1 . The damage that aging does to a body extends all the way down to the cellular level. But the damage increased by cells in older muscles is especially severe, because the cells do not reproduce easily and they become weaker as their mitochondria (线粒体), which produce energy, reduce in energy and number. A study, however, suggests that certain sorts of exercise may remove some of what time can do to our mitochondria.
Exercise is good for people, as everyone knows. But scientists have surprisingly little understanding of its cellular impacts and how those might vary by activity and the age of the exerciser. So researchers recently conducted an experiment on the cells of 72 healthy but sedentary (久坐的) men and women who were 30 or younger or older than 64. After baseline measures were established for their aerobic (有氧的) fitness, their blood-sugar levels and the gene activity and mitochondrial health in their muscle cells, the volunteers were randomly assigned to a particular exercise program.
Some of them did weight training several times a week; some did interval training three times a week on exercise bicycles; some rode exercise bikes at a appropriate pace for 30 minutes a few times a week and lifted weights lightly on other days. A fourth group, the control, did not exercise. After 12 weeks, the lab tests were repeated. In general, everyone experienced improvements in fitness and an ability io regulate blood sugar.
But more unexpected results were found in the biopsies (活组织检查) muscle cells. Among the younger subjects who went through interval training, the activity levels had changed in 274 genes, compared with 170 genes for those who exercised more appropriately and 74 for the weight lifters. Among the older group, almost 400 genes were working differently now, compared with 33 for the weight lifters and only 19 for the appropriate exercisers.
It seems exercise could help contain the decline in the cellular health of muscles associated with aging, especially if it was intense, says Dr. Sreekumaran Nair, the study's senior author. In fact, older people's cells responded in some ways more strongly to intense exercise than the cells of the young did - suggesting, he says, that it is never too late to benefit from exercise.
1. Which of the following is the best title for the text?| A．Exercise Might Benefit Aging Muscles. |
| B．Exercise Might Increase Aging Muscles. |
| C．Exercise Might Do Harm to Mitochondria. |
| D．Aging Mainly Occurs in the Cellular Level. |
| A．Volunteers can not be good at exercising. |
| B．All volunteers must have the same baseline. |
| C．It was carried out among the youth of different sexes. |
| D．Volunteers received a random particular exercise program. |
| A．By analyzing every group's different data. |
| B．By comparing every group's training time. |
| C．By listing every group's different training. |
| D．By describing every group's training results. |
| A．The experiment did not get expected results. |
| B．Riding exercise bikes has no influence on the volunteers. |
| C．Weight lifting is the most useful training among these exercises. |
| D．Interval training brings stronger influence to the elder than to the youth. |
| A．Change. | B．Stop. | C．Record. | D．Cause. |
2 . Imagine taking to the skies, spreading your arms out and soaring（翱翔）through the clouds. Flying is indeed possible-in your dreams. But no one can control what happens in dreams, right? Wrong.
Dreams in which you are aware that you are dreaming and can control what happens are called lucid dreams（清醒梦）. These dreams are most common during the stage of sleep known as rapid eye movement（REM）sleep.
Lucid dreaming has been referenced throughout history. It’s mentioned in Greek philosopher Aristotle’s writing, as well as in Egyptian hieroglyphics（象形文字）and in the oral traditions of Australian aborigines. However, it wasn’t until 1975 that British psychologist Keith Hearne was credited as the first person to produce scientific proof that lucid dreams occur. Since then, we have learned much more about this phenomenon.
According to a study published in the journal Consciousness and Cognition, 55 percent of people have had a lucid dream at least once in their lifetime, while 23 percent experience lucid dreams once a month or more. Though these numbers show that the majority of people don’t have lucid dreams regularly, scientists are developing new technology for those who want to have this experience. For example, Curzio Vasapollo invented a device called ZMax, a headband that can monitor eye movements, body movements and heart rate to help people have a lucid dream.
But why would someone want to have lucid dreams? As it turns out, lucid dreaming can have many benefits. Alix Generous, a young woman suffering from autism（自闭症）, said in her TED talk：“I love lucid dreaming because it allows me to be free，without judgment of social and physical consequences.” Also, learning how to have lucid dreams may help those who suffer from nightmares. Through being able to control their actions, they may be able to overcome the cause of their fear.
Lucid dreams may encourage creativity as well. According to the website Notes Read, those who experience this dream state will find access to “an unbelievable fund of knowledge and inspiration”. For example, British American filmmaker Christopher Nolan took inspiration from his own lucid dreams when he wrote the 2010 sci-fi movie Inception. Maybe one day, everyone can indulge in（沉浸在）lucid dreams.
1. What can we know about lucid dreaming?| A．It’s likely to cause nightmares. |
| B．Most people experience lucid dreams. |
| C．It usually happens during REM sleep. |
| D．We can sleepwalk when lucid dreaming. |
| A．Aristotle’s writing. | B．Egyptian hieroglyphics. |
| C．Keith Hearne’s research. | D．Australian aborigines’ oral traditions. |
| A．to prevent nightmares | B．to do some literary writing |
| C．to experience a lucid dream | D．to have sweet dreams regularly |
| A．It can be a source of creativity. | B．It is an effective cure for autism. |
| C．It helps people adjust their heart rate. | D．It enables people to become confident. |
| A．To demonstrate new technologies to treat sleep disorder. |
| B．To give a general introduction of lucid dreaming. |
| C．To describe an experiment about lucid dreaming. |
| D．To present a way to deal with lucid dreaming. |
3 . Biologists from the John Innes Centre in England discovered that plants have a biological process which divides their amount of stored energy by the length of the night. This solves the problem of how to portion out（分配） energy reserves during the night so that the plant can keep growing, yet not risk burning off all its stored energy.
While the sun shines, plants perform photosynthesis（光合作用）. In this process, the plants change sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into stored energy in the form of long chains of sugar, called starch（淀粉）. At night, the plants burn this stored starch to fuel continued growth.
“The calculations are precise so that plants prevent starvation but also make the most efficient use of their food,” said study co-author Alison Smith. “If the starch store is used too fast, plants will starve and stop growing during the night. If the store is used too slowly, some of it will be wasted.”
The scientists studied the plant Arabidopsis, which is regarded as a model plant for experiments. To give the plants some math tests, the biologists let night arrive unexpectedly early or late for them.
During one of the exams, they shut off the lights early on them that had been grown with twelve-hour days and nights. Putting them into darkness after only an eight-hour day means they didn’t have time to store as much starch as usual. And this forced the plants to adjust their normal nightly rhythm.
Amazingly, even after this day length trick, the plants did very well in their exams and ended up with just five percent of starch left over at the end of the night. They had neither starved, nor stored starch that could have been used to fuel more growth.
The authors suggested that similar biological calculators may explain how a migratory bird, the little stint, can make a five-thousand-kilometer journey to their summer habitat in the Arctic and arrive with enough fat reserves to survive only approximately half a day more, on average.
The results of the study were published in e Life.
1. According to the passage, plants _________.| A．use little energy during the day |
| B．usually stop growing at night |
| C．waste a lot of energy at night |
| D．store starch during the day |
| A．They changed the plant’s light conditions. |
| B．They provided the plant with more starch. |
| C．They tried to keep the plant’s natural rhythm. |
| D．They attached a biological calculator to the plant. |
| A．nearly died of lack of food |
| B．used most of their stored energy |
| C．began to regulate their food store |
| D．stored enough starch for the next day |
| A．They may have a system to control energy consumption. |
| B．They often die during their long and difficult journey. |
| C．They leave the Arctic in summer every year. |
| D．They are unable to calculate the distances. |
| A．plants feel hungrier day by day |
| B．plants are good at storing energy |
| C．plants do math to survive the night |
| D．plants use starch to fuel their growth |
4 . When you hear “I have a dream…”, one of the most famous speeches in human history, you’ll never have the idea how the audience on the scene were fueled by emotional intelligence. When Martin Luther King. Jr. presented his dream, he chose language that would stir the hearts of his audience. Delivering this electrifying(震撼性的) message required emotional intelligence—the ability to recognize, understand, and manage emotions.
Emotional intelligence has been highly recommended by leaders, policymakers, and educators as the solution to a wide range of social problems. Emotional intelligence is important, but the uncontrolled enthusiasm has obscured (掩盖)a dark side. New evidence shows that when people sharpen their emotional skills, they become better at controlling others. When you’re good at controlling your own emotions, you can hide your true feelings. When you know what others are feeling, you can motivate them to act against their own best interests.
Social scientists have begun to document this dark side of emotional intelligence. In a research led by University of Toronto professor Jochen Menges, when a leader gave an inspiring speech filled with emotion, the audience was less likely to scrutinize (细察) the message and remembered the content. Ironically(讽刺 的是), audience members were so moved by the speech that they claimed to recall more of it.
The authors call this the awestruck effect, but it might just as easily be described as the dumbstruck effect. One observer reflected that Hitler’s persuasive impact came from his ability to strategically express emotions—he would “tear open his heart”—and these emotions affected his followers to the point that they would “stop thinking critically and just emote.”
Leaders who master emotions can rob us of our abilities to reason. If their values are out of step with our own, the results can be destructive. New evidence suggests that when people have self-serving motives, emotional intelligence becomes a weapon for controlling others.
Throwing light on this dark side of emotional intelligence is one mission of a research team led by University College London professor Martin Kilduff. According to these experts, emotional intelligence helps people disguise (伪装) one set of emotions while expressing another for personal gain. Professor Kilduff’s team writes, “The strategic disguise of one’s own emotions and the controlling of others’ emotions for strategic ends are behaviors evident not only on Shakespeare’s stage but also in the offices and corridors where power and influence are traded.”
Of course, people aren’t always using emotional intelligence for nefarious ends. More often than not, high EQ is helpful in most aspects of our life. Emotional intelligence—like any skill—can be used for good or evil. So whether it is a gift or a curse lies in your hand.
1. Why does the author mention Martin Luther King, Jr?| A．To honor the great leader for his courage. |
| B．To recommend his speech to other leaders. |
| C．To introduce the major topic to readers. |
| D．To advocate a society with fewer problems. |
| A．Developing the capability to control one’s own emotion. |
| B．Influencing people to do what brings disadvantages to them. |
| C．Appealing to the audience to concentrate and remember more. |
| D．Encouraging the moved audience to learn more of the speech. |
| A．His followers would tear open their hearts to him. |
| B．His followers would express emotions strategically. |
| C．His followers would lose the ability to reason properly. |
| D．His followers would develop the self-serving motives. |
| A．They disguise their true emotions and show another one. |
| B．They help their colleagues to build up confidence. |
| C．They present their strategic behaviors on the stage. |
| D．They lower their own dignity to gain popularity. |
| A．Immoral. | B．Unimportant. | C．Illegal. | D．Uncontrollable. |
| A．The benefits of emotional intelligence. |
| B．The advantages and disadvantages of emotions. |
| C．The reasons for using emotional skills. |
| D．The dark side of emotional intelligence. |
5 . A new study has found no evidence that sunscreen, commonly used to reduce the risk of skin cancer, actually increases the risk.
Researchers from the University of Iowa based their findings on a review of 18 earlier studies that looked at the associstion between sunscreen use and melanoms(黑素瘤). They said that they found flaws in studies that had reported associations between sunscreen use and higher risk of melanoma.
Most health experts believe that by protecting the skin from the harmful effects of the sun, sunscreen helps prevent skin cancer, which is increasing in incidence (发生率) faster than any other cancer in the United States.
But questions have been raised about sunscreen and whether it may have the opposite effect, perhaps by allowing people to remain exposed to the sun longer without burning.
The researchers said that among the problems with some earlier studies is that they often failed to take into account that those people most at risk for skin cancer—people with fair skin and freckles（雀斑）, for example—are more likely to use sunscreen. As a result, it may appear that sunscreen users get cancer more often.
The studies, which generally relied on volunteers to recall their sunscreen use, were also unable to prove how well the products had been applied, said the new study.
1. What is the meaning of the underlined word “flaws” in the 2nd paragraph?| A．Evidences | B．Facts | C．Faults | D．Failures |
| A．They seldom use sunscreen. |
| B．They are more in danger of skin cancer. |
| C．They can be free from the harm of the sun. |
| D．They often expose themselves to the sun. |
| A．Sunscreen users get skin cancer more often. |
| B．The volunteers have proved the effect of sunscreen. |
| C．The new study was based on the experiences of volunteers. |
| D．The number of skin cancer patients is increasing in America. |
| A．Sunscreen to Prevent Skin Cancer |
| B．Sunscreen to Increase Skin Cancer |
| C．Skin Cancer Caused by Sunscreen |
| D．Skin Cancer Caused by Freckles |
6 . Energy independence. It has a nice ring to it. Doesn’t it? If you think so, you’re not alone, because energy independence has been the dream of American president for decades, and never more so than in the past few years, when the most recent oil price shock has been partly responsible for kicking off the great recession.
“Energy independence” and its rhetorical(修辞的) companion “energy security” are, however, slippery concepts that are rarely though through. What is it we want independence from, exactly?
Most people would probably say that they want to be independent from imported oil. But there are reasons that we buy all that old from elsewhere.
The first reason is that we need it to keep our economy running. Yes, there is a trickle(涓涓细流) of biofuel(生物燃料) available, and more may become available, but most biofuels cause economic waste and environmental destruction.
Second, Americans have basically decided that they don’t really want to produce all their own oil. They value the environmental quality they preserve over their oil imports from abroad. Vast areas of the United States are off-limits to oil exploration and production in the name of environmental protection. To what extent are Americans really willing to endure the environmental impacts of domestic energy production in order to cut back imports?
Third, there are benefits to trade. It allows for economic efficiency, and when we buy things from places that have lower production costs than we do, we benefit. And although you don’t read about this much, the United States is also a large exporter of oil products, selling about 2 million barrels of petroleum products per day to about 90 countries.
There is no question that the United States imports a great deal of energy and, in fact, relies on that steady flow to maintain its economy. When that flow is interrupted, we feel the pain in short supplies and higher prices. At the same time, we derive massive economic benefits when we buy the most affordable energy on the world market and when we engage in energy trade around the world.
1. What does the author say about energy independence for America?| A．It sounds very attractive. |
| B．It ensures national security. |
| C．It will bring oil prices down. |
| D．It has long been everyone’s dream. |
| A．They keep America’s economy running healthily. |
| B．They prove to be a good alternative to petroleum. |
| C．They do not provide a sustainable energy supply. |
| D．They cause serious damage to the environment. |
| A．It wants to expand its storage of crude oil. |
| B．Its own oil reserves are quickly running out. |
| C．It wants to keep its own environment clean. |
| D．Its own oil production falls short of demand. |
| A．It proves profitable to both sides. |
| B．It improves economic efficiency. |
| C．It makes for economic prosperity. |
| D．It saves the cost of oil exploration. |
| A．To justify America’s dependence on oil imports. |
| B．To arouse Americans’ awareness of the energy crisis. |
| C．To stress the importance of energy conservation. |
| D．To explain the increase of international oil trade. |
| A．Originate. | B．Acquire. | C．Require. | D．Produce. |
7 . Spending over a year in the bleak (荒凉的) Antarctica might change your brain for the worse, according to new research out this month. It seems to show that polar explorers who lived for 14 months at an Antarctica research station experienced brain shrinkage, likely as a result of their loneliness and boredom.
The study’s authors used MRI (核磁共振) to scan the brains of eight members of a team before they began a long stay at the German-run research station. During their mission. the team periodically took tests of their cognition and memory and provided blood samples that allowed the study authors to measure their levels of a protein important for brain health called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). When they returned, they had their brains scanned again.
Finally, compared to themselves before the mission, the explorers' brains appeared to have less grey matter on average. The shrinkage was most apparent in the hippocampus, in area of the brain key to memory and cognition. Their average levels of BDNF also dropped during the trip and didn’t improve significantly even after one-and-a-half months back home.
The study's findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, aren't the first to suggest that long time of being separated can change the brain. But practically all of this work has involved animals, according to the researchers.
Of course, an eight-person study is small, so any of its conclusions should be taken with caution. Lead author Alexander C. Stahn, now a researcher at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said that the effects on the hippocampus are likely temporary, provided the scientists returned back to a life filled with social interaction and interesting things to see.
Still, since people will continue traveling to and from Antarctica for long periods of time, the findings are definitely worth keeping in mind and exploring further. They might even prove relevant for the rare few people who might travel as far as Mars in the future — perhaps the only similarly scientific, months-long mission that would be even more lonely.
1. What will do damage to the brain according to the first paragraph?| A．Doing research in brain shrinkage | B．Traveling to the Antarctica. |
| C．Working as a researcher in a station. | D．Being in a lonely place for a long time. |
| A．By comparing the scanned results. | B．By studying the previous figures. |
| C．By making a long-term program. | D．By scanning the participants’ brains. |
| A．They were no longer used to the civilized world. |
| B．They had some difficulty in remembering things. |
| C．They became normal after one-and-a-half months. |
| D．They published their findings in a medical magazine. |
| A．The scientists are provided with various social activities. |
| B．Long time of being separated can change the brain of all animals. |
| C．Other researches have the same findings as the study. |
| D．Its conclusion may be relevant for those who are fond of travelling. |
| A．The importance of the finding. | B．The disadvantage of the finding. |
| C．The future development of the space. | D．The possibility of travelling to Mars. |
8 . Ask any readers who their favorite fictional character in a novel is and you'll likely get a detailed explanation about the beloved character that they admire. It might even sound like they're talking about a person they know.
In a study, researchers looked at the brains of a group of people over nine days. Half of the group read the novel Pompeii, and half didn't. After examining, researchers found the readers' brains showed heightened connectivity in some areas. This is likely because the brain imagines the movement and emotions of the character they read about in the book. Even though the participants were then asked not to read the novel, they kept this heightened connectivity. We call that a "shadow activity", almost like a muscle memory. So even after you've finished a book, your brain keeps those benefits for some time afterwards.
It has been suggested that people who read a lot of fiction become more empathic (移情的),because fiction is a simulation (模仿)of social experiences, in which people practice and improve their interpersonal skills. The people who not only read fiction, but felt a high level of "emotion transportation" while reading as compared to people who weren't taken by the story or who read non-fiction displayed higher levels of empathy when tested. Increase of empathy is important for people because empathy is positively related to creativity, performance at work and cooperative behaviors.
Besides, reading improves "Theory of Mind". It is “the ability to understand that others have mental states that are different from one' s own.” Of various activities, reading novels has been found to improve this ability, while watching television programs or movies has been found to do just the opposite a reduced understanding of others and weaker cognitive (认知的)development overall.
Maybe we should put more of a priority on novel-reading. And many readers believe that reading a novel is far better and more meaningful than watching any movie. As David Kidd of the New School study said, “Fiction is not just a simulator of a social experience; it is a social experience."
1. Which of the statements is true according to Paragraph 2?| A．When they finish a book, the brain connectivity disappears. |
| B．The participants in the study all read the novel Pompeii. |
| C．Reading novels increases connectivity in our brain. |
| D．Reading novels helps enhance our memory greatly. |
| A．They tend to be emotional in social experiences. |
| B．They are more likely to be innovative and cooperative. |
| C．They have poor interpersonal skills. |
| D．They are more sensitive to others' views. |
| A．It distinguishes your views from those of others. |
| B．It contributes to your cognitive development. |
| C．It reduces your empathy for others a lot. |
| D．It changes your overall mental states. |
| A．Preference. | B．Authority. |
| C．Exposure. | D．Evaluation. |
| A．Reading fiction VS Watching movie | B．Reading fiction makes a full man |
| C．Novel-reading is a ''shadow activity" | D．Novel-readers share emotions |
9 . If you’ve ever found yourself scratching your head over a decision when the answer is obvious, now there’s a scientific reason behind it. “The problem is ‘decision fatigue’ — a psychological phenomenon that influences the quality of your choices after a long day of decision making, causing indecision or poor choices.” says Evan Polman, a leading psychologist.
Physicians who have been on the job for several hours, for example, are more likely to prescribe antibiotics (开抗生素) to patients when it's unwise to do so. “Probably it’s because it’s simple and easy to write a prescription and consider a patient case closed rather than investigate further,” Polman says.
But interestingly, decision fatigue goes away when you are making the decision for someone else. When people imagine themselves as advisers and imagine their own choices as belonging to someone else, they feel less tired and rely less on decision shortcuts to make those choices. “By taking upon the role of adviser rather than decision maker, one does not suffer the consequences of decision fatigue,” he says. “It’s as if there’s something fun and relieving about making someone else’s choice.”
“Getting input from others not only offers a fresh idea and thought process; it often also includes riskier choices. While this sounds undesirable, it can be quite good,” says Polman. “When people experience decision fatigue, they have a tendency to choose to go with the status quo (现状),” he says. “But the status quo can be problematic, since a change in the course of action can sometimes be important and lead to a positive outcome.” In order to achieve a successful outcome or reward, some level of risk is almost always essential. “People with decision fatigue will likely choose to do nothing over something,” he says, “That’s not to say that risk is always good, but it is related to taking action whereas decision fatigue certainly leads to inaction.”
“Just because you can make good choices for others doesn’t mean you’ll do the same for yourself,” Polman cautions. “Research has found that women negotiate higher salaries for others than they do for themselves,” he says, adding that people slip in and out of decision roles.
1. Decision fatigue may cause people to make decisions that are_______________.| A．reasonable | B．objective |
| C．unwise | D．smart |
| A．A consumer buys a lot of food to prepare for a dinner. |
| B．A judge makes a less convincing judgment late in the day. |
| C．A student plans to finish his math homework in the morning. |
| D．A physician advises the patient to drink more water after examination. |
| A．When they take decision shortcuts. |
| B．When they have advisers to turn to. |
| C．When they have major decisions to make. |
| D．When they help others to make decisions. |
| A．They stop trying anything new. |
| B．They adopt a totally new idea. |
| C．They tend to make risky decisions. |
| D．They turn to physicians for advice. |
| A．It will often end in regret. |
| B．It is likely to cause serious consequences. |
| C．It will enable people to be more creative. |
| D．It is necessary to achieve successful outcome. |
10 . If you believe that scientists and artists are most creative when they're young, you are missing an important part of the story. A new study published in De Economist looked at Nobel Prize winners in the field of economics. It found there are two different peaks of creativity. One comes early in a person's career, while another comes later.
The research supports previous work by the authors that found similar patterns in the arts and other sciences.
"We believe what we found in this study isn't limited to economics, but could apply to creativity more generally," said Bruce Weinberg, lead author of the study and professor of economics at The Ohio State University.
"Many people believe that creativity is exclusively associated with youth, but it really depends on what kind of creativity you're talking about."
In the study, those who did their most groundbreaking work early in their careers tended to be "conceptual" innovators（创新者）.
These type of innovators "think outside the box", challenging conventional wisdom and suddenly coming up with new ideas. Conceptual innovators are not yet immersed（沉浸于）in the accepted theories of their field, Weinberg said.
But there is another kind of creativity, he said, which is found among "experimental" innovators. These innovators accumulate knowledge through their careers and find new ways to understand it.
The long periods of trial and error for important experimental innovations come later in a Nobel laureate's（荣誉获得者的）career.
"Whether you hit your creative peak early or late in your career depends on whether you have a conceptual or experimental approach," Weinberg said.
The researchers took a novel, empirical（经验主义的）approach to the study, which involved 31 laureates. They arranged the laureates on a list from the most experimental to most conceptual.
This ranking was based on the laureates' most important work, classifying them into "conceptual" or "experimental".
After classifying the laureates, the researchers determined the age at which each laureate made his most important contribution to economics and could be considered at his creative peak.
They found that conceptual laureates peaked between ages 25 and 29. Experimental laureates peaked when they were roughly twice as old, in their mid-50s.
"Our research suggests that when you're most creative is more about how you approach your work."
1. What does the underlined phrase "think outside the box" mean?| A．Follow rules strictly. | B．Experiment on boxes. |
| C．Break old thought patterns. | D．Figure out how to escape from a box. |
| A．They usually come up with new ideas all of a sudden. |
| B．They make discoveries through constant trial and error. |
| C．The majority of them reach their creative peak in their twenties. |
| D．They make more contributions than "conceptual" innovators. |
| A．The study is not the first of its kind. |
| B．The conclusion can be applied to other areas. |
| C．The laureates' most important work decides whether they are "conceptual" or "experimental". |
| D．The "conceptual" won their Nobel Prizes between ages 25 and 29. |
| A．One's personality type. | B．What kind of job one takes. |
| C．How one handles their work. | D．One's attitude toward their work. |
| A．Creativity comes at any age, young or old. |
| B．Creativity tends to decrease as people get older. |
| C．Economists, artists and other scientists have much in common. |
| D．Economists are more creative than artists and other scientists. |
