A new study suggests that listening to music in the office improves the speed and accuracy of tasks such as data entry, proof reading and problem solving.
In an office-based experiment, 88 per cent of participants were found to produce their most accurate work when listening to music. The study also found that 81 per cent completed their fastest work when music was played.
And it matters what type of music you listen to. For instance, if you’re doing your tax returns, then classical music is the most effective as it improves maths skills.
Listening to Jessie Jor Justin Bieber could also improve your speed, with 58 per cent of participants completing data entry tasks faster while listening to pop songs.
During proof-reading, dance music, such as David Guetta, had the biggest positive impact with participants increasing their speed by 20 per cent compared to tests undertaken with no music at all. Dance music also had a positive effect on spell-checking with a 75 per cent pass rate compared to 68 per cent when no music was played at all.
The research, undertaken by Brighton-based Mind lab International, suggests that silent offices may be the least productive.
‘The Music Works experiment revealed a positive correlation between music and productivity – overall it showed that when listening to music, nine out of 10 people performed better,’ said Dr David Lewis, chairman of Mind lab International.According to the passage, which of the following statements is NOT true?
| A．The research was carried out by Brighton-based Mind lab International. |
| B．When listening to music, ninety percent of the people performed better. |
| C．Music has a positive effect on work in the office |
| D．David Guetta is the head of the experiment |
In the experiment when doing proof –reading with dance music on, the participants could increase their speed by _____
| A．75 per cent | B．81 per cent |
| C．88 per cent | D．20 per cent |
Supposing you are an office worker doing tax returns, what kind of music can improve your working efficiency?
| A．pop music | B．dance music |
| C．classical music | D．rock music |
The underlined word “correlation” in the last paragraph refers to ___________
| A．association | B．effect |
| C．accuracy | D．improvement |
The main purpose of the passage is to _____
| A．describe and argue | B．inform and explain |
| C．compare and evaluate | D．discuss and assess |
It’s almost time to head back to school, and well, it’s never too early to start shopping for those school supplies. If you have some extra cash left over after shopping for backpacks and number two pencils, then treat your kid to some cool electronics you can borrow from them later.
Acer Aspire One: Net books are great for many reasons. Parents will love them because they’re extremely affordable and light compared to the average laptop. They’re also ideal for students who don’t quite need a computer but want one to do research, check email, or just surf the Web. You can find a black or white version for the low price of $99.
Fuji Fine Pix Z20fd: This sub-$200 digital camera is the perfect thing for any high school student. Available in five eye-catching colors, the Fine Pix Z20fd is a 10-megapixel(兆像素) camera. Media kids will appreciate the camera’s blog and auction mode, as well as the “one touch” movie recording option that allows them to edit movies before sharing them online. This is certainly an affordable camera for photo-lovers of any age.
Mimobot: USB flash drives are all pretty much the same, but if you want to treat your teen to a hip flash drive, check out Momobot.com. Each drive is packed with cool wallpaper, digital magazines, and so on. You can find them in 1GB, 2GB, 4GB and 8GB capacities(容量) at the price of $35-$100.
Samsung S2: Regardless of what your teen may tell you, there are other music players out there packed with plenty of great features. Samsung’s S2 MP3 player is nice enough to wear around the neck and small enough to take to the gym. It is available in five colors (red, black, white, purple, and green), comes in capacities of 1GB or 2GB, and is available for the low price of $40 or less.
1. Judging from the content, whom is this passage probably written for?
A. Teenagers. B. Teachers. C. Students. D. Parents.
2. According to the second paragraph, which picture is a model of Acer Aspire One?
A. 
B. 
C.
D.
3. Which is the most expensive of the four goods?
A. Acer Aspire One. B. Fuji Fine Pix Z20fd.
C. Mimobot. D. Samsung S2.
4. Which could be the best title for this passage?
A. Cheap Gifts for you
B. Gift Ideas for High School Students
C. Best Goods for your Babies
D. New Products for your Children
第三部分阅读理解（共20 小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
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，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
“Can I see my baby?” asked the happy new mother. The bundle(婴儿包) was placed in her arms and when she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped—the baby had been born without ears. Time, however, proved that the baby’s hearing was perfect except his appearance.
One day when he rushed home from school and threw himself into his mother’s arms, he cried out bitterly, “A boy, a big boy called me—a f-…freak.” She sighed, knowing that his life was to be endless of heartbreaks.
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but for that. He developed a gift for literature and music.
The boy’s father had a talk with the family doctor. Could nothing be done? “I believe we could graft(移植) on a pair of outer ears, if they could be donated,” the doctor decided. So the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by. “You’re going to the hospital, son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need. But it’s a secret,” said the father.
The operation was a brilliant success. His talents blossomed into genius. School and college became a series of successes. Later he married and entered the diplomatic(外交) service. “But I must know!” he urged his father. “Who gave so much for me? I could never do enough for him.”
“I do not believe you could,” said the father, “but the agreement was that you are not to know…, not yet.” The years kept the secret, but the day did come… one of the darkest days that ever pass through a son. He stood with his father over his mother’s casket(棺材). Slowly and tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to let out the secret.
1. The story is mainly about_______.
A. how a boy had new ears through an operation
B. what a devoted parent privately did for the child
C. how a disabled boy turned into a useful person
D. why a donator made a sacrifice to a bright boy
2 The underlined word “freak” in Paragraph 2 probably means “_______”.
A. slow-acting person B. ugly-looking child
C. badly-behaved student D. strangely-shaped creature
3. What can be inferred from the passage?
A. The agreement was between the donator and the family.
B. The boy was so popular that he was made class president.
C. Finally the boy came to know who the donator was.
D. The mother donated her ears to her son after she died.
4. We can learn from the passage that _______.
A. real love sometimes lies in what is done unknown
B. it is up to parents to help their children heart and soul
C. true beauty lies only in the heart not in appearance
D. it’s a virtue for young generations to learn to be grateful
第Ⅱ卷（非选择题，共35分）
第四部分：写作（共两节，满分35分）
第一节任务型读写（共10小题；每小题1分，满分10分）
阅读下面短文，根据所读内容在表格中的空白处填入恰当的单词。注意：每个空格只填一个单词。
In a memory – based competition between you and a chimp (猩猩); who do you think would win? If you put yourself on top, you might want to guess again.
In a test that challenged participants to remember numbers, a young chimp performed better than Japanese college students.
Here's how the test worked. At Kyoto University in Japan, human students and chimpanzee participants sat in front of a computer. Five numbers, ranging from 1 to 9, were combined with one another and then, they appeared at random places on the screen.
The numbers stayed on the screen for less than a second. In the first test, for example, participants saw the numbers for 650 milliseconds (about two- thirds of a second).
Then, each number disappeared and they saw a white square instead. Participants had to touch the squares in numerical order, based on the numbers that had been there a moment before.
In this test, the students touched the boxes in the correct order about 80 percent of the time. A young chimp named Ayumu performed equally well.
During a harder test, participants were only able to see the numbers for 210 milliseconds.
This time, students only succeeded in putting the boxes in the correct order about 40 percent of the time. But Ayumustill could select the boxes in the right order nearly 80 percent of the time.
Some people have what's called a "photographic memory", which allows them to remember a surprising number of details after just a quick glimpse of something. Ayumu's memory might work in a similar way, says lead researcher Tetsuro Matsuzawa.
The chimp's young age might have something to do with his impressive performance, too. In previous tests, the Japanese researchers found that young chimps performed better than their mothers.
The scientists are interested to see whether Ayumu loses his strong memory as he arrows older. They already know that young children sometimes have sharp memories when offered something photographical, but they lose this ability over time.
| Topic |
A (76) competition between human beings and chimps |
| Purpose |
To judge whose memory is better |
| The (77) of the first test |
◆A chimp and some Japanese students participated in the competition and sat before a computer. ◆Different (78) of five numbers appeared on the screen. ◆Each of the number was (79) by a white square. |
| The results of the second test |
◆Students (80) to put the boxes in the right order about 40% of the time. ◆Ayumu got the right order (81) the time of the students |
| Conclusion |
◆Some people have “photographic memory”, (82) some people to remember numbers after they (83) at something. ◆The chimps have the similar (84) to human beings’. ◆Young children, just like chimps, have strong memory but they’ll lose it when they (85) . |
A team from Krakow, in Poland, used functional magnetic resonance imaging (机能性核共振成像) (FMRI) to assess brain activity when 40 volunteers were shown various images. Men showed activity in areas which dealt with what action they should take in order to avoid or face up to danger. But the study found more activity in the emotional centers of women's brains. The researchers, from another university, carried out scans on 21 men and 19 women. Brain activity was monitored while the volunteers were shown images of objects and images from ordinary life designed to remind different emotional states.
The images were displayed in two runs. For the first run, only negative pictures were shown. For the second run, only positive pictures were shown.
While viewing the negative images, women showed stronger and broader activity in the left thalamus（神经床）. This is an area which passes sense information to the pain and pleasure centres of the brain. Men showed more activity in an area of the brain called the left insula（脑岛）, which plays a key role in controlling natural functions, including breath, heart rate and digestion. Generally, activity in this area tells the body to either run away from danger, or meet it head on - the so-called "fight or flight response".
While viewing positive images, women showed stronger activity in an area of the brain associated with memory. With men, the stronger activity was recorded in an area associated with visual processing. Dr Urbanik believes these differences suggest women may analyze positive stimuli（刺激）in a broader social context and associate positive images with a particular memory.
For instance, viewing a picture of a smiling child might remind memories of a woman's own child at this age. On the contrary, male responses tend to be less emotional.
1．The research shows that men response differently to compared with women.
A．different images B．ordinary life
C．different activities D．medical scan
2．According to the passage, when faced with danger, .
A．women react more slowly than men B．women usually try to avoid it
C．men usually have no reaction D．men react to it more directly
3．What is discussed in the 4 th paragraph? .
A．Men and women’s different memories
B．The different responses to the children
C．Different reactions to positive stimuli
D．Negative results of the visual processing
4．The passage mainly develops .
A．by inferring B．by comparing
C．by listing examples D．by giving explanations
An Experiment
Materials: Newspaper, ‘ACE’ hardware ruler (1/8 “think”), a flat table.
Purposes: We’ll show that there is air pressure pushing on us, from every direction while we’re on this Earth.
|
Procedure:
First put a thin ruler on a flat table with a little