Who cares if money can’t buy you love? But it can still be your best friend forever. That’s one of the surprising findings in a new research paper, “The Power of Money”, published in me journal Psychological Science.
Like any best friend forever, money demonstrated to researchers its ability to soothe us, reduce our sense of social exclusion and even reduce life’s painful moments.
“I was surprised” says Katherine Vohs, one of the researchers and professor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. “The findings were surprising because no one had connected the meaning of money to pain. The money wasn’t buying the subjects more friends; it was only psychologically helpful.”
In the research ,students were told they would be participating in a test of finger dexterity(敏捷度). One group was given some paper money to count, while the other group was given blank pieces of paper. Once the counting was complete, all the test subjects were asked to dip their fingers into bowls of water heated to 122 degrees--roughly the temperature of a very hot bath.
Result? Those who had been counting money reported less pain than those who had not. Subjects also were asked about their feelings. Those who handled actual money reported feeling stronger even 10 minutes after they put down the cash.
Combined with previous experiments, the findings confirmed what researchers have long doubted, that money acts as a general panacea(万能药) in the brain, giving us social self-confidence and reducing physical pain without having to spend a dime on aspirin.
But can we get the same effect by using credit cards? “No, credit cards do not have the same effect, ” Vohs says. “They are scary for most people, and they in fact represent debt m many ways.” The findings could have an interesting effect in the business world, where recent trends have been to issue non-monetary rewards and bonuses instead of what was thought of as “cold, hard cash”.The underlined word “soothe” in Paragraph 2 is the closest in meaning to“_________” .
| A．encourage | B．remind |
| C．calm | D．trust |
What’s Katherine Vohs’s attitude towards the result of the study?
| A．He found it totally unexpected. |
| B．He had no doubt about it. |
| C．He thought it needed further experiments. |
| D．He thought it was not convincing. |
What do we know about the students involved in the study?
| A．They were divided into two groups according to their ages. |
| B．One group was given paper money while the other was given coins. |
| C．They were holding the money while dipping fingers into hot water. |
| D．Both groups were asked to dip fingers into hot water. |
We can 1earn from the passage that_________.
| A．the effect of money can only last until we put it down |
| B．money is both psychologically and socially helpful to us |
| C．the result of the research hasn’t been confirmed（证实）by experts |
| D．credit cards have the same effect on us as money |
The last paragraph suggests that___________.
| A．the recent trend in the business world is to give cash as rewards |
| B．employers should give non-monetary rewards to employees |
| C．cash is a better way to reward employees than credit cards |
| D．more and more employees prefer non-monetary rewards to cash |
It tastes just like chicken
Away from home, eating is more than just a way to keep your stomach full．It is a language all its own, and no words can say, "Glad to meet you ．．．glad to be doing business with you ．．．" quite like sharing a meal offered by your host．
Clearly, mealtime is not the time for you to say, "Thanks, but no thanks．" Acceptance of the food on your plate means acceptance of host, country, and company．So, no matter how difficult it may be to swallow, swallow．Or, as one experienced traveler says, "Travel with a cast-iron stomach and eat everything everywhere．"
Often, the food offered represents proudly your host country’s eating culture．What would Ataiericans think of a French person who refused to take a bite of homemade apple pie or sirloin? Our discomfort comes not so much from the thing itself; it comes from our umamiliarity with it．After all, an oyster has remarkably the same look as a sheep’s eye; and a first look at a lobster would remind almost anybody of a creature from a science fiction movie, not something you dip in butter and eat．By the way, in Saudi Arabia sheep’s eyes are a famous dish and in parts of China it’s bear’s paw soup．
Can you refuse such food without being rude? Most experienced business travelers say no, at least not before taking at least a few bites．It helps, though, to slice any item very thin．This way, you minimize the taste and the reminder of where it came from．Or, " Swallow it quickly, " as one traveler recommends．"I still can’t tell you what sheep’s eyeballs taste like．" As for dealing with taste, the old line that "it tastes just like chicken" is often thankfully true．Even when the "it" is really rat or snake．
Another useful piece of advice is not knowing what you are eating．What’s for dinner? Don’t ask． Avoid glancing into the kitchen or looking at English-language menus．Your host will be pleased that you are eating the food he offers, and who knows? Maybe it really is chicken in that soup．The purpose of the article is to ____．
| A．introduce unfamiliar food |
| B．share the writer’s personal experiences |
| C．suggest ways to overcome a cultural barrier |
| D．advise on how to politely refuse to eat foreign food |
According to the writer, people hesitate at strange food mainly due to ____．
| A．the way it looks | B．safety worries |
| C．lack of information about it | D．the unfamiliar atmosphere |
From the article we can infer that ____．
| A．an American may feel comfortable with sirloin |
| B．one should refuse strange food after a few bites |
| C．English-language menus are not always dependable |
| D．one needs a cast-iron stomach to travel in other cultures |
One may say "It tastes just like chicken．" when ____．
| A．showing respect for chicken-loving nations |
| B．greeting people with different dieting habits |
| C．evaluating chefs at an international food festival |
| D．getting someone to try a visually unpleasant meal |
Gifts for the hard to please
According to the passage, the Talking Travel Companion can be used to ____．
| A．mix colors | B．charge batteries |
| C．tell the time | D．cool the body |
Where is the passage probably taken from?
| A．A travel guide． | B．A product catalogue． |
| C．A research paper． | D．A sports magazine． |
All the listed products ____．
| A．are button operated | B．produce light |
| C．run on batteries | D．offer one year free repairs |
Once Dr．Mellinkoff invited me to join him at the hospital to discuss interesting cases with his students．The case at hand was a Guatemalan man, aged 34, who had a fever and many other medical ^problems．His condition was not improving, and there was not much hope he would live．
Dr．: Mellinkoff asked to see the patient．He introduced himself in Spanish and, in a very gentle voice, asked how he felt．The patient smiled and said everything was all right．Then the doctor asked if he was able to eat．The patient said that he had no desire to eat．
"Are you getting food you like?"
The patient said nothing．
"Do you get the kind of food you have at home?"
The answer was no．
The doctor put his hand on the man’s shoulder and his voice was very soft．
"If; you had food that you liked, would you eat it?"
"Yes, yes," the patient said．
The change in the patient’s appearance couldn’t have been more obvious．Nothing was said, but it was easy to tell that a message had been sent and! had also been received．
Later, the doctor asked why the Guatemalan man wasn’t getting food he could eat．One of the students said, "We all know how difficult it is to get the kitchen to make special meals．"
"Suppose," the doctor replied, "you felt a certain medicine was absolutely necessary but that our hospital didn’t carry it, would you accept defeat or would you insist the hospital meet your request?"
"I would probably insist," the student said．
"Very well," the doctor said．"You might want to try the same method in the kitchen．It won’t be-easy, but I can help you．Meanwhile, let’s get some food inside this man as fast as possible, and stay with it．Or he’ll be killed by hunger．By the way, there must be someone among you who can speak Spanish．If we want to make real progress, we need to be able to talk with him．"
Three weeks later．Doctor Mellinkoff told me that the Guatemalan man had left the hospital under his own power．It takes more than medicine to help sick people; you also have to talk to them and make them comfortable．The patient had no desire to eat because
| A．he was not hungry | B．he was seriously ill |
| C．he was given special meals | D．he was not satisfied with the food |
According to the passage, we can conclude that.
| A．the patient’s native language was Spanish |
| B．the patient’s illness was caused by hunger |
| C．Dr. Mellinkoff performed an operation on the patient |
| D．the hospital failed to provide the right medicine for the patient |
Which of the following words can be used to describe Dr. Mellinkoff?
| A．Cold. | B．Considerate. | C．Curious. | D．Careless. |
What do you think Dr. Mellinkoff wanted to tell his students in this case?
| A．Doctors should be good at foreign languages. |
| B．Doctors should know their patients’ real problems. |
| C．Doctors should try to improve their medical skills. |
| D．Doctors should have a good relationship ith their patients. |
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
Humans are naturally drawn to other life forms and the worlds outside of our own。We take delight in the existence of creatures and even whole societies Beyond our everyday lives.
This sense of wonder is universal. Look at the efforts that scientists（幻想）literature or movies like the lord of the rings. This sense of wonder draws us to each other，to the world around us ,and to the world of make-believe.but have we gone so far in creating worlds of fantasy that we are missing the pleasure of other worlds that already exist all around us?
Human beings，as biologists have suggested，possess an inborn desire to connect with and understand other life forms，However, people，especially in big eities，often lead rather isolated lives，In a study of British schoolchildren，it was found that children by age eight were much more familiar with characters from television shows and video games than common wildlife.without modem technology，a small Pond could be an amazing world filled with strange and beautiful plants，insects，birds，and animals 。when we lack meaning（交互）with the world around us,and somethings even with our families and friends，we seek to understand and communicate with things that exist only in our imaginations or on a computer screen。
The world of make-believe is not necessarily bad,but when the world of fantasy becomes the only outlet（出路）for our sense of wonder，then we are really missing something，we are missing a connection with the living world. Other wonderful wonderful worlds exist all around us.but even more interesting is that if we look closely enough，we can see that these worlds,in a broad sense,are really part of our own.The popularity of the lord of the rings.proves
| A．the close connection between man and the fantasy world |
| B．the wonderful achievements of fantasy literature |
| C．the fine taste of moviegoers around the world |
| D．the general existence of the sense of curiosity |
What can we infer from the underlined sentence in Paragraph 3?
| A．people are far less familiar witn the world of fantasy |
| B．the world around us could serve as a source of wonder |
| C．the world of fantasy can be mirrored by a small and lively pond. |
| D．Modern technology prevents us from developing our sense of wonder |
If our sense of wonder relies totally on the world of make-believe,we will
| A．fail to appreciate the joy in our lives |
| B．be confused by the world of make-believe |
| C．miss the chance to recognize the fantasy world |
| D．be trapped by other worlds existing all around us |
What is the main purpose of the passage?
| A．To show us the hidden beauty in our world. |
| B．to warn us not to get lost in the fantasy world. |
| C．To argue against the misuse of the sense of wonder. |
| D．To discuss the influence of the world of make-believe. |
请阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该选项的标号涂黑。
Sitting on the peaceful coast of Galapagos Islands. Ecuador, watching the sun move quietly into the sea, you shouldn’t forget that Charles Darwin (1809-1882) arrived here in 1835. He stayed on the islands for five weeks, observing various animals. This finally inspired (启发) his famous work, On the Origin of Species. You can certainly follow Darwin’s footsteps and enjoy a trip from four to seven days to the islands.
The most well-known animals of the Galapagos is the giant tortoise（巨型海龟），which can be seen moving slowly around the highlands of Santa Cruz, the second largest island in the archipelago （群岛）. Some of these creatures are so old that they might have been in their youth by Darwin himself.
Despite strict control over activities and timing, your stay on the Galapagos will be remembered as a chain of incomparable pictures; diving with sea lions that swim and play within inches of you; feeling small sharks touch your feet as you swim; and most magically, seeing a whale and her baby surface with a great breath of air.
Travelling between the islands and observing the wildlife that so inspired Darwin, so you will feel as though you are getting a special view of an untouched world. At night you will sleep on board the ship, leaving the wildlife in complete occupation of the islands, which are as undisturbed now as they have been since the beginning of time.What do we know about Danwin’s visit to the islands?
| A．He studied different creatures on the islands |
| B．He completed his famous book on the islands |
| C．He was touched by the geography of the islands |
| D．He was attracted by well-know animals of the islands |
which of the following plays a role in making the islands “a paradise for wildlife”?
| A．Animals on the islands feed on grass。 |
| B．Local government forbids killing wildlife. |
| C．People cannot visit the islands as they wish. |
| D．tourists are not allowed to touch the animals。 |
Your stay on the islands will be most impressive mainly because of .
| A．The beautiful sea views |
| B．Darwin’s inspiring trip |
| C．a closer view of animals |
| D．various daring activities |
which of the following would be the best title for the passage ？
| A．A Unique Attraction for wildlife Lovers |
| B．Calapagos as a Paradise for Aentures |
| C．Charles Darwin as a symbol of Calapagos |
| D．A successful Example of wildlife protection |