While some scientists overlook the existence of a sixth sense for danger, a new research from Washington University in St. Louis has discovered a brain area that clearly acts as an early warning system and helps us adjust our behavior to avoid dangerous situations.
"Our brains are better at picking up not obvious warning signs than we previously thought," said Joshua Brown, a PhD in psychology in the issue of the journal Science.
The findings offer exact scientific evidence for a new way to form a concept of the complex control processes taking place in and around the ACC, a brain area located near the top of the frontal lobes(耳垂) and along the walls that divide the left and right hemispheres(大脑半球).
"In the past, we found activity in the ACC when people had to make a difficult decision, or after they make a mistake," Brown said. "But now we find that this brain area can actually learn to recognize when you might make a mistake, even before a difficult decision has to be made. So the ACC appears to act as an early warning system—— it learns to warn us in advance when our behavior might lead to a negative outcome, so that we can be more careful and avoid making a mistake."
By providing a clearer picture by which we self monitor and control our behavior, the study is an important step in efforts to develop more effective treatments for mental illnesses. It also provides a new way of understanding inappropriate behaviors that often accompany mental illnesses.
"Our results suggest how injury of the ACC can lead to breakdowns in the early warning system, so that the brain fails to stop or control inappropriate behavior ahead of time," said Brown. "On the other hand, in those persons with mental disorder, the ACC might warn us of an upcoming problem even when no problem is in the existence."
Known to be an important part of the brain's control system, the ACC is believed to help adjust between cold, hard, fact-based reasoning and emotional responses, such as love, fear or expectation.According to the passage, the ACC____________.
| A．refers to the sixth sense for danger |
| B．deals with obvious warning situations |
| C．connects the left and right hemispheres |
| D．sends warning messages in advance |
The new research is beneficial because it ________ .
| A．provides a new way of avoiding mistakes |
| B．adjusts emotional responses in time of danger |
| C．helps find better treatments for mental illnesses |
| D．assists people in predicting and avoiding danger |
The new research helps us understand _________.
| A．why we are likely to make mistakes when the ACC is badly injured |
| B．why people with illnesses usually have so many strange behaviors |
| C．how the ACC works when something dangerous happens |
| D．how our brain warns us of failure in advance |
When a rather dirty, poorly dressed person kneels at your feet and puts out his hands to beg for a few coins, do you hurry on, not knowing what to do, or do you feel sad and hurriedly hand over some money? What should our attitude to beggars be? There can be no question that the world is full of terribly sad stories. It must be terrible to have no idea where our next meal is going to come from. It seems cruel not to give some money to beggars.
Certainly, most of the world’s great religions (宗教) order us to be open-hearted and share what we have with those less fortunate than ourselves. But has the world changed? Maybe what was morally (道德方面) right in the old days, when one knew exactly who in the village had suffered misfortune and needed help, is no longer the best idea. Quite a few people will not give to beggars. Let us look at their arguments.
First, some believe that many city beggars dress up on purpose to look pitiable and actually make a good living from begging. Giving to beggars only encourages this sort of evil (恶行). Secondly, there is the worry that the money you give will be spent on beer, wine or drugs. Thirdly, there is the opinion that there is no real excuse for begging. One might be poor, but that is no reason for losing one’s sense of pride and self-dependence.
Related to this is the opinion that the problem should be dealt with by the government rather than ordinary people. Some people think beggars should go to the local government department and receive help.
It is hard to come to any final conclusion; there are various cases and we must deal with them differently. A few coins can save a life in some situations, and even if the money is wasted, that does not take sway the moral goodness of the giver.What is mainly discussed in the passage?
| A．Moral deeds of people. |
| B．Religious activities of the church. |
| C．Moral goodness of the giver. |
| D．Arguments on giving to beggars. |
What can we infer from the sentence “But has the world changed?” in the second paragraph?
| A．People no longer know who suffers misfortune in the village. |
| B．Some people will not do what was morally right in the past. |
| C．We don’t meet with those who need help any more. |
| D．Now it is the government’s duty to help the beggars. |
Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
| A．Some people dress up to pretend to be beggars. |
| B．Some beggars want money to help their children go to school. |
| C．Some beggars use the money to buy drugs. |
| D．Some beggars have no excuse for begging. |
In the last paragraph, the writer thinks that it is hard to come to any final conclusion, because .
| A．the cases can be so different |
| B．there are so many beggars |
| C．there is so much money wasted |
| D．there are so many different arguments |
Every day we go to school and listen to teachers, and the teacher will ask us some questions. Sometimes, the classmates will ask your opinions of the work of the class. When you are telling others in the class what you have found out about these topics, remember that they must be able to hear what you are saying. You are not taking part in a family conversation or having a chat with friends --- you are in a situation where a large group of people will remain silent, waiting to hear what you have to say. You must speak so that they can hear you loudly enough and clearly enough but without trying to shout or appearing to force yourself.
Remember, too, that it is the same if you are called to an interview whether it is with a professor of your school or a government official who might meet you. The person you are seeing will try to put you at your ease in ordinary conversation but the situation is somewhat different from that of an ordinary conversation. You must take special care that you can be heard.When you speak to the class, you should speak __________.
| A．as loudly as possible | B．in a low voice | C．loudly | D．forcefully |
The situation in the class is _________ that in your house.
| A．not very different from | B．sometimes the same as |
| C．sometimes not the same as | D．not the same as |
If you are having a conversation with an official, the most important thing for you is _____________.
| A．to show your ability | B．to be very gentle |
| C．to make sure that you can be heard | D．to put the official at ease |
The main idea of this passage is __________.
| A．that we must use different ways at different situations |
| B．that we must speak loudly |
| C．that we must keep silent at any time |
| D．that we must talk with the class |
The most frightening words in the English language are “our computer is down.” You hear it more and more when you are on business. The other day I was at the airport waiting for a ticket to Washington and the girl in the ticket office said, “I’m sorry, I can’t sell you a ticket. Our computer is down.”
“If your computer is down, just write me out a ticket.”
“I can’t write you out a ticket. The computer is the only one allowed to do so.” I looked down at the counter and every passenger was just standing there drinking coffee and staring at the black screen. Then I asked her, “What do you do?”
“We give the computer the information about your trip, and then it tells us whether you can fly with us or not.”
“So when it goes down, you go down with it.”
“That’s right, sir.”
“How long will the computer be down?” I wanted to know.
“I have no idea. Sometimes it’s down for 10 minutes, sometimes for two hours. There is no way we can find out without asking the computer, and since it’s down, it won’t answer us.”
After the girl told me they had no backup computer, I said, “Let’s forget the computer. What about your planes? They are still flying, aren’t they?”
“I can’t tell without asking the computer.”
“Maybe I could just go to the gate and ask the pilot if he’s flying to Washington.” I suggested.
“I wouldn’t know what gate to send you to. Even if the pilot was going to Washington, he couldn’t take you if you didn’t have a ticket.”
“Is there any other airline flying to Washington within the next few hours?”
“I wouldn’t know,” she said, pointing at the desk screen. “Only IT knows. It can’t tell me.”
By this time there were quite a few people standing in line. The words soon spread to other travelers that the computer was down. Some people went, some people started to cry and still others kicked their luggage.The word “down” in the sentence ‘Our computer is down.’ means _____________.
| A．falling | B．downcast | C．drop | D．dead |
The best title of the article is _________.
| A．Asking the Computer |
| B．The Computer of the Airport |
| C．The Most Frightening Words |
| D．When the Computer Is Down |
What could the girl in the ticket office do for the passengers without asking the computer?
| A．She could answer the passengers’ questions |
| B．She could do nothing. |
| C．She could sell a ticket. |
| D．She could write out a ticket. |
“Slow City” — a recently launched project focused on preserving the traditional quality of life enjoyed in some of Italy’s smaller cities and towns. The project was born from the idea of the “Slow Food” movement — started in Italy in the 1980s — which promotes leisurely eating and the growing of local, healthy products to fight against the American fast-food style.
“The American urban model has invaded our cities, making Italian towns look the same. We want to stop this kind of globalization,” says Paolo Saturnini, an Italian mayor.
The “Slow City” project plans to emphasize the rich, cultural, culinary(厨房的) and artistic local traditions of each community.
Walking areas will be enlarged and squares and parks will be made greener with more plants. Car alarms and other noise that disturbs the peace will be banned, and ugly TV aerials(天线), advertising posters, and signs will be taken down.
City councils will also insist on the use of recycling and renewable energy sources, and will also introduce ecological transport systems. Parking will be made stress-free by creating more public parking areas, and easily accessible walkways and bike lanes will cross the city. But in the “Slow City” way, all improvements will probably come about slowly.
Thirty-two Italian city councils, which joined the “Slow City” program, have decided to take further steps in this direction by increasing the numbers of traditional family-style eating establishments, reducing noise pollution, and concentrating on making their towns friendlier for people to live in.
Organic local produce will be promoted in all restaurants and genetically modified foods(转基因食品) will be banned. “We can’t stop large, fast-food chains from coming here, but we hope that people who come to our towns will not want to eat exactly the same hamburger they can eat in Melbourne, London or Paris, but want something genuine and different,” said Saturnini.According to the passage, the “Slow City” project aims at _____.
| A．preventing Italy from being affected by America |
| B．beautifying the environment of small Italian cities and towns |
| C．calling on Italians to enjoy stress-free life |
| D．protecting the traditional Italian lifestyle |
From Paragraphs 4-5, we can infer that ______.
| A．cars in “Slow City” will have to go slowly |
| B．people can park their cars free of charge in “Slow City” |
| C．“Slow City” will take on an environmentally friendly look |
| D．advertising in “Slow City” will be banned |
Further measures will be included in the “Slow City” program EXCEPT _____.
| A．cutting down noise pollution |
| B．stop genetically modified foods |
| C．getting more towns involved in the project |
| D．building more family-style restaurants |
In Saturnini’s opinion, when traveling in “Slow Cities”, visitors_____.
| A．aren’t provided with fast food |
| B．will see few fast-food chains |
| C．can enjoy themselves like in London |
| D．can enjoy real Italian-style healthy food |
Whenever my dog, Barney, comes into the house after having been for a ride in the car, he runs to the pen(围栏) we have set up for him by the back door. It’s not something we intentionally trained him to do. The habit came simply because my husband tended to put him in his pen whenever they came in. After doing it a few times, Barney just figures that’s what you do when you come inside after a car ride.
It’s the same with your thinking. You get into the habit of thinking a certain way and then you’ll rarely question it after that.
This is especially true when you were growing up. You developed habits that just made things easier for you. You probably didn’t even think about them. That’s just the way it was and that’s what you did. Just like Barney thinks he has to go into his pen, you do things automatically as well.
For example, when you were a kid, you may have been told not to “talk back” and to just keep quiet about things that were bothering you. These are habits that might have worked to keep you safe and out of trouble when you were young.
Now that you're grown up, you may be finding that these previous strategies are actually causing you problems. In a relationship, not communicating isn't going to work as your partner can’t read your mind. What works when you're a child may not work when you become an adult.
When you decide you need to change your thoughts, your brain may at first feel that it's not a safe thing to do. Lots of practice and years of experience says it’s not. Also, you don’t know to question the thought. It’s a truth for you. The trick is to look at your results and see if your thoughts are the cause. Be willing to question your thinking and ask yourself if there are thoughts that are hindering (妨碍) you. As you are now in a different phase of your life, different strategies may be needed.As with the dog Barney, people _______.
| A．think in a habitual way |
| B．enjoy having a car ride |
| C．usually behave in a friendly way |
| D．have a good memory |
According to the passage, as a kid, one tends to _________.
| A．be afraid to make mistakes |
| B．have the experience of playing with a dog |
| C．learn much from adults like his/her parents |
| D．form a habit which can keep his/her out of trouble |
In the writer’s opinion, adults should _______.
| A．not“talk back” |
| B．avoid causing any problem |
| C．change the habit which will bring troubles |
| D．value their habits formed in their childhood |
It can be concluded from the passage that ________.
| A．the author’s husband must be good at training dogs |
| B．childhood is the best time for developing good habits |
| C．one can change his/her life by changing his/her thoughts |
| D．you should change all your childhood habits when you grow up |