If you dream in color, you’re not alone: the majority of people today claim to have colorful dreams. But it wasn’t always thus. Research conducted in the early part of the last century consistently found that people reported dreaming most often in black and white.
According to Eva Murzyn at the University of Dundee, there are at least two possible explanations for this strange situation.
The first is the methods used in the researches. The early studies tended to use questionnaires(问卷), while more modern studies use dream diaries (filled in upon rising in the morning) or so-called “REM-awakening”, which involves interrupting people’s dream-filled periods of sleep to find out what they were dreaming about. People’s memories of their dreams are likely to be less accurate by using the questionnaire approach and they are more likely to reflect their beliefs about the form dreams generally take in an unclear way.
The second explanation has to do with black and white television and film. It’s possible that the sudden increase in black and white film and television during the first half of the last century either affected the form of people’s dreams at that time, or affected their beliefs about the form dreams generally take.
According to Murzyn’s findings, it’s the explanation based on media exposure that carries more weight. She used both questionnaire and diary methods to study the dreams of 30 older (average age 64) and 30 younger people (average age 21).
The methodological technique made no difference to the type of dreams people reported. However, the extremely important thing was that, across both questionnaires and diaries, the older participants (who had had significant early life exposure to black and white media) reported experiencing significantly more black and white dreams over the last ten days than the younger participants (22 per cent vs. 4 per cent).
Another finding was that older participants reported black and white dreams and colorful dreams to be of equal clearness. By contrast, the younger participants reported that the quality of black and white dreams was poorer. This raises the possibility that the younger participants didn’t really have any black and white dreams at all, but were simply regarding poorly remembered dreams as black and white. We learn from the text that ______.
A.people in the first half of the last century never had colorful dreams |
B.older people are more likely to have black and white dreams |
C.the dreams of younger people are always colorful |
D.people today don’t have white and black dreams any more |
What did Murxyn do to find out the explanations for the colors in people’s dreams?
A.She applied both questionnaire and diary methods to study people’s dreams. |
B.She used diary methods to record people’s dreams. |
C.She chose 60 people to answer her questions about their dreams. |
D.She woke people up to record the colors of their dreams. |
What does the underlined expression “carry more weight” in paragraph 5 mean?
A.be heavier | B.be more powerful | C.be more important | D.be more useful |
From Murxyn’s findings we can infer that ______.
A.both older people and younger people could report colorful dreams clearly |
B.young people don’t have any black and white dreams in fact |
C.the color of a person’s dream is decided by one’s age |
D.it is probably the color of media that affects the color of one’s dream |
Gift No. I
Offer to be your mother's health friend. Promise to be there for any and all doctor's visits
whether a disease or a regular medical check-up. Most mothers always say "no need," another set of eyes and ears is always a good idea at a doctor's visit. The best part ? This one is free.
Gift No. 2
Help your mother organize all of her medical records, which include the test results and
medical information. Put them all in one place. Be sure to make a list of all of her medicines and what times she takes them. "Having all this information in one place could end up saving your mother's life," Dr. Marie Savard said.
Gift No. 3
Enough sleep is connected to general health conditions. "Buy your mother cotton sheets and comfortable pillows to encourage better sleep," Savard said. "We know that good sleep is very important to our health."
Gift No. 4
Some gift companies such as Presents for Purpose allow you to pay it forward this Mother's Day by picking gifts in which 10 percent of the price you pay goes to a charity (慈善机构) Gift
givers can choose from a wide variety of useful but inexpensive things -many of which are "green" - and then choose a meaningful charity from a list. When your mother gets the gift, she will be told that she has helped the chosen charity.What are you advised to do for your mother at doctor's visits?
A.Take notes. | B.Be with her. |
C.Buy medicine. | D.Give her gifts. |
Where can you find a gift idea to improve your mother’s sleep?
A.In Gift No. 1. | B.In Gift No. 2. |
C.In Gift No. 3. | D.In Gift No. 4. |
Buying gifts from Presents for Purpose allows mothers to
A.enjoy good sleep | B.be well-organized |
C.bet extra support | D.give others help |
Ellen Parker was worried about her health. She could not walk very quickly and it was
difficult for her to climb stairs. She was soon out of breath.
“I suppose I had better go to the doctor,” she thought.
She went to the doctor and told him her problem.
“I’m not at all surprised, ”he said. “It’s clear what your problem is.”
He examined her and then gave her some advice.
“If you don’t do what I say, Mrs. Parker,” he said, “you will have a heart attack. It could
kill you.”
Ellen was very worried as she left the doctor’s. She knew that she had to take his advice but
that it would not be easy and it would take time.
The next day she went shopping. The first shop she went into was a butcher’s shop(肉铺).
“I’d like ten pounds of steak(牛排), please,” she said.
“Certainly, madam,” the butcher replied and went into the cold room and found a large
piece of steak. He brought the huge piece of meat back into the shop and placed it on the scale
(天平).
“That’s just under ten pounds,” he said.
“That’s big enough,” Mrs. Parker said.
The butcher worked out the price.
“At $4. 99 a pound that will$49. 50, please. Would you like me to cut it up into
smaller pieces for you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to buy the meat,” Mrs. Parker said.
“If you don’t want to buy it,” the butcher replied angrily, “why did you ask me to get it for
you?”
“My doctor told me that I am overweight and have to lose ten pounds. I wanted to see what
ten pounds of flesh looked like.”The reason why Ellen Parker visited the doctor is that________.
A.she had had a heart attack. |
B.she had a problem with her health. |
C.she was unhappy about her weight. |
D.she could not sleep well. |
Parker asked for ten pounds of steak because ________.
A.she wanted to buy some for dinner. |
B.she wanted to lose weight. |
C.her doctor had told her to eat steak. |
D.she wanted to see what ten pounds of meat looked like. |
What was Ellen Parker’s real problem?
A.She ate too much steak. |
B.She weighed too much. |
C.The doctor did not know. |
D.She could not walk very quickly. |
What did the doctor think might happen to Ellen?
A.She might put on more weight. |
B.She might stop eating too much. |
C.She might have a heart attack. |
D.She might go to another doctor. |
A young boy was sitting in the back seat of the car eating an apple. He asked his father, “Why does my apple turn brown?” His father answered, “When the skin is removed, air reaches the flesh of the apple causes oxidation. This changes the apple’s molecular structure and results in a brownish color.”The boy asked,“Dad,what are you talking about?”
I know how that boy feels. Sometimes I want answers to some of those confusing questions that we all meet with, such as how to get through difficult times or what to do in a tough situation. I just want to get it right.
The problem is that I don’t always have the answer I need. Nobody else seems to have them, either. So I go on making mistakes and think that I’ll never get it right.
Often I didn’t know what to do. I often made poor choices, but I gradually improved. Then I realized that I don’t HAVE TO always get it right. I don’t have to always know what to do all the time. All I really need to do is try my best, learn from my mistakes and go on.
Dr. Leo Buscaglia once said, “No one gets out of this world alive, so the time to live, learn, care, share, celebrate and love is now. That would be pretty hard to do when you’re waiting for all the answers first.”
So you got it wrong. You made a mistake. So what should you do next? Forgive yourself and try again. You may not get out of this world alive, but you can get plenty of life out of this world if you are not too worried about always getting it right.In the beginning, the author tells the story of a boy and his father to ____.
A.show that the father is very knowledgeable |
B.say something interesting about apples |
C.show that children nowadays ask more questions |
D.introduce the topic of the passage |
How did the boy feel when he heard his father’s explanation?
A.He admired his father very much. |
B.He knew what his father meant. |
C.He felt it was difficult to understand. |
D.He thought that he had learned a lot from his father. |
What do Dr. Leo Buscaglia’s words mean?
A.We can search the answers when enjoying life itself. |
B.We must make right choices as often as possible. |
C.People have many desires when they enter the world. |
D.It is hard to lead a happy and satisfying life. |
What can be concluded from the passage?
A.We should try to learn and understand the answers to questions. |
B.We should learn from our mistakes and try again. |
C.It is very important to try to avoid (避免) mistakes. |
D.It is our duty to make the world a better place. |
What is the style of the passage?
A.novel | B.news | C.poem | D.essay |
Our interpersonal skills have a great effect on success in our daily lives. This appears not only in the workplace where we can make more money or enjoy our job more, but also shows itself in marriage, raising a family and the ability to reach goals in almost every area of life. Interpersonal skills come into play when our flight is cancelled and we need to make other arrangements. They come into play when a marriage is threatened by financial challenges or infidelity(不忠).
Our communication skills even matter when we are in traffic and we need to make a decision about how to respond to other drivers. Communicating with others becomes inseparable from having a good day, or a bad day not only in how we begin communication, but in how we react to the communications of others who are having a difficult time.
It can make a difference in saving a marriage or getting a divorce, celebrating a rise or getting fired, and even having your eggs cooked as the way you like at the local restaurant. Many wise men and women have stressed the importance of dealing with others in a skillful manner.
Getting feedback(反馈意见) from others can be of great value in improving our interpersonal communication skills. Often, however, others are not skilled at giving feedback. When we get negative results, they rarely include the details we need in order to improve our interpersonal skills.
Since life improves so much with greater communication skills, getting feedback and an opportunity to improve would be not only life-saving for pilots, but labor-saving for the rest of us. Contact Alice Aspen March for a free consultation today and see how you might improve your communication skills, or learn more about The Attention Factor.Which of the following can greatly influence our success in our daily life according to the passage?
A.The education we receive. |
B.The skills of making a decision. |
C.The nationality of our friends. |
D.Our interpersonal skills. |
What does the underlined word “They” refer to in the last sentence of Paragraph 1?
A.Family members |
B.Interpersonal skills. |
C.Husband and wife |
D.Challenges of lack of money. |
Why does the author mention “traffic” and “other drivers” in the second paragraph?
A.Just to call our attention |
B.To tell us the importance of communication skills. |
C.To lead us to think of a sad scene |
D.To help us not to forget traffic is very important. |
Which of the following is true?
A.Getting feedback from others can be valueless in improving our interpersonal skills. |
B.Even if we have good communication skills, we will surely not be able to improve our life. |
C.If we pay enough money, we can get some advice from Alice Aspen March. |
D.Many wise people think communicating with others needs skills. |
What’s the best title of the passage?
A.The Attention Factor |
B.The Problems of Marriage |
C.Interpersonal Skills |
D.The Relationship between Our Feelings and Traffic |
“Mainland couples who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined for breaking the family planning policy.” a senior official has warned. As more women flock to Hong Kong to give birth to their second child, Zhang Feng, family planning department director of Guangdong Province, stressed that this violated China’s policies. “And those who are government employees will even be dismissed from their posts.” he said.
''It doesn't matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland or in other countries and regions; they have violated the country's policies and the province's regulations''.
He said that some families had been punished in the past few months after having a second child in Hong Kong, but gave no details.
Zhang made his remarks when a Hong Kong newspaper carried a controversial notice claiming residents' medical services had been affected by the growing number of mainland women who arrive in the city to give birth and gain right of abode (居住) there.
According to statistics revealed by Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government, about 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010, but more than 41,000 or 47 percent, were to mainland couples, including a large number from Guangdong.
Hong Kong has limited the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in the city at 34,000 this year.
The issue also has caused calls for an amendment(修正) to Hong Kong's Basic Law so that babies born to mainland women are no longer granted permanent right of abode.
''I support Hong Kong government's decision to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong.'' Zhang said.
China introduced its family planning policy in 1979 to limit births in the world's most populous nation, although the rules have been relaxed in recent years.Which of the following is true?
A.Zhang Feng is family planning department director of Guangdong Province. |
B.Many government employees have been dismissed from their posts. |
C.Those who give birth to a second child in Hong Kong will be fined. |
D.It doesn’t matter if they give birth to their second child on the mainland. |
What does the word ''violated'' mean in the second paragraph?
A.was obeyed | B.went against |
C.was for | D.was dismissed |
Zhang Feng said that______.
A.few families had been punished after having a second child in China |
B.about 88,000 babies were born in Hong Kong in 2010 |
C.he agreed to reduce or limit the number for mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong |
D.the residents' medical services in Hong Kong had been affected |
From the passage we can infer______.
A.in 2010 most of the babies born in Hong Kong belonged to mainland couples |
B.babies born to mainland women in Hong Kong can't get permanent right of abode now |
C.the number of mainland women permitted to give birth in Hong Kong has been reduced |
D.the family planning policy in China is as strict as before |
Which is NOT the reason why some people want to give birth to a second child in Hong Kong?
A.They want to gain right of abode there for their babies. |
B.They want to escape being punished for breaking the family planning policy. |
C.They want their babies to enjoy the good medical services in Hong Kong. |
D.They want to cause calls for an amendment to Hong Kong's Basic Law. |