a Tibetan wedding-something I never thought I would do.
The people were some of the best parts of the trip, but mostly each day, I was alone with nature. Throughout the rolling hills and the flowing streams, western China is home to some of the most amazing scenery in the world.
It was indeed an experience I will never forget. If anyone has an interest in traveling, I would highly recommend going by bicycle!
| A．It simply took my breath away. |
| B．My family were shocked and tried to talk me out of it. |
| C．The food was definitely another highlight of my journey. |
| D．I had never biked for more than two hours in one day before. |
| E．It really inspired me to push myself and go farther every day. |
| F．Traveling by bicycle was actually much cheaper than I thought. |
| G．The whole event was extraordinary, full of dancing, laughter and fun. |
5 . One year, a college in the United States announced that it would offer a lot of money for the pure white marigold (金盏花). The high reward attracted so many people, but in nature, besides golden, the marigold is brown, and it is not easy to get the white one. So after they were excited for a time, many people had forgotten the announcement.
One normal day after 20 years, the college received a letter and 100 seeds of pure white marigold. It was an old woman of over 70 years old. Some experts in the college doubted it, but in order not to let her down, those seeds finally took root (根) in the earth. The miracle appeared after one year; the field was covered by pure white marigold.
Therefore, the old woman who was always unknown to the public became a new focus.
The old woman was a flower-lover. When she read the announcement 20 years ago, she got very excited like others. But her eight children were totally against her decision. After all, a woman who never knew the seed genetics (遗传学) couldn’t complete what the experts could never do, so her thought was only a day dream.
Still, the old woman didn’t change her mind and went on working. She planted some of the most common seeds and took good care of them. A year later, when the marigold came out, she chose one faintest (最暗淡的) from those golden and brown flowers and got the best seed. The next year, she again grew them and chose...Day after day, year after year, through many seasons, the old woman’s husband died, her children flew far, a lot of things happened in her life, but only the wish to grow the pure white marigold took root in her heart.
Finally, after 20 years on the day we all know, in the garden she saw a marigold, which was nearly white, but as white as silver or snow.
A problem even experts couldn’t deal with was solved by an old woman who didn’t understand genetics. Was it a miracle (奇迹)?
To take root in the heart, even the most common seed can grow into a miracle!
1. According to the passage,________ marigold is unusual.| A．white | B．purple |
| C．brown | D．golden |
| A．the children didn’t agree on their mother’s decision |
| B．the woman needed the great reward for her big family |
| C．the experts also succeeded in growing the white marigold |
| D．the woman took good care of the flowers instead of her family |
| A．was luckier than experts |
| B．put her heart into flowers |
| C．got support from her family |
| D．studied the seed genetics well |
| A．the difficulties of getting the white marigold |
| B．the possibility of going beyond experts |
| C．the unforgettable development of marigolds |
| D．the importance of holding on to dreams |
6 . Stores play music to change the way customers feel. Clothing stores for teenagers play popular music. It is exciting and makes the customers feel happy, but music does more than that. It can change the way a person shops.
According to studies, the volume (音量) of music changes how people shop. Customers shop quickly when store music is very loud. They hurry through the store, but they buy just as much. When music is quiet, customers shop slowly. Customers take time to look at the products and talk with the salespeople. Quiet music is good for products that take time and information to buy.
Slow music makes people slow down. In restaurants with slow music, customers spend more time eating. Slow music also slows down customers in supermarkets. Customers notice more products as they walk through the store. With slow music in supermarkets, sales go up by 38 percent.
Familiar music gives shoppers a good idea of time. People know the beginning, middle, and end of a familiar song. When customers hear music that is not familiar, they don’t notice the time. When they don’t notice the time, they spend more time shopping and buy more. People remember past experiences and feelings when they hear familiar music. Many stores play old, happy music so customers feel good. When customers hear new music, they forget about the world outside of the store. Some stores use new music so their customers relax while they shop.
Stores choose music that fits their products. A bookstore plays classical music and jazz. It gives the store a serious and intelligent feeling.
1. What’s the best title for the passage?| A．Customers’ Music |
| B．Store Music |
| C．Customers and Music Owners |
| D．Music and Shopping |
| A．Quiet music is good for products. |
| B．People shop slowly when they hear quiet music. |
| C．People shop quickly when they hear loud music. |
| D．The degrees of loudness of music influence the way of shopping. |
| A．It changes the way people shop. |
| B．It changes the way people feel. |
| C．It changes the way people use the products. |
| D．It changes the way people think about the products. |
| A．Classical music. | B．Rock music. | C．Country music. | D．Jazz music. |
7 . Music is not just a set of sounds and rhythms. Its influence on brain is much deeper than any other human experience. Keep on reading to know all these amazing power of music.
A recent study suggests that preterm (早产的) babies appear to experience less pain and feed more when listening to music. Experts led by Dr. Manoj Kumar of the University of Alberta,Canada,found that music had a beneficial effect on reducing pain for preterm babies experiencing painful medical tests. It also appeared to benefit full-term babies during operations.
Many people experiencing brain damage have speech and movement-related problems. Music can help recover from brain injuries. As a different and effective treatment, doctors often advise such patients to listen to good music to improve the parts of the brain responsible for these two functions. When people with neurological (神经的) disorders hear a musical beat, it helps them to regain a balanced walk.
Though music cannot make deafness disappear, it really can stave off the loss of hearing. There was an experiment involving 163 people where 74 were musicians. Participants were asked to pass some listening tests. Musicians heard the sounds better than non-musicians, and this difference gets clearer with age. This means that a 70-year-old musician hears better than a 50-year-old non-musician, even in a noisy environment.
Besides, music mends a broken heart. It is not about a thrown-away love, but about a heart attack. The matter is that music can help people recover from a heart attack or heart operation by reducing blood pressure, slowing down the heartbeat rate, and reducing anxiety. Listening to the quality music produces positive emotions, improves the movement of blood, and expands blood vessels, thus, promoting quick recovery of the whole cardiovascular (心血管的) system.
1. How does music affect preterm babies?| A．It helps develop their potential in music. |
| B．It helps reduce their pain. |
| C．It helps improve their hearing systems. |
| D．It helps repair their neurological systems. |
| A．Cause. | B．Increase. |
| C．Prevent. | D．Expand. |
| A．It has a positive effect on human body systems’ work. |
| B．It can encourage people to do sports. |
| C．It helps make a person outgoing. |
| D．It helps patients recover more quickly than medicine does. |
| A．People Who Can Benefit From music. |
| B．The Best Time to Listen to Music. |
| C．The Way to choose Quality Music. |
| D．How Music Affects Our Mind and Body. |
8 . The beautiful island country of Madagascar has a serious school shortage. About a third of Malagasy children have no access to education because the schools are too far away or severely overcrowded. Thinking Hus, a non-profit dedicated to increasing global access to education, plans to tackle the issue with a series of 3D-printed schools, the first of which was completed in April 2022.
The 765-square-feet structure, named Bougainvillea, will house 30 students. The construction a began with the printer pouring a cement-like (水泥状) mixture in a pattern to create the walls. The entire process took just 18 hours! The roof, doors and windows were locally sourced, and the walls were made of a cement mixture that can resist big environmental pressures in the area. Bougainvillea was 3D printed by 14 Trees, a company with experience printing buildings throughout Kenya and Malawi.
Maggie Grouts, the 22-year-old founder of Thinking Huts, is a senior at the University of Colorado and was just 15 when she started Thinking Huts. Adopted from a rural village in China when she was 18 months old, Grout realized that not all kids were as fortunate as her and wanted to help. The idea for the 3D-printed schools came to her after brainstorming(集思广益) with her father on ways to use the technology for the greater good.
The 3D printing approach shrinks the construction turnaround time from months to days, as well as the cost. This allows more schools to be built in less time and reduces the building’s carbon footprints. And these savings in time, cost and materials meet a real need for education infrastructure (基础设施) to help bridge the global opportunity gap.
“Thinking Huts hopes to have a Thinking Hut in every community where children do not have a place for education and is fundraising to develop this goal. By using 3D printing, we are combining the potential of technology with architectural solutions that tackle real problems the world faces within education,” says Grouts.
1. What are 3D-printed schools intended for?| A．Reducing construction wastes. |
| B．Providing high-quality education for local students. |
| C．Helping deal with a shortage of schools. |
| D．Drawing public attention to 3D-printing technology. |
| A．It has a complex architectural structure. |
| B．It features strong resistance to bad weather. |
| C．It is built with the help of the local government. |
| D．It can hold more students than traditional schools. |
| A．She is truly creative and warmhearted. |
| B．She had no access to school as a child |
| C．She is devoted to designing 3D-printed products， |
| D．She raised money for kids from rural areas in China. |
| A．The advantages of 3D-printed schools. |
| B．The wide popular tyof3D-prining technology. |
| C．The significance of narrowing the global opportunity gap. |
| D．The impact of 3D-printed buildings on the environment. |
9 . John Myatt is an artist. He may not be the greatest artist in the world, but he is possibly the world’s greatest forger (伪造者). He is able to paint pictures in the style of famous artists like Monet and Matisse.
The amazing thing is that Myatt painted his pictures with decorator’s paint.
| A．It wasn’t illegal. |
| B．Then he decided to stop copying famous paintings. |
| C．It was the same paint that people use to paint houses! |
| D．Myatt only spent four months in prison for good behavior. |
| E．That’s more than Drewe gave him for his ‘genuine’ paintings! |
| F．His pictures are so good that experts can’t tell that they are not originals. |
| G．Between 1986 and 1994 they sold about 200 paintings and made over a million pounds. |
10 . Tears can ruin make-up, bring conversation to a stop, and give you a runny nose.
Tears reduce stress, but we tend to fight them for all sorts of reasons. “
Almost any emotion—good or bad, happy or sad—can cause tears.
When some people become very stressed, however, they can’t cry. They may be feeling shock, anger, fear or grief, but they control the emotion. “Everyone has the need to cry,” says psychotherapist (精神治疗医师) Vera Diamond.
Tears are a sign of our ability to feel. You should never be afraid to cry.
| A．People worry about showing their emotions. |
| B．The more you cry, the healthier you will become. |
| C．Crying is a way that we release built-up emotions. |
| D．Sometimes patients participate in crying exercises. |
| E．They can leave you embarrassed and without energy. |
| F．In certain situation, such as at work, tears are not appropriate. |
| G．Many people get uncomfortable when others cry in front of them. |
