1 . Tiredness May Lead to Snacking
Staying up late doing homework is always tiring. Perhaps when we are tired, we feel the need to eat unhealthy snack food. Recently scientists have been investigating tiredness and snack food.
According to a study in the Journal of Neuroscience, people are more likely to crave snacks when they don’t get enough sleep.
For the study, researchers from University of Cologne in Germany gave the same dinner to 32 healthy men aged between 19 and 33. Half of the men were then sent home to bed, and the other half were kept aware in the laboratory all night.
The next morning, the participants were asked to consider how much they would be willing to pay for snack food items shown to them in pictures.
According to the researchers, all were similarly hungry in the morning, and had similar levels of most hormones and blood sugar.
However, brain scans showed that when the sleep-deprived participants looked at the pictures of junk food, they released more of the “hunger hormone”. This is the hormone responsible for increasing the appetite, and making us consume more.
Asked about how much they would pay for snacks, “participants with sleep deprivation were more willing to overspend on food items than those with a good night’s sleep,” researchers said.
Researchers also observed that among the people who hadn’t slept, there was greater activity in the part of the brain where food rewards are processed.
Scientists think that sleep-deprived people experience changes to the hunger hormone and the brain’s reward system that leads to a stronger desire to eat snacks with high fat and calories.
“This brings us a little closer to understanding the mechanism behind how sleep deprivation changes food valuation,” Professor Jan Peters, a co-author of the study from the University of Cologne, told The Independent.
Kill the cravingListen to some soft music to relieve your tiredness.
Do some slight exercise for a short time when you’re tired.
Eat yogurt or fruits to replace snacks with high fat and calories.
Distance yourself from the craving.
1. People are more likely to crave snacks if they don’t get enough sleep because they ______.| A．have high levels of most hormones and blood sugar |
| B．release more of the “hunger hormone”, making them consumer more |
| C．are extremely hungry in the morning |
| D．are attracted by the snack food items in the pictures |
| A．Hunger hormone can increase people’s appetite and let them eat more food. |
| B．Participants without sleep deprivation may spend less on food items. |
| C．The brain’s reward system will lead to craving snack food. |
| D．Greater activity will appear in certain part of the brain among those who sleep well. |
| A．Listening to Rock & Roll. | B．Walking out for while. |
| C．Ordering a McDonald’s Big Mac. | D．Drinking black coffee. |
2 . ①We have a problem, and the strange thing is that we not only know about it but also celebrate it. Just today, someone boasted to me that she was so busy she’s averaged four hours of sleep a night for the last two weeks. She wasn’t complaining; she was proud of the fact. She is not alone.
②Why are typically rational (理智的) people so irrational in their behavior? The answer is that we’re in the midst of a bubble. I call it “The More Bubble.”
③The nature of bubbles is that something is absurdly overvalued until-eventually-the bubble bursts, and we’re left wondering why we were so irrationally animated in the first place. The thing we’re overvaluing now is the opinion of doing it all, having it all, achieving it all.
④This bubble is being enabled by a combination of three powerful trends: smart phones, social media, and extreme consumerism. The result is not just information overload, but opinion overload. We are more aware than at any time in history of what everyone else is doing and therefore, what we should be doing. In the process, we have been sold a bill of goods: that success means being supermen and superwomen who can get it all done. Of course we boasted about being busy—it’s code for being successful and important.
⑤And our answer to the problem of more is always more. We need more technology to help us create more technologies. We need to shift our workload to free up our own time to do yet even more.
⑥Luckily, there is a solution to the pursuit of more: the pursuit of less, but better. A growing number of people are making this change. I call these people Essentialists.
⑦These people are designing their lives around what is essential and removing everything else. These people arrange to have actual weekends (during which they are not working). They create technology-free zones in their homes. They trade time on Facebook with calling those few friends who really matter to them. Instead of running to different meetings, they put space on their calendars to get important work done.
⑧So we have two choices: we can be among the last people caught up in “The More Bubble” or we can join the growing community of Essentialists and get more of what matters in our one precious life.
1. When the woman said she only slept for four hours a night for two weeks, she “_________”.| A．took pride in doing so | B．was asking for suggestions |
| C．was unsatisfied with her lifestyle | D．knew few people were like her |
| A．The solutions to “The More Bubble”. |
| B．The advantages of “The More Bubble”. |
| C．The cause and result of “The More Bubble”. |
| D．The disadvantages of “The More Bubble”. |
| A．are tired of information and opinions |
| B．prefer not to rely on technology at their homes |
| C．give up certain things for what matters in life |
| D．are not interested in becoming successful and important |
| A．Disapproval. | B．Indifferent. | C．Supportive. | D．Skeptical. |
Time to appreciate food
Food is a necessity for human beings to survive and thrive. But it’s a lot more than that. As Mariette DiChristina of Scientific American wrote: “The most intimate relationship we will ever have is not with any fellow human being. Instead, it is between our bodies and our food.”
Nowadays, for most people in the world’s
Take Kenya for example. This African nation
So what can we do on World Food Day? One good way to spend it would be to feel humble and appreciate what we have.
4 . The term home schooling means educating children at home or in places other than a normal setting such as a public or private school. These days, homeschooling in America is
Teaching methods at homeschooling
Why do parents choose homeschooling? Some believe that children in public schools experience too much “peer pressure”, or social pressure from friends. They say it may have a
What then is the future of education? Although children often learn well at home, weak regulations in most states mean that officials rarely challenge or
| A．disappearing | B．reducing | C．contributing | D．rising |
| A．vary | B．last | C．exist | D．work |
| A．imitate | B．alter | C．promote | D．neglect |
| A．instructions | B．path | C．technique | D．standard |
| A．positive | B．practical | C．negative | D．remarkable |
| A．economically | B．religiously | C．psychologically | D．physically |
| A．effects | B．suggestions | C．reasons | D．pressures |
| A．As a result | B．On the whole | C．By the way | D．In addition |
| A．encourage | B．interrupt | C．contact | D．monitor |
| A．appreciation | B．opposition | C．expectation | D．debate |
| A．assessed | B．chosen | C．compared | D．classified |
| A．satisfied with | B．involved in | C．skilled at | D．ashamed of |
| A．worried about | B．isolated from | C．connected with | D．ignorant of |
| A．creating | B．grasping | C．awaiting | D．losing |
| A．acceptable | B．informative | C．one-sided | D．practical |
| A.kill B.connection C.powered D.manufacturer E. potential F.expected G.catch H.developed I. reported J. react K.measured |
Love it or hate it, flying is necessary if we want to get to a faraway destination (目的地). For those of us who love to read e-books or listen to music on our phone to
This is because Chinese airlines didn’t allow smartphones to be
During the study, Kenny Kirchoff, a Boeing engineer,
Many Chinese airlines are now
Just as people have altered their skin’s color to indicate wealth and beauty, so have cultures around the globe marked their skin to show cultural identity or community status. Tattooing (纹身), for example, has been carried out for thousands of years. Leaders in places
In Japan, tattooing had been practiced for a long time
In some cultures, scarring — a marking which
Not all skin markings are permanent, though. In countries such as Morocco and India, women
7 . This question has fascinated behavioural scientists for decades: why do we give money to charity?
The explanations for charitable giving fall into three broad categories, from the purely altruisic (利他的)— I donate because I value the social good done by the charity. The “impurely” altruistic— I donate because I extract value from knowing I contribute to the social good for the charity. And the not-at-all altruistic— I donate because I want to show off to potential mates how rich I am.
But are these motives strong enough to enable people to donate as much as they would want to? Most people support charities in one way or another, but often we struggle to make donations as often as we think we should. Although many people would like to leave a gift to charity in their will, they forget about it when the time comes.
Many people are also aware that they should donate to the causes that have the highest impact, but facts and figures are less attractive than narratives. In a series of experiments, it was found that people are much more responsive to charitable pleas that feature a single, identifiable beneficiary(受益者), than they are to statistical information about the scale of the problem being faced. When it comes to charitable giving, we are often ruled by our hearts and not our heads.
The good news is that charitable giving is contagious—seeing others give makes an individual more likely to give and gentle encouragement from an important person in your life can also make a big difference to your donation decisions— more than quadrupling them in our recent study. Habit also plays a part— in three recent experiments those who volunteered before were more likely to do donate their time than those who had not volunteered before.
In summary, behavioural science identifies a range of factors that influence our donations, and can help us to keep giving in the longer term. This is great news not just for charities, but also for donors.
1. What can we learn about people who do charitable giving?| A．Most people support charity as often as they think they should. |
| B．Some people don’t want to leave a gift to charity until the time comes. |
| C．Those who donate because they can gain an advantage are purely altruistic. |
| D．Some people send money to charity simply to tell others they are wealthy. |
| A．Not revealing the names of the donors. |
| B．Showing figures about the seriousness of the problem. |
| C．Telling stories that feature a single, recognizable beneficiary. |
| D．Reminding people to write down what to donate in the will in advance. |
| A．People will learn from others and follow the suit. |
| B．Many people are familiar with charitable giving. |
| C．Charitable giving helps the beneficiary in all aspects. |
| D．Charitable giving can bring a lot of benefits to donors. |
| A．To persuade more people to donate. |
| B．To explain the science behind why people donate. |
| C．To criticize some false charitable giving behaviours. |
| D．To explore approaches to making people donate more. |
8 . Which is more important for parents, making more money to give the kids a better life or spending more time with them? It is a problem for parents and it is not easy to decide. A new study shows that today’s parents are spending more time with their children than parents in the past. According to the study, today’s college-educated mothers spend about 21.2 hours a week taking care of their children. But women with less education spend about 15.9 hours. Before 1995, it was only 12 hours.
Dads are spending more time on ball games. Before 1995, fathers with college educations only spent about 4.5 hours a week playing with their children. Today, it increases to 9.6 hours a week. For fathers with high school education, the time goes up from 3.7 hours to 6.8.
These days, parents don’t care more about the cleaning or the cooking. They are trying their best to spend time with their families. As for the kids, they don’t mind how much time their parents spend with them. They just want to enjoy the time their parents do be with them.
So, take part in the kids’ activities when you are with them, such as helping with homework or playing soccer with them.
1. How long do college-educated mothers spend taking care of their kids a week?| A．About 9.6 hours. | B．About 12 hours. |
| C．About 15.9 hours. | D．About 21.2 hours. |
| A．Women with less education spend about12 hours staying with their kids, |
| B．Mothers in the past spent less time staying with kids than mothers these days. |
| C．Mothers with college education are lazier than those with less education. |
| D．Dads spend more time staying with their kids than mothers do. |
| A．About 4.5 hours. | B．Less than 9 hours. |
| C．About 13.5 hours. | D．About 18 hours. |
| A．They care about how much money their parents can make. |
| B．They care about how much time their parents spend with them. |
| C．They care if their parents are really with them. |
| D．They care if their parents can give them a better life. |
9 . In Japan many workers for large corporations have a guarantee of lifetime employment. They will not be laid off during recessions or when the tasks they perform. are taken over by robots. To some observers, this is capitalism at its best, because workers are treated as people not things. Others see it as necessarily inefficient and believe it cannot continue if Japan is to remain competitive with foreign corporations more concerned about profits and less concerned about people.
Defenders of the system argue that those who call it inefficient do not understand how it really works. In the first place not every Japanese worker has the guarantee of a lifetime job. The lifetime employment system includes only “regular employees”. Many employees do not fall into this category, including all women. All businesses have many part-time and temporary employees. These workers are hired and laid off during the course of the business cycle just as employees in the United States are. These “irregular workers” make up about 10 percent of the nonagricultural work force. Additionally, Japanese firms maintain some flexibility through the extensive use of subcontractors. This practice is much more common in Japan than in the United States.
The use of both subcontractors and temporary workers has increased markedly in Japan since the 1974 — 1975 recession. All this leads some to argue that the Japanese system is not all that different from the American system. During recessions Japanese corporations lay off temporary workers and give less business to subcontractors. In the United States, corporations lay off those workers with the least seniority. The difference then is probably less than the term “lifetime employment” suggests, but there still is a difference. And this difference cannot be understood without looking at the values of Japanese society. The relationship between employer and employee cannot be explained in purely contractual terms. Firms hold on to the employees and employees stay with one firm. There are also practical reasons for not jumping from job to job. Most retirement benefits come from the employer. Changing jobs means losing these benefits. Also, teamwork is an essential part of Japanese production. Moving to a new firm means adapting to a different team and at least temporarily, lower productivity and lower pay.
1. according to the passage, a woman in Japan ________.| A．cannot get a lifetime job | B．is impossible to get a part time job |
| C．will be employed for life | D．is among the regular workers |
| A．They don’t want to lose their retirement benefits. |
| B．They are not adaptable people. |
| C．Any change of jobs will make them less paid. |
| D．They get used to the team work. |
| A．Those who want to change jobs frequently in Japan should think twice. |
| B．Those who are first laid off by American corporations are temporary workers. |
| C．The use of subcontractors makes Japan films less flexible |
| D．The Japanese system is totally different from the American system |
10 . According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, we might all be braggarts (大话王) in this competitive society addicted to social networking.
Take a close look at your social-networking sites. Do you like to post photos of yourself in restaurants to show others what an exciting life you have? Or do you like to write about how happily in love you are? Or perhaps you are of the subtle type who constantly complain about jobs but really just want to impress others with your important position.
According to the results of a series of experiments conducted by Harvard University neuroscientists (神经科学家), the reward areas of our brain — the same areas that respond to “primary rewards” such as food — are activated when we talk about ourselves. We devote between 30 to 40 percent of our conversation time to doing just that. Unfortunately, Bernstein says, some people can’t tell the difference between sharing positive information that others might actually want to know and direct bragging. She suggests that bragging involves comparison, whether stated or implied.
“We are expected to be perfect all the time. The result is that more and more people are carefully managing their online images,” says Elizabeth Bernstein, a columnist with the Wall Street Journal.
But the issue is not limited to the Internet. In a fiercely competitive job market we must sell ourselves on multiple platforms and show that we are better than others. In fact, we have become so accustomed to bragging that we don’t even realize we are doing it, says Bernstein. This is harmful to our relationships and puts people off.
Bernstein talked to some experts who said that people brag for all sorts of reasons: to appear worthy of attention; to prove to ourselves we are doing fine and that people who said we would fail are wrong; or simply because we’re excited when good things happen to us.
“Feel sorry for them, because they’re doing this unconscious, destructive thing that won’t help them in the long run,” said Professor Simian Valier, a research psychologist at Washington University.
1. The underlined word “subtle” in Para.2 is closest in meaning to “________”.| A．hidden | B．apparent | C．outstanding | D．simple |
| A．They control conversation and only talk about themselves. |
| B．They know well how to share positive information. |
| C．They self-promote to stand out in their career. |
| D．They don’t pay much attention to their online image. |
| A．Braggarts make a good first impression but the effect decreases over time. |
| B．People who like bragging know what they are doing. |
| C．Braggarts always adopt comparison directly to show they are excellent. |
| D．They care much about the feelings of others when talking. |
| A．Are you a braggart? | B．Society addicted to networking |
| C．Why do we keep on bragging? | D．How to deal with a braggart? |
