It sounds almost too good to be true，but a new study on sleeping brains suggests that listening to languages while you sleep can actually help you to learn them．
For the study，researchers played recordings of foreign words and their translations to subjects enjoying slow-wave sleep，a stage when a person has 1ittle consciousness of their environment．To ensure that the results were not compromised by foreign language words that subjects may have had some contact with at some point in their waking lives，researchers made up totally nonexistent foreign words．
When the subjects woke up，they were presented with the made-up words again without their translations．The subjects were then asked to imagine whether this made-up word indicated an object that was either smaller or larger．This vague(模糊的)way of testing their understanding of the words is an approach that is supposed to tap into the unconscious memory．
Unbelievably，the subjects were able to correctly classify the words in this way at an accuracy rate that was 10 percent higher than random chance．That’s not a rate high enough to have them suddenly communicating in a foreign tongue，but it is enough to suggest that the brain is still absorbing information on some level，even during sleep．
Researchers have long known that sleep is important for memory，but previously its role in memory was thought to relate only to the preservation and organization of memories acquired during wakefulness．This is the first time that memory formation has been shown to be active during sleep．
In other words，our brains are listening to the world，and learning about it，even when our conscious selves are not present．
The next step for researchers will be to see if new information can be 1earned quicker during wakefulness if it was already presented during sleep．If so，it could forever change how we train our brains to learn new things．Sleep learning might become a widespread practice．
1.Why did researchers use some made-up words in the study?
A.To guarantee the accuracy of the test result．
B.To increase the difficulty of testing information．
C.To avoid the subjects cheating in the experiment．
D.To test if our brain are good at learning something new．
2.What were the subjects asked to do in the study?
A.Classify what they heard by size．
B.Make up a word to represent“large”or“small”．
C.Repeat the words they heard in the sleep．
D.Imagine the meanings of the made-up words．
3.What conclusion did researchers draw from this study?
A.Sleep is necessary for a good memory．
B.Memory formation goes on during sleep．
C.Listening during sleep is good for our brain．
D.Learning languages in sleep has better effects．
4.What will be the researchers’next plan?
A.To train people how to learn during sleep．
B.To prove the existence of unconscious memory．
C.To dig out the reason for unconscious learning．
D.To study the effect of sleep learning on conscious learning．
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
How do I Book a Place on Airbnb?
When you book a place on Airbnb, you’re making arrangements to stay in someone’s home. Each host has their own style of hospitality, starting with how they like to get to know their guests. Some hosts want to approve reservations, while others are comfortable letting you book their place instantly without waiting for approval.
1. Complete Your Personal Details
In either case, it’s important to know that Airbnb is a community that relies on trust. Complete your personal details before you request a reservation with a host, so they can know a little bit about you when they confirm. Your personal details should include photos and verifications (身份证明), especially because some hosts require guests to have a profile photo and verified ID in order to book.
2. Find the Right Place
With over 800,000 unique listings around the world, you’ll want to make sure the place you choose has everything you need for a comfortable and memorable trip. When searching for a place, make sure to include your dates and number of guests to get the most accurate pricing. Read reviews, descriptions, house rules, and facilities for each place to see if it’s the right fit for your trip. You can always contact the host if you have any questions about their home.
3. Book It!
You’ve found the perfect place, and now it’s time to make it official. This is where the host’s preferred way of booking will determine how you’ll confirm your reservation.
● Instant Book
For hosts who don’t want to approve each reservation, you’ll see a button on their listing that says Instant Book. Like the name suggests, you can confirm a reservation at these places right away.
● Request to Book
Many hosts prefer to approve reservations before they’re final. In this case, you’ll see a button on their listing that says Request to Book. To submit a reservation request, you’ll need to enter your payment details. Hosts have 24 hours to accept your request, and your reservation is automatically confirmed once they do.
● Pre-approvals and Special Offers
If you decide to contact the host to ask questions before attempting to book, the host may respond to your message by inviting you to make a reservation with either a Pre-approval or a Special Offer. A Pre-approval is an invitation to finish booking for the dates and number of guests you noted in your message. A Special Offer gives the host the opportunity to provide special pricing, dates, and other reservation details before you book.
1.When filling in your personal information, you need to ________.
A.request a reservation with a host B.provide your proof of identity
C.ask for approval from the host D.trust the community where you live
2.To know the exact price, you should ________.
A.check the listings online in advance
B.confirm your dates and number of guests
C.contact the host to ask questions first
D.read previous reviews made by other users
3.If you click the Request to Book button, you can ________.
A.get some special discounts
B.receive Pre-approval message
C.get the approval immediately
D.know the result within a day
4.Where is the passage most probably from?
A.A travel magazine. B.A news report.
C.A shopping guide. D.A research paper.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Recently, I was interviewed by a parenting magazine for a story it was running on eco-parenting (环保式育儿).
The reporter explained that it was expensive to be an eco-parent, with organic baby food and clothing to buy.
But I told her, “I’m sorry, but eco-parenting isn’t about buying ecologically-produced versions of products we think we may need. It’s about discovering what we don’t need.” I told the reporter about my daughter Sarah’s simple wish for a pink balloon on her birthday, but she felt that things would inevitably (不可避免地) change as Sarah grew up and adopted more materialistic desires.
I agreed that Sarah may not always be interested in such simple gifts as balloons, but I couldn’t agree that a birthday needs to be about materialistic desires. To me, a birthday is an opportunity to celebrate the life and the development of person. Do we need to see a table covered with gifts to know that our family and friends love us? Somewhere in our consumer culture, we’ve confused material items with expressions of love and gratitude.
My own birthday was just a few days ago. It came and went in the middle of a snow storm, and my birthday party was canceled. While my husband and I spent much of the day clearing the snow, Sarah made some little dolls for me.
And when we came in to rest, Ula climbed onto my lap and sang Happy Birthday. Throughout the day, my friends called to wish me a happy day, and my mother called, upset that she couldn’t visit.
Later, my husband apologized that he was unable to do anything special for me that day. “I had a fantastic birthday,” I replied, as thought of all the love I’d felt.
1.What does the author think eco-parents should do according to the article?
A.Buy organic foods and clothing for their kids.
B.Teach their kids to protect the environment.
C.Try to avoid buying useless things for their kids.
D.Allow their kids to make their own choices in life.
2.What does the author intend to express with Sarah’s story?
A.A pink balloon is the best birthday gift for girls.
B.Kids’ material desires will change as they grow up.
C.We don’t have to express our love with expensive gifts.
D.A birthday is a good occasion for us to seek new experiences.
3.Why did the author think that her birthday was fantastic?
A.Her husband did something special for her.
B.Many friends came and celebrated it with her.
C.She received meaningful gifts from her children.
D.She felt a lot of love from her family and friends.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Eudaimonia is an Ancient Greek word, particularly stressed by the philosophers Plato and Aristotle, which deserves far more attention than it has because it corrects the shortfalls (缺失）in one of the most central, but troubling words in our modem language: happiness.
When we nowadays try to clearly express the purpose of our lives，it is the word “happiness” that we commonly turn to. We tell ourselves and others that the most important principle for our jobs, our relationships and the conduct of our day-to-day lives is the pursuit of happiness. It sounds like an innocent enough idea, but too much reliance on the term means that we frequently unfairly tend to quit or, at least, heavily question a great many challenging but worthwhile situations. The Ancient Greeks did not believe that the purpose of life was to be happy; they proposed that it was to achieve Eudaimonia, a word which has been best translated as “fulfilment”.
What distinguishes happiness from fulfilment is pain. It is very possible to be fulfilled and—at the same time—under pressure, suffering physically or mentally, overburdened and, quite frequently, in an irritable (易怒的）mood. This is a slight psychological difference that is hard for the word “happiness” to capture, for it’s tricky to speak of being happy yet unhappy, or happy yet suffering. However, such a combination is readily accommodated within the respected and noble-sounding idea of Eudaimonia.
The word encourages us to trust that many of life’s most worthwhile projects will sometimes be in conflict with contentment, and yet will be worth pursuing. Properly exploring our professional talents, managing a household, keeping a relationship going, creating a new business venture or engaging in politics... none of these goals are likely to leave us cheerful and grinning on a daily basis. They will, in fact, involve us in all manner of challenges that will deeply exhaust and weaken us, provoke (激怒）and wound us. And yet we will perhaps, at the end of our lives, still feel that the tasks were worth undertaking. Through them, we’ll have achieved something deeper and more interesting than happiness.
With the word Eudaimonia in mind, we can stop imagining that we are aiming for a pain-free existence—and then blaming ourselves unfairly for being in a bad mood. We’ll know that we are trying to do something far more important than smile all the time: we're striving to do justice to our full human potential.
1.What do we know about “Eudaimonia” from the passage?
A.It was first created by two Greek philosophers.
B.It has received a lot of attention from the public.
C.It still has some shortfalls that need to be corrected.
D.It was regarded as the purpose of life in ancient Greece.
2.According to Paragraph 3, happiness .
A.is the opposite of fulfillment
B.is free from physical or mental pain
C.stresses the psychological difference
D.serves as a respected and noble life goal
3.We can learn from the passage that .
A.aiming for happiness may lead to wrong self-blaming
B.goals that wound and weaken us result in happiness
C.challenges leading to contentment are worth undertaking
D.feeling fulfilled means we should avoid tough situations
4.The passage encourages the readers to .
A.find fulfillment with all efforts B.seek for a pain-free existence
C.keep optimistic whatever happens D.balance happiness and suffering
难度: 困难查看答案及解析
We all go through times when we feel we are not good enough. We might feel that way at work or in school or even as a parent. Here are some things to remember when you feel like that.
1. When I started my Ph.D. program, I felt like the dumbest person in every class. I couldn’t believe how many smart people were there. I didn’t know if I could measure up to their intelligence or compete in the same league with them. Years later, I found out that almost everyone felt this way, too.
You are unique and have special talents. If you can barely make Hamburger Helper, don’t compare yourself to your sister who is a chef(厨师). I’m sure you can do many things that she can’t. 2. You are you. You are not your sister.
You need to stop chasing perfection. It doesn’t exist. What’s perfect to me is not perfect to you. So if you think that there is some objective measurement of perfection and that the rest of the world is judging you against, then you are wrong. 3.
4. Our sense of self-worth is based in our thoughts. We have been programmed for many years with thoughts about ourselves. Messages come from our parents, our peers, teachers, the media and our own labels. But guess what? They are only thoughts. Just because you think these thoughts, it doesn’t make them true. 5.
A. You need to change your thought patterns.
B. So focus on your own passions and talents.
C. You have the power to change your future.
D. You are not the only one who feels this way.
E. If you love yourself for who you are, other people will notice.
F. One of my favorite sayings is, ＂Don’t believe a negative thought you think!＂
G. Most people are too worried about their own lack of perfection to judge you.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The coronavirus pandemic and the threat of a national lockdown have caused some people to buy essential supplies ________ until there’s ________ on grocery store shelves for anyone else. Not only is it ________ and inconsiderate, it also affects the age group that is most sensitive to the virus: the elderly. But there are plenty of people who’ve been helping the elderly with their ________, and also by offering them ________.
Helena Ellis ________ a Facebook post, saying that she saw an old man standing with an empty trolley (手推车) staring at empty shelves of bread. ________, she gave him one of the last two ________ that she had taken. She ________ other people to help out the elderly and spare them something that people could do ________. “In a time of madness and ________, please don’t forget those aged people,” Ellis wrote.
Liam Elkind, junior at Yale University enlisted (征募) over 1,300 volunteers to help deliver food and medicine to seniors. ________ themselves Invisible Hands, the group offers the elderly the ________ of filling out a delivery request form and having their shopping done.
Jayde Powell, another college student, ________ started a network of Shopping Angels to deliver groceries to the elderly in her area. “We’re doing this to try and ________ to people who are completely alone in this situation,” Powell told CNN.
Tonka, a ________ dog, is used to visiting his senior friends to give some “feel-good” at the nursing home in Texas. But when the nursing home ________ all visitors in an effort to protect its ________ from the spread of coronavirus, Tonka’s owner, Courtney Leigh, decided to ________ Tonka’s visits, just from outside the nursing home’s windows, holding a sign that ________ “We Miss You.”
1.A.in vain B.in panic C.in demand D.in surprise
2.A.nothing B.a little C.something D.a few
3.A.necessary B.careless C.critical D.selfish
4.A.family B.shopping C.company D.health
5.A.comfort B.respect C.mercy D.passion
6.A.put on B.put in C.put off D.put up
7.A.Desperate B.Undoubted C.Heartbroken D.Hopeless
8.A.trolleys B.shelves C.hotdog packs D.shopping lists
9.A.urged B.ordered C.inquired D.appealed
10.A.within B.without C.with D.out
11.A.wars B.Conflicts C.ruins D.chaos
12.A.Calling B.Called C.To Call D.Being Called
13.A.privilege B.option C.promise D.challenge
14.A.uniquely B.ultimately C.similarly D.surprisingly
15.A.find out B.look out C.reach out D.call out
16.A.therapy B.guide C.detection D.rescue
17.A.turned off B.turned out C.turned in D.turned down
18.A.residents B.guests C.immigrants D.families
19.A.postpone B.pause C.transmit D.continue
20.A.writes B.prints C.says D.speaks
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。
Today, we will examine some 1. (use) no-cost things you can do before you study to help you improve your memory and learning. Three important ideas 2. (think) about before studying include exercise, study place and pre-study tests.
Before you study, doing cardiovascular exercise (有氧运动) may help you better remember what you learn. Violent exercise may be especially helpful. So far, researchers have suggested combining 3. two to get the best effects for your memory. The important idea is this: exercise 4. (be) good for your memory.
Where you study is also important for improving your learning. Researchers find that 5. (surround) play big part in how well people remember the words. Although 6. is good to have a desk or a special study area, some research suggests that changing where you study could help you remember 7. (much) of what you study.
Testing is good way of 8. (make) yourself remember new information. In 2018, researchers found that students who took a test before learning a new material did much better after studying the material. The students failed the test, but they were better able to remember the material than students who 9. (ask) only to read the information. So try to take a pre-study test. While you might not know the answer, you will probably be better able to learn and remember the answer when you study it 10. (late).
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文，请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号（∧）,并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线（\）划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线，并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处，多者（从第11处起）不计分。
While walk my dog this morning, I happened to see a heartwarming sight. A mother was rushing towards her car with her children’s schoolbags. Behind her was two children crying at the top of their voices. They barely moved their foot. Instead, they were too busy crying or seeking for attention. After the mother had been placed the schoolbags in the car, she ran towards her children with her arms widely open. She smiled as she approached them, held one in her left arm, the another in her right and carry them both to the car. The children's tears changed to laughter in flash.
Seeing this, I was moved by tears because of the mother's strength and love for her children.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
假如你是李华，你的美国朋友Tony对中医文化很感兴趣，发来邮件向你询问有关中医的事情，请你回他一封邮件，回答他的问题，内容包括：
1. 中医的历史、地位；
2. 中医的优势（疗效好、副作用少、价格低）等。
参考词汇：中医 Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
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难度: 中等查看答案及解析