Many of us listen to music while we work, thinking that it will help us to concentrate on the task at hand. And in fact, recent research has found that music can have beneficial effects on creativity. When it comes to other areas of performance, however, the impact of background music is more complicated.
The idea that listening to music when working is beneficial to output probably has its roots in the so-called “Mozart effect”. Put simply, this is the finding that spatial rotation performance(空间旋转能力) is increased immediately after listening to the music of Mozart, compared to no sound at all.
How sound affects performance has been the topic of research for over 40 years, and is observed through a phenomenon called the irrelevant sound effect. To study irrelevant sound effect, participants in the research are asked to complete a simple task which requires them to recall a series of numbers or letters in the exact order in which they saw them. The tricky thing is being able to do this while ignoring any background noise.
Two key characteristics of the irrelevant sound effect are required for its observation. First, the task must require the person to use their rehearsal abilities(复述能力), and second, the sound must contain acoustical variation(声学变化). Where the sound does not vary much acoustically, the performance of the task is much closer to that observed in quiet conditions.
The irrelevant sound effect itself comes from attempting to process two sources of ordered information at the same time—one from the task and one from the sound. Unfortunately, only the former is required to successfully perform the recall task, and the effort in ensuring that irrelevant order information from the sound is not processed actually hinders(阻碍) this ability.
A similar conflict is also seen when reading while in the presence of lyrical music. In this situation, the two sources of words—from the task and the sound—are in conflict. The cost is poorer performance of the task in the presence of music with lyrics.
What this all means is that whether having music playing in the background helps or hinders performance depends on the task and on the type of music, and only understanding this relationship will help people maximize their productivity levels.
1.“Mozart effect” is mentioned to ________.
A. explain how music can relax people
B. show music can improve performance
C. advise people to listen to Mozart music
D. stress Mozart music gains wide attention
2.It can be inferred that participants in the research ________.
A. have improved their rehearsal ability
B. perform better in the quiet conditions
C. ignore the background noise successfully
D. prefer the music with great sound variation
3.Paragraph 6 is written to ________.
A. support an idea B. make a contrast
C. introduce a topic D. describe a fact
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Music shapes your life
B. Music develops your creativity
C. Choose quiet music for your work
D. Does music make you concentrate?
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
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1.Which magazine will you subscribe if you want to send a gift to a 5-year-old girl?
A. Taste of Home. B. Popular Science.
C. Disney Princess. D. National Geographic Kids.
2.What is SPECIAL about National Geographic Kids?
A. It combines fun with learning.
B. There are articles about scientific discoveries.
C. Kids can learn science, technology, and the animal kingdom.
D. It is a publication about what is popular in the world of science.
3.Where can you find the passage?
A. A newspaper. B. A guidebook.
C. A magazine. D. A website.
难度: 简单查看答案及解析
The problem of robocalls has gotten so bad that many people now refuse to pick up calls from numbers they don’t know. By next year, half of the calls we receive will be scams(欺诈). We are finally waking up to the severity of the problem by supporting and developing a group of tools, apps and approaches intended to prevent scammers from getting through. Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late. By the time these “solutions”(解决方案) become widely available, scammers will have moved onto cleverer means. In the near future, it’s not just going to be the number you see on your screen that will be in doubt. Soon you will also question whether the voice you’re hearing is actually real.
That’s because there are a number of powerful voice manipulation(处理) and automation technologies that are about to become widely available for anyone to use. At this year’s I/O Conference, a company showed a new voice technology able to produce such a convincing human-sounding voice that it was able to speak to a receptionist and book a reservation without detection.
These developments are likely to make our current problems with robocalls much worse. The reason that robocalls are a headache has less to do with amount than precision. A decade of data breaches(数据侵入) of personal information has led to a situation where scammers can easily learn your mother’s name, and far more. Armed with this knowledge, they’re able to carry out individually targeted campaigns to cheat people. This means, for example, that a scammer could call you from what looks to be a familiar number and talk to you using a voice that sounds exactly like your bank teller’s, tricking you into “confirming” your address, mother’s name, and card number. Scammers follow money, so companies will be the worst hit. A lot of business is still done over the phone, and much of it is based on trust and existing relationships. Voice manipulation technologies may weaken that gradually.
We need to deal with the insecure nature of our telecom networks. Phone carriers and consumers need to work together to find ways of determining and communicating what is real. That might mean either developing a uniform way to mark videos and images, showing when and who they were made by, or abandoning phone calls altogether and moving towards data-based communications—using apps like FaceTime or WhatsApp, which can be tied to your identity.
Credibility is hard to earn but easy to lose, and the problem is only going to get harder from here on out.
1.How does the author feel about the solutions to problem of robocalls?
A.Panicked. B.Confused. C.Embarrassed. D.Disappointed.
2.Taking advantage of the new technologies, scammer can ________.
A.aim at victims precisely B.damage databases easily
C.start campaigns rapidly D.spread information widely
3.What does the passage imply?
A.Honesty is the best policy.
B.Technologies can be double-edged.
C.There are more solutions than problems.
D.Credibility holds the key to development.
4.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
A.Where the Problem of Robocalls Is Rooted
B.Who Is to Blame for the Problem of Robocalls
C.Why Robocalls Are About to Get More Dangerous
D.How Robocalls Are Affecting the World of Technology
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
The Alexander technique
Until earlier this year, I didn’t know anything about the Alexander technique—and saw no reason to think I should. One day, the backache I regularly suffered was more painful. I was brought up to think that the preferred way of dealing with aches is to do nothing and hope they’ll go away, but I eventually went to the doctor. After examining me, he said, “You actually have bad posture (姿势). Go off and learn the Alexander technique.” Three months later I could walk straighter and sit better.
The Alexander technique is a way of learning how you can get rid of harmful tension in your body. The teaching focuses on the neck, head and back. It trains you to use your body less severely and carry out the movements that we do all the time with less effort. There is little effort in the lessons themselves, which sets apart the Alexander technique from yoga or pilates, which are exercise-based. A typical lesson involves standing in front of a chair and learning to sit and stand with minimum effort. You spend some time lying on a bench with your knees bent to straighten the spine (脊椎) and relax your body while the teacher moves your arms and legs to train you to move them correctly.
The technique helps to break the bad habits accumulated over years. Try folding your arms the opposite way to normal. This is an example of a habit the body has formed which can be hard to break. Many of us carry our heads too far back. The head weighs four to six kilos, so any inappropriate posture can cause problems for the body. The technique teaches you to let go of the muscles holding the head back, allowing it to go back to its natural place on the top of our spines.
So who was Alexander and how did he come up with the technique? Frederick Alexander, an Australian actor born in 1869, found in his youth that he had vocal (声音的) problems during performances. He analyzed himself and realized his posture was bad. He worked on improving it, with excellent results. He brought his technique to London and opened a teacher-training school, which is still successful today.
So if you’re walking along the road one day with shoulders bent forward, feeling weighed down by your troubles, give a thought to the Alexander technique. It will help you walk tall again.
1.What does the author suggest in Paragraph 1?
A. She felt no better after the treatment.
B. She got bored with the Alexander technique.
C. She was sceptical about the doctor’s method.
D. She was unwilling to seek treatment for her backache.
2.What is the principle of the Alexander technique?
A. Physical tension shouldn’t be completely relieved.
B. The technique shouldn’t be combined with other exercises.
C. The practice of the technique shouldn’t be attempted alone.
D. Familiar physical actions shouldn’t be done with much effort.
3.What can we learn about Frederick Alexander?
A. He managed to recover his vocal powers.
B. He was eager to make a name for himself.
C. He developed a form of exercise for actors.
D. He had to leave home to develop his technique.
4.What is the main idea of the passage?
A. The occurrence of back pain is widespread.
B. Alexander improved the technique to treat body pain.
C. The Alexander technique helps overcome posture problems.
D. People with back pain are victims of inappropriate postures.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Rivers play an important role on the earth, and we can't imagine what the earth would be like without rivers. 1.
With a length of 6, 650 kilometers, the Nile is the longest river in the world. The Nile River has been the source of human civilization since ancient times. The Nile has two main branches—the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile starts from the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa through Lake Victoria.2. The Blue Nile carries with it a lot of fertile soil which turns out to be very important to farming in Egypt.
The Amazon River is the world's largest river with a width of about 40 kilometers during the rainy seasons but about 10 kilometers wide when it is not flooded. The Amazon River has such a big water volume that it accounts for(占.....比例) more than 20% of all the world’s fresh water—far more than any other river. 3.The main Amazon River flows mostly through Brazil and Peru but its tributaries can also be found in many other countries.
4.It has a depth of about 250 meters. Its length is 4, 700 kilometers. The sources of the Congo River are in the highlands and mountains in the Eastern Africa Rift Valley. It's the second largest river in terms of water volume. 5.The Congo River basin(盆地) is the catchments(流域，集水区) area of the Congo River. It lies in both north and south of the Equator, making its flow very stable as there are always some tributaries experiencing a rainy season at any time.
A. Some of them are worth mentioning.
B. The Congo River is the world's deepest river.
C. Do you know which is the deepest river in the world?
D. The Blue Nile originates from(发源于)Lake Tana in Ethiopia.
E. Without rivers, there would be no living life in and along them.
F. And it flows through the second largest rain-forests in the world.
G. Streams that begin in the Andes Mountains are its sources.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
假设你是李华，你的美国老师Miss Morgan要求你们明天下午去听一个美国历史的讲座。你因故不能参加。请你根据以下要点，写一封短信向Miss Morgan请假。
内容要点: 1. 表示歉意； 2. 理由:去机场接从法国回来的舅舅；
3. 询问:是否有录音，以便补听讲座。
注意:1. 词数:100词左右；
2. 可根据内容要点适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
Miss Morgan，
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Yours,
Li Hua
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。
It was raining light when I got up yesterday. After a quick breakfast, I took a umbrella with me and went to school in a hurry. It was fifteen minutes after school began. I was running quickly when I see an old man walking slowly in the rain. I stopped, wondered whether to help him or not, as I might be late for school. Then I made a decision walk him home. About ten minutes late, we arrived at his house. He thanked for me again and again. I smiled and said it was nothing. I was late when I got to school. Hearing my story, the head teacher, that was giving his lecture, praised me before all the student.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
Cali Scores a Goal
It was the last game of the season. Cali had been playing soccer all summer. She really enjoyed __________ around with the other players in her blue uniform, chasing the black and white ball across the grassy field. As much as she tried, __________, Cali still had not scored one single goal.
“Don’t give up,” said her coach. He showed Cali and her team how to pass the ball to each other and take shots at the goal. Cali was pretty good at passing the ball, but she couldn’t kick the ball __________ the goalkeeper. She wondered if she should __________ soccer.
“Don’t give up,” said her teammates. ”You just need to keep trying and you will get __________ .” So Cali stayed on the team and did her best.
“Don’t give up,” said Aunt Lisa. But it was half-time, and Cali was feeling __________ . She was trying! Every time she got a(an) __________ to kick the ball, it would go in the __________ direction or a player from the other team would take control of it.
The break was over and the referee(裁判) blew her whistle to __________ the game again. The two __________ walked back onto the field, both __________ to win. Cali heard her aunt whisper in her ear. “Look for an opportunity to get the ball. You can do it.”
Cali took a deep breath. __________ she didn’t get one goal all summer, she knew that she had tried her best. She dreamed she’d leave her team after the game was over. Suddenly, she was woken by some __________ that was the sweet, happy jingle of the ice cream truck. It was driving right beside the soccer field, playing its music loudly to attract __________ .
The players on both teams turned to __________ at it. A few girls pointed to it and cheered. The soccer game had nearly stopped. Cali looked around and saw the soccer ball close by, __________ by the nearest player from the other team. Cali dashed over to the ball. She dribbled(带球) it between her feet, moving forward toward the net of the yellow team. By the time the other girls had __________ , Cali was positioned right in front of the net. The goalkeeper was __________ to one side, looking at the ice cream truck. She turned back __________ to guard the net as Cali kicked the ball hard.
The keeper __________ out her gloved hand. The ball touched the tips of her fingers as it swooshed past, right into the net. “Goal!”
1.A.running B.walking C.jumping D.hiking
2.A.therefore B.otherwise C.though D.meanwhile
3.A.with B.over C.for D.past
4.A.quit B.remember C.change D.respect
5.A.harder B.better C.faster D.easier
6.A.normal B.hopeful C.calm D.upset
7.A.award B.idea C.chance D.order
8.A.safe B.wrong C.clear D.positive
9.A.pause B.start C.cancel D.end
10.A.players B.girls C.teams D.coaches
11.A.satisfied B.frightened C.pleased D.determined
12.A.Even if B.As if C.Because D.When
13.A.noise B.music C.whistle D.cheer
14.A.customers B.teachers C.audiences D.reporters
15.A.fire B.laugh C.knock D.look
16.A.found B.ignored C.protected D.pushed
17.A.discussed B.recalled C.noticed D.permitted
18.A.hiding B.rushing C.standing D.waiting
19.A.quickly B.secretly C.bravely D.silently
20.A.threw B.carried C.dragged D.reached
难度: 中等查看答案及解析
阅读下面材料，在空白处填入适当的内容(1个单词)或括号内单词的正确形式。
For the first time in 94 years, the Palace Museum has extended its opening hours, allowing the public to celebrate the Lantern Festival at night in the ancient palace.
About 3,000 lucky visitors received free tickets from the government, among 1. was Zhang Zhifu, a 77-year-old public security volunteer. It’s a mark of gratitude for her volunteer work. “It is 2. (true) an honor to be granted this special privilege,” Zhang said.
To guarantee the 3. (safe) of the palace, festival organizers 4. (plan) this year’s Lantern Festival event used LED lights rather than traditional paper lanterns and red candles. It’s a fascinating event for visitors to absorb 5. (they) in the festive atmosphere in the museum. Discussion of the Palace Museum’s new look lit up social media following Tuesday’s display.
Since he became director of the Palace Museum, Shan Jixiang 6. (bring) many changes to the world’s 7. (large) royal complex (建筑群). Once in a speech the 64-year-old director shared his idea about how to make traditional 8. (treasure) come alive again. “ 9. matters to a museum is not how many visitors they have, but how close they are 10. people’s daily lives,” he said.
难度: 中等查看答案及解析