You can't remember who sings a certain song from the 90s. You Google it. You're arguing with a friend about who played Mickey in The Goonies. You solve the problem by Googling it. You don't know the way to that new restaurant. You Google Maps it.
We hold the answers to about all of life's questions in our hands today. But that means our brains are feeling free to take some rest. According to the Daily Mail, our growing reliance on(依赖) the Internet for fact checking is making our memories worse.
Scientists at Harvard University found people now regard Google and other search engines as an outside part of their own brains, rather than a tool. Writing in the Journal Scientific American, Harvard psychologists Daniel Wegner and Adrian Ward warn that people who believe their memorable facts that are saved online are much worse at remembering them.
"The Internet is also unlike a human memory partner; it knows more and can produce the information more quickly, You can find almost all information today easily through a quick Internet search. It may be that the Internet is taking the place of people's memory."
In a series of tests, researchers found it was easy for people to remember information well if they believed it would be deleted.
Those who thought it was stored on a computer were more forgetful, even if they were asked to keep the information in mind.When people want to check a fact, probably they will .
A.look up in a book |
B.ask friends |
C.use the Internet |
D.go to teachers for help |
According to the passage, if we depend on the Internet for fact checking, .
A.our brains will become smaller |
B.our brains will become bigger |
C.our memories will become worse |
D.our memories will become better |
People are easy to remember things well if they know .
A.they will lose the information |
B.they will lose the computer |
C.the information is good for them |
D.the information is important |
The writer wants to tell us .
A.not to use Google |
B.Google is bad for our memory |
C.Google is a good tool for checking facts |
D.not to depend on the Internet for checking facts too much |
One afternoon Mrs Green’s husband wanted to catch the 3:30 flight to London to have an important meeting. Mrs Green was very surprised when her husband telephoned her at 5 o’clock and said that he was still at the airport.
“What happened to you” asked Mrs Green.
“Well” said Mr Green , “Everything was going fine. I got my ticket, checked my luggage and waited in line at the gate. I walked across the runway to the airplane and I saw my friend Jack Scott, who was an airplane engineer. I shouted to him and a policeman caught me.”
“Why did he catch you?”
“I don’t know,” said Mr Green, “As soon as he heard my shout, he ran towards me and caught me.”
“What did you shout to your friend?”
“All I said is ‘Hi, Jack’. You know that’s the usual way we say hello to our friends”
“But you don’t know the word ‘hijack’ means taking control of a plane by force (武力) .”
One afternoon Mr Green wanted to |
Children are children after all, and most of them speak their mind. When they are just toddlers(幼儿), they are all lovely and lively. And it’s so interesting to watch them speak like a grown-up. But as they grow, these same kids seem annoying and ill-mannered if they try to be a grown-up.
Conflicts(矛盾) go between parents and children. It’s hard to tell who are right and who are wrong. A child of 7-8 always finds some reasons to have a conflict with it’s parents. Whether it is about some toy, studies, a party or a company, there is always a difference between them. And it becomes worse when they answer you back. Scientists tell us that children should be treated with care. Yes, sure they should respect their elders.
We are partly responsible(有责任的) for this. At an early age we encourage children to behave like adults, just because we find it funny. The kids on the other hand consider this same behavior as normal and get used to it. And when it is not funny for us any more, we expect them to stop it, but by then it is already too late. Only when they reach a certain maturity(成熟) will the children realize that answering back and being rude are not acceptable(可接受的). Until then, most of the time their behavior is difficult to change, unless by force(暴力). And use of force is against the every good idea, as it weakens the child’s confidence.
So it is one thing to bring a child into this world but quite another to make them into well mannered citizens. The best way is to be a good example ourselves, as our children are the mirrors of us adults. are all lovely and lively.
A.Children | B.Toddlers |
C.Kids | D.Grown-ups |
There are many conflicts between __________.
A.fathers and mother s | B.parents and children |
C.parents and toddlers | D.parents and parents |
Which is acceptable according to the passage?
A.Answering back. | B.Being rude. |
C.Using force. | D.Respecting elders. |
Which of the following is true?
A.Children often copy what their parents do. |
B.Children can not change their behavior. |
C.Children’s behavior develops in their own way. |
D.Children’s behavior is not acceptable. |
The writer wrote the passage __________.
A.to show the importance of good examples |
B.to give examples on educating children |
C.to show the growth of children |
D.to show the behavior of children |
Generally speaking, American food is not very thick in taste. Salads are much liked and are served all year round. Many Americans are trying to keep down their weight. This is shown in menus offering “low calorie(卡路里)” or “weight watchers” meals. In markets, one can find “No Cal” drinks (meaning without calories) such as cola.
Many Americans drink coffee or tea with their meal. If a waiter in an American restaurant asks “Now or later?”, what he means is “Do you want coffee with your meal or later?” When eating out in the USA, we can ask for tea, milk, beer, and so on, if we prefer these to coffee. American restaurants cannot serve beer, wine, or liquor unless they are licensed to do so.
The main dish in American meals is usually meat, chicken or fish, but more than one of these is hardly served at the same meal.
Most Americans eat quickly during the day—that is, breakfast and lunch—unless it is a social, business, or family situation. The evening meal, however, is usually a family time. Racing through daytime meals is part of the “American pace” of life, for working hours are considered important.
The nationwide fast-food restaurants are suitable for the ways of American eating. The standard(标准的) products, of nearly the same price, are served quickly, and taste the same whether bought in New York City or in Los Angeles.
McDonald’s is a popular restaurant. It offers many choices of hamburgers, French fries and “cokes”. These foods are rich in fats, sugar and salt. Often, they are the major meal of the day of many young working people.“Weight watchers” most probably means in Chinese.
A.减肥者 | B.观察者 |
C.称重者 | D.参与者 |
. In American restaurants which of the following is NOT true?
A.Many American people like salads. |
B.Coffee can be served after a meal. |
C.One can order tea if he doesn’t like coffee. |
D.All restaurants can sell beer and wine. |
At the same meal, American people usually .
A.have meat, chicken and fish together |
B.have either meat or chicken or fish |
C.drink a lot of beer, wine or liquor |
D.sit down together around a table |
In American restaurants, the standard foods .
A.have different prices | B.taste different from place to place |
C.are very expensive | D.can be served quickly |
This passage mainly talks about .
A.American restaurants and people | B.American eating culture |
C.American working situation | D.American food and price |
Mike was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always happy and always had something interesting to say. If someone asked him how he was doing, he would reply, “Couldn’t be better!” He was really a care-free young man and never felt tired.
Mike used to say, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, ‘Mike, you have two choices(选择) today. You can choose to be happy or you can choose to be upset.’ I choose to be happy. Each time something happens, I am always ready to learn a good lesson. I choose to learn from life.”
I tried to understand what he said. Indeed life is all about choices. Every situation is a choice. The bottom line is: You’re living your life and you make it either happy or sad.
Several years later I had a car accident and my legs were seriously injured. When I was lying on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or choose to die. I chose to live.
People like to say, “Choose the one you love and love the one you choose.” Why not choose the one we love and live happily? What kind of man was Mike?
A.A happy young man. | B.A hard-working man. |
C.An ugly bad boy. | D.A kind young man. |
What does “Couldn’t be better!” mean?
A.It’s bad. | B.It’s very good. |
C.It isn’t bad. | D.It isn’t very good. |
Which of the following is NOT true?
A.Mike tried to be happy every day. |
B.Mike chose to learn from life. |
C.The writer learned from Mike. |
D.The writer was unhappy every day. |
When the writer got hurt in a car accident, .
A.he loved the one people chose | B.people loved the one he chose |
C.he chose to live | D.he chose to die |
Which can be the best title for the passage?
A.Life Is Difficult | B.Life Is Different |
C.Life Is Colorful | D.Life Is Full of Choices |
Like most English children, I learned foreign languages at school. When I made my first visit to the United States, I was sure I could have a nice and easy holiday without any language problem. But how wrong I was!
At the American airport, I was looking for a public telephone to tell my friend Danny that I had arrived. An American asked if he could help me. “Yes,” I said, “I want to give my friend a ring.”
“Well, that’s nice. Are you getting married?” he asked.
“No,” I replied, “I just want to tell him I have arrived.”
“Oh,” he said, “there is a phone downstairs on the first floor.”
“But we’re on the first floor now,” I said.
“Well, I don’t know what you are talking about. Maybe you aren’t feeling too well after your journey,” he said. “Just go and wash up, and you will feel a lot better.” And he went off, leaving me wondering where on earth I was: At home we wash up after a meal to get the cups and plates clean. How can I wash up at an airport?
At last we did meet. Danny explained the misunderstanding: Americans say “to give someone a call”, but we English say “to give somebody a ring”. When we say “to wash your hands”, they say “to wash up”. And Englishmen start numbering from the ground floor so the first floor is the second for Americans.The writer went to America by __________.
A.plane | B.ship | C.bus | D.train |
The writer went to America for __________.
A.education | B.business |
C.holiday | D.friendship |
The American thought “a ring” should be a __________.
A.phone call | B.present |
C.person | D.letter |
Englishmen usually wash up __________.
A.after dinner | B.after a journey |
C.when they are tired | D.before they telephone someone |
The third floor in England is the __________ floor in America.
A.first | B.second | C.third | D.fourth |