Scientists have proved that sleeping and learning go hand in hand. Even a short nap can boost our memory and sharpen our thinking. But the relationship goes deeper than that.
“The brain is not passive while you sleep,” scientist Anat Arzi said. “It’s quite active. You can do many things while you are asleep.”
Arzi and her coworkers didn’t try to teach the sleeping volunteers any complex information, like new words or facts. Instead, the scientists taught volunteers to make new connections between smells and sounds.
When we smell something good, like a flower, we take deep breaths. When we smell something bad, we take short breaths. Arzi and her co-workers based their experiment on these reactions.
Once the volunteers fell asleep in the lab, the scientists went to work. They gave them a whiff of something pleasant and meanwhile played a particular musical note. They didn’t wake up, but they heard—and sniffed(吸气) deeply. Then the scientists gave the volunteers a whiff of something terrible and played a different musical note. Again, the volunteers heard and smelled—a short snort this
time—but didn’t wake up. The researchers repeated the experiment.
After just four repetitions, volunteers made a connection between the musical notes and their paired smells. When the scientists played the musical tone that went with good smells, the sleepers breathed deeply. And when the scientists played the musical tone that went with bad smells, the sleepers breathed briefly—despite there being no bad smell.
The next day, the volunteers woke up with the sound-smell connection. They breathed deeply when hearing one tone and cut their breaths short when hearing the other, which must have been unusual for them. Imagine walking down the street and taking a deep breath upon hearing a particular sound!In the study, the volunteers were taught _______.
| A．to become active during sleep |
| B．to tell the difference between smell |
| C．to learn new words and scientific facts |
| D．to make sound-smell connections |
How did the volunteers react when smelling something nice and hearing musical notes?
| A．They took a deep breath. | B．They had a wonderful dream. |
| C．They woke up at once. | D．They took a short breath. |
When the volunteers woke up the next day, they_______.
| A．learned how to play to musical tones |
| B．forgot what happened during their sleep |
| C．continued with the sound-smell connection |
| D．changed their reaction when hearing. |
The passage mainly tell us______
| A．special smells and sounds can improve our memory. |
| B．our brain can actually learn something new during the sleep. |
| C．the volunteers will always hear similar sounds in the street. |
| D．our brain can tell the difference between smells during the sleep. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
| A．A short sleep can improve our memory and sharpen our thinking. |
| B．Arzi and her coworkers didn’t try to teach the sleeping volunteer some simple information. |
| C．When the volunteer smelt something terrible, they didn’t wake up. |
| D．After four repetitions, volunteers made a connection between the musical notes and their pared smells. |
Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954 to a Mexican American family. As the only girl in a family of seven children, she often felt like she had “seven fathers,” because her six brothers, as well as her father, tried to control her. Feeling shy and unimportant, she retreated(躲避) into books. Despite her love of reading, she did not do well in elementary school because she was too shy to participate.
In high school, with the encouragement of one particular teacher, Cisneros improved her grades and worked for the school literary magazine. Her father encouraged her to go to college because he thought it would be a good way for her to find a husband. Cisneros did attend college, but instead of searching for a husband, she found a teacher who helped her join the famous graduate writing program at the University of Iowa. At the university’s Writers’ Workshop, however, she felt lonely----a Mexican American from a poor neighborhood among students from wealthy families. The feeling of being so different helped Cisneros find her “Creative voice.”
“It was not until this moment when I considered myself truly different that my writing acquired a voice. I knew I was a Mexican woman, but I didn’t think it had anything to do with why I felt so much imbalance in my life, but it had everything to do with it! That’s when I decided I would write about something my classmates couldn’t write about.”
Cisneros published her first work, The House on Mango Street, when she was twenty-nine. The book tells about a young Mexican American girl growing up in a Spanish-speaking area in Chicago, much like the neighborhoods in which Cisneros lived as a child. The book won an award in 1985 and has been used in classes from high school through graduate school level. Since then, Cisneros has published several books of poetry, a children’s book, and a short-story collection.Which of the following is TRUE about Cisneros in her childhood?
| A．She had seven brothers. | B．She felt herself a nobody. |
| C．She was too shy to go to school. | D．She did not have any good teachers. |
The graduate program gave Cisneros a chance to _____.
| A．develop her writing style | B．run away from her family |
| C．make a lot of friends | D．work for a school magazine |
According to Cisneros, what played the decisive role in her success?
| A．Her early years in college. | B．Her training in the Workshop. |
| C．Her childhood experience | D．Her feeling of being different. |
What do we learn about The House on Mango Street?
| A．It wasn’t success as it was written in Spanish. |
| B．It is the only book ever written by Cisneros. |
| C．It is quite popular among students. |
| D．It won an award when Cisneros was twenty-nine. |
The Most Direct Solution to Any Problem
When trying to solve various problems in life, an approach I find very useful is tofirst identify what I’d consider the most direct solution, regardless of how I feel about actually implementing (实施) it. What isthe clearest, most direct path tomy goal or the most efficient way to get around an obstacle?
Many problems will have multiple direct solutions, but often thesesolutions will be unpleasant at first glance because they’ll require courage, self-discipline, creativity, orpersistence to implement.
For example, suppose you want to lose weight. And suppose we can say that one of direct solutionsis to eat the same as you’re eating now and increase your exercise output by 500 calories a day. It may require discipline and persistence, but most people would agree that it will work if you follow through.
Another example: However, you don’t know how that person feels about you. One direct solution would be to simply walk up, explain your thoughts and feelings, and ask if she or he is interested in discussing the possibility of a closerrelationship. This will take less than a minute to say, and whatever the outcome is, at least you know where you stand.
Anyhow it’s very simple and straightforward.
What’s the simplest and quickest way to reach your goal, assuming that you had limitless courage and discipline?
| A．Of course this solution may require a lot of courage toovercome the possibility of rejection. |
| B．But if we can get ourselves to follow through, we know the solutions will actually work. |
| C．See if you can identify the most direct solution to some of your problems. |
| D．So the best way to overcome the difficulty is to ask your friends for advice. |
E. If you implement this rather simple solution, you’lllose weight.
F. Suppose you’re interested in starting a relationship with someone.
G. However, the solution implemented does not work.
While success is surely sweeter than failure, it seems failure is a far better teacher, and organizations that fail miserably often flourish (繁荣) more in the long run, according to a new study by Vinit Desai, assistant professor of management at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. Researchers have found that people missing their goals perform much better in the long run. That is because they gain more knowledge from their failures than their successes and the lessons are more likely to stay longer in their minds.
“We found that the knowledge gained from success was often fleeting while knowledge from failure stuck around for years,” said professor Desai, who led the study. “But companies often ignore failure. Managers may fire people or turn over the whole workforce while they should treat the failure as a learning opportunity.”
Prof Desai compared the flights of the space shuttle Atlantis and the Challenger. During the Atlantis flight last year, a piece of insulation (绝缘体) broke off and damaged the left solid rocket booster (助推火箭) but didn’t influence the program. There was little investigation. The Challenger was launched next and another piece of insulation broke off. This time the shuttle and its seven–person crew were destroyed. The disaster led to a major investigation resulting in 29 changes to prevent future disasters.
The difference in response in the two cases came down to this: Atlantis was considered a success and the Challenger a failure.
“Despite crowded skies, airlines are extremely reliable,” he said. “The number of failures is extremely small. And past researches have shown that older airlines, those with more experience in failure, have a lower number of accidents.”
Prof Desai doesn’t recommend finding out failure in order to learn. Instead, he advises organizations to analyze small failures to collect useful information rather than wait for major failures. Why did experts pay little attention to the problem of Atlantis?
| A．Because it worked perfectly. |
| B．Because the right booster was still OK. |
| C．Because nothing serious happened then. |
| D．Because fewer people died in the flight. |
Fewer accidents happen to older airlines in that ________.
| A．their planes couldn’t fly high in the sky |
| B．they gained much from experience in failure |
| C．their planes were often checked by the experts |
| D．they were unpopular among passengers |
The passage is written mainly to ________.
| A．show failure is a better teacher than success |
| B．explain why Challenger failed |
| C．introduce something about Prof Desai |
| D．tell managers how to achieve success |
Which writing strategy is NOT used in developing the passage?
| A．Giving definitions. |
| B．Making comparisons. |
| C．Analyzing causes. |
| D．Providing different examples. |
Kids Fishing Photo Contest
It certainly isn’t hard to “ picture it”, that is – smiles, laughs, looks of anticipation (期望) and excitement. So, join in the fun, catch the excitement of your child on film while fishing and enter his or her picture in the yearly Kids Fishing Photo Contest! The contest is sponsored by Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) in celebration of National Fishing Week!
The winning pictures are those that best catch the theme “kids enjoying fishing”. Children in the first through third place photographs of each category will receive different fishing-related prizes. Winning pictures will also be posted on the VDGIF website and may be used in all kinds of VDGIF publications. There is no need to be a professional photographer. Any photo will do.
Contest Rules
·Children in the photographs must fall into one of the following age groups when the picture is taken: 1—4, 6—10.
·Photos must not be more than 1 year old.
·Photos must be taken in Virginia.
·Children in a boat must be wearing a life jacket.
·Only one photo submission (提交) per child.
·Submit the photo on photograph quality paper, no CD’s accepted.
·Photos must not be bigger than “4×6” size.
·Please stick a piece of paper to the back of the photo including: name, age, address, phone number and location where the photograph was taken.
·A Photo Contest Release Form (PDF) must be submitted along with the photograph.
·Photos must be postmarked on or before April 19, 2013.
·Judging will take place in May and winners will be posted on the VDGIF website.
·Prizes will be sent directly to the winning children.
·This contest isn’t open to immediate family of VDGIF employees and sponsors. Immediate family members refer to children, siblings (同胞) or others living in the same household with a VDGIF or sponsor employee.
To Enter:
Send your photo, with the child’s name, age, phone number and address, along with the Photo Contest Release Form (PDF), to:
Kids Fishing Photo Contest
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
P.O. Box 11104
Richmond, VA 23230–1104The advertisement is intended for ________.
| A．children who are below 11 years old |
| B．people whose children like fishing |
| C．those who are good at photos |
| D．those whose parents like fishing |
The purpose of the contest is to ________.
| A．encourage people to take more pictures |
| B．help people realize the importance of fishing |
| C．celebrate a national fishing-related activity |
| D．encourage people to go fishing with kids |
Which of the following photos can enter the contest?
A. A photo which is in a CD.
B. A photo in which there is a 12-year-old girl.
C. A big photo which is “8×10” size.
D. A photo which was taken in Virginia on July 23, 2012. What should be sent with the photo together?
A. A life jacket.
B. A quality CD.
C. A stamped addressed envelope.
D. A Photo Contest Release Form.
When next year’s crop of high-school graduates arrive at Oxford University in the fall, they will be joined by a new face: Andrew Hamilton, the 55-year-old provost (教务长) of Yale, who will become Oxford’s vice-chancellor –– a position equal to university president in America.
Hamilton isn’t the only educator crossing the Atlantic. Schools in France, Egypt, Singapore, etc. have also recently made top-level hires from abroad. Yet the talent flow isn’t universal. High-level personnel (人员) tend to head in only one direction: Outward from America.
The chief reason is that American schools don’t tend to seriously consider looking abroad. For example, when the board of the University of Colorado searched for a new president, it wanted a leader familiar with the state government, a major source of the university’s budget. “We didn’t do any global consideration,” says Patricia Hayes, the board’s chair. The board finally picked Bruce Benson, a 69-year-old Colorado businessman and political activist who is likely to do well in the main task of modern university presidents: fund-raising. Fund-raising is a particularly American thing, since U.S. schools rely heavily on donations. The fund-raising ability is largely a product of experience and necessity.
Many European universities, meanwhile, are still mostly dependent on government funding. But government support has failed to keep pace with rising student numbers. The decline in government support has made fund-raising an increasingly necessary ability among administrators (管理人员), and has made hiring committees hungry for Americans.
In the past few years, well-known schools around the world have joined the trend. In 2011, when Cambridge University appointed Alison Richard, another former Yale provost, as its vice-chancellor, the university publicly stressed that in her previous job she had overseen (监督) “ a major strengthening of Yale’s financial position”.
Of course, fund-raising isn’t the only skill outsiders offer. The globalization of education means more universities will be seeking heads with international experience of some kind to promote international programs and attract a global student body. Foreigners can offer a fresh perspective (视角) on established practices. What is the current trend in higher education discussed in the text?
| A．Institutions worldwide are hiring administrators from the U.S. |
| B．More international students are being admitted to American universities. |
| C．University presidents are paying more attention to fund-raising. |
| D．A lot of activists are being hired as administrators. |
What do we learn about European universities from the text?
| A．The tuition they charge has been rising considerably. |
| B．They are strengthening their position by globalization. |
| C．Their operation is under strict government control. |
| D．Most of their money comes from the government. |
In what way do top-level administrators from abroad contribute to university development?
| A．They can improve the university’s image. |
| B．They will bring with them more international personnel. |
| C．They will view a lot of things from a new angle. |
| D．They can set up new academic subjects. |
Which of the following would make the best title of the text?
| A．High Education Globalization |
| B．Global Headhunting in Higher Education |
| C．Global Higher Education Cooperation |
| D．Universal Higher Education Development |