Two recent studies have found that punishment is not the best way to influence behavior.
One showed that adults are much more cooperative if they work in a system based on rewards. Researchers at Harvard University in the United States and the Stockholm School of Economics in Sweden did the study.
They had about two hundred college students play a version of the game known as the Prisoner’s Dilemma. The game is based on the tension (紧张气氛) between the interests (利益) of an individual and a group. The students played in groups of four. Each player could win points for the group, so they would all gain equally. But each player could also reward or punish each of the other three players, at a cost to the punisher.
Harvard researcher David Rand says the most successful behavior proved to be cooperation. The groups that rewarded it the most earned about twice as much in the game as the groups that rewarded it the least. And the more a group punished itself, the lower its earnings were. The group with the most punishment earned twenty-five percent less than the group with the least punishment. The study appeared last month in the journal Science.
The other study involved children. It was presented last month in California at a conference on violence and abuse. Researchers used intelligence tests given to two groups. More than eight hundred children aged two to four the first time they were tested. More than seven hundred children aged five to nine.
The two groups were retested four years later, and the study compared the results with the first test. Both groups contained children whose parents used physical punishment and children whose parents did not. The study says the IQs--or intelligence quotients--of the younger children who were not spanked were five points higher than those who were. In the older group, the difference was almost three points.
Murray Strauss from the University of New Hampshire worked with Mallie Paschall from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation. Professor Strauss has written extensively about physical punishment of children. He says the more they are spanked, the slower their mental development. He also looked at average IQs in other nations and found them lower where spanking was more common.Which could be the best title of the passage?
| A．Punishment |
| B．The Best Way to Influence Behavior. |
| C．Punishment or Reward: Which Works Better on Behavior? |
| D．Two Recent Studies. |
The underlined word “spanked” probably means______.
| A．won | B．punished | C．tested | D．praised |
According to the passage, the researchers may agree the best way to influence behavior is______.
| A．rewarding good behavior |
| B．correcting bad behavior |
| C．punishing badly-behaved children |
| D．praising well-behaved children |
The author develops the passage______.
| A．in order of time |
| B．in order of importance |
| C．by describing his experiences |
| D．by using quotations and statistics |
About six years ago I was eating lunch in a restaurant in New York City when a woman and a young boy sat down at the next table, I couldn’t help overhearing parts of their conversation. At one point the woman asked, “So, how have you been?” And the boy — who could not have been more than seven or eight years old — replied. “Frankly, I’ve been feeling a little depressed lately.”
This incident stuck in my mind because it confirmed (确认) my growing belief that children are changing. As far as I can remember, my friends and I didn’t find out we were “depressed”, that is, in low spirits, until we were in high school.
Undoubtedly a change in children has increased steadily in recent years. Children don’t seem childlike anymore. Children speak more like adults, dress more like adults and behave more like adults than they used to.
Whether this is good or bad is difficult to say, but it certainly is different. Childhood as it once was no longer exists. Why?
Human development is depended not only on born biological states, but also on patterns of gaining social knowledge. Movement from one social role to another usually involves learning the secrets of the new social positions. Children have always been taught adult secrets, but slowly and in stages; traditionally, we tell sixth graders things we keep hidden from fifth graders.
In the last 30 years, however, a secret-revelation (揭示) machine has been equipped in 98 percent of American homes. It is called television. Television passes information to all viewers alike, whether they are children or adults. Unable to resist the temptation (诱惑) , many children turn their attention from printed texts to the less challenging, more attractive moving pictures.
Communication through print, as a matter of fact, allows for a great deal of control over the social information which children will gain. Children must read simple books before they can read complex materials.
67. According to the author, feeling depressed is ________.
A. a sure sign of a mental problem in a child
B. a mental state present in all humans, including children
C.something that cannot be avoided in children’s mental development
D. something hardly to be expected in a young child
68. Traditionally, a child is supposed to learn about the adult world _________.
A.through connection with society B. gradually and under guidance
C. naturally without being taught D. through watching television
69. According to the author, that today’s children seem adultlike results from ______.
A. the widespread influence of television
B. the poor arrangement of teaching content
C. the fast pace of human scientific development
D. the rising standard of living
70. What does the author think of communication through print for children?
A. It enables children to gain more social information.
B. It develops children’s interest in reading and writing.
C. It helps children to read and write well.
D. It can control what children are to learn.
71. What does the author think of the change in today’s children?
A. He feels their adultlike behavior is so funny.
B. He thinks the change worthy of note.
C. He considers it a rapid development
D. He seems to be upset about it.
A 17-year-old boy, caught sending text messages in class, was recently sent to the vice principal's office at Millwood High School in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The vice principal, Steve Gallagher, told the boy he needed to focus on the teacher, not his cellphone. The boy listened politely and nodded, and that's when Mr. Gallagher noticed the student's fingers moving on his lap. He was texting while being scolded for texting. “It was a subconscious act,” says Mr. Gallagher, who took the phone away. “Young people today are connected socially from the moment they open their eyes in the morning until they close their eyes at night. It's compulsive.”
A study this year by psychology students at Covenant College in Lookout Mountain, Ga., found that the more time young people spend on Facebook, the more likely they are to have lower grades and weaker study habits. Heavy Facebook users show signs of being more sociable, but they are also more likely to be anxious, hostile or depressed. (Doctors, meanwhile, are now blaming addictions to 'night texting' for disturbing the sleep patterns of teens.)
Almost a quarter of today's teens check Facebook more than 10 times a day, according to a 2009 survey by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit group that monitors media's impact on families. Will these young people get rid of this habit once they enter the work force, or will employers come to see texting and 'social-network checking' as accepted parts of the workday?
Think back. When today's older workers were in their 20s, they might have taken a break on the job to call friends and make after-work plans. In those earlier eras, companies discouraged non-business-related calls, and someone who made personal calls all day risked being fired. It was impossible to imagine the constant back-and-forth texting that defines interactions among young people today.
Educators are also being asked by parents, students and educational strategists to reconsider their rules. “In past generations, students got in trouble for passing notes in class. Now students are adept at texting with their phones still in their pockets,” says 40-year-old Mr. Gallagher, the vice principal, “and they're able to communicate with someone one floor down and three rows over. Students are just fundamentally different today. They will take suspensions rather than give up their phones.”
63. The underlined word “a subconscious act” refers to an act __________.
A. on purpose B. without realization C. in secret D. with care
64. Young people addicted to the use of Facebook _________.
A. are good at dealing with the social relationships and concentrate on their study
B. have high spirits and positive attitudes towards their life and work
C. have been influenced mentally in the aspects of behaviors and habits
D. are always in bad mood and have poor performance in every respect
65. Mr. Gallagher reminds us that the students in the past and those today _________.
A. like to break rules and have the same means of sending messages
B. are always the big problem for the educators and their parents
C. like sending text messages but those today do it in a more secret and skillful way
D. cannot live without a cellphone
66. What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Teenagers and Cellphones B. Teenagers’ Texting Addiction
C. Employers and Teenagers D. Teenagers’ Education
Below is adapted from an English dictionary
| figure/fīg ə / noun, verb ●noun 1. [C, often pl.] a number representing particular amount, especially one given in official information: the trade /sales figures 2. [C] a symbol rather than a word representing one of the numbers between 0 and 9: a six-figure salary 3. [pl] (informal) the area of mathematics that deals with adding, multiplying, etc 4. a person of the type mentioned: Gandhi was both a political and a religious figure in Indian history. 5. the shape of a person seen from a distance or not clearly 6. a person or an animal as shown in art or a story: a wall with five carved figures in it 7. [C] the human shape, considered from the point of view of being attractively thin: doing exercise to improve one’s figure 8. [C] a pattern or series of movements performed on ice: figure-skating [IDM] be/become a figure of fun: be/become sb. that others laugh at cut a…figure: (of a person) to have a particular appearance He cut a striking figure in his dinner jacket. put a figure on sth.: to say the exact price or number of sth. |
s a fine figure of man/woman: a tall, strong-looking and well-shaped person figure of speech: a word or phrase used in a different way from its usual meanings in order to create a particular mental image or effect figurehead: someone who is the head or chief in name only (with no real power or authority) ●verb 1. to think or decide that sth. will happen or is true: I figured that if I took the night train, I could be in Scotland by morning. 2. to be part of a process, situation, etc. especially an important part: My opinion of the matter didn’t seem to figure at all. 3. to calculate an amount or the cost of sth.: We figured that attendance at 150,000. [PHRV] 1. figure in: to include (in a sum): Have you figured in the cost of hotel? 2. figure on: to plan on; to expect sth. to happen: I haven’t figured on his getting home too late. 3. figure out: to work out; understand by thinking: Have you figured out how much the trip will cost? [IDM] It/That figures! (informal): That seems reasonable, logical and what I expect. |
60. I didn’t really mean my partner is a snake; it was just a ______.
A. figure of eight B. figure head C. figure of speech D. a fine figure
61. ---She was coming late again. ---______! That’s typical of her.
A. It figures her out B. It figures
C. It cuts a poor figureD. She is a figure of fun
62. What does “watch my figure” in the sentence “Don’t tempt me with chocolate; I am watching my figure.” mean?
A. add the numbers B. have sports C. try not to get fat D. watch games
第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
China has become an increasingly appealing market for Hollywood films, so it was inevitable that Academy Award-winning director James Cameron would touch down in Beijing Wednesday to promote his latest big-budget movie, Avatar.
During his 20-hour stay in the city, he shared with local media and some lucky fans details of his new film and shared his insights on China's growing film industry.
Having toured numerous countries for the promotion of Avatar since the film globally premiered on December 10, Cameron said he anticipated the visit to China for some time and apologized for his hoarse and tired voice.
"It is so sad for a director not being able to shout," he joked at the beginning of the press conference Wednesday afternoon, announcing that the 3D science fiction film will open in China on January 4.
Cameron collected 360 million yuan (US$52.7 million) at the box office in China with his blockbuster Titanic in 1998, a record that held for ten years until it was broken by Transformers in 2008.
Considering that another computer-generated, live action flick, 2012, has sold more movie tickets in China than in the US, the director said he is positive about Avatar's performance in China.
"Our partner here, the China Film Group, has given us great confidence," he explained, saying that the number of 3D screens has grown from 500 to 600 in the past month, a never-seen-before growth in Chinese mainland.
China is second only to the US as the country with the most 3D screens. Cameron said the screening of Avatar in China has specific importance as a test of future 3D film development.
"I'm very interested in the 3D film market in China. I cannot predict the box office results here, but I look forward to the test results."
56. Cameron is hopeful about Avatar’s performance in China because ____.
A. Avatar is a newly-released 3D movie
B. Transformer held the record of box office in China
C. Avatar is directed by him alone
D. 2012 had a higher box office in China than in the US
57. Which of the following has the closest meaning to “anticipated” in Paragraph 3?
A. Participated. B. Paid. C. Expected. D. Delayed
58. The passage is most probably taken from ____.
A. a science book B. a newspaper C. a story book D. a magazine
59. Why did Cameron come to China?
A. To promote his latest film Avatar.
B. To test the future development of 3D film in China.
C. To show his interest in the 3D film market in China.
D. To make a 20-hour trip in Beijing.
I don’t like getting up too early unless I have to. When you’re filming, you’ve got make-up on, which doesn’t happen often. As I’m not filming at present I’ll get up at 8.30.
Work normally means Matt coming over to my house about 10 am. We’re writing at the moment. We’ll chat for a bit before going to my study. One of us will have an idea for a sketch (梗概), we’ll talk about the characters and when we feel we have enough we’ll start writing.
Matt and I met at the National Youth Theatre in 1990 and started doing shows together in ’95, at the Edinburgh Fringe festival. We know we’re onto something if we’ve made each other laugh, and that’s a really special moment. It’s not always like that, but we’re comfortable enough with each other that we can be honest and go. Some days you’re not in the mood to be funny—like writing when my dad was dying of cancer, or when Matt was separating from his partner.
We stop for lunch and sometimes go to Wagamama in Camden, but the last time we were followed by paparazzi (狗仔队), which gets you down—who wants to be pictured eating noodles?
When I’m not writing with Matt I work on other projects. My second children’s book comes out later in the year. It’s called Mr. Stink. The first one I dedicated to my three-year-old nephew, Eddie. Both books have been illustrated by Quentin Blake; it’s been a thrill to work with him—like 20 years ago reading a Roald Dahl book and looking at those drawings, then one day that person illustrates your work… magical.
At 5 I go swimming in Soho. My trainer makes me do horrible exercises, but I always feel better after.
Being in all day, I like to go out in the evening and look smart, but not like I’ve come out of the City. I’m a tall, broad guy and well-dressed.
For dinner I’ll meet friends. When you’re a single guy it’s great to have some good female friends. Or I might take my mum to the theatre, as I know she really appreciates it. I like watching TV comedy shows to see what everyone’s doing. When you see something impressive it makes you work harder. I also love Larkin’s poems: they don’t try to transcend (超越) the commonplace; they’re much more straightforward.
Poetry is great to dip into before going to bed, rather than falling asleep reading a novel and being confused over what you’ve read or not. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in seven years; unfortunately, I rely on pills. I’ve tried everything. If I could wish anything for myself, I’d wish I could sleep better.
67. It can be inferred from the passage that _______.
A. the author spends much time with his friends
B. the author and Matt are both famous in the district
C. the author doesn’t care much about what to wear
D. the author works at home and seldom goes out every day
68. Where does the passage most likely appear?
A. In a travel diary. B. In a news column.
C. In an online diary. D. In a research paper.
69. Why does the author read some poetry before going to bed?
A. Because poetry can often bring him some funny ideas.
B. Because poetry is much easier to understand than novels.
C. Because poetry is very abstract and reflects unusual things.
D. Because poetry can be of some help for him to kill time.
70. What might be the best title for the passage?
A. A day’s work with Matt B. A new life-style
C. A life in the dayD. A good way to write